We Have Instagram!

So, incase you awesome lot did not know, we have instagram!

It would be A M A Z I N G if you could all check it out (and maybe follow if you feel like it ;))! Ely and I have been discussing being more active on different social media and of course, this includes the lovely Instagram!


Hopefully you will enjoy the lovely content that we post. You'll be updated on what we post on the blog, what we receive for review, what we are reading now and a whole lot more!

Click here to check it out.

Writing Matters Event Meet Up| Reading Matters

This one is for you Australian-Victorian writing nuts out there!

If you didn't know, Writing Matters is happening in Melbourne on the 31 of May, Sunday (and Ely and I are hosting a meet up there!).

"Let your book nerd shine at the Reading Matters Public Day. Come and meet your favourite international and Australian authors, as well as other like-minded YA fans. Discover the writing process behind a range of genre fiction at our author sessions. Relax in the chill-out zone, express your inner geek in our activity space, and – of course – stock up on great books to read and fun merch to wear.

Sessions

11am: Science fiction with Amie Kaufman and Sean Williams
12pm: Pop culture with Clare Atkins and Will Kostakis
2pm: Contemporary fiction with Laurie Halse Anderson and Sara Farizan
3pm: Fantasy with Sally Gardner and Jaclyn Moriarty

All sessions run for 45 minutes. Author signings will take place after each session. Readings will be selling books throughout the event.

Ely and I thought it would be a fabulous idea to do a meet up with any of you who are going to the Reading Matters - (Writing Matters) event. It would be a great time to fangirl over writing and books, make new friends and get to know each other.

Here are the details for anyone who is interested. I hope you all consider it!

Title: Reading Matters: Writing Matters - Public Program
Date: Sunday, 31 May 2015
MeetupTime: 10:00am - 11:00am (Before the event starts)
Location: State Library Victoria (We will confirm a specific place closer to the date)
Web page (if you haven’t booked your tickets or just want to check out the info for this awesome event): http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/…/…/writing-matters-public-program

A Writing Snippet

So in this post the other day I talked about my current WIPs, and then I was talking to the very lovely Val about my writing and she suggested I share some snippets of my writing here. I sent her this snippet and she liked it, so I thought I'd share it with all of you too.

I'm a little nervous because I've never really shared my writing on here before, and Val was the first person to read any of this novel and just... tell me what you think. I'm going to go hide under some blankets for a while.

It was cold the next time her eyes fluttered open. Colder than it had ever been in the sewers. 

Was she still in the sewers? Her eyes wouldn’t focus long enough for her to work out the answer. 

She couldn’t feel anything either, and there was no noise to signify where she might be. The only sense she had control of was her nose, and it smelt too earthy to the be the sewers. It smelt like dirt, and mud, and grass — not really a confidence inspiring scent.

Wherever she was at least felt better than a sewer, there was something soft underneath her that she appreciated a lot more after weeks of sleeping on concrete. 

Then it hit her. 

No. 

She wasn’t supposed to be here. She tried to move her arms but they were too heavy to lift, the jagged lines of her hand ached painfully. She tried her legs but something held them down. She couldn’t even lift her head to see. She needed to get out. Now, before they came back. 

She tried to turn onto her side, but that only hurt her more. Her ragged breathing wasn’t helping either. Deep down, she knew she needed to calm down — panicking like this wasn’t doing her any favours, but she couldn’t convince herself to stop. 

“What is she doing?” A faraway voice called. It sounded manly — Evan? No. Evan wouldn’t be there after he helped her escape, either he was hidden away himself or he was dead. Somehow the latter was more likely. 

“She’s going into shock,” Another voice replied, an unfamiliar voice. Whoever it was, they were muttering to themselves right by her ear, “Nellie, I need you to stay calm.” There was a flash of blonde hair above her.

“Madalina?” She whispered, though she knew her friend was well and truly dead. The stab of pain that caused her made her want to believe her friend was still alive, just for that element of hope. 

DNF REVIEW: You're the Kind of Girl I Write Songs About by Daniel Herborn

Title: You're the Kind of Girl I Write Songs About

Author: Daniel Herborn

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary.

Publication Date: May 1st 2015

Publisher: HarperCollins

Format: Paperback

Pages: 336

Rating: 2/5

Tim’s a young singer-songwriter with a guitar case full of songs and dreams of finding an audience to embrace his tunes.  

Mandy’s obsessed with music and a compulsive dreamer. She’s longing for something more fulfilling than daytime TV and cups of tea with best friend Alice, something like the excitement and passion of rock ’n’ roll.

When their eyes meet at a gig, sparks fly across a crowded room and hope burns in their hearts.

But in a city of millions and a scene overrun with wannabes, can they ever get it together? Will Mandy’s nerves doom their romance before it even starts? And where does the darkness in Tim's songs come from?

This is a story of Sydney's Inner West, of first love, crush bands and mix tapes; of the thrill of the night and what happens when the music stops.


Set in the cafes pubs and dives of Sydney's Inner West YOU'RE THE KIND OF GIRL I WRITE SONGS ABOUT is a ballad to that time of your life when you are trying to work out who you are, what it is you want and what will it take to get you there.

You’re the Kind of Girl I Write Songs About was one of my most anticipated releases this year — so what went wrong?

I know the few people that have rated this on Goodreads have given it pretty high rating which is the only reason I made it to page 107 at all. I’m mentioning this book, like with every book, everyone is going to have a different opinion — this is mine. 

Music books are difficult to read in my opinion. Everyone listens to different bands, different albums, different genres and sometimes the music just don’t click for you. This was the case for me with this book. I hadn’t heard of a lot of the music, except for The Smiths (which felt a little too Perks for me) and the few lyrics that were in what I read weren’t my kind of thing at all. I’m not saying the music isn’t good, but I just found it hard to read about what I wasn’t into.

On that note about Perks, I felt like this was trying a little too hard to be like that. Not only with the music, but the writing and just the general feel of it too. It was trying very hard to be that sort of weird, depressing but beautiful thing that, if you ask me, only the Perks movie manages to pull off. I know the reviews I saw really liked the writing, but it just annoyed me. 

So yes, unfortunately this wasn’t my kind of thing.

REVIEW: Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

Title: Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles #1)
Author: Kresley Cole
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Post Apocalypse.
Publication Date: October 2nd 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Format: Paperback
Pages: 369
Rating: 4/5

She could save the world—or destroy it.

Sixteen-year-old Evangeline "Evie" Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future—and they're still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.

But she can't do either alone.

With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can't totally depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?

Who can Evie trust?

As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it's not always clear who is on which side.

Poison Princess has been on my radar for a couple of years now but I had absolutely no idea what it was about. I saw a book trailer for it earlier this year (which I can no longer find) and it looked awesome, so I bumped it up on my wishlist. I was lucky enough to find it this past weekend, secondhand for $5 and I couldn’t resist.

I’ve seen very mixed reviews about it – some people I know really liked it and then others didn’t. I wasn’t sure where I was going to sit on that spectrum, even 200 pages I didn’t know what I thought about it. The first part of the book was kind of boring and I probably would have stopped if I hadn’t ahd Michelle sitting across from me and telling me it got better. She was right.

There were still parts I didn’t like. Some of the characters I felt very meh about, and there were others that I wish we’d gotten to see more of. I think one of the most surprising characters was Evie, herself. For ages I hated her, I thought she was weak and pathetic and whiny but the end completely changed my opinion of her. I hope we get to see more of that Evie.

I thought the plot was absolutely great. I love post apocalyptic things anyway but the paranormal twist just made it for me. It was such an interesting world and I can’t wait to see where Kresley Cole is going to go with the rest of the series. I also really liked the French/Cajun element within the book. It’s not very often that you see that done in YA and so it was a nice little addition to the story.

All in all, I would definitely recommend them if you’re interested in post apocalypse or paranormal novels, or if, like me, you really like fictional boys on motorbikes.

BOOK EVENT TIPS | What to bring.

Now I’ve been to several book events in my time: Cassandra Clare, Maggie Stevater, John Marsden, Alyson Noel, Ruby Circle Launch party, Every Move launch and many others. With going to these events you tend to pick up a few things that you need for the next time you go to a book event again.

Bring your camera: Trust me, you are seriously going to regret it if you leave your camera at home! Book events are great for extra blog content and no one likes chunks and chunks of words without a picture or two. If you are lucky, you might even have the opportunity to take a picture with an author! Trust me, you don’t want to be camera-less in those situations. I’ve had nightmares where I meet celebrities without having anything to document it with. You can vlog too!

Bring a snack: You never know if there is going to be food there or how long you will be there for. You could be like Ely and I who only went to the Ruby Circle launch for the food that wasn’t present (we hadn’t read the book but we also wanted to support Richelle lovely Mead). I recommend a non-messy food so it doesn’t get all over your books in your bag. For example, a muesli bar or a small child (Only for cannibals).

Bring money: It’s a bookstore, you need money to buy books. Or if your like Ely on a book buying ban, don’t bring money, because YOU WILL buy books and YOU MAY regret it.

Wear comfortable shoes (Ely’s tip): You never know, there might not be seats and you might have to stand up for the whole time. If you do, come prepared.

Water: Just trust me. If you are not thirsty for some books, you will be thirsty for some water.

Bring a comfortable bag: Don’t be that awkward person (me) who brings a bag that is the most uncomfortable thing ever. Bring a big bag for books like a tote (do you see a trend here?) but not a huge handbag with twenty different pockets and awkward handles so that you will most likely create red welts when you hang it on your shoulder. Just something easy on the shoulders and something that is spacious.

Book/s: Bring the books that you are going to get signed if it is an author event(Or just have a random book to read if you are waiting in a line, because you will most likely be waiting in a line at least one point at the event). Sometimes, there are limitations on how many books you can get signed. For example, I went Cassandra Clare book event and we were only allowed to get three books signed. Most of the time, it is three books.I would bring at least two. And also, sometimes they would like you to buy a book to support the book store so make sure you get there relatively early so your not waiting in too many lines.

Portable phone charger: TRUST ME. THIS SAVES ME EVERYTIME.

And finally, this is not really an object, but dress up to the type of book event. Seriously, don’t be afraid to dress up as a Vampire/werewolf or alien because most likely, there will be costume competition, and there will be prizes, and who doesn’t like free merchandise?

My Three Hundred and One WIPs (or close enough!)

Last week, I was lucky enough to be part of a Google Hangout with the incredibly lovely Millicent, Mandi and Kathleen. The four of us plus a few others are part of creative group that works to support and motivate one another, and the Hangout was helping us set that up. There will be some exciting stuff happening with this later on that I can’t wait to share with you all.

Anyway, the Hangout wasn’t all business. We had some laughs about things, and eventually we started talking about the books we were writing. So yes, I know some sneaky facts about Millicent’s upcoming book. Millie bought up this great point about sharing creative work and how there’s always that fear of plagiarism nowadays. Millie’s comment started me thinking…

I don’t share a lot about my novels, not because I’m overly worried about someone plagiarising them but more because I’m not entirely sure as to where most of them are going. I thought I would talk about that in this post today, just in case any of you are in the same position or if you have any tips.

Firstly, my main novel, the one I have talked about on here is Tied Together. My protagonist, Coralie, has been with me since I was eleven or twelve (I’m almost twenty) so this story has been floating around for a while. I’m currently 51,050 words into this — it’s kind of all over the place. I have the first fifteen chapters written in full and then after that I have some random scenes written here and there. I’ve been holding back on this a bit because the story is set in Denmark and I know I’ll be able to write it even better when I’m living there. I am incredibly good at pinning things about this though!

Secondly, I have the novel affectionately titled, Nellie, for the main character. This will eventually be a dystopian/alternate reality trilogy. It’s kind of a hard plot to describe, but it’s set in Budapest (yes, I have a thing for Europe). Nellie is a seriously kickass character and it’s a lot darker than Tied Together is. I’ve written about 3,000 of this so far and again, my Pinterest is boss.

I also have 2,000 words of a dark psychological thriller called This Bitter Dark. This one is set in England and tells the story of a girl an incredibly selective boarding school and a dark, manipulative relationship between a girl named Megan and a boy named Logan. I don’t know a lot about this yet, but I’ve been working on the Pinterest thing.

Another one I’ve got is currently called Arden, because I like to name things after my main character until I come up with a title. This is a crime/mystery novel set in New York that I started for NaNo a few years ago. At the time, Chami really liked it despite the fact I only wrote about 2,000 words of this too. This one isn’t really YA, but I don’t know that I could label it Adult or New Adult (the characters are in that age group) either… I don’t really know enough about it yet. Now that I've thought about it, I'm seriously considering making this New Adult.

I’ve got another two that don’t even have plots yet, but they Pinterest boards! Firstly, I have one that’s just been labelled as ‘1940s novel’. I know the very basics of this — Melbourne, 1940s, Polish immigrant, orphanage, love story. I couldn’t tell you how those elements fit together yet. The other one is actually based on a song, and it’s just called ‘Celtic Retelling’ at the moment but it’s based on Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac (my dad’s favourite band and a new favourite of mine). I love Wales so I feel like this is necessary… eventually.

So that’s what I’ve got at the moment. I’ve been terrible with writing recently but I’ve been slowly getting back into it. Anyway, I’d like to know any thoughts or opinions you might have or if you’d like to be critique or accountability partners (I seriously need these).

Tell me about your writing below!