Sixteen year old Erin Misrahe has spent most of the last 8 years of her life on a variety of antipsychotic meds and being hospitalised, thanks to an extremely violent alter ego, Shevaun. A friend from the past gets back in touch and insists that Shevaun is actually very real, exists not inside Erin, but separately, and is a centuries old Vampire to boot. Erin soon finds herself at the mercy of the real Shevaun and her Witch lover Adjila as they try to sever the strange connection binding them together once and for all. Can Erin trust what she sees, or is she truly “crazy”?.

Atwater-Rhodes has, once again, brought us a deeply spun tale of love and loyalty, immersed with mythical roots and nail-biting action. Packed full with some of the hottest supernatural creatures, from Vamps to Witches and Shape shifters, Persistence of Memory will leaving you gasping for more.

The plot flows at a rapid pace without missing any vital information, and the characters on all sides are in depth and treated with dignity. Erin’s struggle left me with a deep-seated sadness for all she had to endure because of misdiagnoses and the truth being hidden for others’ selfish means and self-preservation. Certainly makes you wonder just how far all of us would go to protect ourselves at the expense of others. Shevaun, although perceived at the beginning as the enemy, is as much of a victim in this case as Erin, and I found myself hoping for a outcome that would harm neither of them.

Vampire fiction often reminds us just how fragile our humanity is, but Persistence of Memory reminds us for a whole new reason. A fantastic tale for Vamp fans and non-Vamp fans alike.

Persistence of Memory— Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Paperback, 224 Pages

Published by Random House Australia

ISBN: 978-174275-077-4

Thank you all for your many emails asking when Burn Bright will be available in your local bookstore or on Amazon. At the moment, you can only buy it in Australia and New Zealand. However, we hope to sell it other places in the world over the coming months. If you would like to be able to buy the books wherever you are, then may I suggest you blog about that desire, and mention it on FB and Twitter and all your social networks. That will help a great deal!

I can tell you though, that it will be published in Turkey in early 2012! Woohoo for our first international translation!

The other good news is that Yunyu’s song, Angel Arias is now available all around the world.

Bel Says:

For the last decade or so I’ve loved decorating my nails. I found it rather calming before a gig to sit and paint them fire engine red and add a few coats of glitter varnish over the top, and it’s one of the best ways to avoid chewing on one’s nails. Especially when there are 3 to 4 coats of your favourite coloured polish in the way.

Anyways, I don’t want you all heading out looking glamorous with your clothing, hair and makeup all perfect, and not have any tips on nails. I’ll quickly run through what I do to my nails and then give you some ideas on fun little extras.

Drink water and eat jelly. The gelatin will help keep your nails strong, whereas the water will stop them from drying out.

Use rubber gloves.  Washing the dishes will murder your nails. Wear rubber gloves to help keep them strong.
Manicure regularly. You don’t have to spend $30 a pop at the salon. Use a moisturizer and an orange stick to gently push back the cuticles. Shape the tips and then use a buffer to shine the top. This process will bring blood flow to the nail bed and a healthy nail bed means better nails. I do this once a week.

Try using products like Healthy Hoof and Sally Hansen’s Diamond Strength Instant  Nail Hardener if you are a chronic nail biter like I was. There is nothing quite like the feeling of success when you first see the tip of your nail over the top of your finger.
ALWAYS use a coat of clear nail polish or a base coat under coloured nail polishes or your nails will end up yellowed. (This discolouration can be removed by buffing it out, but too much buffing can weaken the nail; it’s just easier to go clear). Right, with all that out of the way let’s have some fun!

I am a HUGE fan of water slide decals. They’re not as popular as they were in the 90s, which is a shame, though you can still find them on eBay . They’re easy to place with some water, a pair of tweezers and a fine paint brush.

I bought a cool set from Purplenail on eBay at the end of last year and they are the best I’ve ever used.  Lately I’ve been painting the tips of my nails with colour and leaving the rest of the nail with a clear backdrop for the decal. Not perfect, but enough to make me happy.

You can go more manicured with the use of nail guides (small stickers to stop the polish going where it’s not meant to go) and you can use a skewer with a small amount of cotton ball wrapped around it dipped in nail polish remover, to get any of the over spill off your fingers. I usually just wait until they’re completely dry, head to the shower and gently rub the excess off. It should come off in the right places if your nails are completely dry.
You can freehand paint your nails and there are some incredible products on the market that will allow for a nicer finish. However, when I was starting out, I was using acrylic paints and extremely fine paint brushes.  You can also try going freehand with the brush supplied in the nail polish bottle.

Cutepolish has gone fangirl with her art…  httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3FgpqzBf8I

Awww!
You can buy diamantes and piercings for nails as well. But a tip with the piercings, or ‘dangles’ as they’re now more commonly called: please never pierce your natural nail as it may split the nail up into the nail bed leaving you susceptible to infections.

Use an artificial nail for the piercing and glue it to your natural nail with strong nail glue like the one made by Kiss .
Whatever you decide to do, coat it all in a layer of clear polish to add a little extra shine, and be sure to give yourself plenty of time for them to dry properly. Each extra layer of polish can take up to half an hour to dry depending on how thickly you made the coat and how many layers are underneath.

Have a little fun and if you do anything you’re proud of, send us a picture. We’d love to see what you can do.

See you around!

A special day in the lives of [intlink id=”987″ type=”page”]MDPWebbers[/intlink] and Yunyu. Today, Yunyu and my music/book collaboration is realised with the release of the song on Itunes and Bandcamp. The reviews are already starting to come in and they are just what I expected for Yunyu’s amazing song:

“This is a great idea, releasing a song to match a novel — I already love the book and am so impressed with how the single captures the weird, gothy vibe of Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres. This is my first Yunyu song! I like her sound very much. More please.” Tansy Rayner Roberts on iTunes 5/5

“A haunting, multi-layered work of genius.” Belinda’s Baubles.

Yunyu and I particularly want to thank, Elmac Creative, Curtis Brown Australia and Random House Australia for their patience and enthusiasm for the project. Also thanks to Evolutionary Theory for the remix on the book trailer.

On the same day, the cover of the second book got loose on the webs and so I guess it’s time to ‘fess up and post it here too.

Jaroslaw Kubicki’s artwork is astonishing and I’m assuming Astred Hicks and Design Cherry is the legend behind the design.

Cels Says:

You have to feel a little sorry for Witches. After all, who  wants to be instantly thought of as an ugly, cackling, evil old hag or have ugly caricatures of themself strewn everywhere on Halloween? Thankfully, modern media has lessened some of the sting with portrayals of Witches like Sam on Bewitched, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and, of course, the fabulous Charmed girls, all of whom have made magic a housewife’s best friend and have a broom and vacuum cleaner riding hight on their wish list. But just where do Witches come from and do they deserve the bad/evil rap?

Unfortunately, there is no concrete answer to the origin of the modern day Witch. Some are adamant that Witches aren’t Human—that, in fact, they came across to the Earthly Realm with creatures like the Fae and first Weres, bringing their blend of magic and healing abilities, which they readily shared with the Humans amongst them. Believed to have been beautiful and ethereal, kind and caring (unless threatened) modern day Witches are said to have descended from the “mingling” with the humans and the resulting offspring. Although not immortal, they are meant to have been very long lived.

Then we have the other camp, firmly believing that all Witches are human, but not necessarily evil. From the Stone Age to Modern times, often women who threatened conventional stereotypes were labeled witches, from the village midwife/healer to the unwanted wife. The Church leaders at the time also twisted and used Christianity to provide justification for many paranoid fantasies when it came to Witchcraft (the Salem Witch Trials being the example that has struck a cord with all through the ages).

As for the white verses black Witch conundrum, how can we say for sure if Witches are just plain evil or mostly misunderstood? Whichever school of thought you subscribe to about their origin, both seem to mostly agree that, just like in our human nature, there is the possibility for evil or wrongdoing but that, on the whole, most were harmless “white” magic casters. The Celtics, in particular, held the belief that the power came from nature and those that harnessed the energy for malice would face dire consequences. Modern day Wiccans follow the same principles as the Three-Fold Law. (Just doesn’t seem worth the risk to if you ask me!)

It wasn’t until the rise of the Church and the ancient Pagan rituals and beliefs being classed as evil that Witches were suddenly shifted to “Satan’s Brides” and lumped in with many who deserved the title “evil”. A case of “we don’t understand it, so let’s disband it”.

One of the best examples of misconception of  motives in modern fiction and theater is “Wicked”. “Wicked” brings us the story of  Elphaba, who ends up the Wicked Witch of the West after a journey of suffering and heartbreak, and who essentially at heart is still good-her choices are just bad. How human is that?

So when it comes to Witches, making your own informed decision may be best, and, as rough as the bad rap they cop is, what would a Fairy Tale be without the wicked Witch? Just don’t instantly write all Witches off as evil-— but if the Wicked Witch does exist, you certainly don’t want her flinging her curses at you.

Some YA Witchy reads:

Hex Hall series by Rachel Hawkins           Witch Child By Celia Rees

A Discovery of  Witches By Deborah Harkness   Nightshade By Andrea Cremer

MUSIC: Pendulum — Witchcraft