Thursday, September 30, 2010

FILM REVIEW: The Loved Ones

Two Aussie YA films in 2010! This is certainly a treat. Earlier in September the much anticipated Tomorrow When the War Began hit silver screens all over the country and has since become the highest grossing Aussie film of the year. Perhaps, um, by default.

Until now? Last night I saw a special preview of The Loved Ones, directed by Sean Byrne, a horror film that has been aptly described as Pretty in Pink meets Wolf Creek. And it wasn't--OMG!--a book first. Is that even allowed these days?

After a car accident that kills his father, Brent can't help feeling that his mother blames him for the crash. He escapes into a world of marijuana and heavy metal, one that his girlfriend Holly hopes to pull him from. After refusing Lola's invitation to the school dance, the timid girl who wears pink and obsesses over finding her prince, Brent is drawn from one nightmare into one that is far, far worse.

The Loved Ones is funny, racy and stuffed full of torture porn. I adore horror films but I'm very squeamish and spent much of the middle third hiding behind my coat thinking make it stop make it stop make it stop. But gosh it was entertaining! Extremely creative violence. But it's more than just the violence. The Loved Ones has a fantastic storyline, and where this film shines is its ending. Brilliant. Various story threads come together for a denouement that really packs a punch. Combined with a talented cast and shots of the arid Victorian countryside (my home state, yay!) this is unmissable watching for fans of horror, teenage and otherwise.

Last night's special screening included a QnA with the director and the audience showed their appreciation for the film with a rousing round of applause as the credits rolled. The Loved Ones releases nationally on November 4, and is going to give Tomorrow When the War Began a run for its money.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

REVIEW: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

***Spoiler free***

Mockingjay
is the final installment in the much-loved Hunger Games trilogy. Does much more need to be said in the way of an introduction?

I hate when things end. I have never read The Last Battle, the last Narnia book by CS Lewis, because if I don't then the end will never happen. Even the title makes me sad, being so final and all. There's the sadness of things being finally over, but dear readers, endings also scare me. Because they can so often be a let down and you're left with this awful taste in your mouth. Endings are hard. Endings are risky. Sometimes it's easier just to avoid rather than risk disappointment. I still have not finished the last disk of the audio version of Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta. It's been MONTHS. And I was loving it. I think my tredipation comes from endings that are predictable. Endings that are rushed. Endings that you see coming a mile off, when it's all about wrapping things up rather than doing the characters justice.

There are a lot of things that I loved about Mockingjay. I thought Peeta was handled beautifully. Brilliantly even. I have never been Team Peeta or Team Gale. Because The Hunger Games isn't primarily a romance. I have read swooning posts about Gale tearing my hair out thinking WHY WHY WHY?? Why do we care so much about a character that has 2.5 lines in books one and two combined?

Collins can think up some wonderfully creative violence. And she got the rebels versus the Capitol down to a tee: I loved questioning whether replacing Snow with Coin would be merely a name change, not a regime change. Parts of it was very exciting. As a narrative about the consequences of war and the nature of power and propaganda, I thought it did very well.

There were a lot of things that annoyed me about Mockingjay. It was predictable. Certain parts were rushed. We were left out of key scenes. I have never cared a jot about who Katniss would choose to spend the rest of her life with as she never expressed ONE, not ONE, sweet squishy feeling towards either Gale or Peeta. Anxious, needy, rejecting, confused feelings, but not one word or gesture that made me think she even WANTED A PARTNER. Comfort, yes, human contact, yes, but romance? No. Not once. SO WHY SHOULD I CARE. KATNISS DOESN'T.

Unfortunately, if you don't care who Katniss chooses, a lot of Mockingjay will leave you cold. Because the outcome of rebellion was rather predictable. And the bits that weren't? Hasty. Rushed. Truncated. I have been left with a bad taste in my mouth.

Monday, September 27, 2010

In which there is NEWS! Delicious, wonderful NEWS

I have been sitting champagne-cork-like on this news for WEEKS.

MY DEBUT NOVEL HAS SOLD!!


*throws confetti*

Here is the announcement:

Australian and New Zealand rights to Rhiannon Hart's untitled debut about a stubborn, determined princess who fears she might be somehow related to the mysterious and deadly creatures taking over her world -- and could that attractive but irritating young noble have anything to do with them?, to Zoe Walton at Random House Australia, by Ginger Clark at Curtis Brown.

If you're a member of Publishers Marketplace you can see the deal here.

You've probably all heard me refer to this book as Lharmell, but as is so often the way, titles get changed. So for now maybe it should be referred to as The Book Formerly Known as Lharmell?

Or perhaps by this unpronounceable symbol?


I am beyond thrilled that my book has been picked up by such an esteemed house as Random House Australia. I was lucky enough to meet and have dinner recently with Zoe Walton, my publisher, as she was down in Melbourne. She is just MADE of awesome! It so thrilling to have such an experienced, well-read and LOVELY person get behind my book. I know it's going to be such a pleasure working with her and the rest of the team. (I know, had dinner with. How much of an author do I feel right now??)

There are plenty of people to thank, but for now I'd just like to thank one person. My agent, Ginger Clark, for all her hard work, advice, and answering all my needy emails.

You rock Ginger!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

In My Mailbox (36)

This meme is hosted by The Story Siren.


For review: Monster High by Lisi Harrison (Atom)

They prefer to call themselves RADs, but some call them monsters. So far, the "monster" community has kept a low profile in Salem, Oregon, but this year two new girls enroll at Merston High School, and the town will never be the same.

Created just fifteen days ago, Frankie Stein is psyched to trade her father's lonely formaldehyde-smelling basement lab for parties and friends. But with a student body totally freaked out by rumors of monsters stalking the halls, Frankie finds that life in the "normi" world can be rough for a chic freak like her.

She thinks she finds a friend in fellow new student Melody Carver--but can a normi be trusted with her big secret?
Monster High isn't just a book, it's a whole franchise with costumes, films, webisodes, apparel and toys, all aimed at teen and tween girls. Emily the Strange for this decade?

On a personal note...you aspiring writers, have you ever walked into a bookshop and checked
out which authors you'll be sandwiched between? I'll have Lisi Harrison on one side and Sonya Hartnett on the other--two bestselling authors. Oh the pressure!

On a related note, I HAVE NEWS. STAY TUNED.


Also in my mailbox were these gorgeous Jane Austen goodies from Misty, won during her Jane Austen week. Bad Girls of Jane Austen bookmarks...


...and this stunning necklace that I've been wearing everywhere! It's so pretty.


Here's me wearing it with my friend Reannon just before we hit the town. I know, Reannon and Rhiannon. We are a mighty bad influence on each other, let me tell you!

Visit Marsha Laurence's estsy shop.

Friday, September 24, 2010

For the love of learning

On Friday night I realised I'm possibly a bit of a freak. I attended an astrophysics lecture at Swinburne University on gravitational lensing. Now, this in itself isn't particularly freaky, depending on how you like to spend your Friday nights. (After the lecture I proceeded to a bar, met with beings called "friends" and swilled a sparkly clear substance. I hear this is considered normal behaviour for 25-year-old girls. I'm still looking in to this.)

The lecture was given by a professor from Caltech, a rather serious-looking gentleman who, upon rising and opening his mouth, gave one of the most enrapturing lectures I have ever heard. I'm not well versed in astrophysics at all. My research so far has consisted of looking at pictures like this and saying, "Ooh, galaxies. Pretty" and having very little idea about what was going on in them:


Can you see those lines of light in the image, and the way some things look stretched? Gravitational lensing explains why that is, and if you're looking for an explanation you can find one here. I won't attempt to explain it myself. I got the gist of it, but the gist hardly does something like this justice.

About halfway through the lecture I was dimly aware of a warm sensation in my chest. The tingly sensation persisted when I left the lecture theatre and boarded a train. I wasn't paying it much attention as I was busy pondering this RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME phenomena that was TOTALLY NEW TO ME and wondering how I could incorporate it into an idea I have for a sci-fi novel.

I drifted around inside my head for a while longer and then became aware of what my body was doing. Hello, what is this? Why the warm and fuzzies? There was something familiar about this sensation, but I couldn't put my finger on it at first. It was a little like excitement, a little like the apprehension you get when you're stand on the edge of a very high place, and a lot like the sensation you get from drinking the aforesaid sparkly clear substance.

Then I realised what it was.

It's the same sensation I get when I'm FALLING IN LOVE.

There. I told you I'm a freak. I've always loved learning, but really, what the frack?! The psych major in me wants to give myself an fMRI scan and see which bits light up when I read something cool about, I don't know, quarks or something, and the bits that light up when I think about...OK, I don't have a boyfriend right now, but if I did and thought about him I bet the areas would be THE SAME.

I'm reading The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow right now and if things continue as they are I'll probably end up proposing to my paperback copy by page 176.*

What about you? Have you ever had an extreme emotional response to something unexpected?

*Note: I have since finished said book. I do NOT feel the urge to marry it. I very much feel the need to splutter at it wildly saying things like "For laypeople my ARSE." Review shortly.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday: Across the Universe, Beth Revis

Across the Universe Beth Revis (Razorbill)

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone—one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship—tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn’t do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now, Amy must race to unlock Godspeed’s hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there’s only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.


YA sci-fi! I'm really hoping to see this genre take off in the near future. Across the Universe by Beth Revis sounds fantastic. Coming January 11, 2011 (Razorbill) in the US.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Eating Your Words

The best way to discover new cultures and places in my opinion, apart from actually visiting them, is reading about them and eating their food. It's like having a little holiday, and you don't have to leave your couch or your PJs. I had a little "holiday" of that sort this weekend, one of toast and tahini and trackies and books.

After reading a book set in a foreign place I'll often want to try some of the food that is eaten there--even if it's not actually mentioned in the book. After reading Saundra Mitchell's Shadowed Summer (a fantastic ghost story and a really quick read) I got a sudden craving for beans and rice, even though I'd never eaten bean and rice and it wasn't even mentioned in the book. Beans and rice is delicious. I made a cheat's version with tinned kidney beans and bacon, but still. Yum. I love books set in the South, like Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches Chronicles and To Kill a Mockingbird and R. A. Nelson's gorgeous novels. Plus there are TV shows like HBO's True Blood, which is partly set in a restaurant with actual booths. (Below left, the interior of Merlotte's.) I love booths but we just don't have them here! How I want to sit in a booth and eat a "coke float". We call them spiders and my cousins and I used to eat vanilla ice cream and coke spiders at my nanna's on hot Sunday afternoons.

But it's not just books set in America that make me want to eat. (OK, that wasn't a jibe against you Americans. I just tend to read a lot of books set there!) Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl made me crave hawker noodle dishes on the streets of Bangkok. Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals, set on the Greek island of Corfu, makes me think of olives and frosty pink watermelon slices. The Kite Runner by Khaled Housseini and Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody, while heartbreaking stories, make me want to eat flatbread and spiced meats from Middle Eastern street vendors. A friend make Yorkshire puddings for a dinner party a few weeks ago and I was so excited to try them after reading so many of James Herriot's vet novels as a teenager.

Cat told me on Twitter she just has to eat stew with chucks of bread and cheese whenever she reads fantasy adventure novels, which made me laugh and also made me think about all the oatcake-munching and jerky-chewing that goes on in those books. I remember once trying to make mead, which is a type of honey wine, after reading about it one of those pseudo-medieval fantasy books. I was about thirteen so it wasn't alcoholic. I think it had fruit and honey and cinnamon in it and it was rather delicious. Then earlier this winter I spotted Maxwell's Mead (see right) in a bottle shop and had to try it. It's so good by itself or with ginger beer.

Have you ever read a book that makes you want to eat or cook something either mentioned in it or from the same region?

**EDIT**
Since posting this I have read a gut-wrenching post on Saundra Mitchell's blog detailing her reaction to Professor Scroggin's thoughtless attack on the Republic School reading list. Please visit her blog and offer your support, or use the #SpeakLoudly hashtag on Twitter to search for more information on this issue (if you haven't, you know, had your blog reader explode all over your face with posts about this in the last twelve hours).

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Review: Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

Cliffton has been in drought for a decade and when a wizard arrives, bringing rain, he in return asks for Sydelle. She becomes Wayland North's reluctant assistant on his quest to prevent a war. But North doesn't just need an assistant. He has his reasons for choosing Sydelle, and his secrets and sworn enemies could be her undoing.

Fantasy romances were my staple as a teenager and I love the coziness of magic and quests and kings and queens. Working in fabric I also love the idea of magic that revolves around weaving, as it does in Brightly Woven. Such a beautiful cover, isn't it? That and the fact that it's by a debut author around my age meant that I had to order a copy from the States.

Brightly Woven is a charming read and the plot unfolded steadily with interesting characters and one or two small twists. It was probably the author's intention that several secrets could be guessed at, but there was still a nice surprise near the climax. I loved how everything suddenly came together. The execution was uneven, unfortunately. Some scenes were fleshed out and highly visible, but others felt rushed. The middle third was rather frustrating as a whole, with Sydelle (and the reader) being left out of key scenes, which resulted in a very side-kicky feel. Also in the middle third the romance felt forced and demonstrative rather than natural.

Brightly Woven rallied in the end with a lively climax and a very touching romantic finale. It was on the whole a charming read, and an auspicious start to Bracken's career as an author. I hope we see more from her in the future. Bracken has stated she's working on several projects and some of her fans have set up a petition for a sequel. I would certainly be keen on another story from this author set in the same world.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

In My Mailbox (35) In which there is Aussie sci-fi!

This meme is hosted by The Story Siren.


Left to right, top to bottom:

Nightshade Andrea Cremer (Atom)
Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything--including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

(US cover on the right. Which do you prefer?)

Clockwork Angel Cassandra Clare (Walker Books)
The Infernal Devices trilogy, a prequel to bestselling The Mortal Instruments trilogy, follows 16-year-old orphan Tessa Fell, whose quiet life is thrown into turmoil when her older brother Nathaniel suddenly vanishes, leaving her alone. Tessa's search for him leads her to England during the reign of Queen Victoria, into London's dangerous underworld, where warlocks throw masked balls for half-demon Downworlders and vampires and supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. When the friendless and hunted Tessa discovers that she herself is a Downworlder, she must learn to trust her natural enemies, the demon-killing Shadowhunters, if she ever wants to learn to control her powers and find her brother. Drawn ever deeper into their world, she finds herself fascinated by – and torn between – two best friends; beautiful Will, a Shadowhunter hiding a deadly secret, and the devoted Jem, whose addiction to a demon drug is slowly destroying him. Tessa quickly realises that love may be the most dangerous magic of all and must draw on all her strength to save her brother and keep herself alive in this deadly new world.

The Rosie Black Chronicles: Genesis Lara Morgan (Walker Books)
Five hundred years into the future, the world is a different place. The Melt has sunk most of the coastal cities and Newperth is divided into the haves, the “Centrals”; the have-nots, the “Bankers”; and the fringe dwellers, the “Ferals”. Rosie Black is a Banker. When Rosie finds an unusual box, she has no idea of the grave consequences of her discovery. A mysterious organisation wants it – and will kill to get it. Forced to rely on two strangers, Rosie is on the run. But who can she trust? Pip, the too attractive Feral, or the secretive man he calls boss? From Earth to Mars, Rosie must learn the secrets of the box – before it’s too late.

Huzzah! Aussie sci-fi! Look out for a guest post from the author in October on writing sci-fi for young adults, as well as a review. Check out the awesome trailer below and visit the website for a sample chapter and other downloads.



Guardian of the Gate Michelle Zink (Atom)
The ultimate battle between sisters is nearing, and its outcome could have catastrophic consequences. As sixteen year-old Lia Milthorpe searches for a way to end the prophecy, her twin sister Alice hones the skills she'll need to defeat Lia. Alice will stop at nothing to reclaim her sister's role in the prophecy, and that's not the only thing she wants: There's also Lia's boyfriend James. Lia and Alice always knew the Prophecy would turn those closest to them against them. But they didn't know what betrayal could lead them to do. In the end, only one sister will be left standing.

Paladin Dave Luckett (Scholastic)
Neither Sam nor Finny, the girl who seems to be hanging around him, are enjoying their lives in Warramar. But Sam could never have imagined how one good deed would take him far, far away from everything he ever knew. Although he doesn't know it yet, he has a gift, and he will need to know how to use it.

More Aussie fiction!

A Curse as Dark as Gold Elizabeth C. Bunce (Scholastic)
Upon the death of her father, seventeen-year-old Charlotte struggles to keep the family's woolen mill running in the face of an overwhelming mortgage and what the local villagers believe is a curse, but when a man capable of spinning straw into gold appears on the scene she must decide if his help is worth the price.

Sisters Red Jackson Pearce (Hodder)
Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris-- the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead. Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts fiercely alongside her. Now Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves and finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax-- but loving him means betraying her sister and has the potential to destroy all they've worked for. Twenty-five-year-old Jackson Pearce delivers a dark, taut fairy tale with heart-pounding action, fierce sisterly love, and a romance that will leave readers breathless.

The Grand Design Stephen Hawking & Leonard Mlodinow (Bantam)
In the last thirty years of his life Albert Einstein searched for a unified theory - a theory which could describe all the forces of nature in a single framework. But the time was not right for such a discovery in Einstein's day. Neither was the time right when, in 1988, Professor Stephen Hawking wrote A Brief History of Time in which he took us on a journey through classical physics, Einstein's theory of relativity, quantum physics and string theory in order to explain the universe that we live in. He concluded, like Einstein, that science may soon arrive at the long sought after 'Theory of Everything'. In this ground-breaking new work, Professor Hawking and renowned science writer Leonard Mlodinow have drawn on forty years of Hawking's own research and a recent series of extraordinary astronomical observations and theoretical breakthroughs to reveal an original and controversial theory. They convincingly argue that scientific obsession with formulating a single new model may be misplaced, and that, instead, by synthesising existing theories we may discover the key to finally understanding the universe's deepest mysteries. Written with the clarity and lively style for which Hawking is famous, The Grand Design is an account of Hawking's quest to fuse these different strands of scientific theory. It examines the differences between past and future, explains the nature of reality and asks an all-important question: How far can we go in our search for understanding and knowledge?

The Thief-Taker's Apprentice Stephen Deas (Gollanz)
Berren has lived in the city all his life. He has made his way as a thief, paying a little of what he earns to the Fagin like master of their band. But there is a twist to this tale of a thief. One day Berren goes to watch an execution of three thieves. He watches as the thief-taker takes his reward and decides to try and steal the prize. He fails. The young thief is taken. But the thief-taker spots something in Berren. And the boy reminds him of someone as well. Berren becomes his apprentice. And is introduced to a world of shadows, deceit and corruption behind the streets he thought he knew. Full of richly observed life in a teeming fantasy city, a hectic progression of fights, flights and fancies and charting the fall of a boy into the dark world of political plotting and murder this marks the beginning of a new fantasy series for all lovers of fantasy - from fans of Kristin Cashore to Brent Weeks.

What's in your mailbox this week?

Saturday, September 11, 2010

NOT In My Mailbox

I went to buy this book yesterday


and to my horror it wasn't available! Stephen Hawking is so famous we even had a cat named after him , and yet it's not here. Just goes to show bad things can still happen to you if you're famous.

Ten days late and counting!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Do today's dystopian novels have any conscience, or are they money-spinners pandering to fashion?

This essay began as a review of Children of the Dust by Louise Lawrence. Bear with me while I do my review thang. It's relevant I promise.

Children of the Dust (1985) was sent to me by fellow dystopian lover Lauren of I was a Teenage Book Geek, all the way from the mother country. Lauren loves timeslip novels first and foremost, and I'd sent her an obscure Australian book of that genre, A Breath in May by Robin Hogan, that I'd loved in my high school days. I like that we send each other little known books set in each others countries!

Nuclear war. A dystopian/post apocalyptic staple, especially for books written before the mid-1980s. I realised while reading Children of the Dust, however, that I'd never read a dystopian novel in which a nuclear blast is not only described but also experienced by the characters. The blasts, one of the earliest scenes in the book, is vivid and chilling.

Children of the Dust is divided into three vignettes: three generations of teenagers who live through the war or in the years beyond it. What this book does best is relate the struggle each character has with not only their survival in a world changed forever, but also their place in it. Lawrence questions whether human beings can have a place in a world that they themselves have destroyed. I found this to be both brilliant and thought provoking.

While writing the book Lawrence was clearly motivated by fears she had about what she saw in the world around her--the very real threat of a nuclear holocaust.

But what motivates today's dystopian authors? Clearly dystopian novels are the books du jour right now. But as I run my eyes over my shelves, I wonder how many of my beloved books have even half the conscience of Children of the Dust, and how many are merely following fashion.

Is there a message in today's dystopian fiction, or has the genre become populated with books that are edgy and cool, but ultimately shallow?

Film Review: Tomorrow When the War Began

The film adaptation of John Marsden's Tomorrow When the War Began was released in Cinemas last Thursday in Australia. I can't tell you how squee-making it's been seeing buses wrapped with ginormous film posters driving about. Ever since casting for this film was announced I've been excited for this film. See, I've always liked Caitlin Stasey. I thought she was excellent on Neighbours and would make a very good Ellie.

I tried not to get my hopes up too high. They got up there anyway without my permission. I was practically jumping up and down when I bought tickets. And when the credits rolled. I was still twitching in my seat when the planes were flying over Hell. I don't think I calmed down for the entire movie, because I loved it.

I loved it.

My friend loved it too. She hadn't read the books, and she was hiding under her jacket in a few places. She freely admits she's a sook, but it was genuinely nail-biting in places.

It was beautifully shot. It was funny as well as affecting. It was thrilling, and what's more, it was faithful to the novel. Things always have to be changed when a book is translated on to screen, but they were minor things and they were done well. The pacing was perfect. The acting was clunky in one or two places, but forgivably so as it was wonderful in most. The girls in the movie did seem to have these affected British accents in places, which could have been a result of hanging out with Rachel Hurd-Wood, who's a pom. I wonder, though, if it's to make the film slightly more appealing in the mother country. It's weird that it was just the girls though.

I'm so proud, relieved and excited--and I hope they make a sequel.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

I am such a sap

I opened up the sequel to Lharmell and I teared up at the thought of getting to work on it again. I think that solves my dilemma about what I should be working on, yes?

Meanwhile, I woke up singing this. Robyn is righteous and awesome. This is going to be my 2010 song. Nothing's going to top this release.




Meanwhile, guess what I'm seeing tonight...

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Books are like boyfriends...

You always love the one you're with now the most.

I can't remember which writer said that, but she's spot on. She was referring to her own books, the ones she writes. She possibly said it on Twitter, proving that profound, life-changing statements are uttered on twitter.

I have been struggling with a standalone novel for months and, like my last, ill-fated, short-lived relationship, I am wondering where the honeymoon period went. It's not supposed to be this hard this early, right? I'm only a third of a way through the manuscript and I can't seem to regain that initial excitement I felt when I was first inspired to write the story.

I think the problem is...I'm still in love with my last "boyfriend". (That SO wasn't the case with my last relationship, but the way. Though I may have been, um, rebounding like crazy. Not something I'm proud of at all, but older and wiser now, no?) The last "boyfriend" being Lharmell. Oh how I love thee and thy two sequels!

I have been wavering over whether I should just drop the standalone and focus on books two and three of Lharmell, or keep working on the two projects simultaneously and see what happens.

Can you two-time a writing project like this? I am in an agony of indecision!

How do you make decisions like these? Do you go with your gut? Do you never EVER start a new project til the last one is completely out of you system, or do you have so many WIPs you could fill a library if only you had the time to write them all?

Friday, September 3, 2010

The Dystopia Challenge Wrap Up

...will happen this weekend! I need to write one more review, of Children of the Dust by Louise Lawrence. Thank you to the lovely Lauren for sending it all the way from the UK.

Also, I have NEWS

...that cannot be revealed yet.

Boo!

But soon. Very VERY soon.