Blogspiration (1)

Blogspiration is a Brand Spankin' New weekly meme hosted by both GrowingUp YA and Saz101. The meme was created to help spark inspiration among bloggers, readers and writers alike. An inspirational quote/picture/video is posted weekly, on the day of the author's choosing, so that it may inspire creativity, conversation and just a little SOMETHING.

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News: Crow's Revenge by Marcus Alexander

On 2nd February, Puffin will publish Crow's Revenge by Marcus Alexander, the first in the Keeper of the Realm's series, and I have some great things to share with you all!

Keeper of the Realms: Crow's Revenge by Marcus Alexander (released 2nd February 2012) - 'I've just had a flesh-eating giant tearing around my house and now I'm in this strange land I don't know anything about!'

Charlie Keeper has been forced from her home by a bloodthirsty and terrifying stranger.

But in escaping she discovers her house holds the gateway to the Realm of Bellania - a place of myth, magic . . . and an evil Lord with a very bad attitude.

Now its fate rests squarely upon Charlie's shoulders. But before she can untangle the mystery that will save Bellania, she needs the answer to a life-changing secret her guardian, the dastardly Mr Crow, has been keeping from her . . . Just who is Charlie Keeper? from Amazon UK

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Review: Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine - WELCOME TO MORGANVILLE. JUST DON'T STAY OUT AFTER DARK.

Morganville is a small town filled with unusual characters -- when the sun goes down, the bad come out. In Morganville, there is an evil that lurks in the darkest shadows -- one that will spill out into the bright light of day.

For Claire Danvers, high school was hell, but college may be murder. It was bad enough that she got on the wrong side of Monica, the meanest of the school's mean girls, but now she's got three new roommates, who all have secrets of their own. And the biggest secret of all isn't really a secret, except from Claire: Morganville is run by vampires, and they are hungry for fresh blood... From Amazon UK

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News: Cover Reveals and More

Various bits of news for you all!

Cover Reveals

A Midsummer Tights Dream by Louise Rennison (released 2nd February) - It’s the hotly anticipated sequel to the winner of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, WITHERING TIGHTS – laugh your tights off as Tallulah Casey and her bonkers mates return for a new term at Dother Hall performing arts college. Boys, snogging and bad acting guaranteed!

Yaroooo! Tallulah’s triumphant Heathcliff in ‘Wuthering Heights’ the comedy musical was enough to secure her place at Dother Hall performing arts college for another term. She can’t wait to see her pals again, Charlie and the boys from Woolfe Academy and maybe even bad boy Cain…

Could the bright lights of Broadway be calling? And for who? Find out in the next Misadventures of Tallulah Casey. From Amazon UK

Bite Me by Lori Strongin (released 30th January) - “Talbot blamed his mother for the fact he’d spent most of the summer impersonating a nun.”

So begins Bite Me, a humorous urban fantasy YA novel set at Hedgehill University for Paranormal Creatures.

In this Animal House meets Christopher Moore-esque story, freshman Talbot Osbourne is under pressure to find a summer job, an affordable apartment, and to not flunk out; otherwise he’ll face the wrath of his werewolf clan back home. Buddhist, vegetarian vampire Julian St. George has problems, too, but his are more of the being-stalked-by-a-psychotic-slayer type. After he ousts the intruder from his home, Julian figures that’s the last of that.

Wrong.

Talbot and Julian are forced to partner on a class assignment to study humans in their natural habitat. That is, a strip club. But while these two co-eds try to live their para-normal lives and pass their classes, the slayer targets both the university and the club, taking out students with any kind of supernatural abilities. After Julian’s home is destroyed and he’s nearly killed, the vampire and werewolf form an unlikely—and probably unholy—duo to catch the stalker before the psycho slays them. If they don’t kill each other first, that is.

Between surviving an apartment with cannibalistic furniture, zombie squirrels, and a strip club where the drinks are scarier than the suspects, Talbot and Julian struggle to catch up to the slayer, who always seems one stake ahead of them.

Throw in a shapeshifter with ferret envy, a nymphomaniac wizard who makes people’s clothes disappear, and the ghost of a five-year-old with the potty mouth of a sailor, and these boys are in for the summer of their lives. Or deaths. From LoriStrongin.com

What do you think?

Character Blog

The apocalypse is coming. There’s no way out of I’m afraid. Nope, not even through that sneaky door labelled “exit” – it’s fire and brimstone for us all.

But hey! Let’s not be downbeat about it! Why not laugh your way to the end of the world with some commentary from one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse himself? Ok so he might not be the most mysterious or powerful of the four, but he’s probably not the ugliest anyway. Pestilence has set up his very own blog to document the lead up to the end – which you can read at the13thhorseman.com

Conveniently the countdown to the end of the world coincides with the publication of the hilarious new book from Barry Hutchison, The 13th Horseman on the 1st of March. Barry has created this innovative blog to feature all sorts of extra information on the lives of the horseman. You can now learn why exactly Toxie the Hellhound owes them one, where Pest got that nasty rash and watch Death descend into madness (well, waiting for an apocalypse for thousands of years can be pretty boring). The end of the world has never been so entertaining. This additional content will really lead readers into the book, acting as a prequel to the text.

Website Launch

"Pan Macmillan has launched its new website – http://www.panmacmillan.com/ – designed for consumers, trade and the media. The new site delivers a web infrastructure on which to build and develop a growing range of direct-to-consumer platforms to support Pan Macmillan’s established and evolving brands, including picador.com and mykindabook.com

The website was designed by design agency Root, selected after a four-way pitch for their original and striking design. MMT Digital was selected after a five-way pitch for the technical build.

A content-rich Home Page enables visitors to find out about new titles, featured authors and books, with carousel Showcase, Brand New and Featured bars which spin and highlight particular themes and subjects guiding readers to relevant books and authors.

A stand-alone Children's Home Page takes visitors directly on a journey through Macmillan’s wide range of bestselling children’s titles. News and Events pages with regular updates about author readings and events, and a host of other Pan Macmillan-related activity, take visitors straight through to comment and trailers. A range of subject pages such as 'Crime & Thrillers', ‘Women's Fiction’ and ‘Science Fiction’, drive visitors to other content and titles around the site. A new “Books You Might Like” feature encourages readers to explore new authors. The site is e-commerce enabled but also features links to a range of retailers."

Continue reading News: Cover Reveals and More

Review: If I Die by Rachel Vincent

If I Die by Rachel Vincent (review copy) - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoiled for you.

NO ONE WANTS TO BE THIS TEACHER’S PET . . .

Everyone else is talking about Eastlake High’s gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck, but Kaylee Cavanaugh has bigger things on her mind. Kaylee’s a banshee—her scream is a portent of death.

But the next scream might hit too close to home. Kaylee’s borrowed lifeline has almost run out.

Yeah—it’s a shock to her, too. So to distract herself from her own problems, Kaylee is determined to defend her school against the latest supernatural threat. That hot new teacher is really an incubus, who feeds from the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend’s delinquent ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck…before he discovers they aren’t quite human either.

But Kaylee’s running out of time, and those who love her will do anything to save her life.

ANYTHING. From RachelVincent.com

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Discussion: Author/Blogger Relationships and Reviewing

I have been catchin up on the blog posts of adult urban fantasy author, Stacia Kane, and her last series of posts (Something in the Water? / Freedom of Speech / I'm Not a Reader) are about authors responding to negative reviews, how people review, and author reviews. The posts actually go a lot deeper than how I've summarised them and say a lot more, but at the very, very basic, that's what they're about. I highly recommend you go and check them out because they're so fascinating and interesting! I just love when authors write posts like this, it's such an eye opener.

Anyway, in one way or another, the idea that authors getting friends and family to review/rate their books on Amazon and Goodreads is wrong crops up a few times. Of course it is, I'm not disputing that whatsoever, but it got me thinking about a few things that are only slightly related, and I wanted to ask what people's views on them were. And so here we have a discussion!

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Cover Reavel and Trailers

I have a cover reveal and some trailers to share with you all.

First of all, the cover reveal for the UK cover of Black Dawn by Rachel Caine:

Black Dawn by Rachel Caine (released 1st May 2012) - In Last Breath, the rain brought a new and dire threat to Morganville and its vampires...their ancient enemies, the draug. Now, the vampires are fighting a losing war, and it will fall to the residents of the Glass House: Michael, Eve, Shane and Claire, to take the fight to an enemy who threatens to destroy the town, forever.
Lovers of Morganville, rejoice: Black Dawn takes the intrigue, romance and nail-biting suspense of the series to its highest level yet! From AllisonandBusby.com

Gorgeous, huh? So looking forward to this one!

And now for the trailers.

Continue reading Cover Reavel and Trailers

Blog Tour: Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

Today, the Touch of Power Blog Tour is stopping by my blog! Maria V. Snyder, author of Touch of Power, the first in a brand new series, is stopping by to answer some of my questions!

Touch of Power is the first book in your third YA high fantasy series. Urban fantasy/paranormal romance and dystopia are very popular YA genres at the moment, so why high fantasy?

Interesting! I don’t really see my books as high fantasy. When I think high fantasy, I think of LOTR. I look at them more as fantasy lite with elements of mystery, suspense, and romance. No matter what they’re called, I enjoy writing fantasy and am not the type to jump on trends. Plus, if I’m not excited about my story and world, then my readers won’t be either. :)

Continue reading Blog Tour: Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

Review: Lost Christmas by David Logan

Lost Christmas by David Logan - "Give him your hand Frank. Let him tell you what you've lost. Old lady's lost a bangle, he knows I've lost a dog, well you've lost something too. Let him tell you what."

Eleven-year old Goose is lost. It's Christmas, his parents are dead and now his dog Mutt has gone missing. Those round him aren't doing much better: his Uncle Frank's wife has walked out on him and his nan is losing her mind.

But then Anthony appears: a man who seems to know everything about those he touches by nothing at all about himself...

Who is he, how does he know so much, and can he help Goose?

So begins a dramatic journey through love, loss and the quest for home. From the blurb

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Cover Reveal: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Breaking News, people! The long awaited UK cover for Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver!

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (released 1st March 2012) - Love, the deadliest of all deadly things.
It kills you when you have it.
And when you don't.

I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Pandemonium is a poignant, explosive, recklessly romantic and utterly heartbreaking novel. Like Delirium, the first in the compelling trilogy, it will take you to the very edge. That's all you need to know. We'll let Lena do the rest of the talking... From official blurb.

What do you think? I don't like it, myself. The colour is too close to orange, and I hate orange. And it just doesn't say much about the book, though I guess running is important to Lena in the book. I don't know, it just isn't my cup of tea. The words inside are brilliant though! How about you? Do you like it?

Continue reading Cover Reveal: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

News: Maria V. Snyder Goodies

Maria V. Snyder news!
Maria kicked off the Touch of Power blog tour today on the Touch of Power site, so go check out what she has to say.

Continue reading News: Maria V. Snyder Goodies

The Dark Days of January Blog Tour: Sara Grant Talks Girl Power

Today I'm taking part in The Dark Days of January Blog Tour for Dark Parties, the debut novel from YA author Sara Grant! Read on for her brilliant post on girl power!

Girl Power

Dark Parties should come with a warning: potentially hazardous to misogynists. I can’t help it. I’m all about girl power. If you read Dark Parties, be forewarned women are the rebels. They take the risks and lead the charge. They don’t weald weapons, but they are instruments of change none the less.

Females are the perfect protagonist in a story of rebellion. Fact: women can hack pain much better than men. Let’s see: there are bras, panty hose, waxing, plucking and – don’t get me started on our monthly test of torture.

A huge thank you to Suzanne Collins. Before she created Katniss Everdeen, I’d heard a few children’s book editors say they weren’t interested in kick arse female protagonist. They didn’t think readers would be interested. Seriously?!

When I was young, I was absolutely obsessed with the TV show Charlie’s Angels. I loved that three beautiful women were catching the bad guys with brains, revolvers and style. I never understood how they could run in high heels (I tried it once with disastrous consequences), but oh-so admired them for it.

My sister and a few of the neighbourhood kids would pretend to be Charlie’s Angels – running around Northeast Ninth Street catching faux baddies. I had the board game, the dolls, the radio, a complete set of the collectable cards, not to mention that I was an official member of the Cheryl Ladd (the actress who played Kris Monroe) fan club. Sure, I found out much later, Charlie’s Angels was known as jiggle TV, but at eight years old, I wanted to be Jill, Kelly, Kris and Sabrina. In the mid-1970s, it was one of the only feminine lead dramas.

If you ask me, not much has changed. We need more female protagonists catching the villains and mixing it up for the greater good. I’ve got nothing against romance or men. There’s a love triangle in Dark Parties and a hot, mysterious leading man, who mixes it up and gives a little white knight action of his own. But most of Dark Parties is about Neva, my female protagonist, finding her voice, her power and her strength.

And, if you think Dark Parties is enough to make you burn your bra, stay tuned for my next book. It’s girl power times infinity.

Sorry boys, but it’s time for girls to rock!

Thank you, Sara, for such a fantastic post! Is it just me, or did anyone else read this post and hear Alexandra Burke singing "All the ladies tell the fellas we can do what they can do, we can do it even better in broken heels" in their head? What do you think of what Sara says? Can you think of other YA novels where the girls are showing the boys how it's done?

Dark Parties was released on 22nd December 2012. Be sure to check out Sara's website.

Continue reading The Dark Days of January Blog Tour: Sara Grant Talks Girl Power

Night School Blog Tour: Photographer Josefine Jönsson on the Cover Photo

I have a post from the photographer and model of the photo used in the cover of Night School, Josefine Jönsson. Josefine's photos have also been used on the covers for Entangled by Cat Clarke and Forgotten by Cat Patrick. Josefine has written about the inspiration for the series of photos the cover image is from, and how it feels to see her photos on covers.

When it comes to self-portraiture I like to think of myself as another person and create a character to capture on film. For these images I really wanted some dark feeling to them, yet wanted them to be quite peaceful. The series is called my disease, as I was inspired by a song called My Disease by A Skylit Drive. The lines that I had in mind while creating these photos were:

It's exactly what it seems
The horror I live
The evil that beats inside me
It's called "my disease"
The first photo, which is used on the cover of C.J Daugherty's book, is quite peaceful when looking at it. I wanted to capture the feeling where the person in the photo is trying to hide themselves, to cover up what is her disease. What the disease really is would be up to the viewer to decide when looking at the photo.

The second one in this series suggests that she's letting the disease take over, but still not showing her eyes to the viewer to not reveal what it really is.



I am always very positively surprised when it comes to seeing my photos on covers! It still feels a little weird seeing myself on the cover, but I sure enjoy it. It’s also fun to see what they will do with the photo, change colours, crop it or add things. Sometimes it feels like a whole new image than before, it really shows how little elements you can add/remove to create another feeling. It sure is a certain feeling when walking to a book store and seeing your image on a book and the feeling when reading a book with your face on it is really amazing! I can’t remember when I only used to dream to be on a book cover some day and now it’s my fifth one! Really looking forward to be reading Night School which would be in my post very soon!

Thanks, Josefine, for such a fantastic guest post! How brilliant are her photos? I am such a fan! Be sure to check out Josefine's website, blog and Facebook page.

Continue reading Night School Blog Tour: Photographer Josefine Jönsson on the Cover Photo

Book Trailers: Cinder and Beat the Band

I have trailers for you! Lookie lookie!



Cinder by Marissa Meyer - released 5th January 2012



Marissa Meyer's:
Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Lastly, there will be an author event on January 9th as a Facebook/ Twitter party at 7:00 EST.

Beat the Band by Don Calame - released 1st February 2012



Don Calame's:
Website / Twitter

Continue reading Book Trailers: Cinder and Beat the Band

Review: Real Live Boyfriends by E. Lockhart

Real Live Boyfriends by E. Lockhart - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoiled for you.

Ruby Oliver is in love.
Or it would be love, if Noel, her real live boyfriend, would call her back.
But Noel seems to have turned into a pod-robot lobotomy patient, and Ruby can’t figure out why.

Not only is her romantic life a shambles:
Her dad is eating nothing but Cheetos,
Her mother’s got a piglet head in the refrigerator,
Hutch has gone to Paris to play baguette air guitar,
Gideon shows up shirtless,
And the pygmy goat Robespierre is no help whatsoever.

Will Ruby ever control her panic attacks?
Will she ever understand boys?
Will she ever stop making lists?
(No to that last one.)

Roo has lost most of her friends. She’s lost her true love, more than once. She’s lost her grandmother, her job, her reputation, and possibly her mind. But she’s never lost her sense of humor. The Ruby Oliver books are the record of her survival. From Amazon UK

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Cover Reveals: Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Today, thanks to the lovely people at HarperCollins UK, I get to share with you the new cover for the Divergent paperback and reveal the cover for it's sequel, Insurgent, both by Veronica Roth! And incase you don't know what I'm talking about, the blurbs for both.

Divergent by Veronica Roth (Paperback published on 2nd February 2012) - She turns to face the future in a world that’s falling apart.

For sixteen-year-old Tris, the world changes in a heartbeat when she is forced to make a terrible choice. Turning her back on her family, Tris ventures out, alone, determined to find out where she truly belongs.

Shocked by the brutality of her new life, Tris can trust no one. And yet she is drawn to a boy who seems to both threaten and protect her. The hardest choices may yet lie ahead….

A debut novel that will leave you breathless. From Amazon UK


Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Published on 1st May 2012) - Fighting for survival in a shattered world… the truth is her only hope.

The thrillingly dark sequel to New York Times bestseller, DIVERGENT.

War looms in sixteen-year-old Tris’s dark dystopian world as disputes between the factions grow. Tris must now fight against all odds to discover the truth that can save her and the people she loves. Sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge – and the choices she makes will have devastating and unexpected consequences. From Amazon UK

Aren't they gorgeous?! I love them! I much prefer this Divergent cover to the hardback!

Continue reading Cover Reveals: Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth