Blog Tour: Cured by Bethany Wiggins

Cured by Bethany Wiggins
(Stung, #2)
Release Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: Walker Childrens; 320 pages

Now that Fiona Tarsis and her twin brother, Jonah, are no longer beasts, they set out to find their mother, with the help of Bowen and a former neighbor, Jacqui. Heading for a safe settlement rumored to be in Wyoming, they plan to spread the cure along the way--until they are attacked by raiders. Luckily, they find a new ally in Kevin, who saves them and leads them to safety in his underground shelter. But the more they get to know Kevin, the more they suspect he has ties to the raiders. He also seems to know too many details about Jacqui and her family—details that could endanger them all. For the raiders will do anything they can to destroy the cure that would bring an end to their way of life. Bethany Wiggins’s reimagining of our world after an environmental catastrophe won’t fail to stun readers.

Thank you so much to Courtney from Bloomsbury for inviting me to be a part of this tour (and also sending me an ARC to read & review). A big thank you to Bethany Wiggins for answering my questions and writing such fantastic books! Be on the look out for my review, which will be coming this week!

Was it difficult writing the first book in Fiona’s point of view and the second book in Jacqui’s? Especially since there was so much of Fiona in the second book, trying not to change over to what you were used to during STUNG?

No way. Jacqui's point of view was easier to write than Fiona's because deep down I think Jacqui is more like me. What was hard to do in book two was write Fiona from someone else's perspective!

I’ve thought this since reading the first book but having finished CURED, I’m still blown away. How did a story like this come to you?

It all started with a nightmare. Chapter one of CURED is a retelling of a very vivid nightmare that woke me up early one morning. Shortly after the nightmare, I learned that the honeybees were REALLY dying off so I read up on that. At the same time, the USA was plagued with fear of a swine flu outbreak so everyone was storming the health clinics for vaccinations. And then all three elements were sort of thrown together and formed into STUNG.

Who was your favorite character to write and who was your least favorite?

I loved writing Jacqui's mom. She is smart, knows how to do everything, and creates the most awesome needlepoint sayings ("GUNS BEFORE FOOD!" "WHEN IN DOUBT, RUN!" "TO BE BRAVE YOU MUST FIRST BE AFRAID!") despite the fact that the world is all wrong. My least favorite character to write was Dr. Grayson. I don't know why, but he was really hard to get onto paper. I guess it is good he has a smaller part!

Along the lines of the above question, which character was the easiest to write and which one was the most difficult?

Jacqui was the easiest to write--spending 300-plus pages in her head helped me get to know her really well. Hardest was Dr. Grayson! I really don't know why he was so hard!

Has there been a song that you’ve heard that just reminds you so much of these books or any of the characters in these books? If so, which song?

Yes! "No Light, No Light" by Florence + The Machine is Kevin's song from Jacqui. It sums CURED up just perfectly.

Bethany Wiggins has always been an avid reader, but not an avid writer. She failed ninth grade English because she read novels instead of doing her homework. In high school, she sat alone at lunch and read massive hardback fantasy novels (Tad Williams and Robert Jordan anyone?). It wasn't until the end of her senior year that the other students realized she was reading fiction--not the Bible



Once upon a time, Bethany's sister dared her to start writing an hour a day until she completed a novel. Bethany wrote a seven-hundred page fantasy novel that she wisely let no one read--but it taught her how to write. She is the author of SHIFTING, STUNG (April 2013), and CURED (2014).

This giveaway is provided by the publisher, Bloomsbury/Walker. It is open to US residents, only. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be chosen. This giveaway ends March 18, 2014 at 11:59 PM EST.

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