Today, we welcome you to our very own launch party for the third novel in Lisa McMann’s “Wake” trilogy! First, we offer a double feature review of Fade and Gone. Then, we invite YOU dear readers to enter our international giveaway for the chance to win one of TEN copies of Gone!

Fade (Book 2 in the “Wake” Trilogy)

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: February 2009
Hardcover: 256 Pages

For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They’re just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck. Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody’s talking. When Janie taps into a classmate’s violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open–but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie’s in way over her head, and Cabe’s shocking behavior has grave consequences for them both.

Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability. And it’s bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a Dream Catcher sealed, but what’s to come is way darker than she’d even feared…

REVIEW: Fade picks up where Wake leaves off, following Janie and Cabel as they delve headfirst into another undercover sting at Fieldridge High. The police force follows up on an anonymous lead that a teacher may be having an illicit, sexual relationship with students, with Janie accepting the role as point-person – i.e. bait. As Janie struggles to discover the identity of the sleazy teacher, she also has a lot to deal with, personally. She juggles her growing relationship with Cabel (which must be kept secret from her friends and the student body, lest they blow their cover) with her own growing understanding of her power as a Dreamcatcher. With Miss Stubin’s old police files and journals to help guide her, Janie comes to terms with some of the hard truths about her very unique abilities – both good and bad.

Lisa McMann really puts Janie and Cabel through the grinder with this second book. In Wake, she introduced readers to Janie’s unique ability to enter the dreams of anyone sleeping near her – a curse Janie has to bear, which means she’s constantly tired, hungry, and isolated. Though Janie has had her “power” since she was eight years old, she doesn’t know much about it (other than how drastically it interferes with her ability to lead a normal life). In Fade, Ms. McMann explores the implications of being a Dreamcatcher in much more detail, creating a heartbreaking future for Janie and Cable. And I mean heartbreaking. This is heavy stuff. I loved that Ms. McMann doesn’t shy away from the gritty in this second novel – the characters speak like teens (swearing, believable slang, etc), they drink, they have sex. The sleazier elements of teacher-student relationships and date rape are also examined in an unflinching way, and I really appreciated that that (as horrifying as it is to read).

Again, the strength of Fade (as with Wake) lies with Janie and her relationship with Cabel. I love the natural progression with these two characters! They have disagreements and misunderstandings, but are undoubtably in love with each other, and I love that their relationship is changing and growing as they spend more time together. While Cabel’s character isn’t given as much insight as with the first book and he does feel a bit “support system”-y (i.e. he’s always – only – there to pick Janie up when she falls), there IS some significant development in his believability as a character. At least, there is to me. Whereas in the first book, Cabel came across as the typical too good to be true hawt dude with a troubled past that of COURSE is always there for Janie no matter what, in this second novel, you see some chinks in his perfection. He has to realize that Janie is an independent, intelligent young woman who wants to help, even if it means putting herself in dangerous situations. And when Cabel tries to go all alpha and protect her from herself (yecch, I abhor this type of “hero” behavior), Janie calls him on it…and he gets it. That’s a good thing.

There’s also another marked improvement in Fade from Wake – the revelations about the nature of her gift. Some of those questions that weren’t asked in the prior book are addressed here, in particular about the future that awaits young Janie. With Miss Stubin’s notes (and her spectral, from-the-grave dream guide persona) to guide her, Janie has a very dramatic decision to make that will change her life. This also means that the stage is set for some serious drama in Gone…

The only problem I had with Fade, as with Wake was how silly and implausible the Janie and Cabel working as super secret agents for a very well funded and influential branch of the Michigan police department. It’s a little too TV movie for me. But, with the strength of Janie’s character and the difficult issues she must grapple with, I was more than willing to suspend my disbelief in the sillier (and more trivial) aspects of the story.

Much better, more complicated and heartbreaking than Wake, Fade is a smart, sharp book. Highly recommended – if you were underwhelmed with book 1, I beg you to give book 2 an honest shot.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From Chapter 1:

Chapter 1
A NEW YEAR

January 1, 2006, 1:31 a.m.

Janie sprints through the snowy yards from two streets away and slips quietly through the front door of her house.

And then.

Everything goes black.

She grips her head, cursing her mother under her breath as the whirling kaleidoscope of colors builds and throws her off balance. She bumps against the wall and holds on, and then slowly lowers herself blindly to the floor as her fingers go numb. The last thing she needs is to crack her head open. Again.

She’s too tired to fight it right now. Too tired to pull herself out of it. Plants her cheek on the cold tile floor. Gathers her strength so she can try later, in case the dream doesn’t end quickly.

Breathes.

Watches.

You can read the full chapter online HERE.

Rating: 7 – Very Good

Gone (Book 3 in the “Wake” Trilogy)

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: February 2010
Hardcover: 224 Pages

Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she’d made her peace with it. But she can’t handle dragging Cabel down with her.

She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He’s amazing. And she’s a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves—she has to disappear. And it’s going to kill them both.

Then a stranger enters her life–and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she’d ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out….

REVIEW:

NOTE: This review contains SPOILERS for the first two books in the trilogy. If you have not yet read Wake and Fade, and if you do not wish to be spoiled for these two books, READ NO FURTHER. You have been warned…

Gone is the last book in the Wake trilogy, in which Janie comes to terms with the biggest decision of her life. She faces a traumatic, all around shitty decision: to stay with Cabel, to be loved, to continue with her work for the Police Force and go blind and lose the use of her hands….or to isolate herself, giving up Cabel but keeping her sight and dexterity. Janie loves Cabel and he loves her, but she knows from his horrifying nightmares every night that he has his own doubts and fears about Janie’s future (and how his future will be affected by her crippling disability). During the day, he doesn’t betray even the slightest hint of doubt, and Janie feels so very alone – because the love of her life can only be honest to her in his dreams. Then, she gets a frantic message from her best friend and neighbor, Carrie – her father, a man she has never known, lies in the hospital and is very near death.

Gone is a worthy close to this trilogy, and is a very different animal than the first two books. While books 1 and 2 were centered on detective work/high school police stings with Cabel and Janie working undercover, this final book is much more introspective and focused on Janie’s abilities and her future (which makes it all the better, in my opinion). There is the mystery of who Janie’s father was before his debilitating injury, but Gone is really much more a book of answers and revelations, and, ultimately, of choices. Janie must choose between a hard road of love (always feeling that she’s holding back Cabe or making him resent her) or cutting herself off from the rest of the world entirely. It is, as one character puts it, Janie’s “Morton’s Fork” – a choice between two impossible alternatives.

In Gone, everything comes full circle. We learn what happened to Janie’s sad, alcoholic mother – a seed planted in the first book (one I had since been dying to see more of). In Gone, all answers are given. This is a HARD book. One thing Ms. McMann does so brilliantly throughout the trilogy is convey how very tough and messed up Janie (and Cabel’s) lives are, and I cannot help but feel for these two characters. I feel for them, but I admire them too – Cabel and Janie’s relationship goes to a whole new level in this book with Cabel’s subconscious doubts and fears (all extremely valid, all things considered). He becomes more real and believable as a character and I finally “buy” him in this third book because he’s no longer a too good to be true, completely selfless hot boyfriend. And Janie is fantastic as well, coming face to face with her own greatest fears and making the only decision she can with the hand she has been dealt.

The revelations are wonderful and the book ends the trilogy in a very smart way. It’s bittersweet, but just so…fitting. It couldn’t have been any other way. I’m glad that the trilogy doesn’t end with Janie magically all better and all her issues resolved in a sparkle of rainbows and living happily ever after with nary a worry in the world. I have mad respect for Lisa McMann, for continuing to go there. This is a far more mature book than Wake, and it is good to see Janie come full circle.

The Wake Trilogy, in this reader’s opinion, is one that just gets better with each subsequent book – and it’s a story arc that grows on you, the longer you think about it. Absofreakinglutely, highly recommended.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From the official excerpt:

Janie and Cabel move carefully through the hallways, watching for open doors. She gets caught in a weak dream but only for a few seconds—she barely even has to pause in step. They stand outside Henry’s room, Janie’s hand tense on the handle.

Static and shockingly bright colors. Janie nearly crumples to her knees, but this time she is more prepared. She steps blindly toward the bed and Cabel helps her safely to the floor as her head pounds with noise. It’s more intense than ever.

Just when Janie thinks her eardrums are going to burst, the static dulls and the scene flickers to a woman in the dark once again. It’s the same woman as the day before, Janie’s certain, though she can’t make out any distinguishing features. And then Janie sees that the man is there too. He’s in the shadows, sitting on a chair, watching the woman. He turns, looks at Janie and blinks. His eyes widen and he sits up straighter in his chair.

“Help me!” he pleads.

And then, like a broken filmstrip, the picture cuts out and the static is back, louder than ever, constant screams in her ears. Janie struggles, head pounding. Tries pulling out of the dream, but she can’t focus – the static is messing up her ability to concentrate.

She’s flopping around on the floor now. Straining.

Thinks Cabel is there, holding her, but she can’t feel anything now.

The bright colors slam into her eyes, into her brain, into her body. The static is like pinpricks in every pore of her skin.

She’s trapped.

Trapped in the nightmare of a man who can’t wake up.

Janie struggles again, feeling like she’s suffocating now. Feeling like if she doesn’t get out of this mess, she might die here. Cabe! She screams in her head. Get me out of here!

But of course he can’t hear her.

Rating: 8 – Excellent

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Courtesy of publisher Simon Pulse, we have TEN copies of Gone up for grabs! The contest is open to everyone and will run until Saturday, February 13th at 11:59 PM (PST). To enter, leave a comment here answering this question: If you were faced with your own “Morton’s Fork” – living with Janie’s ability as a Dreamcatcher, or completely isolating yourself from other slumbering people – what would you choose?

Good luck!

We are having a party today!

Soul Screamers is a series that follows Banshee Kaylee Cavanaugh as she finds out the extent of her powers and why she screams when someone is about to die.

Something is wrong with Kaylee Cavanaugh. She doesn’t see dead people, but…

She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to be a normal girl, basking in the joy of having caught the attention of Nash, the hottest guy in school. But getting through a first date isn’t easy when he seems to know more about Kaylee’s need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only she knows who’ll be next…

Ana reviewed (and loved) the first book, My Soul to Take last year and you can read her review here as well as read a guest post by the author on her inspirations for writing the book.

And book 2, My Soul To Save has been released in early January:

When teen pop star Eden croaks on stage and Kaylee doesn’t wail, she knows something is dead wrong. She can’t cry for someone who has no soul.

The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad’s ironclad curfew and putting her too-hot-to-be-real boyfriend’s loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls for a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld—a consequence they can’t possibly understand.

Kaylee can’t let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

To one lucky winner: One copy of both books in the Soul Screamers series: My Soul To Take and My Soul To Save

Plus two additional winners can win one copy of book 2 in the series, My Soul to Save!

In order to enter all you have to do is to leave a comment on this post telling us what is your favorite YA series at the moment and why. The contest is open to everybody and will run till February 15th 11:59pm (Pacific). GOOD LUCK!

“Inspirations and Influences” is a new series of articles in which we invite authors to write guest posts talking about their…well, Inspirations and Influences. The cool thing is that the writers are given free reign so they can go wild and write about anything they want. It can be about their new book, series or about their career as a whole.

Today’s guest is Alexandra Bullen, a Young Adult writer whose debut novel Wish was released on January 12th. The book is about lost sisters, magical dresses and granting wishes. And it asks the question: if you could have anything, what would you wish for? We are pleased to have the author here today talking about the inspirations and influences behind her book:

Ladies and gents, please give it up for Alexandra Bullen!

**************

One of the reasons I was so intrigued by the idea of magic in Wish is that I’m constantly amazed by how much I can’t explain. I wouldn’t say that I believe in magic in the fairy godmother sense of the word (though I could probably be easily convinced, especially if the right dress was involved…) but I definitely believe that there is a little bit of magic in all sorts of every day things.

Being inspired to write is on the magic list, for sure. I usually have no idea where an inspiration for a character or idea comes from. One minute I’m doing something totally boring and mundane (dishes, laundry…anything I can do without too much thinking involved) and the next minute I’m frantically scribbling notes on whatever crumpled napkin or scrap piece of paper I can find.

So it’s hard for me to say exactly what it is that inspires me to write. I doubt it’s the dishes. But once I have an idea, once I’m working on a project, there’s a different kind of inspiration involved. And that’s one that’s easier to define, because it’s usually something I go looking for.

And the places I go for this kind of inspiration, the jump-start kind, when I’ve already got something bouncing around but need help kicking it into gear, are much easier to talk about.

Poems: Particularly by E.E. Cummings and Mary Karr. Something about poetry, the succinct language and small observations taking on big meaning, never fails to get me back to work.

Music: Usually songs without words. Or words in a language I can’t understand. That way I’m free to let my mind wander, instead of focusing on the story in the lyrics. Examples vary, depending on what direction I need to be motivated towards.Miriam Makeba is great for loosening up. Sigur Ros for when I need to be still.

Walks: I do a lot of story exploring on walks with my dogs in the woods. There are tons of trails where I live and they are perfect for getting lost in. I’m not much of a nature-writer, but I wouldn’t be any kind of writer at all, without easy access to the woods. (And a couple of dogs to run around with.)

**********

Alexandra Bullen has been a playwright, waitress, barista, gardener, script reader, yoga instructor and personal assistant. She grew up in Massachusetts, went to college in New York City, and lives most of the year on Martha’s Vineyard (except when she’s visiting San Francisco.) WISH is her first novel for young adults.

Thank you Alexandra!!

Now, for the giveaway:

For broken-hearted Olivia Larsen, nothing can change the fact that her twin sister, Violet, is gone… until a mysterious, beautiful gown arrives on her doorstep. The dress doesn’t just look magical; it is magical. It has the power to grant her one wish, and the only thing Olivia wants is her sister back.

With Violet again by her side, both girls get a second chance at life. And as the sisters soon discover, they have two more dresses-and two more wishes left. But magic can’t solve everything, and Olivia is forced to confront her ghosts to learn how to laugh, love, and live again.

For a chance to win an authographed copy of Wish , leave a comment answering the question:

If you could wish for anything, what would you wish for?

The contest is open to residents of the US and Canada only, and will run until January 30th at 11:59PM (PST). We will announce the winner next Sunday in our weekly stash! Good luck!

Welcome to Smugglivus – Day 32!

Hey, it’s the New Year! Woohoo! Happy freakin’ New Year!

And in light of the fact it’s 2010, we are offering, you guessed it, another Flash Giveaway*. The New Year Edition. Up for grabs we have a mixed bag of genres. Only ONE batch this time:

You know the drill! The contest is open to mailing addresses in the UNITED STATES ONLY, and will run until Saturday January 2 at 11:59 PM (PST). In order to enter, simply leave a comment here. ONE comment per person, please! Multiple or duplicate comments will be disqualified. Good luck!

And from us Book Smugglers to you…

*Ok, so we couldn’t find a Flash New Year picture, so technically this is the Savage She Hulk New Year Giveaway. So sue us! Just don’t make us angry. You wouldn’t like us when we’re angry…

Welcome to Smugglivus – Day 30!

Throughout this month, we will have daily guests – authors and bloggers alike – looking back at their favorite reads of 2009, and looking forward to events and upcoming books in 2010.

Today’s Guest: Today we bring you our interview with Nancy Holzner, author of new Urban Fantasy novel Deadtown (reviewed yesterday by Thea HERE).

Please give a warm welcome to Nancy!

The Book Smugglers: First and foremost, thanks for taking the time to “chat” with us! Your new novel Deadtown is a gritty urban fantasy, set in an alternate version of Boston. Can you tell us a bit about your book, and why you chose Boston for your paranormal setting?

Nancy: Thanks so much for inviting me! I’m excited to be here, and I’d love to say a few things about my novel. Deadtown is Boston’s paranormal-only district, home to vampires, werewolves, two thousand zombies—and Vicky Vaughn, Boston’s only active shapeshifter. Vicky is one of the Cerddorion, a race of Welsh shapeshifters who trace their origins back to the goddess Ceridwen. Vicky exterminates people’s personal demons for a living; she spends her time dealing with demon-haunted clients, putting up with a pain-in-the-neck teenage zombie apprentice, fending off a research scientist who’s a little too interested in what makes her tick, and trying to squeeze in an occasional date with her kinda-sorta boyfriend, workaholic werewolf lawyer Alexander Kane. When one of her clients is murdered by a Hellion, Vicky must face the demons of her own past—before that Hellion destroys the city and everyone in it.

I chose Boston because I lived there for several years and know the city pretty well. I also liked playing with the idea of how a relatively compact city like Boston, one that has a reputation for being intellectual, liberal, and full of history, would deal with a plague that sweeps through the downtown and creates a couple thousand insta-zombies.

The Book Smugglers: Urban Fantasy is a genre that has been experiencing crazy growth over the past few years – every month it seems there’s another badass heroine with a flaming sword (or gun, or lasso, etc.) taking the paranormal world by storm. Why did you decide to write an Urban Fantasy novel (series)? Are there any UF authors in particular that you admire?

Nancy: I’d been reading urban fantasy for a few years, ever since a friend recommended Kim Harrison’s Hollows series and I quickly started hunting for similar books. I loved the genre’s inventiveness and sheer imagination; it’s so much fun to read. It wasn’t long before I was coming up with ideas for my own urban fantasy world. There are a lot of authors I admire: Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Devon Monk, Charlaine Harris, Rachel Caine, Jon Levitt. Those are the ones who come to mind immediately.

The Book Smugglers: Your heroine, Vicky, is a demi-human shapeshifter and demon slayer with n intriguing mythological background. You have a PhD in English and according to your biography you began your career as a medievalist. How much of a role did your educational background play in writing Deadtown? Did you do any additional mythological research for your universe?

Nancy: Well, you can take a scholar out of academia, but you can never entirely take academia out of the scholar; that’s why I call myself a “recovering academic.” I spent a lot of years studying and analyzing and teaching literature, and that remains a big part of who I am and the way I approach a project. I enjoy research, for example, and can get sucked into that phase of writing a novel for months if I let myself. For Deadtown, I reread the Mabinogi, the collection of medieval Welsh legends that inspired the background mythology for the novel, but I didn’t let myself go overboard. I didn’t, for example, spend time reading scholarly articles about that text, because I wasn’t trying to understand it in light of its historical context or contemporary literary theory—I just wanted to use it as a springboard for my novel. It’s possible to overdo it with research, with the result that you either straitjacket your own story or end up trying to cram in way too much of the cool stuff you discovered.

The Book Smugglers: Speaking of your heroine, her full name is Victory “Vicky” Vaughn – which has a lovely pulp-noir-ish ring to it. You also happen to be an author of traditional mystery…coincidence? Or fiendish plot? C’mon and spill – are you a Raymond Chandler fan?

Nancy: Most things I do are part of a fiendish plot, but I can’t really talk about that in public. I do like reading mysteries—I have ever since a grad-school friend got me hooked on Victorian detective fiction and Agatha Christie. Now, I’m a huge Donald E. Westlake fan, and the novels he wrote as Richard Stark have a strong noir feel to them. I’m also a fan of Victor Gischler, whose Gun Monkeys is brilliant neo-noir pulp, (and I’m excited because I just found out he wrote a vampire novel—I haven’t read it yet, but it’s on my TBR pile.) If you’ve read either of those authors, you’ll know I like a little humor mixed in with my grit.

The Book Smugglers: The concept of “Deadtown” – a cordoned off area of Boston following a freak airborne viral mutation that instantly killed all humans in the area – is pretty cool and original (kind of like an inner city enforced ghetto for supernatural creatures). What inspired this idea? Do you think the supernatural community of shapeshifters, vamps, werewolves, zombies, assortment of demons, etc would have come out of the closet (coffin, whatever) had it not been for that plague?

Nancy: In the case of a plague like that—immediately deadly and unlike any known pathogen—the first thing the city would do would be to set up and enforce a quarantine zone. And then when events got even stranger, when the previously dead (or seemingly dead) victims started to rise, there’s no way that those victims would be allowed to leave that quarantine zone. No one knew whether they were still contagious. No one knew, exactly, what they’d become. Instead of working to integrate them back into society, the impulse would be to keep them contained.

Before the plague hit, Kane had been encouraging the supernatural community to come forward. He was recruiting paranormals to an activist group that was supposed to show the humans that the “monsters” were friendly to them and could be trusted, that they could live side by side. But on one hand, many paranormals weren’t interested, and on the other, a lot of humans thought that Kane and his group were crackpots. When the plague hit, paranormals (who were immune to the virus) helped to manage the quarantine zone. Not only were the humans forced to acknowledge that paranormals were real, they also reacted with the same fear they felt toward the zombies. All residents of Boston were genetically tested; anyone not human had to live in Deadtown. Some cooperated; others left the state or went into hiding. But human society had to recognize paranormals officially—whether either side wanted that or not.

The Book Smugglers: One of the main characters in your book, werewolf lawyer Alexander Kane, is a passionate fighter for civil rights. In your estimation as their creator, do the undead/non-human inhabitants of your world (or, as Kane would say, “Paranormal Americans”) deserve the same rights afforded to humans?

Nancy: That’s a tricky issue, because many of the PAs (those Paranormal Americans) represent a real danger to humans. They’ve been operating under the radar for centuries and many of them chafe at the restrictions humans place on them now. Humans are right to fear them; some of these creatures mean them harm. Kane’s strategy is to try to put PAs and humans on an equal footing legally, but he’s a true believer in concepts of justice and fair play that many PAs don’t share. Although the zombies want and deserve equal rights, some other types of paranormals would rather be invisible predators living outside of human rule. The humans would be smart to treat the paranormals as a powerful but not-entirely-friendly nation rather than trying to control them.

The Book Smugglers: In Deadtown, bad dreams are often demon infestations, and we love the breakdown of different types of demons you cover in the book. Similarly, your take on zombies is refreshingly different too. What inspired your spin on these classic horror monster icons? Do you have any favorite zombie or demon movies and/or books?

Nancy: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was the original zombie novel, and it’s still my favorite. Victor Frankenstein’s monster is an intelligent creature who’s trying to understand his place in the world and is angry with the creator who brought him into being and then rejected him. Although my zombies are plague victims, not the result of an overreaching scientist playing God, there are some parallels. They want to be accepted and allowed to get on with their existence, but their unnaturalness provokes fear and a desire to control. They raise questions about what’s “human.” For example, Tina (Vicky’s apprentice) is in many ways a typical teenager. But she’s also a zombie. Her character calls into question both what’s normal and what’s monstrous.

As for the demons, they represent those things that bedevil us. Where do they come from? In thinking about that question, I decided that there are two main kinds of demons: those that have no independent existence and come into being through strong human emotion—fear, guilt, anger, hatred—and those that do exist independently and operate on a larger scale. The first type of demon torments individuals, and these are the personal demons that Vicky fights for her clients. The second type is destructive on a much larger scale, hostile to humans in general, not just a particular individual. They represent Evil-with-a-capital-E.

The Book Smugglers: What writing projects do you have on the horizon? And when can we expect the sequel to Deadtown?

Nancy: Deadtown’s sequel is currently with my editor and will be out in about a year. I’m working on proposals for more books in the series. I also have an idea I’m playing with for a contemporary fantasy set in the Catskill Mountains. It’s a wonderful setting for a fantasy, an eerie land that’s home of Rip van Winkle, the Headless Horseman, Native American legends, stories about witches and gnomes . . . I’m having fun playing with the possibilities.

The Book Smugglers: In the spirit of Smugglivus, can you share with us your favorite books of 2009? Are there any books you are looking forward to reading in 2010?

Nancy: Some of my 2009 urban fantasy favorites:

Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre

Skinwalker by Faith Hunter

On the Edge by Ilona Andrews

Magic in the Shadows by Devon Monk

Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding

In 2010, I’m looking forward to the next books in the Kate Daniels and Allie Beckstrom series. I’m also looking forward to Sean Cummings’ Shade Fright, which I was lucky enough to read early. It’s got a heroine who likes opera and still kicks ass—that’s my kind of book.

The Book Smugglers: ARGH! Human blood’s been spilled and the ravenous, unstoppable zombie horde is coming! You can save ONE book, ONE movie, and ONE TV show – QUICK! What are they?

Nancy: Oh, no! Years ago I gave up watching TV to find time to write, so can I sacrifice a TV show and save two books instead? Okay, I’ll play by the rules. My husband wisely advised me to save The Zombie Survival Guide, but before I could act on that the medievalist in me rushed forward to grab the book and the movie.

Book: The Riverside Chaucer, which is the complete works of Chaucer in one volume. Chaucer’s got everything—sex, humor, piety, science, allegory, romance, philosophy, war. His writings are endlessly fun, except maybe for the “Treatise on the Astrolabe,” but that might come in handy if I had to lead a band of survivors away from the zombie infestation (and assuming I, um, had an astrolabe). It’s also a massive book that could double as a weapon in a pinch.

Movie: Ingmar Bergman’s 1960 film The Virgin Spring, which is based on a 13th-century Swedish ballad. The first time I saw this film, I was blown away by its unsentimental depiction of the contradictions of life in the Middle Ages: beauty and harshness, love and despair, brutal violence and deep faith—faith that persists in the face of evidence that suggests an absent or hostile God.

TV show: Hmm . . . are you sure I can’t swap this one for another book? Well, I’m a crazed opera fanatic, so for myself I’d save the PBS series Great Performances at the Met. But my daughter has some favorite shows, so for her sake I might save 30 Rock or Mad Men.

The Book Smugglers: We Book Smugglers are faced with constant threats and criticisms from our significant others concerning the sheer volume of books we purchase and read – hence, we have resorted to ’smuggling books’ home to escape scrutinizing eyes. Have you ever had to smuggle books?

Nancy: Not into my house. My husband buys at least as many books as I do. We’ve got overflowing bookcases in almost every room of our house, and even so we still have books stacked up in piles everywhere. We live in constant danger of getting buried under a “bookalanche.” We’re probably good candidates for ebook readers at some point in the future, but we both really like physical books. (Although now that I think of it, when the zombies attack I could grab my ebook reader and save my entire library! For some reason, that’s suddenly become a major temptation.)

The Book Smugglers: Thanks again for your time, Nancy, and we wish you all the best with your release of Deadtown!

Nancy: Thank you! I enjoy your site and look forward to reading your reviews, conversations, and posts in the coming year.

Nancy Holzner grew up in western Massachusetts with her nose stuck in a book. This meant that she tended to walk into things, wore glasses before she was out of elementary school, and forced her parents to institute a “no reading at the dinner table” rule. It was probably inevitable that she majored in English in college and then, because there were still a lot of books she wanted to read, continued her studies long enough to earn a masters degree and a PhD.

Nancy lives in upstate New York with her husband Steve, where they both work from home without getting on each other’s nerves. She enjoys visiting local wineries and listening obsessively to opera. There are still a lot of books she wants to read.

You can read more about Nancy online at her website HERE.

Giveaway Details:

We are giving away one copy of Deadtown, courtesy of the publisher! The contest is open to entrants in the US only, and will run until Saturday January 2, 2010 at 11:59 PM (PST). To enter, simply leave a comment here letting us know what YOUR favorite first book in an Urban Fantasy series is. Good luck!

Welcome to Smugglivus – Day 25!

As it’s officially Christmas, we’ve decided that it’s only natural for us to bust out our very own Santa Bags, and host a Big Freakin’ Flash Giveaway – The Christmas Edition.

Today we are giving away THREE Batches of books to THREE lucky winners. And here are the categories….

Batch 1: The Christmas Theme

Batch 2: The Highlander/Warrior Giveaway

Batch 3: The Historical Romance Giveaway

Giveaway Instructions:

This time, since there are three batches in play, we’re asking everyone to do something a little bit different. You enter the contest simply by leaving a comment at the end of this post – but in your comment, please list IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE all three batches (for example, “1. Historical Romance 2. Highlander/Warrior 3. Christmas Theme”). We will randomly select THREE winners – the first winner will get their first preference, the second their highest available preference, the third their highest available preference.

The contest is open to mailing addresses in the US only and will run until Saturday, December 26 at 11:59 PM (PST). One entry per person, please! Duplicate or multiple entries will be disqualified.

Good luck, and Happy Holidays!

Welcome to Smugglivus – Day 23!

Throughout this month, we will have daily guests – authors and bloggers alike – looking back at their favorite reads of 2009, and looking forward to events and upcoming books in 2010.

Today’s Guest: Today we give you Adrian Phoenix, author of dark Urban Fantasy series The Maker’s Song books (A Rush of Wings, In the Blood – both reviewed HERE – and the upcoming Beneath the Skin).

Today is a little different – Ms. Phoenix hasn’t prepared a Smugglivus Author Post like the other authors that have been on The Book Smugglers, but instead is offering an interactive Question and Answer session with readers in the comments of this post! And it gets even better – courtesy of Simon & Schuster and Adrian, we’ve got TWO autographed sets of The Maker’s Song books up for grabs. Entry is easy and simple – just leave a comment here asking Adrian a question (about her UF series, her writing process, her favorite authors or films, etc). The contest is open to all, and will run until December 31st at 11:59PM (PST). Good luck, and let the questions begin!

First, here’s a brief intro from Adrian Phoenix herself…

Adrian: Hi all, thanks so much for having me. I’m thrilled to be here, ready and able to answer any questions you might have whether it’s knowing why I wrote The Maker’s Song series, getting to know more about the characters (some of which I’m sure could be persuaded to answer a few questions as well), Behind the scenes questions about Black Dust Mambo (out July 2010), what I do in my spare time, my plans for the holidays (I totally plan to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie – can’t wait!), my fav movies or books, or writing questions. Fire away!

And we leave you with one more goody – a sneak peek of Adrian’s upcoming novel:

Beneath the Skin by Adrian Phoenix

CHAOS CONTROLS HIS FUTURE. ONE MORTAL WOMAN COULD BE HIS SALVATION. THE COUNTDOWN TO ANNIHILATION WILL BEGIN WITH DANTE’S CHOICE….

THE FATE OF THREE WORLDS…

The dark pieces of vampire rock star Dante Baptiste’s past are violently emerging, and it is only a matter of time before the Fallen discover he is the creawdwr they have sought for thousands of years. The destruction he left behind in Oregon threatens to reveal his identity as Fallen Maker and True Blood, exposing the young nightkind to shadowy predators — mortal and supernatural — who will do whatever it takes to win his favor…or destroy him.

RESTS IN DANTE’S HANDS.

When beautiful FBI special agent Heather Wallace went AWOL on assignment, she chose irresistible Dante over the shady government forces that now stalk them both. Heather has her own secrets of the past to uncover, but she is also the only one who can hold her nightkind lover together when his dangerous quest for the truth threatens to send him over the edge. And as she and Dante fi ght for their survival, she realizes they must work together to protect their future — before his mysterious destiny tears them apart….

You can read an extended excerpt online HERE.

Good luck, and let the questions begin!

Title: Raiders’ Ransom (UK titles Reavers’ Ransom/Flood Child)

Author: Emily Diamand

Genre: Speculative Fiction, Post-apocalypse, Dystopia, Young Adult

Publisher: The Chicken House (Scholastic) (US & UK)
Publication Date: July 2009 (UK) / December 2009 (US)
Hardcover: 352 pages

Stand alone or series: Book 1 of a planned series

How did I read this book: ARC from Publisher

Why did I read this book: We were sent an ARC for this title from the publisher, and one glance at the synopsis – a flooded, post-apocalyptic London overrun with pirates and danger – and I was sold. Game, set, match.

Summary: (from amazon.com)
It’s the 22nd century and, because of climate change, much of England is underwater. Poor Lilly is out fishing with her trusty sea-cat when greedy raiders pillage the town–and kidnap the prime minister’s daughter. Her village blamed, Lilly decides to find the girl. Off she sails, in secret. And with a ransom: a mysterious talking jewel. “If I save his daughter,” Lilly reasons, “the prime minister’s sure to reward me.” Little does Lilly know that it will take more than grit to outwit the tricky, treacherous piratical tribes!

Review:

The year is 2216, and a thirteen-year old orphan named Lilly leaves the home she shares with her Grandmother on a morning like any other, searching the coastline in her small boat with her seacat (named Cat) for fish. When Lily returns home, however, her life is turned upside down – fearsome Raiders have invaded her village, abducting the Prime Minster’s daughter, burning the village ships, and killing Lilly’s Grandmother. The Prime Minister, furious at his seven-year old daughter’s kidnapping and the cowering villagers who did nothing to prevent the abduction, turns his wrath on the townspeople, forcing all the men and boys into jails with the intent to execute them all as an example. With Lilly’s best friend, Andy and his father among those captured and waiting to be put to death, Lilly decides to take matters into her own hands. Stealing a letter and a rather large, very precious jewel from the Prime Minister’s sister, Lilly cuts off her hair and masquerades as a boy and makes way for Lunden to find the raiders and pay them ransom for Alexandra’s return home. Along the way, Lilly grudgingly befriends a young Raider boy named Zeph – who happens to be the son of the Raider leader responsible for the kidnapping. As their two paths intertwine, Lilly and Zeph come to a crossroads and must decide with whom they will align themselves – especially when it turns out that the large jewel Lilly has taken for ransom is anything but a gem, and instead is something infinitely more precious. The ransom item is in fact a powerful, self-aware war-game computer; a relic from the time before “the Collapse” and the floods that have isolated and destroyed much of lower England. And even more troublesome is how desperately Greater Scotland – the dominating, more advanced nation to the north of the water-logged ten counties of England – wants the computer, and will go to any lengths to recover it.

Ms. Diamand’s novel came to publication after Reavers’ Ransom (the novel’s original title in the UK) won the first ever London Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition, and I have to applaud the judges’ taste. Raiders’ Ransom is a complete surprise of a novel – behind its bubbly, almost cartoonish exterior, it is a swashbuckling adventure and a cautionary post-ecologocial apocalypse thriller, narrated smartly by two different and genuinely likable protagonists. I say this is a “surprise” of a novel because I honestly wasn’t expecting to like it nearly so much as I did – but once I got started with this book, I couldn’t put it down. From its engaging, action-filled plot and its compelling, wholly believable characters, Raiders’ Ransom is an incredible start to a very promising series, reminiscent of Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass or J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. (Yeah, I just dropped those two comparisons. That’s right.)

In terms of pure story and plotting, Raiders’ Ransom is awesome in its depth and its simplicity. The novel is deceptively slim, and deceptively quick to read. The writing is such that middle grade readers should have no problems picking up this book – but don’t mistake this for a dearth of sharp, carefully executed, hefty ideas. The simplicity of the book actually works to its favor – there’s no excessive, boring rundown of HOW exactly things became the way they are, no data-dumps concerning humanity’s demise into a sort of 18th century level of existence. That’s not to say that the Collapse isn’t exampined at all – but Ms. Diamand takes a much more clever route in examining humanity’s demise, dropping tantalizing hints and delightful little easter eggs (one of the Raider tribes is from “Chell Sea”, a Metallica t-shirt makes an appearance, and even Harry Potter rears his head in the novel). This also means that there’s little to staunch the flood of action in the book – which is another point in Raiders’ Ransom’s favor. The pacing is impeccable; there’s nary a dull moment in the book. Furthermore, the simplicity of the writing only strengthens the impressions that the narrating characters make on readers – adding an even stronger sense of genuineness to these two young teen protagonists.

Ms. Diamand’s pose sparkles, as she has a gift for storytelling and first person narration – not only does she convincingly create a voice for a thirteen-year old fisher girl in a low-technology post-apocalyptic setting, she also manages to do it for an adolescent Raider boy as well. As each chapter alternates between Lilly’s and Zeph’s narratives, this easily could have been a confusing, jarring read – but Ms. Diamand creates such a distinct voice for each character, it’s easy to discern who is narrating at any given time. Heck, even the dialects of both characters are distinct (and as both of them speak in a sort of derivative slang, this is a pretty big accomplishment). The dual narrators also add a broader understanding of this futuristic vision of a drowned Britain, as told from the clear eyes of two very different children of two very different backgrounds. Lilly, an orphan and fishergirl, reviles the idea of marriage (at thirteen, she should already be paired off and married), and instead of letting her best friend face execution or merely accepting her grim fate following her grandmother’s death, she undertakes the dangerous task of rescuing Alexandra. She’s headstrong and brash, but a truly compelling heroine – especially for young female readers.

Then, there’s Zeph, the Raider boy who so desperately wants to impress his powerful father. The Raiders from Lilly’s perspective re boogeymen – pirates that will eat their captives, and burn and pillage anything in their path. But Zeph offers a different insight to the cutthroat world of Raider Clans and lends a humanity to a group that Ms. Diamand could simply have boiled down to “Bad Guys.” Zeph’s struggles, his sibling rivalry with his older (but illegitimate and therefore lower ranked) brother, his attempts to get his father and his clan to take him seriously and see him as a man are very compelling character storylines. There is so much potential for growth and explication here with Ms. Diamand’s characters; Raiders’ Ransom gives me the feeling that she’s only begun to scratch the surface of this compelling new world and her young characters. In this sense, the novel feels very similar to the world of Ms. Rowling’s Harry Potter – with both first books, there’s this sense of wonder and the possibility for so much to develop as the characters grow older and their adventures continue. And this, dear readers, is a rare, beautiful gift.

Notable Quotes/Parts: Lilly’s dramatic decision:

When I get home, I hurtle about getting clothes, oilskins, a knife, extra rope, my rope splicing kit and what food I can find. Which turns out to be a bag of oats and some hard sea biscuits. Well I’ll just have to catch the rest.

“I’m going on Mrs Denton’s mission,” I say to the empty dark house. Hoping Granny’s there somehow, hoping she can hear me. “So I’ll have to take the money from the jar.”

I put my hand under Granny’s bed and pull out a small jangling jar. Granny’s savings jar, where she was hoarding every extra penny for the winter storms, when it’s too rough to go fishing. The coins rattle out of the jar and I put them into Granny’s purse, which hangs from a loop of leather. I put it round my neck, next to Granny’s locket. It ent heavy, there ent many coins in it, but it should last me. After all, things can’t cost much in London, can they?

I pat my shirt, where the bulge of the purse shows through. I reckon the purse should be safe from muggers, cos all that really shows of it is a bit of leather at my neck. But what about the jewel? All it’d take is one peek and any thief would be after me. After a bit of thinking, I take out my fishing belt. It’s got plenty of pockets for stashing spare line and hooks and all the other stuff you don’t want to go searching for when you’re out.

I wrap the jewel in a dirty cloth, then I squeeze it into the largest pocket of my belt, where it just about fits. It looks bumpy, but I reckon it’ll be safe. After all, who’d ever think there’s a big jewel inside a fisher belt?

I’ve got my bag on my back, and I’m heading for the door, when I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the dark window; round brown face, dark brown eyes, bundled up in stained oilskins, long hair tied back in a ponytail. Girl’s hair. But Mrs Denton said she was looking for a captain or a young lad to do her mission. I take the letter out of my bag, and carefully prise it open, trying not to tear the envelope too badly. I read down through her scrabbly writing, and all her fancy phrases. Halfway down are the words that matter.

“I commend this man to you. Please give him any aid you can.”

This man! I ent a man! How will I explain that to Mrs Denton’s London trader? What if he guesses I took the letter and the jewel? He’d never help me then.

And that’s why I take out Granny’s kitchen scissors, use the window as a mirror, and start to cut my hair. When I’ve finished, I look into the window and there’s a boy looking back at me. I lift my hand to my short hair, and he does the same. I open my mouth at what I’ve done, and he opens his right back. I’m a boy now. A boy who Mrs Denton could have asked to go on a mission.

You can read more about Raiders’ Ransom online at Emily Diamand’s official website HERE.

Additional Thoughts: Check out the awesome Japanese covers for the book:

Awesome, no? Also, check out the upcoming sequel, Flood and Fire out in May 2010.

Flooded England, 2216 …

Lilly Melkun has outwitted the bloodthirsty reavers, who prowl the waters that cover most of England – and has escaped to Cambridge. But Lilly is far from safe, because still in her keeping is PSAI, the last hand-held computer in existence – a now malfunctioning treasure from the past.

Inside the jewel-like computer, is a sinister- looking chip with an unknown purpose. Worse follows, when the professors of Cambridge plug it into an ancient mainframe computer, setting in motion a fiery chain of events leading back to London.

A false anti-terrorist alert has been activated. Strange, out-of-control robots from a long-ago technological time threaten to use ‘maximum force’ to control everything in their way. Once again, it’s up to Lilly, Zeph and friends to save the world from burning.

Verdict: If you couldn’t tell – I loved the book. It will be a fun adventure for younger readers, but also has some surprising heft and depth that will satisfy older ones too (there are no easy bad or good guys – all of the adults in the book are of questionable motives and allegiances, in a very C.S. Lewis kind of way). Absolutely recommended, and I cannot wait for the next book in the series.

Rating: 8 – Excellent

Reading Next: Witch and Wizard by James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet

Giveaway Details:

Hey, it’s another giveaway! We have ONE copy of Raiders’ Ransom to give away to a lucky reader. The contest is open to residents of the US only, and will run until Saturday December 19 at 11:59 pm (PST). To enter, leave a comment here letting us know what your favorite environmental (post) apocalyptic book or movie is. GOOD LUCK!

Welcome to Smugglivus 2009 – Day 18!

Throughout this month, we will have daily guests – authors and bloggers alike – looking back at their favorite reads of 2009, and looking forward to events and upcoming books in 2010.

Today’s Guest: Sarah Rees Brennan, YA author who debuted this year (and knocked Ana’s socks off with her writing). To read Sarah’s article about her Inspirations and Influences, go here.

Recent Work: The Demon’s Lexicon (set to make Ana’s top 10 of 2009). Ana reviewed the book here and Thea reviewed it here.

Please welcome Sarah and her list of favourite things of 2009 (plus a giveaway):

My Favourite Things of 2009

So here’s a thing people don’t talk about a lot: reading books by people you know.The first book you read by someone you know is simultaneously really exciting (because you’re happy their book is out! You love this person! You’re dying to read it!) and absolutely terrifying (If you don’t like it, perhaps you can move to Siberia and never ever check your email?).

The thing I never expected is that reading a book by someone you know is really reassuring. You know you’re going to get their humour: you know you find the same kind of things interesting. You’re absolutely certain that there is never going to be that Horrible Lurching Moment of Dismay when you realise the author’s value system is totally different from your own and now all the characters you love are tainted and you can never talk about the books again without going off on a weird rant that makes you look like you’ve been through a bad break-up.

‘I always knew the books were flawed (Oh we were never that serious), I still sometimes pick up their books in the shop (I drunk-dialled him last week), That character was really always the weak point in the series (I always knew that vile girl from the copy shop/his suspiciously clingy best friend Mitch would steal him away from me!), I guess I feel like other people should know how the series turns out before they waste their time (I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights).’ Book break-ups are hard to do!

But when you know someone’s mind and find out you love their writing (and that one’s a gamble…) then you can have a lot of fun. I made a lot of friends among fellow debut authors in 2009, and thus I had a lot of opportunities to find authors I trusted and books I love. (Some of them, of course, were written by total strangers. Who I will now be stalking incessantly in an attempt to get to their laptops – uh, I mean, enjoy their company.)

2009 BOOKS WHAT I LOVED

Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare

I have been reading a lot of romance this year, looking at what works in romance for me, enjoying rolling around with books that seem to really like the ladies (hating on the ladies, something I am very very tired of in books), and I’ve observed that some of the most recent historical fiction has an increased focus on the heroines. Which I love – how d’you invest in a romance without loving both of the main players? And Goddess of the Hunt has one of my very favourite heroines of the year – Lucy, who gets all dolled up in the morningtime to woo a suitor and looks ridiculous, who is self-confident and occasionally embarrasses herself and then picks herself up and goes again, Lucy who eats a crazy amount to keep up her levels of energy for new adventures. I loooove Lucy. The writing and the hero, also excellent, but Lucy made the book one of my favourites.

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

I loved the first book and when I found the sequel in a bookshop early, I performed a little spinny dance that caused one of the bookshop ladies to come and bond with me over the brilliance of this series. Derek and Chloe, I looooove them. I am also fond of Derek’s half-Asian sweet and good-lookin’ foster brother, though if he gets in the way of the romance, there will be consequences. Dark, snarly and hideous genius werewolf Derek! Tiny, blond and relentlessly sensible movie buff Chloe! If I had dolls of them, I would make them kiss all the time. (Quit looking at me like that.)

Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell

Definitely one of my favourite books of the year – reminded me of To Kill A Mockingbird. I have a deep weakness for the South, possibly due to imprinting on Gone with the Wind young, and I also have a deep love for sensible heroines, mysteries, dark secrets in the past, and everybody being to blame and yet not being unlikable.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margi Stohl

In a world of lots and lots of YA featuring withdrawn ladies who fall in love with magnificently beautiful supernatural dudes – not that I don’t love several examples of that YA, but a change is nice – a sweet, normal boy narrator, a deep South background that was exotic (to me at least) and beautifully realised, and a romance that is goofy and adorable and obviously deeply-felt.

Knife by R.J. Anderson (known as Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter in the US)

Knife is the most badass YA heroine I came across this year, and she’s only about five inches tall. She wields a letter opener with deadly accuracy, though! And she spies on the strange and terrible humans who live near her – including Paul, who is newly wheelchair-bound, blond, sensitive, and – ahem! – kind of a hotass. Two very different people coming together in a gorgeously written mystery.

2009 MOVIES WHAT I LOVED

Star Trek

Went in having slept through every Star Trek episode I’d ever been shown, only because I’d heard awesome things, still very wary about space and action. Five minutes in, I looooved it: I loved the cool, reticent Vulcan dude, I loved the rebel with the cause that was daddy issues, and I loved the girl who was cool, confident and very brilliant at something that wasn’t kicking ass but was cerebral – I wish to see more of that. And the subtle, tropes-inverting romance was wonderful. I can’t wait to see the next one.

Let The Right One In

Vampire movie of the year! I love creepy child vampires, I love romances where the girl is the supernatural one, I love supernatural stuff that’s edgy and not romanticised. I loved the cold horror and the analysis of how morals would degrade in the face of the necessity of killing – and how children have very different morality, anyway.

Sherlock Holmes

Um, I haven’t seen it. But I really want to, and Robert Downey Jnr plus hilarity plus a new and strange take on the Sherlock Holmes mythos – I expect to love it!

2010 BOOKS I CAN’T WAIT FOR

(These include books I haven’t read and am dying to read, books I have read and am dying to talk about, and so on!)

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

Dude, how awesome was Forest of Hands and Teeth? Plus, everyone who has read it says it’s even better than the first book. I mean, I don’t know, personally. Because I haven’t read it. I guess Carrie Ryan hates me or something. But Carrie ‘Doesn’t Love Me’ Ryan is still pretty magnificent. I’m dying to read it. By the time March rolls around perhaps I will be a zombie already. Not that Carrie ‘Heartless Withholder’ Ryan cares.

Proof by Seduction by Courtney Milan

As I said earlier, I have been observing a trend I call the New Wave of Historical Romance, which I LOVE, and I think ‘Proof by Seduction‘ is one of the best examples I’ve read so far. The heroine is a scheming fortune teller, and we start out thinking oh well, she’ll repent of her ways, the handsome hero will teach her to love again, and then you realise that in fact Jenny is like a psychiatrist for her clients – she didn’t know that’s what they needed, and they didn’t either, and yet they all needed help – and that truth can be found in lying, cheating and gambling: and the proof is in the book.

The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

This is one of those I have read: I love Cassie’s other books, and how they’re funny, dramatic and romantic all at once, and I was excited and nervous to read her historical demonhunters. I think this is her best book yet – I expected to love the uber-gentleman super-zen Jem, but I did not expect how much I would love Will, who is tall, dark and Totally Insane, and I really did not expect that the Love of the Book for me would be Tessa, the heroine who loves books in a way that I think we can all identify with – passionate, consuming, relating real life to books and books to real life, and being all the better for it. Plus – demons and period clothes and a secret London and lots of delicious humour, what’s not to love?

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

My rule of trilogies is as follows ‘Book One: set up, Book Two: make out, Book Three: defeat evil.’ The first book was a symphony in punking the steam, dressing the cross and buckling the swash, and it set up (I hope) a romance that is my favourite of Scott’s books so far. Therefore I am extremely eager for the Make-Out Book. Also, I have received thrilling spoilers for this one. I know some stuff that happens. And you will be electrified! (Also, I am willing to sell these spoilers to the highest bidder. Okay, not really.)

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

I would kill to read this book. Seriously – no, seriously. All Kelley would have to do is send me an email, with a name in it. And I would understand her. I would go and commit murder, while Kelley constructed a perfect alibi for herself. Perhaps she could be doing a reading? And then later, I would receive my book. It would be completely worth it! I must know what happens next with the surly, shockingly not-hot werewolf Derek and the damsel-in-distress-who-occasionally-stabs-a-bitch Chloe. My suggestion is – making out! (To be fair… that’s usually my suggestion.)

A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

I am expecting gorgeous writing, a genius mystery and a use of point of view that makes me really think. The King of Attolia is one of my favourite books ever, ever, and really… I don’t know what would happen if Megan Whalen Turner decided to get in on my murder offer for Kelley Armstrong and I opened the letter and it had the name of a loved one in it. Well I’m not saying I would do it. BUT IT WOULD BE A VERY HARD DECISION.

The White Cat by Holly Black

A world where magic was outlawed at the same time as Prohibition, and now magic is the province of crime and seven magical, criminal families. Cassel is the youngest son of a family of magical conmen: he has no magic, has a hard time not thinking like a criminal (though he tries) and he has far too many secrets. A family of attractive and potentially evil brothers and a very unusual romance, and a YA fantasy written like a noir detective novel. It’s so funny, so different, and I so can’t wait for other people to read it.

And, er, well, in 2010 my second book The Demon’s Covenant comes out, and I thought I might share an excerpt with y’all.

“It’s not some kind of tragically stupid love triangle. I’m not going to choose one guy out of two and settle down. It doesn’t have to be either of them for me, or have to be me for either of them. The world’s full of people, if you hadn’t noticed. I could ask any of a dozen guys out, and any of them could ask me out.” Mae took a deep breath. “I didn’t ask for your advice on my love life,” she said. “And it’s not necessary.”

“Glad to hear it,” Nick told her. “One last thing before I go.”

He leaned in closer, his hand held up to screen their faces as if he didn’t want anyone watching to even read his lips. His fingers were curled about half an inch from her cheek.

“I’m sure you’re right,” he said, his voice a whisper that seemed to curl in the air like smoke, to find a way in to her stomach and twist there, low. “I’m sure there are a dozen guys who will ask you out if McFarlane loses his chance. I just want you to know something.”

“What?” Mae asked, whispering because he was whispering, tilting up her face because he was leaning down, and for no other reason.

Nick looked down at her, his face obscuring the rest of the world, narrowing down her focus and stripping everything else away until she was left with cold black eyes instead of a summer sky.

“I never will,” he said.

2009 was a very special year for me in a lot of ways – chiefly that it was the year my first book was published. I’ll never be a debut author again! It was nervewracking, exciting, and humbling. I’ve loved the responses for my book – I hope more people will start reading with the release of the paperback and The Demon’s Covenant in 2010 – I carry gratitude, terror, happiness and a whole lot of booklove from 2009 to the next year, and the next!

To celebrate Smugglivus and the Year of My Debut, pray comment to win one of two Irish silver quillon dagger charms – my hero Nick’s favourite kind of knife. And happy Smugglivus to you all!

Sarah

And a Happy Smugglivus to you Sarah!

The Giveaway:

Leave a comment to enter to win one of two Irish silver quillon dagger charms! The contest is open to everyone and will run till Saturday 26th 11:59pm (PST). Good luck!

Welcome to Smugglivus 2009 – Day 17!

Throughout this month, we will have daily guests – authors and bloggers alike – looking back at their favorite reads of 2009, and looking forward to events and upcoming books in 2010.

Today’s guest: Alice Morley, Assistant Manager (Brand and New Media Marketing) for Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Alice is going to tell us what to expect this spring from LBYA plus a most awesome and generous ARC giveaway!

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Alice:

2009 has been a fab year for LBYR with an extraordinary number of New York Times bestsellers and starred reviews. But that’s just bragging! What’s been most fun and exciting for me has been seeing some of our great debut authors and novels get truly embraced and supported within the blogosphere, getting great word-of-mouth buzz out for titles like Hate List, Ash, Twenty Boy Summer, and, most recently Beautiful Creatures (now a New York Times bestseller!). So thank you to everyone who has featured and reviewed our titles over the past year!

Looking forward to 2010 we have another clutch of stunning debut novels. Kathryn from S&S UK has already talked about 13 Curses; well, US readers will have the chance to discover this exciting new series when we publish 13 Treasures, (the first book in the series) by Michelle Harrison, in June! It’s a middle-grade novel but definitely for the older end of the spectrum as the fairies are certainly no Tinkerbells! Michelle Harrison really draws you in with a great mystery as well as a gutsy heroine.

My favorite YA novel for next Spring is hard to pick, but high on the list is definitely Sisters Red by Jackson Pierce. Jackson has taken the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale and really turned it on its head: our heroines Scarlett and Rosie are awesome hunters who battle with the Fenris (the werewolves in the book) with axes and blades. Is it wrong to admit that I also have a crush on the love interest Silas?! I know he’s fictional!!

LBYR is definitely becoming known for its strong YA titles in the paranormal category (what else would you expect from the home of Twilight!), and together with Sisters Red we also have Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi, a dystopian tale of a future world where the earth’s resources are scarce; Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, a mystery steeped in ancient Maori culture; and the highly anticipated sequel to Prophecy of the Sisters: Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink. Now you can see why I’m excited about the Spring (and not just because of the warmer weather!).

Thanks so much to Ana and Thea for inviting me to join in the Smugglivus celebrations – see you all in 2010!!

Giveaway Details:

Leave a comment on this post saying which of these titles you are looking forward to reading and we will pick 3 winners who will receive Advanced Reading Copies of ALL titles (13 Treasures, Sisters Red, Ship Breaker, Guardian of the Dead and Prophecy of the Sisters: Guardian of the Gate.). The contest is open to Canada and US ONLY (no PO Boxes please) and will run till Saturday 26th Dec 11:59pm (Pacific). Good luck!