Some Thoughts on 'Shipping

If you're in literature circles, have read lit news, or have any interest in the Harry Potter series at all, then you've no doubt heard the news that JK Rowling dropped a couple weeks ago.

For anyone not already in the know, it seems she regrets not pairing Harry and Hermione in the series, instead writing Hermione with Ron (and Harry with Ginny).

“I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment. That’s how it was conceived, really. For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it, Hermione ended up with Ron.”
[JK admits Harry should have wed Hermione]

I'd seen the news here and there, on Facebook and dA and such, but didn't really think much of it. So J.K. had second thoughts on her writing, big deal.

It wasn't until I read an article on Bookish that I realized what everyone was getting out of sorts about.

LeakyCon 2013 ~ A Not-So-Very Potter Review

Harry Potter is 15 years old (16 if you're in the UK). It's touched millions of people, created millions of fans, and will probably go down in history as one of the biggest pieces of pop culture (and/or literature) from the beginning of the third millennium. And, much like the Trekkies and Ringers from previous generations, Harry Potter fans have sought brotherhood among their own kind in gatherings and conventions.

Most notable among these conventions in the US is LeakyCon, organized by founders of The-Leaky-Cauldron website. The site has been one of the biggest HP news sites ever since its start in 2000, and has since held interviews with J.K. Rowling, published predictive books, and hosted the renowned PotterCast podcast. They are considered one of the premiere sources of HP knowledge, resources, crafts, etc. on the web.

It only follows that attending one of their conventions would be a once in a lifetime experience, right?

A Peculiar Paperback Plus a Pair of Pencil Pushers

I don't normally post updates about a book's second release, but when it includes so much extra content I felt I had to make an exception.

The paperback release of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children includes not only an interview with the author, but also extra peculiar pictures and the entire first chapter from the upcoming sequel, Hollow City (due out in January 2014).


Here's one of the exchanges interviewer Jason Rekulak and Ransom had in their conversation:

Can you tell us how you came to write this book?
Which came first: the story or the photographs?

I have no idea where most of my ideas come from, but Miss Peregrine has a very specific origin story. A few years ago, I started collecting vintage snapshots—the kind you can find in loose piles at most flea markets for fifty cents or a buck apiece. It was just a casual hobby, nothing serious, but I noticed that among the photos I found, the strangest and most intriguing ones were alwasy of children. I began to wonder who some of these strange-looking children had been—what their stories were—but the photos were old and anonymous and there was no way to know. So I thought: If I can't know their real stories, I'll make them up.

The photographs came first, but I never stopped collecting. Even as I was writing the story I was finding more photographs to work in. Ultimately, the photos and the story influenced each other. Sometimes I'd find a new photo that just demanded to be included in the story, and I'd find a way to work it in; other times I'd look for a certain type of photo to fit a story idea I had. It was a fun, strange, organic writing process, unlike anything I'd attempted before.

Borrowed from The Soul Sisters
Also, technically not from their Powell's stop,
but my camera refused to offer an in-focus picture.

But that's not all!

A Tour That Left Me Breathless

Last week I was privy to attend another YA tour hosted by one of the area's popular Barnes and Nobles. This one featured four very talented ladies promoting their latest (or first) publications. Now, this tour was split up between the coasts, so I got to see the West Coast leg of the tour, which featured Andrea Cremer, Jessica Khoury, Marie Lu, and Brenna Yovanoff.

The last time I attended an event at this store (with Laini Taylor), it was hosted upstairs in the children's department and it was woefully cramped. This time, thankfully, they moved the event down in front, which allowed for a little more space but was still a bit on the small side. B&N just doesn't have much open space in their stores, but I guess they manage alright.

The evening started out with the four authors making their way out of the shadows, but they were also accompanied by a tag-along, and familiar face... If you'll recall from the You Are Next recap, there was a certain red-haired blogger present in the front row. Well, apparently Sara, The Novel Novice didn't find the front row close enough, because for this event she was our lovely and talented moderator!

And if you'll also remember from that other tour, there was a certain hilarious reading exercise... Well, Sara totally ripped off I mean, made tribute to the YAN crew by having the four ladies on the spot follow suit. Of course, it's a whole different matter if you're not prepared - in fact, none of the authors even remembered to bring their own books! Luckily, the event directors were on the ball and speedily supplied the materials. Unfortunately, the authors didn't quite get the same speed in their reading, but that didn't stifle the hilarity as page after page revealed some pretty steamy stuff. I swear, there was nothing else in Andrea's book!

After the speed reads were over, Sara put forth some questions which were answered down the line, including that day's breakfasts, literary crushes, and what other YA book would their protagonist(s) thrive in. And yes, Twilight was a valid answer for one of them, but only because she's immortal and would greatly enjoy the company of other immortals.

And finally we got down to the awkward staring - I mean the audience questions! All four authors gave advice to blossoming writers, emphasizing that the publication of their work shouldn't be the goal, but rather to write the best story that they can (and publication will surely follow). I got a question of my own answered by Andrea, namely which of her series to read first, Nightshade Saga or Rift/Rise. Essentially, if you're in the mood for a paranormal/urban fantasy teen romance, shoot for Nightshade. If you're more in the mood for historical/high fantasy, you're probably going to like Rift & Rise at the moment. Neither should spoil the other. Great to know (especially since the Nightshade saga is getting another installment later this year!).

All in all, a very fun and informative (though not spoilery) evening with five awesome ladies. Though this particular tour has come to a close, if you do get the chance to attend a signing with any of these authors, you're sure to have some fun.

Facebook: Breathless Reads ~ Andrea Cremer ~ Jessica Khoury ~ Marie Lu ~ Brenna Yovanoff ~
Elizabeth Richards ~ Morgan Rhodes/Michelle Rowen ~ Jessica Spotswood ~ Beth Revis ~ Fiona Paul

Blogs/Websites: Andrea Cremer ~ Jessica Khoury ~ Marie Lu ~ Brenna Yovanoff ~
Elizabeth Richards ~ Morgan Rhodes/Michelle Rowen ~ Jessica Spotswood ~ Beth Revis ~ Fiona Paul

Goodreads: Nightshade ~ Wolfsbane ~ Bloodrose ~ Rift ~ Rise ~ Origin ~ Legend ~ Prodigy ~
The Replacement ~ The Space Between ~ Paper Valentine
Black City ~ Falling Kingdoms ~ Born Wicked ~
Across the Universe ~ A Million Suns ~ Shades of Earth ~ Venom

Amazon: Nightshade ~ Wolfsbane ~ Bloodrose ~ Rift ~ Rise ~ Origin ~ Legend ~ Prodigy ~
The Replacement ~ The Space Between ~ Paper Valentine
Black City ~ Falling Kingdoms ~ Born Wicked ~
Across the Universe ~ A Million Suns ~ Shades of Earth ~ Venom

Powell's: Nightshade ~ Wolfsbane ~ Bloodrose ~ Rift ~ Rise ~ Origin ~ Legend ~ Prodigy ~
The Replacement ~ The Space Between ~ Paper Valentine
Black City ~ Falling Kingdoms ~ Born Wicked ~
Across the Universe ~ A Million Suns ~ Shades of Earth ~ Venom

Jan's Paperbacks: Nightshade ~ Wolfsbane ~ Bloodrose ~ Rift ~ Rise ~ Origin ~ Legend ~ Prodigy ~
The Replacement ~ The Space Between ~ Paper Valentine
Black City ~ Falling Kingdoms ~ Born Wicked ~
Across the Universe ~ A Million Suns ~ Shades of Earth ~ Venom

You Should Be Next!

A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending another of Powell's outstanding author events. You Are Next features four YA authors who, apart from having recently published supernatural-ish books and similar quirky personalities, I'm not sure why they were grouped together, but regardless made a wildly entertaining night of laughs, photos, and fun.

Though the crowd was very underwhelming (maybe 15 of us attended), it was probably to our advantage as many of the night's activities were made that much more intimate. It was like we were sharing in our own group of private jokes. Of course, this is not advocating for leaving all your friends at home, but if you arrive and don't see a huge crowd, don't you dare chicken out! You won't want to miss these guys.

Now, the event features four authors...

...but unfortunately Cat Patrick caught a bad stomach bug for the Portland stop...

...so the remaining three improvised!

Yes, that's right, Cat was represented by a Bratz Doll bust, pictured on the right, and sat beside her latest book, Revived, on the table top. "Cat" was backed by her clever compatriots, Sean Beaudoin (The Infects), Kevin Emerson (The Lost Code), and Martha Brockenbrough (Devine Intervention) who offered a very welcome change of pace as author events go, despite being a (wo)man down on the night.

The evening started out with trivia. Aided by his daughter's microphone, Sean walked through the audience and had them pull a slip of paper out of his hat, which he read (using the mic of course) and asked which author this factoid was about. A correct answer earned a small prize, like a Thor Pez dispenser or one of Kevin's band's (The Board of Education) CDs. For example, did you know Martha wrote questions for Cranium and Trivial Pursuit? Now you do!

Next up was a bit of information about the authors and their books. Of course, to make it interesting they were strongly encouraged to use a shout-out word from the audience in their response. The word of the night was "Moist". So if they were to describe their book in only 6 words... Boy and girl explore MOIST city (Kevin). There were standard questions, and not-so-standard questions, both informative and funny. And most importantly, everything was spoiler-free!

But next came the funniest part of the evening, the speed-reading section! Each author had their book in-hand, and a 1-minute time limit. Sean (or Kevin) would shout out page numbers, and the author-in-turn would have to flip to that page and read the best sentence (or first they could find) on the page. The object was to get as many as they could within the time limit. As if that wasn't hilarious enough, part two of the challenge was audience-driven. All three authors were to flip to pages that we shouted out and read as quickly as possible. Then they traded books in-between. One page-race was too much for Kevin (I believe, though it might have been Sean) who ripped the acknowledgements page from his book.

We then took a much needed pause from clutching our sides by participating in an audience Q&A. Though the crowd was small, there were no awkward silences (if there were, they were quickly broken by a joke), and we got some good questions in there.

And lastly, before the signing, we were all asked to pose for the authors! First was zombies, then came fish-people, and lastly angels, to go along with each of the books. Unfortunately I'm out-of-frame in this one, but you might recognize local blogger the Novel Novice there in the front row!

So there you have it, the You Are Next Tour features some off-the-wall activities, quirky authors, and a whole lot of FUN. Be sure to catch it in your area if you can!

Goodreads: Devine Intervention ~ The Lost Code ~ Revived ~ The Infects

Amazon: Devine Intervention ~ The Lost Code ~ Revived ~ The Infects

Powell's: Devine Intervention ~ The Lost Code ~ Revived ~ The Infects

Jan's Paperbacks: Devine Intervention ~ The Lost Code ~ Revived ~ The Infects

Women Author Reading Challenge

Hosted by Peek-A-Book!

Since my own Girl Power reading challenge didn't go off so hot last year (I'd be willing to give it another go if I got any responses), I figured I'd give someone else's a try. But instead of characters, this challenge is about reading female authors.

For this challenge, I'll be aiming for the Wonder Woman level of reading 16+ different women authors. Technically the challenge is just to read 'books written by women authors', but as I read so many series/trilogies, I'm pretty sure that goal would get completed without much effort.

I'll probably also keep a list of honorable mentions for amazing female characters written by male authors on the reading challenge list as well.

So, who are some of your favorite female authors? Any I haven't heard of?
Leave a comment below, and wish me luck!

Keep track of my progress on my Reading Challenges page.

Of Authors and Teeth

Last Tuesday, something amazing happened...

No, I'm not talking about the election. I'm talking about getting to read Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone (henceforth called Daughter), then getting to see her that night at my local Powell's!

Now, my review will be coming out tomorrow, but I just wanted to give a little teaser post about the event I was lucky enough to go to.

I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover...

but come on, people! How amazing is that hair?! Yes, I saw a picture of her on the dust jacket of Daughter above the author blurb, and she had pink hair there, but it's still pretty freaking awesome. (And I apologize for the low-quality picture from my phone - left my good camera at home that night.)

She spoke a little on the writing process of Daughter, read a couple completely non-spoiler-ly passages from the newly released (that day, in fact) Days of Blood & Starlight (henceforth called Days), and then opened it up for questions.

I was especially impressed by not only not spoiling just-released Days, but also not spoiling anything from Daughter. So even if I hadn't literally stayed up all of the night before devouring all of Daughter (like I had any choice in the matter), I wouldn't have had to plug my ears at all! I love it when authors are kind like that.

Also, the writing advice, or rather exposing her strategies for getting things done, was excellent! It's certainly nice to know that even though not all writers are the same, at least a few successful writers share the scattered brain syndrome, the perfectionist tendencies, and the need for escape now and again.

And finally, though it is a custom at Powell's to raffle off swag of some sort, Ms. Taylor was generous enough to offer 2 prizes from the new Daughter of Smoke & Bone jewelry line! You can check out the full site HERE, with nearly everything they're going to be offering (she said a couple pieces are still in the works). PLUS proceeds from sales are currently going toward the Sandy recovery efforts.

But that's not all...I was a lucky recipient of one of the teeth!

Yes, teeth. I'll get more into the teeth in my review, but for those who have read the book(s), aren't these totally amazing?! Not sure what type of tooth it is, other than brass, but I love it nonetheless!

After the raffle, she also had a bunch of Days tote bags, but since I didn't have a copy to sign, I went ahead and took my leave. Overall, a great night without a bunch of political drama or stress.

If you want to go see her for yourself, and help celebrate Days's release, here's her current tour information:

You can bet that if I find a copy of my own I'll be heading down to Clackamas in a couple weeks to get it signed. ;D

Now...back to my review...

Top Ten Tuesday: Books We Hope Aren't Forgotten

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is focusing on books that we hope will remain "on the radar" of readers. Either current lower-hyped titles that we thought were great, or really great older books that might be forgotten down the line. Now, I tend to remember authors a lot more than I remember specific books. So here are a few books & authors that I hope will continue to be remembered and treasured down the line...

10. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

I don't remember when I first read this book—probably 3rd or 4th grade—but I do remember it was the very first book to make me cry. A well-written story, great characters, and a heart-wrenching ending, this is definitely one I hope continues to be carried in children's sections for decades to come.

9. J.R.R. Tolkien

An author I don't think will ever be forgotten, Mr. Tolkien created characters, a language, and a world which has been passed down to new generations and shared with new audiences. There is a timelessness to his tales, though some are more memorable than others. Nonetheless, I hope his memory and his works survive long into the future.

8. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

A series which I probably picked up at too-young an age, but still lingers with me nonetheless. I've re-read the first couple books but have yet to delve back into the third novel a second time. The series as a whole is deceptively simple and innocent, but the subject matter is pretty deep and complex. Still, I hope this series doesn't go the way of the movie and get completely forgotten.

7. Diane Duane

Though I've only managed to read her Young Wizards series, I've heard some great things about her other works as well. Even though her characters are a 'young adult' age, nothing about her books has ever made me feel written-down to. I hope her work continues to be on the radar of children and adults alike.

6. C.S. Lewis

I took a class in college about C.S. Lewis and his works, so I might be a bit biased. Still, whether you're only reading his Chronicles for children, or whether you've ventured into his non-fiction Christian works, I believe he still has a lot to share.

5. Kristin Cashore

This is an author I'm thrilled to follow. I remember when Graceling first came out, I liked it but there were elements that didn't rub right with me. When Fire was released, I loved it so much I couldn't explain it. It was originally going to be my very first review on my blog, but I just couldn't get the wording right.

Bitterblue finally came out this year, and yet again I am stumped on how to review it. There is something that just resonates in all of her books, and I am excited to see her continue to grow with what she releases in the future. Seriously, go pick up her books now!

4. Eoin Colfer

I know I've said this before, but Colfer is quite possibly my favorite male author. I first knew him from his Artemis Fowl series, then his book The Wish List, and finally his addition to the Hitchhiker's series. I was even lucky enough to hear him when he came to talk about the Hitchhiker book. Maybe I'm just a sucker for that Irish accent and a sense of humor. Or maybe his books are really just that great. Regardless, I hope he and his books stay on the reader radar for some time to come.

3. K.A. Applegate

Quite possibly the author who most shaped my literary childhood. I not only read and collected the entire Animorphs series, but I also read her Everworld and Remnants series, which inspired and terrified me, respectively. Though arguably not as 'literary' as YA has been allowed to become in recent years, her books are still exciting reads that I hope aren't completely forgotten as time moves along.

2. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

The world-wide phenomenon that spurred a new age of literature. The Star Wars of books. There are movies, conventions, websites, classes, and more all dedicated to remembering and preserving the magic these books brought us.

I met some of my dearest friends on a fansite and then spent many hours imagining up our own scenarios in the HP world. I own two copies of each of the books (hardbound and paperback) so that I'll have one copy for keeps and one for re-reading.

I don't know that this series will ever fade, and for that I am thankful.

© www.tamorapierce.com

1. Tamora Pierce

I cannot stress enough how amazing all of her books are. Whether it's her anthology of short stories, or her Tortall series or her Emelan series, she never fails to present strong female and male characters in historical and magical worlds. I've never known her books to have a ton of hype surrounding them, and yet her signings and events never fail to fill the seats. She is an amazing person, and I hope she and her work continue to be a staple in YA literature for a very, very long time.

Honorable Mentions:
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Ender's Game & series by Orson Scott Card
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy & sequels by Douglas Adams
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
1984 by George Orwell
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

So, which books (or authors) are on your list?
Have they already established a legacy, or are they still on the fringe?
Let me hear you howl!