Author Interview and Giveaway: Kevin Turner

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Kevin Turner, author of the exciting and thoughtful middle grade adventure story, The Magi (you can read my review here).  He has also generously offered 2 e-copies of his book to giveaway.  To enter, go to the Rafflecopter form below.  (Open internationally, ends Sunday Feb 5)

First, the synopsis from Goodreads:

Thirteen-year-old Elijah Hawk has never heard of the Magi. He doesn't know about the secret power they have. He has never been to Savenridge, the Magi city hidden deep inside the northern forests. Most of all, Elijah is unaware of the dangers hunting him, in search for something he has. After one terrifying night, however, all of that changes!

On a quest to solve the murder of his parents, Elijah stumbles upon the land of the Magi. Learning their secrets and training with their power is the least of his problems. In order to find out why his parents were killed, Elijah learns that he must confront the dangers that are hunting him. What's more terrifying is learning that stumbling upon this new world of the Magi may not have been an accident afterall.

 

Now for the interview:

How did you come to write The Magi?

Winner

The winners for the two ecopies of 8:  The Untold Story by Michael Mullin are:

Shanan B. and Sam B.

Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by and entered and thank you to Mr Mullin for the great interview and giveaway.

I have emailed the winners.

Book Review: Cardsharp by Paul Westmoreland

Today is my stop in the Lightning Book Promotions tour of the exciting adventure, 

Cardsharp:  A Vincent Ward Adventure by Paul Westmoreland.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Burning houses. Daring robbers. Motorway chases. Exploding boats. Flying daggers. Brutal policemen. Ruthless pirates. Beautiful women. Deadly bullets. Racing hearts. International Criminals. Narrow escapes. Tricks, stings and electrocutions. And a priceless painting by one of art’s world’s most notorious masters.

Welcome to the adventures of Vincent Ward, where getting through each day alive just isn’t enough.

My Thoughts:

Cardsharp is an exciting adventure book with a twist.  Vincent Ward works as a researcher at the National Museum in London and has a passion for fine art, especially paintings.  When he is given the opportunity to travel to Italy to bid on a diary supposedly written by one of his favourite artists, Caravaggio, he jumps on the chance.  This leads to a whole adventure full of mystery and intrigue as he is stalked by international criminals who will do anything, and I mean anything, to get the painting that Vincent is so intent on protecting.

Author Interview and Giveaway: De Kenyon

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing De Kenyon, author of the middle-grade short story collection, Tales Told Under the Covers: Zombie Girl Invasion & Other Stories (see my review here).  She has also generously offered an ecopy of her book to giveaway to one lucky reader.  To enter, please leave a comment below with your email address so I can contact you.  The giveway is open internationally and ends midnight January 31 and I will announce the winner on February 1.  The winner will have 2 days to respond to my email or another winner will be chosen.

Here is a synopsis of the book from Goodreads:
Ten tales of death, invasions from other realms, bullies, babysitters, liars, and the brave kids who fight back. Zombie girls who have to hide, lest they get eaten by bigger zombies. Food that bites back. Wizards who are scared of their own power. Murdered (and murderous) pets. Secret superpowers. And that last, great voyage into the unknown. Stories to be whispered under the covers, by flashlight. Stories to be read by firelight to the robots who come out of the woods. Stories to be told when the witches are ready to eat you but want to hear just one more story before they shove you in the oven. Creepy Stories. Fantastical Stories. Weird Stories.

And now for the interview:

You have a great balance of humour and suspense in your stories, can you tell us about that?

My theory is that kids who already like to read have a bajillion books out there that they can read. The other kids, the ones who get bored by sitting down and reading a long, descriptive passage with no action in it (for example, the ones in The Hobbit), don't always have a lot of options that aren't comic books. When my daughter was between six and eight, she was in the second category. She read as many Magic Tree House books as she could stand...then turned to comic books, because books were either a) about kids who were a lot older than her, or b) boring. (Comic books were about kids older than her, but at least had pictures.)

Winners!!!

Congratulations to Nina C and an anonymous entry!!

You are each the winners of an ecopy of The Quill Pen.

I have sent you each an email to let you know.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and entering.

Book Review: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

Book:  The Son of Neptune (Heroes of Olympus #2) by Rick Riordan, Hyperion Books, 2011, 513 pages.

Source:  Purchased.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

Percy is confused. When he awoke from his long sleep, he didn't know much more than his name. His brain fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa told him he is a demigod and trained him to fight with the pen/sword in his pocket. Somehow Percy manages to make it to a camp for half-bloods, despite the fact that he has to keep killing monsters along the way. But the camp doesn't ring and bells with him. The only thing he can recall from his past is another name: Annabeth

Author Interview and Giveaway with Michael Mullin

Today I have the pleaure of interviewing Michael Mullin. author of the very funny story, 8:  The Previously Untold Story of the Previously Unknown 8th Dwarf (you can read my review here).  Mr. Mullin has also generously offered TWO ecopies of his story as a giveaway (see details below with the Rafflecopter form).

Here is a summary of the story from Goodreads:
Written in verse, this is the previously untold story of the previously unknown 8th dwarf, named Creepy. He is banished to the basement for being different and, well, weird. Yet he plays a vital - and of course previously unknown - role in the popular tale of Snow White (whose title character is an intruder Creepy refers to as "the Maid").

And now for the interview:

I love new twists on well-known stories. Can you tell us about yours?

8 is the story of Creepy, the 8^th dwarf no one ever knew about. He doesn’t fit in with the other guys, and when he shocks them to amuse himself, they lock him in the cottage basement. From there he affects the Snow White story we all know.

Book Review: The Death Cure by James Dashner

Book:  The Death Cure (Maze Runner #3) by James Dashner, Delecorte Books for Young Readers, 2011, 256 pages.

Source:  Library.

Synoposis from Goodreads:
Thomas knows that Wicked can't be trusted, but they say the time for lies is over, that they've collected all they can from the Trials and now must rely on the Gladers, with full memories restored, to help them with their ultimate mission. It's up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test.

What Wicked doesn't know is that something's happened that no Trial or Variable could have foreseen. Thomas has remembered far more than they think. And he knows that he can't believe a word of what Wicked says.

Author Interview & Giveaway - Michelle Isenhoff

I am very excited to be able to interview Michelle Isenhoff on my blog today.  She is the author of The Quill Pen, a beautifully written middle grade fantasy adventure novel that I loved (read review here).  She has also generously offered 2 ecopies of her book as a giveaway.  See below for details on how to enter.

Here is the summary of The Quill Pen from Goodreads:

If you owned a pen that wrote the future, would you use it? What if the consequences spread like ripples in a pond? What if they raged out of control? What if the pen demanded tribute...in blood?

Thirteen-year-old Micah has found such a pen. One that’s ensnared him in a curse dating back generations. One that’s devastated two families and now threatens his whole New England village. But how can Micah destroy the pen when it offers him his only chance at the future he dreams of?

And, now for the interview:

Your writing is absolutely beautiful!! I feel like you must write poetry as well. Can you tell us about how you write and edit?

Thank you. Actually, my college professor, the one who first nudged me toward publishing, told me a poet I was not! I’ve learned a lot about imagery since those days.

Book Review: Tales Told Under the Covers by De Kenyon

Book:  Tales Told Under the Covers:  Zombie Girl Invasion and Other Stories (Vol. 1) by De Kenyon, CreateSpace, 2011, 162 pages.

Source:  From the author for review.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Ten tales of death, invasions from other realms, bullies, babysitters, liars, and the brave kids who fight back. Zombie girls who have to hide, lest they get eaten by bigger zombies. Food that bites back. Wizards who are scared of their own power. Murdered (and murderous) pets. Secret superpowers. And that last, great voyage into the unknown. Stories to be whispered under the covers, by flashlight. Stories to be read by firelight to the robots who come out of the woods. Stories to be told when the witches are ready to eat you but want to hear just one more story before they shove you in the oven. Creepy Stories. Fantastical Stories. Weird Stories.

Author Interview: Jonathan Maberry

Today I am excited to be able to interview the very talented Jonathan Maberry, the author of some of my favorite young adult books (Rot & Ruin and Dust & Decay).  His latest book is Dead of Night, a definitely not for kids zombie book.

Here is the synopsis of Dead of Night from Goodreads:
A prison doctor injects a condemned serial killer with a formula designed to keep his consciousness awake while his body rots in the grave.  But all drugs have unforeseen side-effects.  Before he could be buried, the killer wakes up.  Hungry.  Infected.  Contagious.  This is the way the world ends.  Not with a bang…but a bite.




Now for the interview:

Welcome to my blog today.  When my 12 year old son found out that I had the opportunity to interview you, he was as excited as I was.  He has read Rot & Ruin and Dust & Decay and they are among his favourite books ever.  He helped me to come up with the questions for you.
 
His first question is: 

QUESTION: Would you ever take on an apprentice? 

Book Review: The Quill Pen by Michelle Isenhoff

Book:  The Quill Pen by Michelle Isenhoff, ebook, 2011, 133 pages.

Source:  From the author for review.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
If you owned a pen that wrote the future, would you use it? What if the consequences spread like ripples in a pond? What if they raged out of control? What if the pen demanded tribute...in blood?

Thirteen-year-old Micah has found such a pen. One that’s ensnared him in a curse dating back generations. One that’s devastated two families and now threatens his whole New England village. But how can Micah destroy the pen when it offers him his only chance at the future he dreams of?

Book Review: 8, The Previously Untold Story of the Previously Unknown 8th Dwarf

Book:  8: The Previously Untold Story of the Previously Unknown 8th Dwarf, written and illustrated by Michael Mullin, ebook, 2010.

Source:  From the author.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Written in verse, this is the previously untold story of the previously unknown 8th dwarf, named Creepy. He is banished to the basement for being different and, well, weird. Yet he plays a vital - and of course previously unknown - role in the popular tale of Snow White (whose title character is an intruder Creepy refers to as "the Maid").

Book Review: The Black God's War by Moses Siregar III

Book Review:  The Black God's War (Splendor and Ruin #1) by Moses Siregar III, Cup of Gold, 2011, 384 pages.

Source:  copy received from the author.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Against the backdrop of epic warfare and the powers of ten mysterious gods, Lucia struggles to understand The Black One.

Her father-king wants war.
Her messianic brother wants peace.
The black god wants his due.
She suffers all the consequences.

King Vieri is losing his war against the lands of Pawelon. Feeling abandoned by his god, he forces his son Caio, the kingdom’s holy savior, to lead his army. Victory ought to come soon.

Happy New Year!!!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

I wish you all of the best in 2012!

I have really enjoyed learning how to blog this year and reading some other great blogs,

I love the book blogging community!