What I've Been Reading # 5

Forever Fifteen
by
Kimberly Steele

I know that there are a kazillion vampire books glutting the bookshops at the moment. And yes, I'm sick of them too  but this one is a little different.

I first came across this story as a free audio book from www.podiobooks.com (this was several years ago before I was sick to undeath of them) It is one of the few really good audio books I have listened to several times.

The book reads just as well as the audio version. Although I have to admit I missed the haunting soundtrack Kimberly's alter ego, Queenie provided for the audio tracks. I like the way Lucy's character is developed through flashbacks to her pre and post vampiric beginnings.

I found the book to have a calm feel to it, even though it takes the reader through the height of the Black Death, to ripping the life from a child murderer and finally to the bloody betrayal of friendship. Strange...

This is a similar subject matter to Stephanie Myer's books, but I believe Forever Fifteen  is a much better story than Twilight

---

What I Have Read # 2 - "Boofheads" by Mo Johnson

MATES
FOOTY
CHICKS
PARTIES

Life is pretty sweet for Tommo, Casey and Ed. But things are changing - and fast. Has it all come to an end for the boofheads.'Boofheads' is the story of three boys who have been friends since starting school but as they go into Year 11, the dynamics of their friendship and lives begin to change.

The premise of this book brings back all the memories from my final years in high school. I rarely see any of my old school friends but thanks to Facebook, I'm slowly getting back in touch.

---

After reading the book, I’ve come to the conclusion that Mo Johnson must have been a teenage boy in a previous life. She has captured the mind-set of all three of the main male protagonists brilliantly. I have also come to the conclusion that if she based the character of Mrs. McKenzie on herself, she has a delightful self-deprecating humour. The Bagpipe Bitch indeed?

Watching the three boys slowly drift apart in the book was quite poignant, especially as Tommo is the only one who really sees it coming. The opening lines of the book set the tone and encapsulate the essence of the story.

Change tiptoed into our lives with her eyes down, like a shy chick coming late to class. We checked her out, as you do, and found nothing there worth bothering about… but we ignored her and that was our biggest mistake.

I knew a Tommo, a Casey and several Ed’s in the last few years of my own high school life. Part of me was secretly pleased for the whole thing to be over with and I certainly don’t miss some of my old school friends but a part of me was sad too, on that final day.

If the characters weren’t so engaging and the story wasn’t so thoughtful written, Boofheads would still be worth reading just for the memories it will evoke in anyone who ever went to school.

The Bizarreness of Teen Minds

.

My middle son (18) asked me to take him into town today to buy a gift for a school friend - Something to cheer her up a little after her father died. I thought, 'What a nice sentiment.’

I dropped him in town on my way to the library for the meeting of my writers’ group. He was going to meet me there after he found a gift.

This is what he brought.


He was completely at a loss to my horror in his choice.

‘But Nightmare Before Christmas is her favourite show,’ he said. ‘What’s wrong with buying her this?’

What answer should I choose? There were so many. I finally decided on. ‘Her father just died and you are giving her a solar powered bobble headed skeleton to cheer her up! Nice.’

I know he means well, but the bizarreness of how the teenage mind works completely eludes me at times. This is not a good sign for someone trying to write YA fiction.

I've Got You Covered

Computers are wonderful tools for writers. The internet is an invaluable medium for research and networking with other writers and industry professionals. BUT, both also offer a myriad of distractions for writers.

I can’t count the times I have sat down, with all good intentions, to write only to discover I have checked and replied to my emails, taken a (not so) quick look at some of my favourite writing sites and done any other number of things on the net. The outcome of this is not a lot of writing going on.

One method I have employed to remedy this and cut through the distractions is to create the cover art for my current project and set it as my computer desktop screen. This does two things. First, it gives me the inspiration to complete the story and fill the space between the cover with writing. The second thing it does is to guilt me into writing. Every time I turn the computer on, my book cover flashes up before my eyes. It makes me feel guilty if I am not writing. So far it seems to be working.

My current Young Adult work in progress is a speculative thriller titled “The Zoo” deals with secret scientific experiments, animal cruelty, government conspiracy and trying to fit in.

Fifteen year old Mira is different to other teens. She has just moved into a new foster home, in a new city and she has made an enemy of the most popular student in her new school.
After a class excursion to The Zoo, where a prank against her has unexpected results, Mira begins to suspect she is being followed. She gets caught up in the middle of a series of deadly events she doesn't understand. Mira is sure it has something to do with Katt Baxter, a young teacher she met during her first days at Haven High several weeks earlier and who is now working as an education officer at The Zoo.

Strange things begin to happen, people disappear and Mira and Katt find themselves drawn together into terrible danger. There are powerful people who will do anything to guard their secrets. Making a fifteen year old foster child and a first year teacher disappear seems like the easiest solution.

The other thing I have discovered is that I really enjoy creating book cover art. I recently had my first cover art commission for Queensland Author, Cheree Smith, for her forthcoming novel "Reaper".

Hopefully I will have more opportunities soon, to create more book covers.

JED