The TwiGuide Posters Revealed!

In mere weeks time, The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide will be released and

She Made This In 2 Weeks? Seriously?!

I love Imogen Heap. I love her music - I write to it whenever I get Writer's Block (shush! Keep that Under Your Hat!), and just found this sound that is part of her new album where, every 3 months, she will release a new song and, at the end of the project (3 years), she will release the album in CD form or if you prefer digital download, you could download each song as they are released.

And this is Imogen's first song within this project. And it took her TWO WEEKS TO MAKE!

Jennifer Garner? As Miss Marple?

A few days ago, Disney revealed that it was going to make a Miss Marple movie. Disney revealed that it was doing a "modern-day version" set in American (if rumours are lead to be believed) and that the scriptwriter of Twin Peaks & Fantastic Four, Mark Frost.

But the big news - ok, the big SCANDAL - that shocked the internet world is who Disney confirmed to play Miss Marple... wait for it... JENNIFER GARNER!

Now, I saw the article online and, the first thought that jumped into my hy head was "Oh no! The Twitter Outrage!" But luckily, they saw the funny side and said filming would start in 2074. A few people have complained, saying Hollywood has ruined Miss Marple and Agatha Christie is spinning in her grave. BUT, as someone pointed out on Twitter, people are angry about this casting, but no one caused a fuss over Benedict Cumberpatch being Sherlock Homles in the BBC drama.

I just wanted to chat briefly about this. Reboots of shows into the modern world sometimes works. BBC's Sherlock worked. Batman Begins and its sequel (The Dark Knight & Dark Knight Rising) worked. Guy Richie's Sherlock Homles worked. Not all work, but these shows keep close to their original roots.

But with this reboot... who knows. I think we should wait till more details is revealed because it sounds very early days. It will be interesting to see what they do, but hopefully Disney and their people won't go completely mad and ruin Miss Marple (not sure about setting it in America myself, if I'm completely honest with you.)

But, for the time being, let's wait and see...

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 Poster Revealed!

What do you guess think about this? It shows us that we're getting a HUGE SHOWDOWN! BRING ON JULY!!!

So, to wet your appetite, I thought I would add the trailer for Part Two &, at the same, put on the Deleted Scene from Part One that has been revealed by Warner Bros Online. Enjoy!





Now, I saw this and I laughed so I thought I would put this on the same blog as the poster, trailer for Part 2 and Deleted Scene from Part One(thanks FzngWizbee!)

GoodRead - The Gathering

Kelley Armstrong is a big deal in the book world. Her Women of the Otherworld series are international success. Her first YA trilogy – Darkest Powers – became another international success, selling over 70,000 copies in the UK alone. With all her books, she has sold over 650,000 copies of her novels in the UK alone (which averages to around 600 copies being sold A MONTH!) and when she toured the UK for the first time last year, fans travelled as far as Germany to meet her (thank you to whoever wrote the Press Release at Atom Books HQ for all that info!).

So, yeah. She's a big deal in the world of fantasy books. And I have never read her before. I have heard of her but have never read her. PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!

So, when the lovely people at Atom Books HQ sent me The Gathering, the first book in her new YA trilogy – Darkness Rising – I got quite excited.

So, The Gathering. The main character, Maya, has always had a close bond with nature for as long as she can remember. And living in the tiny town of Salmon Creek, with a population of around 200 people, it's no wonder. But things are happening in this medical-research town. Last year, Maya's friend and captain of the swim team mysteriously drowned in calm lake. And now, cougars (aka mountain lions) are appearing round Maya's house and aren't leaving. Maya's best friend, Daniel, has started to get “bad vibes” about certain people. This includes the new bad boy, Rafe, who seems suddenly interested in Maya. Why? Does it have something to do with Maya's paw-shaped birthmark?

I quite liked this book. I fell into the book's pace and slowly discovering the mystery behind Maya's past and, like most dystopian novels at the moment, revealing that not all is well in Salmon Creek. You being to, like Maya and Daniel, slowly distrust and question people's reactions. Why did so-and-so react that way in that situation? Is that person's loyalty true? Did he really do that to Maya and, if he didn't, who did? It slowly engulfs you so, by the time you get to the end of the book and it ends the way it did, you want book two in the trilogy.

But there were faults with the book. The Gathering suffers from “First Book In A Trilogy” syndrome where it asked more questions than answered so you might get annoyed and frustrated at how the book ends. Another problem I had was some of the character's reactions. For example, Maya told a character that she might have seen a memory of an animal she was taking care of and this character believed her without questioning it. That won't happen in real life. You would question the person to be sure your friend wasn't drunk or slowly going insane.

But I liked it. I like The Gathering. Apart from one or two tiny things, I quite liked the journey, though I do wish I had book 2 of this trilogy to read, just so I get answers! And it will make me more aware of Kelley's others book. Maybe I should go and read her first YA trilogy (Tiny FYI: Darkest Powers and Darkness Rising are set in the same world, but the characters and situations never cross over. Although, I can't be certain about the shadowy evil institution hints. So, you can read one of the trilogies without neededing to read the other.) or risk reading one of her Women of the Otherworld books (or audiobooks.) Suggestions of a good place to start if I can find time to read/listen to them?

*

And now, the music part of the book review... (only one song this time round. A few came and went, but I kept hitting play on this one so... yeah... ENJOY!)

Fearless Threads - A Short Story

Another short story blog. Well... you all have really surprised me. YOU REALLY LIKE MY WRITING! Am a tad shocked, but it so lovely to read your comments and go "They like my writing! They not faking it!". So thank you for liking the previous few stories and I hope you like this one. No real idea where this came from. I just felt I had to write it.

I hope you guys like!

*

The me in the mirror looked nothing like me.
The me in the mirror looked strong-jawed, stubborn, defiant, totally kick-ass.
He looked nothing like how I felt.
A walking lie.
I slowly took deep breaths, my insides twisting and writhing painfully as I stared at myself in the mirror, my knuckles white as I gripped the sink.
I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing as a spike of panic stabbed the back of my brain.
Deep breath in, hold, deep breath out.
Oh my God!
Deep breath in, hold -
This can't be happening! This shouldn't be happening to me!
- deep breath out. Deep breath -
They made a mistake!
But they didn't.
I opened my eyes and saw the me in the mirror. His skin looked pale.
I gripped the sink tighter as my knees nearly gave out. I gasped and forced myself to remain standing as my stomach knotted and my lunch threatened to come up.
There was a gentle knock on the bathroom door.
“Sweetie.” My mum's concerned voice. Of course. “Is everything okay in there?”
“Yeah. Everything's fine.” My voice answered as my brain screamed, No. No, everything's not okay. It's not fine. Everything's wrong!
When did it become so easy to lie?
I waited before I risked letting my hands release their vice-like grip of the wash basin. My knees didn't buckle.
Without thinking about it, I raised my hands and my fingers touched my hair. I liked my hair. I never realised that before. I quite liked my short yet messy black hair that I couldn't tame, no matter how hard I tried.
I felt my face twitch in a smile. But it never really met my lips.
I tried to take a mental photograph as I lowered my hands. I reached out and took hold of cool plastic.
I forced myself to take a breath. Breathe, I told myself. Just breathe.
I stared at the mirror and a rush of doubt knotted at my windpipe.
Before I could think too much about it, I leaned my head over the sink, turned on the hair cutter and buzzed cut my hair off.
Don't cry, I mentally chanted. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.
I felt a rush of emotions coursing through my veins and push down on my bones. Terror, fear, shame and yet... liberating. It felt odd feeling these mix of emotions and yet feel lighter somehow.
When no more hair fell into the sink, I turned off the hair cutter. Closing my eyes, I raised my head up to its natural height. Then opened my eyes.
And fought the urge of hysterical laugh.
I looked like a bald egg with painted-on lips and stuck-on googly-eyes.
And yet, the me in the mirror looked more like me. Or how I felt. Smaller somehow, deflated, terrified.
The doctors told me to name it. According to them, giving it a name that I hated would help me beat it.
Apparently, calling it Leukaemia isn't enough to beat it.
I thought of names but dismissed them, all the while never taking my eyes off the mirror.
The me in the mirror looked the same as before. Smaller, frailer. But there was something about his eyes. My eyes. It was small, but it was there. A glint of something.
Defiance.
“You listen to me, you son of a bitch,” I growled at the mirror. “I'm going to beat you. You can bet on it!”

Some Wise Words

Thanks to Mickey & Minnie & NYCBallad.

GoodRead - Forgotten

Am in two minds whether to put this review up NOW or wait till nearer the time of the book's release in June 2011. So, if you are reading this, I have made my decision.

Forgotten is a debut novel by Cat Patrick which is cause a HUGE stir in the publishing world. So much so that the novel will be released simultaneous in the UK, Australia and the USA at the same time (6th June 2011), and before it is even published, Paramount Pictures have bought the film rights and Hailee Steinfield (True Grit) is attached to play the main character, London.

So, let's talk about the story itself.

London Lane is your typical sixteen year old, expect for one or two things. Mainly, she can see the future. It comes to her in flashes and she remember them like memories. So, she knows what she's going to wear next Tuesday or having an argument that will happen this afternoon. But ask her what she had for dinner yesterday, or what she wore the day before, she can't remember. For every day, at 4:33am, her memory resets itself. She can remember the future, but not her past.

And the way she copes with this is with the help of her notes she writes every night before bed, her mom and her best friend Jamie. The system worked. Until now. Jamie is slowly going off the rail, London's mom has been lying to her and, to top it all off, London can't see a boy she's in love with in her future and, because her memory resets itself, every time she meets him, it's like the first time she has met and fallen in love with him...

Still with us? Still understanding what's going on?

Before I go any futher with this book, I want to quickly explain how I got this book because, before I got it, I was completely unaware of this book. On Twitter, a book-blogger-pal Rhys from Thirst For Fiction (@FictionThirst) had read Forgotten and tweeted about how it was right up my street. And then Jo from Once Upon A Bookshelf (@JoStapley) got involved and totally agree that I should read this book. So after a mad 3-way twitter conversation about this book (basically being told it's like 50 First Dates meets The Time Traveller's Wife) and maybe twitter bullying/begging, the UK Publishers – Egmont Books – decided to take pity on me and sent me an ARC of Forgotten. So, I owe a big thank you to Rhys, Jo and Mike from Egmont.

Now, my views on this book. I can go completely mad on how I liked this book. But I won't. I can't because I can't describe it the way I want to, so am keeping it short. Forgotten is one of those rare books that you can read completely in one sitting and still crave more. I just love this book and I can't wait to see what you gets think of it when it comes out.

(And now for the music part of the book review and these three songs fit perfectly. I hope you like.)







PS - if you want to read a short interview of the model and photographer of Forgotten (& Cat Clarke's Entangled), Josefine Jönsson, please click here.