Cover Reveal: My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish by Mo O'Hara

In 2008 I met Mo O’Hara, the funniest person I know – even funnier than me, if you can imagine that! But, I was soon to discover that Mo wasn’t just funny. She was American too. And a bit macabre. She told me this story about her and her brother bringing their goldfish back to life using a battery. I was all “yeah, right” but no, she swore it was true. On the back of this story, she subsequently wrote a book to shut me up. That book is MY BIG FAT ZOMBIE GOLDFISH and today, my friends, on Halloween, I’m supremely proud to be hosting the cover reveal of this fantastic book:

Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

Synopsis

For 500 years Lenah Beaudonte has been a vampire. 500 years of seduction, blood and destruction. But she is sickened by her dark powers and longs to feel the sun on her skin, grass under her bare feet, and share the breath of a human kiss.

She wants to be mortal again.

But is she really capable of being human, after her long years of darkness? Waking up as a sixteen-year-old girl brings Lenah many things the life she has missed, taste, touch, love. But a vampire soul is not easily shed. And her coven of four vampires she led in decadence and thrilling destruction want their queen back…

I don't know how this book passed me by but with the second Vampire Queen novel having recently come out I wanted to catch up. The book begins with Lenah waking up after a hundred year sleep - one which ends with her being transformed into a mortal sixteen-year-old girl. Her maker, Rhode, is responsible for her return to human form. As a result he dies the next day leaving Lenah completely alone in her new life. I quite liked this twist as it meant she had to rely on herself during the first part of her story. She must assimilate herself into high school life and make sure that she doesn't attract the attention of her former coven. When Lenah was a vampire she was completely deadly, ruthless and cruel and thought nothing of killing a child to feed upon. Infinite Days definitely embraces the traditional vampire - deadly killers who have no trace of humanity about them. I found this quite a relief. I always prefer my vampires to be inhuman monsters.

Something that I loved about Infinite Days was the switch between present day and Lenah in the past. As she was made a vampire in the 1500's we see her as she was then and throughout her life (death?). We follow her over the centuries and see how the passage of time has changed her. Fortunately this means that we get to see Rhode and also some of her other coven members, especially Vicken - the only other love of Lenah's undead existence. Through these flashbacks we get to understand her love for both vampires and get a feel for why she's so desperate to be human again. Because she has existed for over five hundred years her language is antiquated at first and she struggles with things we take for granted like clubs, boats and other run-of-the-mill things. This mix of young and old make Lenah a very unique heroine.

In her new life I loved seeing how Lenah adapts to being human again. She initially keeps some vampire traits like ESP or vampire sight. She struggles to understand how to interact socially and is saved by Tony, a student at her high school on an arts scholarship. They bond and although it's easy to see where Tony's feelings are going Lenah is distracted by the gorgeous Justin. I wasn't initially convinced by Justin but let's just say that he won me over in the end! Lenah's journey is an incredible one; she goes from being socially inept to a fully fledged teenager. But of course Lenah's past catches up with her and the finale is breathtaking. I'm just glad that I have the next installment as the cliffhanger would have driven me crazy otherwise.

Debutantes by Cora Harrison

Synopsis

It’s 1923 and London is a whirl of jazz, dancing and parties. Violet, Daisy, Poppy and Rose Derrington are desperate to be part of it, but stuck in an enormous crumbling house in the country, with no money and no fashionable dresses, the excitement seems a lifetime away.

Luckily the girls each have a plan for escaping their humdrum country life: Rose wants to be a novelist, Poppy a jazz musician and Daisy a famous film director. Violet, however, has only one ambition: to become the perfect Debutante, so that she can go to London and catch the eye of Prince George, the most eligible bachelor in the country.

But a house as big and old as Beech Grove Manor hides many secrets, and Daisy is about to uncover one so huge it could ruin all their plans—ruin everything—forever.

First off, this cover must surely be in the finalists for prettiest of the year? That's what drew me in to be honest but I've always been a bit like that. I do love a bit of period drama too so this combination meant I had to give Debutantes a try. The four sisters - twins Poppy and Daisy, eldest Violet and little Rose - are all members of a faded and much-reduced aristocratic family. Since their father lost all of their money in some odd scheme things have been very tight. So tight in fact that there's little chance that Violet will be able to have her debutante season in London or be presented at court. This means she has no hopes of finding a rich husband and getting herself and her sisters out of their grinding poverty.

We get to know twin Daisy pretty well as the book mostly focuses on her. She is an amateur film maker and has high hopes of doing it professionally. As it is, her amateur films bring in some much needed cash. It's obvious though that Violet must go to London so between them they hatch a scheme to help bring this about. From the beginning there is also a mystery to be solved which starts in the form of a letter found in an abandoned stable. To be honest the answer to this mystery is fairly obvious from very early on but this didn't really spoil my enjoyment of the book.

The interest in this book, for me, was the 1920's detail. The fact that the girls didn't go to school as there was no money. The way that all money went to first born sons meaning that the debutant season is really a fierce battle between eligible girls trying to snag those first-born sons. Although I don't think that Violet was a character who was easy to like I did feel sorry for her. The only other opportunity that appears to be available for her is to settle as a spinster if she can't marry. The girls are even set to lose their home when their father dies due to an entail on the estate (Sense and Sensibility style).

Things really take off when they go to London and everything is neatly sewn up by the end of the story. Debutantes is a fun, easy and escapist read - perfect for holidays.

Guest Review - Author Julie Bertagna talks Divergent with MFB

MFB jumped at the chance to host this thoughtful review/guest blog by Julie Bertagna, author of the dystopic trilogy: Exodus, Zenith, Aurora.

***

DIVERGENT review by Julie Bertagna

By 2012, the tide of apocalyptic and dystopian fiction that is taking the YA publishing world by storm will be a veritable tsunami. Pick your apocalypse, disaster or dystopia. Asteroid hit? Moon crash? A world short of water? Flooded by rising seas? Running out of oil? Scarce on oxygen? Or scarce on basic freedoms, ruled by sinister powers who decide your fate?

Divergent by Veronica Roth is the latest, much-hyped debut on the dystopian scene, marketed as a natural successor to Suzanne Collins’ massively successful Hunger Games trilogy. I was interested to discover that Divergent was optioned for a film adaptation by the makers of the Twilight movies even before the book was published, because I often felt I was reading the script of an action mov-ie, rather than a novel - and that, for me, was both the book’s weakness and its strength.

In this dystopia world, devastating war has been followed by a ‘great peace’. I had to guess that this war had been global as Beatrice Prior’s world and references are limited to a future Chicago, where society has been divided into five factions, each cultivating the various virtues which, it is believed, will save humans from further war.

The strangeness of this idea gripped me right away. It’s a scenario worthy of Margaret Atwood. YA readers, stressed out by exams and life choices, will identify with the tests sixteen-year-old Bea-trice is put through and her pressurised decision over which faction she will belong to for the rest of her life: Candor, Dauntless, Amity, Erudite or staying with her family in Abnegation? Beatrice becomes Tris and makes a choice which wrenches her from a safe but dull existence and all she has ever known. And for the next few hundred pages, Tris is immersed in a brutal initiation trial: a gang world of extreme violence, where every day is a fight to survive the murderous tests deemed essential in order to become a true member of her chosen faction. In The Hunger Games it’s clear from the outset that Katniss is fighting for her life and for her loved ones, but it’s only in the final hundred pages of Divergent that the real plot kicks in and Tris’ torture begins to make sense.

Yet amid the over-long violence some characters of real depth emerge and Tris has to grapple with difficult moral choices - and an overwhelming attraction to a boy who becomes central to the real battle ahead.

It’s a thrillingly fast-paced and action-packed story, but ultimately the relentless violence wea-kened the book for me because it had a cartoon quality that strained my credibility too far, too often. One one occasion Tris is beaten unconscious, in another she is shot and has a bullet lodged in her shoulder - episodes which would floor ordinary mortals - but Tris’ discomfort is fleeting and soon she is back on her feet, battling on regardless. The unending brutality became repetitive and numbing, and Tris’ one-dimensional reaction to most events is to want to kick, punch or strangle someone. So when the really tragic episodes occur, what should be heart-wrenching is diminished, losing its power to shock amid so much page-by-page violence.

Divergent is an intriguing addition to the welter of futuristic visions of the current dystopian craze and Tris is a gutsy, unpredictable girl character. Often perplexing, hard to like or understand, it was these very flaws that kept me interested in her when the violence became tedious. Tris may take bravado and girlpower to unrealistic extremes, but this plain, long-nosed, selfish, gung-ho girl is a welcome divergence from some of the more bland, beautiful and needy heroines of YA fiction.

***

This is another very interesting artice Julie had done for The Scotsman on Dystopic Fiction, which is definitely worth a look at.

Thank you so much to Julie and to MacMillan for thinking of MFB to host Julie's rounds around the internet. Aurora, the third book in the trilogy is out now.

The blogpost in which Josephine Angelini does NOT talk about her favourite books!

So, we asked Josephine Angelini to tell us a little about her favourite books. I didn't expect what we got back but it sure is funny! Thank you Josephine - you really made me giggle.

I’ve been dreading writing this post. I’ve put it off for days, hoping in vain that the next time I look at the title it will have changed to something else. Like “Favorite Board Games When You Were A Child” or something like that. Mousetrap and Operation, in case you were wondering. I also would have liked Checkers, but my sister Louise would pinch me if I didn’t let her win so that ruined that game for me. I ended up hating playing Checkers because I really wanted to win just once, but Weezie pinched hard.

But this blog isn’t about “Favorite Board Games”. I look at the title, and there it is… staring at me. Not changing. “My Favorite Books” (cue ominous music).

See, I don’t have a favorite book. I don’t have a favorite writer. I have TONS of favorite books and favorite writers. But listing them is like walking into a trap. Think about it. You’re a writer and you meet lots of other writers—imagine you’re a big party where you’re all hanging out, mingling. Now imagine running into a writer who listed everyone in the room as one of her favorites, except for you. Awkward.

Now flip it. You’re the one shaking the hand of a writer who you accidentally left off a list of favorites. You look around the room and realize that you mentioned everyone else but this one person. This goes beyond awkward. This is “Seinfeld” level of uncomfortable.

In fact, I think there must be an episode about this. I couldn’t say for sure because I missed out on “Seinfeld”. For years, starting when I was about 15, I worked too many jobs to watch TV. I’ve also only seen a handful of episodes of Friends. The only character name I know is Rachel, and only because of the haircut. I watched “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” when I could, but later, and mostly in re-runs. I love “Buffy”. The original movie is pretty awesome, too.

*sigh* I guess I just have to bite the bullet, right? I have to give you a few books titles or I just won’t be fulfilling my end of the bargain. The only safe thing to do is list dead people. I certain I won’t run into any of them at a big party, at least for several more decades. But then, what about after I die? Hum.

Could you image listing everyone but Chaucer, and then you die and go to a ghost party with all the greats—Shakespeare, Austin, The Bronte sisters, Homer, and the like. They’re all on your list. And there, over by the wet bar is Chaucer. Just glaring at you. What do you say? Do you suck it up, go over, and start with, “’The Canterbury Tales’ really was super badass and I can’t believe I didn’t list it” or do you avoid him all night? This is just “Seinfeld” with ghosts. Maybe there’s a supernatural YA book in that…

I’m still stalling, aren’t I?

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Synopsis

Destiny brought them together. The Gods will keep them apart.

When shy, awkward Helen Hamilton sees Lucas Delos for the first time she thinks two things: the first, that he is the most ridiculously beautiful boy she has seen in her life; the second, that she wants to kill him with her bare hands.

With an ancient curse making them loathe one another, Lucas and Helen have to keep their distance. But sometimes love is stronger than hate, and not even the gods themselves can prevent what will happen . . .

When I first heard about this book I wasn't sure how a Greek myth based paranormal romance would work. Potentially this combination isn't a bad thing but it sat on my shelf for a while before I dived in. Helen lives with her dad and has one close friend, Claire . Other than that she enjoys running track, working in her dad's shop and being inconspicuous. As the book develops we realise that she isn't just terminally shy - she's aware that there's something different about her. A man who tried to touch her on a ferry disappears with a sizzle of electricity. She has to try to run more slowly in track to avoid bringing attention to herself. Helen is a girl who's spent her life knowing she's different but trying to ignore it.

When Lucas and his brothers arrive at school all her effort goes out of the window in a day. She can't stop herself from throwing herself at him - not to get his attention but to kill him if she can. She soon finds herself a victim of school hierarchy - the one thing that she'd tried so hard to stay away from. Although Helen discovers the answers about her super-human powers she also finds that she could potentially be in danger as could her whole family.

I enjoyed reading Starcrossed, Helen is incredibly likeable and her friendship with Claire is genuine and funny. I also thought that the development of her relationship with Lucas is really well done. I really felt for Helen and the injustices she goes through at first at the hands of his family. The only part that I didn't enjoy was a character who arrives later on in the book. Possibly this is because this character is getting in the way of my preferred ending and all books need conflict but I found myself really disliking this character and the hold they have over Helen. Other than this the mythology aspect of Starcrossed is very enjoyable and gives the book a real structure. Seeing how the Greek gods and their offspring manage in 2011 is very entertaining! One of my favourite characters is Cassandra who, just like the Greek myth, is a prophetess who has a tragic future ahead of her. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of her (and the rest of the characters) as the series progresses. The next book, which I think is called Dreamless, is out in May 2012.

Caution: Here be Monsters - Steve Feasey Blog Tour

It is our great pleasure to host Steve Feasey on MFB as part of his galloping blog tour to celebrate the release of his newest (and final) novel in the Changeling books: Changeling - Zombie Dawn.

I've had the opportunity to chat to Steve on several occasions and he's such a cool guy. He's basically a geek, you see. He knows stuff about stuff. Like creatures and monsters and how important it is to have a 'tooling up' scene for your heroes in a book full of action.

I've asked Steve to chat to MFB today about monsters, and those that inspired him whilst growing up. And he's given us a great piece which I am very proud to share with y'all.

Go on, admit it, you love monsters. How could you not? Great supernatural creatures have always been at the heart of horror fiction because when we read horror and dark fantasy, we want to be entertained; to be drawn out of our normal lives and plunged into a world of the paranormal. And we want monsters. At least, I do.

As part of this blog tour, in my guest blog over at Mr Ripley’s Enchanted Books, I explain why Alien is my favourite movie, and surprise surprise my reasons for loving that film are mostly taken up with the monster. I love the originality of that creature, and I salute Carlo Rambaldi for creating that head with the primary and secondary mouths – genius! Because monsters and the larger-than-life problems that they pose make great reading, as the protagonist has to overcome insurmountable odds if he or she is to survive (and hopefully save the day). Great monsters create great conflict, and great conflict is the very essence of great story.

When I was still in shorts and knee-high socks, I discovered Greek mythology. I loved those tales, and they led me onto mythology from other cultures. And the stories I liked the most were the ones with the great monsters in. I liked anything where the hero had to cross over into the Underworld, and if the same story happened to involve kickass monsters – and they usually did – I was in my element. My particular favourite was Heracles (Hercules if you must, but I always resented the way the Romans stole the Greeks’ gods and goddesses). I loved the whole half-man, half-god thing and although I know he’s not exactly a great role model – he’s set those twelve tasks after committing infanticide for heaven’s sake – he does hit the Yee-ha button when it comes to monster slaying. Of the vile creatures he has to face and vanquish, the one that always stayed in my mind was the Lernaean Hydra - a monster so fiendish that as you lop off one of its heads, it grows two back in its place! Of course, old Herc figures out an ingenious way to defeat it, but the image of that self-regenerating creature stayed with me for a long time.

Illustration of the Lernaean Hydra

Old legends and myths are rich hunting grounds for writers. I still love reading them, and use a lot of the creatures I discover as inspiration for the monsters (both heroic and malevolent) in my books. I remember reading a couple of lines about the hierarchy of angels in ancient Jewish texts. One line described the Arel as defenders of the human realm from demonkind – a kind of winged vigilante gang – and I was struck with the idea for Moriel the battle angel (who’s still one of my favourite characters in the Changeling books – You want kickass? She’s got it in spades!).

If I had to give one piece of advice to aspiring writers about creating their own monsters, it would be to really sit down and work out what makes them tick. In the same way that you need to crawl under the skin of your characters, you need to know your monster. It might be something you’ve borrowed from legend. It might be a classic trope such as a vampire, werewolf or zombie. But it needs to be your take on it. You need to know the creature inside-out and upside-down. Because if you do it’ll be real, and the readers will love discovering how your hero is going to finally put a stop to its dastardly shenanigans.

Here be monsters! Oo, I do hope so.

The map is in public domain at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carta_Marina.jpeg

I loved this blog post - thanks Steve!  Find Steve's very cool blog here. 

The Demon Trappers: Forsaken by Jana Oliver

Riley Blackthorne. Kicking hell’s ass one demon at a time . . .


Riley has always wanted to be a Demon Trapper like her father, and she's already following in his footsteps as one of the best. But it's tough being the only girl in an all-guy world, especially when three of those guys start making her life more complicated: Simon, the angelic apprentice who has heaven on his side; Beck, the tough trapper who thinks he's God's gift, and Ori, the strikingly sexy stranger who keeps turning up to save her ass.

One thing’s for sure – if she doesn’t keep her wits about her there’ll be hell to pay . . .

**Very slight spoilers**

When we meet Riley Blackthorne she’s in a library trying to capture a Biblio-Fiend, a minor demon that has escaped from Hell, who has a penchant for burning books and causing chaos in general when it comes to printed matter. Let’s not talk about the thousands of dollars worth of damage it could do to rare editions! I am immediately engaged in the story from that opening scene - any bad thing happening to a library has all my attention immediately. Add to that the supernatural slant of a demonette running loose and I’m on guard like a pointing dog in a hunt. Add to that a teen doing her utmost to take on a denizen from hell and I’m very much engaged.

The opening scene is amusing, it’s real and winsome, it immediately sets the tone of the novel and introduces Riley to us so that we know who she is, what she’s doing and what she has to lose if she doesn’t pull off this capture successfully.

She pulls off the capture semi-successfully and has to face some nasty consequences. As Riley’s life comes into sharper focus and we realise it’s not all laugh out loud funny moments and a bit of silliness, and we see a completely different side to Riley. She literally has to (wo)man-up to her responsibilities and admittedly she does a few truly stupid things but then, being dumped on her own after her dad is brutally killed, does tend to screw with one’s head, no matter how levelheaded and realistic you’re trying to be.

When we meet her, she’s a bit pampered (not much) but I got the idea she was not as aware of the harsh realities of the world she finds herself in as she would have liked. Her dad did form quite a bit of a buffer between her and the real world. She knew some of the difficulties they faced but did not perhaps quite grasp how difficult life was for her dad as one of the foremost demon trappers in the area, as well as raising her and the financial debt they were in due to her mum’s death and illness. So when he dies, everything Riley knows is taken from her. She has only herself to rely on as the trapping community see her as a bit of a freak. There are no female trappers, she is the only one, so like all girls and women in a man’s world, she has to work that much harder to prove herself. And weird things are going, things like: demons never work together, yet Riley knows that she didn’t just fight a Biblio-Fiend at the library, something else was there too. And the demons know her name - they mention it each time they see her. It’s creepy and it worries her a bit but it genuinely concerns Beck, who is her father’s trapping partner and Riley’s erstwhile crush (when she was much younger).

Beck is one of my favourite characters in TDT:F. He is aware. There is no other way to describe him. He looks out for Riley, he has contacts with various people in the town and he is clever in the way he sources information about what is going on in the area. He plays the game well, holding a front of someone a bit insolent, a bit slow, a bit Southern, whilst watching and gathering information. It’s this that I find so interesting and I think it is a risk that Ms. Oliver took when writing Beck in this way. He is the bad boy, but with reason and is genuinely someone I would love to have on my side in a fight.

Simon on the other hand, who turns out to be apprenticed with Riley to the same “master”, Morgan, is the guy who toes the line, he follows the rules. He’s religious, he’s truly lovely and sweet and generous and completely into Riley. He is almost too nice. He is a paladin, the knight on the white charger and I tried my best to not like him too much. It would have been so easy to make him a victim, but Ms. Oliver walks away from that and instead she works her magic, revealing that there is a darkness in him that when it is revealed for one of the briefest seconds, it really jarred me and took me by surprise. I loved it. And completely believed it. And liked him more for it.

Surprisingly there is very little animosity between Simon and Beck. They understand each other more than Riley understands either of them or herself sometimes and I liked that too. And even though there isn’t a lot of animosity, it doesn’t mean that the boys are bff’s or anything, there is just enough tension to keep it interesting. Then we have the very mysterious Ori...who I’m not even going to guess about. I have some ideas as to who he is, but am happy to wait and find out in book 2.

I must apologise for not going into the story more - there are various strands, some of which get tied off but some that answering in the upcoming books.

Riley is a great character. Always moving forward and never backing off an inch - you may notice that this is something I love in heroines. She is determined and a bit of a terrier. Once she’s got something in her mind, she does not give up. I utterly approve of her. She’s a great urban fantasy heroine and has a tremendous character arc in Forsaken, the first book in The Demon Trappers series of books.

Stick around for an in-depth interview with both Riley and Jana Oliver, creator and godlet of Riley’s world tomorrow.

Cover Love - Jana Oliver

I am totally ripping off one Jenny of Wondrous Reads blogpost ideas here, and I apologise but you know, sometimes you just have to share. And frankly, I've decided to keep featuring it for upcoming books here on MFB.  Too many pretty covers out there not being shouted about.

I received a copy of Jana Oliver's Demon Trappers: Forsaken and read it over Christmas and completely loved it.  It filled a gap in my heart where the TV show Supernatural usually resides.  I popped over to Ms. Oliver's blog and discovered that the UK gets Demon Trappers before the US are getting it (for a change, also YAY!) and not only that, but the covers are so completely vastly different and the US title is also different.

I submit to you:

Demon Trappers - Forsaken, UK Cover

The Demon Trapper's Daughter, US Cover

I have to say, I have love for both covers but I do quite like the US cover a tiny bit more. I like it because of what Riley is doing, perching on the top of the building like that, with the perspective of the cityscape below.  It gives us indications that Riley feels detatched and probably lonely in the world she finds herself in.  And the title too, it tells us exactly who she is.

My review goes live next week but even before then let me just say this: buy this book or get someone else to buy it for you, because it's terrific.

Infinite Days Competition Winners

Thanks everyone for your enthusiastic entries and for tweeting about this comp.

I've applied a trusty D8 dice and rolled as follows:

4 = Kulsuma
5 = Ailsa
8 = Pagecrawler
2 = PewterWolf
3 = Splendibird

Please let me know via email (myfavouritebooksatblogspot(at)googlemail(dot)com) what your preferred delivery address is which I will then pass onto the publishers.  Also - add your real names so that you don't receive a random passell addressed to your internet name.

Many thanks again - I hope you enjoy reading Infinite Days.  My copy arrived on Saturday and it looks beautiful!  Also, thanks for the sugestions on vampire titles to indulge in!  There will be reviews.  Be scared!

Eva Ibbotson

I was so shocked to hear of Ms. Ibbotson's death last week. I have only just discovered her and have fallen in love with her writing. I know that so many of you guys loved her writing too - I got inudnated with comments on Twitter which made me feel fuzzy and warm when I tweeted about me reading The Journey to the River Sea back in September.

I've contacted her UK publishers, MacMillan and asked them if MFB can perhaps put something up to commemorate this very talented lady. They have sent me the official obit they had drawn up and I copy it below.

**

Eva Ibbotson, the much-loved and celebrated children’s author, died peacefully on the 20th October 2010 at her home in Newcastle. She was 85.

‘Eva Ibbotson weaves a magic like no other. Once enchanted, always enchanted.’ – Michael Morpurgo

Born in Vienna, Austria, which she noted was ‘a very beautiful city ringed by green hills, and a wonderful place for music and the theatre’, Eva Ibbotson came to Britain in 1934 at the age of eight with her family, refugees from Hitler. They were ‘a bedraggled party consisting of my fey, poetic mother, my irascible grandmother and confused aunt (my father – as was customary in my family – was somewhere else)’.

Eva was the author of many magical, rich and evocative adventures – over 20 novels for children and adults. She was especially well-known for her books’ fantastic creatures, outrageous characters, and brilliant storytelling – all the product of her famously lively imagination and astute observation of human foibles. In a career stretching over 35 years, Eva’s novels touched the hearts and souls of generations of children (and their parents). She wrote with immense wit, economy and elegance – and her deceptively funny, engaging books always pack an emotional punch, whether she was writing for eight-year-olds or young teens. Eva’s own fierce intelligence, self-deprecating humour, and wonderful quick wittedness are reflected in and will live on through her books.

Her success over a generation of writing children’s books was well recorded, and she was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal with Which Witch?, the Smarties Prize with The Secret of Platform 13 and the 2001 Blue Peter Book Award in the Book I Couldn't Put Down category with Monster Mission.

Her novel, Journey to the River Sea, was runner-up in the Guardian Children's Fiction Award, shortlisted for the Whitbread Children’s Book of the Year Award, won the Nestle Smarties Prize and has also been selected as a top 20 ‘brilliant book’ to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this award. This extraordinary book will mark its 10th anniversary in 2011.

The Star of Kazan received the silver award in the Nestle Smarties Prize 2004 and was also shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal. The Beasts of Clawstone Castle was published in May 2005 alongside the paperback edition of The Star of Kazan followed by A Song for Summer in 2006, The Secret Countess in 2007, A Company of Swans and The Dragonfly Pool in 2008. Eva continued to enjoy critical acclaim for her writing and was delighted when her latest book, The Ogre of Oglefort, published this year, was shortlisted for Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize 2010. Eva was writing to the end, and her last book One Dog and His Boy will be published in May 2011.

For Eva, writing was a joy, and she especially enjoyed the research she conducted into the Amazon area for her book Journey To The River Sea – ‘For years I researched that part of the world. I learnt about the ‘rubber barons’ who went out at the beginning of the century to harvest the rubber trees which grew wild in the forest, and who became so rich that they could send their shirts back to Europe to be laundered, and wash their carriage horses in champagne. It was they who built Manaus and sent for famous actors and dancers and singers across the sea to perform in their beautiful opera house. Yet all the time the untamed jungle was on the doorstep, waiting to take over if they failed…


Meanwhile I wrote books for children about wizards and witches and harpies and ghosts – and books for adults about all sorts of things.


But my interest in the exotic world of the Amazon never left me. Journey to the River Sea is my attempt to share this world with you.’

**

It really saddens me that she is gone. But then she left behind fantastic stories to discover and read and share with younger folk and older folk, like me. I am sure she will continue to inspire a great many readers and writers alike. Farewell lovely Eva, your fans - old and new - will miss you.

**Infinite Days Competition**

All the UK seems to be waiting on today's spending cuts announcements but here at MFB we've decided to be rebellious and fly in the face of the anxiety and concern and be a bit wild and spendy.

We're offering copies of the beautiful Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel.  There are FIVE copies to be won. 

Some info about Infinite Days to see if you may perhaps be interested in reading it:

**

For 500 years Lenah Beaudonte has been a vampire. 500 years of seduction, blood and destruction. But she is sickened by her dark powers – and longs to feel the sun on her skin, grass under her bare feet, and share the breath of a human kiss. She wants to be mortal again. But is she really capable of being human, after her long years of darkness? Waking up as a sixteen-year-old girl brings Lenah many things – the life she has missed, taste, touch, love. But a vampire soul is not easily shed. And her coven – the four vampires she led in decadence and thrilling destruction – want their queen back . . .

About the author:

Rebecca Maizel lives in Rhode Island, a fact which will become significant to readers of this book! She is currently studying for an MFA in writing for young adults in Vermont. INFINITE DAYS is her first book.

**

I love the sound of this.  I've not read Infinite Days yet but I've done some research and found Jenny's interview with Rebecca which is just ace and then this review over at Fantasy Book Review.

The competition is spit-easy: merely comment below (make sure to link your website / twitter name so I can find you!) and tell me what vampire books and movies you love - be as commercial / recent / old or obscure as you like.  I'm actually looking for recommends so would love to hear what you have to say! 

The Rules:

1.  UK entrants only, please, for this one.
2.  One entry per person! 

And....go!

Edited to add: I'll let the competition run to Monday, 25th October.

Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson

Synopsis:

It is 1910 and Maia, tragically orphaned at 13, has been sent from England to start a new life with distant relatives in Manaus, hundreds of miles up the Amazon. She is accompanied by an eccentric and mysterious governess who has secret reasons of her own for making the journey. Both soon discover an exotic world bursting with new experiences in this highly colourful, joyous and award-winning adventure.

I am thinking of changing this month's themed title from Under 14's Only to Books that Liz Should Have Read Ages Ago. Also, I apologise for any new obsessions that may result from reading this month's reviews. *evil laughter*

Ack! Another new to me author (you'll be seeing a lot of those this month) is Eva Ibbotson.

I have had her books on my shelves for ages and ages but somehow never got around to reading them. Until now that is.

Reading "Journey to the River Sea" reminded me of some books I read as a child. These books were old and musty and belonged to my dad and sat on the shelves unloved until I came to them. One I remember particularly well is where a group of young American kids go on holiday to an Eastern Block country and have tremendously fun but tidy adventures. There is an element of deep nostalgia about these books, as they were written in the 1940's / 1950's. And there was a sense of expectation and breathlessness about them that I loved. I have only come across one other book in a similar vein recently, and that was Dead Man's Cove by Lauren St John. And now, of course, Journey to the River Sea.

It is set in 1910 so we are in relatively modern(ish) times. There are such things as telegraphs and electricity. A lot of big discoveries have been made, several during the past century, but everything is still very different and new and although the world is shrinking it is still a big place. We have explorers going into the Amazon, discovering new plants and animals. Expeditions to far-flung places are still undertaken and local tribes in areas are still "savages" to us. Travelling long distance still takes a decent amount of time by ship and boat and there are carriages and empires to be built in foreign countries. Adventure definitely awaits anyone gutsy enough to put a foot out their door.

Bring in the lovely Maia who is this brilliantly heroic and intelligent main character. Having lost her parents in accident, she has been living in care for a little while now whilst the authorities try and find out her nearest relatives. Maia is the type of girl who is studious and honest and a good academic. She is thoughtful and sweet and a little bit mischievous. If she has a fault, it is that she is perhaps too trusting and too optimistic. When she hears that she does indeed have family, and that they are happy for her to come and live with them, she is excited. But when it becomes clear she is heading for the Amazon, she becomes a bit nervous. Her school mates all exaggerate the dangers of the Amazon, giving us a good close-up view of how some of us still see places like the Amazon.

'There are huge crocodiles in the rivers that can snap your head off in one bite. Only they're not called crocodiles, they're called alligators because their snouts are fatter, but they're just as fierce.''

"And if you just put one hand in the water there are these piranhas that strip all the flesh off your bones. Every single bit. They look just like ordinary fish but their teeth are terrible,' said Melanie.

Daisy offered a mosquito which bit you and gave you yellow fever. 'You turn as yellow as a lemon and then you die,' she said.'And it's so hot the sweat absolutely runs off you
in buckets.''

"Not sweat, dear, perspiration,' corrected Miss Carlisle.

But Maia is made of stronger stuff. After spending a night in their library, she comes away feeling stronger, more confident in her decision to go and live with her Uncle, his wife and two daughters, twins.

But she is not to go on her own. Her uncle has decreed that she should travel with a chaperone who is also to be her and her cousins' governess, Ms. Minton. Now, personally, when I heard this and initially read the description of Ms. Minton I thought "oh great, another miserable bizarre old spinster" but of course, I got shown up, because Ms. Minton, although she is unfortunate looking, has the soul and attitude of a survivor and explorer, loving books and discovering the world. Well, as much as you can on an underpaid wage.

Maia and Ms. Minton (Minty) become close during their extended sea journey. Maia is held rapt with thoughts of exploring the jungle, the exotic lives her cousins are leading in Manaus and adapting to living in the jungle where things only appear to be tamed.

Once Maia comes to meet her family, she's not sure if it's her of it it's them, because things are by no means what she expects. The twins are spoiled rotten and are mean, her uncle is a recluse, preferring to spend time in his study with his collection of false eyeballs (yes, you read that right) and her aunt is manipulative and obsessed with eradicating anything "foreign" from their house on the banks of the Amazon. She obsessively sprays insect repellent all over the house to keep the bugs out and refuses to acknowledge that she is in Brazil. She sees the locals as barbarians and are mean towards them. This is not the life either Minty or Maia expected.

But being who they are, they find a way around these things and soon Maia has the freedom to explore the jungle and her own creativity.

There is much I'm not telling, but let me just say that it is a wonderful bit of writing, with rich characters and in a way it is a love letter to Brazil and the jungle. There is a sub-plot with a lost English heir, some questionable actors who travelled to Manaus to perform in the opera house there and a whole tranche of other reveals that are just excellent.

I enjoyed Journey to the River Sea and will be reading The Ogre of Ogleford for later this month. Definitely try Eva Ibbotson if you've not had the chance to do so before. And just a further comment about the cover - the writing does the cover justice and vice versa. Am a bit smitten.

Young Sherlock Holmes Death Cloud by Andrew Lane

Synopsis


The year is 1868, and Sherlock Holmes is fourteen. His life is that of a perfectly ordinary army officer's son: boarding school, good manners, a classical education - the backbone of the British Empire. But all that is about to change. With his father suddenly posted to India and his mother mysteriously "unwell", Sherlock is sent to stay with his eccentric uncle and aunt in their vast house in Hampshire. So begins the summer that leads Sherlock to uncover his first murder, a kidnap, corruption with a brilliantly sinister villain of exquisitely malign intent...


The Death Cloud is the first in a series of novels in which the iconic detective is reimagined as a brilliant, troubled and engaging teenager - creating unputdownable detective adventures that remain true to the spirit of the original books.


It's been a while since I've read any of the Sherlock Holmes stories and I'm embarrassed to say I've read very few. However, Holmes is no less than a legend and a book based on his early life hasn't been done before. It's a brilliant idea though and I was keen to see what Death Cloud was like.


Well, it's a thrilling read. If you like Victoriana (I do) then this is a treat. It's stuffed full of period details and very authentic. In the early chapters of this book I felt so sorry for Sherlock; a bit of a loner, distant parents and a brother who's much older. The school he attends sounds awful and poor Sherlock is looking forward to going home for the summer. When all this is whipped out from under him and his is deposited in Hampshire, Sherlock finds his inner resilience and the reader starts to see hints of the man he'll become. He meets an orphan called Matty who lives on a barge. Matty has witnessed an awful cloud which drifted into an open window causing the occupant to let out an awful scream and die. Sherlock and Matty team up to investigate the phenomenom and soon find themselves getting into trouble.

The plot itself is a thrilling ride with barely a lull between adventures. It was also darker than I thought it would be which was an unexpected extra. It's full of evil housekeepers that emerge from dark corners, mysterious notes, bodies and evil henchmen. I can't spoil the ending but the villian is truly fantastic. I want to say so much more about this villain but can't! Arghhh! You'll just have to read it to find out and then let me know. All I can say is that at times when I get to the denouement I'm left feeling that there could have been more meat. Not in the case of Death Cloud which has a truly satisfying conclusion.


In fact I only have one criticism of Death Cloud - I really wanted to see more of was Mrs Eglantine. Possibly she may turn up in future books but her character is gloriously hateful. Another great character is Amyus Crowe, Sherlock's tutor for the summer. Rather than being a stereotypical dull teacher, Crowe is full of interesting insights and information. He walks Sherlock around outside and shows him edible mushrooms and how to spot little things that other people miss. Again, Crowe is shown to be someone who influences Sherlock and helps form his character.


The part I was looking forward to most was looking out for all of those idiosyncracies which make Holmes so, well, Holmes. Sherlock's detached relationship with women is hinted at through his remote and ill mother who's barely mentioned. He meets a girl called Ginnie through the course of the story who befriends him. He's initially very awkward with Ginnie, which is to be expected at fourteen but the beginnings of the man he becomes is beautifully shown. We even see Sherlock having his first contact with opiates through laudanum which I wasn't expecting but it shows that this series has the potential to be quite surprising.


In the author's afterword it states that there are to be more books following Sherlock at school and then at university. I look forward to these but especially the ones at university as this suggest a more YA feel which I think would bridge the gap well between the fourteen-year-old that Andrew Lane has created and the thirty-three-year-old Sherlock that Arthur Conan Doyle introduced us to.


Roll on the sequel - Red Leech.

**Scooperama** Alyson Noel Interview

We are very chuffed to bring you this unexpected treat! The Marketing Department over at Macmillan Children's Book sent this little interview along for your reading pleasure.

What did you do before you were a writer?

I worked as a New York City based flight attendant, travelling the world and working on my debut novel, Faking 19, during long weather delays and boring layovers—basically whenever and wherever I could find a free moment to spare!

Where do you do all your writing?

I have a home office where I pretty much hunker down in the morning and stay put all day—just like a “real” office job, only I go to work in my pyjamas!

Which of your characters do you most admire and why?

I really admire Ever for her strength. She was forced into this horrible situation—losing her family, burdened with psychic powers she doesn’t want—and has no choice but to navigate her way through a new life she really doesn’t understand, with no one to confide in. And though she makes some mistakes along the way, she always picks herself up and keeps going, determined to make amends, set things straight, and do the right thing. It’s a pretty tough gig that she’s got!

What’s next after you’ve completed the Immortals series?

I’m working on a new series now, set to debut in Fall 2010, that’ll feature Riley, (Ever’s ghostly sister), as she navigates her way through the afterlife. So far it’s been an absolute a blast to write and I’m really excited about it!

Loads of fans are making casting trailers for your books – if you could cast any actor-actress in the roles of your main characters, who would you choose?

Oh, I hate to admit it, but I am just terrible at this! I think because I can see the characters so clearly in my head, it’s hard for me to cast them with real live people. But I love seeing the reader’s choices, they’ve come up with some really good ones. A few have mentioned Ben Barnes for Damen, and I have to admit that he’s suitably dreamy!

What were your favourite books as a child?

I loved anything by Dr. Seuss, Charlotte’s Web by EB White was the first book that brought me to tears, and Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret changed my life and inspired me to be a writer too!

Is living in the OC as glamorous as what we see on the TV in the UK?

Every time I see one of those shows I can’t help but wonder what I’m doing wrong. My OC, while undeniably beautiful, with one of the most gorgeous coastlines around, consists of pretty much the usual, real life stuff—grocery shopping, bill paying—nothing anyone would ever want to film!

If you could have dinner with any 3 people, dead or alive, who would they be and why?

Leonardo da Vinci because he was an absolute master of so many things, David Sedaris because he can make me laugh and cry in the space of a single paragraph, and Bono because, well, because I love him!

What TV show are you currently addicted to?

Dexter—it so brilliant I’m in awe! But I’m also loving Mad Men and True Blood too.

What are you reading at the moment?

The Encyclopaedia of Ghosts and Sprits—for research purposes!

**Evermore Winners**

With the help of the very reliable Random.org I chose our FIVE winners from our stack of entries to each win a copy of Evermore by Alyson Noel.

They are:

14. Ailsa F
4. Natalie P
5. Joanne G
12. Andrea C
10. Sherie B

All of you have been emailed. Please send me your address details asap so that I can forward it onto Alyson's UK publishers, Macmillan. A big thanks to everyone who entered. My poor inbox thanks you too! And an even bigger thanks goes out to the team at Macmillan for letting me run this comp.

**Competition - 5 copies of Evermore by Alyson Noel*

Alyson's amazing UK publishers have offered up five copies of Evermore in a competition.

*glee*

So, rules are:

• Email us here with your name, to reach us by Monday, 19th October.
• No duplicate emails.
• UK entrants only.
• Please put "Evermore" in subject title.

Happy competitioning, everyone!

Changeling by Steve Feasey

Synopsis

His father was a werewolf. His uncle may be a vampire. It’s time for fourteen-year-old Trey Laporte to discover the beast within. . .

Trey thought he was an ordinary teenager. Then he meets a mysterious stranger, Lucien Charron – luminously pale, oddly powerful, with eyes that seem flecked with fire and skin that blisters in sunlight. Somehow Trey finds himself in a luxury London penthouse, like a Bond villain’s lair. It’s the heart of a sinister empire, built on the powers of the netherworld – werewolves, vampires, sorcerers, djinns. And Trey himself has a power that’s roaring to break free. Is he a boy or is he a beast?

I have seen this funky looking book in a variety of bookshops and online but for reasons I genuinely can’t explain, I never picked up a copy. My interest however was definitely piqued when I visited Oaklodge Primary School earlier this year and got a chance to speak to a group of very enthusiastic Year 7’s. A group of boys had bounded up to me to demand to know if I knew Steve Feasey? Have I read his book Changeling? Will I be reading it? What did I think of monsters? Do I prefer werewolves to vampires? (werewolves, of course!)

I “know” Steve online via twitter and I did in fact tell him that he has a group of very dedicated fans who were waiting impatiently for book 2 of Changeling to come through. Steve must have remembered this as I got an email from his publishers, Macmillan, offering me both book 1 and 2 to read. And being the greedy little bookworm that I am, I said yes, and fell upon the first book of Changeling with undisguised glee and devoured it in maybe 2.5 days (on various commutes around London).

Reading the above teaser premise of Changeling, you may very well think it’s going to be slightly superficial, all gungho action and very little substance. I genuinely thought the same thing, I won’t lie to you.

Was I pleasantly surprised! Trey is a fully formed character whom are introduced to with a big bang. The opening scenes in Changeling tell you so much about him – he’s been orphaned, as his parents had died when he was quite small and his nan whom he had been staying with had also passed away recently. He was in a home for kids like him and you got the sense that it was not a pleasant place. Our story opens with his room which has been torn apart, including some of his favourite items of clothing. He is devastated. He’s just woken up to this wreckage. How did this happen? Why couldn’t he remember anything about the night before? Loads of questions crowd into his scared mind.

Then he gets dragged from the room to meet a mysterious man, Lucien, who claims to be his uncle. There is something odd about Lucien, apart from Trey realising that he genuinely wasn't related to him at all. He speaks in a very formal if archaic way, his movements and use of language is very considered, projecting a certain image. Very soon Trey is running from the home with this stranger, having entrusted Lucien with his life. On one hand he realises he’s doing something reckless and dangerous but something inside him is telling him he’s doing the right thing. Lucien’s story about him knowing Trey’s father and mother holds a ring of truth and this is what convinces him to trust this mysterious man. (warning, not to be tried at home)

Lucien takes him to his (very cool, gadget filled) penthouse in the City, revealing that he is in fact a vampire and that Trey is one of the last, if not the only, naturally born werewolves in the world. Lucien also reveals that Trey is in even more danger than he thought. The fact that Trey’s werewolf nature can go either way or rather, be utilized for either good or bad, is a big factor throughout the story.

Trey has to deal with a lot of changes, very suddenly. He has the help and support of Lucien, his daughter Alexa who is a half-vampire (born of a human mother) and Tom, and Irish hard man who is in fact, a big softie on the inside and whom I immediately fell in love with, just a little. We all need a gruff man who knows his way around the kitchen and the weapons room!

There is a lot that goes on in Changeling. A lot of character development and story progress. It sets up the characters, the world and the villain, Lucien’s brother Caliban, very well. Steve Feasey writes sickeningly well and in a very mature tone. When we meet Trey he’s using slang, his dialogue is sloppy and he’s a very confused and angry young man. As the story moves ahead there is a noticeable change in his attitude which we pick up from the way he interacts with Lucien, Alexa and Tom. His speech patterns change, he becomes a more solid, grounded person. This forms a brilliant contrast to the slavering beast he has within and it is this duality which I think those kids from Year 7 really enjoyed reading about. You don’t feel hesitant rooting for Trey – he has reasons to be angry and want revenge. You just hope that Lucien, Alexa and Tom can indeed help keep his beastly transformations within his control.

A genuinely good read for ages 11+. Some terrifically gory sections (yay!) some gratuitous tooling up scenes (guns and other weaponry) and some soul searching keeps this book well balanced between action adventure whilst telling a solid and clever story. I am looking forward to reading the second Changeling book, Changeling: Dark Moon.

Children's Book Competition News

This is the final proof of the leaflet for the competition. I will have a limited amount of leaflets to send out to libraries and schools, along with a limited amount of bookmarks, to advertise this very cool event.

We received our final box of books from our publishers last night and needless to say, we are chuffed beyond belief by the fantastic response. We are very grateful and beamingly pleased and proud that this initiative has taken off.

Mark and I are preparing the individual books to give away to selected school kids entering the competition. We are also putting together the four rather large and bulky boxes to go out to four lucky schools. (Or more, I'm thinking, as the donations from the publishers exceeded my expectations!)

If any of you, dear readers, are in the UK, and you have kids / have friends or family with kids in school / are libarians / are in school (you get the idea) please get in touch with the school as soon as possible and send them over here! I've had the marketing leaflets and bookmarks done up, to promote the competition and am keen to send them out.

In this instance, to make sure that I'm not wasting my time, I will ONLY be sending the leaflets and bookmarks to librarians and schools.

Rules:

Entry will be open to schools and libraries only. (The boxes will only be sent to these places, not to individuals/residential addresses.)

School children entering the competition for individual prizes can only do so with the permission of their parents - I expect to see a note of consent from a parent in the email or the parent's own email address so I can verify it. Only if you win, will I contact you for your address details - please do not send any address / contact details in the initial email.

No emails or addresses are kept once the competition is over.

As part of the vetting process, school children will have to also let me know what school they are in. This is to prevent too many books going out to perhaps the same school.

The competition starts 1st February 2009 and the last day will be 28th February 2009. Winners will be announced on 1st March 2009. Our random selection of names will be final and no discussion will be entered into. If you are contacted as a winner and you do not respond within 5 days of receipt of the confirmation email, the prize will be allocated to another winner and so on.

***

And that's all I can come up with for now. We're keeping it simple and easy - an email is all it takes to get you / your school in the running.

Please contact us via the email on the top right to enter to let us know if you would like any flyers and bookmarks and once the competition starts and make sure to say in the subject line if you are a school or a library.

If you are a school child, you will be required to put down the book you would like to enter for in the subject line. You can enter as many times as you wish for different books.

Good luck to all and I look forward to sending out my pretty leaflets and bookmarks!

Future Competition News

We had a lovely time in Bruges, ate way too much food, drank way too much beer (my head!) and enjoyed shopping at the Christmas market.

I am glad to be home though, on my comfy couch and infront of my huge tv, snuggling with the pup, known as Sparrowmaticus on days when we are feeling in a Roman mood.

I have some fantastic goodies coming up here at MFB in the next few weeks.

Competitions galore, some will be aimed at adults, and the other MUCH bigger one, will be aimed at children, aged 10+ and their school librarians (who only technically count as adults).

Mark and I will be having some guest blogs from visiting authors and agents along with author interviews.

So, all in all, it should be good fun - please do stop by again in the near future. I would HATE to not give away all these luscious books I've got lined up as pressies. We are looking at books (for adults) from CE Murphy, Lori Handeland, Christine Feehan, Maria V Snyder and even more that I can't remember as I type this. I will no doubt be giving away some "boy" books too, so it's not just us girls who get to have all the fun!

And the kids' competition is bound to be the biggest I've ever attempted, all with the support of some fantastic publishers, including Bloomsbury and Macmillan. I am hoping to announce more publishers' participating soon. It is going to be intense. The first box was waiting for us when we arrived back from Bruges today. There were about twenty books in there - you can imagine my excitement! So, if you have kids/know kids/are a librarian (UK only) keep your eyes peeled for the mother of all giveaways. It's going to be massive.

Of course, this will be interspersed with some more reviews and I am particularly excited about the Black Library's newest novel, Malekith. Mark is currently wrapped around himself reading it. We'll have THREE copies of this excellent novel to give away - an absolute thrill - our first ever Black Library giveaway! Rubs hands in glee.

Enough from me, it's time to go and get done for a workday tomorrow...as I don't think I've won Friday night's lottery. I had better check...