Blog Tour: The Tribe Series by Ambelin Kwaymullina

Hi Readers!

Today I've got the pleasure of being the first stop on Ambelin Kwaymullina's blog tour.

While readers might be dying to know all about the series, I'd rather start with some fun questions in getting to know you! And, as this is by blog, it's my rules. So when I say let's have fun, you do as you're told!

Well, perhaps if I lose the totalitarian tone, we can begin...

What was the last book you read?

Unravel Me which is the sequel to Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi.

Pure by Julianna Baggott

I kept getting told how fantastic this book was, but how off-putting and gross it was because of all the malformed bodies etc that it contains (post nuclear holocaust). Some even said it was hard going because of this. So, I thought to myself, let's see what all the fuss is about.

I found that because I knew that it would have deformities left, right and center, I wasn't grossed out at all. In fact, putting aside the fact that I really think that most of these afflicted people would be dead (which is explained briefly with chemical and nanotechnology which was designed to create this grotesque fusing), I wouldn't have expected any less for the world which was being created.

So, did it all work?

Yes, absoultely! Julianna Baggott has given us a world so vivid and alive and filled with the horror and hope of survival it's almost palpable. You nearly feel gritty, yourself, as you read about the soot and ash and dust that permanently grays they sky and every thing else. All of which is perfectly contrasted with the pure 'Dome' that is so clean and spotless, it's ripe for conspiracy.

I really enjoyed the journey this book took me on. My only criticism is that it felt a little long and perhaps could have been pared back in places to create a slightly more fast pace story. But, even as it stands, it was a great read!

 

4 Gold Stars

Find it on Goodreads

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

This was a selection for bookclub that I found myself thinking, ok, I’d never have picked it up myself, but I’ll give it a go. Generally speaking, vampire books don’t excite me and I’d seen the most recent movie so I wasn’t over enthusiastic about reading the book.

However, I’ve now learned that whoever made the movie must have read the blurb on the back of the book, thought ‘Great premise, I’m going to make a movie now’ and gone and written something completely different and called it the same title as the book. Unfair to the book if you ask me. As far as adaptations go, the film is appalling. Sure, it’s watchable if you’re in the mood for putting up with Will Smith basking in his ‘Will Smith-ness’ for much of it, but the book is an entirely different experience.

Robert Neville lives alone, trying to survive the nightly attacks from a seemingly endless supply of vampires. Could he be the last living human on the planet? Routine stifles despair, but loneliness is unceasing.

For a book that in effect has one character, I Am Legend is mightily engaging. It knows when to use an action sequence to draw you in, or develop the emotional story to make you feel more. It knows when to skip forward or back in time so weeks, months, years, don’t feel at all tedious. And the ending (which I will not spoil for you) is fascinating and makes you think about all you’ve read and what you would feel in the same situation. Don’t believe the movie version; it’s ridiculous Hollywood slop compared to what (I think) Matheson was trying to say with his book.

If you like anything vaguely apocalyptical then you'll like this one. It’s an enjoyable read that might make you think too. Nice choice for bookclub, particularly if like us, you watch the film adaptations afterwards to discuss further. 

Lara Morgan's Rosie Black Blog Tour

The RosieBlack Chronicle’s second installment, Equinox, has just been released at the beginning of November. This fantastic series by the talented Lara Morgan is a great dystopian sci-fi adventure that has you gallivanting across the Australia of 500 years in the future and zipping up to Mars and back to uncover evil corporate cover-ups and save Rosie’s family. Using Lara’s own term, I’ve been one of her ‘Minions’ right from the start. These books are what I would call accessible sci-fi. By that I mean it doesn’t get bogged down in astrophysics (and why should it?) but saves room for all the action and adventure you would want! With a little bit of romance thrown in too.

This is a very special blog post: I’m very excited to be involved in Lara Morgan’s Rosie Black Blog Tour! I got the privilege to ask Lara some questions about Getting Published, a topic that’s very close to my heart, being that my aspirations lie in the very same sphere. Also, at the end I’ll let you know how you could win a set of books 1 and 2 of the Rosie Black Chronicles.
So it’s with great pleasure I welcome Lara to my blog.

What was your first published work and how did you go about getting it published?

My very first published work was a short story called Salt and it was published in the Australian Women’s Weekly because I won their short story competition in 2003. And that win was what really put me on the road to being a professional writer.  I only entered the competition because my sister made me. Basically she posted me the entry page and nagged me until I just did what she said. I guess I owe her eh? My first novel was published in 2008. It was the first in a fantasy trilogy called The Twins of Saranthium, the third and last installment of which I’m aiming to complete next year.

How did that experience lead you to Walker Books Australia for Rosie Black?

I guess after writing two very big adult books, I really wanted to try my hand at something quite different – which is how The Rosie Black Chronicles came to be. And at the time my publisher for the fantasy trilogy wasn’t looking for any new YA work so my agent went to some other publishers and Walker was one of them. I guess you can say the rest was history.

Sometimes people don't realise how much work is involved in publishing, particularly the editing process. How long did Equinox take to write compared to editing?

The actual writing of Equinox took about five months whereas the editing stretched to around six or seven. So yes, the editing was longer but I think that can be a good thing, especially when you’re working with editors who are super committed to making the book work. I actually kind of expect the editing to take longer because it’s really at that stage that other people are properly seeing it for the first time and as a writer you’re getting all this feedback which helps make it a better book. It just takes a long time sometimes to knock it all into shape!

What did the publishing process bring out in Rosie that surprised even you?

There’s not much Rosie can do that surprises me because we are joined so closely together – like peas and carrots, or white on rice – but what did surprise me is some of the plot turns that came out of the editorial sessions when I was working on Equinox. Obviously I can’t give away any of them because that would be spoilers, but it was fantastic to still be able to be surprised by plot possibilities after I thought I’d tied them all up.  

Do you have any advice for writers that are looking to get published?

Be prepared for the long haul. Getting published can take a long, long, long time from when you started. It took me ten years to get a book deal and I know we always hear about those so called ‘over night’ success, but it’s best not to believe in it. Save that belief for yourself and your work and stay committed to keep trying even after everyone around you has done that raised eyebrow thing that says you should give up. Obstinacy is a handy trait to cultivate for a writer. And so is finishing things. I always tell people to force yourself to finish that first draft, no matter how bad it is, because all writing is rewriting and most everything can be fixed in the edit. And enter short story competitions because you never know, you might win and that looks good on your CV when you’re trying to get an agent or publisher to read your work.

And finally, tell us how you feel when you look at your published books.

Everyone always expects me to be excited, but it’s more complicated than that. Satisfied, is a more apt description. It’s such a long time from when I’ve started the book to when I hold that paperback in my hand that it’s almost a relief that it’s finally done. Most authors understand this reaction but other people look slightly perplexed, like I’ve told them a joke where the punch line makes no sense. Which, to be fair, does sometimes happen to me because I cannot tell jokes. But, anyway that’s how I feel. It’s satisfying, a long deep sigh with the muttered words, ‘yes, that’s it, it’s done,’ as I put it on the shelf next to the others. Then I get back to the one I’m working on now, because for me the story is always most alive at the beginning when it’s just me and the computer and I’m off in another world. So must dash, Rosie and Pip are waiting in the wings for book three!

Ciao and thanks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Right! So stamina is what I will need on the road to published-dom… Thanks for the heads up! I’m certainly glad you stuck with it, I can’t wait for the next instalment of Rosie Black!

Check out the trailers for the first two here:

Finally, as promised: a competition! With a very special thanks to Walker Books Australia

Win a set of The Rosie Black Chronicles Books 1 and 2!

The Competition has now closed.

This is how it will work: 

1. Ask Lara a question through the comments below, she will respond here while the tour is with me. (Be sure to include your name)

2. Like my blog on Facebook (so I can get in contact with you if you win).

3. Lara will pick her favourite question as the winner and I’ll post you the books.

Easy!

Thanks so much for joining me here in my humble little blog Lara, it's been great!

On Facebook you can find  Rosie HERE, and Lara HERE

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

The world is there to be consumed, right? If I can use it, I’ll take it and make it mine.

This is the basic idea behind the world of Philip Reeve’s Mortal Engines. Well, as I see it anyway. Reeve has taken the idea of the rich and powerful taking and consuming what they want, from whoever they want, and labelled it ‘Municipal Darwinism’. This ‘delightful’ idea is set in a post apocalyptic/dystopian world where engineers have placed their cities on wheels and which now roam the planet eating smaller towns and villages in order to make use of their consumables.

“It’s a town eat town world out there.”

A staggering idea, perfectly executed.

You can see it all happening, right before you on the page, right before us in the future. A world where city life means never setting a foot on the filthy, muddy earth like the savages in the few static towns and cities.

Throw into this world an adventure that involves a number of teenagers, murder, conspiracy, pirates, the fate of thousands of people, and a whole lot of ideological conflict and you’ve got one hell of a story!

I kept picturing the whole thing as if it was a Studio Ghibli animation, and that suited me just fine! I have seen that it’s on IMDB but I’m sure it’s not Studio Ghibli and it’s only “in development” so who knows when it will be turned into a movie, and what that will be like.

In any event, this is a brilliant book! And I can’t wait to read the rest of the series (when I find the time! There’s now 7 books all up!)