COMING SOON FROM RANDOM HOUSE CHILDREN'S PUBLISHERS

When I received my first invitation to Random House's Summer Blogger's Brunch I have to admit I jumped up and down and squealed. How could I pass up the opportunity for book updates, cakes, a blogger meet-up and a very quirky author reading?! RHCPs have some amazing books coming out soon, and here are some of my favourite picks:

Now is Good (Before I Die) by Jenny Downham
To be published 30th August 2012

Tessa has just months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, drugs with excruciating side-effects, Tessa compiles a list. It’s her To Do Before I Die list. And number one is Sex. Released from the constraints of ‘normal’ life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up. Tessa’s feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, and her new boyfriend, all are painfully crystallised in the precious weeks before Tessa’s time finally runs out.

Above is the trailer for the film Now is Good, featuring Dakota Fanning, which will be out this September.

*****

The Terrible Thing that Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne
To be published 2nd August 2012

There's nothing unusual about the Brockets. Boring, respectable and fiercely proud of it, Alistair and Eleanor Brocket turn up their noses at anyone strange or different. But from the moment Barnaby Brocket comes into the world, it's clear he's anything but normal. To the horror and shame of his parents, Barnaby appears to defy the laws of gravity - and floats.

Little Barnaby is a lonely child - after all, it's hard to make friends when you're ten feet in the air. Desperate to please his parents, he does his best to stop floating, but he just can't do it. Then, one fateful day, Barnaby's mother decides enough is enough. She never asked for a weird, abnormal, floating child. She's sick and tired of the newspapers prying and the neighbours gossiping. Barnaby has to go . . .

Betrayed, frightened and alone, Barnaby floats into the path of a very special hot air balloon. And so begins a magical journey around the world; from South America to New York, Canada to Ireland, and even a trip into space, Barnaby meets a cast of truly extraordinary new friends and realises that nothing can make you happier than just being yourself.

*****

The Paladin Prophecy by Mark Frost
To be published 27th September 2012

Will West is careful to live life under the radar. At his parents’ insistence, he’s made sure to get mediocre grades and to stay in the middle of the pack on his cross-country team. Then Will slips up, accidentally scoring off the charts on a nationwide exam.

Now Will is being courted by an exclusive prep school . . . and is being followed by men driving black sedans. When Will suddenly loses his parents, he must flee to the school. There he begins to explore all that he’s capable of—physical and mental feats that should be impossible—and learns that his abilities are connected to a struggle between titanic forces that has lasted for millennia.

*****

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone
To be published 25th October 2012

The Time Traveler's Wife for teens; Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett’s unique ability to travel through time and space brings him into Anna’s life, and with him, a new world of adventure and possibility.

As their relationship deepens, they face the reality that time might knock Bennett back where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate—and what consequences they can bear in order to stay together.

*****

Acquired by RCHP only a month ago this book isn't yet on Goodreads, but it is set to be a fast paced thriller.

Crusher by Niall Leonard
To be published 13th September 2012

To catch a killer, Finn Maguire may have to become one...

Everything changed the day Finn found his father in a pool of blood, bludgeoned to death. His dull dreary life is turned upside down as he becomes the prime suspect - how can he clear his name and find out who hated his dad enough to kill him?

Facing danger at every turn, uncovering dark family secrets and braving the seedy London underworld, Finn is about to discover that only the people you trust can really hurt you...

*****

Dodger by Terry Pratchett
To be published 13th September 2012

A storm. Rain-lashed city streets. A flash of lightning. A scruffy lad sees a girl leap desperately from a horse-drawn carriage, in a vain attempt to escape her captors. Can the lad stand by and let her be caught again? Of course not, because he's ... Dodger.

*****

Photo by Phrased and Confused

As part of the Blogger Brunch we also got the opportunity to meet the very quirky and unique Laura Dockrill. She is the author behind her forthcoming book about 10 year Darcy Burdock which is scheduled for publication in early 2013. Her reading was passionate and brought the character to life as if she actually was Darcy (not far from the truth as she admitted afterwards!) Her talents as a writer, poet, illustrator and performer come to life in her books (she already has YA/adults books published) as well as her outward demeanour, and I can only imagine how much the children must love her at the schools she visits, all of which sets a promising landscape for her first children's book. Look out for Darcy Burdock in 2013.


Other titles coming soon from RCHP include:

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick - To be published 2nd August 2012
Enders (Starters #2) by Lissa Price - To be published 6th December 2012
Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel - To be published 2nd August 2012
Hot Blooded by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie - To be published 6th December 2012
Muddle and Win by John Dickinson - To be published 30th August 2012
Red Rain by R.L. Stine - To be published 11th October 2012
The Feathered Man by Jeremy de Quidt - To be published 1st November 2012
The Flappers: Ingenue by Jillian Larkin To be published 5th July 2012
Rapture by Lauren Kate - To be published 21st June 2012

ANGRY ROBOT ANNOUNCES STRANGE CHEMISTRY LAUNCH TITLES

Strange Chemistry - the YA imprint of award-winning indie genre fiction publisher Angry Robot - has announced two deals that will help launch the list into publishing super-stardom. I can't wait for Strange Chemistry to launch, it's super exciting!

The imprint will launch in September 2012, and imprint editor Amanda Rutter has revealed that Strange Chemistry’s first two titles will be…

Shift by Kim Curran
When your average, 16-year old loser, Scott Tyler, meets the beautiful and mysterious Aubrey Jones, e learns he’s not quite so average after all. He’s a ‘Shifter’. And that means he has the power to undo any decision he’s ever made. At first, he thinks the power to shift is pretty cool. But as his world quickly starts to unravel around him he realises that each time he uses his power, it has consequences; terrible unforeseen consequences. Shifting is going to get him killed. In a world where everything can change with a thought, Scott has to decide where he stands. 

The first title – Shift – will be published in September of this year, with the second to follow in 2013.

Visit Kim online at http://www.kimcurran.co.uk/

Poltergeeks by Sean Cummings
Julie is an apprentice witch – or so she believes. When a dark power comes stalking out of the past to haunt her and her mother, Julie learns that she is far more than just a witch. With the help of her best friend Marcus and a rather unusual Great Dane, Julie has to race against time to ensure she can defeat the bad guy, save her mother and avoid being grounded – again! 

Amanda Rutter, says: “We have signed Sean for two novels in the Poltergeeks universe, the first to be published in October of this year with the second to follow in the summer of 2013.

Visit Sean online at www.sean-cummings.ca and www.darkcentralstation.com.


More information can be found at strangechemistrybooks.com and angryrobotbooks.com.

TOR'S JANUARY 2011 FANTASY RELEASES

For those of you interested in Fantasy, Tor have given a list of 'January Releases for Fantasy' (click for link).

Fiction Affliction is a monthly column written by Royal Street author Suzanne Johnson that examines upcoming releases by genre or sub-genre including fantasy, young adult paranormal, and science fiction. The following are  new releases in FANTASY. I've added links to Goodreads as well as Suzanne Johnson's summaries.

The Soul Mirror, by Carol Berg (Jan. 4, Roc)

In a royal city beset by hauntings, avian plagues and strange sinkholes that swallow light and buildings, whispers of necromancy swirl about the queen’s volatile sorcerer. Scholarly, reclusive Anne de Vernase rejoices that she lacks magical talent since her father’s pursuit of illicit sorcery left her family in ruins. But a plague of murders compels Anne to investigate matters beyond science—a centuries-old rivalry, the boundaries of death, and the most dangerous sorcerer in Sabria. Second in the Collegia Magica trilogy.

Of Truth and Beasts (Noble Dead), by Barb Hendee and JC Hendee (Jan. 4, Roc)

In the newest Noble Dead outing, young Journeyor Wynn Hygeorht finds herself cast into the wilds on a dangerous quest for knowledge that may instead lead to her doom. This is the third book of Noble Dead, Series Two. The first book of Series Three is scheduled for release in January 2012.

Spellweaver, by Lynn Kurland (Jan. 4, Berkley)

Lynn Kurland returns to the Nine Kingdoms for another story of magical romance. Ruith had long managed to ignore the magic in his veins, until aiding Sarah with her ill-fated quest forced him into places where his heritage was impossible to deny. Faced with an ever-increasing number of enemies who covet his power, Ruith must accept his birthright and gather his father’s spells so he can destroy them—or turn away and allow his father’s evil to overcome the Nine Kingdoms. Romance alert!

House Name, by Michelle West (Jan. 4, DAW)

The House War series centers on the most popular character in The Sun Sword series—a young woman named Jewel who survives both the everyday perils of being an orphan in the slums of the city of Averalaan and the demonic dangers of the Undercity. She rises to become a key figure in House Terafin, the most important of the Ten Houses of the Essalieyan Empire. At the close of The Sun Sword series, the House War is about to begin. Now the war begins.

The Hammer, by K.J. Parker (Jan. 5, Orbit)

Gignomai is the youngest brother in the current generation of met’Oc, a once-noble family exiled on an island for its role in a vaguely remembered civil war. On this island, a colony was founded seventy years ago to mine silver. Now, an uneasy peace exists between the colonists and the met’Oc, who are tolerated since they alone possess the weapons considered necessary protection against the island’s savages. Gignomai is about to discover exactly what it is expected of him, and what it means to defy his family. He is the hammer who will provide the spark that ignites a brutal and bloody war.

Harbinger of the Storm, by Aliette de Bodard (Jan. 25, Angry Robot)

In the second Obsidian and Blood novel, death, magic and intrigue are pervasive in the Aztec world, which teeters on the brink of extinction. As the political infighting starts within the imperial court, Acatl, High Priest for the Dead, makes a macabre discovery in the palace: a high-ranking nobleman has been torn to pieces by an invocation—and it looks like the summoner belongs to the court itself.

The Sentinel Mage, by Emily Gee (Jan. 25, Solaris)

Her magic may be the only thing that can save a prince—and the Seven Kingdoms. In a distant corner of the Seven Kingdoms, an ancient curse festers and grows, consuming everything in its path. Only one man can break it: Harkeld of Osgaard, a prince with mages’ blood in his veins. But Prince Harkeld has a bounty on his head, and assassins at his heels. At his side as his armsman is Innis, a gifted shapeshifter posing as a man. Only the magic Harkeld loathes may stand between him and death.

The Warlord’s Legacy, by Ari Marmell (Jan. 25, Spectra)

Corvis Rebaine, the Terror of the East, a man as quick with a quip as he is with a blade, returns in this sequel to The Conqueror’s Shadow. Now Marmell raises the stakes in a story with the humor and action of its predecessor, plus a new villain evil enough to be a match for Rebaine himself, who returns in his trademark suit of black armor and skull-like helm, armed with a demon-forged axe, in command of a demonic slave, and with allies that include a bloodthirsty ogre.

The Sworn, by Gail Z. Martin (Jan. 25, Orbit)

Summoner-King Martris Drayke must attempt to gather an army from a country ravaged by civil war. Tris seeks new allies from among the living and the dead as an untested generation of rulers face their first battle. Meanwhile, the legendary Dread are stirring in their burrows after millennia of silence and no one knows what hand wakes them and whom they will serve when they rise. Now, Drayke turns to the Sworn, a nomadic clan of warriors bound to protect the Dread. But even the mighty Sworn do not know what will happen when the Dread awaken. The Sworn is the beginning of a new adventure set in the world of The Chronicles of the Necromancer.

Heart of the Exiled, by Pati Nagle (Jan. 25, Del Rey)

The Bitter Wars left a world divided. Now the ælven governors convene at Glenhallow, while the savage kobalen gather in numbers not seen in five centuries. Vastly outnumbered, the ælven clans will send barely trained guardians to confront the kobalen, and a young female warrior, Eliani, will be entrusted with the most crucial mission of all: to reach distant Fireshore and learn why their governor has not responded to the call to war. But Eliani cannot see the dark force watching from the Ebon Mountains.

The Griffin’s Flight, by K.J. Taylor (Jan. 25, Ace)

In the newest installment in the Fallen Moon series, Arren Cardockson—brought back to life by a power beyond his understanding—flees for the frozen sanctuary of the North. With the man-eating griffin Skandar by his side and an entire country hunting him, Arren has little hope of reaching the place of his ancestry and of lifting his curse. But then he comes across a wild woman who may hold the key to making his lifeless heart beat once more. Romance alert!

The Executioness, by Tobias S. Buckell (Jan. 31, Subterranean)

In paired novellas both illustrated by J.K. Drummond, Tobias Buckell and Paolo Bacigalupi explore a shared world where magic is forbidden and its use is rewarded with the axe.

In the The Alchemist: In the beleageured city of Khaim, a lone alchemist seeks a solution to the bramble, a plant that feeds upon magic. It presses upon Khaim, nourished by the furtive spellcasting of its inhabitants and threatening to strangle the city under poisonous vines. Driven by desperation and genius, the alchemist constructs a device that transcends magic, unlocking the mysteries of bramble s essential nature. But the power of his newly-built balanthast is even greater than he dreamed. Where he sought to save a city and its people, the balanthast has the potential to save the world entirely—if it doesn’t destroy him and his family first.

In the The Executioness: In Khaim, the price is your head if you’re found using magic. For the use of magic creates bramble, a creeping menace that has covered majestic ancient cities and felled civilizations. In order to prevent the spread of the bramble, many lose their heads to cloaked executioners such as Tana, who takes the job from her ailing father in secret, desperate to keep her family from starvation. But now her family has been captured by raiders and taken to a foreign city, so Khaim's only female executioner begins a quest to bring her family back together.

Brayan’s Gold, by Peter V. Brett (Jan. 31, Subterranean)

Return to the world of The Warded Man and The Desert Spear in a new novella by Peter V. Brett, illustrated by Lauren K. Cannon. Humanity has been brought to the brink of extinction. A scant few hamlets and half-starved city-states are all that remain of a once-proud civilization, and it is only by hiding behind wards, ancient symbols with the power to repel demons, that they survive. A handful of Messengers keep the lines of communication open between the increasingly isolated populace. Arlen Bales is seventeen, an apprentice Messenger about to go out for the first time on a simple overnight trip. Instead, he finds himself on a frozen mountainside, carrying a dangerous cargo to Count Brayan’s gold mine, one of the furthest points in the duchy.