Book review: In the Shadow of the Lamp by Susanne Dunlap

In the Shadow of the Lamp by Susanne Dunlap (Published by Bloomsbury, April 12, 2011)

When sixteen-year-old Molly Fraser loses her job as a maid in 1854 London due to being falsely accused of stealing from her employers, she doesn't know what to do. She will not be able to find another job as a maid without a reference, and she is desperate to avoid working in a factory. Then she learns that Florence Nightingale in looking for nurses to care for the soldiers injured fighting in the Crimean War. When she is rejected due to her lack of experience as a nurse, Molly decides that she will not give up, and decides to sneak onto the ship in hopes she will be given a chance instead of being sent back home.

Molly is not quite prepared for the reality of war when they arrive in Turkey. She is saddened and horrified by the conditions there and the terrible injuries of the soldiers, but she soon finds she has a natural talent for nursing. She also finds her heart torn between two men - the handsome and exciting Dr. Maclean, a young doctor at the hospital, and kind, dependable Will, who worked with Molly in London, helped her when she lost her job, and who has joined the army to be near her. Molly is confused by her feelings and must decide which of the two men she loves while caring for the wounded soldiers and hoping and praying that no harm comes to Will.

In the Shadow of the Lamp is a novel sure to be enjoyed by readers who love history and romance. The historical setting is unique and well-written and brings the setting of the Crimean War to life. The main character of Molly was very believable and likeable, I found myself turning the pages eager to find out what would happen to her next. I would highly recommend this book to readers who enjoyed Susanne Dunlap's previous novels or who enjoy young adult historical romance.

Interview with Christopher Golden & Tim Lebbon, authors of The Secrets Journeys of Jack London

Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon are the authors of the new historical paranormal series The Secret Journeys of Jack London. Book one, The Wild, is one sale now. To learn more about The Secret Journeys of Jack London: The Wild, you can view the electronic press kit, and there are links to the other stops for the blog tour here.

How did you get the idea to do a historical paranormal series about the young Jack London? It's quite an unusual concept next to all the modern paranormal YA books out there.

CG: When writers spend time hanging around other writers, crazy ideas come up all the time, and some of them solidify, but rarely do them come together as perfectly as this one. Tim and I were at World Horror Convention in Toronto, out having Thai food and drinks with about a dozen other people. He can tell you where it sprang from (that's his story to tell), but the conversation came around to "vampire polar bears," and I perked up immediately. I insisted that we had to write that, and somehow the two of us decided that it had to be the "true" story of Jack London's adventures in the frozen north. Pretty soon, we had a trilogy of books in mind. I should note that there are no vampire polar bears in the first two books...but we'll get to them. In any case, we walked out of that dinner having made a deal with a publisher who happened to be sitting at the table with us, but his business partner didn't like the terms of the deal, so we had to find another home for it...and the end result is one of the most beautiful books I've ever been involved in.

TL: From little seeds... Chris and I first met up when he asked me to write a short story or his Hellboy anthology Odder Jobs. Soon after that he commissioned an original Hellboy novel from me, Unnatural Selection, for Simon & Schuster. Then, when an editor at S&S was looking for someone to novelise the 30 Days of Night movie, my name came up. Now, back to the meal in this Thai restaurant in Toronto. Plates were being scraped, extra bottles of wine ordered. Chats stretched back and forth across the table, and someone (I can't remember who), asked me if I'd added any significant scenes to the 30 Days of Night novelisation. I told them about the one large scene I'd added which I think would have looked incredible in the movie––when a Polar bear wanders into Barrow, and the vampires stalking the town 'play' with it, like a cat plays with a mouse, before slaughtering it. "So did they kill it?" I was asked. "I guess so," I said. "Otherwise ... vampire Polar bears." And from Chris across the table I heard, "You know what? We can totally do that!" And I said, "Yeah, vampire Polar bears in Alaska, stalking Jack London." The seed was planted.

What kind of research did you do for the historical setting? Are most of the supernatural elements invented by you or did you base them on mythology or legends?

CG: We did a lot of research about Jack London's life and work, as well as about the Yukon territory during that time period. It's fascinating stuff, full of desperation and hope in equal measure. The supernatural elements are variations on existing legends. We took the parts we liked and crafted them into something we hope is unique.

TL: I found the research hugely enjoyable. We had to re-read The Call of the Wild first, of course, and I hadn't read that book since my teens. Still a stunning piece of work. Then we read a couple of Jack London biographies, and I also read some of his short stories and autobiographical work. Researching the period and place was also a lot of fun, and a little traumatic at times. Those were harsh times, and it's incredible learning what trials Jack London went through on his search for gold. And, of course, his search for adventure that would drive him all through his tragically short life. I discovered my favourite quote whilst researching Jack, and we used it in the front of the book: "The function of man is to live, not to exist". You tend to see the same idea quoted all over the place now as, "One life. Live it." But I prefer Jack's ...

What was the process of co-writing the book like? (this is something I've always been interested in learning more about when I read a book by multiple authors!)

CG: Tim and I tend to work differently from my other collaborative experiences. We start with an outline, of course, and we do trade off chapters, each writing one and then sending it off for the other to edit. Then the other author writes the next chapter and so on. But Tim and I also usually write a chapter and then get on the phone and discuss in detail what should come next, not relying on the outline so heavily.

TL: It's a really organic process, as Chris intimated. And while the actual sitting down writing bit is done on our own, we're in almost constant contact about the book, talking most days and making sure we're both on the same page about where we're going. The outline's always there, but we've found that once we start a novel we rarely look at the outline again. The novel takes over and steers itself as we discover more about the story. We're about to start our seventh book together, and it's a very satisfying partnership. Although I do all the hard work, of course.

Do you have plans for more books in the series and if so can you give us any hints about them?

CG: We've already written the second book, THE SECRET JOURNEYS OF JACK LONDON: THE SEA WOLVES, which will be out in 2012. We're just beginning work on the third in the trilogy.

TL: ... which will be called WHITE FANGS. And which will feature those creatures mentioned above.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
TL: Only that we hope you enjoy the book, and keep your eyes on cinema schedules! Fox own the rights, and Chris and I have already delivered our screenplay.

In My Mailbox - 3/5/11

Credit goes to The Story Siren for creating and hosting the In My Mailbox feature.

Here are the new books I got this week:

For review:

Spells by Aprilynne Pike

Laurel’s world is rocked on the first day of her senior year when she spots Tamani—the faerie sentry with whom she shares an electrifying connection—posing as a transfer student. Before she can deal with the repercussions this will have on her relationship with her human boyfriend, David, Laurel meets new student Yuki—who turns out to also be a faerie.
Eager to distract herself from the brewing rivalry between David and Tamani, Laurel focuses her attention on figuring out how a “wild” faerie like Yuki could exist outside of Avalon. Laurel is soon forced to confront a danger darker than anything she’s ever imagined—and this time she may not have Tamani or David by her side.
Illusions is poised to delight and amaze readers with heart-pounding suspense, breathtaking romance, and a cliff-hanger ending that will leave them desperate for the fourth and final novel in the series.


Abandon by Meg Cabot

New from #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot, a dark, fantastical story about this world . . . and the underworld.
When Pierce first sees him, she thinks he is a murderer. She's right about one thing -- he does take lives. But not in the way she ever imagined. Pierce is drawn to the dark stranger even as she tries to uncover the mystery surrounding the tragic death of someone close to her. As she gets closer to the truth -- and the stranger -- unexpected secrets are revealed, even in her own heart.


Bought:

My Royal Story: Henry VIII's Wives by Alison Prince

On her 10th birthday in 1536 Beatrice meets the King and his new queen, Jane Seymour, at Greenwich Palace. That same day, her friends Eva and Elinor entrust her with their old diaries. Reading these, she comes to understand the lives of two earlier queens, Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, as she enters the service of not just one of Henry's queens, but three.

Waiting on Wednesday: Fateful by Claudia Gray

Fateful by Claudia Gray (Published by HarperTeen, September 13, 2011)

Readers who loved Claudia Gray’s New York Times bestselling Evernight series will be captivated by this latest tale, filled with her trademark blend of paranormal adventure, dark suspense, and alluring romance.
In Fateful, eighteen-year-old maid Tess Davies is determined to escape the wealthy, overbearing family she works for. Once the ship they’re sailing on reaches the United States, she’ll strike out on her own. Then she meets Alec, a handsome first-class passenger who captivates her instantly. But Alec has secrets....
Soon Tess will learn just how dark Alec’s past truly is. The danger they face is no ordinary enemy: werewolves are real and they’re stalking him—and now Tess, too. Her growing love for Alec will put Tess in mortal peril, and fate will do the same before their journey on the Titanic is over.
Featuring the opulent backdrop of the Titanic, Fateful’s publication is poised to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the ship’s doomed maiden voyage. It is sure to be a hit among Titanic buffs and fans of paranormal romance alike.



I used to be obsessed with Titanic books and have been fascinated with the story of the Titanic for years, so when I heard about this book I knew I had to read it! I usually wait until there's a cover for Waiting on Wednesday but I saw the full summary was out and there was no cover yet so I decided to just post it anyway. (mostly because I'm out of books for WoW that aren't fall releases....)

Guest post from Clare B. Dunke, author of By These Ten Bones

This guest post from Clare B. Dunkle is part of the blog tour for the paperback release of her novel By These Ten Bones. I am also hosting a contest to win either By These Ten Bones or another book by Clare, The House of Dead Maids. You can enter here through March 8. Also to see photos of some of the locations from the story you can visit Clare's website. And now for the guest post!



My werewolf story, BY THESE TEN BONES, has just been released in paperback. It’s an old-fashioned girl-meets-monster love story set in medieval Scotland, and the werewolf in it follows classic folklore rules: he changes into a ruthless killing machine at each full moon. When I wrote the book back in 2004, I had just finished writing three other girl-meets-monster stories, The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy, and the heroines of those stories were classic folklore heroines. But for BY THESE TEN BONES, I wanted to write a different kind of female lead.

Picture the typical folklore-based fantasy heroine. What do you see? She’s missing at least one parent, if not two. The family she lives with mistreats her and may even try to kill her; if not, that’s a sign that they’re probably about to die. She’s homeless and in want or else living in the home of strangers, and if she’s working as a servant, it’s probably work beneath her social class. Also, we can lay pretty good odds that she’ll make a critical journey into unfamiliar surroundings before the story is through.

We writers of folklore-based fantasy have a very good reason for creating this kind of heroine: the folklore did it first. Think of a favorite folktale or two in which a female is the focus of the story, and you’ll find that they come pretty close to the heroine you pictured above. Cinderella is motherless, in want, and living as a servant. Cap o’Rushes, my favorite Cinderella-style heroine, is homeless because her father threw her out. Snow White has had to flee into the woods to escape a wicked stepmother, and she’s living with the strangest of little strangers. The bride of the Black Bull of Norroway has to wander far from home and serve a stranger for seven years, and the heroine of the Seven Swans story has the worst setup of them all: she’s motherless, saddled with an evil stepmother, estranged from her brothers, in want, living among strangers, and forced to be mute.

This formula works well both in folklore and in fiction because it’s when the traditional family unit breaks down that adventures can happen. No one would set out to find his or her fortune if everything were fine at home. But I wanted to do something different with Maddie, the heroine of BY THESE TEN BONES, so Maddie lives in a happy home, and both her parents manage to remain alive, loving, and supportive throughout the story. She isn’t in want, either; she considers herself well off. She’s comfortable in her surroundings and her society and knows the laws of both; the locals know her, like her, and accept her. And as for the journey, Maddie doesn’t go further than an hour’s walk from home during the entire course of the book.

Even more unusual for the fantasy genre is Maddie’s personality. She has no great dreams, she has no astounding talents, and she isn’t full of angst or bitterness. I’ll be the first to admit that angry protagonists are easier and more enjoyable to write because they seem to have more depth and come to life more vividly. But I reveled in Maddie’s sheer normality when I wrote her: she doesn’t have an enemy in the world and sees no reason to make one. Her peaceful relationship with her parents was actually rather tricky to write because good relationships don’t provide an author with exciting episodes to record, and the characters involved can easily come off as saccharine. But again, I enjoyed the chance to create good parents for one of my heroines. We fantasy writers don’t always get to do that.

It’s the male in my story who has all the bad luck. Paul, the young woodcarver Maddie falls in love with, comes into the story on one of those long, unhappy journeys that fantasy characters so often take. He’s the one who’s friendless and in want. Maddie is the character who’s holding all the cards and gets the opportunity to determine the story’s outcome.

I have to admit that this book is a favorite of mine because of Maddie’s cheerful, optimistic nature. Maybe she lacks the sheer drama of a haunted, hunted princess on the run, but in her own way, she’s even more remarkable. Maddie is a normal girl from a normal home, with a set of normal parents. In this genre, that’s the most unusual thing a heroine can be.

Book review: Deadly by Julie Chibaro

Deadly by Julie Chibaro (Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, February 22, 2011)

Prudence Galewski is nothing like the average sixteen-year-old girl living in New York City in 1906. Unlike most of her classmates Mrs. Browning's School for Girls, she's not interested in learning to be a housewife or to find a job that is proper for a young lady. Instead, Prudence is interested in learning about the human body and illness. So when she is offered a job at the Department of Health and Sanitation, Prudence eagerly accepts and leaves school to begin her new job.

At her new job, Prudence works as an assistant to Mr. Soper, who is tracking cases of typhoid in the city and nearby. Prudence finds her job fascinating as she can finally learn about some of the things she has always been curious about. Eventually their search leads them to Mary Mallon, the infamous "Typhoid Mary," a healthy woman who was somehow spreading the disease.

Deadly is written in the form of Prudence's diary, so it reminded me of the Dear America series which I love, but written for slightly older readers. Prudence was a very determined and likable character. In a time when women were beginning to gain more rights and job opportunities, Prudence was determined not to be an average young woman with an ordinary life, but to follow her interests, even though it meant working in a field where there were few women at the time. Readers who enjoy historical fiction with strong female characters are sure to enjoy Prudence's story.

Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher.

Book review: By These Ten Bones by Clare B. Dunkle

By These Ten Bones by Clare B. Dunkle (Published by Square Fish, February 15, 2011)

Maddie lives in a small town in the Scottish Highlands during the Middle Ages. It is very rare for strangers to visit the town; a couple of times a year, traveling merchants might come by with their wares. One such group of travelers includes a mysterious young man who is extremely talented at woodcarving. Maddie is immediately drawn to the stranger, and he to her. But then strange things begin to happen in the village. The young carver is attacked, and Maddie thinks she saw and heard the monster who did it. Living in a time when most people were superstitious, she readily accepts that some evil creature is responsible.

As the young man recovers in her home, he and Maddie become close. She is the only one he will really talk to. She learns his name is Paul, and she also learns the dark secret he carries. Realizing that she has fallen in love with Paul, Maddie must decide how much she is willing to giving up in order to help him without putting her town and everyone else she loves at risk.

By These Ten Bones is a very original novel compared to most werewolf romances. It was set in Medieval times when most people were still superstitious and believed in the supernatural and the forces of evil. For that reason I thought that the plot and characters were a lot more believable than in most paranormal romances that are set in modern times. This book is written more like a folk tale, and so there isn't as much character development, but the setting really came alive, it was quite spooky at times! The descriptions of the Scottish Highlands were very detailed and I was not surprised to find out the author visited there before writing this book. If you are looking for something to read that is different from the usual young adult paranormal romance, I would recommend this book.

Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher.