Meet The Blogger

Meet The Blogger is an idea I had a few weeks ago, where bloggers from all over the blogsphere answer some questions about blogging, what's it like to blog and random questions. After asking some bloggers - peeps I know and some who wanted to get involved - am going to do this. It will take place EVERY THURSDAY from now till I run out!

So, just to warm up (and just because), I decided to interview myself with these questions. I hope you like and I hope you return on Thursday to see the first OFFICIAL Meet The Blogger post!

When did you start blogging?
Just checked. My first blog post was on 19th August 2009.

What made you start blogging?
I can't really remember. I think it was to write about books and, also, to show off my writing. But then, the reading and reviewing took over.

What was the first book you reviewed for your blog and what was your reaction to it?
Just checked. It was Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins and Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.

When was the first time you realised you were a Book Blogger?
I have no idea. I still feel like I'm acting as a Book Blogger. I was asked to go to Atom Books Blogger Event, which was cool. But I felt like I was conning people. I think it was after that when Atom actually sent my copies of books to review. I tweeted in shock and people were going "Well, you are a book blogger!". I think it was then that I thought, "Ok, so I'm a book blogger".

How much of your time a week do you spend blogging?
It depends. Some times, it's not long. But other times, it takes ages! But what's interesting is how I've changed my thinking. I seem to constantly be thinking "That would be cool for the blog!"

Has your taste in book genres changed since starting the blog?
I think I have become a bit brave with my reading now. I still read YA and sometimes adult novels (mostly crime). But I'm braver in trying new authors and tackling issues I would stay away from. Also, with publishers sending me books I wouldnd't normally have chosen for myself, it's opening my eyes to new ideas.

What book are you reading at the moment?
At the moment, am reading Tiger's Quest by Colleen Houck, rereading Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling for a possible blog idea and am listening to the audiobook of A Discovery Of Witches by Deborah Harkness.

What book has got you very excited or made you cry?
I have never cried while reading a book. It's the same with laughing. Books I get excited over... Too many to mention! I do a happy dance every time I get a book sent to me!

Have you read any book that you disliked so much you threw it across the room?
YES! Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwall. I got to chapter 10 before I snapped. She used the word "says" every time someone spoke! But, saying that, because of that book, I discovered Kathy Reichs and I class her as one of my favourite crime writers.

What advice would you give to anyone who wants to take part or what to set up a book blog?
DO IT! Be brave and do it! Also, be open to new ideas and chat to other bloggers. They are ALWAYS so helpful with ideas and questions you have! Also, if you're going to write a bad review of a book, be CONSTRUCTIVE! Don't just bad-mouth it!

Now, to ask five fun quick-fire questions. What song are you listening to right now?
"Monster" by Paramore.

MySpace, Facebook or Twitter?
Hmm... Facebook or Twitter... (never had a mySpace account). I like Twitter because it's fast and fun, but I like Facebook because of family and friends.

Hardback, paperbacks or eBooks?
Depends on the mood. I just got an Kindle so will slowly join the eBook side soon. But I like paperbacks. There's something nice about a battered paperback that shows that people have read and loved the story.

Letters, phone, texting or emailing?
er... Texting, though I do email a ton. I hate phoning people and it's rare I write a letter.

Zombies or unicorns?
I asked this question because I didn't want to ask whether people were Team Vampire or Werewolf. Plus, it's more interesting, this question. Am Unicorn, BTW. I fear the day when a Zombie-Unicorn Hybrid is created. Or, worse, when a Vampire-Unicorn comes into the fight...

Which Way To Go...?

Found this on Fell From Fiction tumblr, so thanks! :)

GoodRead - Summer's Crossing

As some of you guys knows, I haven't read the Iron Fey trilogy by Julie Kagawa. I do have a copy of the first book - The Iron King - but this keeps getting pushed further and further down in my ToBeRead pile - but I had the first eBook Winter Passage (the story between book 1 and 2) and I read that, liking it quite a bit.

So, Summer's Crossing. This story comes after the third book in the series - The Iron Queen - and the newly-revealed fourth book, The Iron Knight. So, if you have read the first three books, this is a bridge between the Iron Queen and the Iron Knight.

Summer's Crossing is a story told from Puck's point of view and, with the Winter Prince Ash, they must granted one last favor (fairies are BIG on their favors) forcing the prince to a place he cannot go without Puck's help — into the heart of the Summer Court. And, with this, Puck faces the ultimate choice — betray Ash and possibly win the girl they both love, or help the Winter Prince - his frienemy - pull off the biggest deception he will ever pull...?

Now, after the whole drama of trying to get the story onto my Kindle (and I have to thank Matt from Teen Librarian for a lot of help on that front!), it took a while to get my head round all the characters. But seeing as I haven't read the rest of the books in the series, that's understandable. But once the story got going, it became interesting.

But, I didn't connect with it. It was the last chapter which laid down the fountains for the Iron Knight, that held my attention. Now, I know that this series has bases in Shakespeare plays, but this ending with a Shakespeare play that I studied in school and quite like. So, for this, I would be interested to read Iron Knight. But, saying that, after reading Winter's Passage, I wanted to read the following book, The Iron Daughter.

But I think I prefer Winter's Passage, but I do want to read Iron Knight. Anyone know when that's out in the UK?

Breaking Dawn: Part One Teaser Trailer

As some of you guys know, the teaser trailer for BREAKING DAWN: PART ONE was revealed to the world last night. (Not going to write up the teaser poster for BREAKING DAWN. Nothing exciting about it...) So, if you are a Bella, Edward or Jacob fan, have you seen the trailer?



Reactions? I'm surprised but I quite like it. I don't love the lingering shots but, apart from that, there's good vibes coming off this. *fingers crossed*

PS - I have heard rumours that if you're paying close attention, you might see the author, Stephenie Meyer, and scriptwriter of the films, Melissa Rosenberg, in this trailer...

Smile On A Monday

It's a Monday and we all need a smile on a Monday, don't we?

Expelliarmus!!!

Thank you GIFmethat! Your GIFs always make me smile...!

GoodRead - Reunion

After reading the amazing Tiger's Curse and wanting some fast to read to past the time till I can get my heands on its sequel, Tiger's Quest or whatever I decide to read next (got no idea at the moment), Sarah from Feeling Fictional tweeted about a free ebook and, seeing as I want to test out my Kindle with some fun stuff from authors I've never read before, I downloaded Reunion and started skimming through it.

After becoming the Law Keeper for the Venia bloodline, Marise doesn’t want to return home but duty returns her to investigate the attempt on her lord’s life. But after she discovers that her only source of information is a guard who was mortally wounded during the attack, a guard who turns out to be the man who broke her heart fifty years ago...

Reunion is, as I have just discovered, the 6th book in the Vampire Realms (a paranormal romantic serie)s so there were one or two things that were touched upon that happened in the previous books within the series.

This was a fast and slightly fun read (with one sexy scene which took up one whole chapter out of the eight), but it still had its moments of "Hang on, what?"

One of the problems I had was this was there were times I wondered which this book was. A vampire story or a romantic story. Because it never felt like it made up its mind one way or the other. I felt that the two sides of this story never mixed together well.

But seeing as I got this free, I'm not seeing this as a bad thing as I had low standards. It was a fast read, but nothing exciting. So, middle of the road for me...

An Interview With Colleen Houck!!!

As you guys knows, I was reading Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck and, let's say I got a bit addicted with this book. So much so, I send a quick (maybe gushy) email to the UK publishers, Hodder, asking if I could have a interview with Colleen Hough. And they did! They sent the questions to her and she answered them!

Why did you choose India as a backdrop for Tiger's Curse and the rest of the Tiger's Saga? Was that an organic idea or did you just know that this story would be set there?
It was the tiger that led me to India. I chose a Beauty and the Beast theme and picked a white tiger for my beast. I thought I’d set my book in Russia until I began researching white tigers and found they are all descended from one white tiger cub captured in India. So since he was a Bengal and all white tigers today have at least some Bengal from their great grandsire, I moved the setting to India.

I was wondering if you have ever been to India, because there were times I was reading Tiger's Curse and I felt like I was there.
I haven’t been to India though I have a strong desire to visit. There is something magical and special and mysterious about it even today. Early in my writing I found an editor from India, named Sudha Seshadri. She helped me make sure I was being as accurate as possible and though the story is told through the eyes of an American teen, Sudha gave me valuable insight in understanding and depicting her lovely country properly.

Kelsey lives with foster family at the start of Tiger's Curse, and this is quite rare in YA to have a lead character who is fostered or adopted. Why did you decide on this? And do we discover more on Kelsey's parents?
The death of Kelsey’s parents is something I will be revisiting later on in the series. I wanted my heroine to have some inner demons to battle as well as physical demons. The feelings of isolation and aloneness that Kelsey experiences in the book lend a sort of sad tone to Kelsey’s journey and it’s something that she and Ren have in common. A desperate connection builds between them and I think it speaks a bit to the emotional need we all have—the drive to belong and to hold on to those we love.

You mentioned in an interview that you wanted to write a love story where you have no idea who will win the heroine's heart? Does this mean that there will be Team Ren And Team Kishan in the near future?
I’ve already seen the beginnings of a Team Ren and Team Kishan movement. I think it’s fun to speculate about what will happen in a series. But in all honesty, I love both of my tigers and want them both to find the love they seek. Kishan has often been called a bad boy. He literally is the black tiger and comes off as a little dangerous but he can also be very sweet and charming. I think it will be hard for everyone to choose which one they’re rooting for. I think it’s okay to root for both.

In a video interview I saw online (one of the many reasons why I love you and knew I had to read Tiger's Curse), you spoke openly about ending Tiger's Curse on a dramatic cliffhanger. Why did you decide on this?
Part of it is strategy and part of it is to remind the reader that there is more to come, much more. I actually try to end every chapter with little mini cliffhangers. It’s just as difficult for me as a writer to stop there as it is for a reader. When I hit the end of a chapter or the end of a book, I feel the pressing need to keep going so we can all turn the next page. Also I’m a big fan of huge reveals. I like to give people something to talk about around the watercooler.

The Tiger Saga is a series of five books. Was that planned from the very start or did this develop into a series of five books as you thought out the story arc?
I wasn’t sure if I would write four or five books but as I neared the end of writing book three, Tiger’s Voyage, I knew it would have to be five. I still have the original story sketches for the four books with the same titles even, and I’ve pretty much kept to my outline. There were just too many loose ends left for me to finish the story with four books though so I had to add one more. I knew exactly where the story was headed from the first day. One of my pet peeves is getting into a series and having it aimlessly wander through dozens of books. I liked that J.K. Rowling always knew that Harry Potter would be seven books and then she stuck to it. Feeling that the series is headed in a definite direction is something I wanted to give to my readers.

I want to ask some questions about writing. When did you get the writing bug?
I started writing in the spring of 2008, the same week I finished reading Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. Breaking Dawn was coming out seven months later and I despaired of ever finding another book series that spoke to me in the same way. That week after reading that she was an average stay-at-home mom and also knowing that J.K. Rowling too had never considered writing as a career gave me the courage to try. I will be forever grateful and admiring of the tenacity and resolve it took for them to break out of their comfort zones and give it a go. They both proved that writing can change the world.

You originally self-published Tiger's Curse as an ebook. Why did you decide to do this?
I was impatient and hated getting rejection letters so I sat down with my wonderful husband and together we made the decision to self-publish. The e-book version was a last minute addition to the self-publishing package and it was the best decision I ever made. At the time I thought, the more lines you cast in the water the better your odds of catching a fish. It’s a great tool for aspiring writers to “test the waters” and find out if they have an audience.

What was it like to self-publish Tiger's Curse to receive over 350 4-5 star reviews on Amazon and then to have publishers all over the world wanting to publish your book series?
It was amazing and scary. When I was first approached by foreign publishers, I was still self-published and I had no idea what I was doing. Then my guardian angel of an agent, Alex Glass, found me. He knocked on my door, gave me a glass slipper, and escorted me to my carriage. Not literally of course, but he has been looking out for me ever since. Having my books published around the world is very humbling. To think that someone in New Zealand or South Africa or India can read what I’ve written is miraculous. There are many cultures and mythologies woven into my series and to feel their support has been extraordinary.

How long did it take you to write Tiger's Curse from the original idea?
I finished writing Tiger’s Curse almost to the day of Breaking Dawn’s release. It was seven months from start to finish and this was while I was still working full time.

What is your typical day of writing?
I typically write in the afternoons and handle all my correspondence and appointments in the mornings. When I was working, my shift was early in the morning and I’d then come home around 2 pm and write. I guess I’ve pretty much kept to the same schedule.

Random question: Did you write Tiger's Curse long-hand or straight onto the computer?
Before writing became my life, I was an American Sign Language interpreter, my husband knows both American and British Sign Language by the way, and because of that job I’ve always been paranoid about carpel tunnel so all my writing is done on the computer. I can’t imagine writing long-hand or without internet access so I can look up that elusive word on the tip of my tongue.

While you were writing Tiger's Curse, you must have written scenes that you, sadly, edited or completely cut it? How did you decide what stayed in and what "little darlings" you cut out?
Actually, I don’t delete anything as I write. When it goes to editing there are some little parts that are moved or shifted and there are some little things that my editor has cut out but even so we are keeping all the material to post on a deleted scenes section of my website.

Was there a scene you loved writing but you had to edit out?
The only big chunk of material that was taken out was a piece from the opening chapter of Tiger’s Curse that described Kelsey’s background. It was important for me to get a feel of who she was and what her character was like but it was information overload to have all that in the beginning of the book. We shifted some things to other places in the book and dropped others but we will post all of that at some point. To me it’s still a part of my character; it defines Kelsey, and is still a part of the story as I write on in the series.

What do you feel when you see people reading Tiger's Curse & Tiger's Quest and their reactions on blogs/facebook/twitter? Does it feel surreal?
It’s really wonderful to see such a reaction and that my fans love the characters as much as I do. I respond to all my fan mail and one person wrote back and said she screamed when she got my reply and that I’m the first celebrity who had ever written her. I don’t really feel like a celebrity. I’m just a book-lover the same as all the other people in my neighbourhood. I’m extremely grateful to my fans and I enjoy meeting them and giving them the best author experience that I can. I consider them all friends who are just keeping me company as I travel through this strange world of curses and tiger princes.

Now, I read on Tiger's Curse press release that the film rights to the whole Tiger Saga has been optioned. Are you excited over this?
I am extremely excited about this. The producer who optioned the books for film, Raffi Kryszek, has a very similar vision to mine and we have a lot in common. He also has a very personal connection to and love of tigers and I think he’s the perfect choice to make my movie. For more information about the progress of the film you can follow him on www.ineffablepictures.com.

One last question: what little titbits can you reveal of book two and three of the Tiger Saga: Tiger's Quest and Tiger's Voyage?
In Tiger’s Quest you will get to know Kishan much better. I plan to make a lot of converts to Team Kishan with this book. In each book I give a nod to one of my favourite Shakespeare plays. Tiger’s Curse is loosely themed after Romeo and Juliet and Tiger’s Quest has elements of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Tiger’s Voyage is my favourite of the series. In it our heroes must face the dragons of the five oceans and seek the sunken City of the Seven Pagodas. This one is full of danger, scary creatures, and ocean treasures. I’m very excited to see what everyone thinks of this book.

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A quick Thank You to Colleen for answering these questions and for Lucy at Hodder for setting up the interview. YOU GUYS ROCK! (Also, if you can, go on the Ineffable Pictures website. They have an AWESOME picture of a scene taken out of Tiger's Curse!

And now, the trailers for Tiger's Curse and Tiger's Quest. ENJOY!