Interview with Luisa Plaja

I'm very fortunate to be able to present to you today an interview with wonder YA author, Luisa Plaja! Luisa, who is the author of Split by a Kiss, Extreme Kissing, and Swapped by a Kiss which will be released 29th April, and the editor of the awesome YA book review blog, Chicklish, answered some questions on Swapped by a Kiss to give us a bit of a taster of what's to come.

Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions about your next release, Luisa! Swapped by a Kiss is the sequel to Split by a Kiss. Can you please tell us a little about it?

Thanks for having me here! OK... In Swapped by a Kiss, the focus is on Rachel, Jo's friend from Split by a Kiss. She leaves her Boston home to surprise her on/off boyfriend David at a British music festival - but she's the one who gets the surprise when she sees him kissing Jo in a dance tent. Rachel has always been jealous of Jo, and she runs away, wishing she could actually be Jo instead of being herself. And then she finds herself back in the dance tent with David – and she’s in Jo's body.

In Split, Jo becomes two versions of herself, each making opposite choices when Jo has to make a decision, and in Swapped, Rachel and Jo swap bodies. How did these storylines come to you?

I didn't set out to write the 'split' in Split by a Kiss - it happened as I was writing. I'd started a book about British/American culture shock, but when I reached the 'kissing a hot boy in a cupboard' scene, I realised Jo's recent experiences could have changed her. I thought she might react in two completely different ways depending on how much she'd decided to adapt to her new friends, and I wanted to try out both reactions, which meant sending my character in two different directions. Then I followed her down each path.

As I wrote Split by a Kiss, I knew there was a lot more I wanted to say about the prickly, outspoken, misunderstood character of Rachel. Her story kept brewing after I completed the book, and I realised that a body swap between Rachel and Jo would be the perfect way to explore Rachel's issues. It fits perfectly because Rachel isn't comfortable in her own skin, because she’s not-so-secretly jealous of Jo - and also because Jo mentions in Split by a Kiss that one of her favourite films is Freaky Friday!

Split by a Kiss has been compared to the movie Sliding Doors by many people, including myself. From reading the summary of Swapped by a Kiss, it’s easy to guess people may make comparisons between the books and the many versions of the movie Freaky Friday. Does it bother you that people do, and may, make these comparisons? Were you inspired by either movie when writing the books?

It doesn't bother me at all - I'd make the comparisons myself! Anyway, no story exists in a vacuum - every single one is influenced by other stories. I think I'm possibly more inspired by books than films, though, in general. Freaky Friday was definitely part of the inspiration for Swapped by a Kiss, but I tend to think of the original Mary Rodgers novel rather than the three movie versions. I read that book hundreds of times as a child! I have seen Sliding Doors, but again I think books were a bigger inspiration for Split by a Kiss - for example, when I started writing it, I'd recently read Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman, the non-fiction book that later inspired the movie Mean Girls. Another book that has always stuck in my mind is one I read when I was a teenager myself: Her Living Image by Jane Rogers. In that book, aimed at adults, a character splits into parallel lives after being hit by a car - or not. There's a crucial difference between the premise of this story (and that of Sliding Doors) and Split by a Kiss, though - Jo's split doesn't happen by chance. She makes a deliberate decision that takes her down two different paths. Where the Sliding Doors story might be shaped by fate and destiny, Jo's story is about the intentional steps she takes due to her wavering sense of identity and self-worth. (Oh, and it’s a comedy!)

With Split, you fell back on your own experiences when writing about Jo, a British girl, living in America. In Swapped, Rachel, one of Jo’s American friends, is narrating the story of her visiting Jo in England. Was it harder for you write about Rachel’s experiences of England than Jo’s experiences of America?

I don't think I had any trouble seeing England as an outsider - I've had a mixed upbringing and England wasn't the first country I lived in. I know a bit about culture shock! I did struggle with Rachel's vocabulary at first, though. In an effort to get it exactly right, I started off being very careful not to let Rachel use a single British idiom. At one stage, I was trawling the internet for every other phrase Rachel used, making sure it had been uttered by someone in the USA at some point. It was taking ages! Then I remembered that Rachel was heavily influenced by being close friends with half-British David for years - in fact, she'd always deliberately copied his language. After that, I relaxed and Rachel's voice came naturally to me.
Do you have any plans to continue writing with these characters? Can we look forward to a third book? And have you decided on a name for this duology, or perhaps – at least – trilogy?

I call them "the kiss books" to myself - but that includes Extreme Kissing which, as you know, is a standalone. I don't know yet whether there will be more books about the Split by a Kiss characters. I always have lots of juicy ideas keeping me up at night, though!

What can we look forward to reading by you next?

I should have another book out in 2011. It should feature a teenage heroine, comedy, romance and possibly some magic. That's all I can say at the moment!

Thank you very much for these really great questions, Jo! It's been a pleasure to be interviewed by you.

Thank you for letting me interview you! So what are you waiting for, pre-order Swapped by a Kiss from The Book Depository now! If you've not yet read the first in the series, you can also buy Split by a Kiss, as well as Luisa's stand alone novel, Extreme Kissing, from The Book Depository, both of which I highly recommend.

Continue reading Interview with Luisa Plaja

I Would Like to Thank the Academy...

I have been extremely lucky to be on the receiving end of a number of awards over the last few weeks, and so now I'm passing them on. I could have passed these awards on earlier, but things happen, and I like to have several in one post rather than several posts. So yes, here are the awards!

First up is the Beautiful Blogger Award, which I received from Lynsey at Narratively Speaking, Melissa of Spellbound by Books, and Paula of WWE Girl. Thank you, ladies! How gorgeous and cute is this award? I love it!





I need to add that Melissa awarded me this award for Ink and Paper, but I'm only posting about this award once - because I haven't come across 30 new bloggers, and there aren't that many interesting/fun/amusing/etc thing about me. So just once.

The rules after you've received the award:

1. Thank and link to the person that gave you the award
2. Pass the award onto 15 bloggers you’ve recently discovered and think are fantastic
3. Contact said blogs and let them know they’ve won
4. State 7 things about yourself

So first off, seven things about me:

1. When I went through my rock chick phase in my late teens, I dyed my hair black. I'm a red-head. You have no idea how awful the regrowth was.
2. Coincidentally, or not, my room is black. Black with metallic silver splatters (the splatters were so much fun, going crazy with a paint covered toothbrush!). I have black carpet, black curtains, and all my duvet covers are either black and white, black and grey/silver, or black, grey and white. My ceiling is white. My room is awesome!
3. I'm super skinny, and really self-concious about it. I'm not a fan of people bringing up my skinny-ness, whether or not they are being complimentary.
4. Today I bought the Twilight in Forks DVD, about the real Forks and the people who live there. Yeah, I know, but I couldn't resist.
5. I'm a little odd because I love my baby photos and home movies of me when I was a kid. I was the cutest little toddler, I don't know what happened ;)
6. I would love to try yoga or line dancing, or some sort of fun way to exercise at some point.
7. My current nickname from my Mum is "Twinkle" - because I'm a star for... doing whatever it is she wants me to do at the time she calls me Twinkle. It makes me smile.

I am going to pass this award on to:

1. Sarah of Sarah's Book Reviews
2. Ryan of Empire of Books
3. J'Adore
4. Caroline of Portrait of a Woman
5. Bobby of Once Upon a Book Blog
6. Rhys of Thirst for Fiction
7. Christina of Reading Extensively
8. Liz of Cleverly Inked
9. The Book Zone
10. Books À La Carte
11. Maria of Maria the Bookworm
12. Dwayne of Girls Without a Bookshelf
13. Leah of YA Corner
14. The Book Hour
15. Emily of Emily and Her Little Pink Slips

Next up is the Bliss (Happy 101) Award from Kathy at Ms. Martin Teaches Media and Christina of Reading Extensively. Thank you so much! This award is just too cute!




The rules are that I must list 10 things that make me happy and then pass it on to 10 bloggers.

My ten happy things:
1. Daisies! Nothing says spring/summer is here like the arrival of daisies. Oh you should see my smile whenever I see a daisy. Such a beautiful flower (or weed, whichever you prefer).
2. Chocolate. Preferably Galaxy.
3. Hanging out with my family - preferably down the pub.
4. Random acts of kindness, whether my own or someone else's.
5. Music. I have a pop princess, a rock chick, and numerous other genre-related Jo's inside of me who love showing their faces whenever the right track is on. "Don't stop me now, I'm having such a good time..."
6. The fact that Jackson Rathbone exists. See that face? Yeah, I know what you should be are thinking. Wow. Just wow.
7. Pictionary. Charades. Taboo. Various games that are just fun.
8. Holidays!
9. Dancing (even though it only happens when I'm drunk).
10. Riding on the back of a motorbike. They are just so cool!

I am going to pass this award on to:

1. Becky of The Bookette
2. Sophie of So Many Books, So Little Time
3. Sammee of I Want to Read That
4. Lauren of I Was a Teenage Book Geek
5. Jenny of Wondrous Reads
6. Carla of The Crooked Shelf
7. Sasha of The Sweet Bonjour
8. Misty of Book Rat
9. Sarah of Sarah's Book Reviews
10. Dwayne of Girls Without a Bookshelf

Thanks again to all the ladies who have awarded me! Make sure you all check out these fabulous blogs, they're amazing!

Continue reading I Would Like to Thank the Academy...

Book News: New Covers for the Harry Potter Series

News from Bloomsbury this morning:

BLOOMSBURY REVEALS NEW LOOKFOR HARRY POTTER SERIES

Bloomsbury Publishing is delighted to announce a new look for the seven Harry Potter titles to be available exclusively in paperback format to be launched on 1st November


Click images for a larger view.

J.K. Rowling’s universally popular books have been read and enjoyed by millions of readers. The newly designed ‘Signature’ livery will appeal to the next generation of readers who did not ‘grow up’ with Harry Potter and who have not yet experienced the thrill of life at Hogwarts.

The new illustrations are by renowned linocut artist Clare Melinsky and the design has been created by Webb and Webb Design Limited. Clare Melinsky’s illustrations follow the style of traditional woodcuts and will appear on the front cover, back cover and spine for all seven titles in the Harry Potter series.

Clare Melinsky commented, ‘I was delighted and excited to be asked to illustrate the covers for such massively famous books – and seven of them! It was top secret for the best part of a year.’

The ‘Signature’ livery will be exclusively available in paperback format, with a publication date of 1st November 2010.

Continue reading Book News: New Covers for the Harry Potter Series

Blogger Pay It Forward

A few week's ago, it was Sarah of Sarah's Book Reviews' turn to take part in Blogger Pay It Forward. I was lucky enough to be one of the people Sarah paid it forward to, and yesterday I received my gift:



Click picture for a larger view.

I received two little note pads, crayola metallic markers, smiley face stickers, Cadbury's Caramel Bunnies, a Tom & Jerry pen, three highlighters and a magnetic bookmark! Thanks, Sarah, they're awesome! I like dabbling in card making, so some of these are just perfect! :) So now it's my time to pay it forward!

How does it work? I will send a gift to the first 3 people to comment on this post - it won't be a book because that would make postage too expensive but hopefully it will be a nice surprise! It doesn't matter where you live - anyone can take part. All you have to do is agree to post a similar post on your blog & give gifts to 3 other people.

Pretty cool, huh? So get commenting! If you're one of the first three people to comment, send me an email (joannestapley[at]googlemail[dot]com) with your name and address, and I shall get something to you soon! :)

Continue reading Blogger Pay It Forward

Review: Witchfinder: Dawn of the Demontide by William Hussey

Witchfinder: Dawn of the Demontide by William Hussey (review copy) - The first in a terrifying trilogy, read on if you dare: Jake could now see the demon fully. Its body was a mass of steely sinew, its arms roped with muscle. Six fingers sprouted from its hands, each ending in lethal talons. The thing did not possess a nose; instead a large hole, bubbling with green mucus, occupied the middle of its face. Mr Pinch's tongue flickered between his teeth and slurped across his fat lips. He was hungry. When a violent storm rages around the little village of Hobarron's Hollow, a young boy is sacrificed 'for the greater good'. His blood is used to seal a mystical doorway and prevent an apocalyptic disaster known only as the Demontide. Twenty-five years later, another boy, Jake Harker, is about to be drawn into the nightmare of the Demontide. Witches and their demon familiars stalk his every move, and his dreams are plagued by visions of a 17th Century figure known only as the Witchfinder. When his father is abducted, Jake must face the terrible secrets kept by those closest to him and a shocking truth that will change his life forever... From Amazon UK

When I was originally asked to review this book, I was a little unsure; I hadn’t heard of the author before, and I was asked by Galactus, a digital design company which has created the website for the series, to review it. Not being approached by such a company to review a book before, I was a little wary as to whether or not the book would be any good, but the premise sounded pretty promising, so I agreed.

However, I was asked to have Witchfinder: Dawn of the Demontide reviewed by a deadline, which put me off a little more. Why? I’m not a fan of deadlines, and was so excited to read some other books in my TBR pile. Although the book sounded good, I wasn’t in the mood to read it, and the original misgivings about the book were still there. However, with the deadline approaching, I picked up the book – and now I wish I had read it weeks earlier!

I cannot tell you just how incredible this book is! I absolutely loved it! The book has everything the fantasy fan could possibly ask for, with a hint of most, if not all, of the sub-genres of fantasy. It’s like nothing I have ever read before!

At it’s heart, Dawn of the Demontide is an urban fantasy, but a dark one. There are a few tiny moments at the very beginning when I cracked a smile, but there isn’t much light relief in the form of comedy in this book. It’s dark, it’s edgy, and it’s dangerous. I wouldn’t say it was a horror, but it’s a fantasy with a tiny step in that direction.

Set in a made up English town, with some mentions of London, this book had a very real, believable feel to me. One of the things I loved, which also added to how real it felt, was the mythology. Jake is a huge fan of all things horror, and over the years of reading comics, books, non-fic, and watching movies, he has this vast knowledge of horror conventions, dubbed by a friend his “dark catalogue”, which he ends up falling back on to get him out of some scrapes. These may not necessarily be things we know ourselves, but things he has found out from the stories he’s read himself – which may not actually be in existence, but are surely based on some myth. I could be wrong there, it may just be that I don't know of these things as I’m not a fan of horror, horror fans may pick up and know some of the things Jake mentions. A lot of research has gone into Jake’s dark catalogue, and the fact that some of what he knows – parts of which the reader may recognise – is real, makes this story very believable.

There is plenty of action, but most of the magical kind. Although plotlines are not similar, I felt there was a strong Harry Potter feel to this book; the “quest” element, and Jake trying to work things out with the help of his friends. In some ways, it almost felt, in my opinion, that this book could have been written by J. K. Rowling herself, though down a darker genre of fantasy, in a completely unrelated plot to what she’s known for. The dark element of the novel also put me in mind of adult urban fantasies, gritty and dangerous, yet there was also something I can only describe as a slight hint of something that felt much like it could have come from a David Eddings’ high fantasy. But this book is most definitely YA. It sounds like a great hodge-podge of stories, but it’s not at all; this is just me recognising small similarities of styles or feels of the great fantasies I have loved over my many years as a fantasy fan. It was me recognising a great fantasy; something completely new which felt like something I knew.

For all this text, I feel like I haven’t said much at all, yet I’m not sure there is much else I can say. The plot is just fantastic and wonderful – if it was food it would be chocolate! Jake as a character is just so awesome, but I can’t really go into his character much. There’s suspense, there are awesome settings, there are just too many wonders and delights to mention! Basically, I’m in love! There is no other way to put it. I cannot tell you just how excited I am to read Witchfinder: Gallows at Twilight when it is released next year, January 2011. I have found myself a new favourite fantasy series, and can’t recommend it enough. You must read this book!

Thanks to Galactus for sending me a review copy.

Published: 4th March 2010 in the UK
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on The Book Depository (not available on Amazon US)
Witchfinder Books' Website

Other Reviews:
Empire of Books
I Was a Teenage Book Geek

Continue reading Review: Witchfinder: Dawn of the Demontide by William Hussey

In My Mailbox (26)

In My Mailbox Template

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren. Check out her awesome YA reviews.

I'm a happy girl!

For BI&SP Month:

King of the Screwups by K. L. Going - For Review

Liam Geller is Mr. Popularity. Everybody loves him. He excels at sports; he knows exactly what clothes to wear; he always ends up with the most beautiful girls in school. But he's got an uncanny ability to screw up in the very ways that tick off his father the most.
When Liam finally kicked out of the house, his father's brother takes him in. What could a teenage chick magnet possibly have in common with his gay, glam rocker, DJ uncle who lives in a trailer in upstate New York? A lot more than you'd think. And when Liam attempts to make himself over as a nerd in a desperate attempt to impress his father, it's his "aunt" Pete and the guys in his band who convince Liam there's much more to him than his father will ever see. From Amazon US

Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles - bought

Nothing has been the same since Caleb Becker left a party drunk, got behind the wheel, and hit Maggie Armstrong. Even after months of painful physical therapy, Maggie walks with a limp. Her social life is nil and a scholarship to study abroad - her chance to escape everyone and their pitying stares - has been cancelled. After a year in juvenile jail, Caleb's free ...if freedom means endless nagging from a transition coach and the prying eyes of the entire town. Coming home should feel good, but his family and ex-girlfriend seem like strangers. Caleb and Maggie are outsiders, pigeon-holed as "criminal" and "freak." Then the truth emerges about what really happened the night of the accident and, once again, everything changes. It's a bleak and tortuous journey for Caleb and Maggie, yet they end up finding comfort and strength from a surprising source: each other. From Amazon UK

From the Headline Meets Online event:

I am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells - signed!

John works in his family’s mortuary and has an obsession with serial killers. He wants to be a good person, but fears he is a sociopath, and for years he has suppressed his dark side through a strict system of rules designed to mimic 'normal' behavior.

Then a demon begins stalking his small town and killing people one by one, and John is forced to give in to his darker nature in order to save them. As he struggles to understand the demon and find a way to kill it, his own mind begins to unravel until he fears he may never regain control. Faced with the reality that he is, perhaps, more monstrous than the monster he is fighting, John must make a final stand against the horrors of both the demon and himself. From Amazon UK

Mr Monster by Dan Wells - signed!

From the author of I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER...

John Wayne Cleaver has always known he has a dark side but he’s fought hard to oppress it and live a normal life – separating John from Mr Monster to survive. But after confronting and destroying the vicious killer that was terrorizing his town, his inner monster is getting stronger and harder to contain.

And now more bodies are being discovered...

With the police failing to catch Clayton County’s second serial killer John is going to have to use his secret knowledge of the first demon-killer to trap the second...but will he be able to avoid suspicion falling on him, and, in the face of extreme horrors, will he be able to restrain Mr Monster? From Amazon UK

Bought:

Nobody’s Girl by Sarra Manning - Possibility that the blurb below is spoilery. I’ve not read the book, but it sounds it to me.

Bea thinks she's the most boring seventeen-year-old in the world. She's not pretty or popular or funny, unlike her mother who had Bea when she was 17. The only glamorous thing about Bea is the French father who left before she was born and lives in Paris.

She yearns for la vie Parisienne every moment of her dull existence. So when Ruby Davies, the leader of her school's most elite clique picks Bea as her new best friend and asks her to go on holiday with them, she's wary but delighted. If nothing else it's two weeks away from her over-protective mother.

But when the gang arrive in Spain, Bea is crushed to realise that Ruby and her posse have simply been using her. Bea wreaks vengeance on her so-called friends, and plans to decamp to Paris to find her father. But when she falls asleep on the train and wakes up in Bilbao, she meets a group of American students who are backpacking around Europe and bonds with them straight away, especially the gorgeous Toph who helps heals Bea's hurting heart.

Though Bea has a shock in store when they finally get to Paris. The 'City of Lovers' really works it magic on Bea and Toph who spend a week wandering the sun-dappled streets of Paris, talking, holding hands and falling in love. When it comes time to go home to confront her Mum about her mysterious father, the new version of Bea is determined that she'll never go back to her old, boring way of life - she's no longer Nobody's Girl; she belongs to herself and to Toph...

But with an ocean between them, will he wait for her? From Amazon UK

Borrowed from my cousin:

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

On the outside, Macy Queen is cool and calm. On the inside, she's breaking. Silently struggling with her Dad's death, and spending the summer apart from her oh-so-perfect boyfriend, Macy is smiling her way through - she's 'fine'. It's only when she meets a group of new friends - and artistic, sexy Wes catches her eye - she realizes she can wear her heart on her sleeve sometimes. Because life doesn't stop when someone disappears - and even though she's lost so much, can Macy see what she has to gain? Hugely engaging and with great emotional depth, Sarah Dessen's rich, warm, atmospheric writing makes this the perfect summer read for teenage girls. From Amazon UK

For review:

Ghost Hunter by Michelle Paver

As winter approaches and Souls' Night draws near, the Eagle Owl Mage holds the clans in the grip of terror. To fulfill his destiny, Torak must seek his lair in the Mountain of Ghosts. He must defy demons and tokoroths, and find his way through the Gorge of the Hidden People. Wolf must overcome terrible grief. Renn must make an agonizing decision. And in the final battle against the Soul-Eater, Torak must face the most heart-rending choice of all. From Amazon UK

Won:

A box of Thorntons Chocolates from HarperCollins:



Image Source

Bit of a good week, eh? Check out Ink and Paper for the adult books I received this week.

ETA: Also, last week, some people wanted to see the Mockingjay badge I received with Catching Fire, so here it is:



Cool, huh?

Continue reading In My Mailbox (26)

Publishing For Struggling Readers - Guest Post from Barrington Stoke

I am so chuffed to be able to bring you to you today a guest post from the Editorial Manager of Barrington Stoke, publisher of books for struggling and reluctant readers. Kate kindly took some time to tell us about the wonderful work that Barrington Stoke do for those readers.

Publishing for Struggling Readers

by Kate Paice, Editorial Manager at Barrington Stoke

Barrington Stoke is a publisher founded on one simple belief: Books for struggling readers need to be really good reads. If a struggling reader might take five minutes to get through a single page, that page needs to be worth reading in the first place.

So we always start with the story. If it doesn’t grab me from the first page, and keep me reading till the last, it certainly won’t hook a struggling reader. That’s why we approach the best writers working today – people like Frank Cottrell Boyce, Sophie McKenzie and Anthony McGowan. Because our readers need the best stories.

Once we’ve got the story, we send it to ‘consultants’: struggling readers of the right reading age and interest age (eg teenagers aged 12-14 with a reading age of 8). The consultants read the story, noting the words they don’t understand, the turns of phrase they struggle with, the plot twists that make no sense to them. If you’ve never read a whole book in your life, how are you supposed to understand what’s happening in an unannounced flashback? If all your energy is spent on deciphering each word as it comes, how can you remember a subtle clue from three chapters ago, or pick up a crucial double meaning?

The consultant comments go to our language editors, who use them to edit the MS to meet the required reading age, and then discuss the changes with the author, to ensure the book is going to preserve the author’s voice while being accessible to the readers. This process is referred to by authors as ‘being done over by Barrington Stoke’, and I believe the record is 13 hours to agree all the changes in a 9,000 word manuscript. But it works.

There are a lot of other things we do. We have a specially adapted dyslexia-friendly font, and print on cream or off-white paper to make the contrast easier on the eye. We ensure that our books are short, so that readers aren’t faced with more than they can reasonably manage. We try to make the covers look as cool as the contents. But mostly, we try to give struggling readers a story that drags them along by the scruff of the neck, because once you have the story, you’ve got a reason to read on.

A couple of years ago, we published a book by Nigel Hinton called Until Proven Guilty, about a boy whose father is arrested on suspicion of murder. The consultants were reading it in class, one chapter at a time. They were a group of boys who were very resistant to reading. Their teacher emailed us, in sheer astonishment, to recount that one of these book-hating hard-case teenagers had come to her in between lessons and demanded the manuscript early - because he was desperate to read on and find out what happened.

That’s what a story can do. And it’s why Barrington Stoke believe in stories.

Struggling Readers

Barrington Stoke publish for dyslexic, struggling and reluctant readers. That includes readers who have specific learning difficulties or other language impairment; readers for whom English is a second language; and people who have never learned to read fluently for any of a huge variety of reasons, including that they simply haven’t had enough exposure to books. I’ve used ‘struggling readers’ as a catch-all term.

This is not a small problem. Currently, somewhere in the region of 14% of the UK’s children aren’t reading to the expected level by the age of 11. The National Literacy Trust estimates that about 16% of UK adults are ‘functionally illiterate’, with a reading age of below 11. Fewer than 2% of UK jobs are now open to people without literacy skills. Meanwhile, it’s estimated that two-thirds of prisoners in British jails have a reading age of below 11, and of that number, half have a reading age of below 8.

Thank you, Kate, for such a wonderful post! Here are also some links, which I'll also be posting on the blog:

Love Reading 4 Kids
Word Pool
Book Trust
Scottish Book Trust
Mrs Mad's Book-a-Rama

Also, Kate also had this to say, "Barrington Stoke founder Patience Thomson wrote a book called 101 WAYS TO GET YOUR CHILD TO READ, which was published as part of last year's Quick Reads for World Book Day, and has won two awards since then. It's a great introductory guide aimed at parents of babies to teens on the variety of factors that might stop a child reading and suggests many (101, in fact) ways to help them, or indeed to get them help. And it's only £1.99." Cool, huh?

Thanks again, Kate!

Continue reading Publishing For Struggling Readers - Guest Post from Barrington Stoke

Event Report: Headline Meets Online

Phew, I've been home a couple of hours now since the event, and my back is hurting! Why? Well, I was carrying home a big canvas goodie bag home full of books (and I had been bending over boxes earlier today when helping my Nan pack for her move). It was heavy! Sorry for the lack of many photos in this post, I didn't take a camera. The photos you do see I took when I got home.

I had such a great time at the Headline Meets Online event! I met a fair amount of bloggers today that I know online, and it was great to finally put faces to names! It was great to see Sophie (So Many Books, So Little Time), Becky (The Bookette), Jenny (Wondrous Reads - who I have met briefly before), Carla (The Crooked Shelf), Sammee (I Want to Read That), Liz (My Favourite Books), and Carolyn (Book Chick City). I met two new-to-me bloggers too; Ros (Warpcore SF), and Rhys from Thirst for Fiction.

The event started off with some mingling, and I met some of the Headline staff; Sam, Maura, Kasi, Helena, and Caitlin. I think there may have been a few others there, but there were SO many people, I'm not sure. They were all very lovely ladies, and did such a great job of putting on a great event. Kasi gave out the canvas goodie bags, which have some nice things (spec fic catalogue, Little Black Dress series nail files, pencil and lolly, Carole Matthews bookmarks, Laurell K. Hamillton backlist flyer, and I am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells Chapter 1 sampler), and said we could fill them with whatever books we wanted. As I said at the beginning, my bag was heavy! Keep an eye out for this week's IMM post ;)

After the mingling, it was time for the presentation, which was a film of some of the books Headline will be publishing this year. Several times I was watching and thought "Oooh!" but I seem to have forgotten most of them (my memory seems to be awful!), but the one I do remember and absolutely need to read is Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw. I really want it! It sounds so good! Sophie and I were sitting right at the back, and I had trouble seeing the screen at times because of the people in front, and I went and spilled have my water over me when I moved. Brilliant, huh?

Then it was back to mingling, eating (mini eggs!), and meeting some authors as they were then brought in. Becky, Sammee and I had a great little chat with Alex Bell - author of Lex Trent Versus the Gods. She's really cool! She told us about why she went into YA (adult comic fantasy isn't selling as well, apparently, and she really wanted to write a comic fantasy), she didn't have to change her writing style for YA, and about her involvement with the cover. Very cool lady.

And then it was time for the quiz! It was pretty much a pub quiz on bookish things. When we all arrived and got our name tags, we had little coloured shapes on them, which indicated what team we were in. I was in the Hexagon team along with Liz, Sammee, Rhys, Kasi, and Dan Wells. Kasi told us that the award we were playing for was delivered yesterday, and they found it was broken when they opened it, so they had to call up and get another one ready for today. There were six rounds.


Round 1 - Sci-fi/Fantasy
Round 2 - Chick Lit
Round 3 - Crime Fiction
Round 4 - Horror
Round 5 - YA
Round 6 - Picture Round (name the characters in the photos of book-to-movie adaptations)

Guess what? Team Hexagon won with 26 points! Oh, it was so cool! Dan Wells was such a cool guy, he was funny throughout, and when we won, he didn't think it was fair that only one person would take the award (Liz's photo!), so asked if the broken one was still about, and could we each take a frgament - or he would break the one we had one. So we all got a piece! It made me think of the end of Mean Girls when Lindsey Lohan breaks the home-coming queen crown for people, haha! So here is my winning piece:



Click image for a larger view.

Cool, huh? Sorry about the flash and the blur, it says "Headline Quiz 2010". And then Dan Wells signed a few books! I already had a copy of Mr Monster, but I grabbed another one to get signed as I didn't bring any books with me. Dan also gave out business cards to those he signed for, so we could email him once we've read Mr Monster to let him know what we thought. I said I will do, but would have to get I am Not a Serial Killer first. Maura overheard, and managed to get me and several other people a copy! So Dan signed that for me too. Photos:





Click images for larger views.

The first says "May you have many horrible nightmares," and the second says "I apologize in advance for the cat." What cool people are those at Headline and Dan? Awesome!

I had another mishap! Sophie asked me to hold her drink while she got her copy of Mr Monster signed... and I kind of dropped it. Water and glass all over the floor. I swear, I am a right muppet! I was so embarrased, and apologised a fair few times, but they wouldn't let me help clean up, I think it was a health and safety thing. Good job, Jo! So sorry for losing your drink, Sophie!

And then it was down to the pub! I sat at a table with Carla, Jenny and Carolyn, and there were others on another table, and people standing up. Dan came and spoke to us for a while before he had to leave about cultural difference (the tube/underground as opposed to the subway, and why we have no clocks in our shops), and Sam had a chat with me about getting into publishing, which was lovely of her! And then it was time for me to leave. I had SUCH an awesome night, so thanks to those at Headline, the authors, and the bloggers I met. You're all just so cool!

If that wasn't great enough, guess who was on the platform when I got to Great Portland Street? Only Joel Beckett, who played Jake Moon in Eastenders. I didn't speak to him, but I was thinking "Ooh, I know you, you were in Eastenders!" It was a really awesome night!

Continue reading Event Report: Headline Meets Online

Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (#Ad)

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

I was sent this review copy for free by Harlequin Teen for the purpose of providing an honest review.

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart. From Amazon US

I was really looking forward to reading this book! It sounded so good, and I was so excited to read it! Then after I read Sophie’s review over on So Many Books, So Little Time, I decided The Iron King would be the next book I would read. I finished it yesterday, and it took me eleven days to read – pretty long, even for me. Did I like the book? I just don’t know. Before I go into to whether I enjoyed it or not, let’s look at the positives.

I loved how this book was inspired by A Midsummer’s Night Dream! King and Queen of the Seelie Court? Oberon and Titania. Puck is an important secondary character. It’s mythology in this story is really cool; the fey are born from the dreams and imaginations of humans, when the dreams and belief fade away, so do the fey. According to this book, Shakespeare was inspired by Oberon, Titania, and Puck, and because his work is so well known, those fey are able to live on without fading. The idea that Shakespeare has kept these fey alive is just so cool, like it could be true.

There are a few things in Sophie’s review I have to agree with. Firstly, I’ve never read The Spiderwick Chronicles, but I have seen the film, and I agree that in some instances, what is described in the book has a similar feel to the movie version of Holly Black’s The Spiderwick Chronicles; the type of fey and what they looked like. This only happened a few times, the rest of the book was what I would call “standard fey”, the type of fey I’m now used to reading about; the sinister and scary, but beautiful and elegant fey. Another point I agree with Sophie about is that Grimaulkin, a talking fey cat, is so similar to the Cheshire Cat, just minus some of the creepiness. I actually really quite liked him, despite finding him annoying at first. His unbothered and arrogant ways, along with his dry wit, make him really amusing, his parts in the novel were some of the most enjoyable.

The plot was pretty unique, and fairly unpredictable, though I would say this is mainly because the book consists of a series of events that flow well into each other, and you just didn’t know what would happen next, rather than you didn’t know the general direction the book was taking. I’m not an expert on folklore, so I could be wrong, but it didn’t feel like much of the story was based on actual folklore – being called The Iron King and being inspired by Shakespear, you would kind of guess that, but I’m not entirely sure if the other elements of the story were all that folklore based. Compared to some other fey books I’ve read, it didn’t feel it, it felt like it was pretty much imagined, which adds to the uniqueness of the story; you’re not sure how this fey story is going to go, because it’s different to the others. It was refreshing.

Now to the negatives that make me unsure. It’s always going to depend on the type of book whether or not I like it when a lot is going on in a book. With this book, it put me off. As I said, the series of events do flow, but it felt at times like there was just obstacle after obstacle, and that Meghan wasn’t finding out anything helpful for her for the reason she was in the Nevernever – Faeryland – in the first place. At times it just didn’t feel like it was getting anywhere, which is why it took me so long to read; it just didn’t grab me.

Meghan is one of those characters who just seems to keep making bad decisions or choices. People have commented in their own reviews before about characters like this in books I’ve loved, but I feel this was a little extreme. I just wanted to shake her sometimes. However, her heart was in the right place, and she was very selfless. Robbie was a pretty nice guy, and I grew to like Puck, but at first he was just too much with his jokes about situations that were just unnecessary. Ash, I don’t really know what to say. Ok, he was gorgeous, but I didn’t feel there was much personality. I also didn’t feel there was much chemistry between Meghan and him either. When they danced was the only time I felt it.

I didn’t completely dislike the book, there is much about the book I did enjoy, it was just that the book didn’t hook me in and that the characters were a little flat and annoying, in my opinion. I will definitely be reading the next in the series, The Iron Daughter, which comes out in August, I want to find out what’s going to happen next, because this plot is just so unique. Hopefully there will be a little more depth to the characters in the next one.
Please read some other reviews before making a decision. Don’t write the book off because my review wasn’t glowing, it may be your cup of tea.

One final point; The Iron King starts off in our world, and then goes the Nevernever, so I’m unsure whether this would be considered urban fantasy or high fantasy. I’m going to label it as both, but anyone who has read it, your opinion is welcome!

Thanks to Harlequin Teen for sending me a review copy.

Published: 1st February 2010
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Julie Kagawa’s Website

Continue reading Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (#Ad)

BI&SP Month Second Update

Another update for you regarding Body Image and Self Perception Month. More book recommendations have been added to BISP Novels and more Participants have been added to BISP Participants.

The blogger participants are:

Vanessa of Today's Adventure
Rebecca of Everything to do With Books
Christina from Reading Extensively

The author participants are:

Mary Hogan
Simone Elkeles
Laurie Halse Anderson
A. M. Vrettos
Suzanne Supplee
K. L. Going

As I said in the last update, I want to get started on my reading early so I can schedule my posts. I've sorted myself out a rough list of what I personally want to read for the month. From what I've heard so far, I don't think the other blogger participants are going to be doing as much for the month as I plan to - I want to post everyday with something - so with this in mind, I have a fair amount of books here. I've said before that I don't mind some overlap in reviews, as long as not everyone is reading all the same books, so those participating may want to take a few and use some others, it's all good. Check out the BISP Novels post, and have a think. Please let me know either in the comments or in an email (joannestapley[at]googlmail[dot]com) what you're plan is on reading for the month, so I can make sure there isn't too much overlap between you all.

My list for the month:

Purge
Skin
Nothing
Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have
Artichoke's Heart
Huge
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things
Fat Kid Rules the World
Fat Cat
Everything Beautiful
Accidents of Nature
Leaving Paradise
North of Beautiful
Beastly
Fairest of Them All
My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters
Uglies (if not the whole series)
Pretty Face

Check the BISP Novels page to see who wrote them and links to Amazon UK and US to find out what they're about.

Laurie Halse Anderson's interview has been allocated to Sasha of The Sweet Bonjour, as she has already said she will be reading Wintergirls for the month.

Continue reading BI&SP Month Second Update

I've Been Interviewed for Book Blogging Around the World

Today on The Book on the Hill I have been interviewed for Charlotte's feature Book Blogging Around the World. Check it out and find out about my life as a blogger in London! :)

Continue reading I've Been Interviewed for Book Blogging Around the World

In My Mailbox (25)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren. Check out her awesome YA reviews.

AWESOME week! I got a fair few books I've been dying to read!

For Review:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - I finally have it! And a mockingjay badge! Scholastic are lovely!

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. From Amazon US

Malice by Chris Wooding - The title and character on cover are molded 3D plastic! So cool!

Everyone's heard of it, but nobody's read it... Seth and Kady have heard all the stories about MALICE - a secret comic about a strange and awful world full of traps and tricks, overseen by a sinister master of ceremonies, Tall Jake. But if rumours are to be believed, the children in this comic are real... From Amazon UK

Havoc by Chris Wooding - Sorry about the image size

Seth finally managed to escape the terrifying comicbook world of Malice, but he left his best friend Kady there. Now he must go back and rescue her. But can he find a way back in? Kady has her own worries. She's trying to reach Havoc, a group of rebel kids plotting to destroy Tall Jake, the evil ruler of Malice. From Amazon UK

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater - You have NO idea how big my grin was when I saw this! I had no idea it was coming, and I've been so excited to read it!

Grace is fascinated by the wolves in the woods behind her house; one yellow-eyed wolf in particular. Every winter, she watches him but every summer, he disappears. Sam leads two lives. In winter he stays in the frozen woods, with the protection of the pack.n summer, he has a few precious months to be human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again. When Grace and Sam finally meet they realize they can't bear to be apart. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human - or risk losing himself, and Grace, for ever From Amazon UK

What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell - I mentioned this in On My Wishlist last week, so I'm so glad to have received it! (Sorry about image size)

Summer's ending, Evie's stepfather is finally home from the Second World War, and Evie is tired of her glamorous mother treating her like a little girl. Then a mysterious stranger appears; a handsome ex-GI who served with Evie's stepfather. Slowly, Evie realizes that she is falling in love with him - but he has dark secrets, and a strange control over her parents. From Amazon UK

Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve

The author of the best-selling and critically beloved Mortal Engines quartet has written a stunning prequel. Fever Crumb is set a generation before the events of Mortal Engines, when cities are just beginning to devour each other. Is the mystery of Fever, adoped daughter of Dr Crumb, the key to the secret that lies at the heart of London? From Amazon UK

A Web of Air by Philip Reeve

Two years ago, Fever Crumb escaped the war-torn city of London in a travelling theatre. Now she arrives in the extraordinary craer city of Mayda, where buildings ascend the cliffs on funicular rails, and a mysterious recluse is building a machine that can fly. Fever is the engineer he needs - but ruthless enemies will kill to possess their secrets. From Amazon UK

Almost True by Keren David - I'm pretty sure you must have heard my squeal when I saw I had been sent a copy of ALmost True! Can't wait to read it! AND, when looking up the summary below on Amazon, I noticed I've been quoted for "praid for When I Was Joe"! How AWESOME! Sorry, but I'm excited! :D

Ruthless killers are still hunting Ty so the police move him and his mum to a quiet seaside town. But a horrific attack and a bullet meant for Ty prove that he s not safe yet. On the road again, Ty s in hiding with complete strangers... who seem to know a lot about him. Meanwhile he s desperate to see his girlfriend Claire, and terrified that she may betray him. Ty can t trust his own judgement and he s making dangerous decisions that could deliver him straight to the gangsters. A thrilling sequel to When I Was Joe, shot through with drama and suspense. From Amazon UK

Extras by Scott Westerfeld (cover not yet available) - At the end of Specials, the conclusion to the Uglies trilogy, things in Tally's futuristic world had stabilised. The walls between the social classes - the uglies, pretties and specials - had been torn down. So Tally took off to live on her own in the wild. Fast forward...Tally discovers another brand new world. In Extras, it's all about who you know, and how much you have. It's just like LA. Only Paris and Nicole are way dead... From Amazon UK

Gifted – From Carla of The Crooked Shelf:

The Naughty List by Suzanne Young

As if being a purrfect cheerleader isn’t enough responsibility! Tessa Crimson’s the sweet and spunky leader of the SOS (Society of Smitten Kittens), a cheer squad–turned–spy society dedicated to bringing dastardly boyfriends to justice, one cheater at a time. Boyfriend-busting wouldn’t be so bad . . . except that so far, every suspect on the Naughty List has been proven 100% guilty!

When Tessa’s own boyfriend shows up on the List, she turns her sleuthing skills on him. Is Aiden just as naughty as all the rest, or will Tessa’s sneaky ways end in catastrophe?

The Naughty List. Is your boyfriend on it? From Amazon US

Along with the book came some Sea by Heidi Kling bookmarks, one of which is signed, and a 2k10 authors bookmark and postcard! Cheers Carla!

So I'm a happy girl! :)

Continue reading In My Mailbox (25)

Author Appreciation Week: Adult and YA Fantasy Authors

Adult and YA Fantasy Authors

If you read my AAW: Stephenie Meyer post, you'll know that my reading roots are in adult fantasy. I'm such a big dreamer, I don't think I'll ever stop loving fantasy; there's something so completely wonderful about how the unknown, the incomprehensible, the fantastic can be shaped and moulded by some truely gifted authors and created into some extremely captivating and unique worlds that just grab the imagination.

I'm now also a YA reader, as well as an adult reader, so being able to merge the two - fantasy and YA - is just extremely awesome to this dreamer who has yet to grow up. So today I'm going to write about those adult fantasy authors who dip their toes into the YA river, and the YA fantasy authors who dip their toes into the adult river. It would take me forever for me to tell you how much I love these authors, so I won't. You know I love them, or I wouldn't be talking about them. I think most of these authors are amazing, though there's one who's novels I'm yet to read - I'll explain later. But I am so glad that these authors decided to cross age ranges so I have books to keep me amused whatever mood I'm in.

Rachel Caine - Rachel writes the adult Weather Wardens series and the YA Morganville Vampires series.

The Weather Wardens, which consist of Ill Wind, Heat Stroke, Chill Factor, Windfall, Firestorm, Thin Air, Gale Force, Cape Storm, and forth coming Total Eclipse, are about a Weather Warden named Joanne Baldwin. Find out more about them on Rachel's site.

The Morganville Vampires series, consisting of Glass Houses, Dead Girls Dance, Midnight Alley, Feast of Fools, Lord of Misrule, Carpe Corpus, Fade Out, and forth coming Kiss of Death and Ghost Town, is about Claire and all the things she gets up to when she moves to a strange new town. As said on Rachel's website:

When 16-year-old Claire Danvers arrives in the sleepy Texas town of Morganville for a parentally-enforced year at Texas Prairie University before heading off to MIT, her life takes a turn for the scary. First, the mean girls come after her, but a quick life-saving move to off-campus housing fixes that problem, and introduces her to three new friends: teen rocker Michael Glass, Goth Eve Rosser, and hottie/slacker Shane Collins.

But Morganville's got more secrets to reveal, starting with one very big one:

It's run by vampires.

Rachel Vincent - Rachel writes the adult Shifters series and the YA Soul Screamers series.

The Shifters series, consisting of Stray, Rogue, Pride, Prey, Shift, and forth coming Alpha, is about werecat Faythe Sanders and her role within her Pride. Find out more on Rachel's site.

The Soul Screamers is about Kaylee, a teenage girl who finds out she is a bean sidhe. From Rachel's website, on My Soul to Take:

SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH
KAYLEE CAVANAUGH

She doesn't see dead people, but...

She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about the need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next...

Jeri Smith-Ready - I've not yet read anything by Jeri, but she has a number of books out I really want to read, and I have her debut YA novel in my TBR list. Jeri wrote the adult Aspect of Crow Trilogy, the adult WVMP Radio series, and Shade, the first in her YA series.

The Aspect of Crow Trilogy consists of Eyes of Crow, Voice of Crow, and The Reawakened. The WVMP Radio series consists of Wicked Game, Bad to the Bone, forth coming Bring on the Night, and the tentatively titled Lust for Life. Find out more on Jeri's site.

Shade is due out in the US in May, and in the UK in September, with a sequel, Shift, out next year. Shade is about, as said on Jeri's site:

Love ties them together.
Death can't tear them apart.

Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.

Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan’s violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura’s new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart…and clues to the secret of the Shift.

Richelle Mead - Richelle writes the adult Georgina Kincaid series, the adult Dark Swan series, and the YA Vampire Academy series.

The Georgina Kincaid series consists of Succubus Blues, Succubus on Top, Succubus Dreams, Succubus Heat, and forthcoming Succubus Shadows. The Dark Swan series consists of Storm Born, Thorn Queen, and forth coming Iron Crowned. Find out more on Richelle's site.

The Vampire Academy series, which consists of Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, and forth coming Spirit Bound, is about, as said on Richelle's site:

Two races of vampires walk our world. The Moroi are alive and wield elemental magical, while the Strigoi are undead and evil--feeding on the innocent to survive. Rose Hathaway--a half-vampire with poor impulse control--is training to be a bodyguard for a Moroi princess. Learning to decapitate and stake is hard enough, but Rose's real danger may lie in an illicit romance with one of her instructors...

Kim Harrison - Kim Harrison writes the adult The Hollows/Rachel Morgan series and YA Madison Avery series.

The Hollows/Rachel Morgan series consists of Dead Witch Walking, The Good, The Bad, and the Undead, Every Which Way but Dead, A Fistful of Charms, For a Few Demons More, The Outlaw Demon Wails, White Witch, Black Curse, and Black Magic Sanction.

The Madison Avery series consists of Once Dead, Twice Shy, and Early to Death, Early to Rise. Once Dead, Twice Shy is about, as said on Amazon US:

My name is Madison Avery, and I'm here to tell you that there's more out there than you can see, hear, or touch. Because I'm there. Seeing it. Touching it. Living it.

Madison's prom was killer—literally. For some reason she's been targeted by a dark reaper—yeah, that kind of reaper—intent on getting rid of her, body and soul. But before the reaper could finish the job, Madison was able to snag his strange, glowing amulet and get away.

Now she's stuck on Earth—dead but not gone. Somehow the amulet gives her the illusion of a body, allowing her to toe the line between life and death. She still doesn't know why the dark reaper is after her, but she's not about to just sit around and let fate take its course.

With a little ingenuity, some light-bending, and the help of a light reaper (one of the good guys! Maybe . . . ), her cute crush, and oh yeah, her guardian angel, Madison's ready to take control of her own destiny once and for all, before it takes control of her.

Well, if she believed in that stuff.

Melissa Marr - Melissa writes the YA Wicked Lovely series, and Graveminder, her first adult novel, which is still in the revisions stage.

The Wicked Lovely series consists of Wicked Lovely, Ink Exchange, Fragile Eternity, and forth coming Radiant Shadows. Wicked Lovely is about, as said on Melissa's website:

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.

Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty—especially if they learn of her Sight—and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.

Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.

Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.

But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost—regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

If you know of any other fantasy authors who write both adult and YA novels, please let me know!

Continue reading Author Appreciation Week: Adult and YA Fantasy Authors

On My Wishlist (10)

On My Wishlist is a weekly meme that allows us to share the books we haven't bought yet but are waiting to be bought and devoured. This idea is brought to us by Book Chick City.

On my wishlist this week is:

Title: Torment
Author: Lauren Kate
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: 28th October 2010

No summary available yet.

Books in Series:
Fallen

Title: The Tree of Seasons
Author: Stephen Gately
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication Date: 13th May 2010

Summary:
Stephen Gately brought joy to many millions of fans throughout the world. In the months before his tragic death, he wrote this, his first novel, The Tree of Seasons.

When Josh, Michael and Beth Lotts catch sight of some mysterious lights one summer’s evening, they are drawn into a dense forest near their home where no one dares ever go. What they find there is incredible.

The Tree of Seasons is a doorway into another world. There are four kingdoms in this world, each forever stuck in spring, summer, autumn and winter and each with its own ruler. The tree and the world it conceals have existed for hundreds of years and have never been uncovered by anyone, until now.

The Lotts find that peace has been shattered in this magical world. One ruler, who bears a remarkable resemblance to their aunt is intent on power at all costs. She causes destruction and suffering that threaten to tear worlds apart. Josh, Michael and Beth have arrived just in time to take part in the battle that the other three kingdoms have to fight in order to survive.

The Tree of Seasons is a beautiful story of good and evil and a vividly imagined portrait of a world beyond our own. From Amazon UK

Title: Life on the Refrigerator Door
Author: Alice Kuipers
Publisher: Macmillan’s Children Books
Publication Date: 1 Aug 2008

Summary:
Mom,

I went to the store. See inside the fridge. I watered the plants. I cleaned out Peter's cage. I tidied the sitting room. And the kitchen. And I did the washing up.

I'm going to bed.

Your live-in servant,

Claire

'Life on the Refrigerator Door' is told exclusively through notes exchanged by Claire and her mother, Elizabeth, during the course of a life-altering year. Their story builds to an emotional crescendo when Elizabeth is diagnosed with breast cancer.

Stunningly sad but ultimately uplifting, this is a clever, moving, and original portrait of the relationship between a daughter and mother. It is about how we live our lives constantly rushing, and never making time for those we love. It is also an elegy to how much can be said in so few words, if only we made the time to say them. From Amazon UK

Title: Rosemary and Rue
Author: Seanan McGuire
Publisher: DAW
Publication Date: 5 Nov 2009

Summary:
October ""Toby"" Daye, a changeling who is half human and half fae, has been an outsider from birth. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the Faerie world, retreating to a ""normal"" life. Unfortunately for her, the faerie world has other ideas. The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening's dying curse, which binds her to investigate, Toby must resume her former position as knight errant and renew old alliances. From Amazon UK

Title: Kiss Me Deadly Anthology
Author: Edited by Trisha Telep
Publisher: Perseus Books
Publication Date: 12th August 2010

No summary available yet. However, there is a list of authors: Caitlin Kittredge, Karen Mahoney, Diana Peterfreund, Carrie Ryan, Maggie Stiefvater, Becca Fitzpatrick, Michelle Rowen, Rachel Vincent, Daniel Waters, Justine Musk, Sarah Rees Brennan, Daniel Marks, Michelle Zink. Taken from Rachel Vincent’s blog: http://urbanfantasy.blogspot.com/

Continue reading On My Wishlist (10)

Author Appreciation Week: Luisa Plaja

Luisa Plaja



Yesterday, I talked about how it was Stephenie Meyer who opened my eyes to YA novels. Well, that's only partially true. Stephenie paved the way, but Luisa went far beyond the the call of duty as author when it came to me discovering YA. Stephenie Meyer came along, and I started reading YA urban fantasies and paranormal romances, but Luisa introduced me to the other genres of YA.

Not only is Luisa an amazing author - I surely don't need to gush about how much I love Split by a Kiss and Extreme Kissing, you probably know just how much I love them by now - but she's also a huge supporter of people reading in general. Sex in Teen Lit Month only started because of conversations I had with Luisa by email, after a discussion post I had on Ink and Paper. The idea for me to look more closely at how YA in general - rather than YA fantasy, which I was referring to on Ink and Paper - came through talking to Luisa about how books deal with it, and she helped me with the month in so many ways. She suggested books I could read, she included her own thoughts on books she had read, she posted about it on an author website she's a member of, to see if any authors would be interested in taking part, she even used her blogging budget to send me some books to review for it. And since then, we have become email buddies.

But that's just how she's helped me, but she does a lot for other readers too. Luisa is the editor of the popular YA book review blog, Chicklish, where she reviews and has other younger readers review a fair amount of British YA books. She is a regular commenter among the YA blogging community, being incredibly supportive and putting in her two pennies worth in reading discussions. Luisa is also an assistant in a monthly teen book club in her own area. Luisa is just awesome!

If it wasn't for Luisa, I would be missing out on so many YA novels outside of the fantasy genre and Once Upon a Bookcase wouldn't exist, because she was the one who encouraged me to pick up others - and still recommends books to me. She's also already been a huge help in kick starting Body Image and Self-Perception Month, and I'm sure she'll continue to help me and other readers as the years go by, because that's just how brilliant she is. Luisa is more than deserving of my appreciation, and many others too.

Continue reading Author Appreciation Week: Luisa Plaja