This particular books to read list features forthcoming young adult and juvenile titles. If I read and review an advanced copy, I link the title to my review. At the close of every month, I move that month's remaining titles from this list to my backlist of books to read.

May 2008
Airhead by Meg Cabot (read)
Alive and Well in Prague, New York by Daphne Grab
Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman
Death By Bikini by Linda Gerber
The Debutante by Kathryn Williams
Ever by Gail Carson Levine
Fact of Life #31 by Denise Vega (read, review to come)
Geek Magnet by Kieran Scott (read, review to come)
Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
Hershey Herself by Cecilia Galante
How I Found the Perfect Dress by Maryrose Wood (sequel to Why I Let My Hair Grow Out)
How to Be Bad by E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski, and Lauren Myracle
How to Build a House by Dana Reinhardt (read, review to come)
A Kiss Before the Apocalypse by Thomas E. Sniegoski
A Likely Story by David Van Etten (Chris Van Etten, David Ozanich, and David Levithan)
Love in the Corner Pocket by Marlene Perez (read)
Madapple by Christina Meldrum (read)
Maggie Bean Stays Afloat by Tricia Rayburn
Mind the Gap: A Novel of the Hidden Cities by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon
Moon & Sun: Ruby Key by Holly Lisle
Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs (read, review and interview to come)
Penelope by Megan Shull
Picture Perfect by Catherine Clark
Pretty Little Liars #4: Unbelievable by Sara Shepard
Princess Ben by Catherine Murdock
Savvy by Ingrid Law
Shelter Stories: Love. Guaranteed. by Patrick McDonnell
Shift by Jennifer Bradbury (read, interview to come)
Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott
Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson
Take Me There by Susane Colasanti (read, interview to come)
The Temptress Four by Gaby Triana
Twice Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris
What Happens Here by Tara Altebrando

( Read more... )

Look at my calendar and you'll see something written on every day, something I will be doing. Look at Christopher Golden and you'll see him writing every day, something I should be doing.

Here's a quick Q&A with the Golden boy, the first part of what we've deemed a serial interview. (I nearly wrote, "It's a killer." Then I thought against it. Then I wrote it anyway. Get it? Serial interview? I know it's Monday morning, but...)

How's life?

Life is craaazy. Good stuff, mostly. But I desperately need a vacation. I'm directing a play at my kids' school for the second year in a row and I love it, but I should NOT be doing it. My eldest is going to be in high school in the fall, which seems impossible. My brother and his fiancee had a baby in August, and that makes me very happy. And I'm totally stoked to go to England this fall for British Fantasycon, where I'll be a guest of honor (oh, all right, "honour," since it's in the UK). I haven't been over there for several years and I've missed it horribly.

Read any good books lately?

Yes! I spent three or four months reading very little for pleasure, just research on (alternately) Japan and New Orleans, and re-reading a ton of Neil Gaiman for PRINCE OF STORIES: THE MANY WORLDS OF NEIL GAIMAN, which I wrote with Hank Wagner and Steve Bissette. But yep, I've read Neil's upcoming THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, which is sheer genius and may be my favorite novel he's written.. I also recently read CROOKED LITTLE VEIN by Warren Ellis, which is sick, mad genius, PROMISES TO KEEP by Charles de Lint, who is one of my favorite writers, and DUMA KEY, which is the best thing Stephen King has written in a very, very long time. Absolutely loved it.

How does your reading affect your writing, and vice-versa?

You'd have to monitor me and decide for yourself. I'd like to think that when I'm reading someone good, my writing improves, and when I'm reading crap for fun...my writing doesn't suffer. Heh. But that doesn't seem very logical, does it? So hopefully reading doesn't affect my writing one way or the other. Writing only affects my reading in the sense that I'll usually try to avoid anything that's at all similar to whatever it is I'm working on at any given time. For instance, I'm starting a new book for Bantam that concerns supernatural events on an ocean setting, and I've got a novella by Lee Thomas that I've been wanting to read, but I've purposely NOT read it and won't until I've finished this novel.

What's your writing routine?

If you're a Wallace and Gromit fan, you'll understand what I mean when I say it's a bit like being dumped into the "wrong trousers" every morning. For those unfamiliar with that bit of genius, I'll just refer you to the runaway mine car scene in INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. I get up, I answer e-mail, I try to take care of things people have been waiting too long for, and then I work for as long as I can on whatever I'm writing at the moment until my wife sends our daughter up to drag me downstairs for dinner. All too often this includes weekends, and all too often I come back upstairs after dinner. The past six months have been the busiest of my life, and I'm now working toward the time, a few months hence, I suspect, when I'll be able to have my nights and weekends back. I only hope my children will recognize me, and my wife will remember my name.

Happy Mother's Day to Christopher's awesome wife!

Look for part two of the serial interview with Christopher Golden next Monday, May 19th. Until then, read stuff.

When :01 First Second asked me to join their vampiric litblog tour, I immediately knew what I'd talk about: Christopher Golden's The Shadow Saga, as well as his works connecting to the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

I can thank Buffy the Vampire Slayer for getting me in touch with Christopher Golden, who is one of my closest friends and biggest supporters.

In 1997, Pocket Books decided to launch a line of BtVS books, starting with Richie Tankersley Cusick's novelization of the premiere episode. (Cusick had also written the novelization of the film five years earlier.) It was followed by Halloween Rain, the first-ever original BtVS novel, written by Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder. Because I watched and enjoyed the show, I naturally wanted to sink my teeth into the new books as well.

After reading Golden's Slayer stories, I looked him up at the bookstore and at the library to see if he had written anything else. He had. His first novel, Of Saints and Shadows, had been released just a few years earlier. It too was about vampires. In fact, it was the first volume in trilogy.* Intrigued, I drifted into Shadows and didn't emerge until I was finished.

*Years later, he wrote and released a fourth Octavian book, The Gathering Dark. Though it's definitely a continuation of the trilogy, I feel as though it can also be read independently of the series. The Gathering Dark is actually my favorite book in The Shadow Saga. I swear it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm in it.

As I stated in an earlier post, The Shadow Saga contains what Buffy Summers would describe as "violence, strong language, adult content." These books are intense, frightening, and, let me say it again, dark. They discuss vampirism, life, death, immortality, magick, and religion. They are not for children. They are for anyone who likes vampire tales.

The order of publication is as follows:
- Of Saints and Shadows
- Angel Souls and Devil Hearts
- Of Masques and Martyrs
- The Gathering Dark

Golden has stated repeatedly that he'd like to write more books in the Saga. If and when he does, I'll be first in line to read them. The people who saw me the day The Gathering Dark came out can testify to that.

Golden wrote many, many BtVS/Angel novels and comics. The Gatekeeper Trilogy, co-authored with Nancy Holder, was an impressive undertaking. Golden detailed the dark pasts of the villains and of the Watchers Council in the historical novel Spike & Dru: Pretty Maids All in a Row. I loved the serial novel The Lost Slayer, the premise and setting of which allowed Golden free reign. There's a very special place in my heart for Monster Island, the first-ever BtVS/Angel crossover novel, which Golden wrote with Thomas E. Sniegoski.

I could go on and on, but I'll sum it up like this: Golden has proved time and time again that he not only understands but respects the worlds which others create and into which he is invited, such as the Slayerverse. Better still, when his imagination is allowed to run freely in his original stories such as The Shadow Saga, Strangewood, and The Boys are Back in Town, you never know what he'll create - but you know it's going to be good.

Learn more about Christopher Golden, The Shadow Saga, and Golden's BtVS/Angel novels.

If you've yet to read any Golden books and are looking through his backlist of 100+ releases, please allow me to suggest where to start.

Check out the serial interview with Christopher Golden.

Take a ride on the :01 First Second vampiric litblog tour.

British Invasion
Edited by Christopher Golden, Tim Lebbon, and James A. Moore
Published by Cemetery Dance

They've invaded before, sending their best and brightest to transform popular music for all time. This time, they're leaving the music behind and focusing on words. The British Invasion has begun again, in a collection of twenty-one unforgettable stories of horror and the dark fantastic.

From the birthplace of horror fiction, the land where writers first dreamed up the icons that shaped the field we know today -- Frankenstein's monster, Count Dracula, the vile Mr. Hyde and more. You think you know desperation? Discover a literary tradition born from centuries of violence, pain, and suffering, distilled through the veneer of civility, and twisted by the reign of tyrants and kings.

You think you know fear?

From creeping dread to hideous humor, from quiet terror to brutal horror, from mad speculation to unspeakable truth, the twenty-one tales here represent the best that the U.K. has to offer. The rising stars and the masters of British horror have joined together.

The British Invasion has begun.

Table of Contents
( Read more... )

British Invasion is available at Cemetery Dance in two formats:
- Limited Edition of 1,000 copies signed by Christopher Golden, Tim Lebbon, and James A. Moore
- Traycased Lettered Edition of 52 signed (by all of the contributors) and lettered copies bound in leather with additional artwork and a satin ribbon page marker
ISBN: 978-1-58767-175-3

Every big city has a soul, and every soul has a dark, secret side.

Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon are delighted to announce their two collaborative contemporary fantasy novels for Bantam Spectra. The Hidden Cities books are set in places we all know very well - places which hold secrets almost beyond belief.

Mind the Gap: A Novel of the Hidden Cities (coming out late May 2008)

You never know when you'll find yourself falling through one of the cracks in the world...

Two of today's brightest stars of dark fantasy combine their award-winning, critically acclaimed talents in this spellbinding new tale of magic, terror, and adventure that begins when a young woman slips through the space between our everyday world and the one hiding just beneath it.

Always assume there's someone after you. That was the paranoid wisdom her mother had hardwired into Jasmine Towne ever since she was a little girl. Now, suddenly on her own, Jazz is going to need every skill she has ever been taught to survive enemies both seen and unseen. For her mother had given Jazz one last invaluable piece of advice, written in her own blood.

Jazz Hide Forever

All her life Jazz has known them only as the "Uncles," and her mother seemed to fear them as much as depend on them. Now these enigmatic, black-clad strangers are after Jazz for reasons she can't fathom, and her only escape is to slip into the forgotten tunnels of London's vast underground. Here she will meet a tribe of survivors calling themselves the United Kingdom and begin an adventure that links her to the ghosts of a city long past, a father she never knew, and a destiny she fears only slightly less than the relentless killers who'd commit any crime under heaven or earth to prevent her from fulfilling it.

Sneak Peek

Even before she saw the house, Jazz knew that something was wrong. She could smell it in the air, see it in the shifting shadows of the trees lining the street, hear it in the expectant silence. She could feel it in her bones...

Read the first three chapters of Mind the Gap.

Reviews

"A pitch-perfect blend of fantasy and realism. Golden and Lebbon craft a riveting tale of adventure that is both gritty and magical." - Kelley Armstrong, author of Personal Demon

Trailer



Enter The Hidden Cities

Deena Warner created a very cool new site at http://www.thehiddencities.com and we'd love you all to participate. How, you ask?

Watch the book trailer created by filmmaker Martin Roberts, with the vocal talents of actress Jasmine Hyde (Ghosts of Albion) and audio assistance from Rob Francis.

The trailer is being spread all over the net via YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, and blogs. Re-post this message at your blog and spread the love for The Hidden Cities.

Make Your Mark on the Map

On the Hidden Cities website - http://www.thehiddencities.com - you will find a map of the world. We're asking people to submit stories -- NOT FICTION, but local legends, ghost stories, folktales from places you've been or lived or currently live, as well as your own personal experiences, brushes with the supernatural or just plain weird happenings. The two best submissions will each win a copy of the signed hardcover limited edition of MIND THE GAP from Cemetery Dance.

What are you waiting for?
Mark the map with your story for a chance to win.
Watch the trailer at the site.
Watch the trailer on YouTube.
Enter The Hidden Cities.

( Additional details about the book and the authors )

MIND THE GAP.

Thanks to morganlight for prompting me to create this list, which is based on one of my favorite topics: fairy tales retold.

For ages 8 and up
Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Cinderella without the fantasy elements)
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (The curse of a fairy godmother's gift)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain (Camelot)
The Princess Tales series by Gail Carson Levine (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and more)
The Legend of Holly Claus by Brittney Ryan (Santa Claus)

For ages 10 and up
East by Edith Pattou (Beauty and the Beast)
Spindle's End by Robin McKinley (Sleeping Beauty)
Quicksilver by Stephanie Spinner (Hermes)
Quiver by Stephanie Spinner (Atalanta)
Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst (Rapunzel, Puss-in-Boots, and more)
Goose Chase by Patricia Kindl (Goose Girl)
Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (The concept of princesses in general)
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale (Maid Maleen)

- I have yet to read Enna Burning by Shannon Hale. Please don't spoil it for me!

For ages 13 and up
The Fallen by Thomas E. Sniegoski (Nephilim - quartet of novels)
Cindy Ella by Robin Palmer (Cinderella without the fantasy elements)
The Poison Apples by Lily Archer (three girls bond over their issues with their stepmothers; another realistic non-fantasy)
I Am Morgan le Fay by Nancy Springer (Camelot; sequel: I Am Mordred)
The Blue Girl by Charles deLint
Beastly by Alex Flinn (Beauty and the Beast)

Published for adults - also recommended for older teens
Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn (Wicked Stepmother and the Last Girl Theory - one of my favorite books)
Straight on 'til Morning by Christopher Golden (Peter Pan - set as a coming-of-age story in 1981 - jaw-dropping)
The Ferryman by Christopher Golden (Charon - one of Golden's best)
The Veil sequence by Christopher Golden (A multitude of myths - Read the books in order: The Myth Hunters, The Borderkind, The Lost Ones)
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (African lore)
American Gods by Neil Gaiman (A multitude of myths)
Instructions by Neil Gaiman (Short story)
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire (Cinderella)

Other fairy tale titles which I thought were decent but not fantastic:
Wicked by Gregory Maguire (The Wizard of Oz)
Mira, Mirror by Mette Ivie Harrison (Snow White)
Tales From the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird by Vivian Vande Velde (Various)
The Spoon in the Bathroom Wall by Tony Johnston (Camelot)
Diary of a Fairy Godmother by Esme Raji Codell (Fairy godmothers in general)

Last but not least, my favorite stories that (re)define the book-within-a-book format. Although they are not strictly fairy tales, those who do love well-done fantasy stories will love these. I know that I do. You should read these books right now.

The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende (The power of imagination)
Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (A philosophy textbook wrapped in a novel)
Poison by Chris Wooding (I won't say anything more so I won't give anything away)

Bonus! One night in December 2007, I stumbled across the website and blog of Ashley Smith, an aspiring children's book illustrator. I absolutely adore her fairy tale series! Take a peek through her gallery.

Cemetery Dance is publishing three brand-new books that have the Golden touch:
Prince of Stories: The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman by Hank Wagner, Christopher Golden, and Stephen R. Bissette
British Invasion edited by Christopher Golden, Tim Lebbon, and James A. Moore
Mind the Gap: A Novel of the Hidden Cities by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon

Aren't they gorgeous?

THE VEIL Trilogy by Christopher Golden
In this enthralling series from bestselling author Christopher Golden, one man is drawn into a realm just across the veil from our own, where every captivating myth and fairy tale is true, the vanished exist -- and every fear is founded.

THE MYTH HUNTERS: Book One of The Veil

Yielding to his father's wishes, Oliver Bascombe abandoned his dream of being an actor and joined the family law firm. Now he will marry a lovely young woman bearing the Bascombe stamp of approval. But on the eve of his wedding, a blizzard sweeps in - bringing with it an icy legend who calls into question everything Oliver believes about the world and his place in it....

Pursued by a murderous creature who heeds no boundaries, Jack Frost needs Oliver's help to save both himself and his world-an alternate reality slowly being displaced by our own. To help him, Oliver Bascombe, attorney-at-law, will have to become Oliver Bascombe, adventurer, hero-and hunted. So begins a magnificent journey where he straddles two realities...and where, even amid danger, Oliver finds freedom for the very first time.

THE BORDERKIND: Book Two of The Veil

For centuries they lived amongst us. The frightful and wondrous, the angelic and bloodthirsty. Living in a reality just beyond the Veil, humanity's myths and legends are caught in a struggle for their very survival -- against hunters far more powerful than they are.

Into this struggle has stepped a New England lawyer who once wanted to be an actor -- a man who both longs for the mortal woman he was to marry and is desperate to rescue the sister who's been taken hostage. Neither hero nor warrior, Oliver Bascombe now finds himself brandishing a magical sword, walking in the company of a woman who sometimes appears as a fox and a man made of pure ice, and dueling with albino giants and winged killers. For in the world of the Borderkind - and the realms that exist beyond it -- Oliver is discovering just how vulnerable are humankind's myths, the dire consequences of their extinction, and the reason he was chosen to save them...

THE LOST ONES: Book Three of The Veil

The Veil comes to an unforgettable conclusion. The mythic realm of heroes and monsters has become the site of humanity's final showdown. And the price of victory may be dearer than anyone ever imagined.

Oliver Bascombe and his sister, Collette, have supposedly come to the Two Kingdoms to fulfill an ominous prophecy. But to unravel the mystery of their destiny, they must first stop an apocalyptic war, reveal a dark conspiracy, and prevent a powerful sorcerer from severing the human and legendary realms forever. As old allies gather for one last battle, even older enemies stand against them. For even legends have their legends...and they have returned -- the Lost Ones.

GO BEHIND THE VEIL

Pick up the free electronic press kits (EPKs) for all three books of The Veil:
The Myth Hunters
The Borderkind
The Lost Ones

REVIEWS

"[A] fast-paced dark fantasy adventure...[that] should appeal to fans of Neil Gaiman, Charles de Lint, and Robert Holdstock."
-- Publishers Weekly

"Christopher Golden's storytelling is spellbinding."
-- Boston Magazine

( Read more... )

Visit Christopher Golden's official website.

Mark your calendars! Christopher Golden will be a Guest of Honor at the British Fantasy Convention. The event will be held at the Britannia Hotel in Nottingham from September 19th through September 21st.

MTV Books is publishing more and more original fiction for teens. Though the line dominantly publishes realistic dramas, the line also offers sci-fi, horror, suspense, and romance. Some are thought-provoking and smartly shocking, while others are fun summer reads. Here are snapshot specs of the imprint's major fiction releases, in order of publication:

Bad Girls by Alex McAulay - Drama - Young women vs. nature - PG-13
The Pursuit of Happiness by Tara Altebrando - Drama - A life-changing summer - PG-13
Plan B by Jenny O'Connell - Drama - Boyfriend issues, family drama, and a famous brother - PG-13
Adios to My Old Life by Caridad Ferrer - Drama - A bilingual twist on American Idol - PG-13
Last Summer by Alex McAulay - Suspense - A summer, an island and a murder - PG-13
Oh My Goth by Gena Showalter - Dramedy - Virtual reality for students of opposing social classes - PG
Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess - Drama - Parental abuse - R
The Book of Luke by Jenny O'Connell - Drama - Gender dynamics in high school
Graffiti Girl by Kelly Parra - Cultural identity and art - PG-13
It's Not About the Accent by Caridad Ferrer - Drama - Cultural identity and college life - PG-13
Uninvited by Justine Musk - Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Oblivion Road by Alex McAulay - Suspense - Five teenagers involved in an accident
Leftovers by Laura Wiess - Drama - Secrets shared by two
What Happens Here by Tara Altebrando - Drama - A truly life-changing experience - May 2008
I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert - Drama - Missing her mother and finding her music - July 2008
Invisible Touch by Kelly Parra - Sci-Fi/Fantasy - September 2008
Soulless by Christopher Golden - Horror - spirits, life after death, priorities, and zombies - October 2008
Princess of Gossip by Sabrina Bryan and Julia DeVillers - November 2008
Running to Stand Still by Jennifer Echols - Drama - Night patrol with the rookie cop who arrested her - March 2009

Series:

The 310 by Beth Killian - Melodrama - Family secrets and teen actresses - PG-13
- Life as a Poser
- Everything She Wants
- Boy Trouble

Fast Girls, Hot Boys by Kylie Adams - Melodrama - Brand names and rich teens - Strong R
- Cruel Summer
- Bling Addiction
- Beautiful Disaster

Bard Academy by Cara Lockwood - Dramedy - Deliquent students and (in)famous teachers - PG
- Wuthering High
- Scarlet Letterman
- Moby Clique - March 2008

Alien Huntress by Gena Showalter - Sci-fi/fantasy - High school girl vs. otherworldly creatures
- Red Handed
- Black Listed

Island Summer by Jenny O'Connell
- Local Girls - Drama - A friendship is tested when one girl moves away, then comes back for the summer - PG - June 2008
- Rich Boys - June 2008

Visit the MTV Books blog and add the syndicated LJ feed. (Thanks to Jennifer Echols for setting those up!)