Category: Guest Post

Take Back the Skies Author Lucy Saxon on Cosplaying | Guest Post

Posted June 12, 2014 by Jana in Blog Tour, Guest Post / 2 Comments

It’s my pleasure to welcome Lucy Saxon to That Artsy Reader Girl as part of her Take Back the Skies promotional blog tour, hosted by Bloomsbury Children’s. Instead of talking about her book, it’s time to get to know Lucy a little better! Don’t fret, though, I’ve included all the vital information on the book anyway. Today Lucy is going to talk about one of her strong loves: cosplaying. This is something I have never participated in, nor am I incredibly familiar with it, so I found her post to be a very interesting read. I hope you do too!

There are two questions I get asked regularly that will, without fail, make my brain go completely blank; ‘which characters do you cosplay?’ and ‘what’s your favourite cosplay?’. When faced with those questions, I tend to forget every cosplay I’ve ever worn except the one I am wearing at the time.

Asking a cosplayer which cosplay is their favourite is a little like asking a parent which child is their favourite; I love them all for different reasons, and it’s hard to say which I love most! But if I had to choose one, it would be my Captain America cosplay; while I’m actually remaking it at the moment as it had some issues, it was the first cosplay I’d drafted the pattern for myself, and I absolutely love the character of Captain America.

As for my clothing inspirations for Cat and the other characters in the Tellus’verse, I’m very much going towards Victorian-inspired looks and steampunk style clothing. I really like that sort of look – people don’t appreciate formal clothing as casual wear as much as they should! – and I think it suits the world of Tellus really well.

I don’t have any photo references of particular outfits, but my very talented friend Jerri (known online as Choupett Cosplay) is currently working on the costume design for some of the main characters in Take Back the Skies, so a group of my friends and I can cosplay them. The cosplay group is currently planned for the Sunday of London Film and Comic Con; which is a bit of a shame, as all my book-related things are on the Saturday, but I’ve already dedicated that day’s cosplay to Captain America in order to meet the god that is Stan Lee himself. I’m really excited for Jerri’s designs, and when they’re finished I’ll probably post photos online somewhere.

It’s pretty easy to get inspired by random things when you spend as much time on the internet as I do. Mostly Tumblr is to blame – if you want to keep track of things that inspire me to write, everything is under my ‘book ref’ tag on my Tumblr (Lucysaxonbooks.tumblr.com). It’s fairly eclectic, as I use the tag both for Tellus and for other writing ideas I’ve got bouncing about. So if you want to look for hints about future books, that’s the place to go!

About the Book

Take Back the Skies (Take Back the Skies #1) by Lucy Saxon
June 3, 2014 by Bloomsbury Children’s
Add to Goodreads | Buy from Amazon

Desperate to escape an arranged marriage and the life her high-ranking government official father planned for her, Cat Hunter does the unthinkable. She runs away from her homeland Tellus, disguises herself as a boy, and stows away on an air ship. She’s ready for life in a new land where the general population isn’t poverty stricken and at the mercy of the cruel officials. What she isn’t quite ready for is meeting Fox, a crew member aboard the Stormdancer—which turns out to be a smugglers’ ship. So begins an epic adventure that spans both land and sea.

This explosive debut starts a unique six-book series. Each novel will be set in a different land within the Tellus world, with repeating characters and related, nonlinear storylines that combine to create a one-of-a-kind, addictive reading experience.

About Debut Author Lucy Saxon

Lucy Saxon has always loved reading, but her love of writing began at the age of 12 when she first suffered from the neurological disorder ME (chronic fatigue syndrome). She found herself missing lengthy periods of school, giving her the opportunity to indulge in creative writing. TAKE BACK THE SKIES is her debut novel. It was inspired by a dream and Lucy submitted a version of it to the National Novel Writing Month’s online competition. Lucy can often be found attending comic and fantasy conventions and ALWAYS makes her own, very impressive costumes.

Lucy’s Website | Twitter | Cosplay Facebook Page

Check out the rest of the tour!

Monday, June 2: Lili’s Reflections
Tuesday, June 3: Finding Bliss in Books
Wednesday, June 4: Head Stuck in a Book
Thursday, June 5: On Starships and Dragonwings
Friday, June 6: Skye’s Scribblings and Book Briefs Book Blog
Monday, June 9: The Bookish Daydreamer
Tuesday, June 10: Jessabella Reads
Wednesday, June 11: Hello Chelly
Thursday, June 12: That Artsy Reader Girl
Friday, June 13: The Windy Pages

Lessons I Learned While Traveling by Jennifer Barclay | Falling in Honey Author Guest Post

Posted March 5, 2014 by Jana in Guest Post / 3 Comments

I’m pleased to welcome Jennifer Barclay, author of Falling in Honey: How a Tiny Greek Island Stole My Heart, to the blog today as part of the Falling in Honey blog tour! She’s here to tell us all about what she learned while traveling. You all know that I went on a 6-week European vacation a couple years ago, and I came away knowing more about myself than I thought possible. Traveling really does force you to discover yourself, and I will never ever stop doing that. So, this guest post has me written all over it! Before I turn the blog over to Jennifer, here’s a little bit about her book!

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Falling in Honey by Jennifer Barclay
Published by Sourcebooks on March 4, 2014
Genres: Memoir, Non-Fiction, Travel
Pages: 352
Buy the Book • Add to Goodreads

The Best Gifts in Life are the Gifts We Give Ourselves…

Breathtaking ocean views, tranquil beaches, delicious food, and warm-hearted people…these are just a few of the reasons why Jennifer Barclay loves the Greek islands. But her dreams of living there full-time seem out of reach, until a break-up turns her world upside down.

Jennifer realizes she is responsible for her own happiness-and decides to cut back on work, stay out of relationships, and vacation for a month on Tilos, her favorite Greek island. Life becomes instantly sweeter, and she resolves to uproot her life to Tilos. But then the strangest thing happens…

A glimpse into life on a tiny Mediterranean island, Falling in Honey is a testament to the power of being good to yourself.

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Lessons I Learned While Traveling
by Jennifer Barclay

Three years ago, I came to live on a tiny Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It’s an island many people have never heard of – it’s called Tilos, not far away from Rhodes and the shores of Turkey. It doesn’t have an airport, though there are ferry boats most days connecting us with other islands. And it’s magical.

The book I wrote, called Falling in Honey, is about the journey through the two years of my life that brought me here, and it’s full of things I learned along the way. I’m going to tell you about a few of them, and please let me know if you agree…

1. Pick an island, any island

As a teenager and in my early twenties, I travelled a lot around the Greek islands. For a year after university, when I couldn’t find a job and didn’t know what to do, I went to Athens to teach English for a year; and on the weekends or holidays, I’d just take my backpack down to the ferry port and pick an island to explore, trusting to serendipity. That way I learned what excited me, and it was rarely the ‘must-see’ sights. Often it would be simply a walk alone across an island where I’d sit in a deserted field looking out to sea, with just the sound of goat-bells around me, and be amazed that I’d discovered this myself.

Finding your own way in life is important. I’m delighted when people read my book or my blog and it inspires them to come to Tilos. But I also say ‘Pick an island, any island’ – and I’m saying, too: find whatever it is you want to do in life and pursue it, however unconventional it is.

2. Enjoy the Open Road

That first year when I lived in Athens, I was constantly meeting strangers. People were forever coming up to me and talking to me, offering help. That, coupled with teaching English, helped me get over the bookish shyness I’d had since I was a kid. One evening as I was strolling near Syntagma Square, a man from the faraway Greek island of Crete started asking me how I liked living in Athens, which in some ways was a bit of a crazy place at the time. He made me laugh, saying he didn’t need to buy cigarettes any more as he could breathe bad air for free. ‘I like the rubbish. I like fighting people for my position on the bus,’ he said, and made me think how much, like him, I liked the random, bizarre excitement of my new life. Every day was an adventure.

3. Happiness Is Easy Sometimes

The summer after my year in Athens, when school broke up for the holidays, I ended up in Santorini and landed what I still think of as one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. It wasn’t exactly what I’d trained for when doing my degree in English at Oxford… All I was doing was cleaning rooms in a hotel in Oia – but I’d get up in the morning and put on the swimsuit that became my chosen work uniform, walk out into the sunshine and gaze over a vast expanse of deep blue, the view people pay thousands for, and I’d feel incredibly lucky. I made friends with Kyriakos, a Greek man who ran a cosy little bar in the village, and one afternoon he told me, ‘Happiness is easy sometimes.’

It’s something we often forget. But when I first brought myself to stay for a month on the island of Tilos several years ago, I woke up and looked up at the blue sky, and thought it again. I could see the blue sea from the bathroom as I was brushing my teeth, and the sweet smells of the bakery next door would waft up onto my terrace tantalizingly. Sun, sea and spanakopita – happiness is easy sometimes. ‘This might be the cleverest thing I have ever done,’ I thought.

4. Life is too short not to reach out for what makes you happy

After that first month on Tilos, I knew I felt energised by being able to swim in the sea at lunchtime, and walk up onto a hillside that was fragrant with wild herbs in the evening; eat delicious local vegetables and olive oil, yoghurt and honey; gaze up into the blue sky at eagles, or millions of stars and the Milky Way by night. I knew I could find a way to adapt the kind of work I do in order to live here, so I could actually live amid these spectacular natural surroundings. I could do it – I could live the adventure.

Life then threw in a few complications.

But over the course of those two years, two people I cared for became fatally ill. They wouldn’t get to live their dreams any longer.

I still could. Life is too short not to reach out for what makes you happy, and take action to make your life better, in whatever way you think might be right for you.

Thank you for the opportunity to share these thoughts today. Do post your comments, and if you want to read more, please check out my book, Falling in Honey: How a Tiny Greek Island Stole My Heart, published in North America by Sourcebooks (and in the UK and ANZ by Summersdale). Or just come over and check out my regular updates on my blog.

And whatever you do, reach out for what makes you happy. Happiness is easy sometimes. Enjoy the open road. Pick an island, any island…

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Wow. I know where I want to go on my next vacation! Thank you, Jennifer, for igniting (or re-igniting, in my case) the travel bug in us all. I love that you showed us yourself, and am even more excited to read your book now! It’s sitting on my Kindle, calling to me as the rain pours outside my window. I need a little sunshine and happiness!

For the Love of Book Boyfriends by Heather Demetrios | Author Guest Post + a Giveaway!

Posted February 14, 2014 by Jana in Blog Tour, Giveaway, Guest Post / 13 Comments

I’m so excited to have Heather on the blog on Valentine’s Day to talk about the book boyfriend from her new novel, Something Real, as well as some of the book boyfriends she’s crushed on! She has picked some amazingly swoonworthy ones! Also, make sure you make it to the bottom of the post and enter the giveaway for your own copy of Something Real!

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For the Love of Book Boyfriends
by Heather Demetrios

It being Valentine’s Day and all, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to talk about book boyfriends. Specifically, the book boyfriend from SOMETHING REAL, my debut novel. Here’s a little description of Patrick Sheldon:

…with his longish hair and threadbare secondhand couture, he could be a beat poet, Kerouac or one of his friends. He looks like the kind of boy who would jump trains, strum a guitar, and pass a joint.

He might not be everyone’s version of dreamy, but he’s my version of dreamy—and, more importantly, my protagonist’s. Creating a book boyfriend is A LOT of fun, but it’s no easy task. I didn’t want Patrick to be a cardboard guy, an Everyteen that could be any number of seventeen-year-old dudes across America. How many times have you read just another version of Ned from Nancy Drew (which, ironically, is short for EDWARD)? You want your guy to be loveable, yes. Swoony? Yes. Perfect? No. In one of my early drafts of SOMETHING REAL, my agent told me Patrick was too perfect and I knew she was right, so I had to dive back into the manuscript and roughen him up a little. The main issue was that he never got upset about any of the crap he has to deal with. His girlfriend’s on a reality TV show and paparazzi are everywhere: even if some teen guys might think that’s cool, I’d already created a Patrick who wasn’t about the fame game. Remember: he looks like the kind of boy who would jump trains, strum a guitar, and pass a joint. That’s not the kind of guy that wants to be on the cover of US Weekly. In his perfection, it was almost as if Patrick existed to be my protagonist’s boyfriend instead of a living, breathing character who’s a person in his own right. When your book boyfriend is unbelievable, it’s much harder to fall in love with him because you can’t pretend that he’s real. The fantasy dies a quick death.

Over the course of Something Real, Patrick and Bonnie™ have their ups and downs. Though it was hard for me to write those downs because I fell in love with both of them, the book is better for it. Patrick is also his own person, with a passion for architecture, some serious smarts, and a refusal to be a doormat. He makes sacrifices for the girl he loves, but he also knows when to say enough is enough. Because of that, they have…wait for it…something real.

Right now is a great time for book boyfriends in YA. Here are three of my favorites:

St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

People had been telling me to read this book forever, but I didn’t get to it until this past Christmas. Oh my gosh—talk about swoon-worthy! What I love is that Stephanie Perkins gives St. Clair some quirks and imperfections so that even though every girl in the school wants him, he’s not your typical high school hottie. St. Clair’s not always nice to Anna and he doesn’t always make the right choices. He’s very, very cute but Perkins offsets that with his self-consciousness over being short and his unmanly fear of heights (and his utter inability to come to a decision about his love life). I like how smart he is, that he appreciates Anna’s oddities, and that he does a ton of adorable things. I also liked that sometimes he pissed me off and had to earn his way back into my heart…and Anna’s.

Levi from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Who doesn’t love Levi? Rainbow Rowell is pretty much the queen of creating amazing book boyfriends (Park from Eleanor and Park is my jam, as well). I love that Levi’s a gentleman, but he’s not a chaste dude. I like that he has his own passions and that he’s a super positive guy. It is so rare to find someone who always looks on the bright side and who can’t keep a smile off his face. Oh, and he makes a mean latte. Need I say more?

Sean from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Here’s an awesome fantasy book boyfriend for you. What I really like about Sean is that he has his own singular passion and this is what brings him and Puck together. They are very much their own people, but they discover ways they can support and care for one another. Their individual fierce independence is part of what creates so much chemistry between them. He’s also tough in the most laid back kind of way, a bit of a loner, and has a good heart. I love those mystery guys, the iconoclasts that are comfortable in their own skin and don’t give a crap what anyone else thinks. But it only works if they have a sensitive side and know how to treat a girl right, like Mr. Sean Kendrick.

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About the Book

Something Real by Heather Demetrios
Published by Henry Holt books for Young Readers on February 4, 2014
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Buy the Book • Add to Goodreads

There’s nothing real about reality TV.

Seventeen-year-old Bonnie™ Baker has grown up on TV—she and her twelve siblings are the stars of one-time hit reality show Baker’s Dozen. Since the show’s cancellation and the scandal surrounding it, Bonnie™ has tried to live a normal life, under the radar and out of the spotlight. But it’s about to fall apart…because Baker’s Dozen is going back on the air. Bonnie™’s mom and the show’s producers won’t let her quit and soon the life she has so carefully built for herself, with real friends (and maybe even a real boyfriend), is in danger of being destroyed by the show. Bonnie™ needs to do something drastic if her life is ever going to be her own—even if it means being more exposed than ever before.

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About the Author

Heather Demetrios

I love books. I love writing stories almost as much as I like reading them. When I’m not traipsing about the world, I prefer to spend my time in imaginary places—maybe I’ll see you in one of them. I’ll be the one with my nose in a book and more tattoos than your mother would approve of.

Author Website • Facebook • Twitter

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Giveaway

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Follow the rest of the tour!

Why Cress was First Named “Arugala” by Marissa Meyer | Blog Tour + Author Guest Post + Giveaway

Posted January 20, 2014 by Jana in Blog Tour, Giveaway, Guest Post / 137 Comments

I am so happy to be kicking of the Cress blog tour today! The Lunar Chronicles is my favorite series ever, and Cress is a wonderful addition to a group of amazing characters. Marissa’s writing never ceases to amaze me. It’s no surprise that her books get better and better as she publishes them. I loved Cinder and Scarlet, but Cress is definitely my favorite. Here’s my review, if you’re interested. I can’t wait for you to read it!

I’m excited to have Marissa Meyer on the blog to tell you all about the making of Cress. I always love it when authors have behind the scenes tidbits to share with us, and Marissa has written a very fun post that I’m sure you’ll enjoy!

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Why Cress was First Named “Arugala”
by Marissa Meyer

Cinder = Cinderella.

Scarlet = Little Red.

Winter = Snow White.

It doesn’t take too much imagination, or fairy tale know-how, to figure out how I got the names for most of my heroines. But Cress and Rapunzel? That’s where a lot of readers get hung up.

So, allow me to explain.

The tale of Rapunzel opens with a poor man and his wife overjoyed at their first pregnancy. However, during her pregnancy, the wife begins to have some pretty intense food cravings. Not for pickles and ice cream, as a normal pregnant woman might have. Oh, no. This poor woman was craving salad. In particular, she really, really wanted a very particular kind of lettuce called . . . wait for it . . . rapunzel.

She wanted this lettuce so badly that she believed she would die if she didn’t get it. Unfortunately, the only place in their town that rapunzel grew was in the witch’s garden. So one night the husband hopped over the wall and stole some rapunzel and brought it back to his wife, who devoured it like a ravenous vegan.

This continued for a few nights until—dun dun dun!—one night, the witch caught the husband stealing from her. So she posed a compromise. The witch would kindly spare the man’s life, and even allow him to take as much rapunzel back to his wife as she wanted, if, when his wife gave birth, they would give the child to the witch as payment. The husband agreed and his wife got a nice steady diet of salad greens for the remainder of her pregnancy.

A while later, the wife gives birth to a beautiful baby girl. They give the baby to the witch who takes her and raises her as her own daughter.

And the witch names the child, you guessed it, Rapunzel.

The point of this story is that rapunzel is a type of lettuce. As it so happens, cress (a.k.a. watercress), is also a type of lettuce.

Bam.

On a side note, when I was first coming up with character names, I called my Rapunzel heroine “Arugula” (another kind of lettuce) for all of ten minutes, before I realized I’d never be able to say it with a straight face.

Side note number two: Another word that is sometimes used interchangeably with rapunzel is rampion. Also known as the name I gave my spaceship, thanks to the clever suggestion of a friend.

Lettuce greens FTW.

Lastly, while I’m on the topic of Lunar Chronicles names, I’ll tell you that both “Carswell” and “Thorne” have hidden meanings that relate to Thorne’s role in the books and fairy tale.

But I’ll let savvy readers figure those out on their own . . .

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Giveaway

The lovely people at Macmillan are offering a pretty amazing prize to the readers of my blog! One lucky person (USA/CAN) will win paperback copies of Cinder and Scarlet, as well as a hardcover of Cress and a special Cress comb! You know you want it! If you are brand new to the series, and are interested in learning more click on the book titles above to be taken to the Goodreads page.

(For a picture of the comb, click here!)

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Awesome Places to Be!

Become a fan of the Lunar Chronicles on Facebook!
Become a fan of Marissa Meyer on Facebook!
Follow Marissa Meyer on Twitter!
Become a fan of the Lunar Chronicles on Tumblr!
Pre-Order a copy of Cress to get a free comb! Details here. (US Only)
See Marissa Meyer on tour!
Join the Scarlet Readathon!
Get more fun Lunar Chronicles links and info on the MacTeenBooks blog!
Follow the rest of the Cress blog tour!

Christmas Markets in Vienna, Austria | Guest Post by Karin

Posted December 18, 2013 by Jana in Guest Post / 3 Comments

Hello you lovely readers!

Jana asked me if I want to participate in her Bookish Little Christmas series and I immediately agreed. I love reading Jana’s blog and hers was one of the first book blogs I discovered when I started.

But let’s start at the beginning! My name is Karin, I blog over at My Life… and I am living in Austria’s beautiful capital Vienna. If you ever plan to come here, feel free to contact me. I would love to meet you.

Vienna is beautiful over the holiday season. Lights and decorations appear in many windows and basically over night many Christmas markets pop up all over the city. When I was a kid my mum and I started the tradition of going to at least the two major Christmas markets in Vienna each year. Over the last years a lot of new Christmas markets opened, some with lovely arts and craft stands and some, sadly, only selling mulled wine and punch.

For me going to a Christmas market has something magical. Going out when it’s already dark and wandering from booth to booth with lots of other people looking at the crafts, candles, toys, ornaments and other beautiful things people sell, stopping from time to time to buy a hot apple punch or baked potatoes was always something special and a beloved holiday tradition.

My favorite Christmas markets in Vienna always were and still are the huge one in front of the city hall and the much smaller one in front of Schönbrunn castle. There the whole atmosphere with the beautiful castle in the background and the enormous Christmas tree at the center makes this one amazing. Unfortunately it’s always extremely cold there because the wind can blow right through all the stands.

Going to a Christmas market means putting on layers and layers of clothes, getting all warm and cozy with a big woolen scarf, mittens and maybe even a hat (which I hate – don’t ask me why) and enjoy Christmas music, some hot drinks and inhale the festive mood. A must for me whenever I cross a Christmas market, which I usually do when I go to university (I am one lucky girl), is buying some chocolate covered strawberries. I love them so much, the crunchy cool chocolate and the soft and delicious strawberry, and I only eat them (the ones covered in chocolate, not strawberries in general) during Christmas season.

So when you ever visit Vienna during Christmas time, go to the Christmas markets in front of city hall and look at the trees in the park right next to it and you will see lights up in the trees – some incredibly corny, like snowmen, presents or candy canes, and some traditional like red hearts. The tree with the red hearts in it is called “Herzerl-Baum” in Vienna and has been there since I was a child. When those red hearts appear in the tree Christmas season officially starts for me. And if you look closely you can also find a post office in the park where you can post your letter to the Christkind, which basically is the Austrian equivalent to Santa. It does not come through the chimney but it puts up the tree on December 24th and leaves all your presents under it for you to open on Christmas Eve. Before it leaves it rings a bell to tell you that everything is ready. Waiting for the Christkind on the 24th was always filled with lots of anticipation and family fun but the days before will always be filled with visits to my favorite Christmas markets.

I wish you all a merry Christmas and wonderful days filled with family, friends, incredible food and many many books. Also, a huge thank you to Jana for having me here today.

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Thanks so much, Karin! I would absolutely LOVE to come to Vienna and experience Christmas! (And to visit you, of course!) Thanks for sharing with us today. :)