Marie August's Blog, page 31

Intervew at Tina's Book Reviews

Tina's Book Reviews has posted an interview and a giveaway with us (Kate McMurry and Marie August). The interview can be found here. We are also posting a copy of this interview below:

W elcome to The Saturday Spotlight, a weekly feature showcasing debut, Indie, self-published and authors who specialize in Ebook publishing. This week I have the pleasure introducing readers to:
KATE MCMURRY and MARIE AUGUSTAuthors of Girl Vs.Ghost

Find out more about Marie at~Web~Goodreads Find out more about Kate at~Web~Goodreads

Hi Kate and Marie, welcome to TBR's, please tell us about yourself. We are a mother-daughter writing team who joined together to write young-adult (YA) fiction because we discovered we can both get a lot more done together than we ever could separately. Girl vs Ghost, a YA, paranormal, romantic comedy targeted primarily at teens age 12-16, is our debut published novel. Kate completed masters work English education and creative writing at the University of Missouri. She has worked professionally as a technical writer, English teacher, private writing coach and editor. She instilled her love of reading and writing in Marie, who has been creating stories since she was a small child, with Kate's enthusiastic encouragement. Marie is also an artist with a B.A. in visual arts from George Mason University. She has been illustrating her stories all her life, up to and including being commissioned to create the cover and internal illustrations for Girl vs Ghost. As a special promotion for our book, Marie produced a webcomic of the first chapter which is posted at misdirectedmagic.com. She also writes and illustrates a fairytale webcomic called The Fox and the Firebird at www.fairytaletwisted.com.
What inspired you to write the Misdirected Magic trilogy?Kate experimented with adult romantic comedy, picture books and a middle-grade novel prior to Marie suggesting to her a few years back that we write a YA paranormal romantic comedy together, a genre that clicked for both of us. Marie is a huge fan of manga, which are Japanese graphic novels, and the animated films based on manga story-lines called anime. The vast majority of the protagonists of these stories are teenagers, and they have served as an inspiration to her for the kind of YA plots she would like to write. Marie and Kate have also shared and discussed current YA novels for many years, especially paranormal ones, and Kate has continuously enjoyed reading YA fiction since her own teen years. We both feel that the famous piece of writer's advice, "Write what you love to read," definitely applies to us for YA fiction. For both of us, it is our favorite genre, particularly paranormal comedy, because there are so many opportunities for humorous incongruity in contemporary fantasy plots. Have any authors or books inspired or encouraged you in your writing journey? Every time we read a YA novel that we love—which is quite often in today's amazingly vibrant YA marketplace—it motivates us all over again to continue writing within this exciting genre. In particular, we are inspired by talented authors of YA paranormal comedy, including Janet Rallison, Tera Lynn Childs, Suzanne Selfors, Wendy Toliver, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Maryrose Wood, Alex Flinn, Ebony McKenna and Meg Cabot
What are you reading right now? Kate is reading Julie Kagawa's Iron Prince (Book 4, Iron Fey series. Marie is reading Trial by Fire (Book 2, Raised by Wolves series) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. . Do you have any future books in the works? Girl vs Ghost, is Book 1 of the Misdirected Magic Trilogy. Book 2, Witch vs Wizard, and Book 3, Spells vs Spirits, are currently scheduled to be released in 2012.
Thank you, Tina, for interviewing us on your wonderful blog!**And thank you girls for stopping by and being on the spotlight today. Wishing you the best of success for the Misdirected Magic Trilogy.


GIVEAWAY
Today Kate and Marie are offering a brand new copy of Ghost vs. Girl to one reader here at Tinasbookreviews. There is also an option for a Kindle copy-for international entry's. To enter please just leave a comment. Physical copies are available to US entry's only. No PO Boxes will be allowed. Please leave a link to your profile page or email. Winner will be drawn Nov 26, 2011.

Girl Vs. Ghost

Isabel Lindley doesn't believe in magic, but her best friend, Tripp, is obsessed with witchcraft. Strictly as a favor, Isabel agrees to help with a spell and is shocked when the ghost of a teenage boy splat-lands in her bedroom. Her friend is thrilled—even though only Isabel can see or hear the ghost—but Isabel is horrified. She's the most ordinary sixteen-year-old girl on the planet. What is she supposed to do with a ghost who doesn't know his own name, how he died, or why the heck he's tied to Isabel with a psychic chain? Her only hope to take back her life is to help him solve the mystery of his demise so he can go to the Light. Or wherever. She's not particular, as long as the ghost is gone.

Book Review: Also Known as Rowan Pohi by Ralph Fletcher

Enjoyable YA aimed at teen boys who are reluctant readers

Also Known as Rowan Pohi by Ralph Fletcher
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: November 15, 2011
Publisher: Clarion Books
Pages: 208
Source: Amazon Vine
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Fifteen-year-old Bobby Steele and his best friends, Big Poobs and Marcus, are students at the dreary, underfunded, local secondary school, Riverview High. They regularly hang out at the local IHOP, a restaurant where teens from the ritzy private school Whitestone Prep--AKA "Stonys"--can also be found. One day out of boredom, Bobby and his friends decide to create a fake boy and fill out an application for him for Whitestone. They name him Rowan and choose the last name "Pohi," which is IHOP spelled backward.

The three of them are amazed and rather intimidated when their application is actually approved, and they mutually agree that the joke has gone far enough. Big Poobs and Marcus immediately move on, but everything Bobby has ever wanted is at Whitestone, and it becomes a temptation he can't resist to pass himself off as Rowan Pohi.

I liked Bobby very much. He is a sweet guy, forgiving of his mother, who deserted their family because his father physically abused her, and tolerant of his father, who is working hard to make restitution to his family for what he did. Bobby is very protective and caring of his five-year-old brother, who is an endearing child.

The tone of the story is wistful and sad for the most of the book. I was strongly rooting for things to turn out well for Bobby, who is a very talented runner, an excellent writer, and has exceptional social skills along with being blessed with good looks. He is the kind of boy who, if he can get a good education, can go very far in life.

There is an interesting love triangle in the book with Bobby drawn to a rich, beautiful girl as well as a smart but average-looking girl who is of his same social class.

Without being preachy, the story makes topical references to recent drastic cuts in funding to public schools and how enormously greater are the opportunities in life for young people who are able to attend good schools. The relationship of Bobby to his friends rather reminds me of the movie Good Will Hunting, though this story is much less complex.

This is a fast and easy read that reluctant readers would enjoy. It is good to see a male protagonist in YA. The cover is something that might appeal to boys such that they would not feel embarrassed to be caught reading the book.

Other than one non-explicit make-out session, the book is entirely PG and suitable for teens 12-15. And even in that one scene, Rowan's attitude is romantic rather than purely lustful. He's a good boy--but not a boring boy.

Hero: 5

Subcharacters: 4

Writing: 4

Plot: 4


Overall: 4

Book Review: Fire (The Seven Kingdoms #2) by Kristin Cashore

A Fantastic Prequel to Graceling!

Fire (The Seven Kingdoms #2) by Kristin Cashore
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: October 5, 2009
Publisher: Dial
Pages: 480
Source: Library
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Eighteen-year-old Fire lives in a world where she and certain animals and insects are known as "monsters." But they are not monsters in the way we normally associate with that word. They are all gorgeous, particularly in the exotic color of their hair, fur or skin. And the most astoundingly beautiful of all are human monsters like Fire. Fire was named for her most remarkable feature, long, lustrous hair which is predominantly red, but in reality is made up of multiple colors not found among regular humans, such that it is like rainbow-hued flame. The beauty of monsters, human and non-human, serves to entrance human prey. But far more dangerous than their seductive beauty is the ability of monsters to hypnotically sway the minds and hearts of humans. This innate talent is strongest of all in a human monster like Fire, who is able to not only manipulate the emotions of animals and humans, but to shape their thoughts as well, thereby gaining control over them.

Fire inherited this gift from her monster father. He used his magical powers for evil and encouraged her from earliest childhood to do the same. But Fire made a vow to herself long ago that she would never go down her father's dark path, and she's kept that promise ever since. Until the moment arrives when the king and prince of her kingdom desperately need her to help them protect the people of their country from the invasion of an enormously strong enemy army.

I absolutely loved Graceling, even though I normally don't much like sword-and-sorcery type fantasy, because the book is brilliantly done. In fact, I loved it so much, I was initially sorely disappointed to hear that this book is a prequel, not a sequel, to Graceling. But within pages of diving into Fire, I became every bit as enthralled with this story as Graceling.

Fire's personality is completely different than Katsa's, but they have some strong similarities. The main one is that both have magical powers, and each sees herself as an isolated freak in her society. In both books, Cashore also uses flashbacks to give us crucial glimpses of her heroines' formative years and the main influences that shaped their character. In both societies, women have access to birth control that gives them a degree of control over their fate that is not usually associated with pre-pharmaceutical historical eras. In both stories, the heroines have a powerful growth arc across their story, both in their understanding of and ability to use and control their magical powers, and, even more importantly, in their understanding of themselves as fierce young women who will stop at nothing to protect those they love--especially helpless children and animals. In both Fire and Graceling, there is a wonderful romantic subplot. Though the personality of the love interest in Fire is very different than Po in Graceling, he's equally appealing in his own way. Finally, though Fire, like Graceling, is primarily a magic-based "coming of age" story, with all the internal conflict and mental confusion that entails, there is plenty of action and adventure to keep fans of exciting, external conflict happy.

I highly recommend this book not only to teens, but to adults who enjoy fantasy novels with strong characters and excellent, tight plotting. It's a joy to read from start to finish.

Heroine: 5

Subcharacters: 5

Fantasy World-Building: 5

Writing: 5

Action-Adventure Plot: 5

Romantic Sub-Plot: 5


Overall: 5

Book Review: Graceling (The Seven Kingdoms #1) by Kristin Cashore

Excellent debut novel of sword-and-sorcery fantasy

Graceling (The Seven Kingdoms #1) by Kristin Cashore
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: October 1, 2008
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Pages: 471
Source: Library
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Eighteen-year-old Katsa is a king's niece in a world where a small percentage of the population of seven different kingdoms have supernatural gifts called Graces. When Gracelings come into their powers in mid-childhood, they become wards of their king. Orphaned Katsa came into her Grace at age eight when she accidentally killed a man who attempted to sexually abuse her. Her uncle, the king, ordered her trained in fighting skills then employed her starting at age ten as his personal one-girl vengeance squad against rebellious subjects. Katsa is emotionally scarred from this horrible work, and at the start of the story she's in the midst of a secret revolt as the creator of the Council, a rescue league she established to save innocent people from the cruelties of her own king and five of the other six kings.

I am personally not a fan of sword-and-sorcery fantasy. I much prefer light, contemporary fantasy and urban fantasy. Mainly because I don't enjoy reading about Medieval times, and throwing in magic to leaven the brew has never helped me overcome that dislike. Until this book.

I unequivocally loved it, primarily because of the romance plot, but also because of Katsa. Her power and how it affects her fascinated me. Inevitably, every young-adult fantasy with a strong romance plot gets compared to Twilight, but speaking as a big fan of the Twilight series, I don't see the similarity. Instead of a romantic pairing of a relatively powerless mortal with an all-powerful immortal, this is a case of two mostly equal partners. Both are magically gifted, and the heroine's magic is definitely stronger than that of her romantic partner.

At the beginning of the story, the heroine Katsa is emotionally isolated. She has business associates, her two sidekicks on the king's gruesome punishment missions, a middle-aged warrior who trained her in fighting skills and a handsome young nobleman who, unknown to Katsa, is in love with her. And she has the companionship of her supportive lady's maid. But none of them are Graced like Katsa and can never understand what it's like to be universally feared and avoided by ordinary people.

Then Katsa connects with the love interest of this book, Prince Po, and romance fans like me get a truly great First Meet. Not only that, their connection is the beginning of two of my favorite romance story lines: "us against the world" (AKA "no one ever understood me the way you do") and "two for the road" (a shared mission/journey). Katsa discovers in Po, for the first time in her life, a kindred spirit and potential equal--and vice versa for Po. He is able to keep up with her in hand-to-hand combat, and Katsa assumes he's a Graced warrior. As they verbally and physically spar with each other, they immediately learn extremely important things about each other: that each has a powerful Grace accompanied with self-control, integrity, and poise under fire.

Po is almost as alienated and isolated because of his Grace as Katsa. In spite of (unlike Katsa) having a loving family who aren't, in general, intimidated by Gracelings, Po has two problems: He's the only Graced one in his family, and his Grace is so particularly off-putting that his mother has urged him to pretend he has an entirely different Grace than he actually has. Because of this burdensome secret, Po feels guilty of dishonesty and believes it will prevent him from every having emotional closeness to anyone. As a result, he's wandered for years from land to land. But in spite of their mutual emotional disconnection from others, both Po and Katsa are what I call Positive Warriors. Negative Warriors employ their strength and skill to unjustly dominate and hurt others. Positive Warriors use their might to defend those weaker than them, and they are some of the most sympathetic protagonists an author can create.

Another aspect of the best romance plots that this book has in spades is that the lovers act as catalysts for important emotional growth in each other. At multiple key turning points in the story, Po does what no one else has ever been able to do for Katsa. He helps her realize that she has the freedom, and responsibility, to choose exactly how she will use her Grace. And at a very key point in the story for Po, Katsa acts as a catalyst for Po, too, helping him make a crucial life-changing choice as well.

I personally think the main romantic conflict separating the two lovers is believable and well motivated, that is, Katsa's refusal to marry or have children. This is not an ordinary woman. Her mission in life is not to nest and nurture. It is to protect and defend. She has no natural ability or desire to learn, engage in or teach domestic skills or to be soft and cuddly. She's never been mothered, or fathered, and she has no concept of how to exist in a marriage or make a family.

I enjoyed very much the clean, crisp writing style of the author. In particular, she avoids the irritating distraction of present tense that more and more YA authors are employing these days. And the book is written in close third rather than first person, which is even more common in YA fiction. Close third has all the advantages of the intimacy and close connection with the protagonist that first-person provides, but it doesn't feel as claustrophobic or make the protagonist sound as narcissistic as first person does.

I am greatly hoping that any sequels that follow this book will be a continuation of the story of Katsa and Po. There is so much more I want to know about their relationship and so many more adventures they could have as they continue the work of the Council together. I'm personally hoping for a revolution spreading through all the kingdoms until every capricious and cruel king is overthrown. And I'd like to see Katsa marry Po!

Heroine: 5

Subcharacters: 5

Fantasy World-Building: 5

Writing: 5

Action-Adventure Plot: 5

Romantic Sub-Plot: 5


Overall: 5

Book Review: Goddess Boot Camp (Oh. My. Gods. #2) by Tera Lynn Childs

Fun sequel to Oh.My.Gods, a YA chick lit, contemporary fantasy

Goddess Boot Camp (Oh. My. Gods. #2) by Tera Lynn Childs
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: June 24, 2010 (Originally June 11, 2009)
Publisher: Speak
Pages: 272
Source: Library
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

In the further adventures of eighteen-year-old Phoebe Castro, close descendant of the Greek goddess Nike, Phoebe is struggling to control her recently discovered, very strong, and randomly triggered powers. If she doesn't get them under control soon, she is terrified the Olympian gods will smite her as they did her father. To help her pass an upcoming trial by the gods in only a few weeks, her stepfather sends Phoebe to Goddess Boot Camp. But Phoebe discovers it is run by her aggravating stepsister and her boyfriend Griffin's ex-girlfriend, a fellow goddess who can't seem to get the message that she's no longer with Griffin. Worse, all the other attendees are only ten years old!

This is a real treat for anyone who enjoys young adult contemporary-fantasy novels with a big dose of comedy. The romantic plot isn't quite as strong in this book as in the first book in this duology, Oh. My. Gods., because Phoebe is now in a relationship with a boyfriend who loves her--though the author does put in some roadblocks to their romance. Mainly the story focuses on Phoebe's experiences in getting her powers under control, which produces many wacky situations.

Fans of the first book in this series will be delighted to discover this cute sequel--I certainly was! This book is predominantly geared toward us. While it is possible that readers who haven't read OMG might enjoy this book anyway, their experience would be greatly enhanced by reading OMG first.

Heroine: 4

Subcharacters: 4

Fantasy World-Building: 4

Writing: 4

Chick-Lit Plot: 4

Overall: 4

Book Review: Oh. My. Gods. (Oh. My. Gods. #1) by Tera Lynn Childs

A hilarious romantic fantasy that is a gift from the gods!

Oh. My. Gods. (Oh. My. Gods. #1) by Tera Lynn Childs
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: May 14, 2009 (Originally May 1, 2008)
Publisher: Speak
Pages: 288
Source: Library
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Phoebe Castro is the daughter of a football superstar who died from unknown causes six years earlier. Her dad encouraged her athleticism since earliest childhood and her happiest memories are running with him. Her whole life and all her dreams for the future center around winning a track scholarship to her dream school, the University of Southern California near where she's lived her whole life in Los Angeles. She and her two best friends since kindergarten have had plans for years to attend USC together. Then, out of the blue, Phoebe's mother returns from a visit to her husband's relatives in Greece the summer before Phoebe's senior year in high school with a Greek fiancé in tow. When her mom informs Phoebe she's getting married within the week and they're moving to Greece, Phoebe freaks out and refuses to go. But she and her mother are extremely close, and ultimately, Phoebe gives in.

After an exhaustingly long journey, Phoebe finds herself stranded on a Greek island with no way to get off it except by boat. Her step-father is head of a super-exclusive private academy that Phoebe is expected to attend, and she soon learns there is no way she will ever fit in there. Her step-father, all the teachers, and every student but her is the descendant of a Greek god, and they all have super powers!

Phoebe struggles with the step-sister from hell, a step-father who can read her mind, fellow students who look on her as inferior for being an ordinary human, and an unwelcome crush on a gorgeous fellow runner who veers between being kind and gentlemanly toward her and sabotaging her efforts on the school track team with magic. Through it all, she does her best to keep her eye on the main goal--place in the top three in every race she's in and maintain a B average so she can get her scholarship and get off the island at the end of the school year.

This book is so much fun! I smiled throughout it and many times laughed out loud as some truly hilarious moments. The premise is just great. Very different from the Percy Jackson books. To such an extent that I would not agree this is a "knock-off" or imitation of them. People have been writing novels about the Greek and Roman gods long before Percy Jackson. I've enjoyed those kind of books whenever I could find them for years. And this particular addition to gods books is one of the best ever.

The friendships are appealing. The romantic plot is adorable, and for once the adults aren't all horrible. I really liked Phoebe's therapist mom, and her mind-reading step-dad is a very understanding guy. I liked that Phoebe gets into her main conflict in the story not because her parents are jerks who abandon her, but because her mother really wants to be with the man she loves--leading to the inevitable upheaval caused when step-families are created by a second marriage. There is also conflict created because Phoebe's mom and step-dad really want the best for her education, and her mother wants to be with her, but Phoebe doesn't want to change her long-time plans for university. I also loved the way Phoebe uses psychological insights she gained from her mother to help her friends the way her mother has helped her over the years.

What I loved most of all was Phoebe's running. I enjoyed the descriptions of it throughout the book and the way her running is a theme that extends from the beginning to the end of the book and is strongly involved in the book's climax and resolution, which is very cleverly done. Speaking of which, I loved the ending. It wasn't at all predictable, but it was exactly right.

This book is a keeper! I'm so glad there is a sequel. I hope there is more than one! 

Heroine: 5

Subcharacters: 5

Fantasy World-Building: 4

Writing: 5

Romantic-Comedy Plot: 5

Overall: 5

Book Review: Summer of Shambles (Ondine #1) by Ebony McKenna

Original, cute, fairytale romantic comedy

Summer of Shambles (Ondine #1) by Ebony McKenna
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: April 5, 2010
Publisher: Egmont Books
Pages: 336
Source: Purchased
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Fifteen-year-old Ondine de Groot lives at her family's business, a combination hotel and pub in the imaginary Eastern European country of Brugel. Ondine has worked for years alongside her mother, father and two older sisters cleaning rooms, serving customers and scrubbing dirty dishes. But at the start of the story her mother has sent her to the other side of Brugel to Psychic Summercamp for several weeks in order to develop her extra-sensory skills. Though these are accepted as a normal and desirable part of life in Brugel, Ondine doesn't believe she has any such talents, in spite of her mother's insistence that Ondine must be psychic because it runs in the family. Bored and homesick after only a week at camp, Ondine decides to sneak out of camp and run away to her home. Her only hesitation before leaving is what to do with Shambles. He's an adorable ferret who showed up not long before, "face-deep in her secret stash of Brugelwurst sausage," and he's been following her like a lap dog ever since. He's so attached to Ondine, in fact, she feels guilty about leaving him behind. She's convinced her mother wouldn't want a ferret at their hotel, so she tells herself if she brings Shambles along, she can find him a good home with someone else. In the midst of her trip home, though, Shambles suddenly begins talking to her in a thick Scottish accent, and Ondine wonders if she's gone crazy. Shambles assures her she hasn't. He can talk because he used to be a Scottish laird named Hamish until he angered a witch. She put a spell on him that changed him into a ferret and has also preserved him, in a non-aging state, for scores of years. And thus begins the hilarious adventures of Ondine's "Summer of Shambles."

The structure of this book is quite original. The author has written it in a fairy-tale, omniscient voice with a witty, intrusive narrator who reminds me of a combination of the narrator in Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice and the voiceover narrator of the classic movie, A Christmas Story. Ondine is an appealing character, producing many very amusing moments as she is tugged in multiple directions by the demands of her various family members, but most of all by the antics of Shambles/Hamish. Ondine's quirky relatives are a big part of the fun, especially her mother, and the villain is very well suited to a fairy tale. But of all the great characters in this book, Shambles/Hamish steals the show. He is outrageously outspoken, and a hilarious mixture of man and ferret in his living habits. His eternal pursuit of sausage is one of the cutest plot devices for getting Shambles in trouble throughout the book, and his distinctive take on life expressed in a steady stream of Scottish colloquial expressions had me constantly chuckling. Finally, like all good romantic comedies, this book has a satisfying, upbeat ending.

Heroine: 5

Subcharacters: 5

Fantasy World-Building: 4

Writing: 5

Romantic-Comedy Plot: 5


Overall: 5

Witch vs Wizard Cover

We are pleased to reveal the cover for Witch vs Wizard, the upcoming sequel to Girl vs Ghost.

[image error]

The Fox and The Firebird - Page 21

I've finished Page 21 of The Fox and The Firebird. For more information on the comic, please visit http://www.fairytaletwisted.com

If you like my comic, please vote for The Fox and The Firebird on Topwebcomics.com.
Thursday

October 6th, 2011
[image error] [image error] 21[image error] [image error] [image error]
[image error] [image error] 21 [image error] [image error]

Book Review: Swoon at Your Own Risk by Sydney Salter

Fun, breezy, chick lit novel

Swoon at Your Own Risk by Sydney Salter
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: April 5, 2010
Publisher: Graphia
Pages: 360
Source: Amazon Vine
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

After five failed romances in the past year, Polly Martin has sworn off boys, but it's a difficult vow to keep. She runs into ex boyfriends everywhere she goes and, on some level, she's still attracted to every one of them. Worse, she also seems to constantly encounter Xander Cooper, a skateboarder she's known for years who's suddenly gotten uncomfortably good looking. He spends a lot of time at Wild Waves, a Western-themed water park where she's working for the summer. As if life weren't complicated enough with her boy problems, Polly has to move into her little sister's room so her grandmother can stay in hers when she comes for a long visit. Normally, Polly would be delighted to see Grandma, who writes an advice column for the lovelorn called Miss Swoon--Polly could certainly use some guidance. But Grandma has suddenly gone man-crazy, and is doing anything but following her own sound advice.

This book is enjoyable chick lit that is often very funny. Polly's wry observations about her job, her ex boyfriends, her family, and life in general are a hoot but, at the same time, the book conveys an important, underlying message. Polly has spent her teen years twisting herself into a pretzel to go along with whatever passions her boyfriend of the moment is pursuing. Over the course of the book, she begins to learn who she is as a person and what she truly wants, outside of the needs and desires of some guy who treats her like a convenient toady to his goals.

Heroine: 5

Subcharacters: 4

Writing: 4

Chick-Lit Plot: 4

Romantic Subplot: 4


Overall: 4