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March & April Monthly Wrap Up

3 May 2015

On The Blog


Posts were very sporadic over the past two months (as you probably noticed!) down to my University MA course in Publishing which is nearing its conclusion! More about that later :)

Most Viewed Posts From March & April

Interview With Katherine Locke - I interviewed Katherine to celebrate the release of her debut novel and she really knows how to answer questions well!
Guest Post: How To Conquer Your Inner Voice Of Doom - Siobhan Curham talked on my blog about how she overcame her inner demons to become a writer and how you to can do so in everyday life
Review of Hero - I reviewed Hero by Samantha Young!

Reviews Posted

Hero by Samantha Young - 4 stars
Chosen Thief by Scarlett Dawn - 4.5 stars
Here Be Sexist Vampires by Suzanne Wright - 5 stars
Shadow Study by Maria V. Snyder - 4.5 stars
The Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

Personal Things


This week were my final MA Publishing lectures. All I have now is a few assignments due in the next week then my Major Project hand in at the end of summer and then I am finished! The first of the girls on my course had a job interview this week (for a design position at Bloomsbury) which is nerve-wracking and exciting for all of us as it is a reminder that over the next few months hopefully we will all be getting various interviews and Publishing jobs.

I am really sad that my MA is now pretty much over as it has been the most amazing 7 months. Learning more about the publishing industry has been fun every step of the way and I can now say that I have designed book covers, put together interactive ebooks, created marketing plans, conceptualised books and even commissioned writers and illustrators for my Major Project book.


April saw the British Cheerleading Association University Nationals which I have been working towards all year with the UCLan Tigers. Every single one of our teams that entered had their best placing ever and the two I was in did fantastic. Pom placed 5th out of a massive category and coed cheer came 2nd. It was a great way to end my last University cheerleading season :)

 

May is going to be incredibly exciting as on the 12th I am off to Zambia for 3 weeks with University to create an information booklet for a charity called Sport In Action. I am really looking forwards to experiencing a brand new culture and doing some important work whilst I am out there.

Books Read


I haven't read as much as I wanted to recently! Partially because I have been very busy but also because I decided to reread a chunky fantasy trilogy which took up a lot of my time. March started off great for books but now I am struggling to find something fantastic.



May TBR


Thanks to my incredibly busy month I am not sure if I will be able to read at all! Hopefully I will be able to read a couple of books for review in June though.

Review of The Hogfather - Terry Pratchett blog tour

2 May 2015

Synopsis

It's the night before Hogswatch. And its too quiet.

Where is the big jolly fat man? Why is Death creeping down chimneys and trying to say Ho Ho Ho? The darkest night of the year is getting a lot darker...

Susan the gothic governess has got to sort it out by morning, otherwise there won't be a morning. Ever again...The 20th Discworld novel is a festive feast of darkness and Death (but with jolly robins and tinsel too).

As they say: 'You'd better watch out...'


Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK

Review

I am huge fan of the late Terry Pratchett's fantastically funny Discworld novels, and my favourites are the stories with Death as one of the main characters. So it seemed fitting that as part of the blog tour to celebrate the life and books of Terry Pratchett I should read the one Death novel that I have not yet read, The Hogfather.

Like any book by Terry, The Hogfather is full of his trademark wit and humour throughout and this story focuses on turning Christmas and other magical tales told to children on their heads. Terry's books often manage to make you think and this one has some really interesting things to say about belief.

The main new character we get introduced to in this book is Teatime, an Assassin so strange and creepy that even the other Assassins don't like him much. However, his odd way of thinking makes him the perfect choice to kill someone who isn't supposed to exist.

Discworld novels love periodically bringing various characters from other books back and the central characters to the story are Death who is sombre to the point of humour, loves cats, and ALWAYS SPEAKS LIKE THIS, and Susan, Deaths granddaughter whose sensible, logical nature most certainly does not want to believe in The Hogfather.

Overall this is an utterly fantastic novel, possibly one of the best Discworld novels and I highly recommend that everyone reads it.

Try it for yourself! Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK

Laura