Here's a review of Stalking Shadows that really made my heart sing. This is the best reward for an author; readers who love what you write. Not everyone does, but those that do make the struggle worth while. Kayla says, among other things: 'Wow! I have to say that although I really, really enjoyed reading Lethal Inheritance, book one in this series, I think I enjoyed the sequel even more. That isn’t something that really happens for me that often and it only makes me wonder what more could come in the rest of the series.' Pop over and see Kayla's wonderful book blog and read the rest of the series. http://caughtbetweenthepages.wordpress.com/2013/12/07/blog-tour-stalking-shadows-by-tahlia-newland/ Don't forget the Special Series Seal If you buy book one, Lethal Inheritance, and send the receipt to tahlia.newland@yahoo.com before the 15th of December, I will send you book 2, Stalking Shadows, for free and enter you in a draw to win the rest of the series. You can also pick up two … [Read more...]
What is it like to be seventeen? And why that’s the age of my heroine.
Seventeen is a wonderful age, so is eighteen. Why? Because you’re ready and rearing for action. You have the freshness of youth but you’re mature enough to know you’re alive and make your own decisions, (if your parents let you). You have the security of a home and money, (unless you’ve already left home) but should have enough freedom to go forth from that base and try new adult-type things. You’re about to leave school (which most of you are over by then), have your whole life ahead of you (provided you don’t crash your car tomorrow) and almost everything is possible, at least in your mind. Even if you don’t have the grades to be a rocket scientist, you can visualize what it might be like. In your mind, you can try your options out for size to help you decide which direction you want to go in. Once you get over the scariness of choosing a path and the sadness of leaving school, and, for many of you, moving out of home, (even if you hated it, it’s kind of sad when you realise that … [Read more...]
Young Adult??? Diving into the ‘what’s appropriate’ debate
I wrote a review for my Goodreads friends a while ago about a YA book with some disturbing elements. I bought the book, so I wasn’t under any obligation to review it, but I did, because I would have been grateful to have read such a review before I bought the book. I’m not publishing the review here or telling you the name of the book, but I do want to discuss the issues it raises. Here’s a quote from my review. There was a very disturbing element in this book, the combination of sexual advances and pain infliction by figures of authority on young girls. It was a minor element, but sex and violence together are a combination that I am particularly sensitive to, especially sexual sadism and especially in YA books. It gave a bad taste to the whole book – disturbingly creepy. My seventeen-year-old daughter was horrified when I described the two scenes and said that she wouldn’t want to read that. Ahhh, we’ve opened a can of worms here, haven’t we? My understanding of the YA genre is … [Read more...]
