Ask the Author: Andy Weir (The Martian)

   Hey guys!
   For this weeks Ask the Author I'm bringing you someone I am infinitely excited about seeing as his book was one of my absolute favorites last year (here's my review) and the movie based upon it is coming out very soon - of course I'm talking about Andy Weir. I had the chance to ask him a couple of Q's which he took the time and answered.
   Here's his book and his A's for my Q's:

The Martian by Andy Weir
Published: February 11th 2014 by Crown
Number of Pages: 369 Pages (Hardcover)
Series: No

   Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him & forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded & completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him? (goodreads.com)

Interview with Andy Weir

   1 - Describe The Martian with a haiku.
   Mark’s stranded on Mars
   No one knows he’s still alive
   He’s pretty much fucked.

   2 - What sparked the idea for The Martian? Was it the simple idea of an astronaut doing something extraordinary or something else entirely?
   I was imagining a manned Mars mission, putting it together in my mind. Naturally, you have to account for failure scenarios and have plans for what the crew could do. I realized those failure scenarios made for a pretty interesting story.

   3 - As someone who wasn’t the strongest in science back in high school I wondered which you found harder: figuring out the science in The Martian or the story itself?
   The science was easy and fun for me. I’m a dork with a lifelong interest. The hard part was the actual writing. That’s a lot of effort.

   4 - In retrospective, is there anything that you’d change about the story or are you happy with the way it turned out in the end?
   There are a few minor unintentional scientific errors here and there. They’re minor, but I’d fix them.

   5 - What were the first thoughts and emotions you had when you first heard that The Martian would become a movie? How do you feel now, weeks from it finally hitting cinemas all over the world?
   It’s amazing. It’s like a dream come true. You fantasize about this sort of thing happening when you write a story, but you never think it’ll actually happen.

   6 - What’s next? Are you currently working on a new novel and, if so, could you tell us something about it?
   I'm working on my next book now. It's a more traditional sci-fi novel with aliens, faster-than-light travel, etc. It’s tentatively titled “Zhek”.

   7 - Your publishing story is quite an interesting one, a very different one then that from most of the authors who were previously featured on my blog or even my own story. Could you tell us something about it?
   Originally the book was just a serial I posted a chapter at a time to my website. Once the book was done, people started requesting that I make an e-book version so they didn’t have to read it in a web browser. So I did and posted it to my site. Then other people emailed saying they want to read the e-book, but they aren’t technically savvy and don’t know how to download a file from the internet and put it on their e-reader. They requested I make a Kindle version they could just get through Amazon. So I did that as well. I set the price at Amazon’s minimum allowable price of $0.99. More people bought the book from Amazon than downloaded it for free from my website. Amazon has a truly amazing reach into the readership market.
   The book sold very well and made its way up various top-seller lists on Amazon. That got the attention of Julian Pavia at Crown. He told his colleague David Fugate (a literary agent) about it. David ended up becoming my agent and Julian offered me a book deal. It was a whirlwind of activity because 20th Century Fox optioned the movie rights that same week.

   8 - I’m sure your opinion might be at least a tiny bit bias since your novel has been turned into a movie and, looking at the trailer, looks like it does it justice, but what is your general opinion on book-to-movie adaptations?
   They can be amazing or they can be a disaster or they can be anything in-between. I think the adaptation of “The Martian” is fantastic.

   9 - What advice could you give aspiring authors?
   1) You have to actually write. Daydreaming about the book you’re going to write someday isn’t writing. It’s daydreaming. Open your word processor and start writing.
   2) Resist the urge to tell friends and family your story. I know it’s hard because you want to talk about it and they’re (sometimes) interested in hearing about it. But it satisfies your need for an audience, which diminishes your motivation to actually write it. Make a rule: The only way for anyone to ever hear about your stories is to read them.
   3) This is the best time in history to self-publish. There’s no old-boy network between you and your readers. You can self-publish an ebook to major distributors (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.) without any financial risk on your part.

Waiting on Wednesday: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

   Hey guys!
   Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine in which we discuss our most anticipated upcoming releases.

   The book:

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Expected Publication: September 29th 2015 by Henry Holt and Company
Number of Pages: 480 Pages (Hardcover)
Series: Yes, #1

   Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...
   A convict with a thirst for revenge.
   A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.
   A runaway with a privileged past.
   A spy known as the Wraith.
   A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
   A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.
   Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first. (goodreads.com)

   My thoughts:

   I must admit, I've not read the Grisha Trilogy yet (I know shame on me, especially since I own Shadow and Bone) and fantasy isn't really one of my favorite genres at all BUT this book sounds amazing. I love the cover and the hardcover looks amazing with the black edges of the pages and everything. I definitely want to get into Leigh's books and discover this world that she created and so many people have fallen in love with. Hell, I'm willing to pay 17€ for the hardcover version so that already should tell you that I'm really interested in this book.

Waiting on Wednesday: What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler

   Hey guys!
   Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine in which we discuss our most anticipated upcoming releases.

   The book:

What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler
Published: September 22nd 2015 by HarperTeen
Number of Pages: 336 Pages (Hardcover)
Series: No

   Kate Weston can piece together most of the bash at John Doone’s house: shots with Stacey Stallard, Ben Cody taking her keys and getting her home early—the feeling that maybe he’s becoming more than just the guy she’s known since they were kids.
   But when a picture of Stacey passed out over Deacon Mills’s shoulder appears online the next morning, Kate suspects she doesn’t have all the details. When Stacey levels charges against four of Kate’s classmates, the whole town erupts into controversy. Facts that can’t be ignored begin to surface, and every answer Kate finds leads back to the same question: Where was Ben when a terrible crime was committed?
   This story—inspired by real events—from debut novelist Aaron Hartzler takes an unflinching look at silence as a form of complicity. It’s a book about the high stakes of speaking up, and the razor thin line between guilt and innocence that so often gets blurred, one hundred and forty characters at a time. (goodreads.com)

   My thoughts:

   As you guys know I am a sucker for books that deal with hard topics such as rape, grief, loss, or mental illness so when I discovered What We Saw I immediately knew I wanted to read it. I know it contains a trigger warning for rape and deals with victimizing and the fact that in our society most people tend to blame the victim and not the rapist because "she wore a short skirt so she was basically asking for it" type of thinking. Slut-shaming, consent, and sexism are topics that are huge currently, especially because they are topics that need to be discussed, so I'm always interested to see how well authors handle creating stories featuring them.
   One of my favorite reviewers, Emily from The Book Geek, gave this book 5 out of 5 stars which makes me want to read it only more so I cannot wait to finally be able to read it soon!

Ask the Author: Kendare Blake (Anna Dressed In Blood)

   Hey guys!
   For this weeks Ask the Author I'm bringing you the amazing Kendare Blake, author of the Anna Dulogy. I've read Anna Dressed in Blood a while back and enjoyed it quite a lot so of course I had to reach out to Kendare Blake and ask her about an interview. Luckily she agreed to do it.
   Here's her book and her A's for my Q's:

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Published: July 5th 2012 by Orchard Books
Pages: 373 Pages (Paperback UK)
Series: Yes, #1

   Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
   So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
   Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
   Yet she spares Cas's life. (goodreads.com)

Interview with Kendare Blake

   1 – Describe Anna Dressed in Blood with a haiku.
   Anna Dressed in Blood
   She kills all who enter here
   Yet she spares his life

   2 – What sparked the idea for Anna Dressed in Blood? Was it the simple idea of a boy who is something like a ghost hunter or something else entirely?
   Honestly I just wanted to write something that featured blood and guts. I wanted to write about decaying bodies and stuff. I hadn't written about that in a long time. I'd been doing mostly literary, in my MA programme. Plus, I wanted to play Silent Hill, but no one would play with me.

   3 – Was there a scene in the book you specifically remember writing because it stuck out to you, either in a positive or negative way?
   I remember writing the scene where Cas and his mom are trapped in his bedroom, listening to something approaching. That one was a lot of fun. It was the only scene that scared me while writing it.

   4 – What do you think makes Anna Dressed in Blood stand out?
   I don't know exactly. I really don't. I mean, I'm very glad that it does, and that people seem to enjoy it. I hope people continue to, because the movie project is still in the works!

   5 – In retrospective, is there anything that you’d change about the story or are you happy with the way it turned out in the end?
   I would never change anything! Now, that it's out, that's the way Cas told it, and that's the way it happened. If I changed anything now, I'd be making him lie.

   6 - How long did it take you from first idea until publishing deal?
   I can't exactly remember. I had the idea in the fall of 2008, and started writing in early 2009. I think I signed my agent in late 2009 and had a publishing offer in late winter, 2010. So, about two years from idea to deal. And another year and a half from deal to published book.

   7 - How did you feel when you first realized that this story you had written would soon be read by thousands of people and how do you feel now, years later, before your next book will be released? Did the feeling change or is it still the same?
   The feeling is a bit different, because now I know what to reasonably expect. That first time, I had no idea. It was all awe and wonder, and the culmination of over a decade of dreams and work. But it still feels great. Every single time, it still feels great.

   8 – What do you think about the cover of Anna Dressed in Blood? Is it anything like you imagined it being?
   I hardly ever imagine my covers. I'm just not a designer. When I saw Anna's cover, even the first draft of it, which had a vastly different hairstyle, I was blown away. I loved it. I still love it. Sometimes I wish it wasn't quite so fricken awesome, because lots of books I know get cool new foreign covers, but pretty much every foreign edition of Anna Dressed in Blood has had the same cover, just slightly tweaked. I think the only countries that changed it so far were Taiwan, Turkey, and maybe Indonesia.

   9 – Green or blue?
   Blue. But green is very nice.

   10 – What advice could you give aspiring authors?
   Read! It's the most important thing. And Write! It's also the most important thing. And it's harder than it sounds, just to finish something. Learn to finish things. Don't have a bunch of shiny ideas and only write the first three chapters. Finish it! Get it on the page. Even if it sucks, you can fix it later. But if it stays in your head, there's nothing to fix, nothing to work on.

   11 – If you were forced to participate in The Hunger Games, as female from District 12, what would be your strategy? Fight or flight?
   Probably similar to Katniss'. Flight first, then trap and fight when pressed. I wouldn't ally with anybody. Unless I planned on dying from the start. Like, to make a statement or to save someone else or something.

About the Author

   So, I write books. Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares are horror, The Goddess War books are mythology, and Sleepwalk Society is contemporary. Different genres, because the world don't move to the beat of just one drum. Love to read, too. Fiction, philosophy, good books, bad books, because you take the good you take the bad you take them both and there you have a stack of books and stuff. I mean, you've got to be adventurous. There's more to life that what you're living, so take a chance and face the wind.
   There's more coming soon like Slasher Girls and Monster Boys and Ungodly in 2015, so don't waste another minute on your cryin. We're nowhere near the end.
   My likes include animals, food, and nostalgia. I mean, whatever happened to predictability? The milkman, the paperboy, the evening TV? Used to be everywhere you look, there's a heart, a hand to hold on to.
   Anyway, I love to hear from readers so drop me a line here or at my website and we'll talk about friends to know, and ways to grow, and great authors to be in charge of our days, and our nights.
   We can also talk about all the sitcom theme songs in this bio. Sha la la la.

Review: Sweet Filthy Boy by Christina Lauren

Sweet Filthy Boy by Christina Lauren
Published: May 13th 2014 by Gallery Books
Number of Pages: 416 Pages (Paperback)
Series: Yes, #1 in the Wild Seasons Series
Buy it: Book Depository
- Free worldwide shipping -

   One-night stands are supposed to be with someone convenient, or wickedly persuasive, or regrettable. They aren’t supposed to be with someone like him.
   But after a crazy Vegas weekend celebrating her college graduation—and terrified of the future path she knows is a cop-out—Mia Holland makes the wildest decision of her life: follow Ansel Guillaume—her sweet, filthy fling—to France for the summer and just…play.
   When feelings begin to develop behind the provocative roles they take on, and their temporary masquerade adventures begin to feel real, Mia will have to decide if she belongs in the life she left because it was all wrong, or in the strange new one that seems worlds away. (goodreads.com)

“Life is built of these little horrible moments and the giant expanses of awesome in between.”

   Sweet Filthy Boy is one of those books that have totally improbable plots yet still suck you in from page one on and won't let you go until you're done reading the entire thing. I read more then half the book the day it arrived at my house, needless to mention that I only stopped reading because it'd been already 4:00 am and I had stuff to do the next day.
   The story follows Mia Holland, a college graduate, and sets off when she decides to drive to Las Vegas with her two best friends. Because Vegas is Vegas things happen in the form of Mia meeting Ansel, a guy from France, and marries him while completely drunk. That in itself sounds like any other story featuring two people getting married drunk in Las Vegas, but what follows after those events is what made the story interesting and infinitely cute and addicting.

“I wonder if he thinks he married a girl with two personalities: vixen and wallflower.”

   I really liked Mia. She was a very interesting and relatable female protagonist. She was shy but still had a wild side yet she wasn't one of those characters who, when they see something they just go for it because they are strong like that, even if it doesn't go along with their character. Some of her decisions were a little weird but who hasn't made a weird decision at least once. Most of her actions made sense, or at least made sense for her character.
   I, like probably most females reading this novel, really liked Ansel, despite his ridiculously unsexy name and the fact that men like him don't exist in real life. He was charming, caring, kind and sweet with a spicy/filthy side to him. I loved how much he cared for Mia, even though she was a still a stranger, kind of, when they flew to France together. One of his decisions seemed totally ridiculous to me, but I guess it was necessary for the plot to play out the way it did. I wished he would have handled the situation a little differently and clarified a couple of things before the blew up in his face, but in the end I still thought he was a great character.

“He’s the guy who’ll do a ridiculous robot dance to make you laugh, who’ll lick the 

tip of your nose, make a fool out of himself for a smile. I’m sure if I tried to 

wrestle him to the ground, he’d let me win. And enjoy every minute.”

   The writing style was addicting, extremely funny and descriptive, but not too much. I could easily slip into the story, though in the very beginning of the book I was a little lost for a moment as to who narrates the story, which I know I'm not the only one to whom that happened. The characters were well developed and the scenery made me want to visit Paris, like, yesterday. I loved the couple of french sentences that were thrown into the dialogues. I really like it when authors do that as it underlines even more that the characters are in a foreign country and have to ability to speak in a language other then English. This was also beautifully underlined by how Ansel sometimes didn't remember a word in English and needed to describe it to Mia so she could try and guess which one he means.

    Sweet Filthy Boy was entertaining, steamy, creative and utterly addicting, a perfect read to get out of the reading slump, or at least it was for me. The chemistry between Mia and Ansel was off the charts, the story interesting and set mostly in a country other then America, which is always nice, and offered many moments to laugh out loud. I definitely recommend this one to lovers of contemporary novels, those old enough to read NA since this novel features a number of sex scenes, and those who are on the hunt for a addictive romance read.

   I give Sweet Filthy Boy by Christina Lauren 4 out of 5 stars.

Ask the Author: I.W. Gregorio (None of the Above)

   Hey!
   For this weeks Ask the Author I'm bringing you someone I'm extremely excited about. I've read her book not too long after it was released back in April and loved it because it was so different. If you're interested you can find my review here. Of course I am talking about the lovely I.W. Gregorio, the author of None of the Above.
   Here is her book and her A's for my Q's:

None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio
Published: April 7th 2015 by Balzer + Bray
Number of Pages: 352 Pages (Hardcover)
Series: No

   A groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she was born intersex... and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Incredibly compelling and sensitively told, None of the Above is a thought-provoking novel that explores what it means to be a boy, a girl, or something in between.
   What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?
   When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him.
   But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned—something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts."
   Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self? (goodreads.com)

Interview with I.W. Gregorio

   1 – Describe None of the Above in form of a haiku (or twitter pitch).

   Kristin had it all
   Then - do her chromosomes change
   Who she is? And why?

   2 – What inspired you to write a story about a girl that is intersex? Was it to educate those who don’t even know something like that exists, or rather to share a very special and unique story?
   I was inspired to write NOTA after my first experience treating a teenager with AIS - I was struck by how difficult her life must be because intersex is so shrouded with unnecessary stigma and secrecy. So yes, I party wrote my book to increase awareness, and also to make intersex men and women know that their stories are being told.

   3 – How hard was it, especially throughout the first couple of chapters, to balance plot and information’s regarding intersex?
   Extremely difficult! I had to rely a lot on metaphors and have numerous checks and balances (friends, laypeople readers) to tell me when I was being too medical-ly and assuming too much. My editors, Alessandra Balzer, Sara Sargent and Kelsey Murphy, were great about pointing out areas I could clarify or cut out!

   4 – What, besides the obvious, makes Kristin stand out in the sea of female contemporary main characters?
   Her inner strength. What I tried to show was how Kristin at times had to shield her father from her diagnosis (this is something that a lot of kids with medical issues end up doing). It was definitely something she did at her own cost, but many things, especially the decision to have surgery, were done because of her desire to alleviate her father's stress.

   5 – How important, on a scale from 1 to 10 (where 10 is very important), do you think is it for teens and young adults to read books like None of the Above? Do you think they should be read in schools?
   Definitely a 10 (and I've been thrilled that many librarians feel the same way)! I think there are few people who can't learn from my book and, at the same time, be entertained by it. More than ever, kids these days understand that gender is not a binary, and the more people who realize that biology does not equal gender which does not equal sexual orientation, the safer the world will be for LGBTQIA teens, who are at higher risk of suicide and bullying. That's why I think projects like the Rainbow Boxes are so, so important.

   6 - How long did it take you from first idea until publishing deal? And how many queries did it take until you found 'the one'?
   Yikes, about 5 years. I came up with the idea during residency, and had a child, and then moved across the country and started a new job - so you could say I didn't have a lot of free time on my hands! I sent out a lot of queries, then held off on sending fulls when I realized after a very early R&R (after less than 24 hours had gone by!) that I needed to change from dual POV to single narrrative. Then, I got my agent on a partial at a conference :)

   7 – How does it feel like to know that your story is out there right now and anybody can pick it up? Were you scared, anxious, nervous, of the publication day?
   I was definitely anxious. Most of all, I was nervous that no one would read it. That I would put the book out and it would be like shouting into the void. I'd almost rather NOTA be hated rather than ignored (okay, it's awful to be hated). But there's nothing, NOTHING like realizing that strangers are out there reading the book and being moved to talk about it, and about intersex. I'm so, so happy about what little I can do to lift the veil that's shrouding the lives of so many intersex women and men.

   8 – What do you think about the cover? Is it like anything you imagined it might look like?
   I think the cover is perfect. I always knew that this wouldn't be a "girl torso" book, and we had brainstormed some graphical ideas. We've gotten feedback from a lot of booksellers that the cover really pops, so I'm quite happy!

   9 – Who are your three favorite authors? Why?
   Madeleine L'Engle - Because no SFF writer captured the sense of lonely teenager-doom better
   Peter S Beagle - Because The Last Unicorn is still one of the most breathtakingly poignant books I've ever read about loss and regret
   Ellen Raskin - Because her attention to detail, sense of characterization, and compassion for her characters inspires me to this day. Plus she was funny and all of her stories had a terrific mystery/puzzle element.

   10 – Historical fiction or Mysteries?
   Definitely historical fiction! That's why I thought Stacey Lee's Under the Painted Sky. :) Definitely one of my favorite debuts this year.

   11 – If you were forced to participate in The Hunger Games, as female from District 12, what would be your strategy? Fight or flight?
   Fight. But sneakily :)

About the Author

   I. W. Gregorio is a practicing surgeon by day, masked avenging YA writer by night. A graduate of the Yale School of Medicine, she studied creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University. While a surgical resident, she published in the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News and Washington Post. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two children. NONE OF THE ABOVE (Balzer & Bray / HarperCollins, Fall of 2015) is her first novel. She is represented by Jessica Regel of Foundry + Media.

Ask the Author: Jenny Thomson (Hell to Pay)

   Hey guys!
   This week on Ask the Author I'm bringing you Jenny Thomson, author of the Crime Files series. When I first stumbled upon her novel Hell to Pay I immediately knew I had to interview her, and luckily, she agreed.
   Here is her book and her As:

Hell to Pay by Jenny Thomson
Published: April 28th 2015 by Limitless Publishing LLC
Pages: 144 Pages (Paperback)
Series: Yes, #1 in the Crime Files Series

   Nancy Kerr refuses to be a victim - even when she walks in on her parents killers and is raped and left for dead.
   Fourteen months later, she wakes up in a psychiatric hospital with no knowledge of how she got there.
   Slowly her memory starts to return.
   Released from the institution, she has just one thing on her mind.
   Two men brought hell to her family home.
   Now they re in for some hell of their own. (goodreads.com)

Interview with Jenny Thompson

   1 – Describe Hell to Pay with a haiku.
   She wakes up in hospital
   Slowly, her memory returns
   Now she wants revenge

   2 – In a genre like mystery/thriller, how hard is it to stand out? And in what way do you think does Hell to Pay stand out and offer something that should make people want to read it even more?
   There are so many good books out there that it is hard to stand out. Where I think Hell to Pay is different is that it has a strong female character we don't often see in mystery thrillers. Too often women are cardboard cut out victims. In Hell to Pay, Nancy is angry and I think that anger is in a lot of women. The only difference is Nancy acts on it. I call my fiction Die Hard for Girls as it features tough women. Books 2 and 3 in the Crime Files series, Throwaways and Don't Come For Me, featuring Nancy are also out.

   3 – What was the most challenging about writing Hell to Pay and which scene was the most fun to write?
   The most challenging thing was when Nancy had to get information out of one of the men who attacked her as and killed her parents. I kept on asking myself - is this too much?
My favourite scene to write was one of the final ones in the book where a character you least suspect kills someone. I honestly didn't see it coming, but it was as if this character took over. Afterwards, I thought "Wow, I never saw that coming."

   4 – What do you like most and least about your main character, Nancy?
   I like that Nancy is a fighter. She doesn't let anyone walk over her and I understand her desire to get revenge. In all of my books so far, I've had strong women characters.
   The only thing I don't like is she can be reckless and put herself in danger, but that’s a very Scottish thing.

   5 - How long did it take you from first idea until publishing deal?
   Hell to Pay was published before in 2013 by a very bad publisher. I published it myself and it did well, then I decided to try Limitless Publishing because of their fantastic covers.

   6 - How nervous were you when the first reviews started to roll in?
   Very nervous. As a writer, you put work out there not knowing if it's any good. So far, I've had a good response.

   7 – What do you think about the cover? Is it anything like you imagined it being?
   The cover is fantastic. The woman on the cover is exactly how I expected my main character Nancy Kerr to look, right down to her red hair and defiant attitude.

   8 – TV Shows: The Walking Dead or Game of Thrones?
   The Walking Dead. I'm obsessed with zombies and wrote a zombie novel set in Scotland called The Restless Dead. It’s unusual in that it’s told from a woman, Emma's perspective. Most zombie books are told from a man's.

   9 – What advice could you give aspiring authors?
   Keep on writing and never give up. Write as much as you can, as many different types of writing that you can. I started off as a journalist, but was always writing stories.
They also tell you to write what you know. Unless its nonfiction where you need to be an expert, I'd say write the book you want to write. I always write the kind of books I'd read myself.
   Also, subscribe to a writing magazine that lists markets and publishers who want material. Keep an eye out for competitions.
   Always have a notebook, phone or tablet to write ideas down on. Don't be the madwoman like me who goes out to dinner and scribbles on napkins!

   10 – If you were forced to participate in The Hunger Games, as female from District 12, what would be your strategy? Fight or flight?
   Definitely fight. As a zombie fan, I know how to use different weapons to survive.

About the Author

   Jenny Thomson is an award winning crime writer and features writer who has been widely published in the UK and abroad. She’s a staunch advocate of girl power and that’s why she came up with the idea for the Crime Files series featuring tough Nancy Kerr.
   She lives on a beautiful Scottish island with her rescue dog and her partner and is the author of seven other books, all with traditional publishers (including some as Jennifer Thomson).
   When she’s not writing about kick ass woman, she’s planning how to survive a zombie apocalypse and writing on napkins because she’s run out of paper.

Ask the Author: Nicola Yoon (Everything, Everything)

   Hey guys!
   For this weeks Ask the Author I'm bringing you the amazing Nicola Yoon, the author of Everything, Everything, a very unique and brilliant read that I've loved and reviewed. She took a bit of her time and gave me a few A's to my Q's.
   Here's her book and her A's:

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Published: September 1st 2015 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Number of Pages: 320 Pages (Hardcover)
Series: No

   My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.
   But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.
   Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster. (goodreads.com)

Interview with Nicola Yoon

   1 – Describe Everything, Everything in form of a haiku (or twitter pitch).
   Girl who is so allergic to the world that she can never leave her house falls madly in love with the new boy who moves in next door.

   2 – What inspired you to write a story about a girl that is literally allergic to the outside world? It sounds like such a unique idea so I’m wondering if there is a unique story behind it.
   I started writing EE when my daughter was just 4 months old. I was still a brand new mom and I worried about everything. I worried about her getting sick, accidentally eating dirt, falling down, bumping her head or getting hurt in a million different ways. The instinct to protect her and keep her safe was sometimes overwhelming. It got me thinking about a mother's need to protect her child and that led to thoughts about what if there was a child that needed constant protection not just as a baby but for her whole life. What would that situation do to the relationship between the mother and daughter? What would happen when that daughter wanted to branch out and see the world?

   3 – How hard was it to write a story so unlike any other? What was the most challenging about the story and the writing process?
   Imagining the world through the eyes of someone who had never seen any of it was the most challenging. I tried to imagine what my daughter was feeling & thinking when she saw things for the first time. One of the most challenging scenes to write was when Maddy sees the ocean for the first time. I grew up in Jamaica and I live in Southern California so I've seen the ocean thousands of times but now I had pretend that I never had. Before I wrote that scene I took my daughter to the beach and played with her all day and just watched how she reacted to the sand and the wind and the water. She was totally delighted and awed by it.

   4 – What, besides the obvious, makes Madeline stand out in the sea of female contemporary main characters?
   I like to think that Maddy is a part of a great tradition of wonderful female main characters (like Melinda from Speak, Ruby from The Boyfriend List). She has a personality and a drive. She has strong opinions and she makes mistakes. She loves, she learns, she forgives.

   5 – How and why did you decide on this particular narrative style of Everything, Everything?
   I write really early in the morning from 4 to 6 AM. One morning at 4 AM it occurred to me that Maddy would draw her world as a way to feel like she's a part of it. At the beginning of the book she's obsessed with the Hawaiian state fish — the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a — so a I drew a very terrible version of the fish in my notebook. My husband is a terrific illustrator so I woke him up at 4 AM and asked him a draw me a fish. He is just the sweetest because instead of telling me just to let him go back to sleep, he got out of bed, kissed me, made himself a coffee and drew the version of the fish that's now in the book. So the narrative style all started with that fish.

   6 - How long did it take you from first idea until publishing deal? And how many queries did it take until you found 'the one'?
   I had kind of a non-traditional publishing process. We sold the book on a partial manuscript. It took just under a year from first idea to publishing deal.

   7 – How does it feel like to know that your story is soon (September 1st) going to be out there for everyone to pick it up and read it? What did you feel when the first ARC reader reviews rolled in?
   It's amazing and terrifying at the same time! Amazing because publishing a book is my biggest and wildest dream and I can't believe it's actually happening but I'm so happy and grateful that it is. It's terrifying because I put my whole heart into the book and I really want people to like it but what if they don't?

   8 – What do you think about the cover? Is it like anything you imagined it might look like?
   I looooooooove the cover! I think it's so beautiful and I couldn't have asked for more. It was done by two women artists who own a company called Good Wives and Warriors. They're usually known for doing large scale murals and art installations. I was thrilled when they agreed to do the cover for EE.

   9 – What were the last three books you’ve read?
   Not including the three picture books I read to my daughter last night, I read: Another Day by David Levithan, The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart and Illuminae by Amie Kaufmann and Jay Kristoff.

   10 – Cats or dogs?
   Cats. Definitely.

   11 – If you were forced to participate in The Hunger Games, as female from District 12, what would be your strategy? Fight or flight?
   Fight. Definitely.

About the Author

   Nicola Yoon grew up in Jamaica (the island) and Brooklyn (part of Long Island). She currently resides in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and daughter, both of whom she loves beyond all reason. Everything, Everything is her first novel.

Ask the Author: Rebecca Phillips (Faking Perfect)

   Hey guys!
   For this weeks Ask the Author I'm bringing you Rebecca Phillips and her novel Faking Perfect. I've started reading Faking Perfect a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it quite a lot so of course I had to e-mail Rebecca about an interview. Luckily, she agreed.
   Here's her novel and her Q's for my A's:

Faking Perfect by Rebecca Phillips
Published: June 30th 2015 by Kensington
Number of Pages: 272 Pages (Paperback)
Series: No

   When Lexi Shaw seduced Oakfield High's resident bad boy Tyler Flynn at the beginning of senior year, he seemed perfectly okay with her rules:
   1. Avoid her at school.
   2. Keep his mouth shut about what they do together.
   3. Never tease her about her friend (and unrequited crush) Ben.
   Because with his integrity and values and golden boy looks, Ben can never find out about what she’s been doing behind closed doors with Tyler. Or that her mom’s too busy drinking and chasing losers to pay the bills. Or that Lexi’s dad hasn’t been a part of her life for the last thirteen years. But with Tyler suddenly breaking the rules, Ben asking her out, and her dad back in the picture, how long will she be able to go on faking perfect? (goodreads.com)

Interview with Rebecca Phillips

   1 – Describe Faking Perfect with a haiku.
   A girl with a snake
   Is pretending to be real
   But she's telling lies

   2 – What sparked the idea for Faking Perfect? Was it the simple idea of a girl doing what many girls do in High School, pretend to lead a perfect life most don’t really have or was it something entirely different?
   I don't really remember how I came up with the plot. Basically, I just liked the idea of a girl pretending to be perfect and normal but feeling like the exact opposite inside. The rest of the story branched out from there.

   3 – Was there a scene in the book you specifically remember writing because it stuck out to you, either in a positive or negative way?
   There's a scene near the end of the book, with Lexi's father, that I especially labored over because I really wanted to get it right.

   4 – What made you come up with the idea of giving Lexi a corn snake as pet? It’s quite an unusual choice, as most teenage girls rather prefer cute dogs or cats.
   The snake has a specific meaning and is tied to other things in the book. I can't say too much without giving spoilers, but it has to do with a tattoo, and certain types of people probably wouldn't have tattoos of cute dogs and cats. :)

   5 – In retrospective, is there anything that you’d change about Faking Perfect or are you happy with the way it turned out in the end?
   If I had to do it over, I'd probably include more Tyler. He was so much fun to write. He's the first and only "bad boy" I've ever written and I loved creating all the Tyler/Lexi scenes.

   6 - How long did it take you from first idea until publishing deal?
   More than two years. I started writing FAKING PERFECT at the end of 2012. I finished it in April 2013. I got a book deal in April 2014. Traditional publishing takes a long time.

   7 - How do you feel about the fact that in only a few more weeks (June 30th) thousands of readers will be able to hold and read your novel? How nervous were you when the first reviews rolled in?
   It's crazy. I'm both excited and terrified. I get so nervous about reviews. This isn't my first book so my skin is already pretty thick to criticism, but it's still nerve-racking. I have to keep reminding myself that books aren't like hundred dollar bills--not everyone is going to love them. I appreciate any and all reviews. Just that fact that someone took the time to read my book and write about it is amazing to me.

   8 – What do you think about the cover? Is it anything like you imagined it being?
   I love the cover, and it's almost exactly the way I imaged it being. It's so contemporary YA.

   9 – High heels or flats?
   Flats, for sure. I can barely walk a straight line in heels.

   10 – What advice could you give aspiring authors?
   Read, read, read. You can't be a good writer if you're not a big reader. Also, learn patience. Publishing is a long, sometimes frustrating process.

   11 – If you were forced to participate in The Hunger Games, as female from District 12, what would be your strategy? Fight or flight?
   I'd probably hide in a cave and cry like a baby until someone finds me and kills me. So I guess my strategy would be...cowardice?

About the Author

   Rebecca Phillips has been a fan of contemporary young adult fiction ever since she first discovered Judy Blume at the age of twelve. She's the author of the JUST YOU series, OUT OF NOWHERE (2012 ABNA finalist), FAKING PERFECT (Kensington), and ANY OTHER GIRL (January 26, Kensington).
   Rebecca lives just outside the beautiful city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, with her husband, two children, and one spoiled rotten cat. She absolutely loves living so close to the ocean. Visit Rebecca on her website www.rebeccawritesya.com and on Twitter @RebeccaWritesYA

Review: Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider

Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider
Published: May 26th 2015 by Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 336 Pages (Hardcover)
Series: No

   At seventeen, overachieving Lane finds himself at Latham House, a sanatorium for teens suffering from an incurable strain of tuberculosis. Part hospital and part boarding school, Latham is a place of endless rules and confusing rituals, where it's easier to fail breakfast than it is to flunk French.
   There, Lane encounters a girl he knew years ago. Instead of the shy loner he remembers, Sadie has transformed. At Latham, she is sarcastic, fearless, and utterly compelling. Her friends, a group of eccentric troublemakers, fascinate Lane, who has never stepped out of bounds his whole life. And as he gradually becomes one of them, Sadie shows him their secrets: how to steal internet, how to sneak into town, and how to disable the med sensors they must wear at all times.
   But there are consequences to having secrets, particularly at Latham House. And as Lane and Sadie begin to fall in love and their group begins to fall sicker, their insular world threatens to come crashing down. (goodreads.com)

“Being temporary doesn't make something matter any less, 

because the point isn't for how long, the point is that it happened.”

   Extraordinary Means is extraordinary, gripping, beautiful and honest. I loved it from page one on.
   I have a thing for stories which feature teens with diseases, physical or mental, so when I first heard of this one I knew I had to have it and read it. The gorgeous cover sealed the deal. Robyn Schneider's voices for Lane and Sadie were amazing, very distinct and truly interesting. Whereas Lane started out as this laser beam like focused student who only thought of getting the best grades, getting into collage and the career he planned on having, Sadie was a free mind. She was creative, a photographer and happy in her own way despite being in a place like Latham House.

   The idea of a new stem of TB (tuberculosis) which is immune to drugs is truly interesting and the portrayal of this camp like place for teens, far away from everyone, was both terrifying and captivating. The way those who were healthy looked at those with TB was very honest, no sugarcoat, which is always good to see. I loved the fact that the question of "what will happen once we'll he healthy and left back into the world?" was quite present and dealt with in a very good way. I also liked it a lot that the thought that they might never leave Latham House, except in a bodybag, was always present, not in speech or thought, but you could still feel it. It's always good to see that the author doesn't forget about details like that halfway through the novel, but rather that they come up again and again, just like they would come up in a real life situation.

“There’s a difference between being dead and dying. We’re all dying. 

Some of us die for ninety years, and some of us die for nineteen. 

But each morning everyone on this planet wakes up one day closer to their death. 

Everyone. So living and dying are actually different words for the same thing, 

if you think about it.”

  Besides our two main characters, Lane and Sadie, I loved their friend group. All of them had very distinct personalities and a life even outside of interactions with our main characters. The twists and turns were very smooth and natural and, what kind of surprised me, was just how funny some of the dialogues and scenes were. The humor was on point, filled with references to, for example, Harry Potter which, let's face it, most of us love. I loved seeing them have fun, laugh and have a good time even when all odds were against them, even when they were stuck at Latham House.

   Something that, although it didn't surprise me, creeped up on me was the ending which was heart wrenching but extremely honest and true. I love that, even though the author could have chosen the easy path of writing a book with a cotton candy happy fluffy ending, she decided to stay real because in life, not all endings are happy and fluffy. So, even though I was really sad, I was also happy that everything happened the way it did, which sounds really weird and twisted, I'm aware of that.

“And the thing about trying to cheat death is that, in the end, you still lose.”

   All in all I enjoyed reading Extraordinary Means a lot. The tone was very honest and sometimes heartbreaking, but also a lot of fun, laughs and giggles. Robyn Schneider created a amazing story filled with realistic characters and a situation which felt very real and wasn't sugarcoated even in the hardest of times.

I give Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider 5 out of 5 Stars.