It is with great pleasure I join the blog tour for Teri Terry and her latest book Black Night Falling, the explosive finale of The Circle Trilogy. I have admired Teri’s books for a long time and I am an avid follower of her writing.

The fate of the natural world lies in the hands of three teenagers. Captured by The Circle, Tabby is taken to their headquarters, Undersea. She learns about their ancient sisterhood, sworn to protect the planet, and that she is one of ‘the Chosen.’

In London, Hayden finds herself at the centre of a coming together of disparate climate change groups. Denzi is missing, and Hayden’s path to finding him is laced with danger. People all around the world are demanding clean air and blue skies, and on the cusp of humanity making change for the good, Tabby, Hayden, and Denzi’s paths draw closer together.

But as old friends arrive to help, old enemies resurface. The Circle’s endgame comes into focus and Tabby, Hayden, and Denzi must race to prevent the destruction ahead. 

Teri kindly agreed to be interviewed for my slot in the blog tour.

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What inspired you to write The Circle trilogy?

A combination of things: I love the sea – I’m obsessed with being around water, much like Tabby;  weird science is totally my thing; and I’m desperately worried about climate change.

What comes first for you, the plot or the characters, and why?

A: This depends on the story. Sometimes they start with a character and a scene and I have no real idea who they are or where the story is going to go (eg. Slated). Other times there is a theme I want to write about (eg. Mind Games) and I develop a story and a character to go with it. And sometimes it all begins with an aspect of weird science that I want to write about (eg. Contagion – anti-matter; The Circle trilogy – using genetic engineering in a particular cohort). But overall, to me the plot comes from the characters, not the other way around.

What was your hardest scene to write in Black Night Falling, and why?

A: Usually endings are the fun part: by the time I get to them I know exactly what is going to happen and why. With The Circle trilogy this was the hardest part. I wanted there to be reasons for hope that humanity could solve the climate crisis, but equally I didn’t want to come up with some easy solution that fixes everything – it’s not the kind of problem where that is possible. I agonised a lot, trying to get the balance right.

Would you and your main character, Tabby, get along? 

Honestly, I don’t know – I can’t picture us in the same world.

Climate change is an important theme throughout The Circle trilogy. If you had to choose one, which of the climate change groups in Black Night Falling would you support?

Hayden’s group is pretty awesome!

Do you have a favourite place to write?

I don’t like to write in noisy, busy places – so cafes or on trains don’t work for me. My favourite places change all the time, but I’ve got a swing seat in the garden that tops the list in this sunny weather.

What writing advice would you give to people aspiring to be a YA book writer?

Read, read, read. Write because you love it. Have another way to pay the bills.

Is there anything else you would like to tell readers about your books and writing for children?

If you like a book – review it. Please! Reviews are so important.

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I would like to thank Teri Terry for agreeing to be a guest on my blog during her blog tour for Black Night Falling. I would also like to thank Hachette Publishing for organising the tour and inviting me to take part. Thank you.

Check out the schedule below to follow and catch up with the rest of the Black Night Falling by Teri Terry tour:

You can find out more about Teri Terry and her books on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/teriterrywrites/, Twitter: http://twitter.com/TeriTerryWrites, Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TeriTerryMe/ and her website is : http://teriterry.com

You can buy copies of Black Night Falling by Teri Terry from your local independent bookseller. They need our support to survive; we need them to ensure a healthy book trade where there is room for all the diversity of reading experiences. Chains and online sellers are also available.