Release Date for 'Dark Winter'

Okay. So the draft has been completed. And then re-drafted. Then re-drafted several times more. The script has been through editorial, some friends have had snippets of the script, and well, friends, we are all but there.

So I have a date for its release - 9th October on Kindle (and other devices) and printed version to be available soon after that.

I prefer the 'hard copy' version of books but can see some merit in e-books. Whichever one you happen to be, I hope you'll try this book and see something different in it.

It's my first 'official' novel, so I don't know how it will be received. Sometimes, you just have to go for it and  see what happens.

Nervous? You bet. But it won't have been the first time, and sure as hell won't be the last.

Book Review: This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

It is not a zombie book either. 

No. Not really. And that's why, having bought this back in January 2013 it has taken me nearly six months to complete it.

I didn't buy this on Kindle. I bought the paperback version. I still can't make out who it is on the front cover.

But these details aren't that important. What is important, however, is a good story, with good characters, and for the first hundred pages or so, I was waiting for something definitive to happen.

I didn't like the f-word on practically every page. It made the characters more unlikable, but I stuck with it because the premise of the children stuck in the school was good. Not original - but who cares, so long as it is told well.

This, is where Miss Summers raises the story above an average yarn. The in-fighting reminded me of Lord of the Flies - a good book which was spoiled by having it rammed down our throats at school.

I have never read that story again, and I was pretty sure I wouldn't give this book a second read, because I doubted I could complete it the first time around.

Nothing seemed to be happening, but - (see spoilers below) when it really got going, it was unputdownable. I have read the remaining 220 pages this afternoon.

This is Not a Test is not so much about zombies - though their inclusion is well written and satisfyingly executed. What it is about is surviving - day by day, down to second by second.

In some cases that reflects the struggles of many people today, who battle every single moment in order to survive.

Replace zombies with bills at the door, and you will know what I mean.

Sloane is without doubt the best written character in the book. I couldn't feel much for the others until much later. Miss Summers doesn't give you it all in the first chapter...instead she lets us peel away the layers - much like the zombies rotting skin, to reveal their true feelings, true angst, and the 'what the hell do I do now?' that they feel at every turn of the page.

I'm not a prude. I don't mind profanity - and yes, I would use it myself in this situation! Just a little less would be good.

So. It gets four stars for an amazingly gripping 220 pages. The first 100 failed to take off for me, but I still love this book.

It's got zombies in it, but what it mainly has is an emotional impact rarely experienced in YA novels. That hit me harder than any of the zombies going on the attack.

A solid, super read.

Well done Courtney Summers :)

***SPOILER ALERT***

Thank Heavens for Mr Baxter then! When he arrives, around page 120 or so, things really kick off.

The back story of Lily and Sloane is so emotional - it's brilliantly well done, and you would have to be made of stone - or just 'cold' like the zombies themselves, not to feel something for the girls and their awful father (putting it mildly).

Book Review #2: The Selection by Keira Cass

Book Review:The Selection by Keira Cass

Good, but lacking **something**.

Okay, so the premise of The Selection is very good. The cover is brilliantly enticing, and yet, within the first few pages, the dystopian world is 'ropey', to say the least. It may sound harsh, but calling your principal character 'America' and one of the others, 'Aspen', seems bizarre to me.

The author's name is Keira, and that's a beautiful name, befitting a princess. So would it have been a bad idea to maybe call America, Keira? This is a small gripe. The story, such as it is, moves along reasonably well, and in that sense, I think Keira Cass writes in a quite engaging manner.

I like the Cinderella premise, i.e. poor, but beautiful and refined girl makes good - but the story ends with sequel-itis in mind, so you wonder what is the point of the book, in and of itself...because it is not the complete story.

Prince Maxon seems at first a bit wooden and stuffy, but I suppose even if you are heir to the throne of Illea and you have 35 girls fawning after you...you would be. He develops better than any other character, for me, and then, just a few chapters before the end, he puts his crown firmly back on his head and lashes out at America...I lost all the likeability that had been built up for him.

The story could easily be four stars, but it could be two stars as well.

I give it three stars out of five because it does have potential, but has a lot of filler chapters where the intention must have been to spread it out to two or three books, which is a shame. If it is one story, then tell it like one, because stretching it out affects what could have been a truly great read.

As it is, it is just another in a long line of YA dystopian novels. There's no vampires, trolls, zombies...just the cast system of Illea and thirty five girls that make up The Selection. The love triangle seems...very strange, because to have one, America would have to love Aspen and Maxon, and for the Prince to be in love with America.

It is not clear how America or Maxon really feel. Even Aspen seems to have a bit of the caveman about him. Maybe that is the design of the main characters. I kind of feel that the dystopian world will be explored more in The Elite. I just don't know if I can stretch to that one to find out.

Nonetheless, a good try from Keira Cass.