2011 Teen Book Video Awards! Calling Australian High School Students...

Random House Australia is hosting a very cool competition for Aussie high school students.

Your task? To create a 90-second video trailer for one of sixteen Random House young adult books.

The winning entry will win $1000 as well as $1000 worth of Random House books for their school library!




Entry Conditions:

* You must be an Australian high school student
* You may enter as an individual or as a group
* The trailer must be for one of the sixteen titles chosen by Random House
* The 90- second video trailer must best represent the book you have chosen
* Entries close 30th September 2011

For more specific details click here.

Head over to the Random House website where you can register, find more information and get a list of the books you can use.

This is such a cool idea and I almost wish I was back in high school so I could enter :D

Have fun!

Bits and Pieces (2)

Amy Plum's debut book Die For Me has officially been released in Australia. Here is a little clip of Amy trying Vegemite for the first time and thanking Aussie bloggers (including yours truly :D)

The winner of the signed copy of Bite Club is...
*Arielle*
Congratulations Arielle, I have contacted you by email and thankyou to everyone who entered.
So I'm a little bit late with posting this but here is the magical book trailer for Forever, the third and final book in Maggie Steifvater's The Wolves of Mercy Falls series. The trailer features a track written by UK band Jonas & Plunkett, "Summer Girl" - with lyrics from Shiver.
Also, Cassandra Clare, author of the best-selling Mortal Instruments series is due to arrive in Australia this week for ten days. If you live in Sydney or Melbourne there are a number of different events where you can meet her. Click here for details.



And finally, head over to my Coming Soon page were new books by David Levithan, Andrea Cremer and Jay Asher have been added.

Time Witch by Jacqueline Corcoran

Title: Time Witch
Author: Jacqueline Corcoran

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Release Date: 1st March 2011

Blurb: Twelve year old Genevieve, in search of her missing single-parent mother, finds her way to another world where competing dynasties of witches battle, as time ticks backward, for control over a magical clock and a winged horse as part of an ancient prophecy. Genevieve discovers that she is the niece of the Snow Queen on whose island Genevieve is initiated into magic.

When the Snow Queen appears to be killed by her frozen prisoners, Genevieve must carry on to the Black Crystal Witch's castle with a herbologist slave she meets on the way. With a critical combination of spell-crafting, herbology, and the exponential power of witch bloodlines, Genevieve plays an integral role in vanquishing the Black Crystal Witch's hold over time.

My Review:
Time Witch is the story of 12-year-old Genevieve who, while searching for her mother (who has mysteriously disappeared), discovers that the magical world she made up with her best friend, is actually real. Mistakenly she enters the fantasy realm and comes face to face with flying horses, treasure hunting trolls, the evil witch Duvessa and her terrifying hawk. Here she joins forces with snooty princess Ciera and the dashing prince Rowan to find the three missing pieces of a magical crystal clock and get them to the last remaining rose witch, The Snow Queen, before Witch Duvessa can lay her hands on it and make time disappear forever.

The magical realm that Genevieve creates is based on fairy tales she has read, the sparkling rocks at the Natural History Museum in Washington DC (where she lives), and the classic troll dolls with funky hair. This is the kind of story-world I would have created when I was younger.

Overall it was an enjoyable read and is perfect for ages 9-13 who love fantasy worlds with magic and daring adventures. For fans of The Chronicles of Narnia.

Time Witch is available as an ebook from eBookwise, Solstice Publishing and Amazon.

Vampires Drool! Zombies Rule! by Rusty Fischer

Title: Vampires Drool! Zombies Rule!
Author: Rusty Fischer

Release Date: July 2010

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:

The Vampires and Zombies at Barracuda Bay High School have a long-standing truce: don’t mess with us, we won’t mess with you.

Of course, if the human kids at Barracuda Bay High knew they were sitting next to the Living Dead in homeroom, well… all bets would be off.

So when Lucy Frost tries to use the fancy heat-sensored paper towel dispensers in the C-wing girls’ room during a busy break from classes, Fiona Rutherford, the nosiest reporter on the Barracuda Bay Bugle, just happens to witness it. But when she jokingly refers to Lucy as a “zombie,” in the next day’s paper, Fiona unknowingly sets off a chain of events that will change Lucy’s life forever.

Now the vampires want to do away with Fiona, and the only zombie who wants to save her is Lucy. Suddenly Lucy is the only hope Fiona and the rest of her friends have of surviving!

In A Nutshell:
With plenty of zombie humor and sarcasm, Rusty Fischer has adapted the general zombie lore to make way for zombies to have a proper place in YA fiction. Very cool.

My Review:
Lucy is just a normal high school girl trying to get through classes, avoid drawing attention to herself and hope that her crush asks her to the Fall Formal. She's also a zombie. The freezing cold, eat your brains, strong as steel kind. After one tiny little mistake, Lucy has one school day to try and defuse what a Normal decided to publish in the school paper before the zombie and vampire equivalent of the secret service pay her a visit.

Written with plenty of zombie humour and sarcasm, Lucy must come up with a plan to avoid a zombie-vampire apocalypse, go up against the absolutely repulsive vampires that also attend the school, try to avoid getting her new AV Club human friends killed, not freak out the boy she likes and save her own zombie self. Is that too much to ask? Maybe...

I must say, Lucy is one crafty zombie. Unlike a lot of zombie folklore, these zombies are actually pretty smart and fast moving. I mean, they eat brains, shouldn't that make them smart? Lucy comes up with some sneaky plans to avoid the vampires and then attack them but can she count on her zombie friends not to stab her in the back when she tries to save not only the person who outted her, but a human?

I really like the way Fischer has adapted the general zombie lore. It's very cool and makes way for zombies to have a proper place in YA fiction (rather than the mindless drones that are usually featured).

Rusty Fischer is the author of countless zombie short stories (my current favourite being Zombies Don't Sleep) and poems, as well as the newly released novel Zombies Don't Cry. I found that being able to read some of Rusty's work before buying his new novel was really helpful and I was left craving more of his zombie stories.

To download the ebook of Vampires Drool! Zombies Rule! or to read it online, click here.

For information on where you can find Rusty's stories and poems, some of them for free, head to his blog.

To buy Zombie's Don't Cry, head to Amazon or The Book Depository

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

Title: What Happened to Goodbye
Author: Sarah Dessen

Release Date: 30th May 2011

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:
Mclean never lets herself get too attached...

After the scandal of her mother's affair, Mclean and her dad chose life on the road. But since losing her family and home, Mclean has lost herself too; she's been Eliza, then Lizbet, then Beth - changing her name as often as she changes towns.

Until now. Her neighbour, Dave, is like no one she's met before. It's as if she's always known him, and just like that, she becomes Mclean again. Is it finally time to stop reinventing? Or will Mclean turn her back on the new life she loves, without even saying goodbye...

My Review:
What Happened to Goodbye has a subtle storyline, one where the true point of the plot develops over time and I felt quite content sitting back and reading how Mclean's life would unfold. There were no massive revelations that shock Mclean to the core. Instead, the story starts two years after a major revelation and focuses on Mclean as she continues to struggle with the outcome of her mothers infidelity and her new family.

Mclean thinks she is fine. Sure her relationship with her mother is still rocky, but in general, she is happy living with her dad and moving around to different cities, being able to reinvent herself each time. She just floats through life, going through the motions. I felt watching Mclean struggle with her emotions towards her mother was very well written and realistic as well as how she is torn as to how attached she should get to her new friends. When Mclean finally realises that maybe she hasn't actually been happy and she finally lets herself feel at home, she realises that who she wants/needs to be, is actually herself.

Mclean and her mother really struggle with their relationship, with her mother constantly hounding her, only leading to Mclean pulling away more. Mclean struggles with the fact that so many circumstances are beyond her control. Her whole way of life and anonymity, disappeared and she is hugely frustrated that things can't just go back to the way they were. And even now, after everything is over, she still can't have control of her life the way she would like. It's frustrating and something a lot of teens can relate to.

I really enjoyed all the quirky, oddball characters, especially Deb and Jason. I thought they really made the story and I just felt at home reading about them. Unlike in other Dessen books, romance kind of took a backseat with it very slowly creeping up on Mclean. Dave didn't appeal to me as much as some of Dessen's other male leads have as just like the whole story, Dave is subtle. This said, all of Mcleans new friends are lovable and enjoyable to read about.

Before picking up What Happened to Goodbye, I had read four Dessen books, and enjoyed them all, with one being an all time favourite of mine. So starting a new book I felt very excited and all warm and happy inside. I enjoyed WHTG and I think Dessen fans will be super excited to get their hands on another title. This said, I think some might be disappointed due to the lack of major romance or plot turn-arounds but to me, this story wasn't supposed to be like that and I like its subtle approach.

If you are a first time Sarah Dessen reader I would recommend either The Truth About Forever, Along For The Ride, or my favourite, Just Listen. While WHTG is not my favourite Dessen novel, it does slot in nicely beside her other books and fulfills the hunger that fans have had since Along for the Ride was released in 2009.

Dangerously Placed by Nansi Kunze

Title: Dangerously Placed
Author: Nansi Kunze

Release Date: 1st March 2011

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:

Alex Thaler can't wait to start her dream work experience placement at Virk, where staff from all over the world mingle in an astonishing virtual office. But when an employee is found murdered, the dream becomes a nightmare - because Alex is the prime suspect. Fortunately, Alex's friends are willing to brave shark tanks, disgusting pathology specimens and even a nude beach in order to clear her name . . .

Can a hippy chick, a goth girl in a lab coat and two guys with a taste for blowing things up really help solve the mystery - before Alex becomes the next victim?

My Review:
Dangerously Placed is a fabulous fast-paced thriller filled with misdirection, danger, a little romance, a mind-blowingly cool virtual reality system and a murder mystery that is guaranteed to keep you guessing.

In the course of Alex's investigation into finding the murderer, she also discovers a conspiracy to bring down the company and that she has a stalker! This may sound over the top, but it's not. The plot works well and Alex and her friends are extremely likeable. The virtual reality workspace is something that hasn't been done before in YA fiction and I found the concept really interesting. It was really quite mind-blowing and I would love to know if there is actually technology like this around at the moment?

I was honestly completely surprised as to who the murderer was. I spent the whole book trying to guess and I never saw it coming. I really enjoyed this as a lot of books can be so predictable! I really hope YA continues to see more teen detective stories in the future. It is a genre that is lacking on YA shelves, but one that many people love.

In Conversation with Rachel Caine

As posted the other day, I had the chance to meet and interview Rachel Caine as part of her Bite Club tour in Australia, to celebrate the release of her latest book in the Morganville Vampires series.

Rachel was an absolute champ and answered so many questions for me and our hungry audience. So, as promised, below is most of our interview for those of you who couldn't make it.


ON MORGANVILLE...
Can you describe Bite Club in three words? Violent Bad Shane!

In Bite Club, we get to see some of the scenes from Shane's POV. What made you decide to do this?
Bite Club has a lot going on with Shane -- and it stirs up a lot of his past, his issues, and we see some of the hidden anger that he keeps under such tight rein. I felt it was important to really get inside his head for some of what was happening, because Claire is so much on the outside of many of the events, and without his perspective I felt readers might get too much of a one-sided view of why he was behaving as he was. I also really like writing Shane's POV ... I've done it in short stories (most notably Murdered Out, a short story included in an early UK edition, as well as a few more) and it seemed a good experiment to do in the novel.

Where did the idea for Morganville come from? Did it just pop into your head or was it something that slowly came to be?

Do you have a favourite character and why?
I enjoy writing them all, and different characters at different times, but I do love writing about Shane and Myrnin. I always know what Shane will do and I never know what Myrnin will do, so if I put them in a scene together, who knows what will happen! Monica, oddly enough, is also fun to write.

Why did you choose to write about a sixteen year old college student rather than a normal high school or college student?

I know music is a must for you when writing. If you had to pick one band/artist to represent the series, who would you pick?
Such a difficult choice, but I think I'd have to say either Lacuna Coil or H.I.M. -- but I have a very wide musical taste, all the way from '70s rock to trance, techno, alternative and blues. I tend to change the style of the music from one book to another, which is why I included all the extensive playlists at the back!

Do you know how many books you will write for this series?
At the moment there will be 12 books. If readers are still interested in Morganville after that then maybe there will be more! I love going back to Morganville. Book 12 is currently untitled and Last Breath, which is book 11, will be released in November.
And when the time comes, do you already know how it will end? I don't know if there is an ending, a town like Morganville just goes on... but obviously I would wrap up the stories of the characters in it. There's bound to be another generation of people with whole new problems though!

Is there anything you can tell us about Last Breath?
From the beginning of the series, the question about why Morganville was located in sunny West Texas has been a tricky one ... apparently. But there's a very, very good reason, and I'll give you this one hint: it has to do with water. There will be some shocking and scary events in this upcoming book, I can promise that, but also some deeply emotional scenes as well.

ON WRITING

You write a couple of other series. Do you stick with writing one book until it's finished or do you swap between them all? I will write the first draft of one consistently, but there is always a lot going on so when writing that draft, I might be re-writing a second draft of something else or proofing, etc. It's easy to swap between series, but I do have to do some traffic control issues in my head sometimes, and time management when you're juggling three series is quite an interesting challenge.

Apart from Last Breath coming out in November, you also have a new series that will be released in Australia. Can you tell us about that?
I have a new adult series coming out in August called The Revivalist. The first novel, Working Stiff, introduces Bryn Davis, who is a young funeral director discovering that her new bosses are reviving the dead, for profit, in the basement. That's only the beginning of Bryn's problems, which include tangling with a giant and sinister pharmaceutical company in the first book.

A BIT OF FUN
Have you ever had a fan-girl moment? *laughs* All the time! Although meeting Jennifer Lynn Barnes was very exciting. I've always loved her books. Carrie Ryan is also a huge literary crush of mine, and she's delightful in person, too. I also squealed quite loudly when I met Charlaine Harris for the first time.

Which fictional character would you like to trade places with? From Morganville I should pick Amelie because she always survives! But I think Eve would be a lot of fun. She has great fashion sense and drives a hearse! From other works I would say Dr John Watson so I could watch Sherlock Holmes at work.

If it was made into a film, who would you like to see portray your characters?I would love to see David Tennant play Myrnin! I really don't have a lot of great insight into who would be perfect for which characters ... it always turns out that who I'd pick for a role in other peoples' novels gets filled by an actor I'd never have picked, and they do brilliantly. Which is why I'm a writer, not a casting director!

Favourite word?
Crap *laughs*

Least favourite word?
Hard - my editor kept circling the word 'hard' throughout one of my drafts and asked me why I liked the word so much. I said 'I don't!' So now, I search and destroy it as often as I can.

Favourite sound?
Birds. I love birds. One of the most fun things about coming to a new country is to walk outside and listen to birdsong -- it's so different and beautiful!

If you were not an author, what would your dream job be?
A screenwriter, is that cheating?

What have you always wanted to do but never tried?
Scuba diving. Although as I'm deeply disturbed by the ocean, I probably never will!

How would you spend your last day on earth?
Writing. It's very rewarding and I look forward to it every day. Okay, I'd probably take a break to hold hands with my husband, but I'd obviously HAVE to finish all my stories, right?

*****

Once again, a massive THANKYOU to Rachel, and Felicity at Penguin Paranormal. And remember, Australian residents can enter my competition to win a signed copy of Bite Club. Enter here.

My Reviews
Glass Houses #1
Morganville series #2-9
Bite Club #10
Rachel Caine Event and Bite Club Giveaway

Rachel Caine Links
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Rachel Caine Event at The Astor and Giveaway!

Last night, I had the amazing opportunity to meet and interview Rachel Caine, author of the Morganville Vampire series. The event was held at the Astor Lounge in Mt. Lawley and was part of Rachel's Bite Club tour around Australia.


Rachel was so friendly and easy to talk to which made my first live interview much more relaxing than I thought it would be. Ask anyone who was around me leading up to the talk and they will tell you I was FREAKING OUT.

Throughout our chat we covered some non-spoilery topics in Bite Club, where the initial idea for Morganville came from, favourite characters, fantasy casting, fan-girl moments, Rachel's writing process and we were even treated to the first few pages of Last Breath which will be released in November.


After the talk, Rachel very graciously signed her books for the audience (with some people carrying all ten to the table) and had happy snap photos with fans, including me.


I personally had an excellent time and have no idea why I was so nervous to begin with. It was a pleasure meeting Rachel, Felicity from the Penguin Paranormal team and fellow Perth bloggers Marissa, Isme and Anna.


I would like to say a massive THANKYOU to Penguin for this opportunity.

My interview with Rachel will follow in a few days. For the time being, you can check out my reviews of the Morganville series...

Glass Houses #1
Morganville series #2-9
Bite Club #10

GIVEAWAY!

For those of you who didn't make it to the event or Target signing yesterday, I have a signed copy of Bite Club to give away.

This is open to all Western Australian residents as well as people from South Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and the ACT as Rachel wasn't able to make it to any of those places.

To enter, you must be a follower. Leave your name, state and email address in the comments below and tell me why you couldn't make it to one of the Rachel Caine events.

Competition ends May 10th and the winner will be chosen using random.org

Bite Club by Rachel Caine

Title: Bite Club
Series: Morganville Vampires Book 10
Author: Rachel Caine

Release Date: 2nd May 2011

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:

Having survived a number of adventures with her new night-dwelling friends, college student Claire Danvers has come to realise that for the most part, the undead just want to get on with their lives.

But someone else wants them to get ready to rumble.

There's a new extreme sport being broadcast over the internet: bare-knuckle fights pitting captured vampires against one another, or worse, against humans. Claire soon discovers that what started as an online brawl will soon threaten everyone in Morganville. And if they want to survive, they'll have to do a lot more than fight...


My Review:
In the latest instalment in the Morganville vampires series, trouble is afoot yet again but this time, we experience far more than the normal struggles of Morganville. Unlike all the previous books, the tight-knit Glass house occupants are suffering; the danger is coming from one of their own. Whenever there has been trouble in the past, they have always fought it together, but this time, it's up to the girls to try and save not just Morganville, but Shane and Michael too.

Bite Club mostly focuses around Shane. We actually get to see some of the events that unfold through his eyes which is unprecedented throughout the series. It also focuses a lot on his relationship with Claire and his conflicting feelings concerning Michael's vampire-ness. We see what really drives Shane and how his character has been influenced throughout his life by his father, and also the vampires he is forced to live side by side with. We really get to see the effect this has been having on his psyche, especially recently. After a little persuading from a vixen vamp (who could have given Ysandre from the days of Bishop a run for her money), Shane's past and present come crashing together to create a jealous, paranoid and anger-filled Shane. Oh so much anger!

Being book ten, we are already strongly connected to many of the characters and it is actually sometimes painful to read about all the things Shane is experiencing, as well as the hurt he inflicts on those around him, especially those he loves the most. Could this be the end of Shane's friendship with Michael? And what about his future with Claire?

There is less involvement from Eve, Michael, Oliver, Amelie, Monica, Richard and the local police. Claire, Shane and Myrnin make up most of the story, which is mostly fine with me. Oh how I love Myrnin :D

Bite Club returns to the darkness and brutality we had in Lord of Misrule. Some unexpected old foes return, Claire receives some surprising news, and there is major doubt as to what the future holds for Claire, Eve, Michael and Shane. Faced paced, surprising and satisfying. And no cliff-hanger!

Feuding Friday (1)

Feuding Friday is a weekly meme created by Brittany over at Brittany's Fantasy where readers choose their favourite of two characters.

This is my first meme I've participated in and while I won't be posting this every week, I love the idea! What better way than to discuss (read: friendly fight) over who is hottest, most kick-ass, dreamy, trusting, annoying, swoon-worthy, or who's powers are better...just think of all the options of most's out there in YA fiction!

********

This week, in honour of Rachel Caine who is visiting Perth on Monday, who do you think is the resident hottie living in the Glass House from her Morganville Vampire series?

Mysterious musician Michael or smoking-hot slacker Shane?

Funnily enough, I always go for the musician but in this case, my heart goes to knight-in-shining-armour Shane :)

Who do you choose?

For all you Morganville fans in Australia, Rachel Caine will be visiting in May. Head to the Penguin Events page for tour dates.

My review of book one, Glass Houses