Genesis, by Bernard Beckett

Synopsis:

Anax is about to face her examination for the Academy, the institution which safeguards her society. The subject is close to her heart: Adam, a man whose struggle transformed the course of her country. But the examination by the panel will reveal new twists to Adam's history. Twists that will undermine Anax's assumptions about her country and who she is. But why is the Academy allowing Anax to open up the enigma at its heart?

My Thoughts:

I read this novel in one go because it gripped me from the very first page and wouldn't let me go until the end.

The text is very sparse and there isn't a single word that doesn't need to be there. Anax is both a sympathetic protagonist and an insightful narrator as she guides the reader through the complex twists and turns of the Academy.

At the heart of this thoughtful, brilliantly written novel is the single question: What does it really mean to be human?

Highly recommended for people who like to have something to think about at the end of a novel.

*****

Old Habits Die Hard!

Every writer has their own way of doing things, some like to plan every tiny detail of a piece before they start and others prefer to just wing it and see what happens. And almost every writer that I know, has their own rituals and habits that surround their work.

I know I do!

I'm the kind of writer that doesn't plan anything, I just start writing and see what comes out. This is odd because in every other aspect of my life I'm always quite controlled and usually have a list to hand. I've tried planning a piece before, writing a list of chapters and what they will contain and a character profile to match. This has never worked for me though, it's better if I just relax and let it happen.

As for my habits, I have a very specific way of working:

- I have to write at night, usually between the hours of 9pm-3am, depending on how good of a writing day it is.

- I always light candles and turn the lights off. This helps me relax and focus on what I'm doing.

- I always have music playing, usually quite loudly. For each major piece of work, I've always found a 'muse', that is either a band or artist whose music particularly inspired that piece. Sometimes the music is fitting - for example, when I was writing my teen fiction novel, I was struck by Taylor Swift's music - but sometimes it can be completely random.

- I always drink loads of water. I'm not sure if this is because it helps me stay awake through the night or if it's because it gives me a good excuse to get up and procrastinate every so often, but I always drink the most amount of water during the day when I'm writing.

- And finally, I always wear my pj's. This might seem an obvious thing to say, seeing as I always write at night, but it's really important for me to be completely comfortable and relaxed.

Like I said, all writers have different habits, ways of working and rituals and it is often a trial and error process to find things that work.

So, now I'm off to light the candles, get the music pumping and write some pages...500 words a night is a must!

See you soon,

Writer Girl xxx

The Undrowed Child, by Michelle Lovric

I'm not planning on reviewing all of the books that I read - I read at least four a week so that would take far too long! - but just the best and the worst.

Here is my first...

Writer Girl xxx

The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric

Synopsis: It's the beginning of the 20th century; the age of scientific progress. But for Venice the future looks bleak. A conference of scientists assembles to address the problems, among whose delegates are the parents of eleven-year-old Teodora.

Within days of her arrival, she is subsumed into the secret life of Venice: a world in which salty-tongued mermaids run subversive printing presses, ghosts good and bad patrol the streets and librarians turn fluidly into cats.

A battle against forces determined to destroy the city once and for all quickly ensues. Only Teo, the undrowned child who survived a tragic accident as a baby, can go 'between-the-linings' to subvert evil and restore order.

My thoughts:

This is a highly imaginative novel in which Lovric has effortlessly created a whole world that the reader feels comfortable and safe in.

Teo is an interesting protagonist who doesn't take on the clichéd role of the 'feisty female' but instead takes us on a learning curve as she goes from being a lonely, isolated child who feels unconnected from everything to one who is in the middle of the action and who finds that there are others like her.

Renzo also changes throughout the novel as he goes from being pompous and quite irritating at the beginning to being a genuinely sympathetic character by the end.

The novel is fast paced and full of action but also manages to have quiet moments that bring the reader closer to the story and the characters.

I loved the mermaids in particular, they are refreshingly brash and a move away from the Disney versions of sugar-sweet beauties that have become the norm.

Bajamonte Tiepolo is a brilliant antagonist as he is creepy and gruesome but also pathetic and desperate and the reader gets to see all sides of him.

There were some flaws however. Teo and Renzo are supposed to be eleven but some of their language felt more like that of a thirteen or fourteen year old. And the beginnings of their 'romance' also felt uncomfortable given their age. I felt like we never quite got to the bottom of Teo's story and I wanted to know more about her real parents as it would have made her feel more solid. And I wanted more of a spectacular ending to the battle as it is what the whole book had been building towards, I felt it fizzled slowly out instead.

However, overall I thoroughly enjoyed Lovric's first foray into children's literature as it is interesting, well written and never speaks down to its reader.

I will be keeping an eye out for her next children's book and would highly recommend this one!

*****

The Waiting Game...

Ever since I was a child I've been terrible at waiting. So why on earth did I decide to try to get into an industry that is 95% about waiting?!

I sent off the first three chapters of my manuscript to Agent A at the beginning of October and was amazed to get a response three days later asking for the full novel. I sent it off straight away and got confirmation that it had arrived the following week (that was the week of the postal strikes and I live in the back of beyond so it wasn't a surprise that it took so long to make it there). I then got an email from the agent herself a couple of days after that saying that she was reading it that week.

And then...I waited. And waited. And waited. And waited.

And then I waited some more.

It's been four weeks now and I'm not sure if the silence from the agent is a good thing; does it mean that she is considering it and talking to other people about it? Or has she already turned me down and the letter just hasn't got here yet?

Only time will tell. And until then I guess I'll just...wait.

Writer Girl xxx

P.S. Take a look at this blog: http://grace-beautifullyawkward.blogspot.com/ it's written by a very good friend of mine, she's the one that got me onto here in the first place! Her blog is all about art and she really knows what she's talking about! X