Jen: This weekend we welcome Mark Freeman to Book Talk. Mark, will you please share a short bio with us?
Mark: Sure. Well, I have my Bachelors and Masters in Wildlife Biology and have studied grizzles in Alberta, bobcats in Vermont, black bears in Connecticut, tracked cougars in Arizona, and most recently reintroduced an endangered species of grouse here in Vermont. However, I’ve also been writing since early high school. I’ve always been a big reader and a wonderful English teacher my sophomore year of high school really got me hooked on writing. I could sooner stop breathing than writing now. Now a days I find myself a stay at home dad taking care of my two daughters and write whenever they allow me a chance!
Jen: Tell us about The Kindling of GreenFyr and where it's available.
Mark: The Kindling of GreenFyr is a YA fantasy novel in the vein of the Narnia books or Gregor the Overlander
The Kindling of GreenFyr is the story of Owen McInish, an awkward fourteen year old, bullied at school, and friendless except for his pet cat, Piper. That is, until a snow leopard is chased through the woods behind his house by three huge gray dogs with glowing green eyes.
Owen saves the leopard from her pursuers, but the animal escapes him as well, only to return later. The cat’s behavior is peculiar, nothing like a wild animal, making Owen even more curious as to its origin. But only when the animal finally allows Owen to touch it, does Owen’s adventure truly begin.
Owen finds himself experiencing friendships as he has never before, adventures as he has never imagined, and political intrigue as two worlds, long separated, begin to collide.
The Kindling of GreenFyr is available from all the major distributors, so it’s available online from Amazon or BN.com and also available through Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores. Local independent shops can order it as well.
Jen: At what age did you discover writing and when were you first published? Tell us your call story.
Mark: As I said before, I was in high school when I first started writing. I have published articles and papers in regional magazines and professional journals, but The Kindling of GreenFyr was my first fiction work to be published. It was released August 2008.
Jen: Describe your writing in three words.
Mark: Awe So Me. Just kidding, you got me there, I don’t know if I could classify how or what I write in three words. Any of my readers will tell you, I tend to be verbose!
Jen: How do you approach your writing? Do you plot or go with the flow?
Mark: Plot. I’m a pretty methodical outliner, but I will occasionally give way to persuasive characters wanting to stray from the plan.
Jen: What kind of research did you do for this book?
Mark: Well, there are a few different languages that occur throughout The Kindling of GreenFyr, so I spent quite a bit of time working and researching languages. There is also an underlying theme in the book connecting mythology, theology, folklore, and fantasy fiction, so I did spend a fair amount of time reviewing many different stories in these areas.
Jen: What’s the most challenging aspect of writing? Easiest?
Mark: Time. It’s a limited resource around my house and not always easy to come by. Ideas and stories come pretty easily to me. I’m continuously jotting down ideas, characters, and plots to write later when I have time.
Jen: What’s the most rewarding aspect?
Mark: When I get a letter or email from a teacher or parent telling me their student or child picked up The Kindling of GreenFyr and couldn’t put it down, or the classes I’ve visited and listened as the students interpreted and dissected my own work. It’s a tremendous privilege to be allowed in the classroom like that.
Jen: How do you pick the character’s names?
Mark: I keep a file of names I like, especially odd or unique names I come across. It’s come in handy many times. I’ve also flipped through baby name books when my file has let me down.
Jen: Is there a genre that you’d like to write? Is there a genre you’ll probably stay away from and why?
Mark: I honestly can’t see myself ever writing romance. Not to say that I haven’t written romance into my stories, but I don’t think I’d ever write for a romance novel.
Jen: If you could travel back in time for one year, what time and place would you choose? And if you could only take 3 things with you, what would they be?
Mark: Yeah, sorry, but I always cheat on this one. I think going back in time would be a total let down. I think the real thing would be a complete let down from the idealized and romanticized versions we hold dear. Instead, I’d much rather go into the future! And what 3 things would I take? That’s easy, my wife and two daughters. Done.
Jen: If The Kindling of GreenFyr was made into a movie, which actors would you choose to play the hero and heroine?
Mark: I think Michael Angarano (Will Stronghold in Skyhigh) or Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson) in the forthcoming Lightning Thief would each make a good Owen. I think either Kathryn Newton (Louise on CBS’s Gary Unmarried) or Molly Quinn (Alexis on ABC’s Castle) would make a great Orla.
Jen: What’s the most interesting comment you have received about your books?
Mark: Well, in general, the comparisons to other authors, I guess. It always blows me away when someone compares The Kindling of GreenFyr to classics in the Fantasy genre, books I’ve long adored. It’s surreal, really.
Jen: Who are some of your favorite authors and books? What are you reading now?
Mark: I’m currently reading Paper Towns by John Green and think he’s phenomenal. I’m always willing to pick up a new author and try something new. I think Suzanne Collins is fantastic and can’t wait to the follow up to Catching Fire. Some of my favs are The Once and Future King, The Lord of the Rings (particularly Fellowship), Looking for Alaska, The Catcher in the Rye, and What's Eating Gilbert Grape.
Jen: What's next for you?
Mark: Working on Book 2 of the ReUnification Conspiracy and putting the final touches on another project, an urban fantasy loose retelling of Beowulf.
Jen: Where can you be found on the web?
Mark: You can follow me on twitter @GreenFyr, follow my blog at my website www.greenfyr.com, or on Facebook.
Jen: Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?
Mark: You bet! Enough of this Team Jacob, Team Edward stuff, let’s talk about something important. Tootsie Pops or Blow Pops? That’s the real question.
Jen: Readers, Mark is giving away a copy of The Kindling of GreenFyr to a random commenter. This contest is open to US and Canadian residents only. To enter, you first need to leave a comment or question for Mark. Then to finish your entry, you must either leave your email address in your comment or send a message to contests.bookblog@gmail.com. The winner will be chosen on Friday, January 15.
Review by Nancy Holzner
You’re reading a book and then you put it down, turning your attention to other things. What happens to the book’s characters when you stop reading? That’s the question James Bow asks in The Unwritten Girl, a charming and imaginative fantasy for middle-school readers.
Rosemary Watson prefers facts to stories; she’d rather read the Encyclopedia Britannica than get emotionally involved in the pain and conflict of literature. But when her older brother Theo literally loses himself in a book, Rosemary must venture into the Land of Fiction to find him and bring him home.
Rosemary is helped on her quest by Peter, a new boy at her school, and Puck, Midsummer Night’s Dream character and their guide in the Land of Fiction. Every bit as strange as you might image, the Land of Fiction is the kind of place where ideas grow on trees and a boy can turn into an eagle just by asking, "What if?" It’s populated by all kinds of characters: from numbers to knights, from detectives to a villainous mad scientist. There’s also a girl very much like Rosemary, who was left in a terrifying situation when Rosemary stopped reading her book.
Puck describes the Land of Fiction as “a patchwork of stories,” and that’s how Rosemary and Peter experience it. With each new story they enter, their clothes and surroundings change, and they encounter new characters and a new test. Rosemary is smart and resourceful, and Peter makes a likable and loyal sidekick. As they themselves become characters in a series of stories, they face increasing danger and learn important life lessons.
Author Bow clearly had a lot of fun creating this world. The Unwritten Girl is the kind of book that richly rewards imaginative involvement. Middle-school-aged readers will enjoy Bow’s silly puns and sometimes mind-bending ideas, although they’re likely to miss literary allusions to writers such as Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, and Arthur Conan Doyle.
Review by Jennifer Drake
Cave of Terror by Amber Dawn Bell, is a paranormal story about a young woman who has just turned 16, and as a lovely gift she finds out she’s the rare and one and only slayer of evil. Her parents both turn out to be vampires, which again she finds out on her 16th birthday. (Don’t worry this gives nothing away it’s on the first page.) So aside from figuring out how being a “real life Buffy” will fit into her life, she has of course, the normal troubles of a teenage girl on top of everything else also.
One thing interesting about this book is that the author used some unique terms. But she was, thankfully, kind enough to put in a page at the start of the book explaining them so there isn’t any confusion.
This is a cute and never boring story about a girl fighting evil. As a fan of the show Buffy I found it vastly entertaining and hard to put down. I have to say as a side note, that I loved the author’s cute titles for the chapters too! Because this is aimed at a younger audience everything is thoroughly explained, which can be handy and will make sure nobody gets confused. I don’t want to give too much away, but there are some great twists and turns about the characters and in general. This is most definitely a good book for teens, but also for anyone who is into the vibe of something slightly cheeky as well as paranormal. Just make sure you’re in for a ride when you read this, as it is the first in a new series.
You can read an excerpt here or an interview with Amber here.
Review by Nancy Holzner
In a small Pennsylvania town, five eighth-graders, friends since childhood, form the Halloween Horror Club. For the five weeks leading up to Halloween, each friend will tell a scary story, followed by a group vote on whose story was best. To set the right atmosphere, they decide to meet in the abandoned Tuttle house, site of three unsolved murders fifteen years earlier. No one ever learned who killed Mr. and Mrs. Tuttle and four-year-old Stacey or what happened to fifteen-year-old Paul, who disappeared the night his family was murdered. Despite the kids’ private misgivings, the spooky old house is the perfect setting for their club until it becomes clear that they’re not alone. Someone is watching them. Someone who gets a little closer, a little bolder each time they meet.
The book’s structure embeds each friend’s story in the larger story of what’s happening in the Tuttle house. These are stories you might hear around a campfire: demonic possession; sisters lost in endless, frozen woods; the ghost of an old woman frightened to death; a vain girl unaware of her parents’ terrifying secret; a haunted road to nowhere and each reveals something of its teller’s personality. Although the stories are fun, each teller’s voice sounds too much like the others’, making it hard at times to distinguish the kids. Of the five friends, two emerge as complex characters: David, who acts tough to cover up his insecurities, and Marlene, the smart, “perfect” girl who neglects herself to care for others. The other three friends never rise above their initial, somewhat stereotypical impressions: Peter, the chubby, glasses-wearing nerd; Erin, the pretty girl who doesn’t know she’s pretty; and Roy, the late bloomer who has a crush on Erin.
With each tale, a sense of menace builds until events explode in an action-packed conclusion. The friends’ courage, smarts, and loyalty are tested as they face the house’s mysterious inhabitant. With just enough violence to sustain a sense of real danger, the climax keeps you guessing until the plot’s final twist.
Right now I'm not sure if Jen has had a chance to start reading Twilight, but now that I'm starting Eclipse (book 3), I want to write my thoughts on Twilight before I forget what the book is about.
** Spoiler Alert **
Bella reluctantly moves in with her Dad in Forks, WA. Forks is the opposite in almost every way from Phoenix, Bella's home town. Forks is cool, rainy and almost always cloudy. But that's a good thing... for Vampires. Yes, there is a Vampire family living in town, and contrary to other Vampire myths, these Vampires can go out during the day... just not in sunlight.
Bella makes some new friends, but she is intrigued by the Cullen family with their pale skin, beautiful appearance, and lack of appetite. The student population is oblivious to the Cullen famlily, but Bella is intrigued. She eventually falls in love with Edward Cullen, and despite the fact that his instinct is to kill her, he can't quite give up her company. So, the unlikely couple is formed.
The drama really starts when another vampire clan walks into the Cullen's baseball game. Victoria, James, and Laurent can't understand why the Cullen's don't kill Bella and that they are protecting her.
I don't want to give away the ending, but James is relentless in his quest to kill Bella.
I really enjoyed this book. Despite the thickness of the book, I zipped through it very quickly. I really didn't know much about the book other than it was being compared to Harry Potter. Silly me read the first chapter of Eclipse (Book 3) first, and found out about two of the main characters (Edward and Jacob) way too soon. Now that I'm finally starting Eclipse, I can't wait to find out how the story ends.
I'm probably one of the last people to get into this book series or know much about it at all. As much of a book lover that I am, I don't usually stay atop of new children or YA books. I probably saw the books on the shelves at Walmart, but I was only in the kid's book section only to get the latest Harry Potter book. And truth be told, it was because of Harry Potter that I first heard about this Twilight Series
I admit I was slightly obsessed with all things Harry Potter. OK, I really wasn't that bad. I didn't have a robe or even go to a midnight release party for any of the books, but I did check out the Mugglenet site and listen to the Mugglecaster's HP podcasts. Once Deathly Hallows
So... 6-7 months later, I finally decide to pick up the book and read a chapter or two while at the book store. Apparently, I did not know the order because now that I'm reading New Moon (Book 2)
I am going to hold off a bit for my review of Twilight
I don't want anyone to spoil it for me or other readers, but I am interested in how you learned about this series. Were you a Harry Potter fan first? Do you think the series is geared towards girls or will boys be as into it as they were into HP?
Since becoming a part of the online book lovers community (LibraryThing, blogs, etc), I have become aware of many YA (Young Adult) books that I never knew existed. The Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman is just one YA series that that has been made into a movie. I strive to read the books before I see the movie (we'll have to discuss that another time), and I think the movie should be released on DVD soon, so that's why I read this book.
Ok... so this is a story of a young girl named Lyra and a world where every human has a daemon which is an animal who basically is like a pet with part of their human's soul. Lyra lives in a world where bad people "the gobblers" are kidnapping kids and performing the worst crime imaginable. They are seperating the kids from their daemons and harnessing the power the separation creates. Lyra aims to find the place the kids are kept and free them.
There was so much buzz around this movie when it came out because there was a lot of church bashing (supposedly) portrayed in the movie. I say supposedly because I have not yet seen the movie, and I have not finished reading the trilogy. There was very brief mention of "church" keeping people from doing things, but I just don't remember it being more than just a few comments in passing.
I wasn't very impressed with this book, but with all the epic, YA, fantasy books becoming movies, I thought I would attempt to read some. I guess with all the hype surrounding the movie, I thought the book would be so much more... I just didn't see it. I guess I'll have to read the remainder of the trilogy to figure out the true message in these books.
What were your thoughts on The Golden Compass? Do you read any other YA epic/fantasy books like Spiderwick Chronicles, Chronicles of Narnia, etc? This was my first foray into this genre (beside Harry Potter which I love of course!)