Author Interview: Jon Robinson, Author of Nowhere

Today I have a special treat for you guys. I managed to find and ensnare, YA Author Jon Robinson, author of the fabulous NOWHERE and grilled him for your entertainment! Enjoy!

Welcome to Mel’s Random Reviews! Let’s jump into the interrogation interview -

Jon Robinson, a "ridiculous human being" & Author

First tell us a little about yourself and when you knew you wanted to write...

It’s always a little tricky to introduce yourself without it sounding like a personals ad isn’t it? I’m 29, born and raised in Middlesex, United Kingdom. For all you astrologers out there, I’m told I’m a very typical Sagittarius (whatever that may be?) and frequently described as quirky, random and occasionally a “ridiculous human being”… which I can only assume is a compliment. When I’m not reading/writing I’m really into running, meditation, yoga and a ton of other stuff I don’t really have time for. I’ve been intermittent fasting for the past 2 years, I keep a ‘coincidence diary’ and a book of stoic philosophy beside my pillow. I work part time for a charity in London and spend far too long on the tubes.

I’ve been writing since I was very young, but started taking it seriously (ie; sending my work to literary agents) when I was probably around 21. I had no contacts, no family connections, no previous experience of working in publishing. So yes, it can be done!

The first of a new trilogy, NOWHERE has just been released - how would you describe it to potential readers?

NOWHERE is about a group of teenagers who are being held in a mysterious high security prison. They’re told they’ve committed terrible crimes (but none of them can remember doing so) and have been sentenced, without trial, without knowing when they will be released, where they are, or even what day of the week it is. We gradually see a mysterious cabal of the wealthiest people in the country called The Pledge is behind their incarceration… but why? (cue dramatic music) …

My editor said something in the first draft reminded her a little of “Cabin in the Woods”, which was incredibly perceptive as I’d always envisioned the series as hopping between several genres. There are elements of dystopia, sci fi, urban fantasy, conspiracy, action-adventure, mystery, among others…

NOWHERE has several big ideas and secrets...did you know when you started writing what those secrets were going to be?

Yes, absolutely. It’s easy to assume that I just came up with a high concept (kids kept in a prison, told they’ve committed crimes etc) and then looked for an answer that would fit. But actually, the series started with the idea behind the central mystery (which is explored fully in book 2) and then developed the whole prison scenario, and decided to use that to set the stage for the series.

I’ve had this approach with the smaller mysteries and secrets too. For example, in the sequel ANYWHERE, there’s talk of “something very bad” being kept inside a strange locked room. Again, I knew the secret from the start and thought of a really cool and sinister way of introducing it, so came up with the idea of a locked room that no-one is allowed to look inside.

Some people absolutely have to know every little thing about a story but I enjoy leaving blanks for the reader to fill themselves, to give their imagination a little breathing space. As the first in the series, NOWHERE is deliberately kept quite ambiguous – I mean there are hints as to what the mystery is (and a few readers have almost hit the mark), but it is quite complex. Some people will never see it coming, and by the second book, the series will have morphed into something else entirely.

The kids in NOWHERE don’t know where they are being held. If you were held for your own good, is there somewhere you’d like to be? (Personally I’d love to be locked in a library!)

I’m with you on the library thing. As a kid I used to amuse myself with these weird fantasies about being left overnight in mysterious bookshops and amusement arcades…

You left us on the edge of our seats at the end of NOWHERE, when’s the next book out? (And is there anything I can bribe you with to bring it forward? J)

The next book, ANYWHERE, is basically finished! I’ll be submitting to my editor within the next few days, and then it’ll probably go through a fairly extensive editing process with the Puffin team, much like NOWHERE. It’s going to be well over 500 pages. I can’t wait for people to read it, and see the direction the novel is going to take. There are some genuinely disturbing parts (fingers crossed I’m able to keep these in). One of my favourite characters in the sequel is Stephen, a psychopathic 21 year old technology billionaire - I despise him, but he is such a fun character to write, and is involved in some really shocking and cruel scenes. There is also a lot more about the menacing advisor, Emmanuel, and some hints as to who (or what) he is…

As for release dates, I think the plan is probably summer 2014, but if there are any changes I’ll keep you posted!

And a random question, if you could have one superpower, what would it be?

I spend far too much time thinking about this. The three I’ve reduced it to are 1) Matrix-style ‘time distortion’, 2) Teleportation 3) Healing (myself and others). Healing is probably the most sensible and altruistic, but I love the idea of being able to fight off a gang of enemies with slow-motion kung fu. Then again, why would I ever be surrounded by enemies? I write books and work for a charity…

Finally a 60 second, quick question quiz

-          Favourite Book you’ve read? Don Quixote

-          Favourite food? Italian; probably a risotto

Ophelia, Netherland Dwarf

-          Favourite film? Toy Story (yep, I’m a big kid) followed by Kubrick’s 2001; A Space Odyssey

-          Favourite music? Everything, but I’ve been listening to The National’s new album, Trouble Will Find Me, which is superb.

-          Favourite authors? JG Ballard, Hemingway, Borges,

-          Any pets? My fiancee has a Netherland Dwarf rabbit called ‘Ophelia’ 

-          Favourite saying/quote? "We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing” - George Bernard Shaw

  

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions!

Thank you so much for interviewing me! If anyone wants to get in touch I’m on twitter @jonstoryteller and facebook.com/jonrobinsonbooks. 

Magic Rises (Kate Daniels #6) Review

Magic Rises (Kate Daniels #6)

Ilona Andrews

Publisher: Ace Fantasy

Atlanta is a city plagued by magical problems. Kate Daniels will fight to solve them—no matter the cost.Mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate, Curran, the Beast Lord, are struggling to solve a heartbreaking crisis. Unable to control their beasts, many of the Pack’s shapeshifting children fail to survive to adulthood. While there is a medicine that can help, the secret to its making is closely guarded by the European packs, and there’s little available in Atlanta.
Kate can’t bear to watch innocents suffer, but the solution she and Curran have found threatens to be even more painful. The European shapeshifters who once outmaneuvered the Beast Lord have asked him to arbitrate a dispute—and they’ll pay him in medicine. With the young people’s survival and the Pack’s future at stake, Kate and Curran know they must accept the offer—but they have little doubt that they’re heading straight into a trap...

Who says after a couple gets together life gets boring...? For Kate and Curran life together is just as challenging and exciting as before but the stakes are higher than ever before. Kate is now the Beast Lord’s Consort and this means as well as being Currans other half she has responsibility for the Pack. So she and Curran find themselves heading to Europe in order to obtain some vitally needed medicine that will help save the Pack’s children from going loup.

Wow. Just wow. 

This series set such a high standard and it sends a little of thrill of excitement down my spine that the quality is maintained, the world is expanded and the characters grow and change. No-one is safe and even surviving doesn’t mean that life will be the same. Kate has let Curran into her heart completely and the vulnerability that gives her is a different side of the character. Especially when she is surrounded by shapeshifters who make assumptions she is weak as she isn’t one. The wider plot with Kate’s father is expanded as well in some very intriguing ways.

When I picked up this book I was immediately sucked back into Atlanta and world ravaged by magic, I didn’t want to leave and just wanted to continue stalking Kate,Curran, Andrea, Doolittle and the others as long as possible. There is plenty of action, soul searching and intrigue in equal measures. My one niggle was Curran’s behaviour was while ultimately noble, was still not giving Kate enough credit. However, any book which gets my adrenaline pumping, my heart thumping and where anything can happen is always a good time.

There are some big changes by the end of the story and I have no idea what is in store for Kate and the Pack next...and I have a long wait until the next book is out!

Recommended for fans of Jim Butcher and Karen Chance. 9.5 out of 10.

My Book Haul / Showcase Sunday

This is Books, Biscuits and Tea's Showcase Sunday where I share my lovely book hauls each week. Have a look back at Vicki's link up to see what everyone is up too!

This week was the first full week of August and it seems some of the summer heat has gone from the UK - although it's not quite Autumn yet!

I finished reading All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill - a great time travel YA story and practically inhaled Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews - boy, I LOVE that series! I also laughed my way through I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella - such a fun book!

For Review

The Kitchen House - Kathleen Grissom

Publisher: Black Swan

When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin. 
Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.

This arrived unexpectedly from Transworld. It's not my usually type of read so I'm not sure if I will get round to reading soon or not...

Won

Witchstruck - Victoria Lamb

Publisher: Corgi

Meg Lytton has always known of her dark and powerful gift. Raised a student of the old magick by her Aunt Jane, casting the circle to see visions of the future and concocting spells from herbs and bones has always been as natural to Meg as breathing. But there has never been a more dangerous time to practise the craft, for it is 1554, and the sentence for any woman branded a witch is hanging, or burning at the stake. Sent to the ruined, isolated palace of Woodstock to serve the disgraced Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and half-sister of Queen Mary, Meg discovers her skills are of interest to the outcast princess, who is desperate to know if she will ever claim the throne. But Meg's existence becomes more dangerous every day, with the constant threat of exposure by the ruthless witchfinder Marcus Dent, and the arrival of a young Spanish priest, Alejandro de Castillo, to whom Meg is irresistibly drawn - despite their very different attitudes to her secret.

I won this at Goodreads First Reads but it's a book I wanted to read anyway! I'm hoping to start this soon!

Bought

Ex-Heroes - Peter Clines

Publisher: Del Ray

Stealth. Gorgon. Regenerator. Cerberus. Zzzap. The Mighty Dragon. They were heroes, using their superhuman abilities to make Los Angeles a better place. 
Then the plague of living death spread around the globe. Now, a year later, the heroes struggle to overcome their differences and recover from their own scars as they protect the thousands of survivors huddled in their film-studio-turned-fortress, the Mount. But the hungry ex-humans are not the only threat the survivors face. Across the city, another group has grown and gained power.

This was a complete impulse purchase as the idea of superheroes and zombies just appeals to me!

What did you get this week..?

Results! What Shall I Read This August?

Decisions, decisions...I can never make my mind up so once a month I offer up a choice to you wonderful and wise blog readers and hand you the keys to my next book choice. The results have been counted, checked and rechecked and the winner for August is...

The full results were...

Seraphina: 65%

Dragon Bones: 18%

The Witches of Eileanan: 12%

The Enchantment Emporium: 6%

It was a pretty clean sweep for Seraphina so expect a review before the month is up!

And who won their choice of book from my TBR pile? The winner is...LisaC!

Congratulations! An email has been sent to you asking for choice!

Early Review: Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2)

Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2)

Sarah J Maas

Publisher: Bloomsbury - To Be Release 15th August 2013

E-Arc Courtesy of Netgalley and Bloomsbury

Eighteen-year-old Celaena Sardothien is bold, daring and beautiful – the perfect seductress and the greatest assassin her world has ever known. But though she won the King’s contest and became his champion, Celaena has been granted neither her liberty nor the freedom to follow her heart. The slavery of the suffocating salt mines of Endovier that scarred her past is nothing compared to a life bound to her darkest enemy, a king whose rule is so dark and evil it is near impossible to defy. Celaena faces a choice that is tearing her heart to pieces: kill in cold blood for a man she hates, or risk sentencing those she loves to death. Celaena must decide what she will fight for: survival, love or the future of a kingdom. Because an assassin cannot have it all . . . And trying to may just destroy her.

This is what all YA series should be! An independent but passionate heroine caught between her vows and her secrets – check. Two heroes who accept her for who she is but still care – check. Love triangle that makes sense and isn’t frustrating or overwrought – check. Action – check. Soul searching – check, big revelations – check, an increasingly tense wider arc – check, great secondary characters – check. What more can I say, other than this book ticks all the check boxes and creates a few new ones!

As the King’s Champion Celaena has been ordered to kill those the King deems his enemies or traitors, but she finds herself less than enthused to kill for the man who is responsible for the death of her family and continues to dominate and enslave the whole continent. However, if she doesn’t obey him not only her own life is forfeit but also that of her friends, Chaol, Captain of the guard and Princess Nehemia. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other people in the realm unwilling to oppose the king and soon Celaena has to decide how far she will go for those she loves and what she will fight for.

Celaena for young age has been through a lot and is intent on surviving, but at the same time she is starting to open up for the first time. I love that her character has grown so much and yet she is still making selfish choices at times and mistakes. It makes her feel real and the dilemmas she is struggling with even more difficult. That’s not to say Celaena along makes this book work. Both Prince Dorian and Captain Chaol are more than usual romanic interests and both struggling with dilemmas of their own. The balance between personal and  loyalties to the kingdom are strong – at times I just want to shake them both to be more aware of who they are serving as King! There are so many wonderful moments and twists that usually come at the end of a book just sneak up on you in the middle and make you wonder what will happen next. My heart was in my throat on multiply occasions and I never wanted to stop reading.

I am really hoping this is a longer series than just a trilogy as I can see so much possibility and adventures ahead for our assassin and her friends! This is where all other YA books need to look for inspiration.

Recommended for fans of Robin Lafevers and Maria V Synder. 10 out of 10

Throwback Thursday #93 - Hunter's Moon

This is a great feature that Melissa at My World...in words and pictures has been doing for a while which looks at those wonderful books that are ALREADY on my shelves that we haven't got round to reading yet..

Hunter's Moon (Tales of Sazi #1) - CT Adams & Cathy Clamp

Publisher: Tor

Sue Quentin has reached the end of her rope-she's desperate, and there's only one way out. Her plan doesn't include falling for Tony, the mysterious hit man she hires. He listens when she speaks and somehow convinces her that maybe her problems aren't entirely insurmountable. He even thinks her little potbelly is sexy. So he's a werewolf--everyone has flaws!  
Sue enjoys being coddled by Tony, and, for his part, Tony likes the way Sue moans when he touches her. She begins to think she and Tony might have a shot at a future together, despite his unorthodox profession . . . and even though she doesn't know his real name. 
But when Tony's enemies-not all of whom are fully human-decide Sue makes a perfect target, will Tony risk letting his darker side out during the day to save her?

I haven't read any paranormal romance for a while so this month I thought I'd have a little focus on some romance on the dark side!

I won a book in this series that was set much, much later but liked it enough that I went out and bought the first book in the series. Since then, it has sat unloved and unread on my TBR pile... I have to confess I've not read many review of this series so I have no idea if it's any good or not! Can anyone clue me in..? :-)

All Our Yesterdays Review

All Our Yesterdays

Cristin Terrill

Publisher: Bloomsbury

E-Arc Courtesy of Netgalley and Bloomsbury

Em is locked in a bare, cold cell with no comforts. Finn is in the cell next door. The Doctor is keeping them there until they tell him what he wants to know. Trouble is, what he wants to know hasn't happened yet. Em and Finn have a shared past, but no future unless they can find a way out. The present is torture - being kept apart, overhearing each other's anguish as the Doctor relentlessly seeks answers. There's no way back from here, to what they used to be, the world they used to know. Then Em finds a note in her cell which changes everything. It's from her future self and contains some simple but very clear instructions. Em must travel back in time to avert a tragedy that's about to unfold. Worse, she has to pursue and kill the boy she loves to change the future...

I am a massive geek (I even studied Physics at university for four years) so any book that has a hook of time travel just has me quivering in excitement and hope that it is done well. I am very pleased to announce that it is done well here – and makes for a very exciting and tense read.

Marina has been in love with the boy next door, James for as long as she can remember. James is a genius, but when his brother, a Congressman is shot everything starts to fall apart. Em has been on the run for years, held captive and desperately wants to see Finn, the boy in the cell next to hers before she dies. However, soon she is given a chance to change everything. The differences and similarities between these two lead characters is wonderfully done as their experiences vary and their voices change.

The technology and how of time travel is brushed over fairly quickly focusing on the moral issues and characters. After all is it fair to blame someone for crimes they haven’t committed yet..? This issue is at the heart of the story with added complications coming from your memories of how a person used to be verses who they are now. It’s incredible to think how the person you will be in a few years is very different from the person you are now.

The characters are great and the action is well written. The romance elements never overwhelm the main plot but serve to explore different elements of Marina and Em. I liked Finn – his dedication to Em is great and even the younger Finn is an interesting character who could have been a stereotype but instead is a well rounded personality with his own cares and woes. James is just as intriguing and despite the high concept and great action sequences, this book is really about the relationship between the three main characters and how it changes. This is a cut above most YA books and one that makes for a great summer read!

Recommended for fans of Lauren Oliver and Sarah J Maas. 8 out of 10