Blog Tour Stop : Hold Me Like a Breath by Tiffany Schimdt

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title : Hold Me Like a Breath (Once Upon a Crime Family #1)
Author : Tiffany Schmidt
Publication Date : May 19th 2015
Publisher : Bloomsbury
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

Penelope Landlow has grown up with the knowledge that almost anything can be bought or sold—including body parts. She’s the daughter of one of the three crime families that control the black market for organ transplants.

Penelope’s surrounded by all the suffocating privilege and protection her family can provide, but they can't protect her from the autoimmune disorder that causes her to bruise so easily.

And in her family's line of work no one can be safe forever.

All Penelope has ever wanted is freedom and independence. But when she’s caught in the crossfire as rival families scramble for prominence, she learns that her wishes come with casualties, that betrayal hurts worse than bruises, that love is a risk worth taking . . . and maybe she’s not as fragile as everyone thinks.

Author Interview

Hi Tiffany! I'm thrilled to have you on Nick's Book Blog today and I'm excited to read Hold Me Like a Breath.

First question, Hold Me Like a Breath involves crime families. While you were researching them, did you come across any fascinating/twisted ones that inspired the crime families in your book?

My biggest takeaway from reading about crime families was – stay away! My research took me through crime families and mafias all around the world… and inspired many, many nightmares. Some of the most fascinating sources I used were the books Speed Tribes by Karl Taro Greenfeld, and Black Mass by Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill.

As for fiction—you can’t beat Holly Black’s The Curse Workers series, or Ally Carter’s Heist Society. If I had to join a crime family, I’d join up with Ally’s Kat and Hale – I love the idea that they can be criminal, but also good. In Hold Me Like a Breath, that’s a concept that’s central to the way Penelope Landlow views the work her Family does—she focuses on the fact that they save people . . . but not on the means they use to decide who deserves saving.

Say you had to pick just one character to stranded with on an island. Who would you pick and why?

Magnolia Grace Vickers. She’s the daughter of one of the rival crime families, and that girl would shout and bluster until the stars themselves came down and formed a boat or arranged their celestial bodies into walkway to get us back to safety. And, in the meantime, she’d be darn entertaining ☺

I absolutely love the cover of Hold Me Like a Breath. Can you tell us how it is representative of the story within?

Thank you! The design team at Bloomsbury did such an excellent job of coming up the imagery and letting me add my input too. I really wanted an anatomical organ on the cover—and kept insisting, “I’m sure you can find a way to make it look pretty.” To their credit, they tried. . . and we’re both happy that idea was rejected ☺.

The butterfly on the cover symbolizes Penelope Landlow’s fragility. The fence represents the one around the Landlow estate—which marks the boundary for where Penny is allowed to go and makes her feel trapped. The blood spatter—well, the only non-spoilery thing I can say about that is, when you’re a part of a crime family, there’s going to be some blood. (And when you’re part of a crime family that traffics in human organs, things can get EXTRA bloody!)

Hold Me Like a Breath, also has what it sounds like a swoony romance! You've written multiple couples by now. Who would you say was your favorite to write?

Man, that’s like asking me to pick a favorite child or a favorite reader – you’re ALL my favorite. If you’re going to make me answer (mean)—then I’ll got with Gyver from Send Me a Sign. Partially because I don’t want to spoil any of the couples in the Once Upon a Crime Family series, and also because my non-superstitious, musical, loyal, (literal) boy-next-door first hero will always own a special place in my heart.

Finally, Hold Me Like a Breath is part of a series. In a tweet (140 characters), what can readers expect next?

Break Me Like a Promise = Sassy, take-no-prisoners heroine. Heartbreak. Big mistakes. Big consequences. Blood. Swoons. Tears. Kisses #TheEnd

Thank you so much for taking your time to answer these questions! Wishing you all the very best with the release of Hold Me Like a Breath.

Thanks so much, Nick! These were really fun questions! I hope you enjoy Hold Me!

Xo,
Tiffany

Author Biography

Tiffany Schmidt is the author of Send Me a Sign, Bright Before Sunrise, and Hold Me Like a Breath. She’s found her happily ever after in Pennsylvania with her saintly husband, impish twin boys, and a pair of mischievous puggles.

AUTHOR LINKS:
Website: http://www.tiffanyschmidt.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4971410.Tiffany_Schmidt
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TiffanySchmidt
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TiffanySchmidtBooks
Tumblr: http://tiffanyschmidtwrites.tumblr.com
Instagram: http://instagram.com/tiffanyschmidt

Giveaway

Prize:
Win (1) finished copy of HOLD ME LIKE A BREATH by Tiffany Schmidt (US Only)
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Be sure to check out the other tour stops here.

Thank you to The Fantastic Flying Book Club for letting me part of the tour.