I know I have not updated my blog for a very long time now. I have been really busy and caught up with everything that has taken place over the last probably two months. First, I had a major examination so reading anything out of the syllabus was a big no- no. Then, my book blog was hacked. I needed some time to fix it. After that, the drama got bigger – my grand fell and got himself hurt, I was stranded in Bandung Indonesia for a few days due to Mount Merapi’s eruption which caused lots of flights to be cancelled and putting together the newspaper issue which I was supposed to head. That’s lots of work for a fifteen year old. I must say, I am really tired after all of it. Imagine my utter delight, when the school holiday started two days ago.
Today, I am going to share with you my thoughts on the book Sleepless by Cyn Balog, give you insiders knowledge on behind the scenes with an interview with Cyn Balog herself, and of course, a giveaway ! I have autographed bookmarks from the lovely Cyn Balog to share with you! (The bookmarks giveaway is in the following post! So stay tuned! )
Here’s the review and the interview. Bon appetite!
Review on Sleepless
I was sleepless for two entire nights as I read page by page of this book. I must say this is one of those books that keeps a person wide awake until they finish reading it. Even then, some might want to re-read again if you are those who read books over and over again. But for a person like me who rarely read a book twice unless it is my school text-book, I am happy to be done, move on, get some sleep and then write this review!
The story kick starts with Julia saying goodbye to Griffin, her annoying boyfriend. Little does she knows it will be the last time she sees him alive. When the newspaper calls her for a quote on Griffin, she thinks it was one of his silly pranks. It is only when she attends his funeral she realizes his dead. Griffin has died in a freak car accident.
Bret is after Julia. He is Griffin’s best friend. Now that he is dead, Bret thinks he is free to show his true feelings towards Julia. But is Julia comfortable with his overboard advancements?
Eron is a sandman. Julia is his charge. He is responsible to seduce her to sleep each night. However, Eron seems to sense something amiss with Julia. After saving Julia’s life when she was a child, he knows he should not interfere again especially when his chance of finally becoming a human is again is so close. But Julia is in danger… Maybe Eron’s feeling for Julia runs deeper than a sandman’s after all. Will he risk everything again for her?
This book is definitely a page turner with suspense in almost every chapter. The story was so intricately woven that the action of each of the character affected the others. I was at the edge of my seat wanting to know what happens next…
Interview with author of Sleepless, Cyn Balog
1. Describe the live of a YA author in five words.
2. What was the inspiration behind Fairytale?
I was just tired of seeing girls finding out they were fairy princesses. I thought it would be much more interesting to see a macho guy learn that HE was the fairy.
3. What would be your first reaction if you ever found out that you are a fairy swapped as a baby and left in the human world ?
No wonder I'm so weird compared to everyone else!
4. Which was your favorite scene to write in Sleepless ?
Probably the scene at the end of the book, where Julia is realizing that Eron is not from the same time period that she's from. She offers him Oreos and Cheese-its and gets a blank stare. I really loved putting Eron, a Sandman who died in 1910, up against the modern world!
5. Which was the hardest character to build and grow in your books ?
I think it was probably Morgan from FAIRY TALE. She has a psychic power, and I was tired of all the books out there portraying people with psychic powers as outcasts. I knew that if anyone in MY high school had been a psychic, they'd be the most popular girl in school because everyone would want to find out their fortune! Because she has this power and has been hounded by the school constantly, she's jaded and really snarky and self-centered. But deep down, she's not very confident because she realizes that without her power, she's nothing. So whenever you make anyone sarcastic you run the risk of certain people not liking them. And so I really tried to make it so that Morgan softened a lot and learned to put others before her.
6. If you could be a character in any fictitious book, who would you be and why ?
Oooh can I be Bella? I would like to have two really hot guys fighting over me. And then eventually become a really hot vampire myself.
7. Do you have any advice for budding authors out there ?
Everyone told me it was impossible to get published. It's far from impossible. In fact I think it is probable, as long as you don't give up. Keep reading, keep taking the advice of those who have come before you, and don't let rejection or fear stop you.
8. If you could deem your life as a fairytale, how would you describe it ?
I really don't care what comes before, just as long as I get to the Happily Ever After part.
9. Will you be publishing any books soon ? Are you currently working on any novels? What are the publishing plans like ?
Yes, I have two more paranormal romance novels coming up, STARSTRUCK in 2011 and LIVING BACKWARDS (tentative title) in 2012. I've already sent in a proposal for my next book after that to my editor and I'm hoping it gets picked up for 2013. I am obviously on a yearly plan with my paranormal romances. I also have a dystopian novel I'm shaping up and a few more ideas I'm fleshing out.
10. Do you have anything to shout out to your fans and readers ?
Thank you for reading ! I hope you enjoyed them as much as I had fun putting them together. And if you were wondering about the autographed bookmarks, fear not, I did not forget about them ! I will post the giveaway for the bookmarks together with a massive year end giveaway soon ! So keep checking my blog for updates on that one. I think you would definitely want more autographed swags from your favourite YA authors so I think it will be worth the wait. For now, let me catch some sleep...
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