Rockstar Tours: DON’T (Gabriella Batel), Author Q&A plus Giveaway!~US ONLY

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the DON’T by Gabriella Batel Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: DON’T

Author: Gabriella Batel

Pub. Date: October 31, 2022

Publisher: Crown of
Thorns and Roses Press

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 326

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/DONT 

A heart-pounding debut ready for fans of Cory Anderson’s What
Beauty There Is and Marieke Nijkamp’s This Is Where It Ends.

“This ambitious debut novel…marks this young author as one to
watch.” —Corinna Turner, author of the Carnegie Nominated I Am
Margaret series

Don’t play. I saw you.

Paityn’s awake. Her near-terminal lupus keeps her that way. That’s how she
crosses Tony Suarez again. That’s how she becomes the only witness to something
she wasn’t supposed to see.

The first time, Tony shot Paityn’s stepfather. Now he wants Paityn. He wants to
keep her quiet about what she saw. And the best way to keep Paityn quiet is to
silence her family.

But Paityn’s not going to let Tony touch her family—not while she’s still
alive. And she’s not dead yet.

YABC Q&A

1. What gave you the inspiration to write this book?

The running joke among my family is that every time I have an issue or question about life, I wind up writing a book. It’s true, though, and that’s how Don’t got started. Originally, it was because of a far different issue than when it started. I think it was first inspired because I felt like I didn’t fit in, but as the story developed, I realized I was more interested in the topic that Don’t tackles: why is there pain in the world? And what do we do when everything doesn’t turn out okay, when things just keep getting harder? I translated that question into a medium I would enjoy and connect with (high-stakes thriller) and just started exploring, and that’s how my book was born.

2. Who is your favorite character in the book?

Ooh, that’s a tricky one. They’re all my babies! That said, I think my favorite character is Paityn. She’s so strong but that doesn’t make her hard. I love how she can simultaneously be so stoic and commanding but have the most intensely loving, tender heart inside, and I think that’s what I love the most about her: she feels so much so strongly, and so I get to, too.

3. Which came first, the title or the novel?

Easily the novel. I am notorious for having the hardest time coming up with titles. I went through over one hundred options before settling on Don’t.

4. What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?

I’m most proud of the scene in Chapter 63 with the snowy forest and the man from the cemetery. First, I got to pull out all the stops with creating the atmosphere and setting, and I took a risk doing something a bit genre-bending. Most of all, though, this is where the point of the whole book finally came to a peak. It was a pivotal moment that I could either do right or make way to explanatory and “in your face,” and I feel like I wrote a moment that will leave readers with a satisfied, moved exhale. (And maybe a few happy tears.)

5. Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?

I’ve learned a lot, so it’s hard to pin down what’s the most important, but I’d say it’s probably this: it’s not enough to just have characters, you have to live and breathe them. You have to know and love these people like they actually exist. You have to know their favorite podcast, flavor of gum, and member of BlackPink. You have to know the first time they skinned their knee, that time they messed up a line in their high school senior play but they were so smooth no one could even tell, and that day their mom had a close call in a car accident. When they despise or fear or love someone, so do you, as deeply and immensely as them. And most of all, you have to let them lead. Let them tell you that they like Jisoo and which line they fouled up and who they’re in love with. I know that might sound abstract, but what I’m trying to say is that you can’t steamroll a personality that you decide onto them and make it work. The personality will come to you out of mulling over this person and spending time in your imagination’s scenario. Become friends with them. The plot (a much better lot) will follow.

And then when you feel them, so will the audience.

6. What do you like most about the cover of the book?

First, that gorgeous gradient of red that my designer put on the glass. Second, the FROST! Third, that freakishly cool way that we are seeing part of the title through the glass.

7. What new release book are you looking most forward to in 2024?

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan just came out in January, and I haven’t gotten to it yet, but it sounds mind blowing. It’s about “a Malayan mother who becomes an unlikely spy for the invading Japanese forces during WWII”; the stakes are through the roof, and I know the emotional impact is going to gut me.

On a lighter note, I’m also wildly excited for Serpent Sea by Maiya Ibrahim, the sequel to Spice Road. I loved every single piece of the setting and magic system, every single character relationship, and every single artful word in the first book, so I’m thrilled that the sequel’s finally coming out!

8. What was your favorite book in 2023?

The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He. And I generally don’t even like sci-fi and tropical settings, but this one—oh my goodness, the atmosphere of impending doom, the drive for survival, the betrayal, and the immense sister bond left me starstruck.

9. What’s up next for you?

A sequel! Don’t is a standalone, but I also thought a couple of these characters (and my readers!) deserved an extra chapter, so the second in the series, Done, follows Mercedes and Luiz a couple of years later, when everything is not quite as finished as they think!

And in case you thought the story would be done then, I’ve got two more in the works: one is Don’t through Tristan’s eyes, and the other is an alternate version of Don’t where a few of the characters make a single different decision, and the rest of the story turns out very different.

10. Is there anything that you would like to add?

To all my artists and storytellers (which are basically the same thing) out there:

Have. Fun.

Don’t just stick only to what you’re good at or what you think you’re supposed to be doing. Dip into it all if you want! Write. Draw fanart. Make animations. Go for photography. Try acting. Write some music. Dance. Is it going to be any good the first time? Probably not. I wasn’t. (Have you seen my earliest fanart?) Do it anyway. Do whatever sparks joy, make what you’re passionate about real, create something you wish you could see or hear, and don’t do it for anyone’s approval. Just do it because there’s something bursting inside you and it needs every venue possible to come out.

It’s not going to be pretty the first time, and if it doesn’t do much for you, drop it and try something else. But if you love it, keep going. Learn. Practice. Keep having fun. Keep making what you love. Just do it for the sake of doing it.

Your audience will thank you for it.

11. Which was the most difficult or emotional scene to narrate?

The most emotional scenes were also the most difficult ones—Chapter 55 and Chapter 59, both between Paityn and Tristan—because there is so much raw emotion in them, and I had to work and rework them so many times so that I didn’t waste a single drop of it. Imagine an actor: a scene can inherently be so touching, but if the actor either undersells it or overdoes it to the point of melodrama, you lose the audience and any potential, and then it’s just annoying. So I had to be the actor here, writing each line so that it hit so hard but didn’t feel sappy.

12. Which character gave you the most trouble when writing your latest book?

My boy Luiz in the sequel, Done! I’m always walking a tightrope, striking some kind of tenuous balance with him. I want audiences to love him but not forget that he’s absolutely flawed and made some bad choices in Don’t.  I want him to work through guilt, but not seem self-pitying (or, worse yet, make the audience pity him!). I want him to express emotion but not to the point where it contradicts his naturally hard, stoic personality. And I find that I keep leaning toward writing him like a cinnamon roll, when that’s NOT what I’m going for. He’s got me practicing my balancing act hard!

13. Which part of the writing process do you enjoy more: Drafting or Revising?

Revising. It’s easier for me, takes less time per round (even though I might go through six or seven rounds), and it’s more fun to be almost a spectator,  enjoying the completed story, and sometimes roaster. Every once in a while, get the pleasant surprise of reading a line that I love but don’t remember writing, and I’ll get to squeal over it or cheer. And, more often, I’ll read something that makes me actively cringe, and then I’ll laugh, fix it, and wind up with something much better.

14. What would you say is your superpower?

I have this thing called hyperphantasia where, when I imagine something, I see it so clearly, a crisp, detailed picture in my mind. And then, when I’m trying to create, I am relentless until I can hammer that picture into reality. I guess those two combined are my superpower.

15. Is there an organization or cause that is close to your heart?

Pro-life activism! I love every beautiful baby, and defending the most vulnerable among us, protecting their rights and their precious lives, is SO close to my heart! And with that, empowering women as mothers for that beautiful heartbeat their amazing body made, and supporting those same women who may feel alone. There are a bunch of organizations who work for this, but a couple I know best are Students for Life and Marisol Health.

About Gabriella Batel:

Gabriella
Batel is a vibrant young Catholic woman with an adrenaline craving and a
passion for God, her family, movies, and all things YA fiction. Don’t is her
debut novel, and she’s already working on the next thrill ride.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Goodreads | Amazon

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a signed finished copy of DON’T, US Only.

Ends May 31st, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway