inkcrush chats

So, time for some (random) stuff to share with you guys...

One: Cath Crowley shared the Italian cover for Graffiti Moon yesterday:

Oh, I am really liking it. It's one of those covers I can keep looking at. I love how it is the same cover scheme as the Aussie cover. I love how it is arty (Graffiti Moon is such an arty book, you guys). What do you guys think?

Speaking of covers...

Two: Braiden alerted us all to the Aussie cover of Cynthia Hand's Hallowed, #2 in the Unearthly series. Here it is, next to our cover for Unearthly:

I am rather fond of it. It is so wintery (a little bit Narnia-esque, LOL). It pulls me in. It feels a bit mysterious, the girl seems sad, bereft, even. It's a midgen whimsical. I think the white on the shelves will stand out. Overall, I am liking the atmosphere of the book. In other news I HAVE READ THE BOOK (thanks netgalley!) I will review soon in full. It has been so very well received so far, and I really (really) enjoyed it. I liked Christian a lot in #2. Also, it was a very sad book, in so many ways. What do you think of the Aussie covers for this series? 

Three: Speaking of cover reveals... I was REALLY excited to spot a cover for 2012 YA debut author Elissa Janine Hooles' book, Kiss the Morning Star (saw it updated over on goodreads):

I have been excited for her book ever since I first read about it. Seeing a cover makes it seem that much closer :)

Four: Did you guys know about Aussie YA Month over at The Crooked Shelf?

Carla has already had some BRILLIANT posts (interviews, guest posts and reviews) and I know there is so much more of the AWESOME to come. (including giveaways and more from some of my favourite authors).I am seriously LOVING it.  Here's a teaser where Carla interviews Melina Marchetta.  and a gorgeous post by Adele of Persnickety Snark. LOVE IT

Five: Speaking of Melina Marchetta...

I just finished reading her latest book Froi of the Exiles. (Book Two of the Lumatere Chronicles). It was especially fun as I had a read-along with one of my fave readerly people, Flannery. We chatted in a google document (sometimes live, which is so. much. fun.) and other times updating our progress as we went chapter by chapter. We raved and speculated and tried to predict what was going to happen (being an MM novel, you know anything could happen). We are both doing a bit of Nanowrimo this month and would love to count our Froi document towards it as our total word count for our Froi discussion was... 23, 462 (which is nearly half of the nano requirement). Good, good times.

In regard to the book (Froi): it is a brick of a book and the story itself is intricately woven. The world building is seamless, making the events and places seem real (how does MM do that? Just create an entire world out of her head). I wondered how I would feel about Froi as a narrator (after some of his early actions in Finnikin) but FEAR NOT! ;) I loved him from the start. He does not take himself as seriously as Finnikin did (he is a pretty funny guy) and he has some charming and tender moments, aww... Here's a perfect quote for the book...

'Why did everyone in Charyn seem to have a story in their eyes? And when had he (Froi) started caring?' p403

In terms of the story, my gosh, the people of Charyn (!) ~ some of their stories will make the stories of the Lumaterans (from Finnikin of the Rock) seem like children's bedtime stories in comparison. It is one wild ride. In comparison to MM's earlier work, I would say this would be the fantasy version of Jellicoe (so much more pain and suffering and heart-breaking history, also, there are moments of confusion for the reader, before the threads all start to ~ masterfully ~ pull together) More on Froi later... (before I launch into an impromptu review)

Six: The Inkys! wOOT!

Well, the winners were announced at the beginning of this month...

Winner of the GOLD INKY for most popular Aussie YA is 'Silvermay' by James Moloney
Winner of the SILVER INKY for most popular international titel is Cassandra Clare's 'Clockwork Angel.

Congrats to both winners!

The inkys are Australia's only YA awards voted for exclusively by teenagers :) More about the inkys on inkcrush :) For the Gold INKY, I had read all of the shot-list, except Silvermay ~ which I am SO hoping my library will add to ther catalogue soon, as I am very keen to read it (James Moloney is an Aussie YA author I grew up reading, and he is still going strong).

Seven: Back to Froi of the Exiles (I nearly forgot)... Fellow Aussie blogger, the lovely Kathy Bradey of Once Upon A Tine In Writer Land is giving away a copy of Froi and she is (generously) making it available INTERNATIONALLY for all you guys who cannot wait for the US release date (of who just want our gorgeous cover) Go forth and enter (and good luck!)

(closes 1st of December)

Eight: Not really a point, just signing out :)

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Okay, maybe I have more to say, haha... Sorry for the random overload in this post... Also, I still have a backlog of reviews to spit out. I am a casual blogger, I don't commit to posting certain days and whatnot, and I let the blog lie dormant occasionally while I am cruising around in the real world... but, brace yourselves, as I am going to try and cram in a bunch of reviews before the end of the year stars catching up on me...

x Nomes