Molly Looby's Blog, page 16
October 9, 2014
The Immorality of Immortality: Chancing the Truth
You made it! Here is the fourth and final post in my Immorality ofÌýImmortalityÌýblog post series. If you've missed the three before it, go and read the so you know what's going on.
And here are theÌý and posts from last week and the week before.
This week it's Chancing the Truth,Ìýmy absolute favourite for so many reasons! And I can't wait to share it with the world!
“We’ll never be free.Ìý Only the end can release us.â€�
“Forget Adelina, Stephan’s the real god of this castle.Ìý You disobey and you get punished.Ìý You’re plunged into hell and there’s nothing you can do about it.Unless of course he goes too far.Ìý Unless of course you’re given something to live for.Ìý Unless of course you’re strong enough to fight.I wasn’t a year ago.I am now.I am Felix Hesper and I am in control."
Through the eyes of Felix, Damien and Lilya, the newest addition to the Senate, Chancing the Truth takes you on a journey to the heart wrenching finale of the Immorality of ImmoralityÌý³Ù°ù¾±±ô´Ç²µ²â.
A Lot of Background
*You should know before I begin that I changed quite a lot of this to save you from too many spoilers.
Well ‘Chancing the Truth�, enter Lilya. What else can I start with? This new character changes everything and I am more excited about seeing what everyone thinks of her than I am about what everyone thinks of the plot.
I thought up the plot of CTTÌýwhile still writing ‘Playing with Realityâ€�.ÌýIt essentially just continued from ‘Gambling a Fairytaleâ€�, which wrote itself in my head at the same time. The two seemed to come to me instantaneously. It may not seem like it, but I had to decide where one ended and the next begun. But of course that divide would be Lilya shaped.
I outlined the plot much the same as I did for GAFÌýexcept there was a lot more of it meaning aÌýlot more notes. I scribbled all over these pages. Well, let’s face it; I had a lot to cover. And no, I never thought it would ever be 500 pages long.
CTT was the most hands-on I think � note wise. I have notes for everything. But I did have a lot to do. I had chambers and clothes and back stories and all sorts. You see more of the Senate than ever before, which meant I had to walk around the corridors of the Senate with my eyes and my notebook open. Basically sitting at my desk with my eyes shut talking to Felix, Lilya and Damien (or myself if you want to be like that).
Not only this but I had to outline to myself in the greatest of detail the pasts of Stephan Hunter and Hugo Sharpe. I knew them � of course � but I needed every gory detail. That was a fun week I can tell you. Up to my eyeballs in Renaissance and Dark Ages research is always great.
More fun still was seeing how Damien coped not being Felix’s number one concern. This I found very interesting, and at points I felt I was the only one who loved him even through his stupidity.
Something new that came out while writing CTT was thatÌýI loved being girly with Lilya. You’ll notice she talks about her clothes more than the others. I loved imagining and describing her outfits, but in such a way that wasn’t girly. I loved that. I'd not really been able to do that before. I loved Lilya’s whole attitude.
I just adore Lilya.
Her chapters essentially wrote themselves. It was a job to keep up to be honest. And in comparison to this, writing Felix chapters always felt so much slower. I love Lilya’s chattiness. The way she speaks to the reader, she’s not just telling them a story, she’s holding a conversation. She's asking your opinion and imploring you to understand. That style is great fun to write.
The editing process for CTT was the most involved I’ve ever been in making my work perfect.The final draft of CTT is 60 pages and 15,000 words shorter than my first draft and it is so much better to read because of it. Everything means something and leads you somewhere, without missing any of the personality of the narrators.
After me and my reading team had spent a good seven weeks going through it, I was more confident than ever in my trilogy.
So in 2014 at 20 years old, I published ‘Chancing the Truth�, by myself this time, and at last, the ‘Immorality of Immortality trilogy� was complete. *
*I know it's not out yet but it's coming. I swear. Before Christmas!
So now you know some of what I went through when I sat and decided yes, I wanted to write a book about vampires. Not only that, I wanted to prove that I could achieve anything. To this day, I've written four books since finishing 'Chancing the Truth'Ìýand it's still perfect in my eyes. That's saying something pretty powerful. CTT,Ìýlike all the others, changed me as a writer. Maybe it'll change you as the reader.ÌýJust you wait and see.
Molly Looby
Author of the Immorality of Immortality trilogy
[email protected]
And here are theÌý and posts from last week and the week before.
This week it's Chancing the Truth,Ìýmy absolute favourite for so many reasons! And I can't wait to share it with the world!
“We’ll never be free.Ìý Only the end can release us.â€�
“Forget Adelina, Stephan’s the real god of this castle.Ìý You disobey and you get punished.Ìý You’re plunged into hell and there’s nothing you can do about it.Unless of course he goes too far.Ìý Unless of course you’re given something to live for.Ìý Unless of course you’re strong enough to fight.I wasn’t a year ago.I am now.I am Felix Hesper and I am in control."
Through the eyes of Felix, Damien and Lilya, the newest addition to the Senate, Chancing the Truth takes you on a journey to the heart wrenching finale of the Immorality of ImmoralityÌý³Ù°ù¾±±ô´Ç²µ²â.
A Lot of Background
*You should know before I begin that I changed quite a lot of this to save you from too many spoilers.
Well ‘Chancing the Truth�, enter Lilya. What else can I start with? This new character changes everything and I am more excited about seeing what everyone thinks of her than I am about what everyone thinks of the plot.
I thought up the plot of CTTÌýwhile still writing ‘Playing with Realityâ€�.ÌýIt essentially just continued from ‘Gambling a Fairytaleâ€�, which wrote itself in my head at the same time. The two seemed to come to me instantaneously. It may not seem like it, but I had to decide where one ended and the next begun. But of course that divide would be Lilya shaped.
I outlined the plot much the same as I did for GAFÌýexcept there was a lot more of it meaning aÌýlot more notes. I scribbled all over these pages. Well, let’s face it; I had a lot to cover. And no, I never thought it would ever be 500 pages long.
CTT was the most hands-on I think � note wise. I have notes for everything. But I did have a lot to do. I had chambers and clothes and back stories and all sorts. You see more of the Senate than ever before, which meant I had to walk around the corridors of the Senate with my eyes and my notebook open. Basically sitting at my desk with my eyes shut talking to Felix, Lilya and Damien (or myself if you want to be like that).
Not only this but I had to outline to myself in the greatest of detail the pasts of Stephan Hunter and Hugo Sharpe. I knew them � of course � but I needed every gory detail. That was a fun week I can tell you. Up to my eyeballs in Renaissance and Dark Ages research is always great.
More fun still was seeing how Damien coped not being Felix’s number one concern. This I found very interesting, and at points I felt I was the only one who loved him even through his stupidity.
Something new that came out while writing CTT was thatÌýI loved being girly with Lilya. You’ll notice she talks about her clothes more than the others. I loved imagining and describing her outfits, but in such a way that wasn’t girly. I loved that. I'd not really been able to do that before. I loved Lilya’s whole attitude.
I just adore Lilya.
Her chapters essentially wrote themselves. It was a job to keep up to be honest. And in comparison to this, writing Felix chapters always felt so much slower. I love Lilya’s chattiness. The way she speaks to the reader, she’s not just telling them a story, she’s holding a conversation. She's asking your opinion and imploring you to understand. That style is great fun to write.
The editing process for CTT was the most involved I’ve ever been in making my work perfect.The final draft of CTT is 60 pages and 15,000 words shorter than my first draft and it is so much better to read because of it. Everything means something and leads you somewhere, without missing any of the personality of the narrators.
After me and my reading team had spent a good seven weeks going through it, I was more confident than ever in my trilogy.
So in 2014 at 20 years old, I published ‘Chancing the Truth�, by myself this time, and at last, the ‘Immorality of Immortality trilogy� was complete. *
*I know it's not out yet but it's coming. I swear. Before Christmas!
So now you know some of what I went through when I sat and decided yes, I wanted to write a book about vampires. Not only that, I wanted to prove that I could achieve anything. To this day, I've written four books since finishing 'Chancing the Truth'Ìýand it's still perfect in my eyes. That's saying something pretty powerful. CTT,Ìýlike all the others, changed me as a writer. Maybe it'll change you as the reader.ÌýJust you wait and see.
Molly Looby
Author of the Immorality of Immortality trilogy
[email protected]
October 1, 2014
The Immorality of Immortality: Gambling a Fairytale
Welcome back and thank you for joining me in this continuation of my descriptions of what it was like to write the Immorality of ImmortalityÌý³Ù°ù¾±±ô´Ç²µ²â. Too long an intro? Whatever. This week it's book two: Gambling a Fairytale!Ìý³¢¾±°ì±ð Playing with Reality, Gambling a FairytaleÌýcan now be found on ! It is also in .
Here's aif you missed it:
And if you missed that too. If you did, where have you been?
“Life just isn’t fair.Ìý And death is no exception.â€�
“The unknown is filled with darkness and darkness is where nightmares become reality.
Sometimes you awake from nightmares.Ìý But sometimes you’re not so lucky."
Through the eyes of both Felix and Damien, Gambling a Fairytale leaves you breathless as the trilogy continues.
A Lotof Background
So after â€�Playing with Realityâ€� there was a lot of work to do.Ìý In the process of writing PWR, Felix and Damien fed me information about what happened next: â€�Gambling a Fairytaleâ€� and â€�Chancing the Truthâ€�.Ìý I knew straight away that GAF was going to be very difficult to write as it was going to break my heart in places.
I had to write the plot out in bullet points with gaps between so when I got round to it I could fill in the spaces.Ìý Now this page has arrows everywhere as with GAF one thing really does lead to another.
The thing that was most certain was that I’d have to introduce Damien as a narrator.Ìý Now this was something I was very excited about.Ìý Not only do you get to know things that Felix doesn’t know (you gotta love dramatic irony) but you also get to know Damien personally.Ìý Maybe his mind works a little differently than you expected, or perhaps you hit the nail on the head and he’s everything you’d thought he’d be.Ìý Either way, Damien’s point of view is vital for the progression of the story.Ìý And as you can image, he was chatty in my head.Ìý His chapters were always faster to write that Felix’s.Ìý Damien talks more and thinks less.Ìý But less about what you already know.
The experience was very different from PWR because I wasn’t waiting for pieces of plot.Ìý I had everything, I just had to fit it altogether.Ìý This did frustrate me eventually and I stopped writing it about twenty-per-cent of the way in.Ìý After a couple of months however, I got over myself and created James* to push me in the right direction.The reason for this character, as well as the little nudge to finish off this story, was that my boyfriend was appalled that he hadn’t had a character named after him.Ìý How could I not oblige?Ìý He is my illustrator after all.
*Luckily for me, James made the plot make a lot more sense!
I’ve never been more glad that I stuck to it, because once I’d started again, that was it.Ìý I couldn’t stop.Ìý For anything.Ìý I fell in love again and cried when my characters did.Ìý It was emotional for all of us, GAF, I can tell you that.Ìý I felt like a part of me died when I’d finished it.
Phew.Ìý A breather was needed.
So I wrote a zombie book: �ZA�.*
Yep, between finishing GAF in October 2011 and starting CTT in January 2012, I wrote a novel.Ìý If I was going to be accurate I wrote it between the first and the twenty-ninth of November.Ìý This is was, of course, NaNoWriMo. (National Novel Writing Month) 2011 was my first wrimo and I've done it every year since. It's too rewarding not to!
*ZA can now be found on and the first few chapters are on .
After a very painful and long editing process (which took me until 2013!) I was absolutely certain that GAF was ready and that both Damien and Felix were looking their best.Ìý It was then I published GAF in February 2013.
So that's Gambling a Fairytale, a book that improved my writing in a remarkable way. I learnt to stick with it and write and carry on regardless. I must've taught myself something because it's never taken me as long to write a book than it took to write GAF. GAFÌýwas a lesson I had to learn and I realised, even more, how much I wanted to be an author.
Next week's the exciting one. Chancing the TruthÌý(still coming soon Autumn 2014)
Molly Looby
Author of the Immorality of Immortality trilogy
Here's aif you missed it:
And if you missed that too. If you did, where have you been?
“Life just isn’t fair.Ìý And death is no exception.â€�
“The unknown is filled with darkness and darkness is where nightmares become reality.
Sometimes you awake from nightmares.Ìý But sometimes you’re not so lucky."
Through the eyes of both Felix and Damien, Gambling a Fairytale leaves you breathless as the trilogy continues.
A Lotof Background
So after â€�Playing with Realityâ€� there was a lot of work to do.Ìý In the process of writing PWR, Felix and Damien fed me information about what happened next: â€�Gambling a Fairytaleâ€� and â€�Chancing the Truthâ€�.Ìý I knew straight away that GAF was going to be very difficult to write as it was going to break my heart in places.
I had to write the plot out in bullet points with gaps between so when I got round to it I could fill in the spaces.Ìý Now this page has arrows everywhere as with GAF one thing really does lead to another.
The thing that was most certain was that I’d have to introduce Damien as a narrator.Ìý Now this was something I was very excited about.Ìý Not only do you get to know things that Felix doesn’t know (you gotta love dramatic irony) but you also get to know Damien personally.Ìý Maybe his mind works a little differently than you expected, or perhaps you hit the nail on the head and he’s everything you’d thought he’d be.Ìý Either way, Damien’s point of view is vital for the progression of the story.Ìý And as you can image, he was chatty in my head.Ìý His chapters were always faster to write that Felix’s.Ìý Damien talks more and thinks less.Ìý But less about what you already know.
The experience was very different from PWR because I wasn’t waiting for pieces of plot.Ìý I had everything, I just had to fit it altogether.Ìý This did frustrate me eventually and I stopped writing it about twenty-per-cent of the way in.Ìý After a couple of months however, I got over myself and created James* to push me in the right direction.The reason for this character, as well as the little nudge to finish off this story, was that my boyfriend was appalled that he hadn’t had a character named after him.Ìý How could I not oblige?Ìý He is my illustrator after all.
*Luckily for me, James made the plot make a lot more sense!
I’ve never been more glad that I stuck to it, because once I’d started again, that was it.Ìý I couldn’t stop.Ìý For anything.Ìý I fell in love again and cried when my characters did.Ìý It was emotional for all of us, GAF, I can tell you that.Ìý I felt like a part of me died when I’d finished it.
Phew.Ìý A breather was needed.
So I wrote a zombie book: �ZA�.*
Yep, between finishing GAF in October 2011 and starting CTT in January 2012, I wrote a novel.Ìý If I was going to be accurate I wrote it between the first and the twenty-ninth of November.Ìý This is was, of course, NaNoWriMo. (National Novel Writing Month) 2011 was my first wrimo and I've done it every year since. It's too rewarding not to!
*ZA can now be found on and the first few chapters are on .
After a very painful and long editing process (which took me until 2013!) I was absolutely certain that GAF was ready and that both Damien and Felix were looking their best.Ìý It was then I published GAF in February 2013.
So that's Gambling a Fairytale, a book that improved my writing in a remarkable way. I learnt to stick with it and write and carry on regardless. I must've taught myself something because it's never taken me as long to write a book than it took to write GAF. GAFÌýwas a lesson I had to learn and I realised, even more, how much I wanted to be an author.
Next week's the exciting one. Chancing the TruthÌý(still coming soon Autumn 2014)
Molly Looby
Author of the Immorality of Immortality trilogy
September 23, 2014
The Immorality of Immortality: Playing with Reality
So last week I introduced you to my appalling website for the Immorality of Immortality trilogy. If you want to read last week's post click . I promised I would share with you the only thing I would miss if the website disappeared off the face of the planet: my descriptions of what it was like to write the trilogy. So I thought I'd start of with book one, Playing with Reality which you can now get for your ³Û²¹²â!Ìý
If you want a taster, the first three chapters are on .
Before we go into it be prepared, I wrote the A Lot of BackgroundÌýsection when I was sixteen and when I read it over I was shocked to find how juvenile it sounded. I hope you enjoy my enthusiasm and peppiness.Ìý
“Life’s Just a Horror Story�
“A week ago I’d been an average girl.I hadn’t realised that life could change so quickly, without warning.
And now what?What do I do next?
My life was turning upside down around me and I couldn’t even explain why.Ìý I was lost in my own body, my own mind.Ìý What was I supposed to do?
And with the thirst growing stronger and more irresistible by the day, life � or should I say ‘death� � was becoming a nightmare.�
Through Felix’s eyes, Playing with Reality opens your own to discover how wonderful and frightening life can be.
A Lot of Background
'Playing with Reality' was an exploration into what vampires should really be like.Ìý I, personally, though I loved Stephenie Meyer’s ‘T·É¾±±ô¾±²µ³ó³Ùâ€�*, didn’t think her vampire anatomy made sense.Ìý I mean, glittering?Ìý Why?Ìý So I sat myself down and really thought about it.Ìý I created my favourite spider diagram which still to this day has everything that makes my vampires what they are, including hearts beating, sunlight, blood, strength, immortality â€� all of that and more.
*I was young. Sorry for the Twilight love, don't be distracted. I mean, it doesn't matter what made me write, right? The point is it did make me write. Please read on :)Ìý
So then all I needed was a start, that’s where Felix comes in.Ìý You hear authors say this all the time, but she really did just walk right on into my head, just like that.Ìý She was shortly followed by her sister April and an unnamed vampire who attacks her â€� who became Elektra.
With all of them safely walking around in my head â€� yes that’s what it’s like â€� I began to write and the story came out as though I wasn’t the author, but just the writer.Ìý It was Felix’s story and it was as though she was telling me what happened and I just wrote it down.
I should mention at this point that various characters in PWR are named after my cousins:Jake � Jacob James Taylor (April’s boyfriend) is named after both my cousin Jacob and my brother James.Lottie � Charlotte Emmy Ford (A Senate Follower) is named after my twin cousins Charlotte and Emmy.Emmie � (Evie’s youngest sister) is named after the same Emmy as above to make up for the fact that she was only a middle name.
Now here’s the weird part.Ìý My Auntie had a baby girl and named her Evie, having no idea I’d used that name as one of Felix’s best friends.Ìý So now I had only one cousin I’d missed out, poor Libby.
So then waltzed into my head was the amazing Libby and the plot (still in Sanfolk at this point) really jumped forward and then the Senate came to me.
Shortly after this, Damien and Lucas � always a pair � came knocking on the door to my head and I fell immediately in love with Damien as I hear so do women who read PWR, but not so much men.
That’s how it all happened.Ìý As you can tell, PWR is a character driven novel, not a plot one.Ìý The characters come into my head holding part of the plot in their hands like a gift.Ìý It’s magical, I can assure you of that.
At the very end of December 2011, I published PWR with AuthorHouse and let Felix loose on the world!
So there you have it. That's what it was like to write such an ambitious novel with so little writing experience. If I, like my vampires, only had to sleep for three hours a day, I would definitely go back and re-write PWR. It's a story I love and hold so close to my heart I just want to make it perfect. I was such a new writer when I wrote it that it actually astounds me. I had no idea while I was writing this that it was going to steal every corner of my heart.
Tune in next week for book two, Gambling a Fairytale.
Molly Looby
Author of the Immorality of Immortality trilogy
If you want a taster, the first three chapters are on .
Before we go into it be prepared, I wrote the A Lot of BackgroundÌýsection when I was sixteen and when I read it over I was shocked to find how juvenile it sounded. I hope you enjoy my enthusiasm and peppiness.Ìý
“Life’s Just a Horror Story�
“A week ago I’d been an average girl.I hadn’t realised that life could change so quickly, without warning.
And now what?What do I do next?
My life was turning upside down around me and I couldn’t even explain why.Ìý I was lost in my own body, my own mind.Ìý What was I supposed to do?
And with the thirst growing stronger and more irresistible by the day, life � or should I say ‘death� � was becoming a nightmare.�
Through Felix’s eyes, Playing with Reality opens your own to discover how wonderful and frightening life can be.
A Lot of Background
'Playing with Reality' was an exploration into what vampires should really be like.Ìý I, personally, though I loved Stephenie Meyer’s ‘T·É¾±±ô¾±²µ³ó³Ùâ€�*, didn’t think her vampire anatomy made sense.Ìý I mean, glittering?Ìý Why?Ìý So I sat myself down and really thought about it.Ìý I created my favourite spider diagram which still to this day has everything that makes my vampires what they are, including hearts beating, sunlight, blood, strength, immortality â€� all of that and more.
*I was young. Sorry for the Twilight love, don't be distracted. I mean, it doesn't matter what made me write, right? The point is it did make me write. Please read on :)Ìý
So then all I needed was a start, that’s where Felix comes in.Ìý You hear authors say this all the time, but she really did just walk right on into my head, just like that.Ìý She was shortly followed by her sister April and an unnamed vampire who attacks her â€� who became Elektra.
With all of them safely walking around in my head â€� yes that’s what it’s like â€� I began to write and the story came out as though I wasn’t the author, but just the writer.Ìý It was Felix’s story and it was as though she was telling me what happened and I just wrote it down.
I should mention at this point that various characters in PWR are named after my cousins:Jake � Jacob James Taylor (April’s boyfriend) is named after both my cousin Jacob and my brother James.Lottie � Charlotte Emmy Ford (A Senate Follower) is named after my twin cousins Charlotte and Emmy.Emmie � (Evie’s youngest sister) is named after the same Emmy as above to make up for the fact that she was only a middle name.
Now here’s the weird part.Ìý My Auntie had a baby girl and named her Evie, having no idea I’d used that name as one of Felix’s best friends.Ìý So now I had only one cousin I’d missed out, poor Libby.
So then waltzed into my head was the amazing Libby and the plot (still in Sanfolk at this point) really jumped forward and then the Senate came to me.
Shortly after this, Damien and Lucas � always a pair � came knocking on the door to my head and I fell immediately in love with Damien as I hear so do women who read PWR, but not so much men.
That’s how it all happened.Ìý As you can tell, PWR is a character driven novel, not a plot one.Ìý The characters come into my head holding part of the plot in their hands like a gift.Ìý It’s magical, I can assure you of that.
At the very end of December 2011, I published PWR with AuthorHouse and let Felix loose on the world!
So there you have it. That's what it was like to write such an ambitious novel with so little writing experience. If I, like my vampires, only had to sleep for three hours a day, I would definitely go back and re-write PWR. It's a story I love and hold so close to my heart I just want to make it perfect. I was such a new writer when I wrote it that it actually astounds me. I had no idea while I was writing this that it was going to steal every corner of my heart.
Tune in next week for book two, Gambling a Fairytale.
Molly Looby
Author of the Immorality of Immortality trilogy
September 17, 2014
The Immorality of Immortality: The Blog Posts
As a mere mortal when it comes to technology, I've reached my limit with what I can achieve with my website. It was extremely stressful to make and it's infuriating that I don't think anyone's ever visited it.
Here's the link if you were wondering:Ìý
And here's a little screen shot for you to enjoy.
It's so much easier for me to just run my Facebook page instead of the website because I know what I'm doing with Facebook.Again, here's a link to the Immorality of ImmortalityÌýFacebook page:Ìý
I don't mind that much because the website doesn't really have much to offer anyone apart from my descriptions of each book in the trilogy and what it was like to write them. I was reading them a few weeks ago and it really is a shame that no one's really read them. I mean, I'd completely forgotten they existed so how would anyone else know?
They're actually really interesting, as hilarious as that is coming from me. But I really can't remember writing Playing with RealityÌýas well as myself in the past can, so it's brilliant that I spent the time to write it down, if only for me to wonder at it a couple of years later.
So, editing them a bit and cutting out the spoilers I seemed to have written in for Chancing the TruthÌýfor some reason, I have decided to share them with you on here where, let's face it, not many people come, but it's more than my website by a long shot.
I hope you enjoy the next few weeks of stepping into my writing process and hearing all about what it was like to write a trilogy before the age of eighteen.
Molly LoobyAuthor of the Immorality of Immortality Trilogy
Here's the link if you were wondering:Ìý
And here's a little screen shot for you to enjoy.
It's so much easier for me to just run my Facebook page instead of the website because I know what I'm doing with Facebook.Again, here's a link to the Immorality of ImmortalityÌýFacebook page:Ìý
I don't mind that much because the website doesn't really have much to offer anyone apart from my descriptions of each book in the trilogy and what it was like to write them. I was reading them a few weeks ago and it really is a shame that no one's really read them. I mean, I'd completely forgotten they existed so how would anyone else know?
They're actually really interesting, as hilarious as that is coming from me. But I really can't remember writing Playing with RealityÌýas well as myself in the past can, so it's brilliant that I spent the time to write it down, if only for me to wonder at it a couple of years later.
So, editing them a bit and cutting out the spoilers I seemed to have written in for Chancing the TruthÌýfor some reason, I have decided to share them with you on here where, let's face it, not many people come, but it's more than my website by a long shot.
I hope you enjoy the next few weeks of stepping into my writing process and hearing all about what it was like to write a trilogy before the age of eighteen.
Molly LoobyAuthor of the Immorality of Immortality Trilogy
September 9, 2014
Shadows - Paula Weston
Blurb
It's been almost a year since the car crash that killed Gaby's twin brother.
Across a crowded bar Gaby sees the man of her dreams, literally. Rafa not only looks exactly like the guy who's been appearing in her dreams, he claims a history with her brother that makes no sense.
Now Gaby is forced to accept that what she thought she knew about herself is just a shadow of the truth - and the truth is more likely to be found in her nightmares.
My Review
ShadowsÌýwas just what I was looking for. It is a typical teen fiction book that I just fall all over. Realistic, funny characters, a serious plot that's complicated but I can still follow it and a kick-ass protagonist who I fell in love with at once. And to top it all off a supernatural element. Yes please.
First of all, while I was looking through my bookshelf deciding what to read next, my plan was to just read the blurb and the first paragraph. Then based on that I was going to decide which sounded the most exciting and read that. However, I picked up ShadowsÌýand the first paragraph wasn't enough. I sat and read the whole first chapter and decided all my other books could wait.
This didn't really change the whole way through the book. I could hardly put the thing down. I read chapter after chapter after chapter, having no desire whatsoever to put it down. It was just so easy to read and so difficult to only read the one chapter. Every character, every line of dialogue, every action intrigued me. I just couldn't get enough of Gaby, who I fell in love with instantly. She was so real and relatable and not at all annoying in any shape or form.
ShadowsÌýwas a total joy to read. I just connected with this book entirely and had a blast! I hadn't realised how much I missed reading books written in the first person present tense and I think that made the whole thing even more enjoyable. I can't remember the last book I read that was written in this way, and it's one of my favourite styles too!
The only possible thing I have to say about ShadowsÌýthat is negative is that if you put it down for too long - I put it down for a week while I spent time with my cousins - once you come back to it, there seems to be too many characters and too much gong on that you don't know about. Gaby spends the majority of the book having no idea what's going on or why for most things. This is fine up until you take a break and then have no idea what to think when you come back. I even had to backtrack to remember who some people were and I hate doing that. But even so, I couldn't stop reading.
Evaluation
I give this book an overall 9/10.
Would I recommend it? Yes. It was brilliant and I enjoyed every page.
Would I look up the author? Yes. I'm definitely going to read the other books in the series!
Molly LoobyAuthor / Ghostwriter / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA [email protected]
It's been almost a year since the car crash that killed Gaby's twin brother.
Across a crowded bar Gaby sees the man of her dreams, literally. Rafa not only looks exactly like the guy who's been appearing in her dreams, he claims a history with her brother that makes no sense.
Now Gaby is forced to accept that what she thought she knew about herself is just a shadow of the truth - and the truth is more likely to be found in her nightmares.
My Review
ShadowsÌýwas just what I was looking for. It is a typical teen fiction book that I just fall all over. Realistic, funny characters, a serious plot that's complicated but I can still follow it and a kick-ass protagonist who I fell in love with at once. And to top it all off a supernatural element. Yes please.
First of all, while I was looking through my bookshelf deciding what to read next, my plan was to just read the blurb and the first paragraph. Then based on that I was going to decide which sounded the most exciting and read that. However, I picked up ShadowsÌýand the first paragraph wasn't enough. I sat and read the whole first chapter and decided all my other books could wait.
This didn't really change the whole way through the book. I could hardly put the thing down. I read chapter after chapter after chapter, having no desire whatsoever to put it down. It was just so easy to read and so difficult to only read the one chapter. Every character, every line of dialogue, every action intrigued me. I just couldn't get enough of Gaby, who I fell in love with instantly. She was so real and relatable and not at all annoying in any shape or form.
ShadowsÌýwas a total joy to read. I just connected with this book entirely and had a blast! I hadn't realised how much I missed reading books written in the first person present tense and I think that made the whole thing even more enjoyable. I can't remember the last book I read that was written in this way, and it's one of my favourite styles too!
The only possible thing I have to say about ShadowsÌýthat is negative is that if you put it down for too long - I put it down for a week while I spent time with my cousins - once you come back to it, there seems to be too many characters and too much gong on that you don't know about. Gaby spends the majority of the book having no idea what's going on or why for most things. This is fine up until you take a break and then have no idea what to think when you come back. I even had to backtrack to remember who some people were and I hate doing that. But even so, I couldn't stop reading.
Evaluation
I give this book an overall 9/10.
Would I recommend it? Yes. It was brilliant and I enjoyed every page.
Would I look up the author? Yes. I'm definitely going to read the other books in the series!
Molly LoobyAuthor / Ghostwriter / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA [email protected]
September 2, 2014
Anthology 2013 - Chelmsford Writers
A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book
This anthology was put together by the people of Chelmsford Writers' Group, the writing group I belong to. We put it together for Christmas 2013 and it's taken me this long to read it! It's filled with short stories and poems about varying different things. Although for some reason, most of them are very dark.
My Review
It's not fair for me to write a proper review as each story and poem is different. Not to mention that I don't know a thing about poetry and that I myself am a stranger to short story writing as a craft.
But if you want something that's easy to pick up for a few minutes and put down again, this is the book for you. Because there are so many different stories and poems, if you're busy you can just pick it up, read a poem and put it down again in a very non-committing kind of way that I think we need sometimes in a book.
I read it in one day, almost in one sitting. It's great if you have an afternoon or evening you don't know what to do with.
I must mention my favourites because I think it would be rude not to:
Cuck00 - Jerry BeckettElizabeth - Paul EbbsThrough the Looking Glass - Jane BowersOld Pals - Raymond WallaceThe Knowing - Dot Gumbi
Would I recommend it? Yes! Of course I would! Support us! I have a story in it as well and if anyone's interested. My entry is called Life's a GameÌýand is very dark indeed.
It's onÌýfor only £4.99
I look forward to next year's! Though I don't have a clue what I'm going to put in . . .
Molly LoobyAuthor / Ghostwriter / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA [email protected]
This anthology was put together by the people of Chelmsford Writers' Group, the writing group I belong to. We put it together for Christmas 2013 and it's taken me this long to read it! It's filled with short stories and poems about varying different things. Although for some reason, most of them are very dark.
My Review
It's not fair for me to write a proper review as each story and poem is different. Not to mention that I don't know a thing about poetry and that I myself am a stranger to short story writing as a craft.
But if you want something that's easy to pick up for a few minutes and put down again, this is the book for you. Because there are so many different stories and poems, if you're busy you can just pick it up, read a poem and put it down again in a very non-committing kind of way that I think we need sometimes in a book.
I read it in one day, almost in one sitting. It's great if you have an afternoon or evening you don't know what to do with.
I must mention my favourites because I think it would be rude not to:
Cuck00 - Jerry BeckettElizabeth - Paul EbbsThrough the Looking Glass - Jane BowersOld Pals - Raymond WallaceThe Knowing - Dot Gumbi
Would I recommend it? Yes! Of course I would! Support us! I have a story in it as well and if anyone's interested. My entry is called Life's a GameÌýand is very dark indeed.
It's onÌýfor only £4.99
I look forward to next year's! Though I don't have a clue what I'm going to put in . . .
Molly LoobyAuthor / Ghostwriter / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA [email protected]
August 25, 2014
Write a Blockbuster and Get it Published - Lee Weatherly and Helen Corner
This is going to be slightly different from my normal book reviews as this is a non-fiction book and I wouldn't call myself an expert in non-fiction. I'm afraid it's going to be quite short because I loved this book!
Write a Blockbuster and Get it PublishedÌýis a book that gives you great advice about both the writing and publishing process.
BlockbusterÌýshocked me in how easy it was to read. Usually books like this are full of jargon and it makes you nervous, but not this book. It was so easy to understand, even if you don't know what all these literary terms mean, making it accessible to everyone.
It was crammed with great tips and I particularly liked the 10 things to Remember at the end of each chapter. It's a brilliant way to sum up and drive the points home. It's also a good reference point to read back on when you need some advice or you're stuck. I have a feeling I'm going to pick this book up over and over again just to read specific parts I might need help on.
Most importantly it reminded me that I don't know everything about writing. No one does. It's a craft you never stop learning.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and will pick it up again and again. I recommend it for anyone who's written anything.
Molly LoobyAuthor / Ghostwriter / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Movellian / ZA Ready
Contact me with any questions or chatter here: [email protected]
Write a Blockbuster and Get it PublishedÌýis a book that gives you great advice about both the writing and publishing process.
BlockbusterÌýshocked me in how easy it was to read. Usually books like this are full of jargon and it makes you nervous, but not this book. It was so easy to understand, even if you don't know what all these literary terms mean, making it accessible to everyone.
It was crammed with great tips and I particularly liked the 10 things to Remember at the end of each chapter. It's a brilliant way to sum up and drive the points home. It's also a good reference point to read back on when you need some advice or you're stuck. I have a feeling I'm going to pick this book up over and over again just to read specific parts I might need help on.
Most importantly it reminded me that I don't know everything about writing. No one does. It's a craft you never stop learning.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and will pick it up again and again. I recommend it for anyone who's written anything.
Molly LoobyAuthor / Ghostwriter / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Movellian / ZA Ready
Contact me with any questions or chatter here: [email protected]
August 22, 2014
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book
The man and the boy journey along the road, headed south, trying everything they can to stay alive in the grey surroundings left by the apocalypse.Ìý
My Review
Before I start, I don't think I fully 'got' this book. I think I was reading far too shallow and if I'd gone deeper I would've enjoyed the whole thing a lot more. I understand why this book is so famous and acclaimed but it wasn't for me.
I loved how the two characters were simply 'the man' and 'the boy' and how they could've been anyone. It set the sad tone for the book. Though they could've been anyone, I found it surprisingly easy to get to know the two characters.
The RoadÌýwas just full of the most beautiful descriptions but they just went over my head. It seemed too much and it was too heavy. I really struggled to picture anything because of the amount of description. Saying this though, the sentences flowed altogether in the most magnificent way. But because of the repetitiveness of the book I felt like I'd read the same description over and over. I'm sure it's meant to feel like that but I didn't enjoy the sensation, I just got bored.
Not enough was going on for my taste. I don't need action jam packed into every page but I do need a bit of something. I was thrilled every time they spoke but even then I wasn't sure what was going on and who was speaking because there are no paragraph breaks. I know it's supposed to be ambiguous but it was really difficult for me to follow at all.
I suppose I just didn't get on with the style at all.
I must also mention that this is the first book I've read all the way through on the Kindle and I didn't like it. I want to see the pages and know how far I am through by looking, rather than the percentage at the bottom. I like turning pages and physically progressing. I can't believe how much I struggled with the Kindle but it just really isn't for me.
After everything, the ending was so powerful and brilliant it brought a tear to my eye even though I'm pretty sure I missed the point to the whole novel.
Evaluation
Plot - 9/10 - there was nothing wrong with the idea at all
Way Plot Was Pursued - 7/10 - I felt a little more could've happened
Characters - 7/10 - it was hard to work out who was doing what
Style - 7/10 - just because I didn't get on with it doesn't make it bad
Pace - 8/10 - the pace was okay, sped up towards the end
Would I recommend it? No. I would end up putting someone off by trying to explain it and I don't want to do that.
Would I look up the author? No. I didn't get on with his style enough.
The Road is a book I would've enjoyed much more had I analysed every sentence. It's a book to study rather than read.
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor / Ghostwriter / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA [email protected]
The man and the boy journey along the road, headed south, trying everything they can to stay alive in the grey surroundings left by the apocalypse.Ìý
My Review
Before I start, I don't think I fully 'got' this book. I think I was reading far too shallow and if I'd gone deeper I would've enjoyed the whole thing a lot more. I understand why this book is so famous and acclaimed but it wasn't for me.
I loved how the two characters were simply 'the man' and 'the boy' and how they could've been anyone. It set the sad tone for the book. Though they could've been anyone, I found it surprisingly easy to get to know the two characters.
The RoadÌýwas just full of the most beautiful descriptions but they just went over my head. It seemed too much and it was too heavy. I really struggled to picture anything because of the amount of description. Saying this though, the sentences flowed altogether in the most magnificent way. But because of the repetitiveness of the book I felt like I'd read the same description over and over. I'm sure it's meant to feel like that but I didn't enjoy the sensation, I just got bored.
Not enough was going on for my taste. I don't need action jam packed into every page but I do need a bit of something. I was thrilled every time they spoke but even then I wasn't sure what was going on and who was speaking because there are no paragraph breaks. I know it's supposed to be ambiguous but it was really difficult for me to follow at all.
I suppose I just didn't get on with the style at all.
I must also mention that this is the first book I've read all the way through on the Kindle and I didn't like it. I want to see the pages and know how far I am through by looking, rather than the percentage at the bottom. I like turning pages and physically progressing. I can't believe how much I struggled with the Kindle but it just really isn't for me.
After everything, the ending was so powerful and brilliant it brought a tear to my eye even though I'm pretty sure I missed the point to the whole novel.
Evaluation
Plot - 9/10 - there was nothing wrong with the idea at all
Way Plot Was Pursued - 7/10 - I felt a little more could've happened
Characters - 7/10 - it was hard to work out who was doing what
Style - 7/10 - just because I didn't get on with it doesn't make it bad
Pace - 8/10 - the pace was okay, sped up towards the end
Would I recommend it? No. I would end up putting someone off by trying to explain it and I don't want to do that.
Would I look up the author? No. I didn't get on with his style enough.
The Road is a book I would've enjoyed much more had I analysed every sentence. It's a book to study rather than read.
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor / Ghostwriter / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA [email protected]
August 12, 2014
Chancing the Truth is almost here . . .
I think it's about time we all got ridiculously excited about Chancing the Truth, the third book in my Immorality of Immortality trilogy!
Check out my blurb:
We'll never be free. Only the end can release us.
Forget Adelina, Stephan's the real god of this castle. You disobey and you're plunged into hell and there's nothing you can do about it.
Unless of course Stephan goes too far. Unless of course you're given something to live for. Unless of course you're strong enough to fight.
I wasn't a year ago.
I am now.
I am Felix Hesper and I am in control.
Through the eyes of Felix, Damien and Lilya, the newest addition to the Senate, Chancing the TruthÌýtakes you on a journey of survival to the heart wrenching finale of the Immorality of ImmortalityÌý³Ù°ù¾±±ô´Ç²µ²â.
I'm struggling to squeal about it without giving anything away but trust me, you will love Chancing the Truth.ÌýIt is my absolutely favourite of the Immorality of ImmortalityÌýbooks for good reason.Ìý
I adored writing Chancing the TruthÌýback in 2012. By the end of it I was well surpassing 1,000 words a day with total ease. I think this was probably the easiest thing I've ever written. The story just burst out of me like I had no choice.
This trilogy taught me almost everything I know about writing and has been the single most incredible experience of my life and I have no idea how to cope now it's over. Felix Hesper and Damien Avery have been with me for four and a half years and I don't really know how to say goodbye to them. At least I don't have to for a while. As long as people are still reading about them they'll still be around. And as if I could ever stop them chattering away in my head.
I must take this opportunity to thank my amazing friends Anna and Dave for getting together with me seven times to read Chancing the Truth Ìýfrom cover to cover. We overcame some weird sentence structure, some irrelevance, some down right confusion and clichés and I couldn't have done it without their support!
I cannot wait to release Chancing the TruthÌýand our new narrator Lilya on all of you! I'm dying to know what everyone thinks!
So to celebrate, I've re-released books one and two, Playing with Reality and Gambling a FairytaleÌýon Kindle so they're now 77p and affordable to all (who have a Kindle or the Kindle app!)
PWR:ÌýÌýGAF:Ìý
The only thing left to do is a final proofread and convert this bad boy to print and digital format.We have never been closer . . .
To make sure you don't miss a single thing, 'like' the Immorality of ImmortalityÌýtrilogy on Facebook!Ìý
"Life is unexplainable and unexpected � especially when you can’t take anymore. This is my story, and I’d like to end with agony."
This is really happening!
Molly LoobyAuthor / Ghostwriter / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Movellian / ZA Ready
Contact me about anything writing, books, vampires or zombies here: [email protected]
August 6, 2014
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
First I'd like to thank my friend Sophie for lending me the book otherwise who knows how long it would've taken me to read this!
A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book
Socially awkward Charlie writes a series of letters as he tries to navigate high school, new friends and family conflict while all the while trying to "participate" though his natural instincts are to simply watch and listen. Charlie tries to navigate triumph, failure, friendship, sexuality, honesty, right and wrong while keeping a level head and a heart full of hopes.
My Review
The Perks of Being a WallflowerÌýis the most perfect coming of age story I've ever read. There was so much beauty in this book I'm surprised the pages can contain it.
I was thrust straight into WallflowerÌýby Charlie's sweet innocent voice. In mere sentences I felt like I knew him and I grew to love him more with each passing page. His letters are aimed at you, the reader, and so Charlie is speaking right to you, making it impossible to resist his friendship. The letters are so easy to read, like diaries are, so I struggled to put this book down to go to bed and to get back to work. If I'd picked this book up in the morning of a day off it would've been finished in one sitting.
I must say, I was in the book with Charlie, following him every step of the way. The other characters were all delightfully different, each having a series of good and bad points that came through to me as the reader, regardless of how Charlie viewed them which was fantastic. They were all very real people with very real problems and that made it even easier to read.
Chbosky fills WallflowerÌýwith brilliant observations that land straight in your heart and make you think about the world you inhabit. ÌýCertain phrases made my head ring and my heart swell like: "And in that moment, I swear we were infinite." Every now and then when I stop working for a moment, this sentence just takes hold of me and it's all I can think of. That Ìýis powerful writing.
I've got nothing bad to say because I loved this book. I read 3/4 of it in one sitting without even realising. And I would read it again.
Evaluation
Plot - 7/10 - high school's been done
Way Plot Was Pursued - 10/10 - but it's never been done like this
Characters - 10/10 - authentic and real
Style - 10/10 - the letters were honest and perfect
Pace - 10/10 - couldn't put it down
Would I recommend it? - Yes. For anyone in or out of high school.
Would I look up the author? - Yes, but sadly he mostly writes screenplays.
The Perks of Being a WallflowerÌýwas poignant, bitter-sweet, deep, moving and nostalgic. What can I say? I adored every single page.
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor / Ghostwriter / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA [email protected]
A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book
Socially awkward Charlie writes a series of letters as he tries to navigate high school, new friends and family conflict while all the while trying to "participate" though his natural instincts are to simply watch and listen. Charlie tries to navigate triumph, failure, friendship, sexuality, honesty, right and wrong while keeping a level head and a heart full of hopes.
My Review
The Perks of Being a WallflowerÌýis the most perfect coming of age story I've ever read. There was so much beauty in this book I'm surprised the pages can contain it.
I was thrust straight into WallflowerÌýby Charlie's sweet innocent voice. In mere sentences I felt like I knew him and I grew to love him more with each passing page. His letters are aimed at you, the reader, and so Charlie is speaking right to you, making it impossible to resist his friendship. The letters are so easy to read, like diaries are, so I struggled to put this book down to go to bed and to get back to work. If I'd picked this book up in the morning of a day off it would've been finished in one sitting.
I must say, I was in the book with Charlie, following him every step of the way. The other characters were all delightfully different, each having a series of good and bad points that came through to me as the reader, regardless of how Charlie viewed them which was fantastic. They were all very real people with very real problems and that made it even easier to read.
Chbosky fills WallflowerÌýwith brilliant observations that land straight in your heart and make you think about the world you inhabit. ÌýCertain phrases made my head ring and my heart swell like: "And in that moment, I swear we were infinite." Every now and then when I stop working for a moment, this sentence just takes hold of me and it's all I can think of. That Ìýis powerful writing.
I've got nothing bad to say because I loved this book. I read 3/4 of it in one sitting without even realising. And I would read it again.
Evaluation
Plot - 7/10 - high school's been done
Way Plot Was Pursued - 10/10 - but it's never been done like this
Characters - 10/10 - authentic and real
Style - 10/10 - the letters were honest and perfect
Pace - 10/10 - couldn't put it down
Would I recommend it? - Yes. For anyone in or out of high school.
Would I look up the author? - Yes, but sadly he mostly writes screenplays.
The Perks of Being a WallflowerÌýwas poignant, bitter-sweet, deep, moving and nostalgic. What can I say? I adored every single page.
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor / Ghostwriter / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA [email protected]
