Itching for Books: Guest Post: TEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE FORSAKEN + Giveaway Winners!

Lisa M. Stasse, author of the new and exciting Dystopian novel "The Forsaken," has taken some time from her crazy schedule to provide a guest post for my blog. Check it out below, also continue on to see if you're one of two lucky winners to receive a signed copy of the book.

TEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE FORSAKEN:

1. It's my debut novel, and yes, it's a dystopian--but hopefully one with a few shocking new twists in it.

2. It's a novel about friendship as much as romance. The shifting relationship between Alenna and her best friend Gadya (as well as the other girls on the prison island) is as important to the plot as the relationship between Alenna and her boyfriend Liam.

3. I'm really influenced by movies. I love anything that Joss Whedon does (well, almost anything). I'm also influenced by TV. I'm a huge fan of LOST (the first 3 seasons!) which might be apparent to readers of The Forsaken.

4. I listen to music when I write. A lot of THE FORSAKEN was written listening to some pretty obscure bands and singer-songwriters (Salem, Brice Randall Bickford, Mark Holland, Dillon Francis, Jack Parow, Kavinsky) as well as some better known artists like Cat Power, Feist, The Cure, Deadmau5 and Best Coast.

5. I wrote most of The Forsaken with my two cats sleeping on my desk next to me.

6. One of my favorite dystopian novels is called THE DROWNED WORLD by JG Ballard. It's a pretty old book, but it's very strange and super creepy. One of the most depressing of all the dystopians out there (along with Cormac McCarthy's apocalyptic THE ROAD).

7. The cover art is by the amazing Lizzy Bromley (who did the design for WITHER) and the British photographer Dan Mountford.

8. The island "the wheel" is based on an actual desolate island located between Hawaii and Australia.

9. The "feelers" (the flying machines that snatch kids into the sky on the island) were inspired by some of HR Giger's drawings (the guy who designed the art and creatures for ALIEN).

10. The official book trailer contains a few hints and clues about some of the book's secrets.