When I got the email invite to read S.T.A.G.S. by M.A. Bennett and take part in a blog tour, I was pretty excited. Secret society type stories are my jam and I loved the synopsis and creepy cover, so I couldn’t wait to read it.
Before we get to my interview with the author, let’s check out the book!
Title: S.T.A.G.S.
Author: M.A. Bennett
Pages: 304
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pub Date: January 30, 2018
Find it: PRH | Indiebound | B&N | Amazon | GoodreadsDonna Tartt’s The Secret History meets Pretty Little Liars in this propulsive, edge-of-your-seat novel that explores just how far the elite at an English boarding school will go to maintain the social order.
There’s no point hunting if there’s no kill.
At St. Aidan the Great School, or S.T.A.G.S., new things–and new people–are to be avoided. Unfortunately, Greer MacDonald, token scholarship student, is very much a new person. She has just transferred to S.T.A.G.S., and finds herself ignored at best and mocked at worst by the school’s most admired circle of friends, the Medievals.
So imagine Greer’s surprise when this very group invites her to an exclusive weekend retreat at the private estate of the parents of their unofficial leader, Henry de Warlencourt. It’s billed as a weekend of “huntin’ shootin’ fishin’,” and rumor has it that the invitee who most impresses the group will be given the privilege of becoming a Medieval themselves.
As the weekend begins to take shape, however, it becomes apparent that beyond the luxurious trappings–the fancy clothes the maid lays out on Greer’s bed, the elaborate multi-course dinners held in the Great Hall–there are predators lurking, and they’re out for blood. . . .
Sounds good, right?
1. Please give the elevator pitch for S.T.A.G.S.
Nine teens. Three bloodsports. One deadly weekend.
2. What sparked the idea?
I was brought up in the grounds of a big stately home in the north of England, where there used to be a lot of shooting parties. I wondered what it would be like if a bunch of privileged kids had a shooting party one weekend with no adults around…
3. Why do you love Greer and why should we root for her?
Because she isn’t perfect. Despite her wry, sardonic manner she is just as seduced by the upper-class British lifestyle as anyone else in the novel. She has to learn to stop being the cynical outsider and care about her friends before she can escape the danger she’s in.
4. What was the weirdest things you googled while researching?
How to cut up a dead deer!
5. Without spoilers, what was your favorite scene to write?
It involves a fancy dinner, and a story about a tiger…
Speed {ish} round:
1. You find out that you’re being published for the first time. Describe the next 5 minutes.
If I recall correctly, I jumped up and down screaming. Then I called everyone I knew.
2. What three things would you take to a desert island?
Oo that’s so funny that you should ask, as my next book is about a desert island! My answer would be my husband, son and daughter.
3. You can only read one book for the rest of your life. What is it?
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. A great story of revenge and redemption.
4. What book character would you want to date and who would you want to be your BFF?
I would date Prince Caspian from the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis, because in my head he looks just like Ben Barnes in the film adaptation. Also you’d get a whole kingdom with talking animals – what’s not to like? As my BFF I would have Emma Woodhouse from Jane Austen’s Emma, because it would be fun watching her attempt to match-make all my friends.
5. What is one thing about publishing you wish someone would have told you?
That it can sometimes take someone as long to write you a cheque as it took you to write an entire book.
6. You wake up and discover you are Bella in Twilight. You know how it plays out. What do you do differently? {Huge thanks to Bookish Broads for letting me use this question!}
That first morning when she sees Edward in the parking lot: I would get straight back in the car and drive away.
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M. A. Bennett is half Venetian and was born in Manchester, England, and raised in the Yorkshire Dales. She is a history graduate of Oxford University and the University of Venice, where she specialized in the study of Shakespeare’s plays as a historical source.
After university she studied art and has since worked as an illustrator, an actress, and a film reviewer. She also designed tour visuals for rock bands, including U2 and the Rolling Stones. She was married on the Grand Canal in Venice and lives in north London with her husband, son, and daughter.
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Huge thanks to Delacorte Press for the invite and to MA Bennett for taking the time! And be sure to check out the rest of the blog tour {listed below} for all sorts of goodies!
S.T.A.G.S. releases on January 30, 2018.
Tour Schedule
22-Jan – Adventures of a Book Junkie
23-Jan – Cracking the Cover
24-Jan – Beauty, Brains
25-Jan – Batch of Books
26-Jan – A Backwards Story
29-Jan – A Midsummer Night’s Read
30-Jan – BookCrushin
31-Jan – I’m Shelf-ish
1-Feb – By Valia Lind
2-Feb – Jessabella Reads
5-Feb – Book Briefs
6-Feb – A Reading Nurse
7-Feb – Bookish Things & More
8-Feb – Blogging Bout Books
9-Feb – Evie-Bookish
Yesss. This cover looks so awesome :D And gorgeous interview post too. <3 Thank you so much for sharing Stacee :) I'm curious about this book. Sounds full of murder and awesome.
OOO this synopsis sounds creeptastically fantastic! The idea of humans hunting other humans is always such a thrilling and dark read, and I’m interested to see Bennett’s twist. Cannot wait to read this one!