Celebrating Debutantes 2017: Garden of Thorns by Amber Mitchell (Character Interview and Giveaway)

Today I am absolutely thrilled to share to all of you my interview with the main character of Amber Mitchell’s young adult fantasy novel, Garden of Thorns. If you haven’t read the book yet today is your chance to meet the main character, Rose through a short interview. What alike about Rose is in-spite being captive under the gardener, she is still fierce and never loses hope.

Following the character interview is Amber Mitchell’s author bio along with places where to find her online. Then there’s also the book description and where to buy copies of Garden of Thorns. And if you are in the US and would like the chance to win a copy of the book, Amber is giving away a signed copy below. Just enter the rafflecopter form a bit further down in this post to be enter on the giveaway.

Character Interview with Rose of Garden of Thorns

Hi Rose. Can you please introduce yourself so everyone will know more about you?

If you’re from Delmar, you’ve probably heard of me. I’m the star of a dance troupe known as the Garden, where I’m forced to put my skills as an aerial dancer to use every night in order survive. But I’m ready to break out, to fight back and for revenge against those who oppress us.

What is the most cunning thing you’ve done? Why did you do it?

Though I hate dancing in the Garden, it has allowed me to hone my acrobatic skills and now I’m pretty limber. I’ve been able to use that to my advantage quite often. One time, I needed to figure out what was going on in a town but it was too dangerous to go on foot. Because of my comfort with heights and ability to think fast on my feet, I was able to use the rooftops in order to see what was going on.

If you need to change your values and your personality to survive, would you do it or not? Why?

I would like to believe I would. The most important thing to me is rescuing my fellow dancers from the Garden, and there is almost nothing I wouldn’t trade to succeed in my goal. However, when it comes down to it, there are things I hold too dear to be able to bargain away my values… like loyalty.

What is loyalty for you?

Loyalty is everything. In the Garden, the only way we are able to survive is by relying on our fellow sisters in captivity. Ours is a bond of blood, not so easily broken.

What is the most enlightening thing about being a slave?

The way that people can just ignore it. Most people know the horrific conditions of the Garden…that the owner selects us in pairs, a Flower and a Wilted, and the Flower gets to dance while the Wilted takes our punishments, but they look the other way.

What do you miss the most about being free?

The desert sun on my face in the early morning. There were a lot of other big things at first, but the longer I was trapped, the more those little details left me and the bigger concepts like being in charge of myself began to fade away. Right now, I just long for sunlight.

If you could be someone in any given time and place, who would you be, when and where would you be?

I would be the girl I was before being trapped into the Garden, but hopefully I’d be able to retain the lesson that took me the longest to learn…never trust someone with a smiling face and their hands behind their back. Usually they are trying to hide a dagger.

What are you thinking of right now?

Revenge. I’m always thinking about revenge. My captors can’t see it, they think they’ve beaten that particular thought out of my head, but they’re wrong. It simmers just underneath every movement I make, always screaming in the back of my mind. One day, I will be free and when that days comes, my revenge will be sweet.

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Thanks so much Rose for answering all my questions above. And thank you also to Amber for allowing Rose to do this interview.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amber Mitchell graduated from the University of South Florida with a BA in Creative Writing. She likes crazy hair styles, reading, D&D, k-dramas, good puns and great food.
When she isn’t putting words on paper, she is using cardstock to craft 3D artwork or exploring new places with her husband Brian. They live a small town in Florida with their four cats where she is still waiting for a madman in a blue box to show up on her doorstep.
Garden of Thorns is her debut novel from Entangled Teen.

Find Amber

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Book Details:

Title: Garden of Thorns
Author: Amber Mitchell
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: May 6, 2017
Pages: 370
Format: Paperback, eBook

After seven grueling years of captivity in the Garden—a burlesque troupe of slave girls—sixteen-year-old Rose finds an opportunity to escape during a performance for the emperor. But the hostage she randomly chose from the crowd to aid her isn’t one of the emperor’s men—not anymore. He’s the former heir to the throne, who is now leading a rebellion against it.

Rayce is a wanted man and dangerously charismatic, the worst person for Rose to get involved with, no matter what his smile promises. But he assumes Rose’s attempt to take him hostage is part of a plot to crush the rebellion, so he takes her as his hostage. Now Rose must prove where her loyalties lie, and she offers Rayce a deal—if he helps her rescue the other girls, she’ll tell him all the Garden’s secrets.

Except the one secret she’s kept for seven years that she’ll take to her grave if she must.

Book Links

Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Goodreads | Kobo | Indigo

Giveaway:

What’s up for Grab?

• Signed paperback copy of Garden of Thorns by Amber Mitchell
  

The Rules:

• Open to US residents only
• There will be one (1) winner
• Winner will be chosen and announced through rafflecopter
• Winner will be contacted thru email & should response within 48 hours
• Ends August 7th, 2017
• Prize will be sent by the author

To enter fill out the rafflecopter form

Good Luck!!!

Treat yourself to a complete #CelebratingDebutantes2017 experience. Click the image below for the full list of schedule and links to each feature post or check out twitter and facebook using #CelebratingDebutantes2017.