CURED by Bethany Wiggins - and a Giveaway!!

I am thrilled to have my dear friend Bethany Wiggins with us today. Bethany is celebrating the release of her new book, CURED, the sequel to her book STUNG. They are both absolute must reads! You'll never look at honey the same way again :)

She's not only stopped by to answer a few questions for us, but she'll also be giving away a copy of the book!! Just leave a comment and we'll choose someone at random to receive a copy of this awesome book :) And now on to our questions!

OA: Tell us a little about CURED. 

BW: CURED is the story of a girl (Jacqui aka Jack) who is pretending to be a boy, and she's all cooped up inside of herself and dying to break free.

Here is the official blurb: 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.

OA: CURED is the sequel to the amazing STUNG. What was the inspiration for this series? 

BW: Believe it or not, STUNG was primarily inspired by a horrible nightmare I had, about waking up in my childhood home and finding everything abandoned, and then being chased out a window by an insane beast who used to be someone I loved. That nightmare is chapter one! Other parts of STUNG were inspired by the frenzy in the United States to get the flu vaccine when the swine flu was going around and the bees dying off (colony collapse). CURED continues with those themes, but goes into more detail about how the normal world became a post apocalyptic disaster.

OA: What do you have in the works now?

BW: Currently, nothing. I recently had a baby, and the lack of sleep is seriously eating into my creativity! But there are a couple of possible stories brewing around in my head. I am hoping one decides to make a strong creative impression soon!

OA: What sort of research did you have to do for these books, if any?

BW: I did a lot of research. I Googled everything from "honey bee colony collapse" to "genetic modification gone wrong," to "criminal male behavior after hurricane Katrina" and "underground bomb shelters." I even went to my local police station (with a group of cub scouts) and asked the sheriff who was showing us around how close I would have to be to him to shoot through his Kevlar vest. He gave me a funny look.

OA: What are three things you need in order to write?

BW: Music, a great idea, and long walks when I am having writer's block.

OA: Anything you'd like to reveal about yourself that your readers might find surprising?

BW: I have five young kids. I am LDS (Mormon). I'm really quite sweet and goofy and nice, so a lot of people who know me in person are surprised at the type of books I write. I am older than my husband, but I look and act a lot younger.

OA: How can readers connect with you?

BW: I love Facebook! And I have a website www.bethanywiggins.com and a blog (which I inherited from my sister a number of years ago. Her name is Suzette Saxton, if you're wondering about the unusual blog address). www.suzettesaxton.blogspot.com

Thank you so much for stopping by!! And congrats on the release of CURED :)

Remember, one lucky commenter below will win a copy of this awesome book so comment away!!