BLOG TOUR ~ Guest Post + GIVEAWAY!! ~ Student Bodies (Poltergeeks #2) by Sean Cummings

Student Bodies (Poltergeeks #2)
by Sean Cummings
Release Date: 09/05/13

Summary from Goodreads:
Whoever said being a teenage witch would be easy? For fifteen-year-old Julie Richardson and the city’s resident protector from supernatural evil, the Left Hand Path doesn't give a damn if you've found true love for the first time in your life. There’s someone lurking the halls of Crescent Ridge High School with enough malice to unleash an epidemic of Soul Worms – supernatural larvae that feed on the very fabric of a victim’s humanity.

After witnessing the death of one of the most popular kids at school, Julie and über genius boyfriend Marcus are in a race against time to find out who is behind the attacks. All the evidence points to a horrifying plot at the City Weir during the Winter Solstice; the place where icy waters of the Bow River and a thunderous spillway will mean the deaths of more than a hundred of Julie’s classmates.

If she has any hope of saving their lives, she’ll need a little help from a coven of white witches and an Aboriginal mage whose snarky attitude is matched only by her magical prowess.

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Creating Kick-Ass Teen Female Protagnists

I like to think of POLTERGEEKS and the sequel STUDENT BODIES to be a different take on female protagonists in YA. I mean, there's a ton of great books with different takes on female leads - I like to think that my publisher Strange Chemistry Books is basically the gold standard with strong female protagonists. From Miranda in  Gwenda Bond's fabulous BLACKWOOD to Katya Kuriakova in Jonathon L. Howard's KATYA'S WORLD - Strange Chemistry is defining itself by the uniqueness of each female lead. 

I don't consider myself to be a YA author - I'm an urban fantasy author (mostly) and the reason I wrote POLTERGEEKS, the first book in the series was primarily to see if I could write a decent enough book for teens. (This was before I learned the majority of YA readers are not teenagers, BTW). I knew from the get-go that I wanted a seriously kick-ass heroine who wasn't burdened by shape-shifting werething boyfriends, romantic attraction to supernatural bad boys and yes, I include vampires on that list.  

Julie Richards is an average 15 year old nerdy girl who happens to be a very powerful witch. Her best friend Marcus has carried a torch for her since grade school and he's an even bigger nerd that Julie. That was my premise - I built the plot around it.

In STUDENT BODIES, I've edged up the dark factor and ramped up the danger considerably. The book touches on serious issues like bullying, but its mostly a story of a girl witch coming into her own and a deadly threat to all the students at her high school. I've introduced some new characters as well - Twyla Standingready - an aboriginal witch. She's Julie's Watson as she works to unravel why someone wanted to kill one of the most popular kids at school and why another person wound up dead. So while POLTERGEEKS was light and slightly edgy, STUDENT BODIES takes the notion of a kick-ass teenage heroine and throws everything but the kitchen sink at her.

This book also really explores the nature of the mother-daughter relationship with all its tensions, trials and tribulations. A terrible plot is uncovered that finds Julie fighting at her mother's side with all hell breaking loose on the longest night of the year.

It's the best book I've written so far - it's also a very Canadian book because, yes, urban fantasy takes place in Canada as well. Calgary is the setting, there's a raging river, a weir, supernatural larvae and enthrallment. There's also the issue of Julie's legacy after taking over for her late father as the city's resident protector against supernatural evil.

Tired of the usual YA? Give STUDENT BODIES a try!

Sean Cummings is a fantasy author with a penchant for writing quirky, humorous and dark novels featuring characters that are larger than life. His debut was the gritty urban fantasy SHADE FRIGHT published in 2010. He followed up later in the year with the sequel FUNERAL PALLOR. His urban fantasy/superhero thriller UNSEEN WORLD was published in 2011.

2012 saw the publication of Sean’s first urban fantasy for young adults. POLTERGEEKS is a rollicking story about teen witch Julie Richards, her dorky boyfriend and race against time to save her mother’s life. The first sequel, STUDENT BODIES is due for publication in September 2013.

Sean Cummings lives in Saskatoon Canada.

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***GIVEAWAY***

STUDENT BODIES GIVEAWAY:

CANADA/US Prize Pack:

1 Signed Copy of STUDENT BODIES

1 Signed Copy of POLTERGEEKS

1 Signed Copy of FUNERAL PALLOR

1 Signed Copy of SHADE FRIGHT

1 Amazon Kindle

UK Prize Pack

1 Signed Copy of STUDENT BODIES

1 Signed Copy of POLTERGEEKS

1 Signed Copy of FUNERAL PALLOR

1 Signed Copy of SHADE FRIGHT

1 Amazon Kindle

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