The Chicken and Frog is ZA Ready!

Yesterday I had a great time at the incredible Chicken and Frog children's bookshop in Brentwood.

I've been looking forward to this event for months, so typically, I had a stinking cold! Of course. I never get ill, which made it even more annoying!

The silver lining to that though - isn't there one for everything? - was that the nerves I would normally feel before speaking in front of an audience didn't show up. And that was fine by me! I talked about my journey as a writer and why ZA's so special to me, a subject that if written down, would fill far too many pages!

Of course, I came dressed as a ZA survivor.

James, my incredibly talented fiancé, carved me some amazing pumpkins which will be displayed proudly in our window tonight. He never ceases to amaze me. Anything can become art when he's around.

I had an awesome time meeting and chatting with fellow zombie lovers. Thank you to everyone who came to listen to me! I really appreciate it! And a massive thank you to the Chicken and Frog for having me!

Also, while we're in the Halloween mood, you can check out the zombie blog I wrote for Movellas!

Happy Halloween!

Molly Looby

Author / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk

Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo

ZA Goodreads Giveaway!

Exciting news! You can win a signed copy of ZA on Goodreads! The giveaway is running until 12th November in celebration of both Halloween and the start of NaNoWriMo!

                          TO ENTER GO HERE!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

ZA

by Molly Looby

Giveaway ends November 12, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Good luck, survivors!


Molly Looby

Author / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk

Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo

The Owl Service - Alan Garner

I've had The Owl Service on my bookshelf for a long time. My writers' group told me to read it years ago. This is no exaggeration. I think it's been on my shelf for almost four years. So on a bookless free Saturday, I decided to pick it up.

The first issue I had with this book was its age. I rarely read books that are over ten years old, and this one's almost 50 years old. I didn't think this would matter, but even in the first chapter it felt very strange as it's so old-fashioned and dated. The dialogue especially suffered from this. I'm fairly certain children don't speak this way to one another in the 21st Century. By the end of chapter one, I wondered what I'd got myself in for as I struggled onwards.

The characters were bi-polar a lot of the time. One minute they'd be happy chatting to each other, and then they'd be arguing or fighting and hating each other. A lot of the time none of the characters liked each other at all, and I found it very strange. I could hardly keep up with their emotions they changed so fast. I also didn't feel like I got to know them very well. I wanted to know their fears and hopes and dreams, and I felt I only got a little snippet of that.

As for the plot, I'm not sure what was going on a lot of the time. I followed it, sure, but nothing seemed to happen.

It might be because this is aimed at younger readers than I'm used to, but this felt more like a short story than a novel. It seemed to end quickly, and I was left wondering what I was supposed to have taken away.

I'm not sure if I totally followed it. It's very bizarre and strange. I put it down thinking, what did I just read? I wasn't really sure what to think. I didn't particularly enjoy it or know what to say.

Just a very, very bizarre, old-fashioned book.

The Owl Service may have been great once, but today it's strange and old-fashioned.



Molly Looby

Author / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk

Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo

Book Reviews: July-September

Here's another collection of my book reviews. These reviews are from July to September. Maybe I'm writing too many reviews again. Oh well. Don't worry, there will be many a NaNo blog post coming soon. In the mean time, enjoy :)



No Plus One - Steph Young and Jill Dickman 7/10 (Fangs, Claws, and Wings)

The Art of Being Normal - Lisa Williamson 5/5 (Movellas)

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - J.K Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany 9/10 (Fangs, Claws, and Wings)

My Heart and Other Black Holes - Jasmine Warga 4/5 (Movellas)

Follow Me Down - Tanya Byrne  4/5 (Movellas)

All the Bright Places - Jennifer Niven 4/5 (Movellas)

The Revenge of Seven - Pittacus Lore 7/10 (Fangs, Claws, and Wings)

The Infinite Sea - Rick Yancey 10/10 (Fangs, Claws, and Wings)

Phage - Mark Tamplin 7/10 (Fangs, Claws, and Wings)

The Last Star - Rick Yancey 10/10 (Fangs, Claws, and Wings)

Molly Looby

Author / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk


Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo