Showing posts with label author appreciation week. Show all posts
Showing posts with label author appreciation week. Show all posts

Thursday, 18 March 2010

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Author Appreciation Week: Adult and YA Fantasy Authors

author appreciation week

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 caineRachel 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 vincentRachel 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-readyJeri 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 meadRichelle 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 harrisonKim 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 marrMelissa 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

Tuesday, 16 March 2010

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Author Appreciation Week: Luisa Plaja

author appreciation month

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

Monday, 15 March 2010

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Author Appreciation Week: Stephenie Meyer

author appreciation week

Stephenie Meyer

Stephenie Meyer


When I first became a reader, I was only a fantasy reader for such a long time. Most of my reading consisted of adult or cross-over high fantasy, such as books by David Eddings, Raymond E Feist, and Robin Hobb. Other than the Harry Potter novels and the occasional - but very rare - romance, that was all I read.

Then in 2008, I took a Writing for Children class, where we had to analyse various young adult novels and write an essay answering the question "What is young adult fiction?" It was such an interesting class, but most of the books I read were mainly ok. Nothing really grabbed me - until we had to read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. When our tutor spoke to us about it, I was actually pretty warey - a book with vampires? That has got to me a horror. Obviously, I was wrong, and you know what? I fell in love.

I know there are a fair amount of people who don't like the Twilight series, and that's fine. But after spending years reading books about quests, magic, good vs evil, gods, knights, sorcerers, royalty, etc, the Twilight saga wasn't anything like I had come across before in fantasy. There was romance, there was danger, there were real life places and ordinary humans - but also the wonderful paranormal. It was just incredible. Obviously, I went on from Twilight to New Moon, to Eclipse, reading them over and over, because I couldn't get enough of this beautiful paranormal romance. After a while however, I started looking for other novels. Amazon gave me some recommendations because of liking Twilight, and I discovered other YA urban fantasy novels and adult ones too. From other YA urban fantasies came an interest in other YA, which eventually lead to the creation of Once Upon a Bookcase.

There are so many amazing books, adult and YA, fantasy and non, that I would never have even considered if it wasn't for Stephenie Meyer and her Twiligh saga. As I've said before, there are a fair amount of people who aren't fans, but surely each and every one of those people have to at least respect Stephenie Meyer if she is broadening the horizons of readers, or getting people to start reading in the first place. This series will always be one of my favourites, and I have so much to be thankful for because of this series. I think that earns Meyer my appreciation, and she has it in bucket loads.
Continue reading Author Appreciation Week: Stephenie Meyer

Sunday, 14 March 2010

Author Appreciation Week - 15th - 19th March

author appreciation weekDebut author of Sea (June 2010), Heidi Kling has named 15th - 19th March Author Appreciation Week! What does this mean?

Well, basically, you post each day of the week showering your favourite YA authors with love, and letting other readers know who they are, what they write, and how much they should pick up their books! Simple! Why? Well, because you love them, and you think they should be shown a bit of support!

Then whenever you create a post, mention it on Twitter with either of the hashtags #AA or #AuthorAppreciationWeek, so we can all find each other's posts! I have a fair few authors who I absolutely adore, so I will be sharing with you all just how great they are! :)

Graphic made by Sara from Novel Novice.
Continue reading Author Appreciation Week - 15th - 19th March