I got a great review on Amazon!!!

I've been meaning to post this for a while, but I've been super busy. Anyway, I got my first customer review on Amazon, and I couldn't be happier. So this is me, smiling :D

5.0 out of 5 stars A smashing debut, May 23, 2011

By Mr. Aman S. Anand - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Superiors (Kindle Edition)

The Superiors is an enthralling novel that sets out an alternate future where vampires have taken over the world and humans are now their minions. The author's considerable talents shine through as she conjures a dazzling new world with a fascinating protagonist, Draven Castle, at its centre.

The book's greatest strength is the quality of the author's writing. For example, the narrator makes astute observations such as, `he sensed her shift from blind panic to simple fear'. It is a pleasure to read a new author who has such a gift with language; it bodes well for the next instalments of what promises to be a gripping series.

At the heart of The Superiors lies the developing relationship between the Third Order vampire Draven and the teenage girl Cali. They share a peculiar chemistry that is subtle, which makes it all the more powerful. And it is through their blossoming rapport the reader hopes that humans and vampires may be able to reconcile in future books in this series.

The author ensures that she reveals enough of this world's back-story to leave the reader desperate to read the next instalment of the series while ensuring that she unveils enough of this vampire-controlled world to ensure that the Superiors is an excellent read in of itself.

Undoubtedly the book will be compared to other vampire fiction, but I would argue that it has more in common with the best film noir - both in terms of atmosphere and the intricate plotting. Without giving away too much, the ending is spectacular and sets up a thrilling second instalment.

The book market has recently been over-saturated with vampire novels, but this work comes up with a fresh and well-written approach that should compel any fan of the genre to give it a read.

Book Review: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked up this book because I read Eugenides's other book, Middlesex, last year and enjoyed it very much. I had seen the movie version of "The Virgin Suicides" a long time ago and was not impressed, but I thought I'd give the book a shot.

For the first two thirds of the book, I couldn't decide if I liked it. Eugenides definitely draws you into that obsessive need to know what's going on in the girls lives, the obsession with their tragedy, and the mystery around them. He writes in a detached sort of way, almost journalistic, with very little emotion or color. It took me a while to get used to, but the book is engaging and easy to read, so I kept at it.

I love the intellectual part of Eugenides writing. If he wrote a narrative non-fiction book, I'd buy it without even reading the back. He has a way of putting information together so you learn lots of interesting things without being condescended. I love his 'historical' picture of things. I don't know about the accuracy, but it seems that he's probably researched to get every detail perfect. You get the feeling while reading that you are reading the truth, that you're being taught by an expert. His picture of the suburbian seventies, the neighborhood, the elms, the music, the fish flies, are all genius. I loved that part.

However, about half the book focuses on the promiscuous sister, the only non-virgin among the group. And the boys who watch her (the narrator and his friends) seem increasingly creepy and stalkerish as the book goes on and they get binoculars and stay up all night spying on the girl having sex. It really turned me off, and I was glad the narrator was only a minor character in the book because I really didn't want to know anything about him. Their obsession with the beautiful neighbors seemed harmless at first, but after a while I started wondering if he was going to go rape them or something. It was just too gross and obsessive.

The story of the girls is laid out well, though, through the eyes of one of their creepy, spying neighbor boys. I didn't find much humor in the book, even though the back says it's supposed to be funny. Maybe all the spying on a fourteen-year-old girl having sex with grown men was supposed to be funny, but it left me cold. Also, the book had a 'Flowers in the Attic' kind of feel with the controlling mother shutting her kids away. I didn't understand why someone didn't try to do something to help them. Even the boys, who proclaim to see themselves as grown men and to be in love with the girls, don't talk to their parents about any of this. Everyone just watches and ignores it. I guess it's supposed to be part of the 'suburbia is hell' theme, but... it seemed strange to me.

I probably would have given this book only 2 stars if not for the last fifty pages. Even though the book was told in such a straightforward way that I wasn't even moved by the girls suffering most of the book, I suddenly teared up when the last one dies. I hardly ever cry during books, and it took me completely by surprise. I was nowhere near crying, and suddenly my eyes just blurred over. So I have to give the author credit, because I certainly wasn't sad for the narrator. But the girls were so weird and tragic, and throughout the book, you get a sense that they are trying to reach out and no one is paying attention (probably because they are too busy looking at the girl's asses and trying to see up their skirts). At the end of the book, he says their suicides were selfish, but I think the selfish ones were the narrator and his friends, as well as the parents. It was obvious something was wrong, and no one did anything. Oh, except the boys DID masterbate and collect strands of the girls' hair.

The last fifty pages, which aren't about the boys being creepy little voyeurs, but about the girls and their sad demise, are moving, poignant, and touching. I felt a little bit of the author's views on suicide creeping in at the end, but it didn't affect the ending too much. And as usual, the little peeks of Greek culture shine like gems. Not much of that in this book, but the parts there were lovely. Overall, I was very disappointed by this book, especially as I loved the author's other book so much better, and found it funny, rich, moving, and beautiful in a way this one wasn't.

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Ronnie's interview

Here is the 21 questions interview I did with the wonderful Ronnie Massey. Check out her website and blog for all kinds of cool stuff, including interviews and some of her own traditionally published books!

This is the interview she did with me.

How long have you been writing? Forever! I used to make up stories with my sisters and write them in little notebooks when I was a kid. The storylines continued forever, like little soap operas.

What genre do you love writing the most and what drew you to it? I write mostly fantasy, adult and young adult. I like getting to make the world exactly how I envision it.

What authors do you follow and why? I'm a huge fan of young adult author Sara Zarr. Her books are more honest than most YA novels, especially YA romance. She doesn't follow the formula or write what she's 'supposed' to write, and that inspires me. I also love Cormac McCarthy's novels.

What inspired your current work? My current book, The Superiors, was inspired by a few other vampire books I'd read. I kept wondering why vampires hid in the shadows if they were so powerful, wealthy, immortal and invincible. I thought, if vampires really existed, wouldn't they use that power over humans? So that's what inspired me to start the series.

Do you incorporate parts of yourself or people you know into your characters? Absolutely. Some people would probably argue, but I think every character an author creates is a part of him/herself. Even the villains. After all, it came from the writer's imagination or experiences, so it's in there somewhere.

If you were stranded on a deserted island what three books would you want with you? Survival for Dummies so I didn't do something completely idiotic and kill myself by accident. His Dark Materials, by Phillip Pullman, would suck me in so much I'd forget all about being scared. Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison, because I'd need a good laugh in that situation.

If your novel was being adapted for the silver screen who would you cast and would you want it to be a movie or a TV series? Adrian Grenier (Vince from "Entourage") was in my head the whole time I was writing Draven's character. Aimee Teegarden (the coach's daughter from "Friday Night Lights") would play Cali. Nicholas Lea (from "Kyle XY") would play Byron, and Marisol would have to be someone very beautiful, like Megan Fox or Salma Hayek.

What one piece of advice would you give to aspiring authors? Just keep writing, for yourself if no one else.

Book Review: Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars, actually, but I have to click on a whole star.

This is an awesome book! I go through stages where I read one or two young adult books that are so badly written that I start thinking I’m too old for YA books, that they are all trite and cliché and all have the same characters with the same issues, the same stock scenes, and the same ‘problems.’ And then I read a book like Speak.

I’ve noticed that some adult books deal with difficult situations and issues in a way that’s so graphic it makes me feel sick. But young adult books, the good ones anyway, deal with tough issues in a delicate way. Anderson leaves no doubt in the readers mind about what happened to Melinda, but she doesn’t shove it down your throat and make you gag. The ability to deal with disturbing situations without graphic detail is one of the things that makes YA literature so great. At least in the hands of a writer as talented as Anderson. The graphic violence in adult books sometimes is such a turn-off that it makes the scene comic. Leaving things mostly to the reader’s imagination can make the scene even more powerful than giving all the gory details.

I’d seen the movie Speak a while back, so I already knew going into the book what it was about. So I thought the mysteriousness over what happened to Melinda might get on my nerves. But Anderson is a good enough writer that it didn’t bother me more than a little. I did, however, think it would have been better if she’d let the reader know why Melinda was so screwed up a little earlier—maybe at the one-third mark instead of the two-thirds mark. The only other thing I didn’t like about the book was Melinda’s sudden decision to speak out. It just happened too fast and without a catalyst. I thought something should have happened to make her break her silence. Instead, she suddenly just thinks that it’s spring, and everything is coming to light, so she’ll do the same thing. I just don’t think teenagers pay that much attention to things like that—especially teenagers as screwed up as Melinda.

The most surprising thing about the book to me was the author’s ability to write humorously about such a dark issue. The book could have been a depressing story about a girl with no friends, full of guilt and going crazy inside her head. Instead, it managed to find humor while never making light of the situation. The author’s ability to make a reader laugh on one page and tear up on the next is truly a gift. If Melinda had whined about her situation (and she had every reason to), the book might have gotten tiresome. But she has such a strong, funny voice that you can’t help but love her. She never plays the victim, even though she was one.

This was an amazing read for me. It should be require reading for all teenagers, male and female.


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Another Blog Interview

Hey everyone,

I have another blog interview out. It's on the website of Ronnie Massey, another new author. Check out her blog, her book, and of course, my interview.

Click here for interview.

Click here to look at my book on amazon.

Click here to look at Ronnie's book on amazon.

Thank you so much Ronnie!

Interview with a Vampire Author

Ha, yeah, I know, that title is super cheese! But anyway, I have exciting news! A wonderful man and blogger, James Oh, has featured me in an interview on his blog! I'm very excited to have my first posted interview up. Click here to check it out! And follow his amazing blog while you're over there. Thank you so much James! I'm honored to be your author interview.

Answering your questions (Promo Friday!)

Hey loyal followers and fellow readers!

Today is my day to promote myself (yay!) Yes, it makes me sound like a hooker, I know.

Anyway, this is short and sweet. There are 3 discussions of my book on Amazon right now, PLEASE participate if you have a second. You do NOT have to have read the book to participate. You might find something interesting, or it might answer a question you already have.

If you'd like to ask the author anything (that's me), I have a thread where I answer questions, just click HERE. You can ask anything.

Here's a thread started by someone who read the book, so it contains spoilers, but if you've read or are reading the book you can answer his questions or make comments or ask questions.

And here's just someone who I think liked the idea.

All you ever-inquisitive minds, check out one of the threads and just say hi or ask a question. I'd really appreciate it!

Okay, no more promoting myself! Thanks to anyone who comments or questions! You guys rock.

Lena