Do You Know This Book?

People, I need your help! There is a book that was about when I was at school that I would like to read, but I can't remember the title or the author. A friend of mine at school read it, but I wasn't really interested... until now.

So what I know about the book. It's a young adult novel. I believe it's a mild horror, possibly a mystery. A girl is going off on a road trip after splitting up with her boyfriend. On the drive, she sees two hitch hikers, a guy and a girl, about her age that she picks up. They're either a couple or siblings, I can't quite remember which. As time goes by, I believe they run out of money, and there's still a long way to go, so the guy persuades her that they should rob a shop - I think this happens a few times. In the end, you find out that these two hitch hikers are actually ghosts. I don't know the main plot of the book, as I never read it, I was just told about it, and read excerpts. This was about ten years ago. I could be wrong, but it may have been on an award's shortlist, because I think that's why my friend was reading it, she was reading a number of books for the school library for an award and this book may have been one of them. I believe it was the Carnegie award, but again, I could be wrong.

Does this ring any bells with anyone? If so, please let me know! I want to read it! Thank you! :)

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Guest Post: Jefferson Smith - Writing Time is Family Time

Today I have YA author, Jefferson Smith, to talk about how the writing process for his novel, Strange Places, wasn't what you would expect.

Writing Time is Family Time

Like many authors I have spoken to, my writing time had always been a fairly isolating and lonely process. Was it any wonder that, in that environment, I had somehow managed to get all tangled up in myself? In a sense, my early stories had felt like me, talking to me, about me. No wonder they seemed dull and lifeless. But then one day a funny thing happened: I started working with my daughter. At first, it was just an idea we had for a character. She was interested in all things Goth at the time, and I was looking for a way to get her to express herself, so we put our heads together and came up with a girl character named Tayna. At the time, Tayna was a bit darker and broodier than she is now, but she already had the competence and the "nobody's fool" things going on. And she definitely had the funny. The core of our favorite orphan was already in place.

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Weekly Gossip

Here is your bookish news from the past week.

First up, videos!

Here is the trailer for The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne:

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First Class Post - because this post is first class!

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Review: The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver

The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver (ARC) - One day when Liza went to bed, Patrick was her chubby, stubby, sweet-grubbing, and pancake-loving younger brother, who irritated and amused her both, and the next morning, when she woke up, he was not.
In fact, he was quite, quite different.

When Liza's brother, Patrick, changes overnight, Liza knows exactly what has happened: the spindlers have got to him, and stolen his soul.
She knows, too, that she is the only one who can save him.

To rescue Patrick, Liza must go Below, armed with little more than her wits and a broom. There, she uncovers a vast world populated with talking rats, music-loving moles, greedy troglods, and overexcitable nids . . . as well as strange monsters and terrible dangers. But she will face her greatest challenge at the spindlers' nests, where she encounters the evil Queen and must pass a series of deadly tests - or else her soul, too, will remain Below forever. From Amazon UK

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Weekly Gossip

Here is your bookish news from the past week.

First, a cover reveal!

Simon and Schuster Children's Books have released the cover for Infinite Sky by C.J. Flood.


What do we think? I think it's gorgeous! Intriguing!

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First Class Post - because this post is first class!

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Guest Post: Tera Lynn Childs on Why She Writes About Greek Mythology

Today, I'm lucky enough to have YA author Tera Lynn Childs stop by my blog to talk to us about her new novel in the UK, Sweet Venom and why she decided to write about Greek mythology!

Why I Write About Greek Mythology
by Tera Lynn Childs

There isn't a time I can remember when I didn't love Greek mythology. I have always been fascinated by ancient cultures—Roman, Egyptian, Mayan, Incan—but ancient Greece was my obsession. I can't point to a specific book or story or event that started it all. It might have something to do with my family. My father was a scenic and lighting designer and I grew up in and around the theatre. Greek drama marks the origins of the Western theatre tradition, and I have known and loved plays like Oedipus Rex, Antigone, and Agamemnon since I was a little girl. Like theatre itself, these stories involving flawed, powerful gods and beautiful, vengeful goddesses are in my blood.

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A Novel Cover Up: Lee Gibbons on Katya's World by Jonathan L. Howard

Today is the first post of a brand new feature here at Once Upon a Bookcase - A Novel Cover Up.

A Novel Cover Up is a semi-regular feature that looks at how covers are made. Thanks to Strange Chemistry, I have been fortunate enough to interview book jacket illustrator Lee Gibbons about how he designed the cover for Katya's World by Jonathan L. Howard. Other than the cover, all images in this post are copyrighted to Lee Gibbons and used with permission, and can be clicked to enlarge.

Can you tell us about the cover for Katya’s World? What do you hope it tells readers about the story?

With a cover like Katya's World, the cover image needed to be a logo rather than an illustration of an image taken from the text.
What I tried to get across was something of the atmosphere of the story and the world in which it takes place, without giving away any specific plot points.
Something that was very important was to stress that even though most of the action takes place beneath the sea in submarines, this is an ocean on an alien planet light years from earth.

Continue reading A Novel Cover Up: Lee Gibbons on Katya's World by Jonathan L. Howard

New Feature Announcement: A Novel Cover Up

I have an announcement to make! Once Upon a Bookcase has a brand new feature - A Novel Cover Up!

A Novel Cover Up will be a semi-regular feature that looks into how covers are made. It will include guest posts and interviews with cover designers, illustrators, and the art department/design teams at various publishers!

I'm really excited to about A Novel Cover Up, and think it will be a really interesting feature! There are a number of posts that are in discussion, some that are in the process of being written, and publishers who are seeing what they can do! I really think it's going to be an awesome feature, and I hope you will stop by and have a read.

The very first A Novel Cover Up post will go live tomorrow, Friday! Be sure to pop back and read the fascinating interview about a cover for a book that is about to be released from a fairly new publishing imprint...

Hope to see you tomorrow!

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Review: Jessie Hearts NYC by Keris Stainton

Jessie Hearts NYC by Keris Stainton (review copy) - Jessie's just arrived in New York, hoping to forget about her awful ex.

New Yorker Finn is in love with his best friend's girlfriend.

They might be perfect together, but in a city of eight million people, will they find each other? From Amazon UK

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Selena Blake Takes the UK Blog Tour: Selena on the 2012 Olympics

Today, Selena Blake Takes the UK Blog Tour is stopping by Once Upon a Bookcase! Selena is touring UK blogs to say "hey" to her British fans. Read on for Selena's thoughts on the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Did your hero make it to London?

Can you believe it's been four years since the Summer Olympics in Beijing? Neither can I. It was that summer that my first books came out. I got my first fan letter. Made my first dollar from publishing.

What an amazing four years it's been.

Continue reading Selena Blake Takes the UK Blog Tour: Selena on the 2012 Olympics

Weekly Gossip

Here is your news from the past week!

First up, the cover reveals.

Rachel Vincent has released the US cover for Oath Bound, the third and final book in the Unbound Series.


I think it's beautiful! I currently much prefer the US covers than the UK, this cover in particular. What do you think?

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First Class Post - because this post is first class!

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Review: Black Dawn by Rachel Caine (#Ad)

Black Dawn by Rachel Caine

I was sent this review copy for free by Allison & Busby for the purposes of providing an honest review.

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.

When a tide of ferocious draug, the vampire's deadliest enemy, floods Morganville, its eclectic mix of residents must fight to save their town from devastation.

Chaos has taken over the quiet college town of Morganville as the threat of the draug rapidly spreads with the help of the city's water system. Whilst most of the locals have already fled, student Claire Danvers and her friends Shane, Eve and Michael choose to stay and fight.

Things take a turn for the worse when vampire Amelie, the town's founder, is infected by the master draug's bite. Unless Claire and her friends can find an antidote to save Amelie and overcome the draug, Morganville's future looks bleak... From Amazon UK

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Pushing the Limits Blog Tour: Katie McGarry on Body Image and Self-Esteem

Today I have the honour of having debut author of Pushing the Limits, Katie McGarry stopping by my blog as part of her UK blog tour! I absolutely loved Pushing the Limits - you can read my rave review here - so I am ecstatic to have Katie on my blog! Read on for Katie's thoughts on self-esteem.

Katie McGarry on Body Image and Self-Esteem


Every time I stood in the mirror at sixteen I saw the same things: brown mousey hair that couldn’t decide if it wanted to be straight or curly, scars on my side from where I’d been bitten by a dog in second grade, a scar on my hand from when I broke my arm as a child, a big nose, calves that were way too muscular for a girl, and a chest that drew attention from guys who never looked into my eyes thus causing me to wear overly large sweatshirts and to constantly cross my arms over my chest.

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Review: Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost

Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost - 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.

After a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her channel electricity and learn a person's darkest secrets through a single touch. Leila is doomed to a life of solitude...until creatures of the night kidnap her, forcing her to reach out with a telepathic distress call to the world's most infamous vampire...

Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all - but whatever you do, don't call him Dracula. Vlad's ability to control fire makes him one of the most feared vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against him - a beautiful mortal with powers to match his own. When Vlad and Leila meet, however, passion ignites between them, threatening to consume them both. It will take everything that they are to stop an enemy intent on bringing them down in flames. From Amazon UK

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Weekly Gossip

Here is your bookish news from the past week.

First up, cover reveals!

Strange Chemistry have released the preliminary cover artwork for Pantomime by Laura Lam.


Isn't it absolutely gorgeous?! The artwork is by Tom Bagshaw, and I love it! It's so beautiful! Can't wait to see what the final cover will look like!

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First Class Post - because this post is first class!

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Metawars Blog Tour: Jeff Norton on Technological Advances

Today, debut YA author of Metawars: Fight For the Future, Jeff Norton, is stopping by my blog as part of his Metawars Blog Tour! Read on for Jeff's thoughts on technological advances, and how they inspired his novel.

The pace of technology is relentless.

The potential of today’s interconnected world is both amazing and amazingly scary. And it’s fantastically fertile ground for fiction.

I initially conceived of my new book, METAWARS: FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE, six years ago when listening to then Environment Minister David Miliband speak about individual carbon credits. That was the autumn of 2006, and I had been on facebook for only one month. I couldn’t shake the story idea of a teenager trying to save the internet from a monopolistic social network, but it wasn’t until I was stranded by the Icelandic ash cloud in 2010 that I started crafting the book. By then, four years later, the world was even more interconnected. When the billowing ash grounded Europe’s planes, and I was unable to fly home; I turned to the web to stay connected.

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Review: Fearless by Brigid Kemmerer

Fearless by Brigid Kemmerer - 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.

Being a force of nature doesn’t keep you safe.

Hunter Garrity is used to watching his back. The kids at school sense something different about him. And they’re right.

Hunter has powers that have nothing to do with how hard he can throw a punch.

Maybe that’s what Clare Kasten is picking up. She’s shy, quiet, and intense, but she’s sought him out. There’s no telling what she wants from him.

But Hunter knows enough to sense a secret when it’s close. And getting close to Clare is a danger he’s ready to face... From Amazon UK

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Review: Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur

Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur - Something terrible has happened. Eleven-year-old Aubrey is on her own.

'It was fun at first, playing house. Nothing to think about but TV and cheese. A perfect world.'

She's determined to hide away and take care of herself, because facing the truth is too much to bear.

'I couldn't let anyone know that I was alone. I was staying right here.'

But with the love of her grandmother and the letters she writes, can Aubrey begin to see that even though she's lost everything - all is not lost? From Amazon UK

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Nicole J. Persun's Guest Post: Cross Your Genre, Hope to Die

Today I have the pleasure of handing over my blog over to author of YA fantasy A Kingdom's Possesion, Nicole J. Persun to talk about authors being pigeon-holed into one genre.

Cross Your Genre, Hope to Die

Readers like to assume that writers tend to stay within their own genre, just like many actors tend to get typecast in stride with their most famous characters. However, writers are versatile creatures who, just like actors, are capable of branching out. In fact, it’s commendable for a writer to step outside their “usual” work. When a writer practices poetry, flash fiction, short stories, novellas, and novels across all genres, they are stretching their abilities to create better work. For example, writing literary fiction might help an author’s character development in their fantasy novel. And writing thrillers will help their ability to build suspense and tension within their historical fiction works. Writing short stories helps tighten scenes within larger pieces, and writing poetry makes the prose more intentional and effective in fiction.

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Release Day: Losing Lila by Sarah Alderson

The amazing Losing Lila, sequel to Hunting Lila, by Sarah Alderson is released today! Yes, it's out now! Have no clue what I'm on about? Read on!

Losing Lila by Sarah Alderson - Alex and Lila are on the run, desperately trying to stay one step ahead of the Unit, which somehow is managing to track their every move. Whilst Alex is determined to keep Lila safe and her ability secret at any cost, Lila’s only thought is of finding a way back to California so that she can rescue her brother and mother from the military base where they’re being held.

Struggling to control both her growing power and her deepening feelings for Alex, Lila decides the time has finally come to stop running and start fighting. Together with Alex, Demos, and the people she’s come to think of as family, Lila plans not just to save her brother and mother, but to completely destroy the Unit and everything it stands for.

But the plan requires Lila to return alone to California, make friends with the enemy, and to risk losing everything - Alex, her family, and even her life. From Goodreads.

Exciting, huh? AND it includes an awesome short story at the back of the book from Alex's point of view of early events in Hunting Lila. I have been fortunate enough to have read it already, so you can read my rave review. If you fancy it, you can also check out my reviews for Hunting Lila and Catching Suki.


Speaking of Catching Suki - the awesome prequel short story to Hunting Lila (that should only be read after reading Hunting Lila) - the Simon and Schuster UK Facebook Page is allowing readers to download it for FREE! What are you waiting for?! Get to reading!

Continue reading Release Day: Losing Lila by Sarah Alderson