Blog Tour - Wordsmith Tim Lebbon

Mark and I are lucky enough to be able to be a small part in Tim Lebbon's blog tour - okay, maybe not so tiny - we are afterall the FIRST STOP on the leg of his whirlwind tour of other blogs and sites. Tim (pictured left) is celebrating the publication of Fallen in paperback AND the publication of his newest novel in hardback - The Island.

We have also been given the opportunity to offer a copy of Fallen to give away to a lucky entrant. We'll let the competition run a week only (entries in by Friday, 15th) purely because you just have to get your grubby paws on a copy to read as soon as possible!

And there is even more. We have been given some special content, exclusive to MFB, just for you to read. But that is not all I've got up my sleeve for you. further down is chance to win - from the Allison and Busby publishers' site - a copy of Tim's newest novel, The Island.

More of that a little bit later on, though. Here is our main act, Tim Lebbon, wordsmith and world conjuror, in his own words:

Sometimes it’s the world where your story is set. The geography, flora and fauna, and how that becomes a place you want to write about, a whole new world you want to explore ...

Sometimes it’s the idea. The heart of your novel, the sun around which the characters and events form, orbit, and occasionally collide ...

It can be the theme, an underlying concept that you want to explore to its fullest potential, and which can be most successfully analysed in this particular world, with these people, civilisations, and these mad monsters tearing the world apart ...

But with FALLEN, it was none of these. It was the characters. When Ramus Rheel and Nomi Hyden introduced themselves to me, I knew I had to write a novel about them. They were screaming to have their story told, and at the same moment they made themselves known to me, I also knew some stuff about their backgrounds, their relationship, and some of what must happen to them to set them on course for this book's finale. I could even picture them in my mind's eye ... quite a spooky feeling considering their names had yet to appear on paper. But who ever said writers are normal, right?

There's always a definite moment when a book feels whole to me. It's the instant when a book changes from a two-dimensional idea on a piece of paper, to a three dimensional, complete world, where the characters I'm creating and the landscape they inhabit come alive and are suddenly real. Sometimes it'll happen when I'm brainstorming an idea on paper—making notes, sketching scenes, trying to expand on themes. Sometimes it's not until the actual writing process begins, either when I create that all-important opening scene (or even opening line), or when I'm feeling my way through the first chapter. Usually if the feeling hasn't hit by then, I'll leave the story alone for a while, take a step back and hope that a new approach will bring it to life. Sometimes I push on, and the story might grow and grow until it reaches that state of 'wholeness' that is so important ... or it might fade away with a whimper.
With FALLEN, the instant these two characters came along my mind caught fire. They're explorers, dedicating their lives to discovering the unknown landscapes of Noreela in its early years. They work for the Guild of Voyagers, though perhaps in the Guild's eyes they're not the most successful ... that plaudit often goes to Voyagers who have gone so far that they're lost in the land, never to be seen again. They're lifelong friends, attracted to each others' weaknesses as well as their strengths, and theirs is a relationship built on the wonders they have seen, and which can survive petty squabbles. They're also competitors ... because Voyaging is a lonely calling with sometimes selfish aims. And perhaps they might even be lovers ... or if they're not, it's something they've danced around, and which perhaps they both think of but avoid. Their friendship is precious, and perhaps this is the one thing it could not survive.

But it was still not quiet there. It itched at the edges, this story just waiting to be born, but there was one little thing missing, and I didn't know what. I knew that theirs would be a momentous quest, perhaps even the last great Voyage in Noreela's Age of Expansion ... but that wasn't it. There would be dangers and challenges, of course. But there was still something absent, and it had to be to do with Nomi and Ramus, not the world around them.

It took a walk in my local woods to realise what that was. It's beautiful in there, and I imagined finding it for the first time, being the very first person to see those trees, that stream, those bluebells. And I had it. These Voyagers covet the wonders they seek, and so at some point on their journey they must become mortal enemies.

That was it. FALLEN was a complete, rounded story, a tale with soul and meaning, emotionally challenging and fantastic in scope.

All I had to do now was write it.

Did that peak your interest? Whet your appetite for more? Allison and Busby, Tim's publisher sent us an exclusive excerpt of Fallen for you to read. This is the link to that extract.

And now, for a chance to win a zigned copy of The Island - it is a standalone novel set in the same world as Fallen - follow this link and it will take you to the A&B website where you need to enter this word - RAMUS - in order to enter. There is a different code for each blog stop, so up your chances of winning by collecting the different codes as you follow Tim’s tour. You can then enter more than once, as long as you don’t repeat the same code.

As I mentioned earlier, this is only the first stop of Tim's blog tour. Next up he'll be over at A&B's blog. Pop by to catch him on the 13th, doing a reading from Fallen. Check out Tim's blog for a full list of stops on his blog tour.

Thanks to both Tim and the publicity girls at Allison and Busby for this fantastic opportunity and for making MFB the first stop in the blog tour!

The Grey Knights Omnibus, Ben Counter

"The Grey Knights are servants of the Ordo Malleus; imperious, incorruptible warriors whose very purpose is to seek out and destroy the most dangerous foes that humanity will ever face: daemons. Armed and armoured with the trappings of the daemonhunter, these stalwart Astartes bring death and destruction to the immortal denizens of the warp. Girded by faith, wielders of the nemesis force halberd, the Grey Knights step where others will not tread. Theirs is the hardest task, risking their immortal souls in pursuit of the hungry entities of Chaos, the Imperium’s arch foes. Without the Grey Knights, humanity would be but a feast on the sacrificial altar of darkness."

The omnibus brings together Grey Knights, Dark Adeptus and Hammer of Daemons, a trilogy that follows the exploits of Justicar Alaric of the Grey Knights.

The combination of Space Marines, the bio-engineered superhuman killing machines and the fertile backdrop of the 41st millennium are an immediate recipe for kickass storytelling. Now redefine the Space Marines as a single minded, elite order of warrior-monks dedicated to the destruction of daemonkind. Add in unshakeable faith in the Emperor of Mankind and consecrated armour engraved with prayers, litanies of hatred and wards that burn like the sun in the presence of their sworn foes.

Finally, mix in a liberal dose of Ben Counter’s enviable ability to make Alaric so much more than the sum of these parts and you’re left with a collection that will leave you slumped over the table exhausted but grinning.

Not to mention muttering “I am the Hammer..” under your breath at business meetings for days afterward.

Alaric’s a strong, likeable character who grows throughout the trilogy; Ben certainly puts him through the wringer, pitting him against the boundless malice of the Warp with nothing except his sense of duty to gird himself against the endless tide of evil. It couldn’t have been an easy undertaking to bring a character who is, by definition, a borderline sociopathic religious fanatic to life, letting him grow and find himself without compromising the tenets he lives, and dies, by. But that's just what Ben has done.

The books are jampacked with generous servings of utterly satisfying carnage; bodies and bolters roar across the pages. This is the 41st millennium, and it doesn't have time for flesh wounds.

If I had to pick a favourite of the three, I’d go for Grey Knights. The sequence where the Knights have to force a landing on Volcanis Ultor and fight their way to the Tomb is particularly tense and utterly engaging- it made me take my lunchbreak an hour early just so that I could scurry to Starbucks and see where it went!

If you intend buying/ reading them in single novel format, I’d definitely recommend reading the books in sequence to enjoy them properly.

The Grey Knights are a very welcome addition to my shelf- here’s hoping we get to see more of Alaric in the very near future!

Press Release - Angry Robot signs Colin Harvey

We're over the moon to welcome British science fiction writer COLIN HARVEY to our happy but metallic band. The Bristol-based author has signed up with us for two novels, the first of which - WINTER SONG - will be appearing as soon as October this year, with the second to follow in May 2010.

Colin has for some years been an active contributor British small presses and blogs, and he is a regular reviewer for Strange Horizons, but these novels will mark his debut with a major publisher. His writing manages to combine solid action with a deeper, more reflective style that, when combined, delivers fabulous modern science fiction. The deal was done with his US-based agent, Jenny Rappaport, with the
invaluable assistance of the Two Johns at Zeno Literary Agency in London.

Book one, WINTER SONG, sees bio-engineered starship pilot Karl Allman crashing his craft onto a snowy planet inhabited by Viking-like tribes, the remnants of earlier colonisation efforts. As the natives help him find a way back to the stars, he comes to realise that they are far from primitive. That will be followed by DAMAGE TIME, a near-future thriller from a world where America is on its last legs (topical, us?) and being parcelled off between the Chinese and the Muslims. A policeman who specialises in reading the last memories of murder victims comes under suspicion himself…

Colin blogs at Suite 101 and can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

More information on Angry Robot can be found at angryrobotbooks.com.

Book Trailer for Devil's Kiss

This leads me to say: Happy Book Day, Sarwat Chadda. Check out his shock at seeing his book on display today!

Midwinter, Matthew Sturges

Synopsis

Winter comes to the land only once in a hundred years. But the snow covers ancient secrets: secrets that could topple a kingdom. Mauritaine was a war hero. Then he was accused of treason and sentenced to life without parole at Crere Sulace, a dark and ancient prison in the mountains, far from the City Emerald. But now the Seelie Queen – Regina Titania herself – has offered him one last chance to redeem himself, an opportunity to regain his freedom and his honor.

This is how I sold Midwinter to my friends on Monday evening when we had a get-together for all things reviewer and book-like: Faeries and a mix of the Dirty Dozen and Oceans Eleven.

Ana and Katie gawped at me, Kaz smiled smugly and Mark just shook his head and rolled his eyes. That is my elevator spiel. And I got every single one of them interested in the book. I felt a bit smug BUT then I explained to them, roughly, what the book is about and why they should make sure they read it. They were still interested, so I was convinced that between my sell and Matthew Sturges' writing, we'd managed to sell his book to a few more people.

Midwinter is not like anything you might very well come to expect when you mention fairies or the Fae. It forces you to toss your preconceptions about pointy eared elves and maids in gossamer gowns straight out the window. Here we are faced with a well-drawn world with trappings of medieval society (so far, so the same) and we have the two opposing courts – the Seelie and the Unseelie (so far, so the same) – and yes, there is animosity (sfsts) between the two courts. It is in essence a martial society ruled over by a matriach which is quite new - or new to me, at least. The two queens – Titania and Mab - whose presence, although they do not appear very often or for extended periods of time in the novel, is felt throughout. Mab’s city is a massive floating city powered by Chambers of Elements and Motion. The threat of Unseelie invasion is tangible throughout and lends a quality of urgency to the novel. There is no vain posturing by these queens when they make their appearance – and it is a refreshing change. The old tropes of having the fae be over the top and thee and thou has no place in Midwinter.

The main character, Mauritaine is equally well plotted. Here we have a hero fallen on bad times, locked away for a perceived treason against the Seelie and Queen Titania herself. He longs for nothing more to regain his freedom, to destroy his enemies, and to pick up the remnants of his old life, and to reprise his role as Captain of the Guard. But, locked away within Crere Sulace, a remote prison in the far reaches of the mountains, and with no chance of parole, this is not likely to happen. Yet, one day, a group of guards arrive at the mountain with orders from the Queen’s Chamberlain to release Muritaine and a group of prisoners of his choice, to fulfil a task set out by the Queen – by not fulfilling the task, the Seelie world would collapse and the Fae would die. If they succeed they would be granted their freedom and all past deeds would be forgiven. It is in essence, a suicide mission, but to be honest, it is a better choice than dying as a prisoner somewhere awful.

Mauritaine sets about choosing his companions. His actions are swift and he has the Gift of Leadership so his commands are quickly met by his erstwhile captors. He chooses a young nobleman, Lord Silverdun, Raieve a female warrior of great skill and Brian Satterly, a human scientist who had strayed into Faerie to rescue a Changeling child.

We follow the group through various travails as they by turns fight for their survival, run for their lives and become heroes of a semi-rebellion.

I enjoyed Midwinter and think that Matthew Sturges has only started to dazzle us with his too easy writing style and clever character creations and twisty plotlines. It wasn’t until quite late into the book that I cottoned onto what exactly it is that their task was as it is not actually ever revealed in so many words! Fortunately, this trick, instead of hampering or annoying, heightens the mystery and sense of urgency.

Mauritaine’s character has this inner core of self-belief and strength which makes him an excellent main character. He does not become tiring and his actions are believable throughout. There are several air-punching moments in the novel and quite a few humourous encounters. Brian Satterly’s character, as the human, is beautifully underplayed and he struggles to cope in the world of the Fae – it is both what he expected and not. Sturges has managed to convey the difference between the Fae and Brian wonderfully by use of dialogue and “racial” preconceptions.

There is a mix of cultures here with tiny elements of science fiction and not too little magic but it is woven seamlessly into a strong debut novel by a writer already adept at writing graphic novels. The plot is evolved enough to satisfy with an antagonist that veers from almost likeable to despicable and secondary characters who could in turn be set up in their own novels within Sturges’ world. (hint! hint!)

Find Matthew Sturges’ site here and Pyr, his US publisher’s site here.

Rachel Caine's Visit to the UK

The inimitable Rachel Caine, author of the Weather Warden Series and the Morganville Vampire Series will be in the UK to promote her Morganville books and to attend some book signings. This is a tiny bit of an exclusive as I don't think these dates have appeared on Rachel's site, as yet, but these dates I received from her number one group of fans over at her publishers, Allison and Busby so unless something goes awry at the last minute, these dates are 99.99% correct. Also, check out the link to A&B's site - they are offering some of the Morganville books up for grabs. What a way to start your Wednesday morning!

Tuesday 19th

5 – 6pm Talk, Q&A & Booksigning
Waterstone’s, Boston
18 Pescod Square, Wide Bargate, Boston PE21 6QX.
Tel: 01205 360002

Thursday 21st

6.30pm Talk, Q&A and Book signing a
Borders, Stockport
Peel Retail Park, Great Portwood Street, Stockport, SK1 2HH
Tel: 0161 476 3392

Friday 22nd

3.30 – 5pm Talk, Q&A and Book signing
Waterstone’s, Lancaster
4-6 Corn Market, Marketgate Shopping Centre, Lancaster, LA1 1AL. Tel: 01524 842561

Saturday 23rd (two signings on the same day)

11am – 1.30pm Book Signing
Waterstone’s, Bluewater
Bluewater Shopping Centre, Greenhithe, Kent DA9 9ST
Tel: 01322 624 831

3.30 – 4.30pm Book signing
Waterstone’s, Camden
128 Camden High Street, NW1 7JR
Tel: 020 7284 4948

Sci-Fi London and BlogFest Meet-Up

Whilst everyone else in the country slept late and enjoyed the sunshine this May bank holiday weekend, Mark and I donned our geek-costumes and headed for Sci-Fi London Film Festival held at the incomparable Apollo Theatre on Lower Regent Street.

This was the first year we did not attend the Festival for movies, but for their literary talks. The festival has been going for eight incredibly succesful years and we've been going for the past six years. This year however was their first year in which they incorporated authors and talks about genre writing and literature and I have to say, in our opinion, it was a huge success.

Mark and I attended two talks during both days.

On Saturday we sat in on:

Writing For Young Adult Fantasy

What's the difference between writing for young adults and writing for everyone else? Is there a difference at all?

We ask these experts to give us the low-down on writing successfully in this very competitive niche.

Panel discussion with:

Paul Stewart/Chris Riddell
Oisin McGann
Chris Wooding
China Miéville
Pat Cadigan

The panel was incredibly fun and informative. The majority of the authors firmly stated that they have chosen to write for young adults because there are no restrictions. You can throw monsters and mayhem, horror and fantasy critters at their audience and they can get away with it. First and foremost though they stated that they wrote for themselves, for their younger selves. The idea that your work can influence a whole new generation of readers, in their formative years, also seemed to appeal tremendously. A crucial item which everyone mentioned though is that writing for children and young adult is incredibly difficult whilst being liberating. Your audience is utterly unforgiving, even more unforgiving than writing for adults. If they genuinely do not like your book, they will not see any reason to continue reading it. They will put it down and not bother reading it, unlike many adults who may feel feel obliged to finish a book as a challenge.

The panel also mentioned that there is such breadth and scope writing for young adults / children as literally anything goes. You can tackle genre fiction, literary fiction, and do cross-over storytelling between different genres. As a writer you are the limit of your own creation.

It was an incredibly positive and powerful panel discussion and I personally came away feeling very inspired.


Random Steampunk weapons called Nerf guns which I found online!

Next up we went to the Rise of Steampunk Subculture Panel

Steampunk has been bubbling away for years, but now Steampunk theatre and cabaret scenes are slowly establishing themselves, traditional 'goths' are replacing their eyeliner for goggles, cogs and gentleman's jackets and Solaris has just published an anthology of Steampunk writing.

So why has it taken so long for Steampunk to break through? Why now? And where do we think it is going?

Panel discussion with:

Stephen Hunt
Chris Wooding
Bryan Talbot
Paul Duffield

Tom Hunter, administrator for the Arthur C Clarke awards, chaired this panel and it was interesting to see how well he steered everyone's discussion.

I have never been sure about Steampunk - I didn't quite "get" what it was about, previously, even though I had read some books and seen some flicks which were steampunk in genre. So listening to their discussion as they were trying to define it, I was happy to see that even the esteemed panelists couldn't point a finger and say 150% that "yes, this is it".

Graphic novels such as Bryan Talbot's Grandville was mentioned (we got to see a short clip of that) along with The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novel and movie (to a lesser extent) as well as the Will Smith Wild Wild West flick.

Bryan Talbot did a good definition: in modern times everything has gone hyper small, all technology is tiny. Steampunk is all about being big - the machinery, the buildings, the inventions, the spinning cogs, the larger than life imagery and heroes. It is also set in Victorian times / pseudo-Victorian times and can be set in the future (here I think Serenity / Firefly can fit in slightly).

I enjoyed this panel, especially when the various fashions were being discussed and looking around the audience you could see that several there were of the Steampunk persuasion and you know, I can quite happily say that I MUCH prefer the Steampunk look on my gentlemen compared to say scruffy jeans a and a t-shirt.

On Sunday we attended The New Heroic Fantasy panel:

The days of by-the-numbers 'swords and sorcery' seem to be well behind us and modern fantasy writers have brought a new type heroic fantasy to the masses. Is that a conscious effort by today's fantasy writers or just a new sensibility for a modern world? How has the massive rise in popularity of fantasy fiction changed the writers approach? How hard is it to maintain a fresh approach to such a well-defined genre?

Panel discussion with:

Joe Abercrombie
Stephen Deas
Adrian Tchaikovsky
Tom Lloyd

This was the big one, for both Mark and myself. As fans of big-ass heroic fiction, we entered with big expectations and we were not disappointed. The panel was chaired by unashamed fanboy Robert Grant who was the one who had fought so hard for the fiction panels to be added to Sci Fi London's line-up. He set the ball in motion by having each person introduce themselves and speak about their current work and what they thought defines heroic fiction.

They were asked what defined heroic fiction and the generalisation was that it was a grittier type of fantasy, where wounds were fatal and magic was not highly prevalent - and if there was magic present, it was not something everyone had access to and invariably it was a wild type of magic or magic with consequences. They touched on Stephen Deas' Adamantine Palace novel and the fact that his dragons were not cute and fuzzy. He pointed out that dragons have only recent been made cute and fuzzy and historically stories about dragons were stories about creatures of darkness and fire, testing the metal of the hero - the hero was only as tough as the dragon was. Joe Abercrombie mentioned that in heroic fantasy, characters do get killed (sometimes gruesomely) and there is no bringing them back. Heroic fantasy also plays a bit with the genre and sometimes does not have linnear storytelling.

Sitting there in the semi-dark, listening to this group of authors talk, was like walking into a conversation amongst old friends. The panel veered from one subject to the other as they disccused influences (Tolkien, George RR Martin etc) character creation, plotting and seemingly everything else they could think of, including why there are so few female characters of note in heroic fantasy. It was a solid panel which highlighted four very different authors in this new sub-genre of fantasy, their works and their influences. Something which struck me, and I think others at the talk, was the fact that every single one of these authors used to be / still are gamers - be it D&D, World of Warcraft online or LARP, amongst others. And I know they have this in common with other authors too. I forget which of the authors said this but someone mentioned how running a campaign for their characters (friends/gamer buddies) taught them how to progress a story in a linnear fashion but then found that their characters diverged utterly, doing their own thing - and this was tremendous training ground for sitting down and writing a novel.

INTERLUDE AND WOLVERINE GEEKING

After this we had a bit of a long break - we ended up having drinks and chatting to David Devereux, Charles Stross and Tom Lloyd in the bar area. Chatting to Tom Lloyd was tremendous fun - he is an amazing person, unassuming and brilliantly funny. I got to talk to him about Stormcaller and proved myself a genuine fangeek. Before I could embarrass myself utterly, Mark dragged me off to one of the screens as he had booked us tickets to go and see Wolverine.

Firstly, if you look at the posters for Wolverine, you reckon he gets to hang with everyone on it for most of the movie, right? Wrong, very wrong. Everyone on the poster appears in part of the movie, one way or the other, for a short period of time, but we get to spend the majority of the time with Logan. Apart from the obvious appeal of Hugh Jackman being nekked for one of the scenes and him having his shirt off enough times to keep everyone happy, Wolverine is quite a good Origins flick. It makes full use of the awakening / appearance of the mutants and Striker going from semi-good guy to all-out bad guy and his motivations. Very credible. I have not had much cause to know much about Gambit in the past but Taylor Kitsch's portayal was quite good. I am off to find out more about Gambit and his powers.

After Wolverine we spotted Suzanne McLeod, Stephen Deas and David Devereux and chatted to them for a bit before subsequently being dragged off to a pub.

Then we scooted back to the Apollo for a talk on Contemporary Urban Fantasy

With the rise in popularity of contemporary urban fantasy what is it that we are looking for that's missing from our everyday lives? Given the well-documented dangers of modern life, why are our modern fantasies filled with ancient dangers?

Panel discussion with:

Pat Cadigan
Suzanne Mcleod
David Devereux

Alex Bell

Alex, Suzanne and David - what a trio! All three were brimful of chat in this panel. They quickly defined urban fantasy and gainsayed the common preconception that it was all just fang-banging heroines with guns. Urban fantasy as a genre, in my mind, and those on the panel were noted down as being stories set in modern times, maybe even in the future, with the lives of the hero/heroine within the novel, being touched by the paranormal. Under this we list authors such as Neil Gaiman, David Devereux, Tim Powers, Suzanne McLeod, Alex Bell, Mike Carey, Charlie Huston, Charles de Lint, Terri Windling etc. Within urban fantasy, there is the movement of paranormal romance. This genre is rapidly growing, especially in the States were Romance readers enjoy romance with an element of fantasy and fantasy readers get the chance to enjoy a bit more romance with their fantasy. It is a cross-over genre and a very popular one. It invariably incorporates a kick-ass heroine and the element of romantic liasons with a paranormal creature - be it vampire, werewolf or shapechanger (or any other you can think of).

One item which Suzanne brought up, which made us all think is how urban fantasy sometimes / invariably gets classified in the "horror" section in bookshops. Or even under the "romance" section. Bookshops can't seem to decide where to place this sub-genre and it is an interesting and irritating conundrum. A book has to fit in somewhere, so where do you file something that defies its parameters? I am specifically thinking here of Natasha Mostert's The Keeper which fits in almost everywhere - and this makes it both an easy and a difficult sell.

The talk was spirited and interesting and thoroughly enjoyable. We had a good time listening to them chat about their work and about their upcoming novels.

After bidding them all "good bye" we headed home!

Monday evening saw us hitting the town with our friend Karen Mahoney, Ana from The Booksmugglers and Katie from Babbling about Books. We had our inaugural mini blogfest meet-up and will hopefully get to do this more often as it was a blast.

We ended up in the Pitcher and Piano just off Lower St Martin's Lane and the evening was spent talking about books, authors, publishers, publishing, writing, inspiration, Hugh Jackman, Special Ops, Trisha Telep, reviewing, books, more books, graphic novels, movies, Hugh Jackman, SciFi London, various Book Events across the world and yet more books. In fact, we were so raucous in our nerdy fun that several people moved further away from us for the duration of the evening. It was actually quite amusing. We stayed there way too late but we had a fantastic time and eventually pointed Ana and Katie in the direction of the underground so that they could head home. Katie was visiting Ana from the States and Ana lives in Cambridge. It was a fantastic evening and I can't remember the last time I laughed so much - my head is aching this morning from it!

Interview with YA Novelist - Sarwat Chadda

It is with great fanfare and a lot of hooting and smug looks that Mark and I get to present an interview with Puffin UK debut novelist, Sarwat Chadda who, it turns out is quite a handful when it comes to putting pen to paper! We have also been given the opportunity to give some copies of Sarwat's book, The Devil's Kiss away in a competition further down.

Hope you enjoy!

Tell us a bit about yourself and maybe add a random fact which few people may know about you.

I’ve been writing seriously since 2004, but before that my training in storytelling has been because of roleplaying games. I’ve been writing my own adventures for Dungeons and Dragons and the like since about 1981.

I think the roleplaying background has been an incredible help in my writing career.

I was one of the winners of the Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators Undiscovered Voice competition back in 2007. That got me an agent and she got me a publishing deal. Quite a few actually. First there was the US deal with Hyperion and the UK Puffin deal. Then I think Devil’s Kiss is to be translated into French, German, Dutch, Japanese, Indonesian, Italian and Portuguese. The Dutch version’s due out June.

All pretty amazing but I’ve an amazing agent, Sarah Davies. She was one of the judges in the writing competition and that’s how she found me.

Tell us a bit more about your debut novel, The Devil’s Kiss.

It’s a gothic thriller set in modern London. Billi SanGreal is a fifteen-year old girl, and a member of the Knights Templar. They’re a secret society of demon hunters, protecting humanity from what they call the Unholy.

They discover the Angel of Death is planning to unleash the Biblical Tenth Plague, the death of all the firstborn, and it comes down to Billi to try and stop him.

Like all great villains the Angel is convinced he’s the good guy, doing God’s work and punishing humanity for its’ wayward ways. The death of millions is his sacrifice to the Almighty.

Billi’s got typical teenage identity issues, what sort of adult does she want to become? She’s at that threshold, not a child and not quite an adult, but has this terrible burden of knowledge. She knows what’s in the shadows, she knows that the nightmares do carry you away. The question is does she have the ruthlessness to succeed in her task, and sacrifice anyone and anything for the Templars?

Where does Billi come from? Was she your first character you created and were you ever worried about the comparisons with Buffy?

I’d finished a couple of drafts before my sister lent me a Buffy boxed set (series four, I think). By then Billi was so established as a character I couldn’t change her. I totally love Buffy but her mythology is a million miles away from mine. I wanted to retain the gothic, doomed and tragic nature of Poe and Stoker, where the darkness is all around and each victory comes at a terrible price.

I had to have a female warrior because I have daughters, and because I wanted to emphasise the reluctant hero. Billi stands apart because she doesn’t want to be a Templar. Rather than have a normal kid brought into a secret world I wanted a character already deeply submerged in this special existence, and investigate the dynamics of that. How does she ‘pretend’ to be normal when she does what she does? What defines a person, how do their actions influence their nature?

There is a lot of history to the Templars – were you ever concerned that some of those in the know would not approve of you adding a young female teen to their already elaborate legend?
Well if they accept the Templars spend their nights fighting ghosts, werewolves and demons I can’t see why they’d object to one of them being a girl. It is the 21st Century after all.

I’m not into conspiracies particularly, except as a means of creating stories. I think the true story behind the order is terribly mundane and all the occult Holy Grail stuff is fiction. But so what? The truth and what people believe does not need to correspond. How dull it would all be if it did. Myths make us who we are more than history.

All your characters in The Devil’s Kiss have “old” names – from Arthurian legend and medieval times – where do they fit in? i.e. were they (the names) given to the Templars as replacement names to their own once they joined the Templars?

I picked Arthurian names because it was cool and I’m crap at making up names. It is a fantasy story but in a ‘real’ setting, so I wanted something slightly magical in the background, but no one ever refers to it. It’s part of my construct of this alternative London. It does offer a subtle hint to the nature of the Templars, since you have an inkling of their relationship with the legendary Round Table. The use of exotic names for the Templars helped separate them from the other characters in the book. The only knight who’s not an ‘Arthurian’ character is Billi, and that demonstrates how apart from the others she is. .

Did you have to do a lot of research on the Templars’ background as well as the occult / religious elements in the novel?

Loads and loads. I spent a good six to ten months reading and cross-referencing the history of the Templars and the Crusades generally. The earlier drafts had lots of flashbacks to the Crusades and it was hard taking them out, but necessary. What I avoided was the occult stuff, since I had a clear idea of the mythology that I wanted to use.

Taking the above into consideration, I truly enjoyed the fact that you have roped in various religions to be part of The Devil’s Kiss – this creates conflict within the Templars who do not approve of mixing the religions, as such. Was this a deliberate move on your part – a comment on how much we can learn from the various world religions out there?

In the earlier drafts the religious tension was much higher, but it was distracting from the main plot. In a way the overlap between Christianity and Islam was the main reason I wrote the book, and why Billi is the person she is. Historically there’s been huge cooperation between these two religions and a lot of learning from one another. Even during the Crusades it wasn’t the clear ‘East v West’ battle everyone believes it to be. Billi is at ease with her Muslim and Christian heritage, it’s other people who take issue.

The trouble is this is a huge subject and I don’t want to get on my soap-box over it, but what I point out the most religious character in the book is the bad guy.

The remaining Templars as a group is a greatly conflicted warrior band with a lot of tension and undercurrents. How did you manage to stay clear from too much internal politics to keep the story moving rapidly forward?

Everyone thinks they’re the hero of their own story. If you keep that in mind you avoid writing characters that have ‘sidekick’ or ‘mentor’ or ‘comic relief’ labels. Gwaine’s a perfect example. He taught Arthur and was a father to him after Arthur’s psychotic breakdown. But he’s also jealous that this younger man has exceeded him and is now his boss. These are natural traits within any organization, but would be even more so given the deadly nature of the Templars. Everyone has their own view and agenda, and I wanted to drop these in just as a way of making the second string characters much more rounded. It took a lot of reworking though. The internal politics is my slow burn story arch. There’s a bit more in the next book and a definite feeling things will come to a head. It’s something I picked up out of the Iliad. Every hero has his moment of glory, balanced against who’s the main hero of the tale (Achilles). So we have Diomedes, Odysseus and Ajax having glorious battles and showing the stuff they’re made of. Diomedes actually injured Ares, the god of war, in one of his assaults. But as the tale progresses the path is cleared for Achilles, so we’re left in no doubt to who’s the best of the best. That’s what I wanted from the other Templars. Each one of them is a potent figure in his own right, and doesn’t think he’s second rank to anyone. But the reader is made well aware of the standard that the knights are measured by, and that’s Arthur. Which is why the fight between Arthur and Billi is so crucial. There’s both the natural rivalry of parent and child, of generations, and professional pride. Who is the better warrior? Billi’s been trained by the best and doesn’t have the same blind spots of her dad. What she lacks is experience.

You clearly have an affinity for London – did you pound the sidewalks to get to know it as well as you make it appear? Will there ever be a The Devil’s Kiss Tour like they’ve done for The Da Vinci Code, do you think?

I was born and brought up in London and as my background was in construction I have worked in a lot of places in the city. I love London and it was a given that Devil’s Kiss would be set here. What’s been great is how well the real location has lent itself to my fantasy story. I’m glad that’s come across in the telling.

The big advantage is that you’ve got thousands of years of history and legends to draw upon without needing to make anything up yourself. Just avoid making it sound like you’re cribbing off a guide book. The setting is a crucial character and needs to be as strong as any of the other lead players. The story wouldn’t have been half as powerful if it hadn’t been London.

Are you allowed to tell us about your second novel, The Dark Goddess? (note illustraton of The Dark Goddess is draft only)

I take Billi way out of her comfort zone and drop her in Russia. I love Russian fairy tales and the works of Angela Carter (especially Company of Wolves) so wanted the next story to reflect these two inspirations.

Billi faces Baba Yaga, the immortal Russian witch, the dark goddess. Baba Yaga represents nature, and has decided that she’s going to do something drastic about climate change and all the damage humanity has done to the environment.

It’s terribly simple, and perfectly logical. Humankind is an infestation on Earth, so she’ll cull it back to more manageable numbers.

Baba Yaga is served and worshipped by the Polenitsy, a cult of warrior women said to have lived around the Black Sea back in the first millennia BC. The best of them can shape-change into wolves, and that’s what Billi and the Templars face.

Werewolf mythology is very feminine with it’s’ relationship with the moon and natural cycles, and because DEVIL’S KISS had a very strong male energy I wanted to mirror that in THE DARK GODDESS with an equally powerful female one.

What is your writerly day like?

It’s really very boring. I drop the kids at school. I write. I pick them up. I set myself monthly goals on number of words, so my month has structure more than my days. What’s weird is I read less. I used to read loads commuting back and forth to work, and I feel strangely self-indulgent just lying around reading at home, even though now it’s ‘work’. But I’ll get over it.

How do you wind down and relax?

Go to the cinema. I’m hoping this is all tax-deductable now. Read Clive Cussler and Bernard Cornwell. All that action adventure stuff, especially historical fiction. Cussler is great at the ‘fate of the world’ stuff while Cornwell writes heroes brilliantly. Sharpe has been a heavy influence on Billi. I have a microscopic homage to Sharpe in DEVIL’S KISS with the idea Billi’s ancestor fought at Waterloo (though for the French).

What are your favourite movies / TV shows? Any favourite authors you take time out to read?

Really loved BEING HUMAN on BBC 3. Can’t wait for series 2. It’s a soap opera set in Bristol about a ghost, vampire and werewolf living together. The key to its success is that the three protagonists are brilliantly written and you really care about them. Their personal back-stories are fluidly written into each episode and there’s enough ‘homage’ done to the mythology while not allowing yourself to be handicapped by it. Still not sure about vampires going out in daylight though.

Beyond that I have a tendency to buy the dvd box sets usually well after the series has ended. That’s what happened with Buffy and Firefly. Oh, the last thing I watched religiously was the Rome miniseries. One day all tv will be like this. With vampires.

Movies-wise I love Batman, so Batman Begins and the Dark Knight are way at the top of my list. There’s a French movie called Brotherhood of the Wolf that has a beautiful macabre tone that’s something I’m aiming for in my writing, especially in The Dark Goddess. Dog Soldiers, Company of Wolves, I’m in a werewolf state of mind right now.

Will you be touring to promote The Devil’s Kiss?

Puffin have organised a week of school visits at the beginning of May. After that I intend to do a few things myself, and am open to invitations! It’s all pretty up in the air right now.

When Puffin contacted you, confirming that they were keen to publish The Devil’s Kiss and the reality of it sank in, what is the first thing you did?

I can quit the day job. It was a truly awesome moment. My wife and I had our fingers crossed that maybe we’d be able to buy new carpets with the advance and had a vague idea that I’d write and slowly, over five to ten years, would work my way into being able to quit the day job and become a full time writer. But to be able to do it so quickly was amazing. I still can’t quite believe in, even now. One thing’s for certain, there are absolutely no regrets and having all this time to write is bloody fantastic.

Whilst reading The Devil’s Kiss I appreciated the dark glamour you gave London and the extent of Billi’s conflicting emotions about who she is, her relationship with her father and .. no spoilers, sorry.... This made me think that music may have played a role in you writing The Devil’s Kiss. Was this an incorrect impression on my part? Do you have a playlist for Billi and the guys?

I’m very sad and I’ve even done a Devil’s Kiss soundtrack, based on the mood I felt permeated through the story. We’ve got The Black Angels, The Sisters of Mercy (I’m an old goth at heart), The Cult, a bit of Mozart and Ezzay, by Natasha Atlas.

The Dark Goddess has a lot of werewolves, so I’ve started assembling the music for that. The Prodigy’s ‘Run with the wolves’ is obviously the opening track.

Do you have any advice to any young budding authors out there?

I recently went to a talk given by agents, so I’ll pass on their advice, which is more practical that mine (which was all about loving what you’re writing, don’t give up, etc). Avoid putting the word ‘Shadow’ in your title, especially if it’s a fantasy. Don’t assume you’re writing a series. Book 1 must stand alone. Never EVER have the opening scene with the character waking up in their dishevelled bedroom, wondering why their lives are such a mess. Avoid vampires like the plague. Don’t follow the market (see previous comment about vampires) since your book, if it’s chosen, won’t come out for at least another year. Synopses are a complete nightmare to write, so put in loads of effort to get them to work. Most agents don’t get past the first paragraph, and having been a reader for a short while I can really see their point. CHECK THEIR SUBMISSION GUIDELINES. There is no excuse to get that wrong. No vampires. Seriously. If you have vampires, slap your face and take them all out. Oh, I suspect zombies will be big next year so probably don’t have zombies either. Don’t do werewolves either because I’m writing them.

Really really work on chapter 1. It’s the most important chapter in the book because it’s the only one agents or editors will read before deciding whether or not to bother with the rest. It’s got so much work to do: establish the setting and genre. The protagonist, his or her needs, desires and the theme of the book. What’s their internal conflict?

Writing is not the same as storytelling. I’ve read a few friends who write beautifully, far far better than me. They establish wonderful settings but after finishing the chapter you realise nothing has happened and the entire thing should be cut. Yes, John, I mean you.

Read widely. Not just in your genre (which you should know inside out) but well outside of it. Neil Gaiman (I think) used to be a book reviewer early on and had to read whatever he was sent. It meant that when he started writing he had a huge backlog of resource material, and part of his genius is how he’s integrated so many mythologies and settings into his work. That’s why it’s so difficult to pin him down in one genre or another.

And enter writing competitions. It worked for me.

Of course if your idea is big enough and bold enough, none of the above will apply.

**Competition News**

We are very fortunate to have FIVE copies of Sarwat's debut novel The Devil's Kiss to give away. Drop us an email at: myfavouritebooksatblogspot (@) googlemail (dot) com and five entrants will randomly be selected. We'll let the competition run from today -Monday, 4th May till Friday, 15th May. UK entrants only I'm afraid.

Natasha Mostert - The Keeper

please note: all photos used in this post, are courtesy of Natasha's website.

Mark and I recently were invited to the launch party for Natasha Mostert's new novel, The Keeper. We had a wonderful time and had a chance to meet Natasha face to face and be in awe of her fighter "boys" and meet some of the amazing people in her life. We were fed the most divine chocolate and finger snacks served by a lovely group of servers who were very free with the champagne.

I was even more thrilled to be able to chat to Natasha the day after, over an extended cup of coffee. The conversation ranged far and wide and I left with stars in my eyes. There is nothing more uplifting than getting a chance to speak to a personal hero like this. I also handed Natasha a set of questions I had drawn up for this interview which she graciously took the time to do.

Photo by David Dettman

Me (fan-girling): Many thanks for agreeing to do the interview – it is truly exciting!

Natasha, professional and calm: Thanks for your interest, Liz. And thanks for coming to my launch party the other evening and celebrating with me!

Tell us a bit more about your journey between Season of a Witch and The Keeper?

After I wrote Season of the Witch, I did not want to repeat myself and I deliberately decided to head in a different direction. So instead of a love triangle between two women and one man, The Keeper tells of a love triangle between two men and one woman. Instead of my characters being “posh” and living the good life in a swish neighbourhood, my heroine is a tattoo artist and live in a rather gritty area of South London. Of course, anyone familiar with my work will still be able to tell that I am the author – the narrative still has a wingbrush of darkness to it and the story has a strong mystical underpinning – but the themes and ideas are wholly new. The one common denominator is that both novels are books about an obsession that turns deadly.

I found that The Keeper felt an intensely more personal novel – was that your intention?

I’m usually not much in favour of authors using their own lives as fodder when they write their books – mainly because we authors lead pretty boring lives and I don’t think we’re really all that interesting as people! I therefore don’t think I had set out intentionally to write a personal novel. However, because The Keeper is set in the world of martial arts, which is a world I know extremely well, it did affect the story. And there were small personal touches. Mia, my heroine, has a chameleon as a pet, and I had one as a child as well. But I should immediately state that Mia is far cooler and hipper than I could ever hope to be!

Following on from that, can I ask you about character development and creation? Mia and her troupe of fighters she looks after come across as such genuine creations, how do you go about creating them?

It was important to me to keep the characters and environment in my book real. So often in martial arts fiction, the characters are able to run up perpendicular walls, float above the ground, engage in mystical sword play and pull off other spectacular physical and mental feats. I did not want to go that route. My characters are composites of fighters I know and they are real people. I’m their biggest fan – for almost seven years I’ve been following them from fight to fight. I know the problems and injuries they face when training. I know what it smells like in a fighter’s dojo! I understand the rivalries and camaraderie of their world and I hope I have managed to portray this environment accurately. There are, of course, mystical elements to The Keeper, and my heroine is in possession of a pretty cool skill, but I worked hard not to turn my characters into super heroes.

Your writing style is at once literary, gothic horror and mystery suspense and action adventure – how would you classify yourself / your writing?

Well, this is the question my poor publisher would like answered as well.

Publishers like to place labels on their writers because booksellers want to know where the book should go on the shelf. But my books straddle genres and have been embraced by many different communities. My novels are usually whodunits, or as in the case of The Keeper, whydunits and fit into the mystery and crime genre, which is why I am a member of MWA (Mystery Writers of America). My stories are very firmly embedded in reality, but there is usually a fantasy element to the narrative as well, which is why I am also a member of the SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America). Even though there is no blood or gore in Season of the Witch, it was nominated for The International Horror Guild Award, which in the past was won by writers like Stephen King and Peter Straub. And there is always a love story at the heart of my books, and therefore I am fairly extensively reviewed by Romance reviewers too. If I had to describe my books I would call them mystical, idea-driven thrillers.

In The Keeper, your antagonist is intensely charismatic and although you realise that he is a Bad Man, you managed to convey a sense of empathy in your writing. Where do you find that quirk in a character’s personality to turn them into the antagonist and more importantly, how do you manage to convey him as a multidimensional character?

Villains are often one-dimensional characters – most thriller writers like their readers to hate the villain and to support the hero whole-heartedly. I’ve always thought it more interesting to give the villain some depth and to make his motivations not completely repulsive. Ashton is the one character in my book that makes a journey. At the end of the book, he is not the same person he was at the beginning. This kind of transformation is a journey usually travelled by a hero, not a villain.

Adrian Ashton was a fun character to create. As you say, he is a highly seductive personality and my heroine at first finds herself drawn to him. He seems to have had the same effect on my readers as well. I have received so many messages from readers saying they found him interesting, sexy and even likeable. I suppose part of this has to do with the fact that I’ve made it possible for the reader to get an intimate look at Ashton’s deepest thoughts and desires. Ash writes a diary called The Book of Light and Dust, in which he explains his passions and his reasons for killing. Many of my readers wrote to me that they could understand his reasoning even if they disapproved of the fact that he is a murderer.

Natasha and her sparring partners.

How did your martial artist friends react when you told them you were doing a book set in their / your world?

Oh, they were thrilled and of course, they all wanted a starring role. Each one of the little darlings thought the book would be about him. I told them my characters are composites but I don’t think they believe me. They’re still trying to “read” themselves into my story.

Your books are deeply layered – it can be read on many levels. Where do you even start your research into the various topics which you cover in your novels? I suppose this question should be: how do you do your research and when do you know what to put in your novel and what to keep out of it?

All my books are research intensive and yes, that creates its own problems. Research is both potion and poison. I love research – I will happily sit in front of my computer for days simply clicking from link to link. My favourite place in the world is the British Library. But I have to be disciplined. Research is like an ice berg – only the tip should show. You need the knowledge, otherwise you can’t write with authority, but if you get carried away and keep adding little interesting titbits to the narrative the plot of the book will collapse under its own weight. In The Keeper, for example, I had a merry old time filling one of my chapters with all kind of fantastic information about Edison and research done at the Institute of Neurology at the University College of London. But that chapter sat there like a big, inedible chunk of taffy. In the end I reduced eleven pages to six paragraphs. It broke my heart, but it was for the best.

What are you cooking up for us next – if you are allowed to tell us!?

Ah, at the moment I’m still stirring the pot trying to see what is going to pop to the surface. I am presently engaged in doing research on four different topics. Each of these ideas, I think, will make a good novel but I’m waiting for the research to tell me which one will be my next story. But I have to say, Liz, you said something to me, which made me think. You suggested I write a book about Mia’s mother, Molly. In The Keeper Molly is no longer alive but she still throws a long shadow. She is a wild and very colourful person whose life ends tragically. But I’m beginning to think you’re onto something and her story could be a fascinating one. I’ll keep you posted…

You travelled all over the States, to promote The Keeper (where it is known as The Keeper of Light and Dust) – do you have any interesting / amusing anecdotes?

While I was in the States I did 34 radio interviews in a period of 13 days and this kind of pressure can make you lose the plot. I had one hairy telephone interview where I headed off in totally the wrong direction. I was under the impression that this was a radio show about fighters and fighting and was in full swing holding forth about blood, sweat and broken bones when I belatedly realised that the show was actually a "health" show. I couldn't understand why the interviewer sounded so bemused and had this wondering tone in her voice whenever she used the word "combat". Once I realised my mistake I segued smartly into remote healing, chi and light inside the body – also themes in my book -- but I fear it was too little too late.

Tell us about CPAU Fighting for Peace which lies very close to your heart.

While I was writing The Keeper, I happened to read – quite by chance -- an article about “Fighting for Peace”, which teaches Afghan women how to box and feel empowered in their lives. I was so fascinated by this programme that I contacted the organisers to find out more about it and how I can contribute.

The idea of boxing Afghani women sound rather strange, but it is a wonderful programme. Afghanistan is a very challenging place to be a woman. 87 percent of Afghani women are illiterate. 54 percent of brides are under the age of 16 and 1 in 9 will die in childbirth. By using boxing as a vehicle, this empowerment programme packs a huge symbolic punch and tears down very strongly the stereotype of the Afghan woman hiding behind her blue burqua. I was also very touched to learn that these ladies train in a gym that is attached to a stadium where the Taliban used to execute people, including women.

I have decided to donate some of the proceeds of The Keeper towards CPAU and have also donated the £5,000 award money I received last month when Season of the Witch won the Book to Talk About: World Book Day Award. I am hoping it will inspire generosity in my readers even in these tough times. Any-one interested in the programme should please go to my website , www.natashamostert.com where they will find a direct access link to CPAU.

Looking back at your writing career and the experience you’ve garnered over this time, if there is one thing you can share about writing with newbie writers, what would that be?

Grow a thick skin and persevere! Make peace early on with the fact that not everyone will like your work. Sometimes you will receive negative feedback – try not to let that shake your faith in what you want to do. Don’t start doubting yourself if you get rejection letters. Remember: your writing skill is only one part of the equation. You also need a massive dose of good luck. There are many talented writers out there who find it very difficult to break into print – not because of the quality of their writing but because of completely random things. Your manuscript may have been read by a bored editorial assistant instead of an editor. Or if it is read by an editor, she may still decline simply because she has already accepted another book on the same topic for her list that year; or she may be stopped from purchasing your book because of in-house politics, or…oh, so many things. But if you truly love writing and can’t live without a keyboard, then stick with it.

Further news and TWO competitions:

Natasha currently has one of the coolest competitions going over at her site. You have the opportunity to win a Kindle or a Sony e-reader (amongst other things) - and all you have to do is play a little game called The Keeper. This is the link . Then, as a random fun item, Mark and I have one of the party favours from The Keeper's launch to give away - I am not telling you what it is, it is a surprise and it is unique and pretty cool and totally in keeping with The Keeper and it's the background of martial arts it's set in. So, for a chance to win, email us at myfavouritebooksatblogspot (@) googlemail (dot) com with THE KEEPER in the subject line - and we'll do a draw on Friday next week (8th May) and I'll post it off to you that same day and I'll put a picture up of what you will be getting.

The Garbage Man Competition Winners

Apologies to our three winners of copies of Joseph D'Lacey's excellent urban horror, Garbage Man. I've had this post stuck in draft format since Friday and for some reason it would not release/update ...BUT! after deleting it and reworking it, here it is. (We hope.)

The winners are:

Rachel G from Derbyshire
Kirsty G from Kent
Lex W from London

Congratulations to all three. A copy of Garbage Man will be winging its way to you shortly courtesy of Bloody Books.

The Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chadda

Synopsis:

Fifteen-year-old Billi SanGreal never meant to make history. Dragged at the age of ten into the modern-day Knights Templar by her father, the Grandmaster, Billi's the first girl ever to be a Templar warrior. Her life is a rigorous and brutal round of weapons' practice, demon killing and occult lore – and a lot of bruises. But then temptation is placed in Billi's path – an alternative to her isolated life. But temptation brings consequences. In this case – the tenth plague – the death of all first borns and so Billi must choose her destiny. And as she soon discovers, death isn't even the worst...

I have been chomping at the bit to release this review for Sarwat Chadda’s The Devil’s Kiss, published by Puffin at 7th May 2009.

The synopsis of the book should give you an idea that this is a YA novel of a different slant. It is violent, it is grim, it is melancholy, it is about a group of fighting monks fighting the forces of evil and they feel as if they are losing, it is about magic, demons and angels, it has a heroine who has issues and a charismatic, supremely violent and unhinged antagonist.

Looking at this little paragraph I’ve typed up, I am keenly aware that I’ve really stripped much of the story from The Devil’s Kiss. What you see above is truly the very bare bones of The Devil’s Kiss, ignoring character growth and subplots.

Sarwat Chadda has taken years to flesh it out his debut novel, padding the story and the characters and turning Billi, the female heroine, into someone you would want to read about. About both her internal and external struggle and her journey and how she comes to the decisions which she makes in the book. It is also chock-full of adventure and takes place in a hyper-real and very darkly gothic London and you know, it is a pretty terrifying read as the premise is genuinely scary – somehow being responsible for releasing the tenth plague amongst the populace! A heavy burden for a young teen to drag behind her.

The author must have been deeply aware of the implications of turning one of the traditionally perceived good guys in legend and biblical history into the bad guy, but then, it is all a matter of perspective! Sarwat manages to capture the essence of the bad guy and to show him as being undaunted by the possibility that his action are as close to genocide as it can get. And yet, there is that tiny spark of being able to understand where his insane idea is coming from - it will be for the greater good - and he is blind to everything else.

The Devil's Kiss is a non-stop action ride from start to finish and if you are interested in the mythological / occult / theological aspect of things, there are loads to keep you entertained.

Sarwat Chadda has drawn on a plethora of research regarding the Knights Templar, the occult and the various world religions. He then retired to his study and after much wrestling, has come up with a good, strong and fun read about an unrelenting charismatic bad guy and about a reluctant heroine who could tip the scales in favour of or against humanity, either way. Nothing in The Devil’s Kiss is clear cut – nothing is safe, half-hearted or so-so. It is an all out action adventure with a great cast of characters and a lead character with enough demons riding her to turn her into a proper urban fantasy heroine.

The Devil’s Kiss is a recommended summer read and it should have a wide appeal amongst both young adults and adults. For adults missing watching Buffy and for kids who were that little disappointed in the TV show Demons, this is the perfect cure.

Find Sarwat’s blog here and the main website here. The Devil’s Kiss is released in the UK by Puffin on the 7th May 2009.

If I Stay, Gayle Forman

Synopsis

It follows seventeen-year-old Mia in the twenty-four hours after a catastrophic car accident. As Mia lies in coma, between life and death, her mind wanders back over her life – her eccentric family, her first kiss, her love for playing the cello – and now Mia must choose; life or death. Stay or go.

Here I am with my freaky synchronicity thing: friend and fellow blogger Adele Walsh over in the Land of Oz was telling me via Twitter about this amazing book which completely blew her away by its powerful writing and intimate story. I was intrigued and addded it to my Amazon wishlist as it looked like one of those Sunday afternoon reads whilst lying on the couch in the sun.

The following day, out of the blue, an email arrived from Random House UK asking me if I would be interested in reviewing this amazing book that has everyone in their office talking – it is called: If I Stay by Gayle Forman.

Icy cold shivers pawed their way down my back. Naturally I agreed and the next few days I spent reading If I Stay, during my commute into work. I kept in touch with Adele as I read it. I couldn’t help it. It is a buddy book. There is so much to talk about. It is also a highly emotional book and I spent a lot of time sniffling into a tissue, giving the impression to my fellow commuters that I am going through a tremendous ordeal of some sort.

If I Stay is wonderfully written and the story has a strong fresh voice. Of course there will be comparisons with Ms. Sebold’s work (The Lovely Bones) and with Jenny Downham’s book, If I Die. Unfortunately there is no way to avoid this as these two books have had a tremendous impact with readers of all ages, because of their subject matter and the skill with which the stories were told. And I would like to think that If I Stay will be seen as part of a trilogy of amazing books written by three very different authors who have such varying voices. But in the end, If I Stay should be looked at as it's very own creature and an expertly told one at that.

If I Stay takes place in the here and now and it follows the story of Mia on one snowy morning and how her life gets torn to shreds by a freak accident that leaves her in a coma in hospital and her family dead.

Pretty grim, you would agree, right? But there is so much more to the novel than this – the accident is a catalyst for us to find out about her life and see her decisions about her onward journey. As Mia lies in the hospital ward she recounts her story in a powerful but understated and fresh voice – her relationship with her family, complete with her ex-punk rocker dad and her mom who is a die hard rock chick and who still dresses the part, right down to her little brother Teddy who has aspirations of being a drummer too. Focussing on how different she is to her exuberant family we learn that Mia plays the cello, she has a penchant for world renowned cellist Yo Yo Ma and how she struggles to appear normal in her parents’s eccentric household. Although she is part of their family unit, and is very much loved and indulged, she still feels the odd one out, because of her music preference and also in her looks. She isn’t blond and noisy, she is dark and studious. We also meet her friend Kim and we learn how they became friends, after a drag out fistfight tussle at school. When we are introduced to Mia’s boyfriend Adam we find that here is a young man worthy of our heroine. They come from completely different places in their music – she is a cellist, he is the lead guitar player and singer in an up and coming rock band, but they have that incredible connection that makes their relationship fizz. Their relationship is written with great care and with subtle descriptions which are all pointers to something almost magical.

The back-story of Mia’s life (if you want to call it that) blends seamlessly with her current situation, where she lies in hospital, on the outside giving no indication that she is there whilst very much being aware of what is going on around her. We see friends and her extended family rallying around her and she watches as they struggle to cope with the loss of her parents and her baby brother, and the possibility of maybe losing her too. There are some gripping scenes written a restrained hand, never slipping off the edge into gratuitous melodrama.

If I Stay is a work of tremendous grace, courage and it is truly haunting. It can also be read on many levels, making it an unusually striking book to indulge in. I’ll make no bones about it – it should come with a warning: keep tissues at hand whilst reading. But even so, it a must read full of hope and promise and the sheer beauty of the language makes it a dream to read.

Find Gayle Foreman’s site here . She has set up a playlist to look at which I found really interesting – it reflects the relationships between Mia and Adam and Mia’s parents. Also, unless you know the artists, it’s a good way to find new favourite people to listen to.

If I Stay will be available in the UK on 7th May, as published by both Random House and Transworld. Gayle will also be visiting the UK for the release so if you get a chance to go and meet her, do!

Over in the States the feature film rights for If I Stay were acquired by Summit Entertainment (they did Twilight) and they’ve slated Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight director) to look after this project. Follow the link through to Catherine’s IMDB page and look at some of those critically acclaimed movies she’s had a hand in and you just know that she’ll be doing If I Stay justice.

Horror Blog Fest - David Moody stops by for a chat

Mark and I are hugely proud to present David Moody as part of the MFB mini horor blog fest. If you're not sure who he is, read on, if you do and horror is your thing, read on! Find David's blog here. Hater's been published in the UK by Gollancz.

Please introduce yourself and tell us a bit more about you and your writing career.

I’m David Moody and I’ve been writing for fifteen years with varying degrees of success. My first novel ‘Straight to You’ was published in 1996. When overnight success, fame and piles of money were not forthcoming I decided to take a different approach with the publication of my second book. I self-published ‘Autumn’ in 2001 and made it available as a free download on my website with the idea being that I would a). generate a little publicity, b). expand my readership and c). develop a captive audience for the planned sequels to the book (which I’d charge for!). Half a million downloads and four sequels later, and with a movie adaptation of ‘Autumn’ (starring Dexter Fletcher and David Carradine) due for release later this year, I’m pretty happy with how my experiment turned out!

I set up my own small publishing house – Infected Books – in 2005 to produce print editions of my books (until that point I’d been exclusively releasing ebooks), and in summer 2006 I released ‘Hater’. Somehow (I’m not sure how it happened – I’m not even sure if I want to know, the odds against it happening are too frightening to think about!) a copy of the book ended up on the desk of some pretty powerful people in Los Angeles, with the end result being that the book was optioned by Mark Johnson (producer of the Chronicles of Narnia films) and Guillermo del Toro (director of the Hellboy films and Pan’s Labyrinth).

The book (and two planned sequels, and my five book ‘Autumn’ series) were sold to Thomas Dunne Books in the US so I’ve now become a ‘proper’ author. ‘Hater’ was re-released in February this year and will appear in numerous other countries later in 2009. The movie is in pre-production with J A Bayona (The Orphanage) directing.

I live just outside Birmingham with my wife, our two daughters and two of my three step-daughters (and you wonder why I keep writing about Armageddon!). The last few years have been incredibly surreal and I feel like I lead a double-life... fitting books, films and publicity around still having to get the kids to school, walk the dog and cook the dinner!

What is your most recent novel about – if you are allowed to tell us?

I’m currently working on ‘Dog Blood’ which is the first sequel to ‘Hater’. It’s a very bizarre and twisted story, which is unavoidable given how the first book ended! Book one followed Danny McCoyne, an unremarkable, ordinary man, as he struggled to come to terms with a world which was rapidly falling apart around him. In ‘Dog Blood’, the entire world has become incredibly vicious and unpredictable and is virtually unrecognisable from what it was only weeks earlier. Danny has to make a journey back to the place he used to call home before the wave of unstoppable violence which has swept the globe finally destroys everyone and everything.

What do you think makes the horror genre so fascinating to readers and writers?

I think horror allows you to ask ‘what if?’ It lets you look at the worst case scenario, lets you get a glimpse of what will happen when it all hits the fan! You know the feeling when you have a really intense nightmare which wakes you up? You sit up and, when the disorientation fades and your heart stops thumping, you realise it was just a dream. That feeling of relief – that glimpse into the abyss before you’re pulled back to reality – is, I think, why so many people continue to be fascinated by the genre. You know you shouldn’t look, but you can’t help yourself...
It’s escapism at its most extreme.

As a horror writer / fan, what sells a story / concept to you?

I’m a sucker for virtually any kind of horror story, told in any medium. But what really sells a story for me is how much it makes me think. If I forget a pitch or a plot moments after I’ve heard it, then it probably wasn’t worth hearing in the first place. But if it won’t go away... if it keeps creeping back into my head, freaking me out and making me think about how, why and what if... then I’m sold. I like originality and individuality and am turned off very quickly by remakes and clichés.

I also get switched off by gratuitousness (such as ‘torture porn’ films like Hostel and Saw). I can stomach any amount of violence and gore, but only if it matters to the story.

What movies / books influenced your development as a genre writer? Similarly, what books, movies, comics, get you excited as a fan?

The writers and filmmakers I’d cite as major influences are those of whom I’m also a fan!

As far as books go, I grew up reading John Wyndham (the Day of the Triffids was a major influence on me), H G Wells (War of the Worlds in particular), James Herbert and Stephen King. To be fair, I used read anything that looked vaguely horrific! In the days before video (and during the early 1980’s when the UK government banned virtually every horror film on the shelves) I’d scour bookshops for film novelizations. I remember sneaking novels as diverse as ‘Alien’ and ‘The Incredible Melting Man’ into the house because, as a pre-teen, they were the only way I could get a decent horror fix!

I love B movies, and I’ve been addicted to them for years. It’s not the far-fetched plots or the bad effects though, it’s the passion that went into these low budget films that always won me over. I’d always choose to watch something like ‘Brain from Planet Aros’, ‘Invasion of the Saucer Men’ or ‘The Day the World Ended’ over a modern high-budget, low-imagination remake.

Having written about zombies for years, I have to mention George Romero. My first viewing of Night of the Living Dead (on an imported laser disc, in the middle of a massive thunderstorm when I was far too young to watch it) pretty much changed everything for me!

In terms of other directors, David Cronenberg is my undoubted number one, closely followed by John Carpenter (in his ‘golden period’ – from Dark Star through to They Live).

Who do you go all fan-boy about when it comes to the horror genre? Have you ever met anyone more famous than yourself and how did you react?

I guess I’ve already answered this! I don’t know how I’d react if I met Cronenberg, Carpenter or Romero. No doubt I’d try to maintain my cool but would inevitably start blathering like a fan-boy and end up looking an ass. But seriously, I know that copies of ‘Hater’ were sent to Cronenberg and Romero prior to publication, and to know that they’ve even just held copies of my book is cool enough for me!

If you had a chance to invite any horror legend, be it actor, writer, director, author (living / dead / undead) over for some tea, who would you choose and why?

Good question! I’m not sure. I’d love to meet any of the people I’ve already mentioned but, rather than just sit and chat to them, I think I’d like to watch them at work. To sit on set or in the editing booth with these masters of horror would be an absolute privilege.

Lights on or off when watching horror flicks?

Lights off (but light switch close).

Which do you prefer: Romero originals or remakes?

Really tough question! If he hadn’t made ‘Land of the Dead’ or ‘Diary of the Dead’ then I would have gone for originals. But, he did make those two movies, and I have to say that I preferred the ‘Dawn’ and ‘Night’ remakes to either of his recent films.

I don’t think you can beat his original trilogy. That said, I’ll be first in the queue when the new ‘... of the Dead’ movie comes out!

What is the best advice you ever received from someone about horror writing?

It’s all about keeping the brain fed! I think Steven King said ‘a good author writes for four hours a day and reads for four hours’ or something like that. One other quote springs to mind (although I can’t remember the exact wording or even who said it!). A frustrated writer’s wife walked into his office one day and saw him sitting at his desk, staring out of the window. She asked what he was doing and he replied, ‘writing’. This is the only job I know which you can do when you’re running, shopping or in the bath!

I’ve learnt that it is absolutely vital to keep watching, reading and firing-up your imagination if you want to produce any kind of fiction that matters.

The horror genre has seen many incarnations over the past few years – what do you think the future holds for the genre?

I’m not sure. I think the genre often thrives and produces its best work when the ‘real’ world is struggling. If that’s the case then we should be in for a horror boon in the very near future! But at the same time, in movies and TV right now we seem to be drowning in badly made, completely unnecessary remakes, sequels and prequels which are clearly designed to generate maximum profit with minimum effort and risk. It’s really disconcerting, because there are plenty of good, original ideas which remain undeveloped and forgotten at the expense of these ‘products’.

Do you have a zombie apocalypse survival plan – apart from going to hide in the Winchester, that is! – and will you be able to implement it?

Yes I do! If I’m honest, though, I don’t know whether or not I’d be able to go through with it. My fear is that when it all kicks off and the dead begin to rise, I’ll go into automatic ‘Englishman’ mode and deny there’s a problem until it’s too big to avoid! We have this bizarre mentality here sometimes when, if it’s not happening directly outside my house, it doesn’t matter!

All joking apart, I think that 99.9% of all well-intentioned survival plans will fall apart in the first hours of any kind of end-of-the-world scenario. If the dead began to walk the streets, would you really be able to kill your neighbour with a snooker cue? Or behead a recently deceased member of your own family with a shovel...? It works in the movies, but I’m not so sure...

My plan, for what it’s worth, is simple. Get the family in the car and get out to the most isolated place I can find (I know a few). Get in some supplies (enough for six months if it’s possible) and sit and wait. The six month mark is vital – by then the bulk of the immediately effected (i.e. undead) population should have decayed away to the point when they’re no longer such a threat.
I’ve been thinking about this too much, haven’t I? In all seriousness, things are pretty grim right now, and if they don’t improve then Armageddon might be closer than we think. I was in the supermarket the other day. When I got to the till I realised that I’d actually started stocking up with bottles of water and tins of food! Now that’s not healthy!

Are there any “how to” books on your bookshelf you would recommend to aspiring authors?

No, I don’t have any books like that and I’m not even sure that such a book exists. There are many different techniques and approaches – there’s no right way or wrong way to write. I think that writing fiction is actually within many people’s grasp, they just don’t believe it. When I started out I set myself a few simple ground rules which have stood me in good stead and which I continue to follow today:

* Plan your writing before you start – develop the structure of your story and have a 2chapter by chapter breakdown written before you try and write a word.

* Don’t force yourself to write – if the words aren’t flowing, staring at a blank screen and cursing yourself won’t help.

* Feed your brain regularly (see earlier comments!)

* Keep a notepad handy all the time – you never know when inspiration will strike.

* Set daily targets (i.e. a page a day or 1000 words a day etc. etc.) and stick to them.

* Resist the temptation to go back and start editing before you’ve finished your current draft. Get to the end, read it through and then start again.

* There’s no such thing as negative feedback. Even when criticism hurts, take it on the chin, think about it and learn from it!