Smashbomb

AMA: SANDHYA MENON (AUTHOR)
ANSWERS
Author @Sandhya Menon has answered YOUR questions in Smashbomb's AMA.

On your FAQ, you mention you re-read Twilight. Do you enjoy re-reading any other books?
I re-read The Shining by Stephen King every autumn in preparation for the winter months! It’s the perfect creepy winter book, I think. I also tend to re-read Sophie Kinsella—I’m a diehard fan!

What advice would you give to your younger self?
Keep going. There’s definitely a seat for you at the table if you keep writing what you love and keep improving at your craft.

Do you base the characters in your books off of people you know?
My characters are always amalgams of people I know or have known, including me!

What magical creatures do you wish were real?
Fairies! I’ve wanted to be friends with Tinkerbell for a very long time now.

What is a genre you would love to write a book in but been too scared to touch and why?
I don’t think there’s any genre I’m afraid to touch, necessarily, but I do wonder if some genres I’d love to write in are a good fit for my brand of fiction. For instance, I’d love to write a few super-dark, twisty, atmospheric books, but I might have to write those under a pen name!

What plot device do you feel has been overly used in books?
I don’t think any plot device is overdone unless it’s harmful or bigoted in some fashion. Other than that, it’s all about the author’s unique voice and the spin only they can put on the tropes and devices we know and love (or love to hate)!

What do you believe is the most underrated franchise in literature that should get more readers?
Quite a few!
Most recently, I really wanted the book The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton to blow up and get its own movie and TV show and graphic novel and theme park and I’m still bitter that hasn’t happened (yet). I also really adore the Timber Wolves series by Tammy Blackwell and am sorely disappointed they haven’t caught on as much as I feel they deserve to! And I absolutely loved Damocles by S.G. Redling, but almost no one I know has read it, which makes me very sad.

Do you have a favourite character from your books and why?
Gosh, an author picking a favorite character is kind of like a parent picking a favorite child; almost no one could bring themselves to do that! I love all my characters for different reasons.

Which book did you have the most fun thinking up and writing?
I’m really super-excited about my upcoming contemporary fairy tale retelling series. The first book is called Of Curses and Kisses and has a sprinkling of Beauty and the Beast. It follows an Indian princess who must con a misanthropic British aristocrat into falling in love with her to avenge her family’s honor.
There’s no outright magic, but there’s a lot of “is the curse real or isn’t it” ambiguity that was so much fun to write. I dreamed the story three years ago and am so excited it’s finally going to be in bookstores soon!
I’m thrilled to say my UK publisher Hodder and Stoughton has picked it up, so Of Curses and Kisses will be available in the UK in February of 2020!

How much of the books did you write based on personal experiences vs purely fiction you thought up?
All of my books are based loosely on my own experiences with a heaping helping of fiction thrown into the mix! For instance, like Rishi in When Dimple Met Rishi, I struggled a lot with the arts (in my case, writing) not being a “real” or acceptable enough career path for my family. And like Dimple, I struggled with well-meaning adults who told me my biggest mission in life was finding and keeping a husband!
Like Twinkle in From Twinkle, with Love, I worried a lot that no one would be interested in the stories I wanted to tell with my pen (she wants to tell them with her camera). I looked at all the bestselling books or the books being taught to me, and none of the writers looked like me or had a name like mine. Twinkle faces something similar when she looks at the biggest, most successful movies and the often white, male directors who direct them.
And Sweetie’s struggle with her weight and fat-shaming in There’s Something about Sweetie came directly from my own experiences as a fat adult at various points in my life.
Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?
So many things! In high school, I read the short story The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and for the first time truly understood how powerful an unreliable narrator could be. Reading Ellen Hopkins’ Crank back when it first came out was such an eye-opener for me about the flexibility of story structure.

Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
I don’t! I’m one of those authors who believes that reviews are for other readers. I get my feedback from a trusted few sources who’ve been with me since the beginning.

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
Too many to count, honestly! I think all authors have a metaphorical trunk full of unfinished work and I’m no different. I have all of these folders on my computer with half-finished stories and novels I’m still very partial to. Sometimes bits and pieces of them make their way into my current books and that’s such a satisfying feeling!

Thanks to Sandhya and her great answers!

Kudos

Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated Unbury Carol in Books

May 15, 2018

Unbury Carol

Josh Malerman | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror

5.3

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

Anyone who knows me knows that Bird Box is my favorite book to date. Josh Malerman really pulled off the whole Twilight Zone feel of things. Unfortunately, this review isn’t about that book. Though I looked forward to reading this book and I was excited to get the opportunity to review an advance copy, it does not live up to what I expect from Malerman.

Everything in Unbury Carol is a cliché. From the stereotypical characters, to the very style, it is a letdown. I made it almost 40% into the book before I realized I knew the plot, the villains, and pretty much what was going to happen. Granted I could be wrong, and if I am, PLEASE correct me in the comments, but it’s a pretty straightforward “Prince Charming saves Damsel-in-Distress” scenario. Otherwise, I think it’d be a short story.

Before I begin my rant about plot though, I want to take a moment to focus on the main characters thus far. We have the old lover, Moxie. He’s your usual western outlaw. He’s regretful, he’s made some bad choices, he wants to fix them. Then you have the husband, our evil mastermind. He’s like the dragon in a “save the princess” scenario. And of course, we have Carol Evers, who basically just lays there, listening to the future laid out. It’s a Sleeping Beauty plot.

Now that I’ve mentioned that lovely device… This book absolutely crawls. We all know how short the tale of Sleeping Beauty is, whether it is Disney or Grimm. This book stretches that plot device over nearly 400 pages. The first half of it (okay, 2/5s if we’re being technical and only considering what I could read) is full of nothing and this bothers me. This is where I reiterate the fact I loved Bird Box. For every bit of Bird Box that kept you on the edge of your seat, Unbury Carol puts you to sleep.

I guess what I’m saying here is that the book doesn’t live up to my expectations. I hate, hate, hate putting down a novel that I’ve started reading, but Unbury Carol is one of those that I just cannot finish. I’d like to thank the Del Ray, NetGalley, and the author for providing me with an opportunity to review this book free of charge in exchange for honesty.

Kudos

Rachel King (13 KP) rated Carpe Corpus (The Morganville Vampires, #6) in Books

Feb 11, 2019

These book just keep getting better and better. With book six, the series ventures into the world of steampunk with a special Morganville twist. With the very little I have actually read in the genre of Steampunk, I had a hard time visualizing what Ada looks like, but I am hoping these eventually become movies and someone creates this fascinating machine for the movies! Ada's quirkiness and creepiness fit right in with the rest of the Morganville residents, though, so I know that she/it will grow on me, too.
With this book, it is also a relief that Claire has finally turned seventeen. The build-up between her and Shane was driving me crazy. I also like how the author was much more realistic about her first time with Shane than many romance novelists, with much awkwardness and naivety. Her parents' response to the knowledge of this was quite humorous and charming and lent some much-needed humor to the extent of fear with which Morganville is saturated.
Even though these books have much fantasy, they still move along with a certain believability. The one major exception that I found in this book - that I simply had a hard time believing possible - was when Claire almost dies at the end. With the amount of blood loss she suffered from, there is simply no way she could stay conscious for the amount of that she did or stay alive as she did. When books are as entertaining as these are though, I don't mind a little "writer's license" to keep the main character alive and resolve the loose thread of who is responsible for the random murders of girls in the previous books. I am surprised, though, that Claire never made the connection to who Dean is, since I saw it coming quite easily.
Mynin gets more and more entertaining and fascinating from book to book - he is probably one of my favorite characters for his unpredictability. I am thrilled that the disease can no longer get the best of him - it means he could play a more central role in future books. Many of the characters are easy to like, even if their morals often verge into gray area, such as Amelie.
Even though the "book" has suffered its final demise, the bookworm in me still wonders what else was in that book, so I hope future books can tell me more about it.

Kudos

Molly J (Cover To Cover Cafe) (106 KP) rated A Hope Undaunted (Winds of Change, #1) in Books

Feb 27, 2019

*This review is from my blog and originally published in 2010*

Okay. Let me start this review with SHAME ON ME! Why? Because, sweet saints, I haven’t ever read a Julie Lessman novel until this one and I most definitely should have been reading her books already! She is absolutely FANTABULOUS! The power that Julie has over her readers when they open the first page is mind-blowingly INCREDIBLE!

In A Hope Undaunted, Julie combines tenderness and passion with wit and God’s love, to create a romance story set in the 1920’s that will carry you away and leave you utterly breathless. Katie O’Connor was such an amazing young woman….thinking she had her life all planned out for herself. That is until she encounters a very handsome “soda jerk” by the name of Luke. Luke “Cluny” McGee, the boy she hated as a child, has been chiseled into a stunningly remarkable character. (Julie, can you send him my way, please?!) So, that leaves Katie with a choice….to follow HER hopes and choices, or God’s hopes and choices for her life. A beautifully created plot line!

For years, I’ve collected The Queen of Christian Fiction, Karen Kingsbury’s books, including true crime novels she wrote prior to her Christian work, and the ones that are under her pen name, but after reading this breathtaking, passionate story of a hope undaunted and a love that’s pure, Julie Lessman has earned a spot on my favorite authors list at the very top, pushing Karen Kingsbury down one. It takes an absolutely fantastic author to do that because I’ve held Karen Kingsbury at the top of my list for years! I’m still in awe and savoring this unforgettable story and it’s characters!

So, what you waiting for?! Don’t be a ninny like myself , who waited TOO long to read her work. GO GET A COPY OF A HOPE UNDAUNTED RIGHT NOW! You will instantly fall in love with the people in this book as they crawl in and take over your heart. Worthy of 1,005 stars, this 5 star book is a MUST read for everyone! Thank you, Julie, for creating a story full of passion, history and a breathtaking plot….it’s what I was needing and looking for! Now, I anxiously await the release of book 2, A Heart Revealed, in the Winds of Change series!

Kudos

Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Don't Wake Up: A Shocking and Compelling New Thriller That You Will Not be Able to Put Down! in Books

Apr 4, 2019 (Updated Apr 8, 2019)

Definitely a page-turner

This was one of those books that I won on Librarything and then totally enjoyed being introduced to a new author. It was a little wild and crazy in places, but it kept me engrossed and reading, which I really appreciated. I was amazed that absolutely no one seemed to believe Alex: I understand that she had no real evidence to back up her story, but it seemed tragic to me how quickly her friends and family abandoned her to sadness and despair.

I wasn't sure I would like this book at first, because I'm not a huge fan of the unreliable narrator to begin with, especially the self-pitying alcoholic one, which seemed to fit Alex quite well. But, I won't lie, she definitely grew on me. This was *even with* the fact that something else had happened in Alex's life thirteen months ago--something that her friends and co-workers felt she had conflated with her "pretend attack," and everyone, including Alex, referred to incessantly. But, of course, it took forever for anyone to tell us what had actually happened, which drove me a little insane. There's dragging something out for suspense and then there's annoying your reader to no end!

However, I really enjoyed the fact that we couldn't trust any of our characters--even the policewoman investigating Alex's case, Laura Best, who was only out to further her career, not actually seek justice for Alex. My favorite character was Laura's boss, Greg Turner. He was a great detective, and I could totally root for him in his own series. Not being able to trust anybody else, though, was kind of fun. It kept me constantly guessing. The book was surprisingly compelling: truly a page-turner. There were some great twists and turns in this one. I guessed a couple of pieces, but not all of them. In the end, I stayed up late to finish this book, which is always a sign of a winner for me (my sleep is a precious commodity!).

I was impressed that this was the author's debut. I also enjoyed how it kept me madly flipping the pages, trying to figure out what happened. I see Liz Lawler has another book out now, and I'll definitely be checking that one out at some point.

Kudos

BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated Captive Trail (Texas Trails, #2) in Books

Jan 2, 2019

An escaped Comanche captive looking for her true family. An Ursaline mission run by the Sisters who nurse and protect Taabe Waipu. A stagecoach driver who will stop at nothing to reunite Taabe with her family. And a band of Comanche warriors who want their prisoner back.

The second book in the Morgan Family Series takes place about 12 years after the first book Lone Star Trail, and it does stand alone if you choose not to read the first book. Beginning in 1857, we follow the story Taabe Waipu in her journey to discovering her true identity. She has been with the Comanche for so long that she has forgotten almost everything, even English, except for the fact that she does not belong with the Comanche. She finds a safe haven with the Nuns at the mission and a friend in Ned Bright, the stagecoach driver. As her affections for Ned grow, so does her doubt. Will he accept her once he knows the secrets of her past? As time progresses, Taabe relearns English and can communicate more about who she is and inquires are sent from families in Texas that have lost children to the Indians. Will she ever find her family? Will she be protected from her captors, or will they find her and force her return?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Captive Trail. The “Old West” is one of my favorite time periods to read. I was skeptical at first because each book in this series is written by a different author. But because it stands alone, there were no real comparisons to make regarding changes in characters. Susan Page Davis (www.susanpagedavis.com) does an excellent job of continuing the story of the Morgan family. This book was a pretty laid back easy read. The first 18 chapters (there are 24 chapter in all) were mostly building to the climax, that I knew was coming, but wasn’t sure how it would all come about. But it wasn’t boring. We learn a lot about Taabe’s character and learn more about her life with the Comanche and the heartache and sorrow she had to endure as their captive. I highly recommend this book for a quick read if you enjoy learning about the perils and danger of life in the time of Cowboys and Indians.

I received a free copy of Captive Trail from Moody Publishers in exchange for my honest review.