Books

16 November, 2013

Some 2013-Flavoured Notebook Geekery

hobbitnotebook

I’ve been meaning to do a post on my notebooks for a while. I go through them at quite a pace, enough that their passings and rebirths should be marked in this blog.

My preferred brand of notebook is Moleskine, because I get guaranteed high-quality, sturdy notebooks at an affordable price range. I’ve had too many cheaper notebooks fall apart on me in the past. (These days, I’ve also moved from the plain black Moleskines to fancy limited edition ones so I can tell them apart on my shelves.)

However, I’m always open to notebook recommendations. If you have a favourite notebook, let me know!

For the first half of this year I used my 2012 edition The Hobbit Moleskine notebook, a nice little thing with gold-effect embossed drawings from the first edition of The Hobbit. It doesn’t show up well in photos, but it was a pretty wee thing.

The 2012 Edition lasted approximately from 30th March 2013 until 25th September 2013. It was h0me to a lot of continuing work on DIVIDE and ALL THE BROKEN THINGS, along with a few short stories, a new middle grade project, and some chunks of the first draft of LEVIATHAN RISES.

Then the 2013 edition The Hobbit Moleskine turned up, and damn, it blew 2012 out of the water. Black with metallic red embossing, and with the first few pages filled with original The Hobbit drawings. It’s beautiful.

The 2013 Edition has been in service from 21st May and is still going strong. It should last me well into 2014 at my current rate. So far it’s been home to continuing work on DIVIDE, ALL THE BROKEN THINGS and LEVIATHAN RISES as well as the continuation of that middle grade project.

Okay, that’s enough notebook fangirling for tonight. Time to put pen back to paper!

hobbit2013inside — Drawings inside the 2013 edition

17 October, 2013

Rocking October Cover Reveals

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September was a great month for cover reveals, bringing us the covers for two books I’m really looking forward to: Laura Lam’s SHADOWPLAY and John Dixon’s PHOENIX ISLAND.

October’s also had some amazing covers released, enough that I wanted to showcase some of that brilliance over here on the blog.

(Side note: this post took FOREVER to format. If you know a good image arranging tool for people who can’t be bothered coding tables in HTML, let me know.)

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EMILIE & THE SKY WORLD looks fantastic next to EMILIE & THE HOLLOW WORLD. I really like these covers, there’s a nice traditional fantasy vibe to them.

DISCWORLD series cover redesigns usually elicit an angry hiss from me, because I adore the original Paul Kidby covers, but these redesigns re actually really good looking.

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WE FINALLY HAVE SOME NICE, GENDER NEUTRAL UK COVERS FOR THE DIVERGENT SERIES. FINALLY.

I’ve been grumbling about the pink UK cover for ages, it’s why I always get the series in ebook format. I’m glad we’ve finally got something more fitting for the series.

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Last but not least, THE COPPER PROMISE’s cover was what prompted me to get off my butt and write this blog. Just look at those pretty coins! How cool is that?

9 October, 2013

Fasten Your Seatbelts, October Is Now Underway

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What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, allowing us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what’s up. It was created by created by Jaime and Erin. Want to join the party? Go right ahead, and remember to leave a link to your What’s Up Wednesday post in the widget on Jaime´s blog.

What I’m Reading

fangirlfanart — “Fangirl” fanart by Tumblr user foralllove

I just finished reading FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell, and oh my god this book. I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS BOOK. I really need to blog about it but I suspect it would devolve into just me squealing about it.

I haven’t felt so inspired by a book since I read BIRD BY BIRD. I kept feeling like I should stop reading to write, but I didn’t want to stop reading!

Now I’m chilling out with HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, which is part of a personal project to study a few middle grade titles and examine what makes them work. I’ll probably do a blog post with my notes. So far, it’s cute, fun and surprisingly British — it’s almost Neil Gaiman-ish.

After that I’m going to try and reading some of the authors I’ll be seeing at Angry Robot’s Halloween Takeover at Forbidden Planet in London. I’m starting with Anne Lyle’s THE ALCHEMIST OF SOULS (fantasy set in Elizabethan London) and then reading Adam Christopher’s EMPIRE STATE (superheroes in a parallel prohibition-era New York).

What I’m Writing

Yeah, about that…

Last week editing was going strongly and I got some writing done on the side, but this week… nada. I’m not really sleeping properly so writing time has been cancelled while I deal with things and wrestle my sleep back into order.

I’d say I’ll be back on track next week, but POKEMON X & Y IS NEARLY HERE. POKEMON POKEMON POKEMON.

What Inspires Me

600px-150Mewtwo-Mega_Y — New Pokemon Mega Mewtwo Y

POKEMON POKEMON POKEMON have I mentioned I am excited about Pokemon because I am SO EXCITED to see them bring this game up to the next generation of consoles. And there’s a new PHOENIX WRIGHT game out at the end of the month and I just. I can’t. *flails* *plays all the video games*

But seriously, I am also very excited about the WORLD FANTASY CONVENTION 2013 at the end of the month. It’s going to be scary and expensive and empower and education and so much fun. I get to meet my writing friends in the flesh! I get to be in the same building as Sir Terry Pratchett! I have a valid reason to visit Forbidden Planet in London!

I am really looking forward to this event, the first of hopefully many cons.

What Else I’ve Been Up To

I’ve been playing ZOMBIES RUN! lately, a fun little fitness app that weaves a story into your running routine. It’s been really motivating me to get my butt off the couch and onto a treadmill, and I’ve been weaving quite a story around my Runner’s adventures. Enough that I was thinking of blogging about it.

Then today I read the YOU’VE SUBMITTED YOUR BOOK: NOW WHAT? guest post by Karina Cooper on Chuck Wendig’s Terriblemind. I took a spin over to her blog afterwords and saw that she’s had similar inspiration, writing a story to accompany her missions. I won’t be going into that much detail but it definitely inspires me to get back to my Runner’s story.

7 October, 2013

Emma’s YA Recommendations

Writer Chuck Wendig had a blog post up today looking for Young Adult (teen) book recommendations, which got me thinking about the kind of YA novels I would recommend for newcomers to genre. I’ve included my list below, mostly so I can update it on-the-go as other old favourites come to mind.

I’m curious about what books you guys and girls would recommend. What have I missed from the below? Any glaringly missing genres? Let me know, I’m interested to hear from everyone!

YA Fantasy

SERAPHINA by Rachel Hartman

TEETH by Hannah Moskowitz (Super dark, super profane, and super awesome. This one will appeal to fans of Chuck Wendig.)

NORTHERN LIGHTS [US: THE GOLDEN COMPASS] by Phillip Pullman

SABRIEL by Garth Nix

ANGELFALL by Susan Ee

DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by Laini Taylor

THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Stiefvater

YA Dystopian

SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi

DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth

THE HUNGER GAMES by Susanne Collins

YA Sci-Fi

WHAT’S LEFT OF ME by Kat Zhang

(I haven’t read much in this category and would be interested in recs. I’ve heard good things about EVERY DAY, THE 5TH WAVE, PRODIGY, CINDER, and ACROSS THE UNIVERSE.)

YA Horror

ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendare Blake

(Another category I’d be interested in recommendations for. Some titles I’ve heard of but haven’t yet read: THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST, BLOOD MAGIC, THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH, and THE REPLACEMENT.)

YA Historical

CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein

(Recs please!)

YA LGBT

WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON by John Green and David Levithan

BOY MEETS BOY by David Levithan (A slightly surreal ‘gay utopia’ contemporary romance)

PANTOMIME by Laura Lam (Fantasy with an intersex main character)

YA Contemporary

(I include ‘YA Romance’ as a genre in this category because there’s an overlap between the two genres).

THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger (A classic for a reason!)

LOOKING FOR ALASKA or THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER by Stephen Chbosky

FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell

ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephenie Perkins

1 April, 2013

Look at these awesome anthologies!

All my friends are ~~metalheads~~ amazing writers, working hard and getting their stories published like the superstars they are!

There’s been a lot of well-deserved successes in my circle of friends lately, so this post is me raising a glass to them and sharing some writers and anthologies you should be looking out for.

And if I’ve missed something, drop me a comment below with your exciting news.

K.C. and Rob are in the Fox Spirit “Piracy” anthology

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Two of my friends and fellow Inkbots, K.C. and Rob, have stories in the upcoming ‘Piracy’ anthology by Fox Spirit. The accepted stories were announced here, and Fox Spirit owner Adele says “I’m really excited about this series and we have great stories taking piracy from a child’s mind, to the high seas and straight onto mind jacking. We have strange beasts and the penalty for stealing dreams.”

It’s part of the Fox Pockets series I mentioned yesterday, a series of reasonably priced pocket-sized books containing around a dozen short stories.

K.C.Shaw’s story is “Skyway”, starring two lady airship pirates in a fascinating steampunk universe. It’s guaranteed to be awesome and I can’t wait to read it.

Rob Haines’ story is “Pieces of 2^3” swings more in the sci-fi direction, putting an exciting new spin on digital piracy.

It looks like there will be many more talented writers involved as well. I’m looking forward to buying this anthology!

Rob is being published in the “Tales of Eve” anthology

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Rob Haines and K.C. are both insanely productive writers, putting my own workflow to shame. Have you seen all the books on K.C.’s site? They all sound amazing! Plus she’s got a short story up on Daily Science Fiction.

I mentioned Rob’s insanely productive, and here’s the proof. The short-story writing pro has another upcoming short in the “Tales of Eve” anthology, also being published by Fox Spirit.

Editor Mhairi said Rob’s story made her cry, so no doubt I’ll be blubbing as well.

Take a look at that cover! It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?

John Dixon’s TV Pilot is looking awesome

The TV Pilot for INTELLIGENCE, based on John’s upcoming YA thriller PHOENIX ISLAND, is going well.

Go check out his blog, where there’s all the latest casting news, photos from the set, and a very mysterious image.

Erika’s ready for the end of the world

Erika Beebe is now officially a published author, with her short story coming out from J. Taylor Publishing later this year. J.Taylor create some fantastic covers and I’m sure this anthology will have a great one too — I’ll share the cover for One More Day, and a short summaries for her story, on May 13, 2013.

PRESS RELEASE: J. Taylor Publishing Signs Seven Authors To One More Day, A YA Anthology To Release December 2, 2013
Six authors to be featured with L.S. Murphy in Young Adult Anthology, One More Day, from J. Taylor Publishing.

J. Taylor Publishing will release One More Day, an anthology of seven short stories written for young adults, with a world’s end theme.

The anthology’s theme, centered around what would happen if ‘tomorrow’ didn’t happen, produced dozens of entries with seven stories selected. “We asked authors to think on a prompt, particularly what happens as characters feel the stop, feel the shift, as they realize, only they know how to make everything go back to normal,” says J. Taylor Publishing.

With a singular theme, one might expect all stories to be “the same”, but in One More Day, the challenge to create something completely unique was met by all authors. From contemporary to paranormal, fantasy to comedy and mixes of multiple genres, each of the seven stories represents the author’s interpretation and method of ensuring the world doesn’t end—somehow, someway.

About Erika Beebe
Inspired by her first grade teacher’s belief in her imagination from the first story she ever wrote, Erika has been a storyteller ever since. A dreamer and an experiencer, she envisions the possibilities in life and writes to bring hope when sometimes the moment doesn’t always feel that way.
Working in the field of public relations and communications for more than ten years, she has always been involved with writing, editing, and engaging others in public speaking.
Her two young children help keep her creativity alive and the feeling of play in the forefront of her mind.

12 February, 2013

Books in the Post: January 2013

Because time isn’t always on my side when it comes to reading books and writing reviews, here’s a list of some of the awesome books I’ve bought or been sent recently. Despite one of my New Years Resolutions being to read more books from my to-read pile, I couldn’t resist making a few purchases this month.

And be ‘a few’ I mean ‘so many it’s taken me half a month to write the post about them’.

bookshelf

Books

“Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print” by Renni Browne, Dave King. I was in a ‘writing reference book’ kind of mood. It shows.

“Write To Be Published” by Nicola Morgan. Recommended to me by the Hi-Arts Work in Progress scheme, and it had been on my to-read list for a while, so I finally bought it.

“The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers” by Betsy Lerner. I’ve been a long-time reader of Betsy’s blog, so I’m looking forward to reading this one.

“Bird by Bird: Instructions on Writing and Life” by Lamott, Anne. Not so sure about this because I’ve heard it has some heavy spiritual and Christian leanings to its advice, and I’m not sure how I feel about bringing religion into a craft reference book, but we’ll see how it goes.

“Requiem” (“Delirium Series, Book #3) by Lauren Oliver. Review copy supplied by the publisher. Looks great, but I need to read Pandemonium first.

“Pandemonium” (“Delirium Series, Book #2) by Lauren Oliver. Bought this so I can read Requiem, reviewed it here.

“Angels’ Blood” by Nalini Singh. Recommended to me on the AbsoluteWrite forums.

“To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. A present from Dave. I CAN FINALLY READ THIS. I’m so excited!

“A Game of Thrones” by George R.R. Martin. Another present from Dave. I really want to read this serious, but I’m careful because they seem like a big time commitment.

Comics

“Batman: Hush”, “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” and “Batman: A Death In The Family” A present from Dave. These are very popular Batman comics and I’m looking forward to them, since the Batman comics have some of the best writers in the industry.

“Death Note Vol 2” Another present from Dave. Death Note has some of my favourite manga artwork, it has a really nice realistic edge. “Megatokyo Vol 4” and “Watchmen” Dave was on an absolute present buying spree last month. He knows how to make a bookworm happy. :)

“Saga” by Fiona Staples, Brian K Vaughan. When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. I read this last month, and it’s already one of the best comics I’ve read in a while.

On Kindle

“Teeth” by Hannah Moskowitz. I’ve had this one on pre-order for months, and it’s finally out!

“Pushing the Limits” by Katie McGarry. I hadn’t noticed this book because of the terrible Kindle edition cover, but the plot sounds really good.

“Life Of Pi” by Yann Martel. I have this in hardback already, but for 20p I thought I might as well pick up a Kindle copy.

“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Bought this so I could join in with Crash Course Literature but I don’t think I’m going to be able to get round to it anytime soon. :(

“The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson” by Emily Dickinson. Same as the above, a Crash Course book.

Jeez, I really got a lot of books last month. February definitely won’t be as crazy.