Arrival by Alex Slade

Released: 22nd October 2016

Genre: Science Fiction

Source: Author

Pages: 247

My Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads | Amazon

Thirty-three missing in the past two months, all without a trace.

Detective Jake Westbrook is overburdened with cases that seem impossible to solve, despite his almost perfect clearance rate. More and more people are disappearing every week, and this phenomenon brings together five characters with no relation to one another as they try to figure out how to prevent themselves from being taken next. As their search for answers continues, they start to wonder if something more sinister is at hand...

Mysterious, eerie, but also exciting, Arrival is a gripping mystery thriller debut that will definitely keep you up all night.

Thank you to the author for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Arrival is a suspenseful debut novel which takes the best elements of a thriller and sci-fi novel to create a riveting read. With multiple perspectives which offer you tantalising glimpses at the mystery behind the phenomena of these missing people, there is always an element of intrigue to keep your interest. But aside from the tension generated by the two detectives on a mission to solve this case, comes a dimension where science fiction becomes reality for the characters. Though sci-fi is generally a genre I don't explore much of, I'm glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone to be swept up in this exhilarating story.

Divided into chapters which alternate between 'The Detective', 'The Pilot', 'The Dreamer', 'The Teacher' and 'The Thief', Slade has shown skill in ensuring that each of these characters were unique. The details of their lifestyles and flaws are given enough attention, and we are drawn to asking the question of why they, or someone they know, have simply vanished. The detectives Jake and Chris who first set the tone of the story are well-rounded characters who the reader hopes will be able to uncover where these missing people have disappeared to. While at times the purpose of some of the chapters seemed unclear, the haze eventually lifts towards the second half of the novel where more twists occur and the stakes for these fated individuals are higher than ever.

I really liked how once you become almost 'settled' into the mystery element of the book, the sci-fi suddenly comes into play which offers a welcome and fascinating change of pace. The world-building, though not complete, is enough to envision what Slade's imagined society is like. I look forward to seeing how this is further explored in the next installments of the series.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I can definitely see that Alex Slade has the potential to be a hit with sci-fi and thriller readers. Steeped in suspense from beginning to end, I'll definitely be looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Author Interview with Alex Slade

When did you first decide that you wanted to be an author and publish a novel?

Growing up, I'd always wanted to be a filmmaker. I still do, but I've discovered it was mainly because I wanted to express my ideas and share my stories, and writing a novel was a way to do just that. I love writing and coming up with stories, so the idea behind Arrival was such a blast to devise. We all hear about a good book that is hard to put down and keeps people talking about it long after they finish reading it, and I hope to do that with my releases too.

What authors have influenced or inspired you when writing Arrival? 

Drew Karpyshyn has been a significant influence. I'm a huge fan of Star Wars and Mass Effect, so his novels were right up my alley. Arrival draws a lot of inspiration from the worlds found in those stories. J.R.R. Tolkien and George R.R. Marin have also been big influences, in that they can create such layered characters and detailed worlds. The plan for Arrival and the following books in the series is to incorporate a grand adventure found in fantasy books and bring them into a sci-fi setting.

One facet of the story which brings the suspense is the multiple perspectives. Was there a character which came to you before the others?

Initially, I'd written the story as a screenplay. I'd come up with the idea before any of the characters, so there really wasn't one that'd come to me first. A lot of the characters had originated in some of my other stories. I'd brought them into this one, knowing that they'd each have a different outlook on the situation, and that none of them would feel the same.

What were the best/most challenging aspects of writing your debut?

Mainly, managing the book post-release. As it's self-published, I'm doing all of the promotion and working on making sure it's accessible for as many people as possible. That includes working on getting it printed and also making it available as an audiobook. Additionally, before I started writing it, I struggled with working out the tense and whether or not it should be in first or third-person. 

When you're not writing, what are some of your favourite books you've been reading lately?

Lately, I've been finding an interest in graphic novels, which I'd never really read before. Currently, I'm reading Locke and Key, which is a fantastic dark supernatural series. I'm also reading Fables which offers a refreshing and mature take on the fairy tale genre. Vagrant is another novel I’ve started, which is so far fantastic.

If there's one piece of advice you'd give to other aspiring authors out there, what would it be?

Make sure you're prepared. Writing is the fun part, but that's just the beginning. Be prepared to spend more time editing your book than you did writing it. Also, listen to all feedback. It'll help a lot, and you will become a better writer for it.

You have mentioned that Arrival will be in a series. Can you give us a hint at what to expect next?

So far, there's a plan to release four books in the series. The next entry will have the characters adjusting to the new predicaments they're in, while simultaneously trying to find a way out of them. They'll be truly tested and will have to adapt if they want to make it.

Review & Author Interview: The Price of Magic by KJ Taylor

The Price of Magic by KJ Taylor

Released: 24th November

Published by: Black Phoenix Publishing Collective

Genre: YA Fantasy

Source: Publisher

Pages: 424

My Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads | Amazon

“You are here because you were born different. Born with a gift ... and a curse.”

Heroes come in all shapes. Upright, manly, sword-wielding…. Or small and weedy with walking sticks. Unless you look hard enough, you might miss these ones. Pip’s on a journey to find out just what he can do—in magic and in life. Big things are expected of him. . And he’s about to be tested Can he deliver?

This new Young Adult work by acclaimed Australian author KJ Taylor is a stand-alone novella about confronting our challenges and celebrating our differences. Meet Pip and Seress, Ana and Clemence, Jinx and Hex, and follow their quest to find and stop the mad mage who is threatening magic's very existence.

KJ Taylor asks us to think about the choices we make, and the price that we pay for them. For anyone who’s ever been intimidated by those around them, here's a heart-warming story of one boy who isn’t content to be defined by others.

Thank you to Black Phoenix Publishing for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Price of Magic is a unique read which not only encapsulates diversity within fantasy, but holds a heartwarming message at its core. Although not a full-length novel, this story is one which is features a richly imagined world where imperfections are accepted and a path can be followed to find your own magic.

From the beginning of the novella opening with the author's note, I saw that this was going to be a read that would be a memorable one. The concept that 'You are not a disability. You are not an illness. You are you. You are a person. Never be defined by what you cannot do, but instead embrace what you can do' really shone through in the storyline. Books which revolve around characters with disabilities are often susceptible to criticism, either for seemingly stereotyping or being unrealistic in the portrayal of the challenges people face. A large part of this novella's success in my opinion is treating this topic with both tact and a realistic element, within the framework of this magical world where those powers come with a 'Price'.

Our protagonist Pip was likable from the very beginning. Despite his crippled leg, his hopeful idealism and willingness to make the most of the opportunities presented to him were inspiring. The sense of adventure which follows his time at The Institute and beyond ensures that there is never a dull moment. This is a story which champions the underdog, and goes to show that just because someone is at first unassuming, they may hold far greater strength than you may first think.

In all, KJ Taylor's novella is well worth a read for YA fantasy fans. It cleverly depicts both the price to be paid for magic, and the true gift of finding that there is also something special to be found in every one of us.

Author Interview with KJ Taylor

How have your own personal experiences shaped your writing journey for The Price of Magic?

I have Asperger’s Syndrome, which wasn’t diagnosed until I was sixteen. I’m happy and living a full life today, but I had some very hard times thanks to my… well, you can call it a disability if you like. I had a difficult childhood – I was bullied for being different, and believed I was “stupid”. I couldn’t relate to other kids, so I retreated into a fantasy world, where I made up little stories and played games by myself where I pretended to be other people – people who weren’t me, because I didn’t like being me. I loved creating things – drawing, painting, sewing, and writing little stories and poems. And people liked them! I also loved reading, because that was an escape too, so the time eventually came when I started writing novels of my own. I wanted to be a great author and prove my talent to the world (why hello there, self-esteem issues! Where on earth did you spring from, eh? ;) ). I managed to sell a novel to Scholastic when I was only 17, which was an incredible triumph for yours truly. But as I continued my new career as an author, I slowly stopped caring about proving myself. I stopped wanting to be famous, or rich.

I realised that what really mattered was that telling stories made me happy – but also that it made other people happy. I realised that being who and what I am means I have something to offer the world which others can’t. And that’s the message (well one of them) of The Price of Magic: that no matter who you are and what your troubles might be, everyone has something to offer. Never let anyone convince you that you’re not worth anything, and don’t let your troubles convince you of it either. The mages in this book are analogues for artists. They are driven by a passion to create things, as I was, and their difficulties are what help to motivate them, as mine have. And, like artists, they tend to be very solitary and sometimes jealous of each other (hence Aurelia’s poor behaviour in the early parts of the book).

What first made you want to create a story in the fantasy genre?

As a kid, and then as a teenager, I read a lot of fantasy, mostly YA fantasy (I never really graduated to reading fantasy aimed at adults). It was simply the genre I naturally gravitated to. I was one of those kids who believed in magic (or, at least, liked to pretend it was real). I think the genres we choose to write in are often a reflection of what sort of person we are. I’m a daydreamer who likes animals and isn’t interested in, say, outer space. Hence the ideas that come to  me are almost always fantastical in nature. So far I haven’t published anything that isn’t fantasy.

I found your portrayal of people who are facing particular challenges within themselves or have a disability in this novel quite a unique and powerful one. While this can be a sensitive topic in novels, how important was it for you to get the right message across?

Quite! I really didn’t want to upset anyone or imply that the sick and disabled are lesser human beings, which is of course not remotely true. However, I also didn’t want to sugarcoat anything, because that doesn’t help either. As a person who is in a sense mentally handicapped, there are few tropes that enrage me more than that of the “noble retard”, or the “inspirational cripple”. It’s disgusting. We are not here to inspire “normal” people to lead better lives – we are human beings in our own right. As a matter of fact, after I was diagnosed I was repeatedly asked to do something to “inspire” other people with Asperger’s, and I said “why should I be obliged to do that, just because I have the syndrome myself?”. My publicity campaign never mentioned it, and I never talked publicly about it until much more recently. I wasn’t looking to inspire anyone; I just wanted to do my own thing. Was I being selfish? Maybe; I don’t know. But why should people like me be obliged to inspire people? I found it rather insulting, honestly. Therefore, when it came to this book, I did what I always do when writing characters: I treated all of them as people first and foremost. There is no golden rule which states that the chronically ill or the disabled need to be portrayed as either “good” or “bad”, because all of them are human beings. You can have clinical depression and still be a huge jerk. You can be confined to a wheelchair and still be cruel to children. So while a good number of the characters have disabilities or chronic (in two cases, terminal) illnesses, they’re still just people when all is said and done.  

The worldbuilding was one of my favourite aspects of the novel. How did the idea for 'The Institute' come about?

I liked the idea of magic being treated as basically a business (a friend suggested it to me). One publisher complained that The Institute was too much like Hogwarts, but I think that’s unfair. Yes, young mages go there to learn, but the place isn’t a school. I was actually playing off the old tradition of mages/wizards taking on apprentices, so there are no classes – just one on one tutoring, and it’s more to do with learning a trade. And secondly, the Institute is also a kind of hospital/asylum (that’s why I called it that – it’s an institution). Mages are people who often need to be taken care of, so it’s in their best interests to live in a place where that care is available (it’s not really gone into, but they have plenty of qualified doctors in residence). But the Institute really isn’t good at handling mental illness (note how the depressed Seress is mostly just left alone, and others are dumped in padded cells, never to be seen again). I foresee a future in which Pip will essentially become a psychiatrist, helping others with their emotional troubles and teaming up with another character to grow new medicinal plants for treating mental illness. Antipsychotics, that sort of thing. If I ever write a sequel, you will see Pip do exactly that.  

Are there any other authors or books which influenced you when writing The Price of Magic?

Despite my earlier protestations, there definitely is a bit of Harry Potter inspiration present. Tone-wise I drew on my very first novel, The Land of Bad Fantasy (it was a parody/satire). I was almost certainly also influenced by Alan Marshall’s autobiography I Can Jump Puddles. Marshall was crippled by polio as a child and spent the rest of his life on crutches, but he never let it define his life and refused to be “the crippled kid” – he wanted to run and swim and fight and catch rabbits just like the other boys, and he did exactly that, and was highly insulted whenever people tried to shower him with pity for his “terrible affliction”. Now there’s an inspiring story! Other than that all I drew on was my own experiences – this is probably the most personal thing I’ve ever written.

What is the best piece of advice you could give to other aspiring authors out there?

Don’t write to succeed – write for its own sake. I won’t lie to you – this business is incredibly hard to get into, and just as hard to stay in. Therefore, focus on telling the stories only you can tell and worry about selling the things later.

After this brilliant novella, can you give a hint as to what you're writing at the moment? 

Aw shucks. J Several things, as a matter of fact! I’m never working on just one thing at a time. Some of the things I’m writing at the moment include a satirical novel about a CEO who slays vampires who are trying to stage a hostile takeover of his company, one about a girl who can transform into a winged lion teaming up with a phoenix shapeshifter to stop a secret society from taking over the country, a Bronze-age fantasy about a dinosaur-like creature with telepathic abilities and her human friend, the huntress who raised her. And a short story or two.

Thankyou so much for offering me this interview! As a little bonus, I thought I’d write out a list of what each character’s Price actually is:

Ollet “Pip” Gardener – deformed right leg, possible dwarfism

Aurelia – an unspecified terminal wasting disease

Byrne – Asperger’s Syndrome

Deodar – clinical anxiety

Seress – severe clinical depression

The villain – some kind of nerve condition which causes chronic pain (no wonder he/she is so pissed off. I would be)

Master Hystrix – alcoholism (probably stemming from some other issue he’s trying to drown with booze)

Master Auzerais – Prader-Willi syndrome (a condition which leaves the sufferer incapable of ever feeling full, so they don’t know when to stop eating)

Master Anathoth – Parkinson’s Disease

What do you love about YA fantasy?

Teaser Blast: Wicked Restless by Ginger Scott

Wicked Restless by Ginger Scott
Very Mature YA Contemporary Romance
Releasing 20th October 2015

Andrew Harper grew up in a house marked by tragedy. His older brother Owen did his best to shelter him, but you can only be protected from life’s pain for so long. Eventually, you end up just feeling numb…and isolated.

Loneliness was the one constant in Andrew’s life. Until one girl, met by chance in a high school hallway, changed everything. Emma Burke was a mystery and all that was beautiful in this world, the only air Andrew ever wanted to breathe. She took the lonely away, and filled it with hope and color, and Andrew would do anything to keep her safe, happy and whole.

But sometimes, what feels good and right is what ends up hurting us the most. And when Andrew and Emma are faced with an impossible decision, Andrew is tested to see just how far he’s willing to go for the girl who owns his heart.

Cuts are deep.

Scars are left behind.

And revenge beckons.

When Andrew finally gets his chance, in college, five years after his first love broke him completely, he finds out old feelings don’t really disappear just because you say you hate someone. The more he tries to avenge all that he believes he lost, the more he uncovers the real story of what happened years before.

Love is wicked. But a restless heart is never satisfied beating on its own. Can Andrew and Emma make it right before it's too late, or will the ties that bind them now destroy their only chance at a future?

Aaand here's the teaser!

About the Author:

Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling author of eight young and new adult romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, Wild Reckless and The Girl I Was Before. A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work,visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.

When she's not writing, the odds are high that she's somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork 'em, Devils).

Social Media Links:

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GingerScottAuthor

Twitter: @TheGingerScott

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/thegingerscott/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GingerScottAuthor

Google: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+GingerScottAuthor/posts

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/GingerScott

Website: http://www.littlemisswrite.com

Cover Reveal: Wicked Restless by Ginger Scott & Guest Post on 'Flawed Characters'

I loved Wild Reckless, the first book in Ginger Scott's mature YA-contemporary series, and now the sequel Wicked Restless has its reveal! Here's the cover reveal hosted by Wordsmith Publicity so that you can all finally see what this looks like, and check out the beautifully written guest post as well.

Andrew Harper grew up in a house marked by tragedy. His older brother Owen did his best to shelter him, but you can only be protected from life’s pain for so long. Eventually, you end up just feeling numb…and isolated. Loneliness was the one constant in Andrew’s life. Until one girl, met by chance in a high school hallway, changed everything. 

Emma Burke was a mystery and all that was beautiful in this world, the only air Andrew ever wanted to breathe. She took the lonely away, and filled it with hope and color, and Andrew would do anything to keep her safe, happy and whole. But sometimes, what feels good and right is what ends up hurting us the most. And when Andrew and Emma are faced with an impossible decision, Andrew is tested to see just how far he’s willing to go for the girl who owns his heart. 

 Cuts are deep. Scars are left behind. And revenge beckons. When Andrew finally gets his chance, in college, five years after his first love broke him completely, he finds out old feelings don’t really disappear just because you say you hate someone. The more he tries to avenge all that he believes he lost, the more he uncovers the real story of what happened years before. Love is wicked. But a restless heart is never satisfied beating on its own. Can Andrew and Emma make it right before it's too late, or will the ties that bind them now destroy their only chance at a future? 

If the last book is anything to go by, this sequel is going to be even more intense and amazing!

Guest Post: Beautiful, Ugly, Perfectly Wonderful and Oh-So-Necessary Flaws by Ginger Scott

Imagine a story where everyone was perfect. Every character said the right thing, did the right thing, was kind and gracious and humble. It would be...the most boring story ever! Or...perhaps the creepiest ever - I'm undecided on that.

I'm fairly confident I would be hard pressed to find a reader or a viewer of such a story who wasn't waiting for the other shoe to drop. We can't read about perfect people without that voice in the back of our heads saying "okay, but what's wrong with him?" And there's a reason for that. Well, two reasons, actually. And they're both what push me to build flaws in every single character I create.

Firstly, people are, by nature, imperfect. Humans make mistakes. We screw up, say things we shouldn't, behave selfishly and act out irrationally. Even those of us who are close to perfect make massive F-ups. It's what makes us interesting. If we didn't have missteps along the way, then the things we did right--the above and beyond we go to for others, or the truly remarkable displays of emotion we make--would never stand out. It would just be one more thing in a long line of all the right moves. How very...meh.

The second reason is we like to see ourselves in the things we watch, listen to and read. Think about it: that song that sticks with you, that you hear once and immediately run home to download--what is it about that song that drives you to act? Is it because everything about it is predictable? Or is it because of the emotion, how the singer conveys feeling broken, how the words tell a story that strikes a nerve inside?  Is  it the flaws woven into the melody?

I'm going to bet on the flaws.

When I sat down to finally finish my first novel, the book I'd carried around half-finished for far longer than I should have, I spent most of my  time building up the nerve to be raw and honest with my characters' flaws. My hero in Waiting on the Sidelines is a teenage boy--Reed Johnson, the popular kind of quarterback with everything, who really knows nothing about life. I had to show his arrogance, his nativity about how to really treat people, and sometimes I had to make him say and do those things that make us girls cringe. I had to--because those are his flaws. He owns them.  And in real life, us girls sometimes fall for the messed up, head-case  of a boy anyway. We love him. And that...that's OUR flaw. And it's okay. It's real, and reading about that, seeing a story we've lived through  ourselves play out in words, is one of the reasons we seek out books. At least, it is for me. It's also a large part of the reason I write the stories I write.

For me, building a character always begins with the flaws. But before I make them speak or craft what they look like, or tell the situation they're in, I take one step into their past. I like to find that moment--the one that made that flaw theirs in the first place. Maybe it's something that makes them not trust others, or maybe it's something that makes them closed off and aggressive. Maybe they're scared, or maybe they lie to everyone they love. Something made them that way though--it's that something that I'm hungry for, that I find irresistible.

 I've never felt the power of flaws more than when I wrote the Harper boys. Owen Harper, my main hero in Wild Reckless, is the epitome of flaws with reasons to back them up. The book begins with a heartbreaking experience in a young Owen Harper's life--he witnesses the very public death of his father and is quickly shadowed by gossip and labels put on his family. That moment, and those shadows, are what make Owen's colors.

 These traits--they trickle down. And in Wicked Restless, I'm able to show how what happened to Owen forged a path for his brother Andrew in many ways. But paths can change, and decisions we make can fix some flaws and create new ones. This is the very core of Wicked's story and Andrew Harper's character. He craves love, and when he's faced with losing it, he turns to resentment as a form of comfort. But the one girl he resents is the key to everything, and she has so many flaws of her own--Emma Burke is afraid. Afraid of loss, afraid of trust, afraid of her past and her future.

 Fear is such a vital flaw. It can protect us, but it can also shelter us--paralyze us. For me, this flaw is the most identifiable. Fear was my great flaw. It kept me from putting my work out for others for so long. I was afraid of what people would think. My words are so very much a part of me can't seem to separate them from the person I am. And there are times where I feel fear scratching away at me, begging for me to let it in  to take over again. But facing my flaw also gave me a new strength—I think it's drive.

 I am driven.

 For every flaw, a new power is born. For my Harper boys, that strength is love.

And I hope we can all identify with that a little too.

Releasing 20th October 2015

What do you think of character flaws and how important they are in the scope of a story?

#JLBGivesAwayanINDIE May Event + Giveaway (US)

This year, one of my favourite authors Jessica L. Brooks is doing a monthly feature/giveaway where she showcases new indie releases. If you want to find out about in her words with more details, you can visit her announcement post for this month here.

May's Books

Powered by Cheyanne Young
Released: 7th September 2013
Series: Powered #1
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Author Website | Amazon

Maci Might's sixteenth birthday is supposed to be the day she's awarded Hero status. But thanks to a tiny anger problem and a questionable family tree, King City's elders think it's best if she doesn't join the Hero ranks. Determined to change their minds, Maci will break whatever rule it takes to prove she's Hero material. As her hair darkens and her anger grows, everyone turns against her except Evan; a childhood friend turned scientist who may be able to unlock the secrets hidden in her DNA. When a villain attacks King City and her dad is held prisoner, Maci discovers a truth she refuses to believe.

She may not be a Hero after all—but this time the Heroes of King City need her more than she needs them. And she won't let them down. Powered is the first in a trilogy.

Overpowered by Cheyanne Young
Released: 7th September 2013
Series: Powered #2
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Author Website | Amazon

After rescuing Nova from a life of evil, Maci fears she's made a huge mistake. As if she didn't have enough trouble fitting in with her fellow Supers, Nova outshines Maci in personality and power. In the midst of this one-sided sibling rivalry, humans are dropping dead from a powerful drug that originates in the underground tunnels of King City.

Someone is a traitor and Maci wants to capture the villain before anyone else—especially Nova. With Nova in the spotlight, Maci needs to set aside her jealousy before more humans die and the future of King City is changed forever.

Giveaway (US)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

All of this is in preparation for some big news from Cheyanne - can't wait to hear what she has in store!