This is not a review for Hounded by Kevin Hearne

It is quite by accident that I decided to pick up my copy of Hounded by Kevin Hearn (purchased last year from Forbidden Planet before my book buying embargo) to read on the same day Orbit UK announced that they had bought the Iron Druid trilogy for the UK. Sometimes serendipity freaks me out a little.

This is the note from Orbit's site, written by Anne Clarke:

The Iron Druid trilogy by Kevin Hearne is set in Arizona and introduces us to Atticus O’Sullivan. He’s a rare book salesman, herb peddler, and 2,000 year old druid – the last of his kind – who has been on the run for over two millennia from a very angry ancient Celtic god. The books are set in the modern day world, where gods, myths, and magic are very much alive. The first book HOUNDED primarily features the many Celtic gods; HEXED will focus on Coyote and the Bacchants; HAMMERED will be about a plot against Thor. (Everybody hates Thor.)

Kevin Hearne was also excited about the deal, saying: ‘I’m thrilled to be with Orbit UK and hope people will enjoy this blend of history and legend dropped into the modern world. The rich mythology of the Irish is endlessly fascinating to me, and an allusion to British lore in HOUNDED will eventually become important later in the series as Atticus finds himself in trouble near Windsor Castle.’

I first read the manuscript for HOUNDED in 2009 but it was before I moved to Orbit, and although I loved the story, I couldn’t see a way to make it work on my list back then (I was mainly publishing crime thrillers). When I heard the Iron Druid series was still looking for a UK home I couldn’t believe my luck, and I’m delighted to be bringing Atticus to the UK after all. And since we’re publishing these books this September, October and November, I don’t have long to wait to share them with everyone else here too. You’re in for a treat!

I know some readers will look at the US cover and think: pretty boy, sexy time romance, not so good writing, derivative blah blah.

Witness my snort of derision: SNORTLE

Hounded is excellent. Atticus is a strong and deeply funny main character. He has the boy-bits to carry off a whole six book series, if not more. The setting is modern and the author has kept our 2000 year old main character very fresh and very real. Atticus does not posture - there are no thees and thous and he is a pretty cool guy. Also, basically, Atticus does not need to posture. He is badass but he's not arrogant about it. It does him credit as I would have flung the book across the room at the slightest bit of "I am so fabulous and so powerful, look at me I've lived 2000 years or more". Instead he acknowledges his weaknesses and the fact that although he is exceedingly long-lived, there is a chance that he could end up on his back with his head severed with a bad case of deadness.

Hounded reminded me of Jim Butcher. There will be a lot of comparisons to Jim/Harry but really, Atticus stands superbly out from the crowd for several reasons. Mostly it is because of the amount of research that Mr. Hearne must have done for this series. He weaves old Celtic lore competently into modern day Tempe, Arizona's arid landscape and has given Atticus a great sense of time and place. Atticus is also wonderfully pragmatic and goes to great lengths to stay under the supernatural radar and not make waves. But when he is called upon to do so, he stands firmly to defend his patch. Sometimes you get the idea that a writer is so fully immersed in his story telling that by sheer power of that storytelling he compels the reader along. I felt that with Hounded whilst reading it. I could not put it down and wanted to read it cover to cover as soon as I had finished reading it. I did not want to let go of Atticus or his crazy dog Oberon, whom I've come to love quite a bit.

Instead of comparing it to: The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, or The Felix Castor books by Mike Carey or the Matthew Swift novels by Kate Griffin or the books chronicling Peter Grant's adventures in London by Ben Aaronovitch, or Suzanne McLeod's very excellent Spellcracker books, or Mike Shevdon's sublimely dark The Courts of the Feyre books, watch this very adept author called Kevin Hearne step up to the plate and take his place beside these excellent authors of adult urban fantasy, because he deserves it.

If these books aren't on your radar, they should be. Look past the covers that may not be everyone's choice, put the "we've seen it before" attitude in your pocket and give them a whirl. You may be very pleasantly surprised.

Orbit will be releasing the Iron Druid books in rapid succession for maximum devouring later this year - September, October and November.

This blogpost was brought to you by the Atticus O'Sullivan Fan Club - Chairperson: Liz de Jager

**also just a note: this is NOT a YA novel**

Pottermore Revealed!

Here we go - straight from the horse's mouth - the Pottermore Press Release

J.K. Rowling today, Thursday 23rd June, answered mounting speculation about the nature of her new project and announced Pottermore, a unique and free-to-use website which builds an exciting online experience around the reading of her hugely successful Harry Potter books, and is partnered by Sony.

The announcement today was heralded by the revealing of the website’s name via an online search for its letters, and a ‘coming soon’ holding page which received over a million visits within 36 hours of launching.

For this groundbreaking collaborative project, J.K. Rowling has written extensive new material about the characters, places and objects in the much-loved stories, which will inform, inspire and entertain readers as they journey through the storylines of the books. Pottermore will later incorporate an online shop where people can purchase exclusively the long-awaited Harry Potter eBooks, in partnership with J K Rowling’s publishers worldwide, and is ultimately intended to become an online reading experience, extending the relevance of Harry Potter to new generations of readers, while still appealing to existing fans. As the Pottermore Shop develops, it is intended that it should include further products designed specifically for Harry Potter fans, offering a potential outlet for Sony products and services related to Pottermore. In keeping with Harry Potter’s international appeal, the site will launch in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish, with more languages to follow.

In the new website, the storyline will be brought to life with sumptuous newly-commissioned illustrations and interactive ‘Moments’ through which you can navigate, starting with the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s (Sorcerer’s) Stone. On entering, you choose a magic username and begin your experience. As you move through the chapters, you can read and share exclusive writing from J.K. Rowling, and, just as Harry joins Hogwarts, so can you. You visit Diagon Alley, get sorted into a house, cast spells and mix potions to help your house compete for the House Cup.

At a press conference at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Rowling revealed some key features of the website. In an announcement which will thrill fans, she described how she has brought to life both the Sorting Hat and Ollivanders experiences from her books for the first time on Pottermore, by revealing the questions asked by the Sorting Hat - which places newcomers into their Hogwarts houses according to their characteristics - and the magic behind the Wand Chooser – which finds the right wand for each user from over 33,000 possible combinations. She also revealed glimpses of the new information she has provided on some of the best-loved characters.

J.K. Rowling’s announcement on YouTube and sony.com today revealed that Pottermore (along with the Pottermore Shop) will be open to all users in October 2011. From today, 23rd June, fans can submit their email addresses on Pottermore.com in order to be contacted by the site following the opening of registration on 31st July, Harry’s birthday. Also on that date, an online challenge will be launched, whereby the first million people to complete their registration will gain early entry into the website, and help put final touches to the experience.

J.K. Rowling commented,

“I wanted to give something back to the fans that have followed Harry so devotedly over the years, and to bring the stories to a new digital generation. I hope fans and those new to Harry will have as much fun helping to shape Pottermore as I have. Just as I have contributed to the website, everyone else will be able to join in by submitting their own comments, drawings and other content in a safe and friendly environment – Pottermore has been designed as a place to share the stories with your friends as you journey through the site.”

Pottermore has been made possible with the support and partnership of Sony.

Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Sony Corporation, commented:

“Sony's association with J.K. Rowling's Pottermore brings together one of the world’s most innovative brands with the most successful book series in history, in a pioneering partnership that will help shape the future of story-telling. We are proud to be a part of it, both at this momentous announcement, and as we collaborate on its development over the coming years.”

On Sony’s partnership of Pottermore, J.K. Rowling commented:

“As I think people know, I am very protective of Harry and have always been very selective with any new initiatives, but I am totally committed to making this partnership with Sony and this wonderful new website a success. There are many companies I could have worked with on this ultimate digital expression of Harry Potter’s universe, but it is Sony’s unique philosophy of creativity in harmony with technology that made them my first choice as main partner. The spirit behind Sony’s make.believe philosophy is one that rings true with Pottermore’s own values.”

The detailed creative execution has been led by TH_NK, a leading UK digital agency, under the supervision of J.K. Rowling and the Pottermore management team, in co-operation with Sony. J.K. Rowling’s publishers, Bloomsbury in the UK and Scholastic in the USA, as well as her international publishers worldwide, have been active supporters in the creation of pottermore.com and the Pottermore Shop. Warner Bros, the makers of the hugely successful Harry Potter film franchise, is also one of the partners who have worked to support the launch of Pottermore through a variety of marketing, promotional and other efforts, and will continue to collaborate as the project grows.

The storyline of the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, will go live on the site in early 2012. The Pottermore Shop opens when the site opens to all in October, selling complete ranges of the eBooks and digital audiobooks in a selection of languages, exclusively.

Designed for fans of all ages, the website has been created with child safety in mind, employing best practice and compliance with internet codes of practice in the UK, Europe and USA, and elsewhere.

www.pottermore.com

Images from the Pottermore Site - these look like screengrabs, so if you click them they will show up bigger.

The Beauty Chorus by Kate Lord Brown

New Year’s Eve 1940: Evie Chase, the beautiful debutante daughter of an RAF commander, listens wistfully to the swing music drifting out from the ballroom. With bombs falling nightly in London, she is determined to make a difference to the war effort.


Evie joins the ATA – the civilian pilots who ferry fighter planes to bases across war-torn Britain. Two other women wait nervously to join up with her – Stella Grainger, a forlorn young mother from Singapore, and Megan Jones, an idealistic teenager who has never left her Welsh village before.


Billeted together in a tiny cottage, Stella, Megan and Evie learn to live and work together as they find romance, confront loss and forge friendships that last a lifetime.

The Beauty Chorus has been inspired by the female pilots during WWII. 166 women signed up to fly Spitfires and bombers from factories to airfields across the country. It was an adventure that would cost many their lives:


It really is quite by accident that I've read several books relating to WWII in such short succession.  Each one has given me a different experience.  In The Beauty Chorus, a title these young female pilots received from their older male colleagues, we are swept off our feet by the impossible glamour of these young women flying these great big roaring machines of war.
 
The newspapers saw their beauty, their youth, their red lipstick and carefully groomed hair, and never once did they peer beneath the surface to show how much hard work these young women put in on a daily basis and the dangers they faced.
 
Evie, impossibly glamorous and beautiful, joins the ATA - Air Transport Auxiliary Unit - on New Years Day in an attempt to get away from her father and her irritating stepmother.  Megan loses her husband in Singapore to the war effort and travels to Ireland where she leaves her baby behind.  She joins the ATA in a way to put it all behind her.  Stella, having never travelled further than the local village in Wales, leaves the farm she grew up on and joins the unit.  The 3 girls are billeted together in a tiny cottage and soon their differences are swept aside as they become fast friends.
 
War is a man's world and The Beauty Chorus has their share of run-ins with some other members of the Auxiliary unit who would rather not have them around.  The girls rise to the challenge and are soon flying various planes and craft around the country to make sure that their male counterparts have flying machines to hand to defend queen and country.
 
This is Kate Lord Brown's first novel but she handles the subject matter with ease - it is a quick read...in the sense that the narrative flows and is easy on the eye.  The girl's characters are very different yet in their differences lie their friendship and strengths. 
 
Before reading The Beauty Chorus I did not know about the ATA.  Which is silly of me as I have a friend whose great aunt flew for them.  But somehow I never really thought about it within the context of what they did in WWII.  It was a bit outside of my ken and so until The Beauty Chorus came along, it never occurred to me how much we owed these women, these "unsung" heroes.
 
It is a very British novel, focusing on friendship and duty and how tea can make almost anything right.  It runs such a fine line between action and adventure and the impossible glamour of parties and handsome men in uniform, that there really is something for everyone in this novel.  It isn't all just serious stuff, but there are throwaway one-liners and deeply humorous moments too, but then it is artfully balanced with the ugly reality that there is a war on and that at any moment any of these girls or their close comrades could be killed whilst out flying from one airbase to the next.
 
I had a box of tissues with me whilst reading this - it was not a commutable book - and sobbed uncontrollably over breakfast one morning, much to Mark's horror.  The Beauty Chorus really does what it sets out to do - entertain you, draw you in, and make you feel part of the story as you can't help but identifying with the girls.  The characters are well developed and Ms. Lord Brown has a great talent for scene-setting.  The book reads in a very filmic way and so it would be great to see a decent movie or tv show made to accompany it. 
 
As I said, it has all the elements that will appeal to a larger audience.  My biggest worry is that - although I love the cover - it may turn off some male readers, and I can say, with my hand on my heart, that male readers would enjoy reading The Beauty Chorus, don't be biased, look past the cover to the excellent novel beneath.  Or buy it on the Kindle from from Amazon.
 
I have found some great interviews Kate did with some other reviewers.  So find one here and here.  And this is Kate's excellent blog. Thank you so much to Corvus for sending me this on to review.  It was educational but more importantly, it was a great read and I highly recommend it.  Just keep those hankies to hand.

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey Review and Giveaway

Synopsis

Violet Willoughby doesn’t believe in ghosts, especially since her mother has worked as a fraudulent medium for a decade. Violet has taken part in enough of her mother’s tricks to feel more than a little jaded about anyhting supernatural.

The ghosts, however, believe in Violet and she’s been seeing them everywhere. One ghost in particular needs Violet to use her emerging gift to solve her murder . . . and prevent the ghost’s twin sister from suffering the same fate.

I was lucky enough to meet Alyxandra Harvey last month and get an early copy of Haunting Violet which I started on the way home and devoured over the next couple of days. I'm a massive fan of Victoriana coupled with the paranormal so was super-excited to read it. Violet has had a difficult start in life - daughter of a single parent who turns to mediumship as a way to make ends meet. Gradually, Celeste Willoughby becomes more respected and her clients more famous. Her daughter Violet is not only dragged along to all of the seances but also has to take part rigging up all the gadgets which trick the desperate into believing that their loved ones really have returned from the grave.

Violet dreams of a life outside of the seances but can't see a way out. Her only friend is Colin, a boy who works for Celeste, and Elizabeth - daughter of Lord Jasper who was a keen member of the Spiritualist church. Violet, Celeste and Colin find themselves at Lord Jasper's country estate in Wiltshire to perform a seance for the best of society. It is here that the bulk of the action takes place. Violet is an interesting combination of the worldy-wise and the innocent. She would rather walk around in Whitechapel than the fields of Wiltshire but is shy around boys and unsure of her appeal. I really felt for her as she tried to remember the many rules that bound her when in society - she is only able to be herself around Colin. While Celeste is a terrible fraud using the sort of tricks that were common at this time Violet is completely unprepared when ghosts start to appear to her unbidden. At first she hopes that she is merely tired but one in particular keeps on appearing and it is clear that she needs Violet to help her.

Part ghost story and part murder mystery, Haunting Violet fair skips along. I am totally in love with all the Victorian detail that Alyxandra has included, from what a lady should and shouldn't do, wear or say to the books of the day. I was cheering for her when she finally works out how she can solve all her problems and sympathised alongside her as she dealt with her awful mother. At the moment I don't know if there will be a sequel to Haunting Violet but I really hope there will be. Violet is a fascinating character who I'd love to see more of.

GIVEAWAY!

To celebrate the release of this fabulous book we have one copy of Haunting Violet to give away. This competition is open to UK people only and one lucky winner will be taken from the comments. We'll pick a winner using random.org so please include an email address in your comment so we can contact you to let you know you've won and find out where to send your prize. The closing date for the competition is Tuesday 28th June.

Good luck!

The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

January 1946: writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

I'll be fair and say I was initially not certain about how the author will pull off the story but I had just finished reading The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and was keen to try something else set in this sort of time.

I picked TGL&PPPS up with some trepidation.  And within the first few pages I was utterly charmed and giggling to myself.  The book is a revelation, using only letters by way of progressing the story, we are immediately thrown into the life of Ms. Juliet Ashton, who is a bit of a free spirit.  A journalist and writer with great skill, slightly eccentric and utterly sweet, she lived through wartime London living in Chelsea and writing a column for The Spectator.  (Her revelation as to why she broke off her engagement with a young man on the eve of him going to battle had me in stitches because really, I could understand 100% where she was coming from).

Now that the war was over she is being lauded as a great success by her publisher.  She embarks on a crazy tour of the UK where she is feted and lauded.  And it is during this time that she receives her first letter from Dawsey Adams, one of the members of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.   The letter is sweet and intriguing and Juliet can't help but be taken with the amazing name of their society.  So she enquires for more information.

And by means of this single letter, the correspondence starts, not just between Dawsey Adams but also other members of the Society and Juliet.  They speak about how the Society started (quite by accident) and about the hardships and friendships created on Guernsey when the Germans invaded. I admit that I knew very little about this and never really gave it any thought.  As their stories unfolded and the humanity of the mess they found themselves in was revealed, my heart broke.  I think there  has been a distance between then and now that has numbed us from the reality of the war-time, so reading these small personal accounts really brought it home to me as a reader what an incredible time these people lived through.

I fell hopelessly in love with Juliet.  But then I also fell in love with the characters from Guernsey.  I admired their strength, their cleverness and their determination to survive in the face of such awful adversity.  Their stories moved me, made me laugh and cry and giggle aloud.  Here were people who felt as real as my own family and friends.

What I loved most about this book is how by focussing on books and literature this group of diverse people were brought together and it is what kept them together.  Yes, they were all sharing the same hardships but their souls soared when they came together to discuss books and writing, allowing them to rise above the awfulness of their situation. 

There is this one passage that really struck me and had me swallowing against a big knob in my throat.  The character is not a learned man, a professional man.  He is probably not a person we would think anything about because he comes across as a bit stupid and slow and even remarks about that in his letter to Juliet.  But Eben Ramsey's letter to Juliet has affected me the most and it reads as follows (as he's read Shakespeare and come to - unexpectedly - like it):

"Do you know what sentence of his I admire the most? It is, 'The bright day is done, and we are for the dark.' I wish I'd known those words on the day I watched those German troops land, planeload after planeload of them...All I could think of was, Damn them, damn them, over and over again. If I could have thought the words, 'The bright day is done, and we are for the dark', I'd have been consoled somehow and ready to go out and contend with circumstance…"


I've not done it justice in this review, at all.  I would say that this is a book about reading and books and literature and war and love and laughter.  It's quite slender but it is packed full of Ms. Shaffer's love for the written word.  It is deeply sad that this was both her first and her last book as she passed away in February 2008.  She asked her niece Annie Barrows to help her complete the book and I have to say, it is a great loss that such a great voice has been silenced.  But I am thankful that she took the chance and listened to her friends and family and wrote it because it is books like these that change the world in small important ways.

The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie and Literary Society is a book like no other I have ever read.  I think it really has changed the way I think about WWII but it has also delighted me and given me real pleasure, making me want to press it into everyone I know's hand to read.  It literally rocked my world.  I hope it does the same for you.

The Demon's Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE PREVIOUS TWO BOOKS IN SERIES!

Synopsis

The Goblin Market has always been the centre of Sin's world. She's a dancer and a performer, secure in her place. But now the Market is at war with the magicians, and Sin's place is in danger. Keeping secrets from the market she loves, struggling with a friend who has become a rival, Sin is thrown together with the Ryves brothers, Nick and Alan - whom she's always despised. But Alan has been marked by a magician, to be tortured as the magician pleases, and as Sin watches Alan struggle to protect the demon brother he loves, she begins to see both brothers in a new light. But how far will brother go to save brother - and what will it cost them all?

I love this series and The Demon's Surrender has been up there with my most anticipated releases of the year. I managed to get a copy (from the fabulous Foyles) before heading off on holiday. As soon as I heard that this last book would focus on Sin I was overjoyed as the Goblin Market is a genius creation and the two are entwined. However, at the end of The Demon's Covenant Mae has thrown her hat in the ring and been marked out as a possible new leader for the market. Merris, now sharing her body part time with a demon, has put the two through a series of tests to see which could be the new leader. Her last trial seems almost insurmountable but both are determined to succeed.

Meanwhile Alan and Nick's relationship continues to be a thing which all outsiders fail to understand. In fact, I'm never sure if the two of them understand it either. Add to this Jamie and Sebastian and there's a whole lot of characters with whom to catch up and wrap up their stories. Another aspects of the Demon books which I love is the way that each one follows a different characters point of view. First we had Nick, then Mae the "tourist" and now Sin who, although human, has spent her whole life knowing about magic and demons. As a dancer she understands that her life is under threat at every market, she is used to living her life on the edge. She's also seen loved ones taken over by demons and understands their every twist and turn. Never a fan of Alan and, more recently, Nick she finds herself thrown into their world.

I think I loved this book the most of all three. Sin is both independent and courageous but also vulnerable and fiercely protective of her siblings. As she discovers more about Alan she finds she has to reassess her feelings towards him. Despite the fact that she's in direct competition with Mae she constantly supports and defends her. As the story progresses Sin finds that it's the very people that she's shut out that could be her best supporters. The characters in all three books have matured and changed and Sin is no exception. Through the very fact that demon's cannot lie she is told some pretty life changing facts. As ever, the dialogue is snappy, snarky and at times I laughed aloud. I think it's the conversations including Nick that get me the most - he's my favourite swoonable anti-hero. The way that he explains to Sin that he has a friend and that another one would be too much trouble just got me, I giggled for ages.

All of this is wrapped up in the most delectable world ever and I'm sad the series is over. I was almost sure I knew the bookshop near the British Museum which makes an appearance - next time I'm there I'll ask about demons. Not that I actually want to hear a truth from one. If this series has taught me anything it's never ask a demon a question - ever. Oh, and don't open your window to one in the middle of the night, you really will live to regret it.

Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR RAISED BY WOLVES

Synopsis

At seventeen, Bryn is has the usual schoolgirl worries: a new boyfriend, a new school and a new home. But she has one major concern that her friends don't have: she is an alpha - a human girl in charge of her own werewolf pack. When Bryn and her closest friends, Dev and Lake, broke from the werewolf Callum's pack, it had all felt right. Together with Chase, Bryn's new love, they had rescued some newly made female werewolves from a despicable master and established their own pack, with Bryn as leader. Yet Bryn has always resented the rules of Pack life - the constant bowing to authority, the submission to the alpha. And she is determined to live differently, to run this pack openly and justly. Then one night, a badly beaten werewolf shows up on her territory. He needs help, sanctuary, care. But taking him in could violate inter-pack rules, and no one knows better than Bryn the costs of challenging those rules. Obedience is law in Pack life, but Bryn is going to break the rules, again.

The second book in a series can be tricky. After all, some of the exciting stuff has been and gone; world building, character introductions, love interest etc. However, the flip side to this is that the characters are now old friends. We know that Bryn is a survivor, stubborn and determined to succeed despite the difficulties she faces. The book opens with Bryn getting used to being the alpha of her new pack. Whilst she wants to be relaxed and non-confrontational about it the events of Trial by Fire force her to look at her position in a different way. Just as she's trying to adjust Lucas arrives on her doorstep; beaten and bloody.

Now she's an alpha there are few people she can turn to for advice. Callum is being unhelpful and the other alphas are just not the kind of wolves Bryn would turn to. Instead she finds she has to dig deep and find the answers within whilst trying to keep her pack calm. Devon is as brilliant as even in Trial by Fire and has become Bryn's second in command - but even this can be difficult as Bryn treads the fine line between friendship and leadership. Just as things couldn't get more difficult a strange group of humans turn up and stake a claim on Lucas.

Ironically it's the human characters that are more menacing in this book. I enjoyed the complex and threatening character of Caroline who really pushed Bryn into difficult decisions. Also, Chase and Bryn's relationship isn't just cut and dried which I appreciated. They haven't known each other long and Bryn realises that they have a great deal to learn about each other before their relationship deepens. I loved that wolf and human or not they still have to deal with mundane complications like differences of opinions. Trial by Fire is a great sequel to Raised by Wolves. The stakes have been raised and as a result Bryn is forced to make serious decisions which have far reaching results. Also, an absolutely awesome twist at the end which I didn't see coming. I look forward to more!

Weta Workshop and Harper Collins Strike a Deal

I know, I know - this is really geeky news I'm sharing here, but I just can't help it.

Ever since LoTR I have been a fan of the creators and artists at WETA.  I love the fact that they sit there and create all these amazing monsters and creatures for us to view on screen.  What I like even more is that I can buy stuff from them directly.  It makes me feel like I am somehow supporting independent creative types.  Crazy, I know!

 

Mark was reading his emails this morning over breakfast when he mentioned that Weta and HC have struck this book deal.  My ears perked up and I had him email me the newsletter.  I followed the links and this is what the article on the main Weta site said:

In what is a landmark move for both companies, HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand and Weta Workshop have entered into an agreement to publish works which will showcase Weta's remarkable creativity and talent.


There are major opportunities for both companies in this agreement. The most significant is the global publication of beautifully produced movie tie-in volumes written and designed by Weta's own creative people, illustrating the amazing skills and talents of the Weta team. Traditionally, the authors of movie tie-in books are several steps removed from the making of the movie, and the books are last minute additions to the movie merchandising plans. However, these books, which will be published under the management of HarperCollins New Zealand's experienced publishing and production teams, will give a real insight to the creative genius that Weta brings to the projects it is involved with.

In addition to print books, HarperCollins and Weta Workshop are exploring the development of ground breaking digital products which will offer the reader the opportunity for a greatly enhanced experience.

‘We are extremely excited about the opportunity to combine the skills and talents of our people all around the world with those of the multi-award-winning team at Weta Workshop,' says Tony Fisk, Managing Director, HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand. ‘We see this as a unique opportunity to present the work of our friends at Weta to a global publishing audience and to work together with them to develop ground breaking new projects.'

‘We have been developing book ideas for many years and now with our relationship and friendship with the team at HarperCollins we can see these books reach an even wider market through their global network', says Richard Taylor, Creative Director and Co-founder of Weta Workshop.

The relationship between HarperCollins and Weta Workshop goes back many years. As the publisher of the works of JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, HarperCollins and Weta have developed an appreciation and understanding of each other's capabilities whilst working together on The Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia movies. Recent projects include The Art of District 9 and the award-winning The Crafting of Narnia.

I am over the moon and I really cannot wait to get my grubby paws on some of these Weta/HC produced books.  Mark and I are big fans of what they do and at the end of last year he bought himself one of the London Hellgate figurines and the attention to detail is superb. Even if it is decidedly gory and visceral.


Male Templar from Hellgate London

Please do check out the Weta site and article I've linked to above - it is a great resource and it never fails to give me "grabby hands of want"! And I hasten to add that the blogpost is brought to you out of sheer geekiness and love and we have nothing to do with either Weta or HC NZ.  We are just excited!

Cover Love - Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

Apart from possibly have the most cool author name ever, we are celebrating Nova's brand new novel - IMAGINARY GIRLS - release this week by showcasing the cover and a few other bits and pieces on MFB.

Chloe's older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for, who can't be captured or caged. When a night with Ruby's friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers the dead body of her classmate London Hayes left floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away from town and away from Ruby.



But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns to town two years later, deadly surprises await. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has hidden deeply away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood.

It sounds so interesting and with a starred review from Kirkus this will be going onto my wishlist over at either Amazon or Book Depository to buy when available.

Dutton/Penguin US have also done a chilling video trailer for Imaginary Girls.  Check it out:



We think the premise sounds so intriguing and that cover is gorgeous and knowing some of our readers, you would definitely think the same!  We wish Nova the best of luck with Imaginary Girls!

And just yesterday, a review from The Booksmugglers on Imaginary Girls came up. I am now even more intrigued and keen to read it.

Helion Rain by George Mann (Audiobook)

The world of Idos is on the verge of destruction, wracked by catastrophic storms and plagued by ravening tyranids. Into this maelstrom come the Raven Guard 4th Company, the warzone perfectly suited to their lightning-strike methods of combat. Led by Veteran Sergeant Grayvus, their mission is simple – to rescue the planet’s last survivors. But in the midst of this nightmare, they receive new orders to locate and destroy a power station..

By way of introduction to Sergeant Grayvus of the Raven Guard, Helion Rain drops you into the middle of the war for the survival of the imperial world of Idos. Plagued by the unrelenting Tyranids and hammered by the meteor swarms sweeping the world, Idos stands on the brink of destruction.

In HR, George Mann eschews the preliminary stages of the war to focus on the desperate gambit which could change the outcome of this war, the kind of behind-enemy-lines raid the Raven Guard are so good at, and which is entrusted to Grayvus and his squad of scouts. Mann does make the assumption that the listener is at least familiar with the basics of the 40K universe here, but to be fair it is a relatively safe bet.

HR is combat heavy, with the background chatter of bolters and howling aliens a near constant throughout as Grayvus and his squad fight their way towards their objective, although Mann makes full use of the lulls between engagements to flesh out some of the traditions of the Raven Guard, and perhaps it’s the relative fleeting nature of these moments that gives them more impact.

Performed by Black Library stalwart Toby Longworth, the characters voices are clear, and the background sound effects are used well, never overpowering or undermining the narrative. All in, it’s a nice piece that underlines the war in Warhammer, gloriously oversupplied with exploding xenos and the desperate heroism of the Astartes.

The Mermaid's Mirror by LK Madigan

Lena has lived her whole life near the beach – walking for miles up and down the shore and breathing the salty air, swimming in the cold water, and watching the surfers rule the waves – the problem is, she’s spent her whole life just watching.

As her sixteenth birthday approaches, Lena vows she will no longer watch from the sand: she will learn to surf.

But her father – a former surfer himself – refuses to allow her to take lessons. After a near drowning in his past, he can’t bear to let Lena take up the risky sport.

Yet something lures Lena to the water … an ancient, powerful magic. One morning Lena catches sight of this magic: a beautiful woman – with a silvery tail.

Nothing will keep Lena from seeking the mermaid, not even the dangerous waves at Magic Crescent Cove.

And soon … what she sees in the mermaid’s mirror will change her life …

I have to thank Amanda from Floor To Ceiling Books for buying me a copy of The Mermaid's Mirror last weekend. I have been eyeing it for ages and of course knew about LK Madigan's very sad passing. I also knew about TMM's magic, having read people's reaction about the book online. What I did not expect is to fall for it as hard as I had.

When aspiring authors ask agents and publishers what exactly it is that they look for when picking up an unsolicited manuscript the answer is invariable "voice". People do not know how to describe this mysterious "voice" except to say that "we know it when we see it". Personally, for me there are a handful of novels whose "voice" stand out - books by Kirsten Cashore drips with voice, Sherman Alexie's writing is all "voice", Diana Wynne Jones and Eva Ibbotson shiver with "voice". The Mermaid's Mirror by LK Madigan is "voice".

The writing style is unaffected, uncomplicated and at times a bit dreamy to keep pace with Lena's emotions.

Lena is a great character - close to her parents and her little brother Cole. She is loyal to her friends and a bit in love with her boyfriend Kai. On the surface Lena is a girl who lives a happy complete life. We see her as a nice girl. What we are shown by LK Madigan's superb writing is a girl who is slowly losing her grip on reality. She has started sleepwalking. Often waking up on the beach, not remembering how she got there. Lena finds herself staring out at the sea often. She wakes up in the lounge, with her mother talking to her, in the small hours of the morning, humming some unknown song. Lena also finds herself constantly looking for something. It is a yearning she does can't place. She feels like she's going a bit crazy. Her parents are worried about her, it creates a tension in their small family they aren't entirely sure how to handle.

Kai, her best friend and now boyfriend explains her sleepwalking by saying that she is clearly so keen to learn how to surf, that it is working on her, keeping her awake. It actually makes sense and both Lena and Pem (her other best friend) reluctantly agree. Lena's dad does not want her to learn to surf. He had an almost fatal surfing accident just before her birth, and has not been in the sea since. Before this incident, he had been one of the best surfers in the area. And he is refusing to allow Lena to learn how to surf.

As the story unfolds in this wonderfully windswept and sea-spray way, and we learn the secret Lena's parents have kept from her and the choices she has to make, our hearts yearn that she makes the right choice.

I fell hard for this book. It is beautifully written and Lena is such a great character to spend time with. As a reader I wanted everything to work out perfectly for everyone. I loved the setting and think Ms. Madigan did an amazing job creating a very visual, very real-feeling world inhabited by both the mysterious and mundane.

I would highly recommend reading The Mermaid's Mirror for the sheer beauty of the prose and the characterisation of Lena. To say anything more would be superfluous.

Happy reading, MFB friends!

Carte Blanche by Jeffery Deaver

Fresh from Afghanistan, James Bond has been recruited to a new agency. Conceived in the post 9/11 world, it operates independent of Five, Six and the MoD, its very existence deniable. Its aim: to protect the Realm, by any means necessary.
As Liz mentioned before, the hardback is a striking book, and weighs in at a pleasing 428 pages. The cover proclaims that it is “the new James Bond novel”, and it’s true on two fronts: this is a new James Bond novel, and it’s a new James Bond. This contemporary take on Bond has nothing to do with the Connery/Moore era, or Craig’s, or even the Faulk’s Devil May Care incarnation, although it does hold to some core traditions of the James Bond enterprise.

Carte Blanche sees Bond on the trail of a creepy villain with quasi-necrophiliac tendencies and his delightfully ruthless assistant, working against the clock to uncover the nature of the chaos they are planning to unleash. It’s a pursuit that ranges from London to the outskirts of Belgrade, from the heat of Dubai to the streets of Cape Town, the trail littered with red herrings and near misses.

Deaver is accomplished writer and Bond is an institution, a byword for high stakes thrills. The child of this happy union, however, doesn’t really live up to the pedigree of its parents. All of the elements are there- M, Q, Moneypenny, fast cars, silenced Walthers, beautiful women and exotic settings, with the added twist of being set in a world dogged by the legacy of Al ‘Qaeda and its cohorts.

And yet, if you replaced ‘Bond’ with ‘Smith’, you wouldn’t really take much away from the story.

It’s a decent enough espionage thriller, with a couple of nice twists, but apart from one notable exception it never really convinced me that (the somewhat metrosexual) Bond was in true danger. And Bad Guy no. 1, Hydt, doesn’t really gel with the emphasis that has been given to the book being set in the modern world, given the ever present spectre of counter-terrorism that it has become synonymous with. Hydt’s quite a character, but he feels like a throwback to the villains of the age of Connery et al.

While I can appreciate what has been attempted here, I don’t think it’s worked. Not for me at least. In a word: meh.

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Synopsis

Pack life is about order, but Bryn is about to push all the limits, with hair-raising results. At the age of four, Bryn watched a rabid werewolf brutally murder her parents. Alone in the world, she was rescued and taken in by Callum, the alpha of his pack. Now fifteen, Bryn's been as a human among werewolves, adhering to pack rule. Little fazes her. But the pack's been keeping a secret, and when Bryn goes exploring against Callum's orders, she finds Chase, a newly turned teen Were locked in a cage. Terrifying memories of the attack on her parents come flooding back. Bryn needs answers, and she needs Chase to get them. Suddenly, all allegiances to the pack no longer matter. It's Bryn and Chase against the werewolf world, whatever the consequences. A thrilling new YA adventure, with an electrifying link between a tough heroine and an exciting boy-were at its heart, Raised by Wolves will leave you howling for more.

This poor book has sat on my TBR shelf for ages, since September of last year to be exact. I kept looking at it and thinking, "I really must get around to reading that." I read brilliant reviews of it and then the sequel turned up and I was finally spurred into action. A day and a half later I was totally sold on the world that the author has created.

Bryn lives with her human adopted mother with a pack of werewolves in the middle of a wood. Kids at the local school know she's different and avoid her, occasionally poking fun at her in class but otherwise she doesn't exist. She holds herself separate from the pack too and even goes so far to erect barriers so she doesn't have the mental traffic that were's share. As a result, apart from truly brilliant friend Devon, she's very alone in her world. This all changes when she senses a change in the pack. She has to be home by dusk by order of Callum, the alpha were. Finally, her curiosity gets the better of her and she breaks into Callum's basement to find Chase, a boy who got bit and survived the transformation into a werewolf.

Firstly, the voice of Bryn is brilliant. From page one you feel as if you're kicking back at the side of a creek chatting to her. I was reminded of Kelley Armstrong and I hope I'm not throwing her name in just because she's a fellow werewolf writer but rather because she also has amazing skills in writing voice. Bryn's fierce, stubborn and independent - a life in the pack has moulded her. She drives the plot through and I never questioned her thoughts or actions. There are an amazing array of secondary characters - I particularly loved Lake, Devon and Callum. Raised by Wolves doesn't hold back on the harsh realities of pack life either. This is no simple paranormal romance and the pack dynamics are well thought out, sometimes to their brutal end.

As the book progresses it becomes something of a manhunt and the tension ramps up. The showdown and resulting conclusion was certainly not what I was expecting. Raised by Wolves is exciting, unconventional and innovative - I thoroughly enjoyed it (and am still apologising to my copy for keeping it waiting so long).

The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

They say Black Dow's killed more men than winter, and clawed his way to the throne of the North up a hill of skulls. The King of the Union, ever a jealous neighbour, is not about to stand smiling by while he claws his way any higher. The orders have been given and the armies are toiling through the northern mud. Thousands of men are converging on a forgotten ring of stones, on a worthless hill, in an unimportant valley, and they've brought a lot of sharpened metal with them..

The first thing that struck me about the hardback copy was how good it felt in the hand with its lovely matt dust cover. It's chunky book, which has become a bit of a hallmark for young Mr Abercrombie, and weighs in at a respectable 498 pages.

The Heroes tracks the build up, execution and aftermath over the 3 days that a vicious battle rages in the North as the punitive force of the Union seeks to bring the army of the amoral and ruthless Black Dow to battle in an attempt to curtail his rising influence. The story is told from the viewpoints of 3 of the principal characters, the narratives weaving around each other to create a very convincing and visceral overview of the battle.

The first is the careworn Curden Craw, veteran of almost as many battles as Black Dow himself, but burdened with a streak of honesty and a notion of honour that few of his peers share. He's finding that his regrets at the hard life he chose all those years ago are growing by the day, eroding the beliefs that have kept him alive and sane so long.

The second is Calder, a self obsessed prince of the North whose desire to grab power is almost as strong as his disdain for the idea of having to work for it. He'll lie, cheat, steal and kill to get what he wants, and not necessarily in that order.

The third, and my favourite, is Bremer dan Gorst, the disgraced former champion.A master swordsman and lethally efficient killer, Bremer is tortured by the ignominy of his dismissal and is seeking redemption or death in the maelstrom of battle - and not even he is sure which he would prefer. Socially awkward and scorned by his peers, he seethes with bitterness and his narrative is littered with his caustic, unspoken thoughts.

There's precious little for the characters to sing about in the world Abercrombie has made for them- it's a brutal, unforgiving place, bleak and scarred by the wars of men and the legacy of the ancient feud of an order of wizards that's barely hinted at in this book- the resident archmage and one of his principal opponents do feature, but magic gets about as much screentime here as it did in Peter Jackson's siege of Helm's Deep.

What we get instead is political scheming, betrayal, axes smashing into faces with lethal effect, infected wounds, and the wounded screaming and pissing themselves. Death doesn't come easily, but when it does it's brutal and messy. And that's precisely half of what makes The Heroes so cool. The other half is the way Abercrombie brings his characters to life, rounding them out layer by later against the backdrop of a well crafted and immersive setting, making The Heroes stand out as much more than just a gorefest. Admittedly, the fact that he does lavish attention on secondary characters does threaten to clutter things up now and then, particularly when it comes to talking about the warriors of the north and their pedigrees, but it's a sporadic thing rather than a constant, and as such doesn't hinder the otherwise fast pace of the story.

If you like your fantasy hardboiled and gritty, then The Heroes is a wargasm waiting to happen. If you're looking for unicorns and Tom Bombadil, move along.

And no, I don't care for unicorns.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I’m still stalling, aren’t I?

Vampirates Ahoy! Day 2 of Justin Somper's Blog Tour

We are really proud to host Day 2 of Justin Somper's blog tour on MFB. Justin is the creator of the Vampirates sequence of books and they are roaringly good fun.  We will be reviewing the final book "Immortal War" in July as part of our Under 14's Only month.  In the meantime, I got to interview Justin about all and sundry.  Check it out:

***

When you started writing the Vampirates books, did you ever think the series would extend to six books?

 When I first had the idea and began playing around with it, I knew that it was going to be too much material to fit into just one book. I had the idea to do the first book and then "suck it and see" after that (have to utilise all vampire puns while I still can!). It was my UK publisher, Simon & Schuster, who initiated the six book sequence. Initially, they bought four books and then decided, even before the first one was published, that they would like another two. I think there is mileage in the idea and characters to go even further without it getting tired, hence I have left a few loose threads at the end of IMMORTAL WAR. At the same time, I feel pretty satisfied at having written these six big books with all these characters in. It's been quite a journey for us all and hopefully the books have got better and more intriguing as the story has gone on.

A lot happens in them – we have a lot of characters and great set-pieces – did you end up creating something like a series bible to keep it all straight in your head?

 I've often been tempted to create this kind of bible but I've just never got around to it. Sometimes I do have to do a fair bit of referring back to the previous books but mostly all the characters are in my head. And of course I have a great team of editors, both in the UK and US, to keep me on the right path. But, going forward, with another project with lots of characters, I think I probably would create a bible from the get-go.

I know my favourite character has to be Grace. Do you have a favourite Vampirates character? (we won’t tell anyone, we promise).

 I have many favourites! I could say Sidorio, because he consistently pushes the envelope, or Lola, because she takes it to the next level. But my favourite character might well be Stukeley. just think he's really complex and intriguing. He was only ever intended to appear briefly in TIDE OF TERROR and die, end of. I didn't expect Sidorio to sire him or Stukeley to still be there, in IMMORTAL WAR, but there he is. I like how conflicted he is between his new existence and the life, and comrades, he's left behind. I like the way he sometimes seems drawn back to goodness, but then the darkness takes hold of him. The chapter in BLOOD CAPTAIN where he returns to Ma Kettle's Tavern is one of my favourites across the whole sequence. One of my favourite characters in IMMORTAL WAR is Moonshine Wrathe.


How much research did you find you had to do? I am talking about weapons research, about pirates, about vampires and of course, about ships and sailing for the books?

 I have pretty much had to do constant research for these books. Thank goodness for google! Obviously, the big initial research was into pirate history and vampire myth, to work out how best to fuse the two strands together and also to start developing characters. As the sequence continued, I did a load of research on mermaid myths for DEAD DEEP, as I worked on creating Kally and the fishtails. For BLOOD CAPTAIN, research work went into creating the geography and ritual of Sanctuary, as well as researching real-life cowboys as Johnny Desperado made his debut in the story. Originally Johnny was going to be a blue-eyed, blonde-haired all-American cowboy but as I researched, I found the vacqueros more intriguing and I figured Grace would too! We both like real outsider figures. Then for BLACK HEART, it was all about wine as I brought in Lola! Weapons research has been a constant too - for Sidorio and Connor's duel in EMPIRE OF NIGHT, say. My dad was an enthusiastic amateur sailor and he helped me with the sailing scenes in the first book. I also got the chance to go on the Cutty Sark a couple of times, which gave me the feel for the size and height of the ships. It all feeds in.


In a dream situation, should Jerry Bruckheimer knock on your door and say: “Justin, we want to turn Vampirates into a movie, who do you think should play your main characters?” What would your answer be and remember, money is no object.

 LOL. I know that in reality I probably wouldn't get much say about this but it's a fun game to play! I would pay good money to see Angelina Jolie as Lady Lola. When I first wrote Sidorio, I thought of him as Vin Diesel but in the later books, he's become more Javier Bardem. I'd like to see George Clooney in there too, maybe as Molucco Wrathe. There's been waves of Hollywood interest in a VAMPIRATES movie and I know the Nocturnals are keen on this, so you never know!


I wanted to ask you about book 4 in the series: Black Heart. It is, for me, the book most tense book, with the Biggest Reveal. Did you anguish about writing this one at all?

That's very perceptive of you. All the books have presented me with different challenges but BLACK HEART and IMMORTAL WAR were probably the toughest of the six. With BLACK HEART, there was the real stress of revealing the twins' true parentage. And, by the way, this was not a plot I had planned from the outset of the sequence. As the books were read and got more and more popular, I was getting a lot of questions from readers, and noise online, debating Grace and Connor's real background so I decided to really crank up that sense of mystery towards the end of BLOOD CAPTAIN and then tackle it head on in BLACK HEART. The way that Grace and Connor were conceived was potentially problematic given the broad age range of my readers, so I had to be really careful at how this was depicted. Then there was Sally's return which was hard to write. The first draft of the book had lots of chapters where Sally told her story to Grace. My wise UK editor slashed her red pencil straight through about eleven of these and we then put our heads together to work out a more engaging - emotional but unsentimental - way to tell that back story. The answer became to have Grace, with her growing psychic powers, effectively step into Sally's memories and become her. This changed the whole feel of the book for the better. Then we had, as you say, the reveal of the true nature of Grace and Connor and that was stressful too as it wasn't something I'd intended from the outset. I worried that I was taking the sequence into too dark a place but, at the same time, it felt right. The sequence has become more epic and darker than I originally envisaged it. With all this going on, I couldn't find room to bring back the Vampirate captain in this book which is why his return is delayed until EMPIRE OF NIGHT.

With The Immortal War, you bring the Vampirates sequence of books to a close. What was the most difficult / emotional thing for you to write (without spoilers) in this one?

 I found writing the whole of this book surprisingly emotional and difficult. It has an elegiac feel from the outset and you'll see there are clocks everywhere you turn in the story, showing that time is ticking away. The challenge this time was bringing the story to a pause, if not a complete close, and giving all the key characters a chance to say goodbye to the readers who have journeyed through six books with them. Some characters get their happy ending but others don't. With EMPIRE OF NIGHT, I actually cried when I was writing the final death scene - most unusual! With IMMORTAL WAR, the whole writing process was quite challenging and raw in some ways. And again one departure resulted in minor waterworks. I'm still too close to this book to know how good a job I've done. I'll have to await (nervously) your, and other reader's, verdict.


I have always read the Vampirates books to background music – mostly soundtracks as it calls for stirring music. Did you ever do a soundtrack for yourself whilst writing?

 I never write with music in the background - that just doesn't work for me. But there are pieces of music that I used to "warm up" for certain scenes and characters and other music which has inspired some of my writing. I've been asked to put together a VAMPIRATES playlist and you can find this both on GIRLS WITHOUT A BOOKSHELF and at www.vampirates.co.uk.


And I hate asking this, but I know a lot of your (and my) readers would love to know...what’s next for you?That's a nice question! I've got several ideas but one seems to have pushed itself to the fore so I'm doing some research and starting to play around with characters, setting etc. I don't want to say too much more in case it doesn't work, or is superceded by another idea, but it's another "enclosed world" story with a lot of strong, conflicted characters, with various shades of morality. I'd envisage it appealing to the same readers who enjoy VAMPIRATES, though there will be no vampires or pirates in this one!

Final question, one of my favourites as an aspiring writer. It’s a two-parter: a) what is your advice to aspiring writers out there and b) what was the best advice you were given when you started out?

 My advice to aspiring writers is fairly simple - 1) read a often

as you can and as widely as you can, so that you are open to the diverse ways different writers use language and tell stories, 2) write as often as you can and push yourself to try new things in your writing and don't get trapped into one genre all the time and 3) don't give up - the third one is essentially what separates those of us who are published and those who aren't. The best advice I was given was when author Jan Mark did a writing workshop at my school and advised the seventeen year-old me not to depend on writing to make a living! I've been lucky with the success of my books both in the UK and overseas, but it's nice not to have to write to earn money. That's a pressure I don't really want to introduce to my writing. Besides which, having other strings to my bow, helps keep me enjoying my writing and having fresh ideas to bring to it.

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Synopsis

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Terry Pratchett First Novel Award

The Terry Pratchett Anywhere But Here, Anywhen But Now First Novel Prize

Mark and I were really lucky to be able to attend this brand new event hosted by Transworld, in partnership with Sir Terry Pratchett.

The award / prize took place at Waterstone's Piccadilly.  The shortlisted titles were:

•Postponing Armageddon, Adele Abbott

•The Platinum Ticket, Dave Beynon

•Half Sick of Shadows, David Logan

•Apocalypse Cow, Michael Logan

•Lun, Andrew Salomon

•The Coven at Callington, Shereen Vedam

Mark and I met up with Geeksyndicate 's Dave Monteith (soon to be dad for the first time!), Rob and Sophia who do the booky side of things on the Sci Fi Film Festival that takes place in London, as well as Mark and Rob from Forbidden Planet. There was a great deal of chat and speculation as to who won.  Caroline from Portrait of a Woman attended too and she confidentially told me that she has a big favourite but refused to say who it was. 
 
Sir Terry Pratchett and the rest of the judges eventually turned up and Sir T looked as dashing as ever.  Tony Robinson was in attendance as well but had to shoot off to catch a flight somewhere exotic. 
 
Not all of those shortlisted could make it, but some had sent representatives on their behalf. The shortlist was read off and each person came up to shake hands and accept their certificate, goody bag and champagne.
 
Then came the big announcement.  Who the winners were: (and it threw us all) the judges had decided that the prize was to be shared between two people.
 

David Logan and Michael Logan- who are not related, for their respective novels (Half sick of Shadows by David Logan & Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan).  Both David and Michael looked genuinely surprised.
 
I stood in the front, snapping away with my iphone, but I had tears streaming down my face as these guys' dreams had literally come true right in front of the gathered crowd of strangers, friends and family.  It was incredible. 
 
Brief speeches of thanks and congratulations were made and then everyone sort of dispersed around the room to twitter about it and to talk books and geeky things.
 
It was a lovely evening and I think everyone had a great time.  Mark and I stepped over to chat to one of the short-listed people, David Beynon who had travelled from Canada to visit family and also attend the award ceremony at the same time.  What a great guy - he was so positive about being shortlisted, even if he did not walk away with the "prize".  He mentioned that he had subsequently been approached by various agents for representation and that there has been a lot of interest in his work.  This was fantastic news and I just wanted to squish him.  We told them about cool places to go and they asked us where they could see a real life Tardis.  We failed at helping them in that respect and I think our standing plummeted a bit. 

We let Mr. Beynon and his family be and shuffled off to talk to other people like the media professionals we are.
 
Thanks to the always fabulous Lynsey for inviting us to attend and to Transworld for being so courageous in hosting an event like this. 

The official PR bit from Transworld:

Sir Terry Pratchett and Transworld Publishers launched a new award for aspiring debut novelists in June last year, the Terry Pratchett Anywhere But Here, Anywhen But Now Prize. After the deadline for submissions of 31 December 2010, 500-plus entries were received for the £20,000 prize.


The six judges (including Sir Terry Pratchett and Tony Robinson) met yesterday at Waterstone’s flagship store in London’s Piccadilly to thrash out a winner. After hours of debate the conclusion was reached that it was impossible to select a single victor! The entries were so diverse that it was unanimously decided to split the prize and award it to David Logan for his book HALF SICK OF SHADOWS, and to Michael Logan (no relation!) for APOCALYPSE COW. Both writers will receive a publishing contract from Transworld.

‘It was a long deliberation and although to some it might seem a cop out to split a prize, we decided that since the existence of the prize was to find new talent then this was the happiest decision to make. Half Sick of Shadows and Apocalypse Cow both stood out in their different ways and I wish their creators the best of luck in their writing careers.’

SIR TERRY PRATCHETT

The Winners

Half Sick of Shadows is a darkly atmospheric, richly written coming-of-age novel in the spirit of Ian Banks’ The Wasp Factory. David Logan, who lives in Carrickfergus, N. Ireland, commented:

“I am disappointed for the runners up. The difference between winning and losing is a hair’s breadth. I just feel very lucky.”

Apocalypse Cow follows the story of a group of social misfits thrown together after an experimental bio-weapon is accidentally unleashed by the government, with peculiar repercussions for Britain’s farm animals. The Scots-born but Kenya-based Michael Logan commented:

“Ever since I wrote my first short story at the age of eight, it has been my dream to become an author - although the idea for a novel about sex-crazed zombie cows did come a little later. The full impact of attaining a lifelong goal has yet to fully sink in. I'm sure it will hit me on the way home, when I will bemuse all around me by performing a victorious knee-slide across the concourse at Gatwick.”

Sir Terry Pratchett and Transworld Publishers would like to thank everyone who submitted an entry to the prize.

The winners, chosen from a shortlist of six, were announced at the 5th View champagne bar last night at 7pm.

Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures by Robert K Wittman and John Shiffman

The Wall Street Journal called him “a living legend.” The London Times dubbed him “the most famous art detective in the world.”

In Priceless, Robert K. Wittman, the founder of the FBI’s Art Crime Team, pulls back the curtain on his remarkable career for the first time, offering a real-life international thriller to rival The Thomas Crown Affair.

Rising from humble roots as the son of an antique dealer, Wittman built a twenty-year career that was nothing short of extraordinary. He went undercover, usually unarmed, to catch art thieves, scammers, and black market traders in Paris and Philadelphia, Rio and Santa Fe, Miami and Madrid.

In this page-turning memoir, Wittman fascinates with the stories behind his recoveries of priceless art and antiquities: The golden armor of an ancient Peruvian warrior king. The Rodin sculpture that inspired the Impressionist movement. The headdress Geronimo wore at his final Pow-Wow. The rare Civil War battle flag carried into battle by one of the nation’s first African-American regiments.

The breadth of Wittman’s exploits is unmatched: He traveled the world to rescue paintings by Rockwell and Rembrandt, Pissarro, Monet and Picasso, often working undercover overseas at the whim of foreign governments. Closer to home, he recovered an original copy of the Bill of Rights and cracked the scam that rocked the PBS series Antiques Roadshow.

By the FBI’s accounting, Wittman saved hundreds of millions of dollars worth of art and antiquities. He says the statistic isn’t important. After all, who’s to say what is worth more --a Rembrandt self-portrait or an American flag carried into battle? They're both priceless.

The art thieves and scammers Wittman caught run the gamut from rich to poor, smart to foolish, organized criminals to desperate loners. The smuggler who brought him a looted 6th-century treasure turned out to be a high-ranking diplomat. The appraiser who stole countless heirlooms from war heroes’ descendants was a slick, aristocratic con man. The museum janitor who made off with locks of George Washington's hair just wanted to make a few extra bucks, figuring no one would miss what he’d filched.

In his final case, Wittman called on every bit of knowledge and experience in his arsenal to take on his greatest challenge: working undercover to track the vicious criminals behind what might be the most audacious art theft of all.

After reading The Infiltrators which I loved, I thought I'd give another of my languishing non-fiction book titles a read.  I chose Priceless as I genuinely enjoy heist movies and heist books.  I wanted to see what a real life/live detective did to capture these "gentleman" thieves as they are often portrayed in the movies like The Thomas Crown Affair / After the Sunset etc.

I was not disappointed.  Working together as a team, Wittman and Shiffman's narrative flows easily - it never gets bogged down with too much extraneous information and we very quickly come to realise that there is no flash, no show, about Wittman.  We meet Wittman as he's on his way to meet some villains.  He's in the back of the car, an FBI agent, deep under cover and there is this sense of malice and you wonder: is this guy gonna make it out of this alive? 

Witmann tells us where he grew up, some information about his parents, other things he did before joining up with the FBI and how he came to be part of the "Art Crime Squad".   Not everything goes smoothly and Witmann has some awful things happen to him and his family in this time.  But reading Priceless you get a real sense of Witmann's character and that of his wife.  They form a strong team and I think a lot of that really helped me connect to Witmann and so I wanted him to succeed.

We are taken along for several cases, both standard FBI jobs and the more "glamorous" art theft cases.  Whitmann makes this really interesting statement at one stage - and I know I was guilty of this thought too - that because of Hollywood we always assume that thieves steal items on demand for fabulously rich collectors or for themselves.  This is of course not the case.  Most thieves are dirty nasty scoundrels and their customers are no better.  I felt my "world view" slightly dented but I read on because the sheer determination, nose to the grindstone hard work that went in to each case as it unfolds is just remarkable.  But then, so was blind luck. 

Some way into the book there are photos of various items Wittman managed to save.  There are also photos of him and his family and some villains whom he has met.  They vary widely from nasty pieces of work to slightly clueless people who suspected they were passing on something stolen but weren't quite sure. The photos look impressive, until you read the book and discover the amount of hard work and various shenanigans it took to get these items back to their rightful owners and you realise what an amazing job had been done.

I found it fascinating how he described some procedures and how low priority art theft cases are in the bigger scheme of things when there are terrorists threatening violence.  Also, what struck me is how the majority of the book deals with art theft in the USA and how it had a very low profile, it was practically non-existent, until Wittman proved to his superiors that it should be looked at on an equal footing as other more severe criminal cases.  It is an interesting book, full of great information but also, stories well told from the "other side" of the heist spectrum. 

Like The Infiltrators, I would highly recommend this non-fiction book as something to dip into to reassert reality because things really aren't like they are in the movies or in fictional books.  It is a great informative read and one that is definitely a keeper and a recommender-onner to others for the sheer differentness of the subject.