ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell 144 pp. Penguin Group. £8.99. (Ages 13 and up) ISBN 9780141182704 Rating: ? Stars This book is set in a future when animals are much cleverer than now. And because of their cleverness, the pigs started a revolution against the humans. Pigs could speak fluently in English unlike the other animals, and that gave them the power to be leaders. But, the story that follows only happened a few years after that... Their first leader, Old Major, was kind and fair who knew animals should be equal. But when Napoleon became the leader it was very unpleasant. He made a rule that allowed the pigs to have better food and that forced all of the other animals to work crazily hard every day and night. That wasn’t enough, Napoleon wanted more power. He decided to kill his brother, Snowball, so that he would be the only leader. Snowball was admired because he came up with a clever idea to build windmill. Sn...
Today I am excited to have author Nikki Colligan whose debut novel, "Sunshine", is released today, stop by the blog to tell us a bit about herself and her book!
Describe SUNSHINE in 5 words or less.
Oh, that’s hard, but I’ll try: Funny. Dark. Music. Monsters.
How do you balance being a student with being an author?
It’s definitely hard! But I love being a student as well as being a writer. I guess it depends on the semester, really. I usually try to write at least 2,000 words a day. It can be hard when I have homework and papers and all of that school business, but as long as I have a semi-routine of school, school-work, writing-work, I’m a happy camper.
Also, caffeine helps. : )
Do you work on multiple books simultaneously? If so, what is your process?
Yes.
I try to take at least a week break in between writing a rough draft and then editing it, although last time I tried that, I went nuts. I can’t NOT write. So now when I take a break, I start a new project. I take a break from writing with MORE writing.
I’m also a creative writing major in school, so I’m always working on pieces for class during the day and novels at night. As far as having a process, I don’t really think I have one. I just write whatever is taking up the most space in my head first.
Fans of _______________ will enjoy my book.
Hmmm…well, I think there’s something for everyone. There’s romance, and darkness, and blood, and punk, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and piano, and vampires.
So fans of those things, I would say. : )
What are you currently reading right now?
I just started The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzack, and I’m really, really loving it. I’ve wanted to read it forever.
How did you come to your decision to self-publish?
It was a long journey. First, I tried to go the traditional publishing route with finding an agent and querying and all of that…but the more I learned about it, the more I started leaning toward self-publishing. I wanted to be the one in charge of the book cover and the release date, and how far apart my books could come out, etc. I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to creative things. I love traditionally published authors as well as self-published, but I didn’t want to have to worry if I was being too weird, or too dark or too messed up for the “traditional crowd”. So, in a nutshell, I guess it was mostly about control over my work.
Being a self-published author what impact (if any) have book bloggers had on your career?
HUGE. This is my first book and as I’m answering these questions, it’s not even out yet and I can already see the difference that book bloggers are making. I went from three people wanting to read it on Goodreads to forty in a matter of days, which seems small, but it isn’t for me. Book blogs are where people go to see how good/bad/ok books are, and the bloggers not only know what they’re doing, but genuinely love books, so it’s really amazing hearing what they have to say. I can’t wait to see the role they’re going to play once my book is out. : )
Where did you get your inspiration for SUNSHINE? There were a number of things, but I’ll tell you three:
1: I broke my knee and I was basically home-bound and couch-ridden. After I read every book I had, watched every TV show and movie, and annoyed every person I knew, I had nothing to do and I was bored.
2: I’ve always loved vampires and I wanted to make my own story with them.
3: I got really, really bad sun poisoning on a family vacation and let’s just say that the experience stuck with me.
This or that?
Monsters under the bed or monsters in the closet? Ooooh. I would have to say in the closet, just because it would be easier to get away. If they’re under the bed, it’s harder to protect yourself (I’m going with the you’re-asleep-and-there’s-a-monster-in-your-room scenario). Also, monsters don’t scare me. Aliens do. So I was imagining aliens during this question and it was terrifying.
Hot chocolate or chocolate milk? Hot. I always pick hot drinks over cold.
Kindle or Nook? I’ve never had a Nook, so I’m going to have to go with Kindle.
Student or author? Author. Author all the way. However, I think if you’re doing the author thing the right way, you’re always learning anyway, so in that way, I guess I’ll always be a student. : )
Unicorn or dragon? See, I thought this one would be easy. Dragon, right? But I also freaking love unicorns. But if I had to only choose one, it would be dragons. Because dragons are DRAGONS. They have fire, wings, and they’re cute as hell. Unicorns only have a horn and cuteness. So, three to two, dragons win.
From Goodreads: "18 year old Sophie Jean is pretty good at acting normal. Sure, she’s not exactly happy, but happiness is nothing compared to being like everyone else. She can pretend she’s not allergic to the sun. She can hide what her ex-boyfriend did to her. She can cover up the scars she’s made for herself. Ignore anything. Forget anything. Then Myles enters her life, and he has more than a few secrets of his own. When accident after accident keeps happening to Sophie, she can’t help noticing that he’s everywhere. That he knows too much. That she’s remembering too much.
So fans of those things, I would say. : )
What are you currently reading right now?
I just started The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzack, and I’m really, really loving it. I’ve wanted to read it forever.
How did you come to your decision to self-publish?
It was a long journey. First, I tried to go the traditional publishing route with finding an agent and querying and all of that…but the more I learned about it, the more I started leaning toward self-publishing. I wanted to be the one in charge of the book cover and the release date, and how far apart my books could come out, etc. I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to creative things. I love traditionally published authors as well as self-published, but I didn’t want to have to worry if I was being too weird, or too dark or too messed up for the “traditional crowd”. So, in a nutshell, I guess it was mostly about control over my work.
Being a self-published author what impact (if any) have book bloggers had on your career?
HUGE. This is my first book and as I’m answering these questions, it’s not even out yet and I can already see the difference that book bloggers are making. I went from three people wanting to read it on Goodreads to forty in a matter of days, which seems small, but it isn’t for me. Book blogs are where people go to see how good/bad/ok books are, and the bloggers not only know what they’re doing, but genuinely love books, so it’s really amazing hearing what they have to say. I can’t wait to see the role they’re going to play once my book is out. : )
Where did you get your inspiration for SUNSHINE? There were a number of things, but I’ll tell you three:
1: I broke my knee and I was basically home-bound and couch-ridden. After I read every book I had, watched every TV show and movie, and annoyed every person I knew, I had nothing to do and I was bored.
2: I’ve always loved vampires and I wanted to make my own story with them.
3: I got really, really bad sun poisoning on a family vacation and let’s just say that the experience stuck with me.
This or that?
Monsters under the bed or monsters in the closet? Ooooh. I would have to say in the closet, just because it would be easier to get away. If they’re under the bed, it’s harder to protect yourself (I’m going with the you’re-asleep-and-there’s-a-monster-in-your-room scenario). Also, monsters don’t scare me. Aliens do. So I was imagining aliens during this question and it was terrifying.
Hot chocolate or chocolate milk? Hot. I always pick hot drinks over cold.
Kindle or Nook? I’ve never had a Nook, so I’m going to have to go with Kindle.
Student or author? Author. Author all the way. However, I think if you’re doing the author thing the right way, you’re always learning anyway, so in that way, I guess I’ll always be a student. : )
Unicorn or dragon? See, I thought this one would be easy. Dragon, right? But I also freaking love unicorns. But if I had to only choose one, it would be dragons. Because dragons are DRAGONS. They have fire, wings, and they’re cute as hell. Unicorns only have a horn and cuteness. So, three to two, dragons win.
It’s one thing covering up her own dark past, but does she really need to worry about people finding out just how much Myles likes her? Or that despite how much she doesn’t want to repeat past mistakes, she kind of likes him back? Not to mention the fact that she now has to conceal that Myles drinks blood-that he says he’s about four hundred years old. She almost forgot about that part.
But Sophie has no plans to ruin the normal life she has created for herself. She can deal with this little glitch, no problem. Even if word has gotten around to the wrong vampire about Sophie and Myles, even if she’s putting the few people she loves at risk. Suddenly, those who were monsters before are just people, and the monsters? They’re real. Now being a normal human being is the least of her problems. Now she has to stay alive."
About the Author: Nikki Rae is the author of Sunshine, a YA dark paranormal romance, which is being released on January 28, 2013.
When Nikki is not writing, thinking, or reading, she is most likely hanging out with her gecko, Neil Gaiman, drawing in a quiet corner, or drinking tea by the gallon. : )
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