Tuesday 26 February 2013

Happy Release Day, Elsie Chapman and DUALED!

I'm still deep in the revisions cave, and also got my US copyedits through for ACID last week, but I just thought I'd drop by to say HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY to fellow Lucky 13 Elsie Chapman and DUALED, which is out from Random House Books for Young Readers today!

The synopsis (from Amazon):

Two of you exist.

Only one will survive.

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.

Elsie Chapman's suspenseful YA debut weaves unexpected romance into a novel full of fast-paced action and thought-provoking philosophy. When the story ends, discussions will begin about this future society where every adult is a murderer and every child knows there is another out there who just might be better.


What other people say (from Amazon):
 
"Fans of the Divergent trilogy will want to read this imaginative tale that is reminiscent of William Golding's Lord of the Flies." --VOYA

"The textual equivalent of a Quentin Tarantino movie." --Publishers Weekly

"Clever suspense--here, stalking is a two-way street." --Kirkus Reviews


What I thought:

DUALED is a gripping adventure set in a sinister, believable and beautifully constructed future world. The story moves along at a breathless pace, yet it never feels rushed, or as if anything is being skimmed over. West is a fantastic main character – ruthless and independent, yet flawed and utterly human, which makes it easy to empathise with her. I was lucky enough to read an ARC of DUALED, some months ago now, but I'm still thinking about it. If you're looking for an original and intelligent addition to the dystopian genre, this is the book for you! And even better, a sequel, DIVIDED, is in the works!

Oh, and did I say what an awesome person Elsie is? Happy release day, Elsie, here's wishing you a ton of success with your fabulous book!

Thursday 14 February 2013

Happy Book Birthday, CJ Flood & Infinite Sky!

Today is publication day for the first of the Lucky 13s' UK contingent. Hooray! Happy book birthday to the lovely CJ Flood and the fabulous INFINITE SKY!


A truly beautiful book about the summer that changed one girl's life, as her mum leaves home, travellers set up camp in the family's field, her older brother goes off the rails, and she falls in love for the very first time. Opening with a funeral, Iris is mourning the boy in the casket - but who is it? Sam, her tearaway brother, or Trick, her tentative boyfriend? Over one long hot summer, we find out just how their three lives were turned upside-down.
I read an ARC of INFINITE SKY last year, and was blown away it. It's an amazing book – original, wonderfully written and incredibly moving. And that cover! Isn't it gorgeous? I wouldn't be surprised if this book wins a lot of awards – and deservedly so.
So what are you waiting for? Go! Buy your copy today!

Monday 11 February 2013

Catch Up And A Round Up!

I can't believe it's almost mid-February already. That means it's… *counts on fingers* TEN WEEKS AND THREE DAYS until ACID comes out.

Eeeeep!

And even though the year is only young, tons of exciting things have already been happening. I can hardly keep up. Phew!

First up, fellow Lucky 13 Elsie Chapman had the trailer for her forthcoming YA debut DUALED featured on MTV! I know, how cool is that? You can view it here, and preorder DUALED, out 26th Feb from Random House Kids, here. I was lucky enough to read an ARC of this book, and if you love kick-ass heroines and gritty dystopian settings (which I really, really do), I can't recommend it enough!

Second up, several more Lucky 13s are now published! Huge congrats to Ellen Oh (PROPHECY, Harperteen), Alex Lidell (THE CADET OF TILDOR, Penguin), Lenore Appelhans (LEVEL 2, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), Erica Lorraine Scheidt (USES FOR BOYS, St. Martin's Press), Kristin Halbrook (NOBODY BUT US, Harperteen), Megan Shepherd (THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER, Balzer & Bray/Harpercollins), Liz Fichera (HOOKED, HarlequinTEEN), Laurie Boyle Crompton (BLAZE, Sourcebooks Fire), Tim Federle (BETTER NATE THAN EVER, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), Miriam Forster (CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS, Harperteen) and Kasie West (PIVOT POINT, Harperteen - out today!).

Plus!! CJ Flood's INFINITE SKY, a book I'm very excited about, is out from Simon & Schuster on Thursday. Hooray!

Third up, Twitter friend and fellow canine minion Kate Ormand has got an agent - she's now represented by Isobel Atherton at Creative Authors. Kate is so lovely and supportive of her fellow writers, and I couldn't be more thrilled for her. I really hope I'll be getting to celebrate her book deal soon!

Fourth up, Dan Smith has got a cover for his forthcoming children's novel MY FRIEND THE ENEMY, out from Chicken House in July. I'm stealing it and putting it up here 'cause it looks so awesome. I can't wait to read it!

And fifthly and finally, ACID has had its first full-length review on book blogger Bertass's World of Children's Books (click for link). And what a review! They coined the term 'page-turner' specifically for books like this… a book that I couldn't wait to pick up again every time I had to put it down… I'm so thrilled!

So, lovely blog readers, how about you? Is there any good news or exciting book releases that I've missed? Shout about them in the comments below!

Wednesday 6 February 2013

A New Arrival!

So, I've been a bit slack on the blogging front lately. But in my defence, I'm deep in the Revisions Cave (2 months to deadline for THE FEARLESS, eeeeep!), I've been shadowing a writer friend, the fabulous Cathy Grindrod, who is a writer-in-residence for First Story (more about that in a blog post soon!) and have been busy busy busy with various non-writing-related things too.

Oh, and THIS happened…


Lovely blog readers, meet G-Dog! We were going to wait a bit after losing The Hound, but then this little fella came along… and we couldn't say no! Isn't he ace? I'll hand over the rest of this post to him…
Oh hai! I'm G-Dog!



Handsome chap, aren't I?

Pretty darn cute, too…

I like fetching sticks!

But most of all I like doing this. Zzzzzz…