Saturday, October 19, 2013

Shelby Bach Interview!

Shelby Bach
Author of : The Ever Afters series
 
Shelby Bach
Official Bio:
Shelby Bach grew up reading every book she could find and writing stories in battered notebooks. She also rarely came home with a clean shirt and had lots of accidents that ended with a hunt for Band-Aids. Nowadays she writes on her laptop rather than in a notebook, but not much else has changed.


I am honored to say that Shelby Bach has agreed to an interview! Those of you who read my review blog probably know that I am a HUGE fan of Shelby's books. So... Thank you Shelby!
Without further ado, here is the interview.


 
Hey, Meghan!

Thank you so much for interviewing me, Meghan! 

 
What is something that most people don't know about you?

Hmmmm. Okay, this is the first thing that came to mind: I could whistle from a ridiculously young age. My mom said that she took me into the doctor for a regular check-up when I was six months old, and when he asked about my development, Mom was all like, Shelby can whistle—is that normal? The doctor didn't believe her…so my mom had me demonstrate. The doctor was shocked, and he brought in all the nurses to watch me whistle for them. 

Of course, I forgot how to whistle sometime in preschool, and when I relearned the skill in elementary school, I was totally proud of myself since I didn't remember being a whistling baby. And when I showed my mom, expecting her to be all impressed, she told me this story. 

What do you do in your spare time?

Oh, I'm boring. I read. I go to dinner or to the movies with my friends. I have a thing for needlepoint and for cooking. I watch a fair amount of TV (I'm currently hooked on Sleepy Hollow and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). But mostly I read. 

I love to travel too, though, and since I'm still getting to know the Pacific Northwest, I sometimes take drives for little mini-adventures. For example, I went to my first Washington state beach, and I ended up  getting into a bit of an accident on the way home—on a dark road, in the middle of the forest. That WAS an adventure. 
-I'm glad to know you are ok :)

Who is your favorite author?

This is a hard question!!!! I have too many favorites! Can I do a top ten list? 

Here we go, in no particular order: Madeleine L'Engle, Robin McKinley, Gail Carson Levine, Kirsten Cashore, Sarah Addison Allen, John Green, C. S. Lewis, J. K. Rowling, Tamora Pierce, Neil Gaiman. Six of these have been on my favorites list since I was 13, so clearly, they have staying power. But if you asked me which new authors I loved the most, or which adult authors I love the most, the list would look very different. 

When did you decide you wanted to be an author?

You know, I don't remember ever deciding that I wanted to be an author. In second grade, I have a very clear memory of telling someone that I wanted to be either a teacher or a writer when I grew up, but once I started practicing more (ie. writing my own stories), becoming an author became center stage. By middle school, that was my number one goal, and I didn't really waver on it after that. 

What is your favorite thing about being an author?

It's a two-way tie: getting to know my characters and getting to know my readers. The first thing was something I always enjoyed about writing, but the second thing was a delightful surprise that came after getting published. :-)

What would be your dream come true?

Well, now that I'm an author, my dream HAS come true in a lot of ways. But that answer is pretty boring. 

Sooooooo, let's say: I would LOVE to win a trip—all expenses paid, maybe even with room for friends—to go to five countries of my choice: Japan, China, Morocco, Scotland, and Ireland. Or maybe Turkey, Czech Republic (Prague), France (Provence), Singapore, and Peru. And I forgot about Greece and Norway and Chile! I obviously have a hard time narrowing things down, even made-up choices like this. :-P

What is your advice to those who want to be authors?

I usually tell people to practice, but I'm pretty sure that you already do that, Meghan. I've also told young writers this year to figure out what makes them tick as a writer, and you've probably already read that too. 

So, here's a new one: learn how to listen to your story. 

I mean that in two ways: first, sometimes the story wants to go off in a direction that wasn't what the writer expected. For example, when I first started The Ever Afters, I knew Chase's dad would be important in Of Giants and Ice, but I never planned his mom's side of the family taking over Of Witches and Wind. I loved it, though. I loved learning about his backstory, and letting Chase and Rory grow when they dealt with certain issues (which I can't reveal since they're spoilers!). If I hadn't listened to the story and been open to exploring that part of Chase, I would have missed out on something that is now one of my favorite parts of the whole series.

Now, the second thing I mean about learning how to listen to your story is learn what your story wants you to do with it—especially in relation to the world. For instance, when I was in middle and high school, I wrote a ton of stories that did NOT want to be shared…even though a lot of friends were curious about what I was writing all the time. So, I kept them to myself. Then I wrote some stories that only wanted to be shared with a few of my friends—the ones who loved reading and writing as much as I did, and that worked out pretty well. Next, in college, I wrote one that was adventurous enough to be shared with strangers, so I listened and put it online. People seemed to like it (but not everybody). The Ever Afters came a few years after that, and it felt different from the very beginning. It burned to be told AND to be shared—which is why I worked so hard to get it published. I'm still a firm believer that not every story needs to be published, and I also believe that writers can feel the difference if they listen to their stories.


Once again, thank you Shelby Bach!


To see more of Shelby Bach click here.

To see my reviews on her books click here and here

 

Keeper Of the Lost Cities: Exiled review






Keeper of the Lost Cities: EXILE (Book 2)
By Shannon Messenger





Sophie Foster thought she was safe. Settled into her home at Havenfield, surrounded by friends, and using her unique telepathic abilities to train Silveny--the first female alicorn ever seen in the Lost Cities--her life finally seems to be coming together. 

But Sophie's kidnappers are still out there. And when Sophie discovers new messages and clues from the mysterious Black Swan group, she’s forced to take a terrifying risk—one that puts everyone in incredible danger. 

As long buried secrets rise to the surface, it’s once again up to Sophie to uncover hidden memories—before someone close to her is lost forever.

In this second book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, Sophie must journey to the darkest corners of her luminous world in a sequel that will leave you breathless for more.


Exiled is the second book in the Keeper Of the Lost Cities series. In this book you get to revisit Sophie, Fitz, Keefe, Dex, the rest of the gang, and in addition to that you also get to meet a new character named Silveny. She is the first female alicorn to be found in the Lost Cities. In my personal opinion this book is
not as good as the first book, but the first book was AMAZING, which still makes this book pretty awesome.
This book has lots of fun characters and an exciting new twist!
There are many questions that are answered in this book, and many questions that have yet to be asked. I can not wait for the next book in the series!

My book rating: **** meg-a-stars

If you liked this book you might also enjoy:

Keeper of the lost cities #1

Heroes Of Olympus: The Mark Of Athena

Of Giants and Ice

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

The House Of Hades review

The House Of Hades
Book four in the Heroes Of Olympus series, by Rick Riordan





Heroes of Olympus, Book Four
Coming October 8, 2013



At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?
They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.




The House Of Hades is another wonderful addition to the Heroes Of Olympus series. You get to see more of your favorite characters: Percy, Annabeth, Leo, Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, and Nico. You even get to see some of the characters from previous books, but you also get to meet some new ones!

This book has you sitting on the edge of your seat and leaves you wanting more! There is action, adventure and witty comments around every corner.  The House Of Hades has a great plot, great characters, and pulls the reader into the story.
In this book Rick Riordan has taken a different approach, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. There are many secrets and surprises that unravel in this book. In my personal opinion some parts are overdone, but that does not change the fact that it is an awesome book.


My book rating:**** meg-a-stars


If you enjoyed this book you might like:

Percy Jackson series

Heroes Of Olympus series

Pegasus and the Flame Of Olympus series