Tag Archives: EM Castellan
Book of the Week – 5
This week I’m reading Eve by Anna Carey. It is a YA Dystopian novel published in 2011 and the first installment in the Eve trilogy. I have had it on my bookshelf since last Fall and I thought it was time for me to dive into it, since Once, the second book in the series, is due out in July 2012.
Goodreads on Eve:
“Where do you go when nowhere is safe?
Sixteen years after a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth’s population, the world is a perilous place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a future as the teachers and artists of the New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school’s real purpose–and the horrifying fate that awaits her.
Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Arden, her former rival from school, and Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust . . . and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.
In this epic new series, Anna Carey imagines a future that is both beautiful and terrifying. Readers will revel in “Eve”‘s timeless story of forbidden love and extraordinary adventure.”
Check out Anna’s website: http://annacareybooks.com/
What are you reading this week?
A writer in the spotlight – Teri Hall
This week again I was lucky enough to have a YA author give me an exclusive interview! The idea behind the “Writer in the Spotlight” feature is that published (and bestselling) authors are the best source of advice for us, would-be-published writers. Today’s interview is with Dystopian writer Teri Hall.
Author : Teri Hall
Genre : Dystopian, young adult literature
Location: Washington State, USA
Website : http://www.terihall.com/
Books : The Line Trilogy – The Line (2010), Away (2011), The Island (no release date yet)
My interview (12/04/2012)
On “The Line” trilogy:
Why did you decide to write a YA Dystopian novel?
I think dystopias offer a unique opportunity to explore big questions. Are the values our society holds the ones we should be reinforcing? What is important? What is true bravery? What choices would you make if you were put in a situation where every one of them was crucial?
Is Rachel, her mother and Ms Moore based on real people?
Nope.
The Unified States are a very interesting (and frightening!) place to live in. How did you come up with the Unified States?
I really just took what’s happening now (border tension, nationalistic fervor, loss of personal freedom in hopes that it will somehow “protect” us from harm, humanity’s innate fear of the “other”) and extrapolated in order to try to envision what things could look like in the near future. The scariest part of that process was that it was so easy to see how we could get to a place like the Unified States within a very short time.
The relationship between Vivian and Rachel is very well described, as well as the contradictory feelings that teenagers can experience toward their parents. How did you go about writing about those?
I remember being a teenager, and I know plenty of teenagers and mothers, so that special sort of love/resentment thing was pretty easy to write about. The way you think your Mom might be the stupidest person on earth sometimes, and then as time passes you realize what she’s been dealing with, and how you had no idea that her actions might have had a whole set of adult concerns attached to them that you had no idea about.
What type of music did you listen to when you were writing this book?
I don’t like to listen to music while I write. I generally like only silence or bird sounds from my open window.
What are you working on now?
Book three of the trilogy. It’s called The Island, and I am having a lot of fun writing it.
On writing:
Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
Nope. Nobody ever mentioned that as a possibility.
When and where do you write?
I write in a tiny home office, whenever I can find time.
Do you ever experience writer’s block?
Hmm. I do experience difficulty writing sometimes, but I think it’s less of a block than it is just being too tired, or too distracted, or too . . . something.
What do you say to people who want to be writers? How difficult is it to get published?
I try to say very little except “good luck” and “keep trying” to people who express to me that they want to be writers. I think all writers’ paths are unique, and that advice about some general way of doing things is not very useful. In terms of how difficult it is to be published, I don’t have a good answer. I’ve watched some great writers get passed by or published only after exhaustive attempts, and I’ve see the opposite happen, too.
Away is already available in hardcover in the UK. It will come out in paperback in September 2012.
A Round of Words in 80 Days – Check-in #2
So I’ve just finished my first week of ROW80 challenge (I joined in a few days late) and so far it’s going well (although I’ve been told this is often the case for the first week).
For the record, my goals are:
1- I shall write the first draft of my new dystopian novel with at least 750 words per day.
2- I shall also self-edit/revise The Last Queen so that I finally have a final draft for it.
And this is what happened this week:
1- I did write 750 words per day of my new dystopian novel.
2- I didn’t revise The Last Queen per say but I’ve been reading a book on self-editing (Self-editing for fiction writers by Browne and King) so I still think I’ve worked toward this goal.
As a result: yeah! This challenge is doing me some good.
Here is the Linky for the other check-in posts.
Also, please have a look at my post for today: an exclusive interview with YA Dystopian author Teri Hall on her books and the craft of writing.
How are you other ROW80 writers doing?
Fantastical Intentions – Beginnings
Fantastical Intentions is a feature featuring Hannah and Naithin of Once Upon A Time and Jacob of Drying Ink. They decide on a fantasy related topic and everyone is welcome to join in. If you would like to participate, write a blog post of your own and leave your link in the comments.
This week’s topic is: Beginnings!
My pick is the beginning of The Passage by Justin Cronin.
“Before she became the Girl from Nowhere-the One Who Walked In, the First and Last and Only, who lived a thousand years-she was just a little girl in Iowa, named Amy. Amy Harper Bellafonte.”
The Passage is a very long book (almost a 1000 pages) and it’s the first installment in a trilogy. To be honest, it’s not the easiest read in the world despite a great theme and an interesting plot: the story takes a (very) long time to unfold and I thought some editing would have been needed for some parts of the book. That being said, The Passage has one of the best beginnings I’ve read in my life. The first 250 pages are just amazingly gripping and incredibly well written. Entitled “The Worst Dream in the World”, this part 1 of the novel describes how the world comes to an end in less than half an hour.
“It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born.”
This beginning is a race against time and a great introduction of the main characters.
It is an outstanding example of what a beginning should be in a novel.
What beginning did you choose?
TGIF – 2
TGIF is hosted by Ginger at GReads! Each Friday, she asks a question for anyone to answer. This Friday’s Question is:
Musical Stories: If you could read a book about any song, which song would you love to see written down in story form?
There are many songs that are stories in themselves but there is one I always thought would be a great Fantasy story:
Night of the Hunter by Thirty Seconds to Mars
(Fair warning: this in not a happy song about butterflies and flowers. Don’t say I didn’t warn you)
I was born of the womb of a poisonous spell
Beaten and broken and chased from the lair
But I rise up above it, high up above it and see
I was hung from the tree made of tongues of the weak
The branches were bones of liars and thieves
Rise up above it, high up above it and see
Pray to your god, open your heart
Whatever you do, Don’t be afraid of the dark
Cover your eyes, the devil’s inside
One night of the hunter
One day I will get revenge
One night to remember
One day it’ll all just end,
Blessed by a bitch from a bastard’s seed
Pleasure to meet you but better to bleed
Rise, I’ll rise, I’ll rise, I’ll rise!
Skinned her alive, ripped her apart
Scattered her ashes, buried her heart
Rise up above it, high up above it and see
Pray to your god, open your heart
Whatever you do, Don’t be afraid of the dark
Cover your eyes, the devil’s inside
One night of the hunter
One day I will get revenge
One night to remember
One day it’ll all just end,
Honest to God I’ll break your heart
Tear you to pieces and rip you apart
Honest to God I’ll break your heart
Tear you to pieces and rip you apart
Honest to God I’ll break your heart
Tear you to pieces and rip you apart
Honest to God I’ll break your heart
Tear you to pieces and rip you apart
One night of the hunter
One day I will get revenge
One night to remember
One day it’ll all just end.
What song did you choose?
Quote of the Day – 6
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Waiting On Wednesday – 3
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by book blogger Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.
Today I have chosen Girl of Nightmares (Anna #2) by Kendare Blake (Expected publication: August 7th 2012 by Tor Teen)
From Goodreads:
“In this follow-up to Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas begins seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he’s asleep, and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong. These aren’t just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.
Cas doesn’t know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn’t deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it’s time for him to return the favor.”
I LOVED Anna Dressed in Blood that came out last year. I can’t wait for its sequel!
What are you waiting for this week?
A guide to attending international book fairs for would-be-published writers – The London Book Fair 2012
Next Monday I am going to attend the London Book Fair 2012. It will be held at Earls Court, London from the 16th – 18th April. I went there last year during two days and I had a great time, which is why I’m going again this year.
According to its own website, the London Book Fair has been “the global market place and leading business-2-business exhibition for rights negotiation and the sales and distribution of content across print, audio, TV, film and digital channels for 41 years. With over 400 seminars and events, 1,500 international exhibiting companies and 24,500 publishing professionals, The London Book Fair encompasses the broad spectrum of the publishing industry.”
So the question is: is it at all worth it, for a would-be-published writer, to attend such a fair? My answer is yes, IF you are realistic about your expectations.
What won’t happen at the London Book Fair
If you are, like me, a would-be-published author, you shouldn’t go to a book fair (whether in London, New York City or Frankfurt) hoping to get noticed by an agent or a publisher. To me, this is not the place to get your foot in the door by walking up to agents or publishers and dumping your awesome manuscript in their lap.
Agents and publishers who attend those book fairs do so to meet business partners that they already have, not to meet new ones. Unless you were actually given a meeting time by an agent or a publisher at the fair, don’t expect to be able to sit down with them and to pitch them your best-seller in the making. They don’t have time for newcomers who haven’t previously been introduced to them. Even if you “only” want to talk with a specific agent, chances are he is fully booked with meetings with different publishers and book buyers anyway.
If you want to talk to agents and editors, my advice is to attend writers’ conventions/conferences. The agents and editors who attend those are actually expecting to talk to authors.
So should you just give up and not go to the London Book Fair? No. Because here is what will happen there
If you are a would-be-published writer, going to the London Book Fair is still worth the trip for three reasons.
1- You can attend seminars and workshops and learn A LOT about how the publishing business works. Last year I attended a How To Get Published Masterclass, numerous seminars on the state of the publishing industry and its (digital) future, as well as a few authors/publishers panels. And it was enlightening on many levels. Among others, I got to listen to words of advice from Philip Pullman (best-selling author of children’s fantasy novels, His Dark Material) and Sarah Odedina, the former Bloomsbury Group editor-in-chief who has published all of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. Talking about people who know their stuff.
2- You get to have an insight into future publishing trends. It can be a good way to find out whether this great book you’ve been working on is in sync with what those decision-making people actually want to buy/publish.
3- You meet other would-be-published writers. To paraphrase Kristen Lamb, you are not alone. Other unpublished authors go to those fairs and unlike agents and publishers, they are interested in talking with you. And it’s great to meet and exchange with other writers who are on the exact same “I want to be a writer!” roller-coaster ride you’re currently on. The book fair is the time to connect and make friends.
So what do you think? Are you going to attend the London Book Fair?
To wrap this up (yeah if you’ve read the whole thing!), a few noteworthy websites:
The London Book Fair http://www.londonbookfair.co.uk/
Book Expo America http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/
The Frankfurt Book Fair http://www.buchmesse.de/en/fbf/
Absolute Write Forum (on going to the London Book fair) http://absolutewrite.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-94444.html
Kristen Lamb’s hilarious account of her personal first book fair disaster http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/?s=book+fair
Book of the Week – 4
This week I’m reading The Line by US author Teri Hall. Its is a Dystopian novel published in 2010. The second book in the series, called Away, came out last September and I have had them both on my TBR pile for ages. After watching The Hunger Games I have decided it was time for me to dive into this original story.
According to Teri’s website, here is what the series is about:
“Rachel lives with her mother on The Property. The good thing about living there is that it’s far from the city where the oppressive government is most active. The bad thing, at least to most people, is that it’s close to the Line—an uncrossable section of the National Border Defense System, an invisible barrier that encloses the entire country.
She can see the Line from the greenhouse windows, but she is forbidden to go near it. Across the Line is Away, and though Rachel has heard many whispers about the dangers there, she’s never really believed the stories. Until the day she hears a recording that could only have come from across the Line.
It’s a voice asking for help.
Who sent the message? What is her mother hiding? And to what lengths will Rachel go in order to do what she thinks is right?”
What are you reading this week?
EM Castellan 