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Greetings from your Shameless Saturday Coordinators, Ellen Oh and Stirling Bennett and welcome to the first edition of absolute, wanton, shameless self-promotion on behalf of the members of the EI community!
As you all know from Dawn's wonderful interview with fellow EI member Ellen Jensen Abbott, Ellen's novel Watersmeet has just been released and we are all excited about it. So excited that we would like to share with you some of the reviews it has been receiving from around the blogosphere:
From Cynthia Leitich Smith: "This fast-paced journey to the self is gorgeously written, set in a violent and diverse fantasy world, and filled with prejudice and hope."
http://whatarewritersreading.blogspot.co
From Shelf Elf: "Ellen Jensen Abbott's story is a satisfying, well-crafted fantasy yarn….About a chapter in, I was thinking, "Oh good, this is exactly what I was hoping for." Perhaps it's the way that Ellen has so convincingly drawn for the reader the societies she has imagined. Vranille is a miserable place, and you know it from the start. Watersmeet is full of magic and wonder. There is always enough attention to setting and environment to allow you to be right there with Abisina as she moves from one new experience to the next. In addition, Ellen makes clear the social and cultural differences among the various creatures and communities, from their different rituals to their unique types of music and stories and legends. This differentiation helped to make the whole reading experience that much richer, and made Watersmeet feel all the more exotic and real."
http://shelfelf.wordpress.com/?s=watersm
From Charlotte's Library: "Watersmeet…is a page-turner. For those who like Hard Data, I offer this--I read the first 120 pages in a toxic, noisy environment-- my son's 45 minute swim lesson (I hate the smell of chlorine), and I was so engrossed that I completely abandoned my habitual practice of checking every few minutes to see if he was drowning (he wasn't)….[T]he author makes her main character someone to care about and respect…I was, at first, a tad doubtful about the mythological creatures, but was pleased to find them interesting and varied--they avoid being cliches.…I would be happy to read more books set in her world."
http://charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com/20
For more information, please visit Ellen at her website: http://www.ellenjensenabbott.com
Next up is the ever gracious, and wonderfully talented Marissa Doyle, who has just shared with us the fantastic news that Bewitching Season has sold to Japanese publisher Shogakukon, as part of a line of fantasy books for girls which will also include stories by Tamora Pierce, Tanith Lee, Patricia McKillip, and Nancy Springer.
And some exciting news from EI member Cindy Pon whose debut novel, Silver Phoenix: Beyond the Kingdom of Xia, is releasing on April 28th, 2009. Cindy has just received a starred review from ALA's booklist that we are absolutely delighted to share here on EI.
“If the cover image of a fearless Chinese heroine reminds readers of such films as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, that’s intentional; the story inside will, too. First-time novelist Pon has a screenwriter’s talent for producing a sweeping saga, and in this, the first of two books set in ancient China, 17-year-old Ai Ling faces demons, monsters, and gods as she tries to fulfill her destiny. Frightened after a local man tries to blackmail her into marriage, Ai Ling resolves to journey to the emperor’s palace where her missing father was last seen. Along the way, she meets the handsome Chen Yong, who is of mixed parentage and on a quest to find answers to questions about his family that have haunted him his whole life. (In the story’s prologue, readers get hints about his origins.) As in most martial-arts movies, the story sometimes takes a back seat to the action, but Pon doesn’t stint when it comes to her characters. Ai Ling is a clever and determined heroine, Chen’s younger brother is a witty teen whose girl-crazy ways transcend the centuries, and even the monsters have dimension. Pon’s writing, both fluid and exhilarating, shines whether she’s describing a dinner delicacy or what it feels like to stab an evil spirit in the gut. There’s a bit of sex here, including a near rape, but it’s all integral to a saga that spins and slashes as its heroine tries to find her way home.”
— Ilene Cooper, ALA's Booklist, starred review
We may be shameless, but we are definitely really proud of our amazing members. So please stay tuned for another edition of shamelessness next week - same shameless day, same shameless hour!
As you all know from Dawn's wonderful interview with fellow EI member Ellen Jensen Abbott, Ellen's novel Watersmeet has just been released and we are all excited about it. So excited that we would like to share with you some of the reviews it has been receiving from around the blogosphere:
From Cynthia Leitich Smith: "This fast-paced journey to the self is gorgeously written, set in a violent and diverse fantasy world, and filled with prejudice and hope."
http://whatarewritersreading.blogspot.co
From Shelf Elf: "Ellen Jensen Abbott's story is a satisfying, well-crafted fantasy yarn….About a chapter in, I was thinking, "Oh good, this is exactly what I was hoping for." Perhaps it's the way that Ellen has so convincingly drawn for the reader the societies she has imagined. Vranille is a miserable place, and you know it from the start. Watersmeet is full of magic and wonder. There is always enough attention to setting and environment to allow you to be right there with Abisina as she moves from one new experience to the next. In addition, Ellen makes clear the social and cultural differences among the various creatures and communities, from their different rituals to their unique types of music and stories and legends. This differentiation helped to make the whole reading experience that much richer, and made Watersmeet feel all the more exotic and real."
http://shelfelf.wordpress.com/?s=watersm
From Charlotte's Library: "Watersmeet…is a page-turner. For those who like Hard Data, I offer this--I read the first 120 pages in a toxic, noisy environment-- my son's 45 minute swim lesson (I hate the smell of chlorine), and I was so engrossed that I completely abandoned my habitual practice of checking every few minutes to see if he was drowning (he wasn't)….[T]he author makes her main character someone to care about and respect…I was, at first, a tad doubtful about the mythological creatures, but was pleased to find them interesting and varied--they avoid being cliches.…I would be happy to read more books set in her world."
http://charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com/20
For more information, please visit Ellen at her website: http://www.ellenjensenabbott.com
Next up is the ever gracious, and wonderfully talented Marissa Doyle, who has just shared with us the fantastic news that Bewitching Season has sold to Japanese publisher Shogakukon, as part of a line of fantasy books for girls which will also include stories by Tamora Pierce, Tanith Lee, Patricia McKillip, and Nancy Springer.
And some exciting news from EI member Cindy Pon whose debut novel, Silver Phoenix: Beyond the Kingdom of Xia, is releasing on April 28th, 2009. Cindy has just received a starred review from ALA's booklist that we are absolutely delighted to share here on EI.
“If the cover image of a fearless Chinese heroine reminds readers of such films as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, that’s intentional; the story inside will, too. First-time novelist Pon has a screenwriter’s talent for producing a sweeping saga, and in this, the first of two books set in ancient China, 17-year-old Ai Ling faces demons, monsters, and gods as she tries to fulfill her destiny. Frightened after a local man tries to blackmail her into marriage, Ai Ling resolves to journey to the emperor’s palace where her missing father was last seen. Along the way, she meets the handsome Chen Yong, who is of mixed parentage and on a quest to find answers to questions about his family that have haunted him his whole life. (In the story’s prologue, readers get hints about his origins.) As in most martial-arts movies, the story sometimes takes a back seat to the action, but Pon doesn’t stint when it comes to her characters. Ai Ling is a clever and determined heroine, Chen’s younger brother is a witty teen whose girl-crazy ways transcend the centuries, and even the monsters have dimension. Pon’s writing, both fluid and exhilarating, shines whether she’s describing a dinner delicacy or what it feels like to stab an evil spirit in the gut. There’s a bit of sex here, including a near rape, but it’s all integral to a saga that spins and slashes as its heroine tries to find her way home.”
— Ilene Cooper, ALA's Booklist, starred review
We may be shameless, but we are definitely really proud of our amazing members. So please stay tuned for another edition of shamelessness next week - same shameless day, same shameless hour!
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