Fast 5 with Tom Crosshill

I'm so happy to welcome author Tom Crosshill onto the blog for a quick Q&A we call Fast 5 so we can all get know him a bit better!

Last book you read:

GRIT by Angela Duckworth. I've always been a big believer that perseverance is more important than talent. Duckworth has the science to back this up. Hugely inspirational for anyone looking to achieve something in life.

Last trip you took:

 The flight home to Riga, Latvia from Cuba! I only recently returned from a 9 month stay in Havana studying Afro-Cuban dance at the Instituto Superior de Arte (an experience equal parts exhausting and exhilarating). I'll be back!

Favorite quote:

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a person in possession of an electronic device, must be in want of a cat video.”" -- Jane Austin

Favorite bookish moment:

Discovering a new book that absolutely, totally blows me away. This is very hard to accomplish because, as a writer, I read very analytically. It is rare that a book manages to captivate me to a degree where I forget to analyze and just enjoy. Some books that have accomplished this in recent years: THE NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss, REPLAY by Ken Grimwood, VITA NOSTRA by Sergei & Marina Dyachenko, THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Diaz, and a few others.

Best moment as an author:

Aside from the pleasure inherent in creating something new, one of my greatest pleasures as a writer is experiencing other artists' interpretations of my stories. Whether this is an audiobook or an illustration, it is wonderful to see someone else create art on the basis of my dreams and fancies. The wonderful cover art of THE CAT KING OF HAVANA by Mia Nolting is a great example. So cool! 

ABOUT THE CAT KING OF HAVANA:

Rick Gutierrez is . . . the Cat King of Havana! A cat-video tycoon turned salsa-dancer extraordinaire, he’ll take Cuba by storm, romance the girl of his dreams, and ignite a lolcat revolution!

At least that’s the plan.

It all starts when his girlfriend dumps Rick on his sixteenth birthday for uploading cat videos from his bedroom when he should be out experiencing the real world. Known as “That Cat Guy” at school, Rick isn’t cool and he knows it. He realizes it’s time for a change.

Rick decides joining a salsa class is the answer . . . because of a girl, of course. Ana Cabrera is smart, friendly, and smooth on the dance floor. Rick might be half-Cuban, but he dances like a drunk hippo. Desperate to impress Ana, he invites her to spend the summer in Havana. The official reason: learning to dance. The hidden agenda: romance under the palm trees.

Except Cuba isn’t all sun, salsa, and music. There’s a darker side to the island. As Rick and Ana meet his family and investigate the reason why his mother left Cuba decades ago, they learn that politics isn’t just something that happens to other people. And when they find romance, it’s got sharp edges. 

LINKS: Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | iBooks

ABOUT TOM CROSSHILL:

Tom Crosshill's fiction has been nominated for the Nebula Award (thrice) as well as the Latvian Annual Literature Award. His stories have appeared in venues such as Clarkesworld, Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Lightspeed. In 2009, he won the Writers of the Future contest. After some years spent in Oregon and New York, he currently lives in his native Latvia. In the past, he has operated a nuclear reactor, translated books and worked in a zinc mine, among other things. 

Tom's young adult novel "The Cat King of Havana" is forthcoming from Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins) in 2016.

LINKS: Website | Twitter

Tour Schedule:

Week 1:

8/29: That Artsy Reader Girl - Best Cat Videos

8/30: Rebelle Reads - Review

8/31: Pondering the Prose - Playlist

9/1: He Said Books or Me - Review

9/2: The Story Sanctuary - Top 10

Week 2:

9/5: Lekeisha the Book Nerd - Review

9/6: The Irish Banana Review - Fast 5

9/7: One Night Book Stand - Review

9/8: Little Reds Reviews - Cat Kings of Little Reds Reviews (Cat Video)

9/9: Live to Read - Review

Giveaway:

3 Finished Copies of THE CAT KING OF HAVANA (US Only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway