Counting Down to Shine Light…

Okay, Baby Bats, it’s official. We’re in countdown mode to November 1^st – release date for Shine Light, book three in the Night Creatures Trilogy.

Since way back in March, 2011, we’ve been hanging out to learn the fate of Retra/Naif, her friends and family on Ixion and Grave, the Ripers and the Night Creatures and of course, Naif’s relationships with both Markes and Lenoir. And then there’s the mystery of Ixion itself – the island of endless night, ever-youth and never sleep. The place where the biggest rule of all is to ‘Listen well, baby bats. Burn Bright, but do not stray from the paths. Remember, when you live in a place of darkness you also live with creatures of the dark.’

The only person who knows the answer to all these questions is author Marianne de Pierres – not even those of us here at Burn Bright Headquarters know what she has in store for our favourite characters. Now, of course, would be the perfect time to re-read Burn Bright (bk 1) and Angel Arias (bk 2). In the meantime, while we’re waiting with baited breath for November 1^st to roll around, I thought I’d make it easy for everyone with a handy little guide over the next couple of posts to help us catch up with a few of the characters, the gangs, the creatures and the places we’ve all come to love – all without spoilers in case you still need to get up to speed with Burn Bright or Angel Arias (and if that’s the case… get reading!)  🙂

Today, we’ll start with a few of the people…

Retra/Naif

Raised in the strict Seal Enclave, Retra must find her way on Ixion where modesty is sin. In search of her brother Joel, she risks all to find him. In the process she learns dark secrets about Ixion… and herself.

Joel/Clash

Retra’s older brother, whose disappearance to Ixion leads her there. But will she find him? And will she likes what she finds?

Markes

Also a baby bat from Grave, the breath-taking Markes makes an instant impression on Retra and many others on Ixion with his musical gift. It also quickly brings him to the attention of the Ripers.

Cal

Cold as the colour of her ice-blonde hair, Cal immediately has it in for Retra. Is she simply a bully, threatened by Retra’s calm Seal composure? Or is there more to her behaviour than that – something to do with the musician Markes?

Suki

From the women-only town of Stra’ha, the wickedly funny Suki becomes an unlikely but loyal ally to Retra… ‘In Stra’ha, we only need men for their spermies, otherwise… pffft.’

…ah, Suki. Everyone needs a Suki for a best friend. My fingers are firmly crossed that everything turns out okay there. What about you? Which characters are you most looking forward to finding out about in Shine Light? (No spoilers please, Baby Bats)

-mandy

Lian Tanner is a children’s author and playwright. She has worked as a teacher in Australia and Papua New Guinea, a tourist bus driver, a freelance journalist, a juggler, a community arts worker, an editor and a professional actor. It took her a while to realise that all of these jobs were really just preparation for being a writer. Nowadays she lives by the beach in southern Tasmania, with a small tabby cat and lots of friendly neighbourhood dogs. She has not yet mastered the art of Concealment by the Imitation of Nothingness, but she is quite good at Camouflage.

The second book in The Keepers trilogy, City of Lies, won the Aurealis Award in 2011 for Children’s Fiction. Lian Tanner’s books are published by Allen and Unwin.

1. You do a wonderful job of portraying a world that has been protected to the point of not being able to function in a crisis. Where did you get the inspiration for that? Were you holding a mirror up to our world?

A: When I was thinking about this story, there was a lot of discussion in the Australian media about ‘bubblewrap children’, which I found interesting, because like most of my generation I had a very free-ranging childhood. I know it’s a different world now, but I think there are other ways of responding to it than over-protection, and the effect of keeping children too safe really bothers me. But it wasn’t just the media debate that brought it home to me. At the same time, there was a boy living in my street (a very safe little cul de sac where children regularly play cricket and footy in the middle of the road) whose parents worried about possible disasters so much that they hardly let him out the front gate. And on the rare occasions when he managed to escape, I noticed that he wasn’t nearly as physically competent as the other kids of his age. Nor was his judgement good. In protecting him so carefully, his parents had actually made him more vulnerable.

So those things were important as inspiration, and there was certainly a bit of mirror-holding going on – I like to have both depth and ideas in my books, so that they work on several different levels. But at the same time I thought that pushing this notion of over-protection to its natural conclusion – the guardchains – could make a really interesting and exciting story that would appeal to kids.

2 The main characters of The Keepers are thieves, and Toadspit starts off as such a hostile character. Were you worried about how they would be received by your readers?

A: Yes, I didn’t want kids to come away from the book with the idea that it was fine to go off and steal whatever they liked, just because they coveted something. In the end I used Olga Ciavolga to make it clear that there were certain rules, and that stealing was only all right if you used it for a good and selfless purpose. That seems to have struck a chord with people – those particular lines are the most frequently quoted from the book.

As for Toadspit, he has turned out to be a favourite character for many readers, so I guess his initial hostility doesn’t turn them off. I didn’t really think it would, mainly because he is also intriguing, which keeps people interested in him for long enough to start to understand why he is so hostile.

3. Lian, you studied earth sciences and have said that you draw much inspiration from the time you spend at the beach. What is it about natural environments that you find so compelling and how do they stir you, creatively?

A: I think one of the things natural environments do is provide mental and emotional space. Cities are full of things that clamour for our attention, whereas the countryside or the beach is much more restful. When I’m in the city, I find that I instinctively keep a tight hold on my physical and emotional boundaries. It’s a protective thing, even in a small city like Hobart. But on the beach, I can let go of that tight hold, I can let my thoughts swim in ever-widening circles, make odd connections, daydream. That’s a very creative state of mind!

4. Which of your fictional characters Burns Brightest in your mind and why?

A: I love them all, even the villains, but probably my favourite character is Mouse, a small mute boy who first appears in the second book, City of Lies. He tells fortunes with the help of his white mice, and has a very sweet nature, despite his hard life on the streets. I had the character of Mouse in mind for about six years before I found the right place for him, and ‘burns brightest’ really does describe him. He’s one of those people who affect the lives of those around him far more than you would expect for someone his age.

I barely brushed over the blurb on the back of the book when I picked this one up, and the cover art of the Aussie paperback isn’t something I would call remarkable, a pretty face and the title. *shrug* But I’d heard good things and wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  Boy was I surprised.

“In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city’s most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.’s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she’s to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight–at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.”

The concepts in this novel were outlandish to me; WHO BANS CHOCOLATE?! I had at least 2 chocolate bars in commiseration for Anya and the rest of the people in this reality. (That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.) In our current reality where binge drinking and premixed concoctions are killing people, the thought that minors could consume alcohol legally, but a mars bar was forbidden just blew my mind.

I don’t think you can really class this book as post-apocalyptic, because the world hasn’t technically been taken over by war, or famine, but with no chocolate it completely fits into the dystopian category. SERIOUSLY, WHO BANS CHOCOLATE?!

Everything old is new again in this modern Manhattan and New York City back drop. Vintage clothes are common, because making new clothes takes water, and there’s not a whole lot of water left. Society is definitely divided by class, and it seems almost circa 1920’s in the concepts of organized crime.

Gabrielle is a champion at giving her leading females a substantial dose of chutzpa (self-confidence) and her guys hold their own. Even the weakest character earns your respect with his ability to bend the rules, and yet he sits on the periphery like a bank of clouds. One false move and he’ll be a storm I don’t think even the Balanchines could weather.

The second book Because it’s my Blood should be on our shelves now; if not, it won’t be too far into the future.  I must admit I haven’t been this excited to read a sequel novel in a series since Brigid Kemmerer’s Storm came out earlier this year.

I kept trying to concoct a list of comparative books to give you an idea of the writing style, but as with quite a few of the YA books this year, there really isn’t much out there like this intelligent offering by Gabrielle Zevin.

If you’ve read it and loved it, what have you read that’s along the same lines? Help a girl out here.

Exams are here again

QCS is finished for our grade 12 students in Queensland, but there are 4 other grades (and 7 other states and territories) that have another term of end of year exams.

Here are some tips ~some I wish I had followed~ to get you into gear and surviving the potentially stressful situation of exam season.

Drink water, eat well – Your brain is like an engine, it needs the proper fuel and lubricant to work at its full potential. Skip the junk food for nutritious healthy foods if you’re able to, and water is better than coffee to drink, because coffee and tea are diuretics, creating dehydration.

Gradual study is better than cramming – Burning the midnight oil to cram as much information into your brain at the last possible second isn’t really as effective as you might think. You’re better off doing small bursts of revision work for months in advance than you are making yourself dead tired at the final stretch. You are more likely to have better recall with a good night’s sleep.

Focus on something else – Once you’ve done your gradual study and the exams are looming, remember to avoid a single-minded approach to the coming events. Take a little time to do something else that will hopefully get you out of the house and into some fresh air and include movement to generate some endorphins and create some happiness. Stress doesn’t help anyone to remember the answers.

You can only do as well as you can – Once you have prepared yourself with revision and a healthy lifestyle, the rest of it is up to your frame of mind on the day. Breathe well, think positively, and know you have done the best you can up to this point.

No matter what happens there are always options – Waiting for the postman at the end of your schooling career would have to be one of the most emotionally wrenching days you will have to live through in your teenage years.

Your OP (overall position) is NOT the be-all and end-all of your life.  It may be a number that isn’t as good as you would like, and it may mean you have to take a longer journey to get to where you want to go. If you really want to do something, the journey to get there is part of the prize of reaching your goal. The people and experiences are there to enrich your life and to give you perspective come the final success.

If things are getting too much, TALK to someone. – You are not alone and you are worth the time.

Lifeline 13 11 14 (and on Facebook)

Kids Help Line 1800 55 1800 (and on Facebook) ~ Success is 99% hard work and 1% opportunity. Grab onto every opportunity with both hands and run with it. ~

Welcome to another one of my reviews! Today’s book is The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa!

The Iron Daughter is the second book in the Iron Fey series, the first being The Iron King, so I will try and do my best not too give away to much information, for you guys you haven’t started this series yet.

The Iron Fey series, is basically about an ordinary girl named Meghan Chase, who isn’t so ordinary after all. Her dad and her best friend aren’t who they seem, and neither is she. Finding out that she’s half fey changes her life forever. When Meghan’s little half brother is kidnapped by the Iron King, she has no choice but to follow him into the Fey world and try to rescue him. By her side and along for the adventure is her best friend Puck. On their journey they run into all different types of creatures and people, including one very special guy named Ash, the Winter Prince.

The only way to save Meghan’s little brother and let him return home, is if she stays in the Winter Kingdom. Deciding it is the only option, Meghan agrees.

Becoming Queen Mab’s (Ash’s Mother) prisoner, Meghan pleas her case, saying the Iron Kingdom is a lot stronger, and the war is just beginning. Mab doesn’t believe a word she’s saying. Even when the sceptor (something the Summer and Winter kingdoms pass back and forth whenever seasons are to change) is stolen. The Winter Queen disregards all the evidence leading to the Iron Kingdom trying to set the Season against one another.

Meghan doesn’t know how, but she knows she needs to do something to keep the war between the seasons from breaking out. She has to get that sceptor back, even if she loses her life trying.

The Iron Fey series started out rough for me, I didn’t find myself enjoying the first book. I felt like I was forcing myself to read it, just to get a review up, instead of actually enjoy the story and it’s characters. But deciding to give the series another try, I picked up The Iron Daughter and fell completely in love with it! I love that instead of being hard to pick up, it was hard to put down. After finishing every chapter, I kept promising myself, “this is the last chapter I’m reading tonight, and then I’m going to bed!” Before I knew it, I was half way through the book and it was 2 am.

I’m really glad I gave the series another go, and I would recommend for anyone who didn’t like the first one to try again on the second book. If you haven’t read the series yet, go pick it up, you’ll regret that you didn’t sooner!