Today I’m excited to participate in the Creative Blog Tour for Kill or Cure by Pixie Britton hosted by MTMC Tours! Kill or Cure is the gut-wrenching first book in the Kill or Cure post-apocalyptic dystopian teen fiction series. If you like feisty young heroines, struggles against chaos, and teenage love, then you’ll adore Pixie Britton’s action-packed trilogy! The ebook is ON SALE for 99c during the tour!
Thank you so much, MTMC, for having me on this tour.
Synopsis – Kill Or Cure by Pixie Britton
- Title: Kill or Cure
- Author: Pixie Britton
- Series: Kill or Cure #1
- Publishing Date: February 8, 2018
- Genres: YA Dystopian
Purchase a copy: Amazon | Audible | Book Depository
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She’s on a desperate quest to protect her family. But will defending them save the planet or result in her doom?
Alyx Silverthorne’s broken world is falling apart. With her parents dead and her little brother Tommy infected, she fears she’s about to lose everything that matters. But when her beloved sibling dies and returns to life stronger than before, their only choice is a dangerous cross-country journey to the capital for answers.
Teaming up with her deserter uncle and the best friend in love with her, they arrive at a secret military base wondering if Tommy is in fact the cure. But the affection of a strapping young soldier is cold comfort when his sinister commander takes a terrifying interest in her family.
Will Alyx survive the lies of the living or be consumed by the mouths of the dead?
Kill or Cure is the gut-wrenching first book in the Kill or Cure post-apocalyptic dystopian teen fiction series. If you like feisty young heroines, struggles against chaos, and teenage love, then you’ll adore Pixie Britton’s action-packed trilogy.
Kill Or Cure by Pixie Britton – Audiobook Trailer:
The audiobook edition:
Meet The Audiobook Narrator: Shakira Shute
How do you select a book to narrate? Do you prefer a specific genre or types of characters?
I actually select books to narrate in a similar way to selecting books I want to read for pleasure. The first thing is the quality of the writing, and whether I am being effortlessly drawn into the author’s world. I love reading and writing (almost as much as I love narrating and performing) and I want that passion to be evident in the work I do. If the writing is clunky and awkward, then that can come across in the narration, and/or it will just make my job incredibly difficult and not very enjoyable!
Do you read a book several times before you record the audio?
I do. My first reading is to discover the story, then I go back with my notebook, pens, highlighters, and tabs and start to mark up the manuscript. I like to highlight where there is dialogue, where there is a direction in the text as to how something should be said, and I also make notes on each character during that second reading.
There will be clues in the text, and I will start to have ideas about how they should sound. When I come to finally narrating the book, I want to know those characters intimately and be able to switch between their voices without hesitation.
How do you decide on the specific voice and tone to do for each character?
This comes with the multiple readings of the text. Whenever I read books, be it for work or for pleasure, I always have the different characters’ voices in my head. The process of preparing for narration, for me, is figuring out how to bring those voices in my head to life.
I don’t usually discuss character voice choices with the author, unless there is something very specific or unusual about a particular character. For example, in the second book in the Kill or Cure series, which is currently in production, there is a character who has a very specific accent. I pre-recorded a couple of samples for Pixie to approve/decide on before I began recording the book.
Do you have a ritual or routine you do before sitting down to record the audio (such as anything to strengthen your vocal cords)?
Absolutely. I have to warm up my voice and vocal cords before I begin recording. I also have to be careful about what I eat and drink before I head into my recording studio, otherwise my voice can sound claggy and thick.
I like to start the day with plenty of water, and then I’ll make myself a special herbal tea or a warm lemon and honey to help coat my throat. Once I’m in my studio I’ll do some tongue twisters and vocal warm-ups before I hit the record button. Ooo and not forgetting my trusty lip balm to stop any mouth clicks!
Is there a scene you just loved to narrate? Is there a scene that was especially difficult to narrate?
Wow, that first one is hard! Ha! There were so many moments that I enjoyed. I love all Will’s sarcastic comments throughout. They were fun to do. And I love the opening scenes of the book, where Pixie so beautifully sets the scene of this world. Perhaps oddly, I also really enjoyed narrating the incredibly emotional final chapters.
The second question is far easier to answer. It was, without doubt, the scenes in the chapter Monster in the Darkness, where Ally and Bobby are in the shipping container. That was harrowing and exhausting to perform. Narrating in first person narrative means you effectively have to become that character. And, in this particular scene, that meant going to a very dark place.
Thank you so much, Shakira, for discussing your process. I very much enjoyed listening to this book, so it’s nice to have a bit of the Behind The Scenes!
HERE IS A SNEAK PEEK OF THE AUDIOBOOK! LISTEN TO THE FIRST CHAPTER – NARRATED BY SHAKIRA HERSELF.
What you should know about Kill Or Cure in Gifs
First and foremost, I really enjoyed this book. It’s an action-packed dystopian adventure with very high stakes. When I started this book, I had a Walking Dead vibe. In all honesty, I’m a bit squeamish and I was never able to watch that show without feeling nauseous.
While this book definitely has a zombie vibe, walking dead style, and is gore at times, it never bothered me. The author kept it to a minimum. Enough to understand the stakes, and not too much that it turns into a horror story.
I mentioned high stakes. The threats in this book come from everywhere, and this definitely keeps you on your toes. Grief, violence, and life or death situations are very present in this book. This book has many dark moments, but the author is able to diffuse (sort of) some of the worst situations with an amazing cast of characters.
I also want to mention several trigger warnings here with grief, death, violence, and a rape attempt.
The main characters are very personable. There is a strong sense of family. The love/strong family bond is palpable on every page, which led to some heartwarming and heart-wrenching moments. Again, the author did a great job there.
There are some nice twists and turns in this book, but I’m not here to spoil it to you. I just hope you’ll enjoy the book.
ALREADY READ IT? HERE IS THE TRAILER FOR THE NEXT BOOK.
International Tour-Wide Giveaway
Enter the rafflecopter below to win a paperback copy of KILL OR CURE. Open internationally! (And make sure to grab a copy of the ebook which is on sale for 99c during the tour!)
a Rafflecopter giveawayHere is the link to the giveaway in case.
About the author: Pixie Britton
Pixie Britton is an Amazon best-selling author, occasional podcaster and public speaker. When she’s not writing her debut YA series, Kill or Cure, she’s working with local schools running creative writing workshops and taking pictures of her cat.
Her author career started on the social media platform Wattpad, where her debut novel gained 100k reads within five months. Shortly after, she approached Troubador publishing in the UK and subsequently published the Kill or Cure series.
She lives in a small town outside of London called Leigh-on-sea with her husband and adorable fur baby Pudding. As an all-round book nerd and fan girl, she loves to discuss Stranger Things, The Handmaids Tale, The Walking Dead and any film in the Marvel Universe.
Follow the tour!
February 8 – Paperfury
February 9 – The Book View
February `10 – Melancholic Blithe
February 11 – The Reader and the Chef
February 12 – Books, Tea, Healthy Me
February 13 – L.M. Durand’s Little Book Corner
February 14 – Books on the Bookshelf
February 15 – Sprinkled With Words
February 16 – Yours A-fiction-ately
February 17 – Vanilla Moon Books
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This is perfect, loved your review with gifs and the narrator interview is amazing! Also, your bookstagram photo is so pretty 📚✨
Thank you!! 😊 and thank you for having me on this tour. It was a lot of fun!
Yaay, I also enjoyed reading Kill our Cure, glad you did too. That ending! 😭💔 Love your photo!!!
Thank you! It was a great story for sure.