CRESCENDO: Prologue and Chapter One preview!

I was in the middle of a revision break earlier when I popped in at Fallen Archangel and almost died hyperventilating when I read that they are exclusively posting the prologue and the first chapter of Crescendo!

(Even better than the Crescendo prologue which is the bonus material included in the Hush Hush paperback release d in the UK on 27th May!)

If that isn't enough to excite you lot, there is more fabulous news! Whilst the Brits have always been proud to have an earlier release date for Crescendo (14th Octover as opposed to 16th November in the US), our lead has dramatically been lessened as Simon and Schuster have moved-up the US release date of the Hush Hush sequel to October 19th!

Now, I know you're excited, so why don't you head over to www.fallenarchangel.com for your Crescendo preview? Don't forget to head over to the Ezine Newsblog to comment your reactions! :D

(Now back to revising maths...)

Author Interview: Jennifer Echols

You know how much I adore Jennifer and her novels Going Too Far and Forget You, and today in celebration of the release of Endless Summer today, I'm very pleased to host an interview with Jennifer! I have listed a few questions for her and here is what she has to say.

1. Can you tell us what inspired Forget You?

First I had an idea about a girl who is always having car trouble in a town where there’s no public transportation and teenagers really need a car to get around. This idea needed something, obviously. Then I read the Smart Bitches’ review of a Sweet Valley High book from the 1980s. They were making fun of this terrible book in which the good twin has a wreck and wakes up thinking she’s the evil twin. I agreed the book sounded bad, but something about that amnesia plot really resonates with me. Remember the Gilligan’s Island episode in which Mary Ann gets hit in the head and wakes up thinking she’s Ginger? I LOVED that episode. I know I’m not the only one. There’s a reason the amnesia plot is taken up over and over. So I decided to write my own amnesia book.

2. The cover (of Forget You) speaks a thousand words. How did you come up with such beautiful cover?

I don’t come up with my covers, and I definitely don’t have the final say! The art department comes up with them, and the editorial board at Simon & Schuster and the MTV network have to approve them. A cover can make or break sales of a novel, and the author usually has no control over this—so I am extremely grateful that I have always been very cover-lucky.

3. What research did you do, if any, in order to accurately write about partial amnesia?

I talked to several people who’d experienced this, and to my brother, who is an emergency room doctor, and my sister-in-law, a nurse practitioner. I’ve trained them to answer very strange medical questions without asking why.

3. If Meg and Doug were to hang out, what do you suppose will happen?

Meg and Doug would be great friends and would probably date for a while, but they would make each other very angry and would eventually break up because they are too much alike.

4. How about...if Officer After and Zoey get together?

John and Zoey are too nice to make it together long. John needs a bad girl, and Zoey needs a bad boy, for the sparks to fly.

5. And I just have to ask this...John After and Douglas Fox?

John would not get along with Doug. He would think Doug was like Eric, the villain from Going Too Far. Of course, everyone thinks Doug is like Eric, which is a big part of Doug’s problem.

6. Which of your characters are you most similar to? In what ways?

All my characters are little parts of me. They have to be, so I can understand their motivations. Doug is the no-nonsense part of me that can’t stand hypocrisy or other people’s arbitrary rules. Zoey is the meticulous part of me that thinks if I just get my desk neat enough and make my family happy enough, all my problems will disappear.

7. If you were to be trapped on an isolated island, which among your characters would you choose as your sole companion?

Doug. He is very entertaining. And he’s creative and resourceful, so he could probably save us both from starvation, as long as there was no boat motor or crashed airplane motor to fix for our escape. Doug is not mechanically inclined.

(I must admit one of my fave Doug moments in Forget You was when he thought Mike's Miata was gonna explode. Gotta love Doug!)

8. Who do admire most as a writer?

Jane Austen. I adore her hilarious and sexy novels. I love that each one is very different from the others, yet if you like one, you’ll probably like the rest. I think that’s what readers look for in a writer who produces multiple novels, and I hope I am doing that for my own readers.

(I agree! Pride and Prejudice is my heart and soul and Emma is absolutely stunning!)

9. Are you currently working on another novel? If so, what should we be expecting?

I’m writing a new novel that will be published by MTV Books in July 2011. I really don’t like to talk about my books until they’re done, but I can tell you that it’s another romantic drama like Going Too Far and Forget You, and I’m incredibly excited about it!

July 2011 hurry now! In the mean time however, why don't you lot check out Endless Summer (if you haven't already been waiting for it)? If you haven't read Boys Next Door yet, don't worry, it actually comes with it! I haven't ordered mine yet but hopefully after exams, and if you've enjoyed Going Too Far and Forget You you're sure to enjoy this one too!

Thank you Jenn for your time :)

You can head to Jennifer's website HERE or her blog HERE to know more about her books and to say Hi!

Author Interview: Keris Stainton

Today I'm pleased to have the very sweet, very wonderful Keris Stainton for interview! Her debut novel, Della Says: OMG! was published 6th May. I asked her several questions and this is what she has to say!

1. What inspired Della Says: OMG! ?

My sister had a party when I was a teenager and the next day I found that my diary was missing. It did eventually turn up - shoved under my mattress - but while it was missing, I was terrified someone was going to use it to humiliate me. I started thinking about how much worse that would be now, with Facebook and mobile phones.

2. Who would most likely steal your diary?

Well these days I pretty much put all my most personal thoughts/secrets on the internet anyway so no one would need to! When I was a teenager I was much more embarrassed about pretty much everything I was thinking and feeling, now I'm much more open and honest. I find that the more honest and open I get, the easier life becomes.

3. If there was one person in the world whose diary you could steal and read, whose would it be?

Oh my goodness. Great question. My brain seems to be stuck on Oprah. Not sure why since I'm not sure how interesting her diary would be - "Worked. Worked more." - but maybe it would give me an insight into how she stays so completely awesome and inspirational.

4. My favourite character is Della's dad - which character is your favourite?

Oh good, I love Della's dad too! I think Della's probably my favourite character though. I feel very protective of her.

5. What were the biggest challenges in writing your debut novel?

Dealing with self-doubt, I think. It started when I sent three chapters over to my editor. They were nothing like the first three chapters now - one was from Della's point of view, another from Jamie's and then Maddy's chapter was diary-style. I then worried that my editor absolutely hated them, but didn't know how to tell me. My brain would come up with things like, "She's probably looking into how difficult it would be to cancel your contract..." Excruciating. Then she said that she loved them, but liked Della the best and asked if I could write the whole book from Della's point of view and the worry started again. And now I've got to do it all again with another book! *cries* (I do know how lucky I am though, honestly.)

6. Who do you admire most as a writer?

Meg Cabot, Meg Cabot, Meg Cabot. I love her books and she's a huge inspiration to me. I love how prolific she is and that she's able to write for different ages and in different genres. So you can imagine how excited I was when she agreed to read Della and gave me a cover quote? I happy-danced all over the house!

7. What in your opinion is the most fulfilling aspect of being a writer?

For me, it's just so wonderful to be able to work from home and fit what I do around my children. I love the fact that my sons get to see me doing something that I love and that makes me happy - that was always really important to me. I also really love reading back something I've written and not remembering writing it - I sometimes think "Ooh! That's actually quite good!" - but that's peculiar rather than fulfilling... I'm going to have to cop-out and say it's ALL fulfilling. It's the best job in the world and I still can't believe I'm doing it!

8. Are you currently working on another novel? A sequel to Della Says: OMG! perhaps?

I am working on another novel (you can read about it here: http://novelista-michele.blogspot.com/2010/05/guest-blog-keris-stainton.html), but it's not a sequel. I am definitely thinking about a sequel to Della. Or maybe even two - I'd quite like to write Maddy's book and also Jamie's, but not sure when that will be (or if they'll be published!)

Thank you Keris! :) I'm sure I'm not the only one looking forward to Keris' next books. You can visit Keris at her website, http://dellasays.wordpress.com/ to find out more about our lovely author!

This interview is part of Keris' blog tour. You can view the list of blog stops (as opposed to bus stops - love it) HERE. Don't forget to head over to The View from My Garret tomorrow for more interview questions!

Book Review: Della Says: OMG! (Keris Stainton)

Della’s over the moon when she kisses her long-standing crush at a party – but then she discovers her diary has disappeared...

When scans of embarrassing pages are sent to her mobile and appear on Facebook, Della’s distraught – how can she enjoy her first proper romance when someone, somewhere, knows all her deepest, darkest secrets?

Della Says: OMG! is a completely hilarious and loveable novel. I was wholly charmed by its characters and by Keris' penchant for concocting a set of ridiculously hilarious circumstances for said characters.

This novel is without doubt exemplary in terms of its depiction of teenage life. I vastly enjoyed Keris Stainton's accurately portrayed teens, especially the protagonist, Della. I found the train of Della's thoughts as realistic as it could possibly be, and personally, I thought at many points her thoughts and actions would reflect mine exactly, had I been put under the same spotlight. It was so easy to relate to Della's fears and insecurities, her naivety, and her particular tendency to exaggerate and assume the worse.

I love Keris' portrayal of Della's relationship with the people around her. Her tenous relationship with her sister is natural, as is her embarrassment about her ultra-cool albeit slightly strange parents (dare I say!). Her bond with her best friend is unquestionable - I simply adore how Della and Maddy are completely at ease with each other and free to interrogation one another on various subjects. Not to mention that Della's unrequited crush turned requited love with Dan Bailey is honestly cute. The progression of their relationship is well-depicted and Dan's easy, laid-back personality complements with Della's slightly reserved attitude. I especially loved the way Dan brought her out of her shell with his outlook on issues that matter to her.

Which of course leads me on to delight about the characters. Della aside, my favourite character would be her dad - cool, laid-back and a totally fun secondary character, I wish he had more scenes!

I must say however, that the plot was not as mysterious as I had expected. My initial impression was that the book would focus mainly on Della's predicament about her lost diary, but it isn't exactly the case. I would have wanted the tension and mystery to have been built up more and further developed. Having said that, when the plot does focus on the mystery of Della's lost diary, it becomes pretty mortifying - Della's darkest secrets are so embarrassing to be made public, I cringed for her. It actually kept me glued to read more of her horrified reactions.

In retrospect, I believe that the British setting was a very strong factor in making me relate to the book so well. Since most of books I read are based across the Atlantic, Della Says felt closer to home. Honestly, its relativity soared when I saw Primark on the page! Of course, British or not you would surely enjoy this delightful treat!

Della Says: OMG! is a thoroughly enjoyable read which appealed to my inner teen. Really liked it!

Four Stars.


I will be having author Keris Stainton for an interview on 18th May, so by all means do check it out!


*A huge thank you to Keris for my copy:)

Book Review: Graceling (Kristin Cashore)

In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.

Graceling is a fantastic novel with equal amounts of adventure, action, romance and mystery. With breath-stopping sequences and perfectly timed twists and turns, it is written with remarkable elegance and grace which should greatly enthuse readers of a wide scope.

This novel has impeccable pacing. The author has considerably incorporated so much action, romance and adventure in each part of the book without being lengthy or draggy. After the first part (the book is subdivided into three parts), I felt as if I have read an entire book considering the amount of time, character and plot development that has occured. Kristin Cashore delivers each scene with the best effect, highlighting the most important without forgoing the rest, giving each only the right amount of words to make it brief and suffuse it with impact.

It is impressive in the smooth, refined prose that Cashore perfects to set the scene. The elegance of the author's writing transcends the pages of the book and immerses the reader in Katsa's world. Kristin Cashore's world of graces and gracelings, of seven kingdoms full of culture and of superbly drawn characterisation, comes to life in her writing in a way that is so unique I could have believed the novel was written in that world.

Graceling provides a world that is complete and detailed, although I felt that its introduction were untimely and overwhelming. In the first few pages I struggled to connect what kingdom to which king, what relationship each had to whom, and other technicalities. However, this soon faded, and as with learning of any other world, grew familiar. By the end of the novel, I wished I had a grace of my own, two different eye colours and a princess in Po's Castle, preferably of Lienid and Middlun decent.

The characters - both primary and secondary - were each admirable and fascinating. Katsa and Po are especially enviable, drawn as real humans whom I found wearily magnetic. Their romance I found primal, but with politeness and comfortability that builds with mutual repect. Their bond is unique and natural; they were, simply put, perfect for each other.

The ending left me strangely empty. It was bittersweet, with the amount of sacrifice dealing with such complex character entails. Kristin Cashore's fantasy world is flawless in its creation and shared with sharp imagery and intelligent characters. I love it!

Five stars.