Interview with Heather Burch; interesting tidbits on the titles and the characters

Heather Burch/Zondervan(Book 3 in the Halflings series)

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of posting up my recent interview with Heather Burch, the author of “Halflings”- in this interview we discussed everything from time management in writing, to Nikki’s choice in young men and finally, will there be more in the series? If you are at all curious, you may wish to read the rest. Here’s a clip:

NCFE: In the ‘Halflings’ series Mace is the leader type and he is sensitive to Nikki’s abilities and her feelings-sometimes. Raven, the “bad boy” unleashes the wild side of her prompting her to new heights, helping her let go. In your opinion, which boy would be right for Nikki and why?

Heather Burch: In many ways they are both right … and wrong for her. I loved introducing this dynamic because we get to feel every emotion right along with Nikki. I’ve had many reviewers say they ALWAYS know which boy is the right one. But not with the Halflings Series. Either one could be right. Or wrong. I love involving readers. I love it when they have to sit back and say, “Hm. What do I think of this guy? Is he right for Nikki?”

NCFE: I simply love the titles in the series. Tell me, how did you come up with them? (Besides the obvious first book in the series, LOL!)

HB: In the very beginning, the first three books were titled, Pure, Dark and Risen. Of course, it was still the Halflings Series. It never occurred to me to title book 1 Halflings. That came from my fabulous publisher. (They’re so much smarter than me.)

NCFE: Have your books been compared to other teen series(Christian or not) and if so how do you feel about it?

HB: Halflings gets compared to Twilight often. I think the love triangle factors in on that. Also, book one has a little less action than two and three. I love it when people compare. It means they’re thinking about it, considering it against other YA books.

NCFE: At first the Halfling girls did not accept Nikki and I felt bad for Nikki, however one Halfling girl has her eye on Raven. Will we see more of his story unfold in future books?(Read more on Norfolk Christian Fiction Examiner)

Review of Avatar: The Last Airbender-The Search Part 1, Who can you trust?

Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Search Part 1 by Gene Luen Yang

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you have not read “The Promise”, you should read it then begin The Search. These adaptations to the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” series are following a smooth order which ultimately leads to “The Legend of Korra” which aired last year on Nickleodeon. It is a fun way to learn what happened to Team Avatar all those years before Korra drops on the scene.

In Avatar: The Last Airbender-The Search Part 1, the novel starts immediately with a flashback to Hira’a- the Fire Nation land from many years ago. This was the year of Ursa(Zuko and Azula’s mom) falling in love. Not with Ozai. But with a childhood friend named Ikem. Unfortunately her parents allowed Firelord Ozai’s father to marry them because he was much richer and more powerful than Ikem. It is a tale too sad to bear but we must press onward to more mysteries in this book.

Read more of my review on The Norfolk Animation Examiner.

*Book received for my unbiased review from Netgalley.

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‘Tomoe’s Whimper’: A poem for ‘Kamisama Kiss’

*Kind of difficult writing from a male perspective, but Tomoe’s character is so mysterious…here goes:

And she tickles my logic with her babbling

lips and those coy eyes

And I a yokai  who sips

from the red light  district

Is pulled in

Her longing is my whimper

from her cries and echoes,

frail under her strength

strong in her gentleness and

Her longing is my whimper

To have a human goddess

right under my clutches

right under my killing aura and 

powers of fire, I want only one

fire to possess her.

And her longing is my whimper

my secret worship of her

and her tiny voice, long hands and

her shrill scream when I catch her

in a lie or sighing because she loves me

but I am yokai- I can not be loved

a human can not be trusted.

I long to make her whimper

She is me I am her.

She needs me- I want her.

But oh, the longing in her eyes when we fight together

When we tear down walls of pride by shamelessly

baring all unspoken words

of what we wanted before we were…

I know I’m already hers.

Is she mine?

Review of ‘Domino Falls’ by Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes

Domino Falls by Steven Barnes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wish I had a real chance to finish reading “Domino Falls” but for some reason the title was archived and my Nook couldn’t read the document any longer.

However, I can say that Domino Falls was becoming a nice follow up to Devil’s Wake, both by Tananarive Due and her husband Steven Barnes. A dynamic writing team has put together an apocalyptic world that is crawling with Freaks. These Freaks were once human and so far the cause is because of two reasons: A flu shot and some weight loss drug.

Kendra(16) and her pals Terry, Piranha, Ursalina, Sonia, Hipster(a dog) and the twins Dean and Darius have approached Threadville- what was once called Domino Falls and they seek sanctuary but at what cost? So far the cost is that the first night they had to get a full body check for bite marks, then relinquish their guns for twenty four hours and next, they had to be put to work. In this world, stores no longer carry price tags. They are labeled with what you can trade for.

Meanwhile, the crew begin to learn more and more about each other and Threadville/Domino Falls. It seems like a place where you can get a hot meal, take out Freaks, hang out, and work hard, but something is not quite right and Kendra’s clairvoyance leads her mind to going to Devil’s Wake to seek out her great aunt.

As I mentioned before, I am sure as to what the cost could have been because my eBook failed to open again and wouldn’t download from the site, but I imagine that Domino Falls will prove to be a false safe haven and that the crew will have to abandon that place as well.

If you like AMC’s The Walking Dead you’ll enjoy this series.

*I thank Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to post an unbiased review of Domino Falls

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Read ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Promise’ and you’ll give it five stars too

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise Part 2 by Gene Luen Yang

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nicklelodeon’s The Promise, a continuation of Avatar Aang’s adventure as the Avatar is as colorful and captivating as the show itself. This book was downloaded from Netgalley as an eBook so I had to enlarge and scroll to each section of the picture. It truly was a joy to read this book which is broken down in three parts.

The Harmony Restoration Movement
Avatar Aang and FirelordZuko is trying to push for harmony in Yu Dao in the Earth Kingdom. This means kicking out the fire nation to restore balance. The problem is that citizens of Yu Dao have mingled and intermarried with each other, so you have new people with earthbending ability but who wear the fire nation colors! Such as Kori, whose father is fire Nation and mother is from the Earth Kingdom. I thought that was truly unique but it causes Zuko to debate within himself—again. Why should he kick his own people out for a movement? He consults with his father Ozai about this.

The Promise
In the beginning of the book, Zuko asks Avatar Aang to promise him something Huge. It is enough to destroy their friendship and all the Aang believes in. This is the hinge of the entire book.

Overall Reaction
My overall reaction to the book is that it was absolutely gorgeous storytelling. Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru done an excellent job with the written story and artwork and I look forward to more on this series. A perfect book for all ages!

*The end leaves room for more books to come, hopefully.

This book was received for my unbiased review for Dark Horse Books courtesy of Netgalley

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‘Warm Bodies’ is definitely worth watching and reading

From IMDB

 

 

The zombie craze has picked up and blew vampires who only suck blood and dance with human women to the curb.

But wait.

Zombies are doing more “animated” stuff too. My husband and I went to see Warm Bodies over the weekend and we both said we saw it because the “storyline seemed good”. We are already fans of The Walking Dead, so why Warm Bodies and what makes it different from other zombie movies or Zombooks? And why are we giving the movie five stars?

In the movie, “R”- who is definitely a zombie, tells his story. He is the narrator in the book and movie. so that’s the first unique thing about Warm Bodies: A zombie gives a peek into his life, er, death. He speaks as if he may be a teen or young adult and he listens to music(old school), likes hot cars, and yes, he does eat bodies but that is his nourishment at the moment.

Then one day he meets Julie.

Need I say more? Julie is alive, warm, blond, and she kills zombies. But he doesn’t eat her. He likes her. He vows always to keep her Safe. The movie even had grusesomness and horror to it, courtesy of the Bonies. The Bonies are zombies that have lost all hope and began to peel their skin away, leaving them looking horribly wicked. They eat anything with a heartbeat…

So, without telling anymore. I just have to say that the author and director of Warm Bodies did excellent with this concept. I laughed, I felt swept away and there are so many themes running through the movie we can talk about it all day long: How it represents society, spirituality, redemtpion, love, all of that and more.

I’m actually looking forward to any books by Isaac Marion.

Oh, Kudos to Nicholas Holt! He did excellent in this movie.

Its her heart on the line- poem inspired by “Samurai Champloo’

Image of Mugen from samuraichamploocorner.blogspot.com

Daylight catches

your hair

like a wildfire

in your-

wild ebony tresses

and the lock upon my

heart is greased

and loosened,

you look at me

and then not see

you pretend not

to see the

bird you

just set

free

*If any of you have seen Samurai Champloo then you may guess(maybe not) that this poem is from the heart of Fuu,15 to Mugen,19. Mugen: infinity, loose and carefree with no answer to no one is the opposite of Fuu but he plays with her heart without playing. I love the anime so far and invite you to see it too on Netlfix or grab from Amazon.

‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ another dark fairytale?

From the movie ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’

With all the Mirror Mirrors and queens asking who is the fairest of them all, I must say that secretly I hoped for an action thriller or sci-fi movie where there is more cultural diversity. Now before you get upset I will say this-

I would love to see Snow White and the Huntsman, simply because the director, Joe Roth is the one who did the stunningly dark and appealing Alice in Wonderland. the second reason I want to see the movie is because Kristen Stewart(Twilight, Panic Room) will be playing the sword swinging “fairest of them all”, how cool is that?

For a brief synopsis of the movie head to Snow White and the Huntsman to read all about it and peek at some photos. All star cast includes the ever beautiful Charlize Theron and the Thor man himself Chris Hemsworth.

I am all for remakes of classic fairytale, I am unsure as to why they have to be dark, but if you add some beasts, some romance, and action to it I’ll more than likely give it a try

The movie is due out June 1st

Science fiction books getting help from God’s word..?

Embedded Pictures

Science fiction has been expanding in recent years and not just in movies, but in christian novels as well. The beauty and wonder of science and fantasy has somehow collided with the bible and in turn has created a mainstream following in the young adult and adult categories.

Jill Williamson’s Replication: The Jason Experiment , shows that high adrenaline suspense, cloning, and the word of God can co-exist although the book reviewer notes that there were some “politically correct” elements which downplays the potentially great literature; yet the premise is unique to the Christian Fiction genre. Think of Offworld by Robin Parrish or The Void by Mark Mynheir- these books have a pretty strong speculative sense to them and has rallied up fans since.

While we can get into the difference between hard science, soft science, or speculative fiction(these shall be saved for another time), the main idea here is that the bible is fast becoming a literary tool for science fiction premise. For instance, ever hear of Brain Godawa ? So far he has received praise for his latest novel, Noah Primeval: Chronicles of the Nephilim Book One . The basic premise(read more on examiner)

Keith reminds us to be careful of those who are on the “edge” in life.

Keith

I wrote a piece on an independent film called Keith. The objective of the movie, I think, was to be careful how we treat someone because they could be on the “edge”. What I mean by “edge” is that there are plenty of good people out there who have bad things happen to them. The last thing they need is for someone to tease them, bully, them, or ignore their friendship. Elisabeth Harnois and Jesse McCartney did exceptionally well if I may say so. I rented it on Netflix and you should too.