What I'm Reading: 8-20-14

   A friend of mine recently told me that I should probably share what I'm currently reading with everyone on my blog. The more I thought about it the more it made sense to me.  So, from now on, every time I start a new set of books I'll do a post like this. Just so you know, when I read I usually read several books at one time. Why would I torture myself by reading multiple books at one time? Real simple, I look at reading kind of like watching TV. I don't like to watch the same thing on TV all the time, so why would I want to spend days just reading one book. Therefore I pick several books & go back & forth, from book to book reading as low as 10 pages at a time before I switch reading material. Sometimes I can't put a book down & I read more. Still, I eventually have to read another book while in the middle of another, usually my max is about 100 pages before I need a break. It's nothing personal to the authors, perhaps I have some strange literary version of ADHD, but no matter the reason this is how I do things when it comes to reading. So I try & pick a book out of several different genres & a list of personal categories I made up myself. The categories are, one book from a Goodreads Giveaway, at least one book from the book club I help moderate called All About Animals, & one personal pick. Sometimes there is a fourth category and that would be one my BFF not only suggested I read, but mailed me. This may seem chaotic, but it helps me move through books faster when I hit a slow spot in another or tire of reading the same genre after a few days. Each time I finish a book I will start a new post like this to update you on how I feel about what I've read so far & what new book I've added to the mix.

  Now that I've explained the insanity that will soon be my post about the books I read & how & why I read them that I way, I will try get to the more interesting part of the post & attempt to not bore you with anymore explanations.

  First, in my stack of books currently being read, is one that I'm reading for my book group All About Animals. I found out about it when the publishers asked if I would like to read their book & review it since I was a moderator for an all animal book group. I said yes of course since I can't say no to a free book & I love anything animal related. The name of the book is Travels With Casey by Benoit Denizet-Lewis. It is a terrific book so far & I suggest that animal & dog lovers alike should add this to their Must Read book list. The book is essentially about a gentleman who decides to take a cross country trip with his dog because he not only wants to explore & understand our countries obsession with our dogs, but he's also afraid his dog doesn't like him that much & hopes the trip will help them strengthen their bond. I can see where one might initially think that this book can't possibly be that interesting, I mean how much can there be to report on the dog culture in the US & who in the world could possibly feel their dog dislikes them. Trust me, even I at first wasn't sure I would find much interest in it, but once I started reading it I had plenty of laughs, learned a lot & didn't want to put it down to read the next book in my Currently Reading selection. First off, the book starts with him in a psychologists office, who much like Freud, believes in taking his dogs to work with him. There he explains his hangup with his dog Casey & why he believes that dog would prefer a different life. From there we move onto the authors RV trip where he has preplanned many stops around the US where he will talk to people who have been talked about in dog culture, train dogs, sell dog stuff & a great many more people who do something related to dogs in one way or another. The book is jammed full of fun & interesting facts about dogs & plenty to learn even for the most avid dog owner. It is also very entertaining, not just because of some of the weird people the two of them meet, but because of the authors ability to bring an appropriate amount of humor into his story telling. From crazy NY dog parks & the war about the poop scoop laws in 70's NY city to a discussion with PETA leader Ingrid Newkirk, on over to Florida for a pet Expo & even all the way to California with famous dog Trainer Cesar Millan & many many more well known & even obscure dog people. There are also a bunch of great photos from his trip included in the book.  There are not enough words to express how much I'm loving this book, so, please grab a copy & read it with me. I'm also including a nifty book trailer my fellow book club moderator found. In the video the author shares some video clips of his trip & explains his book, please check it out if your interested or need some more convincing.





  Now for my next book selection, which falls under the category of Gooreads Giveaway. This is an important category to me since I regularly enter these & if you've read my earlier post about Free Books you know I feel strongly about reading & reviewing these gifts. This one is called The Curse of the Thrax By Mark Murphy.  On first look at this book it appears rather unimpressive. The cover illustration is a little cartooney & doesn't do the book justice. It was described by some to be a middle grade story & comparable to Harry Potter, but that doesn't seem like a correct description. Yes, like Harry Potter, the book is a great read for all ages & rotates around a group of early-teen to mid-teen friends who attend school together, but that's where the similarities stop. Honestly, it starts out reading like a fantasy with dragons & prophecy's, but as you start to understand some of the stuff the main character, 14 yr old Jaykriss, is describing you slowly start to see that things aren't what they appear. What initially seems like a book with a backdrop that appears Medieval eventually starts to look like a Dystopian world that has been covered up by a Dark King. The world is kind of what I imagine a world might be like if someone banned books & machines that were created around the turn of the century to the beginning of the 20th century. A world that fell back to the way Medieval Europe was, but not everyone is aware of what is being covered up. So far, the book is wonderful. The dialogue is great & the character motives are believable. I am actually spending a large amount of my time bouncing between this & Travels With Casey. Pretty much I read about 20-30 pages of this & then do the same with Benoit Denizet-Lewis' book. This too has become a surprisingly hard book to set aside & stop reading. It is evidently going to be part of a trilogy that is being called The Bloodsword Trilogy & I can say with certainly that even though I'm only about halfway through it that I'm extremely excited for the second book. I know once I'm done with it that I won't want to stop there & will need to follow that characters through the rest of their journey. It is a rather large book about 317 pages, but definitely a great read for middle school & up. The author doesn't dumb anything down & I truly feel that the characters are written the way they would act if such a place were real.

 

  So far we have talked about my online book club book & my Goodreads Giveaway book, but we still have two more to tackle. My next book is one that my BFF, the same BFF who told me to write posts like this one, suggested I read. Long before these posts, Goodreads, co-moderating a book club, & doing reviews for free books I was trading & suggesting books with my best friend in Las Vegas. We use to work together, since then we have moved apart, or perhaps I have since she still lives in Vegas & I live near Pittsburgh now. Still, that hasn't stopped us from sharing our favorite books & occasionally mailing each other stacks of Must Read Literature. This book is one she sent me months ago & I've been meaning to get to, but it's just so damn big. She raved about it, but unfortunately it took me waiting so long to read it that two weeks ago Starz came out with episode one of a new series based on it. Of course, now that it is a TV show I feel the need to read the book so I can watch the whole first season when it comes out on DVD. Sadly, I didn't realize what I was watching until halfway through the show & thus had to at least finish episode one before swearing off the rest of the series until I can finish the extremely large book called Outlander by: Diana Gabaldon. The general gist of the story is a British ex WWII  nurse & her teacher & genealogist husband go on a second honeymoon in Scotland after the war ends. Part honeymoon & part excuse for her husband to tract his ancestral roots. while there they visit a few places & when she decides to go back to a set of standing stones, where her husband & her had watched what appeared to be a pagan ritual the night before, to find a flower that caught her eye she is suddenly sucked back in time through one of the stones to 1743 Scotland. The Highlands of Scotland during this time are war torn as well & she has no idea where she is at first or how to get back home once she does figure it out. Evidently this becomes a series of books that my friend tells me are equally as good as the first. I personally have only read a few pages, but a wonderfully written & well researched first few they are. I'm sure as I wind down reading on one of my other books that I'm currently reading I'll pick up some speed on this one. All I can tell you is that my slow progress on it isn't from lack of interest, just a full plate of reading material. Though the show appears to be doing a fabulous job interpreting the book to TV, I have to admit that if you are the type who enjoys the details in a story then the book is filled with little bits the show misses.

  

  Finally we reach my more personal book selection. This is a category that I chose to remind myself that I need to occasionally read something for myself. That though it is great having so many people willing to send me books & suggest books, that I really need to make sure I take care of my personal reading interests as well.  I picked this book up at my favorite book sale, Oakmont Library's $5 bag sale where you can purchase a grocery bag for five bucks & you're allowed to stuff it full of whatever books catch your eye or interest. The library does this about twice a year to make room for their backstock of used books that are donated for sale in their library used bookstore. Quite possibly the best library bookstore I've ever seen. While I know this has been made into a Broadway musical, I still haven't seen or read Wicked By Gregory Macguire. This book is a particularly nice copy since it also has about 16 pages of full color pictures from the Brodway musical staring one of my favorites Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda & Idina Menzel as Elphaba aka The Wicked Witch of the West.  Right now I'm about 1/3 of the way through the book & I love it. I've always loved the Wizard of OZ & all the crazy variations people of come up with like the Sy-Fy channel's mini-series The Tin Man & so on. I will warn that this is a very adult version of the story we all know & love & is really meant for the fans who read the original books & grew up & want to read another take on the story. This take on L. Frank Baums classic story is from the witches point of view. The adult topics that are approached in the book are things like the mother of the witch cheating on her husband constantly & an OZ separated by racism. The witch is born to a relatively normal family, but it is hinted that the mother slept around & that the deformed baby that becomes the witch is not the husbands child. She is misunderstood, mistreated & later sent to boarding school with a young Glinda who is a snobby & pretty young girl initially going by the name of Galinda. By a peculiar twist of luck & some bad decisions the two end up becoming roommates & from there the story really starts to take off. So far, as far as I've read, The Wicked Witch of the West is actually a kind misunderstood girl who is green with sharp teach & goes by the name of Elpahba. I still have yet to get to the part that turns Elphaba into the witch we all know. Still, I'm enjoying every page. The author certainly has a knack for taking a well known story & turning it into something new & original. I also have another book of his that I need to read that is about Cinderella's stepsisters side of the story & he's written one about Ebeneezer Scrooge having family. A definite must read for adults who enjoy all things OZ.

 

  So, that should rap this post up. Those are my four picks for my Currently Reading pile. As I finish each book I will post updates of my final thoughts & my review & what book I will be reading next to take it's place in the category I finished. Please stay tuned for more thoughts about these four fabulous books & perhaps an author interview with one or two of them. I'm still working on writing up Mr Jeff Bauer's interview questions about his book called Sadie Sapiens, so please check back for that too. Thank again for stopping by & feel free to tell your friends about my blog & to post any comments you have about it below. Take care & TTFN.

Interview With Author Merry Brown

  Today's Guest Author 

Merry Brown

   Hello, it's good to be back. My apologies for having been away for so long, I've been feeling a bit under the weather. Anyway, on to more exciting things. Today I have an author Interview with new YA Paranormal writer Merry Brown. Currently she has two YA Paranormal book series in the works. Her first & debut book series is called The Exiled Trilogy. At this point in time she only has two of the three books to this trilogy in print. Book one of The Exiled Trilogy is called The Knowers & book two is The Second Fall. Her second series is The Four Families Series. She also has two books published in this series too, book one is Gold Manor Ghost House & book two which just came out about a week ago is Crimson Hall Ghost House. Both series are wonderful & though they can be categorized as YA Paranormal I will warn that the real focus of both series is the human element. She does a great job with character development, pulling you in by making you invested in the people the story is about. Of course what else do you expect from a teacher of Philosophy. I have to admit that my personal favorite is her Four Families Series. I think the thing that fascinated me about series is that the whole story primarily takes place on the set of a TV show.  Before I get into the actual interview I just want to share the two reviews I wrote for the first book of each series, the description of each series, & what the cover of all four books looks like. Of course if none of that interests you & you just want to skip to the interview itself than please feel free to scroll to the bottom & enjoy.

The Ranting Bookworm's Review of: The Knowers: The Exilled Triology,  #1

   Just when you think you've read every type of supernatural book there is & know everything there is to know about the topic, an author like Merry Brown surprises you with something new. I don't know what to say without ruining the surprise of what some of the people in this book are, but what I will say is that it surprised me & for as much stuff as I've read in this genre it takes a lot to surprise me. The book was a little slow at first, but that was only because the author is great at building her characters & getting you invested in who they are. This is the second book I've read that Ms. Brown has written, the first in the Exiled Trilogy, & I was just as happy with it as I was the last book I read. I am now a full fledged fan of Merry Brown books & I hope more people join me in my love for all she writes.

 

Synopsis

   Will’s sole ambition is to get out of high school alive and away from his vicious father. His brilliant plan to fly below the radar blows up in his face when he gets involved with the mysterious Lizzy. Will worries for Lizzy’s safety, exposing her to his dangerous world, only to discover what Lizzy really is and what she fights. How can Will, a Knower, and Lizzy, a daughter from The Garden, possibly find a way to be together?  

The Ranting Bookworm's Review of: Gold Manor Ghost House: The Four Families Series, #1

  I loved the concept of a YA Paranormal Fiction taking place on the set of a new TV show that's being filmed. It was a fresh new approach. The characters are all either very likable & or just plane fun to read about. I really don't have a bad thing to say about it. As I don't like to rehash the synopsis of a book since that can be easily found on the book cover or in the Goddreads descriptions, I will keep this short. Occasionally there were a few typos, but it wasn't so bad it interfered with the story & quite frankly I haven't read a book lately that doesn't have something that slipped past the editors. I also really felt like the characters where real people from the entertainment business with paranormal problems. Obviously this ends with a bit a of an open ending, but not so open that you are left feeling heart-sick due to lack of some resolution. I finished the story craving more & I can't wait to read the second book in the series. Thank You, Merry Brown for introducing me to your books &  making me fall in love with your writing. You have gained a new fan.

*** A quick note to those interested in the book covers to the Four Families Series. There is an eerie beauty to them, but I think some of it is missed when you don't have the books in front of you. Both books have a similar picture on the back of the book with the character in a slightly different pose. Gold Manor Ghost House for instance has the same picture on the back of the book as the front, but in that one the girl is looking directly at you with her crazy off color eyes, much like the eyes of the character Anna. The second book Crimson Hall Ghost House shows the girl from the front of the book on the back as well, but there her scarf is removed & her hair is down.

 Synopsis

Anna thought life was going to be awesome. She was right…and wrong.
Won her dream job acting in a hit TV series. Check.
Working with her best friend. Check.
Met the boy of her dreams. Check.
The set’s haunted and she’s in the middle of a supernatural war. Uh, check?

  Anna Rose Ellington is sixteen and living in Hollywood, hoping to be a star. Anna just landed a major role on Ghost House, Teen TV’s new fall drama. A show promising to be so hot, Meg Sweet (the reigning teenage diva), signed on for the lead, and Adam Lewis (international rock sensation) is a principal player.

  Her dreams are falling into place until she gets on set and begins questioning her sanity. It’s true she has an unusual dream life, where once in a while her dreams literally come true. But it’s been a while. On top of her dreams not staying put in her brain, including the guy she’d been dreaming of for years, the house they’re filming in, Gold Manor, might actually be haunted. But that’s the least of her worries.

*** Another quick note. As you may have noticed, I only have reviews for the first book of each series. That is due to the fact that I've only read the first of each. As soon as I read & finish the next two I will post my thoughts on them on here too.  

The following is the Author Interview As Promised

(TRB=the Ranting Bookworm aka Jolene, MB=Merry Brown)  

• TRB: How do you feel being a teacher of philosophy helps & or effects your writing? I find it difficult to believe that the two don't effect each other, whether intentionally or not.

            MB: It is because of my philosophical interests that I decided to write.  I love reading YA paranormal novels, but many of the philosophical assumptions I’ve come across drive me crazy!  Certainly in the Exile Trilogy I get on and off my philosophical soap box quite a few times.  In the Four Families series, my perspective is still present, as it is for most writers.  I think I will always work in philosophical themes I’m passionate about.

• TRB: I noticed all your books have some sort of basis in or connection to either Bakersfield, CA or Martin, TN. Do you do this because you find it easier to write about places you're familiar with or just because you love them so much?

           MB:  Both, really.  I was happy to set the first book of the Exiled Trilogy in my hometown of Bakersfield, CA because I wanted Lizzy to see the beauty present, even there.  I thought it would be fun for The Four Families to be primarily set in Martin, TN, where I currently reside.    

•  TRB: What made you choose the YA Paranormal genre to write for? Is this a genre you set out to write about or was it just a happy accident?

            MB: As a philosopher I love thought experiments.  Writing in the paranormal genre is suited for thought experiments because you have the rules of the normal world, with a few exceptions.  You get to play the “what if” game: What if everything is as it is, but… and you get to see where the exception(s) takes you.

• TRB: The Paranormal theme in your stories always seem to be a secondary theme / element. I find the human relationships seem to be the actual focus of the stories, would you agree & is it on purpose?

            MB: Yes!  What is more interesting that real relationships?  To me, nothing.  The paranormal sets the world askew, sets up the drama, but the heart of the matter, the driving force is the relationships.

• TRB:  What inspired you to place the Four Families Series on the set of a TV show?

            MB: When I started writing Gold Manor Ghost House, before it had a name, there was Anna who had vivid dreams that sometimes followed her into the waking world.  I was quite a few chapters into the story, but I didn’t know what surrounded Anna.  At that time, my oldest child was into a teen TV drama and the idea of a TV show as a backdrop hit me. 

It just about killed me, but I started the book over, saving only the idea of Anna and her dreaming condition.

• TRB: Where did the inspiration for Four Families back story come from, is it drawn from some sort of already known mythology or is it all your own creation?

            MB: I came up with it.

• TRB: How many books can we expect from the The Four Families Series, so far we have two?

            MB: I’m planning at least two more in the series, maybe three.  I’m not certain.  In my mind The Four Families is a TV series and I’m writing episodes.

• TRB: Why did you start writing books? What inspired you to start writing your first book The Knowers: Book One of The Exiled Trilogy?

            MB: I started writing because I was under the misimpression that if I was writing, I wouldn’t be eating.  As a weight loss strategy of sorts.  Well, I’m here to tell you it’s easy to eat and write at the very same time!

I wrote The Knowers because I wanted to write a love story for my boys to read.  I’ve read many YA romances that didn’t paint the picture I wanted them to see the possibility of, so I decided to write it myself.

• TRB: When can we expect the third book to your Exiled Trilogy?

            MB: Early 2015?  It’s tentatively called The United.

• TRB: Now back to some slightly more personal questions about you & your love for writing. As a teacher, mom, & wife how do you find time to write? 

            MB: I think it’s like anything.  If you care, you can usually find the time.  When I’m inspired to write, I write.  Sometimes I really want to write, but I have to work or take care of the people I love.  But I’ve arranged my schedule such that when there’s down time, I write (for instance, all members of my family are currently asleep!).

• TRB: When you sit down to write what are some of the comfort items you like to have near you to help your creative juices flow? (music, coffee, tea, a pet, pics, etc...)

            MB: I usually drink coffee, I eat snacks (when I can, I love a piece of orange cake from The Looking Glass), and I usually listen to music.  I’ll put my headphones on, choose an album and put it on repeat.  The music recedes into the background and I’m in the zone.

• TRB: Who is your literary hero?

            MB: Can I say Plato or Augustine?

            TRB: Of course you can, they count ;-)

• TRB: How often do you write?

            MB: During the school year I meet with my writing partner, Lisa Smartt (you should look her up!  She has a great Southern romance series, Doug and Carlie), three times a week.  Some days I have to work on lectures or grade, and some days I watch cat videos, but many days I eventually settle down and write.

• TRB: Is there any advice you might have for new & or aspiring writers that you never got when you first started, but looking back you would have liked someone to have shared with you?

            MB: In the beginning, after I published my first book, I couldn’t think or talk about anything else.  I drove those around me crazy! Find someone who writes and is doing what you do to talk to about it because you will drive your friends insane if you don’t.  This is your interest, your life, not theirs.  Find others writers to talk to.

It is really hard!  Only do it because you love it.  Have realistic expectations. 

• TRB: Did you have a parent or teacher that inspired you to follow your dreams & ambitions for writing?

            MB: My parents have always been supportive of my endeavors.  My husband too, for which I am very grateful.  But as for writing, given my proclivity to misspell any and all words in the English language and beyond, I never wanted to write until recently.

• TRB:  How do you feel about the whole eReader vs Paper debate?

            MB: I have no feelings about it, really.  I personally prefer paper.  I say, read, read, read!

• TRB: Do you have any other book ideas, aside from the two you already have going, in the works that you can share with us?

            MB: After I finish The United, the last book in The Exiled Trilogy, I plan to write another Four Families book.  Then I plan to write a stand-alone dystopian book about … I guess you’ll have to wait a few years to find out!

• TRB: Finally, is there anything I may not have covered already that you would like to share with us about yourself & your writing?

            MB: I love to write and I love to share my stories with others.  I feel incredibly blessed that my life took this unexpected turn into the world of writing!  Thank you, Jolene, for all of your enthusiasm and support.

  To finish this post I would just like to add a very hearty thank you to Merry Brown for being kind enough to find the pictures I needed to do this post & to answer my silly questions. I have many more fun post in mind for the future, just stop by on occasion & see what I have going. I also have several authors set up for a 3rd interview, but haven't decided who I'm going to harass next.  I don't want to make any promises, but I think you can expect to see one from Mr. Jeff Bauer author of Sadie Sapiens. Thanks & feel free to post any thoughts , questions, & complaints down below. Lets try & stay away from the complaints though if we can, LOL.

Book Furniture?!

  Today is neither a Rant nor an Interview.  I thought I would simply do a fun little post sharing some of the fascinating book related pictures I found when, out of boredom & a need for a few photos I plan to use for a logo I'm making for The Ranting Bookwom,  I Bing(ed) the words "Book Furniture". Yes, I use Bing instead of the popular Google & not because it's better. I only use it over the other search engine because I LOVE the daily pictures they post on the Bing homepage. A silly reason I suppose, but aside from my love for books I've always been a bit of a photography nut, but I digress. So, lets get back on topic, this whole Book Furniture thing all started when I first typed the words "Book Pics", which lead me to an amazing picture of a chair that doubled as a bookshelf  & so my Bing search, due to curiosity, morphed into a search using the words "Book Furniture". I imagine right about now you're thinking I should have named this blog The Babbling Bookworm, which it almost was, & that I should get to the point. Your grumbles would probably justified too & while I see your point, I have to say that I never made any promises at any point on this blog to give my followers a dry & serious book  blog. I've been up late or early, depends on how you want to look at it & this is what happens when I have little sleep & no plan for a structured posting. So, if my babble is too much to take, then I suggest you move along & try & find one of those wonderfully uptight book blogs that might be more your style, but if you like a little silly in your blogs, then hang in there & I'll try & get to the point as fast as I can for the amazing few followers who were kind enough to not leave, yet, lol. Anyway, back to what I was originally talking about, I found an amazing chair that doubled as a bookshelf, & after that, I wanted to see what other crazy book related furniture I could find, & so, my search changed once more from book related furniture to furniture made from books. Evidently, there appears to be a larger group of people than you'd imagine that enjoy taking old books that nobody likes or wants to read & turning them into beautiful works of art & furniture that we often call "Green". I even happen to know a person or two who actually have a collection of those horrible, but good looking, Reader's Digest books that no one ever seems to like. They keep them in case the artistic bug bites their butt & they're suddenly filled with the urge to create book related art. Even though I've got the creative juices for this type of project & the materials to do it, I feel I've more than enough stuff going on in my little life without adding to it with something like this. Perhaps, in the near future, I'll find the time to do it & if I do I'll gladly share my masterpiece or disaster with everyone here on my blog. Still, that won't stop me from sharing some of my favorite pictures of book furniture that I found while searching the web. So, please hang in there, put your mental seat belt on, & get ready for a wild ride through the crazy, but fun world of recycled book furniture.

To begin things, this is the beautiful bookshelf chair that started this whole exploration of book related furniture. I would die for one or two of these awesome chairs:

Now lets move on to a book lovers dream come true, furniture made from actual books. A book fanatics answer to the Green movement:

Last, but not least is this neat little pencil holder made from phone book pages:

  Alright everyone, that's all I managed to scrounge up for now. I'll keep looking for more fun creations like these to share in a similar, but future post. Please feel free to let me know what your favorites were & what you think of the whole idea of using books for furniture. Also, if you have any pictures of book furniture that wasn't posted here today I would love for you to share it with us in the comments section of this posting.

  Just for those curious, I am in the process of doing another interview.This time it will be with YA Paranormal author Merry Brown. I should hopefully have her interview on my blog within the week. So, please come back to see what other crazy things I talk about or share & don't miss the fabulous Merry Brown's interview with The Ranting Bookworm. Until then, keep reading & share the love of books with as many people as you can. It's one addiction you should never be ashamed of ;-)

Interview with Author Paul G. Day

  Welcome back. Here is the first of many author interviews to come on The Ranting Bookworm. This interview post will be a bit more explanatory than future posts, but  after I've gotten some of my views out of the way I promise to be more to the point the next time I interview someone. The views I plan to discuss will be things such as why this is a genre I enjoy reading & how I feel a review should be written. I'll also share cover art & synopsis to the books I discuss whenever possible. This post is a little long, but I believe you'll find it enjoyable. So, sit back, relax, & grab a nice cup of coffee, tea, or whatever you enjoy drinking while reading.

   Today's interview will be with the fabulous children's author Mr. Paul G. Day. Recently I got the privileged to read & review his first Black Fairy book called The Black Fairy & The Dragonfly. I love a good children's book every now & then, I know it sounds crazy, why would a 36 year old woman with no kids of her own read literature written for such a young audience? Why not? I think everyone should have a little fun & get in touch with their inner child from time to time. At the very least reading such books can bring a smile to your face & beautiful memories of yesteryear. Even though I've only read the 1st book in the Black Fairy duo I've nothing but good words for the series & I can already tell I'm going to enjoy it's sequel & final chapter, Escape From The Dark Queen.

   Now lets dive into my review of Mr. Day's book, The Black Fairy & The Dragonfly. My belief is that a review should simply be: what type of book it is (genre), whether I liked it, pros & cons of the story, would I read it again, & whether I'd suggest it to others. I believe it's alright to occasionally bring up various events in the story, but only if I think it will help draw in readers. It's best to keep the plot & details vague. The point of a review is to help others decide if they want to read the book, by no means is it appropriate to rehash the story as if it were a book report, possibly ruining surprises for those who have yet to read it.

                        

The Ranting Bookworm's Review of: The Black Fairy & The Dragonfly

   The Black Fairy & The Dragonfly is a beautiful fast paced children's story that's great for both young & old. This could probably be considered a middle grade book, but honestly, its beauty could be enjoyed by all ages, 1-101. Like an old-school fable it carries a valuable lesson that every child should know, that being different doesn't mean you're less, yet it doesn't talk down to the more mature readers. The story concludes with a suspenseful & massive cliffhanger. To quench your appetite & ease your mind the author concludes this beautiful story in his sequel, Escape From The Dark Queen. Though the second book resolves the cliffhanger at the end of this story, it's not a requirement for the full enjoyment of book one. I did feel the book could have benefited from a few illustrations to compliment Mr. Paul Day's lovely narrative. Still, the lack of illustrations did not take away from the story. I see this being a great bedside read for a child, I know I would have loved having this read to me at night when I was young & so I will do the same if I am ever blessed with kids. I will definitely reread this story anytime I want a quick read & a smile.

Synopsis

 When Lilly is shunned by her own kind, the little black fairy embarks on a journey to find her true purpose. Along the way she forges an unusual friendship with a dragonfly and an enduring alliance with the Dragonfly Kingdom. This is a story full of wonder, adventure and even danger. When all the other fairies suddenly vanish, leaving no trace behind, Lilly is forced to face her past and confront an unseen evil. If she is to triumph, she will need to draw on a rare magic hidden deep within. Only then can she rescue the fairies, destroy evil and restore the kingdom.

The following is the Author Interview As Promised

(TRB=the Ranting Bookworm aka Jolene, PGD=Paul G. Day) 

• TRB: I read your first book in your Black fairy series called The Black Fairy & The Dragonfly & I loved it. It's obviously a great little book that can be appreciated by both young & old. Still, I was curious as to what your inspiration was for writing a book about fairy's?

PGB: The story started out as a poem on a writing group I belong to called Writers Network. After writing that I thought it would make a good story, so I wrote the first book back in 2012. After putting a few chapters online, the comments I got was so encouraging I decided to publish it. From there the book underwent several revisions until now, happily it is finished. The story was inspired, in part, by my own experiences growing up in a large family and feeling unwanted. But the story is influenced by what I have observed in society and our ideas about what evil is and the nature and beauty and magic of life.

• TRB: I noticed a great deal of your books,including The Black Fairy & The Dragonfly, are targeted primarily at children. That obviously doesn't mean they can't be enjoyed by more than that target age group, but I was curious why you chose this as your primary group or whether it was just a happy accident?

PGD: Well, I have been a teacher for more than a decade. I am one of nine children and I have two grown children of my own. I have also worked with young people in youth groups for much of my adult life. So it seemed perfectly natural to me to want to write for children and young adults. But it wasn’t until I began studying writing for children at university that I realized it was a calling. I am also writing for adults, but it is children who I am most comfortable writing for.

• TRB:When writing a book like The Black Fairy & The Dragonfly do you start out with the aim to teach a lesson, like the one I felt I found in it (being different doesn't make you less), or does it just happen organically?

PGB: Not necessarily. I write instinctively. Allowing the story to unfold naturally and that includes any lessons that may be subconsciously embedded. Having said that, I think that lessons or teaching lessons is part of who I am as a teacher, so naturally it will find its way into my writing. It’s not overt, but it is there and even I am surprised sometimes at how important those lessons turn out to be. Once I recognize there is a lesson in the story, I do refer back to it, but in the most subtle ways possible. The story is the focus, but the lesson is up to the child reading the story to learn for themselves. I think writing is ten percent skill and ninety percent instinct.

• TRB: I'm getting ready to read your second book in you Black Fairy series called The Black Fairy & The Dragonfly: Escape From The Dark Queen. I'm very excited to read what happens next to our kindhearted, but strong little heroine. Still, I can't help but jump the gun & ask if we should expect a 3rd book about our favorite little Black Fairy?

PGB: Not a third in this series, but this story is connected to another different story called The Last Boy Fairy. I plan on writing a new series where the worlds of both characters come together to form a unique story. There was always only going to be two books in the Black Fairy series as it is, unfortunately.

I have loved writing this series and I adore Lily and the other characters. I believe, more than any other book or series I have written, that this one would make a great feature animated film. It is also this series which has solicited the best responses from readers and whether they are 8 or 88, they all love it the same.

• TRB:  I've checked out your Goodreads page & have noticed that it appears you have a couple books that are directed at perhaps an older audience, can you tell us a little bit about them & why you stepped away from your usual audience?

PGB: Let me just make the point here that I haven’t really “stepped away” as you put it, more like branched out to other ages and genres. I always like to test myself and write in multiple genres and for multiple ages, just to keep things interesting and experiment with writing. However, though my style may change, the stories themselves follow very similar paths of thought and if you were to deconstruct my stories, they are, at their heart, the same stories about loneliness, isolation, coming of age etc. 

Now having said that, I had wanted to write stories for older readers for quite some time. I actually wrote one called The Girl Who Kept Secrets for older readers, but have shelved it for the time being while I give it considered thought. In the meantime, I am writing two sequels to Star Child and another separate series for older readers called Children of Mars. But my long term project and the one with the most detail and pages, is my upcoming novel, The Four Edged Sword, aimed at adult readers. It’s an epic in every sense of the word. It has detailed maps unlike anything else you will see (find them at this link: https://www.behance.net/gallery/16264853/The-World-of-BenEden) as well as a highly developed world with lots of different characters, including dragons.

• TRB: Now lets get slightly more personal & see if we can't discover a little bit about Paul G. Day & who he is as an author & every day man. First, how long have you been writing & did you have a parent or teacher in your past that inspired you to follow your writing ambitions?

PGB: I started writing more than a decade ago, but it took a long time before I had the confidence to publish. I was inspired by my English teachers at school, but it was at university that my lecturer Jeri Kroll (herself also an author) encouraged me to explore writing for publication. As a youngster I was in love with stories and I have what you might call a constant internal narrative every day of my life. 

• TRB: Who is your literary hero?

PGB: There are a few actually. Arthur C Clarke, for the detail in his work, Tolkien for his observations about society and the human family as well as the corrupting influence of power and Isaac Asimov for his vision of our future. I can add a new one here, New Zealand born author, Russell Kirkpatrick, whose highly detailed maps in his fantasy series inspired me to write The Four Edged Sword.

• TRB: I know I remember the first series of books that helped fan the flames of my book obsession (BTW, it was Bunnicula By: James Howe & the Choose Your Own Adventures, LOL), but do you remember what book or books you read as a child that made you fall in love with reading?

PGB: The first book I remember loving enough to remember was The Loaded Dog, based on a poem by Henry Lawson. The first novels I loved was I Can Jump Puddles. I was also very much inspired by the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and David Copperfield, which also inspired me enough to write my own adventure series, Kipp The Copper Coast Kid.

• TRB: I find most authors & writers in general have items that I refer to as comfort items that help them sit down & get in the mood to write or perhaps not get in the mood, but that they just can't write without having by their side. I know I have to have some good instrumental music & a chai tea helps. Do you have anything like this that you do as a bit of a ritual or habit when writing? (music, picture, food, tea, coffee, a pet, etc...)

PGB: Oh yes, but being a fifty year old male I am almost ashamed to admit that I have a collection of toys like Bears, robots etc. I only started collecting them as models for characters in my stories, but my wife thinks I like them a little too much. Lol. All jokes aside, they are part of the inspiration, but it is the children I teach and the people around me that provide the greater portion of inspiration.

• TRB: How often do you write? Is it a daily passion or does the urge come & go?

PGB: I would like to say it is a daily passion, but that is too simplistic. I said earlier I write on instinct. If the inspiration doesn't come, I simply don’t write. I write best when I am inspired enough to write and keep on writing until I am too tired and forced to sleep. Then, for several days at a stretch I think of nothing but the story and writing becomes my number one obsession, almost to the exclusion of everything else. I’m blessed with an understanding wife who largely lets me go until I come back to the real world again.

• TRB: I read that you're a teacher, if you don't mind me asking, what kind of teacher are you & how do you find the time to write while shaping minds?

PGB: I am a qualified Drama Teacher with many years experience. I found it hard to do that and write, but I still found time. But, because I am no longer permanent (I am now a relief teacher working part time) I have much more free time on my hands and am really producing a lot of books. In my time teaching Drama I was responsible for many school and community productions and they helped me immensely with my writing as well. I love that you said “shaping minds” because even though I teach perhaps 2 or 3 days a week only now, I still take it very seriously, though I try to have a lot of fun with the kids I teach.

•  TRB: Do you have any hobbies aside from writing & reading?

PGB: I love to go camping and my daughter and I like to make films together. My wife and I are slowly renovating our country cottage and property so there is plenty to keep us both busy.

• TRB: Do you have any advice for aspiring writers that you would like to share that you never got, but looking back could have used or liked?

PGB: My advice to anyone who aspires to be a writer is to simply write. Write often, write in different forms other than prose. Poetry teaches you the art and beauty of language. Those who can write good poetry can generally write very well. As I said before, writing is ten percent skill and ninety percent instinct, so don’t force your story out, rather let it come out as you write.

•  TRB: Now I'm still getting use to the whole eReader thing & still prefer the good old fashioned physical version of a book over an electronic version (that doesn't mean I don't read eBooks), still, how do you like the new world of eReaders? Is this something you have fallen in love with or do you still prefer the physical version of books? And has the eReader world helped you as a author in anyway that physical books can't?

PGB: It’s an enigma for me. I find it exciting and at the same time strangely bewildering. I actually still prefer a good, physical book in my hand, yet eReaders are so versatile and can hold whole libraries and their portability cannot be denied. I think things will swing around the other way after a decade or so, like they have with vinyl records. In our insatiable appetite for technology, however, we have forgotten that reading is an organic thing and that has been lost a little. Having said that, eReaders are here to stay and whether we like it or not, we must absolutely accept and embrace them.

• TRB: I believe I have taken up enough of your time, but to end this I would like to ask you if there is anything about yourself, that I haven't already asked, that you would love to share? (like: where you're from, pets, family, etc...)

PGB: I would love to say that my own personal struggles, identity and journey are very much reflected in my work. My books are full of subtle references to my upbringing, my thought processes and personality, as well as those around me. This is the only way to write and how I always approach it. Otherwise my books would be lifeless and devoid of a soul.

Thanks so much Jolene for this fantastic opportunity and for your great questions. Answering them has given me pause to reflect on how far I have come and where I am heading.

Thank you for joining us. If I've failed to cover something in the interview please feel free to post your questions in the comments box below & we'll happily answer what we can. I am also always open to suggestions & observations about my posts. Until next time, Live, Love & Laugh ;-)