vampires – An Unconventional Librarian

My friend Sara, author of Paraestrals, just wrote a book about teens who get arrested for murder at a school dance. I’m hooked already, how about you?

I thought it might be fun to have Sara tell us a bit about herself and her book. Take it away, Sara!

Well I’ve been writing children’s and teenage fiction for over ten years now. Paraestrals is my first full length novel from a six part series I hope to continue publishing over the coming years. I’ve always loved reading stories, but being dyslexic it was challenging to put my own tales onto the page, but I got there in the end. By working my way up the ladder, entering several writing competitions, having some of my poems and short stories published in free literary articles, to my ebook being available on Amazon now.

Book Synopsis:

Paraestrals is a narrative coming of age horror/thriller, about a young girl whose world is turned upside down as the origins of her dark lineage surface.
‘My name is Samantha LeFay; I’m young, popular, with my whole life ahead of me, what can go wrong – everything! After turning sixteen and suddenly becoming allergic to the sun along with a few other weird afflictions, my life begins to unravel at the seams, as my friends desert me, my boss at my weekend job forces me to quit and my stepmother nags me to the point of insanity.
My life’s different now, I’m different. As the people at school would put it I’m a freak – Sammy LeFreak. I don’t know if they’re right, all I know is the sun burns my skin, I suddenly have the strength to throw a guy ten foot in the air and my body craves a particular substance..…Blood!’
Paraestrals is no ordinary Vampire tale, my story takes the reader along with Sam as she discovers this hidden side she never knew she had, and follows the decisions she makes when it comes to how she’ll use these new found powers she possesses.

     Paraestrals is part of a six part mini series and you can read the first Two Chapters for FREE on my official website: http://paraestrals.weebly.com/volume-i-chap-1-2.html

My Literary likes & hates:

     I have to say I’m a big fantasy and horror fan. Anything that transports me to another world or is able to scary the wits out of me is a must for any book that I lay my fingers on and if a book can do both then mores the better. I also like gritty crime stories, thrillers that make you jump about until the very end and paranormal spine chillers, which are all my kind of thing too.

     Smoochy romance’s, fluffy chick lit and Historical tales maybe great reads for some, but I’m afraid they just don’t feed my literary appetite very well. I’ve read the odd one that’s been okay, but I always tend to edge back towards a darker or more magical tale.

Best horror read:

     It has to be the Saga of Darren Shan. It’s a 12 book mini series which follow the trials of a young vampire boy. These books were so different from other vampire stories I’d read before – he made the blood suckers seem so plausible and real, which really scared the hell out of me when I first read this series.

Worst romance story:

     I can’t actually remember the title of this book. It was one of those summer holiday reads you grab in a 3 for 2 offer at the supermarket, and after attempting to read this book not only on the plane ride over to my holiday destination, on the beach and a few months later when I came home – I just couldn’t get through it. With its unbelievable characters, silly made-up “chance” meetings and overly “prince-like” men the main character always fell for. I’m afraid it ended up in the bin.

It was GREAT getting to know you Sara, but I’ll admit, I don’t like to be scared, although I do love a good vampire read…

Paraestrals official website: http://paraestrals.weebly.com/index.html

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paraestrals-Volume-I/400047086696678

Twitter: @Paraestralsbook

Ebook Amazon link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paraestrals-Volume-I-ebook/dp/B0092NIUY4/

I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Veronica Wolff this summer at BEA (Book Expo America). Naturally when she told me she wrote a YA series I was intrigued. Veronica Wolff is author of the Isle of Night series and Pumpkin’s new bestie!

The Isle of Night series is like any teen boarding school story. Pretty girls, handsome guys, super hot instructors, vampires, and violence. That’s right, The Isle of Night is no Facts of Life sitcom. Unless of course, you’re Vampire and you enjoy watching young women beat each other to death. In that case, you’ll be right at home.

If you’re tired of the simple minded heroine who needs a guy to rescue her cuz she can’t function in life on her own, this book isn’t for you. If you’re a young lady with a brain, hate gym class, and feel like a misfit, then you’ll be able to relate to our heroine Annelise Drew. What I love about our protagonist is that she’s smart. Crazy smart in a Mensa candidate kind of way. She’s smart and she knows it and she LIKES being smart. She doesn’t value herself based on her looks, which in her mind are nonexistent, and as a side note, hardly drive the story line.

Kudos to Wolff for giving us a character who isn’t obsessed with shopping or drinking or doing drugs. Our heroine finds herself at a boarding school training to help vampires. All of the students are misfits in some way and Annelise can’t figure out how to fit in. What she does figure out is how to survive: and that’s by avoiding getting killed by her roommate and her Mean Girls minions.

How good is this book? As I was 30 pages in, Pumpkin took the book from me, finished it and devoured book 2 in one day. When I finally got Isle of Night back, I stayed up until 1230 to finish it. I’m dragging today, but IT. WAS.WORTH. IT.

I liked the book so much I’m making it my to avatar. Oh and did I mention that one of the secondary characters is a cute Japanese boy? Wolff must have heard my yippees as I rejoiced in the multicultural characters! I give Isle of Night four paws. But be warned: it is violent and there is language.