The Conspiracy of Us

by Maggie Hall

This past Friday, March 6, 2015, Marcy and I posted our answers to Maggie’s debut novel The The Conspiracy of Us. Today, you get to read Maggie’s favorite's. 

Terrific answers, Maggie! We can’t wait for our readers to read the novel. And hopefully to give us a few of their favorites, too. 

1. What is your favorite line or paragraph from the novel as it relates to the main character's development and/or growth?

There’s a point in the story where Avery starts to realize exactly what a mess she’s gotten herself into. Until then, she’s been a little naive, not quite understanding how serious the situation is. But now, she realizes that her life is in danger. She’s in trouble, and she needs to make a real plan, and needs to not freak out about everything she’s just learned: 

If I was going to fall apart, I’d have to do it some other time. 

2) What is your favorite chapter ending or cliffhanger?

Ooh, this is a tough one. I love ending chapters on cliffhangers, so there are a lot of these! 

Unfortunately, most of them are way too spoilery to list here. This one is kind of spoilery, but still pretty early on in the book:

He pulled out something that, for a moment, didn’t register. It was too discordant with the marble floors, the dresses, the Bach chiming from the speakers. He stepped toward me, and the overhead light glinted off the object.

Then I knew, but I still didn’t understand.

It was a knife.

3) Who is your favorite secondary character and why? 

I count Avery, Jack, and Stellan as the three main characters, so other than them? I love Luc. He’s so fully entrenched in the world of the Circle, and yet so sweet and innocent at the same time. And he’s funny! But not always on purpose, which is my favorite. 

4) What is your favorite line or paragraph of description?

I loved writing all the Istanbul scenes—it’s such a rich, intriguing city, and that was so fun to try to capture. But one of my favorite paragraphs of description isn’t exactly about setting:

Istanbul had always been a crossroads city. A crossroads between Europe and Asia. A crossroads of Christianity and Islam, like the Hagia Sophia itself. A crossroads between ancient and conservative, like that museum, and modern and anything but conservative, like this club.

I squeezed the shoulder strap of my bag, wondering what kind of crossroads the city would be for me tonight.

5) What is your favorite line of dialogue?

There’s a scene where Avery is talking to Stellan, pretty early on. He’s been annoying her since they got to France, but all of a sudden he says something that really resonates with her:

“Toska.” He leaned forward, too. “It’s a Russian word. It has no translation into any other language, but the closest I’ve heard is the ache. A longing. The sense that something is missing, and even if you’re not sure what it is, you ache for it. Down to your bones.”

Bio: Maggie Hall indulges her obsession with distant lands and far-flung adventures as often as she can. She has played with baby tigers in Thailand, learned to make homemade pasta in Italy, and taken thousands of miles of trains through the vibrant countryside of India. In her past life, she was a bookstore events coordinator and marketing manager, and when she's not on the other side of the world, she lives with her husband and their cats in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she watches USC football and dabbles in graphic design.

To read more about Maggie Hall’s debut novel THE CONSPIRACY OF US please go to:

Website:  http://www.maggiehall.com/

Blog:  http://www.maggiehall.com/

Instagram:  https://instagram.com/maggieehall/

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/maggie_hall/the-conspiracy-of-us/

Tumblr:  http://maggieehall.tumblr.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/maggieehall/

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/The-Conspiracy-Us-Maggie-Hall/dp/0399166505

Good Reads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17134589-the-conspiracy-of-us

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-conspiracy-of-us-maggie-hall/1119671351?ean=9780399166501

IndieBound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780399166501

First Friday - Five Favorite Things - Debut Novel Day

by Dave Amaditz and
Marcy Collier

Welcome to March’s version of - First Friday - Five Favorite Things - Debut Novel Day. In this monthly series, we ask five simple questions about a debut novel that will hopefully entice anyone reading this post to pick up the novel and read it themselves, and/or give them at a glance some insight into the author's writing style and voice as well as how some of the characters might think or act. We do this by presenting, first, answers to our Five Favorite Things, followed by the author's answers in a follow-up post.

This month we're pleased to highlight debut novelists, Maggie Hall and her novel, The Conspiracy of Us. Avery’s world is turned upside down when she discovers she and her family are part of the Circle of Twelve, a group of families who control the world.

1) What is your favorite line or paragraph from the novel as it relates to the main character's development and/or growth?

Dave – Avery wanted nothing more than to find her father and to discover what it was like to not be alone until she did and realized the world he belonged to wasn’t the stuff of dreams.

I stared at the dress hanging on the wall. It was ivory, with a V-neck and a delicate lace overlay. It was beautiful. It made me want to throw up.

Out in the regular world, some girls might see this place, think of the clothes and the balls and the fact that they would be literally in charge of what went on in the world, and sign on the dotted line.

I glanced up at the iron work across the windows. The Circle might be a beautiful, gilded cage, but it was still a cage. Even before I knew about them, my whole life had been about running from them. They’d taken my past, and now they wanted my future.

Marcy –  Avery always wanted to find her father. She has never given up. At this point in the story, Avery realizes her wish may be fulfilled.

I looked up at the sky. “I used to have a star wish,” I said.

Jack looked up.

“My father. I wanted him to come back more than I wanted anything else in the world. My mom told me he left us when I was a baby, but still, he was every wish when I was little.”

2) What is your favorite chapter ending or cliffhanger?

Dave - I picked this particular chapter ending from later in the novel because Avery had just become somewhat comfortable in her new world with Jack, a Keeper, a bodyguard and servant-of sorts, to the ruling families of the Circle of Twelve. I practically ripped the page to see what happened next.

And then, I heard the most frightening thing I’d ever heard.

A key, turning the lock on my bedroom door.

Marcy –  Wow, I actually picked the same, chapter ending as Dave, so I’ll go with my next favorite.

He pulled out something that, for a moment, didn’t register. It was too discordant with the marble floors, the dresses, the Bach chiming from the speakers. He stepped toward me, and the overhead light glinted off the object.

Then I knew, but still didn’t understand.

It was a knife.

3) Who is your favorite secondary character and why?

Dave – Jack is most definitely my favorite secondary character. Because he is a Keeper for the Circle of Twelve, he knows he risks severe punishment by getting involved with Avery. Still, he says the following during a discussion with Avery even though he is drawn to her.

“I’m aware of the consequences of everything I do.”

Marcy –  I also fell in love with Jack from the very beginning of the story when we just think he’s the new kid in school. The one asking her to the prom.

“It’s just that – I was wondering –“ Jack rubbed the compass tattoo on his forearm with his opposite thumb, like a nervous habit. Then he looked up at me from under his lashes, his gray eyes unbearably hopeful, and I melted into a puddle on the dirty hallway floor. “I wanted to see if you’d like to go. With me.”

4) What is your favorite line or paragraph of description?

Dave - I picked this section from early in the novel. I think it highlights well Avery’s feelings and why she is hesitant to get close to anyone.

The thing is, being lonely is like walking into the cold without a coat. It’s uncomfortable, eventually you go numb. Once you get used to not being lonely, though, the shock of going back is like having your down comforter yanked off at six o’clock on the Minnesota December morning.

Marcy –  Avery has arrived at Prada – in Paris. The store has been shut down so she can shop. This is an amazing scene. The descriptions of the dresses she tries on makes me feel like I’m watching Avery spin in front of the dressing room mirrors.

The dress was nothing like the silver one. If that one had been storms, this was sunlight. It glowed against my dark hair, and hugged my body all the way down, from the plunging halter neckline to the flouncy mermaid hem. I ran my hands over my hips, and my reflection glittered.

5) What is your favorite line of dialogue?

Dave - I picked this line because I think it gives a little more insight into Avery’s character. She’s explaining to Jack why she doesn’t make wishes.

“Because it’s worse to wish for something that’s never going to happen and then be disappointed than to never wish for anything at all,” I said, studying my chipped toenail polish.

Marcy –  Stellan is an intricate and complex character. He and Avery are talking, and she asks why he carries both a gun and a knife. His reply shows the readers a lot about his character.

“It takes more effort to kill with a dagger.” He rebuttoned his jacket. “You have to do it on purpose. Guns make it too easy.”

To read more about Maggie Hall’s The Conspiracy of Us debut novel please go to:

Website:  http://www.maggiehall.com/

Blog:  http://www.maggiehall.com/

Instagram:  https://instagram.com/maggieehall/

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/maggie_hall/the-conspiracy-of-us/

Tumblr:  http://maggieehall.tumblr.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/maggieehall/

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/The-Conspiracy-Us-Maggie-Hall/dp/0399166505

Good Reads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17134589-the-conspiracy-of-us