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Saturday, April 9, 2011

Interview with Rebecca Ryals Russell + Giveaway



Today, I have with me, Rebecca Ryals Russell, author of Odessa the first book in the Seraphym Wars. I was able to find out a bit more of which books Rebecca loved to read when she was younger.

What books would your past self recommend at ages 7, 12, 16 and 20? What makes these books so special to you?

This is really difficult. You have no idea how long ago ages 7-20 are for me. I barely remember being 20, much less 7. Okay, here goes:

Age 7-There weren’t a lot of children’s books that I can remember at that age. I think I read the Little Golden books. They had a hard cardboard cover with a golden spine. They covered all sorts of topics.

Age 12-I won a Library contest at school that year, for my diorama depicting the Cabin Faced West out of toothpicks. The book I won was Freckles. The Librarian wrote a message in the front of it and I still have the book.

Age 16-I had just finished reading the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. I bought and put together a
puzzle of Middle Earth which my Daddy mounted on wood and we hung over my bedroom door. It was there the day I moved out to get married. Wish I had it now. I’m sure I read other stuff but I remember doing more writing then reading at that age.

Age 20-College Books! I was in my third year of college for Elementary Ed and just married on Valentine’s Day. I didn’t do a lot of reading. Although this was about the time I discovered David Eddings’ and Terry Brooks’ books, which I devoured. They were the inspiration for my own series, the first book of which we are celebrating: Odessa of The Seraphym Wars Series.

I guess I did it after all. And it wasn’t as painful as I thought. I enjoyed reaching down through 43 years of memories to see my seven-year old self sitting in the grass reading Little Golden books. Thanks for the memories.


Thank you Rebecca for answering my question so thoroughly!

Now for the giveaway. There will be two winners. One will receive a copy of the book, the other will receive one of these prize packs:

Prize Pack 1:



choice of 1 Wall Calendar (Majikals or Monsters)

Odessa pen

Odessa Sticky Pad

Odessa Notepad

Odessa Author-signed Cover Art Postcard

Odessa Cover Art Bookmark

Prize Pack 2:



Seraphym Wars Character Wall Calendar

Odessa Mug

Odessa Pen

Odessa Key Ring

Odessa Author-signed Cover Art Postcard

Odessa Cover Art Bookmark

Enter the form below. Open Internationally. Ends April 15th.




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26 comments:

  1. What an unusual question - this leaves me wondering about what I would have recommended mself at different ages ...

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  2. Well thought out answer. I'd have a hard time with it.

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  3. Great question! I would've had a hard time answering it too.. I wasn't much of a reader until I was 17.

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  4. When I was younger I read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys books. When I was a little older I was into fantasy books like Piers Anthony or Christopher Stasheff. Later I was addicted to Laurell K Hamilton and Amanda Quick and many other novels and authors of the paranormal or romance variety. I was always reading and started very young.

    LadyVampire2u AT gmail DOT com

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  5. I remember books as milestones, little house on the prairie at 7, the lord of the rings at 12, at 16 it was salem's lot, at 20 the world according to garp.

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  6. This is becoming one of my very favorite of all the Teen Book Scene tour stops! I love hearing the book recs from their younger selves!! :)

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  7. That was really cool seeing what she read at different ages and how it shaped her writing. I only remember reading (over&over&over) Hop On Pop by the late great Dr Suess when i was 7.

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  8. It was cool to see what she was reading at different ages, Dr. Suess was one of my favorites.

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  9. That was a really cool question! I really enjoyed this post :D

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  10. I would recommend Charlotte's Web to my self at 7! This was a really thought-provoking question.
    Thank you for the giveaway :)
    hurdler4eva(at)gmail(dot)com

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  11. Awesome question definitely a hard one to answer but fun to think about.

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  12. Interesting question! It makes me want to try to think back on what I was reading back then.

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  13. Loved this question! It makes me try to remember what I read back then! :)

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  14. Woot Woot! I;d love to get my greedy 'lil hands on a copy of Odessa!

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  15. this was a great interview, very interesting question.

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  16. Hey that is such a good question. When you think back to all the awesome books you have read its a great feeling. I was just thinking back to books I read when I was 7 I still have them. Cant throw a book away

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  17. It's interesting to chart your growing taste through time.

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  18. Yep, Charlotte's Web, Nancy Drew, Dr. Seuss, Salem's Lot--I read all of those, too. Thanks for helping me remember. And thanks for stopping by. This was definitely a fun stop on my tour. Good luck to everyone on the contest and if you don't win a pack/book, order a copy of Odessa from Amazon. Visit http://seraphymwarsodessa.blogspot.com for more stops along the tour and many more interesting posts like this one. Check some of the past postings as well.

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  19. Great post and great question...Made me think for a while.

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  20. I loved Nancy Drew and read all of her books. My brother read The Hardy Boys.
    nicolesender(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  21. i have seen some incredible stuff built out of matchbooks cant imagine it was very easy to work with toothpiucks wish you had pictures posted somewhere of your diorama project or do you?

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  22. SOunds like a great book

    jim.coyne2@verizon.net

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  23. Mysteries. 5 minute mysteries,Nancy Drew, Agatha Christie, Nero Wolfe

    rhondastruthers atyahoo.ca

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  24. Great interview!! It's a really thought-provoking question and makes you think back. Old favorite books of mine have melded together with the ages until I have to really focus to remember when I read a certain book, but I would definitely recommended The Hobbit to young teen me. For childhood, Nancy Drew, Animal Ark, and Anne of Green Gables!

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