Rayne Halls’s Twitterly blogging tips reblogged from Rosie Amber
My Kyrosmagica Review of Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
Goodreads Synopsis:
Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper’s destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.
Just when life can’t get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she’s charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper’s least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him—and discovers that David’s own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.
With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y’all beg for more.
My Kyrosmagica Review:
Rebel Belle really tickled me pink! I love the cover, the sword through the girlie necklace. Our debutante shocks us right at the beginning of the novel with a sudden shift in behaviour. I must confess I didn’t pay too much attention to the blurb, I just read the story blind and I was so glad I did. I was stunned when our heroine Harper, the girl who was bound to be homecoming queen, ended up in the toilet of all places kicking ass. At first glance Harper seemed more interested in lipstick and the trappings of being crowned but don’t be fooled, Harper is a Paladin, and Paladin’s aren’t to be trifled with. I liked the title Paladin, kind of made me think of Aladdin! Actually, there are also Mages, and an Oracle too, but no more about that, just thought I’d whet your appetite a bit!
From that opening night she’s drawn into the biggest responsibility of her whole life, and believe me this girl is used to a heck load of responsibilities, and extra curricular activities! She must protect David, the guy that she’s been fighting with since seventh grade. Not only does she have to be his protector but she soon learns that she must protect him at all costs, giving up on all the things she still wants to do, and even to the point of losing her own life. A bit of a tall order! But you get the sense that Harper is up to it, trust me Harper is not one to sit quietly doing nothing. All this with the most important night of her life, Cotillon, just around the corner. Expectations are high, her sister was also homecoming queen, but there is more to this than I want to divulge in this review. It’s a bit of a spoiler so no more said.
I love the characters in Rebel Belle, they are so well crafted and draw you into the story. Harper and her friend Bee are just such good friends, looking out for each other. David is so cute, and so different from her boyfriend Ryan. I loved the way that Harper and David begin by hating each other but slowly understand and develop feelings for each other. With her superpowers it is as if she can now see more clearly and realises that even though her boyfriend, Ryan may be a heartthrob, Mr. Popular, and super nice, he may not be the one for her. She needs someone a bit more quirky, and David could be the one to fit the bill. I also really enjoyed Harper’s aunts, so entertaining. Full marks for characterisation.
The middle section of the novel though good, dragged a little for me, I would say that the beginning and the end of the novel are absolutely first class. So stick with it, it’s well worth it. Some reviews have criticised the love triangle between Harper, her boyfriend Ryan and new love interest David, but I enjoyed this aspect of the novel. I thought some of the details of the magical powers were stretching the believability factor a bit, but overall I really enjoyed Rebel Belle. It’s a lovely, light-hearted read, just don’t take it too seriously!
I loved the ending so, so much. In fact it made up for any tiny flaws. I just found it so funny. I won’t go into details as that would spoil it for you, but if you don’t laugh I will have to kill you!
This is a definite Laugh out Loud book, with a wonderful touch of fantasy, if you don’t like stories with these two elements then don’t touch it with a barge pole. But hey, who doesn’t like a good chuckle?
My rating:
My favourite quotes:
“Looking back, none of this would have happened if I’d brought lip gloss the night of the Homecoming Dance.”
“I picked up the nearest weapon I could lay my hands on: a stapler. I lifted it, going for “menacing.” I admit it lacked a certain elegance, but hey. It was worth a shot. David placed his hand on my arm and pushed it back down.
“What?”
“Just . . . that’s embarrassing for all of us,” he replied.”
“The great thing about best friends is that they know you really well. And the terrible thing about best friends is that they know YOU really well.”
“He and I had loathed each other since kindergarten. Heck, even before that. Mom says he’s the only baby I ever bit in daycare.”
“Look at him. Whole life turned upside down, and he’s in there making pizza rolls.”
“I had to get out of this before I was killed with some elaborate cutlery.”
“Aunt May, my sweet Aunt May, who taught me how to knit, who bought me a piece of candy every time we went to the store, jabbed a cocktail fork at my eye.”
Recommended for Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic, Romance, and Contemporary readers. Lots of scope there!
Authors website http://readingwritingrachel.blogspot.com
and her tumblr:
https://therealladyhawkins.tumblr.com
Twitter:
@LadyHawkins
Have you read Rebel Belle? Do leave a comment below I’d love to hear from you.
Bye for now,
Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx
Stephen King, I write like him! A WIP of him!
Absolutely agree with Stephen King’s quote. Books have this amazing quality about them, they transport us into another world, a world in which anything is possible. Well with this in mind, let me tell you about a bit of fun I had yesterday, I posted the first few lines of my novel in this website: http://iwl.me/ I write Like. My writing was analysed. I have to say I was astonished when the website matched me to Stephen King. One, I don’t write horror! There are scary bits in my book, and parts of it have frightened me. Though I am easily scared by my own writing. I have too vivid an imagination not to be! This is a bit of a hazard. Two, Stephen King is a legend, and I’m just well a bit of a work in progress, yes a WIP.
Anyway, I now have the I write like Stephen King badge, why not! Nice to collect a few honours!
So I thought I would share some of my favourite Stephen King quotes with you:
“If you liked being a teenager, there’s something really wrong with you.”
(Oops, I loved being a teenager, what can I say?)
“A short story is a different thing all together – a short story is like a kiss in the dark from a stranger.” SkeletonCrew
(And a short story is so difficult to write! It kills me every time, the kiss of death.)
“The thing under my bed waiting to grab my ankle isn’t real. I know that, and I also know that if I’m careful to keep my foot under the covers, it will never be able to grab my ankle.” Night Shift
“Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman’s got to hold on to.” ― Stephen King, Dolores Claiborne
“Humor is almost always anger with its make-up on.”― Stephen King, Bag of Bones
“Friends. They aren’t any such thing as good friend or bad friend. Maybe there are just friend. People who stand by you when you’re hurt and who helped you feel not so lonely. Maybe they are worth“Maybe there aren’t any such things as good friends or bad friends – maybe there are just friends, people who stand by you when you’re hurt and who help you feel not so lonely. Maybe they’re always worth being scared for, and hoping for, and living for. Maybe worth dying for too, if that’s what has to be. No good friends. No bad friends. Only people you want, need to be with; people who build their houses in your heart.”― Stephen King, It
(I have a mega, enormous fascination with time, and so does Stephen King):
“Time takes it all whether you want it to or not, time takes it all. Time bares it away, and in the end there is only darkness. Sometimes we find others in that darkness, and sometimes we lose them there again.”
“Time’s the thief of memory.”
– The Gunslinger.
(And I can identify with this Stephen King quote so much):
“I tend to scare myself.”― Stephen King
“FEAR stands for fuck everything and run.” Doctor Sleep
“High school isn’t a very important place. When you’re going you think it’s a big deal, but when it’s over nobody really thinks it was great unless they’re beered up.”― Stephen King, Carrie
“It’s strange how pain marks our faces, and makes us look like family.”― Stephen King, The Green Mile
“Calling it a simple schoolgirl crush was like saying a Rolls-Royce was a vehicle with four wheels, something like a hay-wagon. She did not giggle wildly and blush when she saw him, nor did she chalk his name on trees or write it on the walls of the Kissing Bridge. She simply lived with his face in her heart all the time, a kind of sweet, hurtful ache. She would have died for him..”― Stephen King, It
“You want to remember that while you’re judging the book, the book is also judging you.”
― Stephen King, Night Shift
“Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.”― Stephen King, Different Seasons
“If I have to spend time in purgatory before going to one place or the other, I guess I’ll be all right as long as there’s a lending library.”― Stephen King
“Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up.”― Stephen King
“Reading a good long novel is in many ways like having a long and satisfying affair”― Stephen King
“The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want for nothing. He makes me lie down in the green pastures. He greases up my head with oil. He gives me kung-fu in the face of my enemies. Amen”― Stephen King, The Stand
Oh and I found this fun Stephen King quiz: . http://www.shortlist.com/quizzes/stephen-king-quiz
Do you have a favourite Stephen King quote? If so, do let me know in the comment box. 🙂
What Does My Name Mean?
Modest: you are somebody who is good at lots of things but doesn’t brag about them
Amusing: you enjoy making people laugh
Reliable: you are someone who takes responsibility and can be counted on
Just: you always enjoy doing what is right and doing things for others
Original: you are unique and don’t copy others
Reliable: you are someone who takes responsibility and can be counted on
Intuitive: you have the ability to know what is going to happen before it happens
Energetic: you have a lot of energy and you are very active
A fun quiz to do on a Monday! I found it on Facebook. Why not have a go and see what your name means. I was amused by the last one, I don’t know about that, my energy seems pretty sapped at the moment with all this hot English weather! Maybe that’s another Marjorie in another life. I have two R’s for Reliable. I particularly like the original and intuitive ones! The rest of them, well I hope they’re true, that would be nice, they’re all so positive! I sound a bit too good to be true! Where are my flaws? Hidden deep somewhere in my name?
Funny Cat and Dog PlayFights on YouTube
This morning I’ve been editing my manuscript and I came across an advice note to add more detail to a little comical fight scene between a cat and a dog in my story. I don’t own any pets so I thought I would watch a few videos on YouTube for inspiration. Glad I did, it was very cute and entertaining. Boy, those cats can stand up for themselves! Enjoy.
Either watch on the full screen icon option below or head over to Youtube.
I’m too sexy for this book! YALC panel event
I’m too sexy for this book! Am I talking about myself again? Eh, I think I better confess it was a YALC panel event, and it was rip roaringly entertaining. So of course, I want to share it with you. The chair James Dawson started off the proceedings by donning a fetching crown, announcing his role as Queen of Teen! Well, he deserves the title as he now has his first YA book out, Hollow Pike, watch out, witches never sleep! A very fetching Queen he was too. I was sitting next to my teenage daughter, well she’s eighteen, and still a teenager, just, and I heard her giggling just as much as me throughout the proceedings. This panel event was an absolute MUST.
.
James Dawson introduced us to the panel of fellow authors, Cat Clarke, Non Pratt and Beth Reekles who were more than happy to join in with a frank and illuminating discussion about sex and sexuality in YA. There was no skirting around the issue, sex reared its head and was allowed out to play.
Should writing sexy scenes be an issue in YA?
Why not write sexy scenes? Cat didn’t feel that writing sexy scenes should be an issue. Non said that she was a “horny and curious” fourteen year old. She wanted to read ‘horny and curious’ books. Beth was fifteen when she started writing Kissing Booth.The Kissing Booth was winner of the Most Popular Teen Fiction Watty Award, and was also shortlisted for the Young Adult Romance Novel of the Year in the 2014 RNAs. Non Pratt’s Trouble touches on a subject that all parent’s dread, teenage pregnancy. The overriding opinion of all the panellists: kids are exploring anyway so why not write what’s happening, rather than pretend that it isn’t happening. Well, this takes me back to my teenage self, I remember reading Lady Chatterley’s Lover. I don’t suppose I told my mother I was reading it but there you are. We’ve all been there, done it. Nothing has changed.
What’s the process of writing a love scene? How do you get in the mood?
Beth
I don’t go out and buy a flower. Maybe she should! This Passion flower is getting me in the mood! She watches romantic movies, and reads chick lit, and tries to write with her younger teenage self in mind. What would she have wanted to read at that age?
Non
Likes sex to be graphic, realistic. In order to get in the mood, “she hammers it out!” Her words! She writes her favourite scenes first, drinking, fighting, and sex scenes! Hey, Non, don’t hold back!
Cat
She has a sexy time playlist, via twitter which includes Prince but stays clear of Rod Stewart. She likes to write revenge sex, check out her book, Undone, in Goodreads it is described as ‘A searing story of love, revenge and betrayal.’ Don’t get on the wrong side of Cat, she scratches!
Gatekeepers reaction to sex in YA books.
Non
Fear creates taboos. Parents and children don’t like to think about each other having sex. This sounds fair comment to me! Non didn’t have to alter her sex scenes but she did have a problem with the bureaucracy that tends to accompany school visits. She found that form filling, and opposition on the grounds of parents not liking it or on religious grounds were evident in school visits. All of these can of course be a problem for writer’s of YA ‘sexy’ books.
Cat
Parents don’t like to see sex in YA books. They like to see good, worthy content. It’s crazy. Cat hasn’t had too much trouble with gatekeepers (agents, editors). She has never had to change her books, even though there is an oral sex scene in her book. Cats just get away with so much don’t they?
Beth
Is aware that some of her readership tends to be younger, say eleven years old, so she writes her books with that in mind. When Beth goes on Goodreads she find that parents sometimes have problems with content. Hey, stay away from Goodreads, they’re bound to tell you off!
The chair, James Dawson has so many enlightening things to say. He announces that kids are at the mercy of google and it is better to read a novel than to be subjected to much harder hitting sexual images on google. I absolutely agree.
With that in mind should there be age ratings on books? All the panellists said…………………………. you guessed it NO.
Has Fifty Shades of Grey paved the way?
Both Beth and Non were published after 50 Shades came out so did this make it easier for them?
Beth
Beth felt that Fifty Shades has lifted the taboo to a certain degree.
Non
Fifty Shades was titilatting, and there were fourteen and fifteen year olds reading Fifty shades.
James Dawson steered the panellists onto the subject of Taboos.
Non
Non’s taboos: Religion, alternative hole use! Her words! Prefers good vanilla variety sex, and recommended Helen Walsh’s The Lemon Grove. This sounds a great read. Thanks for the tip Non.
Beth
Religion. Depression. Wary of graphic sex due to the age of her readership.
Cat
Torture. Yes, I agree with her on that one.
What about New Adult?
Non
Don’t believe in New Adult, think it is a marketing tool.
Beth
It’s a way of labelling books for gatekeepers.
Cat
Excited when she heard of the term New Adult, she thought it was about kids going to University. She would like to see books about that time in a young adult’s life. I agree.
In Cat’s opinion violence is more disturbing than sex. Sex is private. Violence is more visable, nobody complains about children killing each other in the Hunger Games. A very valid point.
Influences:
The panellists were influenced by the following authors:
Laurie Halse Andersen’s Speak. Liz Bankes’s Undeniable
Sarah Dessen, John Green, Stephanie Perkins, Courtney Summers
My final thoughts on I’m too sexy for this book!.
This was the most entertaining and funny of all of the talks, and makes me wonder whether I should write sexy YA? Could be fun!
Well, that’s about it folks for sex in YA. I hope I haven’t misquoted anyone. If I have made any mistakes, or omitted anything many apologies.
Disclaimer: I couldn’t hear a damn thing so don’t blame me if I got it all wrong!
Authors websites:
http://authorbethreekles.tumblr.com
http://www.wattpad.com/user/Reekles
Panel Events YALC How To Get Published
I thought I would share with you some snippets of wisdom from the YALC Panel events on Sunday 13th July. I’ve been a bit slow about getting to this, but I have an excuse. My mother in law is visiting so I have been busy entertaining her, taking her out and about. So apologies for my tardiness. The UK’s first ever YA Lit Con, curated by Malorie Blackman, exclusively at London Film and Comic Con, was held at Earl’s Court from 12-13 July 2014. First of all before I launch into telling you about the panel events I just want to say how much I enjoyed attending the YALC event. It was g-r-e-a-t!!!
My bookish daughter, and I went along together and had some lovely mother, daughter bonding time. This was great as she will be leaving the nest in September to go to University so these little moments are very precious to me. We were fortunate to be able to join in the activities on both the Saturday and the Sunday. Though we didn’t manage to go to the pre-view evening, which was a bit of a shame, as we missed out on getting an ARC of Landline. Quelle dommage! Anyway I have remedied this by buying one on-line for my daughter and I am sure she will be happy to lend her copy to me. She better or there will be high drama!
What was the event like?
Well we arrived a bit later than I would have liked but luckily I had a ticket that allowed us entry without joining the long queue. Sorry long queuers, I really felt for you. I am so glad I spent the extra money for the jump the queue tickets or else we would have been waiting a very, very, long time. The queues were ridiculously long. On arrival we were stamped, this kind of reminded me of my time as a University student. In those days a compulsory stamping was required to get into the Student Union for a night out. So that was a nice flashback in time. Unfortunately we took a while to get through the crowds to the very back of the far left hand corner of the event where the YALC was being held. It was a nice corner with soft beanie bags and bookish stands but boy did it take us some time to find it. Obviously they like to hide us bookish types away in a corner.
Consequently I missed the first workshop, Planning and writing a kiss-ass YA novel. So I was a tad disappointed. Though it turned out that all the workshops were organised on a put your name down and if you’re lucky you’ll be one of the thirty who gets to join in. I was not very lucky, in fact I only managed to attend one workshop all weekend. Still that one was super awesome. Meet the agent: speed pitching for authors, with Amanda Preston & Louise Lamont (LBA Books.) Believe me I need all the help I can get with a five-minute pitch. Speed is not my forte! Hey I do Tai Chi, 5 minutes, that’s how long I take to get out of bed in the morning!
All the panel events were so entertaining, that I soon forgot my initial disappointment at not being able to attend the first workshop. On the Saturday, we began by finding a seat at the Dystopia panel event chaired by James Smythe, “It’s the end of the world as we know it: the ongoing appeal of dystopia,” with Malorie Blackman, Sarah Crossan and Patrick Ness. Malorie Blackman got right into the spirit of the event by dressing up!
Also we enjoyed Regenerating the Doctor: reimagining famous characters, with Charlie Higson, Andrew Lane, Patrick Ness and Marcus Sedgwick, chaired by Steve Cole, and Bring me my dragons: writing fantasy today, with Frances Hardinge, Amy McCulloch, Jonathan Stroud and Ruth Warburton, chaired by Marc Aplin.
Oh and last but not least, Heroes of Horror! With Charlie Higson, Will Hill, Derek Landy and Darren Shan, chaired by Rosie Fletcher. These guys just love killing off characters, oh and they have no intention of ever-growing up!
It was a Saturday full of books, and fun so it couldn’t have been more perfect. Oh, and the cosplayers were amazing there were Doctor Whos, Sherlocks, Witches, Manga/Anime characters, Game of Thrones, ……………. and some scary guy on stilts, very frightening.
On the Sunday, the first panel was at 11.30: How to get published with Phil Earle and Sally Green, chaired by Ben Horsten of Penguin Books. Ben Horsten began the panel talk by introducing us to Sally Green, debut author of Half Bad,and Phil Earle, author of Being Billy, Saving Daisy, Heroic, and The Bubble Wrap Boy. Phil Earle took five years to get into writing. He changed his career and became a children’s bookseller. During his time as a bookseller he developed an interest in literature, and in particular, young adult fiction. In the panel event Phil Earle emphasised the importance of finding the right home for your writing. Trust your gut instinct. If you find the right home they will believe in you and do all they can to help you succeed. Sally Green agreed that it was important to have a good working relationship with publishers.
Are editors “Angels and devils?” Or are they a mix of both? Sally recommended learning how to edit your own book. Having feedback buddies, analysing other people’s work, and developing a willingness to change, learn, and improve. I totally agree, I am a member of a writing group here in Cambridge and have found this really helpful. Sally’s advice is to keep on going, even the most famous authors can take a long time to get there. She mentioned that Iain Banks wrote three books before the Wasp Factory was successful and he didn’t give up.
Phil Earle emphasised the buzz, and encouragement that editors can build. Phil jokingly said that when you approach an agent, or an editor make sure that you stay sober! No Stalking! “Don’t chase the market.”
Ben Horsten of Penguin Books is on the look out for writing that inspires his attention and has different kinds of polish. It has to have an amazing voice. A nugget, a ‘Je n’ai sais quoi.’ It is a tough market for debut writers, but don’t despair publishers are on the look out for the next generation of writers.
Phil Earle discussed debut writers. He said that debut writers have a unique quality, they are bright and shiny. Bloggers like debut writers. I have to agree with Phil Earle on this one. There is nothing like encouraging a new writer to find their voice and succeed in a difficult market. Again, writing communities are great, as are blog sites, and wattpad. But above all else be suggested be passionate!
Phil Earle has used editing agencies – Cornerstones – and found this useful. Sally was a bit wary of parting with money and suggested swapping manuscripts with other authors. Given her background – I believe she was an accountant before the creative bug hit her, this sounds likely advice from Sally! I’m also a bit loathe to part with money too, I’m sort of with you on this one Sally, but we’ll see I may have to succumb, and pay. At the moment I’m using trusted people to read and give feedback on my manuscript. Hopefully that will be enough.
Sally emphasised the importance of working on your manuscript, and not getting too side tracked by social media! Good advice! Wish I had thought of that!
Ben Horsten suggested checking out profiles of a few authors and how they connect with their fans on social media. This sounds like great advice……
Other snippets of writer advice from the panel: Develop a good profile on twitter. Find an agent, using the twitter hastag, #askanagent. Make sure your first three chapters are the best they can be and also that you have a two-line pitch that delivers, and your synopsis just cries out to be read.
My advice: When attending these events remember to bring food and a lot of water. A nice sandwich would be awesome. It was very hot and sweaty inside the venue. So wear minimal clothing, but don’t get arrested. In fact I felt quite sorry for some people who were dressed in elaborate costumes, how could they possibly survive? So come prepared. Let’s hope that YALC is an annual event, I want to go again! Oh and next time I want to dress up! I wore my glasses this time, next time who knows what I will look like!
Authors websites and information:
http://www.childrenslaureate.org.uk/yalc/yalc-schedule
Orkney Idyll – Scotland is cold but is so Beautiful!
Found this great video of Orkney via Moz @Mozford on twitter. So beautiful, tranquil, must visit, an idyll. No wonder the Italians were inspired to build the Italian Chapel in Orkney. It may be cold in Scotland but it sure is beautiful! Philip Paris’s book The Italian Chapel, my review, http://mjmallon.com/2014/07/04/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-italian-chapel-by-philip-paris/