INTERVIEW - JULIE KAGAWA

So I know this is a tad late but there was a mixup with interviews and I finally have my interview with Julie Kagawa! Hope you enjoy!

Why did you write The Immortal Rules?

I had been toying with writing a post-apocalyptic YA story after The Iron Fey, when my agent suggested I might want to try vampires.  Although not terribly intrigued with the idea at first, I then had the thought of combining the two, and from there everything sort of fell into place.

What sort of research did you have to do for The Immortal Rules? How did you go about doing this?

A lot of research went into The Immortal Rules.  This was the real world, albeit a futuristic, vampire infested world, but the real world nonetheless, and things had to make sense.  A large part of my research involved watching the entire season of The Discovery Channel's Life After People, to see how long it would take buildings and other structures to fall apart.  I researched what would happen to dams, power plants, bridges, ect. if there were no humans around to take care of them.  What would happen to the wildlife?  What would happen to normal pets?  How long would it take for the plant life to retake everything?  Do guns fire underwater?  Lots of questions, and lots of research, but it was essential to make the world of The Immortal Rules even remotely believable.

Can you tell us about the sequel to The Immortal Rules....

I'm in the middle of writing the sequel now, and all I can say is that Allie will meet new and old faces, fight her Hunger, and discover a monstrous enemy who has dark plans for her and the entire world.

  

Did you want to be a writer as a child?

I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was about 16. That’s when I started seriously trying to write novel-length manuscripts. Trust me, those early works were not things that should ever see the light of day. J Writing is a craft that takes a long time to learn and improve, and it took me fifteen or so years to get to the point where my work was of a publishable quality.

During that time, I pursued many different jobs… but most gravitated towards books or animals. Right before getting published, I was working as a dog trainer, and if I wasn’t writing, I would probably want to be training animals.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?

Martial Arts. My hubby and I are practioners of kung-fu and Kali. We spend a lot of hours throwing each other around and hitting each other with sticks. It’s wonderful stress relief and great exercise. Also video games, which gives me both inspiration and needed down time.

INTERVIEW - AIMEE CARTER - GODESS INTERRUPTED BLOG TOUR

If you could be a God, which one would you be and why? 
 Every time someone asks me this, my answer changes. Right now I’d have to go with Athena. She’s strong, brilliant, and independent, and you can’t beat that. Then again, seeing the Underworld would be pretty great, and who wouldn’t want to be Aphrodite for a day?

Do you see yourself, or anyone you know in your characters? 
 I’m very, very careful about not basing characters off of people I know or myself. For one, if you write someone into a book, you lose a great deal of creative freedom with that character. And second, it opens you up to all sorts of lawsuits (for writing someone in) or very personal hurt (when writing yourself in, and people don’t like that character). Much easier to create your own characters.

Do your family and friends ever try to find themselves in the characters? 
I’m not sure – you’d have to ask them!

Do you have a writing ritual? 
Butt in chair, internet off, fingers on keyboard. I try to be flexible about how, where, and when I write, simply because I don’t want to be held back or give myself an excuse not to write.

What is your most embarrassing moment as a writer? 
Hmm, good question. Awkward typos are pretty embarrassing. Oh! For a writing workshop class, I was reading through a partial from someone named Logan, and the protagonist was a girl. I praised Logan for trying something in the POV from a character who was the opposite gender, and when I got to class later that week, I realized that Logan was actually a girl. We became friends because of it, but I still felt terrible.

So... scoop on the next book? 
My lips are sealed! The best I can tell you is that there will be a 2.5 called The Goddess Legacy, which is a collection of novellas from five different characters (Calliope, Ava, Persephone, James, and Henry) which form one entire story about the gods before long Kate was born. And as for the third one, The Goddess Inheritance, you’ll just have to wait and see, I’m afraid.

Will there be a film? 
Anything’s possible, but right now there are no plans to make it a film.

Out of the two Goddess test books which is your favourite? 
Goddess Interrupted, for sure.

Favourite Author? 
JK Rowling

What is the book you wish you had written? 
I think the stereotypical answer here is Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, etc. But if I’d written them, I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy them, and Harry Potter especially has been such a huge influence on my life that I simply wouldn’t be the same person without it. I’m very happy with the books I do write.

How does it feel to see both of your books such a big phenomenon in the YA market? 
You’re very sweet for saying it’s a big phenomenon! I definitely wouldn’t go that far. Honestly, I’m so thankful for everything. For every reader, for every opportunity, everything. Every day I’m amazed that people I’ve never met are reading one of my stories, and I don’t think that will ever get old.

If you could have dinner with any three people (dead or alive) who would it be and why? 
 My mother (who died when I was a kid), JK Rowling (because seriously), and...hmm. Number three is tough. Let’s go with Ben Barnes. He seems like a great, genuine, funny guy, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s pretty much my personal definition of physical perfection. The less shallow and star-struck side of me wants to say someone like Oscar Wilde or a young Henry VIII, but c’mon.

How much research did you do?
A ton. I love Greek mythology, and I’ve been reading up on it since I was a kid, but a lot went into figuring out which myths to feature, which to hint at, and which not to include. I put a lot of time and effort into twisting the myths as well to try to make the story fresh as well.

FATED - ALYSON NOEL - REVIEW

Book: Fated
Author: Alyson Noel
Publisher: PanMacmillan
ISBN: 9781447206804
Rating: A+


Strange things have been happening to Daire Santos. Animals follow her, crows mock her, glowing people appear from nowhere. Worried that Daire's having a breakdown, her mother sends her to stay with the grandmother she's never met, who lives on the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico.There Daire crosses paths with Dace, a gorgeous guy with unearthly blue eyes. Her grandmother recognizes Daire's episodes for what they are - a call to her true destiny as a Soul Seeker, a person who can navigate between the living and the dead. Guided by her grandmother, Daire must be quick to learn how to harness her powers, because Dace's brother is an evil shape-shifter, out to steal them. Daire must embrace her fate as a Soul Seeker and discover whether Dace is the guy she's meant to be with ...or if he's allied with the enemy she's destined to destroy.


This was just what I needed. It was just such an amazingly mind-blowing novel, filled with mystery, magic, and a perfect boy. A typical Noel novel... and I loved it! I remember when the Evermore series ended I was really sad to see it go as it was one of my favourite series's but this most definitely filled the void it left. Ever and Damen? Who? It's all about Daire and Dace now. But seriously, this was a gorgeously written novel, with magic and suspense filling the pages and a story so unique It left me hungry for more!


The book is about a whole new type of humanoid creature. Soul seekers. Basically it's  about a girl named Daire who has these visions and goes to stay with her grandmother, who she hasn't met all her whole life and says she can help with the visions. She goes to stay in mexico and learns she is a soul seeker. Training starts, meets boy, the norm... then comes the baddie, he's taken her grandmothers should and...! Da, da, Daaaaa!


The story was so beautifully planned and such a honour to read. The plot flowed from chapter to chapter, and completely unique story, like nothing I have ver read before. The about of time and effort that must have gone into this book is quite clearly visible and that fact that Noel created a whole new typed of creature... well I praise her. The story line was quick, fast paced and kept me enthralled the whole time and before I knew it 500 pages had gone and I was left wanting so much more.


I thought Alyson Noels writing was beautiful before this but, my god, she's done it again... and better. The writing was just so eloquent, so musical! The writing was so lyrical and whimsical, the most stunningly vivid description playing out before your eyes and the most fantastic emotions being written. The balance with the dialogue and secretion was perfected to perfection and my god, this book was like chocolate cake! Sooo good, but leaves you wanting more.


Overall, I think the book was so gorgeously fantastic, with writing so beautiful it will make you melt and a story so perfect you'll be hungry for more.


Here is an amazing Excerpt for you to read! :


Fated

HOUSE OF NIGHT: MARKED COMIC - P.C. CAST & ARTISTS - REVIEW

Book: House of Night: Legacy
Authors: Daniel Krall (Artist), Joelle Jones (Artist), Eric Canete (Artist), Jonathan Case (Artist), Karl Kerschl (Artist), Joshua Covey (Artist), PC Cast (Author), Kristin Cast (Author), Kent Dalian (Author) 
Publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 978-1595829627
Rating: B


Until recently, Zoey Redbird was an average high-school student worrying about grades, boys, and breakouts. But priorities have a way of changing when you're Marked as a vampyre, enroll in the vampyre academy House of Night, and have to figure out a whole new social hierarchy, affinities for elemental magic, and physiological changes that make you crave blood! Based on the international bestselling series of novels by mother/daughter duo P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast, House of Night: Legacy follows Zoey and her group of devoted friends as they turn to The Fledgling Handbook, a historical vampyre tome, in hopes of better understanding this big, new world of vampyrism.


I got this on whim, from the publishers and I am so glad i did. I've never been big into comics but this was a actually really good! So let's get straight into it!


The story followed very closely to that of the actually book and I don't think anything unnecessary was added. A couple of bits were missed out, but nothing too major. Reading the comic you could still get the idea of the story. It was split into five chapters, one chapter for each element and they all strung together quite nicely.


The drawing were really beautiful actually! The people looked very perfect and although sometimes the drawing could be a tad angular or the heads could be a tiddly bit big for the bodies they were stunning drawings! The colours were nice and blog too, always keeping your eyes on the page.


The thing with these type of book, that you have to be careful with is the balance between pictures and text and this book nailed it! It was a wonderful read, pictures to back up text and give you different details. 


For a comic, I actually really enjoyed it, with beautifully stunning drawings and lovely dialogue. This has definitely shown me the potential of graphic novels and I will be sure to read the second!

CRAVE BLOG TOUR

 
Well today is the Stop for Excellent Reads on the Crave Blog Tour and here you are. Now I don't have an interview to offer, but I do have an awesome review to read which you can view here: CRAVE - MELISSA DARNELL - REVIEW

I hope you enjoy and because I don't have an interview here are some goodies to do with the book.



That trailer was awesome! I hope you enjoyed you stay here fro the crave blog tour and I send you out with the cover for Covet, the second book!   

THE WITCH OF TURLINGHAM ACADEMY - ELLIE BOSWELL - REVIEW

Book: The witch of Turlingham Academy
Author: Ellie Boswell
Publisher: ATOM
ISBN: 9781907410956
Rating: B

It's not easy being the only day girl at Turlingham Academy: Sophie misses out on all the midnight feasts and late night gossip. And when new girl Katy turns up it feels like she's bewitching all of Sophie's friends! Katy's no witch, but there is a witch at Turlingham. Katy comes from a long line of witch hunters whose job is to stop evil magic. Sophie is going to help her - anything to get Katy out of her life and get things back to normal. But what she discovers means nothing will ever be normal again!


I have to admit I had my doubts about this before I read it but I was pleasantly surprised. I actually really enjoyed it, a lot! In fact it reminded of the The Worst Witch (a past-time favourite) but more modernised which is always nice to have. The book was quick, snappy, fast paced and pet you interested the whole way through. Definitely a feel-good book. It's one of those book where you read it and you just wish the world would actually be like that, be we all know it's not gonna happen.


The plot was very simple, no complex hidden story lines, it was fun and was easy to follow. I liked it., though. I moved on quickly, kept you thinking and waning to know what happened next. It was very light-hearted and I like to have a breath of fresh air, every once in a while, because of all the books I read.


The writing was nice to read aswell. There was no over description or endless pages of dialogue, just a nice balance that got straight to the point and created a nice vivd image in your mind. It was definitely enjoyable to read and I didn't come out not liking it, so I think Boswell has done a brilliant job with this novel.


The characters were all good, and because their weren't loads of them, It made it easier to get to know them, because of course this is the first book in the series and we don't know them yet. I felt they were all really strong, standalone characters, and you could get really close to them. My favourite characters would have to be Katy and Sophie, because you learn what true friends are from them, something that you find often in out modern day society. This book is perfect for escapism.


Overall the book was funny, fantastic, light-hearted read that kept me glued to it till the end!

ANGEL - FANAMDE MOVIE POSTER

Just a fan made movie poster for Angel! Yay or Nay? Any requests, pop me a comment or an email on the contact page!