Cat Friday (24)

The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison

The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison
"Penelope (Lo) Marin has always loved to collect beautiful things. Her dad's consulting job means she's grown up moving from one rundown city to the next, and she's learned to cope by collecting (sometimes even stealing) quirky trinkets and souvenirs in each new place--possessions that allow her to feel at least some semblance of home.

But in the year since her brother Oren's death, Lo's hoarding has blossomed into a full-blown, potentially dangerous obsession. She discovers a beautiful, antique butterfly pendant during a routine scour at a weekend flea market, and recognizes it as having been stolen from the home of a recently murdered girl known only as "Sapphire"--a girl just a few years older than Lo. As usual when Lo begins to obsess over something, she can't get the murder out of her mind.

As she attempts to piece together the mysterious "butterfly clues," with the unlikely help of a street artist named Flynt, Lo quickly finds herself caught up in a seedy, violent underworld much closer to home than she ever imagined--a world, she'll ultimately discover, that could hold the key to her brother's tragic death."- summary from Amazon

Wow, this was one hell of a debut! I absolutely loved it and had trouble putting it down. Ellison's prose is just so fascinating to read and the twists and turns are just amazing. It was a compelling mystery and while I had a feeling who the murderer was (mainly through elimination of who'd been in the novel) way before Lo did, it was still a little bit of a shock when it was revealed.

Ellison did a great job handling Lo's OCD and hoarding problems. They were so well integrated into the whole story, which was nice because sometimes I read a book where a character supposedly has something but doesn't exhibit any signs at all. I really felt for Lo when her OCD got the best of her and when others tried to interfere while she did it; plus, she's very insecure about it and how people view her, even though she tries her best to hide it.

While in the middle of writing this review, I had a chat with the awesome Shanyn of Chick Loves Lit about this book. I want to tell everyone that this is not a paranormal. I know it doesn't look or sound it (the "violent underworld" in the summary made me think a paranormal element might be inside), but it is. This is a wonderful, gritty contemporary with a great romance in it too. I loved seeing Lo and Flynt together- they had an interesting chemistry and some rocky obstacles to overcome.

Overall, I cannot recommend this book enough. This book is one of the reasons why I'm glad contemporary is still being published and I'm happy that there's been such great buzz for it. It really deserves it. So go grab a copy on February 14!

FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Author Interview- Lynn Weingarten

1) How did you get the idea for The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers? Were you ever involved in your own Secret Sisterhood?

I was reading a non-fiction book about how to pick up women and was thinking about the idea of using “tricks” to get potential romantic partners. Like, it’s kind of icky, but also really interesting because some of these tricks really seem to work. So then I started trying to come up with fun ways of putting this in a YA novel. And SSH was what I came up with.

I have not myself been a member of any Secret Sisterhoods . . . OR HAVE I? ;)


2) What are you currently working on? Can you tell us anything about it?

I’m currently revising the sequel to The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers. I know that it is not really obvious from the first book that there is going to be a second book. But there is. A very cool thing is getting to read reviews for book one while I’m working on book two. I’m definitely taking some peoples’ comments into account!

As for the new idea, actually I just came up with an idea today that I have spent the morning typing up so I can send to a writing buddy. I cannot tell if it is fun or completely insane. If this is the last you hear about it, it was probably the latter.


3) Since I've already asked you your favorite Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor in a previous interview, what's your favorite snack to have?

Yes! I remember that. That’s still one of my favorite interview questions of all time. I love snacks. I’m currently in Scotland and one of my favorite things to do here is go to the fancy grocery store and browse the snack aisle since everything is still exotic and new to me here. They have a ton of delicious jams and jellies here, so lately I’ve been eating a lot of butter and jam on toast. Also I love little chocolaty things (like chocolate straws or mini Kit Kat darks). Also wasabi peas. And these things called Hula Hoops which are little crunchy circles that you can put on your fingers. I also really like snap peas, orange segments, popcorn, and mini tomatoes. Basically anything you can eat with your hands without getting too messy. (Although I snack a lot while I’m working and very regularly have to de-crumb my keyboard).


4) What was the worst break-up you ever had? Do you think you would have gotten involved with the Heartbreakers if they existed?

I had a breakup in high school that hurt an awful lot, part of the reason it was so awful was because it was my first real heartbreak and while in theory I knew that I would one day feel better, I did not yet have any personal experience of having my heart broken and then getting over it. So I didn’t have any, y’know, proof. I also had a breakup in my mid-twenties, which took me a long time to get over.

I don’t think I would have gotten involved with the Heartbreakers in real life if they existed, however if someone came up to me when I first had my heart broken and said they could fix my heart, I’d definitely have wanted to stick around and hear WHATEVER they had to say.


5) What book(s) are you reading now, or are about to start? Do you have a favorite book from 2011?

I just finished Why We Broke Up this morning and thought it was absolutely wonderful. Now going to dive into Game of Thrones, which a friend and I are reading for our two-person book club. I read a lot of awesome books in 2011 so I’m not sure I have a favorite, but A Visit from the Goon Squad was really excellent.


6) You're currently in Scotland. How are you enjoying it?

I am loving it very much! I’m in Glasgow, which is a relatively compact city (especially compared to NYC which is where I was before), so it is pretty easy to get around and feel like I sort-of-ish kind of-ish know where some things are. I have met some really nice and friendly people. I know everyone is different and generalizing is bad and all of that, but I have found Scottish people to be, as a rule, very hilarious. I have heard some very good jokes from the cab drivers here.

I do get homesick and miss my friends/family in the US, but with email/twitter/facebook/free-texting-apps/skype and my magical phone, which lets my US people call me on a local number (and it goes to my UK phone), make it absurdly easy to stay in touch.

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
"NEWSOUL

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL

Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART

Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?"- summary from Amazon

It took me a bit of time to get into this book. I mean, it was interesting enough to keep me turning pages but it wasn't until Ana got to Heart that things really started to pick up. From there, secrets were revealed, amazing fight scenes happened, and there was a very interesting climax.

I liked Ana's journey through the book, as she leaves isolation and meets new people, and has to rewire her thinking because her Guardian Li has been filling her head with lies. Meadows did a good job slowly changing this throughout the book. Ana and Sam were really cute together and I loved their interactions, seeing them do the will-they-won't-they dance. I also really liked some of the other characters we meet in Heart, like Stef and Armande.

The world-building of Heart and the soul reincarnation was done really well, though there's still some questions left unanswered and I hope those are addressed in the next two books. The climax was big and unexpected and I simply can't wait to see where Meadows takes us next!

Don't forget to take part in the Incarnate Theatre Treasure Hunt, which is going on until February 6!

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Incarnate Theatre Treasure Hunt! + Interview with Katherine Taub

Welcome to the INCARNATE Theater Treasure Hunt!

This week, 45 bloggers are celebrating the release of INCARNATE by Jodi Meadows by participating in a treasure hunt with clues, activities, and lots of prizes including signed books and handknit fingerless mitts. You've reached a CLUE blog, which means somewhere on this page is a clue to finding the hidden page and grand prize entry form on Jodi's website. Follow 26 clues to get there!

For more information on the INCARNATE Theater Treasure Hunt, check out Jodi's post.

(Pictured above: a knitted version of Councilor Sine from the book!)

I have an interview today with Katherine Taub, the voice actress for the audiobook of Incarnate by Jodi Meadows.

1) What brought you to the world of audiobooks? Is Incarnate your first one, or have you done others previously? Is it difficult to make that transition from traditional acting to only using your voice?

Incarnate is my first Audiobook. I somewhat stumbled into the world of Audiobooks by chance. As an actress, I am always open and have my ears-peeled for new and exciting opportunities. A few years back, another actor friend told me about a general audition for an audiobook producer at Deyan Audio. It was there, where I met Bob Deyan, who produced the Incarnate Audiobook. We didn’t work together immediately, but we kept in touch until the right book came my way. As for making the transition from traditional acting to voice acting, it is not so much as difficult as it is different. I love it. I find it somewhat-freeing, although you are more physically confined. At least with the audiobook. Every movement I made was picked up on the microphone. So I had to sit very still. But there is also a freedom to just play – and I found myself using my face a lot to help emphasize the various characters. But because there is no camera, you don’t have to worry about looking silly or anything else for that matter. (No “hair & make-up” is always nice!)

2) What is the recording experience like? How long did it take to record Incarnate? Any funny anecdotes?

I had a ton of fun recording Incarnate! I recorded over about 4, 6 hour days. There was also a big learning curve as this was my first book. I learned that I had more control in the recording booth than I originally thought. If I didn’t like how I read something, I had the freedom to stop and re-do it. If I made a mistake, you just go back and pick it up again. I felt very supported by the directors and producer, who were all so nice and helpful. We were a team.

There were lots of funny mis-steps. Words that would just come out wrong or I would transpose letters. Towards the beginning of the book when Ana & Sam are near the cemetery, she refers to the copse. And I was convinced it read corpse. We got a chuckle out of that one. Hey, she was at the cemetery after-all!

3) How do you prepare for the recording and get into the mindset and voice of multiple characters?

I prepared by first reading the book very carefully, in its entirety, getting lost in the story. I tend to read books & scripts as if I am the characters living in their world. I think it is my imagination that fuels me as an actor. So I jumped in that way. Then I made a list of all of the characters. I sat down with that list and just started thinking like the different characters and improvising from their point of view. Often images, or physical characteristics of who they were would come to me. Like Li, to me she was just a Witch. So that informed how I wanted her to sound. And when I began speaking as her, her sound organically came out. Then I would make notes on that sound to remind me later. I color coded the whole script – with each character being a different color. And when they spoke, and I saw their color, my mind automatically knew who was speaking, which made it easier to jump between characters. Of course, there were times where I had to stop recording and get my bearings on who was speaking and make sure they sounded like they did the day before!

4) When not acting, what do you do in your spare time?

I am very fortunate to live by the beach, and love to take walks there or just spend time outside near the water. I love spending time with my friends and family. I also like to travel, do yoga, ski, try new restaurants, read and see movies. I’m a pretty normal girl!

5) What is your favorite Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor (or flavors, if you're so inclined) or, if you don't like jelly beans, your favorite snack?

I’m more of a chocolate, sweets person! In all forms. Especially with caramel!. Rolos, Kitkats, brownies, that type of thing.



My clue for the password is . . . Fourth word: s
Remember, there are no spaces in this password!

Check out these other clue blogs (this is not the whole list):

Fictional Distraction
Stuck In YA Books
Ramblings (of a fiber obsessed transplant Vermonter)