Lan Chan's Blog, page 4

Insecure Writer's Support Group: No Escape

Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
          I was going to do a 2016 goals post for my first IWSG but then I realised that I haven't written anything since the end of November 2015. Over the (Australian) summer break I've been watching quite a bit of Netflix and one of the documentaries called Cowspiracy has really had...

The Time Stopper & The Thought Readers by Dima Zales

THE STORY:
I can stop time, but I can’t change anything.
I can access memories, but not far enough.
My name is Mira, and my life is about finding the Russian mobster who killed my family. 

MY THOUGHTS:

I really enjoyed Mira as a POV character. I felt she was strong but was able to show vulnerability at the same time and it was a credit to Zales for being able to condense such a full impact story line into so few words. Mira is so different to the heroines that usually crop up in YA or NA bo...

Review: Transparent by Natalie Whipple

THE STORY:
High school is hard when you're invisible.

Fiona McClean hates her family, has had to move to a new school and seems to be completely invisible to the boy she likes. So far so normal, right? But Fiona really is invisible. She doesn't even know what colour her own hair is.

Born into a world where Cold War anti-radiation pills have caused genetic mutations, Fiona is forced to work for her mind-controlling mobster father as the world's most effective thief. When her father announces she...

Review: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares

THE STORY:
“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook t...

Review: Floating Upstream by Jo Vraca

THE STORY:
Julia Marconi has a simple dream—to get out of Goldburne, the stinking hot town in rural Australia, where she’s followed the rules her whole life. She dreams of adventures far away from her violent father whose only goal is to maintain his old world values in changing times. Julia longs for true love rather than the match “made” for her years ago.
Super spunk Robbie Ventura and the arrival of the Carnival add unseen complications to her life, just as she’s ready to settle in and sta...

Insecure Writer's Support Group: Coming down from the NaNoWriMo High

Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
       I participated in NaNoWriMo last month and was writing book 3 in my Wind Dancer series. I managed to win on day 11. One of the good things about having written the first book in a series is that you’ve already established the rules of your world and the subsequent installmen...

Insecure Writer's Support Group: The Art of Trying to Avoid Reviews

Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
        I published my debut novel Poison in September and I’ve been really lucky (and dropped a bunch of money!!) and have received a good number of reviews. In the beginning, I was religiously watching as the reviews came in and depending on whether the review was...

NaNoWriMo 2015!!!!

It’s that time of year again! I can’t believe how quickly November comes around these days. In a way I’m thankful because NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWrimo seem to be the only times of year that I actually get much writing done.        This time around I have had some foresight and have asked for  time off work in order to concentrate on my writing. In previous years I’ve worked throughout the month and have almost killed myself trying to make the word count...

Review: Beginner's Luck by Anna Lunde

THE PLOT:
Falling in love should never be this easy.

Mat Taylor is untouchable. An Australian country girl, she doesn’t date, she doesn’t fall in love and, oh yeah... she doesn’t dance after the love of her life left her standing alone on the dance floor at their Pro-Am Dance Championship debut.

Now in her last year of pre-med, Mat can’t seem to hold her life together. Her professor is on her back about her grades, her best friend can’t shake off his one night stand, and at the Cloudland ballro...

Insecure Writer's Support Group: Beta Woes

Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   
         I’ve been very lucky in the past to have been able to build relationships with liked minded writers/readers who I’ve been able to rely on as my critique partners/beta readers. It’s been great to know that we enjoy similar books and this carries...