Wow, this one came a bit out of the blue but Barnes and Noble (huge book chain in the US for my British buddies) selected Devil's Kiss as one of their twenty best teen books for 2009. Which is nice. The others were (and I'm sure you've read them all, haven't you?):Catching Fire, Shiver, Along for the Ride, The Maze Runner, Hush Hush, City of Glass, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, If I Stay, The Demon King, Leviathan, Going Bovine, Wintergirls, Jessica's Guide to dating on the Dark Side, The Summer I turned Pretty, North of Beautiful, Bloodhound, The Ask and the Answer, King of Screw Ups, Claudette Colvin:Twice Toward Justice.
Of those above I'm ashamed to admit I've read three, and have one on my shelf, waiting.
No, I won't tell you which, but I will add the others steadily to my reading list as the year progresses.
But this isn't all about ME ME ME, there's another little book I've just finished that I'm sure will be on the 'Best of' lists for 2010 and that's MORTLOCK, by Jon Mayhew.
I know what you're thinking, 'he's just banging on about him because he's his friend' but that's not true!
When someone you've insulted and belittled in public and in print demonstrates a true and amazing talent (and I'm not talking about his haircut) it's hard to swallow one's pride and say, "that's a bloody awesome book and I WISH I'D WRITTEN IT".
There, I've said it.
Mortlock's not out yet (see April) but its a Victorian mid-grade horror story starring Josie, a ready to rumble circus knife-thrower. Jon's tapped into some seriously spooky old ballads and built a creepy but incredibly rich world for his trilogy. There's the quest for immortality, monstorous creatures galore and an encounter in the marshes which will have you sleeping with the lights on for a month. Jon's story is a deliciously creepy and gruesome tale that seeps fog and drips cold, black blood. What's more, it'll be available in Russian!
Jon, I bow at your awesomeness. Just with the sequel, add a few Templars, alright?
8 comments:
ha! i've read three as well plus yours. must look those up, i'm in need of some good reading! really excited about jon's book too. he read some of it to us at the SCBWI retreat and it sounded fantastic!
Congrats, Mr. Chadda! Devil's Kiss is pure kick-ass awesomeness.
And, yeah definitely gotta check out this Mortlock book. =)
Congratulations! Looking forward to your next book.
That's fantastic! Congrats and well done.
P.S. Love the premise of your friends book. I'll be sure to add it to the list of things to read and review in 2010. Hope you are having and blast in India!
Cheers, m'dears!
Jon and I have a mutual interest in Victorian London and I did dabble in such a story a few years ago, but the amount of research just put me off. However, now having read Mortlock, I do wonder about dusting off the old ms and giving it another go.
Congrats on Devil's Kiss being one of Barnes and Noble's top 20!!
Students and teachers alike at Kingwood Park HS anxiously await the publication of Dark Goddess!! Students are still talking about your visit!!
We will look forward to reading about your trip to India in your blog. Safe travels.
Ruth
Hey leave my haircut alone! Thanks for the vote of confidenc ethere Mr C! Praise indeed. Those who know you also know that your critical faculties are honed to a razor's edge. So am honoured! Put some Templars in it? hmmm...
The cover is fab, Sarwat and your hints have whetted my appetite even more for the the sequel. Many congratulations for getting into the B and N top twenty as well - what a debut.
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