Interview + Giveaway with Hanging by a Thread author Sophie Littlefield

Hello awesome readers! Juhina with you! Today at Maji Bookshelf we've got an interview with the awesome Sophie Littlefield, author of the recently released YA mystery novel Hanging by a Thread. Hanging by a Thread was an amazing mix of mystery, contemporary, and paranormal. Be sure to check out my review here. Be sure to check out the interview, it's funny!, and the giveaway at the end of the post. 

Sophie's first novel, A BAD DAY FOR SORRY (Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's Minotaur, 2009) has been nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, Barry, and Crimespree awards, and won the Anthony Award and the RTBookReviews Reviewers Choice Award for Best First Mystery. Her novel AFTERTIME was a finalist for the Goodreads Choice Horror award.







Follow Sophie: Website | Twitter | Goodreads 

Find Hanging by a Thread on Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Summer is the best part of the year in Winston, California, and the Fourth of July is the highlight of the season. But the perfect town Clare remembers has changed, and everyone is praying that this summer will be different from the last two—that this year's Fourth of July festival won't see one of their own vanish without a trace, leaving no leads and no suspects. The media are in a frenzy predicting a third disappearance, but the town depends on tourist dollars, so the residents of Winston are trying desperately to pretend nothing's wrong.

And they're not the only ones hiding something.

Clare, a seamstress who redesigns vintage clothing, has been blessed—or perhaps cursed—with a gift: she can see people's pasts when she touches their clothes. When she stumbles across a denim jacket that once belonged to Amanda Stavros, last year's Fourth of July victim, Clare sees her perfect town begin to come apart at the seams.

In a town where appearance means everything, how deep beneath the surface will Clare dig to uncover a murderer?

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Now on to the interview! 

Describe yourself in a tweet (140 characters)
She seems nice but have u seen that crowd she hangs out with? also has a mouth like a trucker. sure writes a lot of books though
Describe your YA novel Hanging by a Thread in three words 

Creepy Atmospheric Chills








What is the one thing you always need or do when you are writing?
Pandora! I wouldn't have gotten my last half dozen books finished if I hadn't figured out what my characters would listen to and then set up their stations. It puts me right into the heart of the book when I sit down to work. Now that I live in an apartment, I have to be a little more considerate about volume, but most of my neighbors work out of the house so during the day I blast it.

Where do you usually like to write or read? 
I've just set up my new office. It's made out of a coat closet, but it's my favorite writing space ever. I painted it a gorgeous shade of blue and splurged on Elfa shelves. Because it's out in the open, right in the middle of the apartment, I clean it up whenever people come over, so it stays pretty neat.

If you had one power, such as Clare's power of seeing the darkest memory of the wearer of the clothes she touched, what would it be?I've been asked this before, and the answer actually inspired my BANISHED series: I would love to have the power to lay on hands and heal. 

Do you have a story behind the cover of Hanging by a Thread? Do tell!
I wish I could say that I had some part of creating that gorgeous cover, but the truth is that the Delacorte art department came up with it on their first try. I've been blessed with great covers ever since my very first book (and THREAD was my tenth, so that's a long streak of good luck). The one thing I'll add is that the pink quilt Claire is lying on looks *exactly* like the comforter that was on my daughter's bed all through middle school, which was a little freaky.

What is your favorite book, show, and movie?

Oh sweetie, I could never name just one! :) But I'll share my most recent favorites: DARE ME by Megan Abbott, "Luther" on BBC television, and "Drive." By the way, "Drive" was based on a novel written by an amazing author named James Sallis. I hate it when they give the author's name a two-second credit in tiny print, don't you?

What inspired you to write a mystery novel with a twist of paranormal?
My first series was mystery, so it's a natural genre for me. But I had so much fun with both the BANISHED series and my adult post-apocalyptic/zombie series (AFTERTIME), that I couldn't resist adding a little something extra. I have to admit I got (stole?) the idea from my best friend, Juliet Blackwell, who writes a series about a witch who runs a vintage clothing shop in San Francisco.

Any plans for your next YA novel? will it be a different genre?
I've just turned in my next novel for Delacorte. It's a little different: pure thriller, about two teens who are infected with a deadly virus and have to find an antidote before it kills them.

To end this interview, if clare touched the clothes you're wearing now, what would she see?
Ha ha, very tricky! :) Luckily, I haven't done anything too terrible in what I'm wearing right now, which is my favorite writing sweats. They are about ten years old and threadbare, and Clare would just see me sitting in this chair working away and eating a LOT of Trader Joes bittersweet chocolate and walnut bars.

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Now to end this post, Sophie Littlefield has generously offered ONE (1)  copy of Hanging by a Thread to one lucky US reader! So, you want to win a copy? fill out the rafflecopter below! and if you didn't win? make sure to still check out Hanging by a Thread!

a Rafflecopter giveaway