Today we have a wonderfully exciting post – and interview with Daughter 4254’s wonderful author, Leigh Statham. I’m so excited to have this post up today – please enjoy!
DAUGHTER 4254 Blog Tour Assets
About The Book
Title: DAUGHTER 4254
Author: Leigh Statham
Pub. Date: December 5, 2017
Publisher: Owl Hollow Press
Pages: 286
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Find it: Amazon, iBooks, The Kings English (exclusive signed copies), Goodreads
Daughter4254 used to think life in a community where art, music and names are outlawed would suffocate her creative spirit. Now that she’s rotting in a prison cell, she’s not sure her dying mother made the right choice when she entrusted her with the secrets of rebellion. Prison has given her plenty of time to relive every mistake and lose all hope.
Then she meets Thomas, a fellow inmate, who tells her stories of the mythical mountain colonies where people have names and the arts thrive. Together they plot an escape, knowing if they fail, they will die. Or worse, their consciousness will be taken by the MindWipe, leaving their bodies free for the government to use. When nothing goes as planned, Daughter4254 must choose between using her mother’s secret to better the world she hates, or following Thomas to the quiet life of freedom she has always craved.
About Leigh:
Leigh Statham was raised in the wilds of rural Idaho but found her heart in New York City. She worked at many interesting jobs before settling in as a mother and writer.
She now resides in North Carolina with her husband, four children, eight chickens, a fluffy dog, and two suspected serial killer cats.
Leigh is currently working on an MFA, has written countless short stories, and is the author of lots of mediocre poetry. She is also the winner of the 2016 Southeast Review Narrative Nonfiction Prize for her short story “The Ditch Bank and the Fenceline.”
Website |Twitter |Instagram | Facebook | Wattpad| Goodreads
Giveaway Details:
1 winner will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card, US Only.
2 winners will receive a finished copy of DAUGHTER 4254, US only.
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Was there a particular book/series/author that inspired you to start writing?
Yes! I read Madeline L’Engle like a fiend in elementary school. I loved ALL her books and once I found the L’Engle section of the library I was gone. I wrote her a letter once and mailed it to her publisher. I remember clearly typing up a list of questions on my Snoopy typewriter, things like “Where do you get your ideas?” My mom tried to gently tell me not to expect a reply, but she wrote back and answered my questions in a numbered list. It was one of the best days of my childhood. I would give anything to find that letter in an old box somewhere.
Was there a specific moment that inspired Daughter 4254?
I like to go on long runs in the early mornings and the idea for this book first came to me while I was running and pondering an issue my son was having. I play “what if” a lot when I run. Everything from “What if I won the lottery?” to “What if a bad guy jumps out from behind the next bush?” A lot of my stories are born that way.
Do you draw inspiration from pop culture (TV shows, Video Games, Movies, etc.), and if so, which ones?
I do. And when you read the book you’ll see a lot of those elements mentioned specifically. Gone with the Wind is a big player in this book, as is Marion Gold. He is the lead singer for a band called Alphaville that was really popular in the 80’s. I love obscure pop culture stuff, especially from the 20th century. I love to plant little Easter eggs throughout my books no matter what I’m writing about. I think people who know me well can find them easily. Others might not even notice them at all.
If you could live anywhere (any time, era, and place), where would it be?
I would live in the future in a SpaceX colony on Mars with Elon Musk. I have a huge crush on him.
If you had 24 hours to do ANYTHING you wanted, what would you do?
I would want to visit somewhere exotic. I’ve always dreamed of traveling to all seven continents. Maybe I would knock Antarctica off the list and say hello to the penguins. 24 hours sounds about right for a trip down there.
You’re trapped on an island, but are allowed to bring one person, one food item, and one object. What are your choices?
One person: I would have to say my son Evan. He’s an adventurer and loves roughing it as much as I do. I could see us putting together a pretty awesome shelter and climbing trees and stuff.
One food item: A bottle of ginger beer. The really spicy kind. That’s usually my reward when I’ve had a particularly rough deadline or big accomplishment. I would split it with Evan after we built our shelter and then we could use the bottle for something else.
One Object: A really big, sharp knife! I’m a realist. We’re going to need a knife to cut our coconuts.
What was the most difficult part of writing Daughter 4254?
The hardest part was deciding how to tell the story. I wrote it with flashbacks and in a straight timeline. I ultimately decided to keep the alternating viewpoints because I felt like it made the whole story more engaging. Plus we get more of Thomas sooner!