Out with the old, in with the new

Change is good, and I thought this blog needed a change and a new design. Thanks to the fantastic Lori at Imagination Designs who created a fantastic new design for me.

The design isn't the only thing I've changed this week. I finally decided to join Twitter. Yep, I never thought I would, but now I am.You can find me at:

So, what do you think of the new design?

The Perfect Cast

I know when I write stories (and even read them), I love to have an idea of what the main cast will look like. I thought it would be fun to create a list of who I think the perfect cast would be for my novel, Shadow Embraced.

When it came to picking my main character, Scar, it was actually a challenge. Scar is feisty and really loves to fight. She also has a dark side which she continuously fights to control.

Even though Chloe Moretz (Kick Ass, Let Me In) is 2 years younger, I love the way she can play the violent roles and still show a vulnerability.






Next up is the love interest, Daemon. He is always in control, suave and really doesn't like to be kept in the dark about anything.

Chase Crawford would fit perfectly into that, not only from his role on Gossip Girl, but also because I loved him in the Covenant.

What can I say about Jynx (a.k.a. Snow as Scar likes to call her)? She definitely holds a grudge and isn't afraid of confrontations, or any consequences that may come from those confrontations.

For her, I think Elizabeth Gillies from Nickelodeon's Victorious would be perfect. From that show, she has already proved that she can play the scary character without losing any flair.



So, what about you? Do you like to picture what actors would be the perfect cast to fill your novels? When reading, do you place actors into the roles so you know what to visualise?

YA Violence: When is it too much?

I, for one, loves reading and watching violent scenes. For some reason, all those action scenes really draws me into the story. This is probably why I love writing them. As I was having breakfast and discussing with my brother how to mutilate and kill the creatures in the sequel to Shadow  Embraced (yeah, not exactly a good eating conversation), it got me thinking about how much violence is too much in YA novels. I hate reading novels where they get up to the fight/action scenes and it's over too quickly, or don't use enough descriptions to really draw me into what's happening. But how much violence is too much?

Do you like reading violent scenes? Is there a point that you just want to stop reading or skip the scene completely?

A post in which I admit defeat

Okay, I know it's only the first week of Nano, but I do know when the sensible thing to do is give up. Just too many things have been thrown at me this month. In 3 weeks I go over to Japan (and the planning never ends),  not to mention work to pay for said Japan trip, I've got one Shakespeare course that I really, really have to pass, and now I have to also get things packed up so I can move at the end of the year. This week I received a call saying I've got a permanent teaching job for the start of term 1 in January.

So many things that I have to get done. That doesn't mean I'm going to give up on my Nano novel. I actually love the idea that my new time frame is to have it complete by Christmas time (so I'm just aiming to complete Nano in two months rather than just the one).

Yeah, so how is everyone else's November's going?

So much drama means little Nano...

Why does November have to be a month packed with so much drama? I somehow injured my back at the end of last month and I'm also trying to finish preparing for a trip to Japan which is at the end of the month. 

And, if that's not a lot, my sister and her boyfriend has recently moved into our small 3 bedroom townhouse (that makes 5 people living under the one roof) and it makes it hard to concentrate especially since I need to walk on egg shells so I don't upset anyone, and now I've turned to going and sitting out by the pool to get some "ME" time.

I have found out some things:

• It's hard to write when there's people around making noise.
• It's emotionally draining to try and fit family and writing and holiday planning into the one day (boy, I was asleep before 8:30).
• Sitting by the pool in Spring might be quiet, but my feet have been eaten alive by mosquitoes.

It's only the start of the month and I'm already tired. I'm just going to keep powering on and telling myself "I can do it!"

Are you having any better luck with Nano? What do you do to get away from distractions?

Review: Shatter Me

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi


Synopsis (From Goodreads):Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. 


The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. 

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now. 

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior. 

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in 264 days, not since the accident which made the reestablishment lock her up for murder. Juliette has the power to kill someone by just touching them. Locked in an isolated cell with no contact, Juliette thinks that's how she's going to spend the rest of her life. That is until Adam gets placed in the same cell as her. This must be a test or a trap because not only did they place a boy in her cell, his is familiar. Juliette knows him from some place before her life in the cell.

When the two are forced from their cell, only then does Juliette realise she was right. It was a test. Adam was planted in her cell, a direct command of the military general, Warner. Warner is obsessed with Juliette, ever since he discovered what she is capable of. He pulls her out of the life of solitary and gives her food and beautiful clothes, and the chance to have the world at her feet. The only catch is that she agrees to work for Warner and use her touch to torture his enemies.

And then there's Adam. He remains close to her, and is the only one capable of helping her escape. Juliette must keep fighting Warner's advances until she can get away or be forced to use her curse for his psychotic purposes.

Tahereh Mafi has created a thrilling debut in a dystopian society where the world is falling a part and diseases and food shortages are destroying the population. Even though Juliette is despised and feared, mostly by people who don't understand what she can truly do, she has remained strong and kind.  Juliette's voice comes through strong with every word, especially the contradictory thoughts that has been scratched out, such as:

It's a home, a centre for troubled youth, for neglected children from broken families, a safe house for the psychologically disturbed. It's a prison.


It's easy to see how all the horrors Juliette has faced could lead her to kill herself, but still she doesn't. Her life is the one thing she can control.

Adam and Juliette go perfectly together. Both of their lives have been hard and it is easy to see why they need each other to lean on, but then there's Warner who would do anything to have Juliette all to himself. He is venomous and would do anything to have power, which includes having the power Juliette has. Warner dangles all the enticing, but poisonous, fruit in front of Juliette expecting her to do whatever he wants because he can provide her with food and clothes and attention, the things she has not had in her life.

Mafi's writing is beautiful and unique. From the first word the reader is pulled into Juliette's head and stays there. It reads like it is actually inside a broken 17 year old's head. I really loved how Juliette still has a value of life, even though no one else has shown her any courtesy like that before. She is only one of the elements that makes this book a page turning rollercoaster.

With an X-men feel in a dystopian society, Shatter Me is an exciting read and I can't wait until the sequel to see more of Juliette and Adam.

Source: ARC courtesy of Allen and Unwin

2011 YA Reading Challenge: #29 of 50
2011 Debut Author Challenge: #14 of 20

Let it Begin!

Where did the month of October go? It's now November and NanoWriMo has officially started down here in Australia and I'm hoping all my planning hasn't been in useless. This is the first year I've got a pretty solid idea about the novel and where I want it to go. All I have to do is meet the 2k limit I've set for me each day and I'm sweet.

And now I'm here, really trying to figure out how to start the novel... dang, I hate finding that first sentence. You can find me under cherry_chez over at the NanoWriMo site. Good luck to all those participating.

So, who else is getting excited about Nano? What sort of planning did you do for the novel? If you're not participating, do you have anything exciting planned for November?