Interview with Author, C J Skuse | Blog Tour

Hi guys,

So I know I've been MIA for a while but today I'm bringing you something so exciting, something I'm super happy I got to take part in. As part of the 'Monster' Blog Tour being run by Mira Ink and MaximumPop Books I got to interview the author of Monster, C J Skuse. I got introduced to C J when we both followed each other on Twitter and had a few conversations with each other through tweets.

So without further ado, lets get into the interview.



Question 1. What is Monster about?

Ostensibly, it's about six girls who become trapped at their remote boarding school during one snowy Christmas holiday and an horrific murderous beast is outside trying to get in and rip them all to pieces. It's also about a girl who needs to dig deep to find out how strong she truly is - and only facing off with such a monster can bring that out.


Question 2. What inspired you to write Monster?

A few things really - seeing a news article about the Beast of Bodmin Moor. A big desire to write a story set in a boarding school. I also really wanted to write something with an all female group at its helm, like Amazon women, fighting now only to remain civil to one another but also to survive against all the odds.


Question 3. Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Always keep your phone on you, don't fear the mad girl and find out where the key to the javelin cupboard is kept.


Question 4. Did you read as a child, if so who did you most look up to?

As a child I loved Roald Dahl, Beatrix Potter and Enid Blyton. I really looked up to Beatrix Potter because she did all her own illustrations too. I couldn't draw at all. I still draw the way I did when I was eight, with people having arms at right angles and the sky being a strip of blue half way up the page.


Question 5. What are some of your favourite current reads?

You can't go wrong with a bit of UKYA/UKMG. Anything by Keris Stainton, Cat Clarke, CJ Daughtry, Kevin Brooks, Keren David, Holly Bourne, Jo Nadin, Emma Haughton, Hilary Freeman, Anthony McGowan, Fiona Dunbar, Louise O'Neill, Melvin Burgess, Helen Grant, Non Pratt, Zoe Marriott or Lee Weatherly gets my vote.


Question 6. We know that Monster was recently released but are you working on anything new?

I've just completed 'The Deviants', that's the next one out this time next year. It's been described as The Famous Five meets We Were Liars and it's probably the most important book I've done so far. I'm plotting Book 6 now. That one is, well, interesting. Doesn't look like it's going to be YA this time either so I'm a bit scared and probably a lot out of my depth.


Question 7. Did you learn anything from writing your books, and what was it?

I have always written for one reason - to write the monsters out of my head. It's a catharsis for me and sometimes I need it like medicine. I wrote my first book to work out how I felt about losing someone. I wrote Rockoholic to compartmentalise my obsession with an unattainable life. I wrote Dead Romantic to give Death the middle finger and to work out what I wanted from love. I've learned something new with every book I have written. With Monster, I've learned to focus my anger on an objective, rather than just lashing out all the time.


Question 8. What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Choose a story to tell which you are passionate about because sometimes it's only your own passion for it that keeps you going. Start as you mean to go on. Don't write for the market because the market will leave you behind. Ignore the haters but embrace the criticism. Find a decent literary agent who loves your work as much as you do at the earliest opportunity. Don't let life get in the way - JK Rowling is right when she says you need to be ruthless about protecting your writing time. And be prepared for a long wait. Nothing happens quickly in publishing unless you're very lucky and hit a trend (accidentally) at the right time.


Question 9.  What's your favourite thing about Halloween?

When it's over.


Question 10. Would you like to say anything to your readers?

Thank you for being insane enough to take a chance on my books and sane enough to enjoy them. I'm always trying to be better for you. And stop breaking my spines. I hate that. *inserts smiley face*




ABOUT THE STORY

At sixteen Nash thought that the fight to become Head Girl of the prestigious boarding school, Bathory would be the biggest battle she'd face. Until her brother's disappearance leads to Nash being trapped at the school over Christmas with Bathory's assorted Misfits. As a blizzard rages outside, strange things are afoot in the school's hallways, and legends of the mysterious Beast of Bathory - a big cat rumoured to room the moors outside the school - run wild. Yet when the girls' Matron goes missing it's clear that something altogether darker is to blame - and that they'll have to stick it out together if they hope to survive.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

C.J. SKUSE is the author of the Young Adult novels PRETTY BAD THINGS, ROCKOHOLIC and DEAD ROMANTIC (Chicken House) and MONSTER (Mira Ink). She was born in 1980 in Weston-super-Mare, England. She has First Class degrees in Creative Writing and Writing for Children and, aside from writing novels, works as a freelance children's fiction consultant and lectures in Writing for Children at Bath Spa University. C.J. is currently working on her second novel THE DEVIANTS for Mira Ink.
Follow her on Twitter @CeejaytheAuthor




MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT http://realitysabore.blogspot.co.uk/ TOMORROW FOR THE LAST DAY OF THE 'MONSTER' BLOG TOUR!

Top 5 Wednesday: Halloween Recommendations

Top 5 Wednesday was set up by Lainey over at GingerReadsLainey. Every week you have a new topic and you pick your top 5 choices for each topic. This is done in Vlogs, but I think it will be great for Bloggers to do as well. Today's topic is Top 5 Halloween Book Recommendations. This week is the official day that Halloween takes place, so it seems fitting that I get to recommend some creepy reads.

Are you prepared for all the creepiness?



FIFTH PLACE: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey.

This isn't so much of a scary read, but it's definitely a bit creepy and it's all about an Alien invasion. When I was reading this book I just could not put it down and I continued to read even though I was a little freaked out. The pacing of the book matches the pace of Halloween and it's turning into a movie, so it's also the perfect time to read the book before the movie gets released in 2016.





FOURTH PLACE: Angelfall by Susan EE.

Once again, we are joined by the end of the world. Only this time it's being taken over by fallen angels. Angellfall is an intense and quite short apocalypse book that features a crazy-ass character who you'll be shocked by what she does. You're also drawn into the world that is nothing like ours. It's short sentenced and intense. The absolute perfect Halloween read.



THIRD PLACE: Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter.

I've mentioned this so many times already, but it is seriously
one of my absolute favourite trilogies ever. It's fast-paced, action-packed and has a unique take on Zombies. What you'll be interested in hearing is that this isn't a Zombie-fied retelling of Alice in Wonderland, but it's actually an interpretation. Also Kat is one hell of a hilarious character. The stuff she comes out with is so weird.





SECOND PLACE: Under the Dome by Stephen King.

This is one hell of a book, it's also incredibly big. Over 800 pages in fact. The premise is basically very simple: a dome covers a town and supernatural things are happening. It also features a lot of crazy in the head characters. This is also a TV show, but they're completely different. I will say, I prefer the TV show, but that's because of Barbie and his beautiful face.




FIRST PLACE: The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare.

You're probably thinking, The Mortal Instruments? Really? Well my answer would be, yes I am serious. The Mortal Instruments is a blend of Fantasy, Paranormal, Action and Adventure. In this delicate world there's Demon hunters, Vampires, Werewolves, Faeries and some scary-as-hell characters. The thing about this series is that it has one of the best conclusions ever. Plus Jace is gorgeous.

Halloween is the time to read a lot of Horror and Paranormal books and I hopefully will do the same, but I'm more of a Horror movies person, because it's better to visual it. Also, nothing scares me, so reading a book would be pointless.

 

What books would you recommend me to read for Halloween?

Top 5 Wednesday: Books I thought I'd hate, but loved

Top 5 Wednesday was set up by Lainey over at GingerReadsLainey. Every week you have a new topic and you pick your top 5 choices for each topic. This is done in Vlogs, but I think it will be great for Bloggers to do as well. Today's topic is Top 5 Books you thought you'd hate, but ended up loving. There's not many books that I really thought I'd hate, but loved, so this week was easy. If anything it would've been harder if the topic was books you think you'd love, but hated. 

HERE ARE MY TOP 5:




FIFTH PLACE: Angelfall by Susan EE.

There's actually a reason as to why I thought I'd hate this book, and that's because I tried reading it twice before and could not get into it. I'd manage one chapter and would give up, so when I tried reading it for the third time I was surprised by how much I started to like the book. Once it was over I needed to get my hands on the next book, luckily for me World After was released about two weeks later.




FOURTH PLACE: The Selection by Kiera Cass.

I was judging the book by it's cover, which is very girly, but pretty. It's a girl in a dress and it looked more like a middle grade princess book, rather than a Young Adult Dystopian. However, the book was really good. I loved America Singer and the whole idea of a Dystopian that's a mix of The Bachelor and Big Brother. The best thing about the book is that it took me about three hours to read. I will admit that I've yet to read the sequel, The Elite. But I will do one day.





THIRD PLACE: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.

I had never read a Rainbow Rowell book at this point, but I had heard a lot about her. Every Booktube video I watched; Haul videos or tag videos included a Rainbow Rowell book, so when I started it I wasn't entirely sold on the idea. However, Eleanor and Park attached themselves to my heart and clung to it, never letting go. Their story is one that I recommend to everyone because it is one of the best pieces of Young Adult fiction. In fact I think it'll be a classic in a hundred years time.




SECOND PLACE: Divergent by Veronica Roth.

This book has been mentioned in a lot of my T5W posts, but this one has to be in it because I was that surprised by the book. I HATE The Hunger Games so much, so when my friend pitched this idea of Divergent to me I was bored. It seemed so similar and I knew I was going to hate it, but boy was I wrong. So wrong! The book had me hooked from page one and I stayed up until four am reading it, even though I had an exam that morning.






FIRST PLACE: Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

I did not like Beautiful Creatures one bit. It was too dragged out and it took me about two weeks to finish, even though I know that a book that size can take me about three days. So when I decided to start Beautiful Darkness I thought it'd be the same, but once again I was so wrong. I read it in two days and couldn't stop flipping the pages. This book was and is the best one out of all four books.

 

I really liked this topic because it makes you realise that you really can't judge a book by it's cover or it's synopsis. You have to judge the book purely on what's on the inside and each and every one of these books have proved that. I told you guys my top 5, but what are yours?

 

Comment in the comment sections and lets discuss!

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon starts on October 18th

 

 

Now, I have heard of Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon, but I've never actually taken part because I like my sleep too much, but this year I will be taking part because I finally have a lamp in my room. Yay! Anyway, my plan is to read two books during the 24 hours, but I will have more on standby in case I

 

A) Finish both books

 

B) Can't get into one of the books

 

This way I won't be wasting time choosing which books to read after. Plus it means I can focus solemnly on reading and drinking tea.

 

 

BOOK ONE: Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini.

 

Pages: 518

 

When shy, awkward Helen Hamilton meets Lucas Delos for the first time, she thinks two things: the first, that he is the most ridiculously beautiful boy she has seen in her life; the second, that she wants to kill him with her bare hands.
An ancient curse means Lucas and Helen are destined to loathe one another. But sometimes love is stronger than hate, and not even the gods themselves can prevent what will happen next...

 

 

 

 

 

BOOK TWO: Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini.

 

Pages: 384

 

Lily's life never goes according to plan, and after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class Lily wishes she could just disappear.
Suddenly Lily is in a different Salem - one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruellest of all the Crucibles is Lillian . . . Lily's identical other self in this alternate universe.
Lily realizes that what makes her weak at home is exactly what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. It also puts her life in danger. (Summary shortened)

 

 

 

 

BOOK THREE: The Perfectionists by Sara Shepard.

 

Pages: 272

 

In Beacon Heights, Washington, five girls—Ava, Caitlin, Mackenzie, Julie, and Parker—know that you don’t have to be good to be perfect. At first the girls think they have nothing in common, until they realize that they all hate Nolan Hotchkiss, who’s done terrible things to each of them. They come up with the perfect way to kill him—a hypothetical murder, of course. It’s just a joke...until Nolan turns up dead, in exactly the way they planned. Only, they didn’t do it. And unless they find the real killer, their perfect lives will come crashing down around them.  

 

 

 

 

BOOK FOUR: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken.

 

Pages: 488

 

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.
When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

 

 

 

 

 

So...that is my short TBR for the 24 hour read-a-thon. Like I said, I only plan to read the first two, but if I finish them then I can continue with the rest. My survival kit for the 24 hours is books, tea, tea, food, more tea, chocolate, more tea, hour nap, tea and then more chocolate.

 

What are you planning to read for the 24 hours? Will you survive?

 

To sign up:

 

Read-a-thon website

Sign up post

Times

 

 

Sit down and pour yourself a cuppa.

October TBR

IT'S HALLOWEEN. WELL ON THE 31ST, BUT I'M EXCITED! PUMPKIN SCENTED CANDLES ARE THE BEST!

 

 

 

Now I'm not someone who really sticks to my TBR's, but I'm trying to get better as I'm trying to read one hundred books this year, so far I have read 82, which is great, but not good enough. So this TBR is split into two parts because I have my normal TBR and then my Halloween TBR. One of the books in the Halloween part is a Contemporary and that's because it's part of Carrie Hope Fletchers Booktober.

 

So let me show you what I'm hoping to read.

 

 

 

PART ONE

 

 

 

Wake by Amanda Hocking.

 

 

This book has been on my TBR list for a couple of months because my friends have enjoyed it a lot, so I wanted to read it. It's about a girl called Gemma who loves taking late-night swims and one morning wakes up on the beach with a weird feeling. She's faster, stronger, and more beautiful than ever. I know it doesn't sound epic, but I'm taking part of NaNoWriMo and I'm writing a novel about Sirens, it's called Sirena and is the first in The Sirena Legacy.

Goodreads




Queen of Zombie Hearts by Gena Showalter.

This is the third and final book in The White Rabbit Chronicles and I'm both excited and sad about this book. I'm excited because I love the world that Gena has created, but I'm sad because it's ending. This series is about a girl called Alice Bell who loses her parents in a car accident and finds out that she's special. What's unique is that in this world you have to fight the zombies in the spirit realm. It's seriously addictive!

Goodreads




You Against Me by Jenny Downham.

I read Before I Die by Jenny Downham a while back and really enjoyed it, what Jenny writes about are quite heavy subjects and this one is no different. It focuses on a guy called Mickey who's sister has been raped. The guy gets sent down and Mickey's world starts to crumble when he falls in love with Ellie. Who's brother is the one who raped Mickey's sister. I'm hoping I'll like it, but I'm not one hundred percent sure I'll love it.

Goodreads




Lips Touch by Laini Taylor.

I received this to review from Hodder and it publishes on October 23rd. I'm so excited. This is three short stories published as a full book with illustrations done by Laini's husband Jim. The illustrations are beautiful and all three stories sound great! They're about Goblins and Demons, so perfect for the Halloween time. My review of Lips Touch will be uploaded on October 21st.

Goodreads





The Jewel by Amy Ewing.

This is a new release and one I am very excited about. In this Dystopian world, young girls are auctioned off to become surrogate for posh couples. Like most Young Adult books this one has a boy involved that crashes Juliet's world to the ground. My only hesitation is that I'm not sure this is a solid idea for a trilogy.

Goodreads






 PART TWO - HALLOWEEN EDITION

 

 

 

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.

 

This is a re-read for me, but this is the forth choice for Carrie's Booktober and I had to take part. I love Eleanor and Park so much. The story is both beauty

ful and heart-breaking, I cried so hard at this. If you haven't read this then it's about a girl called Eleanor who's overweight, ginger with wild curly hair who moves into this small village and instantly becomes the outcast. On her first day of school no one offers her a seat, until Park does. Park is Asian and loves comics and music. That first day is the start of Eleanor and Parks love story.

 

Goodreads

 

 

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa.

 

A Dystopian world where Vampires use human as their blood cattle. I read over 100 pages a while back and stopped because my fingers reacted to the covers, but what I did read was amazing. So fast paced. Plus this is the perfect read for Halloween. Blood. Death. And Vampires. What more could you want?

 

Goodreads

 

 

 

 

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake.

 

I can't really say much about this book since I don't know much about it myself. All I know is that Anna haunts this house and kills those that trespass the property, but Cas kills the dead and somehow they fall in love. This one is slightly creepy and has been warned that young readers should not read it, unless they are prepared for it. The cover is gorgeous though.

 

Goodreads

 

 

 

 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

 

This comes out as a movie on tomorrow and I am excited for it. I'll be reading the book first, of course, but I've heard so much good stuff about this novel. The book is about Nick Dunne who's wife Amy goes missing and he is the main suspect because of the journal that Amy kept. The way this is written looks amazing as it's told in days, so chapter one is in Nick's POV and it's on the day of Amy's disappearance. I may not get to this novel, but if I don't then I'll read it in November.

 

Goodreads

 

 

 

 

So.....yeah, those are what I plan to read. My main goal is to read just 6 of the books, but if I read all 8 then I would be very happy. All the books seem great and I'm super happy. What have you planned to read? Are you going to follow a list or are you just going to grab a book off your shelf? Let me know in the comments below.