Let's play...Q&A with Alison Goodman

London, April 1812. Eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall is on the eve of her debut presentation to the Queen. Her life should be about gowns and dancing, and securing a suitable marriage. Instead, when one of her family's housemaids goes missing, Lady Helen is drawn to the shadows of Regency London.

There, she finds William, the Earl of Carlston. He has noticed the disappearance, too, and is one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of powerful demons that has infiltrated every level of society. But Lady Helen’s curiosity is the last thing Carlston wants—especially when he sees the searching intelligence behind her fluttering fan. Should Helen trust a man whose reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her headstrong sense of justice lead them both into a death trap?

In The Dark Days Club, internationally best-selling author Alison Goodman introduces readers to a heroine who is just as remarkable as Eona—and yet again reinvents an establlished literary genre, making it her own.

I was lucky enough to ask Alison Goodman a few questions about The Dark Days Club (out now!), you can read my review for it here, if you like to read reviews and whatnot.

Magonia Blog Tour: Review & Q&A with Maria Dahvana Headley

 

 

Magonia
Author: Maria Dahvana Headley
Publication Date: June 4th 2015
Publisher: Harper Collins
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Neil Gaiman’s Stardust meets John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars in this fantasy about a girl caught between two worlds... two races…and two destinies.

Aza Ray is drowning in thin air.

Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak—to live.

So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn't think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name.

Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who’s always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world—and found, by another. Magonia.

Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power—and as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war is coming. Magonia and Earth are on the cusp of a reckoning. And in Aza’s hands lies the fate of the whole of humanity—including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?

How to describe Magonia? I don't know how, so I'll just go with wow. There. I can't say I 100% got it, because I didn't, it got confusing at times, especially when Aza gets to Magonia, but not totally getting it doesn't necessarily mean I didn't like it, in fact, I freaking loved it despite that. You know all those comparisons X meets Y that are rather annoying at times because they are not even close to describing the book? This isn't one of them. I totally get why it was Stardust meets The Fault in Our Stars, but especially The Fault in Our Stars and not for the obvious reasons, the characters weren't the same, and neither was the writing, but it had that same feel to it, in a way characterisation, humour and the lyrical undertone in the writing, but you just have to read it to understand it, because it is unique and original and honestly? I haven't read anything else like it.

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award (Part 2)

I usually don't do Awards, but this one seemed too much fun to pass up, besides, I was nominated by these two lovelies, Christy and Erica from Novel Ink

The rules ...

1) Thank the blogger that nominated you, and link back to their site.
2) Post the award's logo on your blog.
3) Answer the 10 Questions That you have been asked.
4) Nominate 10 other bloggers and ask them 10 questions. 

The Questions

1 - What book was your biggest disappointment in 2014?

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray (which I've probably mentioned loads of times by now with how much I was disappointed by it) :(

2 - If you could be friends with a character (boy and girl, if you'd like) who would you choose?

Right now, Celaena Sardothien  (still) from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas because she's a badass, and Theodore Finch from All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven because no matter how long you have someone like that in your life, they teach you how to live.

Red Eye Blog Tour: Q&A with Alex Bell

Welcome to my spot on the Red Eye Blog Tour, I have Alex Bell on the blog today with a Q&A, so a great thank you to Alex for answering my questions.

If you guys haven't read or heard of Frozen Charlotte (you can read my review here), it's a  part of the Red Eye Horror series that's being published by Stripes Publishing, the first in the series, Frozen Charlotte along with Sleepless by Lou Morgan were simultaneously published on the 5th January, so they're out now to buy, Frozen Charlotte here, and Sleepless here. You can also check out the trailer here.

 Q&A Time!

1. What was the last book you read? And if you can remember, the first book you read?

The last book I read was The Executioner's Daughter by Jane Hardstaff. A brilliant, magical tale set in London during the time of Henry VIII. Highly recommended.

I don't think I can remember the first book I read. Possibly a Meg and Mog book? 

Spotlight: Court Q&A with Cat Patrick

Title: Court

Author: Cat Patrick

Date of Publication: October 23rd 2014

For more than 400 years, a secret monarchy has survived and thrived within the borders of the US, hiding in plain sight as the state known as Wyoming. But when the king is shot and his seventeen-year-old son, Haakon McHale, is told he will take the throne, becoming the eleventh ruler of the Kingdom of Eurus, the community that's survived for centuries is pushed to the limit. Told through four perspectives, Court transplants us to a world that looks like ours, but isn't. Gwendolyn Rose, daughter of the Duke of Coal, is grudgingly betrothed to Haakon -- and just wants a way out. Alexander Oxendine, son of the Duke of Wind and Haakon's lifelong best friend, already grapples with external struggles when he's assigned to guard Haakon after the king dies. And commoner Mary Doyle finds whispers in the woods that may solve -- or destroy -- everything, depending on your bloodline.

Money. Love. Power. Community. What's your motivation?

Q&A

1) Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

I feel like the red thread in all of my books is that people should be who they are and not who someone else wants them to be. Life is much more interesting that way.

2) Writing mentors?

I find inspiration from every good book I read. I’d recently finished Justin Cronin’s The Passage as I was getting going on Court, and it inspired me to be more thoughtful about description of landscapes, for example.

A Q&A with Lucy Saxon

What are your favourite books and why? 

 

The Harry Potter series, because picking up Philosopher’s Stone at age 7 was what inspired me to start exploring the world of fantasy fiction.

The Mortal Instruments/Infernal Devices, because I find the whole concept very interesting and well-developed, and the Infernal Devices have a great steampunk twist to them

Good Omens, because the level of wit and sarcasm cannot be beaten

The Fault in Our Stars, because of the amount of time I spent crying in silence after reading it

The Kingkiller Chronicle (Patrick Rothfuss), because the amount of worldbuilding in that series is immense, and his writing is incredible.

 

Who are your 5 favourite authors/illustrators, and why? 
 

JK Rowling, both for reasons mentioned above, and the fact that without Harry Potter fanfiction I would not be the writer I am today!

John Green, both for his writing abilities and for creating such an amazing community as the Nerdfighters

Rick Riordan, for writing middle-grade books that I still enjoy at the age of 18 more than most other books I’ve read

Maria V Snyder, because everything she comes out with is gold

George R R Martin, for being able to keep track of three hundred character storylines at once, and have them intertwine flawlessly.

 

What was your favourite book when you were a child?
 

The Faraway Tree (or Harry Potter, depending on your definition of ‘child’)

 

Who is your favourite hero in a book?

Tyrion Lannister

 

 

Who is your favourite villain in a book?

 

Tyrion Lannister

 

If you could be a character from a book who would you be?
 

(You seriously expect me to be able to pick just one???) Luna Lovegood. Or Celaena Sardothien. Or Magnus Bane. The list goes on.

 

If you could recommend just one book for everyone to read what would it be?
 

(Again, just one??) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

 

What book do you wish you had written?

Not including the Harry Potter series, Throne of Glass

 

Who or what was your biggest influence in deciding to become a writer?

JK Rowling and John Green

 

What inspired you to write your latest book?

The steampunk costuming and design I see at conventions

 

What's the best thing you've ever written?

‘Take Back the Skies’, though I don’t have much else in the running for that title. I am pretty damn proud of some of my old fanfiction though.

 

When did you start writing?

At the age of 12

 

If someone wanted to be a writer what would be your number one tip for them?

Keep writing. Even if you think it’s terrible, keep writing; you will only get better with practice. And learn to finish the things you begin, because the ending is the hardest part.

 

Is there any particular routine involved in your writing process (favourite pen, lucky charm, special jumper)?

I don’t tend to sleep much, and I write the entire novel in a very short space of time, usually doing nothing but writing from the time I wake up to the time I sleep. Also I probably drink my own bodyweight in tea several times over.

 

Do you have any abandoned stories in you ‘bottom drawer’ that you would like to revisit?

Plenty! All of which I do actually plan to revisit at some point, when I have the time.

 

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Lucy Saxon is 19 and lives in Hertfordshire with her parents. She describes herself as a cosplayer, con-goer, book-lover and all-round nerdgirl.

Lucy wrote her first novel, Take Back the Skies, at the age of sixteen, finding a home for it with Bloomsbury at seventeen, and is now working on the rest of the series.

When not writing, Lucy spends most of her time on the internet, reading books and slaving over her sewing machine.