It's time for the Catch Fire! blog party!

Before I launch into today's post, I just want to thank everyone for all the lovely comments about my cover reveal and ARC giveaway last week - you're the best!

And onwards. Today marks the release of blogger and author Alex J Cavanaugh's second book CassaFire, and he's having a massive blog party to celebrate - yay! If only cakes and cookies could be snatched through cyberspace... ah, well. Alex is also running a blog tour until the 9th of March and anyone who comments on his blog during that time could win a special goodie bag from his publisher, so pop over to his blog and check it out.

CassaFire

by Alex J. Cavanaugh

CassaStar was just the beginning…

The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather.

The detection of alien ruins sends the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key to the Tgren’s civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan’s technology and strange mental abilities. 

To complicate matters, the Tgrens are showing signs of mental powers themselves; the strongest of which belongs to a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron’s unique abilities. Forced to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels invaded on every level. All Byron wanted was his privacy…

CassaFire is the sequel to Cavanaugh’s first book, CassaStar, an Amazon Top Ten Bestseller.

Doesn't it sound cool? Alex's sci-fi/space opera is available now. Visit his blog for links to buy, more details, and a very very cool book trailer.

Congratulations on your release, Alex!

COVER REVEAL! Yay!

It's time! Finally! Chances are you're not going to give a hoot about what I'm saying up here, so I'll get straight to the good stuff.

My gorgeous cover.

Are you reading this part already? No, no, go back and take another look. You must. Honestly, my publisher's got me the bestest cover ever. Isn't it beautiful and haunting and don't you just want to stroke it to death? (If the answer is no, don't tell me.)

Okay? Looked at it? Twice? Three times? Now you can read on.

Eva's life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination - an echo. Made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, she is expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her 'other', if she ever died. Eva studies what Amarra does, what she eats, what it's like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready.

But fifteen years of studying never prepared her for this.

Now she must abandon everything she's ever known - the guardians who raised her, the boy she's forbidden to love - to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive. 

"The most honest portrait of grief and loss that I've read in a long time. Filled with heartache, love, and things that would stir Mary Shelley's ghost, this is not a story to be missed."

-Lauren DeStefano, bestselling author of the Chemical Garden trilogy

THE LOST GIRL will be out August 28th, which seems like forever away, but the book is already available for pre-order! A few of the links are below.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Barnes and Noble

Can I just say? I could have fainted on the spot when I saw Lauren DeStefano's blurb. FAINTED. I read WITHER several months ago, not long after it first came out, and loved it so much. It was just the most exciting thing that Lauren read(!) and liked(!!) my book too.

And now for the other part of this post: ARCs. More specifically, an ARC giveaway! A signed ARC, no less. Because, while it will be a wrench to part with one of my shiny copies, I love you all that much.

Yes, one of those!

So, to enter to win, leave a comment on this post, including some way for me to contact you (ideally an email address), and obviously with many, many swoonings over how pretty the cover is. I will pick and announce a winner on April 20th. The giveaway is open internationally.

And this isn't necessary to enter, but it would be very very lovely if you could tweet/blog/somehow get the word out about the cover and giveaway - I'm so excited about this and I just want to show my amazing cover off to the world!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

What's going on?

There seem to be so many amazing and exciting things going on in the blogging/writing worlds right now, so, with the weekend around the corner and my brain virtually on holiday already, I thought today would be a great time to talk about fun stuff.

For starters, Talli Roland recently revealed the cover of her next book, CONSTRUCT A COUPLE, and it's so pretty you simply have to go check it out!

Saumya Dave has just signed with an agent, which is one of the most awesome things to happen to any writer, so huge huge congratulations to her!

If you don't know Alex J. Cavanaugh already (and I'd be amazed if you didn't), pop over to his blog and check out his next book CASSAFIRE's release party, it's going to be massive! The launch is on February 28th and Alex is giving away five copies of CASSAFIRE.

As for me, it's been a mad, hectic week, but it's not all been baby-related. ARCs of THE LOST GIRL arrived yesterday and I spent most of the day jumping around, squealing, and just generally staring lovingly at the books. I can't actually believe this is real. Even with a copy in my hands, even reading it, doesn't feel real. It feels like I'm reading another author's book. Maybe it will sink in one day.

But I'm going to share the joy! Look out for an ARC giveaway with my cover reveal next week...

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Love

...because I've had far too little sleep to be able to think of a cleverer title!

Happy Valentine's Day, bloggers and readers! It's the official day of romance, and roses, and other things beginning with R (okay, so I couldn't think of a third. Did you not see the part about the lack of sleep?) and though I personally think every day should be about romance, roses and R-things, today seems a particularly good time to talk about love stories.

So here are a few of my favourite romantic/love-filled/similarly-themed books-

1. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Unadventurous Lou becomes crippled Will's carer and everything changes. This is lovely. And it's a bawl-fest.

2. Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell

A summer by the seaside. A girl who likes a boy. A boy who doesn't want to like the girl. Fun, funny and sweet.

3. Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier

Bored, beautiful Donna meets a French pirate on the shore of a lonely Cornwall creek. This is passionate and heartbreaking and beautifully written. Love, love, love this one.

4. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Boy meets girl. Except boy turns into a wolf when it gets too cold. Sweet, exciting, glorious. Many tears were shed. 

                   

5. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Boy meets girl. Except they don't quite 'meet' because they've known each other all their lives. They also happen to be brother and sister. It's controversial. But so wonderfully written, so wrenching, so amazing.

What are your favourite love stories?

"May the odds be ever in your favour"

I cannot wait for THE HUNGER GAMES' movie adaptation! I did a lot of fangirlish gurgling and bobbing when the new trailer was released and I expect we'll see many more teasers before the end of March rolls around.

A couple weeks ago I talked about adaptations, and named some of the (very few) films I believed actually lived up to their books/original material, and I have to admit I'm somewhat worried that The Hunger Games The Movie will not do the book justice. A lot of things/characters don't look at all like I imagined (Gale, Cinna, President Snow) but that was never going to happen, was it? Nothing ever looks like you imagine it in your head. But that shouldn't matter (I hope). It could still be awesome (I hope).

Anyone else looking forward to the movie? Are there any other film releases you think I should be excited about?

February Blues

The weather is absolutely dismal. Below freezing some days, dark before 5pm, the odd patch of sunlight but more cloud. I used to think December was the coldest, darkest month but I'm beginning to think February's a lot bleaker.

But I have plenty to be excited about this month - some great book releases, blogger-friends' launch splashes...

...and top of the list is THE LOST GIRL's cover. 

That's right, toward the end of this month I will finally be revealing the book's cover, description and release date! Are you excited? I'm excited! In fact, I'm so excited I'm growing rapidly tired of the word 'excited'.

Happy Friday, everyone!