Meet the Silver Phoenix

If this little tease doesn't entice you, I don't know what will. I'm already intrigued, already thankful I've pre-ordered the book, already itching to find out what happens next. It's true, gang: we are going to love The Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon. Read on for a snippet of the Pon magic and tell me that you're not a little curious about so much.

Excerpt:

"I should go," Ai Ling said. She owed him thanks. He had saved herlife, after all.

He remained silent, looking down at her—his face never betraying histhoughts. His golden eyes were tinged with green. She dropped hergaze, hating herself for noticing.

What was he thinking? Without conscious effort, she cast herself toward him, threw an invisible cord from her spirit to his. She felt it waver like a drunken serpent, fumble, and then latch. The sudden pulling and tautness within her navel surprised her.

She remembered watching her father fish once. He'd offered her the bamboo rod when a fish took the bait, tugging so hard against the line she was afraid the rod would snap. It felt like that.

She felt an irresistible draw toward her hooked target, followed by a strange snap sensation. She was within Chen Yong's being.

Ai Ling noticed his higher vantage point immediately. She had always been told she was tall for a girl, but she didn't look so from his eyes. His body was more rested than hers. There were no knots of anxiety in his shoulders, no soreness in his neck. A power and strength unfamiliar to her coursed through his limbs, a litheness coiled within him.

She stared at herself. She stood in a stance of defiance, arms folded across her chest. Did she always look so childish, so stubborn?

Was that Chen Yong's thought or her own? She quieted her spirit, eavesdropped within his mind. Feisty. She plucked the one word which flitted to her from his thoughts. It emerged with a sense of amusement and surprised admiration. Suddenly, she felt ashamed that she was intruding. She was curious but it felt wrong. She drew herself back reluctantly, felt the snap as she returned to her ownbeing.

The world tilted for a brief moment, and she tried to cover her unsteadiness by fussing with her knapsack. She blinked away the black spots which floated across her vision. What was happening to her?Had he felt her trespass? She glanced up at him. His expression had not changed. She straightened, and drew a deep breath.

"I can never repay your kindness. Thank you." She spoke from the heart, he deserved that much.

Chen Yong nodded. "And to you, Ai Ling. Take good care."

She blushed, turned so he would not see, and walked away. She looked back once, to find him still standing in the same spot, and waved. He lifted one hand in farewell. Ai Ling hoped he would follow. She quickly cast the thought aside as if the desire had never existed.

=-=-=-=-=-
My love:
1. Great simile: drunken serpent
2. I like the tidbit about fishing with her father
3. I actually felt the muscles in my shoulders relax when I read that Chen Yong's body was more rested than hers

My curiosity:
1. How long has she had this ability?
2. Was this the first person she's 'hooked'?
3. Does it always feel the same way?

News that'll make you do the Happy Dance:
I'm not supposed to let the cat out of the bag quite yet, but (shhhh) Cindy will be stopping in sometime within the next week to do an interview!

Pre-Order New Books

Have you had a chance to check out the three new young adult titles I've listed as must-buy? Why not? What have you been waiting for? Oh, I know: January tumbled by and now February is seducing us with glimmerings of sunlight and the occasional tweetering robin admist the chill winds and sudden flurries. I totally understand. But do consider slipping over to the authors' sites and seeing what they have to offer. You'll be pleased.

And, today, after my long hiatus involving delightful smoochings and rompings with my little nephew who's visiting from New Mexico (my apologies for being AWOL with no previous explanation), I jumped onto Amazon and pre-ordered all three books.

I challenge you to do the same!

1. Silver Phoenix: Beyond the Kingdom of Xia by Cindy Pon
2. Wings by Aprilynne Pike
3. Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter by R. J. Anderson

Too, if you pre-order, you pay less! And in this uncertain economic time, that's certainly a silver lining... Well, go on, then. :)

Must-Buy New Authors

The long and eagerly awaited moment is upon us: Step Three of the great Hated Book Give-Away commences in 3...2...1...!

After diligent searching and thoughtful meditating, I am pleased to present the following Must-Buy new authors. Upon reflection, I decided to focus on Young Adult fantasy writers this time around, since that's the area I'm personally invested in atm. Explore their blogs, leave encouraging comments, and buy their books. Yes, I know, you have to either pre-order their books or wait until they come out this spring. My advice? Pre-order. Then you'll be surprise with a lovely gift when it arrives in your mailbox.



1. Cindy Pon, author of Silver Phoenix: Beyond the Kingdom of Xia, a YA Asian fantasy. Available in April 2009, you can pre-order now.


2. Aprilynne Pike, author of Wings. Release date is May 5, 2009, but do pre-order.



3. And finally, R. J. Anderson, author of Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter. Release date is April 2009, as well, and, yes, you can still pre-order.



Happy Reading! And check back soon for more info on these Must-Read new authors' books, blogs, and bio's. Do let me know if you've scouted out any new authors -- in fact, post them on your blog and let us all know. There are lots of aspiring and published writers wanting to read and support the latest, newest authors out there. I know, because you've commented or emailed me, telling me so.

Books as Maps

Someone somewhere said that YA books provide a map of sort for teens looking for answers. The characters -- whether in fantasy worlds or far, distant planets or on the streets of Brooklyn -- encounter problems and issues common to all teens. Readers are looking for ways to negotiate bickering friends and squabbling parents and temptations galore. Teens hover between the worlds of wanting to fit in and belong and wanting to be different and stand out. They face loneliness and fear, peer pressure and rage, love and lust, and all the feelings in between. Well-written books provide a variety of answers to the questions, with a variety of possible consequences to the choices made. There's a fine line between preaching and exploring -- and it takes a deft author to weave the engaging, thought-provoking series of choices and mistakes, actions and reactions.

The same person also pointed out that teens typically haven't read the myriad of books that "came before" -- the ones that set the tone or the bar or the stage. They're fresh eyes, looking for answers that have already been answered elsewhere. But you, the young adult writer, have a mandate to provide the same variety of answers with the same clever skill as those that came before -- only different. Same, because the questions are the same. Different, because agents have read all the books that came before. Or something like that.

It was an intriguing podcast. I wish I remembered who gave the lecture, but my iPod is at home. Regardless, how do you feel about it? And is this advice only for YA writers? Or can it apply to any writer of any genre?

Point Blank Rudeness

I spoke too soon. I really thought Anthony Horowitz was going to deliver, but instead he hooked me in with the first book. Then he started banging away with his version of morality in the second, Point Blank. And he didn't even give me any chocolate.

I briefly considered Anthony's blog a week or so back that indicated he would only write positive reviews. Yeah, but I'm not that nice. And this isn't a review. It's just a growl of disdain.

Sadly, Horowitz detours from the plot and writes an entire personal belief chapter that only serves as a detriment to the book as a whole. Now, before I get too far, you should know that the book frowns upon a pretty much universal evil: cloning yourself sixteen times and trying to take over the world by undergoing plastic surgery, then inserting yourselves into rich and powerful families. Okay, I'm pretty sure I can handle that kind of morality. But chapter five?

Chapter Five: The Shooting Party has nothing to do with the plot. But, I learned some soul-enlarging, deep and complex things in it, like: 1) Rich people are bad; 2) Rich people's kids are worse; 3) They like to shoot and wound small animals; 4) and teens are not only "too young to play with guns," but they're likely to start taking pot shots at poor kids just for kicks (84). I think it would've been one thing if it had something to do w/ the plot. But, it didn't.

In my sweet & tidy little world, it doesn't matter where your own personal beliefs fall along the spectrum of any of those four: I personally don't need someone to use a cotton-candy book to clumsily foist his ideas on me -- especially when he's heavy-handed and doesn't use breath mints. For crying out loud!

I am sad and dejected. But I'm going to read book three, Skeleton Key, just in case. After all, chapter five in Point Blank might have been a fluke, and, well, I own it. Might as well read it, yeah?

O Happy Day: Amazon Delivered Another Alex

We're an academic and writerly family, both of us English majors and both of us enamored with the written word. What does this mean in the real world? Well, ahem, some days that means that the both of us live in an alternate universe: things like picking up the mail or turning off the back burner on the stove are less important than, say, finishing J. A. Hunter's book or adding the finishing touches to a chapter.

That being said, I cannot say how long Anthony Horowitz's books languished in my post office box. As of last night, however, I have the first three books of the Alex Rider series sitting in my hot little hands. I am so excited that I'm considering canceling classes and making all students read just so I can get started.

Errr, that was a joke. If any parents are reading this, that was a joke. Seriously.

I am obviously out of the loop (by quite a bit, I imagine), since I hadn't realized they'd made Stormbreaker into a movie two years ago! (Like Anthony, no TV for us and few movies.) Another Alex, Alex Pettyfer, starred in it, though I've no idea if it was a decent watch or not.

Anyway, Stormbreaker, here I come!!

Lloyd Alexander Still Lives On

A Series of Partially Unrelated Events

In my Writing Rebellion post I mentioned reading the Harvard classics.

Diane commented that she felt it personally important to focus on the genre classics.

My husband found a set of Lloyd Alexander books -- The Chronicles of Prydain -- in my classroom and brought them home to read.

I admitted that I had never read the series. He looked at me in wonder.

On Monday, hubby handed me book one, The Book of Three.

I remembered Diane's words of wisdom.

Tonight I just finished book three, The Castle of Llyr.

I am now waiting for hubby to finish book four, so that I might read the continuing saga of Taran and friends.

I find I'm enjoying the lesson in brevity and action-packed adventure. It reminds me of the James Patterson interview I saw once. When asked what he attributed his great success to, he gave his half sardonic grin and stated, "Why, I leave out all the boring parts!"

Young Adult Book Rant

I just finished Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. It took, most improbably, four months to read 332 pages of the most asinine insipid drivel known to the teenage audience today. (Those in the know realize this book should have taken three hours, tops, to jet through.) It was only slightly more tedious than her non-YA novel, Succubus Blues, the reading of which took several weeks and much groaning. Note, of course, that I bought these two books after seeing her speak at a conference this summer. I like Richelle Mead. She's smart, sassy, fun. Her books suck.

Here are my off-the-cuff, way-too-early-in-the-Monday-morning reasons:

1. Neither plot nor character driven, I haven't figured out what precisely launches the books forward. Oh, that's right. Nothing does.

2. Bland dialogue, pointless time filler-uppers, with random "bad" language to make them edgy. Note to self: inserting random cursing and allusions to sex does not make one's books edgy. Christopher Pike did all that decades ago, making it all "feel" naturally high school-esque. (When I can't find a book for one of my male students to read, I hand him a Pike book.)

3. FTW attitudes interlaced with moralistic over-the-top "dilemmas." (oooh...i feel so bad about disabling the evil psi-dogs who were going to kill me. *sigh* i guess this is my fate since i am an uber-bad guardian of this sweet little innocent vampire who may turn evil herself at any moment...in the future. See? I can foreshadow!)

The disturbing part is this: these books have earned "great reviews." By whom, I wonder. It seems the publishing world is a bit incestuous, pumping up books with little redeeming value for a little quid pro quo. And for what? Oops, am I that naive? After all, I spent $8.99 on Vampire Academy. I'm a little ill.

So, then, why don't more of today's youth read? It's simple, really. What is there for them to read? Honestly? I gobbled up Eoin Colfer like he was going out of style (is he?!), but what else is out there? I enjoyed Airborn by Kenneth Oppel and Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines. My female students are inhaling Ellen Hopkins' books (to the point I can't check one out), and are, of course, also reading Stephanie Meyer. I've noticed several of my male students carrying around Anthony Horowitz, whom I haven't yet read but fully intend to explore. Anyone with a character named Alex Rider can't be all bad! Cornelia Funke is storming the YA adult market with her Inkheart books (which are much better than her children's book Dragon Rider, I've heard). But what else is out there?

This all reminded me of Pacheco's post on YA literature and 13-year old Max Leone's article on the great dearth of good teen lit. (They are both worth re-visiting or reading for the first time, if you haven't read them already.) This is precisely why -- all those years ago, as a child, myself -- I decided to try my hand at writing. I was tired of the awesome plot ideas with less-than-stellar writing and ridiculous endings. I was bored of the great writing and empty plot lines. I was bemoaning the fact that there are fewer "good" books than there are of the rest. So Anthony? I may just take the pledge with you. We need more YA authors committed to "great characters, humor, and action." Who's with us? And, more importantly, what are you reading these days?

World-building Month

Today is August 1st, the first day of World-building Month. Following Nils' lead, I'll give a brief overview of who I am and what I wish to accomplish in the off chance that you stumble upon this blog and wonder, "What the heck is World Building?" or "Who the heck is Alex Moore?"

I'm Alex Moore, writer of young adult fantasy novels. I've been exploring the idea of expanding the world I've written about in The Chillwane Chronicles to incorporate more adult themes. Ultimately, I intend to write a novel of high fantasy based in the same world.

I'll be using the month of August to work on the world of Renaciman. More as thoughts unfold.