Născută din fum și os (Născută din fum și os #1) de Laini Taylor - NOU la EpicWave

Descriere:

Pe întreg pământul, urme negre de mâini, imprimate cu foc, apar pe mai multe porți. Sunt ale unor creaturi străine, înaripate, care s-au strecurat în această lume printr-o despicătură din cer.

Într-o dugheană veche și întunecată, proviziile de dinți omenești ale unui diavol au scăzut periculos.

Iar pe străduțele întortocheate, întunecate și misterioase ale Pragăi, o tânără elevă de la Liceul de Artă e pe cale să fie prinsă într-un crâncen război coborât din altă lume.

Ea este Karou. Își umple caietele de schițe cu portrete de monștri, care poate că sunt sau nu sunt adevărați. Obișnuiește să dispară în mod misterios pentru a îndeplini unele „comisioane”; vorbește multe limbi – nu toate omenești, iar părul ei, de un albastru aprins, chiar așa îi crește. Oare cine este ea? Întrebarea aceasta nu-i dă pace, dar este pe cale să afle răspunsul.

Când unul dintre străini – frumosul Akiva, chinuit de amintiri întunecate – dă cu ochii de ea, pe o alee din Marrakech (Maroc), rezultatul este sânge și explozie de lumină astrală, secrete dezvăluite și o dragoste cum numai în stele poate fi scrisă, ale cărei rădăcini sunt adânc împlântate într-un trecut nemilos și dureros. Va ajunge oare Karou să regrete c-a aflat adevărul despre ea însăși?

ÎN CURÂND FILM PRODUS DE UNIVERSAL PICTURES

BESTSELLER INTERNAȚIONAL. PUBLICAT ÎN 33 DE ȚĂRI.

,,Imposibil de lăsat din mână până la final.” – Entertainment Weekly

„Aveți în față o poveste despre descoperirea adevăratei identități, scrisă cu mult fler, dar și cu o notă de umor… [Este] bine spusă și foarte atent temporizată, stârnind întrebări surprinzătoare despre noțiuni ca încredere, trădare, apartenență și așteptări.” — The Los Angeles Times

LAINI TAYLOR (1971) este una dintre cele mai importante autoare de literatură fantasy pentru adolescenți și tineri din acest moment. A absolvit cursurile Universității Berkeley, California, și este licențiată în Literatură Engleză. A fost nominalizată la National Book Award, în anul 2009, pentru romanul Lips Touch: Three Times. În 2011 a publicat prima carte din seria cu același nume, Născută din fum și os, care s-a transformat rapid într-un fenomen editorial global, fiind tradusă în 33 de limbi și vândută în milioane de exemplare pe plan mondial. Romanul a devenit concomitent bestseller New York Times, USA Today, Indiebound și Amazon. Totodată, drepturile de ecranizare au fost vândute unuia dintre cele mai importante studiouri cinematografice, UNIVERSAL PICTURES.

Laini a continuat publicarea a încă două romane și o nuvelă din seria amintită, care, de asemenea, vor apărea la Editura Epica, în colecția EpicWave.

„Rareori o serie debutează atât de atrăgător”. — Kirkus

„Laini Taylor a creat lumi noi, epoci și creaturi cu asemenea minuțiozitate și măiestrie, încât toate sunt veridice. Cititorii vor aștepta cu mare interes continuarea acestei povești complexe, captivante.” — Booklist

Cotloane intunecate de Ruth Rendell - NOU la TREI

O poveste extrem de captivanta despre santaj, crima si destine implacabile.

Descriere:

Dupa ce tatal sau moare, Carl Martin mosteneste o casa mare si frumoasa in centrul Londrei. Ca sa nu trebuiasca sa lucreze si sa aiba timp de scris, inchiriaza etajul primei persoane pe care o intervieveaza, Dermoot McKinnon.

Face astfel prima mare greseala. A doua mare greseala este faptul ca a pastrat colectia bizara de „remedii” homeopatice a tatalui sau, pe care a gasit-o in dulapiorul de medicamente, impreuna cu niste pastile de slabit dubioase. A treia greseala este sa vanda cincizeci de astfel de pastile unei prietene, care ulterior este gasita moarta.

“Ruth Rendell este neintrecuta in a spune povesti despre obsesii, labilitate si coincidente nefaste.” - Stephen King

Impletind ingenios doua fire narative ce se intalnesc in deznodamantul socant, Ruth Rendell descrie vartejul ametitor care-l poarta pe Carl intr-o lume intunecata si il impinge apoi la crima, in timp ce cade victima unui dusman invizibil de care nu poate sa scape.

“Daca nu esti familiarizat cu romanele lui Ruth Rendell, daca, intr-un fel sau altul, i-ai ratat cele peste saizeci de carti, dar ai deschis-o acum pe aceasta… felicitari: viata ta de cititor va deveni infinit mai bogata.” - Los Angeles Times

“Ruth Rendell a imbogatit cu dimensiuni psihologice profunde si sofisticate literatura politista clasica din Marea Britanie.” - Washington Post

“Scrisul lui Ruth Rendell are intimitatea nelinistitoare a unei atingeri straine in intuneric.” - The New York Times Book Review

Ruth Rendell (1930-2015) a fost o faimoasa scriitoare de carti politiste, care si-a castigat statutul de legenda inca din timpul vietii. Senzationalul sau roman de debut, From Doon with Death, a fost publicat in 1964 si le-a facut cunostinta cititorilor cu longevivul si popularul sau personaj, inspectorul Reginal Wexford. Cariera sa impresionanta acopera o jumatate de secol, cu peste saizeci de carti publicate si vandute in toata lumea in peste 20 de milioane de exemplare. Cateva dintre romanele sale au fost adaptate cu succes pentru televiziune. 

Ruth Rendell a semnat o serie de carti si cu pseudonimul Barbara Vine. A fost recompensata cu numeroase premii, printre care Sunday Times Literary Award in 1990. De asemenea, a primit de trei ori Edgar Award, cea mai importanta distinctie acordata de organizatia Mystery Writers din Statele Unite ale Americii, de patru ori premiul Gold Dagger, precum si distinctia Diamond Dagger pentru contributia sa literara remarcabila, acordata de prestigioasa Crime Writers Association din Marea Britanie. Membra a House of Lords, a fost una dintre personalitatile literare marcante ale epocii noastre.

“O luase inapoi spre Falcon Mews, cand ii veni in minte Dermot McKinnon. De buna seama, acum, ca viata lui intra pe un nou fagas, amintirea lui Dermot avea sa paleasca. Nu simtea niciun pic de mila, nici regret. Ce facuse fusese aproape accidental, in masura in care nu realizase prea bine ce se intampla decat cand totul se sfarsise. Dupa vreun an, in care va aprecia calitatile noului chirias, cu atitudinea lui scortoasa si aerul lui rece, corect, va fi uitat cu totul de Dermot si cu siguranta ca nu se va mai invinovati deloc pentru moartea lui.”

Central Park de Guillaume Musso - NOU la ALL

Descriere:

Alice si Gabriel n-au nicio amintire din noaptea care tocmai s-a incheiat. Cu toate acestea, n-o vor putea uita curand... Alice este o tanara politista frantuzoaica, iar Gabriel este un pianist de jazz american. Nu se cunosc si nu-si amintesc sa se fi intalnit vreodata. 

Cei doi se trezesc la 8 dimineata pe o banca din Central Park, New York, legati cu catuse unul de altul, in conditiile in care, cu o noapte inainte, Alice a fost cu prietenele ei la o petrecere pe Champs-Elysées, iar Gabriel a cantat la pian intr-un club din Dublin. 

Si, daca pana acum nu aveau suficiente motive sa se alarmeze, Alice are camasa patata de sange si din arma ei lipseste un glont. Nu au alta solutie decat sa afle ce s-a intamplat, iar ceea ce vor descoperi le va afecta vietile pentru totdeauna.

Guillaume Musso este unul dintre cei mai populari scriitori francezi contemporani. Romanele lui au fost publicate in 37 de tari si s-au vandut in peste 20 de milioane de exemplare. S-a nascut in 1974 si a studiat stiinte economice. Mama lui, bibliotecara, i-a cultivat gustul pentru literatura, hranindul cu „Proust la biberon“. La 19 ani, a plecat in Statele Unite ale Americii si s-a indragostit de New York. Ulterior, a folosit aceasta experienta ca sursa de inspiratie pentru romanele lui. La 24 de ani a suferit un grav accident de masina, care l-a facut sa reflecteze la sensul vietii si la posibilitatea ca ea sa se sfarseasca pe neasteptate. A scris apoi intr-un suflet primul sau roman, Et Après (2004), care s-a vandut in doua milioane de exemplare. Au urmat alte 12 romane de mare succes, dintre care doua au fost adaptate pentru marele ecran.

• Cel mai nou bestseller in limba romana de la „romancierul preferat al Frantei” - LeFigaro.fr

• Un thriller psihologic care te tine cu sufletul la gura

• S-a vandut in 74.000 de exemplare in primele trei zile de la lansare si a fost tradus in 19 limbi

Blog Tour - The Society by Jodie Andrefski - Teasers, Writing Tips, Giveaway

The Society by Jodie Andrefski

Release Date: May 3rd 2016

Entangled Teen

Summary:

Welcome to Trinity Academy’s best-kept secret.

The Society.

You’ve been handpicked by the elite of the elite to become a member. But first you’ll have to prove your worth by making it through Hell Week.

Do you have what it takes?

It’s time to find out.

Samantha Evans knows she’d never get an invite to rush the Society—not after her dad went to jail for insider trading. But after years of relentless bullying at the hands of the Society’s queen bee, Jessica, she’s ready to take down Jessica and the Society one peg at a time from the inside out.

All it’ll take is a bit of computer hacking, a few fake invitations, some eager rushees…and Sam will get her revenge.

Let the games begin.

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes & Noble│iTunes│Kobo│Amazon UK│Amazon CA│The Book Depository│Books a Million

About the Author:

Jodie Andrefski has been passionate about reading ever since she was a little girl, when she used to climb trees to escape with a favorite book. She now lives and writes in a small town in Pennsylvania with her teenage daughter. Though still an avid reader, she now prefers a comfy chair over the crook of a tree. 

An unapologetic coffee fiend, she's even happier if her java comes with pie. Jodie often draws on her background in education and mental health counseling to bring real world experience to her writing. She is a firm believer in the magic of a first kiss, and insists that you should never, ever give up on your dreams. 

Author Links:

Writing Tips:

Writing can be tough. There are times we all feel frustrated, want to give up, look at other people around us and do the inevitable comparisons and come up feeling “less than.” My biggest piece of advice when those feelings come? STOP. Don’t let those voices in your head take over. They’re wrong. Don’t let the self-doubt win. Instead, push through and listen to the other voices---the voices of your story. Tell it. Because you are the only one who can. Did you hear that? Now believe it. The world needs YOU to tell your specific story.  I’ve yet to talk to a writer who didn’t feel doubts tip-toe in at one time or another. But the secret is to keep going. 

WRITE EVERY DAY – Even when you don’t feel like writing. Granted, life can get in the way, and some days are simply busier than others. But setting time aside each day to write helps get you in the habit of putting words on the page each and every day. You can set a specific word count you want to meet, or set a specific time frame—whatever works best for you. The most important thing is that you just WRITE.

DON’T EDIT AS YOU WRITE – Save editing for later. Your first draft isn’t the time for this. While we all want our manuscript to be shiny and beautiful, at this stage it’s important to get the words down. Trust me, you’ll have plenty of time to edit later. 

SHOW THE ACTION – We hear it all the time, “Show don’t tell.” We hear it so often because it is so true. Stay away from using dialogue tags as a cheap way to show action. Read a lot to see how other authors do this successfully.

GET YOURSELF SOME CP’s – A good critique partner and/or beta readers are invaluable. This doesn’t mean find someone who will simply tell you that every word you write is golden. It means finding someone who is brave enough to call you on a messy scene, or one that doesn’t make sense, or one that feels rushed. You want to find several, because remember, writing is subjective. But if you get notes back from three different CPs saying the same thing, you may want to consider what they are saying, even if it is difficult to hear.

LET YOUR MS SIT – If you are feeling frustrated with your work, or out of ideas with the manuscript or just not sure where to go next with your characters, put it in a drawer and walk away from it for a while. Start on something new and fresh and go back to it later. Time away from your work allows you to look at it with fresh eyes and sometimes this can make all the difference. It’s like food in a crock pot, sometimes sitting and cooking makes it all the more delicious.

BE WILLING TO KILL YOUR DARLINGS – We write our words, we become attached, they are like a piece of us. But sometimes in order to make our manuscript stronger, we have to be willing to prune off the parts that are not needed. Listen to your CPs, your editor, that little voice inside your head----it will make your work better---it will make it come alive.

DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHER WRITERS - Sometimes this is the most difficult piece of advice to take, but often the most necessary. Every writer follows a different path to publishing. We also don’t know all of the steps a writer takes to get where we see them today. We don’t necessarily know how many rejection letters they received before getting the coveted “CALL.” We don’t know how many messy manuscripts they attempted to write before coming up with the one(s) that you are comparing your own writing to. Just…Don’t. Don’t fall into that hole. Let your own voice shine, keep pushing through…keep following your dream, and don’t give up. It may sound trite, it may sound like a cheesy (but awesome) Journey song, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Don’t Stop Believing. You CAN do it.

Blog Tour - Supernatural Freak by Louisa Klein + Writing Tips

Supernatural Freak by Louisa Klein

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal

Release Date: January 30th 2013

Summary:

When paranormal expert Robyn Wise is offered an outrageous sum of money to cure a boy who is turning into a dead tree, she's very sceptical. A politician ready to pay that much to make his son stop growing branches instead of hair? Come on! She's more likely to be abducted by aliens. This is a trap. Or much worse. And, of course, it's much worse.

The child is turning into a dark portal, created by a powerful entity determined to absorb Fairyland's power. This means that not only queen Titania and her court are in danger, but the very balance of the magic fluxes.

Robyn'd rather stick a pencil in her own eye but, to learn how to destroy the portal, she has to sneak into the Wizardry Council, a place full of wizards who are hiding something—though it’s certainly not their dislike of her.

There, she discovers a terrible secret that could help to overthrow Fairyland's enemies for good, but puts her in the midst of an ancient and deadly war, and not as a bystander, but as the main target.

About the Author:

Louisa Klein lives in the UK but was born in Germany and brought up in Southern Europe by a German dad and an Italian and French mum, which made her a little confused at first. She has a degree in Medieval Studies and a postgraduate one in Marketing. She’s been working in publishing on and off since she was 17 and currently is a freelancer and an Urban Fantasy writer. At night she puts on a mask and fights British crime. She gets very little sleep.

Author Links:

WRITING TIPS:

I am a relatively new writer, having only two books under my belt, I’m still learning and need writing tips myself sometimes! Still, there are a couple of things that I’ve learned while writing Supernatural Freak and Supernatural Fog and I’m very happy to share them with you. These are more than tips to me, though, they’re more like mental pillars on which I’ve built my writing.

1) Choose to be a writer only if there’s nothing else in the world that can make you happier. 

The life of a professional writer is rigidly structured and demands a level of dedication no more or less than a ballerina’s. Ask a professional dancer what her life is about and she’ll respond “dance, dance and more dance”.  A writer’s life is the same. It requires so many sacrifices that it really must be the thing that you want the most, the thing that makes you happy more than anything else. Especially at the beginning of our carrier, our mantra is eat, sleep, write, repeat. Every day. For years. 

Forget about having a social life. Forget about dating. If you have a day job, then you’ll have to use your free time to write only. Which means you’ll have to stay indoor during the weekend, when everyone else is out having fun or relaxing. You’ll have to stay up at night to pursue your writing. It’s tough. If you write full time you’ll have deadlines to hit, rounds and rounds of editing, a blog to keep updated. Plus, if you’re an indie writer, like me, you’ll have to carefully save your money to be able to invest into your covers, your promotion, your amazing editor. Again, it’s tough. If you’d rather be with your friends, have sex with your partner, plan a family, then you’re not meant to be a writer. 

There are of course exceptions, but they are exceptions. There are ballerinas who have children and then go back dancing professionally, but they’re one in a million. Everyone else has to choose: it’s either this or that. To me, it’s writing is totally worth every sacrifice I make for it. Every time I get a 5 star review, every time I receive an email telling me that my books helped someone to get through a bad period of their life, I feel exhilarated, happy and fulfilled. What about you?  Are you a writer or just an amateur?  

2) ALWAYS listen to CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM. 

Of course I like compliments, every writer does. Bad reviews are painful, negative feedback from editors and agents feels like having your soul ripped apart, I know. Still, as difficult as it is, LISTEN to the above feedback. READ the negative reviews containing useful, constructive criticism and LEARN. Learn to be a better writer. Learn how to fix a bad scene, or a boring one. Find a consistent, effective voice for your stories. On the other hand IGNORE HATERS AND TROLLS because, you know, they’re just losers craving attention and definitely NOT worth your attention. You have much better things to do, like writing your next novel, which, if you listen to constructive criticism, will be far better than the previous one. 

3) NEVER write for an audience, ALWAYS write for yourself. 

And write about  what you know and what’s important to you. If you write with market in mind, if you write for money, for success, if you write to be liked and popular, then you’re very likely to fail. First, trends come and go in a nowadays fiction and some even stay on for a few months only. So, chasing trends can be extremely counterproductive.  Plus, you’re supposed to be a writer and not a prostitute, so don’t sell yourself for money! On the other hand, If you write about what’s important to you, the odds are other people will care about it too. I wrote two books featuring a kick-ass heroine with a wicked sense of humour and a lot of personal issues because I wanted to show that women are people with flaws and issues and insecurities and not a bunch of living stereotypes. Guess what? It turned out that a LOT of women and even MEN agreed with me and liked Robyn, my MC, A LOT. So, write about what’s important to you!