SURPRISE OTHERWORLD CONTEST!

SURPRISE CONTEST TIME!!! 

I know, it’s rare I do these now but while chatting to the lovely people at Rock The Boat about if I should read Otherearth, the second book in the Otherworld or Last Reality trilogy by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller (even though I haven’t read Otherworld yet. I know, I keep putting it off for one reason or another - hope to correct this before the year is out!), we got chatting about the series and a few others they publish and I said something along the lines of “I would love to do a contest. Maybe this will be the kick up the behind I need to read this!” and Rock the Boat, seeing that I might need a push went “Ok”. 

So now, I have no excuse now not to read this before the end of the year as I’m doing a contest! 

For those unsure of Otherworld, Otherworld is a game. Expect, it’s not. It’s addictive and will make you want to stay forever and make your dreams come true. Otherworld isn’t a game. It’s the next phase of reality and no one saw it coming. 

It’s an sci-fi thriller (best way to describe it) and am intrigued on what you guys think of this. So, the lovely people at Rock the Boat have given me the chance to give away up to FIVE signed copies. FIVE! And all you have to do it fill in the form below. 

Ok, boring stuff time. This is a UK only contest. Sorry, but this is due to publishing rights. There can only be a max of five winners (In the past, I barely get two or three people enter some of my contest, hence me airing on the side of caution). The contest will end on Sunday (7th October 2018) around midday(ish) and winners will be picked at random via random.org. I will tweet the winners and will email them for their address so Rock The Boat can send the winners their winning copy. 

Now, go forth and enter. I wish you luck and hope the odds and the Company are in your favour! 

eBook Review - The Snowman

• Title And Author: The Snowman by Michael Morpurgo (Inspired by the classic by Raymond Briggs
• Publisher: Puffin
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an Honest Review
• Length: 160 Pages

Andrew, we are in September. Why on earth are you reading a Christmas novella? And a retelling of a well known Christmas classic? have you COMPLETELY lost the plot? 

I am imagining you are all thinking this. Don’t say you’re not. I love Christmas. I love Bonfire Night and Halloween (well… in theory, I love Halloween. I love all the myths and legends on Halloween. In pratice… no. I hate it. I will be the one sitting the dark of my house, pretending that no one is home… but that’s a blog post for another day). So, when I saw this on NetGalley, I thought it would be a fun little read for me. A nice break from Time Convert, my current adult read (which I an enjoying, but it’s so weird reading this book when, the other books In the series, I have audiobooked…). Plus, I was curious on how Michael Morpurgo was going to write this, how he was going to tackle this classic. Tackle it head-on, or go into it from a slight angle… 

When James wakes early on Christmas Eve to discover it had snowed overnight, he’s so excited that he goes out and builds a snowman. He spends all day building him and showing him off to his parents and his grandma, who is staying over Christmas. When he goes to bed that night, waiting for Father Christmas, he wonders about his snowman and, when he looks out of the window, he discovers that his snowman has come to life… 

Where do I start with this novella? 

2018 BBC Young Writers' Award - EXTRACT ALERT!!!

To celebrate the reveal of the five shortlist for this year's BBC's Young Writers' Award 2018, the lovely PR people from ED PR said "Do you fancy having an extract of one of the short stories?"

I jumped at the chance. Me to discover new writing talent? Bring it on!

Now, with all five short stories being just under 1000 words long each, the extracts are quite short. Around 250 words. So a delicious appetiser!

Now, I was planning to not tell you anything about my extract it as, I want you guys to read it and all the others on other people's blogs!. But I've changed my mind! So, my extract is taken from Footprints in the Far Field by Reyah Martin, a short story that explores a mother's all consuming grief after the lost of a baby, explored by the child who is left behind.

If you're curious to read extracts or all five short stories, keep  your eyes peeled on BBC.co.uk/ywa or follow the #BBCYWA on all the social media!

Now, over to the short extract to wet your appetite!!!

BBC YOUNG WRITERS’ AWARD 2018 - ShortlIst Press Release

ALERT! ALERT! I have a press release to reveal to you! It's embargoed and everything and can only reveal it now, as BBC Radio 1's Life Hacks revealed it all first! *feels very special and very honoured*

Anyway, I have a press release, revealing the shortlist of the five stories shortlisted for this year's BBC Young Writers' Award 2018! I have read the press release's description of the five shortlisted stories and they all sounds gripping, and the fact that all are under 1000 words and for them to tell the stories with such depth show a untapped talent, which hopefully means we've discovered five new exciting talents and we will be reading more from them in the near future.

Like I have said before, it is an honour to be involved in showing this press release and be involved over the next few weeks.

Right, before I show the press release, quick info dump time. The winner of the BBC Young Writers' Awards (as well as BBC National Short Story Award 2018 and BBC Student Critics Award 2018) will be announced on BBC Radio 4's Front Row in Cambridge on Tuesday 2nd October. The winning story will be on the Life Hacks podcast the following Sunday. Fast turnaround!

And, in case you want more info, check out BBC.co.uk/ywa or follow the hashtag #BBCYWA. Now, over to the press release!

The Five Thing About Trixie...

 I am really excited to get into the Halloween spirit (in theory, I love Halloween. In practice... not so much...), so when I was asked if I wanted to be involved in the Halloween Parade blog tour, I jumped at the chance! 

With vibes of the Worst Witch, this follows Trixie Grimble, the newest student of the Monstacademy. With her being the only ordinary girl in the student body full of monsters, Trixie has to get to grips with helping out with the annual Halloween parade. Expect that's when everything starts going wrong. 

Today, I have the author, Matt Beighton, doing a small list of five things you need to know about our lead character, Trixie Grimble. Am going to say nothing more about it, as I don't want to say anything... 

So, thank you Matt for writing this list for the blog tour. I know you are very busy. I, also, want to thank Faye to including me on this tour - thank you Faye. 

Oh, before I go any further and hand you over to Matt, I have to mention something in my best QVC voice. The series is available in both standard and dyslexia-adapted format (YEAH! More books should be adapted for dyslexic readers! As someone who was classed as a borderline dyslexia when very young, this is very important to me!). And, to celebrate Dyslexia Awareness Week (Monday 1st October to Sunday 7th October 2018) and World Dyslexia Awareness Day (Thursday 4th October 2018), Green Monkey Press is giving 15% off any Monstacademy order via their Etsy if you use the code DYSAWARE during that week (1st till 7th October). Go to https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/GreenMonkeyPress 

Ok, with that out of the way, over to Matt with the five things you need to know about Trixie...

Audiobook Review - Circe

• Title And Author: Circe by Madeline Miller
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 352 Pages or 12 Hours 8 Minutes

I’m a sucker for a Greek myth. You can probably see that from the last few weeks of what I’ve reading. But, I’ve had my eye of Circe for a little while and I just wasn’t sure when/how I was going to read this. But after trying to figure out if I should get the pretty Hardback in my local Waterstones/Foyles, I went for audiobook - because why not! 

Circe takes the Circe myth and twists it on its head, to explain who she was before and after that well known myth of her. First daughter to the Titan God, Helios, Circe doesn’t have the looks, the voice, the grace of divinity and is rejected from gods and water nymphs alike. Soon, she turns to mortals for companion. Soon, she falls in love with a mortal and, fearing his death, she does something she doesn’t know she can do: magic.

But when her second unknowing spell backfires in a horrible fashion, Circe tells the truth about what she has done and wrathful Zeus banishes her to the island of Aiaia, throwing her into exile. But rather than being a curse, it might be a blessing to Circe who discovers that she is a witch and slowly learns her craft. It is here that the Fates throw our people into her path: the messager god, Hermes. The craftsman, Daedalus, and his young son. Her sister and her minotaur. The golden fleece, and Odysseus… 

Soon, her independence and her solitary draws the wrath of both god and men alike. To protect herself and the people she holds dear, Circe must make a choice about who she is: god or mortal…?

Where do I start with this audiobook? 

6 eBooks I Want To Reread If I Had Time...

As you saw last week, I hit a wall over what to blog. So when Gavin from @gavreads tweeted a suggesting of what 5 books do I want to reread if I had the time/Time-Turner. As soon as I saw it, I went “YES! THIS IS FANTASTIC!!!” and started writing the post. But as I started writing it, I realised that all the books that I put on my reread list were physical (and I didn’t even scratch the surface! And I have a few rereads on my TBR for next year!), so I went “What about my eBooks?”. 

So, I thought I would do the same with my kindle and my eBooks. So, after looking at my read/to be read on my eReader, here are six eBooks I want to reread if/when I find the time! 

5 Physical Books I Want To Reread If I Had Time

I felt a bit flat on Sunday. I wanted to write a blog post about something - possible 2019 plans, my thoughts of Waterstones buying Foyles, a few other bits and pieces - but nothing really settled with me.

So when I mentioned this on Twitter, wondering if I should go back to my reading of Time's Convert by Deborah Harkness, Gavin from @gavreads said the following:

Top five books you’d reread if you had time?

— Gav Reads (@gavreads) September 9, 2018

This made me go "OOOH!". One of the downsides to being a book blogger is we have a huge TBR and it's rare to go back and reread books unless we can make time or audiobook it. But this idea intrigued me as I went "Ok, what 5 would I reread if I had the time...? And no, I can't just say Harry Potter! That's cheating and you always try and find time to reread Potter so behave." And when I started thinking of this post, the list came quite fast. But when I looked at my bookshelves, I kept going "Oh, you! And you! And [gasp] I forgot about you!!!". And when I started writing this, I went "Wait, this list is basically all the physical books I own/want to reread. Not any eBooks" so that post is going to be written in the next week so keep eyes peeled... 

So, deep breaths! We are going in...

Book Review - A Thousand Beginnings and Endings

• Title And Author: A Thousand Beginnings And Endings edited by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman
• Publisher: Harper360
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Physical
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by Publisher in Exchange for an Honest Review
• Length: 328 Pages

When the lovely people at Harper360 emailed to promote some of their upcoming titles for the next few months, only A Thousand Beginnings and Endings made me go “I MUST READ THIS!!!”. I mean, this ticked all of my boxes: short stories, diversity, authors new and old (to me) reimaginings or retellings of myths and legends I don’t know about, myths and legends in general. Plus, THAT COVER! You can blame Mythos by Stephen Fry and Circe by Madeline Miller (which am still audiobooking at the time of writing this - keep your eyes peeled!) for my sudden attack of reading myths and legends, if you so wish.

Fifteen authors reimagine fifteen myths, legends and folklore from East and South Asia. There is no other way to write this. Fifteen myths get reimagined in a mix of genres - sci-fi, fantasy, contemporary, romance and a nice twist of revenge. 

Now, where do I start with this? 

Audiobook Review - Chocolat

• Title And Author: Chocolat by Joanne Harris
• Publisher: Transworld/Orion Audio
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 320 Pages or 9 Hours 48 Minutes

Joanne Harris is one of those authors. You know the one I mean. An author you admire and respect from a distance, but never read any of their books. Joanne was one of mine - I do have a eProof of A Pocketful of Crows on my kindle, waiting patiently for its turn. But I always have been curious over Chocolat. But whenever I try to start and read the sampler, I never clicked with the voice. But I knew I wanted to read this. 

So, when I discovered that this was on audiobook, unabridged and read by the author herself, I knew I had to listen to this. It’s always a special treat when you listen to audiobook when it’s read by the author themselves. 

The quiet life of small French village, Lansquenet, is thrown up in the air when an exotic and mysterious stranger, Vianne Rocher, and her young daughter arrive and open a chocolate boutique. Just before Lent, the traditional season of self-denial. Father Reynaud denounces her and her shop as a serious moral threat to the faith. 

As the community takes sides, passions and conflict flare. How can you balance the solemnity of the Church against the sinfulness of chocolate…?

Where do I start with this audiobook?