It's Book Review Time! (3) The Enemy by Charlie Higson

They’ll chase you. They’ll rip you open. They’ll feed on you.

When the sickness came, every parent, police officer, politician – every adult- fell ii. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry. 

Only children under fourteen remain, and they’re fighting to survive.

Now there are rumours of a safe place to hide. And so a gang of children begin their quest across London, where all through the city -down alleyways, in deserted houses, underground- the grown ups lie in wait.


Authors and Publishers - don't knock Remainder Stores. To those of you who don't know about them, you know those warehouse bookshops that turn up around holiday times? Where books are $1-5 etc? They're not exactly profitable for publishers, but I have become a lifelong fan of some authors whose books I have found at Remainder Stores, that I had never heard of beforehand. 


That said, I would like to make an announcement: 


My name is Sarah and I am a Zombie-holic.


Okay so that's probably taking it a bit far but I gotta admit, I'm getting into the whole zombie thing lately, and if you're curious about what EXACTLY the appeal of pussy, boil covered, missing limbed, blood and gut covered disemboweling, human-munching zombies is - The Enemy is a good book to get you started.


There is a perfect balance between gore, genuine emotion, intrigue and scares in this book as the reader follows the Waitrose crew, a bunch of kids who have been holed up in a Waitrose supermarket for over a year as the zombie plague overtakes London.


But they can't stay there forever. They have to move. Some will make it. Some won't, and you might not be able to guess who does.


How does one Waitrose kid fare, who decides to stay in the shop ALONE?
How about that kid who was snatched by the zombies and presumed dead?
What are those NON-Zombie adults doing down in the tube stations?
Can kids survive after being bitten?
Was that zombie that just tried to kill you someone you knew before? Was it your parent?


I just bought the sequel, The Dead (for full-price, see what I mean about remainder stores?) and am looking forward to getting started. When I finish the book I'm reading now.

Proud as Punch: Success Stories

I love being a part of this community, the children's writing one. Everyone is so supportive and excited for each other's successes.

That said, I've had several friends with fantabulous news lately and I just wanted to share it with everyone.

Sara Wilson-Etienne who I met at the SCBWI LA conference 2009 because as I was coming down the escalator someone said "Sarah!" and I smiled and said "Hi!" to the stranger. She had actually been talking to Sara, at the bottom of the escalator. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship :).

Sara got a 2-book deal recently. O.O Huge congrats and lots of warm fuzzies go out to Sara! It's a dream (a really really super AMAZING dream) come true.

Meagan Spooner who if I recall correctly, we randomly started communicating on Twitter and I consider her to be full of awesomeness and a good bud, she was in the process of revising a mammoth manuscript she had written and about to start the agent query process. Well that didn't last long - Meagan scored herself an awesome agent like THAT because she is THAT GOOD. I'm thrilled for you Meagan!

and finally, the debut success story of the century goes to Robin Mellom. For realz.

She is my agent buddy, represented by Jill Corcoran of the Herman Agency as well, and awhile ago she got a two-book deal (which was discussed in my interview with her here ) but since then, she has scored another...wait for it....FOUR BOOK DEAL. Can you believe that? She has a six book deal before her first book even comes out. Way to go Robin!

So Sara, Meagan and Robin: This is the writing community, to you.

Photo Courtesy of bostonofficemagic.com

I'm so proud of you all.

Love Sairz

It's Book Review Time! (2) The Maze Runner by James Dashner

This will be a rave. Just so you know.

The Maze Runner

by James Dashner

When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas can remember is his first name. But he's not alone. He's surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade, an encampment at the centre of a bizarre and terrible maze. 

Like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they came to be there, or what's happened to the world outside. All they know is that every morning when the walls slide back, they will risk everything to find out - even the Grievers, half-machine, half-animal horrors that hunt the Maze's walled corridors.

I'd heard of this book ages ago. I'd heard people raving about it ages ago and yeah, it was definitely on my to-read list but I just didn't get to it.

This week however, was the week.

And I can't believe I waited so long. Dashner is an incredible story-teller. Every time I was settling in, knowing what was surely going to come next there was a new twist. The story was turned up on its head. Every time there was an insurmountable problem that wasn't enough. He added another problem to be dealt with as well.

For the first 20-30 pages I must admit I was struggling to get into the book. Thomas wakes up with no memory and no idea where he is and a whole bunch of boys who have the answers. He asks a lot of questions - questions I have as well, but the boys are essentially like "enough with the questions, idiot, we'll tell you when we want you to know" and I was like ARGH! I want to know NOW! Alas I didn't find out now, I had to learn some patience instead. And it was totally worth it.

As a writer, I learned a lot from reading The Maze Runner and I really respect Dashner and his editors for their hard work because it most certainly paid off.

I'm thrilled there's going to be a movie! It'll be a blockbuster, for sure. And there's a sequel! Squee, there's a sequel! With an epilogue like THAT there couldn't NOT be a sequel. (The epilogue...OMG...)

The Maze Runner is the first in a trilogy of action-adventure dystopian novels that I highly recommend.

It's out now. Read it, peeps.

Sarah out.

Character Profiles (or: You like WHO? REALLY??)

I have been asked to do some revisions on one of my manuscripts and something I am to do is work on character development of some of the supporting characters.

I've been having some fun doing it and thought I'd share with you how it's done.

OBSERVE - the Character Questionairre!

This is where you feel like you have multiple personalities because you are not answering the questions as yourself, but are channeling your character, what they think, feel and have experienced in their lives.

Much of the stuff in the questionaire - probably most in this case - won't end up in the book but I find it really helps you gain a thorough understanding of who that character is, how they would react to situations and why.

So this is a bit about Coby.

Name and nicknames (if any): Coby

Age 13

Physical description--tall, short, or medium height?  Straight hair, curly, wavy, bristle-head?  Slender fingers or knobby joints?  Thick wrists?  Tiny feet?  Chin too weak or too strong for the rest of the face?

-Blond Beach hair. It sticks up and in all directions without any assistance of product (really dirty)

-Vacant expression

-Surfer boy

-Weedy – big hands, knobbly elbows, long skinny legs. 

-Body out of proportion, hasn’t grown into it yet.

Are you single?  Married?  Divorced?  Widowed?

-Single – too nervous to ask girls out. Also too chilled. Not really thinking about girls yet.

What do you do for a living?

 N/A

Are you any good at it?  Why or why not?

 N/A

Irritating habits--bites fingernails, leaves shoes in the middle of the floor, turns the car engine off with the radio on the highest volume, clears throat all the time...

Runs hands through his dirty hair which makes it stick up more. People don’t want to touch his hands.

A bit vague, doesn’t listen/kind of stupid in an endearing pet-like way.

Eating habits--granola cruncher, junk-food junkie?  adores waffles?  vegetarian except for steak once a month?

HE likes junk food – chocolate and chips as much as he can get, but his parents are vegan and eat a lot of Tofu. There is a lot of tofu in Coby’s life.

Sleeping habits?  --Early to bed, early to rise?  Sleep all day, party all night?  Poor sleeper?  Snores?  Grouchy before 8 am?

Heavy sleeper. Sleeps like a log. Practically hibernates.

Hobbies? Activities?  Crafts?  Sports?  Collect anything?

Skateboarding, surfing, video games, helping Miles with pranking people.

Worst disappointment while growing up?  Major disappointment overall in life? 

Best things that happened while growing up?  Best events overall in life?

Met Harvey and Miles at the start of junior high. Best friends for life – feels he can be himself around them and they like him for it.

Proudest moment and most shameful moments?

What are your goals in life?  In your job?

To have a mellow, happy life. Not work too hard. Doesn’t need to be the best, just wants to get by.

Ever had a serious injury?  Broken bone or bones?  Emergency operation?  Motorcycle crash?  Internal injuries?  Concussion?

Broke his leg when he jumped off the roof because Miles convinced him he could fly. He couldn’t.

Ever had a serious illness?  Staph infection in a hip bone?  Pneumonia?  Malaria?  South American amoebas

Did you change much after high school?  After college?  Why or why not?

N/A

Who were you closest to in your family while growing up?  Who are you closest to in your family now?

Dad – dad’s just as mellow as Coby. He was a surf bum but is now a bank teller. They go surfing on the weekends.

Children?  Grandchildren?  Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces , etc?  Pets?

Ever hated anyone?  --who?  and why?

Who have you loved?  Who did you love best, and why?  Ever felt guilt about love? Have you ever betrayed anyone?  What did you do?

Loves Maiyuki (from the first day she joined their friendship group) but is too shy to tell her. Besides – she likes someone else.

*I totes didn't see that coming, but I think it works. But I don't think it's going to end up in the book. It might colour some of his interactions with her but it won't be obvious. But I like it.

Ever witnessed or experienced violence?  What was your reaction to seeing or experiencing that violence?

Ever committed a violent act?  What was it, and why did you do it?

Punching Miles and Harvey when they’re annoying.

Ever risked something important or made a sacrifice for someone else?  Would you do it again?

Got 2 weeks detention in primary school when he pretended it was him who hit a baseball through the art room window. He saw the kid who did it but he looked so scared Coby took the blame for him. They never talked about it.

Oddest thing that ever happened to you -- Caught in tsunami?  Received a shipment of 114 pairs of shoes by mistake?  Fell off a cliff into a banana tree and survived?

When surfing, he found a TV set at the bottom of the ocean. That was pretty weird.

Anything idiosyncratic or otherwise interesting?  (E.g., plays the concertina and sings sea shanties in dives.)

Other:

I haven't answered all the questions, and you don't have to, this is just for private use, anyway!

I can't remember where I got the questions from. Somewhere on the internet. If you know then by all means tell me and I'd love to attribute them. Attribute...is that the right word? Having a mental blank here...Wanting to give credit where credit is due!

So what do you think of Coby? He's not a big part of the book but I kind of love him. And by knowing all these things about him I can show the reader his best and wackiest sides too.

Buh bye now!

Sairz

New Year Decision Making

Happy New Year my lovelies!

December 31 2010 for me was filled with less potential death by drunken stampede in -16c weather in Edinburgh and more singlets and shorts, bean bags and camping chairs on the back deck as the 40c weather in Melbourne Australia slowly cooled to a balmy 20c. There was possibly one-million LESS people in attendance this year which was nice. And yes I'm talking LITERALLY one million people.
How was your New Years?

My resolution for 2011 is simple: To stress less. In 2010 I was a bit of a stress head and I vow to make 2011 much breezier.

That said, it is January 3rd and I am stressing. I took December off from writing, as a bit of a holiday, as a month where I didn't think to myself whenever I watched TV or goofed around "Hey - you've got work to do! You should be writing!" and knew that when January came I would crack the whip and get back to it.

But I have a problem, you see. What do I work on? The rewrite of a middle grade contemporary comedy with a spattering of magical realism or the first draft of that dystopian I've been itching to get stuck into?

At the moment they both feel huge and hard and overwhelming so I have been content seeing friends, visitng the fam, going to work and discovering fab new TV shows and books instead. I mean, technically I AM on my University holidays after all...

Sairz

Publishing Christmas Shindigs that White People Like

I went to a Publishing Christmas Party on Monday night and it was oh-so chic.

I didn't know it before going but there was a theme for the night, of Mad Men, the TV show which I just happen to have gotten a little obsessed with at the moment (I'm up to season three!) and there were oodles of suits and beautiful sixties styles to be seen. There were also people in jeans, like me. But I was wearing a floral top so it was okay.

I had a chat with and spied across the room fantabulous people such as Steph Bowe, Lili Wilkinson, Gabrielle Wang, Corinne King and Cath Crowley and there were lots of other publishing folk there who I don't necessarily know by sight.

It was lots of fun and the Swing Dance performance by some dancers from Swing Patrol (which just happens to be the school I go to. You know. When I go) was an awesome touch. And then whoever wanted to had a quick lesson in the super-hot Bella Bar which consisted of lots of jiggling around on the spot and sometimes dancing as a girl and sometimes dancing as a guy but just keeping on with the dancing.

Those who know me know that I have a soft spot for swing and this feels like the perfect opportunity to show you all one of my favourite routines from the 2009 Lindy at the Light charity performances in Leeds, UK that I was a part of, though I wasn't in this performance. But I totes thought they were awesome. I got to see this (and a bunch of other routines including the one I was in) once an hour for five hours.

It was winter. And SNOWING in England. This year I have heat and plethora of bugs to contend with.

Anyhoo - enjoy!

It's Book Review Time! (1) Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures. So much for normal.

Paranormalcy was lotsa fun, a book you just want to keep reading and reading and reading until it's gone.

Evie has a great voice, she's a bit flighty, loves her soap operas and all things pink (like her taser) and will not hesitate to bring down a paranormal with it before tagging, bagging and reading it it's rights. She's pretty badass, but at the same time she's just a sixteen year old girl who wants to be a normal sixteen year old girl. She may be able to handle herself and kick some butt in some areas of her life but White created a well-rounded character in Evie: she is pretty damn terrified of her ex, Reth, a Faerie who is essentially stalking her and there's nothing she can do about it. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, right?

There was a great mix of paranormal creatures here and Kiersten added her own spin to the regular myths about them. I love it when writers come at known stories from new angles.

I really enjoyed reading Kiersten White's debut novel and look forward to more from her.