Once Every Never Chapter Sampler/Teaser, by Lesley Livingston

Awhile back now I had the awesome chance to pass on signed chapter samplers to five very lucky readers of Lesley Livingston's forthcoming book Once Every Never.  Currently set for a July 1st, Canadian only release by Penguin Canada, this was a great chance for folks to get a look at Lesley's follow up to her very popular Wondrous Strange trilogy.

To my great surprise and joy there was an extra in my package when it arrived, signed to me (no fibs I was going to have to read one of the others before I sent it out otherwise.  There was no way I was going to be able to hold out with them sitting in my house!).  
Signed: For Rhiannon! Tempus Fugit! xo L.  I was a bit mystified, what was Tempus Fugit?  Turns out it means Time Flies in Latin, which looks like it'll be wildly appropriate to Once Every Never, both because of the story line and also because if the rest is anything like the first two chapters time is going to whip by in a blur as I'm lost in another lovely Livingston story.

The story starts in London's Heathrow airport with Clare Reid and Allie McAllister who are about to embark on a summer in London, Allie with her cousin and Clare with her Aunt.  Due to a party that got a bit out of control via Facebook, Clare is going to be under a tight lock and key with her Aunt, and Allie has arranged her visit to take some of the edge off.  In 16 pages there's already a great plot setup, a gorgeous and brilliant boy, a fun best friend and a big cliff hanger.

My favourite aspect of Lesley's writing has always been her characters and sense of humor.  Any lady who can write a story line with a Faerie horse ending up in a New York City apartment bathtub eating a picky roommates expensive soap is a lady who's writing I want to read.  And I now officially can't wait until Once Every Never's release!

Once Every Never (chapter sampler), By Lesley Livingston
Published by Penguin Canada,  July 1st 2011
Kindly sent to me by the author.

Once a Spy, by Keith Thomson- Review

The fine folks over a Doubleday recently sent me Once a Spy and it's brand new follow up, Twice a Spy.  And what a treat! The hubby and I both ate them up like candy.  Let me say, if your looking for an action packed read that can make you cringe and laugh (sometimes at the same moment) then this series is for you.

Once a Spy is the impressive debut novel from author Keith Thomson, who himself isn't too shabby.  His resume inludes being a semi-pro baseball player in France, editorial cartoonist for Newsday, award winning filmmaker who's short was at Sundance, and a screenwriter. Nowadays he writes about intelligence and the likes for The Huffington Post.  Obviously if the theory write what you know best really does work then he has a whole wealth of stuff he could write about well.

Charlie Clark is a bit of a low life. In his early thirties, with a bad horse gambling habit getting him in progressivly bigger and bigger trouble and no real realtionship with his dad, life doesn't seem like it could get much worse.  That is until he gets a call from a dowtown agency who's found his father wandering the streets in his pjs.  His father, Drummond Clark appears to have early onset Alzheimers, which although bad in many average ways, is now disasterous because it turns out he wasn't as average as he pretended during Charlies childhood.  Really he was a top level spy. 
Obviously crazyness insues, in all sorts of James Bondish ways. 

Now listen.  I've been a James Bond fan since I was a wee lass, goldfinger was my favorite by the time I was about 8 (come on, it had a gold girl in it! can there be any question of favorites?), and I still love an action packed spy thriller.  Keith Thomson managed to hit all the well loved moments of any spy thriller, but with an entirely fresh take.  Having an aging spy that alternates between super spy and lost 64 year old appliance salesman, coupled with the thirty something son who's trying his best to keep up in a totally new, crazy world was a brilliant play and is what makes this story particularly great.

Best of all, this wasn't just a straight up spy thriller, there was a lot of humor too.   Drummond has this tendancy to announce "An interesting fact about..." pretty much any time he loses the trail of what's going on and Charlie is desperatly trying to keep them alive.  It's funny, ridiculous and endearing all at the same time, and these lighter moments are what makes me think Once a Spy would be appealing to a wide range of readers.  Keith Thomson obviously knows a very great deal about various intelligent agencies and there is some truly complicated bits in this book when he starts to delve deep into the spy world.  But then he throws in some chuckle worthy moment and lightens it up.  I suspect even those who would be normally bored by the spy semantics are likely to be entertained by Charlie and Drummonds unintentional adventures.

Thank goodness the hubby has finished Twice a Spy, I can't wait to dig in!

Once a Spy, By Keith Thomson
Published by Anchor, paperback January 2011
Keith Thomson's website
Buy Once A Spy on Amazon

The Virtual Life of Lexie Diamond, By Victoria Foyt- Review

Victoria Hoyt's assistant was kind enough to pass on a copy of The Virtual Life of Lexie Diamond to me recently.  Despite coming out in Hardcover in 2007, I'd somehow never run into it before

Lexie is a computer geek, and loves it. Her computer, lovingly called Ajna-Mac, is her portal to a world she identifies with more than the every day one she lives in, so when her mother dies suddenly in a car accident it's Ajna-Mac she turns too.  But as Lexie soon learns, life has a way of sweeping you up, even if you're not interested in participating.

It took me a bit of time to adapt and warm to this story, mainly because Lexie thinks and talks in terms of computers and Internet...about everything.  Phrases like:

"Since Lexie was so plugged into patterns and sequences, she couldn't avoid the one her grandmother had just presented.  Up to now, she hadn't really considered that she might never make it back to home page.  If it had been her father speaking, she would have immediately deleted his advice.",

 abound through the first part of the story, and I had difficulty relating to them.

But then she starts to make real friends, and she became much less insular and much, much more relatable.  Once the story became less about her online world and more about her actual day to day life I became way more involved and found myself enjoying where the story was taking me.  More than anything I felt like Lexie became significantly less flat once she was forced to interact with others, but it did make me regret it didn't happen sooner.  I imagine the first part of the story would put some readers off, which would be a shame since the last two thirds or so become much less stiff and hit you with several unexpected and fun surprises.
The mystery aspect of the story wasn't a huge shocker, but oddly enough, the non-mystery story line of her online friend webrider was the fun twist and surprise to me.  Sadly, after the reveal I wished her emails with webrider had been more prolific, it felt like a part of the story which would have both made Lexie more interesting in the beginning as well as added a bit of fun to the twist at the end, so I regret that relationship wasn't a bigger part of the story.

It's very possible I was simply not the right audience for the computer/Internet obsession of Lexie's, I loath to date myself in this way, but when I was her age, there was no Internet as we know it today.  And I freely acknowledge that may have made my life significantly different at 14 then it was.  I did however, enjoy her actual story, once it got rolling, so if the constant computer references put you off then hold out.  I promise it gets better.

The Virtual Life of Lexie Diamond, by Victoria Foyt
Published by HarperTeen, March 2007
The Lexie Diamond website
Buy The Virtual Life of Lexie Diamond at Amazon

Saturday Link Salad- with good and bad news

-The Saddest news of the day came through just a short while ago.  The fabulous Diana Wynn Jones lost her two year fight with cancer and passed away today.


The hubby and I went through a craze about two years ago, buying every Diana Wynn Jones book we could get our hands on.  We were both reading her sweeping fantasy confections while on honeymoon in Paris and the Chrestomanci books had me so enthralled the seven hour flight home wasn't even trying.  Her stories are uplifting and beautifully crafted with whimsical characters, entertaining exploits and worlds so enrapturing they can only have been created by her pen.  If you asked me who my top 3 or 4 authors of children's lit were she would always be on the top of my list.


She has one more children's book forthcoming- a short novel Earwig and the Witch, being published by HarperCollins Uk this summer.  In the meantime, I'll be reading one of her many published books from her prolific career, to remember her by.  I have a couple I've been saving for a rainy day.
Diana Wynn Jones website


-In much happier news, Lenore, of Presenting Lenore fame, has just sold the rights to her first book.  Lenore was one of the first bloggers I read when joining the scene, and I'm endlessly impressed by her reviews and blog quality.  Besides, her Cat Tuesday's are the highlight in my otherwise mundane Tuesday routine.  Check out the thrilling news on Publisher's Weekly Children's Bookshelf:


Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers has acquired a YA novel called Level Two by Lenore Appelhans, in a joint acquisition with CBS Films. According to S&S, this is the first time the company has coordinated a deal so that an author received a simultaneous book and film offer. In Level Two, the liminal place between our world (Level One) and heaven, Felicia spends her days reliving her memories from the security of her pod—until she gets broken out by Julian, a boy she met on Earth. Appelhans writes the popular YA blog Presenting Lenore. Level Two will be published in either fall 2012 or spring 2013, with a 200,000-copy first printing.


Being a huge Dystopian fan, and a thoughtful and insightful reviewer I can only imagine how promising this book will be! I can't wait to read it.  Keep in mind, if your heading to the BEA or the BBC, Lenore will be presenting during one of the BBC morning sessions- Practical Challenges of Blogging.


-Inkpop has a fun new writing challenge as well as another author chat.  The latest writing challenge is based on Jennifer Archer's soon to be released Through Her Eyes and it's something a bit different but fun sounding- Write a story, poem or essay about a photograph you would like to step into to enter a moment in time from the past.   I immediately know which picture I would step into, I may just have to play along at home and write a little something for my own amusement!


The latest author live chat is with author Ellen Schreiber, who's Once in a Full Moon released on January 1st.  It will be held at 5pm EST this Wednesday and will be a great chance to chat with a busy and successful author.


Speaking of which, if you, like me, missed their live chat with Lauren Oliver it's still viewable on Inkpop here.


Happy linking!

Feline Friday Funnies

After a long week of being sick, this killer laugh made my day.  So I thought I better share.

The Blogging Virus going around, and Afterlife Giveaway Extension

That's right.  I've read everyones posts about being deathly ill lately, and I choose to believe that's how I caught my hideous bout of laryngitis/cold/migraines that plagued me from Sunday morning until last night. Granted I could blame the several hundred people I touched at work during March break, but where's the fun in that?

Needless to say, this morning was the first bout of feeling human I've had in what was beginning to feel like ages.  Unfortunately this odd mix of illness has prevented me from touching a computer (migraines are not computer friendly) or really doing much other than huddling in blankets on the couch being miserable and demanding.  Really demanding.  The hubby actually made me homemade chocolate chip cookies for breakfast one morning because my throat felt too sore to eat anything else.  Glad you weren't him this past week hey?

On the upside I have some great things in store for you now that I'm on the mend.  For starters I'm extending my Afterlife contest until April 3rd at midnight.  So tell your friends!  enter here.

Also I have some great reviews on the way and a truly funny Feline Friday.  Seriously, I was in tears it was so funny.  If you loved the printer rage in Office Space you're going to ADORE this! Promise.

Lucky Leprechaun Hop Winners!

Apparently it's a good luck for all Jennifer's Monday, what a drag I'm not a Jennifer!  If you are, I would suggest running out to buy a lottery ticket. A.S.A.P.

Why, you ask? 

 Because I've pulled my winners for the Lucky Leprechaun Hop and both my winners are Jennifer's!  Weird right? Especially when I don't really look at the list at all until I've run the random number generator.  I swear I did a double check, just to make sure this wasn't an error from Monday morning fogginess (the blossoming cold doesn't help either).  But like I say, apparently it's a lucky Monday for the Jennifer's of the world!

So without further ado, Congrats to Jennifer Hedger- the winner of Accomplice by Valerie Sherrard, and to Jennifer Shaw (of Book Noise)- winner of Crescent Star by Nicholas Maes.  Enjoy these great books! I can't wait to hear what you think of them!

For all you non-Jennifer's, why don't you check out my other contest for a copy of Afterlife by Claudia Grey?  It's open until March 27th, and who knows who's lucky day that will be!

In My Mailbox

In the past two weeks I've acquired, through purchases and generosity, an embarrassing wealth of riches in books.  Therman was quite tickled.

 He thought he might like one of the special giveaway copies of the Once Every Never Samplers, but I told him they were spoken for, so pick something else.

 He went for Blood and Flowers and Twice a Spy.  I suggested he read Once a Spy first but he has a fondness for being a bit eccentric, and opted to do book two before book one. (I like how he does the ten year old human version of claiming things, sit on it and it's yours.  He also does the other ten year old claiming method- I licked it so it's mine.)



Of course I have many people to thank (including myself, thanks self!).

Received from Publishers:

Many thanks to-

 Houghton Mifflin

Those That Wake, by Jesse Karp

Harper Collins Teen

Bad Apple,by Laura Ruby

Blood and Flowers, by Penny Blubaugh

Doubleday

Once a Spy, by Keith Thomson

Twice a Spy, by Keith Thomson

Dundurn Press

Cresent Star, by Nicholas Maes

Accomplice, by Valerie Sherrard

And of course author Lesley Livingston!

The Once Every Never chapter samplers! Signed!  Yay!

Leaving my house in the mail tomorrow so if you're one of the lucky winners, they're on their way!

Of course then there's the books I had to pick up since Chapters/Indigo was having a sale this past week:

Boy Toy, by Barry Lyga

Incarceron, by Catherine Fisher

The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner

Lamplighter, by D.M. Cornish

The Foundling's Tale, by D.M. Cornish

The Beyonders, Brandon Mull (which was on my list to buy sale or no sale!)

In the books but not books category, I got off my duff and booked a hotel and flight for the the BEA yesterday and am super duper excited!  The hubby has changed his mind at the last possible second and decided to come down to New York with me, so we booked a swanky boutique hotel by the convention hall and are staying an extra day.  This has officially gone from exciting to super duper exciting!  So if you're planning on going to the BEA, drop me a line.  I'm hoping to meet and greet, lunch, coffee and dinner with Bloggers while there, and can't wait to meet some of you in person!

The Saturday Line up of links and interesting Tidbits and another swell Giveaway!

I present to you, for your lazy Saturday Internet perusal, various links and Tidbits for your amusement.


-As a continuation of the Dark Days of Supernatural promo from HarperTeen, Inkpop is now featuring Claudia Gray's Afterlife for their next weekly writing challenge. Great prizes ensue as per usual, here's the criteria:

All relationships have barriers and Bianca and Lucas in Afterlife, the third book in Claudia Gray's successful Evernight series, are no different. He's a vampire and she as a wraith. The two have had to overcome a lot to finally be together. 

Now it's your turn. Write a story, poem or essay that pits two characters who must overcome a great challenge to be together. Whether its two friends searching deep in their soul to find forgiveness in one another or a couple from opposite worlds that just want to be together. 

-Thanks to Inkpop and HarperTeen I have one copy of Afterlife to pass on to you, my readers!  Stop on by the contests link and throw in you name for an entry!

-Also over at Inkpop, Lauren Oliver will be stopping in tomorrow for a live chat about Delirium!  2pm Est, at this thread.  Sadly I'll be working, but you definitely don't want to miss it! 

-Holly Black has released an online short story in 13 pieces to gear up for Red Glove's release in two and a half weeks.  Lila Zacharov in 13 pieces is from Lila's POV and the really cool part is it's in a random part generator.  Meaning everyone will get the story pieced together in a different way and so get slightly different nuances.  Apparently there are well over 6 million different ways it can come together!  That is going to involve a lot of reading for us diehards!

- In more fun news about that auspicious release date, April 5th, Amazon blog Omnivoracious is conducting a video chat with both Holly Black and Cassandra Clare.  You have until April 6th to email her your questions "email omnivoracious@amazon.com with the subject line "Cassandra Clare and Holly Black" with the question(s) you want Cassandra and/or Holly to answer."

- As if that's not enough Cassie Clare and Holly Black news, apparently they interviewed each other while on a writing retreat in Mexico recently Hollywood crush will be rolling out the interview in the week prior to their joint release day.

- Kersten Hamilton has released the cover art for her second Goblin Wars book- In the Forests of the Night.  Tentatively set to release November 19th, I can hardly wait to reunite with her creepy and enchanting story.  Tyger Tyger was one of the best surprise books of 2010 for me, if you didn't buy it on release make sure to get out and correct the problem.  Check out my review if you need further swaying.

-Of course I would be remiss if I didn't mention the much publicized  casting of Jennifer Lawrence for the role of Katniss.  It's of course not what I pictured, if for no other reason then she's a pale skinned blond and I always pictured an olive skinned, black haired girl.  My main issue, as with most of these YA books turned movies, is age.  At 20 she's already significantly older than Katniss, what happens by the third movie when she's wayyy older than Katniss?

Alas, as with Tom Cruise in Interview with a Vampire (remember that fuss?  Anne Rice was livid!), you never know what they'll do in the wonderful world of makeup and costume.  I used to work in that world, trust me, they can do amazing things. Most amazing of all they turn everyday joes into movie stars every day!  But I try not to read the news and follow speculation too much, it is most cringe worthy to listen to stars being bandied about to play characters you fell in love with and thus feel an ownership of.  

Cats in IKEA- Feline Fridays

I suppose most everyone heard about when IKEA put their furniture on Paris subways for the day.  It was a pretty amusing advertising ploy and one of those stories that was just so weird, most news feeds picked it up just from the sheer novelty.  Well apparently a short while later, this past fall in fact, IKEA went for another novel approach.  They took 100 cats to an IKEA in England and set them free to see what would happen.

I ran into these two clips about it just this past week and loved them!  Needless to say my cats are a bit jealous and would have liked their turn to romp through an IKEA store.  Part 1 is Herding Cats, a little behind the scenes documentary.  Part 2 is the resulting ad, which might be my favourite IKEA add to date!  Sadly the accompanying sub site they built for the whole publicity stunt doesn't seem to exist anymore.





I especially love when they all fall asleep and the cat who crawls between the walls, been there, done that!

Boy Toy, by Barry Lyga- Review

Chapters/Indigo are having their annual 20% off sale on all children's and teen titles, this week, and I couldn't help myself, I had to get one more of Barry's books (among others of course, sale and bookstore are two word that combine to spell Rhiannon's epic wallet disaster).

Josh is eighteen and about to graduate and escape from Brookdale at long last.  This should spell the end of his misery, until the beautiful teacher who sexually abused him when he was twelve is let out on early parole.  As he struggles to pick Universities, re-kindle a relationship with the girl who helped expose his abuse when they were 13, and just make it through to graduation, Josh also has to learn to finally find some closure and forgive himself.  As if High school wasn't hard enough.

Boy Toy was an amazingly crafted book, and it constantly had me thinking about sexual abuse and it's myriad ways of screwing people up more than they would have been on their own.  I had honestly never thought of how different sexual abuse may be treated when it was between a teen and a good looking teacher.  I immediately thought of Mary Kay Letourneau, the teacher charged in 1997 of sexually abusing her 12 year old male student who later married her upon her release from prison.  It's exceedingly strange that people think differently about abuse between an adult male and a teen girl from the abuse by an adult woman and a teen boy.  As if somehow boys are more sexually mature and it's somewhat ok.  I love how Barry chooses to approach this, it really had me thinking, and that's an amazing feat for a book about such a difficult subject matter.

The positive moments of Boy Toy were a really nice counterpoint to the very dark narrative of the abuse itself.  Josh's friend Zik is a very small character and yet I think Josh's story might be a lot harder to read if it wasn't for his simple support.

A thought provoking story,  proving Barry Lyga is an author to watch.  Be aware there is sexually explicit scenes in his descriptions of the abuse.  If that's something you're uncomfortable with then please take a moment to consider the context before saying no to this story.  It's one I think everyone should read.

Boy Toy, By Barry Lyga

Published by Houghton Mifflin

Read Chapter 1

Barry's website

Don't miss Barry's appearances this week in New York

The only thing better than Green Beer is Free BOOKS! Lucky Leprechaun Hop Giveaway!!

Because there's no better way to celebrate a holiday then new books, I'm happy to team up with wonderful folks over at Dundurn Press to give you one of two great new releases from them.

How far would you go to protect someone you (used to) love?Accomplice by award-winning author Valerie Sherrard takes us into the life of Lexie Malton. From the outside, Lexie is your average teen – popular, a good student, and often butting heads with her stepmother. But Lexie is keeping another part of her life very secret: her ex-boyfriend Devlin is a heroin addict living on the streets – and Lexie is the one that put him there. When Devlin’s situation takes a dangerous turn, Lexie finds herself involved in a harrowing incident she could have never imagined.

Can two teens change the future?

Nicholas Maes has just released Crescent Star, a poignant look at the Arab-Palestinian conflict as experienced by two teenage boys on opposite sides of the battle. Avi Greenbaum is Jewish, living in West Jerusalem. Moussa Shakir is Palestinian, living in East Jerusalem. They have everything in common and yet, nothing at all. In the spring of 2006, Avi and Moussa face reminders of the conflict that has dogged the region for three generations. When an opportunity to move towards peace is presented to the boys, they must decide what their role in the stalemate will be.

Open to US and Canadian shipping addresses, two winners to be drawn, one for each book- using random.org.  Blog, tweet or otherwise pass on the word for a second entry, because I like nothing more than touting home-grown talent.

And Make sure to tour the full Hop! Hundreds of chances to win great stuff!

Interview with the Talented Barry Lyga of Fanboy and Goth Girl Fame!

There's nothing better than when an author who's work you love is kind enough to answer a few questions.  After swooning over Goth Girl Rising and The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl Barry was gallant enough to stop by and answer some of my burning questions.


I was reading on your blog that you spent 2010 doing a no YA or Middle school reading challenge for yourself. What were the 5 books you were the most eager to pick up once January rolled around?


Off the top of my head and in no particular order: WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON; WHITE CAT; THE CABINET OF WONDERS; THE DEADLY SISTER; and THE NIGHTMARYS.


You also mentioned Libba Bray’s Going Bovine was your last read for 2009, and she mentioned that you were one of the folks who provided “muffins and treats and company” after her double fractured elbow, Bigfoot fall recently. Has being a part of such a talented YA writing community helped you with your writing?


Hmm. Has it helped with my writing? I would assume so, though that’s really a tough thing to quantify. There’s really no way to say, “If I hadn’t been in this community of writers, this book or that book would have sucked.” I might THINK it’s a better book now, but there’s no way to know that for sure.

I think where the community is best for me is in the commiseration and general camaraderie. It’s great to be able to bemoan a difficult plot point or a character bit that Just Won’t Work, and have people who understand because they’ve been there, too.


What was the best piece of writing advice you were ever given?


Without a doubt that every writer has a million bad words to write before he or she can produce anything worthwhile. I used that advice to kick off my blog series on Writing Advice: A Million Bad Words


I’ve read that you didn’t find it particularly hard to write from a girl’s perspective because it was Kyra, and you knew her. Was there anything you did find challenging about writing about a Goth Girl with suicidal tendencies?


People don’t seem to believe it, but… No. Not really. It was just incredibly easy and liberating and fulfilling to write from Kyra’s point of view. Someone asked me, “Do you have an angsty 16-year-old girl living inside you?” and the only honest answer is, “I guess so!”


You’ve said that The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl is very autobiographical. Was there anything the two of you shared, but Fanboy got the outcome you wished you’d had at his age?


Oh, yes! Definitely! He got to kiss Dina, after all, and I never got to kiss either of the two girls I based Dina on. Plus, he had Kyra in his life, and I never had anyone like her.


Was your worry about sequels why you approached Goth Girl Rising from Kyra’s perspective instead of continuing with Fanboys?


No, not really. That makes it sound like I planned to do a sequel first and then tried to figure out how to make it not suck. But the fact is that the idea for doing Kyra’s story from her perspective is what made me want to do the sequel at all. The idea came before the decision to commit. If I’d never started “channeling” Kyra, I never would have written the sequel. No matter how much people demanded one.

Did writing and working in comics end up being all you dreamed it would be when you were growing up? What was your favorite part, and the part you liked the least?


Not...really. I did very little writing, and what little I did just wasn’t that good. I was a very young, very new comic book writer, and the stories I wanted to tell just didn’t jibe with the sensibilities of the publisher and the artists. The result was a mess. I feel MUCH better about my new graphic novel collaboration with Colleen Doran, which will be on shelves in November. I’ve learned a lot about how to write comics in the past several years, and Colleen and I are totally on the same page (no pun intended!).

Working on the business end of comics was very frustrating because even though I love comics, it’s still a business, with all the crazy corporate nonsense that the word “business” implies. So I was really hamstrung as to a lot of the ideas I wanted to execute.

The least favorite part was just the 9-5 drudgery of it all. My favorite part, without a doubt, was ramping up Free Comic Book Day and building that event into a global success. Lots of hard work, but lots of fun!


I love how Cal crossed cliques in Brookdale, being both a comic geek and an athlete. Was he based on anyone you knew?


Yeah, Cal was based on a guy I went to high school with. To this day, he threatens to sue me for royalties. :)


What does the average writing day for Barry Lyga look like? Do you have a routine or a schedule you adhere too?


It’s pretty boring, honestly. Wake up. Breakfast. Write for a few hours. Gym, then lunch. Then more writing and/or research. It’s not the most exciting day, but I love it.

You mention you have another 3 or 4 books you’d like to write set in Brookdale. Will any of them be about characters already mentioned in, The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, Goth Girl Rising, Hero Type or Boy Toy?


Oh, definitely! Otherwise, there would be no reason to set them in Brookdale! At this point, it’s just a matter of finding the time to do them.

You’ve dealt with a lot of difficult topics in your books so far. Is that something you’ve set out to do or just something you fall into? Do you do a lot of research before writing about something like sexual abuse or suicide or do you try to let your characters deal with it as seems right to them?


No, I don’t set out to tackle difficult topics ― it’s just that the characters have lives that seem to intersect with these things. I think good books start with character, not with a theme or a topic or (heaven forbid) an issue. Usually, I begin with something like, “I wonder what it would be like to be one of those kids who has an affair with a teacher?” And then I just play out the logical and emotional ramifications from the character’s perspective.

As to research: It really depends. With BOY TOY, for example, I did all kinds of research, only to find that what I had already planned to write was pretty accurate anyway! So all of that research ― while interesting ― was sort of a waste. I usually do some sort of research, but I don’t let myself be bound by it. For the upcoming I HUNT KILLERS, I had to do a lot of research on serial killer pathology and forensics, and in that case I really had to stick to the research because, well, blood only clots and spatters in certain ways! You can’t just make that stuff up. But a kid recovering from abuse? A girl struggling with suicide? There are as many ways to deal with and describe those issues as there people on the planet, and they’re all equally valid.

One of my favorite moments in Goth Girl Rising is Kyra’s confrontation with Miss Powell. Kyra’s theories about sexuality and feminism are so refreshing in a genre full of pretty girls or girls worrying about being pretty, was that something you set out to do with her? Or just something that evolved as it went?

Aw, thanks! I really like that moment. My rule for Kyra is that she pretty much will always choose confrontation, no matter what the situation is. Which means that she’s constantly learning and evolving because any time someone says something to her, she immediately stakes out the opposing viewpoint...and then she has to figure out what that means!

Kyra evolved a lot during the writing of that book. Originally, it was just her story, but it sort of turned into a meditation on what it’s like to be a teenage girl today. (Because who knows better than a guy in his thirties, right???) I really wanted Kyra to be the one who’s constantly saying, “All of this stuff you believe? WHY do you believe it? How do you know it’s true?” And that became a part of her thinking on sex, sexuality, and feminism ― questioning the prevailing orthodoxies and challenging everyone (herself included) to look for deeper meaning and deeper truths.


Thanks Barry!
Make sure to check out Barry's schedule if you're in NYC this week for the Teen Authors Festival.  And if you haven't already, pick up one of his stellar books and get on the Barry Lyga fan bandwagon.

Goth Girl Rising, by Barry Lyga- Review

As I mentioned yesterday, I unequivocally fell in love with Kyra, otherwise known as Goth Girl.

Set six months after The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, Goth Girl Rising joins Kyra as she's wheeled out the door of a mental health unit, six months after being committed.  She feels good and is ready to face her life again, until she gets to school where she realises Fanboy has comitted the capital sin, he seems to have forgotten her, and appallingly- gotten popular!  So as her fantasies of how her come back was going to go down begins to crumble Kyra takes on her usual no nonsense, angsty outlook, and decides a healthy serving of revenge is in order.

Kyra is one of those spectacular characters who's both difficult and yet so true to herself, you can't dislike her, no matter how hard she tries.  She's almost Larry David like in her calling it as she see's it attitude, and she's about as popular for it as he is in Curb your Enthusiasm.  Yet some of her insights on sexuality and feminism are so impressive I was hard pressed to believe Barry Lyga came up with them without some serious help.  Yet he has always said he didn't do any particular consulting or research to write Kyra.  However he's done it, he's managed to grasp some facts about life as a teenage girl that I think is often lost on most teen girls themselves.

It was really refreshing to read a character like hers in YA, so unlike the pretty, flirty, boy crazy girls in so much young adult fiction these days.  Kyra has a depth that's unfortunately unusual, and I was both impressed and a little awed by her, not to mention completely enthralled by her story.  It's amazing someone so seemingly broken can be a hero in so many ways.

I also really loved that Lyga approached Goth Girl Rising from the opposite view point from The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl.  It was really fun to see Fanboy from Goth Girls perspective and to climb inside her head and get a look at what she was thinking.  Together they make great bookends for each other, making up this completed story of a time and relationship that is defining for both of them.

Barry Lyga did not originally intend to write Goth Girl Rising, and I can't help but think what a loss that would have been for us the readers.  Thank god he fell in love with Kyra the same way the reader does!  After reading them together I can't imagine them on their own!

Book received from the always lovely folks at Houghton Mifflin
Goth Girl Rising, by Barry Lyga
Published by Houghton Mifflin, Paperback January 2011
Buy Goth Girl Rising on Amazon
Barry Lyga's website
Fanboy and Goth Girls website

Join me tomorrow for an Interview with Barry Lyga about Goth Girl Rising and The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl.

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, by Barry Lyga- Review

Surprise book love affairs are the best! You know those books you get randomly lent, or just stumble into and don't know what to expect, only to open the pages and find yourself being swept away?

A few weeks ago I got a copy of Goth Girl Rising (book two) randomly in the mail from the lovely folks at Harcourt Mifflin.  I'd never noticed it in a book store before, and the blurb on the back was a bit cryptic for someone jumping into the story line without ever hearing of, or reading book 1, The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl.  But low and behold, a few pages in I found myself falling for this tough ass little goth chick. I tore through Goth Girl Rising and was so enamoured by the end (which I finished at work on my afternoon coffee break) that I walked straight to the bookstore after work and grabbed The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl so I could read it on my trip home.  There was no way I was going to let these characters go until I was forced to by a lack of any more books.

Fanboy is 15, skinny, loves comics, and has one friend. His parents are divorced, and his mother is not only remarried to the Step-Fascist but she's grossly pregnant with his spawn. Life is pretty bad, but the light at the end of the tunnel is a quickly approaching comic con with one amazing attendee who Fanboy is going to show his very own comic book to. The only thing getting him through the days until college is his beloved graphic novel Schemata, which he's secretly been drawing and writing for six years. Until goth girl blows into his life and turns it upside down.

Fanboy is a classic stereotype geek, right down to his charmingly sarcastic in-my-head-only monologue.  His first reference to the step-fascist had me rolling on the floor, and his absolute lack of being able to deal with the social norm in high school makes you love Kyra even more for taking him under her wing.  It's fun to have such a sophistcated character be so naive at the same time, and throughout it all author Barry Lyga strikes a really believable note with Fanboy that leaves you feeling like you knew this guy growing up.  I can 100% vouch for his artistic bent and all it's inherent foibles being dead on.  The idea that Fanboy has drawn and written 100 pages of his graphic novel but is only really happy with 10 pages is my hubby down to the T.

All in all this is a charismatic and fun story, you and Fanboy are never quite sure what Kyra is going to do next and finding out is an exquisite pleasure that will have you dying for more by the last page.  Not to mention the ups and downs of geekdom in high school are all played out in such a relatable way ,that even if it wasn't your personal high school experience, you'll feel like it was.

As I mentioned before, I read the two books out of order, and it wasn't an issue at all. Although the story is a continuing one, Goth Girl Rising being six months after The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, each of the two books is from a different view point. Book one is Fanboy, book two is Goth Girl (Kyra). They work like two parts of a whole but if one is available to you before the other than don't worry about the order, it worked just fine for me backwards. However it did make me biased to love Kyra right off the bat in the Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, but hey, there's nothing wrong with that!

Make The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl one of your must reads for March/ Spring break this week and I promise you, you won't be disappointed!  I'll be focusing on three of his Brookdale books this week as well as featuring an  Interview with the Lovely Barry Lyga himself.  In the meantime, if you find yourself in NYC this week, make sure to check out the New York Teen Authors Festival, Barry is participating and you don't want to miss out!


The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, By Barry Lyga
Published by Harcourt Mifflinm, (paperback) September 2007
Barry Lyga's website
Fanboy and Goth Girls website
Read Chapter 1
Buy The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl from Amazon

I Am Number Four, by Pittacus Lore- Review

Every once in awhile a book launches itself onto the reading scene in kind of a spectacular style.  I Am Number Four was one of those books.  The rights to the film were sold to Dreamworks in June, before the book was even released, and the film was done and out in theatres a mere 7 months after the book hit the shelves.  As if that wasn't publicity enough, then there was the whole James Fray controversy.  Well if one thing is guaranteed to cause a literary stir these days it's naming James Fray in conjunction with a book. 


You would think his spectacular Oprah kerfuffle over A Million Little Pieces would have been the end of his notoriety right?  Well then you've underestimated the unpleasantness that is James Frey, because his new low is his writing group "Full Fathom Five" set up with the intention of group ghost writing books for profit.  Think Andy Warhol but in books, and then think sweatshop, because the kicker to this group is what the actual authors get paid.  250$ advance, and 250$ when the book is completed with 30% of future revenues (reportedly), with an air tight contract in which their pseudonym is then owned by Full Fathom Five, they cannot talk about writing the book without permission, and Frey's company owns complete creative rights and copyrights to the book.  Ouch.


Needless to say the world wide web was humming all fall with proclamations against Frey.  Authors were expounding upon the talents of other authors being robbed, Newspapers and blogs were decrying Frey for running a book writing sweatshop and so on.


I, somehow, completely missed all of this.  I had picked up a copy of the book in the early days, read the back, thought it sounded totally weird and not my thing, and then ignored every little tidbit I saw online about either the book or the movie until about two months ago.  Right after finishing Matched I was reading through Ally Condies blog, and stumbled into a post where she mentions the controversy and some of her thoughts about how the actual author Jobie Hughes was taken advantage of (I can no longer find it to link too and am wondering if she took it down).  I was fairly shocked, I had no idea James Frey had anything to do with I Am Number Four, but she didn't mention the bigger issue of Full Fathom Five and I didn't immediately find the connection on line.


I had just been lent I Am Number Four by my good friend in reading Jenna and I thought I'd finally see what the fuss was all about.


You've heard the premise a thousand times before I'm sure, Aliens come to earth, nine of them, fleeing another race of aliens that are trying to kill them.  To protect their planets legacy they're hiding on earth in the hopes that they'll grow into their powers and be able to fight the evil alien race and head back to their home planet Lorien and repopulate it again.  Very, very sci-fi sounding, and to be frank not a description I found appealing.  In fact this is a story of a teenager on the run, who's been on the run as far back as he can remember.  Someone who knows he's not like everyone else but who wants to fit in and be a normal teenager all the same.  He is number four, and with numbers one through three dead he's now the next to be hunted and killed. Unfortunately he's also just found a place where he can have friends and belong somewhat for a change.


Despite myself I really enjoyed the story.  I liked the dry, almost detached first person narrative of number four.  I loved his slow discovery of a more emotional life through friends, his legacies and his slowly returning memories of Lorien.  The alien thing was downplayed enough that it came across more superhero then other worldly life forms.  Think Superman.
And by the end I was so caught up that I both cried and am now eagerly awaiting The Power of Six (book 2).  More than anything the mystery surrounding the separated kids and their Cepan's drives the narrative, and the promise of more info and more numbers is what has me waiting with baited breath for the next instalment.


Do I feel guilty supporting a writing sweatshop by promoting this book? Somewhat.  But i'll do my part by giving you the resources to decide for yourself before reading, and also give credit where it's due- Jobie Hughes.  Being a dishonest ass isn't against the law unfortunately, and James Frey has a right to be as big an ass as he wishes.  The fact his first endeavour with The Full Fathom Five sweatshop was a cataclysmic success just reinforces my belief that great things do not always come to those who deserve them, rather to those who'll do anything for them.


I Am Number Four, by Pittacus Lore (Jobie Hughes ghost writer, James Frey Co-creator)
Published by Harperteen, August 2010
Articles about the hoopla:
The National- Author James Frey stirs up controversy again
The Wall Street Journal- James Frey's Next Act
New York Mag- James Frey's Fiction Factory
New York Mag- Read the Brutal Contract from James Frey's Fiction Factory

Mixed treat bag, Holly Black, Carrie Ryan, Laini Taylor, Ally Condie and Cassandra Clare goodies included!

I've run into so many exciting things in the past couple of days I can't help but share!  So start your Saturday on the right foot with these goodies.

-Carrie Ryan's final book in her zombies series comes out in just a few more days, 10 days for those of you who are counting them down (like me!), and Random House has released the first two chapters.  Thank god, I'm not sure I could make it without them.  Yes. I am serious!
Carrie also talks about what it's like to wrap out a series in her latest blog post, as well as gives the goodreads link to win a copy of The Dark and Hollow places (US residents only though folks, boo!).

-Holly Black is having a Red Glove contest to win a copy of her exciting sequel to the stellar White Cat (check out my review).  By posting a photo of Red Glove in various places on facebook, twitter or your blog you get chances to win a copy.  Simple no?  She's going old school with some dungeon and dragons looking dice to get the random number winner.

-Laini Taylor has revealed her newest books cover and what it's about!  The tag line is: Once upon a time an Angel and a Devil fell in love.  It did not end well.  The book is called Daughter of Smoke and Bone and it sounds like what I'm starting to think must be classic Laini fantasy.  I can hardly wait for the October 3 release date.

-Cassandra Clare is celebrating 5000 members of her google group by posting a deleted scene from Clockwork Prince and a line from City of lost Souls.

-Ally Condie has revealed the cover to her next book in the Matched series.  Crossed looks fantastic and I love that the publishers stuck with the theme.  She notes on her blog that indeed the green and the blue do refer to the pills but also to some other "stuff". ohhhhh.

Now get reading!

Must Love Cats- Feline Fridays

Well if your looking for something new and fun to watch I have just the thing for you! Animal Planet is debuting it's new travelogue show about cats this Saturday, It's called Must Love Cats and it looks like it could be some fantastic fun.  Here's the blurb:

Must Love Cats is a celebration of fascinating felines and the fascinating people who love them.

From cats that saved their owners' lives to swanky cat-only hotels, the series spans the realm of all things "cat." It offers a potpourri of amazing feline stories, jam-packed with interesting factoids and trivia bits.

The show is hosted by musician John Fulton, who combines his love for ditties with kitties. He is on a mission to prove to himself and the world that America is filled — north to south, east to west — with cat lovers, and is in fact a Cat-nation.

Can I just say, the clip up on the site to preview is about wigs for cats...see? Sold already aren't you?
Happy Feline Friday!

Savage Season: A Hap and Leonard Novel, by Joe R. Lansdale- Review

The hubby has been on a book bender for a few months, which has been notable mostly because he's been wildly out-buying me in the book department.  A fairly unbelievable fact, to be sure, but I swear there's been a mind boggling amount of books being bought, and they haven't been for me!

Part of this has been due to his recent discovery of several authors in his fave genre, horror and thriller.  One of whom has been Joe R. Lansdale.  So when his latest book purchase arrived last week he insisted I give Savage Season a read (since the newest book in the series is due out shortly), I think in the hopes of getting me hooked so he'd have an even better excuse to buy more of them.

Since I wasn't the one to buy the book or express any interest in it, I really had no idea what to expect or what it was about.  The only thing I knew was it was about two friends who have a whole series of books about their exploits.  So for some reason I immediately thought of one of my favorite shows to hit the chopping block in the past year, Terriers.  Let me just set the record straight (on the off chance you were one of the other 4 people watching it), it's nothing like Terriers.  It's more like grown up Huck Finn, with a bit of Pulp Fiction right at the end.

Hap has an ex who is about as healthy for him as a heroine addiction, and she's back.  Much to his good friend Leonard's disgust, Hap is ready to jump on board Trudy's half baked plan to find a long ago abandoned boat that supposedly has a million dollars hidden away on it.  Throw in lots of 60's hippies ideals, criminals who are less washed up then they look and Hap and Leonard's amusing friendship and you pretty much have the plot of this story.

Savage Season seemed to be largely just a set up for future books about Hap and Leonard, yet at the same time it fell short of the mark of getting me adequately involved in the lives and relationship of the two friends to think, hey! I need more of these books.  Their friendship had some fun quirks, but it took a big back seat to Hap's relationship with Trudy.  Trudy is 100% unlikable, and it made all the scenes where Hap talks about how sexy she is and goes into a fair amount of detail about exactly what he wants to do with, and to her a bit nauseating.  It makes you really wonder about Hap after awhile, why is he so attached to this bitchy, woman who treats him worse than a cockroach?

Leonard I really enjoyed, but unfortunately he's a very secondary character for large sections of this book.

The most off putting part though was the extended and very graphically detailed violence at the end.  Normally this wouldn't bother me as much as it did, but at a certain point it was so hard to read I was skimming it to save myself the cringing discomfort.  Of course I was the person in the First Aid class who had to hold a hand to her eye during the part where you talk about how to deal with eye injuries where the thing is still sticking out (ugh, I want to cover my eye just thinking about it!).  So I might just be a gigantic cringer compared to most people, though I did really feel the last 20 pages or so took violence to all new heights in fiction.

I am curious where Joe R. Lansdale is going with this series, so I would definitely be willing to give one more of the books a chance.  If for no other reason then I love the idea of Hap and Leonard and I think it could be really enjoyable done the right way.  Who knows, maybe Savage Season is just a growing pains book, there are 9 more of them published now, so there's got to be something likable about them.  Though it's entirely possible they're just not my thing.  I'll give it one more shot before I decide which.

Savage Season: A Hap and Leonard novel, by Joe R. Lansdale
Published by Vintage, 1990
Joe R. Lansdales website
Buy Savage Season on Amazon

More exciting news for Harry Potter Fandom, and more reasons to travel for your Harry Potter Fix

Here I come England.
That's right, Harry Potters latest coolest of the cool tourist grab has caught my attention, now I have to afford Florida and England to fuel my HP geekdom.
Warner Brothers has announced they'll be opening some of the Movie sets for a three hour Harry Potter walking tour.  Look- exercise and geekdom!  I knew there had to be a better way to get fit!
More articles:
Attraction Management.com
Beehive city.com

The actual website- yes you can pre-order you 2012 tickets

Mind Gap, by Marina Cohen- Review

I've been on a bit of a thriller/mystery kick of late.  First Bloodshot, then Mind Gap and finally Savage Season, not to mention two exciting new books that tumbled through the mail slot this past friday from Doubleday.  To be fair I've always loved the genre, right from when I got my first Agatha Christie at age 10, but I forget about it from time to time, so it's nice when some great books come along to remind me what it is I love about the genre.

Jake is a confused 14 year old kid.  Gambling, starting to get caught up with gang members, drinking, all the signs of a teen gone wrong.  And then he gets a text for a party on a subway.  But when a 1950's subway car pull into the station that appears to have his party on it, Jake couldn't possibly guess where this "party" is headed.

A fast paced mystery, Marina Cohen's tale jumps back and forth between the past and the future in a way not unlike scrooges adventures, except modernized. I liked the way her story rotated around a very small number of characters and shows how even seemingly small choices effect all of them in, sometimes, significant ways. 

The one thing I would have liked more of though, was the explanation about Jake's father.  I either missed something or it wasn't fully explained, because I didn't understand what had supposedly happened to him after he disappeared, and why.  Other than that it was a well thought out book and an excellent example of a thriller for Middle school readers.

Mind Gap, By Marina Cohen
Published by Keystone (Dundurn Press), February 2011
Buy Mind Gap on Amazon
Copy of Mind Gap generously provided by Dundurn Press

Loads of Tidbits, including City of Glass extras not previously released!

It seems I'm dropping so many announcements and updates on things lately I'm even boring myself.  So in an attempt to organize better here is a little mixed salad of things of interest.

-Inkpop has announced it's latest couple of contests, the latest writing challenge is up.  Centered on Laura Ruby's Bad Apple, you have until March 10th to submit a short story, poem etc where the protagonist is righting OR perpetrating a wrong. 
Also, a biggie (which has no age restrictions folks), Your Midsummer's Nights Dream Contest, where you could win publication in a short story compilation about A Midsummer's Nights Dream.  The challenge sounds fun, reimagine a scene or act of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream from the perspective of the lovers, tricksters, or the faerie royalty—Hermia, Helena, Lysander, Demetrius, Titania, or Puck.  As always, great challenges for the aspiring writer in all of you, to spread your wings a bit and practice your mad writing skills.  And publication isn't so shabby either!

- More Cassie Clare extras appeared this weekend (what have I said about day ending in Y, huh?).  With the release of City of Fallen Angels less than a month away now the Pre-Order bingo has begun, starting with Barnes and Nobles who are offering two things 1- Pre-Order to get a signed copy of City of Fallen Angels and 2- get an exclusive in their special edition copy of the book!

The B&N Exclusive Edition

In City of Glass, Book 3 of The Mortal Instruments series, Jace leaves a letter in Clary's room before he leaves for a life-threatening mission. The content of this letter has been the subject of much speculation among Mortal Instruments fans, but it has never been revealed until now. In the B&N exclusive version of CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS, Jace's letter to Clary will be enclosed in the book as a separate piece, designed to look as if it was handwritten on stationery."

Now Canadians, don't get your knickers in a knot,Chapters/Indigo will also be carrying the Special Edition with letter in Canada.


Cassie has also announced her initial release tour, happening with Holly Black.  So far it's largely western states and Vancouver.  For the full tour check Cassie's blog.  And for those of you who will make the tour stops, great news!  As usual there's going to be fun extras for coming out -  a sort of short story told via postcards between the characters during the gap between City of Glass and City of Fallen Angels.

If you're still not feeling overwhelmed by COFA extras then one last one.  Pre-order COFA from Amazon and get an exclusive look at some cut pieces from the original manuscript of City of Glass.  Mundie Mom's kindly posted the link.

- Now my good news.  Thanks to HarperTeen, today I'm giving away a copy of Lauren Olivers stunning new book Delirium.  A cool 133 people entered, so obviously I'm not the only one who was looking forward to it's release.  Congratulations to Erin Landrum!

Bloodshot, by Cherie Priest

Jumping from one genre to another and not missing a beat, Cherie Priest has developed a reputation I'm now always going to officially equate her with... Rockin' great books.

Meet Raylene, vampire, thief and a character who's so much all around fun I want her to subsist in a huge series of books.  Something like Miss Marple and Poirot.  I won't lie, I want you to read this book so Cherie can sell more of them, so I can read more of them, because she's left me wanting so much more.

In this rollicking mystery/hardboiled detective novel, Cherie mixes the paranormal with military conspiracy theories, drag queens, and Parcour enthusiasts.  Sounds weird right?  Without a doubt, but it all goes together so seamlessly when you read it that I defy you not to love it.  Couple it with such a great overlying mystery that I sense the next crime/thriller sensation has just taken off.  After all you thought the concept behind Dexter was weird when you first heard about it right?

Ok, so the short blurb is Raylene, professional thief and vampire, is hired by Ian, fellow vampire, to recover paperwork from a military experiment he was kidnapped and subjected to.  It seems straight forward enough, until she's suddenly being subjected to parcour snoops, a plethora of FBI type men in black and on the run herself.  What has she gotten herself into? Obviously not a straight forward case, but what would the fun in that be?  Also, how would you ever fit a Drag Queen into a run of the mill theft? Nowhere, that's where, and that would be our loss for sure.

He lowered himself through the hole, hanging by his hands, and allowed me to support his feet and knees, then his thighs and his midsection, as he slipped down onto the landing between the sixth floor and the fifth.

I'm not saying I didn't cop a feel, but I will cry plausible deniability.

And furthermore, I will add that he was a goddamn magician to get that whole package tucked.  I suspect a space-time portal.  Or a least I would suspect it, if i weren't denying everything.  Which I am.

He flashed me a look that said at the same time, Hey, I felt that... and I choose to believe it was accidental.  For now.

See  I told you it was fun.

Bloodshot, By Cherie Priest
Published by Spectra, January 2011
Cherie Priest's website
Cherie's Blog
Buy Bloodshot on Amazon