I'm a Twit.

Feel slightly sheepish about this as it's mostly just going to be updates on the blog and random stray thoughts, but I signed up to twitter a little while ago and although I don't use it constantly I thought i'd add it here for a while. I'm leaving it at the bottom of this site for a couple of weeks and then removing it again, just so you can find me if you want to.
Ta.

Kill her Again - Robert Gregory Browne

Thanks to PanMacmillan for providing a copy of this.

Anna has been having strange visions of a child's murder and becomes embroiled in a case that seems oddly linked to it. Hypnotherapist Danny Pope is called in to help a child in the new case access memories and between them he and Anna discover there is much more to this case than coincidence.

Kill her again is a thriller, with supernatural elements. It's a quick read and a page turner, although not my usual material. I felt there were too many layers and too many neat tie ins, especially in the additional thread of Tony and Sharkey, I think the story would have benefited from keeping it clearer in some ways. The plot struck me as quite like Audrey Rose, although I never managed to finish that book and this was easy to get through.

Overall not bad, quite well paced with some likeable characters. It put me very much in mind of the earlier Dean Koontz novels that I used to love so if you like Koontz chances are you'll enjoy this one. The advantage over Koontz was that McBride did a lot of ass kicking herself rather than waiting to be rescued and it not a retriever to be found.

It's not quite there for me but I was possibly unfair reading a book I wouldn't normally buy after the utter brilliance of Alan Campbell. Kill Her Again is a little like the Da Vinci Code (but better written and more consistent) light, quick, hard to put down, but it won't stay with me once the cover is closed.

Iron Angel - Alan Campbell

Many thanks to PanMacmillan for supplying a copy for review.

I haven't read volume one of The Deepgate Codex and volume two plunges straight in. It doesn't seem to matter, I pick everything I need up quickly enough. Campbell is a skilled writer, slipping the information in seamlessly which is a relief, because any clumsy catch up work can totally break the spell of a book like this.

The book moves between key characters, sometimes jumping away at a climactic point and moving forward in time aswell as changing viewpoint, which all adds to the pace and tension. It's a complex novel, combining many of the elements of traditional fantasy with a darker, scarier, bloodier approach. Hell is threatening to break out on to earth and some of the old gods are banding together to fight it. There are many layers of deception and the division of good and evil is very blurred. It's beautifully done, the moving between viewpoints makes it clear that all sides are willing to go to extremes to achieve their ends and the various protagonists are all acting for their own agenda. The side that each person takes in the battle does not neccessarily reflect their belief or morals, it's making the best of the situation they are in.

Rachel and Dill are trying to survive, the god Cospinol wants to break free of his prison, the god of knives and flowers Rys wants to stop King Menoa from bringing hell to earth and the engineer just wants her husbands soul. The book ends at a climax and Caqmpbell has a lot to live up to in Volume 3 after that build up.

Alan Campbell displays an excellent and dark imagination, drawing the reader in to a world so bloody and corrupt it's a surprise anyone has hope enough left to fight. For the trad fantasy fan looking for a little more depth this is a winner.

Cory Doctorow - Little Brother

In between review copies and other books, I'm trying to get reviews in for all of the nominees for this year's Hugo Awards for best novel. I previously reviewed Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book here.

----------------------

If the rampant security and surveillance that permeates every facet of young Marcus Yallow's life in Cory Doctorow's excellent Little Brother seems far-fetched to you, then it's been a while since you've been in the inside of a city school. Metal detectors, cameras in the hallways...for many kids this is the norm rather than the exception when it comes to their education experience.

There are a lot of things I can point out as exceptional in Doctorow's thrilling YA tale, about a group of kids who rail against the system after being unlawfully detained by the Department of Homeland Security after a bomb explodes in San Francisco, but the key piece that everything else rests on is how he gives voice to his protagonists. I think it's hard to write in the voice of a child, but it's 10 times harder to write in the voice of a modern teenager, and Doctorow pulls off the trick of giving Marcus and his friends a palpable, authentic voice that doesn't ring like it was written by some old guy. Everything hinges on Marcus's response the to terror he finds himself in, and the first half of the novel, where Marcus is detained and tortured by his captors, is terrifying. Marcus isn't your typical "tough guy" hero cliche - he's a smart but very normal 17 year-old kid, and his response to what happens to him is horrible (in a fantastic way) in its realistic portrayal, and I'll admit to having to put the book down for a bit before continuing.

When I picked Little Brother back up a few days later, the next 300+ pages were devoured in one sitting. Having established a high level of trust with Marcus and specifically with his ability to bring me along on Marcus's journey, Doctorow proceeds to craft a thrilling race against the powers that be, as Marcus attempts to strike back against a system that has deprived him of his freedoms, his civil liberties, and his own nature. Little Brother is unapologetic both in its politics and in its techno-speak: part of the charm of the book lies in Doctorow's comfort and ability to explain and expand upon a lot of the technology (all real, apparently) that lies at the heart of the book. However, Little Brother never sacrifices either genuine emotion or skill in its execution.

An absolute treasure of a book. As an adult I loved every page of it, but if I had a wish it would be that I could give this book to my 16 year-old self - it would have been a life-changing event for him.

Who Killed Amanda Palmer?

Well, I don't know exactly, but I one thing I can tell you is that not only is the above post title the name of Amanda Palmer's (of Dresden Dolls' fame) excellent latest album, but it's also the title of her forthcoming coffee-table book of photo portraits.

Of her.
Dead.
In various odd and menacing ways.

The reason I bring this up on Un:Bound is because each photograph is accompanied by a short story by some guy who seems to be pretty popular around these parts. Seems to have written a pretty cool comic book years ago...no idea what he's doing now...

You can check out some of what to expect from his post on the subject of pre-ordering the book, which comes out in July (I already ordered mine, and will dutifully have a review up as soon as it comes). In the meantime, here's a nice photograph advertising said book. Can't wait:

The Collected Works of T.S.Spivet - Rief Larson

I was fortunate to receive a review copy of this book courtesy of BookGeeks and so sent them a review first.
Anyway, the book is released on 7th May in the UK and it is a thing of beauty. The story is pretty entertaining and well written, so no worries there, but the real joy of this book is the doodling and notes in the margins. Read the book once, then go back and properly explore these margin entries, just enjoy the book for it's quirks.
The story revolves around a twelve year old mapmaker who travels to Washington alone in order to accept an award for his work. Of course there are other layers to the book, the boys relationship with his family, coming to terms with his brother's death and some family history from previous generations. It's wonderfully engaging and Larson captures beautifully the point of view of a twelve year old, the interpretations of adult behaviour and inevitable lack of understanding between generations.
It's a delight, but honestly I would buy this book just to flick through the margins because it's an absolute treasure as a thing, as well as an entertaining read.

Deathwish - Rob Thurman

When I sit down with a Leandros brothers book I expect a number of things: characters I love that are flawed and colourful and just a joy to spend time with, I expect fast paced action that puts my heart in my throat and I expect the odd emotional trauma. I want to finish the book satisfied and exhausted. Deathwish did not disapoint. Some urban fantasy is light and fluffy but some is well written, gripping and dark. It's often found in the horror section of my local bookstores and although the Leandros books are definately not horror they earned their right to sit there.

In this outing Cal's past has caught up with him again and the Auphe have something in mind for him that is definately worse than death. Add to the mix Promise's daughter who is being hunted for something she has stolen and a client whose intentions may not be what they seem. Oh and Robin gets a cat.

I hope this series rolls on for a long time.

200th Post

It's a beautiful cool sunny morning here in Leicester and I feel happy.

Break out the balloons and the streamers this is our 200th post and since I used our anniversary post to highlight the authors I decided i'd use this one to highlight the people behind Un:Bound.

You know me, I started this as Hagelrat Reading because I wanted to keep a record of what i'd read and whether i'd enjoyed it. Then I discovered the book review community and wanted in. I changed the name and started roping in some support.

Geek Monkey / Chris - Chris came on board to post the odd review and has become a regular contributor and has been a huge support in ensuring that those weeks where my plans get steamrollered by life, don't pass without comment on the blog. He also swooped in hero style to rescue the Ravenous Romance blog tour bus from a layby yesterday.

Andy C - The man behind our logo is a graphic designer who is working with us at the moment. He is also a friend and I appreciate his efforts on the blog and his guidance with some design issues I had starting out.

All of you. The people all over the world who visit and read and sometimes comment, what started as something for my own sake has now become something I love to do because of the community around it. Gracias.

Thanks as well to the authors and publishers who have engaged with us and provided books and time.

The Bus is Fixed! The Ravenous Romance Ornery Eleven Blog Tour featuring LISA LANE!

Hi folks! I guess the water was a little deeper than suspected, because as Zhadi's Den pointed out we had a little bus trouble while trying to cross the Atlantic. Happily, Un:Bound is a joint venture comprised of many weird and wacky people from all over this strange planet we call Earth, so when I got the call that things were adrift, I strapped on my Schneider tool belt (thus fulfilling my life-long dream of inserting a ONE DAY AT A TIME reference in this blog), patched things up and with the help of a few friends guided her (the bus, that is) safely to shore.

So without further adieu, Un:Bound is proud to present LISA LANE!!

(Oh, and warning… this post holds some explicit sex, so if you see smoke coming off of the screen, keep the kids away!)

Hi! I’m Lisa Lane, author of the Ravenous Romance erotic vampire series, The Darkness and the Night, and the romantic and kinky sci-fi space trek, Lust in Space. I would like to thank the Unbound group for hosting today’s event, everyone who helped to make this blog tour possible, and all those who have taken the time to stop by. I will be giving away a copy of Lust in Space to one visitor, so make sure to leave a comment before you go. Today we’re going to be discussing my favorite subject: Writing. And with that, the question of the day is:

What is it about writing you enjoy so much?

Lisa Lane: Writing relaxes me. There is not much that compares to watching a movie play in my mind, while the muses work and my fingers hit the keyboard. I love knowing just enough about the story and the characters to know where it is going, while also being left just far enough in the dark to feel the surprise and delight of a new plot twist or literary device, as it comes. I love getting to know my characters, learning from them, teaching with them, crying for them, and cheering them on. I love the satisfaction that comes with finishing that last sentence to that last chapter, and the feeling that comes with knowing that others might take, and enjoy, the ride I just finished. I love the anticipation I feel when the next story begins to develop in my head, and the ride begins all over again.

EM Lynley: I love creating the characters and getting to know them as I plan and write. It makes writing so much easier. It’s wonderful when I’m writing and suddenly one of them does something I wasn’t planning. Then I know I’ve created a well-rounded character who readers will enjoy and come to care about as much as I do.

Jamaica Layne: I enjoy the thrill of creating new characters and situations, and the knowledge that the world I am creating will provide hours of entertainment to people I’ve never even met.

Isabel Roman: I love playing in the imagination sandbox.

Inara LaVey: It’s the ultimate power trip. “I created you, I can destroy you! BWAHAHAHAHAH!!!!” Plus it’s just plain fun.

C. Margery Kempe: I am a god! I make the world, cause people to fall in love (or lust) and create out of nothing. What could be better than that?

Savannah Chase: I love creating these stories and bringing characters to life. I get to express myself with the tales I created and let my imagination run free. I love when someone reads one of my books and loves my work. When you get amazing feedback from a reader it fuels the fire to work harder and push yourself even more to create other books they will love.

Angela Cameron: I love everything about it really. Even the tough things are fun or make me bring more of myself to the job than I’d thought I could. It’s not only an art that I can share with others, but a craft that forces me to grow as an artist. The most fun, however, is talking to readers who know my fantasy worlds and have as much fun there as I do.

Elle Amery: This question makes me laugh! In what other industry can someone earn money by snuggling with a cat on their couch and daydreaming?

Sèphera Girón: I’m not sure. I think it’s the ability to live in other worlds and to meet new characters. I enjoy the process of stringing words together and I like to entertain.

Neve Black: Eroticism especially is a true freedom of expression.

Excerpt from Lust in Space:

Sleep came quickly. Nora dreamt she was back on Earth, moving along a warm
beach. She wore a long, flowing white dress that danced in the light, salty breeze. Nora walked along the shoreline, feeling the sand between her toes and the cool ocean water rushing up over her feet. Seagulls flew overhead, calling to one another and fighting over bits of fish and carrion.

“Hey,” a man’s voice said, startling Nora as he came up from behind.

Nora quickly turned, then smiled at the sight of a young, robust man standing before her. He had shoulder-length, sun-bleached hair, dark tan, and thick arms. His bare chest was firm and muscular, his stomach flat. Swimming trunks hanging loosely around his hips created a terrible tease.

“Hi,” Nora said nervously.

“So, this is Earth?” the man asked, taking in the stunning scenery.

“Yes,” Nora replied.

“It’s lovely,” he said. He gazed into Nora’s eyes. “The people are lovely, too.”

“This is a dream,” Nora said, working to make sense of the lucid scenario..

“In a way,” he corrected. “Your ship has entered Tantra space. I’m Jorre. I thought we might get to know one another.”

“You speak my Earth dialect?” she asked.

“I know everything you know. I’m inside your mind.”

“Oh. I feel at a slight disadvantage. I don’t know anything about you. Will we be able to meet, in person?”

“This is it,” Jorre said. “The Tantra have evolved past the need for physical bodies, but we’re still always eager to meet and learn from new life forms.”

Nora looked at Jorre skeptically.

“I can assure you that I’m very real,” he said. “You have something I need, just like I have something you need.”

“And what is that?”

Jorre took Nora into his arms and kissed her. His tongue was firm and sweet as it
danced through her mouth. The feel of his chest against Nora’s body was calming and arousing, sending her mind reeling as he lifted her dress and caressed her long legs. Nora went wet at his touch.

They lowered their bodies to the damp, compact sand. Cool, shallow water swirled around them as they kissed and held onto each other. Nora pulled off Jorre’s trunks and paused to admire his perfect, hard cock. Her body swelled at the thought of feeling him inside her, hot and thick.

Jorre moved against her, making Nora desperate for more. He put a hand between her legs and tore away her wet panties. The ocean whisked them away.
Nora swelled more as Jorre’s fingers penetrated her, rubbing and contorting within her. She grabbed his cock, marveled at its length and width, and stroked it with uncontrolled desire.

“Please, I need to feel you,” she begged.

Jorre continued to pleasure her with his fingers, seemingly amused. “You want me to fuck you?”

“Yes!”

“I want to hear you say it.”

“I need you to fuck me!” she bellowed, writhing desperately, spreading her legs and raking her fingers into the sand.

Nora lay on her discarded dress as Jorre rose between her legs, moving up against her and filling her forcefully. She thrust to meet him. Her breath shook as their bodies met. Nora wrapped her legs around Jorre’s firm body as he pumped into her, enthusiastically and fervently, each move taking her further toward blissful abandon. She rested her head against the sand, the water ebbing and flowing through her hair as it rushed over her. Jorre drilled into her with heavy, violent thrusts. Nora went limp, unable to keep up. She whimpered in blissful agony. He held her down as climax took her, her body going weak and her mind reeling. Nora moaned and wailed as Jorre continued to drive into her, taking her deep and hard.

“No more!” she cried, realizing that he had her by the arms. Her orgasm was
suddenly too much for her to bear.

But Jorre’s grip only grew tighter. He secured Nora tightly against the sand as he
reveled in her exasperation. He breathed heavily and his eyes rolled back as she
screamed.

***

For more on Lust in Space and my other works, be sure to visit my website or Ravenous Romance!

Remember to leave a comment; it automatically enters you to win a copy of my fast-paced, sexy sci-fi, Lust in Space. We’ll also be giving away three $5.00 gift certificates for Ravenous on three random stops. You won’t know which ones until the tour is over, so visit as many as you can! And if you leave a comment on every stop in the RR Ornery Eleven BBT, you’re eligible to win a $25 gift certificate from Ravenous Romance!

Thanks so much for stopping by and thanks again, Unbound, for hosting us! Please visit Talk About My Favorite Authors tomorrow, April 21st, for another question of the day and our featured author Angela Cameron!

The Reviewer's Lament (and the Beauty of Tor)

One of the perks of writing for Un:Bound (besides of course the fame, booze, and ability to influence the weather) is that you do, occasionally, get sent free books.

This is a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand they're, you know...free. Gratis. One day you arrive home to find your mailbox stuffed with a big manila envelop snuggling an advance reviewers copy or a recent release. Inside it's so warm and inviting...someone out there likes you! You pour yourself an ice-cold beer, grab some crackers and cheese, and have yourself a good curl on the couch.

Which is all very well and good, except now you're sort of obligated to actually read the book, not to mention write it up, and sooner rather than later. Which means that awesome new Vernor Vinge you just picked up, or that second book of William T. Vollmann's Seven Dreams saga (Fathers and Crows, if you were wondering) you were finally ready to dive into? It's gonna have to wait, at least if you want to maintain any kind of relationship with the company so you can receive even more free stuff in the future.

Admittedly, not a bad problem to have, especially if the book sent happens to be interesting. Ahhh, but you see, that isn't always the case. For alas, one of the perils (besides the numerous assassination attempts and tax audits) of the intrepid unpaid book reviewer is that you are at the mercy of whatever is sent to you. Not every book out there is gold; you're not always going to get a book you're looking forward to, let alone even heard of.

Case in point: a couple of months ago I somehow finagled my way onto a independent publisher who will send me about three emails a week asking if I'm interested in obtaining review copies of their books. 9 times out of 10 these books revolve around Zen for cats (not kidding), moving stories of child heroism (which is fine, but not my bag), or advice on improving your life. When a genre book actually is offered, allow me to say that, well, the quality of said novel, or novella, is maybe not what you would expect from a more readily obtainable source.

(personal aside - this isn't the case for all of the books - I do in fact have a short novella I'm reviewing right now from said company that's a nice, quick read. The Zen for Cats book, though? Not so much)

My experience so far has been a mixed bag: one good mystery, an uneven collection of short stories, a really unnecessary encyclopedia of famous people who have died from drugs, a few horrible (but very popular) mainstream thrillers, and a horror novella that's pretty kinda okay. And the aforementioned cat book. Nothing in the way of a book that I would have picked up for myself, or even thought about picking up for myself at the local bookstore.

Which is fine, because part of the charm of a review copy is finding something you wouldn't ordinarily pick up (as was the case of the very good mystery Mr. White's Confession by Robert Clark) but, you know, wouldn't it be nice to get something you're genuinely interested in?

Which finally brings me to Tor, one of the bigwigs when it comes to science fiction and fantasy publishing. A few weeks ago I received an email from a nice woman there asking if I was interested in reviewing any of their books. So far nothing there that would clue me into this being any different than the other emails or requests I've received. Then, three things jumped out at me:

1. She asked me what Tor authors I was specifically interested in - This is the first time I've ever been asked what I might like. Typically the email asks if I want a copy of a specific book.
2. She mentioned that she liked the works of Haruki Murakami - OK, so this might just be a little "yanking of the old chain," in order to get on my good side, so to speak. But it does say one important thing - she actually has read some of what I've written. Considered me "buttered" at this point.
3. She casually asked if I was aware that they were getting ready to unveil the plan for the final volumes in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series - Here's where the coolness come in. Even though I've never read the series, I know hoe big a deal it is to fantasy readers everywhere. I had to answer carefully, and decided to go with the truth: I never read the series, but had renewed interest since I heard it was being completed by Brandon Sanderson, whose Elantris I gave a nice positive review to.

I thanked her in advance, left my address, and waited. After about 2 weeks of no response, I received a hefty manila envelop in my mailbox. Tore into it not knowing what to expect and was ecstatic to see not one but two books waiting for me: Books 1 and 2 of Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy (the third of which was very positively reviewed by Hagelrat here).

For once I am not only happy to have to give up my TBR pile (except for the AMAZING Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, which I think I can be forgiven for since it's a Tor book), but I'm delighted and excited to as well.

All that to say sometimes the sword cuts you, and sometimes the sword give you awesome free books!

Carrie Vaughn - Kitty Raises Hell

Kitty and Ben are back in Denver and under threat from something they assume was sent after them by the cult they fought in Vegas. At the same time as trying to protect herself and her pack Kitty is dealing with her radio show, the Paranormal PI team, a strange and powerful vamp who seems to have answers but wants something in return and her friend T.J's younger brother who wants answers.
In typical Kitty the werewolf fashion chaos breaks out and Kitty is at the centre of it. It's another fun fast read with a good balance of action and character. We can understand why Kitty considers taking a deal behind Rick's back and her fears for herself and her pack. Good fun and typically well written.

If you are not familiar with the series it is worth reading at least the first novel Kitty and the Midnight Hour before reading this this one because events taking place at the beginning had a big influence on Kitty's attitude to pack and obviously the situation withT.J's kid brother.

Recap

In typical me style I have paid no attention to anniversary's. Turns out it's just over a year ago that I posted the first post on this blog. It was about Kat Richardson.
Anyway I thought to celebrate a little over a year of Un:Bound (originally Hagelrat's Reading or something similar) i'd remind you of the interviews I consider myself lucky to have been able to hold.
Incidentally, the picture is one of Dana Fredsti's cat lounging on her books. I have pinched it for the purpose of this post. I am confident she isn't going to sue. ;)

So first:
K Bannerman - author of the Tattooed Wolf and follow up werewolf novels aswell as historical novels. K grew up knowing she was a werewolf, but assured us in her interview that she wasn't too devastated when she failed to turn. Honestly, I would have been.
Visit K's site here.

Second up
Dana Fredsti - author of Murder for Hire The Peruvian Pigeon under her own name and more recently some Ravenous Romance titles as Inara LaVey. Dana was a sword fighting Deadite in Evil Dead 3 which is a fantastic movie and you can visit her site here.

Interviewee number 3,
Jennifer Rardin - who writes the Jaz Parks urban fantasy series published by Orbit. Jennifer is a regular blogger and unwinds in the garden. Check out her own site (and a fair bit of free fiction) here.

Next up
Kat Richardson - who loves ferretts, lives on a boat in seattle and writes the Greywalker series. Kat is another blogger and freely admits to being a geek. Vist her Grey here.

numero 5
Kelley Armstrong - the author behind the very successful "Otherworld" series and her non supernatural crime series based around protagonist Nadia Stafford. Visit her site here.

my sixth author
Brent Weeks - who wrote the Night Angel trilogy, which were released in three consequative months. Weeks is due to do it again in 2010 and you can visit his website here.

seventh
Caitlin Kittredge - author of the urban fantasy Nocturne City series and the upcoming Black London books. Caitlin, like Kat is a member of team Seattle. You can check her site out here.

Hachi
M.F.W Curran - who is bringing us The Secret War series. I was fortunate enough to be able to meet Matt in person and do the interview in a pub we both think is fabulous. It makes it easier to ramble on than by email. Visit Matt's site here.

So if you haven't checked out the interviews or the authors sites yet then you should, they are a treat. Happy reading.

Ravenous Romance Tour

Hi folks, the tour kicks off today over at Zhadi's Den . 11 of Ravenous Romance's authors doing a tour and they will be stopping off here in a couple of days.
I am hosting author Lisa Lane but for the full tour check out Zhadi's blog or my earlier post and for more on Ravenous Romance, check out their website.

Firmin - Sam Savage

I saw a review of this book some time ago and filed it in my head. When I saw it in Waterstones the other day I knew I had to have it. I am so glad I did. The book revolves around a rat Firmin whose unusual habit of eating books turns into a more unusual habit of reading them. It's a strange book, lovely and charming and utterly unique, Firmin is sad and sweet and I want to adopt the strange little rat.
The book is scattered with wonderful, adorable illustrations and honestly, I can't really do the book any kind of justice. It's not my usual thing, but it's brilliant. Read it. If you have ever felt like you don't really belong then this book is a great reminder you are not the only one.

Deliveries and Inscriptions

First I wanted to mention i've updated the books received list because publishers have been very good to me this month.
Second, because I have impulse control problems I thought i'd list the books i've bought in the last month or so too.
Firmin - Sam Savage
A Madness of Angels - Kate Griffin
Deathwish - Rob Thurman
Unfallen Dead - Marco Del Franco
Matter - Ian M Banks
The Ghost Brigades - John Scalzi
Game of Thrones - George RR Martin
Paperboy - Christopher Fowler
Amberville - Tim Davys
Kitty Raises Hell - Carrie Vaughn

I have also had passed on Run for your life - James Patterson and a no pressure loaner The Family Trade - Charles Stross.
At the weekend I shall post a book pile photo of the TBR pile. Bliss!!

Inscriptions:

The Guardian Book blog has an interesting article today about book inscriptions. Particularly interesting to me as it came up in a coffee break chat at work yesterday.

The article was about the personal value inscriptions add to a book, which can be enormous.

My favourite example of an inscribed book in my own life is a beautiful book of fairy tales. It’s called “Fairy Tales of The World” I think and is a large hardbacked book. It contains amazingly drawn colour plates which are oddly adult in design and features stories from all over the world. I’ve never come across any of the stories anywhere else. The one that I always remember was one from Japan about a girl and a little black cat, which seemed to suggest that if you are kind and loyal and brave you will enjoy the comfort and riches of good friends, but if you are not you be eaten by cat people.

The book was given to me as a birthday gift from a school friend when we were about 7 years old and the inscription is along the lines of “to Adele, happy birthday, love Gemma. 1984” A couple of years ago I realised I hadn’t read the book for a long time. So now, under the original inscription is one along the lines of “To Zoe and Matthew, with love Adele. 2006.”

The book has gone to a friends kids where it can be appreciated and enjoyed all over again. I hope one day there will be a third inscription from Z & M to some other child.

Secret Liaison

Sssh.
I've been having a secret liaison. None of my friends know and neither does my husband.
I've been reading romance. I know, you aren't shocked, after all i've been plugging Ravenous Romance for the last couple of weeks. Thing is, I never used to read romance novels.
I blame the author currently going by Inara LaVey. Under her other guise I became familiar with her wit, her noir touches and her fantastic characters, so I followed her, initially out of brand loyalty and now because i'm hooked.
Get yourself stuck into "Ripping the Bodice" frankly it's better written, funnier and with deeper characterisation and than some mainstream authors are churning out these days. Go on, pour yourself a glass of wine and download a little romance. Hmm, well I met Lovely Mark online, is it any surprise I go to ebooks for my romance?

Bookish Meme

Pinched from World in a Satin Bag

1) Lord of the Rings: Movies or books?
Totally the Movies, but the animated one most of all. I read The Lord of The Rings when I left Uni and it's a solid story, with some great moments, but if Tolkien weren't so obsessed with writing everyones entire family history every time he mentioned them it would be an easier read.

2) Dragonlance or Forgotten Realms?
Shockingly I haven't read either.

3) Online bookstores or physical (local) bookstores?
I do buy online, because I pretty much only have access to Waterstones, so I can only get what they stock generally. In terms of shopping pleasure, physical shops win hands down and I use them as much as I can.

4) Hardcover or paperback?
As a rule paperback. I read everywhere I go and paperbacks are much easier to sling in a handbag or a stuff in a pocket. You can also double stack them on shelves, so you can have twice as many in the same space. Obviously hardbacks are usually more attractive, but that's not why I buy books.

5) Secondary World or Real World?
Depends, i'm going through an Urban Fantasy phase at the moment, so real world with extras. If you ask me next week it might be different.

Amazon Rank

I'm going to add my voice to this particular item, although I usually leave these things to others. IT would appear that Amazon are stripping books containing "adult" content, including those containing any homosexuality of their ranks. This effectively removes them from searches. It seems that classic books such as "Oranges are not the only fruit" and "Lady Chatterly's Lover" may be affected.
Literary Escape has a particularly good article on this. Check it out.

Ken MacLeod - Newton's Wake

Newton's Wake is the second offering I read from IO9's 20 Science Fiction Books That Will Change Your Life, following the very good Glasshouse by Charles Stross. Newton's Wake was a bit more of an unknown quantity for me: Stross was a writer I had come to enjoy from his bureaucratic Lovecraft adventures in The Atrocity Archives, as well as good word of mouth from other writers like John Scalzi and Neil Gaiman. MacLeod's mention on the I09 list was my first exposure to him and, unfortunately, based on Newton's Wake it may be my last.

At its core Newton's Wake is about the discovery of a inhabited planet of human refugees from something that has come to be known as the Hard Rapture - the artificial intelligences of Earth skyrocketed past their human progenitors and have left the planet. Most people stayed behind in the aftermath of the Rapture and made their luck and fortunes, dividing up into numerous clans. A small group, however, took off for the stars with a repository of thousands of backed-up souls, never to be heard from again. So when this planet is discovered holding the descendants of the space craft that left, it's news to the rest of the galaxy. So a mad dash is made by the main factions of the galaxy to "claim" the planet and the weird, alien artifacts that line the landscapes. Little does anyone know that the artifacts aren't what they seem, and they begin to build themselves into war machines with the express purpose of...uh, wait...I remember...

And that's the problem. There's so much information coming at you, and so many ideas that are creeping into the sides of the events that nothing ever really gets fleshed out into a coherent story. You can get the basic gist of events from Wikipedia, who manage to sum it up nicer than I ever could, although they don't even begin to get into all the additional storylines and ideas covered in the novel. MacLeod tries to paint a intriguing pictures of the main protagonist, Lucinda Carlyle, but at her heart she's basically a gangster working for her clan who "owns" something called the Skein - a series of wormholes that allows transportation between planets - so her motivations never really seem all that clear. MacLeod, Scottish, also tries to keep up the Scottish dialect for his main characters, but its application is spotty at best, and took away from being absorbed into the conversation.

I just went back and re-read I09's caption for Newton's Wake. It reads a lot more exciting that the novel, sadly, turned out to be. I still have 3 more novels from the list waiting to be read, and to be fair, there are a couple of incredible novels listed. Time will tell.

*If anyone else has read Newton's Wake and has a different opinion of it, I'd love to hear it - thanks!

Ravenous Romance Reminder

Just to remind you all that the Ravenous Romance Blog Tour starts on 18th April and comes to us on the 20th.
We are hosting Lisa Lane - author of Lust in Space

Check out the authors own sites before the fun begins.

• Inara LaVey
• Jamaica Layne
• C. Margery Kempe
• Lisa Lane
• Elle Amery
• Isabel Roman
• Savannah Chase
  
• Neve Black
• Sèphera Girón
• Angela Cameron
  
• EM Lynley

New Ravenous Author blog

Ravenous Romance

Easter chill out

If you are looking for a little light diversion this Easter Sunday then I would like to suggest a visit to the Guardians running series on "Writer's Rooms".
It's a series of writers of various sorts talking about their writing space, as the name would suggest. It's light and appeals to me in the same way those shows that allow you to look in other peoples homes do.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/series/writersrooms

Perhaps we could have a writers/readers spaces Weekly Geeks soon?

Weekly Geeks - Cook Books

Oh I love this one, so here's my cookbook Weekly Geeks post!

--Describe your cookbook collection. How many cookbooks do you own? A lot? Just a few? None at all?
I have a bookcase, three longish shelves purely for my cookbooks, and it's stuffed.

--Do you even buy cookbooks? Or do you gather family cookbook compilations and/or recipe files instead?
I do all of these, I buy them, i've inhertied some from my Mum and my Nanna and I have notebooks and files of recipes from magazines.

--Do you like to collect certain types of cookbooks? Say, from certain chefs? From places you visit? From a particular food group or style?
I buy anything that appeals, I have some celebrity chef style ones, some little random ones, allsorts. Some are ones I went looking for, others I just stumbled across.

--When buying cookbooks, what do you look for? Does it need to have pictures? Spiral binding? A specific type of font?
I flick through them and if the first few recipes I come across are things I would and could cook then home it comes. I generally prefer ones with some pictures but it's not a deal breaker.

--What is your favorite cookbook? Tell us the story behind it.
My fave cookbook isn't a cookbook. I have some books that my Nanna used to write her recipes in and I have added to them, the mix of handwritten and stuck in cutouts by both of us brings me a lot of pleasure. She passed away a couple of years ago at 92 and it's these personal things that really make me feel close to her.

--Tell us about your most well-used cookbook. Is it different from your favorite cookbook? Or are they one and the same?
My most well used one is my recent file where i've been collecting the recipes I use most often so I don't have to search through a stupid number of books looking for them.

--Take a picture of your collection. How and where do you organize it?
I don't organise it, but it lives in the corridor near the kitchen.

--Share a recipe from one of your favorite cookbooks. Include a picture if you can.
No picture i'm afraid, but that's ok since I tend not to worry so much about presentation.
70g Magerine, 1/4 cup caster sugar, 1 egg lightly beaten, 1tsp vanilla essence, 2/3 cup self raising flour, 1tbspn cocoa, 1/4 tsp bicarb of soda, 1/4 cup of cream, 200g melted dark chocolate.
Preheat oven to 180deg C.
Brush loaf tin with melted marg.
Mix everything together well, pour into the tin, cook for about 35mins.

I'm a devil for not going into seperate mixing stages but in this case it's better that way. Don't try to make this cake too light and fluffy, it's meant to be a little bit dense, very chocolaty and moist. You should also note that this is my own variation on a cake recipe.

Pig City - Louis Sachar

Many thanks to Bloomsbury for this one.
Laura picks up a cap at a garage sale that inspires the new secret club "Pig City". The school banned clubs after a kids parents complained because no one would let him join. In order to join Pig City you have to offer insurance, all based on embarrassment naturally. Things go well for a while but in time a new club starts up and it gets nasty.
Sachar is probably best known for Holes which was made into a brilliant movie. Pig City taps into its age group brilliantly. Reading it I found myself blushing for that part of me that once shared those priorities and made those mistakes and I can only imagine the delight with which his target audience will receive this book. For those of us who still enjoy a trip to the kids section occasionally, this is a nice reminder of how life used to look, when we were a little shorter.

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove - Christopher Moore

It has become my standard response to stress this last year to retreat to a Christopher Moore book. The last couple of weeks then resulted in a reading shut down that could only be relieved one way.
Why do I love Moore so much? He has blended excellent writing with utter silliness and characters who feel like exaggerated versions of our own inner selves. It's the characters that keep me coming back. The reason Moore is so wonderful is that no matter how crackers the plot and how over the top his characters are it is still possible to identify with them. The author guy makes it possible to identify with a B movie actress who can't always remember she is not a sword wielding mutant slayer, a dog and his Food Guy and a giant man eating Sea Beast, who really just wants to be loved. Molly's "Narrator" is an exaggerated version of the little voice in everyone's head and although the pharmacist with a thing for sea life is pretty much just creepy and weird, the shrink who is jolted into remembering why she originally got into the trade and the flaky widowed artist are among the characters that offer versions of people we probably know.
In the first trip to Pine Cove we saw a bunch of drunks capture a demon, in this visit the stoner cop and the B movie star deal (in different ways) with Steve the sea beast. Also, if you ever wondered how a giant sea monster and a girl get around the anatomical differences this is the book you need.
This book, like everything by Moore and in the words of the folks of Pine Cove "batshit crazy".

David Gemmell - Legend

RULE #17: Omit Needless Words

- The Elements of Style, Strunk & White

I remember in college having Strunk & White's Elements of Style pounded into my head daily, with the all-powerful RULE #17 touted above all else. This is a crime that many writers (yours truly included) fall into, but when it comes to genre writing, particularly fantasy, the transgressions seem to pile up, one atop the other. How many times have I had to read a sentence that contained 2 nouns (usually "sword" and "head" or some variation thereof) and approximately 37.6 adjectives? Too many, I tell you. There's a fine line between description and "padding" and when that padding's noticeable, it's a deadly eyesore that can kill the flow and pacing of an otherwise good story.

Enter David Gemmell and Legend, his debut novel from 1984.

Legend is classified as "heroic fantasy" - the story of Druss the Legend, a master warrior whose exploits have becomes the stories told around campfires and inns, to children and to soldiers. When a barbarian tribe called the Nadir threaten to overtake the Drenai empire Druss, now in his sixties and looking for an end to his legend, takes up his ax one more time to hold Dros Delnoch, the final fortress and last barrier between Ulric, King of the Nadir, and the Drenai empire. It's a story of an epic battle, of warrior kings and farmer soldiers, magical powers human emotions, and as great as the story (the first in a series of books focusing on the world, but a stand-alone novel in its own right) is, it's similar to dozens of novels and film's you've probably read or seen over the years.

So why do I love Legend so much, and recommend it so highly?

All the credit goes to Gemmell, who manages to write the unholy $#@! (insert your favorite curse word here) out of this story. This is a Lord of the Rings, Helm's Deep sized battle, with a large cast of characters, taking place over weeks, and he wraps it all up in 340 pages. Not a sentence is spared on anything but propelling the story forward, fleshing out character motivations, intrigues, and elements that launch Legend from merely being "another fantasy book" into a master example of how the form can remain fresh and exciting. It presents the sides of the war in such a way that even as you root for the underdogs, knowing there's no possible way they can win, you understand and can see the motivations and the perspective from the encroaching enemies as well, as Gemmell if nothing else is very clear that good and evil is entirely dependent on which side you're on, and that empires rising and falling is a natural as the revolutions of a wheel.

If you're looking for huge fights, great characters, morals and motivations that aren't cookie cut out for you, and want to just experience some great writing to boot, David Gemmell in general and Legend in particular is a great place to get a fix.

Ravenous Romance on Tour

I'm delighted to announce that the Ravenous Romance Blog Tour is making a stop at Un:Bound.

It kicks off on the 14th of April over at Dana Fredsti's blog, with an intro.

So before the tour take a little time to visit the Ravenous Romance authors blog
http://www.rrauthors.blogspot.com/

and the web site
http://www.ravenousromance.com/

and here are some details of the forthcoming tour:

Ravenous Romance Ornery Eleven Blog Tour Schedule

4/18 - Zhadi's Den - Intro Stop –

4/19 - Jennifer's Random Musings - Elle Amery

4/20 - Unbound - Lisa Lane - oh hey that's us, so no link here.

4/21 - Talk About My Favorite Authors - Angela Cameron

4/22 - Kissa Starling - Em Lynley

4/23 - The Countess - Jamaica Layne

4/24 - PNR Inklings Blog at ParaNormal Romance - Sephera Giron

4/25 - Wicked Thorn and Roses - Isabel Roman

4/27 - Sia's Thoughts on... - Neve Black

4/29 - Bryn Greenwood - C. Margery Kempe

4/30 - Bookwenches - Savannah Chase

5/1 - Neve Black - Inara LaVey

5/2 - NIght Owl Romances - Final Stop

The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton

This is the third book group book for our little local group. It's by the same author as "The House at Riverton" which I haven't read aqnd this didn't really look my thing either.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book was mostly fairly enjoyable and quite well written. The layering of time lines over each other to build to the final revelation was well done, but I figured out most of the plot lines by halfway through. Really it was too long for the kind of chick lit that this seemed to be. If it had been half the length I would recommend it for light holiday reading, but as it is I would have rather given that extra 250 pages of time to something that was a little more rewarding. See, it doesn't even merit a cover pic.