Character Interview With Kita from SONGSTONE by Lena Goldfinch

Stay tuned after the interview for contest and book info!! I LOVED THIS ONE, GUYS!! And isn't the cover gorgeous??

Hi, Lisa! Lena here. Thanks so much for having Kita on your blog. I'm just a little bit nervous about what she'll say, but I'm so glad you invited us here! :)

Kita, Tell my readers a little about yourself and what makes you special.

I was found as a baby crawling in the forest by a village girl named Noni. No one knows where I came from or who I am, but they all say I must be Huwi. They all fear me just a little, for the Huwi are a mysterious tribe with pale skin and blood red hair. Like mine. They live in the trees of the smoking mountain, among the ancient island spirits. They protect the sacred places. And they can turn to mist.

Don’t look into their eyes, mothers whisper to small children, or they’ll steal you.

They look at me and shiver. I'm sure they think I'm about to do something awful to one of them. I'm not sure why. It's not as if I have any special powers. For one thing, if I'm supposed to be Huwi, why can't I turn into mist? I suppose I can meld song into stone, and only a few can do that...but that's not really a mystical power. It just is. It's as natural as breathing. How else would we share our stories with the generations to come? 

I don't dare tell my master my secret though. As it is, he steals drops of my blood to perform his terrible black magic. How I hate him. He's such an evil, vindictive man, who punishes his enemies for the smallest offenses. What if he found a way to use my gift for evil, to capture a spell in the heart of the stone? I'm not sure how he'd do it, but I don't ever want to find out.

What are your favorite three things about the island you live on?

1. I love the sound of the island breathing: the sound of waves surging to shore and the sigh they make as they return to the sea. It's a beautiful place, and it's also a deadly place. That's something I deeply respect and admire.

2. I love sea turtles. I love how they loll the waves and bob gently up and down. Noni used to take me to watch the sea turtles when I was little, because she knew I loved them....

I think life for a sea turtle must be very simple. A sea turtle doesn’t have to worry about magic or wickedly sharp bird bones, or losing drops of her blood—or any of that. Besides that, they're simply beautiful and just looking at one can make you feel better. 

3. Lastly, I love trees (even though that only confirms to the villagers that I belong in the deep forests, beyond the green belt of Mount Tul, where the mysterious Huwi live). I especially love kala trees and dream of someday having a hut in the kala trees near the sea.

* Of course, everyone loves Pono, don't they? It's more than annoying how, in one day, he can win the whole village with one of his silly smiles. It's even more annoying that I find myself watching him when no one else is looking. But I don't really want to talk about that. I barely know you, after all.

If you could change three things about your life, what would they be?

I can't imagine changing three things about my life. All my energy is spent wishing for one thing and one thing only: I want to be free--to escape from my evil master, Matiko. I want him gone forever. I wish he were dead. 

I suppose that is three things, isn't it?

What I can barely admit to myself is how much I long to know who I am and where I belong. I want family, friends, and love. I hope this isn't too much to wish for, but I fear it is. If there is anyway that I could have it all, well, I suppose I'd be willing to give up just about anything for that.

Enter below for some really AWESOME stuff! The giveaway is open internationally, and one winner (randomly drawn) will receive:

·      A signed copy of Songstone (Paperback)

·      A sea glass necklace with turtle charm 

·      A $10 Dairy Queen gift card (U.S.) or a $10 Amazon.com gift card (international)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Book 

Kita can meld song into stone. In a world with no written word, storytelling—the ability to meld (or magically impress) song into stone—is greatly honored. The village honors her master as their medicine man, but Kita knows he's secretly a sorcerer who practices black magic using drops of her blood. She fears he’ll use her beautiful gift for a killing spell, so she conceals it from him. Each day, his magic tightens around her neck like a rope. His spells blind the villagers, so they can’t see him for what he really is.

Not that anyone would want to help her. She was found in the forest as a baby and would have died if a village girl hadn't brought her home. But the villagers saw Kita's unusual coloring and decided she belonged to the mysterious tribe who lives in the forests of the volcano, a people feared for their mystical powers. So they fear her too. Now seventeen, she can barely admit her deepest longing: to know who she really is and where she belongs.

Then Pono, a young journeyman, arrives from the other side of the island. He's come to fulfill a pact between their villages: to escort a storyteller back to his village—a storyteller who'll be chosen at the great assembly. Finally, in Pono, Kita sees her one slim chance at freedom and she'll risk her life to take it.

A dark, twisty tale of sorcery, tummy-tingling romance, and adventure, inspired by the folklore of New Zealand's Māori people.

About the Author

Lena lives in a scenic small town in Massachusetts with her husband, two kids, and a very spoiled Black Lab. She writes fiction for young adults, mostly light fantasy with a healthy dose of "sigh-worthy" romance. You can visit her online at www.lenagoldfinch.blogspot.com.

Author’s Links

Website: http://lenagoldfinch.blogspot.com

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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4412038.Lena_Goldfinch

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