Do Astrosaurs or Dinosaurs Rule?!

It’s been a summer of dinosaurs following the publication of two new books by Steve Cole.

The Castle of Frankensaur is the twenty-third title in Steve Cole’s ever-popular Astrosaurs series for readers aged 7+.  Set in the Jurassic Quadrant, our heroes Captain Teggs Stegosaur and his faithful crew on the DSS Sauropod fight the dastardly deeds of the meat-eaters.  The Castle of Frankensaur is classic Cole, plundering the horror genre to write a humorous adventure, whilst leaving just enough clues for his readers to work out the mystery before revealing all.

Z.Apocalypse is the third and final book in Steve Cole’s Z.Rex trilogy.  It is this release I was most anticipating.  The story began in Z.Rex with Adam’s first encounter with a living, breathing T-Rex with the capability to disarm a bomb.  Together they team up to rescue Adam’s Dad held captive by Geneflow.  In the second book, Z.Raptor, Adam is marooned on a pacific island and part of a Geneflow game: hyper-evolved dinosaurs with the minds of killers versus Adam and a handful of survivors.  In Z.Apocalypse nuclear war threatens and once again Adam with the help of Zed needs to stop Geneflow for once and for all.

On a philosophical level the Z.Rex series pits human spirit against soulless science.  It is Adam’s humanity and something of Adam’s spirit that has been passed onto the augmented dinosaurs who yearn for freedom and friendship that must defeat Geneflow’s desire for control and command.  Who can you trust?  When you have successfully achieved the ultimate scientific experiment creating the perfect killing machine immune to all conventional modern weaponry, do scientists, soldiers and politicians really want to destroy this technology or do they want to exclusively own this knowledge?

It has been a strange summer of dinosaurs from the hilarious capers of another Astrosaurs adventure to the action-packed, international conspiracy of Geneflow, demonstrating the incredible story-telling skills of Steve Cole and his continuing fascination with those large lizards.

The Sacrifice book trailer - Charlie Higson

Charlie Higson is not even half way through his zombie trilogy, in fact he has only just reached his planned Book 2 and yet this is the published Book 4!  The Sacrifice has taken on a life of its own, far from being a linear journey from one book to the next it jumps backwards and forwards bringing its characters into new, dangerous situations as it does.

Charlie Higson is not the shy and retiring type, he relishes the horror and action in his books and is not afraid to say so.  However he is also a big fan of mythology and Tolkein, citing his favourite line in literature as being Tolkein's "the tale grew in the telling..."  This has been such an inspiration that Charlie Higson has taken it quite literally and grown his tale in the telling!  The cross fertilization of mythology has been another big inspiration and all this has led to The Sacrifice.  

The popularity of Zombie stories and of this series is immense and the power of the zombie os growing so watch out!  For the stars of this trailer Higson used the force of Twitter and a London secondary school where, as you will see, plentyy of Zombies and children under the age of 14 are to be found!

So if you have not yet had the pleasure of Charlie Higson's amazing trilogy of four books and counting here is a little taster of what to expect

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VY-rNt-zzw&feature=youtu.be

Enjoy and remember to spread the word as well as finding yourself a copy of the book!  Oh and keep a close eye on any grown-ups...

Charlie Higson: The Sacrifice

Armadillo Magazine is back from a long summer holiday of dissertation writing and exciting events with a packed season of exciting book launches and more to report on.

I have a queue of Blog entries waiting to be added but first of all I can reveal that tonight, thanks to Puffin Books, I will be one of the lucky people allowed to see a preview of the new Charlie Higson book trailer.  At 2 minutes long there is not much time to reveal anything about the book so I am intrigued and I am afraid that I can't reveal anything more until Friday but if you watch this space then on Friday morning at 9am you can see it too..

In the meantime enjoy this picture as compensation!

A Trip to Yellow Lake

Armadillo reviewer Bridget Carrington is back with another fantastic book to report on, At Yellow Lake by debut author Jane McLoughlin, published by Frances Lincoln.  Not only are we tantalizing you with Bridget's comments (below) but in the Autumn edition of the magazine, due early September, we will feature an interview with the author ...

Getting a new twist to a teen thriller isn’t an easy task, but in At Yellow Lake (Frances Lincoln) new author Jane McLoughlin has managed to combine a gripping story with some serious social issues.  As an American who has lived in the UK for two decades, McLoughlin is well placed to include characters from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, and to celebrate their different concerns, behaviour and outlook on life. The story is set mainly in Minnesota. McLoughlin’s home state, and centres around Yellow Lake itself, a place which has beckoned Etta, Peter and Jonah because of a cataclysmic event in the life of each teenager.

Jonah is part Ojibwe, a boy who has problems with his mother’s rejection of her Native American roots, and who seeks to reconnect with his heritage by living as his ancestors did.  This proves difficult and dispiriting at first, and his determination to live as Ojibwe lays him open to racism and prejudice among the small-minded backwoods community near to Yellow Lake. It takes him a long time to learn to trust others, and to come to terms with the rivalry with Peter, as each discovers a need for Etta.

Etta’s home background is even more dysfunctional, her mother’s succession of boyfriends culminating in Kyle, whose pursuit of Etta herself traps her within his own shady dealings, and his sexual obsession. Despite this (or perhaps because of it) Etta is a strong personality, determined to rescue her mother from her history of failed jobs and relationships, and whose presence changes the lives of Jonah and Peter. While Jonah and Peter’s stories are narrated, Etta tells her own tale, placing her at the centre of events, and the central figure in the resolution of each character’s story.

Peter is English, drawn to Yellow Lake by the need to carry out his mother’s dying wish, to bury a lock of her hair at her childhood holiday home. Peter’s father is absent for much of the time, apparently more interested in his work and the travel it demands than in his son. Peter takes the opportunity to fly to meet his uncle in the US, and thence to travel to Yellow Lake, to carry out his promise to his mother.

Thrown together by chance the three teenagers start to come terms not only with their relationships among themselves, with adolescent dilemmas as a whole, but also with the much deeper rooted reasons for their journeys to Yellow Lake. McLoughlin weaves their separate stories with great skill before finally placing them at the centre of a nail-biting criminal enterprise, police corruption and community apathy.

Great stuff!

Caroline Lawrence Competes for your attention!

Caroline at Melody Ranch

Caroline Lawrence will be known to many of you as the hugely successful author of the Roman Mysteries books.  Recently however she has turned her attention to the Wild West and her second P.K. Pinkerton Mystery: The Case of the Good-Looking Corpse has just been published by Orion Books.  A historical mystery series these books take us close to Caroline's home state of California transporting in the 1860s.  Here she talks about moving away from Ancient Rome, the new series and how her inspiration.

When you first began writing your Roman Mysteries what was your inspiration and did you have the whole series mapped out?  My light-bulb moment of inspiration for the Roman Mysteries was ‘Nancy Drew in Ancient Rome’ so I always knew it would be a series, like the Nancy Drew books. But series arcs were starting to come in with TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Babylon 5, so I decided to give my series an arc too. My publisher Orion bought six books on the strength of book 1 and blurbs for five possible others. About two years into the series, when Orion said they wanted another 6, I thought of doing a final set of six to make an 18 book series. I was reading Patrick O’Brian’s magnificent Aubrey-Maturin saga at the time and thought it would be hubristic to write more books in my series than there were in his. In the end, the series ended up being 17 books plus two volumes of short stories that fill in the gaps.



Map of Ancient Ostia

How long before you wrote the last Roman Mysteries book did you know that the series would continue with Roman Mystery Scrolls?  My original idea was a young adult spin-off series called The Flavian Trilogy where I would follow the fortunes of beautiful identical twin boys separated in infancy. Readers will know who I mean! They discover each other during the reign of Domitian and lots of mix-ups and anguish ensues. But my publishers found it too different in tone and content to be a follow-up to the Roman Mysteries.

At a loss for what to do next, I canvassed school librarians. Almost all of them pleaded with me to write something for boys aged 5 to 7, a gap in the market as far as they were concerned, so I thought I might try writing for that age group. I often say that this new younger series set in ancient Rome has ‘more poo and less blood.’

What do you think children in the Roman period were reading, if anything, and do you like to imagine that they really did spend their time investigating mysteries?  If children were lucky enough to go to school or have a tutor, they would be learning Virgil by heart. Homer, too, when they got older. Sadly, I doubt if any of them spent time solving intriguing mysteries. Pliny the Younger might have been one of the few.

The Scrolls are a great concept, how many scrolls have you ever been lucky enough to read?  The only scrolls I have read were parchment scrolls of the Tanach, the Jewish Bible. I did my master’s thesis on a thousand-year-old parchment codex (booklet) of the Book of Esther from the Old Testament written in Syriac, a Christian version of Aramaic.

How you decide on the titles of your books, for example the forthcoming Roman Mystery Scrolls: The Poisoned Honey Cake?  I always find titles challenging so I usually go with my publisher’s choice. But if I were a kid I would totally read a book called The Poisoned Honey Cake. 

Do you know how many Scrolls there will be or will you write them until you run out of ideas?  There will be at least four and if they are a success I’ll definitely write at least another four.

Do you want to write any books set in Ancient Greece or other periods of the Ancient World?   Ancient Greece doesn’t really call me because I’ve already referenced plenty of Greek culture, myth and history in my Roman Mysteries! Also it’s not a very women-friendly period of history. And I like my spunky cross-dressing females!

How did you manage the switch and now the parallel writing from the world of the Ancient Romans to the Wild West?  Pretty easily apart from the fact that I knew more about the history of first century Rome than I did about my own native country! But the attractions are the same: deep immersion in the period via travel, films, TV series, books, festivals, re-enactment events, etc…

There are quite a few similarities between the P.K. Pinkerton Mysteries and the Roman Mysteries. Both series are thoroughly researched with lots of facts, artefacts and exciting plots. The stories don’t sugar coat but neither do they show how bad things could really be. My characters in both series are a mixture of made-up people and historical figures. Both series will last about two and a half years; instead of the reign of Titus in the Roman Mysteries, the P.K. Pinkerton mysteries will take place during the “reign of Twain” in Virginia City!

Map of Virginia City



What was the attraction of the Wild West?  After the ancient world it must have been a big change in scene!  It wasn’t that different! In many ways, 1^st century Ostia and 19^th century Virginia City are very similar. They are both literate, horse-powered societies, civilized but surrounded by barbarism, and the medical acumen is about the same! Ostia in AD 80 had a population of about 20,000 and was about the same size as Virginia City, Nevada in 1862. That means it is an urban setting but not an overwhelming one. You can walk around both towns, as my husband’s marvellous maps show!

Another attraction was the huge vein of marvellous primary sources and literature available to me. Also the fact that I can see the past (thanks to stereoscopic photographs, a new invention) and hear it (thanks to sheet music).

One thing I’ve discovered is how horribly politically incorrect the Wild West was. It often makes ancient Rome look like a vicar’s tea-party. My period has drinking, smoking, spitting, shooting, whoring, fighting and hoaxing. But of course that’s half the fun.

What made you change the name of the series?  Was it that children were not aware of the wild west and to have a named character was more attractive?  To children born in the last dozen years, “Western” means nothing! To many adults it brings up images of cowboys, cattle drives, lassoes and bleached cow-skulls in Arizona deserts. My books contain none of those elements. They are urban westerns.

We thought that naming the series after a character – even a mysterious and unfamiliar one called “P.K. Pinkerton” – might work better. We have yet to see!



Sugar Loaf Mountain

 I love the new series, including the look of the books.  It is fun and refreshingly different yet you manage to maintain your flair for writing a gripping and pacey story.  Where do you get the energy from?  Thank you! Energy comes from the nice comments like that! Also from emails and letters from fans. But mostly from the fact that I have a fantastic riverside flat in the heart of London, no kids at home and a wonderfully supportive husband who cooks for me. I recharge my batteries by going for long walks along the river with music (or audiobooks) and also by seeing lots of movies, and by meeting friends for coffee. 

I know you are snowed under with writing commitments so I'll keep this short but I am sure readers would love to know how many books you write in a year and how they can get started on the road to be as prolific or as successful as you are!  I guess I write about two books a year. I have three tips: discipline, discipline, discipline! You have got to make yourself sit down and get something on paper and resist the siren call of a thousand other distractions. It is still a battle for me, so don’t be discouraged if it is a battle for you, too.

I have put lots of other writing tips about character and plot structure up on my website. 

Finally, can you think of a great COMPETITION question for our readers? 

“If you could choose one day in history to visit in a Time Machine (a go-anywhere invisible bubble protecting you from arrows etc and them from germs), when and where would it be, and why?”

To be in with a chance of winning a signed copy of Caroline's latest book please send entries to armadilloeditor@gmail.com by Monday 9th July, please remember to include your name and address.  Answers will be posted here, as a blog and winners will be notified by Friday 13th July.

Caroline, thank you so much for guesting on the Armadillo Blog!

National Refugee Week in Books

Did you know that this week is National Refugee Week?

Such an important event in the world at the moment, the plight of refugees is sometimes forgotten because it is, sadly, so common. However we should, for this week at least give it some thought and what better way to that - whilst introducing it to children in school, at home, in public libraries - than through books?

Published this week by Frances Lincoln is Azzi In Between by Sarah Garland.

Azzi is a young girl, who with her family, is in danger. He and her parents are forced to leave the home that they know and love, fleeing to another country where the language and the people are foreign. It is with courage and resourcefulness that Azzi copes with the move and the dramatic changes wrought in her life. She is young, perhaps it is is easier to cope when you are young, easier to adapt perhaps. Yet no matter how settled Azzi becomes she is constantly troubled by those left behind, in particular her grandmother.

The situation that Azzi and her family find themselves in is far from unusual but it may be shocking to the children reading this book. Luckily Sarah Garland is an experienced author and illustrator using her skills to treat the subject with sensitivity.

This is a book not only for those children who will, hopefully, never find themselves made refugees but it is also for the refugees. It is a message of hope, it is sensitive, it is positive, it is beautiful. If you feel moved by the plight of refugees then I would urge you to look at this book.

If you want to teach children about the realities of being a refugee then read and share this book. If you want to read a masterful and well written story, read this book.

If you read nothing else this week, read Azzi In Between and think about those who may be less fortunate than you but who always have hope.

Hooked on Vampies...?

Bridget Carrington, Armadillo reviewer, reviews Anne Rooney, Aramadillo reviewer's latest series, The Vampire Dawn, published by Ransom Publishing. 

A new series of seven very short (70-odd pages) novels for teenagers hooked on vampires but not on books. 

We are told to read Die Now or Live Forever first as it introduces us to the characters who will feature in five of the remaining novels; teenagers on a camping holiday in Hungary, where they are bitten by mosquitoes which carry vampirism.  From there the books can be read in any order, as a summary of the first story prefaces each subsequent episode.

One of the seven stories, Bloodsucking for Beginners, is an instruction manual for those who have become vampires, and it fits in well after either the first book or the last story, as Ignace, the centuries old vampire who, in Die Now, finds the five newly vamped teenagers, concludes that first episode by telling the new vampires that there’s a lot to learn.  But the last story concerns a girl who hasn’t been vamped – or so we think – who might need the manual in the future…

In Bloodsucking ... there are chapters on the A-Z of vampire life, true and false and FAQ's, rehearsing much of the vampire-related information in the novels.  More information about the places, people and science in the books can be found at Vampire Dawn.

I think this is the best book of the series – cleverly constructed and filled with sardonic, tongue in cheek humour as new vampires are told what to do and more importantly what not to do – for example:

        Staking

       …If you have been staked, and are able to do so, call your mentor. 

       A paramedic de-staking team will be sent to help you.  DO NOT try

       remove a stake yourself.  If you can’t get hold of your mentor, call

       the Helpline on the local number you have been given.

Despite this humour, serious issues emerge in each book; from Asperger’s to bulimia and even self-harming. Questions of ethics in science, and teenage dilemmas such as relationships with family and friends as well as with girl/boyfriends, sex and sexuality pervade the texts. Indeed we might conclude that Rooney uses becoming a vampire as an allegory for going through adolescence, which at the time can seem just as confusing and life-changing.

Readers need to be aware that this series is not to be confused with a full length novel of the same name by a different author, nor is the series novel In Cold Blood that classic by Truman Capote!

 
Anne Rooney is a regular reviewer for Armadillo Magazine and we wish her every success with this new series – ed.