I’ll start with the bottom line: I really enjoyed this book! It’s completely different from the other teen novels I’ve read recently, which is due mainly to the fact that it’s set in the 1890s.

Michelle Zink crafts a Gothic, immersive atmosphere for her story, complete with realistic social values for the time period, without sacrificing the essence of what normally concerns teenage girls – boyfriends, the opinions of peers, family and friends. Despite the fact that the fate of the world is at stake, there’s a refreshing lack of melodrama.

And product placement. And music artist name-dropping.

In fact, I didn’t just enjoy this book. I loved it!

The protagonist, Lia, is the joint head of the family estate following her father’s death, along with her twin, Alice. Of the two, Lia is the more responsible – except when it comes to James, her boyfriend and the library custodian’s son. Then, Lia’s like any other teenage girl with her first love – taking advantage of any precious stolen moment alone. Only, it’s the 19th century, and so nothing even close to X-rated happens.

As another change from the usual teen dark fantasy format, Lia’s story doesn’t revolve around her relationship with James. In fact, romance takes a distant backseat for most of the time – insert reviewer cheer here!

Family and friendship are very much the central themes in the story. Lia learns that since she and her twin were born, they’ve been destined to play a role in the plan of Samael – a demon who needs to pass through the Gate into the mortal realm. Assuming he does, the apocalypse will then ensue. The catch is, one of the twins is the Guardian of the Gate, and is charged with preventing Samael from being summoned. The other twin is the Gate itself, with the power to call forth Samael.

The twins are turned against each other, and Lia relies on new friends Sonia and Luisa, who bear the same strange wrist markings as Lia, to help her unravel the truth.

If I have any criticism to direct at this book at all, it’s only minor. One thing that surprised me is that Lia seemed to have a very distant relationship with her twin from the outset, and I didn’t really get a sense of much of a bond between them. A closer tie between Lia and Alice could have been unravelled in a very interesting way, and I think it’s a shame that it wasn’t explored more deeply.

Having said that, the distance does make sense if you factor in the things we learn about Alice toward the end of the book… so I can’t complain too much.

The only other thing I’d criticise is that I saw one of the major twists coming about a hundred pages in advance. I’m around ten years older than the intended audience, though, and they were a great hundred pages, so don’t let that put you off! Even if you do see it coming, it won’t be a waste of your time.

There are twists and turns aplenty in this book, and there wasn’t a single moment that jarred me out of the 19^th century world and back into the 21^st century. It’s a well-written, compelling story that ends with Lia setting out for England to continue her struggle against evil in the second book, Guardian of the Gate, and I’ll definitely be reading along.

Michell Zink Publisher Website
Michelle Zink Official Website

Michelle Zink lives in New York and has always been fascinated with ancient myths and legends. Never satisfied with simply reading them, she usually ends up asking, “What if?” Sometimes asking only leads to more questions, but every now and then, when everything falls into place just right, a story is born. Prophecy of the Sisters is one of those stories.

1.    Lia and Alice Milthorpe, the central characters of The Prophecy of the Sisters trilogy, are bitter enemies. One twin is destined for good and the other evil: which character was more interesting to write and what motivated you to depict sibling rivalry?

Alice was probably more interesting for me to write in the first book. Because the story is told from Lia’s point-of-view, I had to give the reader a sense of Alice’s capacity for evil through her sister’s eyes. At the same time, I really didn’t want a carbon-cut-out villain. I wanted a three-dimensional human being, and I wanted the reader to empathize with Lia’s conflicted feelings over her sister. All of which made Alice a very intriguing character to develop. As the series continues, Lia has become just as intriguing. In the same way that I created Alice to have glimpses of good mixed with terrible evil, Lia struggles against her inner darkness rather than being a Mary Sue. This all really comes to a head in Circle of Fire, and it was a real challenge for me to let the reader feel the danger in Lia’s descent into darkness while keeping her relatable enough that no one would despise her.

I don’t have any siblings, and I’ve always been fascinated with that connection. For me, there could be no greater conflict than to pit two people who should, by all rights, be closer than anybody, against each other in a battle with apocalyptic consequences for mankind. I guess you could say their relationship was a kind of psychological playground for me as a writer. Which probably makes me sounds really twisted!

2.    The series is set in the 19^th century. Why did you choose that time period and what are some of your favourite books from that era?

I chose the time period for two reasons; 1) I thought a Gothic setting would lend itself well to the darkness of the story, and 2) Lia’s search for answers is a lot more fun without the aid of Google! 😀 My all-time favorite book from that era would have to be Wuthering Heights, though I have to be honest and admit that I’m not a huge reader of historical fiction. I was actually a little surprised when reviewers began referring to the series as historical. For me, Prophecy has always been a fantasy that happens to be set in 1890 as opposed to historical fiction.

3. The Prophecy of the Sisters is your debut work. What do you see yourself writing in the near future?

I write an average of 2-3 books a year regardless of whether or not I’m contractually able to sell them. Writing is the only thing that grounds me and keeps the demons at bay, so I do a lot of it. I thrive on challenging myself to do things I’ve never done before (though it’s often terrifying), so while I do have two more YA fantasy novels coming out in the next couple of years (one Steampunk and one contemporary), I’m also working on a MG series and an adult novel.

4.    Which of you characters Burns Brightest in your mind?

I have to say Lia and Alice. I know they’re not one and the same person, but they’re two sides of the same coin. The light and dark in us all. And I think that’s why I find them so intriguing. How much light do we each have? How much darkness? And what are the things that tip us from one side to the other as we move through our lives? It’s the eternal mystery, isn’t it?

Rockabilly / Pinup
I am a fan of those who can really pull off this look. Curves are okay and though comfort isn’t always at the forefront of the mind when going shopping there is a wide range of really extreme Rockabilly/ Pinup beauty queens in my opinion. Look at Dita Von Teese. Just WOW!

Tattoos have come into the modern mix, which, love ‘em or hate ‘em, make for an added extra layer of colour and expression of the women rocking out.

Vintage American cars, set and styled hair, tight ¾ length pants, circle skirts or pencil skirts for the gals. Guys cross Steve McQueen with Elvis Presley (the early years) and come up with a very distinctive style. Leather and Brylcreem (hair grease) are the must-haves for every young rockabilly man.

Want a movie with rockabilly? For the Johnny Depp connoisseurs, there was a movie back in the last millennium called Cry Baby. Johnny was time warped into “Drape” (or Greaser) Wade Walker. Wade was also known as Cry-Baby for his ability to shed a single tear. He falls head over heels for “square” Allison Vernon-Williams who, incidentally, is tired of being good  (sounds a bit like Grease, but it wasn’t quite as popular).

Rockabilly lives a very flamboyant life in modern society, and Brisbane isn’t left off the hit list of places where it’s okay to let your inner rockabilly rock on.

Though I’ve never set foot in the place myself, Cadillac Barbie in West End seems to be the place to go to get your hair well and truly sorted for your first foray into the style.

Want to find a sweet rockabilly ride? Try the Queensland Auto Spectacular in Early April 2011.
I went in 2009 when it was held in Cleveland show grounds and it was enough to make you want to pull out the bobby socks and circle skirts and jive the night away.

GreazeFest at the Rocklea Show Grounds Auguat 2011 looks to be a HUGE fest of all things 1950’s.
What would GreazeFest be without a soundtrack (available on the website) including acts such as… Marti Brom, Big Sandy, Deke Dickerson, The Planet Rockers, The Detonators, and The Retro Rockers.
Everything old is new again. The 1950’s were very fashionable indeed.

Jamie Says:

The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.

– Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett has been a constant source of amusement for millions of people for almost thirty years. For myself he has been a font of imagination and strangeness for over a decade, even if I did approach it from a rather odd angle. So when Marianne asks me to write a blog about why I love his work it’s kind of an important moment.

During the mid 1990’s I had made a rather serious move from one Australian state to another due to family issues. While looking for a new house almost everything we owned was in storage, all except for the family computer.

It was around this time that the first Discworld computer game was launched on the market, and since my family was desperate for ways to distract a curious child they bought me this strange game that had some of the first, and finest in my opinion, voice acting ever used in a video game. The combination of strange humour, deranged logic and unusual characters sunk a hook into my brain that would later prove to control a rather large part of my life. And this was from a game that was loosely based on the Discworld novels.  

It was only really when I got to high school that I really developed a relationship with Pratchett’s work.

My English teacher had trusted me with her private library, which was better stocked than the school’s when it came to the more mature speculative fiction books, within which held every Discworld book that had been released up to that point. Needless to say I devoured these books in rapid succession, reading three or four every week until the well ran dry. Nowadays I can afford to buy my own supply.

Openly proclaiming an admiration for Pratchett’s novels usually elicits one of two responses: Either people will admit a similar appreciation or a strong distaste for it. From those of the latter group I have talked to about their feelings it seems that there is a shared opinion that, since the Discworld books fit more into a parody of fantasy role than fantasy itself, they find it hard to appreciate. Some people really do think that irony means “sort of like iron.”

To say that Pratchett has attracted a cult following is rather understating things, with millions buying and reading his books, conventions dedicated to his world happening every year, not to mention the three computer games and multiple mini-series that have appeared on-screen in the last few years.

Unfortunately, in 2007 Terry announced that he was suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, a brain related

disease that is eventually fatal, therefore any newly released book is accompanied by a sense of sadness.

Terry now writes with the help of his assistant and voice recognition software through which he will continue to bring humour and creative insanity to the world.

SO excited to reveal the image that we’re using on the cover of Burn Bright. I’d love to hear your thoughts! The artist who created the image is the amazing Kubicki. Design by Astred Hicks.

Burn Bright

Book cover copyright © Random House Australia. Cover design by Astred Hicks. Cover image by Jarosław Kubicki.