


What do you think of the new covers?
I bought:Tips on having a gay (ex) boyfriend by Carrie Jones
From Goodreads: It isn't every day that my high school boyfriend, Eastbrook High School's Harvest King, tells me he's gay. It's not every day that the Harvest Queen is dumped in the middle of a road with the stars watching the humiliation and the dogs barking because they want to come help tear my heart out and leave it on the cold gray ground. It isn't every day that my entire world falls apart. Belle believes that Dylan is her true love-maybe even her soulmate. Until one cold night when Dylan drops the ultimate bomb: he's gay. Where, Belle wonders, does that leave her? Should she have somebeen able to tell? Is every guy that she loves going to turn out to be gay?
This beautifully-written debut explores what happens when you are suddenly forced to see someone in a different light, and what that can teach you about yourself.Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
From Goodreads: When the Mayflower set sail in 1620, it carried on board the men and women who would shape America: Miles Standish; John Alden; Constance Hopkins. But some among the Pilgrims were not pure of heart; they were not escaping religious persecution. Indeed, they were not even human. They were vampires.The vampires assimilated quickly into the New World. Rising to levels of enormous power, wealth, and influence, they were the celebrated blue bloods of American society. The Blue Bloods vowed that their immortal status would remain a closely guarded secret. And they kept that secret for centuries. But now, in New York City, the secret is seeping out. Schuyler Van Alen is a sophomore at a prestigious private school. Suddenly, when she turns fifteen, there is a visible mosaic of blue veins on her arm. She starts to crave raw food and she is having flashbacks to ancient times. Then a girl from her school is found dead... drained of all her blood. Schuyler doesn't know what to think. Could those vampire legends really be true? Steeped in vampire lore and set against the heady backdrop of the rich, young, and powerful in the heart of New York City, Blue Bloods will be devoured by Melissa de la Cruz's legion fans.
Evernight by Claudia Gray
From Goodreads: Bianca wants to escape.
She's been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn't fit in.
Then she meets Lucas. He's not the "Evernight type" either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him.
"I couldn't stand it if they took it out on you," he tells Bianca, "and eventually they would."
But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can't be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.The Puzzle Ring by Kate Forsyth (read my review) - I had to have a copy of this:)
From Goodreads: Hannah Rose Brown is twelve years old when she finds out that her family is cursed. Desperate to find the truth about her father' disappearance, she travels to her ancestral home in Scotland, and discover a chain of dark secrets that plunge her into different worlds, timeframes and dangers.The Gypsy Crown by Kate Forsyth
From Goodreads: Emilia Finch and her cousin Luka are gypsies. For them, that means they live a strongly traditional life, rich with story, music, dance, and magic, governed by the laws of the clan and the ways of the road. To the repressive Puritanical government of 17th century England, however, the gypsies are thieving, fortune-telling vagrants who are most likely allies of the devil.
While the Finches have managed to steer clear of trouble, it finds them when they decide to raise dowry money for one of their daughters, by performing in Kingston square one ill-fated market day. A series of terrible events lands the family in jail, charged with murder. Only Emilia and Luka manage to escape, promising to bring back help and free them.
The only problem is -- how? Emilia believes in the legend of the charms: it is said that the luck of the Rom has turned sour ever since a long-ago gypsy matriarch broke her chain of charms, giving one charm to each of her five children. Since then, the gypsies have been persecuted and the families have dispersed. If they can gather the charms from the families, Emilia thinks, the strong magic of the Rom will somehow bring her family freedom. Luka, on the other hand, is more practical - he wants to enlist the help of the other clans to help the Finches escape.
Emilia and Luka must race through the countryside, navigating a hornets' nest of Rom-hating Puritans, Royalist spies, and traitors, if they are to complete their quest before the magistrate delivers a death sentence...
How did you all do?
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Kate also stopped by to answer a few questions...What inspired you to write the Puzzle Ring?
Although the first seed of the idea for the Puzzle Ring came from reading an article about the history of puzzle rings - which was first invented by a cruel and jealous Arabian king as a sort of chastity belt for his beautiful wife – I think this book has very deep roots into my childhood. I’ve always loved time travel stories, and I’ve always loved romantic old-fashioned stories about a child having to search for some kind of treasure to save the family castle. I wrote a book very like that when I was only 11 or 12, coincidentally set in the Highlands of Scotland.
The Puzzle Ring really brings the past alive and I loved hearing about Mary, Queen of Scots. Is this a period that really interests you?
Yes, its my favourite period of history. My fascination with Mary, Queen of Scots, first began when I was a child and my grandmother told me the story of the bloodstain on the floor of her bedchamber that never fades, no matter how hard the floor is scrubbed. Queen Mary was seven months pregnant when a gang of rebel lords broke into her bedchamber, where she was having supper with a group of friends, and stabbed her secretary David Rizzio to death in front of her – 56 dagger thrusts, one of each of the conspirators which included the queen’s own husband. David Rizzio fell and his blood poured out over her wooden floor. You can still see it on the floor of Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh – I’ve been there and I’ve seen it. Queen Mary was taken captive but she pretended to be so distraught that they left her alone. She knotted her bedclothes together and climbed out the window (remember she was 7 months pregnant!) and rode back to Edinburgh a week later at the head of an army, defeating the rebels and winning back her throne. I absolutely loved that story – she was my kind of queen! And the detail of the bloodstain that never fades just added to the general charm and romance and mystery and magic. My grandmother also told me that we were distantly related to the royal Stewart family, which just added to my fascination. I have no idea if this is true or not, though the great Scottish families were so inter-related I think most people of Scottish descent could claim the same!
The Puzzle Ring is also a story of magic and curses. It contained so much detail it felt real! Is this a subject that really interests you?
I’ve always been intrigued by the power of words. Curses and spells, wishes and prayers, they are all a way of trying to change the world with words. All of my books are filled with songs and incantations and spells, and quite a few curses too! Perhaps my fascination with curses comes from when I was in primary school and was being bullied mercilessly by the biggest, meanest girl in school. One day – when she had pinned my plaits to the back of my chair with some drawing pins, so I almost ripped my hair out by the roots when I tried to stand up – I told her I’d curse her if she was ever mean to me again. She laughed and gave me a chinese burn. So I went home and pricked my finger and I wrote her name on a piece of paper with my own blood, and then I burnt the paper in the flame of a candle, muttering a curse I’d written which went something like ‘by owl and bat and snake and rat, I curse you, I curse you, I curse you!’ The next day she fell down the steps and broke her leg. She never bullied me again (nor did anyone else) and I have never doubted the power of curses since.
If you could have an adventure like Hannah when/where would you travel back to?
So many times and places I’d like to go (as long as I could be sure of coming back again.) I’d like to go back and see my own Scottish ancestress and see how much truth is in all the old family myths (my sister has actually written a children’s book with this exact story line so it shoes the power of our old family stories!) I’d like to meet the Bronte sisters, I’d like to help Bonnie Prince Charlie escape, I’d like to smuggle French aristocrats away from the guillotine, I’d like to meet Mary, Queen of Scots and I’d like to know if she really did plan her second husband’s murder (I think she was framed). I’d like to have known lots of my favourite writers.
I love the characters in the Puzzle Ring – especially Donavan. Did you base them on anyone you know? And do you have a favourite?
Most of my characters seem to step fully grown out of my brain onto the page! I love it when that happens.
Donovan is definitely one of my favourites– he’s exactly the sort of dreamy, romantic, rebellious, sensitive boy I’d like to have met when I was 13. And I like Hannah! She’s clever, bold and determined, all the things I was not when I was her age. Linnet is one of my all-time favourite creations too. I want her to come and live with me and cook for me! And Lady Wintersloe was party inspired by my own grandmother, who was very elegant and loved poetry and history and old tales too. Max was fun to write too!
If the Puzzle Ring was made into a film (which would be amazing!) who would you want to cast as the characters?
Ooooh! I’d like Saoirse Ronan as Hannah! She’s brilliant. (She’s was in Atonement and Death Defying Acts and The Lovely Bones). Can she sing, I wonder? Taylor Swift would be cool as Scarlett, though maybe she’s a little too old now – so maybe a younger version. It’d be hard to cast Donovan. He has to be able to sing and play the trumpet! Nick Jonas? He’s 18 so a bit old too. It’d be fun trying to find him!
I love the Uk covers for The Puzzle Ring and The Gypsy Curse. Do you have any imput into these designs? Do you have a favourite?
I love them both too. I had no input at all, but as soon s I saw it I was so happy. I particularly love ‘The Puzzle Ring’ because there is so much in it. My kids love poring over it, and identifying it all.
What authors/books did you love when you were growing up?
I read so many wonderful books as a child! Far too many to list. At one stage I was reading several books a day. By the time I left my primary school I had read every book in the library. The ones that stand out for me are Elizabeth Goudge, Lucy Boston, Susan Cooper, Ursula le Guin, Lloyd Alexander, Peter Dickinson, Enid Blyton, Edith Nesbit, Eleanor Farjeon, Alan Garner, Susan Cooper, Joan Aiken, Nicholas Stuart Grey ... I told you there were a few. I love these authors and collect their books. Some are very rare now and quite valuable.
Did any of these inspire you to become a writer?
I think I was born wanting to be a writer. I certainly don’t remember a time when it was my deepest longing, my most urgent desire, my most precious dream. I think I badly wanted to write books like the ones that so enchanted me as a child. And I wanted to live the life of a writer – or what I imagined a writer’s life would be like! I think this dream came from Enid Blyton’s autobiography ‘My Life’ which has lots of pictures of her sitting under a tree in a beautiful garden, typing away, a dog at her feet, servants quietly about their business in the background. Sigh. I’d still like that life!
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A big thanks to Kate for inviting me be a part of this blog tour, for taking the time to answer my questions and for writing such an amazing book:)
Dreaming of Amelia by Jaclyn Moriarty
From Amazon: Amelia and Riley have transferred to Ashbury for their final year of school, and everyone is completely obsessed with them. Glamorous, talented and totally devoted to one another, the two of them drift through school in their own world. But there's more to the couple than meets the eye - they have secrets. And some of them are dangerous to share. As Riley starts to lose his grip on Amelia, the repercussions affect everyone around them.
A spellbinding story about ghosts, secrets, madness, passion, locked doors, femme fatales, and that terrifying moment in the final year of high school when you realise that the future’s coming to get you.
This is published April 2010 and I'm really looking forward to reading it. I also love the cover:)