Cover battle: Wither vs. Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Fever

Wither

Which do you prefer? I prefer Wither as I think it is more eye catching! Comment below and tell me you thoughts!

Author choice video

I asked Megan Miranda: If you had to choose one song to listen to for the rest of your life what would it be?
Megan answered: Hahaha, for the rest of my life? Guess it better stand the test of time.... er, something by U2.

So I have picked my favourite U2 song! Its ONE! Enjoy!

Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children. When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

Wow oh wow! Why did I not read this book sooner?


DeStefano brings Rhine's story to life! I cannot get over the world in which they live in and its interesting to see what has happened to the world. Rhine is a believable character and she is very focused on her goal. Her relationship with Gabriel is one that I loved! I think that the writing style is very mature and it really gives us an insight in to Rhine's character. 


I was a bit confused on her feelings for Linden but that was one of the main things that kept me reading! At first I hated Linden but as the book progresses I began to like him more and more. The fact that Linden was completely oblivious to what was going on annoyed me, but the thing that annoyed me more was the fact that Rhine thought that she shouldn't tell him! I mean I like Linden but I would be the first person to tell him everything to make him suffer!


My favourite character was Jenna because I felt like she was the one that showed her real emotions all the time!


I love the cover! I think it is one of the nicest covers I have seen!


I really wish that we could have learnt more about Gabriel! I hope we learn more about him in the next book!

Barney McKenna

The Dubliners is an Irish folk band. The last original member of The Dubliners passed away on the 5th of April. Barney McKenna was 72. This year marks the Dubliners 50th year anniversary!

R.I.P Barney!

Author Interview: Megan Miranda

Today I have the wonderful Megan Miranda, author of Fracture!

What made you want to become a writer?

I don’t think there was ever a moment when I thought “I want to become a writer.” I wanted to write, but being a writer seemed like such a dream. So I wrote, but mostly as a hobby. And then I had this “why not?” moment, and I think I became a writer right then. It’s when I started treating it like a job, writing every night, in the hopes it would eventually become my job. I wanted to write simply because I love to do it.

Where did you get the idea for Fracture?

It mostly stemmed from questions I had about the brain—especially from the stories I’d hear about people who had a tumor, or had a tumor removed, and their personalities would change. I wondered how much of us is the product of our DNA, and how much of us is something more. I wondered how others would treat a person who had changed. The plot, and Delaney’s “change,” all originated from these questions.

How long did it take you to write Fracture and did you do much editing with it?

It took me 3 months to write the first version, very little of which made it into the finished product. I had to rewrite it—twice—from scratch before it was “ready.” That took another 6 months. And then of course there were more edits after it was picked up by the publisher, trying to make it the best book it could be. I really enjoy the editing process… once I know what I’m doing. Now, I rarely show anyone my writing until I’ve done a fair amount of editing.

Tell us about your publishing journey with Fracture.

I ended up signing with my agent after that first version of Fracture – and then spent 6 months rewriting. After that, though, it sold pretty quickly to Walker/Bloomsbury in a 2-book deal. It’s been such a pleasure to work with them.

Did you have a favourite book or author when you were younger?

My very first favorite book was Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. Once I reached middle school, I started reading a lot of Michael Crichton and Dean Koontz. And I loved the darker classics that we read in high school (Heart of Darkness, The Stranger, etc).

What is your favourite book at the minute? Why?

It changes frequently, but at the moment it would have to be The Fault in our Stars by John Green. How could it not be? Gah. So good.

If you could change one thing about your book what would it be?

I changed the book a whole lot through revisions, and I’m really happy with how the story turned out in the finished product. There’s nothing I’d really choose to change at this point. There are some things I would’ve liked to explore more (certain characters’ back stories), but Fracture was Delaney's story.

Do you have any advice to aspiring writers?
Read a lot. Write a lot. Rewrite a lot :)

What are you currently working on now? Can you tell us anything about it?
I have a standalone YA psychological thriller set to come out in early 2013. It's about friendship, memories, and the fine line between the real and the imagined. I'm also working on 2 other projects that I'm pretty excited about.




Thanks for having me!

Pleasure was all mine Megan!

You can find out more about Megan and her books here.
My review of Fracture is here.