C.K. Robertson's Blog, page 17

Bookish Bucket List: London 2019

Hello Readers & Friends,
As well as resolutions, I wanted to make sure that I kept myself feeling busy and inspired in the new year.I'm lucky to live in London (despite my frequent complaints about rude people, tourists, travel costs, rent prices, busyness, general stench etc etc) and as such feel it's my duty to explore the bookish world of London to it's fullest.
This is my bookish bucket list - I'll be doing blog posts to keep you updated on my adventures, and hope you will join in too! If you decide to jump in at any point, make sure you tag me on instagram or use #CKBookishBucketlist so I can see what you're up to. Let's spread the word!
I'm sorry it's all London-based, it's where I live so I had to make it easy for myself but if you want to create your own for your city of choice, please do so!
Src JanuaryBrunch at the London Review Bookshop - BloomsburyCocktails in Soho and fashion book browsing at Claire De Rouen Books - Charing Cross
 Far Rockaway
FebruarySpend a whole Sunday afternoon exploring Foyles - Charing CrossDate night at Far Rockaway for cocktails and reads - Shoreditch
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MarchHead to Hatchards - St James' Sq and pop into Fortnum and Mason afterNetworking at London Book Fair - Olympia Word on the Water
AprilGo to Word on the Water - Kings Cross, and stop by the Harry Potter shop in the station on my way home. Obviously a Platform 9 3/4 photo is essential.Shopping trip at Forbidden Planet - Picadilly Src MayLunch at Brixton Market, then head to BookmongersDate night at Covent Garden and pop into the Noble Collection store  Daunt Books
JuneStroll down Marylebone High Street and visit Daunt BooksVisit Any Amount of Books - 56 Charing Cross Road   Src
JulyReview Bookshop explore, then off to a picnic at Peckham Rye park, or sniff out a beer garden.YALC - Olympia Southbank Book Market
AugustSummer stroll down Southbank and visit the outdoor book market  Src
SeptemberSet aside a day to peruse Waterstones Picadilly at a leisurely pace.Treat myself to a weekend stay at Gladstone Residential Library for a writing marathon and nanowrimo prep. Gay's The Word
OctoberBrowse Gay's The Word - Marchmont StreetLondon Literature Festival - South Bank  Src
November - NanoWriMo month!Christmas shop at Notting Hill Market and stop by Lutyens Rubenstein, and, of course, The Notting Hill Bookshop. (And wait for Hugh Grant to emerge.)Work on Nanowrimo at pay-per-stay reading cafe, Ziferblat - Old Street The British Library
DecemberVisit The British Library for a Christmassy writing session.Harry Potter Studio Tour Will you get involved? What do you want to see in 2019?C x

Six of Crows : Book Review

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Hello Readers & Friends,

Book #54 of 2018 was Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. *****

I had heard of this as it has a strong fandom, but wasn't sure what to expect. As with fantasy YA books that have a huge fanbase, I'm always nervous about an anticlimax or dissapointment. (Furyborn, Caraval...) but I needn't have worried. Six of Crows was a 5 star review from me.

It was fast-paced, easy to read despite jumping viewpoints frequently and all the characters were absolutely fascinating.  The story follows Kaz Brekker, aka DirtyHands, a rough street crook and notorious trickster who brings together a strange gang of 6 misfits and criminals to try to pull off the world's most difficult heist.


Kaz Brekker is undoutably the most 3-dimensional, fascinating and wonderful protagonist (can I even call him that?!) I have ever read.  He is equisite. He takes Will Smith's character in Focus, Jesse Eisenberg's character in Now You See Me and Tom Hardy's character in The Revenant and fuses them all together. Then he takes it one step further to produce the wittiest, most charming character that you can never work out and is always one step ahead. One particular scene involving an eyeball and a tissue made me want to throw up, I had to actually stop reading and take a moment. That's the thing about Kaz Brekker, you hate him, you fear him, you love him, and you root for his win. It's so complex and strange and wonderful.


Then there's Inej, aka The Wraith. The Suli girl who sneaks about in the shadows collecting secrets and selling them on, a spider-like climber with survival as her main goal.



Jesper is the sharp-shooter with a gambling addiction and debts he desperately needs to pay off. He is Brekker's most trusted member of the gang, and is gay. We all know I love a 3-dimensional LGBT character, and he is wonderful.



Nina is a Grisha, which means she has supernatural powers. She made the choice during training to use hers to maim rather than heal, and becomes a key figure for the group, able to slow a heartbeat down with the flick of a finger, sew wounds up with the twist of a wrist. Nina is probably the kindest of the group, but she is strong and independant and is not afraid to do what must be done. She is probably my second favourite character.



Her love interest is Matthias, a hardened foreign soldier who is blackmailed into joining the group. You never know where his loyalties lie, and he is probably (to me) one of the most mysterious parts of the book. You never know what he's thinking until the very end.



Wade is Jesper's (sort of) love interest, a young boy with an affinity for destruction and making bombs. Again, he is dragged along against his will, but ends up being more helpful than he originally thought he would be. Wade is quite complex and the most inexperienced of the group, but he quickly adapts to his role and ends up forging real friendships. I loved Wade's character as much as Nina. And if you're wondering why his image is split into two... well you need to read the book ;)

Their mission is to break into the world's most secure prison, to break someone out. But they're all too busy distrusting each other to focus on the main task, with Kaz acting as the glue that holds them all together as they all fight through their own flaws to reach their separate goals.

It was clear, descriptive, easy to follow, imaginative and a story built around the best characters I have read in a long time. I cannot wait to read the sequel.

Have you read it? What did you think?
C x

All character images in this post were sourced from Pinterest and I believe are (C) Kevin Wada

Pottermore: My Sortings

Hello Readers & Friends,

I first joined Pottermore a few years ago, took all the tests without much thought and forgot about it. I thought it would be fun to re-join Pottermore with a new email and redo my tests to see if I got the same results.
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 Me & my house pride in my Slytherin hat.
Hogwarts House:For the second time, Pottermore sorted me into Slytherin. This is no surprise - every online test I ever do sorts me into Slytherin. My one wish was that J.K Rowling had written a kind Slytherin into her stories - at first I was disappointed at my sorting but have come to realise that Slytherins are ambitious and sensetive and this is why I'm always sorted into Salzar's house.Cunning, ambitious, resourceful, shrewd, determined - these are the key traits Rowling associates with Slytherin. It's also house to the most famous wizard in the world - Merlin! I'm happy and proud to have been sorted into Slytherin.
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Patronus:Again, the results were the same for me the second time round, offering me a St.Bernard as my patronus. Dogs/wolves are my favourite animal, so this is a welcome offering.

Wand:Again, the same results. I  joined Pottermore years ago, so I suppose I haven't changed at all as my answers are all the same!Dogwood wood with a Phoenix feature core 12 1/2" and unyielding flexibility.

Ilvermorny House: The only different one! I was Wampus previously, now Pukwudgie.It's supposed to represent the heart of a wizard, and houses healers. More accurate than Wampus, which houses warriors I think.

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What are your Pottermore sortings? C x

Bookish Christmas Gift Guide: For Book Lovers

Hello Readers & Friends,
Christmas is right around the corner, and I wanted to take this opportunity to share some amazing bookish goodies to suit every budget. These will be sure to put a smile on your book-loving recipient's face :)

BUDGET: I love them more than myself - £50-150
Hogwarts House Trunk - Platform 9 3/4 - £125
Treat any fan of Harry Potter to a beautiful wooden trunk, customised with their initials in gold at the side and filled with an assortment of collectable house pieces, inluding a personalised Hogwarts Acceptance Letter. Everything they would need to get into Hogwarts.
 
Fairyloot 6 Month Subscription - Fairyloot - £145  Treat them to a monthly box from Fairyloot for 6 whole months - perfect for any YA Fantasy lover. Each month they will get an exclusive hardcover book (often pre-releases or signed editions!) alongside various bookish goodies and treats, all tied into a new monthly theme.
Timeturner Replica - Noble Collection - $59 Another one for fans of Harry Potter. Whether they choose to wear it or display it, Hermione's iconic timeturner will be a beautiful collector's piece.

Warner Brother Studio Tour x2 Tickets - £86 Explore Diagon Alley, discover the Great Hall and creep through the Forbidden Forest at the Warner Brother Studio Tour - based in North London so this one may require travel, but it would be well worth it for seasoned Hazza P fans.



BUDGET: I like them a lot - £25-50
The Hufflepuff Cup - Noble Collection - $39A replica collectible from The Noble Collection, perfect for self-proclaimed Hufflepuffs.


Custom Map - Mapiful - $50Whether you choose to base your map in Stars Hollow or Hogwarts, why not create a map to suit your favourite bookish setting?  
 

BUDGET: Being sensible this year - £10-25
Custom Bookcover Keychain - Etsy - £11Perfect for authors or hardcore fandom readers - get their favourite book designed into a keyring for them to carry around everywhere.    Book Sleeve - Etsy - £21.87With hundreds of fabrics to choose from, keep your books safe and clean in your bag with a cute book sleeve.    
Harry Potter Film Wizardry Book - Amazon - £18The ultimate book for fans of the Harry Potter Films, a behind-the-scenes on all aspects of the film series with pull-out replicas including the Marauders Map and the famous Cupboard Under The Stairs letter. 

BUDGET: Stocking / Secret Santa gifts - Under £10

Fantastic Beasts Funko Keyring - Amazon - £6.95Who doesn't love a niffler?    Frida Woodmark - Ink & Wonder - $8.99 A range of designs to choose from, each beautifully painted on a wooden base for a luxurious bookmark upgrade.
 
A Little Life - Amazon - £6.99Runner-up for the Man Booker Prize, whatever genre they love to read most, A Little Life is a must-read for everybody.   
 
Ready, Set, Novel - Amazon - £8 Your friend struggling to plot a book? Or always talking about wanting to write one and never actually starting? This may be the push they need...

What are you hoping for this Christmas?Love, C x

Cambodia 2018 - VLOG & Photo Diary

Hello Readers & Friends,

I'm super excited to finally be able to share with you all my photo diary and the long-awaited vlog from our trip to Cambodia! (Spoiler: There are many dogs.)

 Horse riding in Sihanoukville

 Befriending the locals
 Meeting the tiniest gato
 Me two seconds after completing Draft 1 of Amity!
 The time Steven finally became an insta-boyfriend.
 The sea-hammock where I read TATBILB.
 #CouplesInCambodia
 I am the shadow and he is the ray of light in the relationship, clearly.
 Trying to paddle board.
 My new best friend.
 She really liked this stick. 
 Pool 1 of many.
 Beach hut #1 where a giant gecko roomed with us.
 Sihanoukville sunset
 Doggo #918740921875087135
 Boat in Koh Samloem
 Potential to sell to Mac as a desktop screensaver.
 Me, happy to be leaving the gecko-infested beach hut.
 Beach hut #2 - no geckos to be named
 

Reasons I am not built for a tropical climate: 1. I have approximately 67 insect bites despite lathering myself in repellant. Including between my fingers.
2. I sweat profusely all day long to the point that deodorant is literally futile.
3. I have a very unsexy heat rash on my back.
4. I found a red spider bug in my bikini bottoms the other day. If I didn't find it when I did, I am convinced it would have crawled inside me and laid eggs and I would have given birth to spider bugs.
5. I saw a tarantula in the jungle.
6. Going to bed is like lying on sandpaper and no matter how many showers I have, sand has become part of my soul.
7. My hair has matted and become one large dreadlock.
8. I have woken up every night itching from my 67 insect bites and been unable to get back to sleep because it's just too hot.
9. It's too hot to drink alcohol without getting the shits.
10. I have been attacked by three rabid cats.
11. I spent time coming to the conclusion that Steven would not win a fight against a monkey, and is therefore an unsafe travelling companion for late night jungle walks. We saw 5 monkeys, they all looked cross. I was afraid and would not repeat the experience.

Amity Updates

Hello Readers & Friends,

I wanted to do this in video format, and hopefully I still will, but I've been bed-ridden with a cold so didn't want to plague you all with my flemmy voice.

Amity's first draft is complete, and I have to hold my hands in the air and apologise to anybody who saw my Releasing Late 2018 promise at the end of Enmity, because it's not going to happen.
It's already mid-November and I want to make sure it goes through as many editing revisions as needed to make it even better than Enmity, so it may be more towards February 2019. I'm sorry!

I learnt a lot from Enmity and am fully aware that it's not a literary masterpiece. Though I'm very proud of it and I love the story and the characters, the wonderful thing about a first book is that you can only improve with all the next ones. Something pointed out in a review by a blogger was that I use too many adverbs - and oh my God they are so right. I didn't even realise, and it hadn't been picked up on in editing. This was something I could really watch out for in Amity which means that the writing itself is stronger because I had to think about how to get feelings across without using adverbs. All these things mean that the book will hopefully be even better for you to read.

One thing I really wanted to make clear was the fact that it is very different from Enmity. I know a lot of people's favourite thing about Enmity was the Forest of Lixital setting, but I really wanted Amity to wrap up a lot of things and this couldn't happen in the Forest.

I want you all to know what to expect, so here's a breakdown:

CHARACTERS
Of course nearly all the characters from Enmity are carried through into Amity, but there are some exciting new additions who I really loved writing and who have been introduced to add a little more tension to our current characters relationships. I particularly loved writing Sienna and Domino, two new characters with a lot of personality and fire.

SETTING
I don't want to give too much away, but the base of the story is no longer in the Forest. There's more action in Amity, more fights and battles, and the setting reflects this general mood.

THEMES
Whilst the theme for Enmity was Magic Vs Science, the themes in Amity are all very political. The book itself is much more political. Themes relating to Government and corruption, democracy, voting, and achieving peace - which is the ultimate goal for the story. It's about bringing two worlds together and the political tactics for doing so.

MAGIC
As the themes have changed, so magic takes a step backwards. Of course our characters still have their skills, but magic is just a part of them rather than a part of the plot.

I'm really excited about sharing more with you, but I want to make it clear here and now that they are two very different stories!
It's also set out differently - whereas Enmity was written from both Kai and Maia's point of view, Amity switches to focus solely on Maia's journey.

Hope this is as exciting for you as it is for me!

C x

*SPOILER* About Enmity's Ending

Hello Readers & Friends,

Today I wanted to talk a little bit about my decisions for the ending of Enmity, so if you have not yet read it, SPOILER ALERT HERE! Do not continue with this blog post!



I wanted to explain the decision to kill the main antagonist with a single bullet, something which for many people was probably a huge anti-climax. (Sorry!)
What I wanted to talk about was that this was very much a conscious decision to reinforce the theme of the story: people aren't dangerous, their beliefs are.
People are just people, we are all one in the same and we all fear death and can be killed in any which way. We all have similar amounts of fight in us and we will all die if we are shot in the heart.
Our beliefs are what make us good or bad, and it's our beliefs which will live on far long than even our memory if we spread them far enough.

That is what's so terrifying about the Azgadi - and terrorist cells - that they cannot really be killed or defeated. We can kill their leaders but their beliefs live on without them and it becomes a never-ending cycle of war. Because how do you find stability and end war when there's no real way to kill beliefs?

That's what the sequel, Amity, will look to explore.

I will be doing a video soon updating you all on the progress of Amity, but what I will say now is don't expect anything the same as Enmity. We will have the same characters - plus a few new ones! - but it is less magical and more political, with themes we see in modern-day politics rife.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on all this!
Speak soon,
C x

Open Letter Re: THAT Guardian article

Img @JamesTrevinoHello Readers & Friends,
I am writing this response on the train on the way home from work right now. As many of you have probably seen, the Bookstagram community is in outrage over a recent article published by The Guardian which essentially makes fun of, and puts down, the Bookstagram community. 
It's common knowledge that Bookish people are most often introverts, and having somewhere we can engage in conversation over something we are passionate about is only ever going to be a positive thing. This isn't like fashion 'gramming where there is a pot of money at the end of the rainbow if you get 10,000 followers (I would know, having worked in influencer marketing.) The book community doesn't reap those rewards, they will often just be offered ARCs and free book copies, reinforcing the fact that we do what we do because we genuinely love it. There is no ulterior motivation, we aren't doing it to 'look cool'.
The community is supportive, creative and full of amazing and wonderful intellectual people who want to take beautiful photos of a subject they love (their book collection) rather than photos of themselves - in an age where narcissism is rife thanks to the selfie, surely this is a breath of creative fresh air? Isn't it nice to celebrate something other than artificial good looks?
We can safely debate topics and themes, share our favourite reads and warn others not to waste money on over-hyped titles.  It's not about 'pretending to read a book' its about sharing our passions and supporting writers and talented creatives. 
It's opened doors to authors who may not have been discovered without the support of Bookstagram, myself included.  And to suggest novels are only cool now just shows how ignorant the journalist is. We've always been here. The Bookstagram community has forever existed, it's just now we have a huge platform to express ourselves and talk about books on. And the community is clearly so popular that people like you stumble across it and without even attempting to write an intellectual article about it or understand the people behind it, has turned to cheap journalism which attempts to hitch a laugh at our expense. 
As a journalist graduate, author AND bookstagrammer, I'm embarrassed I had to read your unwanted opinion. And judging by the comments on the article, so is everyone else. 
C X 

Nanowrimo: 2018

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Hello Readers & Friends,

Despite having approximately 100 pages left to edit of my Amity manuscript,  (and then round 2) I've decided to embark on Nanowrimo this year.
For anybody who doesn't know, Nanowrimo is a global challenge for people to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November, and you can sign up, join the community and track your progress here.
I'm cheating a little, but luckily for me Nanowrimo accepts people like me exist and have created a specific Rebel badge for us, which I have pinned to my account with pride.



So, what am I writing? I'm trying something new - a YA Contemporary.
And the reason I'm a cheat? I'm picking up an old manuscript I started at uni, which will need to be ripped apart, re-written and finished.

As of today, the word count is: 16,682
So those 16,682 words will need to be re-written and then ideally the story will be completed at circa 60,000 words.

Of course, I will still have to continue my work on Amity throughout November, so I appreciate this is a very ambitious task, but I'll give it a good go.

The story follows 16 year old Cooper, who suffers from anxiety disorder, particularly social anxiety. His world changes when he meets new-girl Whisper, who is a rebellious and out-of-control teen who introduces Cooper to the novelties of being a reckless teenager.
But is all as it seems with Whisper? And can Cooper push through his anxiety without losing a part of himself?

You'll have to wait and find out ;)

This is the cover I worked up for it, it may change at a later date but for now I like it a lot - I'm just not sure it's gritty enough or explains the story well enough... but this is why I'm no designer!



Are you taking part in Nanowrimo this year?
Let me know if so! And add me :)

Nanowrimo: 2019

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Hello Readers & Friends,

Despite having approximately 100 pages left to edit of my Amity manuscript,  (and then round 2) I've decided to embark on Nanowrimo this year.
For anybody who doesn't know, Nanowrimo is a global challenge for people to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November, and you can sign up, join the community and track your progress here.
I'm cheating a little, but luckily for me Nanowrimo accepts people like me exist and have created a specific Rebel badge for us, which I have pinned to my account with pride.



So, what am I writing? I'm trying something new - a YA Contemporary.
And the reason I'm a cheat? I'm picking up an old manuscript I started at uni, which will need to be ripped apart, re-written and finished.

As of today, the word count is: 16,682
So those 16,682 words will need to be re-written and then ideally the story will be completed at circa 60,000 words.

Of course, I will still have to continue my work on Amity throughout November, so I appreciate this is a very ambitious task, but I'll give it a good go.

The story follows 16 year old Cooper, who suffers from anxiety disorder, particularly social anxiety. His world changes when he meets new-girl Whisper, who is a rebellious and out-of-control teen who introduces Cooper to the novelties of being a reckless teenager.
But is all as it seems with Whisper? And can Cooper push through his anxiety without losing a part of himself?

You'll have to wait and find out ;)

This is the cover I worked up for it, it may change at a later date but for now I like it a lot - I'm just not sure it's gritty enough or explains the story well enough... but this is why I'm no designer!



Are you taking part in Nanowrimo this year?
Let me know if so! And add me :)