Book Release: The Neumarian Chronicles: Escapement by Ciara Knight

Today is the release date of Ciara Knight's newest book, Escapement, the first book in The Neumarian Chronicles and the sequel to Weighted, which you may recognize. Congratulations, Ciara!

Here's the promo and information about Escapement.

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We need your help! Thanks to our spy, Ciara Knight, we are able to communicate with you today via blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

The Neumarian uprising has begun. We are fighting for freedom and equality for all, but we need your help. Ciara informed us that you might want to know more about the uprising and why we ask you to risk your lives for our cause. To answer these questions I've agreed to let Ciara tell my sister's, Raeth's, story about her captivity. It will be free for you on a site called Amazon until March 1, 2013.

Our spies have told us this will help spread the word and find more recruits for our rebellion against the tyrannical queen. You can help by simply downloading a free copy of Weighted, a prequel to the Neumarian Chronicles. If you are intrigued and wish to follow our uprising, Escapement, book I of The Neumarian Chronicles, will be available for only $2.99 until March 1, 2013.

Escapement is told by Princess Semara. Don’t hold the fact Semara is a princess against her like I did, there is more to her than you can possibly imagine.

Here is a brief explanation of her telling of our uprising:

Ten years after the great war of 2185 the queen’s reign is threatened by uprisings and fear. In celebration of my sixteenth birthday it is my duty as princess to sacrifice a slave to be initiated into the ruling council, solidifying my mother’s empire. When my own erratic powers surface I’m captured and tried for treason. Slaves hate me, my mother wants me executed, and my only chance of survival rests in the hands of a young man, Ryder Arteres, whose sister I sentenced to death.

What people are saying about Escapement:

“A heady mix of action adventure and steampunk -- leavened with a dash of romance -- ESCAPEMENT offers up its fair share of thrills, horrors and heart-pounding moments. A strong start to a captivating new series.”
-- Jana Oliver, author of The Demon Trapper's Daughter

“A riveting tale of justice, mercy, honor and love. Take a deep breath and hold on, because you'll be turning the pages of Escapement quickly. Three unlikely comrades, Princess Semara, Ryder, and his sister Raeth, embark on a journey that will alter their lives forever. The beautiful love story nestled into these action-packed scenes will make you sigh and remember why you love to love. After reading the prequel Weighted, I knew this story would be amazing, and it was. Ciara Knight truly has a gift for creating awesome worlds and characters you won't forget.”
--Lindi Peterson--Award winning author of Summer's Song.

“Betrayal, secrets, and a rebellion send readers on a grand adventure, caught in the plight to discover Semara’s gifts and purpose.”
--Alex J Cavanaugh, author of Amazon best sellers CassaStar and CassaFire

“The most unmissable series ever! I couldn't stop reading, the action and romance too breathtaking to break the spell!”
--ARC review by Sudah on Goodreads

"A courageous heart-stopping journey by young people to save their kind."
--Hildie McQueen, bestselling author of Where the Four Winds Collide


If you’d like to see a sneak peek into our world, view this short clip on You Tube. If you are now ready to join our fight, please add Escapement to your TBR shelf on Goodreads here. Shout out on all your social media sites, and tell everyone you know to stand up and fight.

Be Bold.
Be Brave.
Be Free.

In the name of the rebellion,
Ryder Arteres


Ciara is also hosting a giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Have you read Weighted? Are you looking forward to Escapement?


-----The Golden Eagle

Cover Reveal: From the Ashes by Jessica K. McKendry

Jessica K. McKendry has revealed the cover and blurb of her debut, From the Ashes! I'm excited to be part of the reveal, since it sounds like a really good book (and the cover is fantastic):

Blurb:

I'm not sure how it all went wrong.
The concept was simple.
The Trials were made to test us. They were made to challenge our strengths; our bravery.
We were supposed to come out better.
Winning the Trials would make us Superior citizens.
It would bring us honor and demonstrate our loyalty to the Imperial Alliance. I knew exactly what I wanted.
Until I met him.
There was something about him. Something dark. If only I had known the danger it would put us in.
I thought I knew the risks.
But I never imagined the price we'd pay.

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Sound like a book you'd check out? What's an upcoming debut that's caught your eye?


-----The Golden Eagle

My Novel Is The Next Big Thing!

Well, okay, maybe not. But Chris Kelworth (of The Kelworth Files) and David Powers King (of The Cosmic Laire) both tagged me in the Next Big Thing, or Be Inspired, meme-whatsit that's been circulating in the blogosphere and asks people about their current works-in-progress. Thanks for tagging me, guys!

The questions are a little different for each tag but basically ask the same things, so I'm going to mix and match from both. The WIP in question is my upcoming NaNoWriMo novel since I've pretty much decided what I'm going to write about. This will help me flesh out my ideas, at any rate.

On to the tag!

1. What is the title of your book?
I don't know, actually. It's just half an outline and an underlying concept at the moment.

2. Where did the idea for your book come from?
A bit of a long story. You see, I was feeling destitute of good ideas, and in hopes of jogging my creative side I decided to write down ALL of the things I liked in fiction onto slips of paper (separated by category, such as Writing Style, Plot Element, Point of View, etc.) and then randomly combine a few from each. One of those combinations inspired the idea of a ship traveling to a new planet. Then, editing the idea, I thought:

"What if colonists decided to land on a known and as-yet-unexplored continent, but while journeying to their destination were plagued by mysterious disappearances and tragedies onboard an airship? And what if the main character befriended the saboteur behind their problems?"

Yup. That's the stuff that comes out of my brain.

3. In what genre would you classify your book?
Science Fiction/Steampunk. I love reading Steampunk but I've never actually tried writing it myself. I'm not positive about the age group, though I think the protagonist will be from 15-20 years old.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?
Other than the obligatory Alan Rickman somewhere, no clue. I'll probably have more of an answer after the book's been written.

5. Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book.
On the way to a new world, the son of a prominent airship captain becomes tangled in the beginning of war that could lead to the destruction of his family and his career.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
My dream, at the moment, is to have my work represented and traditionally published. I think self-publishing is a great and highly viable alternative, but I think I'd try submitting to agents first. Just to see if anyone liked what I had to offer.

7. How long did it take you to write your book?
Seeing as I haven't written anything yet, I'd estimate this novel to take around two months. I finished last year's NaNoWriMo novel during December.

8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to?
I am hoping for a Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld/Airborn by Kenneth Oppel/Jules Verne-ish feel. I'm sure it will fall far short of such works of fiction, but those are the novels with a Victorian Era setting that come to mind. Though it's not exactly Victorian Era; the world isn't Earth and the society has key differences.

9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?
All Steampunk authors influence me, but other than that, there aren't any specific people.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
I'm contemplating adding a few steampunk dragons--and other animals. Hovercraft, cyborgs, and sentient trees are already in there.

11. Tag five people!
I'm going to do the same thing David did here and tag the last five people who commented on my blog (though if anyone I list would rather not do the tag, that's fine with me):

Ellie Garratt
Nutschell
Patricia Stoltey
Rachna Chhabria
Anthony Stemke

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What are you working on right now? Are you gearing up for NaNoWriMo or brainstorming for some other project?


-----The Golden Eagle

Cover Reveal: The Faerie Guardian by Rachel Morgan

Rachel Morgan from Rachel Morgan Writes is releasing the cover for The Faerie Guardian today. The book comes out November 5, 2012 and is comprised of four separate stories published individually which have been brought together into a single book.

Blurb:

Protecting humans from dangerous magical creatures is all in a day’s work for a faerie training to be a guardian. Seventeen-year-old Violet Fairdale knows this better than anyone—she’s about to become the best guardian the Guild has seen in years. That is, until a cute human boy who can somehow see through her faerie glamour follows her into the fae realm. Now she’s broken Guild Law, a crime that could lead to her expulsion.
     The last thing Vi wants to do is spend any more time with the boy who got her into this mess, but the Guild requires that she return Nate to his home and make him forget everything he’s discovered of the fae realm. Easy, right? Not when you factor in evil faeries, long-lost family members, and inconvenient feelings of the romantic kind. Vi is about to find herself tangled up in a dangerous plot—and it’ll take all her training to get out of it alive. 

[This novel was originally published in four separate parts: Guardian, Labyrinth, Traitor and Masquerade. It includes bonus scenes at the end.]

Goodreads link.


Also, because this is a paperback release, there's a full wraparound cover image which is as gorgeous as the front alone:

Giveaway Time!

The bonus scenes at the end of the book are NOT written from the main character's point of view. If you'd like to win a $10 Amazon gift card, all you have to do is guess whose point of view these scenes are written from! Head on over to the cover reveal post at Rachel Morgan Writes and fill in the Rafflecopter form. There's a list of characters there that you can choose from. Good luck!


Read any of the books from The Faerie Guardian: Guardian, Labyrinth, Traitor, Masquerade? Know Rachel Morgan and/or follow her blog?


-----The Golden Eagle

Cover Reveal: Rise Of A Rector

More book news today, everyone! (Three book-related posts in one week and a post on a Friday . . . I must be hitting records here at The Eagle's Aerial Perspective. All in the name of reading!)


Heather McCorkle recently released the cover for Rise of a Rector, which is book 3 of her Channeler series.

Blurb for Rise of a Rector:

With graduation--and the hell of the last two years--behind her, Eren is hoping to finally explore her relationship with Aiden and deepen the bonds with her Society. But it seems there's no rest for a soon-to-be legendary Mayan warrior of the apocalypse.
   From the green hills of Ireland to the jungles of Mexico, and deep into lands unexpected, Eren and Aiden will stop at nothing to discover all they can about their rare power in an attempt to alter destiny. Learning about ancient secrets that no one can remember proves to be more than challenging with Eren seeing old ghosts at every turn though. Worse yet, behind the ghosts lies something darker and far more deadly than any of the trials she has endured so far.
   In the jungles of Costa Rica entire villages are dying inexplicably. Near the carnage live a group of channelers who are hiding a thousand year old secret, one that could change the very fate of the planet. But the ghosts of Eren's past have other plans, plans to seize the thread of destiny--and Eren--and manipulate both.

-from Goodreads

Heather's novella, Born of Fire, is currently free on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. She's also giving away two e-book copies of To Ride A Puca; the only requirement is to spread the word about her book. To enter fill out the form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Heather:

Heather is an author of young adult fantasy, in all its many sub-genres. Helping other writers and supporting fabulous authors is one of her many passions. When she's not writing or surfing her social networking sites, she can be found on the slopes, the hiking trails, or on horseback. As a native Oregonian, she enjoy the outdoors almost as much as the worlds she creates on the pages. No need to travel to the Great Northwest though, you can find her on her personal blog four days a week, on her critique group's blog on Wednesdays, and Monday nights on Twitter where she co-moderates the #WritersRoad chat.

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Do you follow Heather's blog? Read any of her books? Do you enjoy reading YA Fantasy?


-----The Golden Eagle

Book Release: The Lost Girl By Sangu Mandanna

Yesterday, The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna (from Echoes of a Wayward Mind) was released. I've been following Sangu for so long I can't remember when I started, and finally, her book is here!

Blurb:

Eva’s life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination—an echo. Made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, she is expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her “other”, if she ever died. Eva studies what Amarra does, what she eats, what it’s like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready.
   But fifteen years of studying never prepared her for this.
   Now she must abandon everything she’s ever known—the guardians who raised her, the boy she’s forbidden to love—to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive.
   What Eva finds is a grief-stricken family; parents unsure how to handle this echo they thought they wanted; and Ray, who knew every detail, every contour of Amarra. And when Eva is unexpectedly dealt a fatal blow that will change her existence forever, she is forced to choose: Stay and live out her years as a copy or leave and risk it all for the freedom to be an original. To be Eva.

Reviews:

“Both an interrogation of bioethics and a mesmerizing quest for identity, this debut succeeds through its careful development of the oh-so-human Eva and those around her. A provocative and page-turning thriller/romance that gets at the heart of what it means to be human.” 

(Kirkus Reviews)

“THE LOST GIRL was the most honest portrait of grief and loss that I’ve read in a long time. Filled with heartache, love, and things that would stir Mary Shelley’s ghost, this is a story not to be missed.” 

(Lauren DeStefano, New York Times bestselling author of The Chemical Garden trilogy)

“Mandanna’s debut novel is lovely and at times heartbreaking... A thoughtful study of both a girl’s search for her identity and the human reaction to death.” 

(Publishers Weekly)



Trailer:



Purchase links:

Amazon
Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble
The Book Depository
Indiebound



About Sangu Mandanna:

Sangu Mandanna was four years old when she was chased by an elephant and wrote her first story about it and decided that this was what she wanted to do with her life. Seventeen years later, she read Frankenstein. It sent her into a writing frenzy that became THE LOST GIRL, a novel about death and love and the tie that binds the two together. Sangu now lives in England with her husband and baby son.

Website: www.sangumandanna.com

Blog: http://sangumandanna.blogspot.com

Twitter: @SanguMandanna

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Have you read The Lost Girl? Know Sangu? Have the book on your TBR?


-----The Golden Eagle

Book Release: Weighted By Ciara Knight

The awesome blogger/writer Ciara Knight has a book coming out today: Weighted, which I posted the cover for back in May as part of its reveal. Now, the actual book (a prequel novelette to The Neumarian Chronicles) is available.

Blurb:

The Great War of 2185 is over, but my nightmare has just begun. I am being held captive in the Queen’s ship awaiting interrogation. My only possible ally is the princess, but I’m unsure if she is really my friend or a trap set by the Queen to fool me into sharing the secret of my gift. A gift I keep hidden even from myself. It swirls inside my body begging for release, but it is the one thing the Queen can never discover. Will I have the strength to keep the secret? I’ll know the answer soon. If the stories are true about the interrogators, I’ll either be dead or a traitor to my people by morning.

Read Chapter One of Weighted.

Purchase links:
Smashwords
Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble

About Ciara:

Ciara writes to "Defy the Dark" with her fantasy and paranormal books. Her debut novel, The Curse of Gremdon, was released to acclaimed reviews, securing a Night Owl Top Pick and five stars from the Paranormal Romance Guild. Also, book I, Rise From Darkness, from her debut young adult Battle For Souls series, secured glowing reviews and won July Book of the Month from Long and Short Reviews. 

Her first love, besides her family, reading, and writing, is travel. She's backpacked through Europe, visited orphanages in China, and landed in a helicopter on a glacier in Alaska. 

Ciara is extremely sociable so please feel free to connect with her at her blog, website, Twitter, Goodreads, or Facebook.

Release dates for the upcoming Neumarian Chronicles:

Escapement (Book I) - Early 2013

Pendulum (Book II) - Mid 2013

Balance (Book III) - Early 2014

Other books by Ciara Knight:

The Curse of Gremdon

Battle for Souls Series:

Love's Long Shadow

Rise From Darkness

Fall From Grace

Ascension of Evil - Coming in October

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Have you read any of Ciara's books? Do you know her?

-----The Golden Eagle

Weighted by Ciara Knight: Cover Reveal

Today, Ciara Knight has revealed the cover for her book Weighted, which is coming out in August:

The Great War of 2185 is over, but my nightmare has just begun. I am being held captive in the Queen’s ship awaiting interrogation. My only possible ally is the princess, but I’m unsure if she is really my friend or a trap set by the Queen to fool me into sharing the secret of my gift. A gift I keep hidden even from myself. It swirls inside my body begging for release, but it is the one thing the Queen can never discover. Will I have the strength to keep the secret? I’ll know the answer soon. If the stories are true about the interrogators, I’ll either be dead or a traitor to my people by morning.

It's a prequel novelette to The Neumarian Chronicles, the first book of which will be released in 2013. Goodreads link.

Congratulations, Ciara!

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Do you know Ciara or her blog? Are there any book covers/book releases you're looking forward to?


-----The Golden Eagle

A Bookish Shoutout: Elemental By Emily White Trailer Reveal

I recently found out that Emily White was revealing the book trailer for her novel Elemental (Young Adult Science Fiction). As it would help spread the word about a fellow blogger's book (and, I'll admit, I had nothing else to post about today and was looking for a subject), I thought I'd give it a mention.

Blurb for the book:

For ten years--ever since she was a small child--Ella has been held prisoner. Now that she has escaped, she needs answers.

Who is she? Why was she taken? And who is the boy with the beautiful green eyes who haunts her memories?

Is Ella the prophesied Destructor... or will she be the one who's destroyed?

Release date: May 1, 2012

And, of course, the trailer itself:

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Are there any recent book announcements that have gotten you excited?


-----The Golden Eagle

Creepy Hollow Blog Tour: Book Review of Guardian by Rachel Morgan

Title: Creepy Hollow Series: Book One: Guardian

Author: Rachel Morgan

Publisher: Self-published

Genre: Paranormal/Young Adult

Page Count (e-book): 64

Rating: 4.2 out of 5

Cover Rating: 4.5 out of 5. I love the design, since it's simple and the purple is great contrast. Also, the girl's face seems perfect for the main character.

Blurb:

1. Receive assignment.
2. Save a life.
3. Sleep.
4. Repeat. 

Protecting humans from dangerous magical creatures is all in a day’s work for a faerie training to be a guardian. Seventeen-year-old Violet Fairdale knows this better than anyone—she’s about to become the best guardian the Guild has seen in years. That is, until one of her assignments—a human boy who shouldn’t even be able to see her—follows her into the fae realm. Now she’s broken Guild Law, a crime that could lead to her expulsion.  

The last thing Vi wants to do is spend any more time with the boy who got her into this mess, but the Guild requires that she return Nate to his home and make him forget everything he’s discovered of the fae realm. Easy, right? But Nate and Vi are about to land themselves in even bigger trouble—and it’ll take all Vi’s training to get them out alive.

My expectations: I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this story. I love reading Rachel Morgan's blog, but blogs and novels/novelettes are different things, and while there are many high-quality self-published books, I had to wonder if this would be one of them. 

Whatever my expectations were, however, Guardian definitely exceeded them.

About the book: Just to demonstrate what I thought of this novelette, one day (soon after I got the ARC) I resolved to read a few pages, as I didn't want to spend long on the computer. I ended up powering through it during that and another sitting.

• Writing:

Short and to the point. There wasn't much in the way of embellishment to the style (such as vivid description), but that seems to be the usual for the Paranormal genre and I think it fit the overall story, especially because novelettes have to be short. I can't recall finding any typos, either, a rare thing for any book--and an excellent one.

• Plot:

With some books it can take 50 pages to reach what Guardian put in on page 5, i.e. this novelette moves fast. There are a good number of twists to the story as well, which I loved.

• Characters:

Vi was determined, capable, and she had a great voice. Nate was sweet, and since the reader knows almost a little about Vi's world as the reader, the dialogue between him and Vi divulged information about the world without being an info dump and helped flesh the two out.

• Setting/Elements:

The world is a fascinating one. It plays on the usual faerie surroundings such as the Seelie and Unseelie Court (the Unseelie being evil), but there are unique details as well that help set it apart.

Content: Some violence, kissing. Nothing I'd really raise a flag over.

Other: I'll admit, I haven't read too many novelettes, and those were in a Science Fiction anthology. But the length works in Guardian's favor here, and since so many people are migrating over to e-readers and the like, shorter stories will probably find a much larger audience than they could have before.

Do I recommend this book? If you want a quick and entertaining Paranormal read, I highly recommend this book. The characters, plot, and efficient writing style make Guardian a great choice for those in the mood for a well-told adventure (with a bit of romance, too).

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Thanks to Rachel for providing me an ARC to review!

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~  ~  ~

Rachel Morgan is the author of Guardian, the first novelette in the Creepy Hollow series. She was born in South Africa and spent a large portion of her childhood living in a fantasy land of her own making. These days, in between teaching mathematics to high school children, she writes fiction for young adults.

Buy Guardian from

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Smashwords

The Creepy Hollow Series

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Book Trailer

Author Info

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Google+

And before you go, Rachel is also hosting a giveaway of a copy of Guardian. Enter below:

Creepy Hollow Blog Tour: On Writing YA

Today, please welcome author Rachel Morgan to The Eagle's Aerial Perspective! She's the author of Guardian, the first book in the Creepy Hollow Series, which is an awesome novelette that I will be reviewing on the 15th.

But today, she's here to talk about writing Young Adult.

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On Writing YA

Hi, my name’s Rachel, and I write YA (“Hi, Rachel”). I’ve always written YA, even when I didn’t know that’s what it was called. I wrote it when I was young and didn’t have the perseverance to get past the first few chapters, and I write it now when I’m, uh, not quite as young, and have the self-discipline to get myself to the end of a story. But it’s only recently that I started thinking about why I write YA.


Reason #1: The YA voice is the one I relate to the most. I mean, I’m technically not a young adult anymore. I’m an adult (in age, anyway!). But I don’t really feel like one, and when I sit down to write, it’s a YA voice that comes most naturally and easily to me. I don’t have to try and be formal or proper. I can just relax into the language.

Reason #2: I love writing about firsts. When you’ve kissed someone hundreds of times, it’s not that exciting anymore, but the first time . . . Well, it’s a kiss to remember, for good or for bad! And the first time someone holds your hand, the first date you go on, the first time your heart is broken, the first time you sneak out of the house to do something you shouldn’t . . . Life goes on and you can forget what these things feel like, but pick up a YA book and an author can make you remember exactly what that moment felt like when you were first there.

Reason #3: Everything is a big deal when you’re that age. Everything just means so much more! Good things aren’t just great, they’re epic. And bad things aren’t just terrible, they’re the end of the world. Having passed through the YA years, it’s a relief not to feel everything so intensely anymore. But I sure do enjoy writing about it!

Reason #4: I find it fascinating to look at a person (real or imagined) and examine all the things they’ve been through in life that have shaped them into the person they are right now. That must be why I love origin stories and prequels. With YA characters, that process is still happening.

Perhaps one day I’ll write an adult book. Or a middle grade book. For now, though, my true love is YA.

If you're a writer, what age category do you write for?

~  ~  ~

Rachel Morgan is the author of Guardian, the first novelette in the Creepy Hollow series. She was born in South Africa and spent a large portion of her childhood living in a fantasy land of her own making. These days, in between teaching mathematics to high school children, she writes fiction for young adults.

Buy Guardian from

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Smashwords

The Creepy Hollow Series

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Book Trailer

Author Info

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Google+

-----The Golden Eagle

On YA Fiction: Political Messages

Recently, I've been noticing a trend in Young Adult, particularly in Science Fiction and its sub-genres Dystopian/Futuristic Fiction. There seem to be more and more books that revolve around a central political idea: over-reaching government.

Take Matched by Allie Condie, Possession by Elana Johnson, The Giver by Lois Lowry, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien, Delirium by Lauren Oliver, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, Gone by Michael Grant, Little Brother and For the Win by Cory Doctorow, The Tomorrow Code by Brian Falkner, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and I could come up with others if I had more time. I'd also mention Divergent by Veronica Roth and Wither by Lauren Destefano, since they seem to be political based on their blurbs, but I haven't read those yet so I can't say for sure.

As you may have noticed, many of those are quite popular (*cough*The Hunger Games*cough*), and in addition, many of them seem to be rather anti-government. The Giver by Lois Lowry seems to be the exception, though it could still be taken as anti-government, since POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT one of the central characters is influential in preventing pain within the city--this, of course, also leads to more control, but everyone besides a certain few are oblivious to suffering.

Another element that repeats itself is revolutionaries/the resistance. In almost all of the above books, the main character joins or helps an organization (whether paramilitary or not) that, in turn, has some kind of showdown with the omnipresent government.

Now, while I don't mind politics in books, the constant battering of "Government Is Evil!" is beginning to make me wonder why it's cropping up so often.

Is it the political climate today, with a bad economy, constant protests, the Arab Spring, the war in Afghanistan and very recently Iraq? Is it a response to the perceived "rise of China" and Communism, the nuclear capabilities of other countries that might not have the Western world's best interests in mind?

Or is that reading too much of it, and it's just an attempt to appeal to teenagers that feel oppressed by their peers, their parents, society in general? But then again, it's not just teenagers reading YA; it attracts a wide range of readers.


What do you think?

And do you mind politics in the books you read? Is it something you're attracted or repelled by, in general?


-----The Golden Eagle

UPGRADER Blog Tour: An Interview With Author Terry Tibke

Hello, everyone!

Today, as part of a tour to promote the YA Science Fiction novel Upgrader: Re-engineered, I have an interview with author Terry Tibke.

1. What was your inspiration for Upgrader: Re-Engineered?

Shannon Eric Denton, one of the Actionopolis founders and Chief Editor, I suppose you could call him, handed me over this paragraph:

    When Dylan Kent is exposed to a mysterious energy from another dimension he finds himself transformed into an ever-changing warrior in order to keep our world free from intradimensional invaders. These invaders have found a break in the Seam; the dimensional barrier separating our world from theirs. If Dylan is unsuccessful in repelling them, our world won’t be ours for long.

And that was my inspiration. From there, I fleshed out the story, collaborating with Shannon along the way. Actionopolis is fun that way. They supply the seed, and authors build from there. It was an altogether fun and exciting difference from what I'm used to.

2. What is your writing process like?

I have a busy life with a wife and two kids, another financial business job, an illustration and design job, and my job as a writer. With all that said, I typically do my writing at night. Seriously, the middle of the night. I go to bed the same time as my kids do at about 8pm, sleep till around 12am, then I get up a write. I hammer away at the keyboard for about two hours, then I go back to bed around 2 or 3am, then get up at 6am with my family. I've worked very hard to get as far as I am so far, and hope to further my writing career even more as time goes by.

3. Which books/authors have had the greatest influence on your work?

Stylistically, Orson Scott Card, Scott Westerfeld, and even Suzane Collins have had an influence over the past several years. When I started writing, it all sounded a bit more Tolkein'ish. Over time, I've found my own style--one that's much more comfortable to read. I'm sure anyone who's read my earlier works will agree that my writing now is much more efficient and crisp.

4. On writing and illustrating: do you find links between the two?

Both of these are very creative in nature. That's an initial similarity that's probably very obvious to anyone. In writing, you write a first draft, a second, then a third (and hopefully, though rarely) final draft that sparkles. In illustration, you rough your concept out, determine what works and what doesn't, clean it up, then color it to make it shine. But they're both jobs too, and like many jobs, they are repeatable processes that require discipline and self-motivation to complete. Neither illustration, nor writing, can you sit back and wait for inspiration to come. You have to keep forward.

5. What projects do you have in the works at the moment?

Several! Fans of my Armageddon series keep asking when the next book is going to come out, and will be pleased to know that book 2 is finished. However, I still have some illustrating to do, and I've had to put the series aside for now while I work with Actionopolis on the Upgrader trilogy. In the meantime though, head over to http://www.terrytibke.com to play the free Armageddon Card Game, which is in Beta testing right now.

   I also have another 1st draft of an Armageddon book done, though that's set as more of a prequel to the current series. I have a middle grade pirate adventure book I'm looking for an agent on, and I just turned in the first pass at Upgrader, book 2. I'll be starting on book 3 very soon, and am set up to do another completely seperate book for Actionopolis after the Upgrader trilogy.

   On top of all that, on the illustration side, I'm freelancing for an online game company doing character design. That's been really fun stuff to do. I also recently signed on to do script and story work with them. Working in games has been a lifelong dream, so I'm super hyped about it!

So, yeah. I'm way busy.

6. What's your best advice on writing?

Oh man, I have so much of it, because I've made most all of the mistakes you can make! :D Probably one that comes to mind though is on drafting.

   When I wrote my first manuscript, I'd write a chapter, then go back and read it through while editing it. Then I'd write the second chapter, then go back to the beginning and re-edit the whole thing. Eventually, I think I'd edited my manuscript over a hundred times. What a collossal waste of time! When you write a first draft, write it. Just keep going until you're at the end, doing your best not to go back and read much of it. Editing stuff is for second draft. Polishing is for third.

**********

About Terry Tibke:

Terry Tibke is the writer, artist and creator of the novel Armageddon: The Battle of Darkening Skies, published by Eloquent Books (2009), and co-created and wrote the new Young Adult Sci-Fi, Upgrader: Re-Engineered, with Shannon Denton, published by Actionopolis. Terry was an animator for FatCat Studios, working on such features as Dreamworks' Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and Adam Sandler's Meatball Studios' Eight Crazy Nights before beginning his writing career. Born in 1977 in Seattle, WA, Terry garnered numerous local young artist awards growing up. Then, at the age of eleven, Terry began the creation of the Armageddon world in preparation for its many stories to one day be told.    

   Hard at work on the next two Upgrader novels, Terry fills the wee hours of each night with writing, and doing design work for Social Titans, an online game company. 

   Terry now lives in Chandler, AZ with his wife, Sophany, and their two adorable children.

About Upgrader: Re-engineered:

A dimensional rift has opened, and now a headstrong young man must learn to use an ancient power before the Earth is enslaved.
   Dylan Kent is exposed to a mysterious energy from another dimension! Transformed into an ever-changing warrior, Dylan must harness these new powers in order to keep our world free from intradimensional invaders. These invaders have come to our world in search of the power Dylan now possesses. If Dylan is unsuccessful in repelling them, not only will he die but our world will die with him!

Where you can find Terry:

Website
Facebook
Twitter



-----The Golden Eagle

Book Review: The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin

***I haven't posted a book review in weeks. Over a month, really. I will start posting reviews more consistently!***

Title: The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin

Author: Josh Berk

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/YA/Mystery

Page Count: 248

Rating: 4.2 out of 5

Cover Rating: 3.9 out of 5. I like the way there are all three major characters on the front cover, and the way they're centered on the front. It could have been a bit more dynamic--a little less blue, maybe? A little something more in the background?--but it's a good cover.

Inside flap:

It was a dark, gloomy class field trip.
Because it was in a coal mine.
   Somewhere the star quarterback swore as he tumbled to the bottom of a mine shaft. Probably. Will Halpin could only guess about cursing. Because he's deaf, y'see? But here's the thing about murder: even if it's silent, it's still deadly.
   Being hefty, deaf, and the new guy in school isn't an easy ticket to popularity. At Carbon High, Will is put in the corner of every class. True, it's to help him read lips. And true, most treat him like a houseplant. But Will doesn't intend to stay stuck in any corner. And houseplants are privy to a lot of dirt.
   So when he teams up with the least popular guy to figure out what happened in that mine, Will discovers that the suspects are many and not so usual Was it the too-sexy-for-calculus math teacher? The crackpot bus driver? That scuzzy guy who talks to his fingers?
   Will and his side-geek are hardly Hardy Boys. But I wouldn't bet against them.
   Think Will can make it out of that corner?

My expectations: High. This was on the humor shelf of the library, and I love humor books. Plus, how could you go wrong with that kind of title?

I can happily say I wasn't disappointed.

About the book: This is the only book I can remember where the main character is deaf. I get the feeling I've read books with a deaf MC, but I can't recall them right now. The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin was intriguing just for that bit--besides personality/emotional weaknesses, relatively few characters seem to have serious physical disabilities. An added bonus was that the main character in this story, Will Halpin, had a great sense of humor and his snarky comments are sprinkled throughout the book.

The writing style was pretty much to the point, slightly dry at times (and by dry I mean humorous/sarcastic), and Josh Berk did a great job, I thought, of presenting what it might be like to be a teenager trying to make the change from a special school for deaf students to regular high school.

• Plot:

I loved the fact it was based on a murder, but humorous. It isn't completely a mystery story, though, since it's not quite as driven by that as a regular whodunit, but it kept the plot moving nicely. Plenty of twists here and there, and the ending is great.

• Characters:

Will Halpin is funny, smart, and unique; in addition to being deaf, he's overweight, which isn't something that a lot of YA books put into the picture. His sense of humor really keeps the tone of the book lighter than it would be with more somber characters, and I had to laugh at some of his remarks.

Devon Smiley was geeky, a bit weird, serious, and also rather funny. With a fascination and love of Hardy Boys, and an attraction toward danger--despite being the son of a police officer--he's a great companion to Will. Will doesn't want to have anything to do with him at first, and their friendship, with the usual bit of snark, forms over time.

Ebony. Despite being the ex-girlfriend of Will, they manage to get along when the circumstances require; and she becomes friends with Devon, too. She had strong beliefs when it came to the deaf community, and what it means to be deaf, and it was interesting to read about them in contrast to Will's trying to integrate himself into a "normal" school.

• Setting/Elements:

I was intrigued by the history in the story, about the coal mines and the people who had shaped the town's past. The fact he had the same name as someone (also deaf) who was reported to have died in the same mines he visited on his field trip was an interesting turn.

Other: Language, references, description, some violence.

Do I recommend this book? Yes!

-----The Golden Eagle

Book Review: For The Win

Title: For The Win (Read/download for free HERE)

Author: Cory Doctorow

Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

Genre: Speculative Fiction/Realistic Fiction/Science Fiction

Page Count: 475

Rating: 4.8 out of 5

Cover Rating: 3.8 out of 5. 

Inside flap:

At any hour of the day or night, millions of people around the globe are engrossed in multiplayer online games, questing and battling to win virtual gold, jewels, and precious artifacts. Meanwhile, millions of "gold farmers", trapped by abusive contracts and physical threats, toil in electronic sweatshops in the world's poorest countries, harvesting virtual treasure that their employers sell to First World gamers for real money.   Mala is a brilliant fifteen-year-old from rural India whose leadership skills in virtual combat have earned the nickname "General Robotwalla". In Shenzhen, heart of China's industrial boom, Matthew defies his former bosses to build his own gold-farming crew. Leonard, who calls himself Wei-Dong, lives in Southern California and spends his nights fighting virtual battles alongside his buddies in Asia. All of these young people, and more, become entangled with the mysterious woman called Big Sister Nor, who builds them into a movement to challenge the status quo.   Fighting pitched battles in the slums of Mumbia, in the red-light district of Singapore, in Sound China's enormous industrial cities, and in the virtual worlds of every MMORPG worth playing, Nor's network of gamers is so successful that it incurs ruthless opposition from organized crime, from Western corporations, and from the Chinese authorities. Ultimately, Big Sister's people devise a plan to crash the economy of every virtual world at once--a Ponzi scheme combined with a brilliant pack that ends up being the biggest, funnest game of all.

My expectations: I'd heard a lot about Cory Doctorow's books, mostly in the form of rave comments about Little Brother. I might review that some other time--I really didn't like it. However, at the time, I hadn't read anything else by him so my expectations were pretty much in the air.

About the book: In my opinion, this is one of the best, and one of the very few, Young Adult books on this sort of subject: inequality. There are not many books geared for teens that bring attention to workers' rights or macroeconomics or the virtual economy. I might not agree with everything said and done, but I have to admire the way it was put together and written. It is an original novel, and in a world where much YA is the same, it's a great change.


Cory Doctorow's writing style is not at any extreme. Not to much description, not too little description, the dialogue flows reasonably well. His writing cuts to the point, which makes his books fast and easy to read.

• Plot:

The plot moves fast. Things happen right after the other, and with all the varying viewpoints there are a lot of intertwining storylines; around the world, something is happening to and around the characters. I love the ending on this book--it left questions to be answered, but still managed to tie up everything well.

• Characters:

Wei-Dong, AKA Leonard Goldberg, was an interesting character. I found him too arrogant and irresponsible to truly like, but he did some noteworthy things throughout the story. It was also interesting to read the overall perspective on American teens (as he is one) and culture in the story.

Matthew was, again, not someone I was ready to fall in love with, but fascinating to read about. He was a real character, a teen forced into rather horrible working conditions and made to do whatever his boss told him to do.

I liked Jie. She had spunk and determination, and she really tried to change things by spreading the word about protests and rallies. She was also ready to risk her life for what she thought was right and had to be done--something I love to see in a protagonist, particularly a female one.

Mala was not Jie. She was tough and hard at the start, caring, mostly, only about herself and a certain group who stayed loyal to her. However, I liked the way she developed throughout the book and eventually turned out as someone much better than before.

There were a lot of other characters. Most of them had to do with the above-mentioned people, and most of them were the same kind: not characters to love, but to pay attention to and focus on because what they're doing and saying has its value.

• Setting/Elements:

The presentation of Western culture is not positive. Americans and others are shown as ignorant, blind, and mostly greedy people who will do anything for money and power--particularly those at the top who run the gaming companies and the virtual economies "gold farms" and other such things are based on.

Other: Violence (both virtual and physical), a lot of it having to do with protests/demonstrations/rallies; references; some language.

Do I recommend this book? Yes. This is a fascinating look at something not often covered in Young Adult--or in any other age group--and is very much worth the read.

-----The Golden Eagle

Book Review: Matched (And The Answers To More Of Your Questions)

Last week, I got a few more questions on the post that was part of my blogoversary:

Petty Witter asked:


What is the one thing guaranteed to put you off a book?

A bad plot. I cannot stand weak plots, ones with holes, or endings that can be seen from afar. I love twists, turns, turnarounds, and anything else you can throw at me.

N. R. Williams asked:


How do you choose the books you read? Do you have an e-reader?

First: blurb. Second: any reviews that are on the cover/jacket. Third: author. Fourth: cover. And, in some cases, if I've heard of the book before. I don't usually care about genre--if I've read a good review, or if something about the book intrigues me, I'll pick it up. :)

Nope. And, at the moment, I prefer it that way. I like reading paper and ink rather than an electric screen.


*****

Title: Matched

Author: Ally Condie

Publisher: Dutton Books

Genre: Dystopian

Page Count: 366

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Cover Rating: 4 out of 5. I like the green, and I like the way they put the girl in the orb. Plus, the font is very Dystopian-ish.

Inside flap:

In The Society, the Officlas decide. 

Who you love. Where you work. When you die. 

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It's hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend is appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knowsn with complete certainty that he is the one . . . until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path no one else has ever dared follow--between perfection and passion.

My expectations: Mixed. I had read positive reviews saying "This is a great book!" and meh reviews saying "This book was a take-off of [insert title here]" and negative reviews saying "This book isn't very good".

About the book: One thing I read several times is that this book is a lot like The Giver by Lois Lowry.


My opinion? This book really was not like The Giver. Mainly because Cassia, the main character, was very different from Jonas, as were the others the book focused on. The Society is similar in many ways, but it never made it into my head that "Yes! This book is like The Giver!"


The writing style I just couldn't get attached to. I felt like the author was trying to keep some distance between the reader and the character, which I don't usually mind, but in this case I found kind of flat. The scenes were not particularly detailed--I would get information on one thing, but not other factors that I really would have preferred to know about. It wasn't a bad style, but it isn't my favorite.

• Plot:

I could guess what happened. In what's probably every single YA book I've read the character goes after--taking from the blurb--"passion". Heck with "perfection". It's always passion, and this was no exception. Some details of the plot kept me going, like what the Society Officials were doing and if there would be revolution. I do love a good revolution.

• Characters:

Let me say this now: I did not like Cassia. At all, really. She was okay at first--I felt as if she was a little annoying but might turn out to have some real potential when I read the opening scene--but I just couldn't get attached to her. Another contrast with The Giver: Jonas cares about the people and citizens of his city and their well-being. Cassia, it seemed to me, does not. It's all KY. And goodness, don't get in her way when it comes to Ky.

Ky himself was interesting. Again, I just couldn't get attached to him. He had his secrets, and it was intriguing that he knew how to write like that, but he wasn't the most spectacular love interest. I liked him better than Cassia, however. He knew what the Society was really like, and what they did to people.

(I felt there were too few emotional obstacles between them. It was just the Officials in their way--and come on, relationships aren't like that. There's conflict between people.)

Xander was normal. He had his faults, but he cared about Cassia and he seemed less willing to just believe than Cassia did. I hope he comes back in the sequel, because I get the feeling he could really have his day.

• Setting/Elements:

The Society intrigued me. Their rules, regulations, laws, restrictions, what's not to find interesting and appalling about a government who destroys art, poetry, writing, everything except 100 works in each section of human expression?

Other: This book is relatively clean for a YA novel. In fact, I wouldn't say that Matched is significantly more violent/etc. than The Giver. It just has a romantic theme.

Do I recommend this book? Not really. I wouldn't say "Don't ever read this book!" but it's not on my list of must-reads.


-----The Golden Eagle