COVER REVEAL: THE FINAL CHAPTER

I'm so excited to reveal the new cover of THE FEEDERS, the final book of THE IDUNA PROJECT. Designed by the wonderful Jeanine Henning, it completes the beautiful trio of covers. Here's a quick preview of the cover blurb:

Paige has survived the Battle of Sin City, even though Antoine is injured and Yul holds Junius hostage at Iduna Central. She returns to Carter City with Chale, determined to find her father on Masalina Island, a place that could provide permanent sanctuary for the Forevers.

But Marcia has other ideas and when Junius’s father shows up unexpectedly, plans for the next mission to save Junius go into high gear. Meanwhile a shocking discovery among the ARP residents of Golden Heights threatens Yul’s entire empire making him desperate to get to Paige and her father who may hold the key to the success of The Iduna Project.

Paige must find the courage to outwit Marcia and Yul otherwise she’ll always be a pawn in the race for immortality. But she faces a tough road and unexpected dangers and revelations in her search to uncover the truth about all the players involved in the Iduna Project.

Can Paige finally find freedom and happiness? And who will she find happiness with?

Find out in the gripping final episode of The Iduna Project.

I'm working hard to get the book finished, but it will soon be available for pre-order on Amazon. And I do hope the final book will tie up this story that has been such a joy to write!

I'll keep you posted on its progress!

DIVERGENT -a great adaptation

I'm not always a huge fan of book to movie adaptations, and I wasn't a huge fan of Veronica Roth's novel Divergent, but I'm going to take another look at it now I've seen the movie. Directed by Neil Burger and starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James and Kate Winslet, this is a tense, deep and beautifully adapted movie.
Roth's idea of a society divided according to dominant personality characteristics is a brilliant and original one, though it reminded me a little of the class system in Aldous Huxley's classic, Brave New World.
The movie's setting is the grim and crumbling urban landscape of Chicago, where the population is kept in check by making sure everyone fits into their chosen roles. There's no room for individuality or multi-faceted personalities in this society. You blindly follow your chosen course because the leaders know best, although there's a power struggle going on between the leaders with brains and the the leaders with a conscience. Sounds like business as usual, 2014!!

Shailene Woodley plays Triss, a courageous, gutsy girl who suspects she's Divergent, meaning she doesn't fit neatly into one category. This puts her in danger because the leaders don't want people with well rounded personalities who can't be controlled. She manages to pass herself off as Dauntless, which starts off all the action in the story and leads to her discovery of a sinister plot that she must overthrow.
Shailene Woodley is a perfect Triss. Strong, cool, brave, conflicted and caring. Theo James as Four is handsome, mysterious and absolutely magic on screen. This is a movie with a little more thought and depth than The Hunger Games and I was glued to the screen the whole time, invested in the compelling characters.
I'm definitely going to check out the book again!!

THE FOREVER ONES NEWS!! The book hit #1 on 2 Amazon bestseller lists and went up to #72 in the entire Kindle store for free downloads. Paige is definitely on the move!
THE PARASITES has received some great reviews and is on Kindle Countdown this week.

THE PARASITES! Live in the Kindle Store

LIVE IN THE KINDLE STORE!! THE PARASITES, Part 2 of The Iduna Project. 

Follow the continuing story of Paige, Junius and Chale as they fight Big Business and Big Crime in an effort to stop the exploitation of the Forever Ones.

The paperback version will be out next week!

COVER REVEAL: THE PARASITES

Once they’re inside you, there’s only one way to stop them

I'm delighted to finally reveal the cover for BOOK 2 of the Iduna Project series. The book is now going through final edits and will be available in the middle of June. I'd hoped to get it out earlier, but was sidetracked by work on my adult historical fiction novel, UNNATURAL.
 It's always fun to rejoin Paige, Junius and Chale as they continue in their quest to make sense of the strange and dangerous world they've discovered after escaping from the Iduna compound, and this book takes them deep into the desert to Sin City and the bizarre world of the Crime Lords.
 My travels to Arizona and Las Vegas really inspired the setting for this novel, as well as  a Vanity Fair article entitled Three Planetary Futures, which imagines the future Las Vegas as a strange and arid eco-tourist destination where once-opulent hotels crumble into the dust and colonies of kangaroo rats inhabit ruined Bellagio suites. All because the water supply was redirected to larger population centres. Check this fascinating article out here.
This beautiful cover was designed once again by the wonderful Jeanine Henning. Check out her work here and I'll keep you updated on release dates as well as feature some background info and excerpts in coming blogs.

THE PARASITES: PART 2 OF THE IDUNA PROJECT

I'm really enjoying writing THE PARASITES, the second book in the trilogy, THE IDUNA PROJECT. 
The story opens in Carter City, Junius's idyllic home. Life seems to be perfect. Well almost! Paige, as usual, discovers a not-so-perfect side to this peaceful paradise, but she's alone in her suspicions. Her friends Kumaresh and Ida love it there and Toby and Chale are back in Tinsel Town on a mission. Before she can confront Junius, they're sent away on their secret mission to infiltrate the Crime Lords and find out how they're using the forever serum, as well as discover the link to Sin City and The Iduna Corporation. After some gruelling training and preparation, Paige and Junius are plunged into the dangerous world of the Crime Lords. They meet the handsome, but dangerous Antoine and make some unexpected discoveries about Paige's past.

Chale shows up when she least expects him to, and Paige is forced to make decisions she never imagined in her wildest dreams.
One thing never changes - the people with power will do anything to gain control of the Forever technology. Who will emerge victorious? You'll have to read THE PARASITES. Due out in April 2014!

OH and by the way, THE FOREVER ONES will be on sale on Kindle Countdown starting Jan. 29th!!

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE BURNS BRIGHTLY

Suzanne Collins' series, THE HUNGER GAMES, was groundbreaking in many ways. It ripped teen readers away from endless stories about vampires and werewolves and set off a kind of dystopian revolution. Soon young readers were really thinking about the future and pondering some deep questions about the way power corrupts, the growing influence of mass media, and the resilience of a young, courageous female hero committed to do the right thing given the choice to kill or be killed.

I found the movie adaptation of THE HUNGER GAMES Part 1 disappointing and lacking the excitement of the novel. This is definitely not true about CATCHING FIRE, a dark, simmering follow up that finds Katniss completely traumatized by her experience in the Hunger Games. Victory hasn't been sweet and though she has a nice house in The Victor's Village and plenty of food for Mom and Prim, she's haunted by the memory of what she had to do to get there. The action starts up again with a visit from the menacing President Snow ( a wonderfully creepy Donald Sutherland) who says he's onto Katniss's whole charade about being in love with Peeta and he has no intention of letting her become a figurehead for a revolution in the Districts. What follows is Katniss and Peeta's struggle to stay ahead of Snow's game and survive a Victory Tour and another round of the Hunger Games.

CATCHING FIRE is far more gritty and realistic than its predecessor and Jennifer Lawrence is both beautiful and tortured in the role. Even the superficial Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) is given an opportunity to show more depth and the new allies in the games - the gorgeous Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin), the ballsy Johana Mason (Jena Malone), the weird genius Beetee (Jeffrey Wright) and the mad genius Wiress (Amanda Plummer) are all fully realized characters adding interest and variety to the action. Similarly, Haymitch (a terrific Woody Harrelson)and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) have more complex stories this time around and there's some real on-screen chemistry between Katniss and Peeta as their relationship develops.

With this movie THE HUNGER GAMES movies has become more than a comic book series. The story poses real, significant questions about human nature and our hunger for the sensational whether it relates to love, hatred or violence - a hunger that has been and will continue to be exploited by the media. On the positive side the story does show that there will always be brave people who put their lives on the line to do the right thing and love will win out in the end.

FOREVER ONES UPDATE!!
The newly designed novel will be available on a Kindle Countdown Deal starting SUNDAY DECEMBER 1ST. Get your copy now!

New Cover Reveal:THE FOREVER ONES

I'm really excited to reveal the new cover for THE FOREVER ONES designed by the amazingly talented Jeanine Henning. She's taken the original cover and given it new life and colour. I'm so pleased to offer you the new version on Kindle and in paperback. Check it out. The Forever Ones is still consistently in the Amazon Top 100 YA/Children's Dystopias. The new cover will be available within the next 48 hours on Amazon.

Hope you like it!