Goodbye Blogosphere

This is a really difficult post to write. I have been considering leaving blogging for a while now but I have such  mixed opinions on the idea. I love blogging and the opportunity to review books and just talk about my love of reading. However, in the past six months and I have lost my passion and love for reading. The pressure of review books and feeling like I couldn't read what I wanted made reading feel like a chore which is such a shame.

I decided, in order to find my love of reading again, that giving up blogging was the best option. It took away the pressure and means I can read what I want, when I want without feeling bad. I have recently started reading books I want to and guys IT IS SO FUN! So I am leaving you all in order to have fun reading.

I just want to say a huge thank you to you all for your support and talking books with me. So this is goodbye. And remember....keep reading!

Alice

Guest Post: Marissa Meyer

Marissa Meyer has kindly written a guest post for my blog and I am so honoured to have her. She is definitely one of my favourite authors at the moment!

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On “The Giver” by Lois Lowry

By Marissa Meyer

 When people ask me to list my favorite books, or some books that have inspired me over the years, I tend to give them a deer-in-the-headlights look. It’s a difficult question, as there are so MANY books that I’ve loved and been moved by that they tend to jumble together in my head into a mesh of titles and authors and plotlines and characters.

 But when asked if there were any books that I feel changed my life, one quickly rises to the top: The Giver by Lois Lowry.

 I read The Giver for the first time in 5th grade and I can still remember the exact feeling I had when, half-way through the book, I realized that the main character was seeing colors for the first time. Colors! My mind was blown, not only because the author had taken such care to drop subtle hints about the color-blind society, but also because I hadn’t seen it coming it all. Suddenly it was as if I was reading a completely different book. I had to stop and reconstruct the image I’d made in my mind of the world I was reading about.

 All these years later, I’m still amazed at how Lois Lowry took something so trivial and made it so vital to the story she was telling. The color red. What a simple thing. What a strange idea, to have something so common, so taken for granted, entirely removed from a society.

 For me, the true magic of this book is that it made me look at all books differently. It showed me, for the first time, that a book could change the way I looked at the world. By taking color away, and then giving it back. It was months after reading The Giver before I could look at an apple the same way—and I don’t think I’ve ever looked at books the same way since.

Month of Men Tour: Simone Elkeles

I am taking part in Simon and Schuster's Month of Men tour and I had the privilege to interview Simone Elkeles. I love her novels and had lots of fun asking her questions.

I (along with many other readers) fell in love with the Fuentes brothers but I have to say that Alex has to be my favourite. Which Fuentes brother is your favourite?

I get asked this question often and I still can’t choose!  All of my characters, but especially my Fuentes brothers, are like my own children - I could never pick a favourite! There’s something I love about each one of them.  I love how Alex has a heart of gold and would do anything to protect his family.  I love Carlos’ sarcastic personality (because that’s so like me) and the way he doesn’t back down from a challenge.  For Luis, I love that he’s so thoughtful and truly cares about how another person feels.  I could just never choose between them!

What was your inspiration for all the love interests in your novel? Are any of them based on real people?

Alex was partially inspired by this super cute guy named Luis that worked at my local bagel shop. He’s Mexican, he has that “it” factor – you can’t help but look at him when he walks in the room, he’s got tattoos, and has a certain swagger that is so “Alex” to me!  I finally told him that he was my inspiration and his friends who work with him think it’s hilarious and they make fun of him all the time about it.  Most of the time I make up my characters and they’re a mixture of a bunch of people I know.
  
If you were to write a novel in a different genre to your other works what genre would you like to write?

I think I would like to write a time travel novel.  Really, though, I adore writing romance.  It’s my favourite genre to read because I love happy endings!  I love that romance novels have the power to make you laugh and cry and that make you want to be the hero or heroine in your own life story.

Can you tell us a little bit about what you are working on at the moment?

I’m working on a new series about four football players in high school and the girls they fall in love with.  The first book is going to be out in the U.S. in October.  Don’t worry, the books are all romances and you don’t have to know anything about football to enjoy it!  I’m not allowed to release too many details about it yet, but I hope to be revealing information on my Facebook Fan Page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Simone-Elkeles-Fan-Page/101698336559632) soon!  I will also post information about a Perfect Chemistry movie if there is one in the works…keep your fingers crossed that will also go into production this year!

Also if you haven't already seen the new covers for Simone's Leaving Paradise Series here they are!























Thank you to Simone Elkeles and Simon and Schuster! Make sure you read the rest of the Month of Men tour posts here!