100 Followers Day 6- Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold by Ian Reading- Review, Interview and Giveaway

Author: Iain Reading
Publication Date: December 2012
Part of A Series?- Book 1 in the Kitty Hawk Series
Review Copy: Paperback via the Publisher
Blurb Description: Kitty Hawk, an intrepid teenage pilot with her own De Havilland Beaver seaplane and a nose for mystery and intrigue. A cross between Amelia Earhart, Nancy Drew and Pippi Longstocking, Kitty is a quirky young heroine with boundless curiosity and a knack for getting herself into all kinds of precarious situations.

After leaving her home in the western Canadian fishing village of Tofino to spend the summer in Alaska studying humpback whales Kitty finds herself caught up in an unforgettable adventure involving stolen gold, devious criminals, ghostly shipwrecks, and bone-chilling curses. Kitty's adventure begins with the lingering mystery of a sunken ship called the Clara Nevada and as the plot continues to unfold this spirited story will have armchair explorers and amateur detectives alike anxiously following every twist and turn as they are swept along through the history of the Klondike Gold Rush to a suspenseful final climatic chase across the rugged terrain of Canada's Yukon, the harsh land made famous in the stories and poems of such writers as Jack London, Robert Service and Pierre Berton. It is a riveting tale that brings to glorious life the landscape and history of Alaska's inside passage and Canada's Yukon, as Kitty is caught up in an epic mystery set against the backdrop of the scenery of the Klondike Gold Rush.

**GIVEAWAY**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**INTERVIEW**

How does it feel to have the Kitty Hawk Series out there for the world to read?

It is actually a really great feeling.  One of the things that I love most about putting these books out there is the feedback I get from various readers.  It is fascinating to see what aspects of each book resonate with readers and I can say that quite often the feedback I hear has inspired me and pushed the future stories into different directions than I had originally planned.  In that sense it's like a collaboration between author and reader.  So...  if you read the books and happen to find anything about them particularly interesting, then don't be scared to post some reviews on Amazon saying how you feel.

What inspired you to write the book?

It was the Kitty Hawk character herself who inspired me to write this book.  After the idea originally came to me (and I Googled it to be sure that no one else already had come up with it) I felt myself pulled more and more each day to write Kitty Hawk's world into existence.  She had a life of her own from the very start and was quite impatient to get going on her adventures.

Tell us a little about your main character:

Kitty Hawk is a really great lead character and one that I admire very much.  She is a pilot – an excellent one at that – with her own De Havilland Beaver seaplane that she's using to fly around the world.  Every stop along the way brings her to new places, cultures, landscapes...  and of course, new mysteries for her to solve.  She has kind of a knack for getting herself into trouble and finding mystery.

Do you follow a writing schedule- or have a writing spot? (Please elaborate with pictures if possible)

The closest thing to a schedule that I follow when writing is to try and pace myself every day so that I take a walk and thinking about where the story is going for the next few thousand words.  Having that sorted out in my head, I then sit down to actually write it.  The key thing being to never write further than I have already sort of gone over in my head.  And I wish that I had a nice writing spot, but I am afraid it's just a regular old IKEA desk with a run-down old Dell computer sitting on it.

What is your opinion on negative reviews?

I think that negative reviews can be very disheartening to receive.  But I can honestly say that I often don't disagree with some of them.  The negative points that some reviewers have made are often things that I myself feel that my books could probably be a little stronger on.  But I always say that a person can only write the book that they are capable or writing, as much as they might WANT to write something bigger, faster, better, stronger, whatever.  

If Kitty Hawk were turned into a movie, you dream cast would be:

Oh, it would be so amazing to see a Kitty Hawk movie!  I would really love to see her little red and white plane soaring through the skies of Alaska, the Florida Keys and beyond.  And people often ask who I think would make a great Kitty Hawk.  And I usually answer that I really have no idea.  I can't really think of any actress who would really 100% fit the role.  Perhaps there is someone perfect out there dreaming of being a movie star as much as I would dream of having the books turned into movies.  And that actress is probably absolutely perfect.

**MY REVIEW**

When Iain Reading's publicist emailed me a review request, I felt like I was going back to my Nancy Drew days! Those days when the only thing I could and would see were my yellow hardbound books, and nothing else!

So, when my review copy finally arrived in the mail, I shrieked and got to reading right away! 

Just a Gist: My initial premise, about 50 pages into the book- was that Kitty Hawk is a somewhat more grown-up and modern Nancy Drew- but BRILLIANT just the same.

Kitty herself was a perfect character- with her confidence, up- for- anything spirit (sushi!) with a kind hearted and helpful attitude,  and even her flaws that Iain Reading portrayed perfectly- with the tiny doubts in the back of her mind about her decisions- and even her being tongue tied around boys (Edward Cullen- hilarious!)

Never before have I seen so much detail in a book- so much research put in that I actually felt like I was flying over the oceans with Kitty! The history, the accuracy and even Edward- everything was just BRILLIANT!

I can't really say much, but it did take a while for me to get into the book- mostly because of the minuscule font, but a great read- that I can't talk much about without giving something away!

My Verdict:

I can't WAIT to get my hands on the next few books!