Walton Golightly Interview

I was really pleased to receive AmaZulu by Walton Golightly in the post from the amazing girls at Quercus a little while ago. I read the book, loved it and reviewed it (here) and asked Liz how I go about interviewing Walton. We put a request together and through the girls at Quercus we got hold of Walton and discovered that he was more than happy to answer questions for us. I set about putting my first batch of author interview questions together and Walton was kind enough to answer them. Please see the interview below.

Brief Bio

Born in 1966, Walton Golightly is a freelance writer from Durban, KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa)- on the doorstep of what used to be the Zulu Kingdom. He's a film buff with a passion for Spaghetti Westerns, '70s action movies and the films of Jean Luc Goddard. AmaZulu is his first novel. He shares his life with a few thousand books and two dogs. Occasionally the dogs let him sleep on the bed.


I understand that you’re a nine-to-fiver like most of us. How did you find the time to do your research and the writing? What’s your average day like?

Writing has always come first in my life. It’s never been a case of “making time” – it’s always been about finding more time. I’ve never had much patience with those who say that they want to write, that one day they’ll sit down and write that novel they know is inside them. Gimme a break. You’re either writing or you’re not.

As for the research, that slotted into my normal reading.

Zulu the first book you’ve had published –how does it feel to see your work on a bookshelf?

Stunned. Still find myself looking at a copy and thinking “Hey! It looks just like a real book!”

What was your reaction when you got the call/email telling you it was being published?

Disbelief. Terror. Received an email telling me to expect a phone call the “next day.” So things were still up in the air. I mean, they could’ve been phoning to tell me “nice one, please try again.” Which is a rejection however you look at it. Still, despite everything, it didn’t escape me that, not for the first time in my life, there I was anxiously waiting for one, specific woman to call me. Although, unlike most of those other times, this was definitely worth the wait! And the pacing.

How do you plan your work- do you plan each chapter in advance, or do you let the story evolve as you write?

Too much planning and I lose interest. Feel as if I’ve written the bloody thing already. But I need to have the plot clear in my mind (and that includes the characters). That is I need to know where I’m headed. And I have several unfinished pieces, some 50 000 or so words long, where I’ve, er, literally lost the plot.

Is there a single event that inspired Zulu? How did the idea come about?

No single event. It’s just that these are the stories you grow up with out here.

As for the spark… For a short while I toyed with rewriting King Solomon’s Mines from Umbopa’s perspective. But all that would’ve boiled down to was a critique of colonialism and “white writing” – talk about flogging a dead horse. Plus it meant re-reading Haggard, an ordeal I just couldn’t face. Better to leave Allan Quartermain with Alan Moore, eh?

At any rate, one thing led to another and we have Amazulu.

Did you struggle to write from any of the characters points of view?

Not really. The most daunting was Shaka, and when I was happy with the way I was portraying him that’s when I knew the concept would work.

Shaka’s training regime for his army has been likened to that of the Spartans. What do you make of the comparison?

It’s fair enough. What’s more interesting to me, though, is the fact that shortly after Shaka’s death he was being called the “Black Napoleon.” Since he was being called such by English it was clearly not meant as a compliment. But the comparison is more apt than they probably realized. Both rulers had a lasting impact on their “tribe,” one that’s felt to this day, yet both were also capable of atrocities and nearly destroyed their respective “countries.”

Even more interesting, Napoleon went around saying things like “I spend 30 000 men a month,” yet Shaka’s seen as the “savage.”

If you had a chance to ask Shaka one question, what would it be?

Nothing. There’s the Shaka of Amazulu and the Shaka of history – and let’s not let the facts stand in the way of a good story. Besides, facts rarely give you the truth. And in the sequel I intend to explore the controversial theory that Shaka had no brothers and sisters, was born of a virgin and was indeed the Son of God.

The book will be called Dhlamini’s Code.

Then again maybe not.

Amazulu is the first of a trilogy. What do we have to look forward to in the next two instalments?

Firstly, from early on this was always going to be a trilogy. Basically, Book I follows Shaka’s rise to power and ends with his descent into madness. At another level it plays with the legend, seeking to reinterpret the key events and present a more realistic Shaka. And a more realistic look at the Zulus at this time. One which ought to challenge a few misconceptions.

Er. And despite all of this, Shaka isn’t the main character.

Book II will show how Shaka consolidates his power and deals with the coming of the whites. Which, incidentally, means more humour, with history writing the script, as these weren’t the smartest, most industrious exemplars of Empire (then again, neither were they the cruelest or most vicious).

At that other level, meanwhile, we begin to challenge or – dare I say it – deconstruct the legend, presenting other ways of seeing.

And despite all of this, Shaka still isn’t the main character.

As for the third installment, I myself will be quite interested to see what that’s going to be about.

What has the reaction been like in South Africa, particularly in Kwazulu-Natal?

Reviews – and sales – have been gratifying, thanks in large part to the hard work done by Kwela, my SA publishers. As for KZN in particular… I could mention the halfwit on a local Web site who feels it’s acceptable to review a book without having read it, but I won’t.

What do you read in your time off?


Phew. Here goes… Colin Cotterill. Martin Cruz Smith. Michael Pearce. Elmore Leonard. John D MacDonald. Ross McDonald. Swen Hassell. Ian Rankin (just finished Exit Music). Thomas Pynchon. Vladimir Nabokov. John LeCarre. Terry Pratchett. George MacDonald Fraser. Bernard Cornwell. Kathy Reichs. Christopher Priest. Philip K Dick. James Ellroy. Etc. Etc.


Amazulu is available to purchase on Amazon, Waterstones.com, Play.com, WHSmith and from Quercus directly, as well as all other good bookstores.

Note: Images appear courtesy of:
http://photos.igougo.com/images/p155393-Kwa-Zulu_Natal-Drakensberg.jpg
http://www.britishbattles.com/zulu-war/isandlwana/zulu3.jpg

Free Swagg!

Remember the pic I took of Cassandra Clare's new book?

It all started off because of her LJ where she mentioned that selected Starbucks branches have free introductory copies of various books to give away, as part of the National Year of Reading campaign. I ran up to my Starbucks on Piccadilly but they didn't have any copies of these so I came back to the office and rang up their head office to find out which branches had them in stock.

I got to chat with the most amazingly helpful chap who listened to me witter on about books, Cassandra Clare, the site etc. and somewhere along the line he decided that the easiest way to shut me up was to send me whatever I wanted. So behold this morning I received bucket load of book related swagg!

We have taster copies of the following three books, all published by the amazing Walker Books:

• The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness


• City of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare


• The Penalty, by Mal Peet

Please email me over at myfavouritebooksatblogspot@googlemail.com and I will send you a copy of each of these, along with the amazing postcard advertising Kat Richardson's book Underground, illustrated by the the talented Chris McGrath.

I do have a limited amount of these to send out - so please note that it will be a first come, first served basis. But please, I don't want to not send these out, so even if you are in the outer reaches of Mongolia, I'm prepared to post them onto you for reading enjoyment.

Natasha Mostert Guest Blog and Interview

Here is the lovely interview Natasha Mostert agreed to do for me. Her newest paperback: Season of the Witch has just been released through Bantam. Natasha's website is here and this is her Myspace page.

How do you cope with having two publishers – one in the UK and one in the States – without losing the plot?

Sometimes I don’t just lose the plot, I lose my marbles! Seriously, it can be a challenge if you are published on both sides of the ocean by different publishing houses. Both my editors are excellent at what they do, but they edit the manuscript independently from each other and according to their own vision. I end up receiving two sets of notes and I have to find common ground. The last thing I want is for two widely differing novels to appear under the same title! But even when I try my hardest, I know the two manuscripts will end up showing small, but quite significant differences.

This is the case with Season of the Witch as well. If you buy the book in the States, you will have a slightly different reading experience than if you buy it in England. British editors tend to be more gloomy and American editors more chirpy. American editors like the hero to be victorious; British editors like them to suffer stoically. The author, who is stuck in the middle, has to tread carefully.

What do you get up to before you start any of your novels? For example, do you research before or during your writing?

I tend to do the biggest chunk of my research before I type the words Chapter One. This is when I go into wikipedia mode – moving indiscriminately from link to link on the internet and seeing where the research leads me. During this period I also read more non-fiction books than I care to remember. But there is never a time when I draw a line under the research and say: enough. It continues right up to the end and even beyond. I’m working on the edits of my new book at the moment and I still find myself researching!

Are your characters fully formed once you sit down to write and do you allow them a bit of freedom to do their own thing or do you plan each novel rigorously and force them to behave?

I’m a disciplined writer. My novels are planned to the last chapter otherwise I know I’ll write myself into a corner. But my characters are usually larger-than-life and they are feisty and difficult and temperamental. I know them inside out once I start writing, but they still manage to surprise me. Very often they’ll insist on taking off in a direction I had not planned for them. But that’s what keeps the buzz going and stops the writing from becoming stale and predictable.

You mention either carrot or stick as motivation for writing but do you ever go through an afternoon or a day that you would rather be kickbox against Jet Li than write?

This is a trick question, right? If I have a choice between sparring with Jet Li or sweating at my keyboard, believe me I’ll go for the flying kicks!

Writing is hard work! And not as much fun as people may think. Once the manuscript is finished it is the most wonderful feeling imaginable but sitting in front of your computer six to seven hours every day with only your own thoughts as company can be tremendously draining.

On the other hand, I am like most writers and would be desperately unhappy if I didn’t get to write every day. As one anonymous writer said: “I have to write, even if it is only a suicide note!”

Do you listen to a lot of music when you write and similarly are any of your scenes influenced by any music scores?

I won’t be able to write without music. In fact, I won’t be able to live without it: music is oxygen. Hans Zimmer’s soundtracks are fantastic background music for writing, as is the music of Shahin and Sepher. My mother is a voice coach for opera singers and opera is one of my passions. And then there is Loreena McKennit: she sings the way I wish I could write.

Who is the most famous person you have met in your writing career?

Stephen King. He kissed me! I met him at The Edgars Convention in New York and we started talking about Season of the Witch. Not that he had read my book, but he could hardly have failed to notice the T-shirt I was wearing. Emblazoned across my chest were the words “Prepared to be seduced”. I’m all for subtlety in my stories but when it comes to publicity…Anyway, the darling man not only signed a copy of Lisey’s Story for me, but also kissed my cheek. I didn’t wash my face for a week.

What was the very first thing you did when you found out you are to be a published author?

Called my husband. Called my mother. Called my aunt. Called all my friends. Called people I hardly knew. I think I may have stopped perfect strangers in the street.

Do you have a ritual that you do once you’ve completed each book?

I open a bottle of wine and force my long-suffering husband to listen to choice tidbits from my new manuscript.

The timeframe of 18 months that you mention on your various blogs, to complete your books, are these times you set for yourself or are they only “mental” timeframes and do you allow yourself leeway?

They are very much linked to contract deadlines. If a publisher gives you a contract, there will be a very strict time limit and you miss that deadline at your peril. A publisher will usually grant an author either a year in which to come up with a finished product, or two years. I’m a two year writer – I usually finish in eighteen months, but I like to give myself six months of elbow room.

Can you give us a hint of what to expect in your next book Dragonfly?

I am sad to say the book will no longer be called Dragonfly. I am not happy about this but my publishers have the final say and both editors – UK and US – thought the story should be retitled. The book is now tentatively titled The Book of Light and Dust and is a suspense novel about martial arts, quantum physics, tattoos, sweaty men and chi (the vital energy, which the Chinese believe to flow through our bodies.) Now, does that not pique your curiosity?

Authors are sometimes recorded as saying that writing is a very lonely job. Do you make sure you go out to meet up with friends and family once you’ve started a new piece of work or do you hide from the world?

I pretty much go into a cave when I write but I like to keep my evenings free for my husband. And some weekends I do meet up with friends. But during the week I follow a boring routine. I write six to seven hours a day and try to turn off the light at ten so I can be fresh when I get up at 5.30. And then I have my kickboxing: I’ll be lost without it. Apart from the cathartic aspect of it, it is amazing what good friends you become with people who trade blows with you on a regular basis!

Do you get to have a say on any of your book covers?

As with the title, my contract states that I need to be consulted on this decision. In practice, though, it means my publisher has the final vote. I’m allowed to moan – and believe me, I do -- but in the end, I’m not the one who gets to say yeah or nay. This is a big bone of contention between author and publisher and can make for a lot of friction.

Any favourite TV shows or DVD’s that you make time to watch?

Even though I don’t get much time to watch, I like TV – although I know that’s a terrible thing for an author to admit. I love James Woods – great timing – and will watch Shark if it’s on. I like Numbers – I think the math geek is a hottie -- and I love Firefly and Inspector Morse. (The soundtrack of the Inspector Morse series is another favourite when I write.) When I can’t sleep, I watch cage fights on Bravo or on Men and Motors. I am a big Randy Couture fan and am very sad he has retired.

I laughed out loud when I read about your book signing that took place in Borders at Oxford Street. Have things improved since?

No, publicity events are always dicey. You never know if you are going to have two people in the audience or twenty. And sometimes people will get belligerent. My big problem is my terrible memory. By the time the publicity events roll around, I’m already knee-deep into the next manuscript and can hardly remember the name of the hero in the previous book. This can make for an adventurous evening.

It is very clear that you read widely and enjoy doing your own research. Do you ever find yourself getting lost in your research and struggle to get back into your writing?

Research is both potion and poison: I love the research part and because the topics I write about are esoteric and complex, I need to spend time familiarising myself with the material. But I have to take care not to allow myself to be carried away or I'll never get going. It is a struggle.

Do you have any favourite genres that you read in? Horror, fantasy, urban fantasy, literary fiction, etc?

I do not discriminate. I read everything from Cormac McCarthy to manga.

Do you think you are superstitious?

I don’t throw salt over my shoulder and I’ll happily live on the thirteenth floor of an apartment building. But I grew up in South Africa and my nanny was a Zulu woman who introduced me to African mysticism and the world of the isangoma (witch doctors). She definitely sharpened my awareness of things that are not easily explained: synchronicities, coincidences, those small ripples that hint at something hiding behind the dusty curtain of everyday living. It influenced my way of thinking.

What is the strangest thing you do when you write – discounting melting cheese in the microwave, that is!

Does talking to myself in the mirror count? Or does everyone do that?

Do you have any favourite authors / literary heroes?

I am totally captivated by Jorge Luis Borge. He is a literary magician who plays with his reader's mind, taking you down labyrinthine paths, bringing you in confrontation with doppelgangers and teasing you with artefacts from strange exotic places: strange one-sided discs from which a king derives his power, a frightening book that infinitely multiplies its own pages, incomplete manuscripts that tell of stories in the land of immortals. A brilliant, melancholy and elusive voice.

Any books / websites that you find invaluable whilst writing?

I suppose I always start off with Wikipedia, although I do take care to check the facts independently as well. And then there is my trusty Roget’s Thesaurus – my favourite book in the world.

How would you sell Season of the Witch to a customer should you be a bookseller in a bookshop?

If the customer looks hip and funky:

“ You have to read this book! The characters are two beautiful sisters who live in Chelsea, London, do bungee jumping, practise witchcraft and pose in the nude. You’ll love it!”

If the customer looks serious and intellectual:

“You have to read this book! It takes on big themes: love, death, alchemy and the power of the human mind to transform and transcend reality. You’ll love it!”

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

When you write, switch your internal editor to mute and just write. If you second guess yourself constantly, you’ll block your creative energy. Don’t give up. And don’t take yourself too seriously. Remember what G.K. Chesterton said: “Angels fly because they take themselves lightly…”

Season of the Witch has just been released through Bantam and you can buy directly from their website or from Amazon or Waterstones.com.

I received an extra copy of Season of the Witch from Bantam - thanks chaps! - and would like to offer it as a giveaway. I'll let the competition run for the week. Respond to this post with a favourite book or author, of any genre, and I will do a random lucky draw at the end of the week, week ending 18th July. Remember to check back for the notification of the winner!

Careless by Anne Cassidy

Synopsis

As Chloe Cozens mourns the death of her mother, Lesley, teenage 'delinquent' Nicky Nelson experiences quite a different emotion towards her, his social worker, the one person he thought he could rely on when everyone else had let him down. Lesley Cozens wrote Nicky a letter before she died, the contents of which the reader does not know until much later in the novel, but the letter triggers a rage in Nicky that could have had tragic consequences if Chloe had not got involved. When Nicky begins hanging around Chloe's house with a mixture of curiosity and anger that she has had a happy life compared with his, he is prepared to hate her, but instead the two of them form a strange kind of bond. Chloe is her mother's daughter, and finds herself wanting to help Nicky find his real mother, the one who abandoned him at birth. Ironically, the clues she pieces together about what happened lead her back to her mother's home town, and to her childhood friend, Sonia, who is keeping a painful secret of her own. She is Nicky's mother. Chloe finds comfort in helping Nicky, a boy who is almost like a brother in that her own mother looked out for him for so long, and Nicky discovers that sometimes you have to trust in people in order to move on and build a life...

Careless is powerful story written by Anne Cassidy, a Carnegie shortlisted author who reveals an affinity for writing expressively about modern day teenagers and situations that have even adults reeling.

Careless deals with the subjects of loss and trust and how one single act can change a person's life beyond measure.

I found the book to be beautifully written but struggled to like the damaged character Nicky at first. His actions really disturbed me quite a bit, which is probably why the author spent time in creating him in such detail.

He is indeed a very troubled teenager and some of the things he did really did worry me - there were signs of obsession and destructive behaviour and acts of pure spite on his behalf.

Chloe, like Nicky, was well thought out and the perfect foil for his scary behaviour. Her grief at the death of her mother is quite touching and real. She meets Nicky when she collects her mother's goods at the Home he stays in. He helps her and they chat a bit. An awkward half-friendship is formed. If I were honest, I would have run a mile if I had been Chloe as she met Nicky, but she is clearly made of stronger stuff than me and she displays her mother's good hearted intentions and it shows in her empathy to Nicky.

Their relationship is a dysfunctional one, one that ends before it even starts. He is ready to hate Chloe from the word "go" but fails to do so because he senses her innate goodness. This startles him and he becomes fixated on her for a while.

The book isn't saccharine and the characters are raw - and this is where the strength of the book lies.

I would have liked for the book to go on a bit more, to find out how Nicky's meeting goes right at the very end, but I suppose the author left the characters at the right spot, leaving you to complete the story.

Careless is a novel written with skill and understanding by an author who clearly appreciates the wild and contradictory nature of teenage emotions. It left me reflecting on how choices, even ones with the best of intentions, could change someone's world.

Season of the Witch, Natasha Mostert

Synopsis

Gabriel Blackstone has an unusual talent. A computer hacker by trade, he is also able to enter the minds of others. But he uses his gift only reluctantly - until he is contacted by an ex-lover who begs him to find her step-son, last seen months earlier in the company of two sisters. And so Gabriel visits Monk House, a place where time seems to stand still, and where the rooms are dominated by the coded symbol of a cross and circle. As winter closes in, Gabriel becomes increasingly bewitched by the house, and by its owners, the beautiful and mysterious Monk sisters. But even as he falls in love, he knows that one of them is a deadly killer. But which one? And what is the secret they are so determined to protect?

Season of the Witch is an adept piece of chilling storytelling that competently mixes subjects such as remote viewing, magic, alchemy, parapsychology and the quest for ancient knowledge into a heady concoction of expert storytelling.

I enjoyed Season of the Witch because of pure and intelligent storytelling and the creation of its two intriguing female characters, the sisters Monk with the fantastical names of Minnaloushe and Morrighan.

Gabriel is asked by an ex-flame of his to please try and find her stepson who had gone missing. He was known to have been involved with the two exotic older women. Gabriel is at first not particularly keen to help but as the story develops we learn that he is probably the best person to do so as he has a strange set of skills.

In his youth he had trained as a remote viewer. Something I had heard of before (who hasn't watching X Files!) but have not really encountered it before in a book. I found the various concepts hugely fascinating and sat back to enjoy all the threads coming together as the story developed.

Gabriel’s current job was not entirely legitimate and he works freelance as an electronics information hacker – both these skills help him infiltrate the very interesting lives of the two sisters and he finds himself intrigued by both of them. He becomes very close to them, spending a lot of time with them at their beautiful home - Monk House - and escorting them around town. The author portrays the two sisters so well that it is easy to see how Gabriel becomes so intrigued by these extraordinary women who live their lives with such gusto.

There is a breathlessness about Season that is reflected in the way the story unfolds. You know you are rushing towards this tremendous climax and you are helpless in the grip of the novel, simly knowing something momentous is going to happen.

I was not at all disappointed by the ending of the story and derived a sense of “job well done” satisfaction from it and really wished Gabriel the best at the end.

There is a lot of information to sift through in the novel but it doesn’t make for clunky reading. The author has a deft easy touch with her descriptions and I found myself doing research on the side into the various subjects the sisters are so keen on. A lot of this is discussed on Natasha’s site, so do feel free to visit them here.

I have got a very interesting blog to follow on from the review by Natasha and a mini competition for a copy of the paperback of Season of the Witch.

We have a winner!

No, it is not me in the photo.

We have a winner in the competition the newly agented, talented and all-round good girl Karen Mahoney ran on my site as part of her interesting and fun guest blog (here).

The Winner:

Brian Ohio

Congratulations Brian! Remember to stop jumping up and down and to make sure you let Karen have your snailmail address.

The Cairo Diary by Maxim Chattam

We have a very interesting set of stories in The Cairo Diary by Maxim Chattam (Pan Publishers) and as I found myself reading it, I desperately wanted to be back in Cairo, feeling the sun beating down and walking those ancient streets where shadows can be so dark that anything can lurk in them.

The story is set in modern day France as well as 1928 Cairo. I found myself easily slipping into the storyline, intrigued by the main character Marion and wondering exactly what she had done to deserve being sent to the remote religious community of Mont St Michel in France for her own safety. The story slowly but surely unravels like a ribbon and equally cleverly folds back on itself to open new links and ideas.

Marion, whilst helping one of the brothers from the religious community catalogue parts of a library, stumbles across a handwritten diary by a young Englishman called Matheson who had been posted to Cairo in the late 1920's where he led an investigation into the murders of young Egyptian children. The murders are so brutal and shocking that no one involved in the case can help but feel something supernatural was involved.

Through Marion unfolding her own story and the mystery of Mont St Michel, we progress the story of the Cairo Diary. The two stories are well crafted and fit together quite well. The locations used in the book are beautifully described and I for one am planning to visit Mont St Michel - I am sure the image I have built in my head of it after reading the book is totally incorrect, but like in Kate Mosse's Labyrinth it is a case of luring the reader into examining, questioning and visiting.

I can wholeheartedly say that the settings used in the Cairo part of the story are as I remember them - the necropolis is a hugely scary place, it is easy to conjure up monsters lurking in the dark. Importantly it gives you that sense of being there in that hot sun with the sand and the cry calling the faithful to prayer or in Marion's case, sitting in the window of her cottage as the storms lash the Mont.

Admittedly there are a very few places where the conversations and descriptions feel stilted, but then I think it is because it has been translated from its native French into English and some parts don't flow quite as well as it should, but trust me when I say, even these very few problems are no hardship and they do not detract from the storytelling.

The storytelling is of a conversational sort - it is unpretentious and flows fast, making good use of chapters and paragraphs breaks, varying both in length and impact with naturally, a few cliffhangers.

The Cairo Diary is a gripping thriller mystery with two strong plots led by unusual characters who never seem to vie for the reader's attention as the story develops. It is a satisfying read and it is highly recommended for a read by the beach, whilst lazing about in the sun or, if the mood strikes you, huddled in a cottage somewhere with rain pounding on the windows and waves crashing on the shore in the distance. It is atmospheric enough to carry you away regardless of your place of reading.

Surprises!

Allow me my soapbox to gush and philosophise for a few moments here.

I love and adore getting things in the post - yes, even bills. As a little child I used to post colourful postcards to myself at home whilst we were on holiday, purely for the thrill of getting something in the post when we return from holiday.

I am happy to say I don't have to do that anymore. I'm all grow'd up and people send me things, even though I might be ordering it from Waterstones.com or from Foyles. Or, indeed, have lovely publishers sending me treasures in the post, which to be honest, I don't think will ever ever ever get old.

Two books arrived this week, amongst the stacks, which completely took me by surprise and I am absolutely thrilled by them. I am careful not to gush less the other books feel left out for not being singled out for special treatment, but their time will come. These two extra special books deal with two of my favourite things of all time.

Firstly, we have the absolute classic of The Princess Bride by William Goldman, first published in1973. Yep. This book is as old as moi.

Bloomsbury has republished it, with a fantastically vibrant new retro pulp-like cover. Have you seen anything cooler? It is available from August this year and in my opinion would make a fantastic Christmas pressie for kids as well as adults. And also, it looks so much cooler than the better known cover which can be found here. Plus, you can read the book and then love the movie even more.

As an aside: I didn't realise that William Goldman was the man behind both the book and the screenplay of the movie with the same name. He also wrote the screenplay for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Small world, eh?

Second item of great thrill this morning was this illustrated graphic novel by Luis Scalati simply called Dracula, published by Bloody Books. The illustrations are eerie and atmospheric whilst the prose is spare and conjures strong imagery, for instance:

She closes her eyes and gives herself up to the mighty turmoil to which she is subjected.

You don't just write stuff like this, you graft it. I'm not familiar with any of Luis's other works, which is a pity as he has done some other very interesting bits.

Paging through this unique book makes me realise the scope of the canvas artists and writers have at their disposal. The reworkings of age-old myths and legends, conjuring up new ones for the next generation...it makes you a bit dizzy really, this whole idea of that I'm sitting here chatting to and reviewing various writers' work who one day might very well be the next Shakespeare, or Marlowe (let's not get into arguments here about them being the same person) or choose any other legendary author whom you feel kinship to.

The concept is quite dizzying. I think we sometimes forget about the future. We work, we think up stories, we go about our daily bits and pieces, one step at a time but do you ever think that someone you might know well or even casually might one day be famous, or better yet, infamous?

Who knows if Suzanne MacLeod who's book is soon to be published by Gollancz is going to be the next JK Rowling? Or if Kate Cann's books will be made into a Gossip Girl type of series? Or if Sarah Singleton's work will be filmed by someone as awe inspiring as Guilermo del Toro? Or if Karen Mahoney's going to be picked up for a massive publishing deal for her series and rival someone like LKH?

The possibilities are endless and I'm really thrilled to be playing my tiny part in the deus ex machina.

But! enough philosophising from my part. The key message here is: yay! to the very pretty shiny new books which open whole new worlds and which has made one of the darkest weeks turn into something akin to frosting on a cake.

A big thanks to all the lovely publishers and authors who support MFB.

Gladiatrix, Russell Whitfield

This book was bought for me as a bribe by one of the colleagues that I worked with - I had to help out on an urgent report. And I have to say I am glad I was bribed!

What an absolutely rollickingly good read.

I am a massive fan of historical adventure stories in the ilk of Bernard Cornwell, Simon Scarrow, Louis L'Amour, Conn Iggulden and Tim Severin. And from now on, that litany of names will have a new name added to it: Russell Whitfield.

Synopsis

Sole survivor of a shipwreck off the coast of Asia Minor, Lysandra finds herself the property of Lucius Balbus, owner of the foremost Ludus for female gladiators in the Eastern Empire.

Lysandra, a member of an ancient Spartan sect of warrior priestesses, refuses to accept her new status as a slave. Forced to fight for survival, her deadly combat skills win the adoration of the crowds, the respect of her Lanista, Balbus, and the admiration of Sextus Julius Frontinus, the provincial governor.

But Lysandra’s Spartan pride also earns her powerful enemies: the Dacian warrior, Sorina, Gladiatrix Prima and leader of the Barbarian faction, and the sadistic Numidian trainer Nastasen.

When plans are laid for the ultimate combat spectacle to honour the visit of the new Consul, Lysandra must face her greatest and deadliest trial.

Lysandra's character is so well portrayed - she is haughty, self-assured, arrogant and works really well in this setting. Being a Spartan is so much more to her than being able to endure a life of hardship. It is getting to grips with whatever life throws at you and getting on with it, and being a success at it.

I really enjoyed reading it and there are some instances where Lysandra is the most arrogant pigheaded person and you literally want to throw the book aside but then, undersanding where she comes from, along with the barbaric nature of the times, you can appreciate her actions. And you read on because it is such an awesome storyline.

The book is a bit shaky, at first, to be honest. But then the author finds his feet and you are carried along at a tremendous pace. There are a lot of very grand sweeping scenes, the very first battle scene for instance, and this is used to ground the reader and show them exactly what this story is about. It is then that the author's writing skills comes to the fore. He's established his main character and works in the other secondary characters and plots.

The settings are all chosen to display these characters to their best, even when they are the baddies, and I seriously found myself exhausted after some of the scenes. It is a good writer that can put you in the middle of a battle or fight and then, at the end, leave you gasping and thinking - wish that could be seen in real life.

I would highly recommend this book if you like adventure stories, historical novels in the ilk of the names mentioned above and if you were a fan of Gladiator, Troy, Alexander (the gods save us) and 300.

I've heard that Gladiatrix II is on the way - so do keep an eye out for that!

The Amethyst Child, Sarah Singleton

AMBER LACKS FLAIR AND ORIGINALITY OF THOUGHT TO BE AN OUTSTANDING STUDENT OF ENGLISH.

Big ugly words scrawled in a journal highlights so much of the pain of main character in The Amethyst Child by well established and favourite Sarah Singleton.

In The Amethyst Child, we meet Amber - a fourteen year old teenager, highly creative, fond of daydreams, preferring her own company to those of people she just doesn't "get". She's maybe a bit goth on the inside, but not on the outside. She seems to live past her very down to earth and real parents who believe in goodness and light. Her dad loves Dire Straits, her mom is strong and steady and looks after everyone when she's not working in a jewellery store. They live in a newly built area and it is easy to imagine the town, the school, Amber's disillusion with her family and her own life and her helplessness. She finds solace by reading and writing but it's Summer holidays and Amber is bored.

Then she meets Dowdie who lives on a commune close by called the Community and her life takes a dramatic change. Dowdie is wild and searingly bright when compared to Amber's muted tones. She experiences Dowdie in technicolour and sees herself as monochrome. But somehow, they fit. Together they make a whole. They become steadfast friends, spending lots of time together. They visit the Community and Amber becomes smitten with the seemingly carefree lifestyle of those who belong to the Community. Then she meets James, the person who runs the Community and initially all goes well. Amber is told about the Amethyst Children, the children who will lead the world in the future. The Amethyst Children are people who are creative, instinctive, they do not get along well with others and they have inherent powers and skills so much needed when the time comes. And the time will be here shortly because society will fail and the need for the Amethyst Children will be dire. And both Amber and Dowdie are two of these Amethyst Children who needs special care and attention because on their shoulders rests tomorrow.

I loved Sarah Singleton's prose. We have a fantastic narrator in Amber. We experience her seemingly dull and ordinary life and sense her talent and her fears for the future for herself, her parents and the world in general. She is highly intuitive and such an easy target for Dowdie and James as she desperately craves - like we all do - that extra bit of attention, to be told she is special and needed. As she gets more closely dragged into the web of the Community and becomes closer to James and Dowdie, my heart ached for her. The story spins along beautifully with parts told in the present, then the past, as Amber tells the Police about this mysterious event to which she was witness to and it isn't until quite far into the book that you start to comprehend the exact magnitude of what it could be that had happened.

As a counter-foil to James and Dowdie's fiery beliefs, we have the fantastically sober and beautifully rendered Johnny who styles himself as a "emo fag". Tremendously talented, he would love to be a photographer but has his own issues with his parents, the system, school, the games people play. He is the sane voice, the voice that tries talking sense into Amber, to make her see sense. But things are very shaky.

I don't know how the author managed to hit that exact spot which I so distinctly remember as a teen when life felt both so hopeless and impossibly grand at the same time. She writes with poetic skill and such understanding that the characters never veer off into BBC stock teenagers. The book is genuinely unputdownable. The characterisations are brilliant and there is a lot of thoughtful conversation and insights from both Johnny and Amber about life, family and friends. It is a very grown up book and it makes no apologies for using very mature concepts and ideas and relaying them through these teens. Personally I think this is not just something that should be read by teens but by adults of all ages.

What is important is that the book and Amber comes a full circle. It started with Amber sitting on a bridge over the river, staring at its waters, as someone not part of the world, but observing it. We leave Amber taking the plunge into the water, having pocketed her fears, experiencing life.

The Amethyst Child is not really a book that you read as much as experience. It is an absolutely gripping book which I would highly recommend reading for Sarah Singleton's deft touch with the poetic pen, vibrant characterisation and for her pure unadulterated storytelling skill.

School's Out, Scott Andrews

"It's never easy being fifteen, but when your teachers are killing each other, the prefect who loves to bully you is experimenting with crucifixion, and the rival gang from across town have decided that ritualistic cannibalism is the way to go, spots and BO don't seem like such big problems after all.

These are the final days of St Marks School For Boys, and the punishment for disobedience is death!"


School’s Out is part of Abaddon’s ‘The Afterblight Chronicles’, a series set in the aftermath of an apocalyptic plague that has wiped out everyone without a specific blood group.

School’s Out is told from the perspective of Lee Keegan, a teenage schoolboy who’s thrown into the chaos and uncertainty of this dark and dangerous new world.

Abaddon has certainly lived up to their tagline of Extreme Action! Aggressive excitement! Excessive adventure! There’s an abundance of action from the start as Lee is forced to fight to survive, to kill or be killed. He’s no Rambo though; I really felt for what he was going through, as he tries to hold on to the basic tenets of decency while the world curdles around him and he’s forced to face up to the new reality and make some hard choices.

School’s Out was out and out fun to read. It does what it says on the box, delivering a chunky dose of action, adventure and violence, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a really likeable character and solid premise under all the blood and fury. If the rest of the series is as good we’re in for a treat!

The Lady Of the Shelves

I woke up this morning with the urge to tidy. And the biggest task to tackle was that of my various bookshelves and the hordes of books that have grown up in these little piles under the coffee table in the lounge, on the chest next to the couch, infront of my guitars, next to the tv and the speakers for the surround sound. In fact, I had this sense that Mark was about to rake at his hair in despair and using his DND Manual create a room of holding of some sort that existed in the never-never. He likes things tidy. I thrive in chaos. We compromise when it comes to the shelves.

I've already had a culling a few weeks ago with the culled books going to a school fete that was held locally. This allowed me some space for the new books that had arrived from my lovely publishers. The books that went to the fete were much loved, I regretted seeing them go, but I knew that I've had the majority of them for a long old time (three to five years) and I have not re-read them so they all needed a new home. If our house was bigger, one room would be filled with books and I would have professionals in to do the shelves and such.

However, back to the chaos: let the picture show begin!

My treasure from Orbit - thanks Sam! - the newest Lilith Saintcrow book which arrived a few weeks ago and which I devoured ravenously. Yum, tasty!

The two bookshelves in the corner and the most recent arrivals, partly seen, packed on the couch, waiting to be allocated space.

Ah yes, the haphazzard bookcase which has our travel journals, some historical fiction and non-fiction piled in there, along with all of Mark's Warhammer and Abaddon books.

Closer view of the newbies looking for a home. I think I should become a puzzle maker. I managed to fit them all on the open shelf space and on the chest. By publisher. *beams*

Woot! My copy of Fire Study - not yet released in the UK - a lovely treasure which Maria V Snyder sent me because I forwarded a UK magazine onto her which had a review of Magic Study in it - fortunately for me but unfortunately for her, she could not buy the magazine online. Also note my collection of Sharon Shinn books, and you can just see the title of Kelley Armstrong's Bitten. And there, ontop of them all, the gods themselves, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens - signed by Terry Pratchett when he visited South Africa about...nine or ten years ago. Actually, I just checked it...it was in 1996! Yikes.

Some of graphic novels - yes, the pic is a bit blurred from me being shaky - with 300 by Frank Miller and illustrated by Lynn Varley being the most prominent. I couldn't fit my massive Sandman in and when I tried, I shook too much. Sorry.

Shiny new books from Solaris and the Black Library. I love Simon R Green.

Just visible is Sam Enthoven's excellent Black Tattoo - I get to do an interview with him soon! Watch this space. Also just visible are my Rob Thurman books. Hmmm Cal and Niko...tasty!

My hugely untidy non-fiction shelf packed full of books on myths, legends, witchcraft, tarot, runes, wicca, paganism, christianity, kaballah and various other religions and other esoteric books. Visible is my beautiful yew wand made by the amazing John Vickery of Wistman's Wands on Dartmoor. And no, I do not delusions of Harry Potter! There is something tremendously primal and mystical about these carved pieces of wood that makes you want to touch them, it is thrilling. The yew wand has a hidden compartment and it is crammed full of pieces of quartz and amethysts.

Ah. The room we do not talk about. The world's tiniest bedroom which houses Mark's monstrous computer, my delapidated homebuilt computer and one large bookshelf crammed to the brim with writers reference books, screenplay books, old Bookseller and Writing magazines, baby names books, dictionaries and hats.

My much loved, much read copy of War of the Oaks. Emma Bull writes the way Loreena McKennit sings.

The Man with the Golden Torc - it arrived yesterday from the States! How pretty, eh?

The guitars waiting to be put back in their home. Aren't they lovely? Now, if only I could play 'em! Guitar Hero has a lot to answer for!

And that's it. Thanks for visiting!

City of Ashes, Cassandra Clare

Book two of the amazing Mortal Instruments - City of Ashes - by YA UF author, Cassandra Clare has recently been published. I ran out to take a picture of it at the big Waterstones on Piccadilly. I know. I am one dedicated fan.

*g*

The Curse of the Necrarch, Steven Savile

“The smell of old death was heavy in the air.”

So begins the Curse of the Necrarch, a tale from the long established and bloodsoaked world of Warhammer fantasy, courtesy of The Black Library.

Curse is a bit of a rarity; the story unfolds from the perspective of both the vampires and the human warriors as their paths collide and events are set in motion, leading inexorably towards the cataclysmic final confrontation.

I like the fact that you can appreciate where the vampires are coming from; they’re not simply done by the numbers. There’s no question that they’re evil, or bordering on clinically insane, but there’s enough there to identify with, and this is what will make Curse that much more appealing to gamers out there who play Undead armies. There’s nothing worse than reading a book told solely from the perspective of the square jawed hero who’s knocking seven shades of hell out of the guys you’re rooting for.

Steven hasn’t let Curse fall into this trap; the Necrarch is a cunning, proactive protagonist who gives as good as he gets. The action scenes are crisp and convincing, and blend into the story seamlessly; it doesn’t feel like they’ve been added as an afterthought simply because someone thought the story needed a jolt. It moves along at a good pace, and presents a suitably grim atmosphere for the end game being played out on its pages.

This is the first I’ve read of Stevens work and having had a taste, I’m planning on picking up a copy of his earlier ‘The Von Carstein Trilogy’ as soon as I get a chance.

The Hub Magazine

Allow me quick bragging rights - because I talk faster than the speed of light and have a mesmerizing gaze, the boys and girls over at The Hub Magazine are now under my spell. I have my very first official review on their newest Ezine which you can find here - I'm the one with the foreign sounding surname...under the Review section. No stalking please. I have a fierce Jack Russell to guard me.

The official site details can be found here - it is a free weekly ezine and they are a paying press so authors and writers and artists out there, go check them out!

The Last Angel by Natasha Rhodes

From the Solaris site:

An angel is found murdered on the streets of Sunset Boulevard. To the media gossip mongers, it’s the biggest story ever. To the Hunters, an underground monster-fighting hit-squad, it’s just another case of ‘whodunnit’. To Kayla Steele, their youngest and newest member, it means a last, desperate chance to bring her murdered fiance back from the dead, and to others with a far darker purpose it is the means to destroy the human race. If the Hunters are to stop the onset of Armageddon they must join forces with their most hated enemies, the werewolves…

One thing is quite clear from the onset - Natasha Rhodes is here to stay. A "new" author in the paranormal / urban fantasy genre, she cut her teeth working on the movie novelisations and tie ins including Blade: Trinity, Nightmare on Elm Street: Perchance to Dream.

This has clearly stood her in good stead. The girl knows how to spin a good yarn and she clearly loves Los Angeles, there is even mention of the Viper Room!

In retrospect, I should have read Dante's Girl first, as initially not a lot of the story made sense to me as I started off. But then, gradually on my part (erm, meh?) the light dawned on a few things and I got into the swing of the story as matters were explained (by a very patient author) for nitwits like me. And I loved every jot of it. Some of the storyline and references are still obscure, but that will be remedied once I've read Dante, so to be honest, that is my only gripe.

Natasha has a definite writer's skill - she writes at a tremendous pace and does expect you to keep up. The brutality is real, the characters are strong and punchy and Kayla is quite real in her "innocence" (for a lack of a better word). We get pulled deeper into the world of the Hunters as their animosities, loyalties etc. get played out against a background of a Constantine-like Los Angeles. When the book came to an end I frantically paged right to the back thinking, waitaminute! where's the rest? Sadly, we have to wait a little more for the next instalment. This however, is no hardship because, like all good books, this one can do with a re-reading. And trust me, it will go onto the TBRA pile! Especially once I've got Dante under the belt. Who, by the way, does sound...scrummy!

If you love Blade, Constantine, Van Helsing, Kim Harris, Kat Richardson and Mike Carey, you will like Natasha Rhodes.

She writes vividly and the storyline is just that different to keep your attention, as is Kayla as a main character. There is tremendous scope to grow the character and the general storyline and I really do look forward to seeing what else Natasha has up her sleeve.

She is definitely an author to watch out for!

Kiki Strike - Inside the Shadow City, by Kirsten Miller

The front cover alone sold me on this story even before the publishers Bloomsbury decided to send it onto me to read and review: Five delinquent girl scouts, one secret city beneath Manhattan and a butt kicking girl superspy.

I mean, seriously – you couldn’t have asked for a better teaser trailer!

Extract:

The girl last to answer sat at the back of the class, hidden behind Lizzie Fitzsimmons, who was well into a growth spurt that wouldn’t end until she reached the eight grade and a full six feet.

“You in the back,” said the principal. “Don’t think you can hide. Tell me. What would you like to be?”

“Dangerous,” said the hidden girl, without a second’s hesitation.

End of Extract

This is our first introduction to Kiki Strike – a mysterious young teenage girl, small for her age, who is very fair, very pretty and who has an amazing amount of skill and criminal mindedness.

She teams up with Ananka who tells the story of Kiki Strike, Inside the Shadow City. Together they find the Irregulars, a group of extraordinary misfits who, like a crack squad put together by Danny Ocean himself, bring their various talents to play, in order to form a group of girls who seriously kick butt. Thank the heavens they are on the side of good….or are they?

Kiki Strike will make an excellent flick. It has everything, princesses, parties, glitz and glam, an underground city full of potential lost treasure, conspiracies, kung fu movies, friendship, misunderstandings and a pretty cool twist in the tale.

The girls are all fun and believable, with their various talents: Betty Bent brings her amazing talent for disguises and flair for fashion to the group whilst Deedee Morlock is the chemist extraordinaire and Luz Lopez kicks butt as inventor and tinker with Oona Wong being the hacker and forger beyond par. Ananka Fishbein is the everyday girl, the one who is slightly plump, a bit clumsy, but hugely intelligent and completely wasted as a student at the Atalanta School For Girls. Kiki forges them together with bonds of friendship and we watch the girls grow and have fun together.
Throughout the story we follow the girls on their adventures as they explore and discover more and more of the Hidden City beneath Manhattan’s streets. But you can’t help but think that there is more to Kiki’s story of just wanting to explore and see what is going on.

And there is. So much more that I was more than just slightly taken aback once it started unravelling.

I won’t spoil the story by going into too much detail but let me just say that if Kirsten Miller wrote scripts for movies and tv shows we would all be bald for plucking at our hair – she knows how to lead you around by the nose!

Kiki Strike is a fun, riveting and unputdownable read that takes you on a rollercoaster ride through Manhattan like you’ve never experienced before.

I cannot wait for the follow-up – Kiki Strike and the Empress’s Tome, due at the beginning of August from Bloomsbury.

The Joshua Files - The Invisble City, M.G. Harris

I first spotted this very attractive book in my local Waterstones and was incredibly chuffed when Scholastic decided to post a copy onto me to review.

The Joshua Files by MG Harris really does live up to the hype. It masquerades as a YA novel but trust me when I say this: it carries a tremendous punch and it is up there with other quest novels (Steve Berry, Scott Mariani and others of their ilk) aimed at adults.

Brief synopsis from the official Joshua Files site:

Joshua’s life was pretty cool – until his father was reported dead in an air crash in Mexico.

Was it simply a tragic accident?Why was the plane miles off course?Were there really UFOs in the sky at the time of the crash?

In the depths of the Mexican jungle, with a deadly international hit man in his trail, Josh must find the truth about an incredible, dangerous secret – and try to stay alive.

What makes this book such a clincher is that it is firmly rooted in the present, with its roots stretching back into the past. Like my history teacher used to say: how can you know where you're going if you don't know where you've come from?

We follow Joshua on a discovery of himself and his family in a bid to survive against the odds and against people who are keen to get their hands on the research his father had done and what he had found himself.

Joshua teams up with two friends and travels to South America to sort through his suspicions once and for all. He comes up against a stark reality and has to run for his life and survive in a place where he has no friends. And it has to be said, he recovers well in the face of adversity and proves that he is tougher than what his adversaries expected.

This book is ideal for both male and female readers, teen or adult. It has everything thrown into the mix - a lost manuscript, exciting foreign locales, a pretty girl, a steady friend, the need to save yourself and the world, UFO's, history, conspiracy theories - in other words: riveting stuff!

It is a quest novel at the heart - a high octane mix of adventure and thrills and a rollercoaster ride through history chaperoned by a young hero who is having much fun as the reader.

I do however, naturally, have one gripe: why (?!) were none of the boys this cool when I was growing up?

Writing My Way to Sanity - Guest Blog by Karen Mahoney

Karen erm..Who, you may ask!? Well, Karen is a young Urban Fantasy writer who I managed to convince that it might be a good idea to give us a "behind the scenes" tour of well, a bit about her. She's not yet published, but she has managed to land a fantastic agent so more good news and general squeeing will be happening - watch this space.

Here she is, in her own words:

When Liz invited me to write a guest blog over here I was excited, despite wondering, “Why me? I haven’t even sold a book yet – let alone published one!” But then I thought: Well, I just took a pretty big step on this writing journey, and maybe people would be interested to know how I got here. My agent (yeah, I still get chills saying those two words *g*) is Miriam Kriss of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency in New York. So how did a London-based girl like me hook up with a major player like her?

Let’s back-up to October 2007. I wasn’t in a good place in my life. At all. My 3-year relationship had come to an end, the day job wasn’t going so well and I’d moved house 3 times in 6 months. I was tired and ill and I hadn’t written in a couple of months. And then two of my online friends and I decided to do our own mini-version of the NaNo writing challenge, where we’d aim for writing 30,000 words in a month: 1,000 words a day, I thought, would surely be manageable.

It gave me focus and a goal – something to aim for and to feel positive about. I picked up the notes I’d made back in June for a Young Adult urban fantasy called THE IRON WITCH, inspired by an essay by Midori Snyder in the Endicott Studio’s Journal of Mythic Arts: ‘The Armless Maiden and The Hero’s Journey.’

"Table Suréalisme" by Alberto Giacometti

And I just got sucked into the story and carried away by my own characters, something that had never truly happened to me before. As I wrote, one of my cats slept beside me every day, recovering from having a back leg amputated after an accident – we honestly didn’t know if he would make it through. Each day I laid down more and more words, and each day my cat looked brighter and his strange post-op behaviour became less disturbing. During that first month, I know it sounds stupid but I honestly believe we were healing together.

I ended up writing far more – and far more quickly – than I ever imagined I could, and THE IRON WITCH was complete in early December. I let it rest before revising and getting critiques and revising again. And then in January I began querying agents in the US – I knew that YA urban fantasy had more of a market over there and I was determined to find an audience for my work, and for this book in particular. I didn’t know if I was good enough to get an agent yet, but something told me I might be onto something with this project so I persevered through the rejections and close calls.

There were a lot of rejections, but there were also a lot of requests for my full manuscript. As my hopes grew, I revised again – and then again – and I waited and hoped some more. Then I began writing another book, something new to take my mind off the continual rollercoaster.
I’d first queried Miriam back in January – she was one of the very first agents I wanted thanks to her reputation as an advocate for urban fantasy. The fact that she represents some of the best authors in the genre (Lilith Saintcrow, Vicki Pettersson, and Rachel Vincent to name just few) certainly didn’t hurt. By March I still hadn’t heard anything, but another agent sent a very kind rejection with the magic words: “I think you should query Miriam Kriss. You can use my name as a referral.” Here was my opportunity to ‘status query’ whether or not my original email had been received, and just hours after I wrote to Miriam she replied requesting the full manuscript of THE IRON WITCH.

Three more months later – where there were yet more close calls with some wonderful agents – Miriam offered representation. I screamed the house down when I read the email requesting a phone conversation. I couldn’t believe it – honestly couldn’t believe that this thing I had wanted to do since I was 12 years old was coming just a little bit closer. I have so much to look forward to in terms of improving the manuscript before submissions to publishers, while getting on with my next projects. I am dedicated to becoming a better writer, supporting other writers, talking about urban fantasy and one day seeing my words in print.

Oh, and my cat – the one who is currently running around the garden on three legs – is doing absolutely fine.

Contest: Anyone who comments over here on My Favourite Books telling me what their favourite urban fantasy book is (either adult or YA), will have their name entered into a ‘hat’ and a winner selected at random will receive a copy of Lilith Saintcrow’s latest offering – the just-released NIGHT SHIFT, first in the Jill Kismet series. I’m reading it right now and it ROCKS! You have until the end of the day Wednesday 9th July to comment. I’ll ship to any country.

Cheers, Karen.

You've met her here first folks!

To keep up to date with Karen and her writing, feel free to visit her over at her LJ site.

Freedom!

Tripple hurrah.

Exams are now done. Yay!

No assignments, no studying for two months. Guilt free days and evenings, nestled on the couches, reading, writing and reviewing books. This is the life.

Ecstatically happy.