Top 5 Highlights of #YALC

I love #YALC so much! It's amazing how much it has changed and grown over the last three years. It's so organised, slick and seamless and everyone who attends comes out loaded with books and more excited than they were when they went in. The worse thing about YALC is when it's finished. You spend three days on a solid, sugar fuelled high and then when it's over, you come down to earth with a bang, wondering around the house, aimlessly looking for a book blogger or an author to hug and settling for the dog for the hundredth time. 

I know there will be loads of YALC posts going up over the next few days, but I can't miss out on being part of it. So I thought I would give you my Top 5 Highlights of #YALC 2016.

VE Schwab

1) Meeting and hugging Victoria Schwab.

I've been a fan of Victoria's since her first book, The Near Witch. In fact, I reviewed her debut here and interviewed her when she was just starting out. I was over the moon, when she remembered me! And now look how far she has come! New York Times Bestselling Author. The queue for her signing was immense. We both got emotional over remembering The Near Witch. Hopefully one day, it might be published by the UK.

2) Getting to see and spend quality time with friends. Blogging has allowed me to enter a world where I can call authors, publishing peeps and bloggers my friends. I talk to them online probably more than I talk to my family, so when I get to go to a three day event like this, I love that I can chat and talk books with people who feel the same. 

3) Getting my portrait drawn!

I've always wanted to have this done and I think Emma Shoard did a beautiful job. Emma is the illustrator for the  graphic novel, The Pavee and the Buffer Girl which was written by much missed author, Siobhan Dowd. The book will be published by Barrington Stoke in March 2017.

4) Going to workshops held by some of my favourite authors. 

As I arrived early each day, I managed to get on some amazing workshops. On Friday I looked at how to use history to bring fiction alive with Rhian Ivory and I explored voice with Lisa Heathfield. On Saturday I worked in a group to reimagine the classics with Natasha Farrant, followed by how to get ideas for writing YA with Keris Stainton. Each  workshop gave me extra tools to help with my own writing. I came away with lots of hints and tips that I will definitely use to develop my own creative voice. 

5) Getting my hands on Harry Potter and the  Cursed Child!

The book was released Saturday night at midnight, so it was fantastic to see a pile of them waiting to be purchased at YALC. Even better that they were available for £10! It would have been rude not to buy one. 

They are just a few of the highlights of YALC as there were so many more, I could write an endless list.  I really wish I could go back and do it all again. I want to congratulate the amazing #YALC team for pulling off an even bigger and better event than last year. I can't wait to do it all again next year. 

When I’m not writing I… by V.E. Schwab

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab came out THIS WEEK! ARE YOU EXCITED?? 

I have just started reading it and already I am loving it. 

Want to know what Victoria does when she isn't writing super amazing books? Well she has written a brilliant piece to curb your curiosity.

When I’m not writing…

I’m at the movies with my friends, watching the latest Marvel epic. 

I’m curled on the couch with a fantasy novel and a cup of tea.

I’m fencing, metal clashing against metal, getting beat to hell while my heart races. 

I’m swimming, talking plot holes with the blue stripe on the pool floor. 

I’m cycling, or running, or walking the dogs, with an audiobook whispering in my head. 

I’m having cocktails with writer friends and talking murder, adventure, history. 

I’m wandering up hillsides and through forests, looking for ghosts. 

I’m bingeing shows on Netflix. 

I’m studying Latin, or Japanese, or medieval art. 

I’m traveling—to friends in Scotland, family in France. 

I’m wondering about life and death and space and cycles. 

But I’m also dreaming. Dreaming up monsters, and madmen, and spies, magicians, and villains, and women who live forever. 

When I’m not writing, I’m thinking about what to write next.

Want to know more about A Gathering of Shadows? Here's the summary.

Four months have passed since the shadow stone fell into Kell's possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard.
Four months since Rhy was wounded and the Dane twins fell, and the stone was cast with Holland's dying body through the rift, and into BLACK LONDON. 

If you haven't started this series, then you should! 
Who wants to win a copy of A Gathering of Shadows?  I have two copies to give away. All you have to do is comment below telling us why you think you should win and leave your email address with it. Only one entry per person. This is a UK only competition and closes on the 1st March!
Check out the rest of the blog tour dates below. 

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Kell wore a peculiar coat.

It had neither one side, which would be conventional, nor two, which would be unexpected, but several, which was, of course, impossible.

Published by Tor Books in February 2015

Pages - 400

Summary

Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.
Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London - but no one speaks of that now.
Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her 'proper adventure'.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — trickier than they hoped.

****

To create an alternate version of London is clever, to create four very different versions is simply genius. V.E. Schwab has obviously spent many hours world building for this book, because each London stood out from it’s counterpart and  felt like a character in it’s own right. I’m in awe of the author’s talents.  I found myself completely absorbed by these very different lands and could easily see the transition as Kell stepped from one to another. The London had a real feel of Victorian times, which I  enjoyed.

I loved Lila! She really stood out for me. She has the kick ass persona of Celaena from Throne of Glass, yet the deeply hidden affection of Katniss from The Hunger Games.  I think Lila has a lot of secrets hidden within her, that even she doesn’t truly know about, but as a reader the snippets about her past leave you guessing. I didn’t warm to Rhys, as I’m convinced he will turn out to not be as loyal to Kell as he is in return. I’m sure there are elements of evil and jealousy hidden within Rhys. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the relationship between Kell, Rhys and Lila develops. There’s definitely a  love triangle coming in the next book, I am positive.

The plot was brilliant. The author took us through so many twists and turns that it left me unable to put the book down. I needed to know what would happen next. This book weaves cross dressing, LGBT issues with fantasy and epic adventures. I was lucky enough to read Victoria Schwab’s first book, The Near Witch, a few years ago, which I really enjoyed. With A Darker Shade of Magic, it is clear how far the author has come with her writing. The paragraphs are brimming with descriptions and emotion, touching every sense and feeling.

An epic adventure, beautifully written, flawless through out. This book is way too good to wait for. Buy it!

Cover Journey for V.E Schwab

Today I am pleased to welcome the designer of V.E. Schwab’s latest book, A Darker Shade Of Magic, Julia Lloyd, and the author herself, Victoria Schwab, to discuss the journey to the fabulous cover shown below, as part of the blog tour.

 

JL: Following on from the great response we got for the cover design of Victoria’s 2014 hit Vicious, designed for Titan Books by Amazing 15, I wanted to continue with the strength of the colour palette used there. A Darker Shade of Magic is the first in a new fantasy series about a magician who uses blood magic to move between four different Georgian Londons - which are grey, red, white and black, so this colour palette was very suitable.

I also researched typefaces from the era, circling around Bodoni and Caslon: two very of-the-period serif fonts that I used for the basis of the final lettering.

VS: I was such a fan of the bold color palette on VICIOUS (and you didn’t even know that red, black, grey, and white would prove to be so important) and the fact that ADSOM continues the trend is so cool. It feels like an extra layer of branding, and since I’m a pale redhead who wears all black, it’s a perfect addition ;)

JL:These were the only other concepts that I did (apart from that which became the finalised cover), as the design was approved extremely swiftly in comparison to most projects. The first one is a more literary approach where I experimented with form and texture to portray the different dimensions of London. Whilst this was viewed favourably, it was felt that the sense of movement and travel - through the four Londons - was lost and this approach would be best suited to another novel. We then looked to the second concept, which maintained the circular theme that can be seen on the Vicious cover. This design incorporated the geography of London with the roads representing veins (our main character, Kell, uses his blood to open the portals to each London). This approach was discarded as we felt a similar concept had been done on Rivers of London and again did not portray enough of a sense of movement.

VS: Oh wow, this is my first time seeing these, but they are SO cool. I’m a fan of the one on the right, because as you pointed out, the trailing street lines look like blood/veins, and it’s a fairly violent book. And I didn’t even notice at first glance that it mirrored Vicious. But I also totally agree that it’s too close to the Rivers of London covers, a problem my US designer also ran into!

JL:Which brings us to the third concept - the final design. We see not only the figure, which gives a strong focus point and panel for the typography, but also the multi-dimensional coat. Such a clever device in the book, I was really pleased to be able to include it on the final cover. The coat offers a real sense of movement, which is palpable when you see this figure - which can be Kell, but who’s to say it’s not Lila?! - stepping over the various shaded maps, cape bellowing behind. I really hope that you, as I do, get a sense of the pace of the book , which quickly caught me up in its pages. A gem to read and to work on.

VS: The coat. The coat. The coat. Anyone who’s read my books knows I have an unhealthy obsession with fanciful outerwear, and the fact you not only captured the sense of movement but the epic glamour of Kell’s multisided coat just seals this for me. And haha, maybe Lila will be the focus of the second one ;) I also LOVE the fact that he’s stepping on the four Londons. The US cover features a bird’s eye view of this same action, and the idea of seeing that movement from two different angles, in two very different ways, makes this the perfect cover. Thank you so much.

A Darker Shade of Magic is published by Tor Books on the 24th February. Look out for my review later this week.

 

To find out more about VE Schwab:

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