Ali reviews: Ashes Trilogy by Ilsa J. Bick

The three books in this trilogy are Ashes, Shadows and Monsters. I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll be mainly talking about Ashes, but I do want to mention Monsters because it does somewhat effect how I felt about the series.

So to start of, Ashes introduces us to Alex, a teenager dying from a brain tumour who’s out on a hike when an electromagnetic pulse occurs, killing elderly people while teenagers get turned into Zombie-like creatures. Alex teams up with a young girl named Ellie and a twenty-something war veteran named Tom in a fight for survival. Ashes is an interesting read, mainly in part to an interesting heroine. Her brain tumour immediately sets her apart, in both her attitude and her actions, and Tom is not the usual love interest either. The zombies aren’t particular anything new in the beginning but given time they’ll start to surprise you as well.

The one thing I dislike about them is the excessive use of gore. Don't get me wrong, I get that gore is a part of a zombie concept and I’m usually okay with gore in a book format (movies, not so much). But Ashes tends to repeat the same gross imagery; the first time a couple of the particularly nasty ones cropped up I skipped them and then it reached a point where it was a little ‘ho hum, the zombie is eating someone’s eyeball again’. I don’t know, that one may just be me; as I said, I’m not a fan of gore so perhaps if I was it would be a little more ‘heck yeah, dismemberment!’ If you’ve read the series, let me know which side of the fence you sit on with this – and if you haven’t read the series, let me know generally!

Beyond that, the further you get into the Ashes trilogy, the weirder it starts to become. I did continue to enjoy it, but I feel like it would probably start to alienate some readers, particularly by the time you get to the third book with Monsters. I don’t want to talk about it too much in case I spoil it, but as a bit of a preview, in Ashes Alex develops super smell (that happens fairly early so I feel it's okay to mention) but more things develop (particularly in a bad guy) that are bit… interesting. They don’t go super-powered or anything, I just feel like it starts to stretch into a different concept then what the rest of the series was (aka just a zombie book). Which is good in some ways and as I said, I still liked it. But I don't think it would be something everyone enjoys.

The last thing I want to do is have a bit of a rant about the ending of Monsters. I won’t spoil it, don’t worry, but unfortunately Bick does the one thing I really can’t stand in an author; she gets lazy. Regardless of whether or not that was her ‘vision’, it’s a bit of a band-aid. It has an ending, don’t get me wrong, but I did put the book down with disappointment. I do understand the difficulty endings can be; everyone has their own vision and their own way of doing things. But I would’ve liked to have seen more to finish up a decent, although strange in the end, series.

New series: WTF did I just watch?

I watch a lot of movies. Really, a lot. And naturally, while the majority of these movies are just the general, popular ones, I do end up getting dragged down the rabbit hole with a couple of them. Some are just plain ol' rubbish for various reasons, but some of them end up surprising me. As a result, I'm planning on sharing some of these oddballs with you guys. They will either fall into two categories - 'WTF did I just watch' means it's just too awful, weird or mind bending (and not in a good way!) to recommend. 'WTF, I actually kind of liked that' means that while it's still not a typical movie its actually got some redeeming feature (humour, awesome character, good plot etc) that made it watchable.

So to start us off, this is one I watched a while ago but it stuck with me... not necessarily for the right reasons. 

Mega Piranha

The run down:

Usual stuff. Science experiment goes wrong, piranha's grow big. Really big. And then they turn suicidal and hilarity in all the best of the worst ways ensure.

So the movie:

Genetically engineered piranhas who grow larger every couple of hours escape from an isolated part of the river and swim downstream towards Florida, which is in the middle of the tourist season.

Special Agent Fitch and a scientist named Sarah Monroe are trying to keep the piranhas contained despite trouble with the local police, namely Colonel Diaz. They run around doing high-speed chases through the jungle and 'fancy' tricks to keep a stolen helicopter in the air after it runs out of fuel. Meanwhile the piranhas have turned mega, cuing what could almost be the best of the movie. Some of the piranhas turn suicidal and decide to jump out of the water to eat people, attack buildings (or get skewered on buildings) and just randomly explode (no joke, they blow up two hotels. Magic). Torpedoes, depth charges and even a nuclear missile are useless against these huge fish so the heroes decide the best course of action is to get in the water with guns, in order to make the fish bleed and start a feeding frenzy. Colonel Diaz shows up in a helicopter, drops a rope in the water which Fitch then climbs up. He realises it the bad guys and shoots the pilot in the mouth with a flare gun. Cue bad graphics as the pilots head explodes in a shower of goop. Fitch uses some sort of beacon to attract a mega piranha and jumps out of the helicopter moments before its eaten by the giant fish. He then shoots the helicopter in the piranhas mouth, helicopter and piranhas explode and trigger a feeding frenzy which wipes out all of the piranhas while Fitch escapes.

Which is really, really familiar for some reason.

And that would be because at the beginning of the movie, when Fitch first meets the piranhas, he stabs one of the them in the eye and escapes while a feeding frenzy happens. 

So why exactly did this movie run for an hour and a half?

Highlights:

Pretty much... everything the piranhas do. It's just hilarious watching them crashing into buildings.

Lowlights:

Every time Fitch says something hero-ish. Or dramatic. Anytime Fitch speaks, really.

Verdict:

Its hilarious in all the wrong ways but then again, so is the 1:29 minute trailer.

WTF did I just watch.

B Writes: A Long Time Love Affair with Books

When I saw this cute bibliophile post by Jessica of Chronically Vintage, I knew I had to do my own version. Naturally, as an author I just adore books, and this really is a delightful questionnaire that explores the different way each book lover might enjoy their reading experiences.

  

Do you snack while you read? If so, what is your favorite reading snack?

Frequently - some of my books are always talking about the delicious food they are eating and it makes me soooo hungry. I’m looking at you Brain Jacques’ Redwall series!

I wouldn’t say I have a favorite snack, I’ll eat anything I feel like - chocolate is quite a favorite however.

What is your favorite drink while reading?

Tea naturally! Green teas of all flavors, and the ever amazing French Earl Grey. Mmmm.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

I would never write in novels, but I am forever making notes and underlines in my non-fiction books. Only in pencil! For some reason that seems to make it less of a heinous crime.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?

I used be very guilty of leaving my books open face-down to keep my place - my mother would tell me not to - “You’ll break the spine!” - but I would be in such a hurry that I wouldn’t care.

As I’ve gotten older and collected more and more vintage books that just fall apart when you read them, let alone opening them wide, or heaven forbid! Laying them face-down! Well, now I use bookmarks. I’m still in a hurry though, so that can be anything from a hair band, to a tissue, to a leaf. Anything small and flat will do.

Fiction, non-fiction, or both?

Mostly fiction I’m afraid. I would love to read more non-fiction on subjects I’d like to learn about, but I really have to be in exactly the right mood for that, so it doesn’t happen very often at all. If I do read non-fiction, it is most likely to be some kind of book on horses - training, dressage, stable management, etc.

Are you the kind of person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?

Who wants to stop in the middle of the chapter?? Ahh! If it’s a book I have read many times over (and I have quite a lot of those!), I can stop in the middle of the chapter, because I know what’s coming next.

But if it’s a new book, or one I haven’t read in a while and I’m really into it; I’m hard pressed to put it down, even at the chapter ends.

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?

Oh yes. I have read some absolute trash; without even meaning to, and one time I was just so disgusted with the rubbish the author had written that I tossed the book across the room, than promptly tossed it into the recycling bin. I try to only read books that are uplifting, or that make you think in a good way. I don’t have time for dirty, insipid or stupid books.

Hahaha, that makes me sound so stuck up and pretentious! I don’t think that I am, I’m just super fussy about what I consider to be a good book. I also know that I am very eclectic with my literature choices.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?

I try too! I love learning about new words. Etymology absolutely fascinates me ~ language, vernacular and the origin of words is one of my deep interests.

What are you currently reading?

"The Foundling" by Georgette Heyer

What is the last book you bought?

Mary Grant Bruce’s “Back to Billabong” for the Kindle. I rarely buy new hard copy books, but I will thrift books like they are going out of style. (Which they sort of are! ...) (TT Д  TT) 

Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?

I can read more than one book at a time, but I really don’t like too, and generally won’t. Even if I have to finish a book I don’t want to read to read the one I do.

Do you have a favourite time/place to read?

Any time of the day will do for me, but the best place to read is somewhere cozy - preferably a couch, near a window with the sun streaming in. Yes, I’m part cat.

Do you prefer series books or stand-alones?

A bit of both actually. If the story is really good, but I don’t like the rest of the author’s writing, I usually like a stand-alone, but as I tend to get very attached to certain authors and characters, I probably mostly prefer series because I just want to read more.

Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?

Mmm, not so much. Like I previously mentioned, I’m so eclectic with my taste, I tend to stay away from recommendations, because most people don’t read what I do.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author's last name, etc.)

By genre, then series, or author, and that’s as far as it goes. I have too many books to get really fussy, and not enough bookshelves to spread them all out on.

N.B: After talking so much about eclectic reading choices, I sort of felt I needed to answer one more question, so I added it on…

What kinds of books do you like to read and who are your favorite authors from those genres?

• Regency romances ~ Georgette Heyer
• Quirky/humorous Science Fiction ~ Terry Pratchett
• Pony books ~ Josephine Pullein-Thompson & Monica Edwards
• Classics ~ L. M. Montgomery & J.R. Tolkien
• Children’s Classics ~ Hugh Lofting

I hope you have enjoyed this little Q&A, and please write up your own answers if you are so inclined. I would love to read about your reading habits, so don’t forget to leave a link if you post.

b.

A writes: Why I Write

I know B already shared this post a few weeks ago, but I thought it was interesting and I wanted to share it too.

B's been inspiring me a lot lately, particularly with her 'write a bit daily' ideas. I'll admit that I also find myself waiting for inspiration to strike. Or worse, editing. Editing is something I've found that just shouldn't happen until the end of the book - otherwise each day I find myself just going over the previous work, even if I'm not necessarily editing and instead just rereading. As an attempt to break that, I've been forcing myself to just write and so far its going well. A part of this is also going to be an effort to do more regular blog posts, so we'll see how we go! 

So...

WHY DO I WRITE?
To me, this isn't really a question. You might as well ask why I breathe, or sleep, or eat. For as long as I can remember, stories and their characters have just been a massive part of who I am. Even if I'm not physically putting a story down onto paper, it's always in my head. It's a strange feeling - a part of me does, and always will, live inside many different worlds that no one else understands, at least not until they read about them. And even then, sometimes what they get is only a glimpse into a world I see, into the lives of characters who I know very intimately. Why do I write? I suppose the easiest answer would be because I want you to see - the worlds, the people, their stories. I want you to love them as much as I do, but if you don't, that's okay. I'll keep writing them anyway, because I could never stop. I can never stop.

HOW DO I WRITE? 

Typically in bed, but lately also in front of the TV. I actually prefer paper and pen, but the ease of a computer is undeniable and so that makes it my object of choice. I'm one of those people who always has a writing playlist - what's on it tends to vary. Sometimes it's just whatever music I'm loving at the moment - normally songs with emotions, though. I've also become a huge fan of 'epic' music, like Audiomachine. It makes me think of sword fights, and dragons, and always helps me really want to write, even if I'm not feeling inspired for the story itself.  

HOW DOES MY WRITING DIFFER FROM OTHERS IN ITS GENRE? 

I think B's answer to this was fantastic. Faith is the biggest part of our lives, and that comes into our writing a lot - even if it's not always obvious. I think as well, the fact that theres two of us can make a difference! At least, I like to think so.

HOW DO I GET PAST WRITER’S BLOCK? 

You write. You don't edit, you don't re-read, you just write. Even if it all seems useless, and doesn't seem to have anything to do with your plot - just keep going. I find the moment I start to look back at the book, or even the last couple of pages, I get bogged down - all I can see are the flaws and I spend far too much time trying to fix things. For me, the only thing to do is to look forwards, even when I hate everything I'm writing. The important thing is to keep writing, because you'll be pushing yourself towards the next important plot point or you'll discover a new direction for your book that you hadn't considered before. Either way, when you're finished the book, then you can go back and get rid of the utterly useless scenes you're writing right now. Or you might discover that you love them, who knows.

I hope you enjoyed my take on these questions. Hopefully you guys have also been inspired like I've been to write frequently, even if it's just a little bit and even if you hate it. Because either way, you're writing and thats the important thing.
-A

B writes: Progress

I'm happy to report that this 250 Words a Day writing challenge I set myself is just what I needed to get my backside into gear and finish this pony story I've been sitting on since 2013!

Most days I'm easily going over my target - in fact my average word count is 500 words a day.  I've done seven days of writing, and 3,503 words so far - with a few extra typed here and there that I didn't bother tracking. So far, I'm only doing the challenge five days a week, but I might up that to six days a week soon.

I want to keep it achievable though. That's why I picked such a low word count to aim for. Yes, it would be slightly ridiculous for some writers who are already writing regularly to do the same, but this is for me. A busy mother with three children under four years old, who has many other responsibilities and hobbies besides writing.

250 words, five days a week is not only achievable, but also encouraging. I hit that goal, I want to try for more. So I end up doing more than 250 words each and every time I sit down to write! Sometimes it's a little more, sometimes it's a lot, like 1,013!

Either way, progress is being made and it's good. I like it.

"The first jump was an inviting oxer, with a nice ground line. Simple bars, and solid wings, the jump was set up to encourage the horse and rider to get into the course.

It didn’t look that scary until Jody was standing next to it, and then it was as high as Dudley’s knees, 60 centimetres tall. She could feel the butterflies flopping about. She’d jumped higher than that before – she’d been regularly jumping a meter ten at the riding school, but that had with Bosley; her favourite mount. Now it was just her and Dudley and she wasn’t sure she was ready for that.

She could dimly hear Mrs. Lowe discussing the course as they walked around, and shook herself, panicking. What did she miss? “-so make sure you sit up after the spread and really half-halt to gather Dudley’s strides. He will have flattened out to jump over the width of the triple bar, and you’ll really need to collect them up to get through the bounce clear.”

David nodded in complete agreement, but Jody felt like a vice was squeezing her ribcage when she looked at the pair of jumps set so closely together after that wide staircase spread. 

A triple bar! Then a combination! She could feel her knees knocking together, but David and Mrs. Lowe were already striding to the last jump of the twelve obstacles – the wall.

A solid jump, one to scare the riders, and Jody remembered it’s not just the riders that don’t like wall jumps – most horses didn’t either because they couldn’t see the ground on the other side of the jump. They had to trust their rider that it was safe to jump.

Jody swallowed hard. She and Dudley had been working on their relationship all this time – and they’d had some crazy adventures together – riding for help after Betty’s accident, and then riding out alone to help Cinnamon, but where they ready for this?

Jody squared her shoulders. Well, it was now or never, and as she walked back to her family and Dudley, she thought it was time that Dudley proved himself to be the right pony for her." 

- Dudley's Last Chance by Bonita Vear

Coming soon!

b.

B writes: On Writing

So I've made a pledge to myself. I'm going to start a habit of writing 250 words a day on my books - any of them. A novel, the e-book, anything - but it's got to be on a book, and not on a blog!

I do write a lot every week, but I'm writing on my blogs, on Twitter, on other people's blogs.  I'm not writing on things that are going to help my journey forward as a published author. I'm missing that part in my schedule of things to do, and as a result, all too often the book writing gets completely overlooked.

Crikey, the last time I worked on a novel seriously was.... Uh.  Whoops. I don't even remember. Probably Nanowrimo 2013.

Gamenian did get some work done on it in 2014, but that was mostly polishing and editing; stuff to ready the manuscript for publishing. No real 'writing' as in building the story.

Since I've made this pledge I've written over 1,000 words. So I know it can be done. Bit by bit, day by day, I'm going to finish my next book, and then I'm going to start another one. I'm a writer. So I am going to write.

"Jody stared at the measly remnants of cake in front of her, and poked the crumbs into a tidy heap in the middle of the swirling gold pattern. It was always a bit of a worry when Bridget got that look on her face – mostly because it meant that she had some new idea that she was going to drag Jody into, and any amount of ‘no’s’ just made her all the more determined to go ahead." 

- Dudley's Last Chance by Bonita Vear

b.

B writes: Why I Write

A series of questions I found on Gala Darling that instantly intrigued me, and I knew I had to answer them for myself.

Because why do I write?

Why?

WHY DO I WRITE?

Because I can’t not write. Because I can’t not tell a story some how, some way. I have so much to say, and so many ways to say it – art, photography, creating with my hands – but in the end, I can’t not write about it.

It’s like the story is too big and too grand to be captured just by one medium, and each different medium adds another layer to this great big story I call ‘Life’. 

So I create, I share my stories, and I hope that somehow the message gets across…

There is something out there, something that is bigger than we see. Something that inspires us, that drives us, that pushes and pulls us to grow, change, explore, create, expand, implode, fall down and begin all over again.

There’s life. There’s hope.

And those two things are the fundamental elements of my creative ‘me’. Story telling just happens to naturally blossom from those two core truths I know, and writing just happens to naturally blossom from my desire to tell a story.

So I write because I must.

HOW DO I WRITE?

Sporadically. It’s kind of sad. I’m not even close to any sort of rhythm or routine. I know that all professional writers talk about dedicating certain hours of the day, or making sure to hit a certain number of words, but I don’t do that. In fact, I’m the worst kind of writer…

The one who waits for inspiration to strike!

Ruh-Rho…

Please don’t follow my example!  I write when I have a blog post to write, but it’s never on the same day week to week.  I write when I have something I need to remember, or a story to tell. I work on my books when I need too. Nanowrimo was great for getting me into a regular routine, but I couldn’t keep it up for long. I had really bad tendonitis after trying to write 1,000 words a day for a month. Ouch.

Basically, I write when I want to. But it’s a least once a week, so I am writing regularly if it comes to that – just not once-a-day-regularly.

HOW DOES MY WRITING DIFFER FROM OTHERS IN ITS GENRE?

Hmm. This is a super great question. Mostly because I’m not sure, but let me think…

I think our writing is different from other books that I’ve read in the same space opera genre, mostly because of our faith, and how that shapes our world view, and consequentially, our writing.  

There’s always a theme of hope, and something greater that’s out there – referring to God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. We want to make people think about their world view and why they believe what they do. Questions always lead to answers when your heart is truly seeking, and we hope to that by provoking the questions our readers can find an answer that satisfies their soul.

HOW DO I GET PAST WRITER’S BLOCK?

I… don’t.  No, really. I just move onto another project and wait for the writer’s block to dissolve. Sometimes this works really well, and sometimes it doesn't. I think the best approach to writer’s block has a lot to do with whether or not you are a professional writer, or a part-time writer like myself.

I PASS THE PEN TO…

Alethia!

I pass the pen to any writer out there who would like to answer these questions themselves. Go ahead – tell us - why do you write?

b.