A Writing Update

As I said in my post last week, the main reason for my lack of blog posts lately (besides moving house, starting a new job and having an adventurous and sleep-shy one-year-old) is that I have been spending all of my free time writing. 

I had just finished my first detailed read through of Amber & Ice when I got another story idea which I was so consumed by I had to start planning it out at once. And once I'd planned it, I couldn't not start writing it immediately. Three months later and I have the first (very rough) draft of a new fantasy novel. I don't want to go into too much detail in this post, but I will tell you that it's set in the same world as the Elements of Power series, but features different characters. And no, it won't be called Earth, although it doesn't have a title yet. I feel like my writing has improved so much since I wrote Fire and this new novel has given me the chance to try and do a world and idea that I'm still very proud of a bit more justice. I'm not sure what my long-term plans are for it yet, but I had a lot of fun writing it and it's been  great exercise in learning how to plot more effectively. I now need to read back through it to determine if it's worth sharing with anyone else. 

Before I do that though, I'm finally getting back to Amber & Ice and am determined to finish my initial edits, no matter how many other story ideas I have (currently at a total of three). I still feel like there is a lot of promise in this idea, even though my first draft was really weak. The good thing is I have loads of ideas on how to make it better and I'm really pleased with how editing is going. The major problem at the moment is that I think it reads like YA, but with NA aged characters... Do I change up the story completely so the characters are in school rather than uni, or do I work on my extreme avoidance of writing romance scenes? If you've read the first draft on Wattpad, I'd love to know your thoughts! It also desperately needs a better title, but inspiration for that is still eluding me at the moment. 

That's all from me for this week - I need to get back to editing!

Pop Sugar Reading Challenge

Hello! I'm sorry I haven't updated in ages. It's because I've been super busy writing, but there will be more on that in my next post. Today, I want to post an update on the Pop Sugar reading challenge I've been working on. 

A book with more than 500 pages {Casual Vacancy}
A classic romance {Mansfield Park}
A book that became a movie {Gone Girl}
A book published this year {The Red Queen}
A book with a number in the title (Fahrenheit 451}
A book written by someone under 30 {Queen of Shadows}
A book with nonhuman characters {Winter}
A funny book
A book by a female author {Gone Girl}
A mystery or thriller {The Cuckoo's Calling}
A book with a one-word title {Fangirl}
A book of short stories
A book set in a different country {100 Years of Solitude}
A nonfiction book {Bringing Up Bebe}
A popular author's first book
A book from an author you love that you haven't read yet {Paper Towns}
A book a friend recommended {The Secret History or One Hundred Years of Solitude}
A Pulitzer Prize-winning book
A book based on a true story
A book at the bottom of your tbr list.
A book your mum loves
A book that scares you {Asking For It}
A book more than 100 years old {Tess of the D'Urbervilles}
A book based entirely on its cover {We Were Liars}
A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't {An Inspector Calls - technically, I didn't have to read this when I was at school, but I did need to read it for work and managed to blag my way through a few lessons before I got round to it}
A memoir {The Guantanamo Diary}
A book you can finish in a day {7 Days}
A book with antonyms in the title {AWorld Without Princes - The School for Good and Evil #2}
A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit {The Scorpio Races - I know it's not real, but I would love to visit Puck's island}
A book that came out the year you were born
A book with bad reviews
A trilogy
A book from your childhood {We're Going on a Bear Hunt}
A book with a love triangle {Half Wild}
A book set in the future {Only Ever Yours}
A book set in high school {To All the Boys I've Loved Before}
A book with a colour in the title {Red Rising}
A book that made you cry {Tess of the D'Urbervilles}
A book with magic {Half Bad}
A graphic novel
A book by an author you've never read before {The Winner's Curse}
A book you own but have never read
A book that takes place in your hometown {A Darker Shade of Magic - well, versions of it, anyway!}
A book that was originally written in a different language {One Hundred Years of Solitude}
A book set during Christmas
A book written by an author with your initials
A play {An Inspector Calls}
A banned book
A book based on or turned into a TV show
A book you started but never finished {Casual Vacancy}

There are quite a few categories I don't think I'm going to cross of this list and there are a few books I've read, but can't fit in anywhere. I've now read 38 out of the 40 books I set myself as a challenge on goodreads this year.

Easy Grammar

This is going to make me sound really weird, but I'm going to admit it anyway: I find grammar really interesting. I like the rules and the precision. But I'm also willing to admit that my grammar is far from perfect. I always seem to come across new rules, or I will suddenly understand something which had always confused me previously. Sometimes, it's just a matter of having things explained in the right way. Here are a few grammar rules and the explanations which suddenly helped me to understand them. {Warning: I take no responsibility for the fact that you can't unlearn these rules, and it will forever bug you when someone gets them wrong...}

Less/Fewer
If you can count it, use fewer. If you can't, it should be less.
Fewer cakes / Less love
Fewer students / Less work

I have a compulsive need to correct this one when I hear it misused, although I try very, very hard to keep the corrections in my head...

I/Me
Is it Roxy and I, or Roxy and me? The simple way to work this one out is to substitute in 'we' or 'us'
We went to the beach = Roxy and I went to the beach.
It poured down on us = It poured down on Roxy and me.

Speech
I don't know if I missed this in school, or forgot it, but when I first wrote Fire, I had no idea how to punctuate speech. But  it's another really easy rule once you know it.
If you are following your speech with an action, put a full stop at the end of your speech.
If you are following it with a description of speech (she said / she muttered / he yelled etc.), you should use a comma.

Vocative case
Another speech related rule. If your speech is addressing someone (using the vocative case) put a comma before their name.
"I love you, Roxy."
"I will kill you, Cinaer."

This is another one where I don't understand why I didn't already know it, but you will quickly notice that not many people do. It isn't just necessary for clarifying speech in stories, it should also be used if you are addressing someone in an email, text or message of any kind. All those "Happy birthday Roxy" messages, they should really be "Happy birthday, Roxy." And once you know this it will bug you every. single. time. (Your're welcome!)

Jealousy/Envy
I'm going to leave the explanation of this one to Homer Simpson. It's more memorable that way and I don't think I could put it any better.

Mirrored Snow: Update

Today I posted the final chapter of Mirrored Snow on Wattpad. I have had so much fun with this short story. I had to approach it in a different way to my novels, due both to its length and the fact that it is a retelling. If you haven't taken a look yet, please do and let me know what you think. You can find it on Wattpad. Here's the cover (which I changed from my original post) and the description. 

Everyone know the story of Snow White: blood red lips, ebony hair and skin the colour of freshly fallen snow. Her vain step-mother, desperate to be the 'fairest of them all' attempts four times to have her killed, until her prince comes to save the day. 

But what if Snow wasn't a princess, but a prince. 
And the queen's antique silver mirror contained not just her reflection, but a girl. 

Mirror can no longer remember her name - or life - before the queen imprisoned her. All day, every day, she finds herself at the queen's beck and call; a life of endless servitude and isolation. 

Snowdon is approaching his 18th birthday and is an increasing threat to the queen's right to rule. And his looks are putting him in the running for her 'fairest' title too. So the queen decides the quickest way to solve all her problems is to get rid of Snowdon. Permanently. But the girl watching their every move has other ideas.

Authors on Wattpad

As well as being a great platform for thousands of fresh, talented writers, young and old, many established writers can be found on Wattpad. Some post sample chapters from their novels, while others post short stories and exclusive content. Here are some I think you should really check out:

Marissa Meyer
Meyer has posted the first six chapters of Cinder and Scarlet on Wattpad, along with three short stories and the first chapter of Fairest. The one you really shouldn't miss is The Little Android, which is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, set in the world of the Lunar Chronicles.

Margaret Atwood
Atwood has posted poems and a non-fiction piece to Wattpad and has also just launched her own writing competition on the site! It's fantastic to see such an established, respected writer supporting a website like Wattpad, I think it really shows the importance and potential of the site. I'm going to start working on my contest entry later this week...

Beth Reekles
Reekles began her writing career on Wattpad and had her trilogy published as a result of her success on the site. You can still read samples, prequels and some short stories on the site.

Laure Eve
Eve has published the entirely of her first book - Fearsome Dreamer - on Wattpad and she replied to all the comments she gets on it, which is really cool.

Taran Matharu
Another Wattpad sucess story. You can still read a sample of his novel and some prequels on the site, plus he is really active and replied to comments.

Do you have any other recommendations? Please post them in the comments if so!

Mirrored Snow

Today I am posting something entirely new on Wattpad!

Mirrored Snow is a gender-reversed retelling of Snow White, where Snow has become 'Snowdon' and is told from the perspective of a girl the evil queen has trapped in her mirror. 

It's going to be a short story, rather than a full novel, and although I have of course been influenced and inspired by the Disney film and other modern retellings, I'm trying to go back to the Grimm original for my plot. 

Here is the description:

Everyone know the story of Snow White: blood red lips, ebony hair and skin the colour of freshly fallen snow. Her vain step-mother, desperate to be the 'fairest of them all' attempts four times to have her killed, until Prince Charming comes to save the day. 

But what if Snow wasn't a princess, but a prince. 

And the queen's antique silver mirror contained not just her reflection, but a girl. 

Mirror can no longer remember her name - or life - before the queen imprisoned her. All day, every day, she finds herself at the queen's beck and call; a life of endless servitude and isolation. 

Snowdon is approaching his 18th birthday and is an increasing threat to the queen's right to rule. And his looks are putting him in the running for her 'fairest' title too. So the queen decides the quickest way to solve all her problems is to get rid of Snowdon. Permanently. But the girl watching their every move has other ideas.

And the cover:

Are you interested yet? You can check it out here!

My Wattpad Recomendations

So I wrote on Wednesday that I have been reading a lot of stories on Wattpad recently and I really wanted to share some of my favourites with you, so here they are!

  

 

First, let's just take a moment to appreciate how amazing those covers are - the talent on this site extends far beyond the writing.

Rimwick by FionaChai
Sometimes on Wattpad, a story will be so good I will forget that I'm not reading something that has been published. Rimwick was definitely one of those stories. A fantastic, supernatural fantasy book with great characterisation and plot twists.

RUNES by Authorednah
This is the first book in a published series, but it looks like most of them are also available on Wattpad to read for free. The author has created a complex, intriguing fantasy world and there has already been lots of action.

5:48 by cityscape
Quite a different sort of book to what I normally read. It's about a group of teens, each with their own troubles and complex back story, who run a coffee shop together. Touching, emotional and complex.

Magnificent by Corlaya
Only a few chapters of this book have been posted so far, but I am really enjoying it. The main character has a really intriguing secret and I'm desperate to find out what it is!

The Roommate Rulebook by Lilohorse
This is another one i haven't finished yet but I am enjoying it so far. It's a bit like A Beautiful Disaster


Do you like reading books on Wattpad? If so, do you have any recommendations? Or do you post writing of your own? Please leave me some links in the comments and I will try to check them out. Don't forget you can read Fire in full and check out my new story, Amber&Ice, on my account.

March and April Reading Catch-Up

It's been a while since I've done one of these posts! I have been hard at work writing though, which is one of the best reasons for not getting time to blog. I also haven't read as many books over the past few months. My daughter is on the move now, so looking after her is non stop and I've also been reading a lot more stories on my phone, via Wattpad. I'm going to write another post soon on my favourite Wattpad reads, but here are the traditional books I have enjoyed recently:

  

  

The Red Queen: Definitely worth the hype. This book wasn't what I expected, but I really enjoyed it. It has the expected, dystopian world class segregation, with some X-Men-style powers thrown in. 

Bring Up Bebe: A must-read if you are a new parents. Part memoir, part parenting handbook, completely hilarious, honest and helpful. 

Fangirl: A really fun read. I love read fanfiction, even though I've never really tried to write any, and I felt like I could really relate to the characters in this book. It reminded me so much of waiting for Harry Potter books to come out.  

Red Rising: A sci-fi Hunger Games is the best way I can think of to describe this one. Great world building and I really cared about the characters. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series soon. 

Only Ever Yours: Everyone should read this book. It is so, so important as a statement about our culture and obsession with image and celebrity. A fantastic feminist book, but I think really important for boys to read too. When I go back to work next month, this is the book I will be championing and putting on all my reading lists. 

The Winner's Crime: This is a brilliant sequel. If you haven't checked this series out yet, I really recommend you do. It's set in a world a little like Ancient Rome and deals with politics, love and lies. Just watch out for the HUGE cliff hanger at the end of this book!

May has been a much-anticipated book month for me, with the release of The Heir and A Court of Thorns and Roses. I am very jealous of everyone who got to read and review them in advance as I can't wait to get started on them myself. 

Amber&Ice

The complete first draft of my sci-fi/dystopian novel, Amber&Ice is available now on Wattpad. It's quite rough around the edges and needs a lot of redrafting, but I am very happy with where it's going. Here is the synopsis:

Athena believes her world is perfect. Direct democracy means that everyone votes, on everything: from how their healthcare is funded to the colour of the clothes they wear.
When an explosive encounter with the mysterious Dyo throws Athena's beliefs into turmoil, Athena is soon drawn into a society on the outskirts, where she discovers a darker side to the world she lives in. But there is danger in the truth and this new knowledge comes at a heavy price. Can Athena turn her back on everything she has ever believed in? And what will happen to her if she does? 

If you get the chance to check it out, please let me know what you think - particularly where there is any room for improvement. I have a growing list of issues for redrafting! 

Royal Reading List

Britain has gone royal baby mad! So keeping with the royal theme, I have put together a reading list of regal books. 

  

  

  

From historical fiction to fantasy, YA novels are full of royalty. So if you want to spend a day imagining what it would be like to be a princess, check one of these books out. 

People rocking Arcan hair (even if they don't realise it!)

So this post from Sugarscape came up on my Twitter feed on Sunday morning and made me realised that Arcan protectors' hair is definitely a trend at the moment (even if it is in no way connected to the series anywhere other than in my head). I thought it would be fun to take a moment to celebrate how awesome this is and share some pictures of some would-be Arcans. If I let my imagination really run away with me I can pretend it's because someone is turning the series into a film...

Coachella Ready thank you @rendaattia 💙 💜 💙

A photo posted by Jourdan Dunn (@officialjdunn) on Apr 9, 2015 at 10:24am PDT

a little grey never hurt nobody

A photo posted by Kylizzle (@kyliejenner) on Nov 1, 2014 at 3:48pm PDT

  

{photos from glamourmagazine.co.uk}

  

{photos from organiccolorsystems.com}

UKYA Day

Today I am sort of wishing I was back at work (almost) as I know I could have put together a great reading list and display in the library for UKYA. In case you have somehow managed to miss all of the amazing stuff happening on Twitter, UKYA day has been organised by Lucy at Queen of Contemporary. There have been some great Twitter Q&As and live author chats and I have really enjoyed checking it all out. Since I can't organise anything at work, I'm going to have to settle for a virtual reading list on here. Below is a list of some of my favourite UKYA books.

  

Half Bad by Sally Green

I loved this book! It's sort of a fantasy take on racial segregation, with lots of magic and action thrown in. I still haven't bought Half Wild and I meant to pick up one of the signed copies Waterstones had, but I think I've left it too late now, which is a shame. 

Harry Potter by JK Rowling
I don't think I need to say any more. Although I do want to add that I am very excited about the illustrated version coming out this autumn!

She is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgewick
I read this one in the library last year and thought it was brilliant. A thriller/mystery told from the perspective of a blind teenager.

  

Guitar Girl and the Diary of a Crush series by Sarra Manning
I read these books while I was at school and really enjoyed them. I think Diary of a Crush remains the only series my best friend has ever read, and she finished them all within the space of a week. I think one of the best things about UKYA is that it's so good to read about teenagers in British schools, doing very British things like going festivals or on school trips to France. I find UK contemporary YA is often easier to relate to than books from elsewhere.

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
Another book where I really need to get hold of the sequel soon. It took me a little while to get into The Bone Season, but once I did I was hooked. It was mostly read in the early hours of the morning while up with my daughter.

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

I guess this series wasn't originally written as YA, but it fits the category well. I love the world(s!) of His Dark Materials and have always wished I had a daemon.

I'm going to cut this post short now as my daughter is having an 'I don't want to be put down' day, but other UKYA authors I love are Celia Rees, Adele Geras (Troy is the reason I love Classical mythology so much, it is AMAZING and everyone should read it), Annabel Pitcher, Anthony Horowitz and Patrick Ness. Hopefully at some point soon I'll be able to go back to this post and write a proper summary for each of these authors!

There. That would have looked so nice displayed on the library book shelf...

Smashwords

Air is now available on Smashwords. This means that it will also soon be available on at Kobo, Barnes & Noble and iBooks. I will update with links once I have them.

Air Release Day!

Air is now available to download from Amazon! I can't wait to hear what you all think of the conclusion to the series. I'm a little sad that it's over but I'm also feeling really proud - and excited about all the ideas I want to move onto next!

I do have some short story ideas for Elements of Power, so this may not be the forever-end for the series (there's a Tristan sub-plot from book two which I would like to give some space too...) but it is a definite goodbye to Jasmine, Roxy and Brae.

Writing this series has been a huge learning curve for me and I feel like my writing has improved so much as a result. Next week, I will post some of my favourite moments and quotes from the series, but for now I will just leave you with all those lovely Amazon links. 

UK \\ US \\ Germany \\ France \\ Spain \\ Italy \\ Netherlands \\ Japan \\ Brazil \\ Canada \\ Mexico \\ Australia \\ India

Once you've had the chance to read it. Please let me know what you think.

Air Pre-order

Air is now available for pre-order on Amazon! It will then be delivered straight to your Kindle on Thursday 12th March. You can find it at the following links:

UK \\ US \\ Germany \\ France \\ Spain \\ Italy \\ Netherlands \\ Japan \\ Brazil \\ Canada \\ Mexico \\ Australia \\ India

One Week to Go!

Yes, you read that correctly! There is only one more week until you can read Air and finish the Elements of Power series. In the mean time, make sure that you add Air to your goodreads shelf and keep an eye on the blog for further updates and info.

Let me know in the comments if you're rooting for Roxy or Jasmine.

Monthly Recap: February

Some day, I'll manage to post this on the first of the month...

The Winner's Curse

Read just in time for The Winner's Crime, which I will be buying as soon as I finish Bringing Up Bebe (which is the first physical book I have read in a long time!). There seem to be a lot of books that focus on dystopian-racism at the moment (the first book on my March reading list is The Red Queen). TWC had some great characterisation, fantastic plot twists (particularly the end) and I liked that the society reminded me of ancient Greece/Rome.

The Guantanamo Diary

This should be required reading. Chilling, thought-provoking and extremely well written (to the point where I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn't fiction).

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Very funny. I definitely identified with Lara Jean's feelings on driving! I could never quite tell where this book was going next and it took me quite a while to decide what I even wanted to happen next. I am really looking forward to book two.


So far, I'm two books ahead on my Goodreads challenge :) I've also made some progress on the Pop Sugar challenge, which you can see here. I'm currently on book two for March after I devoured The Red Queen in a couple of days.

Elements of Power: The Covers

The complete set.

Here are the Elements of Power covers, all in a row. As much as I love the cover for Air, I think Water is still my favourite as I love the water burst in the middle. It was a lot more difficult to sort something out for Air, although I am really pleased with the final effect. 

Which cover is your favourite? Please let me know in the comments. 

Air: Elements of Power III

Release date: Thursday 12th March 2015

Air.

I needed air.

I was gasping, but my lungs refused to take any in.

Jasmine's world is crumbling around her. Still reeling from the discovery of her parents' identities, she is forced to face the repercussions of her actions in the Helian Realm, while her beloved home is besieged by Helian attackers. And she still can't control her powers.

Roxy is confronted by the realisation that she has travelled across the Realms for a boy who thinks she betrayed him. A boy dating the girl who sold her out. And even while freezing in the Arcan Realm it seems she can't escape Cinaer's grasp.

Time is running out for the girls to save the world - and the boy - they love. But to have any chance of defeating Cinaer, they are going to have to work together. Cinaer is on a warpath and he's not giving up until he has secured the Helian throne - even if he has to reduce the Arcan Realm to dust in the process.

Air is the gripping final installment of the Elements of Power trilogy.

***

It's nearly here! I would like to thank you all so very, very much for your patience. I had initially expected to release Air this time last year, but life interfered in the best possible way with the arrival of my adorable baby girl. When I had initially planned to edit Air, I was instead falling asleep on the sofa at 6pm, as pregnancy was making me exhausted and then when my little girl was born, I discovered that working while she napped wasn't as easy as it sounded, particularly as she refused to nap anywhere other than on me for the first few months! But we got there eventually and Air is finished and ready to hit (virtual) shelves in March. 

If you can't wait until then and have previously reviewed Fire and Water, please drop me an email to request an ARC. I'm going to try and email out to some bloggers today, but if you haven't heard from me and want one then please get in touch.

Popsugar Reading Challenge

As you'll know if you read the blog regularly, I am obsessed quite fond of Pinterest. A few days ago I stumbled across a pin of this excellent reading challenge created by Popsugar. The link has a lovely graphic for the challenge, but I'm retyping them all here so that I can cross them off throughout the year.

This year I will try to read:

A book with more than 500 pages {Casual Vacancy}
A classic romance {Mansfield Park}
A book that became a movie {Gone Girl}
A book published this year {The Red Queen}
A book with a number in the title
A book written by someone under 30
A book with nonhuman characters
A funny book
A book by a female author {Gone Girl}
A mystery or thriller
A book with a one-word title {Fangirl}
A book of short stories
A book set in a different country [I know Gone Girl would fit this, but I'm sure I can be more exotic than the US!]
A nonfiction book {Bringing Up Bebe}
A popular author's first book
A book from an author you love that you haven't read yet {Casual Vacancy}
A book a friend recommended {The Secret History or One Hundred Years of Solitude}
A Pulitzer Prize-winning book
A book based on a true story
A book at the bottom of your tbr list.
A book your mum loves
A book that scares you {Only Ever Yours}
A book more than 100 years old {Mansfield Park}
A book based entirely on its cover
A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't [given I always read what I was supposed to in school, I'm not sure what I'll do for this one]
A memoir {The Guantanamo Diary}
A book you can finish in a day
A book with antonyms in the title
A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit
A book that came out the year you were born
A book with bad reviews
A trilogy
A book from your childhood
A book with a love triangle
A book set in the future {Only Ever Yours}
A book set in high school {To All the Boys I've Loved Before}
A book with a colour in the title {Red Rising}
A book that made you cry {Tess of the D'Urbervilles
A book with magic {Half Bad}
A graphic novel
A book by an author you've never read before {The Winner's Curse}
A book you own but have never read
A book that takes place in your hometown
A book that was originally written in a different language
A book set during Christmas
A book written by an author with your initials
A play
A banned book
A book based on or turned into a TV show {The Originals}
A book you started but never finished {Casual Vacancy}

Bloglovin'

Not sure why I hadn't done this already, but I have just signed up to Bloglovin'. If you have an account, please follow the blog on there as an easy way to keep up-to-date with all my new posts and Air news.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Monthly Recap: January

Posting this a day late, which I am blaming on post-Superbowl tiredness (side note: Go Pats!) Here is the round up of everything I read in January. Which it turns out wasn't very much...

Gone Girl

My first book of the year. I loved Gone Girl; it was amazing. There are so many jaw dropping moments and the characterisation is superb. I think the film comes onto Sky movies this week, so I'm looking forward to watching it soon.

Half Bad

Half Bad was on my list of series to start this year. It also has a male protagonist, so ticks two challenge boxes. I liked the take on magic that Half Bad had and am interested to see where the concept goes next in Half Wild. The class system was also really intriguing and reminded me a bit of Harry Potter, but that was the only similarity I spotted between the two - Half Bad is a unique idea.

Mansfield Park

The first of my classics ticked off and I can now say that I have read all of Jane Austen's novels! I liked Fanny a lot because she was shy and reserved, so reminded me more of myself than most Jane Austen heroines. As with most Austen novels though, I can't help but feel slightly unsatisfied with the romantic conclusions...

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

I'm including Tess on the list even though I'm only half way through, so it's actually crossing over into a February read. I'm enjoying it so far even though I'm pretty certain it's not going to have a happy ending.

YA Series I haven't started yet and really should

Five YA series I haven't started yet and would really like to at some point soon:

Newsoul by Jodi Meadows

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Corpus by Jessica Khoury

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Half Bad by Sally Green