Man Made Boy REVIEW + GIVEAWAY

Review Time! Man Made Boy is the latest book from YA author Jon Skovron (usually writes books that are dark, strange and humorous - he kinda looks like a vampire too). This review and giveaway was initially part of the Australian Blog Tour but that was back in November and I had exam block so I completely couldn't make my posting date! HOWEVER better late than never right? You can purchase Man Made Boy from The Book Depository | The Nile | Fishpond | Bookworld. Thanks to Allen and Unwin for the review copy and the giveaway!

(Goodreads) Love can be a real monster.

Sixteen-year-old Boy’s never left home. When you’re the son of Frankenstein’s monster and the Bride, it’s tough to go out in public, unless you want to draw the attention of a torch-wielding mob. And since Boy and his family live in a secret enclave of monsters hidden under Times Square, it’s important they maintain a low profile.

Boy’s only interactions with the world are through the Internet, where he’s a hacker extraordinaire who can hide his hulking body and stitched-together face behind a layer of code. When conflict erupts at home, Boy runs away and embarks on a cross-country road trip with the granddaughters of Jekyll and Hyde, who introduce him to malls and diners, love and heartbreak. But no matter how far Boy runs, he can’t escape his demons—both literal and figurative—until he faces his family once more.

The Short Story? - An imaginative and interesting concept that was executed nicely! I definitely felt this book was directed more towards a male audience (male protagonist, writing seemed fit for more of a guy reader etc etc.) however I enjoyed it (and I'm SWEAR I'm not a guy) so it's definitely a book everyone can get into and enjoy! A coming to age novel about Boy, the son of Frankenstein and Bride and how he struggles between monster and man, obligations and desires and finding who he really is. Cute, funny and entertaining from cover to cover, Skovron's Man Made Boy is a hilarious story about a boy (haha!) who struggles to find his place in the world!

The Long Story? - I'm not really quite sure how to describe this book because it's not really a retelling or a re-imagining. It's more like a imagining of a what if situation...do you get me? I'm not a huge fan of coming-to-age novels (they're just not my cup of tea) however I thoroughly enjoyed Man Made Boy because although it was a coming-to-age novel, there were so many supernatural elements to the story. Firstly, the characters aren't human and secondly the plot was very different. In Skovron's world, monsters are living in hiding among humans. Boy's family is part of The Show, a broadway production run completely by monsters. The Show is a source of income as well as a haven for monsters in New York. Boy struggles between wanting to live a life of his own or staying at The Show. The pace of the book is a little slow and the writing style and narration takes a little to get used to however that aside, it was beautifully written, the plot was imaginative and interesting and a little bittersweet. The romance was cute and most importantly it was funny!

It's always easier for me to forge a connection with a character if they have boobs. Let's face it, girls understand girls (most of the time) better than they do of the opposite sex. It was a little hard to connect with Boy initially not only did he not have boobs, he was quiet and shy and conserved (which is three things that I definitely am not) however as the boob progressed, I found myself growing closer to Boy. You can definitely see Boy grow into a completely different person from cover to cover. He grew a backbone, he started living his own life and he gave himself an identity. It's wonderful when you can see a character grow throughout a novel as their experiences shape them into a different person. Boy was a fantastic character! Claire and Sophie were as different as day and night however I adored both characters. They were a very nice balance of each other and their relationship with Boy was completely adorable! 

I found myself enjoying Man Made Boy a lot more than I thought I would! It seemed like such a "guy book" and although there were elements that suggest this, overall I found myself thoroughly enjoying Skovron's humorous "sorta re-imagining" of Frankenstein. A highly unique concept that was executed very well with likeable characters and an interesting plot! I definitely recommend this book to lovers of both contemporary fiction and supernatural fiction!

What's it Worth? - Hand Over the Paycheck

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GIVEAWAY

Since I enjoyed Man Made Boy so much, Allen and Unwin has provided me with an opportunity to provide THREE (3) lucky winners with the same opportunity! We are giving away a copy of Man Made Boy by Jon Skovron to three AUSTRALIAN READERS!

- AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS ONLY

- Ends 25th of December

- Must be 13 or older

- Optional Entries :

   * Leaving comment on this review +3

   * Follow Me on Twitter +1

   * Follow Allen and Unwin on Twitter +1 (@AllenAndUnwin)

   * Tweeting Giveaway +1

   * Follow Badass Bookie via GFC/Linky or RSS +2

To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Badass Bookie xx

THESE BROKEN STARS BLOG TOUR: Guest Post

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GOOD MORNING EVERYONE! It's a beautiful Monday morning here in the land down under (personally I have no qualms about Mondays since I'm on holidays and it's like Sunday everyday - and I'm not wearing any pants). As part of the Australian blog tour for THESE BROKEN STARS (Allen and Unwin - December), I have Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner stopping on the blog today with a guest post!

Although I haven't gotten around to reading THESE BROKEN STARS yet (it's on my TBR pile for December), this is a book that I hold close to my heart because 1) Amie and Meagan are two of my favourite author friends and 2) they're Australian (well Amie is and Meagan lived here so pretty much the same thing)!

Anyway enjoy the guest post! I know I did!

(Also can we talk about how gorgeous this cover is? That green dress is so magnificent and I wish I could pull off green as well as red heads)

                                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Five Things We Learned Writing These Broken Stars

1. If you want to drop an escape pod through the atmosphere onto a planet, you need it to have a parachute, or the inhabitants will die like flat, flat pancakes. (Thank you, helpful NASA physicist friend Ben for pointing this out!)

2. If you’re out of water and you put snow in your mouth to melt, your body will expend energy trying to warm the water up to your core temperature. This depletes your energy, which is obviously a problem since you’re already in a survival situation. Still, water is better than no water.

3. If you say “That would kill a LOT of people” in a public place (in our case, the Mornington Peninsula Hot Springs), the people around you definitely start respecting your personal space verrrry carefully. We promise we were only talking about crashing our fictional spaceship.

4. If you are going to google what happens to dead bodies when they decompose, try to avoid an image search. Trust us on this.

5. If you want to blow something up, where you place the explosives is very important—get it wrong, and you’ll just blow a hole in it instead. So what you want to do is… actually, maybe we better keep the details to ourselves. (But thanks to our explosives expert Nic for helping us out!)

                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About the Authors:

Left: Amie Right: Meagan

Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner are longtime friends and sometime flatmates who have travelled the world (but not yet the galaxy), covering every continent between them. They are sure outer space is only a matter of time. Meagan, who is also the author of the Skylark trilogy, lives just outside Washington D.C. (though she considers herself an honorary Aussie), while Amie lives in Melbourne, Australia. Although they currently live apart, they are united by their love of space opera, road trips and second breakfasts.

You can find them on Twitter at @AmieKaufman and @MeaganSpooner.

Visit Amie's website

Visit Meagan's website

Sign Up to Amie and Meagan's MONTHLY NEWSLETTER for Exclusive Behind the Scenes Sneek Peeks and Giveaways! - HERE

About the Book:

It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?
Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

Badass Bookie xx 

Jump BLOG TOUR: Review + Giveaway

As part of the Australian Blog Tour for Sean William's latest YA novel, Jump, I have a review and giveaway for y'all today! Super excited to review this book because not only is Jump (published as Twinmaker in the US) one of the books I was most looking forward to this year but after finishing the book (literally ten minutes ago), I found myself really enjoying the book as well! Thanks to Allen and Unwin for the review copy, the blog tour and the giveaway (you guys are amazing!)

Review

(Goodreads) You can be Improved....

In a near-future world in which technology can transport you anywhere instantly, can a coded note enable you to change your body—to become taller, stronger, more beautiful? Clair is pretty sure the offer is too good to be true. But her best friend, Libby, is determined to give it a try, longing for a new, improved version of herself.

What starts as Libby’s dream turns into Clair’s nightmare when Libby falls foul of a deadly trap. With the help of Jesse, the school freak, and a mysterious—but powerful—stranger called Q, Clair’s attempt to protect Libby leads her to an unimagined world of conspiracies and cover-ups. Soon her own life is at risk, and Clair is chased across the world in a desperate race against time.

The Short Story? - One of my favourite reads of this year! I went into Jump not knowing what to expect but finished the book thoroughly enjoying the content between the covers! An interesting and engaging take science fiction, cloning, DNA mojo and an utopian dictatorship, Jump was a thrilling and action-packed adventure. A fast-paced chase across the country, William's clever and intense plot leaves readers on the edge of their seats. A great protagonist with a brilliant mind, a mysterious ally and a race against time to save the world, Jump is definitely one of the cleverest science fiction novels! 

The Long Story? - This is my kind of book. Action-packed, intense and fast-paced yet at the same time, incredibly thought provoking and clever. One of the highlights of the novel for me was the complexity of the ideas behind the technology. IT WAS SO CLEVER. The whole idea of cloning, teleportation and how we can be genetically mutated without our own knowledge every time we teleport is such a fascinating yet plausible theory. I'm not an expert in genetics and DNA mutation but William's take on the classic science fiction idea was thoroughly enjoyed. The other aspect of the plot I very much enjoyed was the chase. Clair, our protagonist, was chased all across the country by clones wanting to kill her, she makes unlikely allies on the way and learns that sacrifice and death is a necessity of life and on top of that, she's on a race against time to save her best friend. It's a highly complex plot and although I didn't exactly get lost, there are certain points in the novel where I felt myself falling behind. Jump is definitely one of those novels that you need to concentrate while reading or else you'll be left confused and unsatisfied.

Throughout the novel, we meet briefly meet a number of characters however most of them come and go very quickly (either they die or they're left behind) therefore leaving the characterisation to be a little empty. However the characterisation of our protagonist was fantastic. I loved Clair as a character, she was smart, responsible yet at the same a badass and master strategist. Where she lacked in physical combat, she made up for with her quick wits and fast thinking. Another constant for the duration of the novel was, Q, mysterious and revealed only at the very end for who she really is, I absolutely loved Q as a character. She was so sincere and the lengths she went to protect Clair were admirable. Jesse was also a character that accompanied Clair from the start to the very end, although there was some attraction between the two I wouldn't really call it a romance, perhaps the beginning of a romance? Overall, the characterisation was well done, a fantastic protagonist, her two constant companions and a body count that follows them!

Although the reviews of Jump have been mixed, I'm definitely on the lover's side for this book. Well written, clever and exciting, William's did an excellent job incorporating science, adventure, drama and action together. Unique, Jump is unlike any other science fiction novel that I've ever read and for those of you who are sick of the dystopian and science fiction cross-over, I highly recommend Jump because it's a solid science fiction novel. Thoroughly enjoyable, I can't wait to see where the rest of the series takes Clair and her friends!

What's it Worth? - Hand Over the Paycheck/ Squeeze into the Budget

Sean has also created a fantastic Youtube video about D-mat (which is the fascinating technology behind cloning and the DNA mutation I was raving about in my review!)

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Jump, I'm giving away copies of Jump! Thanks to Allen and Unwin, I have THREE (3) COPIES of JUMP by Sean Williams to giveaway to Australian Residents (sorry to my international readers but publisher's request!).

- AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS ONLY

- Ends 1st of December

- Must be 13 or older

- Optional Entries :

   * Leaving comment on this review

   * Follow Me on Twitter +1

   * Follow Allen and Unwin on Twitter +1

   * Tweeting Giveaway +1

   * Follow Badass Bookie via GFC/Linky or RSS +2

To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Badass Bookie xx

THE LAST GIRL: Q and A with Michael Adams (BLOG TOUR)

WHAT'S THIS? TWO POSTS IN A ROW? SOMEONE HAS HIJACKED THE BADASS BOOKIE. Just kidding, I'm just being super diligent this week! As part of the blog tour for The Last Girl by Michael Adams (Allen and Unwin), I've got a Q and A with the man himself today! Super stroked about having Michael on the blog, when I first received my copy of The Last Girl, I skimmed through the first couple of chapters and IT'S FANTASTIC. Can't wait to find time and dig in!

Interview with Michael Adams

Quickies - 

Early Bird or Late Owl?

Early bird. I have to get up at 5 for work each day. By choice: night owl. 

Chocolate or Lollies?
Both. Choc outside and lolly inside. I speak of… the mighty Violet Crumble.

Black or White?
Black. White shows the dirt too much.

Dog-Ear or Bookmark?
Dog-ear. Especially when I see a sentence that I like. My books can look like accordions.

Pen or Pencil?
Pencil when I'm gently editing. Pen when it gets emphatic.

Twitter or Facebook?
Twitter. Short, sharp, silly.

Favourite Day of the Week?
Saturday. Wake up, hang with the family, make breakfast, take the dog for a walk, hit the garage sales... and then start writing.

Song That's Currently Playing (outloud or in your head)?
The Strokes. Welcome To Japan. I love the line: "What kinda asshole drives a Lotus?"

Book that should be turned into a movie?
Flicker. Theodore Roszak's trippy conspiracy thriller about the secret purpose of the movies. Darren Aronofsky, who made Black Swan, was gonna direct it at one stage.

Book that everyone else has read but me?
Book that everyone's read but me? All of them. You can climb my TBR list to the top of Everest. (I raise you, my TBR connects my location to Mars)

Opinion on Big Brother?
You’ll find some references to it in the book - George Orwell’s version, that is. In Danby's world it's been turned into a rap-movie call Big Bro and the lead character has been rebooted as Win-S. Though, now I think of it, the idea of telepathic intrusion certainly fits the nightmare that is the reality TV version.

The Long Ones - 

1) Can you describe The Last Girl in three words?
Leaps off page.

2) The Last Girl is written from the perspective of a sixteen-year-old girl, what made you want to write from this perspective and was it difficult?
I wanted to write from Danby's teenage perspective because it's removed from my experience and it'd stop me from falling back into my own voice as an adult male. I wanted to make her up and then see what she'd do, how she'd respond, to the crisis. Having her as my main character also did make stuff harder for her because she hasn't had as much life experience. For instance, she hasn't yet learned to drive, which is a big hassle when you're trying to escape a suburb that's coming apart at the seams. Another thing is that I wanted Danby to be a character my daughter could relate to and respect when she's older. Ava is eight now. She'll be Danby's age in the near-future in which The Last Girl is set. I'd like her to read about a young woman who's smart and funny and flawed and brave and empathetic and independent. It was sometimes difficult to write Danby - but that's how I wanted it. My editors were good with making sure that her voice and language remained true to a teenager. I think things like lack of confidence, peer pressure, uncertainty about the future, a skepticism of parents, etc, are common to both boys and girls. So I used what I knew from my own experience. The rest I imagined.

3) Is there a story behind the names of the main characters?
There are stories behind some of the names of the characters. Danby's name is actually Danbyn. It's a name her parents - BrenDAN and RoBYN - made up for her because it was so supposed to symbolise that she was part of them forever. But we see how that's worked out - and why Danby rejects her full name. Her combo name also reflects the time she was born, back when we first had "Bennifer", which was the name coined when Ben Affleck was engaged to Jennifer Lopez. So it's a bit of a clue to when the book is set. Danby's surname, Armstrong, literally spells out what she needs to be - but it can also sound like an affirmation: "I'm strong." There are plenty of other names in the book - TV shows, song, bands, movies - that have some kind of relevance to the plot and themes. I'm hoping working them out is fun for some readers.

4) Is there a character that you can relate best to?
Danby, definitely. I've spent so much time in her head she's like a part of me. Which sounds weird, I know. But I love how she's always trying to figure stuff out, come out with a theory, a plan of action -- and how much trouble it gets her out of… and into.

5) Tell us a little about your writing process!
Wow, I had the vaguest idea - telepathic plague! - in 2008. Couldn't figure out how to make it work. Had a bit of a flash of inspiration in March 2011. Started writing in a notebook. Scribbles everywhere. But got a few thousand words down. Basically it was the opening scene. Dysfunctional family Christmas made so much worse when everyone can hear each other's thoughts. Hit a lot of obstacles because I hadn't planned much more than that. Cornered myself and Danby continually because I'd trap her in some godawful situation and have to figure out an escape. It looked so impossible that I considered taking her little brother out of the story entirely. I'm so glad I didn't because he proved to be the key to the trilogy. Anyway, I wrote it while working a full-time job and doing freelance on the side. By July 2012 I had a finished first draft of 111,000 words. My agent said I ought to cut it back to 90,000, which I did. A&U loved it - and then the rewriting really began. It's a long process. Satisfying but very difficult.

6) If The Last Girl was turned into a movie, who would play who?

For Danby, I think the Australian actress Eva Lazarro, who you might've seen in the TV show Tangle and in the new movie The Turning. She's 18, looks the part and she's a terrific on-screen presence. The book specifies that Nathan is of Sri Lankan heritage. It makes me wonder whether Ashton Agar, the young cricket player, can act because he’s kinda like my idea of Nathan. As for Jack, he’s a bit older. It'd suit Aussie actor Alex Russell. He was terrific in Chronicle. He's charismatic and has a dark and funny streak. It'd be fantastic if The Last Girl could be made into a moive in Australia with local actors and filmmakers. It’s not like we’ve got a shortage of talent and locations.

From Left To Right : Ashton Agar, Eva Lazarro and Alex Russell.

About The Book

The end of the world happens in the blink of an eye

When The Snap sweeps the globe, everyone can instantly hear everything that everyone else is thinking. As secrets and lies are laid bare, suburbs and cities explode into insanity and violence. What might have been an evolutionary leap instead initiates the apocalypse.

Sixteen-year-old Danby Armstrong's telepathy works very differently. She can tune into other people but they can't tune into her. With only this slender defence, Danby must protect her little brother and reach the safety of her mother's mountain retreat. But it's 100 kilometres away and the highways are blocked by thousands of cars and surrounded by millions of people coming apart at the psychic seams.

Danby's escape is made even more dangerous by another cataclysm that threatens humanity's extinction. And her ability to survive this new world will be tested by a charismatic young man whose power to save lives may be worse than death itself.

Purchase ALL OUR YESTERDAYS - Booktopia | Fishpond | The Nile | Bookworld

BOOK TRAILER

About the Author

Michael Adams has been a restaurant dishwasher, television host, ice-cream scooper, toilet scrubber, magazine journalist, ecohouse lab rat, film reviewer, social media curator, telemarketing jerk, reality TV scribe and B-movie zombie. This one time, he watched bad movies at the rate of one per day for an entire year and wrote a book about the traumatic experience, which is called Showgirls, Teen Wolves and Astro Zombies. Michael lives in the Blue Mountains, NSW, with his partner, daughter, one dog, two cats and an average of three supersized spiders. The Last Girl is his first novel.

Badass Bookie xx 

ALL OUR YESTERDAYS Cristin Terrill BLOG TOUR

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of content on the blog lately (i.e. this whole year) but honestly I literally just study and do assignments 24/7 (only a slight exaggeration). However today to spice things up a little (i.e. actually post something). I have a Q and A with Cristin Terrill, author of 2013 YA debut ALL OUR YESTERDAYS. Super excited to read this one so I'm so happy to be part of this blog tour!

(You guys might have noticed I'm slightly late with this blog tour post! There was problems with the file and then I left for Sydney so unfortunately I haven't managed to get it up til now!)

Interview with Cristin Terrill

1) Describe All Our Yesterdays in Three Words.

Time + love + complications.

2) How did you come up with the plot for All Our Yesterdays? (it's such a unique and interesting concept I WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING)

The initial kernel of the idea for ALL OUR YESTERDAYS came from this one night when I was having trouble sleeping. I got up at about three or four in the morning and ended up watching The Terminator on TV. I was wondering how the story would be different if the killer robot from the future was the good guy instead of the villain, and then, because I write YA, I was wondering what it would be like if she was a teenage girl instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

3) What made you want to write YA?

I’ve never considered writing anything else! I’ve done a lot of work with teenagers throughout my life because I really feel a rapport with them, and I think that period of life is so intense and interesting. It’s just something I’ve always gravitated towards (although I wouldn’t relive my own teen years for the world!).

4) Character you feel you can relate best to? Why?

I probably relate the most to Em (although luckily my life is nothing like hers!). She manages to be both a cynic and an optimist at the same time, and I definitely see that in myself.

5) Is there a story behind the names of characters? 

Marina Marchetti – Marina comes from Shakespeare’s Pericles. She’s a princess who loses everything, struggles, and eventually gets it back. This is actually mentioned in the book. Marchetti came from a television show I was binging on while writing, and I just liked the way it sounded!

James Shaw – James because it’s a very formal, upper-crust type name (with a ridiculous nickname, Jimbo, that Finn could use). Shaw is an homage to the Shaw family from The Manchurian Candidate.

Finn Abbott – I have no idea why Finn; that was just the name he came with in my head! I chose Abbott because it has a very wholesome, all-American sound that seemed right for Finn.

The only other name with a story behind it is the soldier who breaks Em and Finn out of prison. His name is Connor, which is, of course, a nod to The Terminator.

6) Are you planning to write any other books outside the series?

Right now I’m just concentrating on the sequel to All Our Yesterdays, but hopefully there will be more books to come!

7) Who would play the characters in a movie adaptation?
Unfortunately, my answer for this is a total non-answer! I used to work in the theatre, and I was in casting for part of that time. Because of that, I feel very strongly that the best actor for a role isn’t the one who looks the most like the character description but the one who brings the most authentic and surprising performance, and you never know who that’s going to be until you see them try it. So if the movie version of All Our Yesterdays does get made, I would just want the actors who most bring the characters to life. (But I’d love to know who readers think should be in the movie!)

8) Insider's Scoop? (Fun facts about the novel or it's process!)

Hmm, well, there’s one thing I put in the book that I’ve told literally no one else about, not even my agent or editor. Almost every time there’s a number in the book, it is or contains a four. This is my nerdy nod to the fourth dimension, which is time.

About The Book

"You have to kill him." Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside.

Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was.

Purchase ALL OUR YESTERDAYS - The Book Depository | Fishpond | The Nile | Bookworld

About the Author

Cristin Terrill is a young adult author and aspiring grown-up. She grew up semi-nomadic and graduated from Vassar College with a degree in drama. After getting her masters in Shakespeare Studies from the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, she lived in London, Austin, Boston, and Washington, DC while working as a theatrical stage manager. Now she writes and leads creative writing workshops for DC-area kids and teens. All Our Yesterdays is her first novel.

Find Cristin - Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Website | Goodreads

Badass Bookie xx 

EVERY BREATH Blog Tour - Q And A with Ellie Marney

Hey guys! As part of Ellie Marney Blog Tour for her latest YA novel, Every Breath (Allen and Unwin), she's stopping over at Badass Bookie for a quick Q and A today.

Interview with Ellie Marney 

Quickies -

Early Bird or Night Owl?

I used to be a night owl, but in the last few years I’ve had to reprogram myself – nights were doing me in, and since my youngest son started sleeping well in the mornings, I’m an early bird.  Five am is pretty damn early.

Chocolate or Lollies?

Ooh, dark chocolate please.

Coffee or Tea?

Tea – by the gallon.  STRONG tea, like stand-your-spoon-in-it strong, with condensed milk.

Dog-Ear or Bookmark?

How embarrassing…dog-ear  *blushes*

Twitter or Facebook?

Twitter (eep, all my FB friends will kill me now)

Song That's Currently Playing (out loud or in your head)?

Riptide by Vance Joy – we are ALL singing it.  It’s almost getting annoying.

Book that should be turned into a movie?

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Book that everyone else has read but me?

Fifty Shades of Grey

If I could collect one thing it would be...

Apart from books?  Then…teapots.  I would need a whole lot more shelves.

If I was a vegetable I would be ... 

Leek.  An eminently useful and flavoursome vegetable.

Opinion on Big Brother?

Do people still watch that?

Food For Thought -

1) Can you describe Every Breath in three words?

Home-grown Sherlockian shenanigans!

2) Every Breath has been marketed as a kind of teenage Sherlock Holmes - what can readers expect (will there be a body count)?

Indeed there will be! Actually, the body count is quite high for YA crime – maybe not Barry-Lyga-high, but getting up there.  Readers can expect to see blood spilt, because it’s a murder mystery (one reviewer described Every Breath as ‘definitely not crime-lite’, which I loved!), but to offset that there’s the power of friendship and the promise of love…all amongst the gritty backstreets of Melbourne!

3) Would you say  Every Breath is more Benedict Cumberbatch Sherlock or Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock?

I’m going for Cumberbatch, because I’m a bit of a classicist.  You could add a generous dollop of Johnny Lee Miller as well, but actually the character of James Mycroft is not really a template of Sherlock as we know him.  Mycroft is more…eccentrically himself.

I confess I watched a lot of s1 and s2 Misfits while I was writing Every Breath, so it’s kind of Melbourne Sherlock, Misfits-style J

4) Is there one character that you can relate most to?

Well, Rachel is from the country – I’m from the country; Rachel wears flannel shirts – I wear flannel shirts; Rachel can fix a water pump and climb onto the roof of her house….er, no, there the similarities end.  I’m an awkward DIY-er, and I get awful vertigo, so no pump-fixing or roof-climbing for me.

Actually, the character I found the easiest and most natural to write by far was Rachel’s brother, Mike.  He’s straight-forward and optimistic, a real country salt-of-the earth guy – I think he’s adorable!

5) Can you tell us a little about your writing process?

At the moment it’s a shambles – I never realised that the release of Every Breath would make me so busy!  Usually I get up at 5am, before anyone else in the house wakes up, and go out to our little shed-slash-office and I write for about two hours, until I have to go in and get everyone ready for school.  It is, um, very early, yes.  Sadly I’ve had to use this time lately for answering emails and things – but the writing time is coming back soon, very soon!  (If it doesn’t, my head will explode)

For me, the first part of the process is always about this massive deluge of unedited writing – a bit like vomiting out as many words onto the page as I can (to be completely gross about it).  Then once I have this huge swollen unwieldy mess of a book, I put it away to spend some time thinking about it, before going back and shaping it and wrangling it into something publishable.  The writing part feels good – almost cathartic – but it’s the crafting part that I enjoy the most: seeing something bright and sparkly come out of chaos.

6) If Every Breath was turned into a movie, who would play who?

Robert Sheehan (when he wasn’t gallivanting around the world in the company of Shadowhunters) would play Mycroft, for sure – see Misfits, above. He was totally the guy  had in mind when I was picturing Mycroft while writing – except now Lisa White’s incredible cover has brought Mycroft to life so beautifully, so my mind does stray to that guy (who are you? You have awesome cheekbones!) when writing.

Rachel is harder.  I imagine her as having the same kind of no-nonsense grit as Jennifer Lawrence - before the gloss of The Hunger Games, she played this determined, dirt-poor character in an amazing film called Winter’s Bone.  So, yeah, more like that.  But I don’t imagine Rachel looking like Jennifer Lawrence.  More like…Ellen Page in Whip It, I think.  But with blonder hair.  And more flannel.  And Blundstones.

Robert and Ellen, if you really want to make the movie, call me!

About The Book

Rachel Watts is an unwilling new arrival to Melbourne from the country. James Mycroft is her neighbour, an intriguingly troubled seventeen-year-old genius with a passion for forensics. Despite her misgivings, Rachel finds herself unable to resist Mycroft when he wants her help investigating a murder. And when Watts and Mycroft follow a trail to the cold-blooded killer, they find themselves in the lion's den - literally.

A night at the zoo will never have quite the same meaning again...

Purchase EVERY BREATH- Fishpond | The Nile | Bookworld

About the Author

Ellie Marney was born in Brisbane, and has lived in Indonesia,Singapore and India. Now she writes, teaches, talks about kid’s literature at libraries and schools, and gardens when she can, while living in a country idyll (actually a very messy wooden house on ten acres with a dog and lots of chickens) near Castlemaine, in north-central Victoria. Her partner and four sons still love her, even though she often forgets things and lets the housework go.

Ellie’s short stories for adults have won awards and been published in various anthologies. Every Breath is her first novel for young adults.

Badass Bookie xx 

Banish BLOG TOUR - Movie Casting

Starting the week with a bang! Next month Harlequin Teen Australia will be publishing the YA debut novel of USA Bestselling Author, Nicola Marsh! I'm not sure whether Banish will be available for those of you in the US but all the Aussies should pick this one up as soon as it hits stores. I'm reading it right now and so far so good (review up soon!). As part of the blog tour, I have Nicola's movie castings for Banish! So these are Nicola's dream picks!

Banish Movie Casting

If a fabulous producer snapped up the option to make BANISH into a movie, here’s my vision of who would play key roles:

RONAN - Zac Efron

ALYSSA - Dakota Fanning

SETH - Luke Benward

ANGIE - Amy Adams

AURORA - Kirsten Dunst

NOAH - Rob Pattinson

TABITHA - Shailene Woodley

MASSIMO - Robert de Niro

SAMMY - Saoirse Ronan

Are you out there, Hollywood?

Because BANISH is ready for you!

About The Author

Bio: USA TODAY bestselling author Nicola Marsh writes flirty fiction with flair.

She has published 40 books, 33 of those with Harlequin, and sold 4 million copies worldwide. Her fun, flirty contemporary mainstream romance BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD with Entangled Publishing was nominated for Romantic Book of the Year 2012.

Her debut young adult thriller BANISH will release with Harlequin Teen August 2013, and her YA paranormal urban fantasy series kicks off with SCION OF THE SUN, November 2013, with Month9Books.

Her first indie romance, CRAZY LOVE, is a 2012 ARRA finalist.

She’s also a Waldenbooks and Bookscan bestseller, has finalled in a number of awards including the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, RBY, HOLT, Booksellers’ Best, Golden Quill, Laurel Wreath, More than Magic and has won several CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Awards.

A physiotherapist for thirteen years, she now adores writing full time, raising her two little heroes, sharing fine food with family and friends, and her favorite, curling up with a good book!

She loves connecting with readers online

About The Book

Alyssa has one week to destroy her enemy, save her spirit... and save her soul.

After her ex-boyfriend commits suicide and her mum’s alcoholism sparks yet another psychotic episode, seventeen-year-old Alyssa Wood flees her small hometown of Broadwater and heads to New York City to stay with her bohemian aunt — a Wicca High Priestess.

Alyssa revels in the anonymity of a big city and her new life. Her grades climb, she has a new best friend, and a new guy: the sexy geek Ronan — a saxophone player who prefers jazz to pop.

But her newfound peace is soon shattered when she sees a dead body in one of Ronan’s music clips — and she’s the only one who can see it. Worse still, Alyssa recognises the body that has been murdered a week forward!

Alyssa doesn’t believe in the supernatural...despite her family’s Wicca background. So how will she overcome evil when it’s closer than she thinks?

Badass Bookie xx

Shine Light Blog Tour - Final Stop - Retra/Naif

Welcome to the final stop on the Shine Light blog tour! At each stop we’ve revealed something new about the characters in Shine Light. What makes them tick? Do they have any secrets? We saved the most important character in the Night Creatures trilogy until last (for the most important blog)...

Retra/Naif

Blog Stop 13 - Final Destination, Notes from the Author -

I could probably write thousands of words about Retra/Naif (I shall now just call her Naif) – where her character came from, how she developed in the course of things, her relationships with those around her. But you don’t want to oodles of ramblings, so I’ll try and condense it.

Some of her character is definitely informed by my own experiences as a teenager at boarding school. Rather that recreate a representation of those experiences, I took the emotions that I felt back then and poured them into a brand new person in a brand new world. So in that sense, Naif is partly me but most definitely, largely herself. She is far braver than I ever was, and has far greater endurance for hardship.

In the first book (Burn Bright) I had to give her time to unfurl her wings and learn through her mistakes and experiences. She gains her empowerment as the story goes. The Night Creatures series is her story. But I suspect mainly, you will be interested in her true feelings for some of the other characters. Things she never really said, or I deliberately don’t reveal.

Yes, she had a serious crush on Markes, and was rather hard on him when he wasn’t exactly what she imagined he was. I hope, though, that you saw how she began to appreciate him in a new light when she learns about his background in Angel Arias. I think she understands better why he makes the choices he does after their trip back to Grave. Naif will always carry such great tenderness for him but it probably never gets a chance to develop into anything more. Not while Emilia is in their lives.

Rollo on the other hand, is a thorn in her side. But he’s also the person who makes her reflect on, and examine, her beliefs. Rollo and she don’t always agree and his brashness grates upon her – but there is something about him that she values. The fact that he came to Ixion to seek truths carries much weight with her. They will always be friends - fighting friends.

What a wonderful and complex relationship she has with Lenoir. How must it be, to fall for someone who has saved your life but at the same time threatens your very existence? It’s a bit hard to get your head around that notion. Delightful! Yet from the moment they are bonded through her Enlightenment, they are in each other’s lives forever. It was difficult to have to send her away from him in Angel Arias which is why I added some chapters from his point of view. I was very aware of how important it was to keep them connected, and yet the narrative dictated that she must return to Grave to discover the truth. However, in some ways, I think the time apart meant she gained perspective. When she stands up to Lenoir in Shine Light, it is because she’s developed greater inner strength – she’s able to say “no” and yet still concede her desire and love for him. Her action only serves to make Lenoir even more enamoured with her. He chooses to help her and she returns that love by saving him. Theirs is a love story that is eternal; a tragic, beautiful romance underpinned by acts of giving.

Thank you for joining me on my Night Creatures journey. I loved having your company.

Burn Bright, bay bats! Burn Bright!

Did you miss the feature on the Lenoir? See - The Rest is Still Unwritten!

For the Full Tour Listing See -  http://www.burnbright.com.au/

Extract 

( This is a running excerpt, head to the Burn Bright website to find the very first excerpt and follow the Shine Light blog tour to read it all!)

‘So who are they – the Cursed League? Your brother’s g-gang?’ asked Emilia.

‘Dark Eve is their leader, but she and my brother Joel are . . . close. Here, he is known as Clash. They believed all along something was wrong on Ixion and they helped those who would to escape.’

‘How do you even know if this Eve’s still alive then? She could have been punished by the Ripers since you’ve been gone,’ said Emilia.

‘You clearly have not met Eve,’ said Naif. ‘And I would sense if Clash was in trouble.’ Despite their differences, Naif loved her brother. She’d come to Ixion to find him. She would go anywhere; do anything, to help him.

‘Just like you can sense Lenoir?’ asked Markes.

Naif hesitated. Should she tell Markes that she had somehow broken her bond with Lenoir? ‘No. It’s nothing like that.’

‘Naif is right. I would know if Jarrold was . . . was gone.’

Emilia’s support caught Naif by surprise and she was momentarily grateful.

‘You could take Emilia to the Grotto and wait. Liam and I will come after we’ve found the others,’ said Naif.

‘You could rest there.’

‘No! We should stay together,’ said Markes

‘Talk much,’ interjected Liam abruptly.

He was right. Naif ’s skin had begun to crawl, as she imagined the light breeze to be the breath of the Night Creatures watching them from the dark. She turned and headed uphill towards the cable kar line, stepping carefully along one of the hundreds of Lesser Paths that ran like tiny tributaries over the mountainside.

Glancing back, she saw the others fall in behind her: Markes, Emilia and Liam, in that order.

Naif pictured a rough map of Ixion in her mind. On foot it would take them some time to reach the area around Ravens past Illi, Agios and Syn.

The memory of her last visit to Syn station made her hands clammy. Underneath its platform, in the tunnels that hid the Ripers’ cavern, she’d found Markes chained to a wall. Had she and Charlonge not gone there, she doubted he would still be alive.

‘Down!’ whispered Liam from behind her.

Instinctively she dropped. From the scraping sounds behind her, she knew the others had done the same.

They waited in silence, the thrum of music from the clubs like a quiet heartbeat in the background. Naif couldn’t hear anything else, at least, nothing that heralded trouble.

The dark seemed to be warmer than when they had landed, or maybe her body was still trying to acclimatise to the humidity. She felt thirsty and desperate to move from her cramped position. Shifting her feet underneath her, she slowly began to get to her knees.

As she started to push herself up, a pounding noise sounded close to her. She curled into a ball, making herself as small as possible. The noise got louder and louder until large mechanical feet slammed past. 

A Riper’s carriage.

Lenoir!

Fear shocked her into calling his name in her mind. In that instant their link pulsed alive as if a clamp had been removed from a vein. She felt his life force again and an unwanted exhilaration spread through her limbs. But he was a distance away. Whoever had just passed by them was not him.

She tried to close the link down, hoping he’d not felt her reaching out, but the rush of energy refused to be staunched. With fierce concentration she managed to narrow the flow until her body felt her own again.

What happens next? Buy Shine Light to find out! See Random House Australia for more details. 

Shine Light

Ixion. The island of ever-night. 

If she had a choice, Naif wouldn’t go back. But her friends will die if she doesn’t find a cure for the badges that are slowly killing them, and her brother is there, fighting against the Ripers who hold everyone in thrall. And Naif has knowledge that might save them all. 

First she must solve the mystery of Ixion’s eternal night. Then she must convince everyone – rebels and revellers alike – to join her cause. And all the while, she must fight the urge to go to Lenoir – her greatest love, her mortal enemy.

The secrets of Ixion must be revealed. The evils must be stopped. A new dawn will come.

Add on Goodreads

Purchase:Bookworld // Booktopia

Meet Marianne de Pierres!

Marianne de Pierres is the author of the acclaimed Parrish Plessis and award-winning Sentients of Orion science fiction series. The Parrish Plessis series has been translated into eight languages and adapted into a roleplaying game. She’s also the author of a teen dark fantasy series [Night Creatures Trilogy].

Marianne is an active supporter of genre fiction and has mentored many writers. She lives in Brisbane, Australia, with her husband, three sons and three galahs.

Visit Marianne:
Website // Goodreads // Twitter // Facebook

Badass Bookie xx