Can you feel the #LoveOzYA tonight?

Something exciting happened.

Every Breath was listed as one of Australia’s most-borrowed YA library books.  YAY!  I’m incredibly honoured to be included on the ALIA list – thank you to everyone who borrowed Every Breath, you’re all awesome!

One thing that stood out, though, was that Every Breath and The Book Thief (by Markus Zusak) were the only two YA titles in the Top Ten list.  The other eight spots were taken by blockbuster American titles, almost all of them with movie tie-ins.

My first question is: wow, what made my book so attractive to readers, and how can I duplicate it?? Because I would totally bottle that, in a heartbeat. I mean, I just write the books mainly to entertain myself (or my 15 year old self, anyway) – the kind of books I would love to curl up with in a hammock at the beach, or on a couch by the fire on a rainy holiday afternoon, the kind of books that transport me into something exciting and moving, full of thrills and feels and adventure.  I guess it seems that other people like those books as well, so…yay!

My second question is: why are there so few Aussie authors on the list?  To answer this question, I did what I often do – I asked the hive-mind (mainly other authors and booksellers, and library and publishing peeps).  And the answers that I agreed with were things like – a) because the market here is smaller, we don’t have the budget to push local voices as much as they deserve; b) the North American market is bigger, in every way, including budgets – that means that overseas books have a larger market/distribution/promotion capacity, which impacts on us Aussies a lot; c) when the market is saturated – so when a book is promoted online, on screens, in films, in print ads and bookstores and toy stores and fast-food outlets and etc etc etc ad infinitum – it’s kinda hard to ignore, and more people buy it.

Here’s another important point – if you want to see local content, you need to invest in local cultural capital.  The Australian government has just ripped $100 million bucks out of the Australia Council, which directly supports local artists and art producers (including authors) to create new work.  A lot of those arts grants go towards supporting and developing small individual writers – me included.  I mean, I was gonna apply for a grant in June, to support myself while I wrote a new book – but in the wake of the budget cuts, that funding round has been cancelled.

So how exactly can you publish and promote local authors if they haven’t been given the opportunity to write new books and get signed by publishers? Good question.  Maybe we should be thinking a bit more about investing in our cultural and arts sector, in the same way we invest in the business and mining sectors.

Anyway, in the light of the lack of Aussie YA on the lists, and in the interests of promoting AusYA, a new hashtag has been born!  To show support and help spread the love for Australian YA, I encourage you to use the #LoveOzYA tag in your tweets, FB updates, Instagram and other social media posts about Aussie YA books – and if you follow the tag, it’ll lead you down a wonderful rabbit hole filled with awesome OzYA recs.  A lot of folks out there are already doing it, so I urge you to go for it! 

And this weekend in particular is a great weekend for following #LoveOzYA – because it’s Reading Matters weekend!!  If you love YA, and you happen to be in Melbourne, this AMAZING conference is being run by the State Library and the Centre for Youth Lit, right in the heart of town at the Arts Centre.  Here’s the link – go check it out.  I will most definitely be there from Friday to Saturday, not as a panellist but in the audience (which is just as good, because I can dress daggy down and drink wine at lunchtime).  Use the #YAMatters tag to follow along.  And if you’re a reader, a teacher, a librarian, a bookseller, a publishing friend, a friendly author, or you’re just around the traps at Reading Matters and you spy me from across a crowded room, please come and say hi :)

Some other good news - I’m going to be the InsideADog writer-in-residence blogger for the month of June, which is awesome!  So if you’re a regular lurker at InsideADog (the Centre for Youth Lit book blog), or even if you’re a regular reader/commenter, please make sure you give me a wave and say hi next month.

On top of that, I’m going to be visiting a bunch of libraries soon, and my first visit will be at Ashburton Library on Monday 1 June at 7pm.  If that’s your local and you’re free, come on down and listen to me ramble on, and grab me for some questions or to have a chat afterwards. Here's the link!

And I have some exciting news about Continuum soon too…so keep your ears to the ground about that.

Okay, I’m not going to write much more, because June will be a mega-blog period at InsideADog – my blog updates will be posted there, although I’ll still check back in here if anything noteworthy comes up, or there’s an event on.  Hope you’re going well, a quick shout-out to the girls from Presentation College, who did a workshop with me last week (Hi girls!  You were awesome!) and catch you again soon!

Xx Ellie 

Holiday Summer of Reading List Love at the Palais Du Chook

Well, here we are – I only started this blog two years ago, with a post about writing something over the summer holiday break, and we’ve suddenly arrived at the same point again.  Yesterday was the first official day of summer here in Victoria, and it’s promising to be a hot, dry one.  We’ve finished our Palais du Chook (see left), just in time to start keeping up the water to the new crop of baby chicks, and the garden is already starting to brown off.  It seems bizarre that I was whinging about how we couldn’t get the washing dry only a few short months ago – stick around a bit, and you’ll hear me complaining about the heat.

My year of buying only books by female writers is also coming to an end.  I made that first commitment, to buy only books written by women, after writing this post on women and the NYT Bestseller List.  I have to say, it was an easy task I set myself – so easy that I almost forgot I was doing it.  Books by female writers make up the bulk of my reading and buying anyway, so it was no hardship (should I have set myself a more difficult task?). I did a bit of an audit, and figured out I only cheated twice: once when I bought a James Dashner book for my sons that they desperately had to have, and once when I bought Jay Kristoff’s Stormdancer – but that was at the launch of the final Lotus Wars book, Endsinger, so I didn’t feel bad (Jay also writes kick-arse Japanese steampunk female protags, which alleviated any remaining guilt).  Every other book I’ve bought this year has been by a female author.

Which doesn’t mean to say I’ve stopped reading books by men.  No way – I’ve just been getting them all from the library.  And there are definitely a few books by guys that I’m rather keen to get my hands on, so I’m looking forward to being able to buy them.  The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion is pretty much the top of my list (although I’m hoping someone will give it to me for Christmas – HINT), and other male-authored books I’m lining up for are Blood of My Blood by Barry Lyga (god yes), Winger by Andrew Smith, The Last Shot by Michael Adams (and the third one comes out early next year! Double happiness!), Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovich, and The First Third by Will Kostakis.  I’m hoping to have a very large pile of TBR books to take on our annual camping trip over the New Year.

Now I thought I’d get in early and write up my favourite reads of 2014, because last time I did this it was, like, February already.  Not all of these are new – some were published ages ago and this was the year they called to me.  But anyway, here you go, my favourite reads of the year!

Outlander: Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon

Recced to me by loads of people, but most specifically Danielle Binks, and a hearty thank you from me.  I LOVED it.  An historical romance that gender-flips all the tropes? – I am so there.  And the teev series – wow! – reminded me of all the reasons I love Ron Moore.  And we won’t even mention Sam Hueghan…

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Original, eerie, beautifully written and mysteriously plotted.  I loved the weird photos, which made me think of Carnivale and The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg, and overall an amazing ride

Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith

Such a beautiful book.  At the end of it, I felt like my world had been tilted on its axis.

The Incredible Here and Now by Felicity Castagna

This book was up for the 2014 CBCA Book of the Year award, and I’m so glad I wasn’t judging, I would be the most horribly subjective judge, but THIS BOOK.  Just a tiny heartbreaking sliver of Western Sydney in an incredibly crafted package that doesn’t feel crafted, but rather just feels like the most beautiful real life.

The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta

GAH.  Just…GAH.  I love Thomas Mackee.  And I love Melina Marchetta.  I have no idea why I haven’t read it before this year but I guess this was just the year I was meant to read it, and this book went off like a lightbulb exploding inside my head.

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich

I haven’t laughed so much or been so absorbed while reading a paranormal urban fantasy for a long long time. Incredibly diverse cast, and I just loved the protag’s voice.  Bizarrely plotted, but it’s all part of the fun.

Through the Cracks by Honey Brown

Have I said often enough yet how I’m in love with Honey Brown and want to have her book babies?  No?  This is another searing psychological ride, not so much a thriller, but you have no idea what will happen to the characters, and you don’t want to put the book down until you find out.  Gorgeous writing – just gorgeous.  And dialogue – omg.  I always have a Honey Brown book on my desk, it’s compulsory.  And she has a new one coming out soon!  Woot!

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

I have picked up and put down various Maggie Stiefvater books for the last few years – I don’t know why I kept putting them down, maybe it wasn’t the right time to read them.  But this one – this one I could not put down.  The most awesome character descriptions ever.  I’m already desperate for the next book, The Dream Thieves, and if this is what all of Stiefvater’s work is like, sign me up.

There you go – ta da!  Finally, I’m gonna end the whole Reading List Love thing with a nod at The Book I Have Been Waiting For: I am so very very happy (I cannot even tell you: I am FULL OF SQUEE) that The Shadow Cabinet, the final book in the Shades of London series by Maureen Johnson, is about to be released.  How much am I longing for this book?  SO MUCH.  The only thing that would make me happier right now would be if Holly Black said she was releasing a fourth book in the Curseworkers series (please please say that could potentially happen!!  Holly, I love you and no pressure!!)

Okay, that’s it.  Just a few more parting words before I go about the Every series.

* Every Breath is going great guns in North America and the Philippines.  It was recently featured at The Midnight Garden here (wow!) and also on Jukebooks at theYALSA blog ( double wow!).  All you incredible readers and bloggers and book-buyers and librarians out there, YOU ARE ALL MADE OF AWESOME, and thank you so much!  I’m so very grateful for all your support, and especially huge thanks to Tundra Books for making it happen.  Also, so far as I’m aware, Every Breath will reach UK shores in Spring of 2015.

* Every Word is being prepped for a 2015 release in North America and the Philippines.  Woot!  Right now I’m going through typeset pages to check for last minute things before printing.

If you are keen for an Advance Review Copy of Every Word (and just gaze adoringly at those beautiful ARCs there for a second – aren’t they gorgeous?) then please drop into Instagram and gimme a follow – we’re giving them away to new-follower folks, so sign on up!

* Every Move – omg, we’re nearly at the finish line!  I’m doing final passes this week, and my eds and I are working our butts off to bring this book to print on deadline, which will make an early March 2015 release possible.  Honestly, after the writing and the re-writing and the editing and the copyediting and the proofing and the final passes, I must have read through this book at least a hundred times, so I’m getting tired and my butt is sore from sitting in front of the computer, and I am now also filled with the fizzy, scary nervousness of ‘will people like it?’.  There’s also lots of last minute anxiety about whether it’s going to live up to people’s expectations.  But in my saner moments, I’m pretty confident that you will like it (fingers crossed).  Either way, it’s coming very soon!

So that’s the end.  And I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, wherever you are in the world, and may you get lots of lovely books for Christmas! (and give them in return!)

xxEllie

The Sap is Rising (and North American release! And Inkys!)

Ahh, the start of Spring!  You may not feel it, if you’re reading this from north of the equator, but here at our place it’s like the first touches of the changing season are thrumming in your blood – the blossoms and leaves are bursting out, all green and pink and fresh, and you feel the nip of cold more keenly as your skin gets impatient to feel air and sun again.  And it’s still cold, of course: the fire still burns in our house every night, and sometimes during the day as well, and you still can’t hang washing outside.  I’m soo sick of wearing thermal underwear – I can’t wait for t-shirts and shorts and skirts again!  The house feels crowded as we all start stretching.  But jackets and warm socks and scarfs are still de rigeur come afternoon…

I’m emerging from self-imposed exile, after two weeks of knuckling down, finishing the edits/rewrites for Every Move.  And they’re done!  That is, the complicated narrative part is done.  Now comes the fine edit, when we prune away some of the excess verbiage, and make the book leaner and tougher and right handsome.  Someone asked me what that meant, to give a book a ‘trim’, and I said it’s like cutting the excess fat off a chunk of beef.  My only concern is that this book could be a complicated trim, as the fat is veined right through the meat, like a nice marbled steak.  But my editors, Eva and Sophie, are both experienced knife-wielders, so I’ve no doubt that it’ll work out okay!*

Every Move is due for release in March 2015 – it goes to the printers in November.  If you’re anticipating it, I can only say that it’s a wild ride, and takes Rachel back to places – and people – she thought she’d left behind…  The book has been a real labour of love (ie. it was bloody hard work), but I’m very happy with it, and I hope you will be too.

Now here’s some other cool news – Every Breath was awarded a Highly Commended in the Sisters in Crime Davitt Awards for Best YA Fiction, which is thrilling and amazing.  Here’s a little pic of me and the other winners on the night, as well as Lauren Beukes (The Shining Girls, Broken Monsters) who presented the awards.  A hearty congratulations to everyone!

While Every Breath didn’t make it past the shortlist for the Ned Kelly Awards (and congrats too to Candice Fox, who won the Best Debut category of that award with her excellent book Hades), there is another award that Every Breath is listed for – and which you can help out with.

Every Breath has been shortlisted for a Centre for Youth Literature award – the Gold Inky.  And now that the shortlist has been decided, YOU can be the one who chooses the winner.  If you’re between 12-20 years of age, GO HERE to vote in the Inky Awards (Gold for Australian, Silver for International), and whether you’re voting for Every Breath or not, I do encourage you to vote!  Because the Inkys are the only award in the country where teenaged readers can choose which – in their opinion – are the best books of that given year – that’s right, you choose.  I really want to see the Inkys continue strongly onward, so that teenagers themselves can exercise their right to vote on which books rock their world.

So go vote!  Vote for Every Breath, if you loved it, or vote for another book you loved – but definitely VOTE!

Finally, the most thrilling bit of all – Every Breath is about to be released by Tundra Books in North America and the Philippines!!  I am VERY EXCITED (I can’t really express how excited I am, except to use a lot of exclamation marks and say that I’m squeeing a lot) that the October 14 release date is drawing ever-closer, and even more excited that there will soon be a blog tour.  The blogs that are participating so far are listed below, and I’d like to say a massive welcome and thank you, to all participating bloggers!

Raindrops and Pages      Oct 20

Journey of A Bookseller                Oct 20

The Starry-Eyed Revue  Oct 21

Sukasa Reads     Oct 21

Book Club Sisters Oct 21

Love is Not A Triangle     Oct 22

Michelle and Leslie’s Book Picks                Oct 23

Paperback Princesses    Oct 23

Nick’s Book Blog               Oct 23

Ann Towell         Oct 24

Refracted Light Oct 24

Love At First Page            Oct 24

It is quite incredible to think that – very soon – people in Canada, the US and the Philippines will be reading Rachel and Mycroft’s adventures, and checking out Melbourne in the pages of a book I wrote.  I find that staggering!  And I hope folks love it, and laugh, and I hope they crush on Rachel and James, and I hope…  Oh, so many things I hope!  But above all, I wish Every Breath luck on its travels, and the love of many new friends on the way.

So that’s all the news, but I’ll be updating again soon with more info about the blog tour and upcoming release.  Until then, I’m enjoying a well-earned break after the excitement of Melbourne Writers Festival, school visits, Adelaide Emerging Writers Festival, sick kids, sick husband, Davitt Awards, Book Week, CBCA events, edits, rewrites and blah blah etc – I’m actually LOVING being able to read again.  I sometimes have to take a break from reading while I’m deep in writing mode, as I find I get so absorbed in some books that I either a)can’t tear myself away, or b)find myself thinking about the characters and plot of someone else’s book all day, when I should be thinking about my own.

But now I can read again – and I’ve had a few books saved up in celebration.  Right now I’m totally sucked into 18^th century Scotland with the Outlander series (Diane Gabaldon), and after that I’m going slightly crazy hanging out for Blood of My Blood, the finale of the Jasper Dent series (Barry Lyga).  I’m also a bit desperate to finally read This Shattered Earth (Amie Kaufman/Megan Spooner), We Were Liars (E. Lockheart), and The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl (Melissa Keil), and I’m pretty sure there’s other books on my TBR pile as well…

I hope you have a good book to read right now, to get you through the early weeks of the season, and a nice warm spot to read it in.  Have a great week – remember to go vote for the Inkys! – and see you on the blog tour J

Xx Ellie

* If I’m going to draw that analogy, I have to say too that sometimes cutting the fat makes you bleed, as if the meat comes from your own body.  So it stings a bit.  An experienced and gifted editor will make sure that the knife doesn’t knick an artery, and drain the lifeblood of the piece.  Both my editors are gifted, for which I ‘m enormously grateful.  I do have to keep the BandAids handy though, for minor wounds…

Every Breath US Cover

Hi again, I hope you’re all going okay with your respective seasons.  We are nearing the end of autumn here, and all the trees have turned red and gold.  Footy time has begun again, so our indoor washing lines have been strung with once-muddy socks and footy jumpers, and it’s raining heaps.  We’ve started keeping the wood-fire stove on during the day, it’s just getting that cold.  I think it’s going to be an early winter.

I wanted to show you the beautiful US cover for Every Breath, which my Tundra editor, Sylvia, passed on recently.  It’s gorgeous, with a very dark and broody Mycroft, and fingerprints on the title, so here it is!

Every Breath will be released in Canada, North America and the Philippines in September this year, so if you live over that way, make sure to keep an eye out for it.  I’ll let you know more about the release when we’re closer to that time.

So I’m happy to tell you that I finally completed the draft of Every Move, the third book in the series.  It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride, and I did some marathon sessions at the laptop before the end – I did a nine-hour day in an artspace up at the old (de-commissioned) Castlemaine gaol, writing the finale, and then another eleven-hour stint the following day, desperately working through the ending…  You go a bit nuts when you’re writing on a deadline, I’ve discovered.  I’m very grateful to friends who saw me wandering around in my grubby trackies and ugg boots, with crazy hair and a slightly haunted expression…thanks to those people who gave me pats on the back, and encouraged me to keep going, it did make a difference!

I’m especially grateful to writer friends who told me to keep slogging, and most of all to my writing buddy, Ali Daws.  I’ve always been a bit of a lone wolf, as far as writing is concerned – I tend to hole up with my scribbled notes and my laptop, and try to nut it all out myself, and never show anyone what I’m working on.  But I found it kind of impossible to do that with this book.  I really needed someone to talk to, someone who understood the writing process, and knew and loved the characters as much as I do, just to get the final details straight in my head.  Ali was the guy who I sent draft chapters to, who read and critiqued, who gave encouragement at every turn, and who helped me brainstorm solutions to problems, and corners I had written myself into.  I’ve developed a new appreciation for writing buddies, after going through this process with him, and I certainly couldn’t have written the book without him.  Ali – respect.

So now the writing period is over.  Phew!  You’d think it’d be a good time to just sit back and chill out, and maybe watch a bit of telly, or have a nice cuppa in front of the fire and a lovely long sleep.  You’d think wrong.

Now we’re only a month away from Every Word’s release, so things are starting to hot up.  If I’ve neglected to reply to you on email lately, check your inbox – I’m slowly catching up with all my emails.  I’m going to be making badges and swag for giveaways and fun stuff like that.  I’ll be contacting booksellers and schools and libraries about the book’s publication, and maybe organising a few days to drop in and sign things (and if you’d like me to come visit your school or library or bookshop in June, when Every Word’s out, drop me a line).

And of course, I’m going to be organising the launches – there’ll be one in Melbourne in June, at Readings Carlton, and another one here in Castlemaine, to say thanks to local mates.  When I have dates and times and stuff finalised for those things, I’ll let you know.  Anybody and everybody is most welcome to come along.

I’ll be setting up a giveaway here on the blog soon too – maybe more than one - so if you’re keen, stay in touch.

Until then, stay warm and dry (or if you’re in a summery spot, stay cool!), and I’ll talk again soon!

Xx Ellie

Rachel and Mycroft go gangbusters…a post-Christmas post

I know!  I said I would post before Christmas!  And that didn’t happen!

Apologies in advance for Excessive Exclamation Mark Usage, but I’m very excited. I’ve had this secret for weeks, you see, and I haven’t been able to tell.  But now the ink is nearly dry on the paperwork, and my agent Catherine Drayton has given me permission to spill the beans.

So I’m extremely happy to let you all know that Every Breath will be published in Canada and North America by Tundra, an imprint of Random House Canada, in Fall 2014.

Woot!

I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. Rachel and Mycroft are going travelling! I’m thrilled for them, and very proud. They’ll have a new family, and a new bunch of readers to love them. Yes, it makes me all teary just thinking about it! (my babies! *sniff*)

People from Canada have been in touch with me, and it’s all very exciting. Tundra is also the home of one of the sweetest books of all time, in my opinion – Anne of Green Gables, by LM Montgomery.

So it feels like kismet!

Anne, meet Rachel and James.

Rachel and James, meet Anne. (James, put that cigarette out and stop slouching.)

So that is my biggest and most delicious news of late. I’m sorry I didn’t get to put up a final 2013 post – after the interview with Barry Lyga, things got very busy. We went camping over Christmas (camping – we love camping. But some people take camping very seriously. There was a guy near our campsite who raked outside his tent. I kid you not. IT’S A NATIONAL PARK, FRIEND. If you’re bringing the rake, you may as well bring the leaf blower) and we had a lovely time with new friends (hi, Liz and Paul!)

Then two days after we arrived back home, Melbourne sweated through its most severe heatwave in a couple of hundred years – five days over 41 degrees Celsius (that’s ** Fahrenheit, for those of you from other climes). After a few scares with grassfires nearby – as in, down the road from our house – we decided that the bravest course was pragmatic cowardice and escaped to Melbourne with our dog, cockatiel and budgies.

We just returned on Saturday night, and that was when I heard from Catherine that I could tell you all the awesome news about the Canadian/US deal. Now we’re settling back into our last weeks of summer holidays - cleaning the house, washing mounds of laundry, watering all the dead plants… Alas, the garden was decimated in the heat, but our chooks were well-provided for and are still clucking around with their new babies, completely oblivious.

But here’s an abbreviated round-up of all the stuff I wanted to post before Christmas – a post-Christmas post, if you will. For instance, I wanted to tell you about my fave books of 2013. Here they are!

The Curseworker series – Holly Black

The third and final book, Black Heart, was only released here last year, so I reread everything.  Magic and the mob, with a distinct Grifters feel.  Taut, sensual, hypnotic, not to mention smart and political.

The Madness Underneath (Shades of London #2) – Maureen Johnson

A supernatural mystery series of the highest calibre.  Johnson never does the expected thing, and her writing of dialogue and character interaction is so succinct and tight it does my head in.  The ending of this book nearly killed me.

Clockwork Princess – Cassandra Clare

Pretty much a case study in how to end a series, second only to Harry Potter.  I totally blubbered my way through the finale.

The Fault in Our Stars – John Green

The Perks of Being A Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky

I put off reading both these books, intimidated by the subject matter and the reputation of the authors – I should never have waited.

The Rosie Project – Graeme Simsion

Outright entertaining and sweet-hearted.  No schmaltz, just fantastic characters and gorgeous writing.  And Graeme is a lovely guy!

Dark Horse – Honey Brown

A new discovery for me – she has four books out, this is her newest. Adult psychological thrillers and crime, this woman is the queen, for my money. Edgy, sensual, suspenseful – and Australian. Big tick.

Life in Outer Space – Melissa Keil

Geek love. 80’s movies. Boy-nerds and girl-nerds and swoon. World of Warcraft. What, you need more? (Just quietly, I liked this more than Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell)

Hate List - Jennifer Brown

An older release, and it knocked my socks off.  Uncompromising, shocking, poignant. The ending left me in tears.

The Keepers – Lian Tanner

Middle-grade fantasy adventure AWESOME. Beautiful writing and nuanced characters – my younger boys and I fell in love with these books.

I also wanted to tell you which books I’m most looking forward to reading in 2014 – here they are!

The Boy in the Smoke –Maureen Johnson

(I'm super keen for this)

The Naturals – Jennifer Lyn Barnes

Game – Barry Lyga

The Last Shot – Michael Adams

The Murder Complex – Lindsay Cummings

Dr Sleep – Stephen King

Dead Silent – Sharon Jones

Anything new by Peter Temple

Through The Cracks - Honey Brown

The One - Kiera Cass

Cinnamon Girl - Melissa Keil

Winger - Andrew Smith

Lair of Dreams - Libba Bray

Razorhurst - Justine Larbalestier

The Coldest Girl in Cold Town - Holly Black

‘And here’s what I read over my summer holidays, just for the heck of it!:

Fangirl – Rainbow Rowell

Looking for Alaska – John Green

Paper Towns – John Green

The Left Hand of God – Paul Hoffman

The Good Daughter – Honey Brown

After the Darkness – Honey Brown

Fall for Anything – Courtney Summers

You Don’t Even Know – Sue Lawson

The Waking Dark – Robin Wasserman

White Dog – Peter Temple

Secret - Brigid Kemmerer

That’s it, I’m all book-listed out. Finally, before I go, a quick Every Word update:

Every Word is being copyedited and polished up, and will be going to the printers in March. It will be released in June. I’ll let you know more details as they come to light, but that’s all I can give you right now, except I’m seriously buzzed about showing you this book. I like it a lot. I think you will too.

Fingers crossed.

Xx Ellie

Playlist of the stars!!!

‘…We walk into her room, where her speakers are wafting out Triple J…’

Every good book deserves fruit.  Hang on: that should be ‘every good book deserves a playlist’.  It’s taken nearly two years to get Every Breath onto bookshop shelves, and in that time I’ve had to keep the flame alive.

I find the best way to do that, largely, is to have a theme song (or two, or three…) that gets you back in the mood for the characters and their lives.  Certain scenes have their own songs.  And yes, because it’s taken two years, we have a little problem with dated material…but y’know, I can live with that.

So here’s the playlist for Every Breath, and if you’re knocking around at the launch with me, you may get to hear some of these tracks wafting out of the speakers in the background.

* ‘Plans’ - Birds of Tokyo : For reasons unknown I always imagine this song playing during the opening credits of Every Breath: The Movie.  No doubt any producer putting aforementioned movie together would have the sense to use something that wasn’t so old-hat (also something by a band that didn’t immediately follow up a really decent song with a really lame one like ‘Lanterns’).  But I still love the lyrics, and find them just right: We made plans to kiss the sun at night/Hopeless dreamers, hopeless times…

* ‘Boyz’ – MIA : Did you know that Every Breath originally started with a fight scene?  This was the soundtrack to Mycroft crackin’ skulls.

* ‘My Sharona’ - The Knack : Do I need to explain why this is Mycroft’s theme song?  (And did you also know that – tv-nerd-alert – the Girl Watson character in the old tv show Monk was called Sharona?)

* ‘Gimme Shelter’ - Rolling Stones : Probably my fave Stones song ever.  Has the requisite tension, plus a mix of violence and self-awareness that creates good accompaniment for the pivotal scenes in Chapter 2 & 3 (the title should give this away).

* ‘7 Nation Army’ - White Stripes : God, I really dug into my back list for these tracks, huh?  If I tell you what scene is attached to this song I’ll be accused of spoilers.  But it involves a certain drunken confrontation…  The beat and tone of this song is so dark, so deep and resonating, I couldn’t go past it for Mycroft’s dark moments.

* ‘Jungle’ - Emma Louise : Always think of this one as Rachel’s ‘my head is too full!’ angry song.

* ‘Embrace’ - Oliver Tank : Post-dramatic finale.  You know how, when something really full-on happens, there’s that feeling of everything being in slow motion?  This song is perfect for that, and also the lyrics are poignant for Rachel in that scene.

* ‘The Nosebleed Section’ - Hilltop Hoods : Because ‘…someone puts Hilltop Hoods on the stereo, away down the block…’  I love Hilltop Hoods.  Love, like lerve.  My lerve is like a river of lerve, that meanders on down to a great ocean of lerve…  And hey, I mention them in the book, so they had to go in somewhere.

* ‘Allies’ – Mutemath : A nice upbeat number for the end credits.  Plus a totally appropriate title.

Okay, before I go I have to say this really loud: OMG, IT’S HAPPENING!!!  We are having a book launch TOMORROW NIGHT!!

My excitement is clashing together with my nerves right now, to the point where it’s all bouncing around together in my head like a…well, like a Skrillex song or something.  I’m sort of terrified that the cake won’t be ready (Note to self: phone about the cake).  I have to work out what to wear.  I’m taking lots of deep breaths.

If you want to come along and see me sweat, haha, then go for it.  The Every Breath official launch is on at Readings Carlton, 6.30pm, Thursday 12 Sept.  If you haven’t RSVP’d, and you’d like to come, do it now!

If you want to come but you can’t make it – bummer.  We’ll miss you!  But you can join in the action on Twitter on the night @elliemarney.  Or if you’d like to check out the fun interview I did on Bad Ass Bookie, go have a look.

I’m also still giving away copies of the book – see the sidebar and click to enter the Goodreads giveaway, or go over to the site (there’s some awesome reviews of Every Breath over there as well!)

And if I haven't said this to you, personally, yet - thank you.  Thank you for reading, thank you for reviewing, thank you for supporting, thank you for being as into Every Breath as I am.  I am full of the loves right now, for everyone who's been with me on this journey, and for all the friends and family who've given me a hand along the way.

YOU ARE ALL MADE OF AWESOME.  Just so that's clear :)

See you tomorrow night!!

xx Ellie

Cashing in my Review V-card

Peoples!  Every Breath has had its first review!

This came out in Books & Publishing a short while ago, and I was rapt when a friend sent it to me.  As the site itself is subscriber-only, I thought I’d post it here so everyone and their dog could read it too...

Every Breath (Ellie Marney, A&U)
Picking up on the current Sherlock Holmes zeitgeist, Every Breath is the story of two teenagers playing at detective, trying to solve the death of their friend Homeless Dave. Rather than Holmes and Watson we get Mycroft and Watts, best friends drawn to each other because they have both lost everything—Mycroft his parents and Watts her family home in the country. As they are pulled deeper into the mysteries surrounding Dave’s murder, they also discover a growing attraction to each other, so like all good stories about death it’s about love too. Mycroft and Watts are fast-talking, flawed, bright characters. The requisite banter is threaded through with the language of crime procedurals—lividity and rigor mortis and blood spatter patterns—which is charming in its novelty. Ellie Marney’s YA novel explores the isolation and the desperation to escape later teenage years, and is moodily underscored by a cold and gloomy Melbourne. The writing is pacy and engaging but doesn’t shy away from darkness. Reminiscent of Lili Wilkinson’s A Pocketful of Eyes, although slightly grimmer in tone, Every Breath will be enjoyed by readers aged 13 and up. It is the first book of a trilogy.
Reviewer: Cordelia Rice works at Thorpe-Bowker.
She is a former bookseller and previously worked at the Centre for Youth Literature

 

So there it is, and I’m very happy – what a lovely review J

If you’re still keen to enter the Cover Reveal competition, it closes in a few days – but you can still drop me a line HERE to put your name in, or FB me, or Tweet me @elliemarney…  I guess you know how these things work.

And my next post will be a new YA Crime Report with the entrancing Kirsten Krauth, talking about a teenage cyber-perspective and noir suspense surrounding her new book just_a_girl.  Make sure you pop along and say hi.

Xx Ellie

COVER REVEAL AND GIVEAWAY: Every Breath

Ah, wow, I feel strangely nervous!  I’ve been looking forward to showing you all the cover for the book for so long, and it’s finally here!

Yes, EVERY BREATH went to print (‘went to bed’ is the publishing parlance, I believe) on Monday, and Eva has released the cover for me to show off.  So here it is!  What do you think?  (I know I’m biased, but I think it’s fantastic!)

EVERY BREATH Synopsis:

Rachel Watts has just moved to Melbourne from the country, but the city is the last place she wants to be.  James Mycroft is her neighbour, an intriguingly troubled seventeen-year-old who is also a genius with a passion for forensics.

Despite her misgivings, Rachel finds herself unable to resist Mycroft when he wants her help investigating a murder.  He’s even harder to resist when he’s up close and personal – and on the hunt for a cold-blooded killer.

When Rachel and Mycroft follow the murderer’s trail, they find themselves in the lion’s den – literally.

A trip to the zoo will never have quite the same meaning again…

 

I am really thrilled with…well everything really!  But the cover, by Lisa White, is really special.  Check out Flinders St in the background!  And Cath Crowley, who is a writer I love and admire so much, has written a wonderful recommendation for the front – thank you, Cath!

I can’t wait for people to read it J  Or rather, I’m nervous that people will be reading, but also incredibly excited.

If you’d like to pre-order your copy, keep an eye on the Allen & Unwin site, for more info coming down the pipeline soon.

And now I’m so rapt with life and the world, I’m going to hold a giveaway!

I'm going to do it the old-fashioned way, as I haven't got one of the tricky little giveaway doo-whackeys yet.

If you’d like a special hot-off-the-presses copy of EVERY BREATH, then please write a comment on this blog post and I’ll put your name in a hat.  If you write a comment and link this post back to your own blog/website/Twitter feed/Facebook page, then I’ll put you in the hat twice!

At the end of 2 weeks, I’ll draw a winner, and that person will win a special EVERY BREATH prize pack, which includes a copy of the book, and a few other goodies.  I'll publish the name of the winner here, and they can get in touch, and then I'll package up their prize and post it off! (where would we be without snail mail?)

So comment away, and thanks for being here for the unveiling.  Have a great week!

***PS:  Our first GUEST POST from our YA Crime guests will be coming soon, and I think it will be a very surprising visitor…  Stay tuned!

xx Ellie