Author Archives: keithbwalters

ALLEGIANT

By Veronica Roth, published by Harper Collins.

Allegiant (Divergent, #3) Goodreads Synopsis: The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories. But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love. Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

NOTE: THERE ARE NO SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW! 🙂

My Review: How am I meant to review this? Just…. Veronica, NO! WHY? This review is going to be a very messy one, full of fangirly wails and virtual screams of frustration, just as a warning. I was so ecstatic, when I received this in the post. DIVERGENT was the first ever book I reviewed on my blog (I was eleven, it was an awful, not-even-a-paragraph review, haha) and so the series is quite special. Also, because the INSURGENT blog tour was the first ever blog tour I participated in. So it was really surreal (and SAD!) to be ending this series, as the first book is a main reason I set up my blog. It took me a while to get through it due to homework, and I was left utterly destroyed at the end!

I can’t say why, obviously- but it’s probably the saddest ending to a book I’ve ever read. I knew it was coming- I was spoiled! ): But, it still shocked me. It was understandable why the author did it, but at the same time, not!

I’ve had to delete a lot of this review- I keep going on about the ending! So here’s a summary of my emotions in one simple GIF, so I can get on with the rest of this review:

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Okay- onto the dual narration: I was not expecting a split perspective, at all! I wasn’t very sure how I’d find it. Of course, I adored Tris’ narration. I love Tris to pieces- she’s such a brave, strong character, who I’ve grown to love throughout the series. However, I didn’t get on with Four’s narration, as much. I love Veronica’s writing, so it wasn’t that: I just felt that Four didn’t do that much in this book. I don’t know why! It seemed more like he was just leaning on Tris, and he played a big part in the book, obviously, but I feel that I’ve lost a little love for his character, which I’m so upset about!

In the first two books, there’s always been an air of mystery surrounding the reasons why Chicago had become a dystopian society, divided by Factions and ruled by a controlling government. Finally, we know the truth! The Big Reveal was done pretty quickly, and earlier on that I’d expected. I was thinking there had just been a war between some area in Chicago, blah blah…. they divided the city, end of. I don’t know why I was expecting that- the real reason was just… Wow! I loved the idea behind it, and it was all very clever, I think- and very unpredictable. There were no hints at all (I don’t think…?) dropped into the trilogy to make anyone guess it.

Plot-wise, the book was… okay. Obviously, it had a lot of twists in it, (THE ENDING. I’m sorry to repeat but THE ENDING). I was eager to read on to find out what had happened, after the shocking events of Insurgent. However, I found Insurgent, a little bit all over the place, in terms of plot. Whilst Allegiant had a great one, full of reveals and twists, there was a lot to process for the reader. I read this over about a week and a half (Reading only a couple of chapters per night- too heavy to take to school!) so it didn’t always have my full attention at parts. So, it might be just me!

Overall, ALLEGIANT was a conclusion to a trilogy I’ve loved that I have very mixed feelings about. Firstly, I want to cry and scream WHYYY?! at the top of my voice- because of the heartbreaking twist, and because the I didn’t like a few aspects of the book… but I do want to hug the author too, because the book was, actually, a satisfying finish, to me. It had its faults… For instance, I had to re-read lots of passages, because there was a lot to take in- and I lost a bit of love for Four in this, because I just wanted him to do something! Apart form that though, this book will rip your heart into tiny pieces and emotionally destroy you and turn your inner obsessive fangirl into overdrive. So buy it! And tread with caution. And make sure you have tissues.

My Rating:

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It took me so long to decide whether this book deserved a 3.5 or a 4. I really didn’t like some parts, but at the same time, I’ve fallen in love with the book, and it was an epic conclusion. I know there have been many varied ratings, though!

I received a copy of ALLEGIANT from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no was at all did this affect my thoughts.

An Interview with… Julie Mayhew for the UKYA blog tour!

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Julie Mayhew is the author of Red Ink: A really brilliant contemporary YA book that was published this year. You can find my review HERE! Julie is a lovely person, I met her briefly at a Hot Key party. I’ve been lucky enough to interview her, for Lucy’s fab UKYA blog tour! This blog tour is taking place over the whole month of November, and it’s awesome. Be sure to check out the other posts- check for dates on the PROJECT UKYA page! Here’s a little bit about Julie, first:

Julie is an actress turned writer who still acts but mostly writes. She’s the author of YA/Crossover novel Red Ink, which was one of Booktrust’s Best Children’s Books of 2013. Julie has also written plays for the radio and hosts a night called The Berko Speakeasy where actors read short stories aloud in surprising and theatrical ways. More at http://www.juliemayhew.co.uk and @juliemayhew on Twitter.

And now over to the interview questions!

1. Did any UKYA authors inspire you to write, when you were younger?
I devoured Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley High series which followed the adventures of all-American twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield. Pure, quick-read escapism. I just loved the American High School world – because it was so glamorous compared to my Peterborough secondary school. And of course, like everyone of my generation, I queued up for my turn to take Forever by Judy Blume out of the library. But I was also reading YA books back-to-back with Stephen King – Carrie, Firestarter, Misery, etc , which may explain why I like a bit of darkness in my own writing. I also got into reading Margaret Atwood in my teens. I thought her books would fill me in on what it was going to be like to be an intelligent, grown-up woman. And I suppose they did.

2. What UKYA book would you recommend to teens the most?
I love Faiza Guene’s Just Like Tomorrow. I’m a sucker for a book with a cracking voice and this one, even in translation (it’s originally a French book) knocks you off your feet. I’ve also recently read Once by Maurice Gleitzman which is stunning. Proof that keeping it simple, language-wise, can be very powerful.

3. Why do you like UKYA, as opposed to other genres?
I think there are some interesting risks being taken in this genre (especially by innovative publishers like Hot Key) that adult genres will often shy away from. Also, I love going to a book that takes me back to being young, to a time when it’s still okay to be trying to work things out. Because I am still trying to working things out, and probably always will be! But if I’m honest, I rarely think about genre. To me, genre is something that publishers and booksellers think about, not readers or writers. So I’ll dip into crime, into literary fiction, into non-fiction, into commercial fiction and into UKYA, to find the stories and characters I want to read about. Even when I was writing RED INK I wasn’t consciously thinking, oh, this is definitely going to be a YA book. I just tried to tell the story in the best way that I could, which perhaps explains its crossover appeal.

4. You include a lot of superstitious aspects in your debut, RED INK. Are you superstitious yourself?
I used to be. Very. But after writing the book, I’ve trained myself out of it. Because if you believe in bad omens, I think you sort of invite bad luck into your life or at least start looking for patterns of it that aren’t really there. So now I merrily walk under ladders now and ignore single magpies. However, I do pick up p Julie_1 ennies (see a penny, pick it up, all the day you’ll have good luck) because I’m all for inviting good luck into my world. Why not.

4. Have you got any advice for aspiring young writers reading this?
To get good at anything, you have to stop talking about it and get on and do it. All the time. Every day. Your first efforts will be terrible. But you have to get through that before the good stuff starts turning up on the page. Even now, I’ll read things I wrote last year and think, I could do that much better now.

5. Finally, what’s next for you? Have you got any hints for a possible next book?
Yes. I’ve just finished writing a book set in Russia, London and Edinburgh about a young girl who is involved in a terrorist attack. It’s about how a person manages to live the rest of their life after a terrible thing has happened. Do you talk about it and become defined by it, or try to forget it ever happened? This one is too adult in its themes for a YA publisher but I am now 10,000 words into what I’m pretty sure (but who knows until I’m done!) is a new YA book. To help me write this one, I am learning German from scratch and indulging more in my love of ice skating… But that’s about as much as I can say at the moment. I hate talking about books while I’m still writing them. At the moment it’s still a big, fat secret that I mustn’t tell.

Thanks for the great answers, Julie- and thanks to Lucy for letting me host an interview for her blog tour! Be sure to check out all of the other posts.

The Isobel journal

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By Isobel Harrop, published by Hot Key Books.

The Isobel Journal

Goodreads Synopsis: THE ISOBEL JOURNAL is no ordinary snapshot of a contemporary teenage life. A charming and

vivid narrative scrapbook of the eighteen-year-old author’s sketches, mini-graphic novels, photographs and captions, it captures her wit, her observations and her creative talent as she takes us through the three central themes in her life: ‘Love’, ‘Friends, Art and Otters’ and ‘Me’.

Resonant of Laura Dockrill’s MISTAKES IN THE BACKGROUND and with the powerful naïve illustrative style of cult Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara, this is a collector’s gift for teenagers and all who have the teenage experience still in their hearts. Readers will emphasise with this witty and honest journal of a girl getting to grips with impending adulthood. A must-have for all hipster teenagers and anyone who appreciates the raw creativity of youth. Enchanting and poignant

My Review: This arrived in the post today. I got back from school, opened it, got annoyingly distracted by revision. Grr. But then, on a revision break, I thought to my self: aha! I’ll read a few pages now, as I’ve not got my current read near me. I opened it, and got so immersed in Isobel’s world, I just devoured the whole thing in one sitting!

I’ve never read, or looked at (Most of it is illustration, photos and scrap-booking) anything much like this before. Isobel’s doodles are quirky, contemporary and uplifting- I enjoyed looking at them so much! This cute book is packed full of drawings of Isobel’s family, friends and strangers see sees that she scribbles down in her notebook. They all made me smile! Of course, I’m following Isobel Harrop on Twitter, so I know full well that she LOVES cute animals- especially otters. IF you pick up a copy of this, make sure you look at her section in which she draws the animals she loves! I almost fainted, from the cuteness overload ;D

The whole book is not exactly a fiction book… it’s pretty much all like a diary or a scrapbook, full of pictures of places with Isobel’s illustration’s of them, and there are some event recounts, with lots and lots of awesome drawings. It really is like taking a peek into the life of an eighteen year old (Yes, Isobel is eighteen! And with a book published! WHOA!). I found myself transported to all of the places Isobel has drawn and written about: like the Boy Problems Bus Stop (That made me giggle).

Look! A lovely page with photos and drawings and that homemade, scrap-book feeling. Photo credits to the HKB Tumblr page!

I better stop here, now, or I’ll start rambling on and on, describing each and every picture in the book. Yes, I would do that. I could write about this book and how amazing it is for ages! Overall, it’s a must have, for anybody. If you love art, and comics, buy it. If you’re a fan of vintage clothes, or otters, buy it. If you’re looking for a heart-warming, unique read that you’ll fall in love with, buy it. I enjoyed reading it so much! It’s one of those unique, original books that I’ll treasure- and this page I’ll leave you with especially had inspired me to make a similar scrapbook:

I loved these scrapbook, diary style entries!

Go grab a copy now! I can’t recommend it enough!

My Rating:

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I received a copy of The Isobel Journal from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.

Guildford Book Festival: Darren Shan

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I thought I’d written this post up, but I hadn’t! Just before Hallowe’en, the Guildford Book Festival happened! It’s a really awesome festival for literature, that has some really great authors for events. I went a few years ago to see Alex Milway, who writes the Mousehunter series. I know Matt Whyman, author of The Savages, was there for an event this year, but unfortunately I couldn’t get to that one! But, I did get to go and see the ‘Master of Horror,’ Darren Shan, talk about his ZOM-B books! I’m a huge fan of ZOM-B so I was so excited to see him talk about them and get my books signed again (I met him in a Waterstones signing a few years ago :D) I was armed with a notebook and a pen, and nearly went through a whole ink cartridge scribbling pretty much everything Darren Shan said, down! This is only… half of it. And it’s still long…

Darren Shan kicked off the event with a little intro to the world of ZOM-B, then a reading of the prologue of the first book, which was even more terrifying when he read it aloud. It was really atmospheric! He also talked about putting in some emotion to the book, so that it wasn’t all gore and horror. “Any good book, even a horror boo, has to have an emotional journey,” He said. It definitely goes for his zombies book too, because the main character has to deal with an abusive, racist father.

He then read a little of ZOM-B City… and probably picked the worst scene in the book, about a baby and Mr Dowling, the evil zombie-like clown. It was so freaky and Darren made a lot of people jump (including me) at points!

After more talk about the rough plots of the books, and the readings, Darren moved on to a Q & A from the audience. My brother, obviously, had to stick his hand up first and tell Darren to not drop spoilers. He’d been trying to plough through the series on the train to Guildford! During the Questions and Answers, we got to find out that Darren’s favourite films were the old Hammer Horrors (I agree. I’ve watched a few and they’re awesome) and Salem’s Lot, which is an adaption of a bestselling King horror book. Someone did ask about a dream cast, for if the ZOM-B books were turned into films, but Darren couldn’t answer, as he’d rather focus on his writing than possible productions!

He said there’s nothing in the pipeline yet for ZOM-B to become a film… but I hope there will be, as that would make an awesome movie.

In one of the last questions, he revealed the name of the next book to be released in January. Soon after on twitter the cover (left) was revealed… ZOM-B GLADIATOR! ;D I am EXCITED. According to the author, there’s going to be a new villain introduced… so I am double excited. There was one question on his writing, which I can’t remember, but scribbled down the answer to which was really interesting. Darren Shan said that there wasn’t much, horror-wise for children to read, when he was younger. That’s a reason he writes horror books; to fill the gap in his childhood.

Also, on stand-alones, Darren made a really brilliant point, that I wrote down. “I don’t plot, I just go from story to EMBEDDED IMUJ PERMALINK story and give a story as much space as it needs.” Which, I guess, is why most books are turned into full-length sagas, because he has so much to write about! He also said he’d rather write stand-alones, but his ideas won’t let him. That’s obvious, considering all of the series he’s produced!

Nearer the end I asked a question, which was What character would he meet, from any of his books, given the chance? He replied that he’d really loved to meet Larten Crepsley, who is a character I absolutely loved, from the Saga of Darren Shan.

The event ended and my brother and I queued up to get our whole ZOM-B series signed! When Darren was signing our books, he recognized me from my blog, as he’d recently written up a guest post for my Halloween Reads event which took place in October- and I interviewed him a few months ago! It was awesome to get to talk to him properly, as I didn’t really talk very much at the signing I’d been to before, when I was about nine or ten. Above is the picture my brother and I got with Darren- he likes to strangle people. My brother pulls good I’m-Being-Strangled faces. I do not.

Thanks to Guildford Book Festival and Darren Shan for hosting a brilliant event, I enjoyed it so much!

An interview with… Caroline Green! (PLUS GIVEAWAY!)

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Wahey! If you have been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that I read and loved the teen thriller, HOLD YOUR BREATH by Caroline Green. It was an awesome read, and you can see my review HERE! I went to the blogger’s lunch run by Hot Key, Piccadilly Press, and Templar Books a couple of weeks ago. There, I met Caroline- and she’s such a lovely person! We chatted for quite a while, and I took home another copy of her book by accident. I asked Caroline, and she was happy for me to do a special giveaway for it! I was also lucky enough to interview Caroline, online, after the event. So, here’s an interview, all themed around HOLD YOUR BREATH, one of her latest teen thrillers!

You can follow Caroline by her Facebook page, or her website: https://www.facebook.com/CarolineGreenAuthor

http://www.carolinegreen.net/

•Firstly, can you tell us a little bit about HOLD YOUR BREATH, your teen thriller?

Hold Your Breath is about a 15-year-old girl called Tara who has the ability to locate lost items. This used to be a bit of a party trick within her family but things took a dark turn when she tried to help the police find a missing person, a toddler, for the first time. Her ‘gift’ appeared to be flawed on this occasion and her involvement actually led to tragedy. So as the story begins, Tara is in a new town with her family. She pretends she doesn’t get these images of lost things or people anymore, because it caused so much trouble and heartache before. But when a nasty girl in her class called Melodie Stone leaves school suddenly, Tara keeps getting disturbing pictures in her mind that suggest Melodie has been abducted and is in serious trouble. She has to make the decision whether she should become involved to help someone she doesn’t even like and who no one else thinks is in danger. Then there’s the fact that she doesn’t even trust her gift anymore…

•What was your main inspiration that triggered the idea for the book?

Unlike my other books, Dark Ride and Cracks, this one didn’t begin with a clear mental picture. This time I played around with a number of ideas until this one started to get me excited. I knew I wanted to write a psychological thriller because I love reading that kind of book!

•Your protagonist, Tara, has a special talent: why did you decide to give her that quality?

I was really interested in exploring what it would be like to have a skill that some would perceive to be a gift, but my character sees as a curse. Because her ability is potentially a useful one for other people, it means she would sometimes be under pressure to use it, when really, she would rather not have this special ability at all. She just wants to be normal.

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•If you were to meet one character from this book, that wasn’t Tara, for a day, who would you pick and why?

Well if I was about 25 years younger it would have to be Leo! I did enjoy writing him and hope he is as a

ppealing on the page as he was in my imagination. But maybe it would be Leo’s dad, who cooks fantastic Italian food!

•Where do you write your novels?

My number one favourite writing place is the British Library. I love it there and find I can get lots done when I get the chance to spend the day there.

•Finally, do you have any advice for aspiring writers, in general or in the genre you write in?

I always say that writers must be readers first. So read, read, read, and not just in the genre you like best (although that is crucial too). All those words go in and whirl about in your brain and help you to make new stories. I really believe that. And you must want it really badly too and not let the inevitable knock-backs stop you from following your dream. It took me seven hard years of rejections to get published and I thought I would DIE from how horrible it was! But some stubbornness kept me going and I’m so glad I did.

Thank you so much, Caroline, for some brilliant interview questions! Now for a giveaway! ;D

UPDATE: Raflecopter is being stupid, and the code doesn’t let the widget show, and the link that was up previously doesn’t work. I’ve sent an email to them, but they can’t work it… so, in order to enter to win a copy of the book, please, instead, leave a comment telling me why you’d like to win HOLD YOUR BREATH!

TERMS: I will pick a winner at random fairly. The book will be sent via post, so if it gets lost or delayed I’m not responsible for it. Sorry! The giveaway is running from 12AM 7TH NOVEMBER until 12AM 21ST NOVEMBER. UK only, please, because otherwise postage is a lot of money 😦

Good luck!

Waiting on Wednesday #1

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So, I’ve never done this meme before! But, a lot of bloggers do it to showcase books they’re looking forward to, and it’s a great idea. I thought I’d give it a go!

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine.

I’m waiting on… The School For Good and Evil: A World Without Princes by Soman Chainani

A World Without Princes (The School for Good and Evil, #2) Goodreads Synopsis: In the epic sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel, The School for Good and Evil, Sophie and Agatha are home, living out their Ever After. But life isn’t quite the fairy tale they expected.

When Agatha secretly wishes she’d chosen a different happy ending, she reopens the gates to the School for Good and Evil. But the world she and Sophie once knew has changed.

Witches and princesses, warlocks and princes are no longer enemies. New bonds are forming; old bonds are being shattered. But underneath this uneasy arrangement, a war is brewing and a dangerous enemy rises. As Agatha and Sophie battle to restore peace, an unexpected threat could destroy everything, and everyone, they love—and this time, it comes from within.

Soman Chainani has created a spectacular world that Newbery Medal-winning author Ann M. Martin calls, “a fairy tale like no other, complete with romance, magic, and humor that will keep you turning pages until the end.

Why am I excited for it? I am SO excited for this sequel! I read and absolutely fell in love with the first book in the series (Which is also the be a film soon. Squeeee!). It’s a children’s novel that’s worth being read by anyone. The School For Good and Evil is a perfect blend of fantasy, teenage rivalry, and action. It was such a funny book! The sequel looks awesome- and I only found the cover recently (I fell in love with it and squealed for a bit and just stared at it for a while). Bring on 2014 for this title!

You can read my review of THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL HERE.

The Memory Game (Buddy Read with Charli!)

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Charli, who runs the fantastic TO ANOTHER WORLD book blog, buddy read this short novel with me a couple of weeks ago! We both really loved it, as it was a really heartbreaking and beautiful book. This review was meant to be up yesterday, but due to my general un-organisation is WASN’T ): So it’s here now… ;D You can click on Charli’s blog button below for her review! (Yes I am obsessed with hyper-linking stuff. It’s cool okay.)

by Sharon Sant, self-published on the Amazon Store.

The Memory Game Goodreads Synopsis: ‘If there is a hell, I think maybe this is it.’

Weeks after fifteen-year-old David is killed by a speeding driver, he’s still hanging around and he doesn’t know why. The only person who can see and hear him is the girl he spent his schooldays bullying.

Bethany is the most hated girl at school. She hides away, alone with her secrets until, one day, the ghost of a boy killed in a hit-and-run starts to haunt her.

Together, they find that the end is only the beginning…

My Review: Wow. Seriously, wow. I was not expecting such a hard-hitting, beautiful story from a pretty short book! As Charli said- it definitely packed a punch, for a book under 200 pages!

I’ve never read a book by Sharon Sant before (I know! So many good reviews!) so I thought her latest short novel would be a great introduction to her writing, for me. I loved it so much! The pretty cover, and the mysterious synopsis drew me in, and upon starting it I really didn’t want to stop! I read this over a few days with Charli, and at a lot of points I was without my kindle. Which really sucked, because this book was so addictive!

The beginning is one you have to read over twice. What happened? Wait, he’s died- we’re only on the first page! David’s looking at his own body, and he’s a ghost. How? Why? It reminded me a lot of More Than This- by Patrick Ness, because the boy’s dead within the first chapter (They’re very different books, though!). Sharon Sant has used clever narrative hooks to keep the audience reading- they definitely worked! Lots of different twists in the story opened up brand new questions for me. All of them were answered… except for one! The one that wasn’t answered was one of the things I wanted to know the most: Who hit Dylan with their car whilst he was on his paper run- and was that related to the book somehow? It bugged me a little bit that I didn’t get to know this… however, the est of the emotional story most definitely made up for it.

Dylan’s a character you can love and hate. At first, you feel sympathetic for him; because he’s just been killed, and he can’t say sorry to his mum, and his friend has betrayed him after his death. Then, you want to hit him a bit, because he bullied Bethany, the second Protagonist of the novel. Then… you want to hug him (Though, that wouldn’t work, your hands would go straight through him…) because he’s formed a strong friendship with Bethany, and I can’t exactly talk about this much without spoiling it, but Sharon Sant is evil because she makes you love the two of them, but they can’t even hold hands because he’s a ghost. That was so, so sad. I loved David overall, though, and he made a really great main protagonist!

Bethany was an equally amazing main character. Whilst I had guessed why she was so protective of herself from quite early on, it was really heart-breaking to read on as her sad background unfolded throughout the plot. It tied in really well with David’s death and ghostly-reappearance… and the twist at the end was so shocking, so unpredictable, I was left in a bit of a shock at the ending!

The ending was really beautiful. I didn’t want the story to end, because I was enjoying it so much. When it did… I was in a bit of a whoa mode. I had to read over the last few paragraphs a good few times, in order to let the final parts of the book sink in. Sharon’s writing is really beautiful: I could visualize that ending so well- it was perfect.

Overall, The Memory Game was a really exhilarating read! It’s so original, and paced really well. Sharon’s writing brings the book and the characters to life: I wish the characters were real… I want to give Bethany a huge hug and David, too. Despite a couple of small things, the plot was very well written; complex, and had so much amazing-ness packed into it for a relatively short read. I’d really recommend this to fans of contemporary dramas, or supernatural thrillers! It’s a riveting read!

My Rating:

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I purchased a copy of THE MEMORY GAME from the Amazon Kindle Store.

Happy NaNoWriMo!

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Yes, a few days late to wish it, but I had other posts to put up!

Anyway, if you don’t know what NaNoWriMo stands for, it’s Na(tional) No(vel) Wri(ting) Mo(nth). The goal is to write a novel 50k words long, in 30 days. Sounds scary, but it’s doable! There’s a Young Writers Program for it to, where you can set lower goals.

I’ve been on the YWP site for a few years now, doing goals like 15k. For some crazy reason, I decided to go for 50k this year. Eeeeeeek! I wasn’t sure if I’d get further than a few thousand words on the 1st, but yesterday during a long sprint (Not a run. I don’t like running. A NaNo Sprint ;D) I finally got everything together and I kind of know where my novel is going now! It’s still scary, and I’m slightly behind on words at 3.5k, but I’m going for it this year!

My novel is a sci-fi, and is all centered around the CURIOSITY robot. CURIOSITY is a robot that’s on Mars at the moment, and I’ve twisted the story a little to say that it took pictures of an alien life form. A few years later, after the world has stopped panicking, NASA sends up three astronauts to investigate, and their mission is to take samples from the Moon first, then travel onto Mars. But then they die on the Moon. Because I’m evil and decided the aliens would murder them there. So before they die, they’ve sent a message to Earth that says DESTROY THE MOON. And NASA wants to do that to stop the aliens from coming. And then chaos ensues. Whoop! I have more but I won’t bore you!

If you’re doing NaNoWriMo, GOOD LUCK! 😀 I know lots of bloggers that are participating this year, and some are doing ridiculously well and are getting very far ahead. I’ve heard lots about some stories, and they’re all so brilliant! If you’re joining in, you can view my page to add me as a buddy HERE. If you’re very interested about NaNoWriMo and want to get involved, the 50k page is HERE, and click HERE for the YWP Program! (Oh, I overuse hyper-linking).

Happy NaNo-ing!!

New Books! #30

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A small-ish book haul this week, but all of the titles look awesome!

Also, I re-organised my TBR this week by date and genre. I have WAY too much time on my hands.

Received in Post:

The Demon's Lexicon (The Demon's Lexicon, #1)

The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan: I’ve heard ridiculously great things about Sarah’s books, and I’m really ashamed at myself because I’ve never read one before! On Monday I’m going to see her talk to Holly Black, and I want to try and start this before seeing her, and I also wanted to get a book signed! Thank you, Amazon, for bringing this early… you said it might not turn up until next Friday!

Bought:

The Killing Woods

The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher: I LOVE crime books, and Lucy Christopher’s title looks amazing. I’ve seen it a lot lately in Waterstone’s and various other places, and I decided to buy it today, because I want to read it so badly! This one is definitely moving to the top of the TBR pile…

Leviathan (Leviathan, #1)

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld: I was in the lovely Beckenham Bookshop today, and went to buy BEHEMOTH, but then I realised that was the sequel! I really wanted to get a copy of the first book, though- because its pretty steampunk cover had me really intrigued- and I was hoping I could read it for my upcoming Spotlight on Steampunk event. The awesome people at Beckenham Books have ordered me in a copy- so I technically haven’t got this yet… but I wanted to show it anyway! (I mean, LOOK at that cover. ooooh.)

Library:

Chasing the Dark

Chasing the Dark by Sam Hepburn: I’ve read some mixed reviews about this, but I really wanted to try it! My Librarian reserved me a copy to read before next weekend, because Sam Hepburn will be at the library doing an event, which I’m going to. I hope I enjoy this!

What books did you buy or receive this week- or have you read any of these? Leave a comment! ;D

Halloween Guest Post by Alexander Gordon Smith!

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Yes, the banner says my Halloween Reads event finishes on the 31st… but I have one more guest post! ;D

I met Gordon Smith at his Horror Writing Workshop at the Bath Kids Lit Festival in September. I read the first book in his ESCAPE FROM FURNACE series for Halloween Reads! (Click HERE for the review). Gordon talked about channeling his worst fears into his writing, at the workshop, and he’s been very awesome and written a guest post all about it for my blog- and it’s brilliant! Have a read:

Thanks so much for letting me visit your awesome blog, Georgia, it’s so great to be here! And thanks too for your amazing review of Lockdown, I was so thrilled that you enjoyed it!! 😀

I had the pleasure of working with Georgia during my workshop at the Bath Kids’ Lit Festival last month. She joined in my horror writing workshop, and came up with some fantastic scary stories! We were talking about how when you’re writing a horror story, the best way to make it scary is to base that story on your own fears. And that’s what I want to talk about today!

I’m very afraid of a few things, a little bit afraid of everything else! I think that’s why I’m a horror writer! The more you’re afraid of, the more you have to write about. Some of my fears are very rational – like dying in a plane crash, or losing my loved ones. Some of my fears are slightly less rational. Like porcelain dolls (they scare the living daylights out of me, it’s those soulless eyes) and slugs. Yes, you heard right, I said slugs. There’s just something really creepy about them, especially when you step on one in the middle of the night whilst not wearing any shoes or socks…

*Shudder*

I haven’t quite found the courage to write about slugs yet, but I will one day! All of my books, however, are in some way based on my own worst fears. The Escape From Furnace series was inspired by a time in my own life where I went off the rails a bit – nothing too serious, but it could have been much worse. Back then I was terrified of being sent to prison, and I used that fear to come up with the idea of somebody being sent to a prison full of monsters!

The Fury was also inspired by one of my worst fears – the terror of being chased by a mob who want to kill you! This too came from a real-life incident. When I was at school, maybe fourteen or fifteen, I was in the bottom set for PE (I was always in the bottom set, because I was rubbish at sport). We had the world’s most evil PE teacher, and he would make us play a game called Murderball. Yep, that’s actually what he called it. The idea behind Murderball was that one person in the class would be given a rugby ball and a head start. Then everyone in the class had to chase him and get the ball from him. Murderball never actually worked like that, though. You would be standing there with the ball, then you’d hear the first whistle. The first thing you did was throw the ball away, because it

would only slow you down and you knew nobody actually wanted it. Then you’d run as fast as you could (which for me was sadly never very fast). Then you’d hear the second whistle, and the ground would start to shake, and you’d hear this roar of pure fury rise up behind you, and if you looked over your shoulder (always a mistake, but you couldn’t help it) you would see thirty people chasing after you with expressions like demons! It was terrifying!!

The weird thing is that everyone in that class was a friend of mine – the people I hung out with at lunch and after school. But something changed in them when we were playing Murderball. There was nothing human left in their expressions. All they wanted to do was catch you and kill you. Sooner or later you would be on the floor with thirty people on top of you kicking you, punching you, biting you, and sticking mud in your mouth and up your nose so you couldn’t breathe. I honestly thought I was going to die every time I played this game. Luckily nobody ever did, but I’m sure it was close!

I’ve had a fear of crowds chasing me ever since, and I used that fear when I was looking for a new idea. All I did was add the two magic words of writing: “What if?” What if one day, without warning, every single person in the Alexander Gordon Smith

world did try to attack me – not for sport, not for a game, just because they wanted to kill me. And The Fury was born!

Writing about your own fears makes the horror in your stories feel genuine, because it is! Fear is contagious, it’s a survival thing – if you see other people reacting to something with fear then you too begin to fear it. Once upon a time that communal panic is what kept us alive. Likewise, if a reader senses something genuinely upsetting in a story then they too will begin to feel the anxiety creeping in. It’s the best way of making your readers cower in terror!!

But there’s another reason why I always encourage people to write about their own fears. If there’s something you’re afraid of, and you write a story about it, then you take control of that fear. You are in charge of the story so, for the time you’re writing, you’re in charge of your response to that fear too. Writing is incredibly powerful, it is life-changing for you as an author as well as for your readers. If you can conquer your fears on the page then maybe you can conquer them in real life too. I certainly find that every time I write about something that scares me, I’m a little less scared of it by the time I write ‘The End’. Luckily for me, though, I’m always afraid of something else! 🙂

Thanks for a brilliant guest post, Gordon, it’s great to have you on my blog! The Murderball story behind your latest novel, The FURY, is pretty terrifying! D:

So, this is the last Halloween Reads post! I’ve decided not to review FRANKENSTEIN for the event, because I have lots of others reviews to write for ARCs. I will review it at some point in the future ;D I’ve really loved hosting two bestselling horror authors on my blog, and getting through a lot of my horror TBR pile. I enjoyed reviewing and reading one genre for a while- so my next blog event will be dedicated to Steampunk fiction, in December! 🙂