Monday, May 11, 2020

Kingdom Above The Cloud Blog Tour: Author Interview + Giveaway


Kingdom Above the Cloud Blog Tour 
Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for Kingdom Above the Cloud by Maggie Platt, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Kingdom Above the Cloud by Maggie Platt Title: Kingdom Above the Cloud
Author: Maggie Platt
Publisher: Ambassador International
Release Date: April 17, 2020
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

What if the nine Fruit of the Spirit and the Seven Deadly Sins were locked in a battle for control? 

Abandoned as infants, Tovi and her twin brother were raised by an eclectic tribe of warm, kind people in a treehouse village in the valley. After her brother’s sudden disappearance Tovi questions her life and her faith in an invisible King. Ignoring her best friend Silas’ advice, she decides to search for her brother in the kingdom on top of the mountain.

Above the cloud, the Council of Masters receives their orders. Tovi and her brother are the objectives. King Damien has a plan and Tovi is the key. The Council of Masters want her, but will she remain unscathed?

Amidst the glamour of the kingdom above the cloud Tovi is torn between her own dark desires and unanswered questions. It starts with a snake and a crown. When the ring is complete, will her life be over?

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Christianbook  


 

Maggie Platt

Maggie Platt is a writer, traveler, cancer survivor, and dreamer. Her greatest joys are being Auntie M to her amazing nieces and nephew and sitting with students and friends over cups of coffee and deep conversations. She works at her alma mater, Anderson University in Indiana, and she lives in a cozy little cottage nearby where students come to sit on her couch just to laugh, cry, and talk about life.

CONNECT WITH MAGGIE: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram  





Hi Maggie! Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions and giving my readers the chance to get to know you and your debut novel- Kingdom Above the Cloud- a little bit better. I always like to begin these interviews the same way with something fun… tell us 5 random facts about yourself that we WON’T find in your bio!

Oh, this is fun!! My random facts:
  1. I am a massive Indiana Hoosiers football and basketball fan. My grandpa played basketball at IU in the 1930s, so it’s in my blood!
  2. I once broke my leg during a week of camping when I hadn’t showered in 4 days. Then, I wasn’t allowed to shower until my leg had healed! Those baths with my leg hanging out of the tub were not enough to get the camp grossness off of me!
  3. When taking the Harry Potter Sorting Hat quiz, I answered the questions in such a way to ensure I would get Gryffindor… which I think is a VERY Gryffindor thing to do.
  4. I once worked as a “ghostwriter” for a Christian speaker/entertainer. He would record himself talking about some random thoughts, and I would turn them into blog posts that sounded like they were written by him.
  5. I love summer camps! I grew up attending Camp Pyoca in southern Indiana, and I still volunteer there each summer. I also co-direct a youth conference (that has a lot of camp vibes) in Wisconsin called The Great Escape.


Let’s talk writing! When did you first discover a passion for creating stories?

When I was a little girl! I used to fill notebooks and journals with story ideas and chapters. I also loved to outline stories (even though I didn’t call it that back then). I have all sorts of charts with chapter numbers and characters and what was happening for each of them in each chapter. Those go back to around the 5th grade.


Kingdom Above the Cloud
is your debut novel. Congratulations! Can you share with us that experience of finding out your words were to be published and seeing them in print for the first time?

It was a dream come true! I submitted my proposal to Ambassador International in December 2018, and I was thrilled when they asked to see my full manuscript. I had been that far with a few other publishers, so I knew it was no promise of a publishing contract. So, when I received the magical email, “We’d be delighted to publish your work…” I couldn’t believe it!

One of the most surreal moments for me was when I received the electronic version of the interior of the book. It was no longer a word processor document… It looked like a real book! It was overwhelming and so exciting.

The craziest part of all of this was finally seeing the print version. There were some shipping delays (thanks a lot, Coronavirus!), and Amazon started shipping the book before I ever saw a physical copy. Some of my friends received their copies before I did! It’s definitely not what you imagine from your first book release, but NOTHING in this pandemic is normal. And, honestly, not getting to see my book early is a ridiculously small problem compared to the grief and stress that so many people are experiencing right now.


Kingdom Above the Cloud is a Christian Allegorical Fantasy, which I feel is not a genre we see much of (at least in comparison to others!). What drew you to that genre in particular?

I love this quote from Richard Peck: “We write by the light of every story we have ever read.” It is so true! The stories I love most are those that take us into a fantastical world and lead us to amazing discoveries if we’re willing to read between the lines. I think of four Christian allegories that had the most impact on my writing and my faith: The Chronicles of Narnia series, Screwtape Letters, The Shack, and A Wrinkle in Time.

Can you tell us a little bit about  Kingdom Above the Cloud?
Kingdom Above the Cloud is the story of Tovi Tivka, a young woman living in the whimsical valley of Adia, where everyone lives in tree houses. She and her twin brother were raised by foster grandparents who took them in as infants. Meanwhile, evil King Damien, who rules his kingdom on the top of a nearby mountain, chooses several of his young, elite “masters” to play a game. Their goal is to use their talents (based loosely on the seven deadly sins) to draw someone from the valley up to the top of the mountain. Several of these masters set their sights on Tovi.

I always love to hear the story behind the story! What inspired this novel?
It really started with a daydream. What if there was a world full of characters who had mastered either a deadly sin or a fruit of the spirit? I started designing characters and imagining scenes, and it took on a life of its own. By the time I was done writing it, it was a deep dive into my Christian faith on a scale I never expected!

What do you hope readers will take away from the book?

My hope and prayer is that readers feel even just one step closer to God after reading this book. God, Jesus, and Christianity are not mentioned by name, but the whole story is a vulnerable look inside my faith in Christ. I hope that the words of the story point readers to Jesus and the love, hope, joy, and peace that only He can provide.


I have found that writers are so often some of the best readers too. If we were to take a look at your TBR, what might we find there?

I am ALL over the place with my TBR! On my nightstand right now: The Wondercurrent (by a friend and colleague at the university where I work) and On the Shoulders of Hobbits. I also have a whole TBR shelf in my book case! It contains everything from a book of poetry by Percy Bysshe Shelley to The Underground Railroad (by Colson Whitehead).


Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions. Before we go, can you give us an idea on what we can look forward to next in the series? Any other projects you are currently working on that you can share?

There is a sequel in the works! I know the ultimate ending, but I don’t yet know all of the steps to get there. So, we’ll see how many books are in the series. When I am done with the initial series, I would also like to delve into both the past and future of Adia. I can envision a series like Narnia that skips around to different eras in the fantasy world’s history.




Thank you so much for having me!






(1) winner will receive a signed copy of Kingdom Above the Cloud, limited edition map, laptop decal/sticker, and bookmark.

Kingdom Above the Cloud JustRead Giveaway

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway will begin at midnight May 11, 2020 and last through 11:59 PM EST on May 18, 2020. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

 

 
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
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2 Comments:

  1. wow. that certainly sounds like a different kind of read. Interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Woohoo! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

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