Five books I’m looking forward to reading in the next three months
Posted: August 1, 2014 Filed under: On Books | Tags: aussie-owned, delilah s. dawson 1 CommentI just finished Cress by Marissa Meyer and loved it (I gave it five stars, like the rest of the series so far). I thought about writing a review, but I feel like reviews of books three‑deep into a series have limited utility—it’s so hard to write one without being spoiler‑y, and if you’ve already read the previous books you’re likely to have already made up your mind. So instead I refer you to my reviews of Cinder and Scarlet.
All of this got me to wondering when Winter by Marissa Meyer is coming out (November 2015—sob)…
…which got me to thinking about the 2014 releases I am looking forward to. These are books I have already preordered, and I’ve listed them in order of release date because YOU CAN’T MAKE ME CHOOSE!
Servants of the Storm by Delilah S. Dawson (August). I love Delilah’s fantasy steampunk series…and her geekrotica is pretty good too! 😉 This book is her first venture into young adult urban fantasy. One of my favourite authors decides to write in my favourite genre? I’m so there.
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black (August). I got curious about this a while back and wanted to check it out, but because I haven’t read anything by Black before, I decided to get the paperback version instead of the hardcover. It comes out in 11 days. (And yes, I buy books by authors I haven’t read sometimes. It’s because I’m a bookaholic.)
Endsinger by Jay Kristoff (September). Oh my god, you guys. Book three of The Lotus War trilogy. Jay takes pride in breaking hearts—his Endsinger review is hilarious, if ominous—so I’ve already been to Costco and laid in an emergency supply of
tissues in bulk. Bring it.
Remember Me by Stacey Nash (October). This is book two in the Collective series, set after the events of Forget Me Not (which re-releases with Harper Collins TODAY, you guys! Squeeee!). It follows Anamae’s life after she saves her father from the baddies. I need to know what happens next. Need to.
Autumn Bones by Jacqueline Carey (October). Book two in Carey’s urban fantasy series Agent of Hel, this series follows half-demon Daisy’s enforcement of the peace in a town famous for supernatural tourism. The hardcover is actually already out but I preordered the paperback so now I have to be patient. Lame.
Oh, and my book comes out in October too. But I’ve already read that…
What 2014 releases are you looking forward to?
Five things to do after you finish your manuscript
Posted: July 10, 2014 Filed under: On writing | Tags: aussie-owned, editing, writing Leave a commentIn case you missed it, here’s my July post over at Aussie Owned and Read, where I make suggestions about things you can do after you finish drafting your manuscript that don’t involve either submitting it to agents or editing it immediately.
As I draft this blog post, I’m a chapter away from finishing my fourth manuscript. It’s also the third and final book in my Isla’s Inheritance trilogy—and it’s under contract with a scheduled release date partway through next year, so needless to say I’m pretty keen to get it whipped into shape so I can present it to my editor with a pretty pink bow wrapped around it.
A virtual bow. You can get those, right?
But here’s what I’m going to do (after I do an ecstatic dance around the house, frightening the dogs, and have a brag on Twitter):
That’s right. I’m going to step away from the manuscript. And, gentle reader, if you’re in this situation you should too. If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to dive headfirst into that precious document, to roll around in your words. You’ll be riding the rush of those final…
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Book launch: ‘Papina’ by Katie Hamstead
Posted: July 7, 2014 Filed under: On Books | Tags: aussie-owned, book launch Leave a comment
Forrest and Braydon Miller moved to the small town of Papina to follow their dreams and start a family. Braydon loves her new life in the quiet town, kept alive by the prestigious boarding school overlooking the valley. She is so proud of her husband’s work, helping the teens on the reservation.
Until one day, Forrest doesn’t come home.
Scandal spreads when one of the teenagers is found missing, too. But Braydon refuses to believe her husband would leave her. When the teen is found, she isn’t talking—literally.
While Braydon’s heart is breaking, she needs to hold her crumbling life together, raise her son, and find a way to love the teenager enough to find the truth of what happened to her husband.
Goodreads / Amazon
About Katie
Born and raised in Australia, Katie’s early years of day dreaming in the “bush”, and having her father tell her wild bedtime stories, inspired her passion for writing. After graduating High School, she became a foreign exchange student where she met a young man who several years later she married. Now she lives in Arizona with her husband, daughter and their dog.She has a diploma in travel and tourism which helps inspire her writing. She is currently at school studying English and Creative Writing.
Katie loves to out sing her friends and family, play sports and be a good wife and mother. She now works as a Clerk with a lien company in Arizona to help support her family and her schooling. She loves to write, and takes the few spare moments in her day to work on her novels.
Double cover reveal: ‘Forget Me Not’ and ‘Remember Me’ by Stacey Nash
Posted: July 1, 2014 Filed under: On Books | Tags: aussie-owned, AWW, sci-fi, urban fantasy, young adult 4 CommentsThose of you who have followed me for more than, like, five minutes will know that I’m a big fan of Stacey Nash. She’s one of the co-founders of Aussie Owned and Read — it was her that invited me to take part — and she beta read Lucid Dreaming for me. She received her contract offer for Forget Me Not at the same time as I received one for Isla’s Inheritance. I was lucky enough to sign with Turquoise Morning Press rather than the doomed Press Which Shall Not Be Named.
Stacey wasn’t so lucky. Not long after FMN released, her press folded.
But then this absolutely crazy thing happened. At around this time, Stacey was contacted by someone at Harper Collins. She’d subbed FMN there over a year earlier, and they wanted it for their new digital imprint. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee! It’s pretty much the perfect fairy tale ending, and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer human. That’s why I’m over the moon to be part of the cover reveal for the new (and much prettier!) Forget Me Not, as well as for Remember Me.
Both of which are available for preorder (something I’ve totally done already). Go go go!
Amazon | iBooks | Google Play | Goodreads
Anamae is drawn into a world which shatters everything she knew to be true.
Since her mother vanished nine years ago, Anamae and her father have shared a quiet life. But when Anamae discovers a brooch identical to her mother’s favorite pendant, she unknowingly invites a slew of trouble into their world. They’re not just jewellery, they’re part of a highly developed technology capable of cloaking the human form. Triggering the jewellery’s power attracts the attention of a secret society determined to confiscate the device – and silence everyone who is aware of its existence. Anamae knows too much, and now she’s Enemy Number One.
She’s forced to leave her father behind when she’s taken in by a group determined to keep her safe. Here Anamae searches for answers about this hidden world. With her father kidnapped and her own life on the line, Anamae must decide if saving her dad is worth risking her new friends’ lives. No matter what she does, somebody is going to get hurt.
Amazon | iBooks | Google Play | Goodreads
When all is lost, she must remember…
Anamae Gilbert managed to thwart The Collective and rescue her father, even though his mind is now a shell. Determined to stop Councilor Manvyke hurting her family again, she’s training to become an active resistance member and enjoying a growing romance. But things never sail along smoothly – Manvyke wants retribution. And Anamae’s name is high on his list.
After a blow to the head, she awakes in an unfamiliar location. Anamae can’t remember the last few weeks and she can’t believe the fascinating new technology she’s seeing. She’s the new kid at school and weapons training comes with ease, but something feels off. Why does the other new kid’s smile make her heart ache?
And why does she get the feeling these people are deadly?
About Stacey
Stacey Nash writes adventure filled stories for Young Adults in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres. When her head isn’t stuck in a fictional world, she calls the Hunter Valley of New South Wales home. It is an area nestled between mountains and vineyards, full of history and culture that all comes together to create an abundance of writing inspiration. Stacey loves nothing more than writing when inspiration strikes.
Review: ‘Kiya: Mother of a King’ by Katie Hamstead
Posted: June 26, 2014 Filed under: Reviews | Tags: aussie-owned, AWW, reviews 1 Comment
Nefertiti has forced Naomi to flee Amarna with Malachi and the three children. But even under the protection of Naomi’s family in Thebes, Nefertiti still hunts her and Tut. Nefertiti sends assassins to kill them, and while Naomi fights to protect the children, Malachi fights to keep her safe.
With three children in tow, one of which isn’t her own, she is labeled the harlot outcast wife of the pharaoh and is shunned. She isn’t safe among her own people, and flees from being stoned to death. Although her family protects her, she must find a way to survive.
While Naomi struggles to keep herself and Tut alive, old adversaries return as Smenkhkare takes advantage of Akhenaten’s ailing health. Naomi must rely on Horemheb’s promise to protect Tut’s birthright, but her feelings for Malachi could cause more problems with Horemheb than she expects.
By Aussie Author Katie Hamstead, this is the second book in the Kiya series, which follows the life of Naomi—known to the Egyptians as Kiya—after she flees the palace with her children following Queen Nefertiti’s latest assassination attempt.
I’ve quite enjoyed this series so far, although I found this book a little slower in places than the first one—Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh. I suspect that’s an inevitable result of the relative lack of palace intrigue. Book two spends a lot more time focusing on Naomi’s new life (or return to her old one) as a Hebrew woman. Some of that, such as detailing various pregnancies and births, isn’t as gripping, but it’s also nice to see Naomi get some time living a life that makes her happy.
Then the fabulously sexy Horemheb comes back into her life, Tut gets dragged off to be a boy king, and Naomi’s life gets complicated again. Hooray!
Normally—almost 100% of the time—when I’m reading I find I’m attracted to the good guy in any love triangle. In this series, the good guy is Malachi, and Horemheb is the bad boy. But for some reason, in this I thought Horemheb was way more interesting than Malachi. The latter is strong and caring, but Horemheb is both of those things (to Kiya at least; to others he is cruel) and also very intelligent. I like a hot, smart man.
Or maybe I just go for the underdog. Usually the bad boy gets the girl, after all. 😉
I confess that one thing I really struggled with in Kiya: Mother of a King was a side-effect of the fact it’s historical fiction. Because 3000 years ago, women didn’t have rights. All the Hebrew men buying wives they’ve in some cases never even seen from those girls’ fathers made me cranky. (Of course, the Egyptian alternative of just taking them and raping them was worse.) In each instance in this book, the Hebrew men in question were all good husbands to their wives, but ugh!
At one point Naomi takes Malachi to task when he refers to her as his property, but for the most part even she—the strong-headed one, who used to be queen—is perfectly happy to see herself and other women bought and sold. I realise she simply doesn’t know any better, and maybe I’d be more used to the casual sexism if I read more historical fiction, but I wanted to shake some of the blokes till their teeth rattled.
Still, this is an interesting continuation of Naomi’s story. And if she doesn’t want Horemheb, can I have him?
Interview: Delilah S. Dawson, author
Posted: June 5, 2014 Filed under: On Books, On writing | Tags: aussie-owned, delilah s. dawson, geekery, interviews, steampunk, young adult Leave a commentYOU GUYS! Remember how I reviewed Wicked After Midnight by Delilah S. Dawson last week? Well, on Tuesday I got to interview Delilah herself over at Aussie Owned and Read. I’m pretty excited! 🙂
Today I’m thrilled to be interviewing one of my favourite authors, geek queen and Lady of the Twitters, Delilah S. Dawson.
After writing some of my favourite sizzling steampunk fantasy in the Blud series, you’re venturing into young adult with Servants of the Storm. You’ve also written middle grade, and erotica. Is making the shift between age brackets/markets difficult?
Not for writing, but the promo is definitely challenging! Just when I learned how to reach steampunk and romance readers, now I have to figure out how to get my Young Adult books to teens. I move pretty smoothly between writing projects thanks to compartmentalisation and playlists. I make a playlist for each book and listen to it while writing, editing, and cogitating, so as long as I’m listening to that music, I’m in that book’s world. Servants of the Storm was written to Saturnalia by The Gutter Twins…
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Interview: Paula Weston, urban fantasy author
Posted: May 8, 2014 Filed under: On Books | Tags: aussie-owned, AWW, Interview, urban fantasy Leave a commentOn Tuesday at Aussie Owned and Read, I interviewed Paula Weston, author of “Shadow” and “Haze” – the first two awesome books in a an urban fantasy about angels in Australia. What is not to like about this?!
All of this is a round about way to tell you that I’m as happy as my puppy when he sees his lead, because I got to interview the fabulous Paula.
*leaps into the air*
*straighens clothes and pretends to be professional*
Although the story in Shadows—and more so in Haze—takes the characters all around the world, Australia features heavily as a destination. A lot of Australian spec fic writers shy away from setting their stories here. Did you ever consider setting the books overseas?
When I started writing Shadows, it was…
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A couple of things: PitchSlam and bookends
Posted: May 1, 2014 Filed under: On the Lucid Dreaming duology | Tags: aussie-owned, bookends, Lucid Dreaming, pitches Leave a commentJust a quick note to let you know of two other places you can find me, or at least my various thought bubbles.
Today over at Aussie Owned and Read, I’m looking at bookends. You know, the things you use to stop your books from falling over if you don’t already have so many that there’s nowhere for them to go? Those.
Also, in the past few days I was a Pitch Slam finalist. I got some awesome feedback on my pitch and first 250 words during the “audition” rounds and was then chosen to be part of Team Stray Tats. I have a stray tat (or a tat of a cat that may be stray — haha, I rhymed), so that seemed appropriate. You can see my pitch here.
I got one request too. *plays air guitar* Thanks to Lucas for having enough faith in me to put me on the team. 🙂
Blog hop: ‘The Problem With Crazy’ – donating to charity
Posted: April 18, 2014 Filed under: On Books | Tags: aussie-owned, blog hop, contests, self-publishing 1 Comment
As you guys will know, I am CRAZY about A Problem With Crazy. So I’m super-excited to tell you all that it’s on sale at Amazon and iTunes this weekend! The money you save can be used to buy a box of tissues — you’re going to need them. xo
A word from Lauren: donating to charity
I’d like to think I’m a good person. I try to do get with the whole ‘Do unto others’ program, I occasionally bake cakes for people I love and I even pick up my dogs’ business when I’m out taking them for a walk (and I have two—that’s potentially a lot of you-know-what).
That’s why, when I wrote The Problem With Crazy, it was important for me to work with a charity and donate a portion of sales to them. One of the main reasons I wrote the book was to raise awareness, but I think with an illness that affects so many people and just devastates lives, you kind of need to do more than that.
So, a few months before I hit publish, I contacted Huntington’s NSW, the state body in my, um, state, to ask if I could donate a portion of sales to them. The team there were lovely, but to my surprise it wasn’t as simple as ‘Wham, bam, we’ll take your money, ma’am.’ No, instead they wanted to read it first to make sure it was suitable.
Cue = Lauren having a panic attack.
Don’t get me wrong. Part of me was jump-up-and-down excited that I was getting an industry professional to fact-check me, but another part was freaking the hell out. What if they hated it? What if I offended them with some hideously incorrect fact that I totally made up? What if my manuscript turned into a zombie and tried to eat their brains? (I never said my freak out was rational.)
Thankfully, they ended up contacting me and saying they liked the book and that they would be happy to have me on board. Hell, one of the people who read it even said she thought it would have been a good book to read when she was a teenager going through the same thing.
And so I am now a proud sponsor of Huntington’s NSW. And I couldn’t be happier.
Blurb
The problem with crazy is that crazy, by itself, has no context. It can be good crazy, bad crazy . . . or crazy crazy—like it was when my ex-boyfriend sung about me on the radio.
Eighteen-year-old Kate couldn’t be more excited about finishing high school and spending the summer on tour with her boyfriend’s band. Her dad showing up drunk at graduation, however, is not exactly kicking things off on the right foot—and that’s before she finds out about his mystery illness, certain to end in death.
A mystery illness she is likely to inherit.
When your whole life goes from adventure and ecstasy to sad and suicidal, what’s the point? Not knowing who to love, and who to trust . . . where does it end?
The Problem With Crazy is a story about love and life; about overcoming obstacles, choosing to trust, and learning how to make the choices that will change your life forever.
Blog hop clue
Want to win one of five eBook copies of The Problem With Crazy, a paperback edition, or one of three $5 Amazon gift cards? Collect the clues hidden in the other blogs on the hop and enter to win. To find all the other blogs and the Rafflecopter link, go here.
Blog hop clue E: YOU
About Lauren
Lauren K. McKellar is an author and editor. Her debut novel, Finding Home, was released through Escape Publishing on October 1, 2013, and her second release, NA Contemporary Romance The Problem With Crazy, is self-published, and is available now.
As well as being a magazine editor for a national audited publication on pet care, Lauren works as a freelance editor for independent authors, and was a Runner Up Editor of the Year in the Publishers Australia awards in 2013.
Lauren is a member of the Romance Writers of Australia and is obsessed with words–she likes the way they work.
Review: ‘Twelve Steps’ by Veronica Bartles
Posted: April 4, 2014 Filed under: Reviews | Tags: aussie-owned, reviews, small presses 2 Comments
Twelve Steps
by Veronica Bartles
Release Date: 25 March 2014
Sixteen-year-old Andi is tired of being a second-class sibling to perfect sister Laina. The only thing Andi’s sure she has going for her is her awesome hair. And even that is eclipsed by Laina’s perfect everything else.
When Andi’s crush asks her to fix him up with Laina, Andi decides enough is enough, and devises a twelve-step program to wrangle the spotlight away from Laina and get the guy.
Step 1: Admit she’s powerless to change her perfect sister, and accept that her life really, really sucks.
Step 4: Make a list of her good qualities. She MUST have more than just great hair, right?
Step 7: Demand attention for more than just the way she screws things up.
When a stolen kiss from her crush ends in disaster, Andi realizes that her twelve-step program isn’t working. Her prince isn’t as charming as she’d hoped, and the spotlight she’s been trying to steal isn’t the one she wants.
As Laina’s flawless façade begins to crumble, the sisters work together to find a spotlight big enough for both to shine.
Last year, Aussie Owned and Read hosted a pitching contest called Pitcharama. Each of us shortlisted our three favourite pitches, and these were then requested by various press editors. Twelve Steps was one of our entries. I originally had it as one of my three, but Sharon guilted me into giving it to her because it was contemp and that’s not my usual genre. (When Lauren said “there were tears, tantrums, stealing, and a little name calling“, this was the book she was referring to.)
Next time I will be hardened to Sharon’s big-eyed Puss in Boots routine. :p
Anyway, needless to say, I’m thrilled beyond measure that Twelve Steps was picked up, and — even though it’s not my usual genre — I leapt at the opportunity to receive a review copy as part of this blog tour.
Twelve Steps tells the story of Andi and Laina, sisters who attend the same high school. Laina’s best friend, Jarod, has had a crush on Laina for about as long as Andi has had a crush on Jarod. And so the sibling rivalry ensues.
This is the sort of story that, if it hadn’t been handled deftly and with humour, could have gone horribly wrong. Both girls are gorgeous and popular, but neither of them fully appreciates how lucky they are. Both, it becomes apparent fairly quickly, view the other sister as the more popular one. And Andi, our leading lady, can be quite sly and manipulative to get what she wants. Only one person sees through her act, and that’s Dave.
Fortunately, Andi has a good heart and instead of turning into the wicked sister she could have become, she (mostly) uses her powers for good rather than evil — especially once she realises there’s more going on than the usual teenage drama. She genuinely wants what’s best for Laina, which completely redeems her and the story.
Also, she has a great sense of humour (once of her defence mechanisms when she’s upset), which I appreciated. 🙂
Twelve Steps is a great story of sibling rivalry, unrequited love and growing to be comfortable with who you are. I give it five stars.
Twelve Steps giveaway
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About Veronica
As the second of eight children and the mother of four, Veronica Bartles is no stranger to the ups and downs of sibling relationships. (She was sandwiched between the gorgeous-and-insanely-popular older sister and the too-adorable-for-words younger sister.) She uses this insight to write stories about siblings who mostly love each other, even while they’re driving one another crazy. When she isn’t writing or getting lost in the pages of her newest favorite book, Veronica enjoys knitting fabulous bags and jewelry out of recycled plastic bags and old VHS tapes, sky diving (though she hasn’t actually tried that yet), and inventing the world’s most delectable cookie recipes. TWELVE STEPS is Veronica Bartles’s first novel.
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Cassandra Page 