The Glass Trilogy

Many Christians know the main tenet of Christian belief lies in having faith within the inexplicable and indescribable. We are taught to have faith that our God is merciful and understanding of the human condition. This simple answer seems to be voiced in a condescending voice when some followers are approached with the hard questions. If heaven's supposedly blissful,then where's our free will? How can we have blind euphoria if we know our loved ones are in hell?

A myriad of other difficult questions sprout from my mind, similar to a faucet which continually allows minute drops of water to fall within the sink's basin below. These difficult questions similarly infiltrate the frontal lobe of my mind and demand to be answered. With my OCD mind though, those numerous questions are refuted by a number of contradictions or hypothetical situations. In effect, more questions stem from a lower quantity of questions. These questions when voiced to fellow followers is met with antipathy and disapproval of being inquisitive and the unorthodox nature of even trying to understand the nature of my belief within God.

Why do we as Christians fear the questions and readily distill them? Why are we so ready to detonate our faith or another person's due to these doubts. Ironically, are we not limiting the limitless bounds of our intricate mind by eschewing these questions. Personally, I believe faith can be bolstered by doubts and in actuality, true faith is formed through our questions and the innumerable clauses attached to those questions. Interestingly, our questions themselves lend to the image of an incomprehensible, wondrous God.

When some Christians meet doubts with ire, are they not squeezing God within a prim, tightly packed box? Unconsciously they are telling believers that God may have a grand visage but at his core, he is easily definable through a human lens. Basically, God can be described in superficial terms as being absolute authority whose supposed to be followed blindly without any question.

Brandon Sanderson's "Warbreaker" intelligently details the erroneous elements of blind faith. Within the book's imaginary kingdom of Halladren, populated by Gods fabricated through human means. We are shown the shortcomings of blind faith with a pretense of majesty. Though externally, the city and Gods themselves boast grandness, internally they are being fueled by stoical denizens who wish to subject to authority in a soulless manner.

As with these humans, doesn't blind faith basically satirize or disrespect God's gift of free will? When we bleach our faith of it's depth, are we not rebelling against God's gift of intellectual freedom? Without thinking through things, do we not become mindless zombies? Sure, God has paradoxes and contradictions. Then again, is it not that our minds are limited to a certain extent that we can not entirely understand eternal things? Instead, we can only postulate and continuously wonder. Confusing works of art with an array of layers certainly presents the true nature of God, someone who we can only speculate about. But it's that very speculation and wonderment that opens our eyes to God and substitutes ignorance and blindness with eyes filled with hope and curiosity.

Favorite Things of 2009 (Part One)

Apologies to all my blog readers for nearly two months of absence. Life swamped me and completely overwhelmed me, restricting my internet a
ctivity to answering the most basic emails.

For my first post of the new year, I've decided to provide a litany of my favorite books,movies,music and television series of 2009. Bear in mind,the list only compiles the top four or five favorites and not every single favorite thing within each category. If I were to list every single book I've read and loved, it would definitely take up about two pages worth of posting.

Anyways, without further ado, here are my favorite things from 2009.

Favorite Book:

Brandon Sanderson's books: During a turbulent December, this book greatly unstressed me with it's rich world and interesting characters. I discovered Brandon Sanderson's books by chance when learning of the writer who had been asked to finish the uncompleted Wheel of Time series. Curiosity then persuaded me into buying the Mistborn series and later, "Warbreaker."

I've only read the first Mistborn book and Warbreaker and both have led me into becoming a psychotic Brandon Sanderson fan. Besides George R.R. Martin, his books were my antidote for my adult fantasy fiction drought. They also dissuaded me from holding the belief that the adult fantasy section was devoid of substance.

Ironically, his books gave me enough reason for me to attempt to read other adult fantasy books. As result, my former pile of young adult fantasy books was replaced with a pile of Robin Hobbs, Brent Weeks, and Anne Mccaffrey books. Each and everyone of these books are still on my hefty "to be read and reviewed," list.

But I highly recommend any of Brandon Sanderson's books, specifically Warbreaker. Normally, I'm not too fond of complicated magic systems but here I found myelf poring over the pages describing both "Allomancy," and "Biochroma." Brandon Sanderson's books awakened my sciencetific side and left me desirable for even more pages depicting this highly ingenious magic system.

One of the stand out elements of any of his books lies with his expertise with characters. Any story without complicated, dimensional characters are immediatley rejected as "nonreads." Warbreaker and Mistborn contain characters with conflicting ideals and ideologies. Both of which are not cemented and are still undergoing the process of forming into potential strong beliefs. This in effect reflects the true conflict of the human psyche that is unable to affix itself to one belief. Instead Sanderson's character's minds pick and choose their beliefs which are often altered by the experiences of life thrust upon them.

I shall end my speal about Brandon Sanderson's books here since my inner geek seems to want to endlessly herald, praise, and appreciate his masterful works. Simply stated, without the intrusion of geek jargon, Brandon Sanderson's books come highly reccomended for any reader who has found themselves becoming disallusioned with the fantasy market as a whole.

To Wheel of Time fans: I'm in the process of reading through the series right now and am very happy that your fandom has been honored with having such a skilled writer to conclude the series. After having the opporitunity to attend his signing and hearing his zeal towards writing a sucessive final book,I am convinced that the final books could potentially be better than the four or five books before Book Twelve.
Other Stand Outs:
Maria V. Snyder's Study series (see archived reviews)
Barry Lyga's Goth Girl Rising (see archived review as well)
Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle Series: Do not be disheartened by the covers because the books themselves have a wide appeal to any reader who likes fantasy books with strong, well developed female characters and a plot that's filled with gothic intrigue.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (See archived review)


Favorite Movie:
Coraline
This movie earns my top spot without much of a struggle. 2009's movies were mostly dissapointing and void of intelligence. The first half of 2009 contained both "Watchmen," and "Coraline" which were both direct opposites of the number of unintelligent, special effect laden films of the second half of the year. Coraline specially entreated me and other viewers with a well imagined setting filled with colorful creatures and a devilish "other" mother. The movie itself provides an important message of being content with the things provided in our lives. Since sometimes the envied and highly idealed elements could bring upon a host of problems. Basically, nothing blissful comes without added challenges. To my blog readers, please watch Coraline not because it's a product of Neil Gaiman's genious but because it's a wonderful CGI film that contains mystique and not cheap thrills.
Watchmen
Superhero films are oftentimes moronic and usually are aimed at the "ID" audience that desire blood spill without the contemplation or the possible moral defacement. Watchmen stands opposed to those films by providing us with characters who all have fallacious moral compasses. The writer never forces his idealogy or philosophy on us and we must form our own opinions about whom might be the right or wrong character.

Many comic book fans were irate about this film because it did not compare to the comic book. Having read the comic book, I was well aware that no movie would ever dethrone the comic book because any excellent novel can never be reprodouced perfectly by another filmaker.

I had my doubts about Zach Snyder since I abhorred his last film "300" which was basically rampaging mess of violence that pleased the "ID" crowd. But Zach Snyder's visual centered films worked perfectly with Watchmen and greatly impressed me. Again, some fans disliked the film whereas I thought it was wonderful and expertly edited. The montage at the beginning of the film was reason enough for me to herald this film as being a great comic book adaptation.

Other Standouts:
Sherlock Holmes: The film hardly represents the famed Sherlock Holmes from Arthur Doyle's book series. Yet the film strangely entranced me mostly due to the wonderful performances of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. When everyone praises Robert Downey Jr.'s acting ability, they are accurate since within both "Iron Man" and "Sherlock Holmes," he is brilliant.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: Another excellent adaption, thanks to David Yate's talent. Again, nothing will ever match the quality of the books themselves. But the acting ability of the cast really helps in at least granting the fans with a great adaptation more dependant on acting rather than expensive special effects.

Fire Study Review

Flamed colored font has never been more appropriate for a book that's cover and title both reflect the theme of the third and last installment of Yelena's story. As a whole, Yelena has mightfully grown from a girl ravaged by the ghosts of her past to someone who holds her own and becomes the greatest hero within the story. Amazon reviews led me to believe that the ending was bound to greatly dissapoint any readers who loved either "Poison Study," and "Magic Study." Knowing this, I began reading the novel with greatly depreciated expectations. I trepidatiously flipped the pages and prepared myself for the ending that would not serve Yelena's story justice.

With bated breath, I carefully read each page, anxiously awaiting the one scene that would destroy any last hopes I had for a good ending. Towards page "50" or so, the anxiety dissipated and was replaced instead with excitement and deep interest with the direction of the story. Confounded, I continued to search for some remaint of the supposed element of the story that would greatly dissapoint the fervid readers of the Study series.

In it's place, I found myself becoming wrapped up in Yelena's internal struggle and I developed an intense fascination with seeking out the characters who may be potential traitors. Even with my sured hypothesis's, Maria V. Snyder's narratives still caught me by suprise with the relevations within this novel. At the end, I literally yelled "What?" aloud when I happened onto the novel's most pivotal revelation that reveals to us the main plot which began within "Magic Study." All throughout, I never found anything that was contrively developed and nothing detracted from the high opinion I hold for Maria V. Snyder's writing.

Surely, I am within the minority here, but I found "Fire Study," with it's quick pace and compelling plot to be better than "Magic Study." Poison Study," will always keep the top spot because it was my introduction within this well crafted universe with meticulously sketched characters. Even with the story's political intrigue and plot surrounding soul collection; the story's principally about Yelena's growth into an assured young woman whose male peers marvel her individual strength rather than feel inhibited by it.

Anyone whose faced tragedy early in the lives can relate to and be empowered by Yelena's story. Those who have encountered abuse on varying levels easily can gain strength from Yelena's ability to forgive what befell her within her past. Instead of becoming trampled by that pain, she seeks out strength to rectify the things within her present that she was not able to within her past. Yelena's, not a mere character, but a female character filled with innumerable dimensions. Her insecurities are familiar to us and the strength she discovers within a given situation is not an example of deux ex machina but the natural responce to a perilous situation.

I've begun reading "Storm Glass" already and hope to begin reading "Sea Glass," within a matter of weeks. Maria V. Snyder's series, compared with many other series, combines action and great characters. She has the ability to immerse her readers within a world that no individual wishes to escape. She entreats us with a plot that's filled with many unexpected occurences and nuances. If you are seeking a Christmas gift for any reader whose been begging for an adventurous story filled with characters as finely crafted as Buffy's; I encourage you to check out this series.

To Maria V. Snyder, thanks for helping me develop new friendships with characters I wish weren't fettered to the pages of your books.

Curse of the Spider King:The Berinfell Chronicles Book 1

About the Book:

The Seven succeeding Elven Lords of Allyra were dead, lost in the Siege of Berinfell as babes. At least that’s what everyone thought until tremors from a distant world known as Earth, revealed strange signs that Elven blood lived among its peoples. With a glimmer of hope in their hearts, sentinels are sent to see if the signs are true. But theirs is not a lone errand. The ruling warlord of Allyra, the Spider King, has sent his own scouts to hunt down the Seven and finish the job they failed to complete many ages ago.

Now 13-year-olds on the brink of the Age of Reckoning when their Elven gifts will be manifest, discover the unthinkable truth that their adoptive families are not their only kin. With mysterious Sentinels revealing breathtaking secrets of the past, and dark strangers haunting their every move, will the young Elf Lords find the way back to the home of their birth? Worlds and races collide as the forces of good and evil battle. Will anyone escape the Curse of the Spider King?

Personal Note:Glancing through my archive of past reviews, I've noticed my extended absence from the blog sphere. I attribute that to an increased workload at college, work upon my novel, attempts at reading four or five books simultaneously, and the job at the library. The latter really causes no disruption in my schedule except it does exert my energy before day's end.







Review:

Co-authorship typically lends to helping an inept writer write adeptly with the aid of an author who possesses more skill . Wayne Batson and Christopher Hopper are both great writers though and have no need to use one another as a crutch to provide a good story. So based on that tidbit of information, gathered from reading both their series; I had very high expectations for this series. Overall, those high expectations were met and exceeded. While there were some slight faults that caused me to wonder if my high expectations were too "high." I was very expectant of a few faults, seeing as no writer has completely perfected their craft.

"Curse of the Spider King" begins with a plethora of different perspectives, each one provides a new angle and in this case, new beginning for this planned trilogy. Right from the start, I pinpointed the characters whom I thought were crafted by either Wayne Batson and Christopher Hopper. One of my favorite characters happens to have a personality, similar to Antionette's. Though her disorder is one distinct difference from the character equivalent from the Door Within Trilogy. Luckily, some of the other characters prove to be different than the characters of either author's former series. Most would not recognize this because they are either unfamiliar with their other series or are not burdened (or gifted)with scrupulosity.

Similar to Door Within, an archaic text presents character or characters with a universe that has a slew of problems. These individuals, once unknown to this destiny, now found themselves thrown within this universe and discover they must aid in vanquishing the malevolent forces that the forces of good are grappling with.The factor that helps this series separate itself from the Door Within are the various chapters written from the perspectives of the various protagonists represented within the novel. Unlike the Door Within or even Christopher Hopper's series, the reader's granted the opportunity of seeing a story through the lenses of five different individuals which gives the reader a sense of realism. Additionally, it helps us to understand the motives of different characters and understand their reasoning for making certain choices. From a first person perspective or third person omniscient perspective, we are limited to one character's thoughts and we become biased due to the character's offer of opinions about a particular character's choices or attributes.

Admittedly, some of the perspectives were weaker than others and sometimes I found myself wishing to finish that character's perspective in order to resume reading another character's perspective. This fault might be due to my personal preference for a certain character and may not be due to the writing which throughout was concise and greatly detailed. Besides weaker perspectives, I found myself skimming through some of the earlier fight scenes in the novel due to their predictability. For some reason, I felt I had foreknowledge of what would inevitably occur which caused me to feel slightly bored with these scenes. Wayne Batson and Christopher Hopper later remedy this problem with their expertly written fighting scenes with the principal cast of characters and luckily both suspense and thrills are injected into these scenes. Again, those fighting scenes may have been tiresome to me since I have read a multitude of different fantasy novels and am very knowledgeable of the progression of events within these types of passages within fantasy series.

Even with the previous paragraph of negativity, I found this novel to be enthralling and well written. While I was reading this novel, it was easy to note certain sections that really showed how meticulous both these writers were with writing this novel. Nothing within the pages of this book felt unnecessary and every page of this book bolstered the story and helped me to form friendships with the characters. Hopefully, the next installment in this series is released within a year's time as both authors have helped in creating a highly addicting fantasy trilogy.

Thank you Wayne Batson and Christopher Hopper for diverting my attention from my college work and causing me to nearly miss my train stop last month!

Related Song:





Due to the popularity of posting related songs with my books reviews; I've decided to incorporate a song within this review. From reading some of my past reviews, some of you are aware of my obsession with the Dutch band, Within Temptation. If you haven't listened to any of their songs, here's your opportunity. The below video is their performance of "Our Solemn Hour," a song whose lyrics greatly reflects the battle chronicled within the archaic text the heroes of this story are presented with.

If you're interested in learning more information about this wildly creative, bombastic band, check out either their site or my self penned article (printed in my college's newspaper).





http://www.christiansciencefiction.blogspot.com"> Brandon Barr
http://fantastyfreak.blogspot.com/"> Justin Boyer
http://pagesofdiscovery.blogspot.com"> Amy Browning
http://valeriecomer.com/"> Valerie Comer
http://www.the160acrewoods.com/"> Amy Cruson
http://csffblogtour.com/"> CSFF Blog Tour
http://word-up-studies.blogspot.com"> Stacey Dale
http://www.scificatholic.com/"> D. G. D. Davidson
http://sjdeal.blogspot.com"> Shane Deal
http://scriptoriusrex.blogspot.com/"> Jeff Draper
http://home.earthlink.net/~wyverns/"> Emmalyn Edwards
http://projectinga.blogspot.com/"> April Erwin
http://virtualbooktourdenet.blogspot.com/"> Karina Fabian
http://anewnovelistsjourney.blogspot.com"> Todd Michael Greene
http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com/"> Ryan Heart
http://fantasythyme.blogspot.com"> Timothy Hicks
http://jessebecky.wordpress.com/"> Becky Jesse
http://crisjesse.wordpress.com"> Cris Jesse
http://www.spoiledfortheordinary.blogspot.com/"> Jason Joyner
http://www.molcotw.blogspot.com/"> Julie
http://carolkeen.blogspot.com/"> Carol Keen
http://krystisbooks.blogspot.com/"> Krystine Kercher
http://www.tinakulesa.com"> Tina Kulesa
http://www.realheartprints.com"> Melissa Lockcuff
http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/"> Rebecca LuElla Miller
http://mirathon.blogspot.com/"> Mirtika
http://linalamont.blogspot.com/"> Nissa
http://www.leastread.blogspot.com/"> John W. Otte
http://oohbooks.blogspot.com"> Cara Powers
http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com/"> Chawna Schroeder
http://www.jamessomers.blogspot.com/"> James Somers
http://specfaith.ritersbloc.com/"> Speculative Faith
http://www.epictales.org/blog/robertblog.php"> Robert Treskillard
http://frederation.wordpress.com"> Fred Warren
http://www.galacticoverlordinchief.blogspot.com/"> Jason Waguespac
http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/blog/"> Phyllis Wheeler
http://www.novelteen.com/"> Jill Williamson
http://kmwilsher.blogspot.com/"> KM Wilsher

CSFF Blog Tour: Haunt of Jackals Review


Sypnosis:

A decade earlier, Jerusalem's Undead escaped their tombs in the
Field of Blood. One of their group was missing, and he will return with
a vengeance, fighting his fellow Collectors for control of a vile
book--a blueprint that exploits "six things, no, seven, that the Lord
hates," as a way of dragging down mankind.

As the Collectors vie for dominance, Gina Lazarescu finds herself
fleeing through the mountains. She is alone and wounded, but more
determined than ever to find and protect the children in her care. She
does not know that Cal Nichols still has life-shaking secrets yet to
share. She knows only that she is headed for another confrontation with
the Collectors, one that will lead from Romanian castles to the Pacific
Northwest and eventually to the Haunt of Jackals, birthplace of Judas
Iscariot in Israel's arid wastelands.

Review:

"Haunt of Jackals" suits this month perfectly with it's central theme of demonic vampires. Vampires, as of late, have really blossomed within the literary market, all thanks to Twilight. Twilight's vampires though are toned down and are in many ways, not exactly the monstrous vampires which were originally depicted within Bram Stoker's novels. With the Christian market slowly accepting vampire books, we're faced with the best of the vampire stories. Eric Wilson's story was tightly plotted and has some very interesting theories on how the vampires were originally created. And best of all, not one vampire sparkled all throughout the novel. Even better, the words "bliss" and "chagrin" were not found on any page.

I'm a huge appreciator of vampire lore, something many professing Christians would never admit. Hearing of this series filled me with both dread and glee. To my surprise though, Eric Wilson writes these books with great finesse and shows a great appreciation for vampires. His series is not really the first proper Christian Vampire Series. Sue Dent's "Never Ceese" takes the honor of being the first with a redemptive vampirer. Eric Wilson's series involves vampires who are demonic incarnates and this was refreshing for me, after all the romantic vampire stories which seem to receive the most press as of recently. The story also has a great spiritual message which is interwoven expertly in the plot.

An even greater strength of this novel was the existence of strong female characters. Many tend to believe Christians undermine the potential strength of a woman and largely place them within subservient roles within novels. This myth may apply to a few books, but most Christian books feature some of the strongest, most assertive women within contemporary novels. Any readers can attest to this if they read this series in particular. Every girl is naturally developed and are not mere imitations of super females. But are instead true human characters whose strength is derived by faith and not their biological makeup. All the characters, both female and male are fairly treated and are developed very well.

One thing which bugged me during the novel though was the occasional moment of choppy writing. There were a few times where the author glossed over details and merely summarized over sections in order to move the plot further. Some may not notice this minor fault. I noticed because I'm a scrupulous reader. But these moments were enough to cause me to feel detached from the plot at these parts. Luckily these parts are smoothed over eventually and really are far and few. In all, this novel makes me very excited for the next installment and has helped me to gain more confidence in the future releases within the Christian market.

Links of other Tour Participants

http://www.christiansciencefiction.blogspot.com"> Brandon Barr
http://enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com/"> Wayne Thomas Batson
http://quiverfullfamily.com/"> Jennifer Bogart
http://fantastyfreak.blogspot.com/"> Justin Boyer
http://www.AdventuresInFiction.blogspot.com/"> Keanan Brand
http://pagesofdiscovery.blogspot.com"> Amy Browning
http://www.kcreviews.blogspot.com"> Karri Compton
http://www.the160acrewoods.com/"> Amy Cruson
http://csffblogtour.com/"> CSFF Blog Tour
http://word-up-studies.blogspot.com"> Stacey Dale
http://www.scificatholic.com/"> D. G. D. Davidson
http://scriptoriusrex.blogspot.com/"> Jeff Draper
http://projectinga.blogspot.com/"> April Erwin
http://virtualbooktourdenet.blogspot.com/"> Karina Fabian
http://bethgoddard.blogspot.com/"> Beth Goddard
http://anewnovelistsjourney.blogspot.com"> Todd Michael Greene
http://fantasythyme.blogspot.com"> Timothy Hicks
http://jessebecky.wordpress.com/"> Becky Jesse
http://crisjesse.wordpress.com"> Cris Jesse
http://www.molcotw.blogspot.com/"> Julie
http://carolkeen.blogspot.com/"> Carol Keen
http://momofkings.wordpress.com/"> Dawn King
http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/"> Rebecca LuElla Miller
http://mirathon.blogspot.com/"> Mirtika
http://insellyr.blogspot.com/"> Nissa
http://www.leastread.blogspot.com/"> John W. Otte
http://www.jamessomers.blogspot.com/"> James Somers
http://specfaith.ritersbloc.com/"> Speculative Faith
http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/inklings/"> Rachel Starr Thomson
http://www.epictales.org/blog/robertblog.php"> Robert Treskillard
http://christiansf.blogspot.com/"> Steve Trower
http://frederation.wordpress.com"> Fred Warren
http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/blog/"> Phyllis Wheeler
http://www.novelteen.com/"> Jill Williamson
http://kmwilsher.blogspot.com/"> KM Wilsher

Goth Girl Rising Blog Tour Day Two: First of Two Parts: Interview with Barry Lyga




Here's the first interview ever conducted on my blog. This interview was done approximately two months prior to the actual tour date. Being as a writer's schedule is packed, I made sure to send my inquiry and questions in advance. For new readers, I'm doing a blog tour (only one blog included) for Goth Girl Rising. All week there will be reviews of the Barry Lyga books I've and a surprise Friday. It's imperative to read every review as Friday's surprise involves having foreknowledge of anything that's posted throughout the week.

**Caution (for my readers with sensitive ears) there is some profanity within the interview***
I'm including the disclaimer, otherwise I'll face the wrath of a disgruntled reader whose ears are sensitive to profanity. I once posted a story on Fictionpress without the profanity and violence warning and was sent a horrifying email in response from someone who hounded me for five pages. Because of these experiences, I'm very careful when posting anything and everything on the internet.******

1.First let me begin with a general question. Since no one ever throws that insightful questions till around the end. When did you begin writing and what sort of stories did you begin writing?

I remember writing stories at a very young age, as young as nine or ten. And I know that we had story-writing assignments in grade school that I always enjoyed. Most of those early stories tended to be science fiction or super-hero stories, since those were the genres I read at the time.

2.Was there any graphic novel or specific novel that really influenced your writing?

There was no single graphic novel or novel that stands out, but I know that the authors who influenced me most as a kid were a strange mix: Edgar Allan Poe, Paul Levitz, Alan Moore, and Joe Haldeman!

3. As I'm a huge fan of Joss Whedon and since he's really shaped my writing and really inspirited me to write stories that both entertain and impact readers. I'm going to ask this question, just as I've asked other writers. Have you seen or read anything written by him? And if so, which of his creations are your favorite?

Oh, sure, I'm familiar with Joss's stuff. I've seen Buffy, Angel, Dr. Horrible. I think the Buffy musical episode is one of my favorite episodes of TV ever, certainly up there in the top ten with some of Twin Peaks. And the last episode of Angel is just incredible.

4.Here's some more novel related questions. Since not all my blog readers are comic book fans or closet comic book fans. But, are any of the events within any of your novels inspired by real life experiences?

Definitely. A lot of what Fanboy goes through in the novel happened to me, usually filtered through the gauze of memory. I tried to make everything in the novel either sadder or funnier than what actually happened, though.

5.What inspired you to create the character of "Kyra?"

Wish fulfillment! She is exactly the kind of person I wished I'd known when I was Fanboy's age, and since I never had that opportunity, I decided to give it to Fanboy. I made Fanboy's life a lot worse than mine in many, many ways, but knowing Kyra is the major way his is better.

6. Now many of your novels explore many mature themes that teens are unable to find elsewhere within other young adult novels. Your books have explored sexual abuse (Boy Toy), social adversity (Fanboy and Gothgirl), and even freedom of speach "Hero Type." Are there any other issues you'd wish to explore in future novels?

Well, I don't think of my novels as "exploring issues." I just look at kids and look at how they live their lives and what they deal with and I think to myself, "OK, if I were a kid with this sort of life and this sort of attitude and then THIS happened to me, how would I react?" and I take it from there. I certainly never sit down thinking, "With THIS book, I will tackle the issue of [fill in the blank here]."

7.With "Boy Toy," some have written concerned notes in response to the subject matter. And whether it's appropriate for it's general audience. Have you received any similar responses to either "Hero-Type" or "Fanboy and Gothgirl?"

Oh, sure -- no matter what you write or how respectfully you handle an issue, someone will bitch about it. For Hero-Type, someone complained that Kross does not respect his father and, furthermore, was horrified that Kross's mom is -- gasp! -- a lesbian. Tough. In Fanboy, one parent actually complained that Fanboy thinks about sex so much that she was afraid her son would read it and think that if HE didn't think about sex all the time, there was something wrong with him! I hate to break it to you, lady, but if your son is a teenager and he's not thinking about sex, there IS something wrong with him!

8.Since your novels are marketed within the Young Adult market; you're bound to have read many of the books within that specific market. Are there any recent young adult releases that you highly recommend?

There are so many excellent YA books right now that it's tough to only list a few. But Jellicoe Road is one that everyone should read. Also, Ten Mile River by Paul Griffin, After the Moment by Garret Freymann-Weyr, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steve Chbosky, which isn't recent, but everyone should read it.

9. Now a question for all the aspiring writers such as myself! But do you have any tips on the best method for writers to send their drafts to publishers? I'm asking this since there's always questions about the process but never about how one is to pique a publisher's interest.

I find that most aspiring writers ask this question far too early; early efforts are best spent crafting a kick-ass piece of writing. If you do that, you won't have any trouble landing an agent or a publisher. But I write a series of Writing Advice articles on my blog, and that's a topic that will be coming up soon, so I encourage your readers to check it out at http://barrylyga.com/writingadvice.

10.Another writing question; Do you listen to any music while you're writing?

Sometimes. I don't have any sort of hard-and-fast rule about it. Some days I just feel like cranking up the music while I work and other days, I like it quiet.

11.Any final comments you wish to share besides shameless self promotion?

Just the shameless self-promotion will do. :)

Thanks again Barry Lyga for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions!!

Day one of the "Goth Girl Rising" Blog Tour:

Plot Summarry:

Time is a funny thing in the hospital. In the mental ward. You lose track of it easily.

After six months in the Maryland Mental Health Unit, Kyra Sellers, a.k.a. Goth Girl, is going home.

Unfortunately, she’s about to find out that while she was away, she lost track of more than time.

Things seem normal at first. Roger’s his typical, pain-in-the-ass fatherly self. Jecca and Simone and the rest of the goth crowd still do their thing. And Kyra is back in black, feeling good, and ready to make up with the only person who’s ever appreciated her for who she really is.

But then she sees him. Fanboy. Transcended from everything he was into someone she barely recognizes.

And the anger and memories come rushing back.

Fanboy. The Spermling. Miss Powell. Roger.

Her mother.

There’s so much to do to people when you’re angry.

Kyra’s about to get very busy.

Seeing I've been far too occupied with college homework and work on "Death Seer," four individuals shall be offering their review of Barry Lyga's newest novel "Goth Girl Rising." To those who are unaware of Barry Lyga's works, I highly recommend all his books because his books are effective in conveying their intended messages. And also all his books are highly entertaining and contain the great amount of quotable quotes that will ultimately stick with you for a long period of time.

Be sure to check my blog every day this week for a review of Barry Lyga's other books. And also just for your knowledge, today's the official release date of "Goth Girl Rising," even though Amazon and a host of other online outlets shipped copies three or four weeks in advance. Anyways, that's my only input for this review. My special guests shall be overtaking this review.


First Take on the Book (from Princess Cordelia)

"Excuse me for a bit; I've recently returned from one of Angel's missions. And those migraine inducing vision thingies that those "Powers that aren't" sent me really puts a strain on my thought process. So hope you don't mind my occasional incoherent comment about the book "Goth Girl Rising. The one theme in which I especially loved was the author's effectiveness in furthering Kyra's development. Within the first novel, we're only shown one dimension of her character from Fanboy's perspective. From Kyra's perspective, we're able to see her conundrum of thoughts related to everything that unfolds in her life. This helps the reader to finally feel some sympathy for the character we once thought to be a very malevolent, yet misguided person.

Kyra felt like someone I know like either Angel or the Gorugula. Though she might be a tad bit irritating like Darla and confusing like the detached Druscilla. Her feelings seemed natural to those who've gone through the hell of high school. As some know, my high school was a literal hell. In my honest opinion, I believe Barry Lyga writes better female characters than male characters. Since every thought and action of Kyra seemed authenticated and Kyra possessed more personality than some of his male protagonists. I hope Barry Lyga writes from a female perspective more often because Kyra truly breathed some fresh air into a setting which was starting to grow old.

Anyways, I loved the book and even handed it to Angel, knowing he would appreciate this book, being as he is a bit of a softy. I have to go now and fight some ghastly demons in this skimpy dress of mine. Let's hope I don't get too much carnage on this, especially the hand crafted tiara."


Second take on the book: (Gambit)

"Why am I being commissioned to write this review? Can't I simply just say it was excellent even if everything within the novel seemed resolved far too easily. Though I'm relieved that the ending was ambiguous enough to forgive the ending which seemed to be an easy one. Delving into the misguided Kyra's head was definitely awkward for someone like me to read. Especially her references to some of the women related things that I'm only familiar with when Rogue whines about them on occasion. Saying this might be a bit out of character for me. But I found Fanboy to be a tad bit infuriating towards the middle of the book. His tendency to ignore Goth Girl's input on things frustrated me as much as Kyra. I thought I'd never be able to understand the thought process of a female. Yet, reading the scenes between Kyra and fanboy caused me to realize that our thoughts are similar to those of females. In all, we're not much different from the other. The book was engaging and has helped me to feel more sympathetic towards the identity conflicts of teens and aided in having more patience with Rogue during one of her tirades. Thanks to Barry Lyga, I'm on the road to gaining more understand to the workings of a female and having more of an ability to see they're equal to us in many ways. Also just as Kyra mentions within the middle of the novel, no male should perceive any female as being an object for them to play with. All in all, great book and nice allusions to "Sandman," one of my favorite reads."

Third Take:(Boy Struggling with mire)
"Being one of the Gashycrumb Tinies, I'm destined to die sometime after finishing this review. I read this book while struggling to stay atop the mire I've been forced to eternally walk. Till I become greatly exhausted and meet my fated end. One of the elements I appreciated was Kyra's struggle with the concept of death. Since I'm accustomed to death and am afraid of the unforeseen elements of it, I really identified with Kyra and understood every doubt she had about death. These passages greatly resonated with me and really eased my fear of death. I know inevitably I'll die someday. At least,I can lead out a meaningful life while fighting against the mire of life. Death's only frightening for those who have not lived a life where you've shown compassion to others and tried your best to fight against the mire.

Many young adult writers or other writers avoid writing about death because it's a hard topic for any human being to grapple with and write about. Luckily this book approached the topic in a manner that's easy for anyone to relate with.

Maybe I will write more reviews sometime. That's if, the mire does not catch up to me in the next month or year."

Fourth Take:(Miniature Kyra)

"I may be a miniaturized Kyra but I still retain her spunk and her personality. If you want one of your own mini Kyras, be sure to check out this awesome offer. These Kyras shall hopefully aid in the betterment of society since we're not afraid to speak the truth. I was very satisfied with this book because it finally allowed me the opportunity to reveal all my doubts and insecurities, which were formerly hidden due to Fanboy's biased views. I finally was able to appear as someone who was not nefarious or entirely angst ridden. Instead I was shown in favorable light and portrayed to readers as someone whose struggling just as much as other teens and adults with finding my place within this crazy world. One of the story's elements I loved was the unfinished poem about my mother's death and how each new element of the poem ultimately matched with my developing feelings surrounding the entire incident. I won't offer any more information about this unique piece of the story as it'd reveal one of my core conflicts for myself throughout the novel. Hopefully we'll see more books from my perspective or other females from Brookside High School. Because whether Barry Lyga will ever admit it or not, he has really taken great care in writing a well shaped female character. If Joss Whedon were to see this story, he would definitely be proud about the fact that there are other males like himself who are not afraid to write strong female characters which members of any gender can identify with.

Be sure to check in tomorrow for a review of "Wolverine's Worst Day Ever!," the first of Barry Lyga's youth X-men series!"