Guest Post and Major Giveaway: Stealing the Good Stuff: Writing as Dark Alchemy by Michele Lang

“All good books have one thing in common – they are truer than if they had really happened.”  -Ernest Hemingway

I’m the author of the LADY LAZARUS historical urban fantasy trilogy — the final book in the trilogy, REBEL ANGELS, is coming out next month. The series is set on the eve of World War II, and tells the story of Magda Lazarus, a witch with the power to call souls from the dead.  In order to avert her sister’s visions, Magda must battle SS werewolves, wizards, and demons, including the one who has possessed a willing Adolf Hitler.

Now that the trilogy is complete, I’m taking the opportunity to take a step back and ask the question: where did all of this come from? Who are all these people who emerged out of my head? And why did this epic story insist on getting told in Budapest in the moments before the start of World War II?

LADY LAZARUS pulls much more from history than the other stuff I’ve written up until now.  I’ve mined my family’s experiences, mysticism, and WWII history to create a new world, populated by imaginary characters.

This is the most personal stuff I’ve ever released, and when the first book came out, I worried that I was appropriating stories that aren’t “mine” to write. Some of my family survived the war, some didn’t…all of them went through experiences that I feared to even imagine.

I console myself with that famous saying by Picasso: good artists copy, great artists steal. We writers are magpies. But I am sensitive to the idea that I am taking tragic events and mining them to weave a new, fantastical history of my family.

My answer to this may be self-serving but I believe it nevertheless – though it’s important to respect the experiences and viewpoints of the people in your life, and of people generally, you still can write any damn thing you want to.  That very sensitivity will give you greater insight into the heart of the story and where it veers away from actual experience.  And the story itself demanded to be written. Magda Lazarus insisted that I write the tale.

As a writer, I have always believed that if something terrifies you and your first instinct is to say, “I can’t write about that,” it may be a sign of what you need to be writing about.  I believe that we all have stories inside of us that nobody else can write.  This is where your originality resides, where you will stand out. And giving voice, bearing respectful witness, isn’t really stealing. If you’re doing it right, it’s art.

That said, the story, not the controversy, is the boss.  As Sam Goldwyn famously said, “If you want to send a message, call Western Union.”  Nothing wrong with exploring difficult situations, just make sure you don’t forget you are writing fiction, not a political tract or journalistic expose.
There is a risk in speaking the unspoken — you are unlocking a closed door, and you might have people in your personal or professional life who want that door to stay closed.  But if you are writing with passion about something that really matters to you, your writing will be vivid and will matter to other people too.

The best stuff comes out of the scary no-man’s land between fiction and fact, what is documented and what is true. Taking the painful raw material of life and making sense out of it is a kind of magic, a dark alchemy. And to grow as a writer, sometimes you have to leave your writing comfort zone way, way behind.

About Michele:

Michele Lang writes supernatural tales: the stories of witches, lawyers, goddesses, bankers, demons, and other magical creatures hidden in plain sight. Author of the LADY LAZARUS historical fantasy series, Michele’s most recent book in the series, DARK VICTORY, released January 2012 from Tor Books. The next book, REBEL ANGELS, is coming in March 2013.

Michele is also a lawyer who has practiced the unholy craft of litigation in both New York and Connecticut. She returned to her native New York shortly before 9/11, and now lives in a small town on the North Shore of Long Island with her husband, her sons, and a rotating menagerie of cats, hermit crabs, and butterflies.

Find her on the web at http://www.michelelang.com and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/michelelang

The Books

Book 1: LADY LAZARUS

ADVENTURE, ROMANCE, AND MAGIC ON THE EVE OF WORLD WAR II

Summer 1939: In Budapest, the magical city where East meets West, beautiful, young Magda Lazarus has managed to make a life for herself in a dangerous world that teeters on the edge of war. But then her sister has a terrible vision: Nazi Germany overruns all of Europe, and their family and millions of others are exterminated.

Magda, the last of a long line of witches descended from the legendary Witch of Ein Dor, must find the secret of her family’s magic. Alone, pursued by SS werewolves, a Nazi wizard, and demons, including the one that has possessed a willing Adolf Hitler, she has no choice but to summon the family’s guardian angel, the dark keeper of secrets Archangel Raziel.

And when she stands in his celestial presence, her heart is utterly, completely lost…

“An absolutely unique protagonist in an engaging tale set against the backdrop of the greatest clash of good and evil in human history. What’s not to love about LADY LAZARUS?”

-Jim Butcher, #1 NYT Bestselling Author of THE DRESDEN FILES

Book 2: DARK VICTORY

THE REMARKABLE SECOND STORY IN THE LADY LAZARUS TRILOGY

Magda Lazarus was a reluctant witch, until the dire threat of Nazi Germany convinced her to assume the mantle of her family’s ancient powers. But though this young, beautiful woman has fought Hitler’s werewolves and the demon who would rule through the Fuhrer, she has been unable to prevent the outbreak of World War II.

There is still a chance of saving the millions slated for destruction, but Magda knows she cannot fight the Nazi supernatural war machine alone. With the power to summon an army of spirits, Magda stands with her guardian angel Raziel in a battle against the human and unholy forces of evil arrayed against her people and all of Europe.

Magda is desperate to win at any price, but the victory she seeks may be at the cost of her soul…

“The best entry yet in a groundbreaking, rich, enthralling series set in the darkest days of World War II with magic, very human characters, and stakes that couldn’t be higher. A tour de force!”
-Rachel Caine, NYT Bestselling Author of the MORGANVILLE VAMPIRE series

Book 3: REBEL ANGELS

THE THRILLING CONCLUSION OF THE LADY LAZARUS TRILOGY

Magda Lazarus, the Witch of Budapest, has returned from the dead time and time again to fight the Nazia’ devastating conquest of Poland. To prevent the Holocaust her sister has seen in terrible visions, Magda will need the Heaven Sapphire, a gem powerful enough to defeat even the demon Asmodel. With the future of all Europe in the balance, Magda and her beloved, the angel Raziel, begin a perilous journey to the Caucasus, the resting place of the fabled stone.

Surrounded by Nazis, Stalinists, and wary Azeri tribesmen, Magda must summon all of her magic to battle her supernatural foes. But more dangerous yet is the power of the Sapphire itself, which could stop Hitler — or destroy Magda.

At the end of this long road Magda’s epic quest will end…in love and redemption, or with annihilation. REBEL ANGELS, the climactic book of the LADY LAZARUS trilogy, filled with suspense, magic, and action, will have readers on the edge of their seats until the riveting conclusion.

“REBEL ANGELS is a satisfying, powerful conclusion to a series that is as moving as it is thrilling. Rooted in a compelling version of history, peopled with unique and intriguing characters, the tale of Magda Lazarus combines the action of a modern urban fantasy with the atmospherics of CASABLANCA.  With this final volume, Michele Lang establishes herself as one of the leading voices in historical urban fantasy.”

-D.B. Jackson, author of THIEFTAKER

The Giveaway

Michele is giving away not one, not two but THREE sets of her trilogy. THREE. I repeat THREE! So yes, three of you have the chance to win three books each.

To enter, all you need to do is tweet about this giveaway, give me evidence of the tweet (link it) and leave me a comment your email address. The giveaway runs from today till the 15th of March. I will email the winners and you will have two days to respond before I choose a new winner. The giveaway is only open to residents of USA and Canada. However, since Michele is so awesomesauce, she will give any reader who wants a free e-copy of her novella The Magic of the Fabulous. All you need to do to receive it is leave a comment with your email address specifying that you would like to get a copy of her novella. And you can do both if you live in US and Canada. So.. what are you waiting for? Leave a comment and enter the giveaway!

Guest Post: Lisa M. Stasse, author of The Forsaken

“That Obscure Object of Inspiration”

by Lisa M. Stasse, author of The Forsaken—coming July 10 from Simon & Schuster

So first of all, thanks for having me here, Nafiza! I really appreciate the opportunity to colonize your blog like a virus (but a happy virus)! Anyway, today I thought I’d write a piece about some things that have inspired me. They’re not the typical things. I mean, obviously, my debut apocalyptic YA novel The Forsaken is influenced by all the great dystopian/apocalyptic/sci-fi books that I love, from 1984 to The Handmaid’s Tale to The Maze Runner and beyond. But here’s a handful of more obscure pieces of art and culture that I draw my inspiration from:

 

1. ART: Matthew Barney

For those of you who don’t know about this amazing artist and filmmaker, Matthew Barney is a former college football player turned insane abstract photographer and sculptor. His best work is a massive installation (and five-film collection) called Cremaster, which is about all sorts of creepy Masonic rituals and the formation of identity and sexuality. His work is definitely strange, and I admit I don’t really understand a lot of it (that would probably take an obsessive art scholar or professor) but it’s really great, and full of raw imagery. His hypnotic and disturbing tone is something that I strive toward in some of my own writing. You can check out his unconventional website at: www.cremaster.net.  Oh yeah, and he’s also married to the singer Bjork, for added coolness (and weirdness) points.

 

2. MUSIC: The Pixies

Hands down one of my favorite bands. I didn’t always used to like them. The first time I heard them they just sounded like a big, ugly wall of noise (my tastes run more towards Feist, Cat Power, Elliott Smith, Nick Drake and those kinds of artists). But eventually I just gave in because my husband kept playing them over and over in our house. I discovered that beneath the walls of distortion are some awesome indie-rock pop songs, including my favorites “Here Comes Your Man” and “Planet of Sound.” If you’re not already a fan, check ‘em out at www.pixiesmusic.com.

 

3. MOVIES: David Lynch & Pedro Almodovar (directors)

I’m generally a pretty big fan of strange movies. One of the best parts of living in Los Angeles is getting to see tons of movies (and snagging free advance DVD screeners from friends who are lucky enough to work in the movie industry). I’ve been obsessed with David Lynch since my cousin gave me a Twin Peaks box set a couple years ago for Christmas. And his movies Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive are both incredible. They’re pretty slow moving, but really good and very scary in places as well. Lynch pulls you into his world and then freaks you out! In addition, I’m just getting into the amazing movies of the Spanish director Pedro Almodovar. His most recent movie, The Skin I Live In (which stars Antonio Banderas) was one of the best horror/mysteries I’ve seen in a while, about a troubled scientist and his love interest. I suppose it was a sort of a 21^st century update of the Frankenstein story. Although my work is nothing like Almodovar’s, there are so many great ideas and so much energy in his movies, I always finish watching them and feel inspired to do and try new things when it comes to my own writing and art.

 

Anyway, there are probably tons more cool artists, musicians and filmmakers that I could write about here. But those are just a few who are on my mind right now. So, thanks again for hosting me, and to the readers—thanks for reading this post. Come say hi to me anytime. All my contact info is below:

 

Lisa M. Stasse, author of The Forsaken (coming July 10 from Simon & Schuster)

goodreads: www.goodreads.com/lisamstasse

twitter: @lisamstasse

facebook: www.facebook.com/lisamstasse

www.lisamstasse.com

Add The Forsaken to your Goodreads Shelves.

Cinder Blog Tour: Cinder Play List by Marissa Meyer

Hello people, today we have with us Marissa Meyer who will talk to us about the music behind the awesome Cinder.

You know how when you have a crush on someone, every song on the radio makes you think of them? It doesn’t matter how obscure the lyrics are, your head is so filled with thoughts of that person, it can magically take every song and make it about you and them, as if the songwriter had written it for you personally.

Well, that’s how it is for me when I’m falling in love with a story too. When I’m in that madly passionate new-story mode, the songs I hear tend to seep into my subconscious and become about my book and its characters, even if they’re only tenuously related.

As time goes on and I come to my senses, a lot of those inspiration songs fall to the wayside, as I gradually realize the lyrics don’t relate after all. But there are always those that rise to the top and will forever make me think of a particular chapter or character. Those songs earn a permanent spot on the book’s playlist.

Here are five songs that will forever make me think of Cinder.

Sick Cycle Carousel by Lifehouse

“I tried to earn my way, I tried to tame this mind,

You better believe that I am trying to beat this.”

I can’t say what the songwriter for Lifehouse was thinking when he wrote this song (I assume it has to do with relationship troubles), but it always makes me think of Cinder’s relationship with her adoptive stepmother. Cinder wants to belong in the family, she wants to be accepted, and for years she’s gone out of her way to earn Adri’s love. But of course, the harder she tries, the further away Adri pushes her—a sick cycle, indeed.

 Meet Me On the Equinox by Death Cab for Cutie

“As we walk in the dimming light, oh, darling, understand,

That everything, everything ends.”

However one feels about the Twilight movies, I maintain that they have some killer soundtracks, and this song grabbed me from the first time I heard it. It has this thought-provoking mixture of optimism tempered by that one line: “everything, everything ends.” This is how I think Cinder and Kai feel, though at different parts of the story—as they grow closer together, it becomes more and more obvious that whatever they have, it’ll eventually have to end.

All These Things That I’ve Done by The Killers

“While everyone’s lost, the battle is won,

With all these things that I’ve done.”

This is one of those songs that carried me through Cinder and is gradually carrying me through the rest of the series as well. I have a feeling I’ll be rocking out to it when I send Book Four off to my editor, too—there’s just something about it that I find very powerful and particularly great for those epic climaxes. Although The Killers’ lyrics tend to baffle me, I see this song as being about asking for help when it’s needed, and that when people join together they can accomplish great things. I suspect that will be an ongoing theme throughout The Lunar Chronicles.

The Scientist by Coldplay

“Questions of science, science and progress,

Don’t speak as loud as my heart.”

This is one of my all-time favorite songs, and I’ve found myself crying more than once as I’ve listened to it (don’t judge). I’ll try not to give too much away, but these days the song reminds me of how Cinder might be feeling toward the end of the book and wondering how things might have been different if she hadn’t kept so many secrets from the start.

Resistance by Muse

“Love is our resistance.

They’ll keep us apart and they won’t stop breaking us down.”

Oh—Muse. Muse, Muse, Muse. Roughly a third of the songs on my Lunar Chronicles playlist are by Muse, and it was tough choosing one to best represent Book One: Cinder, but I’m going to have to go with “Resistance.” Throughout the novel, both Cinder and Kai attempt to fight against the Queen Levana and the Lunars, though with varying degrees of success. I love the idea that of all things, “love” is the best resistance, even when it must be kept hidden.

If any readers know of songs that they feel represent Cinder, I would love to hear them.

Thanks so much, Nafiza, for being a part of the Cinder Blog Tour!

Glad to have you here, Marissa! The other blogs in this tour are listed below. Check them out for more Cinder goodness.

(Taken from Marissa’s blog:)

Monday 1/2:
http://www.intergalactic-academy.net/

Tuesday 1/3:
http://basicallyamazing.blogspot.com/

Wednesday 1/4:
http://www.thebookrat.com/

Thursday 1/5:
http://www.readingvacation.net/

Friday 1/6:
http://www.workingforthemandroid.com/

Saturday 1/7:
http://apocalypsies.blogspot.com/

Monday 1/9:
http://www.mybookishways.com/

Tuesday 1/10:
http://bookalicio.us

Wednesday 1/11:
http://mermaidvision.wordpress.com/

Thursday 1/12:
http://bookmigik.blogspot.com/

Friday 1/13:
http://www.mangamaniaccafe.com

Saturday 1/14:
http://abackwardsstory.blogspot.com/

Monday 1/16:
http://www.laurasreviewbookshelf.com/

Tuesday 1/17:
http://thebookwurrm.wordpress.com/

Wednesday 1/18:
http://www.thebookcellarx.com/

Thursday 1/19:
http://www.almostgrownup.net

Friday 1/20:
http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/

Saturday 1/21:
http://www.novelnovice.com

Aleeza’s Guest Post: Top Ten Underappreciated Books of 2011

Entertaining you today will be the brilliant Aleeza from Aleeza Reads and Writes. Enjoy her perceptiveness and amazing observations about books that really should have gotten more attention.

—————————————-

All right, so first of all, I’m so excited to be blogging for Bibliophilic Monologues! Nafiza was the first bookish friend I made on Goodreads, and I’ve been following her lovely, deliciously bookish blog for ages now. But before this turns into a quasi-love letter, I’ll get on with the topic at hand.

You see, I’ve read lots of books this year. Lots as in, ‘more than the combined number of books I’ve read in the last five years.’ Some of them were hyped releases, some of them I just happened to stumble upon—and some of the latter I ended up REALLY liking. So I’m going to highlight the ones I read this year, which also released this year, that I feel should’ve gotten more buzz.

1—Split by Swati Avasthi: Reading about physical abuse is hard. Excruciating, actually, because I live in a place where it happens every day, all around me, even if I don’t see it happen—like my housemaid, for example, gets beaten by her husband even though she’s almost fifty, only because sometimes she gets home a few minutes late, whereas her husband sits home all days and lazes around doing nothing. This book, however, is about two brothers who’ve been broken apart because of their abusive father, and how they have to learn to live through the consequences. It made me cry my eyes out and made me want to hug every single person in this world who’s gone through similar experiences. And I am not a hugger by any stretch of the word, so you know I liked this book a LOT.

2—Ordinary Beauty by Laura Wiess: So like Split, this book also centers around how a girl’s life has been affected by a Horrible Parent ™. In this case, her mum’s a major druggie—by major I mean SHE’S NEVER, EVER, EVER SOBER—and reading about how she finally fights her way out of all that crap was tough but oh so worth it.

3—The Lost Crown by Sarah Miller: In the vein of tough but beautiful books, this one DEFINITELY deserves a mention. I mean, yeah, so maybe the first half is boring enough to make you almost cry, but once you get through that, you realize just how much of a gem this book, especially if you know of the horrible fate of the last Tsar and his family. (I didn’t. Hey, I never claimed to know much—or anything—about world history.)

4—Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez: Violins, cut-throat musical competitions, hot English competitors you’re not supposed to be attracted to but end up being so anyway, realistic and absorbing mother-daughter relationships…this book’s got it all. It’s short but GRIPPING and just…really grips you. Okay, okay, sorry about the lameness, but this book does just that—grabs you until you get totally sucked into it. Can’t believe it’s the author’s debut!

5—Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis: How can you a resist a book that has an amazeballs combination of the following: Spunky heroine, hilarious dialogue, lovable characters, a wonderfully well-executed plot AND set in Victorian England? Exactly—you can’t! I had no idea I would like this one so much and, can’t wait to reread it before the sequel comes out.

6) How to Save a Life: I don’t know a SINGLE person who’s read this book and not loved it. So I really wish more people would read it and fall in love with it. It’s about so many different things I can’t even begin to try to encapsulate it in a couple of lines—all I can say is that it’s heartbreaking and real and just so very lovely.

7—Ashfall by Mike Mullins: So yeah, a lot of people do in fact know about this book, but I’m including it anyway because LOADS more people should. As far as survival stories, this one’s top-notch.

8—Ultraviolet by R. J. Anderson: Let me just tell you right away: THIS BOOK WILL BLOW YOUR MIND AWAY. You probably have heard of it, but here’s me recommending anyway to go out and get a copy ASAP. It’s that brilliant.

9—Variant by Robinson Wells: So this may not be the best book I’ve ever read, but it’s just so intriguing and suspenseful and well-executed I’d never hesitate to recommend it. Believe me when I say that the twist in this book will leave you BREATHLESS.

10—Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt: So I’m including this book last because it was actually a NYT Bestseller. Despite that it seems to me that most people in the YA blogosphere haven’t really heard much of it. I can’t really even explain how much I love this book—it’s heartbreaking and just so goddarned beautiful. It’s a historical MG contemporary—I know I just majorly contradicted myself, but I hope you get what I mean—and it’s a must read for EVERYONE. I don’t even read much MG but this one made me realize how awesome it can be if it’s well done.

And because I can’t help it, here’s some other books I also liked that I felt should’ve received more attention:

Dreams of Significant Girls by Cristina Garcia: Three girls who meet in a Swiss boarding school, all from different cultures, and how their lives intertwine with each others.

Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal: A simple yet gorgeous story about a girl falling in love for the first time, and the devastation she goes through when it goes awry.

Past Perfect by Leila Sales: Cute, unique and full of heart.

Clean by Amy Reed: Teens in rehab and their painful pasts and how they learn to live with them.

Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts: Post-apocalyptic fiction at it’s best. Will most likely result in you hiding under a rock for the rest of your life in fear of earthquakes. Or not.

Always a Witch by Carolyn McCullough: Sequel to Once a Witch, which it improves upon by approximately 17 gajillion notches.

Witchlanders by Lena Coakley: An atmospheric and absorbing high fantasy with rich imagery and heartfelt characters—including one really hot one. (Sorry, couldn’t help myself, heh.)

Guest Post by Rida the Raindrop: Books of 2011 that Surprised Me

Today’s post is brought to you by Rida, a new blogger friend of mine whose blog will yield the full force of her enthusiasm and unquenchable thirst for life and books. Okay, Rida, take it away:

When Nafiza asked me to guest post, I was a little nervous, because have you seen this girl’s writing? (Thanks Rida, you are way too nice.)  And the vast amount of books she’s read? And me: I only started reading YA this year. But considering the fact that we’ve had some of the best books EVER come out (I’m looking at you, Chime) and, lucky me, the Twilight style tortured-rude-boy-meets-supposedly-plain-girl-forever-love-ensues-OMG type books are receding and there are actual, good paranormals coming out- I couldn’t be happier.

So I told myself I could do it. Nafiza is one of my favourite bloggers, and I really wanted to do this for her. Anyways, I managed to narrow my choices down to a top 5, from Surprising to, er, Most Surprising. I cheated a teeny tiny little bit, as in, there is ONE book that was released in 2010 but I HAD to include it, because dude, this post wouldn’t be a post without including that one book. (Have I created enough suspense? No?)

Okay. *clears throat* Here goes.

5. Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard

I can’t put my finger on what exactly it is I like about this book. The writing, lush and descriptive and engaging? The setting? The characters? Heck, the characters’ names? (I mean, come on. I’d name myself Mandarin if I wasn’t afraid I’d get an identity crisis.) But I can tell you exactly what surprised me: just how much I liked the book.

Like Mandarin is different. It’s unexpected. And it’s unlike anything I’ve read before (and after). I hadn’t expected so much from it.

4. Divergent by Veronica Roth

Yes, there are major plot holes in this one, but there was something about this book. The writing was clean and spare; the action was well-executed, and although I can see Nafiza shaking her head right now, I liked Four. Although I don’t like either of his names.

What surprised me? The honesty. Something about Veronica Roth’s writing voice is so honest that I felt that I just had to keep reading. I may be weird (for more proof, see my tweets. You’ll have enough weirdness to last a lifetime) but that’s the feeling I get whenever I think about Divergent. I didn’t LOVE LOVE LOVE it, but I didn’t hate it, either. I just really liked it, plot holes, weird names and all.

3. The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

See, I love Greek mythology. The gods are so twisted and not-innocent and the myths are so interesting that I was hoping that a YA book would have more room to talk about those grown-up things in a candid way. But what did I get from this book? A chicken-ified, CHASTE Hades named Henry. Hades is NOT innocent and nice, peeps. I mean, HELLO, he’s the god of the effing Underworld.

It wasn’t just Hades Henry that became an I-want-to-talk-about-my-feelings type guy, which I can tell you write now is not something Hades would ever be. ALL the other gods were like that. Thus, I didn’t get what I was looking for in The Goddess Test. Not at all. And well, that’s a surprise, no? I expected so much, and then we’re introduced to this Henry person I can’t even recognize, and my expectations deflate like a balloon. Dang.

2. Chime by Franny Billingsley

I was SO happy when Nafiza named this one the book of the year. Because honestly? It is. I truly believe it’s probably the best book of the year. The writing was so beautiful that I’d look up and be surprised to find myself sitting in my bed, in my world, instead of the one Franny Billinsgley so masterfully created. This is the book I’d push into people’s hands to show them the power of words.

And this is the book that surprised me the most this year, because I thought I was reading some book about witches or… something paranormal. Uh, no. That cover and that summary combined don’t do it justice. I doubt any book and any summary can, actually. Yes, it’s just that awesome.

1. Plain Kate by Erin Bow

You may have noticed that I already told you which book of 2011 surprised me most of all. And you might just be thinking: this Rida girl obviously doesn’t know how to count, because uh, the book that surprised her most of all has already been revealed. So why does this one get the #1 spot? Well, hold on to your horses (or keyboards, rather) you lovely people, because guess what? *jazz hands* This book was released in 2010! Gotcha!

Technically it doesn’t count then, but WHATEVER! Who needs technicalities? Not me! Nuh-uh! Moving on…

I loved everything about this book. Taggle the talking cat, the writing, the setting, the Roamers, the cover, Linay… just, everything. And what surprised me is that I, being ridiculously silly (that is, even sillier than usual) didn’t think I’d love this book. I went into it thinking, MEH. And then I got blown away.

Serves me right for judging a book by the title. Because peeps, this book is NOT plain at all.

So there you have it. A list! Now, please do run off and do some reading and then tell me what you think of these books!