The Summer of Living Dangerously by Julie Cohen

Alice Woodstock has her life under control. She's successful and she's happy - as long as she continues to ignore the hurt from her past. But when said past walks back into her life in the shape of Leo - the man she married too young, ran away to Paris with and who ultimately broke her heart - Alice is desperate for an escape route. She finds the perfect thing - a new job as a tour guide in a Regency stately home. But as she immerses herself in acting out the stories of the house, Alice begins to see parallels with her own life, forcing her to confront her feelings about what she wants and, finally, live in the real world.

As readers of MFB should know by now, I'm not good with reading contemporary female fiction, but I am a huge fan of Julie Cohen's because her stories manages to not alienate me. Within a few pages, I'm utterly immersed in her main character's life and you use every inch of your being to will her to come out on the other side, with a smile and a gorgeous man on her arm.

It's no different in TSOLD. Alice is a bit of a recluse, working on her articles for technical magazines at all hours of the day. She's not good with people, and a good night for her is crawling onto the couch with a good book. Her mum is lovely, but talks and talks and talks, literally non-stop. Her dad is quiet, builds his puzzles and susses the world out from behind quiet eyes. Her sister, Pippi is constantly in a strop and full of raging teenage hormones and is as foreign to Alice as dressing up and going out. Her best friend Liv is getting married and moving away to New Zealand start a new life with her husband and Alice is feeling dejected and miserable, more so than usual.

But it is when a leaflet is delivered promoting the opening of the local stately home to the public that things go both right and awry in Alice's life. She comes up with a mad idea to write an article for a London glossy mag about Eversley Hall, the stately home and much to her surprise, the glossy magazine's editor loves the idea.

Alice heads off to meet the owner of the stately home and within a short space of time, she's offered a role at the house. The home has been restored to its glory from 1814 and the owner, James, had hired skilled actors to work at the house, taking roles as his ancestors but also as the servants who had lived there at that time. Alice jumps at the mad chance to work there, envisioning herself as a grand lady, swanning about in beautiful clothes. However, the role she is offered is that of a lowly kitchen maid but she's so intrigued by it all, she decides to take on the role as research for her article.

Things evolve from there, with her role changing at the stately home from maid to long-lost cousin when James realises Alice is an intriguing and fun person to have around. She follows the script he's set out for everyone but she's quite good at thinking on her feet. Tied in with her new role at the house, she has to cope with her ex-husband, Leo, turning up for Liv's wedding. Alice was sort-of prepared for this eventuality; Liv and Leo are brother and sister after-all but what she's not prepared for is Leo moving into the house she used to share with Liv. And he shows no inclination of moving out either.

Things are complicated by the fact that Alice would far rather live in 1814 as it is far easier to deal with the realities of back then, rather than face her own life. The one good thing that comes from working at the stately home is that she makes friends with the local actors who are working at the house too. She realises just exactly how isolated her life had become, living and writing in the attic till all hours of the night and day. She finds that she enjoys being out with these people, that she is good at talking and laughing. I think that the author shows us through Alice how easy it is to shut out the real world, how easy it is to revel in being solitary and miserable. As Alice finds her feet again, she starts growing more confident and her writing on the magazine's blog shows this. She's deeply funny and soon droves of young women decide to visit Eversley Hall to see who all the characters are that she's writing about, but also about the mysterious owner, James Fitzwilliam whom Alice is slightly in love with.

I have to say, no one writes relationships the way Julie Cohen does. She's not heavy-handed and obvious when she introduces characters. With a few deft turns of phrase she brings secondary characters to life and they stay that way, you know they have lives off the page and aren't there to make the main character look good. And Alice is complex and flawed and charming and funny and one of my favourite characters I've read this year, I'll freely admit. With Leo we have a great flawed hero, full of hang-ups and moods and yet you feel it in your bones that Alice and Leo are meant to be together. Even if Alice refuses to give him the time of day. Their relationship is a difficult one, full of layers that encompass a world of hurt and love. I loved finding out how their story fit together and I tell you, I was reading this when I wasn't feeling remotely well, so I blame my consumption of three pots of tea and working my way through a box of tissues on my illness, rather than sobbing into the pages of my now rather tatty book.

It is a big book, chunky in size, but it didn't feel like it because the writing really does just lift you and carry you off. Take it from someone who spent the entire day on the bed / couch whilst sick with a truly horrific cold: if I can forget about my exploding face and be immersed in Alice's world and fall in love with both James and Leo, the chances are you will easily fall for the whole package too.

Do check out Julie's website and her blog - especially if you are an aspiring writer. Her blogposts are very interesting and full of great advice on plotting, planning, revising, character creation etc. And here is a taster fromThe Summer of Living Dangerously.

MFB Best of 2009 - Liz's Choices

It's been an incredible year, stuffed full of reading goodness and it's been utter hell deciding what to choose for my Best of 09.

But it's been done and I'm listing them in no particular order. Twelve books were chosen, one from each month of my reviews.

• 13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison: I had the chance to read this before a lot of other people and I fell in love with Michelle's writing. I remember nagging S&S for an interview with this debut author whom I have subsequently met. As we speak, her second novel: 13 Curses is lying next to me to finish. She also won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize.
• Stormcaller by Tom Lloyd: I love this book so much. I've not read much epic fantasy this year which I'm very sad about but I can say - hand on heart - that Stormcaller blew me away with its plotting, character development and world-building. Tom Lloyd is an unsung genius and I'd urge you to pick up a copy and fall in love with his writing.
• Thicker than Water by Mike Carey: Wow. As a big fan of Mike Carey and his Felix Castor novels I expected big things from him in Thicker than Water but holy smokes, I did not expect this. Mike took us to places dark and awful and he left us gasping on the precipice as we realised what Fix has to do in the follow-up novels. This was when I realised for reals what a master Mike is when it comes to plotting. And driving his readers nuts.
• If I Stay by Gayle Forman: I think I went through about 2 boxes of Cleanex reading this elegantly written novel about a girl who has the decision before her as she lies broken and torn in a coma: does she stay here with her friends and her grandparents or does she go, move on, to be with her parents and brother in the afterlife? Beautifully written, with style and grace, I felt flattened and uplifted at the same time reading this one. I'd recommend it heartily.
• The Tiger Warrior by David Gibbins: I am a big fan of Mr. G - he writes cracking adventure thrillers and I've been honoured to be included in some email correspondence with him. I've read all his other books, even before I started blogging - yes, I know, back in the dark ages - but this one represents a turning point in his writing and my reading, I think. The novel is a lot more personal, focussing heavily on relationships, friendships and familial responsibility. Not a lot of action thrillers can pull off good character development but The Tiger Warrior did that in spades. If you've not read this genre before, you can do worse than start here.
• Black & White by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge: These two very talented authors got to do something most of us only dream about: write a superhero novel AND pull it off successfully. This copy refers to the copy published over in the States but wait! the UK copy will soon be published here so you get to support them directly. Well written, with interesting main characters, you get drawn into the two MC's quest for the truth and realise that there never is just black or white.
• The Fire King by Marjorie M Liu: ha! Tiny book that blew my socks off. Who knew I could fall so heavily for an author through her writing? Intense and sexy does not begin to describe The Fire King. Set in farflung places the author takes us on a journey so unthinkable it leaves you reeling. I loved it. In fact, it's probably going to turn into one of those books you pick up to read and re-read because it's just so damn good.
• Girl from Mars by Julie Cohen: this was my first ever Little Black Dress book and I have to say, I had reservations! I am not really a girly girl book reader but this pocket-sized book with the cute alien on the front swept me off my feet, showing me that I should for once and all shove my preconceptions in my pocket and just get reading already! Wonderfully quirky, set in the world of graphic novels and other creative types, GFM taught me about friendships and how no matter what, you should always stay true to your dreams. Definitely a big favourite!
• Troubadour by Mary Hoffman: Ms. Hoffman has this remarkable talent as a writer. She writes beautifully, with strong imagery and subtlety. I loved Troubadour so much I gave my hardback copy away to share with the world. Dealing with the Cathars in medieval times, their persecution and the atrocities committed against them, other French citizens and Jews, this slender novel packs a huge punch and had me sniffling into a hanky several times, because of its poignancy.
• Spook's Apprentice by Joseph Delaney: who said that a) children's books can't be scary and b) written in a very mature way? Mr. Delaney blew my socks off with Spook's Apprentice. What struck me most - and this I told his publicity person - is how adult the book seemed to me. There was no molly coddling the main character - the horror of his new position as the Spook's Apprentice was this slow dawning realisation which was handled very well. I loved it so much I got all the other books too and I'm looking forward to working my way through them.
• Hattori Hachi by Jane Prowse: here is the female role model all girls need. Hachi kicks butt and takes no prisoners. I loved her development as a character and the practically insurmountable odds that she overcomes to save the day - but there is always a price. This is Karate Kid for a new generation but so much cooler than Daniel-san could ever have hoped to be.
• The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh - I feel a bit sneaky adding this one in as it's not been released yet but hey, this is my list, okay? Fantastically atmospheric and creepy, The Crowfield Curse asks the question: what would you do if you knew where an angel was buried? Mixing religion, fairies and superstition, this novel has to be read in winter time. In fact, it just has to be read as it is that bloody good!

These are my twelve topmost favourite books of 2009 as reviewed on MFB - I've not looked at reviews I've done elsewhere but as an aside, I'd like to mention another title I thoroughly enjoyed called Age of Ra by James Lovegrove - a grand book, military sci fi for people (like me) who don't usually do military sci-fi.

I think I have been quite lucky this year in that the majority of books I've read have been good / I've been able to see where the author was going and "get" what they were doing. There were some books I let slide after a while because they didn't hold my interest but these are still on my shelves. I'll give these another go to see if I can get into them, if not, off they go to charity shops!

Something I've thought about before but what I've confirmed and discovered in 2009 is that I'm very much a seasonal reader. Darker books for the darker months and lighter books for spring and summer. Is that odd? Do other people do this too?

What does 2010 hold for MFB?

I have no idea. No, I'm kidding. Of course I've got an inkling. I'd like to run more competitions, hopefully more international comps too. I want to concentrate on various genres this year, specifically fantasy as I feel I'm far behind with what's come out this year and looking at catalogues for 2010 we are due a bumper crop of some really good new titles. I'm also going to challenge myself to read sci-fi. I know, I know - please don't laugh at me openly - but I'm going to try. I also want to tackle more non-fiction, some straight contemporary (and maybe literary) fiction. Of course I'll still be championing kids books - all ages, all genres. I love them and can in all honesty say I can probably set up an entire blog dedicated to kids books on their own. Another big thing for me in 2010 will be: graphic novels. I think both Mark and I are keen to get stuck into more of them. We have quite a few but I suspect there is always space for more. There will be interviews and guest blogs too. Oh and "author of the month" events too, watch this space!

I'm not sure about other bloggers/reviewers but 2010 has already started for me. I've already started reading and reviewing books for the new year and it's an odd thing because it completely screws up your perception of Time. I feel a bit Dr. Who but hopefully with better hair. And yes, as for anyone who has actually been to my house, can testify: we do live in the Tardis. Mark should get a job working for the Jenga factory as NO ONE I've met can pack and stack books like he can.

In Jan/Feb Mark and I will be heading off to South Africa for a bit of a holiday. I'll be meeting up with Dave Brendon from Galaxy Reads to talk books and I'm looking forward to meeting my online buddy. It's going to be grand. And yes, there will be incriminating pictures.

To everyone reading this, to my old mates on here, thank you so much for your continued support. You guys have been amazing. To my new friends I've made this year via the blog and Twitter, I'm so pleased that I've had the chance to do so. Stick around for more stuff from us in 2010.

And if there is one wish I can make (get your hankies out!) for 2010 it is for everyone who reads this blog to put a hand in their pocket and to buy at least one book a month from an independent bookseller - if it's online or on your high street. These guys really need our help. Help them thrive so that they don't lose their income and we have somewhere else to hang out and talk books with people who love books as much as we do.

Farewell to 2009 and hello 2010, you beautiful thing!

**Winners of copies of Girl from Mars by Julie Cohen**

A huge congratulations goes to our two winners of one of my favourite books of 2009, Girl from Mars by Julie Cohen:

1. Carol S

and

2. Lorraine P

I've contacted you both by email, so please do let me have your address details so I can forward it onto the peeps at Little Black Dress Books.

We had a lovely reaction to this competition - so thanks to everyone who entered! So glad to see fun romantic novels with a twist is such a hot favourite. I will do my best to bring you more! And as usual, thanks to Random.org for being utterly impartial in our selection of winners. And an even bigger thanks to the peeps at Little Black Dress books for allowing us to run this comp!

Why Geeks Rock by Julie Cohen, author of Girl from Mars

I am so flattered to have Julie Cohen pop by MFB to do a guest blog on writing one of my favourite books of 2009 - Girl From Mars. I cannot urge you enough - if you are a geek in any shape or form - to pick up a copy of this very sweet, very poignant and very true little book. Yes, even the boys will get a kick reading this. Challenge yourself - it is light on romance and chock full of real situations and characters who are fantastic geeky peeps, just like us. Plus, the cover is a must-have for any genre fan's bookshelf.

Thanks for inviting me to guest on your blog, Liz. I’m so glad you enjoyed Girl from Mars! (Review here)

As an author, your books are supposed to be like your children, so it’s probably unfair to have favourites, but I have to say that Girl from Mars is probably the book that’s closest to myself and my own experiences. See, in school I was a geek. I grew up in a small town in the mountains of western Maine, and I was most definitely an oddball there. Like my geeky heroine Fil, I liked dying my hair strange colours and I do believe I was the first kid in my school in the 80s to have pink hair. I was unlike my heroine Fil in that I had quite a few friends, and while she’s an artist, I was geeky about more showoffy things like being in plays and singing and wearing weird clothes that I’d found in secondhand shops. But like Fil, I loved science fiction, and playing Dungeons and Dragons, and reading comics. Because of these interests, I had a lot of male friends. I drew on a lot of this when I was writing the book.

It’s interesting how many people I’ve encountered who say that they were geeks in school, too. Promoting this book has introduced me to lots and lots of fellow comics fans, male and female, and also a lot of people who love role playing games and Star Trek and Dr Who. I’ve had more comments about my photo of me with a Dalek than any other picture on my website, except for the one of a bare-chested Ryan Reynolds carrying an axe. Go figure.

But the sci-fi and the comics and the dyed hair and the D&D are all only the outward signs of being an outsider. And in fact, all of these little fandoms have their own communities and their own lingo and their own codes of conduct.

I think the more important feeling of being an outsider is when you stand in a room and you feel that everyone else knows something you don’t. They know how to dress, and how to act. They don’t have to worry about fitting in. It’s like everyone except for you has been given a rule book, but you never got one because you were in the bathroom or whatever when they were being handed out.

Julie with friend

I remember feeling that quite vividly in high school. I still feel it now. (Actually, these days I feel it more than ever, because being an author requires you to sit in a room with nothing but a computer and your own imagination for long stretches of time, and when you emerge you tend to have forgotten the most basic of social skills.) And—here’s an interesting thing—I’m coming to believe that, in this way, almost everybody has felt, one time or another, like they’re an outsider.
The easiest way of dealing with feeling like a freak is to make yourself a safe little world with people you trust, people who won’t look down on you. That’s what my heroine Fil does. Excluded from girls’ friendships at school, she befriends a bullied nerd named James Lousder (aka “Loser”). Later on, they make friends with quiet giant Digger and timid war-comic artist Stevo. When the four of them are together, they can do just as they like. It’s safe.

There are down sides to this safety, though. For one thing, small intense friendship groups can isolate themselves from reality. Groups are more conservative than individuals. They have their own internal pressures, too—even when they’ve been formed to escape the pressure of other people’s expectations. And they have difficulty adapting to new things, like when one of the group’s members starts a relationship with someone else. I really enjoyed exploring the dynamic of the friendship between Fil and Jim and Digger and Stevo, and though the book is a romance, it’s no mistake that it begins and ends with the friendships.

I think the thing that was the most pure fun about writing Girl from Mars, though, was making up the story for “Girl from Mars”, the comic book that Fil and Dan are working on together. They do six issues, and I outlined every one of them. I made up a backstory for the character Girl from Mars, researched similar comics and how comics in general are created, and basically let my imagination go wild. It’s not often, as an author of contemporary romance, that you get to write about time machines, space stations, Arcturan electricity, and former-lab-assistants-turned-evil-geniuses called Glypto.

Awesome. Especially for a geek like me.

*Competition News*

Julie's truly generous publishers, Little Black Dress Books, have agreed to let us have two copies of this excellent feast of geek and romance to give away - UK entrants only, I'm afraid! So, all you have to do is email us: myfavouritebooksatblogspot(at)gmail(dot)com and put "GIRL FROM MARS" in your subject line. The winner will be decided via Random.org in one week's time - i.e. 9th September. We will then contact you to let you know that you've won and if you could then forward your details to us to send onto LBD Books.

Girl from Mars by Julie Cohen

Synopsis

I, Philomena Desdemona Brown, do solemnly swear to forsake all romantic relationships... It's not like the vow, made by Fil and her three nerdy male best friends, seemed much of a big deal at the time. Frankly, Fil wouldn't know romance if it hit her in the face, and with her real love being her artist job at Girl from Mars, the comic whose heroine has never had a love interest, she doesn't exactly mind being relationship-free anyway. Until her world is rocked to its core when one of her long-standing quartet and Girl from Mars herself both unexpectedly fall in love. Is it time to give in to temptation and finally fall in love?

There is so much to love about this little book from Little Black Dress, a Headline imprint. Firstly, the cover is 100% made out of win - it's quirky, it's fun and utterly encapsulates the coolness of the actual story. Secondly, Julie Cohen's writing is a doddle to read (nom nom nom, burp) and thirdly, Fil, the main character is so genuine, you can't help but relate to her. Oh, and lastly, but very much the not the least, our hero does sound fantastically damaged and lovely, always a good recipe!

Fil is a geek. She's weird, her haircolour changes from platinum blond to purple, pink and blue, when she is in the mood for a change, she hangs around with her three best friends, all male, and she can geek about Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica and numerous other shows with the best of fanboys out there and she also happens to be a comicbook artist, working almost exclusively on Girl from Mars, one of the oldest comics still running since the dawn of time. Well, not really, but it could very well be the case for Fil.

Even though she is a huge comic fan, reading loads and buying loads, her one true love is Girl from Mars and she is incredibly passionate and loyal to GfM. To the extent where she faces off against her boss at the company, when it transpires that the original creator of GfM's grandson has decided to write a script for GfM. Not bad, you would personally think, but it turns out that he's written in a romance for GfM. And Fil is adamant that this is not the way things ought to be done - GfM never falls in love, admittedly she is super sexy and cool and the boys love her, but she never falls in love. She is above that.

Dan, the new blood, has a difficult task coping with Fil. She's opinionated and goes in swinging when she is let loose to meet him and confront him with his rubbish script for GfM. Fil points him to the archives, explaining to him how intense people were about backstory when it comes to favourite comic book characters and if he was going to pull his weight, he had better start stocking up on his knowledge about GfM.

Slowly but surely Fil and Dan become a team. This however means that Fil's relationship with her mates become even more tentative. There is Digger, a large bearded man who is frightening in appearance but a softie at heart and Jim, slightly neurotic and deeply sweet where Fil is concerned. Jim and Fil have known one another for many years and when they graduated, they bought a house together - strictly as friends. Their relationship is strictly platonic and there is a cameraderie there that is so well written that the author should get a huge thumbs up.

We learn that Fil's parents, highly intellectual literary types (quite frightening) don't take her job seriously and feel that she should apply herself to doing commercial art in order to make decent money. The relationship is amusing and strained.

The romance element is very subtle and very cleverly thought out and woven throughout the storyline. There are no heaving bosoms but there is a lot of stuttering, lies and well, someone leaving the other person at an art installation and legging it for the hills. It is laugh out loud funny in some places and cringeworthy and true in others.

I identified with so many of the characters in GfM - the element of feeling the odd one out in the normal world and the feeling that everyone else got a set of rules to grow up to, but somehow you were left out when those rules were handed out, making you a little bit less socially adept.

I went through a gamut of emotions reading GfM and have to admit that I thought Fil was an excellent character - everything she goes through in the novel is so true that I think everyone, both male and female, should be able to identify with her.

The one thing I regret though is that the cover makes this very much a "girl"-book - especially as it would appeal to both sexes. Fil's world is one of science fiction and fantasy, of comic books like 2000AD and discussions about Star Trek and other popular shows and movies. Guys would enjoy Girl From Mars because it is so firmly set in a world that is so familiar to them - the ploy that Fil is the odd one out in a man's world is fantastically underplayed and therefore makes it even more believable.

I loved, loved, loved Girl from Mars, and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Fil, her friends and of course, Dan, who came across as genuinely sweet. If I had to rate it, I would give it a nine - yes, that high, peeps! GfM is definitely highly recommended and has to go into my "best of 2009" reads. And no, it's not just because it mentions my favourite indie shop - Forbidden Planet - either. There is a lot of punch in this light romance novel and what makes it a winner is that its characters - main and secondary - come across so very well. A definite winner and one I'll be talking to everyone I know about for a long time to come.

Find Julie Cohen's website here and the Little Black Dress website here.