Happy September! *~*Monday Wishlist*~*

It’s September! Which means new school term, new beginnings, new projects, and hopefully a fresh batch of inspiration!

First of all to keep my energy up and my engine running, I’ll be working out with this lady (though she doesn’t typically appear in cartoon form). This is Cassey Ho from blogilates.com. I find that I do my best work after a good work out. That’s my September resolution – to keep that up. It’s a good source of adrenaline for people like me who often find themselves retreating into sloth mode. Let’s see if I can keep to it!

So far this September I have 2 Academic Articles to write for peer-reviewed journals and one chapter of a dissertation (ewww). On the writing front, the second draft of my exciting new project is already in to my agent. Just awaiting the go ahead and then hopefully we can hop on the sub-train again.

What’s this exciting new project about, you ask? Well, it’s top secret so far, but let’s just say it’s a YA fantasy, and if you’re a nerdy girl otaku like me, you’ll love it.

lol sorry for the tiny tiny picture XD click it 4 a better view of the screen

For now I want to get to a new feature I hope I can keep doing every Monday: My Monday Wishlist!

The wishlist is exactly that – stuff I want. Now, even though I’m writing about a book today, that doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll only be featuring lit. There are a LOT of things that I want. I want awesome books. I want cupcakes. I want Lost to be rewritten so that it has a satisfying conclusion (hee don’t act like you don’t). Stuff like that. So let’s see who’s featured on today’s entry!

*~*Monday Wishlist*~*

Marie Lu’s new YA Fantasy: The Young Elites

I cannot tell you how excited I am to read this. Marie Lu’s Legend series was an example of how to do an awesome blockbuster dystopian novel right and the sound of this fantasy series just sounds so absolutely bad ass.

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.
Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

 

I heard it being described as an X-Men meets Game of Thrones which is just totally awesome. Plus, the character art for this series is just phenomenal. Take a look at her heroine, Adelina:

You totally get that X-Men, anime, Final Fantasy feel, which is exactly what this fangirl could ever want in a YA novel. To be honest, I grew up loving high fantasy, anime, j-rpgs. Feather Bound for me is actually a departure from what I usually write, being a shorter YA magical realism that takes fairy tales and explores them in a modern context. What I’ve always wanted to write are the kind of stuff that I geeked out over as a kid. Marie Lu seems to be on the same wavelength with The Young Elites – I cannot wait to read it!

I’m hoping that I can get there too with my next project, which I’ll call D/S for now. It’s got that same high concept, otaku, j-rpg fantasy feel, even though the high fantasy doesn’t take place in a secondary fantasy world, if you get what I’m saying. Once I get on sub, I figure I’ll finally get my pinterest page up so you all can get a better feel for what it’s about. But stuff like The Young Elites just really inspires me to keep going with my nerdy writing dreams 😀

For us pleibs who were unable to score an advanced copy of The Young Elites, the book releases on October 7th 2014 by Putnam Juvenile. Add it on Goodreads!

Until next Monday!

</fangirling> (let’s be real though the fangirling never ends)