Building a Curious World

I am thrilled to welcome Julia Golding onto the Pewter Wolf today with something I think you guys are gonna love. And seeing as we are in NaNoWriMo (though at the very end - if you're doing it, COME ON! FINAL PUSH NOW! YOU CAN DO IT!!!), I think this will be perfect for you writers out there.

For those of you who don't know, Julia Golding is a multi-awarding winning author who has written a ton of novels such as the Cat Royal series (starting with The Diamond of Drury Lane), The Curious Science Quest series, The Companions Quartet, and has written under the pen-names of Eve Edwards for adult historical fiction and Joss Stirling for YA.

But getting away from the point, today we are here to talk other worlds and her latest, The Curious Crime, where we ask the big question: is curiosity a crime?

Ree understands the unfairness of the world, where alternative ideas within science are quickly dismissed. Enter a fantasy idea where dodos and other unusually animals roam the corridors, the halls and underground passages within a museum and science academy.

And then the murders start. Ree, who is working at the academy at night as a maid, given up her hopes of following her passion of being a stonemason, must join forces with determined scholar Herni to solve the mystery, all the while trying to prove their innocence...

I love a murder mystery and am a sucker for fantasy, as you guys can probably guess! So this ticked all my boxes!

Now, before I hand it over to Julia and her guide to how to create a Fantasy World, I just want to thank her for finding time to write this! I, also, want to thank Anna from Midas PR for emailing as asking if I want to be involved in some way...

Oh, and if you want to say hi to Julia, check out her website at goldinggateway.com or say hi to her on Twitter at @jgoldingauthor. Now, over to Julia!

Celia Rees Talks What Inspired Glass Town Wars

I am thrilled to have Celia Rees of the Pewter Wolf today!

Not sure how it happened, but super excited as Celia is one of those authors that I have admire from afar and will sink my teeth in her back catalogue of books such as Witch Child, Pirates!, and her newest title, Glass Town Wars.

Now, I did a contest for this a while ago (I believe all the winners have received their winning copies - WOOHOO!) but for those of you who don't know what Glass Town Wars is about, it's inspired by the very early writing of the the Brontës. Tom and Augustus are from two different times and places, but they come together in a virtual world of war to save a kingdom. But soon the lines between reality and fiction blur and learning who to trust means more than friendship, but survival.

And all the while, a girl from Tom's school is reading Wuthering Heights...

I am quite excited for you guys to read this as I found it so interesting to read. So, my thanks goes to Celia for finding time to write this post and to Mollie from Pushkin Press for being our go-between!

Now, before I hand you over to Celia, I want to point you in some directions. If you want to check out Celia's website or Twitter, just drive on over to celiarees.com or @CeliaRees. OR, if you want more info about the Brontës,  I would recommend going to either going to the Brontë Society/Brontë Parsonage Museum website at bronte.org.uk or checking out fellow booktuber LucyTheReader on her youTube as she is a Brontë Society Young Ambassador (youtube.com/LucyTheReader).

Now, over to Celia to talk about what inspired Glass Town Wars!

NetGalley Review - Wild Magic

• Title And Author: Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce
• Publisher: HarperVoyager
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review
• Length: 256 Pages

I have always been aware of Tamora Pierce for many years. I’ve been aware of her since my preteens. I know she’s a big deal in the fantasy genre. But because she’s a big deal, I always felt that she would be unaccessible. So, when news came out that HarperVoyager was going to republish the Immortals Quartet and the first book in her series, Tempests and Slaughter, I requested on NetGalley…

Daine has always had a special relationship with animals. But when she is forced to leave the home, she and the people she meets realise that the gift isn’t just a knack. It’s magic. A rare form of magic called Wild Magic that allows her to speak to animals. And not only that, but to make them obey her. 

But terrifying creatures who have been taken in the Divine Realms are now free. Someone has broken the barrier and it’s up to Daine to discover her magic and it’s up to her and her friends - human and animal - to defend the world for an Immortal attack. 

Audiobook Review - A is for Arsenic

• Title And Author: A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup
• Publisher: Bloomsbury 
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 320 Pages or 9 hours and 50 minutes 

As you might be have noticed over the past few months on here and on my social media (mainly my Twitter), I have slowly reading some more crime/thriller novels. I use to say this is a guilty pleasure of mine as my reading jam is usually fantasy, but not saying that now. I enjoy reading crime. What set this off was me reading/audiobooking Agatha Christie and making an effect to read some of her work this year (I am planning to read more next year as part of a reading challenge for The Pewter Wolf). But what intrigued me the most was how Agatha Christie did the killing in her works - poisonings.

So, when I saw this book a few months back, which looks at the poisons used in her novels, I became intrigued and wanted to read it. But no bookshop I went into had it on the shelf nor my library. Plus, I didn’t want to ask if anyone could order it for me - what if they thought I was plotting to kill my Other Half? So, when I saw this on Audible, I was in two minds for a good few minutes as I wasn’t sure if audiobooking this was a good idea, plus I wasn’t sure I would get on with the narrator, and it’s non-fiction (a genre I struggle in). But in the end, I went “What’s the worse that could happen?”

Agatha Christie was a chemist throughout both World Wars so her knowledge of poisons was extensive. A is for Arsenic looks into the poisons Agatha Christie used in well-known novels, such as Mysterious Affairs at Styles, Crooked House, Sparkling Cyanide and 4.50 from Paddington among others novels, and look at how the chemicals interact with the body to cause death, to cure the poison, real life cases and look at how the murder was committed in the novels. 

Blue Salt ... Wait, What?

Story time: I was meant to be writing a review for Joanne Harris's Blue Salt Road. It was meant to be for a blog tour (I know, I said I would never do a review for a blog tour but I wanted to read this badly). Expect... I haven't got the novella. The publisher has sent a copy to me TWICE over the past few weeks and it's not turned up. No idea if it's gone to my old address by accident (even though gave them my new address both times), if there's a problem with them being sent out at warehouse/depot or if postman has stolen them (which is funny as they sent me two books last week so can't be that!).

But I wanted to do something for today and for Blue Salt Road. Bear with me, let me explain the novella (as I wanted to go into this without knowing much so RESEARCHING as I type!). The Blue Salt Road is a fable about a nameless, wild man who has no memories. With passion pulling him into his new, unknown world and trickery keeping him there, separated from his people, he has to learn a new way of life and change his notion of home... 

Now, like I said, I wanted to do something to tie to celebrate this novella and thought, one morning when I was panicking about this and feeling not 100% , "What music would I listen to while reading this?". The first answer that jumped to mind was "Music linked to water" and so, I want to share some watery music (not sure how many... 5, maybe?) that I might be listening to while reading this... I hope you like my weird choices...

Where The Truth Lies Blog Tour - Extract

I HAVE A CRIME-Y EXTRACT FOR YOU! And it's for a blog tour. And no to my Other Half who noticing that crime/thriller books are creeping more and more on the Pewter Wolf and my TBR shelves/folders, I am not planning to murder you or make you have an "accident" (I love him too much to do that.)

Anyway, I have an extract for you, from the lovely people at Canelo. The extract is from Where The Truth Lies from M J Lee - the first in the DI Ridpath series - and once I read the synopsis of this, colour me intrigued...

Ten years ago, DI Thomas Ridpath was involved in Manchester CID and his first case for this promise police officer involved him capturing a notorious serial killer. But that was then, and DI Ridpath isn't the same man. Recovering from a serious illness and on the verge of being pushed out of the police force. Then people started dying... in a the same horrible way as Ridpath's first case...

As the investigation carries on, things start to go wrong: old bodies start going missing, files get misplaced and the body count begins to grow. As the police and the coroner's office start fighting each other, Ridpath wants to solve the case first, to save his career, his marriage, his life.

And then one of his colleagues vanishes...

Doesn't that sound intriguing? I have been told that this has an dark edge of gory to it so if you like your crime thrillers to have a good level of blood, this might be up your street!

Now, I am going to hand you over to the extract, but I want to thank Ellie from Canelo for inviting me to be involved in this tour! Now, over to the extract!!!

Twisted Tree "All Hallow Eve's" Launch Party

Last week, I was very lucky to be involved to the launch party of The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge at Hot Key Books HQ. Now, it’s been a while since I’ve been to a Hot Key event (they’ve moved since I visited them last so off to a new building in a different side of London!) so off to London I go to celebrate this book with other bookish people. 

I have to admit from the get go that I haven’t read the yet. In fact, I know very little about this as I wanted to go into this blind. All I knew was it’s a ghost story so it will have the chill factor. I like a good chiller read (but not horror. I hate horror!) and when I got to Hot Key, I was very much “Oh, am I the only one who hasn’t read this yet?” 

Plus, all those lovely book bloggers pals of mine who have were going “Oh, Andrew, there’s a moment that will freak you out. The doll. The crows. The thuds!” and now I have no idea what to believe or to do a Joey from Friends and be near my freezer when I read this (which might be a mistake as I’ll be reading this on my Kindle and I am not sure it can handle the cold).