Speechless Giveaway WInners

Last week I posted a competition to win 5 copies of Hannah Harrington's Speechless by telling me what books left you speechless. Thank you so much for everyone who entered, I loved finding out about all your books!


And now to the winners....(chosen at random)

*Drumroll*


The winners are:

1. Dea S.
2. Franchie15
3. Tami Peterson
4. Lynn K.
5. Barmybex

(sorry for blog names rather than actual names in some places).

Congratulations!!!

Please can all 5 of you email elise.windmill@hqnuk.co.uk with your names and addresses to receive your books!

Thankyou to everyone for entering! Watch this space for a new post this week and more giveaways soon!


Emily x

*COVER REVEAL* Dare You To - Katie McGarry

Now I am both very excited and honoured to be able to be posting the blog's first Mira Ink cover reveal! Not only that, but it is none other than the new Katie McGarry cover reveal!! *ooo's and aaah's*

At the beginning of January I wrote a post about Katie McGarry's debut novel 'Pushing the Limits' and what a fantastic read it was and now she has a new book coming out in June called 'Dare You To'!

'Dare You To' brings to focus the life of Beth who played a sideline role in 'Pushing the Limits', and follows the life and troubles she faces and how her life changes completely when she meets the gorgeous Ryan!

And now for the drumroll.....

How fantastic is that? It has the right mix of steamy and sexy and it's definitely going to be a romance with an edge! What do you think about it? Are you excited to read it? I can't wait!!

Leave me a comment with what you think of it - what do you like about it? What are you looking forward to most about reading it?

Stay tuned for more exciting posts, teasers and everything else this week! 

Have a great week,

Emily x

Day of Silence Guest Blog #2

Can you imagine a day without any kind of social interaction? Without Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads or even a cell phone. And what if you’d add to this fairly unique equation the natural and instinctive act of speaking? Can you picture what would be like if you’d take a vow of silence? I can’t. Couldn’t, actually. Until I decided to take one myself.

I honestly believed I could do it, that it would be a rather easy thing to accomplish, but the truth is that I couldn’t be more wrong! And thinking about it, if it was such a straightforward, effortless task, probably Chelsea wouldn’t have done it to redeem herself, right?

Escaping conversations wasn’t hard. So many times I simply used a smile or a nod as an answer. The complicated consequence of not replying with spoken words was thinking about what I wanted to say or would’ve said, and then understanding that maybe that wasn’t quite what I hoped to respond. Therefore, I ended up over-thinking everything, and analysing every single reaction of mine. At times it wasn’t demanding, it would feel right, but so many others it was just plain hurtful. And that made me realise that I might have misunderstood and offended people before without being my intention. It is not an excuse, it never is, but wasn’t that a bit of what happened to Chelsea? She couldn’t keep her mouth shut, everybody knew that, so she revealed a secret, but was really her purpose to almost kill someone? Wasn’t she misinterpreted? Maybe even a victim herself, of her own insecurities and fears?

 
I was able to go speechless for the entire experience, however, I did use a small notebook for emergencies, only because I picked the toughest day possible to endure such a silent mission. Believe it or not, I had to plan an entire holiday using basic and small sentences. Couldn’t it have waited until the next day? Unfortunately no. The trip took place three days later.

This was also a very useful method to pick up a ticket reservation and to order dinner. The funniest—and incredible—thing about it was that I was the one being astonished at the face of results. From the bare start, I knew I wanted this to be a challenge, I needed to feel like I was capable of anything in any given situation, so like Chelsea I went out and tried to have a normal day. I just never expected people to react the way they did. Seeing I merely had a couple of words written on a paper sheet, both men thought that I also couldn’t hear, thus they communicated with me using their hands. I found this to be extremely interesting because neither of them even thought about the possibility of me being unable to speak due to having the flu or something like that. They just automatically assumed I could only talk using ink or sign language.

I also got looked at—a lot. I think people were curious, wanting to know why I was having a conversation with someone who was answering me through speech—and the other way around too. Some of them had no problems about leaving me uncomfortable by simply staring, but others tried to hide it every time I looked at them. The only moment I felt scared and nervous was when an old couple that truly communicated using sign language passed nearby my table. What would have I said if they had noticed and stopped? Would I have broken my vow? Would I experience muteness for real? Frankly, I have no idea what my reaction would be. 

 

 

At the end of the day, it takes a lot of courage to do something like this. And, to me, Chelsea simply showed the true strong person that was laying beneath all that shallowness. ‘Cause it is much easier to just speak about it, think about it, wonder about it than it is to actually do something about it. And she did something. She changed herself. She erased all the bad things and learned how to reach deep down for the good ones. She became the person she was meant to be all along. And as for me, I did discover some things about myself that were still unknown to me. This was an incredible experience that I surely won’t forget anytime soon. But would I ever do it again? Yes, sure. Just not for now.

Thanks to Patricia for writing this fantastic guest blog for us. You can follow her blog here.

 

Speechless Blog Tour

Hi!

It's my stop on the blog tour for the wonderful Speechless by Hannah Harrington, which is very exciting!

Speechless is Hannah's second novel and is a fantastic read exploring the issues surrounding the consequences of gossiping and bullying and how damaging it can really be...

"Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast—and nearly got someone killed.

Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence—to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she's ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.

But there's strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way—people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she's done. If only she can forgive herself"

Here's the trailer for the book as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etOsHnEq4s4

As part of the tour I've managed to grab some Q&As from Hannah about Speechless, giving a real insight into writing about the issues in the novel.

1. Are you a gossiper?
I admit I really love celebrity gossip. I keep up with a lot of those blogs. I find it entertaining, and at least there’s a distance there compared to gossiping about people in my real life.


2. The book deals with very emotional subjects- was it an emotionally tough novel to write?
The most emotional aspect for me was the incorporation of Noah and Andy’s story. It was important to me to hit the right notes and do justice to, since that is a subject close to me. But honestly, even though a lot of people have discussed Speechless as dealing with heavy issues—and it does—it felt like a nice break after writing Saving June, which was much heavier and more personal for me. I wrote about some serious topics in Speechless, but I felt like there was also a lot of lightness to it that helped keep readers—and me!—from being too bogged down by it all.

3. There are many instances of bullying in Speechless. Have you witnessed or experienced bullying?
I think anyone who has experienced middle school has witnessed or experienced some form of bullying. Those were hard years for me. I moved to a new town for high school, but before then I’d grown up in a very small town, and I never really fit in. Most kids had money, and I was poor, and just sort of awkward. I’d sit alone at lunch just writing in a notebook and have people come up to me to mock me about it, or be forced to do partner projects alone because I didn’t have friends. I’d be harassed, teased, excluded. There was a point where a certain group of kids targeted me so badly that the administration had to intervene. It was very painful at the time.

4. Do you ever speak before you’ve thought about what you’re going to say?
I’m pretty sure that happens to the best of us sometimes! I know sometimes I’ve gotten in arguments with people, things get heated, and I’ve said something I knew I’d regret. I try to be mindful of that behavior and not act so thoughtlessly. It can cause a lot of hurt.

5. Who is your favourite character in Speechless?
This may come as a surprise to people, but my favorite character is Andy. I felt like he was one of the most vital characters, even if his role isn’t the biggest. He really gives Chelsea a needed dose of reality, and he doesn’t sanitize her actions. I always find it fun to write the character who doesn’t parse words and is more blunt about things. Not only is it entertaining, but I think it’s a voice that the reader needs to and wants to hear.

And lastly (for a bit of fun).
6. If you were stranded on a desert island for a year and could only take three books, what would you take?
Oh man, this is a tough one! Okay. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, for the laughs; The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood since I’ve read it at least five times and love it more every time; War and Peace, which I have not read, but it’s really long and that’d keep me occupied for a while, right?


Another exciting thing that is surrounding Speechless at the moment is that Mira Ink have teamed up with Movellas for a writing competition!

All you have to do is take something from Speechless, be it the themes, characters or plot and 'make something wonderful' and you could win signed copies Saving June and Speechless as well as 5 other books from Mira Ink. It sounds like a fantastic opportunity, not only to take a really great read, but to adapt it into your own story/poem/epic, however you want it to be. The stage is yours!

You can check out the full competition page here:
http://www.movellas.com/competition/show/201301231634108128/silence-secrets-a-speechless-contest

Has anyone entered, or going to? How did you find it, was it easy to come up with something - did the ideas flow when you were reading the book?

Last but no means least... I thought I would get into the swing of things properly, not only with the blog tour but with the competition theme and host my very own, very first Mira Ink giveaway!!
I mean, what blog is truly complete without a first giveaway?

I have 5 wonderful, shiny new copies of Speechless to giveaway this week courtesy of Mira Ink and all I want you to do is leave me a comment answering this:

Which books have left you speechless?

The giveaway will close midnight Sunday 24th February and 5 winners will be picked from the comments. It can only count as one entry per person but feel free to tell all your friends/fellow bloggers and stay tuned until next week when I will announce the winners.
Follow Mira Ink on Twitter and Facebook for some drumrolls (and other things) leading up to the announcements!

Have a great week and I hope you've liked this (slightly mammoth) post!

Emily x

Day of Silence Guest Blog

Blogger Aly has attempted a day of silence, inspired by Chelsea Knot in Hannah Harrington's new novel Speechless. Read on to see how she got on...

One day of silence. It shouldn’t be too hard, right? Wrong. Very, very wrong. I thought a day of silence would be a very cool, maybe enlightening, social experiment. As soon as I woke up in the morning, I wanted to talk. Maybe it was one of those things where you want something more when you can’t have it. I don’t know, whatever the case, I immediately wanted to back out.

One of the first things I did when I woke up was to make some rules. It’s not like Chelsea decided to take a vow of silence without thinking. She set up some parameters.
 

The Rules:

1. Can’t talk aloud (not even to myself).
2. I can write down responses to direct questions asked of me (including text, but in the texting only allowed in cases of emergency, not for socialization purposes).
3. Defining the day from when I woke up (10:00 am) to midnight.
4. No Social media.
5. Have to go out into the world.

I made up those specific rules because I wanted to put myself in as close to a situation that Chelsea would’ve had to endure. She couldn’t lock herself in her room all day, she had to go to school and be an active part of her community…just a silent member.
 
Overall, I think I achieved my goal. I think I learned a lot from this situation. It was such an experience. For most of the day I feared and hoped that people would notice my silence. I was terribly frightened that someone would come up and try to talk to me. I dreaded it. What would I say? How would I react? Would I accidentally forget my vow of silence, and answer a question? Would they think me rude, or a mute, or a foreigner because I couldn’t answer?

For the most part though, that wasn’t the case. I put myself in situations that would require human interactions. For the most part, strangers didn’t realize I wasn’t talking. But when I tried to explain to my roommate, what I was doing, hilarity ensued. At first it was like a game of charades, but then I remember I could write down answers to her questions.

 

 

 

That day was such a lonely day. I took to it harder than I expected. I found myself wanting to be a part of conversations. There was one point when I was studying in a library, I saw an old couple whispering to each other and I became so envious. I wanted that. I wanted to share such an intimate and innocent gesture with somebody, and at the point of the day, I would’ve settled for anybody.

That moment made me realize how much harder Chelsea had it.  She wasn’t just taking a stand. She wasn’t just punishing herself. She was denying herself one of the most important basic human needs – human interaction. For a large part of the novel, she had no one to unload or share this heavy burden.  I can only imagine what she was feeling, because at the end of the end (literally) I knew my situation was only temporary. For Chelsea, if or when she talks, is an uncertainty. I had the option of quitting. It wasn’t the same for Chelsea. Her silence was to make amends for the damage that her words cause.

At the same time, this day of silence wasn’t completely horrible. My silence allowed me to take myself out of any given situation and observe. I had a chance to notice things and be more aware. I noticed how a mother would talk to her child, in a soft but instructing voice. I noticed a couple arguing, the girlfriend clearly frustrated and the boyfriend seemingly indifferent. My silence allowed me to stop looking only at the broader picture, and focus on the small details too.

 

That being said, it’s not something that I would try again soon, but it’s an experience that I’m glad that I’ve had.

XOXO
Aly from My Heart Hearts Books

Speechless by Hannah Harrington is out now from Mira Ink. Get your copy here.

Have you, or would you ever attempt a day of silence? Tell us in the comments.

My Favourite Mistake - Chelsea Cameron

Now I couldn't let this week pass without talking about the brand new ebook I've just finished reading: My Favourite Mistake by Chelsea Cameron. It is a 'new adult' contemporary romance story that Mira Ink has just acquired and has been released this month with a really lovely ebook cover. Here's the synopsis if you haven't read it yet:

Taylor Caldwell can't decide if she wants to kiss her new college roommate or punch him.

On the one hand, Hunter Zaccadelli is a handsome, blue-eyed bundle of charm. On the other, he's a tattooed, guitar-playing bundle of bad boy. Maybe that's why Taylor's afraid of falling in love with him, or anyone else. She doesn't want to get burned, and even though her other roommates adore him, she wants him gone before it's too late.

Hunter himself has been burned before, but the fact that Taylor calls him out on his crap and has the sexiest laugh ever make him decide maybe love isn't a lost cause. They make a bet: if she can convince him she truly loves or hates him, he'll leave the apartment--and leave her alone. The problem is, the more time they spend together, the less she hates him, and the more she moves toward love.

But when the man who holds the key to Taylor's fear of giving up her heart resurfaces and threatens to wreck everything, she has to decide: trust Hunter with her greatest secret, or do everything in her power to win that bet and drive him away forever

 

I found that I could really relate to this book - having just finished university I could easily put myself into the picture completely. I found myself imagining it as my uni and asking myself 'what would I do if a guy came to live in my house with 3 girls?' or 'what would I do if this guy seemed like a total asshole but is still pretty wonderful?' or even 'what would I do if I had a deep, dark secret that pushed away even the nicest of guys?' I think these thoughts circled in my head throughout the book, but actually I think after finishing it, I wouldn't have done anything differently to Taylor, in that scenario.

It was powerful, it was moving and a really good read. The power of the relationships and love are so great that they get thrown towards you so that you can't help but fall in love with them and wish it was your life. I thought the connection between Taylor and Hunter was fantastic. Quite often I find that with two main characters, one always comes across as stronger or more favourable, but here I can't seem to pick between the two. They work so well together, that you almost can't imagine how they were ever apart before. The wit and playfulness of the characters and their relationship really stood out and worked well. They play off eachother and it just highlights how relationships and friendships don't have to be so serious, it's all about the laughs and jokes and the sarcastic comebacks, even at the expense of eachother - on more than one occasion I found myself laughing out loud (on a very quiet tube train packed full of people). Although humour is not the main aspect of this story, it still added to the read and made me enjoy it even more.

I think what's even more phenomenal about this book is that it was a self-published piece. I'm all for self publishing, I think it is a fantastic way of getting writing published, especially as there is so many other authors out there competing for publishers attention and great reads can get overlooked in the slush pile. Nevertheless, self published titles can quite often be a bit hit and miss (maybe I shouldn't say that), sometimes there are books that, without the eye of an editor/publisher/agent, are not ready for publication and it is hard to pick through which are worth reading or not. BUT *tries to recover quickly*, Chelsea Cameron is part of the former group (fantastic writing, great reads...) and it is an amazing thing that she is getting the publishing recognition she deserves.

You can read more about her and her venture with 'My Favourite Mistake' on her website here:

http://www.chelseamcameron.com/p/about-me.html

and you can buy her shiny new ebook here too: (comes highly recommended):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Favourite-Mistake-ebook/dp/B00B9FZ4N8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1360763863&sr=1-1

Has anyone read it yet? If so please tell me what you think... It would be fantastic to compare how we found it!

Also, what are your thoughts on self-publishing? Have you read much self-pub books? Or even thought about (or done) it yourselves? It is certainly a new adventure in publishing and could this be a new face to the publishing world?

On a last note:

Next Tuesday 19th February the Speechless blog tour is coming to the Mira Ink blog!! I will have Q&As from Hannah Harrington herself as well a feature on Speechless. I will also throw in the words 'book' and 'giveaway' as well as a teaser so stay tuned and don't forget to come back next week!

Emily x

Something for Sunday

On wet and miserable Sundays like today, I sometimes find myself at a bit of a loose end looking for things to do and read, so I thought I'd post up this video that I have seen posted around the internet for a while.

You may have already seen it, but it is Disney's new short animation that has been nominated for an Oscar, and it is so sweet.

What do you think of it? Do you think it will win the Oscar? If not here is another nominee from the National Film & Television School which is quite sweet:

They seem quite fitting for a February theme of love, which I am fully (and unintentionally) fulfilling with my book choices as well, first with a new Mira book out in the summer called 'Love is a Thief' (more on that in a few weeks) and also Picador's new debut 'Ten Things I've Learnt About Love' by Sarah Butler.

What are you reading at the moment? Anything valentines themed? Or even the complete opposite?

Hope you enjoy what's left of the weekend!

Emily x

Guest post from 'Speechless' author Hannah Harrington

The lovely and talented Hannah Harrington has written a guest blog for us about the inspiration behind her new novel Speechless, as well as her top tips for aspiring writers.

I get asked a lot about the inspiration behind Speechless. I wish I could boil it down to one light bulb moment, but all I remember is one day thinking of what it would be like to take an oath of silence.

For some of us that might not be such a challenge. But I wanted to write about someone who would have a very difficult time with such a decision—someone who depended on speaking as part of their identity. Enter Chelsea Knot, the protagonist of Speechless: she’s a gossip queen who is always airing dirty secrets as a form of social currency. Getting into other people’s business and spreading it around makes her feel better about herself, for all the wrong reasons.

Who would have a harder time being silent than a gossip monger like Chelsea? And what on earth would cause her to voluntarily give up speaking? These were the questions I had when shaping the story. The stakes would have to be pretty high to get someone like her to shake up her life and reform her old ways.

In Speechless, Chelsea has a fall from grace early on all due to her big mouth. She shares a secret she shouldn’t have, and the consequences are dire. As a result she loses her place as a popular girl and is alienated by most of the rest of the student body. Not only that, but she becomes a victim of the behavior she once partook in. Suddenly her so-called friends are name-calling, harassing, and bullying her, both verbally and physically.

Bullying is a major issue in our schools today, one that recently is fortunately getting more attention. It’s something most teenagers face in one shape or another—either as the bullies, the bullied, or the observers. Speechless features characters who fit into all of these categories. A lot of high school is about finding out who you are, and that’s difficult enough without other people trying to tear you down. Chelsea has to deal with a lot of that, and at the same time with consequences for her own selfish behavior. She does a lot of growing up over the course of the novel, and by the end of it she isn’t perfect, but she’s learned that while it’s hard to stand up for what is right, at the end of the day you only answer to yourself. I hope that people take away from Speechless that silence has just as much power as words do.

 Writing tips

Everyone’s writing process is different. The great thing about writing is that there are no limits when it comes to ideas or experimentation. However, there are a few simple ways to make your writing stronger:

1.   Show, don’t tell. This is a basic idea, but it can be harder than it looks. Readers don’t want you to spell everything out about what a character is feeling—they want to experience it from the way a character behaves or what they say. If a girl is beautiful, don’t tell me she’s beautiful—describe what makes her beautiful so I can believe it. Here’s an example sentence: “Jenna sat at her desk staring at the blank piece of paper before her, and then suddenly ripped it from her notebook, balling it up tight in her fist before hurling it at the wall.” I don’t spell it out there, but from reading that sentence, you can glean a few things from Jenna’s character about her emotional state. She is clearly frustrated and unhappy about something, even though I don’t use those words to describe her. Figuring that out from reading about her actions is more powerful to a reader than saying “Jenna sat at her desk, frustrated beyond reason”. It also adds subtlety.

2.   Don’t be afraid of the word “said”. Sometimes it’s good to use more descriptive words, but you’ll find that your dialogue goes much smoother without interjecting it with “she cried” or “she yelled” or “she announced” every other line. It also ties back into showing not telling: readers can often tell just from the dialogue alone what kind of tone the words are being said in without having to spell it out. If someone is stomping around a room while they’re speaking, and you use some exclamation points with what they say, we can tell they are raising their voices without you pointing it out.

3.   Character voice. Think of two friends you have, or two family members. Do they speak the same way? Probably not. Everyone has their own voice and mannerisms and sense of humor (or lack of!). Trying to differentiate your character voices in dialogue so they don’t all sound alike can do wonders for your character development. If you’re writing a story with a teenage delinquent and a security guard, I should be able to tell them apart by their dialogue alone, no signifiers necessary. Think, too, if you’re writing from a teenage perspective what kind of words they’re going to use. Don’t try too hard to insert big vocabulary words or purple prose—simplifying your writing can make it cleaner and more believable.

4.   Read! A great way to learn about writing is to read the works of other writers you love. Read your favorite novels and try to think about why it is you love them so much. Is it the descriptions, the plots, the characters, the writing style? You can then try to apply what you love about other people’s writing to your own.

5.   Write every day, no matter what. Even if you feel you have nothing to say. Even if it’s just a sentence or two. The only way to become a better writer is to write, write, write!

Follow Hannah Harrington on twitter @hharrington

Speechless is out now from Mira Ink, get your copy here.

Oh, and please watch our snazzy trailer :D

The Book and the Ebook

Now this is a post I've been wanting to write for ages, one that interests me but also always sparks up a fantastic debate between bookie people. I thought after mentioning last week when 'Pushing the Limits' was 20p on Kindle, it would be a good time to talk about the ebook vs. book debate.

I don't know how many of you have Kindles/other ebook readers - I got a Kindle just over a year ago and I love it. Nevertheless by admitting that I love my Kindle, people automatically assume I have given over to the  dark side and don't like books anymore! I'll say it now - I love books, I don't know what I'd do without actual books in my life, so although I have about 100-odd ebooks, I have about 500 actual books as well. I love the feel of the book and the paper in my hands and reading the ink rather than a digitalised version. I know the Kindle is designed to be like reading paper, but it's the feel of a book that it lacks. I find myself after reading 3 or 4 ebooks straight I crave the feel of an actual book to read. (I'm hoping some of you feel the same!)

I think amongst some people (I won't say everyone or even a majority as I doubt it is) have interpreted the ebook and book to be inherently divided and you're either a lover or a hater - hence the 'vs' in the debate. 

But I think it doesn't need to be an either/or situation, or one or the other. You can be an e-bookie as well as a bookie - at the end of the day they're both involving books and reading?

One of the main reasons I use my Kindle is for convenience really. I went travelling for over a month in the summer and there was no way I could take more than one book with me in my bag, so instead with my Kindle I got to read loads of books - and I even swapped Kindles with my friend half way through so we could read each other's ebooks. It is a fantastic way to store a large quantity of titles without the weight of actual paperbacks. I even heard someone on the tube the other day saying how much they loved books but it was a weight issue for them.

See I'm the kind of girl who carries her Kindle AND a book around in her handbag (sad I know) - which just shows I haven't given up paper for digital. But I do find myself preferring each at different times - for example travelling on the tube, I'm happy to read a paperback book when I'm sitting down, but when having to stand up in rush hour, with one hand gripping on to the rail, turning pages is hard! Enter: Kindle (I have been known to switch between book and ebook of the same book on one journey when I can sit down and then have to stand up, again v. sad I know).

I do have a friend who thinks that now she has her Kindle, books are null and void and she actually admitted she wished there was a way of putting her paperbacks onto her Kindle instead. Which in my opinion is very sad, I don't think one should be exchanged for the other, but I think digital publishing is something that we should and have embraced and is never a bad thing if it sells more books and helps people get published more and read more. I think people have this idea that paperbacks are the 'old' and ebooks the 'new' and they will die out to technology, but I do believe there is enough of us paperback, book-loving people out there that can keep it alive as well as show an interest in digital too.

I could obviously go deeper into the phenomenon of ebooks and the impact on books and the publishing world, but I'm more interested in what you think? Do you use ebooks? Either way, what is your opinion on ebooks alongside books, and also how they are being divided by readers?

Again, going back to 'Pushing the Limits' and its 20p phase on Amazon, the 20p ebook seems to be the new 'thing'. I regularly check the Kindle best seller charts on Amazon and for weeks and weeks the likes of 'Life of Pi' and 'The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out A Window And Disappeared' (both VERY good books, and incidently I bought both of them either in book version or for full price ebook right before they dropped in price to 20p! Typical) have both been in the top 5 fiction charts at 20p. In fact 'Life of Pi' is racking up up to 10,000 copy sales a day*. What do you think of this new phenomenon? Part of me feels like the 20p ebook is the new 99p, which admittedly the majority of my ebook purchases are of books £2.99 or less. But is it something that will last? And will it change publishing as a whole? These are questions I'm not even sure the publishers know the answers to, whether it is a sustainable form of sales or just a 'fad'. But I think again, if it gets people reading then why not? If books like 'Life of Pi' and 'Pushing the Limits' are tops of the bestsellers charts at 20p, then they're being bought and (hopefully) read by thousands of people. These are fantastic books that deserve to be read and actually it is not a bad thing for them to be the most popular bought ebooks at the moment (unlike 50 shades *cough*), so is there anything wrong with that?

*http://www.futurebook.net/content/will-20p-define-us (more credible than the Daily Mail this time)

P.s. All pictures are credited to various places on Pinterest from my 'books' board: http://pinterest.com/ef64/books-books-books/

Hello February

February is finally here! I don't know about you but January always seems to drag a bit each year, what with the back to reality after the excitement of Christmas and New Year, resolutions made (and possibly broken) and the likes of Blue Monday and others. But Feb is here, we're well and truly into 2013 and there are some exciting things coming up!

First and foremost there are two fantastic books by Mira Ink coming out that deserve a mention:

'Speechless' by Hannah Harrington, author of 'Saving June' is out on the 6th February and if you haven't heard of it already here's a little teaser:


Everyone knows that Chelsea Knott can’t keep a secret 
Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast--and nearly got someone killed. Chelsea has taken a vow of silence--to learn to keep her mouth shut and to stop hurting anyone else. There’s strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way. Including a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive her…if only she could forgive herself.
But saying she’s sorry will never be enough...

Look out for the 'Speechless' blog tour which starts on 11th February.

The second is:

'Spellcaster' by Cara Lynn Schultz, sequel to the amazing 'Spellbound' which was released last year:

‘Whatever danger there is, it’s bigger than the two of you.’ ‘It’s got more hate than you two have love.’ Angelique looked at me with sad eyes. “Brendan would do anything for you. He has done anything for you. More of his energy should be reflected in the crystals. Something this dark, it has to have some kind of magical force behind it.” 
'So what do I do now?’ I felt the panic rising in my chest. Angelique took a deep breath. ‘I have absolutely no idea.’

Any Cara Lynn Schultz fans out there? How do you think the second in the series will pan out? It's most definitely going to be another book full of excitement, drama and love.

Aside from these books there is lots more exciting things to occupy our February:

The BAFTAS is on next Sunday, 10th February.

Who do you think is going to win awards? There have some really big names that came out last and this year, with the likes of Life of Pi, Les Mis, Silver Lining's Playbook and Skyfall, as well as some to be released like Hitchcock and Lincoln.

The full list of nominations for 2013 is here for anyone who is interested: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/jan/09/baftas-2013-nominations-list

Another thing that is sure to cause a stir in the world of YA fiction, is the release of the film 'Beautiful Creatures' out 13th February.
How many of you have read the book? Will the film live up to it? How about Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert, do you think they're good choices for Ethan and Lena?

Here's the trailer if you haven't seen it already:

Let me know what you think about it all, anything else you're looking forward to in February?
As always, stay tuned for the likes of these as well as lots of new, fantastic posts on here throughout the months!

Emily x