Featured Author & Giveaway: K.Z. Snow

K.Z. Snow is a lifelong resident of the upper Midwest, urban and rural (currently the latter). Her parents were tavernkeepers. As a result, she learned her first words off a jukebox. It also gave her dancing feet. She's known a lot of people and done a lot things, from teaching English and creative writing at UW-Madison to winning an amateur-night contest at a sleazy strip club in St. Paul. She loves nature and critters, dogs in particular, although she relishes burning ticks to a crisp. Like Danny in The Shining, a little boy lives in her mouth -- except he’s usually a gay boy. When people ask her what she's doing, they often get the answer, “KZ’s not here, Mrs. Torrance.” This tends to confuse the hell out of them. Not surprising, since nobody she knows is named Mrs. Torrance.

Connect with K.Z. Snow on Twitter @k_z_snow or visit her website: http://www.kzsnow.com and blog: http://kzsnow.blogspot.com.

Q&A with Author K.Z. Snow:

1. If you could swap places with one of your fictional characters for 24 hours, who would you choose to be? Why? And what would you do that day?
   
   Sheesh, there are so many to choose from! Maybe Carny Jessup, the unapologetically tough and vulgar city kid from Carny’s Magic who turns to mush when he falls for a guy named Peter. I wouldn’t mind being him for a few reasons. First, he’s in the first flush of love when the novel ends. Second, he has boundless energy. Third, a charismatic (and hot) urban wizard, Jackson Spey, has sort of taken Carny under his wing and become a mentor/surrogate father to him. As Carny, I’d like to spend a rainy summer day in a grand old movie theater with my boyfriend. We’d sit in the balcony, holding hands, making out, and munching snacks while watching a double feature. In the evening, assuming the sky has cleared, we’d have dinner at Jackson’s flat, then either go to Summerfest or sit outside the flat, just chatting and sharing some beers and watching the world go by.


2. Please tell us what inspired you to begin writing Young Adult?
   
   The fact I was once a young adult myself. Seriously. It’s the most defining period in a person’s life, aside from those first seven formative years. A phoenix-like time, really, of growth and repeated immolation and resurrection. So many dreams battling with self-doubt, so much excitement combined with fear, so much wonder. It’s too much to appreciate while you’re going through it, so it’s best appreciated in retrospect.


3. Can you tell readers a little bit about the characters Jess and Mig a.k.a. Dylan in The Zero Knot?
   
   On the surface they seem like a case of opposites attracting, but inside, where it counts, they’re a perfect fit. It just took them 18 years and a lot of unflinching self-examination to realize that.


4. The Zero Knot has these amazing secondary characters. Could you tell us what your favorite secondary character in The Zero Knot is and how this character was created?
   
   Without a doubt, Jared (Jesse’s 15-year-old brother). I didn’t create him so much as release him from my brain, fully formed, and let him have his way. I swear that little SOB took on a life of his own. If he weren’t straight, I’d give him his own book. ☺


5. What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?
   
   A sense of life’s possibilities – the glorious ones, not the dismal ones. Belief in yourself, combined with hope and determination and the courage of your convictions, will never lead to a dead end. I know that’s hard to keep in mind sometimes, but it’s true. And I learned it through experience, by the way, not from Oprah.

Now Available from K.Z. Snow:

Xylophone (Recommended Age 18+)

The most consequential secret of Daren Boothe’s life centers on an unlikely object: a xylophone. His professional alter-ego, a sensual, androgynous performer, was born of that secret. When Dare begins his second and considerably more wholesome job playing clarinet in a polka band, he meets an unassuming young man who takes his grandmother out dancing each week—a man with his own shrouded past.

Jonah Day immediately recognizes the clarinetist. Three years earlier they’d crossed paths in a therapist’s office, but they’d both abandoned that route to mental health. Neither was ready then to open up about the psychological traumas that haunted them and had adversely affected their lives.

In an attempt to heal their wounds, Dare and Jonah turn to each other. Understanding and empathy come instantly, accompanied by ambivalence about their growing attraction. But the repercussions of victimization are many . . . and, often, impossible to anticipate. Regardless of their bond, Dare and Jonah could easily be driven apart by the very experiences they share.

The Zero Knot

Eighteen-year-old Jess Bonner is casting off pretense—and, with it, some friends from his past who aren’t particularly trustworthy. In just a few months he’ll be starting college, and it’s time for him to admit the truth: he’s gay, not bi, and only one of his old friends holds any kind of real interest for him. When Dylan Finch, aka Mig, follows his lead and puts some distance between himself and the old crowd, he and Jess give in to a mutual attraction that’s been building for years.

But navigating a fledgling relationship isn’t easy for beginners, and forces they can’t seem to control keep tripping them up: sexual appetite, personal insecurities, fear of discovery, and more. They need clarity. They need courage. Just as they’re on the verge of finding both, a vindictive act of jealousy sends one of them to jail. All their hard-won victories are in danger of falling to dust. And the only way to save what they have is to recognize it for what it is… and fight for its integrity.

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K.Z. Snow's Giveaway!

K.Z. Snow has generously donated a free e-copy of either Xylophone or The Zero Knot for one lucky winner. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment below along with your email address. A winner will be chosen March 3rd.