The Other Side of Life - Blog Tour

I'm not back but I do have some tour promises i need to fulfill.

Today I have Jess C. Scott, author of The Other Side of Life, on the blog! :D Let's all welcome her!

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Music is a huge influence and inspiration to me! Here is a list of songs that I associate
with The Other Side of Life [Book #1 in the (Cyberpunk) Elven Trilogy].

Songs that influenced the book:

1. The Chemical Brothers – Three Little Birdies Down Beats (for the cyberpunk/
futuristic/magical texture / when they’re about to travel on the elves’ train network)

2. Maidens of the Celtic Harp (for the Celtic/Elven charm! While Nin and Anya are
having a meal in the elves’ underground abode)

3. Linkin Park – The Catalyst (for the ‘emotional’ components)

4. Nine Inch Nails – That’s What I Get (during a nihilistic moment where Anya ponders
on why life is always cruel to idealistic dreamers)

5. Johann Strauss II – The Blue Danube (a famous classical waltz, when Anya and Nin
have a dance together)

Other songs I listened to while writing:

6. Nine Inch Nails – Year Zero (the album brings to mind a futuristic dystopia, which
mostly goes in line with a cyberpunk theme)

7. Vivaldi – Autumn Allegro (from ‘The Four Seasons’—good for tension, and a prompt
towards action)

8. Kevin MacLeod – Darkness is Coming (I used this song for the book’s trailer @ http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YiT3bLQIyg)

9. Michael Jackson – They Don’t Care About Us (great song by MJ)

10. Se7en – Digital Bounce (a ‘hi-tech’, upbeat kind of song by a very talented Korean
popstar. Features in Anya’s playlist, briefly mentioned in one chapter)

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Author Bio:

Jess identifies herself as an author/artist/non-conformist. Her literary work has appeared
in a diverse range of publications, such as Word Riot, ITCH Magazine, and The Battered
Suitcase. She is currently working on several multiple-genre-crossing projects, including
her trilogy featuring cyberpunk elves.

Website: www.jessINK.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jesscscott
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jesscscott
Blip.fm (music playlist): www.blip.fm/jesscscott

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There you have it! Hope you all enjoyed it and have a great day!

Tell Us We're Home Blog Tour - Marina Budhos Guest Post

Even though I said there was supposed to be a hiatus, this post was scheduled way before that thought crossed my mind. So here is a guest post from the lovely Marina, author of Tell Us We're Home. :D

Enjoy!

Which character was your favorite to write and why (and how you developed them) and which do you relate to more?


That’s a hard one to answer, since I grew to like all three, very much, and think that there’s a bit of me in all three. However, let’s put it this way: Lola was a blast, insofar as she just pounced on to the page, and never left. Her energy, her voice, was right there, from the get go. I wrote her material the fastest, which seemed apt for her. I always knew she would be obsessed with history, and had a fast mouth. I knew she'd land in trouble somehow, but I wasn't exactly sure how. My favorite scenes to write were later, when she really crashes and is in the therapist’s office and her moxie boldness isn’t serving her anymore.

But I will say it was Maria who began as the most distant and truly grew on me. Her pining for Tash, her accompanying her mother on job interviews, her slow political awakening, felt wonderful to write. I loved writing the scene where she sees Tash's house and encounters his parents--that felt very natural to me, and perhaps drew on my own sense of outsideness. I also just enjoyed figuring out where she would take herself, what kinds of new and sometimes painful insights she learned along the way.

Jaya always began as the main character, and so in a sense, you could say she was whom I was closest, or most intimate with. I felt as if I knew her, knew the way she saw the world, and how she felt, especially about her mother. Writing her was about tunneling inwards, understanding her inner landscape, the imagery of her past, which was so vivid to her.




Thanks for stopping by, Marina. :D Hope you enjoyed this last (not for long) post.

Back to hiatus-ness(?).

Fused Blog Tour - Kari Lee Townsend Guest Post

Today, for a blog tour, I have Kari Lee Townsend on my blog.

I asked her "What Her Favorite Childhood Book Was and Her Favorite Memory With It?
Here's what she had to say.
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Childhood Books & The Memories That Go With Them

A person's childhood goes by so quickly. I have four children, and I'm watching theirs go by way too quickly for my liking. Childhood is a time for believing that anything is possible. For discovering the wonders of the world. For setting off on new adventures and not being afraid. Books are one of the best ways to experience things you never thought possible.

I remember loving to read almost anything because it felt like I was stepping into a whole other world. It was like getting swept away in an amazing movie, and I hated to see it end. I don't really have one favorite book, but I do have a favorite series. I was addicted to the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books. The thought that kids so young could venture off on great adventures, facing all sorts of dangers, yet solving the mystery on their own in the end was so exciting.

I have one sister and one brother. When we were really young, my dad was in the air force. But once he retired and worked as an air traffic controller for the FAA, we finally put down roots and lived next door to our cousins growing up. I have always had an active imagination, but these books inspired me to come up with some pretty cool adventures for us all to play.

Even today, I still love a great mystery. In fact, my Samantha Granger books have a mystery in them as well. And I also write a cozy mystery series called The Fortune Teller Mystery Series with book one, Tempest in the Tea Leaves, coming out in August. To find out more about all my books, go to http://www.karileetownsend.com

Thanks so much for having me here today. This has been fun, and I hope all of you find a great book to curl up with that inspires you to live your own adventurous life :-)

Thank you, Kari, for coming here today! Hope you guys enjoyed it and be sure to read Fused: The Samantha Granger Experiment. Out Now!

Until next time,

Nyxen's Review of "Tell Us We're Home"

Tell Us We're Home by Marina Budhos
297 Pages
Atheneum 2010

Jaya, Maria, and Lola are just like the other eighth-grade girls in the wealthy suburb of Meadowbrook, New Jersey. They want to go to te spring dance, tehy love spending time with their best friends after school, sharing frappes and complaining about the other kids. But there's one big difference: All three are daughters of maids and nannies. And they go to school with the very same kids whose families their mothers work for.

That difference grows even bigger-and moer painful-when Jaya's motehr is accused of theft and Jaya's small, fragile world collapases.

When tensions about immigrants start to erupt, fracturing this perfect, serene suburb, all three girls are tested, as outsiders-and as friends. Each must find a place for herself in a town that barely notices she exists.

This book really wasn't one for me but I actually did enjoy it, nonetheless.

Tell Us We're Home tells the story of three immigrant girls who all have a few things in common: They're not from New Jeresey and their mothers are all nannies for the rich kids' family they girls go to school with.

They find each other when times get rough and they've stuck through it all. They just want to fit in, some more than the others but in the end they remember who their friends truly are. These three girls just don't know what to do when they're left alone, in this cruel, rich kid world, when their parents are in trouble.

I'm not really sure how to explain it but this book gives you hope, and an open mind about important issues. I highly reccomend it.

Marina Budhos did a tremendous job on this book.

I rate this book Four Stars.

Trickster's Girl Blog Tour - Hilari Bell Interview

Today, thanks to everyone at Teen Book Scene, I have an interview from Hilari Bell! She's the author of Trickster's Girl.

So, let's welcome Hilari!

NA:How did you come up with the title?

HB:With a lot of work, that's how. For me, a title either appears with the concept of the story, it's the perfect title, and no one ever tries to change it--or (far more often) the book has no title throughout its writing and coming up with one is really hard. My clever and original working title was "Book One". All I knew then was that I liked the word Trickster for the title, but didn't know what to put with it--much less what to call the second book. And I was worried that Trickster it made it sound like Raven was the main character, when in fact the main characters are Kelsa in the first book, and Jase in the second. I turned the rough manuscript over to my critique group and asked them to come up with a title for me--as I frequently do at this stage. We brainstormed back and forth and came up with some things, and I mulled them over and finally settled on Trickster's Choice, which I really liked. I then gave the title (with the book) to my editor, who also liked the title really well...until she realized that Tamora Pierce had recently used that exact title for one of her books. Contrary to popular belief, titles can't be copyrighted--but there are a lot of disadvantages to duplicating the title of a book already published in the same genre for the same age group. So my editor and I brainstormed some more and came up with Trickster's Girl instead. I'm very happy with that, and it also goes well with Traitor's Son, which was the perfect title for the next book.

NA:Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

HB:Not really a message. Most of my books have a theme, but that's more to keep me on track than to demonstrate something to the reader. I doubt many readers will pick it up, but in the first book, what Kelsa learns is that sometimes you have to give up control/responsibility, and in the next book what Jase learns is that sometimes you have to take on responsibility, even if it's not a fight you started. But as I said, I don't think too many readers will notice that bit of balancing. In fact, there's a lot in both stories about achieving the right balance.

NA:How much of the book is realistic?

HB:I write SF and fantasy--and this book crosses both genres, so there's a double dose of not realistic! However, because it's near future SF set on this planet, I got to take the same trip, over the same roads that Kelsa did--so all the places are real, and (without the magic parts) I did most of the thing she did in healing the leys, including exploring lava caves with a very inadequate flashlight, wading into icy lakes, sneaking out of sight of the ranger to pass the don't-cross tape and lay hands on the glacier. And the places Jase goes in Alaska I also went, and discovered for myself how alive the sickly looking taiga feels. I had so much fun doing the research for these books! I wasn't, of course, being chased by a homicidal biker gang, but the restaurant where they attacked Kelsa is real too, though I moved it's location a bit. And Pickhandle Lake, which really was a First Nations gathering place called Chetthel Chi. And the museum Kelsa robs is real, though I changed its name. In fact, except for the science fiction parts and the magic parts, most of the things in this books are real.

NA:Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

HB:My own father died of cancer, about 10 years ago. And because he had come to passionately hate hospitals, we let him die at home, in his own bed. But I have to admit that was hard on our family in all kinds of ways. The debate about whether to put a dying family member in a hospice is a very real one, and neither decision is right or wrong. You just have to make the right choice for your family and the person who is dying.

NA:What books have most influenced your life most?

HB:Books as a whole have been a huge influence on my life, but I think the most influential ones were Lloyd Alexander's Prydain books. The were the first "real" books (not picture books) I ever read, and they made me into a lifelong fantasy reader, and eventually a fantasy writer.

NA:If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

HB:Lloyd Alexander, for all the reasons mentioned above. When someone asks me who my style most resembles, I think it's probably him.

NA:What book are you reading now?

HB:First I should confess that I mostly read adult books, and not so much YA. But right now it's Robert Parker's latest Spenser mystery. Next up on my list is Mercedes Lackey's new fantasy novel. And the last book I read was Lois Bujold's latest Miles Vorkosigan book--science fiction. I added Lois, because she's probably my favorite author right now. Both her Miles books and her Sharing Knife books are absolutely wonderful.

NA:Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

HB:New authors...as in just publishing their first books? No one I can think of offhand. New authors as in, I just discovered them recently? I've really enjoyed Lindsey Davis' Marcus Didius Falco mysteries (historical mystery) and Susan Elizabeth Phillips (humor/romance) I don't read a lot of romance, but the humor in the Phillips books is delightful.

Thank you Hilari for stopping by on this amazing Blog Tour!

Until next time,

Nyxen's Review of "Trickster's Girl"

Trickster's Girl by Hilari Bell
288 Pages
Houghton Mifflin Books (January 3rd, 2011)

A century after 9/11, in a high-tech, high-security world, magic is the last thing on anyone's mind.

Something bad is happening. Trees are dying. People are getting sick. Fifteen-year-old Kelsa's father died from cancer-a particularly aggressive case, the doctors said. Science has no answers.

Then Kelsa meets a boy. He's the most beautiful boy Kelsa's ever seen, but he's also very strange. He claims to be Raven, the mythological creature. He keeps going on about magic and an impending ecological disaster and that Kelsa must help him save the world.

Maybe he's crazy.

Or maybe he's telling her truths people have forgotten. And maybe she should help him, even if doing so means risking her own life.


Trickster's Girl takes place in 2098, in America, where things haven't changed a lot from today's society. Security is tighter, and Earth is changing, dying. Kelsa is a regular girl who experiences a tragedy. Her father dies and she starts to become represssive. In an effort to take a stand and rebel, she steals her father's ashes to have a proper burial at a park. But at the park, she meets someone, someone different.

Raven, a shape-shifting mythological being, who needs Kelsa's help to cure the tree plague and all the disasters happening to the Earth. But Kelsa can't really believe him because magic isn't something very easy to handle. It doesn't exist, very hard to believe. But Kelsa agrees to help Raven and go out on this expedition seeing as how she doesn't belong anywhere after he father died.

Trickster's Girl is an dystopian novel that really is interesting. I loved the idea that the author used something that is happening in our everyday life, global warming, and how she intermixed it with a dash of fantasy. It was interesting but up until a certain extent.

Kelsa wasn't a character that was like 'WOW' to me. She did an exceptional job but that was it. She didn't captivate me as much as I would have liked. Raven, though, he was interesing. I loved him in a way that made up for Kelsa...Does that sound bad? He was quirky, mysterious and just plain weird. I enjoyed reading about him.

The adventures they have together were okay for my taste. Kelsa had to escape from Raven's enemies about a thousand times (not really) just because she was trying to help. I liked their adventure to save civilization and Earth but it just didn't captivate me as much.

I'm sure other people would enjoy it and as a whole I would probably give it Four and a half stars......

But I wasn't too fond with it so I rate it Three Stars

Everlasting Blog Tour - Angie's Top Ten List

This is my first ever blog tour and I am super excited. Today Angie Frazier, author of Everlasting, has so kindly graced us with her presence. :D

Let's welcome Angie!

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10.) Peeta from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins (even though I was firmly Team Gale, Peeta was more of a “hero” type)
9.) Po from Graceling, by Kristin Cashore (for some reason I always envisioned Russell Crow…)
8.) Chen Yong from Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon (Yummm…)
7.) Gabriel St. John from Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, by Sarah MacLean (Those rakes always win me over in the end)
6.) Jace from The Mortal Instruments series, by Cassandra Clare (Holy guarded and sarcastic hotness)
5.) Sid from The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly (Who doesn’t love a bad boy every now and again?)
4.) Mr. Knightly from Emma by Jane Austen (This is one “close family friend” scenario that truly works)
3.) Mr. Darcy from Pride & Prejudice, by Jane Austen (Need I say more?)
2.) Randall Jackson from The Eternal Sea (hint hint! Seriously, I didn’t expect to like him as much as I do now)
1.) Oscar Kildare, from (cough, cough) Everlasting. (Don’t judge me. I’m just being honest!)

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I just want to thank Kelsey and Kari for letting me be apart of this blog tour. And thank you to Angie for stopping by!

Her WEBSITE and her BLOG.

Until tomorrow,