Why I Love YA: A Guest Post by Robby

Teenaged blogger Robby talks about honesty, banned books and why he loves YA...

I am fourteen years old, barely a Young Adult. I could probably still be considered a pre-teen. I could probably still be considered a lot of things-naïve, immature, clueless. And I probably am all of those things, but that doesn’t mean that I am stupid.

That’s the first word that came to my mind when I began reading about the controversy that has surrounded Bloomsbury the past few months. They’ve released book after book with lies all over the cover, yanked them from the shelves, and tried to cover themselves up.

Bloggers throughout the blogosphere spread the word about this, blogged and tweeted. News traveled quickly and we all came together to fight back against this, to fight for honesty.

As I wrote before, we are not stupid. Many YA book bloggers are teenagers (including myself,) and many YA book bloggers are also adults. We read YA literature because we want to read honest stories about real people. If a book has lies all over the cover, if that is known, people won’t want to read it. Maybe I’m just speaking for myself. Maybe I’m completely wrong. This is just how I feel.

Another thing is banned books. This has always confused me. In the library at my high school, there is a shelf at the front of the library that says Banned Books in big, bold letters across the top. Our librarian is always talking about these books, telling us to read them. And that’s another thing-if a book is banned, it doesn’t make teenagers not want to read it, but it instead sparks interest.

Forever by Judy Blume, The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky-there are countless books that have been banned throughout the US , and all of these books have become bestsellers. The term “banned books” is false, in my opinion, because all this does is promote these books. All this does is make teenage readers even more curious.

In high school, there is sex. There are drugs. Kids party and spread rumors, lie and cheat. Honestly, kids are mean. The kind of books I want to read are books that reflect this.

For example, I am currently reading Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers. This book is exactly what I am talking about, a book that shows that girls in high school can be mean, vicious, and everything adults think teenagers aren’t.

All it takes is one adult in one school telling the school board that a book is inappropriate and it’s taken off the shelves. Just like that. But, again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

In YA literature, there are countless genres-realistic/contemporary, paranormal, horror. There are love stories, hate stories, all kinds of stories. There is always something to read in YA literature. For every book that is not so great there are dozens of books that are great. Being a teenager and also an avid YA reader, I will tell you that Young Adult novels are the reason why I have fallen in love with reading.

So, banned books are good. Honesty is good. Young Adult literature is the reason I haven’t yet lost my mind. Reading is getting me through life, escaping into another world, another story.

Honestly, I’m not sure what the point of this post was. But, the three words below say it all.

I love YA.

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Robby is fourteen years old, blogs at Once Upon A Book Blog/Fourteen Years. There, he posts book reviews, interviews, blogs about life being a relatively normal teenager. He also posts poetry he has written, writes about music on occasion, and rambles the same way he did in the above guest post.
One day, Robby hopes to be able to go into a bookstore and see novels he has written on the shelves. One day, Robby hopes to change someone's life with his words.
Someday.

Why do you love YA?

Why do good girls go for bad boys? A Guest Post by Magan Vernon

Magan talks about a theme in YA she loves - good girl/bad boy literary couples...

My favorite YA novel theme, or really any novel theme is the good girl and bad boy hook up. This is a theme that is not only prevalent in so many young adult novels, but it's a theme that can be seen in almost every aspect of pop culture. So in celebration of that theme, I wanted to pay homage to my top five favorite bad boy/ good girl literary couples.

5.) Edward Cullen & Bella Swan (Twilight) - This is one I am a little bit reluctant to list. Though, yes, I did read the series it's not like I am a huge Twi-hard. I do believe though that since this relationship has such a big following, that Bella and Edward are worth mentioning. The new girl plus the high school heart throb will always be a classic literary love.

4.) Annabel and Owen (Just Listen) - The teenage model with a secret and the brooding music snob. It's like a match made in literary heaven. I had a girl once say that she loved Sarah Dessen's novels because it was always the same premise: a girl with a messed up family and a boy with issues and they find something to bond over. It may be the same themes repeated, but it's one that can suck me in like a vortex over and over.

3.) Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett (Pride and Predjudice) - The classic bad boy, Mr. Darcy. True story: When you google "Literary Bad Boy," Mr. Darcy is the first name to come up. I do believe that Elizabeth and Darcy give hope to every person with unrequited love, and therefore can make any girl feverously turn the pages of this classic novel.

2.) Landon Carter & Jamie Sullivan (A Walk to Remember) - I cannot lie. I am a huge sucker for Nicholas Sparks. I don't know if Landon Carter could really be qualified as the quintessential bad boy even though the movie tried to make him out to be one. Either way, the brooding Landon with the emotional issues and Jamie Sullivan with her down home roots and bible in hand make for a great couple to root for.

1.) Jessica Darling and Marcus Flutie (The Jessica Darling series) - Marcus Flutie is the boy with sexual numbers that rival Will Chamberlain and Jessica Darling is the over achieving track star. But when Marcus asks Jessica to pee in a cup for him all bets are off and it's the beginning of my favorite bad boy/good girl literary relationship. Through five books I hung on every word of this novel and half the time would even forget that I actually didn't know Jessica and Marcus…and that people would think I was crazy for talking about a couple that I only knew from reading a book.

So why does the bad boy/good girl relationship seem to work so well for novels? I honestly couldn't tell you why this formula seems to work so well, or even why I chose to use this theme when I wrote my novel. But what I can tell you is that no matter how many times I see this theme in novels, I still love it.

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Magan is an aspiring YA writer who is currently stuck in Bloomington, IL working in Insurance. Her first novel, My Own Summer, is still lurking around in cyber space searching for an agent, and being submitted in just about every writing contest under the sun including Textnovel. Besides writing Magan enjoys watching bromance movies, eating coffee flavored ice cream, and trying to bake her way into being a southern belle. Magan also has promised that the first agent to offer her representation will get a batch of homemade lasagna. Follow Magan on Twitter!

Who's your favourite good girl/bad boy YA literary couples? Is it a trend you like, or not?

My Top 5 YA Literary Crushes: A Guest Post by Rachel Simon

College student and aspiring author Rachel Simon drops by to tell us about her top 5 YA literary crushes...

1. Tobias from Animorphs
Tobias was a boy, who at the beginning of this sci-fi series was turned into a red-tailed hawk. I know…you’re all confused. Let me explain. Animorphs was not a YA series, however I totally count it as one because the characters go from being thirteen to around sixteen or seventeen by the end of the series. Anyway, Tobias became stuck in the form of a red-tailed hawk but was sooo still a boy. And a cute, shy, sensitive boy. Who stole my heart. He also liked to read (always a plus in my eyes!), and thought school dances were pretty dumb (me too!). Unfortunately, he fell in love with another Rachel (not me) and when she died at the end of the series, Tobias became a recluse.

2. Tom Marvolo Riddle, Jr. from Harry Potter
I know what everyone is thinking: ARE YOU CRAZY???? But something about Tom was swoonworthy to me. He is brilliant – as one can see throughout the Harry Potter series, he was head of his class – and wants to take over the world. …What? You seriously mean to tell me, NO ONE ELSE has ever thought that taking over the world might be fun? Anyway, Tom went onto to be something pretty evil (cough- Voldemort- cough), but he will always have a place in my heart.

3. Valentine Morgenstern from The Mortal Instruments
I know, me and these villains… Like Tom, Valentine wants to have absolute power. Unlike Tom, Valentine had a wife and a son and then went crazy. In other words, he was Tall, Dark and Handsome as a teen with a side of Crazy later on in life. I’d totally date him if he wasn’t hell-bent on confusing people and mixing up cute-couples-I-totally-root-for-in-the-books.

4. Macon Faulkner from Someone Like You
Sarah Dessen is the queen of writing modern cute boys in my opinion. And while she has A LOT of them, you may be wondering why I chose Macon. To me, Macon is the most realistic boy out of every Dessen boy there is. He is cute, kind of dorky but totally tries to be cool, and most of all he tries to pressure his girlfriend into sleeping with him. Wait…what? I’m not saying I find that trait attractive, but I do recognize that many teenage boys today sometimes do that. (Not all, not all!) I also think that after the car accident, the way Macon doesn’t know how to act around Hailey is so realistic. Plus, I TOTALLY imagine Macon with a Southern accent even though he probably doesn’t have one. But a girl can dream, right? (Sidenote: I just found out this book released on my birthday…in 1998.)

5. Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games
Peeta… Peeta… What can I say about you? Well besides that every time your name makes me think of pita bread and the Middle East, I have a huge crush on you. You are blonde and your dad owns a bakery, which is excellent because I love bread and sweets of all kinds. Peeta is also very loyal, patient and kind. He is willing to help out and fight for the girl he loves even though she may not love him back. Need I say more? Just read Catching Fire.

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Rachel Simon is a college sophomore, majoring in English and Creative Writing and hopes to one day have a dual career in the awesomeness that is both writing and publishing. She is currently editing her YA fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a feminist twist and is writing a YA historical about Zelda Fitzgerald, the wife of F. Scott. When asked by her mother if she will ever read adult books, she says never. In her spare time, she eats too much sweets, daydreams about studying abroad in Australia (which will be happening in 2011), and throws 90’s dance parties…with herself. You can find her on Twitter and Livejournal.

So, who are your YA Literary Crushes?

Comment and tell us!

WHEN I WAS JOE by Keren David

When Ty witnesses a stabbing, his own life is in danger from the criminals he's named, and he and his mum have to go into police protection. Ty has a new name, a new look and a cool new image -- life as Joe is good, especially when he gets talent spotted as a potential athletics star, special training from an attractive local celebrity and a lot of female attention. But his mum can't cope with her new life, and the gangsters will stop at nothing to flush them from hiding. Joe's cracking under extreme pressure, and then he meets a girl with dark secrets of her own. This wonderfully gripping and intelligent novel depicts Ty/Joe's confused sense of identity in a moving and funny story that teenage boys and girls will identify with - a remarkable debut from a great new writing talent.

I got this book in the mail two days ago (from the lovely Walker Books!) and I was delighted - I've been reading Keren's blog for a few months now, and reading rave reviews of When I Was Joe on UK blogs around the interwebs.

As always when I start reading a book I've heard great things about, I worried it woouldn't live up to expectation - no one ever wants to read amazing reviews of a book and then pick it up and be disappointed. But I wasn't! When I Was Joe totally lived up to the praise.

This novel was fantastic - unique voice that grips you from the first page, and a highly original concept. I think it'll appeal equally to both boys and girls, from thirteen up (there are themes of violence, self-harm and mild sexual references, but the characters are all around thirteen and fourteen and everything is dealt with tactfully). It's edgy and dark without being too confronting, I think, because of the amount of humour in it.

I think at times the British setting seemed really foreign (they use words like 'chav' and 'slapper' and other things I haven't heard of) and since my only real exposure to British culture was Shaun of the Dead, I sometimes had trouble following (the names of shops I'm not familiar with pulled me out of the story for a second). Ty/Joe is a great narrator, but the entire time you're reading you're wondering - is he good or bad? And what really happened? I think I was slightly frustrated by that.

Once I started reading, I didn't stop (okay, I did. But I had to do my Accounting schoolwork. Then I went back to reading). Before I began reading, it seemed pretty long for a YA that isn't fantasy or paranormal, but I barely noticed how long it was while I was reading. Hopefully reluctant readers won't be turned off by how thick the book is, because it's immensely readable and very exciting.

The start of what's sure to be a brilliant series, and I can't wait for the next book.

You can find the author's blog here: http://wheniwasjoe.blogspot.com/

THE PUZZLE RING by Kate Forsyth - Review & Author Interview

Book Review: THE PUZZLE RING

Hannah Rose Brown was not quite thirteen years old when she discovered her family was cursed...
It seemed a day like any other day. Yet for twelve year old Hannah Rose Brown, it is the day when her ordinary life is changed forever, a day when she discovers a past full of secrets and a future full of magic.

Hannah lives with her mother, Roz. Her father Robert disappeared soon after she was born, and she and her mother are all alone in the world. Or so Hannah has always believed. Yet one day a letter arrives, addressed to the Viscountess of Fairknowe. Hannah thinks it's a hilarious mistake but the letter upsets her mother who confesses that Hannah’s father was the Viscount of Fairknowe, and the heir to Wintersloe Castle in Scotland.

The letter is from Hannah’s great-grandmother – someone she never knew existed – begging Hannah and her mother to come to Scotland. At first Roz refuses – she had sworn never to return to Wintersloe Castle. But Hannah is determined to go, her curiosity aroused by the letter’s reference to a curse.

Wintersloe Castle is an old house, built near the ruins of a castle and overlooking the waters of Loch Lomond. On the northern wall is a strange gate, built through the hollow trunk of an ancient yew tree. Through the gate, Hannah can see the round hill that rises behind the house, crowned with a blackthorn tree. This is called Fairknowe on the maps, but the locals call it the fairy hill.

Strange things begin to happen. A toad coughs up a round stone with a hole worn through the middle. When Hannah looks through it, the world seems different. She hears a dog howling at night – yet there is no dog at Wintersloe Castle. Shadows seem to stalk her. One stormy day, the toad shows her the way to her father’s old tower room – and Hannah discovers the history of the curse of Wintersloe Castle, which has blighted the family and the house for centuries.

Hannah is determined to break the curse, but to do so she must go back in time to the last tumultuous days of the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. She must face all sorts of dangers, including being hunted by the evil queen of the Otherworld and being accused of being a witch...

The Puzzle Ring is a fantastically imaginative fantasy novel that I'd recommend to readers between nine and twelve, as well as older readers who don't mind reading books with younger protagonists. I think if I were five or six years younger, this is the kind of book I'd've read over and over again - I'm giving it to my little sister to read, and I'm sure she'll love it.

It's fantastically gripping, and has elements of action and historical fiction. There was a lot going on in The Puzzle Ring - time travel, a curse, magic - but everything was tied together beautifully. At times Hannah was somewhat annoying, but she also had a great attitude and was easy to relate to (and pretty much all the young girls I know have a fantasy of living in their own castle. And grown-ups as well).
I highly recommend The Puzzle Ring for the 9-to-12 crowd, and all lovers of middle grade fantasy, historical fiction and folklore. A truly wonderful read.

Buy The Puzzle Ring on Amazon or The Book Depository.

Author Interview: Kate Forsyth

Steph: Can you tell me a bit about writing THE PUZZLE RING? Was there a specific inspiration behind it?
Kate: When I first read about puzzle rings and their fascinating history I thought at once what a wonderful idea it would make for a quest story. Basically a puzzle ring is a clever invention first made many hundreds of years ago by an Arabian king who was jealous of his young and beautiful wife. On the finger, the ring looks like a band of twisted gold but once you drawn the ring off the finger it falls apart into a number of separate loops, and it is impossible to put back on again unless you know the secret code to the puzzle. As soon as I read the story I thought ‘ah-ha! A search for a broken puzzle ring. What a great idea.’ I’ve always loved puzzles and secret codes and hidden treasures, and so I knew it was the type of story I’d love to write. For a long time it sat in my ideas book, and occasionally I’d ponder WHO would want to find it, and WHY, and WHERE and WHEN I’d set my story ... but I was busy with other books and didn’t try & answer those questions. Until one day, in a cobwebby second-hand book shop, I found an old book entitled ‘The Book of Curses’ which opened, mysteriously, on the story of an ancient Scottish curse that was actually cast against my own family, the Mackenzies, and my mind began to race. ‘Of course! A girl whose family was cursed ....’ After that the book really wrote itself.

Steph: How do you research your novels? Do you do all the research beforehand, or as you write?

Kate: I do an enormous amount of research for all my books, but luckily I love researching. I get very obsessed with everything to do with the book I’m writing, and its no hardship at all to read many enormous thick heavy books with names like ‘Fire Burn: Tales of Witchery’, ‘Mary Stuart’s Scotland’, ‘Folk Tales and Fairy Lore in Gaelic and English’, ‘The Tudor Housewife’, and ‘The New Time Travellers: A Journey to the Frontiers of Physics’ – these are just some of the books I read while writing ‘The Puzzle Ring’. I read and research a great deal before I even start the novel, and then I continue to research the whole time I’m writing. Some books I will read many times over. I usually begin with a very wide focus; for example, I’ll read a lot about the history of Scotland, and then, when I’ve decided that the action set in the past will take place during the time of Mary, Queen of Scots, I’ll read everything I can find about her in particular; and then, when I have narrowed my action down to six months of her life, I’ll read books that deal only with that particular period, for example, ‘Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley.’ I do a lot of research on the internet, and I order a great many books on my subject, some of them enormously old and valuable. I read up on Scottish cooking and then start cooking the recipes. I read that Queen Mary loved cinnamon, which was prohibitively expensive in her day, and I start making hot cinnamon rolls for my children’s afternoon tea. Sometimes I even begin dressing like my characters (in this case, green velvet skirts and berets) and listening to the music they like (my heroine Hannah loves soul music, and so that was all I listened to for almost 18 months!)

Steph: Is there much of you in Hannah, or your other characters?

Kate: I always get asked this question, and I always think, ‘No, they’re their own people’ – but if I was to really think about it, ‘yes, there must be some of me in there.’ Hannah is strong-willed, determined and loves all things magical – that’s very like me. However, she’s red-haired, left-handed and can sing, which is nothing like me! It’s the same with all my characters – we share some characteristics, and others not at all.

Steph: Is anything in your novels inspired by real life experience?

Kate: A writer takes everything they’ve ever read or seen or thought or experienced, and they turn it, by some mysterious alchemical process, into something completely different. For example, I once cursed a girl ...

Steph: You write for both adults and children - is the writing process very different? Is it more difficult to write one more than the other?

Kate: I don’t think one is harder than the other, though sometimes a book for adults is a little longer ... I always know who my story is being written for, and so that determines the shape and structure of the story. It’s an intuitive process as much as anything else. With ‘The Puzzle Ring’ I was writing the sort of story I would’ve loved to have read when I was 11 or 12, so I wanted it to be full of suspense, but I didn’t want anything too shocking or nasty. While writing a novel that I’d enjoy as an adult means you can have longer chapters, with more sophisticated language and structures, and the story can be a little darker, or sexier, or more surprising.

Steph: What advice would you give aspiring authors of children's and YA fiction?

Kate: It’s the same advice I’d give any writer. Take joy in the writing, bring everything you can to the writing process, be patient, take the time to let the story flower properly, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.

Steph: What are you working on at the moment? Can you tell me a little bit about it?

Kate: I’m in the final stages of a YA fantasy novel which will be published in May this year. Called ‘The Wildkin’s Curse, its a tale of true love and high adventure, and is the long-awaited sequel to ‘The Starthorn Tree’.

--

http://www.kateforsyth.com.au/

This post is part of THE PUZZLE RING blog tour! Check out more posts at...

Yesterday's blog tour stop: ChickLit
http://chicklitreviews.com/

Tomorrow's blog tour shop: Me & My Big Mouth
http://meandmybigmouth.typepad.com/scottpack/

GUARDIAN OF THE DEAD by Karen Healey - Review & Author interview

Book review: Guardian of the Dead

'In less than a day I had been harassed, enchanted, shouted at, cried on, and clawed. I’d been cold, scared, dirty, exhausted, hungry, and miserable. And up until now, I’d been mildly impressed with my ability to cope.'

At her boarding school in New Zealand, Ellie Spencer is like any ordinary teen: she hangs out with her best friend, Kevin; obsesses over her crush on a mysterious boy; and her biggest worry is her paper deadline. Then everything changes: In the foggy woods near the school, something ancient and deadly is waiting.

Debut author Karen Healey introduces a savvy and spirited heroine with a strong, fresh voice. Full of deliciously creepy details, this unique, incredible adventure is a deftly crafted story of Māori mythology, romance, betrayal, and war.

Whoa, I loved this book. I know I use this phrase a lot, but it really was such a refreshingly different novel - you rarely read YA novels set in New Zealand, and even rarer still, read YA novels based on incredibly fascinating Māori mythology with a funny, obnoxious, original and all-around kick-arse awesome heroine.

The New Zealand setting was a strong element of the novel, which I really loved. Though it got to a slow start, once the action started and things began to be explained, Guardian of the Dead was fantastic. The baddies were freak-me-out scary, and once I was halfway into the novel I couldn't stop.

I think to a degree I found that I wanted more depth to the characters - the plot was sensational, but I felt maybe the character development was a little underdone. I wanted to know more about Ellie and her life before coming to the boarding school, more about Kevin, Iris, everyone. Not just how they were part of the mythological goings-on, but who they really were.

This isn't a book that'll appeal to everyone's tastes - while there is a romance element, it isn't huge, and if you like your YA heroines passive and inoffensive then you sure won't like Ellie. But if you're looking for something that's just a bit different, filled with totally unique mythology (and by 'unique' I don't mean 'sparkly') and that is - in parts - downright creepy, you'd be very wise to pick up Guardian Of The Dead when it's released this April.

Author Interview: Karen Healey

Steph: Can you tell me a bit about the process of writing GUARDIAN OF THE DEAD? Did you start with the storyline, or with the mythology?

Karen: Oh, the mythology came first. I'm not sure how it would even work the other way around – plan a plot and then look for a handy mythology to plug into it? That sounds a bit suss.

So, yes, I was living in Japan, and really homesick, and I started thinking about Māori mythology, the first stories of my homeland, New Zealand. I thought about the way the legends write the land, and the way the stories we know metaphorically write our individual versions of reality, and I wondered what would happen if someone vaguely familiar with the stories, but essentially ignorant, discovered they literally acted upon reality. How would she cope? What if all stories could be true? How would that work in a young land of immigrants, where many stories exist, but some are considered more important than others?

In lots of ways, it's a book that's sort of wrestling with the imagined realities of post-colonial New Zealand. Which is academese for, "The myths came first".


Steph: Are there any characters that are really similar to yourself, or events in the novel that are based on your real life experience? Or was all of the inspiration for the novel drawn from Maori legend?

Karen: Mostly I did what we lying liars writers do and made stuff up. Ellie has some of my traits, but she's definitely not me, and neither is anyone else in the novel. However, while the Māori mythology is the strongest influence on my making stuff up, I drew inspiration from lots of places; Shakespeare, Greek mythology, New Zealand history. A lot of the drama production scenes were inspired by my real life experience in the happy chaos of high school and university drama - but none of the characters are people I know, either!

The part furthest from my experience were the fight scenes, since I can barely throw a punch. Naturally, I decided the narrator would have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Good going, me! Fortunately, my best friend runs a martial arts school and she painstakingly explained how to break a wrist grip and perform a perfect side kick.

Steph: Can you tell me a bit about your journey to publication? Looking for an agent, going out on submission to editors, getting a book deal, editing, etc?

Karen: In 2007, I attended feminist sci-fi and fantasy convention WisCon in the USA, and took part in a writing workshop run by Holly Black. She liked the first three chapters we looked at, and advised me to submit to her agent when I finished the manuscript. Barry Goldblatt was at the top of my agent list. After a lot of really first class panic, I did submit, and he called me. About halfway through the conversation I realised he was actually going to represent me, and I don't remember a thing after that.

Editor submission was nervewracking, and I got my fair share of rejections, but I think I could not have landed better editors. I'm really happy with Little, Brown and Allen and Unwin.

The actual editing part was great. To me, the blank page is the enemy, and dragging words out to fill it is the hardest part of writing. Once I have something to work with, be it never so crappy, I have a great time picking out themes and rearranging scenes and putting all the pieces back together. I had wonderful guidance from my first readers to the proofreaders, and it really made the book so much better.

Steph: Why and when did you start writing? Is GUARDIAN OF THE DEAD the first novel you've written?

Karen: I've been lying lies telling fiction since I could talk, and writing it down since I could write. I wasn't dedicated the way a lot of writers seem to have been as kids – I wrote short stories, but I don't have a trunk filled with notebook novels or anything. But GUARDIAN is not my first-written novel – I wrote a couple of solo and very bad novels, and then co-wrote another couple of much better ones with my best friend, Robyn. I learned a lot about plot and structure and character establishment from that. I could not have written GUARDIAN without getting the crappy ones done, so I'm really rather fond of them, even though I never want to actually read them again.

Steph: Imaging you can travel back in time to meet yourself as a younger writer without tearing the universe apart, what advice would you give her about writing and life?

Karen: Dear self, don't worry about that stuff about keeping a notebook with you at all times and writing everything down in it! In the future you will never be anywhere without a book and a pen, and if you need to note anything, you can do so in the title pages. It will also make re-reading fun.

Also, read more. I know you read a lot, but read more.

And learn to cook earlier. I promise you'll like it.

Steph: What are you working on at the moment? Can you tell me a bit about it?

Karen: My next book to be published is currently titled SUMMERTON. It's set in a small, eerily perfect town on New Zealand's beautiful, isolated West Coast, where three teenagers are trying to find the real causes of their elder brothers' supposed suicides. It's a little bit psychological thriller, a little bit paranormal, a little bit romance, and a lot of mystery and action. I'm really excited about it!

What I'm currently working on is a secret. I'll just say that every time I sit down and write, I get really, really hungry.

--

I'm going to guess she's writing a cookbook for vampires. Anyway, while you're waiting for GUARDIAN OF THE DEAD to be released, you should check out Karen Healey's ridiculously funny/smart blog: http://karenhealey.livejournal.com/ and her website: http://karenhealey.com/.

SOLACE & GRIEF by Foz Meadows

Solace Morgan was born a vampire. Raised in foster care, she has always tried to keep her abilities secret, until an eerie encounter with a faceless man prompts her to run away. Finding others with similar gifts, Solace soon becomes caught up in a strange, more vibrant world than she ever knew existed. But when the mysterious Professor Lukin takes an interest in her friends, she is forced to start asking questions of her own. What happened to her parents? Who is Sharpsoft? And since when has there been a medieval dungeon under Hyde Park?

Wow. Just, wow.

Solace & Grief got off to a slow start - the first third of the novel, while beautifully written, was somewhat stagnant. Solace runs away after a meeting with a faceless man, makes friends with a bunch of unemployed youths who live in a warehouse. She has some vaguely vampire-like traits - the sun tires her, she's strong, she can eat very few foods. It's all very mysterious, but not a whole lot seems to happen.

But then - we get to the second third of the novel and bam! there's suddenly tonnes of crazy stuff going on. Reality bending, alternate universes, people with special Tricks who are known as the Rare and someone out to kill them. Or capture them. Or something. There was a lot going on. I loved the ideas behind everything, this whole Rare species, the unique abilities everyone had. I think at times the dialogue was a bit unbelievable - young Australians in this day and age don't tend to talk so eloquently - but there were so many lines I absolutely loved and had to write down.

The final third of the book was amazing - while everything was not totally wrapped up, we did get some answers, and it was a very exciting ending. The kind you think about long after you've finished the book.

This is a vampire novel, and I think it'll appeal to paranormal romance fans, but also to people who don't like the whole vampire trend. It's just different enough to make it refreshing but also appeal to the people who already love books like these. I hope it gets picked up by an American publisher soon - I can see it having a lot of crossover appeal (it reminded me somewhat of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series, though I'm not entirely sure why).

The first book in what's sure to be a fantastic series, I highly recommend this novel to people who like urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels.

http://fozmeadows.wordpress.com/
http://www.fordstreetpublishing.com/