Book Review: The Sound of Letting Go by Stasia Ward Kehoe

Title: The Sound of Letting Go
Author: Stasia Ward Kehoe
Publisher: Viking Children's
Summary: For sixteen years, Daisy has been good. A good daughter, helping out with her autistic younger brother uncomplainingly. A good friend, even when her best friend makes her feel like a third wheel. When her parents announce they're sending her brother to an institution - without consulting her - Daisy's furious, and decides the best way to be a good sister is to start being bad. She quits jazz band and orchestra, slacks in school, and falls for guys like Dave.

But one person won't let Daisy forget who she used to be: Irish exchange student and brilliant musician Cal. Does she want the bad boy or the prodigy? Should she side with her parents or protect her brother? How can she know when to hold on and when - and how - to let go?


Review: The Sound of Letting Go by Stasia Ward Kehoe is a novel that is written in verse. I'll admit it has been quite a while since I've read a verse novel. I love to find ones that are well written, that are more powerful in their use of less words I really feel that's the beauty in verse novels, the choice of words and how the author chooses to tell the character's story. Kehoe did not disappoint on that front. A big issue was tackled here - life with an autistic sibling. I have to be honest, I haven't read very many novels that have tackled the topic of autistic or special needs children. But I feel that The Sound of Letting Go was unique in a few different ways. Firstly, it's written in verse. Secondly, it's not so much about the autistic brother, it's centrally focused on Daisy and the way in which her life has been affected by Steven's autism for many years now.

The writing in this novel was very authentic for me and I could feel myself truly understanding the way that Daisy's life had been molded because of Steven's autism. The small things even as far as her daily routine that she has to change, the way that her friendships are affected. On several different occasions Daisy referred to herself as the third parent in their household and this rang as very true to me. She has just as many responsibilities as her parents, and you could see how much weight had been put on her shoulders to help out.While other teens were going out for pizza, or a movie, or just to hang out with friends... Daisy had to go home and care of her brother. A teenager with adult responsibilities.

The thing about Daisy is that she is a pretty incredible jazz musician. That is one thing that she finds passion in. I love stories where there is a musician (maybe because I am so completely clueless when it comes to making music). The way they are passionate about playing an instrument or singing is how I feel about reading and writing. I don't find many parallels in most other talents, but writing about passion for music is ace. This is the one thing that has been Daisy's and nobody else's. Something that she was able to nurture and have all to herself. But then,  Daisy's parents make a huge decision regarding Steven without even consulting her. They decide that he's become too much to handle and they will be sending him to an institution to be cared for full time. That's when Daisy being good at everything, being an all around good girl and doing everything that she's supposed to do comes to a halt. Why didn't they even consult her or worry about her feelings?

This is incredibly well written and really about letting go (hence the title). What happens when something so drastic in your life changes, something that you have no control over? To me, that's what this book is about. That's what makes this book extraordinary.

I think the only thing that keeps this from being a 5-star book for me is that most of the characters I didn't care that much for. But the one perfect character who put a smile to my case in every single scene was the musically talented exchange student from Ireland, Cal O'Casey. I only wish that he had been in more scenes. I'd love a book about that Irish boy any day!

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The Black North by Nigel McDowell Review

Title: The Black North
Author: Nigel McDowell
Published: Out Now
Publisher: Hot Key Books

Summary: The Divided Isle, once a place of peace and tranquillity, has been ravaged by war. Twins Oona and Morris live with their grandmother in a stone cottage in the quiet southern county of Drumbroken, but the threat of the Invaders of the Black North - the ravaged northern part of the island - is coming ever closer. When Morris, fighting against the Invaders, is kidnapped by one of the evil Briar Witches, Oona must journey to the unknown realms of the Black North in search of her brother.

She is accompanied only by Merrigutt, a jackdaw with mysterious transformative powers, and a treasured secret possession: a small stone in the shape of a plum, but a stone that reveals truths and nightmares, and which the Invaders and their ruler, the King of the North, seek more than anything. Oona must keep the stone safe at all costs, and find her brother, before the King of the North extends his evil hold over the whole island and destroys it forever

Review:  Lets all just take a few seconds, maybe a minute even to appreciate this fantastic cover! Just look at it...Its like art. I want it as a print to put on my wall! You could see it on a tote bag! I know people say you shouldn't judge a book by a cover, but I feel like I picked up this sixth sense that I can know I'm going to like a book from its cover (its how I found so many amazing books by myself as a child), and this was one of those times. It makes me think of The Snow Queen, and feels dark and exciting...and I'm gonna stop now and get on with the review...

It might just be me, but I don't feel that there's a great deal of Irish fiction out there, and I haven't reading anything this Irish since I read Siobhan Dowd. But it was so refreshing! It was vivid, and entertaining and I felt at the end as if I'd been on a journey with Oona. The book started off with children fighting that almost had an innocence to it, yet by the end of the chapter, you quickly see that this is no innocent event, and this is no innocent story.  

Ahh Oona...I type the name again because I love how Irish it was, and how I enjoy saying it and just like the name, Oona had the feisty spirit to match. The whole book was written both in a voice and prose heavy with an Irish syntax and dialect that gave this novel such a edge. I could hear the accents clearly as I read them, and this gave new life to the characters and the setting - as black as it was.  

And there was a lot of black! But within all this black the land was alive with imagery and the further north you got the more magically twisted and eventful it became. Interweave this with a whole host of magical characters and you have quite the action. The magic, based on folklore had such a earthen quality to it that redefines the phrase making the land come alive. From Briar-witches to Giants, Muddglogg's (watch out for those around your local parks) to changeling's and faceless men McDowell created a whole host of dark and wonderful characters. What was also good about these characters was that they can be as defined as you want them to be, because you along with the narrative help create them and make them what they are. The idea of a broken land, spoke volumes to me, that connected a reality with the fantasy, and really reconnected the underlying political tones that were present in the book.    

At its core its a story about fear, and the lengths that we are willing to go for things we care about. I love how fear and nightmare was used as a weapon, and the ways in which we can overcome such fear. I'm very glad to have been able to find this new voice, and I am excited to read more of his work. 

Take this book and go on a journey. There will be ups and downs, but it's worth the ride!!

Stephen 

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Author Guest Post and Giveaway: Witchblood author Emma Mills is back with Flying With Fire

Hello Hayley here! Today the lovely Emma Mills author of the Witchblood series joins us here at Dark Readers. Her new novel Flying With Fire is out now go check out Amazon. As some of you may remember I well and truly adored Witchblood, so I am pleased to say Emma is back with something new and very different but it sounds awesome all the same.

Nobody who enters Ravenwood school will ever be the same again.

Fifteen year old Brooke has been in care all her life. Now she finally has an adoptive family who don’t want to send her back to The Home; but their solution for her problems is much more dangerous.

A secret boarding school for possessed children. A boarding school where any unnatural behaviour will be stamped out. A boarding school with no escape; where witchcraft is punished and vampires are murdered in the sunlight.

Brooke is the only one with the power to escape the security wards, yet she must find a way to help them all before it is too late.

A while ago I asked Emma if she would talk us through her average working day so here she is...

My Writing Day

I began writing WitchBlood, my first novel, once my youngest child started nursery. With a three year old and a five year old it took two years before I finally published! Now my life as a writer is simpler, thankfully, as both children are at school.

We moved both house and county last October, moving two hundred miles south to Somerset, so now I have my own study. As I enjoy a variety of crafty hobbies as well I usually share my desk with a sewing machine and other clutter, but I love it! I have a cork board on the wall behind my laptop to pin images that represent my current characters or storyline. I am a visual person so I find it really helps to be able to ‘see’ the characters right in front of me. 

My usual working day consists of me taking the children to school, coming back and having a large mug of tea and a croissant… or hot buttered crumpet, and wasting time on my iPad, flicking through Facebook, twitter, emails… and (whispers) Minecraft!! By 9:45 I have usually dragged myself upstairs and booted up the laptop. I prefer to work all morning and, if I am in the middle of writing a book, will usually sit there and write until I have done at least 1000 words, which I can do in an hour if it is flowing… two if not! Then I make myself another mug of tea before getting back to it.

I try to write about 2000 words a day. When I start a project I usually have a couple of dates in my head: a first draft date and a publishing date. When I get within two weeks of the first date my daily word count usually increases. The most I have managed to write in one day is 4500 words, which gave me intense brain strain!  I prefer to keep it under 2500.

The last hour or so before school pickup is usually taken up with mundane housework and odd jobs. When I’m not writing I am usually arranging blog tours and writing the posts for those… like this one, or trying to do the DIY around our house and garden!

I love writing. It was the best decision I made and is the perfect career for a mum that wants to stay at home. 3pm till 8pm is taken up with the children and family, and only very occasionally do I login in the evening, usually if my husband is working away, and then I’ll try and get ahead a little.

So that’s my writing day!

Emma has kindly offered to do a giveaway for us so see below and GOOD LUCK!!!

Thank you for joining us today Emma I look forward to reading Flying With Fire.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Rain By Virginia Bergin Blog Tour: THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE RAIN

Hey guys Casey here. Today with have the author Virginia Bergin on the blog talking about her amazing book called Rain. The blog tour is called THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE RAIN  We all remember learning about the water cycle at school don’t we? How the sun heats the water, and the water evaporates and… blah blah blah. The Water Cycle was never a topic that set our school books on fire BUT maybe if Ruby Morris had paid more attention to her Geography teacher then she’d know exactly which clouds might kill her! So we’re here to educate you, because don’t forget, just one drop could kill you. From the writing process to publication, join us for a blog tour with a difference, as we learn about a FAR more interesting cycle – The Life Cycle of The Rain by Virginia Bergin.  1. The sun heats the ocean i.e. Virginia Bergin gets an excellent idea  2. Prevailing winds pick up the manuscript and deliver it to the Agent Louise Lamont  3. Pressure (also known as excitement) begins to build within the publishing cloud of Macmillan with Editor Rachel Petty  4. Virginia Bergin is as high as a cirrocumulus cloud as her book begins to form  5. Storm clouds gather over Frankfurt and Bologna – Rights  6. A downpour of marketing and publicity support  7. Take shelter in your local bookshop – Totnes Bookshop

The Sea of Ideas

My head is swimming with them . . . your head is swimming with them . . . everyone in the whole world has a head swimming with ideas . . . question is:

WHAT’S IN THERE AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?

Unlike other ideas I have – like, ‘I’m sure I’d be brilliant at surfing if I tried it’ – The Rain was an idea I acted on, and this is the mini-story of how that happened:

One summer afternoon, a 15-year old girl gave me a copy of The Hunger Games.

‘It’s brilliant,’ she said. ‘You should read this.’

‘OK,’ I said . . . and, lying paralysed by a bad ‘writer’s’ back in their garden, I did.

The next day, still lying in the garden, I finished it.

‘It IS brilliant,’ I told the dog and the two guinea pigs I had been left to look after.

They stared at me, not unhelpfully . . . and a weird idea bubbled up from the bottom of the ocean . . .

You’ve got a scary story, the idea said. TELL IT.

‘Oh, you mean -’

NO, NOT THE ONE ABOUT THE HAUNTED BRASSIERE, THE OTHER ONE.

Ideas, they can get so tetchy . . . and, as long as they don’t involve hurting anyone else, I think the more tetchy an idea gets, the more you need to act on it.

I did have a story; way back in 2007 I wrote a film script called H2O, about a killer alien virus in the rain. The idea had probably come from an article in a magazine called New Scientist. A friend of mine gives me his old copies, and if you want to write any kind of sci-fi, I would highly recommend it; every issue is packed with amazing ideas. But my script lacked heart. No one liked it much, not even me - but, like all ideas you instinctively know are good, it never quite went away. It just got tetchier. So I scrapped the script and wrote THE RAIN. With all of my heart.

And all of my money. I had enough cash to survive on for three months, and only a skeleton of a plot, so it was going to be a desperate race to write. Luckily for me, Ruby showed up in the very first line. I never looked at that skeleton plot again; it would have been pointless because my main character told that story all by herself – and she had her own ideas about how it should go. All I could do was show up at the desk and let Ruby get on with it – and she did, fast; in exactly the same sort of frenzy as she would have written it in the book. 10 weeks later I had a first draft.

I was a bit shocked, to be honest. I was also exhausted.

I love Ruby so much. Not just because ‘she’ pulled it off, but because, to me, she represents a lot of thoughts and feelings I have about what it can be like to be a teenager. Some of what she says and does IS meant to be funny (I find teens are often brilliantly funny; they say and do some pretty original things!), but it’s all mixed in with times when she is annoying or unpleasant or selfish – or lovely. I think Ruby has a very good heart. I feel . . . so protective of her, but also very angry for her; ‘growing up’ can be hard enough without an apocalypse happening in the middle of it. I think Ruby was at a stage in her life when she was just beginning to work some things out – and now she has lost everything. She is frightened, shocked, vulnerable and confused – in a situation that you’d hope no teen would ever find themselves. I feel awful for her, so I’m very understanding when she takes a detour to try on a dress, for example. It’s bitter sweet; a clinging for comfort to a past that has gone forever. My poor, lovely girl!

But it would be wrong to think of Ruby as some kind of mish-mash of what I think about teenagers; she is definitely HER OWN person! (That’s another thing I love about her.) So when I looked over that first draft I didn’t feel there was much I could or should change about it. It was Ruby’s story, and I’d run out of time and money anyway. If no one liked THE RAIN now, they never would, that’s what I decided. In my next blog post, I’ll explain why this was not, in fact, a great decision . . .

I did what Ruby would call ‘a stupid thing’. I sent the draft out.

Head over to Reading away the days for the next stop of the blog tour!

RAIN BY VIRGINA BERGIN IS OUT THIS THURSDAY IN THE UK!!!

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Netgalley Review: A Place For Us By Harriet Evans (part one)

Name: A Place For Us
Author: Harriet Evans
Publisher: Headline Review

Summary: The FIRST of four exclusive part-serialisations of a A Place for Us by Harriet Evans - you'll be desperate to read on ...
The day Martha Winter decided to tear apart her family began like any other day.
So opens A Place for Us by Sunday Times bestselling author Harriet Evans, a book you'll dive into, featuring a family you'll fall in love with ... and never want to leave. If you devour Rosamund Pilcher and Maeve Binchy and have discovered Jojo Moyes, you'll be thrilled to add Harriet Evans to your collection of favourite authors.
The house has soft, purple wisteria twining around the door. You step inside.
The hall is cool after the hot summer's day. The welcome is kind, and always warm. Yet something makes you suspect life here can't be as perfect as it seems. After all, the brightest smile can hide the darkest secret. But wouldn't you pay any price to have a glorious place like this?
Welcome to Winterfold. Martha Winter's family is finally coming home.

Review: As some of you may remember I only purchased a Kobo e-reader and tablet last July. I registered on Netgalley and at first I could not work out how to get my beautiful electronic proofs onto my device. It is safe to say one of the books I was sent was archived by the time I worked it out sad but true. Well since then I now seem to know what I am doing yay. I received an email telling me I could automatically be accepted for Harriet Evans A Place For Us part one. Having devoured Harriet's Happily Ever After I have been itching to get the chance to read more from her and this was that perfect moment.
If I am brutally honest there is not a lot to tell based on part one. We are introduced to each of the characters with each of them having their own say. I truly love the way Harriet has built up the story as a reader you are constantly wondering about each character, and where their tale will take them.
I must admit I do really like Lucy the wannabe journalist, she just hasn't been given the lucky break she deserves or could her best scoop be closer to home than she realises. Is Lucy willing to risk it all for her career, what does this mean for her family.
It's safe to say even the most dysfunctional characters you'll warm to. Each character has their own distinctive voice and story and every family has their secrets.
What I will say is part one will have you on the edge of your seat you will be intrigued about Daisy's whereabouts and when you get to the very end of part one it will be a case of. OMG OMG OMG!!!! WHEN CAN I HAVE THE REST!!!! I am constantly checking Netgalley for more...

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Book Review: How to Date Dead Guys by Ann M Noser

Name:  How to Date Dead Guys

Author: Ann M. Noser

Publisher: Curiosity Quills

Note: This ARC was provided to me in exchange for an honest review by the lovely Curiosity Quills!

Summary: Quiet college sophomore Emma Roberts remembers her mother’s sage advice: “don’t sleep around, don’t burp in public, and don’t tell anyone you see ghosts”. But when cute Mike Carlson drowns in the campus river under her watch, Emma’s sheltered life shatters. 

Blamed for Mike’s death and haunted by nightmares, Emma turns to witchcraft and a mysterious Book of Shadows to bring him back. Under a Blood Moon, she lights candles, draws a pentacle on the campus bridge, and casts a spell. The invoked river rages up against her, but she escapes its fury. As she stumbles back to the dorm, a stranger drags himself from the water and follows her home. 

Instead of raising Mike, Emma assists the others she stole back from the dead—a pre-med student who jumped off the bridge, a young father determined to solve his own murder, and a frat boy Emma can’t stand…at first. More comfortable with the dead than the living, Emma delves deeper into the seductive Book of Shadows. Her powers grow, but witchcraft may not be enough to protect her against the vengeful river and the killers that feed it their victims.

Review: How to Date Dead Guys is centrally focused on Emma Roberts who is currently a college sophomore. She is a bit of a quiet girl; some might even call her a nerd. She’d rather by studying or reading a book than out enjoying the college partying scene. I can’t lie—she is my kind of girl. But even though she is reserved and studious, she isn’t your average college student. See, ever since she was a little girl she could talk to dead people; her “imaginary friends”. I don’t know about you but I don’t know many people who can talk to the dead. Despite this fact she has maintained a fairly normal life. But this quickly changes for Emma.

Insert Mike here. He’s a boy that attends Emma’s college that she has feelings for. And in an unfortunate turn of events, Mike drowns in the campus river after a night of partying and the only one there to witness what happens is Emma. This is when Emma turns to The Book of Shadows uses witchcraft to cast a spell to bring Mike back from the dead. Only, it's not only Mike that she brings back from the dead. Among those that she brings back are Sam, a pre-med student who committed suicide; Jake,  a fraternity guy that is obnoxious to Emma; Bernard, an older fellow who simply wants the chance to check in on his wife, Claire since his death ; and Steve, who is unsure of how he died and searching for answers.

At first I had a bit of a hard time getting into the book. The first third to half of the book were a bit of a struggle for me. For some reason I just couldn’t get into it. There was a lot more dialogue than is normal for me, but eventually I got used to that. Once I hit the halfway mark in the book it started to pick up pace and I began to enjoy it a whole lot more. Even though there was a slow start, I enjoyed some of the twists and turns that the story had. The investigation into Steve’s death and trying to figure out what happened was actually one of my more favorite parts of the storyline. There were a lot of people to learn about, especially with their deaths and what they were back from the dead to try to accomplish.  If given the chance I think that most people when they pass have a lot of unfinished business, so this really shed a light on all of the loose ends that don’t get tied up so neatly when someone passes.

As I mentioned, I really enjoyed the second half of this book and although I struggled through the first bit, I did still enjoy it and would give the second book a chance once it’s released.

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Book Review: We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt

Name: We Are the Goldens

Author: Dana Reinhardt

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books

Summary: Nell knows a secret about her perfect, beautiful sister Layla. If she tells, it could blow their world apart.

When Nell and Layla were little, Nell used to call them Nellayla. Because to Nell, there was no difference between where she started and her adored big sister ended. They're a unit; divorce made them rely on each other early on, so when one pulls away, what is the other to do? But now, Nell's a freshman in high school and Layla is changing, secretive. And then Nell discovers why. Layla is involved with one of their teachers. And even though Nell tries to support Layla, to understand that she's happy and in love, Nell struggles with her true feelings: it's wrong, and she must do something about it.

Review: There are a lot of mixed feelings going on over here about We Are the Goldens. This was the first time that I've read anything by Dana Reinhardt. I was looking for a short, quick read and this definitely delivered that. It’s the story of Nell who is the younger of two girls and is told in the second person which was a bit different for me. The story is told from Nell's point of view to Layla. Nell is a freshman in high school and has always been in her sister, Layla’s shadow. She’s always followed her around and loved being around her-- looking up to her as most little sisters do.

 A lot of things change during Nell’s freshman year, primarily her sister Layla. She begins to put more distance between herself and Nell and because of this Nell has to learn how to identify who she actually is. Layla is involved with one of their high school teachers and Nell tries to be supportive and tried to understand. But is it okay? Is love all that matters?

The voice that this short novel is told in is great. It kept me flipping the pages quickly—I especially loved Felix, Nell’s best friend. He was, hands down, my favorite part of this book. He was sweet, a little nerdy, and absolutely hilarious. There were several characters in this book that just lacked for me… they weren't poorly written just so unlikable so I don’t judge the book based on that. I know that not every character in a given book can be likable, but I seriously wanted to slap Layla and tell her to stop being such a little brat all of the time.

Although the synopsis of the book primarily focuses on the relationship that Layla is in with their teacher there are a few underlying story lines that I enjoyed more than Layla's dilemma.  Although I purposely looked for a shorter read, I almost wish that this was a bit longer. I just felt like I wanted more. Was it a good book? Absolutely. Was it my favorite book of the year? No. But I did enjoy her writing style and would read more books from her in the future.

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Book Review: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Name: Open Road Summer
Author: Emery Lord
Publisher: Walker
Summary: After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O'Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind... and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own. Fortunately, Lilah's 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence. This summer, Reagan and Lilah will navigate the ups and downs of fame and friendship as they come to see that giving your heart to the right person is always a risk worth taking. A fresh new voice in contemporary romance, Emery Lord's gorgeous writing hits all the right notes.

Review: If you are looking for a light summer read that relishes in summer time, pick up Open Road Summer by Emery Lord. The story follows the summer of Reagan who has a bit of a bad streak going for her.  She joins her best friend and country music star, Lilah Montgomery on tour. To the world she is Lilah Montgomery, to Reagan she is just her best friend Dee. One of the things that I absolutely loved the most about this book was the friendship between these two awesome and so completely different girls. They have a parallel in that they've both had their hearts broken and need the summer to heal, to move on-- but for me, the comparison ends there. Dee is soft, kind and warm and a bit more of a southern belle whereas Reagan is quite stubborn and rough around the edges. Through many points in the book I thought to myself: which of these girls do I like more? I could never choose because although they were both flawed in so many ways, they both touched my heart and were so incredibly real. I know one thing... I could not imagine one without the other. Definitely a package deal.

And you guys, it was incredibly believable. A true portrait of friendship (and I won't lie-- the romance part was pretty great in this book, but I'll get there soon). Unlike many other YA books that I've read they weren't catty girls who stab each other in the back. They weren't perfect either. They were there for each other, they yelled and screamed at each other... and yet you were always pulling for them to patch things up, because how does a girl survive without her best friend?

Early on in the book we are introduced to Matt Finch, a singer who joins in on Dee's tour as the opening act in an attempt to dismiss some tabloid rumors going around about Dee. And although Matt is there for Dee, it's Reagan who has caught his eye which is obvious pretty quickly, almost instantly. Matt is pretty much the boy next door, a wear your heart on your sleeve kind of guy and I won't lie-- I swooned. However, Reagan has had her heart broken and has had it pretty rough lately and she's just the kind of girl who keeps her heart guarded and others at arm's length. This book is very much a journey of self discovery, of trusting and of trying, despite anything else, to love. The writing in this book, the dialogue, and the country music lyrics that are woven into this story made this an absolutely perfect summer read.

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SHIMMER BY PAULA WESTON EPIC GUEST POST AND GIVEAWAY

So if you guys know me at all I am a huge fan of the (Rephaim) series by Paula Weston. The books are absolutely fantastic! here is a summary of Shadows (the 1st book in the series): 

It’s almost a year since Gaby Winters was in the car crash that killed her twin brother, Jude. Her body has healed in the sunshine of Pandanus Beach, but her grief is raw and constant. It doesn’t help that every night in her dreams she kills demons and other hell-spawn. And then Rafa comes to town. Not only does he look exactly like the guy who’s been appearing in Gaby’s dreams—he claims a history with her brother that makes no sense. Gaby is forced to accept that what she thought she knew about herself and her life is only a shadow of the truth—and that the truth is more likely to be found in the shadows of her nightmares.

In the light of the 3rd in the series (SHIMMER) being released Paula is on the blog today telling us about some secrets and home truths about the characters in her books. From their clothes to their antics! check it out! swoooooon also we have an epic giveaway: 

What inspired you in terms of what the characters in the series wear?
Great question! I must confess, I didn’t put a lot of thought into the characters’ clothing before I started writing the series, but they seemed to dress themselves along the way.

The Rephaim: They tend to spend a lot of time in combat clothing – as in practical clothes that provide plenty of flexibility – so it made sense for them to wear t-shirts and loose-fitting trousers and/or jeans (depending on the climate). I imagine their ‘fight’ outfits would have become quite uniform over the years (all black – a hint of ninja influence!). So much so, that the Outcasts still dress that way, even though they’ve rejected almost everything else about the Sanctuary. It does mean that what they wear when they’re not fighting says a lot about them too, like Daniel with his designer gear and Jude with his retro band t-shirts.

Gatekeepers: These guys don’t want to blend in, so I needed them to always look out of place. Having them with long trench coats – regardless of the climate – helps achieve that. (And then giving them unusual features like long white hair and flaming irises adds to their other-worldliness.) I gave them medieval broadswords as another way of showing how out of place they are in our world.

Hellions: They may be hell-beasts (all muscles, leathery skin, teeth and claws), but because they walk upright (mostly) I wanted them to wear something. I didn’t want the issue of dangly bits if they were naked…So they generally wear baggy tracksuit bottoms, and occasionally chainmail when going into battle.

Immundi: As soon as I imagined what the Immundi would look like (short and spindly, bobble-headed, with talons and pointed teeth), and knew they would move about openly in the human world, I pictured them in suits. Everything about them is sharp, including their outfits.

Monks: I wanted to really embed the sense that the Sanctuary is an ancient monastery, highlighting the contradiction of the place with the very contemporary sensibilities of most of the Rephaim. So the monks there dress very traditionally (think Benedictine monks), reflecting that fact that they behave and the way monks might in any other Italian monastery. Except these brothers serve a fallen angel.

I know that Jude and Rafa are best friends and wondered what are some of the craziest things they’ve done together? 

• They ran with the bulls in Pamplona in 1928 (they couldn’t shift because they were surrounded by so many people, so they actually did risk getting hurt). And then they stole all the bulls before the evening bullfight and released them miles away.
• A few years after they left the Sanctuary, they went heli-skiing in Greenland with a group of professional skiers. Way ahead and out of sight of the group, they shifted and left their skis behind without footprints. Their disappearance sparked a huge search, and lasted two hours before Jude came clean and said it was prank. They’re still banned from skiing in Greenland. And Alaska.
• They gate-crashed Woodstock in 1969, and stayed for four days. Gabe covered for them for the first two, but when Daniel found out where they were, he went to bring them home. Rafa and Jude wrestled with him, held him down in the mud and then told a group of protesters he was pro-Vietnam War, sparking a near-riot. One of the many reasons Daniel still has issues with the pair.

We know Rafa has a few likes but what are his guilty pleasures? 

• He’s a closet fan of comics and graphic novels, but only talks about them with Jude. (He quietly agrees with that the best modern graphic novels are V for Vendetta, Watchmen, and Batman: the Dark Knight Returns.)
• He has a major sweet tooth and loves gianduiotti, the Italian chocolates made in the Piedmont region.
• He had a brief addiction to Pac-man in the 1970s and then, years later, Angry Birds.
• He may have been a little choked up watching ET for the first time in 1982… 

How about a line Rafa says in Shimmer?
My favourite line from Rafa is a bit too spoilerish, but Shimmer opens with a short flashback scene, where he’s checking out the scar on Gaby’s neck (it’s a moment that happened between the end of Shadows and the start of Haze):

‘It doesn’t look too bad. Moisturiser would help, though,’ Rafa says.

‘Moisturiser. And you give Jason a hard time because he can tie a scarf.’

‘No,’ Rafa brushes his thumb over the scar tissue. ‘Because he’s a tool.’

Thank you Paula for this! I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS! Would you guys like to win SHADOWS, HAZE AND SHIMMER? then you can enter here! UK ONLY! comp ends 11th of GOODLUCK! 

 

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