In preparation, I'm not only trying to hammer out a new WIP, I'm also reading books written by the awesome staff. Yesterday I read White Cat by Holly Black.
Here's the blurb from the jacket flap:
"Cassel comes from a family of curse workers — people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail — he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.
Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen."
Doesn't it sound gooooood? It was.
I knew I'd like this book when I read the acknowledgments page. Any writer who thanks someone for driving her around locked in the trunk of a car has to be intriguing. And the best part is, not only did the plot keep me turning pages, but the characters and their unique world fascinated me. I always marvel when a writer gets me to care about someone who isn't a typical hero, and there are a lot of characters I felt drawn to in this book who live on the shady side of the law.
Even more exciting is the release of Red Glove, the second book in the Curse Workers series, on April 5,2011. This means I won't have to wait very long to re-immerse myself in Holly's haunting world.
I'm excited to meet Holly at WIFYR and learn from her. Check out her books and the WIFYR conference.
6 comments:
It sounds so cool! And how awesome that you got to meet her! =D
Okay, now that's what I call true research, ha ha! I can't beleive it - riding around locked up in a trunk - on purpose. I'm going to have to read this book!
Carolyn, I haven't met her--yet. But I will in June, and I'm very excited. :)
Jonene, I know. Cool, huh? It makes me wonder about what kind of research I should be doing. Hmmmmmm.
Well, thanking someone for driving her around in a locked trunk is intriguing.
Not sure I can handle any more paranormal/extrasensory stories, at least not unless they're all good guys, with my kind of action.
You know, where the main character ponders the meaning of missing socks or something.
I envy you. This is a great time to be a writer and living in Utah.
Have fun at WIFYR and learn lots.
Cherie, a lot more happens than missing socks. You are forewarned. :)
Mark, it will be awesome. Thanks for the well wishes. :)
Post a Comment