Dark Eyes by William Richter

Wally was adopted from a Russian orphanage as a child and grew up in a wealthy New York City family. At fifteen, her obsessive need to rebel led her to life on the streets.

Now the sixteen-year-old is beautiful and hardened, and she's just stumbled across the possibility of discovering who she really is. She'll stop at nothing to find her birth mother before Klesko - her darkeyed father - finds her. Because Klesko will stop at nothing to reclaim the fortune Wally's mother stole from him long ago. Even if that means murdering his own blood. But Wally's had her own killer training, and she's hungry for justice.

I enjoyed this book so much but am peeved that it's got the crappy tagline of: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for teens, this debut thriller introduces our next big series heroine! 

Oh ffs, get a grip.  Wally is nothing like Lisbeth Salander - LS is a psychopath.  Wally isn't anything remotely like Lisbeth.  Besides, it's a tagline that would maybe attract adult readers as I'm not entirely TGWTDT had that wide a teen readership...and so it makes me think the publishers are desperately trying to mark this as something with cross-over appeal and maybe trying too hard.  

With that mini-tantrum out of the way: I thoroughly enjoyed Dark Eyes.  In fact, I loved it so much I want to write fan-fiction, but I have good impulse control so I won't.  Dark Eyes is a mixture of adult thriller (NOT Girl With a pointless Dragon Tattoo) and the best of YA contemporary your ten quid can buy.  It's feels gritty and very real and in Wally we have a unique and strong heroine who doesn't allow herself to be pushed around.  She's living on the streets, a voluntary choice, and she's the leader of a small team of homeless kids who steal and hustle cons on tourists and unsuspecting locals. There are four of them, Ella, Jake, and Trevin.  Ella and Jake are a couple (their brief histories and why they are on the street is explained too, which was nice) and then there's Trevin who just seemed to lovely to be real. 

Dark Eyes is a twisty turny modern thriller set on the streets of NY where the city and outlying areas are used to great effect.  If I closed my eyes whilst reading it, I could easily imagine the long sweeping aerial shots of the busy roads, of sunsets and dawns over the city.  Tremendously atmospheric, the city with its ebbs and flows formed the perfect backdrop to Wally's story.  There are just enough mention of touristy places to orientate me, and more than plenty of mentions of places I've never heard of to intrigue me.  More than anything I want to find a map and look up the settings used for the book.  Is that mad? Shut up, read on. 

And what a story it is.  Who Klesko is is easily deducible and it's a nice token from the author, giving us that sly nod, letting us in on the secret.  What we need to figure out though is not only who Wally's real family is, but what's the story behind the story - why was Valentina Mayakova abandoned in a Russian orphanage, who are her parents, why was she brought to America...and who is her mum? And what's the story with Klesko, what exactly does he want and who is his murderous sidekick, called Tigr?  

All these questions are answered and a few more - what worked well is the way the story was told, in a strong unaffected voice, with side-chapters and pieces given to a concerned policeman who enters the story pretty near the start as he investigates the death of one of Wally's team.  We get the more formal police procedural, the more serious story from NYPD Detective Atley Greer. 

Richter doesn't pull punches - there's cussing, sexy times, action, guns, fights, snark...in other words, Dark Eyes is aimed at more mature readers (nothing to do here with age, btw) and to be honest, Wally's the kind of MC who you know is a bit of a poser (she admits this herself) but you like her and want her to figure out the mystery surrounding her heritage and you want her to come out ontop, swinging. 

The ending is tied off neatly, but with enough of an opening for a second book.  And I'm super pleased that there is a second book called Tiger and it's already been pre-ordered - due out next year.  

Dark Eyes is a satisfying read and definitely one I'd recommend to you guys, if you look past the utterly rubbish Lisbeth Salander faux quote. 

Legend by Marie Lu

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.


From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths – until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills.

Legend has been on my radar since last year and it is one of the few books I pre-ordered, the other being Katana by Cole Gibsen.

I loved the idea of a retelling of the Robin Hood myth. I loved the elements of Romeo & Juliet too, and how both June and Day learn some vital truths about who they are and how they've been lied to by everyone.

But I get ahead of myself. Dystopia is riding a massive wave at the moment. I've read some and by no means am I an expert on it, but one thing I can tell you about Legend is that I found the world building believable. A lot of dystopias start out with a ceremony our main character has to attend or it takes place in a dome of some sort. In Legend, you have a sprawling metropolis that reminds me of Megacity One in Judge Dredd or the visuals of Bladerunner. The place where people like June live is tidy, clean, immaculate, patrolled by police and the army. The place where people like Day have the misfortune to live is not as pleasant. It is not a nice place, patrols check for various strains of plague and areas are put in quarantine. Citizens disappear and do not reappear.

Each year those of age take the Trial.  June is a prodigy and scored 1500 points.  The fact that she's from a well-thought of family is definitely in her favour.  She's elevated and schooled at the best school and yet it does not stop her from rebelling. She's stubborn, charismatic, intelligent, dedicated and shows a lot of promise and is being groomed to become part of the Republic's military elite.

Initially we know little about Day.  He's touted as a rebel, a bad guy, someone the Republic reviles and a lot of crimes are reported and attributed to him.  What comes as a surprise though is that Day is young.  They are both under 16 and to be honest, I had my doubts about both Day and June being this young, to start off with.  I thought they would be at least sixteen or seventeen or maybe older, and my doubts are that anyone this young (Day) can a) act in such an adult capacity that they become a nuisance to a well equipped and intelligent Republic and b) in the case of June, be elevated to active statues from school student to a military rank, in a military scenario and then allowed to act independently of the rest of the army...There are no checks and measures here, for neither Day or June, and the book felt unbalanced because of this.

Of course, I realise why all these things were put in place, and I genuinely did enjoy Legend and am a big fan, but I could not quite suspend my disbelief overall.  Let me explain why I think they start them this young: because the series will follow them for a few years and starting them out too old will push the books into adult territory.  But also, more than a marketing thing, I think that Legend's two characters are shown to be this young,  allowing us to see how ruthless the Republic can be with her citizens, how age does not matter, how they are prepared to use any tool in their arsenal to scratch the itch that annoys them.

Legend reads fast, the font is different for June and Day so that you know whose chapters you're reading, which again is a good thing as actually June and Day's voices aren't that different when you read it and I think yet again, this is a purposeful ploy by the author.  As we get to know the characters we start seeing more and more similarities between them and of course, there's a reason for this too.  Which I won't spoil for you.

I realise I'm making it sound that I didn't enjoy Legend.  This is wrong.  I genuinely enjoyed it and I will definitely read the other books and I am keen to see what the author comes up with in her other works.  She's started off in a confident way, with strong writing, a great landscape to play with and a rich world to explore.  It's a very cinematic, I'll give you that - and I know a movie-deal is underway.  It has some great core scenes that will translate well into a movie and even into the gaming world.  There are scenes too of utter brutality that genuinely discomforted me and shocked me - and I'd like to think I don't shock easily.  But if they take Legend and cut some of the scenes to fit a 12A audience, it will be a tragedy.  Because those scenes are so integral to the book, I'm already arguing for them to be left in, unchanged.

If I gave this stars out of ten, I'd say it's a six.  Some things didn't work for me, but then I explained above why they didn't work for me.  But please, give Legend a try.  It has a lot going for it and I think Ms. Lu is going to knock our socks off with the rest of the series.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Synopsis

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

I've been waiting to read this book since I heard about it last summer. Cyborg Cinder? What's not to love? Apart from the whole cyborg bit I loved the sound of New Beijing - it seemed all Blade Runner-ish and wonderful. I wasn't disappointed, what an amazing retelling of a classic story. I fell in love with Cinder immediately as she waited for her droid Iko to bring her a new foot while disconnecting her old and tiny one. So when Prince Kai turns up at her booth wanting her to mend a droid of his she's got her small foot on the counter and my heart broke for her. Kai can't tell she's a cyborg as she has her work gloves on and her legs are hidden. Cinder doesn't volunteer the information either. There's a spark between them, she treats him like a person and he's charming, funny and polite to her which makes a change for Cinder.

A plague is battering earth and once a person contracts it they're normally dead within a week. People who contract it are instantly swept away by robots and taken to awful hangars where they die. Someone close to Cinder is affected and so her troubles worsen. Her home life is awful, although one sister is lovely. But her step-mother is suitably hateful and is disgusted by Cinder's cyborg identity. Although she's the only one who works Cinder is her step-mother's property so has no money of her own. There's more bad news and Cinder is whisked away from her awful life to one much worse - or is it?

I won't say more about the plot otherwise I'll spoil it but I can say that what I expected to happen didn't which both surprised me and made the story a far more dangerous one than I expected. Like a proper fairy tale Cinder is full of horror and the worst of human behaviour but there's also love too and wonderful people. Apart from Cinder I really felt for Kai who was struggling to do the best for his people but confused as to which path to take. The mythology was intriguing too and I'm massively looking forward to book two - Scarlet. I was happy with the ending but there's still loads I want to know - have to know! However, I was checking out Marissa's blog and saw a wordle she'd done for Scarlet and I was stoked to see Cinder's name figured fairly highly. This book goes on my keeper shelf.

Legends of Literature - Melvin Burgess & David Almond

Team MFB could not attend this fantastic event hosted by Puffin at their offices in November, so I kindly asked SCBWI chum and aspiring writer and reviewer, Caroline Hooton, if she'd be interested in attending it on our behalf.  I love Caroline's reviews and think highly of her as a writer and she is one of the funniest people I know.  She agreed to attend on our behalf and wrote us this interesting and comprehensive report:

As part of the 70th anniversary celebrations for Puffin Books, Puffin Towers hosted legends of literature, David Almond and Melvin Burgess in conversation with Claire Armistead (literary editor of The Guardian) on Wednesday 16th November.

The event started with each author reading from their latest work – THE TRUE TALE OF THE MONSTER BILLY DEAN and KILL ALL ENEMIES, moved onto questions from Claire Armistead and concluded with questions from the crowd.

Melvin Burgess said that KILL ALL ENEMIES was based on the people he spoke to in pupil referral units around the country. The kids he talked to were the kind of kids usually regarded as ne’er-do-wells and thugs by society, but he found them to be real heroes in other parts of their life.

The extract that Melvin read out from KILL ALL ENEMIES involved the character Chris who he said was based on a kid who decided that while he was happy to work in school, his free time was his own and he was not going to fill it with homework. Kids loved Chris but adults wanted to slap him.

One of the other characters in the extract, Rob, is another POV character in the book who was based on a kid who hung around the Leeds Corn Exchange and was in a death metal band called Kill All Enemies with his brother. They had a violent step-father and used death metal to deal with their emotions and the fall out after they were abandoned by their mother.

The third POV character in the book, Billie, was based on a psychopath in the Wirral who was always getting into fights. Her mum had suffered with depression and alcoholism, leaving Billie to bring up her four siblings on her own, doing whatever she could to keep her family together. Her mum went into detox and when she came out she wanted to take back all of her children except Billie.

Melvin said that simply talking to people was a way of obtaining truth, voice, character and circumstances that you can then fictionalise and turn into a novel. He told Claire that the kids he spoke to all knew that they’d be in the novel and Melvin showed them the manuscript at every stage and they all seemed to be proud that their stories were being used.

Speaking about THE TRUE TALE OF THE MONSTER BILLY DEAN, David Almond described his novel as being about a boy whose father only visits him at night and who lives with his hairdressing mum in a house within a destroyed city. Billy is a person who feels driven to tell and record his own story but he can’t write so the story is told phonetically. David described Billy’s approach as being that of taking words and turning them back into objects. Billy learns how to write at the same time as he learns how to grow up and it’s through the act of writing that Billy ultimately learns to be himself.

When pushed into giving more details of the book, David revealed that Billy’s mysterious dad is actually a priest who essentially abused Billy’s mother. Billy himself was born in the middle of a war or similarly cataclysmic event. Billy is alone in seeing beauty in the ruined world, mainly because he’s spent so much of his life hidden by his mother.

Claire Armistead suggested to each author that their books both looked at what “goodness” might be.

Melvin said that the kids he based his characters on in KILL ALL ENEMIES faced tremendous pressure in terms of what society expects from them and although they fail to live up to that their core values remain recognisable and they behave as they do for good reasons. Melvin said that he wanted to give a voice to that because a lot of kids like this don’t have one – for example he pointed out that when it came to the London riots in August 2011, no-one really spoke to the actual rioters. He said that his characters all have good qualities about them and they’re acting on instinct to the problems around them rather than making continuous moral judgments.

David said that in THE TRUE TALE OF THE MONSTER BILLY DEAN, Billy has to show courage in order to become himself. His guiding point is his mum and his desire to live, but that doesn’t prevent him from being used by other characters for their own ends.

Melvin believed that what THE TRUE TALE OF THE MONSTER BILLY DEAN and KILL ALL ENEMIES have in common is the fact that they feature characters who become nice folk by the end of the story – i.e. they transform into kind and generous people.

Claire asked David about the influence of Catholicism on THE TRUE TALE OF THE MONSTER BILLY DEAN. Having grown up Catholic he said that the religion does have an influence on his work, mainly because Catholicism isn’t something you believe in so much as something that you do and because he can’t get rid of it he allows it to enter his fiction and finds it a relief. In THE TRUE TALE OF THE MONSTER BILLY DEAN, Billy reconstructs the religious statues blown up in the war because he finds Catholic statues to be filled with tenderness. To chuckles from the audience, David admitted that he had a thing for angels but doesn’t really know why. Growing up Catholic in the 1960s he heard stories from people who said they’d seen angels and he believes that they’re a potent force throughout history and across cultures.

Claire pointed out that in KILL ALL ENEMIES there are similar symbols that take on mythical status. Melvin said that the significance of a Metallica tee-shirt in the book came about because he’d been speaking to a quiet lad who’d been given a Metallica tee-shirt by his mum and couldn’t bear to take it off because it was filled with his sense that his mum loved him.

Claire described how the Metallica tee-shirt becomes both a symbol of vulnerability and of aggression because the character insists on wearing it, which results in him getting into fights. Melvin agreed that the character does get beaten up because of the shirt and that there’s a certain irony to the fact that as the tee-shirt gets torn and muddy and battered, he thinks that it’s more metal. The shirt becomes the character’s way of coping with being deserted by his mum and beaten up by his mates.

Finally, Claire noted how neither David nor Melvin is kind to parents in their books. Melvin said that this is because there’s a perpetual problem in fiction of getting right of the parents so that the kids can show their mettle. David pointed out that in THE TRUE TALE OF THE MONSTER BILLY DEAN Billy does in fact find substitute parents – particularly in the form of the local butcher – because he’s searching for a father figure and trying to construct a family who will love him.

Many thanks to Puffin for the invitation to this event.

THE TRUE TALE OF THE MONSTER BILLY DEAN by David Almond and KILL ALL ENEMIES by Melvin Burgess were each released on 1st September 2011 and are available from all good bookshops.

The Dead and The Fear by Charlie Higson

The sickness struck everyone over the age of fourteen. Mothers and fathers, older brothers, sisters and best friends. No one escaped its touch. And now children across London are being hunted by ferocious grown ups.

They're hungry.
They're bloodthirsty.
And they aren't giving up.

 It’s said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and I think the same can be said about my groaning to-be-read shelf. I read, enjoyed & reviewed the first book in Charlie Higson’s zombie-esque apocalypse back in January 2010, and had my antennae frantically waving around for signs of the second book in the series, The Dead. Yet but then when it did land (almost a year ago now- gulp!) it got lost on the shelf. But then I saw the saw the pearly white cover of the The Fear slide from an envelope and I knew that there wouldn’t be any distractions this time.

The Dead is in fact a prequel to The Enemy and goes back about a year to when the world had just been brought to its knees by the mysterious disease that transforms anyone over the age of 14 into scabrous, cannibalistic psychos with an aversion to sunlight. As with the previous book The Dead starts right in the action as we’re introduced to best friends Jack and Ed while they’re desperately trying to evade their teachers, who are in turn desperately trying to take a bite out of them. Charlie brings us up to speed on the situation pretty quickly and smoothly (which also means that if you can quite easily read these books out of sequence and start with the Dead) and wastes no time in getting the adventure on the road as the boys hit the road to find somewhere safer to hole up.

But this is Charlie Higson’s world, and he is not a benevolent god and the predatory adults lurking in the shadows quickly throw their tentative plans in disarray. An unlikely rescuer is at hand though, and so begins their journey into London, the initial impression of safety engendered by their rescue quickly being eroded by the subtle tension building beneath the surface as we get to know a bit more about their rescuer.

What follows their arrival in the not-so-welcoming streets of London is a well balanced cocktail of Dawn of the Dead and Lord of the Flies as the survivors fragment into various groups, either by choice or by circumstance. The world they inhabit is a harsh one, and I was glad to see that Charlie wasn’t pulling any punches. Violence is omnipresent, sudden, and shocking. Wounds get infected. People starve, or crack under the pressure of this new reality. That no character is safe is a fundamental part of the constant tension that permeates the series. The combination of Higson’s flair for vivid imagery and the solidity of the world he’s created is a winner that sees the pages fly by at an alarming rate.

The Fear picks up from The Dead in a smooth hand-over and offers more of the same, inexorably tightening the various threads of the story and drawing them towards what will be a massive conclusion. Unfortunately we’ll have to wait a bit longer for the conclusion as The Fear does a great job of setting things it up but leaves it open for the next one. Still, with writing that’s this entertaining I’m happy to pick up another instalment – but just one, mind you. The Fear was feeling a bit drawn out in places, so for me the next book really needs to deliver a knockout. There’s no reason it shouldn’t, given the world and the characters he’s brought to life, but then that’s what they said about Lost..

OLYMPIAN WEEK- Rick Riordan Blog Tour

As a fan of Mr. Riordan when I was asked to host part of the blogtour I initially thought I was reading Greek.  Me? MFB? With actual words from Mr. R himself on our blog.  Yeah, I could live with that.

Moonrise over Cape Sounion in Greece - Temple to Poseidon

Today MFB and I are paying homage to the great god of the sea himself, Poseidon, part of a Homeric poem from Illiad -

Hail, Poseidon, Holder of the Earth, dark-haired lord! 

O blessed one, be kindly in heart and help those who voyage in ships!

The blog tour is the run up to the release of Heroes of Olympus: The Son of Neptune, in which lovely Percy Jackson makes a guest appearance.

Percy, son of Poseidon – god of the sea – is just waking from a very deep sleep when he comes face-to-face with two snake-haired ladies who refuse to die! But this is only the beginning of his fresh woes as he finds himself at a camp for half-bloods – which curiously doesn’t ring any bells with him. There’s only one person he remembers from his past… Annabeth.


It seems that Percy Jackson’s questing days are far from over. He and fellow demigods Frank and Hazel face the most important quest of all – the Prophecy of Seven. If they fail, it’s not just their camp at risk. Percy’s old life, the gods and the entire world might be destroyed.



Gaah! I can't wait. In the meantime, here's the fantastic blog post Rick has written exclusively for MFB:

The Character I'd Most Like To Be

I get a lot of questions from young readers, but this one is a perennial favorite – Which of my own characters would I most like to be?

Writing about Greek gods, I certainly have a lot to choose from. I suppose I could choose Apollo, the ultra-cool god of poetry, although in my world he does have a tendency to spout bad haiku. I’m also partial to Poseidon – no surprise, since I made Percy Jackson his son. I like Poseidon’s laid-back attitude, and I certainly wouldn’t mind hanging out in the Caribbean, but I do think it would get lonely at the bottom of the sea.

What about my demigod heroes? Percy is an obvious choice, but while I do share Percy’s sense of humor and feel very close to him after writing five books in his voice, I don’t think I’d want to change places with him. Percy is much braver than I could ever be, and honestly you couldn’t pay me enough to go through high school again. In a real fight with monsters, I would not be in the front lines like Percy and Annabeth. I would be more like Grover, hiding behind a bush and whimpering, “Don’t kill me!”

Would I be Grover? Hmm, I like cheese enchiladas just fine, but I don’t think the tin cans would agree with my digestive track. The goat legs would also be challenging, as down here in Texas they would very quickly get me labeled ‘El Diablo.’

Pierce Brosnan as Chiron in the Percy Jackson movie

After much thought, I’ve decided I most relate to Chiron, the immortal trainer of heroes. And no, not just because Pierce Brosnan has that role in the movie. Like me, Chiron is first and foremost a teacher. His job is to train heroes, not to be the hero himself. I would be comfortable in that role. In my years in the classroom, I always enjoyed helping students discover their talents, and maybe find skills they didn’t even know they had. Making someone who is a reluctant reader into a lover of books may not seem as exciting as teaching a demigod to fight hydras, but in my perspective, it’s just as important!

Chiron has a sensible, easy-going attitude. He is also there, always dependable. He’s a person I’d like to be, although I will admit, it would get a little old being a horse from the waist down. Staircases would be murder. Elevators? Forget it. And taking my wife out to dinner at a romantic restaurant would be difficult, unless the restaurant had a stable. On the bright side, I’d never have to worry about parking again, and I’d get great mileage. A little hay and water, and I’m good to go.

So yes, I’ll stick with Chiron as my character of choice. Who’s your favorite character? Who would you like to be, either from one of my series or another book?

***

Calliope the Muse

Personally, I would love to be...I don't know.  I toyed with the idea of Athena, but she's super serious and I'm not sure I will ever be able to do her justice.  I've sourced this on Twitter as I couldn't make up my mind.  But I think Calliope, who was a muse.  I like that idea.

Check out the last day of the Heroes of Olympus blog tour over at Ultimate Book Guide.

To coincide with publication of THE SON OF NEPTUNE, Puffin Books is launching the HUNT FOR A HALF-BLOOD HERO competition in schools throughout the UK. Entrants will put themselves forward to be Percy’s comrade is a new and terrifying quest. First prize is Texas-based Rick Riordan streamed live exclusively into the winning school’s assembly, plus a trip for the winning class to their local Sea Life Centre. Visit www.percyjackson.co.uk for entry details.

PBS #3 - Bridget Fidget Hold on Tight! by Joe Berger

Bridget Fidget is in a FIX. She forgot to hold on tight to her beloved toy, Captain Cat, and lost him in a shop - disaster! Luckily, her friend Billy is there to save the day AND Captain Cat with his brand-new Superzoom 500 car. Quick, everyone, hold on tight!

With overtones of Shirley Hughes's classic Dogger, this is a hilarious comic caper from Joe Berger, World Book Day Illustrator 2010.

With lovely bright artwork and larger than life drawings, Joe Berger's Bridget Fidget is a great little picture book full of humour and a quest. Quests are 100% my favourite things.

When Bridget Fidget dashes through the Absolutely Best Shop in the World for Spending Shiny Coins (can someone please make a shop called this for real!?) clutching her backpack and shiny coin from the tooth fairy, she pays far less attention to Captain Cat and he bounces straight out of her backpack into the basket of another little girl strolling past.

When her friend Billy points out that Captain Cat is gone, poor Bridget Fidget goes into serious panic mode. She starts hunting for him everywhere but there is no sign of her special one and only. Fortunately Billy comes to the rescue but in the end it is Bridget Fidget who ends up saving the day overall in a great turn of generosity and kindness.

I enjoyed this - it's a very subtle way to teach younger folk (3 - 5 y/o) the value of sharing with those who may not have as much. Also, the language use was a bit reminiscent of Charlie and Lola, so for readers who are starting out, this is a great primer. And, as I said, wonderfully illustrated with Bridget Fidget being a very cute character whom I really liked. I too want to have a Captain Cat and fully expect that mine would be arriving from Dingle Bang's Universe of Toys at any moment.

Bridget Fidget Hold on Tight is has been since 2010 from Puffin.  Find Joe Berger's website here. 

Wereworld Blogtour- The Art

Be afraid, be very afraid. 

The Glass Demon by Helen Grant

Synopsis:

The first death: Seventeen-year-old Lin Fox finds a body in an orchard. As she backs away in horror, she steps on broken glass. The second death: Then blood appears on her doorstep – blood, and broken glass.The third death: Something terrible is found in the cemetery. Shards of broken glass lie by a grave.Who will be next? As the attacks become more sinister, Lin doesn’t know who to trust. She’s getting closer to the truth behind these chilling discoveries, but with each move the danger deepens. Because someone wants Lin gone – and won’t give up until he’s got rid of her and her family. Forever.

In The Glass Demon's opening pages we are confronted with a dead body.  Right. There.  It was weird.  It freaked me out a little.  No, what freaked me out was Lin, Tuesday (her mum) and her dad's reaction to the dead body of the German farmer in his orchard.  They were being very British by walking away from it because they didn't want to be involved - getting involved meant a delay in getting to where they were moving to, it meant questions from the police and to be honest, it would just be really very inconvenient.

Lin is our narrator and we are very quickly appraised of the situation.  Her dad is a well known scholar in medieval history but due to the unfortunate success of his book, (you read that right) he was passed over for promotion at the university.  So in a huff he decides to uproot his entire family and head off to Germany where he can do hands-on research about a series of glass windows created by a master craftsman in medieval times.  But the thing about the windows is that no one quite knows where they are, or if they exist or anything concrete.  They are, as Lin explains to us, an enigma, the holy grail of medieval scholars.  And of course, her dad believes that their discovery would mean fame, fortune, tv-shows and a lot of media attention.

Lin's older sister Polly is the quiet one, the one who does not like confrontation.  She prefers taking care of their baby brother Reuben.  She only has a few weeks with them in Germany before she takes off for a gap year to Italy.  Tuesday is a fashionista diva and together with Oliver (the dad) they form this bizarre bubble of selfish self-absorbededness that really and truly irritated me.  Lin and Polly are in ways far more mature than their parents but it's not done in the way a lot of YA novels are done where the parents are completely off-screen.  Tuesday and Oliver are very much present but they seem to struggle to realise that they have children that need taking care of.  They are so wrapped in their own lives, their own struggles, that when they notice the kids, they don't deal with them as kids, they are treated as miniature adults.  Lin, because she is the only one in the family who can speak German, is asked to translate conversations and she does her best to steer clear of her dad whom she knows would like to lure her into helping him translate some research books.

Lin starts school and strikes up an odd relationship with Michel, who lives on a farm near the ruined castle Lin and her family inhabit.  Michel seems completely star struck by Lin and it becomes clear quite early on that he likes her.  Lin's horrified at this - Michel isn't unattractive but she finds the idea of having a boyfriend a bit much and she does initially try and ward him off.  But various things happen and Michel and Lin grow closer but it's not a comfortable closeness.

There are various incidents that happen to Lin and her family that made me deeply uncomfortable and itchy between the shoulder blades.  The legend of the demon in the glass really freaked me out - especially when we consider how in modern times we are surrounded by glass, unlike in medieval times when it truly was expensive and unique. The author makes tremendous use of suggestion and foreshadowing and setting the ruined castle Lin and her family stay in, in the middle of a darkly mysterious forest, effectively isolating them from the outside world...it just works.

I have to warn you, dear reader, that The Glass Demon is deeply Gothic with characters who are very real - they aren't always likeable and their actions are questionable but they remain true to themselves in their own selfish, self absorbed, damaged human way.

It should also be noted that Polly and Lin's relationship deteriorates as Lin suspects for some time that Polly is hiding something.  When it is revealed that Polly has a eating disorder, Lin is all for telling her rubbish parents but Polly manages to bamboozle Lin into believing lies of things getting better.  I felt here that Lin really should have pushed harder and made her sister see sense.  It really broke my heart, the whole thing with Polly.

One thing about TGD is this sense of impending doom. You cannot get away from it.  You know something bad and awful is going to happen, you just don't know what it's going to be - not even to the very end.  It makes for tense reading.

I didn't have the chance to read Ms. Grant's first novel: The Vanishing of Katharina Linden but I will definitely be doing so in the New Year.  What can I say, I always do things differently.

Find Helen Grant's website here.  The Glass Demon has been out for some time here in the UK through Puffin, so if you're after something to cut through the saccharine sweet of Christmas, this will be right up your street! Just a personal note: it's recommended for slightly older teens - there is some gore, it is not gratuitous but some of the things stayed with me and I'm not a squeamish person at all, so if you are a bit delicate and not too keen on psychological scares, pick this one up knowing that it stays with you long after you've closed the pages.

Jumpy Jack & Googily by Meg Rosoff & Sophie Blackall

It is that time of year again when I start stressing about what to buy my god-daughters for Christmas.  Last year I inundated them with Charlie and Lola stuff which I loved myself.  I also bought them Aliens love Underpants because frankly, well - a cool idea is a cool idea paired with some hilarious writing.

I've been collecting picture books this past year and will be doing some random reviews in the run up to Christmas.  And erm, of course I bought these as research and gifts for my god-daughters.  *I'm lying, can you tell?*

First up in this sequence of reviews is the very quirky and funny Jumpy Jack & Googily by Meg Rosoff and Sophie Blackall.  Jumpy Jack is the snail of the pair and he is really quite scared of monsters.  He has a bit of a phobia about them.  I wonder if he's ever taken a good look at Googily?  Googily is a two fingered blue monster, with buggy out eyes, sticky out teeth and he wears a bowler hat.  I mean - Jumpy Jack!  You are incredibly brave and not at all a scaredy cat!

But Jumpy Jack (best name ever for a snail, I think) and Googily are the best of friends and Googily looks after Jumpy Jack on their strolls about, making sure that there are no monsters in the pool, behind the tree, or the inside the postbox or behind the door. All is well that ends well.  The lights go off and Googily's tiny voice comes on, asking Jumpy Jack to please help him this time around.  He's scared of socks, of all things, and needs Jumpy Jack to check under the bed as he's sure he can hear a sock squeaking.  I know the feeling Googily, I know the feeling!

A clever story, wonderfully illustrated by Sophie Blackall in these understated tones, that made me smile and giggle.  It's the silliness of it all but also the sweet friendship and the fact that they rely on each other, not just Jumpy Jack on Googily.

A great treat for readers 4 - 7.

Rick Riordan

So, a few moments ago, I was handed this giant envelope by my receptionist here at work.  My heart did this stuttering little thing it always does when I get handed an envelope or box that is decidedly book-shaped.

I opened up the envelope and within was this BIG book.  And I thought: what can it be, my precious?  (Yes, I do in fact speak like this, ask anyone!)

And lo!  It was the newest Rick Riordan: HEROES OF OLYMPUS: The Lost Hero.
I am excited.  I don't do a lot of random shout-outs for books that come into the reach of my grubby paws, but this one, I'm happy to chortle about.

Firstly, I really do like the Percy Jackson books.  Very accessible stories, steeped in mythology, that lured many reluctant readers into Percy's world and hopefully made reades from them.  Secondly, Rick Riordan's writing may not be Booker material but by heavens, he's a bloody good storyspinner and his stories are very entertaining.

Yes, admittedly, I didn't enjoy Red Pyramid that much but to be honest, I think I expected it to be similar to Percy and it's not.  In my opinion it was aimed at a much younger age group and didn't feel the love for the mythology as much as I fell for the Greek mythology.  Which is odd, because I am big on Egyptian mythology, more so than Greek.  Whichever way it falls - in this one instance, I was disappointed.  But rumour tells me that Heroes of Olympus is going to earn back my love.

Stay tuned for a review.

Oh, and these are some piccies I took, to show the actual size and coolness of the book. Also - the spine reflects / shows the mechanical dragon from the front of the book.  I think I'm just a little in love.  Can you tell?

The pretty! 

The thickness!

 Close up of that dragon!

The spine!

Also, on Saturday, 6th November, he (Rick The Myth Maker Riordan) will be at Bluewater.  And so will I.  I am going to stand in the queue (and probably be the oldest person there!) to get my unsigned books signed. And then I will go home and melt and write about my geekyness and show you pictures of the signing, right here on MFB.  Stick around. 

Young Samurai: The Ring of Earth by Chris Bradford

Synopsis

Jack Fletcher is on the run.

With no sensei to guide him, he has just his wits and his swords against many new and unknown enemies, as he journeys along the treacherous road to the port of Nagasaki and perhaps home...

But the Shogun's samurai are hot on his trail. Barely escaping their clutches, Jack runs headlong into a trap. Kidnapped by ninja and led to their village deep in the mountains, Jack has no means of escape.

The only question is who will kill him first - the ninja or samurai?

As I haven't read any of the earlier instalments in the Young Samurai series I was unsure if I'd be able to jump in. However, courtesy of a letter to his sister at the beginning, I was up to speed with Jack's journey so far. The book opens headfirst into the action with Jack trying to keep a low profile and get out of the country. However, he's wanted and is soon on the run from other samurai straight into a village of ninjas. Jack's father was killed by a notorious ninja and so he finds that he has to reconcile his feelings and judge those around him by their actions rather than their reputation.

The ninja village is hidden in the mountains, almost impossible to find. Jack decides to stay to learn new skills and hide from the patrolling samurai seeking him out. I found Jack an interesting character; he's thoughtful and caring which is not at all what I expected. There's plenty of high action and gore, some brilliant fighting scenes. Much as I loved these I also enjoyed Jack's growing respect and friendship with Soke the Grandmaster of the village. Soke has a wealth of information to share, not all of which Jack takes on board at the time. Alongside all of this it's clear that not everyone in the village is happy to welcome the stranger as Jack has to battle for respect and acceptance.

High action and intrigue aside I'm pleased to have read and enjoyed this book. One massive reason for this is that it gives me another series to recommend to boys who've finished reading Percy Jackson or Skulduggery Pleasant. I often get parents in the library desperate for any recommendation for their sons and I have a good list of authors that I'd recommend but am always looking for new ones. The Young Samurai series is perfect for the 8-12 age group. There's a warning on the back regarding the scenes of violence but there's more to the series than this and I didn't find them out of place or gratuitous.

Michael Rosen's Big Book of Bad Things

Synopsis

The arrival of a new poetry collection from one of Britain's greatest children's poets Michael Rosen is always cause for great excitement - and this collection promises to be one of the best. Coinciding with his laureateship and very welcome public promotion of the need for children's poetry in our education system, this brand-new collection of poetry for Puffin will delight readers young and old with Michael's famous sense of humour, wonder and pathos.

When I was eight I don't remember loving poetry much. The ones we used to do at school never seemed to grab my attention in the same way as a great story, a character that I could follow through amazing adventures. I'm guessing that this would have been different if I'd known about Michael Rosen back then. He was first published in 1974 so I have no excuse really!

This collection of poems is diverse; there are entertaining ones, funny ones but also very stark ones like We're Walking or Perhaps. Some of the poems address issues such as being unable to move on and let go (Please Leave) which gives great advice for any age group. Many of the poems are funny and quirky and would be great read out loud like What's in Your Bag? Rosen's wordplay makes these poems a joy to read. This is also a great collection for reluctant readers which could be dipped into on-and-off.

I'll leave you with one of my favourites: -

The Tents

The tents were worried it was going to rain.

The tents were tense.

We said,

"Relax tents, relax."

But these tents were tense

They were so intense.

Perhaps

the tents were worried about us.

Would we get wet?

After all,

we were in tents.

The Dark Goddess by Sarwat Chadda

Synopsis:

After the death of her soulmate Kay by her very own sword, Billi SanGreal has thrown herself into the brutal regime of Templar duties with utter abandon. There is no room for feelings any more - her life is now about hunting down the Unholy.

But when Billi and another Knight Templar are caught at the heart of a savage werewolf attack, only Billi survives - except for a young girl at the scene who Billi unthinkingly drags away with her as they escape. But Vasalisa is no ordinary girl. She is an avatar with an uncontrollable power - and it's not only the werewolves who want her.

Billi has to flee to the frosty climes of Russia, with a human timebomb who, it seems, could destroy the world . .

Did you guys see how I lied? Last week I promised a review of Sarwat Chadda's The Dark Goddess but it never transpired.

You may well wonder why. The honest truth is I felt that my review would not do it justice. I wrote it, fangirling like a fangirl, shortly after I read the manuscript. Yes. The Manuscript. See the pic below. It's now slightly mangled from living in my bookbag for a while but it is precious to me and will get SC to sign it for me.

My review read like a twihard's stuttering after meeting RPatz in person of even Steph Meyer. Nothing wrong with that, true, but not the type of review I wanted to convey my feelings for The Dark Goddess.

So I deleted the whole thing, gave myself the weekend to get over myself. I now feel that I am now distanced enough to give a balanced review.

What struck me overall is how much Mr. Chadda has matured as a writer. There is a clear escalation of writing - both in story arc, conflict and character development. In The Devil's Kiss Billi was not a likeable character, not to me anyway. Oh, I admired her guts and had a lot of sympathy for her, but I really didn't want to hang out with her. She was self-absorbed, selfish, moody and a bit unpleasant to be around. However, she needed to be for her story to be told, for us to get to know her.

In The Dark Goddess we see a different side of Billi. At the end of TDK a Bad Thing happens. She loses someone very close to her. But as is the nature of real life, you have to go on. Especially so for the handful of Templars left. Billi is still a squire in the Templars and she's still the one that has to do drudge work. But her father, Arthur and the rest of the Templars, see her as a valued member of their team and not a liability. Her head is in the game. Probably too much so. She holds herself aloof, aware that if she fails at anything she does from now on, it can and will have disastrous consequences.

The novel opens with a fight against a group of female werewolves (the Polenitsy) who are keen to steal away a little Russian girl. The Templars fight them off and the little girl is saved. But her grandparents were killed during the attack, so the only thing they can do is take her with them back to Temple.

We soon realise that the girl is someone special. We witness it when she brings dying plants back to life before their disbelieving eyes. Arthur and his team realise that Vasilisa is an oracle, a visionary / psychic. And the werewolves want her so that they can sacrifice her to their goddess.

Fantastically fraught and an awful concept to conceive but honestly, the author makes it work. We suspend our disbelief, in his hands this world is real, we are hunted for our humanity and only Billi and her Templars can save us.

Slowly, the story is pieced together. It necessitates a trip to Russia to rescue Vasilisa and an opportunity to sort things out with the Polenitsy and hopefully stop the destruction of the world. You know, the usual events in Billi's life.

In Russia they team up with a band of warriors called the Bogatyrs lead by a chap called Koshchey. Billi also meets Prince Ivan Romanov, the last of the Russian royal line. He's Billi's age and he sounds like such a fantastic character and I am really looking forward to hearing more about him. Go and have a look at Sarwat's interview where I ask him about Ivan. He stands out in YA fiction to me - he has great potential and he needs guidance and someone to help him grow from being a stubborn, little bit spoiled, tough teen into an independent young man.

Well - saying more at this point will reveal too much of the story. But needless to say everyone does not go off and live happily ever after. There's a plane crash, there are wolves, there are fights, there is sneaking, there is betrayal on an epic scale and there is also death. The book runs a gamut of emotions and through Billi we get to experience all of it. She's such a fantastically cool creation and she is to be admired - holding her own in a nasty and unsympathetic world.

I can't urge you enough to give this book a try. It is unique in scope and character. A worthy urban fantasy for the YA market.

Also. Werewolves still rule. In my opinion. Even if they are sometimes a liiiiiitle bit bad.

The Dark Goddess is now out in all good book stores. Go, buy.

Sarwat Chadda talks Templars, Old Gods and Werewolves

Readers, I am so excited to present our second interview with Sarwat Chadda. He's currently doing a blog tour here in the UK to celebrate the release of his new novel, The Dark Goddess, which is the follow-up to The Devil's Kiss. Now, between you and me, I really enjoyed The Devil's Kiss but trust me when I tell you that The Dark Goddess will blow you away. It's ridiculously good and well, read my review that'll be live tomorrow but in the meantime, read Sarwat's interview with MFB today.

1. Another year, and a brand new book from you! Can you tell us what Dark Goddess is about without giving too much away?

The Dark Goddess is Baba Yaga, a twenty thousand year old witch who sees herself as the living embodiment of the natural world. She’s seen the damage humanity has done to the planet, the pollution, the destruction of the forests and extinction of so many of its species that she’s decided the human race needs to be culled.

And who’s the say she’s wrong? What other species has prospered under the dominion of Man? Not one.

But Baba Yaga is old, weak and far past her best. She feeds on the psychic energy. If she’s to create a global cataclysm she needs to gain more power. What Dark Goddess centres around is a young nine year old girl, Vasilisa. She’s a potential avatar, a psychic of god-like proportions. The Templars have found her and Billi’s sworn to protect her until the Templars can get Vasilisa to Jerusalem, where she’ll begin her training to be the next Templar Oracle.

Meanwhile Baba Yaga has sent her priestesses, the Polenitsy, to find Vasilisa and bring her to her. The Polenitsy are old school religion. They believe in human sacrifice and will do anything for their goddess. They are also werewolves.

2. Having had the opportunity to read it I have to say I love how much Billi has grown as a character. Although she’s still pretty darn tough, there’s a new vulnerability to her that is really charming. This enhances her as a character greatly. How did you as a male writer tap into a teen girl’s psyche to pull this off?

Having two daughters, a wife as a first reader and two female editors certainly helps. However lot of teen issues are the same, whether male or female. Billi’s conflict is centred around her identity, what is she going to be, now she’s on the threshold of adulthood. What responsibility is so going to take on for the wider community and of course, who does she love?

Devil’s Kiss presented her with two sides of her personality, reflected in Mike and Kay. Mike was the resentment, the anger and the rebellion while Kay was duty, compassion and the chance for honesty.

Love is shaped by the type of person you are, and want to be. Through it we aspire to be better than we are and strive far more than we’d do for ourselves. This theme is all the way through Dark Goddess. Baba Yaga loves the natural world. The Polenitsy love Baba Yaga. Ivan loves Russia and as the story develops, Billi too. But, after the pain Billi’s suffered, she’s closed herself off and that makes her a smaller person. What Dark Goddess is about is her rediscovering her connection with other people and her capacity to love.

3. I know you’ve been to Russia to research the places Billi gets to see in Dark Goddess. What was your experiences like when you were there?

Moscow is AWESOME. The place is just gigantic and has a monolithic grandeur. The tube stations have mosaics, bronze statues and chandeliers. The palaces are endless and the city is dominated by the Seven Sisters, Stalin’s skyscrapers that brought Moscow into the modern age. I love it in the way I love London, it’s mythic. It reeks of history and has a brashness that comes with its new found freedom, but under that skin is a deep, old culture and a profound connection with its history.

Rather than wander around with a guide book I contacted Alan Steel who runs a company called Russian Gateway. He arranged a guide who took me way off the beaten track and filled me in on a lot of history that gets brushed over in the usual tourist articles. Then he did the Russian translation work for me too. Alan really helped turn the story around so it didn’t read like a travel brochure.

4. Billi’s relationship with her dad has changed dramatically – she is still a squire in the Templars – yet there is a newfound respect between Billi and Arthur yet you sense that there is still a hesitancy there. Will they ever be a happy father/daughter unit?

Things have moved on in Devil’s Kiss and Billi’s accepted her duty as a Templar. She still doesn’t like it but she knows she has to do it. And there’s what she achieved in Devil’s Kiss, saving all the firstborn. Arthur respects her for that and the price she paid, emotionally, in defeating the dark angel. Alas, both father and daughter share a lot of tragedy. Arthur will never recover from the death of his wife and that has tainted his relationship with Billi. I hope Billi does move on from her loss and certainly the emotional journey she takes in this book is centred around her embracing life, rather than brooding in the darkness and being angry with the world, which is Arthur’s way. So, Billi has a new maturity that Arthur lacks, and he knows it. I think that’s another big reason Arthur has a great respect for his daughter. She survives her pain and moves on, which is something Arthur can’t do.

But while they’ll never be an openly affectionate family, there is an incredibly deep bond between them and part of that is because of Jamila, Billi’s mother. That’s something I’d like to explore if the series continues.

5. Most of the action in Dark Goddess takes place in Russia. You have used a lot of imagery and legends from parts of eastern Europe and Russia and they play a big role in Dark Goddess. Did you have a lot of fun doing research and playing with mythology?

I’ve been reading about Russian mythology since the early 1990’s, which was when I first decided to do a Baba Yaga story. I’d done some travelling around Eastern Europe and had just visited Romania, and Transylvania so was very into the Dracula myth too.

I find Eastern Europe fascinating because the culture and mindset, as well as the myths, are very different. There’s a darkness to the tales that’s been taken out of the Western fairy tales, and there’s a greater sense of the otherworld. The forests are spookier and the characters much more macabre and you cannot tell the good guys from the bad guys so easily.

Four characters come up again and again. Prince Ivan, Vasilisa the Fair, Koshchey the Undying and Baba Yaga. I’ve put my own spin of them in Dark Goddess but, hopefully, retained their virtues and vices from the original fairy tale versions.

6. I think the reason everyone likes Billi so much is that she is a no nonsense kind of girl that can as easily smile at you than put you on your butt. Did you have to learn what it was like being able to throw punches or use weapons to write it well?

I’ve dabbled in a lot of martial arts as I’ve grown up but never for long. I’m a writer, not a fighter!

Actually, writing about fighting is a curious skill. It’s all in the anticipation, rather than the event itself. I don’t write much about the actions, but on the emotional state of the warrior. It’s life and death and so Billi’s feelings will be intense. We don’t really need to know how she swings the sword, but what she’s feeling as she does it. The fear, the excitement.

Billi’s all about raw emotion and that’s what appeals to me when I write her. She’s not a girl who does things by halves! She’s not cool or calculating. Even when she’s trying to be cut off and cold at the beginning of the story you sense her emotions storming beneath the surface. Perhaps she feels too strongly, too intensely. But it’s what makes her such fun to write.

7. Let’s talk Romanovs. Specifically let’s talk about Ivan Alexeivich Romanov. Tell us a bit about Ivan. What makes him different from the usual bad boys we see in YA these days?

Ivan’s the anti-bad boy. Ivan’s an old-fashioned hero, elegant, civilized and totally deadly. He’s had the best of everything and has a certain, natural arrogance of nobility.

The bad boy template’s been a bit done to death now and hasn’t really evolved from the James’ Dean misunderstood, ‘tough on the outside and soft on the inside’ formula. And all he needs is the love of a good woman to make it all better. There was absolutely nothing I could do to add a new spin on the bad boy character so decided to go the opposite direction. If you spot a cliché, do the opposite. It’ll keep your writing fresh and interesting.

Ivan isn’t like that. He’s got responsibility, duty and commitment to what he believes in. He is willing to die for his honour, which isn’t something modern heroes have any real interest in. What I love about Ivan is he realises that nobility is not in the blood, but in the deed. He has set himself an ideal and that is what he strives for. To be better.

8. Tied intrinsically with Dark Goddess are the werewolves. Here we have really tough Amazonian werewolves who follow matriarchal law. Why did you decide to buck the trend and walk away from male alphas / male dominated packs?

My two biggest werewolf inspirations were from ‘Women Who Run with the Wolves’ by Clarissa Pinkola Estes and Angela Carter’s short story collection ‘Company of Wolves’.

Werewolf mythology is intrinsically female. It’s centred around moon worship which is a female deity and connected with Hecate, the goddess of witches. Plus the weapon of the Amazons was the double-headed axe, itself mimicking the curves of the moon.

On the Yin/Yang front I wanted DG to have a strong female energy to balance the male dominated energy of Devil’s Kiss, where Billi and Elaine were the only two female characters in the entire book and that was centred around the Templars, all men. I wanted to create a rival organization, as tough, as deadly and as dedicated as the Templars and my female werewolf pack fits that role perfectly.

9. What have you learned about writing between Devil’s Kiss and Dark Goddess? Do you think you’ve grown as a writer?

Very complex question since I still feel very much a novice. I’m making fundamental mistakes still but am getting quicker at recognising them and correcting them. The biggest difference is greater objectivity. To stop a problem with a story you need to be able to view it from a distance. This is not easy especially when you’ve got deadlines and the urge is to write and write and write. But what you need to do is think.

What I’ve also noticed is my lack of tolerance for reading. I read less and am far more willing to put a book down that just doesn’t work for me. That’s a shame because I’m finding it harder to get out of the writer mode when you’re reading and analysing, rather than just letting yourself get caught up in the world of the story.

10. I love the short stories you’ve been doing on the site, will we be seeing more of those? (explain here if you like, why you are doing them because obviously we know, but others may not)

There was going to be slightly over a year gap between Devil’s Kiss and Dark Goddess so I thought it would be fun to write a series of short stories to fill the space. Some would hint at the second book, or expand on some event out of Devil’s Kiss, others would look at one of the secondary characters.

I’ve done about four or five. Some have been released on my website but some are being saved for the US publication, so do keep checking. I’ve two more I want to work on. When Arthur joined the Templars and the first meeting between Billi and Kay.

11. Two years on, on the cusp of Dark Goddess being published, what is your writers’ advice to newbie authors now that you’ve had a lot more experience in the biz. I’m referring to the advice you gave us in our previous interview, over a year ago, see my cleverly added link for reference.

Funny reading up on it, later down the line. I was at a function yesterday talking to an agent trying to place her zombie novel with a publisher. Problem is EVERYONE now has their zombie book so don’t want any more. So, I was right, the zombie trend has come and gone. Apparently dystopia is the next big thing, following from Knife of Never Letting Go, Hunger Games and Matched. You have been advised.

The only thing worth emphasising is passion. You have got to love writing. When it’s your fifth rewrite, deadlines are looming and the plot makes no sense whatsoever the only thing that will stop you from giving up and becoming an accountant like your parents wanted, is the passion. No matter what a shambles my attempts are with this job, I love it as much now as I did in that first interview. More in fact. I can’t believe this is my day job. When I’m at the pc lost in the world I’m building, nothing else compares. AND you get paid for it. UNBELIEVABLE.

**

Thanks for that really interesting interview, Mr. C! The Dark Goddess is out tomorrow, 1st July (yay!) so make sure to get yourself a copy...or swing by here tomorrow as I'll be running a competition in which you can win a signed personalised copy of The Dark Goddess. UK entrants only, just so you know!

In the meantime, make sure to visit Sarwat's blog site here and his website here, to keep up to date with all his shenanigans. Also, the next stop in the blog tour will be: Bookzone on the 2nd of July.

Sarwat Chadda on Memphis Morning TV

I love this so much - friend of the blog, Sarwat Chadda on Memphis Morning TV chatting to the presenters about his novel, Devil's Kiss.



I chuckled so much watching this - it's such a good chat they are having and Sarwat so doesn't look nervous at all.

I am reliably informed that MFB will be part of a blog tour for the sequel to Devil's Kiss in June - yes, you can imagine my squeeling of joy. Aren't I good to you?

Letters to Cathy by Cathy Cassidy

Synopsis:

Have you ever had a crush?

Fallen out with your best friend?

Cathy Cassidy is here for you.

There are no questions Cathy hasn't been asked and isn't afraid to answer, from growing-up to dating, making friends, following your dreams and much more. Through the happy times, the mad and crazy times and the days when you simply find yourself asking "Why?" - whatever's bugging you, Cathy can help.

I'm a newcomer to Cathy Cassidy and I've got to admit, I'm glad I've discovered her. I recently read Ginger Snaps and loved it - I was surprised by how much this tiny book tackled and the positive message it conveyed.

Then I met Cathy in person at the Puffin media event and I was blown away by her presence. Here is someone who deeply cares about her audience. It wasn't just a gimmick. This is exactly who she is, there is no pretend. You know how you can sense a person's "real-ness"? Listening to Cathy chat about how she came to writing, her writing career and what lead her to become such a success, I felt inspired and wanted to jump up and clap like a lunatic. Fortunately I refrained. Did I mention I got her autograph???

I subsequently came home and devoured Letters to Cathy written by Cathy as an overall book of advice to her readers about subjects as far ranging as bullying, confidence dilemmas, boys, growing up, friendship, family matters and it also deals with sad things like bereavement etc.

I was initially a bit hesitant thinking it was going to be a bit preachy and dull but I found that this book was written for me, afterall. I'm 36 (going on 37) and so much of Cathy's advice to her readers can be applied to me...even at 36.

Advice on how to pretend confidence, how to keep your friends, how to stop being down on yourself, to keep on dreaming, all these things are aimed right at me. My heartfelt opinion is that every girl from the age of 6 should be given a copy of this to read and to keep it on her bedside table. To be honest, there is some ready advice here for boys too but I fear that the very pink cover will detract our macho brethren from picking it up but maybe, just maybe, a book like this (if it doesn't already exist) can be done for the lads?

Written in an easy conversational style, Letters to Cathy is a treasure trove. I forget utterly how painful it is growing up, how scared and emotional I was at certain times in my young life and reliving that with her readers and fans was really poignant. But as I said above, some of the advice still works for me. A book like this is invaluable and I would recommend it to be bought now, immediately, by everyone who reads this blog post. Maybe not everything in here will reflect what you're going through but there are life lessons in here which are given with deep sincerity and love. I admire Cathy for tackling such a variety of subjects and for being so gutsty in answering these letters from her fans, but most importantly I am incredibly proud to see such a large variety of young people write in with their problems - the mere fact that they feel they can do that just goes to show their respect for an author whom they admire. These letters are dealt with sensitively and each letter is given it's due attention. After each section Cathy gives websites and other books by a variety of authors and publishers to read for further information or inspiration.

Cathy is my heroine for 2010 and I'm hoping to do an Author of the Month event with her later this year, depending on her schedule of course. Find Cathy's very cool website here. Letters to Cathy is out now from Puffin UK.

Cover P0rn 2010

Friend of MFB, all round good guy and bloody good writer Sarwat Chadda has just sent out this gorgeous cover for his second novel: Dark Goddess, due out later this year from Penguin/Puffin here in the UK.

And people, you have to admit, this cover is simply stunning. I think uploading it in high res has retained it's quality so do go ahead and click on the image to take you to a larger version of it.

From having chatted to Sarwat about Billi's journey in Dark Goddess I deduce (she says, using her Holmes voice) that we're going to look back at Devil's Kiss and go"that was a cake-walk" compared to what Billi's going to go through in this one.

Is it wrong to want to fast forward time to speed things up so I can read books not yet published? Yeah, I thought so too!