Kate Grace, an  improvisation comedy group member turned freelance author, shares her thoughts on The Hunger Games, fears of failure, and pitchers of margarita.

ANA: What inspired you to write Burden of the Soul?

KATE: There are two answers to this. I was inspired to write my first novel by going through a terrible time that ended up being a blessing in disguise. There was nothing left to lose, so there was nothing left to fear about failing. I was inspired to write Burden of the Soul by how my imagination started coming to life during that time. I was recovering from an illness that zapped all physical energy, so I was cooped up at home in a New York City apartment all summer. I was mentally bored, so my imagination sort of took over. We lived down the street from Central Park and that’s the only change of scenery I ever got because that’s as far as I could go. On the way each day I passed this gorgeous apartment building and I started wondering about the people that lived there. Then I started making people up. I built up my strength by walking through the park, but I had to stick to lower traffic areas to make the most of the little energy I had. The Reservoir, Belvedere Castle and the Bramble were among my regular spots and all these different stories my imagination was building in these different areas starting merging until one day they started showing up on the page. So I stopped writing my “first” attempt at a book and just let Clara take over.

ANA: What’s your dream cast for Burden of the Soul?

KATE: That’s a tough one to answer because I see them as they are in my mind. They aren’t known actors or actresses, they’re just who they are. A few of the characters started off being inspired by people I knew, but during the writing and discovery process they just became themselves. So I’m going to flip this question on you and ask what’s your dream cast for Burden of the Soul?

ANA: Okay, this is really hard because– as I may have mentioned– I’m not a huge TV person and the closest I come to seeing actors in action is during the occasional really crappy movie. But, if I had my way, Dave would be played by Andrew Garfield (whom you may recognize from the newest Spidey movie).

And Clara would be played by Vica Kerekes.  Whom you may not recognize. This is the part where you thank Google for its miracles.

Actually, speaking of Clara, I noticed that you never provided the name of her spontaneously-developed blog. What is it?

KATE: Ah, there’s a reason for that and the answer will come in time. ;^)

ANA: Cryptic. Okay. Next question: do you belong to any particular team when it comes to the Dave versus Devin battle?

KATE: This is another impossible one for me to answer because I know how it ends and why, so I can’t give that away just yet. I can say the developments coming for Clara, Dave and Devin along with Grace and Brik cover massive ground and will make readers’ hearts flutter, then break and then hopefully heal. In the end, and I have to stay true to this, they will represent the realistic joys, challenges and struggles relationships bring.

But I’m going to flip this question on you as well. Do you belong to any particular team when it comes to the Dave versus Devin battle? Why?

ANA: No, actually. No, I do not. I don’t think I know enough about Dave or Devin to favour one over the other, but I’m hoping to get to know them a lot better in the next installment of the series and possibly come to a decision then.

Speaking of book series– who is your favourite YA author?

KATE: There are so many! Top notch for me in the YA genre is Suzanne Collins for The Hunger Games series. There is so much brilliance in those books in regards to coming of age and choices, all of which is layered with complexities of environment and survival. What I love most about her writing and her characters is she never waters herself down because her target readers are young adults. I come across a lot of YA literature that talks down to the readers because of their age, when really this group is the smartest and most challenging to write for (in my opinion). With teen and young adult readers imaginations are strong, open mindedness is present and honesty is of the highest importance. These readers are the smartest I’ve encountered and that’s why I love writing in this genre!

ANA: When you were in high school, did you know that you were going to write a book? What did you want to be?

KATE: I had no clue! And I loved reading! I think books were something I loved so much and respected so much that I put them on an unattainable pedestal. I wanted to be a photographer. I went to a creative arts high school and studied theater. Every since I got my first diary at age 9 I’ve been a writer, but because I loved it so much I feared it. I feared the thought of failing. I went to college for art (and took writing classes for the fun of it). I worked in magazines as an editor and finished graduate school in journalism. I continued to write, particularly with journalism, but I had convinced myself I didn’t have the imagination necessary to write a novel, let alone a few. I was living in New York City and performing with an improvisational comedy troupe regularly when the light went on and I realized, “If I have imagination to do this I can at least try.” Not long after that the bottom dropped out. I got sick. Lost my job. Had to move, and no longer had anything to lose by failing. So I started to write, and it just kept going. It’s funny looking back on all the different paths I took and seeing how they were shaping me to be an author despite how various and disconnected they seemed at the time.

ANA: Can you tell us 3 random facts about yourself?

KATE: I’m currently trying to teach my dog, Maddie, how to wave goodbye.

For my elementary school talent show I sang “Tomorrow” from Annie while wearing a Sunshine Bear (Carebear) costume my mom had made for me. Problem was the hole for my face to poke out was the bear’s mouth, so it just looked like a Carebear had swallowed a child whole.

I am currently rocking a major Farmer’s Tan due to my love of T-Shirts.

ANA: If you could take 5 things with you onto a deserted island, what would they be?

KATE: Pitcher of margarita

Another pitcher of margarita

Another pitcher of margarita

Another pitcher of margarita

And a getaway boat for when the margaritas have run out

ANA: That is seriously hilarious. I really hope to see more of this humour in your next book, but in the meantime…  please give us a teaser for the sequel!

KATE: Ha! Well it’s still too early for excerpts (my editor would kill me), but I’ll share a few facts with you.

– Readers have all the information they need… it’s action from here on out!

– I’ve always been able to picture the climactic scene of book 2, but my day job and a dear friend/co-worker named Kurt Meyland have brought it to life in a way that gets my blood pumping every time I read it!

– So far the two sides have been stationary waiting for someone to move. Now everyone is on the move!

– There’s a traitor among them. Which “them”? Not telling.

So, a big thanks to Kate Grace for the interview! I, personally, can’t wait for Burden of the Soul‘s sequel– if only to find out the URL of Clara’s mystery blog. For the moment, though, I’ll be satisfied–I’ll be thrilled– to get to know more YA authors, so stay tuned this summer; more interviews are coming up.

I’ll keep you posted,

Sometimes life gets messy.

After a rocky start in Spoiled, Brooke Berlin and her newly discovered half sister, Molly Dix, have settled into something like sisterly love, but the drama is far from over.

Now that Brooke’s caught a taste of fame and her movie star father’s attention, she wants to launch a blog that will position her as the ultimate Hollywood insider. But between schoolwork, party-planning committee meetings, and spa treatments, she hardly has the time to write it herself…

Enter Max McCormack, an aspiring author with a terrible after-school job pushing faux meat on the macrobiotic masses of La-La Land. Max reluctantly agrees to play Brooke’s ghost-blogger for an impressive salary, and the site takes off, but how long can their lie last? In person, Brooke can’t live up to the intellectual wit of openbrooke.com, and Max soon begins to resent hiding her genius behind a bandage dress-wearing blonde. Can the girls work together to stay on top, or will the truth come out and ruin everything they’ve built?

PS: You might want to check out my review of Spoiled before reading this one.

Messy is written in the hilarious, sarcastic and witty manner that is the trademark of the Go Fug Yourself girls. Every page is infused with priceless jabs at both factual and fake Hollywood stars, most of whom–being the unplugged teen that I clearly am– I’ve never even heard. But here’s the catch: I laughed anyway. I didn’t even know who they were talking about and I laughed anyway. Okay, laugh is a weak word to describe my snorting-slash-snickering-slash-rolling-around-on-my-bonbon-strewn-floor-clutching-my-stomach. But, as Brooke Berlin would say with a generalizing sweep of her manicured hand, “details.”

As accurately described in my current poll (which you may find a little to the right of your screen and graciously vote on), Messy is the quintessential beach read: light, fun, and knock-your-socks-off hilarious. Old Hollywood clichés inadvertently compliment high school clique melodrama and up-and-coming It Girl debauchery as our two main characters learn to become dependant of one another in the hopes of bettering their futures. There is no saying more appropriate than Hollywood Is Like High School with Money in cases like these– especially when our read focuses not only on high school, not only on Hollywood, but on a high school in Hollywood whose students are more artificial than Glow‘s twisted sense of humour.

Well, all the students but Max McCormack (otherwise known as Kermit), of course. Yes, Max– what with her green hair, consisting-almost-entirely-of-black wardrobe, and serious writing aspirations– is certainly the square peg in Colby-Randall Preparatory School’s very round, very flaky hole. Her rebellious disposition has always led her to believe certain truths: bottle blondes, stupid celebrities and spoiled brats were simply meant to be mocked. However, this disposition cannot help her now, in the face of a desperate need for money, an overly-tempting, well paying job, and– this is the worst part– Brooke Berlin.

Some of you may be wondering what kind of job could even come near tempting the anti-establishment Max. I’m going to dash all of your hopes right this instant by saying that, contrary to popular belief, it does not involve egging Jennifer Hudson’s house (although this, too, would be completely satisfying for all parties). This job involves different key words, such as ghost, writing, and blog. Now, being a blogger, myself, I utterly delighted in the scattered postings of the girls’ witty blog, www.openbrooke.com. Or should I say Max’s witty blog? Brooke obviously has no idea what she’s talking about. And Max is growing tired of letting the glamazon hide behind her words.

Brooke is admittedly my favourite character. Although I most certainly am not the shallow fake most would claim her to be, I can absolutely relate to her need to constantly be wearing an attractive ensemble and drive to find the perfect pair of shoes. However, let’s not assume that Brooke is this afore-mentioned shallow fake. The youngest Berlin has piles upon piles of insecurities, doubts, hopes, and dreams (most of which do involve fame and fortune, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here). In Messy, Brooke has most definitely become the realistic and at least quasi-deep person that she failed to represent in Spoiled.

As you may have guessed, although Messy is the claimed sequel of Spoiled, it’s more of a companion than anything else. Despite the fact that Molly does make brief appearances in certain nostalgic scenes, she has stepped off of the stage in order to allow her best friend and sister to take her place as protagonists. I’ve heard rumours that Brooke’s BFF Arugula may be the centre of Cocks and Morgan’s next book, but the person who I’m hoping to see more of is Shelby Kendall: self-proclaimed enemy of both Brooke and Molly.

Nevertheless, such a novel would not be complete without two of my favourite mandatory ingredients: drama and boys. And what better way to incorporate both than a delicious twist on the classic love triangle? When the unconventionally short and unconventionally bookish Taylor Swift (his stage name is Brady Swift, for obvious reasons) comes into the picture, our two protagonists become dazzled and not slightly giddy. The melodrama that ensues is best left for the actual reading of this book, but I will say that it is very intense, terribly evocative, and highly enjoyable.

Messy‘s obvious hilarity and delectable drama warrant 4.6/5 stars. For all in need of a light, creamy, and somewhat candy-coated escape.

Oh, and enter my current giveaway for a chance to win Burden of the Soul! You only have one day left.

I’ll keep you posted,

Buy Burden of the Soul on Amazon

Clara never asked to be special. She was perfectly happy e-stalking her crush’s blog, avoiding the attention of the Bronze Brigade clique at school, awaiting the next visit from her avant-garde Aunt Grace, and dreaming of a strange young man … who feels too real to be only a dream.

But then one day, her world literally separates at the seams, as a blinding light rips her mother away right before her eyes. In one, inexplicable moment, Clara is tugged from a life where her biggest worry is how to avoid social scrutiny to having the burden of her mother’s disappearance and her father’s subsequent unhappiness hoisted squarely onto her shoulders.

Precisely one year later, on her 17th birthday, the blinding white light returns. This time, the light brings with it more than just grief. It ushers in a cast of Guardians who have been with Clara all along, waiting for her to awaken and remember a promise she made in another world. When Clara learns what is expected of her, and the price she must pay to restore order, she can only hope that the still dormant ancient soul that lives inside of her is truly fighting on the side of Good.

Burden of the Soul grapples not only with the battle between Good and Evil, and Action and Complacency, but pits its unlikely heroine squarely against herself. Half of Clara is an ancient soul who made a promise to fight a war, the other half is an adolescent girl who never asked to be special.

Welcome to our self-published palooza! Every week of the summer, I’ll be reviewing and hosting a giveaway of a self-published book. To kick start this event, we have Burden of the Soul by Kate Grace, a fun and unique debut to a series about an ordinary girl with an extraordinary destiny.

Is it wrong of me to say that I enjoyed Burden of the Soul not for the sarcastic nature of its characters or for its amazing setting, but for the escape this novel became? Kate Grace’s characters may not be deepest, and her romancing may be a little far-fetched, but I find this book to be utterly delightful because of its escapist concept and fun and unique ideas.

The whole soul mate thing has been done before, but Twin Flames? I’ve never heard of that. Grace’s idea of the Other Side, along with that of its members, is also a fresh addition to an overly-wrought notion.

However, I feel as though the first hundred pages of this book were not only unneeded plot-wise, but derogatory to the complete novel because they involved so many typos and grammatical errors. Kate could easily have condensed every event in this section of Burden of the Soul to one fifth of its length and created a much lighter and easier read.

This being said, after its first hundred pages, Burden of the Soul picked up the pace and grew into an intense page-turner. A few key elements were finally explained, which led me to really appreciate Burden of the Soul‘s original concept. The writing became clearer and the annoying typos thinned out.

It’s important to note that most self-published books will contain typos, and they will include grammatical errors, and it’s wrong to expect them not to because these books have no editors. That’s fine with me.

As for the characters, I had quite a hard time relating to Clara. Miss Grace really tried to portray her as an average teenager girl, and I get that. However, most teenage girls don’t strive to be mediocre. They don’t make every attempt to stay out of their high school’s social scene. And they most certainly do not separate their split ends for fun. Grossness. Again, after the first third of Burden of the Soul, Clara pulled her act together and became the stronger heroine who most of this book’s reviewers praise. She did make a few stupid mistakes, but… don’t we all?

The truth is that I couldn’t care less which angle of Burden of the Soul‘s love triangle Clara ends up choosing. Both guys seem great and supportive and loving. However, we never really discover any defining qualities attributed to the two potential boyfriends—other than someone’s love for music and a certain United Kingdom accent—but we never discover any negative qualities either. So. I guess this point is moot. I wish that these characters had been more fully developed and rounded, but, again, I really appreciate Burden of the Soul’s romance without that.

My favourite character is actually Clara’s aunt Grace. She’s spunky, hilarious, and humiliates Clara in the most enjoyable of ways. I’m glad that we were able to discover some of her history towards the end of the novel, and can’t wait to see more of her in the next installment.

I’m conflicted when it comes to Burden of the Soul’s ending. I really didn’t see it coming, nor do I understand why it did. It provided a lot of information crucial to this book’s world building, and the change in narration was awesome. Nonetheless, the events seemed really random, coming to place without an apparent cause and being cut off before having the chance to display any consequences. Many loose ends were left untied, which is a good thing if you like cliff-hangers—but not so great if you don’t. I don’t.

In any case, I really have to hand it to Miss Grace for publishing paperback copies of her book. I’ve found that in the self-publishing industry, this rare, but I really, really appreciate it. As you may have guessed, I’m not the biggest fan of eReaders.

Overall, Burden of the Soul merits 3.6/5 stars. For fans of originality, hilarious aunts, and typos.

But on to the giveaway! You have until Friday to enter. Good luck to you all!
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I’ll keep you posted,

Buy The Immortal Rules on Amazon

In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.”Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of “them.” The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked–and given the ultimate choice. Die…or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend–a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what–and who–is worth dying for.

Okay, folks, I know what you’re all thinking. Another vampire book. Another freaking vampire book has taken the freaking pop culture-based stage and what the frig is Julie Kagawa– Julie Kagawa, of all people!— doing writing about our fanged little friends?

Well, folks, this may come as a bit of a shocker to you, but this is no ordinary vampire book. No, The Immortal Rules is anything but ordinary, mainly because in addition to vampires, it involves preacher boys, raving lunatics, and foaming zombie hybrids.

An epidemic of a disease know as Red Lung has destroyed the majority of the human population. To protect what is left of it, along with its own race, the vampires formed cities. Registered humans now exist as blood cattle and slaves. Unregistered humans, however, must scavenge for food, territory, and shelter– all of which is scarce within the city limits. However, outside of the city walls, zombie/vampire hybrids known as rabids run rampant, threatening to convert all of those who cross them with one bite.

Allie, an Unregistered, is attacked while attempting to survive. She has no other choice than death. However, how she dies is up to her: will she be killed for good… or will she wake up with with fangs in her mouth and blood lust in her heart? Obviously, Allison will choose to become a vampire– otherwise there’d be no plot. But why will she do so? What could cause her to desire to become the creature that she hates the most? And what will happen once she does?

The world building in The Immortal Rules is very well done. From the Inner City to the Fringe to the ruins to what’s beyond them, I was thoroughly engaged in this post-apocalyptic world.  Maybe it was the zombies, or the overgrown towns, or the fact that all of the events take place only at night. No, it was definitely the zombies. The only thing that I would have changed about the world building is the Floating Pit, because I just couldn’t picture it.

My favourite character in The Immortal Rules is Kanin, Allie’s tortured vampire creator. I love him. No, seriously. I don’t even care that his name is Kanin. (Just pause for a second and absorb that. Kanin. Kay-nin.) He’s brutally honest when it comes to vampire nature, but is  self-deploring and loathful of the monster he claims all vamps to be. I love the way he can basically condemn the fate of his species without so much as flinching. Although he’s made a few very large  mistakes in the past, I can’t wait to find out more about him. I really hope that he plays an important role in more than one quarter of the next installment.

I don’t want to give anything away, but I also think that a certain vampire king is pretty hilarious.

Did you burn down my theater? That wasn’t very civilized of you. Now I’m going to have to find another spot to hold the ritual dismemberments.

Ah, yes, the ritual dismemberments. How could I have forgotten about those?

Characters I didn’t like as much include Allie and Zeke, the protagonist and love interest. Allie is what I like to call an Obstinately Strong Female Protagonist. She’s strong, great with a sword, and comes up with racy comebacks. However, she’s also somewhat of a shrew, being pig-headedly stubborn and self-centered. Dear Allie, you being a scary vampire doesn’t change the fact that if you’re a hellion who swears like a truck driver, people will dislike you. It’s just what people do. I mean, you’ve got some opinions, and that’s cool with me– unless they’re stupid opinions. Like yours.

And what’s with the fact that Allie is the only competent female character? All of the other girls are either too old to survive on their own, too young to survive on their own, raving and crazy, or jealous beeyatches. ‘Cause that’s reassuring when it comes to female niceties.

Zeke is Allie’s polar opposite. His name is actually short for Ezekiel: the name of the angel of death. This is strangely appropriate; Zeke has no flaws. He’s perfect. He always sees the good in people, is ready to give without expecting anything in return, puts himself in danger for the well-being of the group, is the son of a preacher boy, is beautiful on the inside and out– am I annoying you yet? Yes? Try reading a whole book about him.

The idea of the star-crossed romance between Allie and Zeke is not new. Nonetheless, as is her fashion, Kagawa spins this over-told tale extremely well. She doesn’t grant readers the satisfaction of an easy love story, instead choosing to stay true to her characters and their natures. The romance between Zeke and Allie just suits them. Although, I fail to see how someone like Ezekiel could ever fall for someone like Allison. But that’s his problem.

On a lighter plot note, Kagawa keeps her readers riveted with all the action going on in The Immortal Rules. I’m telling you, this book is intense. I mean, maybe all 485 pages weren’t terribly necessary, but it’s a feat in itself to write a 485 page book that’s highly addictive.

Oh, and one more thing: unlike the girl depicted on the cover, Allison is Asian. Thank you, Julie Kagawa. Thank you.

The Immortal Rules merits a good 3.9/5 stars. For fans of zombies, vampires, and multicultural literacy.

I’ll keep you posted,

Hey, everyone!

I haven’t been posting much lately. I’m truly, terribly sorry. I’m a high school student, so for the last month I’ve just been studying my behind off and writing exams.

However, summer is hither and summer fever is here. And I have a plan.

Every week of the summer (that’s the last week of June to the last week of August), I will be posting twice a week– one published book and one self-published. Which means… one giveaway a week! Yay! My reading list will include, but is not limited to:

Published

–The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

–Messy by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

–Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

–Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

–Have Book–Will Travel by Kfir Luzatto

–Hurricane by Jenna-Lynne Duncan

–Poltergeeks by Sean Cummings

–The Assasin’s Curse by Cassandra Rose Clark

–The Earthquake Machine by Mary Pauline Lowry

Self-published

–The Vampire Underground by Brian Rowe

–Torn by Ashley S. Morgan

–When Destiny Knocks by Heather White

–Burden of the Soul by Kate Grace

–Guardians: The Girl by Lola St.Vil

–Crystal Shade: Angeni by Istvan and Orlando Szabo

–Protostar by Braxton Cosby

–Wrecked by Elle Casey

–The 8th Dwarf by Michael Mullin

I hope that you’re all as excited as I am! Is there any summer read that I’ve missed? Which one of these sounds the most exciting? Email me at whatyareading@gmail.com or leave a comment to join in the discussion.

I’ll keep you posted,