nindogs

Over at YA Highway , there is a weekly meme running called Road Trip Wednesday, where a writing-or-book-related question is asked of both the road trippers and audience, the answers to which are linked in the comments. This week, RTW asks us which secondary character from a YA novel we would like to see star in a story of their very own. You know the character, sometimes set up in a fashion reflecting the author's lack of concern at whether the reader likes or dislikes them. Often the comic relief, or the bait. Or even someone that you really weren't meant  to get attached to, a plot device or background noise. So, my answer? I could talk to you about the story potential in THE HUNGER GAMES' Finnick Odair, or in Barron Sharpe, the protagonist's older brother in Holly Black's THE CURSE WORKERS series. Hell, even Adrian Ivashkov from the VAMPIRE ACADEMY books. And you know that I am all for  some Weasley love. But I have to say: These guys. The Marauders....

This is a legitimate change in a conventional title. Seriously. There are Pringles tubes with a wider girth than my mailbox, and I would like to say that my postman was not a total creeper and considered the etiquette in just placing packages atop the cube that is my mailbox instead of singing Queen continually, loudly (and tunelessly) right up below my bedroom window and placing them on my doormat. But I can't. Ergo, my books arrive on my door mat. Basically, In My Mailbox is a weekly-monthly-bimonthly-seasonal meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren , and inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie . Some write on their blogs, some write on napkins , some podcast or vlog or comment or tweet I suppose. I, however, have decided that I talk far too much and so I will be vlogging mime-style and adding notes here. Now, due to the overwhelming lack of books that I have bought lately, these are all the books that I plan on doing things with that I have been neglecting. So, wit...

Julie Cross is incredible. Her debut novel TEMPEST, about a time-travelling boy who tries to save his girlfriend, fronts a trilogy, and is set to be published by Thomas Dunne Books in January next year. Today, I'm lucky enough to have her here for some questions. So, I give you, Julie Cross. TEMPEST is your upcoming debut novel and it sounds absolutely phenomenal! So, what can we expect from it? What to expect from TEMPEST? Expect to hone your inner 19 year old guy because you’ll spend the entire three hundred and something pages looking at the world through Jackson Meyer’s eyes. He’s about to have his whole life turned over, shaken up, and twisted into knots. It’s a wild ride of action, romance, friendship and mystery. I’ve been told the pace is fast and that the last one hundred pages are almost always read in one sitting. Since I wrote it, it’s harder for me to judge, but I remember throwing down those last 10,000 words in one day and feeling like I had held my...

Pretty 100 per cent sort of certain that I have never participated in a YA Highway Road Trip Wednesday in any form but that of lurking on a Friday afternoon thinking "Well, Thursday's bluffable. But this is just slow" . Anyhow, this "blog carnival" topic this week is Favourite All-Time Covers. And I've talked previously about my snobbiness regarding the physical appearance and/or first impressions of people books. So, without further ado. THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER has a similar floating feel, but the air of suffocation and constriction, as well as the crowded text just conveys this subtle darkness that really appeals to me. If it were possible to marry a book cover and its premise, I would have been wedded to Julie Cross' TEMPEST a long time ago. I know many link this to HUSH, HUSH with the zero-gravity nature, but it's the entire composition that really links with the time-travelling premise of the novel.  I was always rather ...

Enter the gorgeous and delightful and talented Jennifer Rush. You might have heard of her through the blogosphere, whether through Twitter or Goodreads or even her blog  or Tumblr. Her YA debut, a dystopian novel, ALTERED, is set to be published Fall 2012 by Little, Brown, and she just sold her Middle Grade debut BOT WARS. I got into contact with her recently, and she was more than willing to answer a series of questions. So, without further ado, I present Mademoiselle Jenn Rush! ALTERED is your upcoming debut novel and it sounds absolutely phenomenal! So, what can we expect from it? Besides it being a fast-paced thriller, with guns and secret identities and hot guys, it’s a story about relationships. When you can trust no one, the people closest to you become infinitely more important. The bond between Anna and the boys is one of the reasons I love the book so much. They are a family. As screwed up as it is! You describe ALTERED as Dollhouse meets Pris...

This is a legitimate change in a conventional title. Seriously. There are Pringles tubes with a wider girth than my mailbox, and I would like to say that my postman was not a total creeper and considered the etiquette in just placing packages atop the cube that is my mailbox instead of singing Queen continually, loudly (and tunelessly) right up below my bedroom window and placing them on my doormat. But I can't. Ergo, my books arrive on my door mat. Basically, In My Mailbox is a weekly-monthly-bimonthly-seasonal meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren , and inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie . Some write on their blogs, some write on napkins , some podcast or vlog or comment or tweet I suppose. I, however, have decided that I talk far too much and so I will be vlogging mime-style and adding notes here. Now, due to the overwhelming lack of books that I have bought lately, these are all the books that I plan on doing things with that I have been neglecting. So, wit...

In this day and age, the broad scope that is sex  comes with the YA territory. For example, contemplate the utter anarchy that follows Cassandra Clare's "Dirty Sexy" sneak-peak scenes. Kiersten White says something along the lines of or you can just go back to the kissing scenes  in her acknowledgements section. I have noted a number of readers lamenting some books for their lack of sexy time or opportunities for fantasised fanfiction of such a nature. One could argue that any book, any television show, any movie, won't see any tremendous success without sex appeal. (And to further my point, this post shall be punctuated with images of Adam Levine. ) In my final draft of PRAETORIAN, I recently wrote, reviewed and rewrote a steamy scene between two characters that soon turned rather ironic and pivotal to the plot climax. Did I do it because I felt as though it were important for any possible sale of my book? No. I did it because my characters are just like that, and ...