Ready for some more of Joshua’s diary? Today is day 5 or to put it another way…

1141 days since our other life ended

I brought a girl with me to Safe-haven today. I haven’t seen a girl my age since I left the bunker. It was strange. In the car with her, on the way to Safe-haven, I wasn’t sure what to say or how to act, but I knew I wanted to protect her, not just from the Weepers but from this messed-up world – I still do.

The girl’s name is Sherry. She’s sleeping in the room across from me – if she can, if she’ll ever be able to close her eyes again after what happened today. You never forget the first time you come face-to-face with a Weeper, with their empty eyes full of hunger. That first time – it haunts you for ever.

She was lucky I was on a hunt. I wasn’t even supposed to be. Karen thinks it’s becoming an addiction for me. What bullshit. I don’t need to hunt – I could choose not to – but I want to.

I heard the gunshots when I was on the way back to my Lincoln. I’d parked it on the Walmart parking lot because I’d seen movement in the area. And movement always means danger these days. But I hadn’t found anything – no Weepers or game. Until I heard the shots and the angry roar.

I didn’t expect to find anyone alive. That roar usually means it’s too late. But I ran anyway, ran as fast as I could. Ran even faster when I heard more gunshots, because they meant there was still a chance – no matter how small – that I could save someone. It’s been so long since I brought someone back to Safe-haven alive.

The store was dark and the smell of blood carried in the air. I almost gave up in that moment. Spilled blood often means instant death or infection. And if someone was infected with the rabies, there was no sense taking them to Safe-haven with me only to shoot them a few days later because it was the kind thing to do.

But I was there in time for once – found her injured but alive with no sign of bites. Later she told me about her father – he’d been with her in the store. She thinks we can save him. I should’ve told her the truth, should’ve told her that it’s unlikely he’s still alive but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. She’ll learn soon enough that hope is a dangerous thing in this world. I wish I could protect her from that, too.

The Diary In Full

For convenience here are the blogs showing the diary (in order):

1. Dark Readers
2. YA Book Reads
3. Empire of Books
4. Book Passion for Life
5. This post

Further Information

I hope the diary entries you’ve been reading (aren’t they fab?) have given you a taste for the book as this book is amazing! But if you want to find out more now here’s a few handy dandy links:

• Website: www.susannewinnacker.com
• Blog: susannewritesfiction.blogspot.com
• Twitter: @SusanneWrites

Source: Tswa ۶yoni ♥

I can’t believe it’s come around again – doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun? It’s two years today that Books 4 Teens came into life!

As I did a thank you post at the new year I won’t repeat myself again, instead I’ll say a massive thank you to everyone who’s popped by to read a post, two posts or maybe stuck around a bit longer and an especially big thank you to anyone whose left a comment – I do appreciate every single one! And to the publicists and authors who send me books I never would have picked up and which turned out to be exceedingly good!

To celebrate I thought I’d launch a little giveaway. To one winner I am going to giveaway a copy of Footloose by Rudy Josephs (based on the screenplay of the film) and a £10 Amazon gift voucher as it’s two years since I started it’s only right that I giveaway two prizes and that the giveaway lasts for two weeks

The Small Print

1. Automated entries, bulk entries or third party entries will be disqualified!
2. Competition is open to UK residents only
3. Prizes can only be sent to a valid UK address
4. Winners will be chosen at random from all valid entries – you will have 24 hours to respond or another winner will be drawn.
5. Winners will be contacted via email names displayed on our website.
6. The Judges decision is final and no correspondance will be entered in to.
7. The competition will run from 28th January 2012 until 10th February 2012.
8. Books 4 Teens is compliant with the data protection act. Our policy is such that we will not pass on your details to any third party without your prior consent.

Enter Now!

Read the rest of this entry »

The press release of the current book I’m reading makes reference to the Faust legend, for anyone who’s not aware of it the basic legend is essentially a deal with the devil. It’s not the first time I’ve come across stories that are either based on the legend or use similar ideas on film or in books.

The first time I came across the Faust legend I didn’t even know it was a legend – it was in the comedy film Bedazzled which I caught completely by accident on Channel 4 years ago. It’s a film where a geeky guy meets the devil as an attractive woman and trades his soul for 3 wishes – this being a comedy interpretation of the legend all hell breaks loose in terms of the interpretation of the wishes. Anyhoo, it’s one of the few films that has stuck with me for ages.

I met the legend again when I read the play Dr. Faustus by Christopher Malowe – again a similar set up (but still with it’s comedy moments and no wishes), it’s a much darker telling of the legend (featuring necromancy or dark magic) but you can see the essentials of the legend are there.

I’m currently reading Advent and it’s cropped up again (though I’ve only just started it so I’m not sure how well the comparison will stand up) and the idea of trading a soul for something crops in book 2 of the Soul Screamers series (which I still need to read ).

It got me thinking why are authors and storytellers attracted to legends? Is it because they want to retell the legend giving it there own twist (a bit like the fairy tell retellings we’re seeing lately)? Maybe to bring the legend to a new generation and to give it a new lease of life?

And what is it about certain legends and myths that attract a storytellers attention? Arthur and the Faust legend are the two that spring to my mind (but I’m sure there are others) what is it about them the draws us and authors into them?

In todays stop on the 15 Days Without A Head blog tour I am delighted to welcome Mina who is in the middle of recommending some new songs for Laurence to add to his iPod

Over to Mina…

Playlist for Laurence – some good songs to listen to for a change! Love Mina xx

Don’t take this the wrong way, Big Man, but you are seriously in need of some new music. Give your ears a go on these …

1. Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now. I always hated Queen until we went to Pop in the Park. Whenever I hear this it reminds me of that night, standing in the crowd with your arms around me. Until you buggered off of course, and left me to deal with Han Solo!
Watch the music video

2. Florence & the Machine – Dog Days Are Over. One for Jay. Ha ha! Woof! Woof!
Watch the music video

3. The Breeders – Fortunately Gone. This was my mum’s favourite song. My dad said she had a cassette of it that got jammed in the car stereo, so it was the only thing they could listen to for about six months until the tape wore out. Mum used to play it all the time and it drove him crazy. I like it – a song about Magpie soup!
Watch the music video

4. Imogen Heap – Daylight Robbery. Ha ha! He he! I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t stopped you?
Watch the music video

5. Elliott Smith – Say Yes. Elliott Smith is legend. You HAVE to like him – end of. Listen to the words. It was hard choosing just one track because there are so many, but I think this is my favourite.
Watch the music video

6. Mumford & Sons – Hold on to what you believe. For some reason, this always makes me think of you and Jay.
Watch the music video

7. The Kinks – Lola. A song about dressing up in women’s clothes. I can’t imagine why this makes me think of you!
Watch the music video

8. Laura Marling – Night Terror. If they want you, they’re gonna have to fight me!!!
Watch the music video

9. Vega4 – Life is Beautiful. Something to remind you and make you smile
Watch the music video

10. The Specials – Ghost Town. Remind you of anywhere? I hated it when we first moved down here – too much concrete. I missed the green fields and the big skies you get in Yorkshire. Maybe I’ll take you up there one day and show you around?
Watch the music video

11. Portishead – Roads. This is from the first Portishead album, Dummy. It’s all brilliant, but this is my favourite track. I listen to it at night when I can’t sleep. It helps. I think her voice and the music is beautiful.
Watch the music video

12. Bat for Lashes – Sad Eyes. Because you have them too. Another song to listen to in the dark.
Watch the music video

13. Joni Mitchell – Little Green. My dad saved all my mum’s CDs for me when she died. There were lots of Joni Mitchell. This song sometimes makes me feel sad because it reminds me how much I miss my mum, but I think that sometimes it’s OK to feel sad and remember people.
Watch the music video

14. Bix Beiderbecke – Singin’ The Blues. My dad started teaching me trumpet when I was five. He loves Bix Beiderbecke and used to play his records all the time. This reminds me of being at home with my dad. I taught myself how to play this on the cornet a few years ago and played it for Dad on his birthday. It was the only time I’ve ever seen him cry. Not because it was bad – at least, I don’t think so!
Watch the music video

15. Morecombe & Wise – Boom Oo Yatta-Ta-Ta. My dad used to sing this to me when I was little. It always cheers me up and makes me laugh. We could try it, me, you and Jay!
Watch the music video

Fantastic selections and thanks to Mia and Dave for stopping by!

Further Information

Website: www.davecousins.net
Blog: davecousins.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @DaveCousins9000
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DaveCousinsAuthor?sk=wall

Late yesterday afternoon there was a *ahem* slight scare amongst bloggers using Google’s Blogger where a blog (not a book blog) was deleted by Google. I reiterate my last post where I say that this is a rare occurrence and would normally only occur if the terms of service were broken. I’m not entirely sure of the circumstances but some people are suspecting it was to do with a breach of copyright (which is the main reason Blogger or a host would terminate an account by the way!).

Anyway with this in mind and that my mentions column on Twitter almost exploded yesterday and partly thanks to The Bookette for suggesting it – here is my handy dandy guide to back up your blog (regardless of if you use Blogger (new or old version) or WordPress (the absolutely best blogging platform in the world – you know I speak the truth lol).

In fact if you own a blog it’s something you should be doing anyway – it’s not just Blogger / Host deleting your account that could cause problems.

Please note for simplicity (and length) I’ve left out how to backup the design for Blogger.

So on with the guide – just look at the section you need – can you guess which platform is a little but easier? (but please look at the bottom if you have your own domain!)

Blogger

I’m guessing most people reading this will be using the new version of blogger so I’ll tackle this first! If you’re using the older version (blue background) the steps are similar but the screens will look different and you can miss out clicking Other in step 2 as the export link is on the main settings page.

Step 1: Login to Blogger
I won’t explain this step

Step 2: Visit the Settings Page
On the blogger dashboard find your blog’s name. To the right hand side is an orange button and next to that (on the right hand side) is a drop down menu, click this and select settings:

On the left hand side at the bottom of the menu select ‘other’ (under the settings header):

Step 3: Export & Backup
Now click the export button (the middle link at the top of the screen under the Blog Tools section):

A box should pop up – click the big orange button which says ‘Download Blog’:

Save the file somewhere where you’ll remember where it is – this file only includes the post content (not pages if what I’ve read is true!) so if you’ve been uploading your images to Blogger please bare in mind that is where they will stay. To date I’m not quite sure how you would get the images out – if somebody knows let me know and I’ll update.

WordPress

I know most people won’t be using this but it’s helpful to know anyway!

Step 1: Login
Again I won’t bother explaining this step

Step 2: Click Export
From any WordPress admin screen click the export link in the left hand navigation (under the tools menu):

Step 2: Export & Backup
Leave the default option of all content selected and click the ‘download export file’ button.

Step 3: Images, Plugin & Theme
Again this will not download the images – to get these you’ll need to use an FTP client (like FileZilla) and download the upload folder under the wp-content folder which is normally found in the public_html folder.

For plugins download the one’s you want from the um, plugins folder again in the wp-content folder and for the theme download your current theme from the themes folder (again you guessed it in the wp-content folder).

Worried About Domains?

Don’t be – if you registered your domain through Blogspot / Google – Google (like a good host) will have registered it with you (yay!) and that means that legally they can do zip with it. If you want to use it elsewhere, go ahead, even if they delete your account they still have to give you access to your domain and if they don’t there places that you can go who will quite literally overrule them (for a small fee).

In the UK (if your domain ends in .uk so .co.uk, .org.uk etc) the organisation responsible for these domains is Nominet – and they have a form which you can fill in which will allow you as the domain owner to move it elsewhere – and Google can’t do dot about it .

If you’re domain is registered elsewhere the same rules apply (providing your domain is registered to you), if you’re new to domain registration I don’t think you can go wrong with Daily by the way

I hope this guide helps in some way, you might also be interested to know that if anyone is considering switching to WordPress (or any other platform) this is the first step in making the switch!

A Word Of Thanks

I’ve been blogging now for almost two years after being inspired to do so by the fabulous Nicola Morgan from her blog, Help! I Need A Publisher (though I’d recommend reading it even if you only have a fleeting interest in writing – it is one of my favourite author run blogs). And so I have to say thanks to her as without that blog I would never have set up Books 4 Teens and never come into contact via Twitter with so many fab bloggers.

With this in mind I would also like to say thank you to everyone I’ve tweeted to over the past year and who’ve left comments in this ere quiet part of the web, every single one is appreciated.

And finally to the publishers for sending me review copies – when I started I almost turned every single request down not because I didn’t like the sound of them but because I was looking at my visitor counts and I was like ‘you seriously don’t want to send me review copies’. I felt guilty about accepting them, it was a mixture of the publicists at HarperCollins and Hodder that persuaded me to accept them so a special thank you to them.

2011 – First Blogger Event

2011 was the year that I attended my first blogger event – this was for me a big deal considering that I don’t ever leave the house other than for work, shopping and the um – theatre

The event was with HarperCollins and it was amazing to finally put some names to faces, blogs and twitter accounts. I met up with Sarah (Feeling Fictional), Sammee (I Want To Read That) and Kirsty (Overflowing Library) beforehand without which I probably would never have arrived!

It was also the first time I’d seen any authors in real life with Will Hill talking about Department 19: The Rising, Robin Jarvis talking about Dancing Jax and its sequel, Freax and Rejex which sounds amazing and Maureen Johnson talking about The Name of the Star.

And huge apologies to everyone that … I didn’t speak, um, much – I honestly didn’t mean to be rude – it’s just like I said above – incredibly quiet. And me and groups of more than about three don’t mix very well :s Having said this it was great (better late than never I always say) to meet / see Sarah (Feeling Fictional), Sammee (I Want To Read That), Kirsty (Overflowing Library), Sarah, Rosi & Rachel (HarperCollins), Alice (The Reader Room), Andy (The Pewter Wolf), Casey (Dark Readers), Darren (The Book Zone For Boys), Dwayne and Hannah (Girls Without A Bookshelf), Liz & Mark (My Favourite Books), Michelle (Much Loved Books), Ronke (The Musings Of Onko Lady), Stacey (The Pretty Books) and Viv (Serendpity Reviews).

And Finally

As this will (obviously) be my last post of 2011 I wish you all a very Happy New Year!

Picture Source: T@H!R – طاھر

It’s come to that time of year when (for the first time on this blog) I can showcase my favourite books of the year. And it has to be said that this year has been an exceptionally good year with so many fantastic reads to choose from!

I admit I’m copying the format a little bit from the Book Zone for Boys but as my old college and uni lectures always said ‘why reinvent the wheel’ and ‘if it aint broke don’t fix it’ lol.

So without further ado …

The Nominations are

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Lani Taylor

Angel Fire by L.A Weatherly

Swim The Fly by Dan Calame

Diary of a Wimpy Werewolf by Tim Collins

Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott

The Truth About Celia Frost by Paula Rawsthorne

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Dancing Jax by Robin Jarvis

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

And special mentions go to OTOLI by Bryony Allen and The Memory Cage by Ruth Eastham.

And The Winner Is…

Angel Fire by L.A Weatherly

I can’t put it into words just how much I loved Angel Fire – my review I felt couldn’t do it justice, it was just amazing, the writing flowed and it had me always desperate to find out what happened next. The amount of story packed into those 709 pages without it ever getting boring was awe inspiring and it was an absolute pleasure to read – without a shadow of a doubt my favourite book this year.

I bet you never thought you’d see that title on this blog! This post is more for fellow bloggers (though of course you may (or may not) find it interesting. Normal service will be resumed shortly lol!

Anyone who knows me on Twitter knows that for me in a straight out fight between Blogger and WordPress I will back WordPress wholeheartedly. I cannot put into words how absolutely awesome the WordPress software is, in what it can do, its flexibility, how expandable it is with plugins which doesn’t even bare comparing with bloggers range and how easy it is to use.

I know some blogger users will say WordPress looks complicated but I look at blogger and see something which is so infuriating to use and that’s not to mention that many blogger blogs run at the speed of a snail and the continuous formatting problems that blogger blogs encounter en masse from time to time.

But that is NOT what this post is about, many of you I’m sure have read the recent post on The Story Siren where Kristi identifies the reasons she had for switching from blogger to WordPress. One of them struck me as odd at the time but I didn’t really give much thought to it. Until today when Emma tweeted about it.

One reason Kristi gives is this one tiny but important term in Bloggers terms and conditions:

“Google may, in its sole discretion, at any time and for any reason, terminate the Service, terminate this Agreement, or suspend or terminate your account.”

Sounds scary doesn’t it? But and here’s the point where I have to defend Google and Blogger. It may surprise you to find out that this is not an unusual term in hosting (a host is a company who allows people to view your blog on the internet – Blogger for example is a blog host), when I replied to Emma I said that all hosts have a similar term and maybe this was assuming a little too much, but in all honesty all reputable hosts should have something similar to this in their terms and conditions.

In reality blogger or a host will very rarely use this term but it needs to be there to protect them. There’s a whole raft of reasons for the term – the host / blogger going out of business / deleting your blog / content for legal reasons … amongst many others that I can’t think of right now.

So, yes – I love WordPress and if you decide to switch I’ll be one of the first to be celebrating but although the process is designed to be simple there’s still a risk that something could go wrong if you don’t know what your doing.

What I’m trying to say is please don’t let this one clause be the only reason you switch to WordPress, yes there are plenty of very good reasons for switching (like the ones mentioned above) but if this is the only reason – it’s just not worth it!

Instead, backup, backup, backup! Then if the worst should happen you can move your posts and blog elsewhere and you haven’t lost a thing!

Wow, this is a first – a discussion post on Books 4 Teens lol

There is a reason I am suddenly posting this (it’s nothing exciting just something that happened in work a few weeks ago). Anyhoo, it got me thinking about character names in books (believe it or not it’s not something I normally think about lol) and it led me to the conclusion that they are very important.

I mean rightly or wrongly I guess some (maybe all?) of us associate characteristics with a name probably from people we’ve grown up with or gotten to know over the course of our lives to date. For example maybe you know a Robert and they have dark brown hair, green eyes and bushy eyebrows (thought I’d throw that one in there lol) if you read a book about a character named Robert would you think the character was like Robert. Would the character Robert have the same personality traits as your real world Robert?

And if the fictional Robert did something that your real world Robert would never do in a million, gazillion years would you believe that the fictional one would?

In the same line of thinking, you often hear people say ‘so and so looks like a Jack’ (this is similar to what happened in work), if you see a list of names would some of them stand out and make you think (almost without a shadow of doubt) that one of them is one particular person, yet you’ve never spoken to them (or only briefly) and later it turns out you were spot on. In real life I think some people do just happen to look like how their name would suggest they would look. In books we get to imagine what the character looks like (with guidance from the author of course) but when we visualise characters maybe out impressions of how people with certain names look influences how we visualise the characters looking.

I guess this is perhaps why we don’t too often see names cropping in books which are overly familiar, we’re more likely to see names like Willow, Xander, Spike, Giles (okay, a couple of Buffy – ooh even Buffy!), Edgy, Rory etc. Am I totally barking up the wrong tree? (it wouldn’t be the first time lol)

Picture source: EvelynGiggles

Original Picture: JohnnyEnglish

You can find out more about In My Mailbox on The Story Siren (where the In My Mailbox meme started inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie).

Link goes to Good Reads

Bought

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce – I don’t normally buy hardbacks but like Sisters Red it’s all shiny and lovely and as I have Sisters Red in hardback it makes sense to buy Sweetly in hardback too, right? Seriously can’t wait to read as I love Jackson’s writing.

Happy reading