(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Samhain Publishing.)
Claire Davon began writing as a teenager, then life got in the way for a while. She has since shoved life out of the way and started writing urban fantasy, paranormal, and contemporary romance. Her newest novel, Fire Danger, is the first book in the Elements Challenge series.
Rachel Quinn doesn’t remember much of her early years, only vague memories of her parents and faint images of fire. Since her parents died years ago, Rachel has never been able to ask anyone about these visions of fire, and she withdraws into herself, afraid of her memories and the blackouts she has.
Then she finds herself cornered by a pack of werewolves—werewolves!—and rescued by a man with wings, and something comes to life inside of Rachel. She isn’t human, which she never knew was an option, but she doesn’t know what she is—or who—until the gorgeous Phoenix helps her find out. Phoenix is in the midst of his Challenge, the battle with his Demonos counterpart, but Rachel and her mystery add a deeper meaning to this Challenge than Phoenix has ever seen. Phoenix and Rachel must find out the truth about what she is, and stop the Demonos’ plot to destroy the human race.
Fire Danger begins with Rachel’s attack by werewolves and Phoenix’s rescue, and the pace never slows through the course of the novel. The many layers in this novel twist together with danger as the relationship between Phoenix and Rachel grows deeper. An entertaining read set in an intriguing version of our own.
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Crown Publishing.)
Anne Tyler is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of such books as The Beginner’s Goodbye and Breathing Lessons. Her newest novel, Vinegar Girl, is a re-telling of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.
Kate Battista is stuck. She runs the house for her father—eccentric at best, “mad scientist” at worst—and attempts to care for her pretty—and to Kate’s way of thinking, useless—younger sister, Bunny. The kids at the daycare where she works love her, but their parents are less than impressed with her forthright opinions and inability to sugarcoat her thoughts. In short, she is smart, capable, and independent, with absolutely no prospects.
Kate’s father is on the verge of a breakthrough in his research that could help millions, but he’s about to lose his brilliant research assistant, Pyotr, who is about to be deported. Then Dr. Battista comes up with a plan: have Kate marry Pyotr so he can stay in the country. Kate is furious at her father, and at Pyotr, but the two men begin a relentless campaign to bring her around to their way of thinking.
Vinegar Girl enters the life of tart Kate, the bulwark of her stagnant family, the always-dependable daughter who sacrifices her own happiness to the sake of her family. But will Kate continue her self-sacrifice, or will she finally stand up for herself and what she wants?
(Galley provided by Crown Publishing via NetGalley.)
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to J.H. Lucas.)
J.H. Lucas has worked in film and in graphic design. He has been a finalist or semi-finalist for several awards. Escape to Ash Islandis the first book in the Generation Havoc series.
One hundred years from now, America is has changed. From the Saharizona desert wilderness, to the cowyotes and buffalopes that populate it, things are not what they used to be. The poison sands of the desert are spoken of in the Prophecy Song, which is now forbidden.
In a slave labor factory in the middle of Saharizona, Cash, a young inventor with no memory of life before the farm, wonders about what’s beyond the fence. And he hears about a mythical island in Calitopia, so he and his friends escape the factory and head across the desert. But they don’t know the Red Enforcer, a cyborg, is on their trail determined to stop them—and the Prophecy—forever.
Escape to Ash Island is set in a vividly imagined word that is far different from the America of today. In essence, it is about friendship and the survival of hope, but these themes are set amidst adventure. Escape to Ash Island feels more like middle grade fiction than young adult, but it is an entertaining read.
Yeah, it’s been a while since I posted anything but a book review. I’ll work on that this week. Promise. Right now, here’s what I read in May. (Quite a few books as a reward for living through the semester.)
Lucy Day is dead. Contrary to popular belief, that is not as bad as it sounds. Sure, dying is pretty horrible, but if you’re a phantom like Lucy—transformed by her overpowering will to live—you can still have a life. Lucy is dependent on the memories and emotions of others to survive, but once she’s conquered that, she thinks she has it made.
But one of Lucy’s friends is more than she appears, and she convinces Lucy to help her save those about to die. Soon Lucy is on the trail of a group of voyeuristic serial killers, which is scary enough by itself. Then there’s the mysterious wraith Lucy is haunted by. Not to mention the prospect of dating again…
Deadgirl: Ghostlight is a quirky novel with lots of action. It’s our world, but with more: more than meets the eye, more layers, and much more going on that ever imagined. Lucy Day is a typical teenage girl, except not. She has issues that would make most people curl up into a ball and cry. The characters are loveable, but flawed. This is well-worth the read. (It is the second book in a series, but works without reading the first, which is also available.)
(Galley provided by Curiosity Quills Press via NetGalley.)
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Disney Book Group.)
Eliza Wass is a woman of many talents—and many jobs. The Cresswell Plot, her first novel, hit shelves on June 7th.
The Cresswells live in the woods and keep to themselves. Six children, a handicapped mother, and a strict father who speaks directly to God. And their father says God has very specific rules. Like they can’t associate with anyone other than family. Which means he can’t work or provide for his family. He also tells them that the Cresswells are the only ones good enough to get into heaven.
Castley Cresswell and her siblings slowly start to question their father’s beliefs, but they are still marked as outsiders by their plain clothes, isolation, and unexplained bruising. Then Castley meets George Gray, and her life expands as she glimpses normal life. But she wants to take her siblings with her to freedom, so she starts to plan. And her father makes a chilling pronouncement: it is time for the Cresswells to return to heaven. Can Castley save her family from her father’s lies, or will they all enter the darkness together?
The Cresswell Plot is a dark, uncomfortable book about one man’s obsessions and delusions, and the havoc it wreaks on his family. It is not a happy book, but it is an emotionally wrenching one that brings the isolation of one family to gut-churning life.
(Galley provided by Disney Book Group via NetGalley.)
Kitty Hayward arrives in New York from England with almost no money, and knowing no one but her mother. When her mother vanishes without a trace and the hotel employees claim to have never seen Kitty before, she is left penniless and homeless, surrounded by the freaks and other Unusuals of Dreamland, Coney Island’s newest amusement park.
Kitty finds help in the strangest of places: Magruder’s Curiosity Cabinet, a dilapidated
museum of oddities and monstrosities. Soon Kitty’s new friends—from flea wranglers to lion tamers to mad scientists—vow to help find her mother. But they hadn’t counted on the mysterious illness spreading through Dreamland, or the panic that ensues, turning the amusement park to a madhouse.
Magruder’s Curiosity Cabinet is a book peopled by brilliant, larger-than-life characters that survive on the fringes of a society that despises the unusual or the different. These characters, and the world they inhabit, leap off the pages in glorious splendor, drawing the reader to dance in the light of their flames.
(Galley provided by Sourcebooks Landmark via NetGalley.)
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Doubleday.)
Dan Vyleta is an award-winning author who has lived in several different countries, and has been compared to everyone from Kafka to Hitchcock. His newest novel is Smoke.
In an isolated England, people with wicked thoughts or deeds are marked by the Smoke that pours from their bodies. The upper class do not Smoke—they have the right to rule by this proof of their virtue. The lower classes are fallen, and their Smoke is proof of their sin. At least that’s what they say, and have said for years.
But at an elite boarding school for the upper class, where professors have ties to powerful warring political factions, a field trip to London teaches some of the students that things are not how they say they are. And this knowledge could cost Charlie and Thomas their lives, unless they can find a way to escape and unleash their knowledge.
Smoke is an England different from this one, but the setting still feels familiar, if slightly out-of-kilter. While the setting is gritty and dark, this novel raises—and strives to answer—questions about the nature of sin, as well as questions about a society that would struggle to keep something like Smoke in force.
(This image does not belong to me. Image belongs to Quirk Books.)
Grady Hendrix writes non-fiction by way of Variety, The New York Post, and The Village Voice. His first novel was Horrorstör. His second novel, My Best Friend’s Exorcism, was published on May 17th.
Abby never really had friends at school until the fifth grade, when she and Gretchen bonded over roller-skating and E.T. From then on, they shared everything. But when they hit high school, Gretchen started acting weird. Really weird.
After one too many strange coincidences, Abby starts to wonder, and Gretchen’s bizarre behavior confirms it: she has been possessed by a demon. An exorcism is the only solution. But Abby doesn’t know how to perform one, and the demon clearly doesn’t want her attempting it. She is desperate to save her best friend; but she will need to find at least one ally when everyone in the world seems to be turning against her.
My Best Friend’s Exorcism brings the 80’s back to vibrant, unforgettable life, exploring the friendship between two girls fighting against powers far beyond their control.
(This image does not belong to me. Image belongs to She Writes Press.)
A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed A Drop in the Ocean, by Jenni Ogden. This novel deals with many things: love, family, medical ethics, and dealing with neurological conditions. It is emotional and moving, gripping and yet freeing at the same time. Today I have an interview with the author.
(Photo by Dominic Chaplin.)
1) What was the catalyst for you to start writing fiction? (Even with the subject matter of A Drop in the Ocean, that seems like such a large step from neuropsychology.)
I loved my career as a university teacher, researcher, and supervisor of clinical psychology students, and a big part of this was always writing. Of course, it was nonfiction writing, from research articles to writing case studies of dysfunctional families for my clinical students to use as practice scenarios. My specialist area, clinical neuropsychology, gave me the excuse to delve into the lives of patients with various brain disorders (similar to those Oliver Sacks wrote about), and I wrote two books of case studies, a textbook, Fractured Minds and a book for the general reader, Trouble In Mind: Stories from a Neuropsychologist’s Casebook. These are not fiction of course but they did allow me to practice writing in a way that would draw the reader into the lives of my “patients.” When readers say some of the stories in my textbook made them cry, I feel happy! But I had to leave the university and go and live on a remote island before I could truly concentrate on the dream I’d harbored for years, writing fiction.
2) Who is your favorite author and why? (Do you love being scared by Stephen King, inspired by Maya Angelou, loved by Nicholas Sparks, entertained by Jane Austen?)
I have so many authors whose writing I love, but I don’t often re-read books as there are too many new books to read. I think I will read many again as I get older and can’t afford to buy more books! But authors I really love are Sebastian Faulks, Rumer Godden, Anna Quindlen, Chris Cleave, Ann Hood. Richard North Patterson is by far my favourite thriller writer.
3) What is your absolute favorite, read over-and-over again, book? (Mine is “Gone with Wind,” which I’ve read about 25 times, because the story and the characters are so real to me.)
One book I have read a few times is Wuthering Heights. I first read this in school and it hasn’t lost its pull on me. I know the ‘Bronte’ area reasonably well as my husband’s family come from around there (there are over a hundred of them who were “buried” by Patrick Bronte and lie in the Haworth Church graveyard!) But my favorite novel is Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. I often read bits of this again, just to get the feel of his words. Also China Court and In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden are two of the most beautiful novels I have ever read, and these too I often browse for inspiration.
4) Where is your dream place to write? (Personally, I have visions of white sand and waves, although I live nowhere near the ocean. That seems like it might be much more within reach for you.)
I do most of my writing in my study five minutes walk from one of the most beautiful beaches on earth. White sand, clear blue sea and usually only me on it when I take a break and go for a walk or run or swim! Much of my reading is done lying under my big tree on the beach, or sitting on “Jenni’s Lookout” looking over the sea. My study has big windows that look over a rural scene with no buildings in view. In the NZ winter I write from our small apartment there in the Far North Queensland tropics, with a lagoon pool two meters from me and a beach 10 minutes walk away.
5) What is your absolute favorite part about writing fiction? (The imaginary people is definitely mine.)
As a psychologist, discovering the deep parts of my characters’ personalities are probably my favorite part, but I also love writing about settings, partly because they are often places I know well or at least have been to, and have loved. I also enjoy the research that goes into getting facts right and giving the story authenticity. And I really do like revision, and having the time to mess about with word choice, knowing I have the bones in place.
6) Do you have any advice for someone faced with the prospect of living with a brain disorder? (I have a strong family history of Alzheimer’s, and I had a stroke three years ago due to a dissection in the vertebral artery. You might say this is a topic close to my heart.)
That is a hard thing to deal with. Coping is a little different for everyone, but often finding out all you can about the disorder and the likely prognosis helps, gives back some control, and stops those anxieties that come with “guessing.” For almost everyone, having a close support team of friends, family and health professionals who you feel comfortable with is very important. Often getting involved with research if that is a possibility can be rewarding, and gives the individual something ‘bigger’ to think about, and often comes with better treatment of the condition as well. Keeping on with or gradually returning to activities one enjoys and keeping social contacts alive is very important for resilience and happiness, and for making the very best of the future, however long or short that may be.
7) Tell me a little bit about A Drop in the Ocean. (What was your inspiration for writing it, and what is the message you wanted to convey with it?)
The story opens as Boston neuroscientist and dedicated introvert, 49 year old Anna Fergusson, discovers the funding for her long-time research lab has been terminated. Fran, her only friend, sees an advert offering a cabin for rent on a tiny tropical island on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and Anna decides to take it up. It will give her breathing space and she can pen a memoir about running a lab while she decides what to do with the rest of her life. But Turtle Island, alive with sea birds and nesting Green turtles, is not the retreat she expected. Here she finds love: for the eccentric islanders who become her family; for Tom, the younger laid-back turtle whisperer; and for the four women on the island. Then she joins the turtle research team and falls in love with the turtles whose ancient mothering instincts move her to tears. But Tom has a secret, and Anna’s estranged mother in far away Shetland needs her, and as Anna’s life-changing year draws to a close her dream for a new life is threatened by a darkness that challenges everything she has come to believe about the power of love.
It is a quiet story but with deep themes about marine turtle conservation, Huntington’s disease and medical ethics, belonging—and the ripples that can flow from the family we choose to the family that chooses us, and the hardest lesson of all, that love is about letting go.
My inspiration for the story was my love of this environment. I was a turtle tagger myself on an island rather like Turtle Island when our children were young, and coral cays are magical places. Many of the things that happen in the novel around the turtles and birds come from my own experiences, but Anna, who is a neuroscientist, as was I, is totally different from me! No-one would call me a dedicated introvert, and I have 4 children and 5 grandchildren, unlike Anna who was single and lonely for the first 49 years of her life.
Thank you, Ms. Ogden for taking the time out of your schedule to answer a few questions. (I’m a bit jealous of your description of your study and its proximity to the beach.) Check out the novel A Drop in the Ocean for a great read!
Tomorrow Is Another Day 