Bookalicious // a ya book blog

October 10, 2015 by Bianca Leave a Comment

For Writers: World’s Best Story

CONTEST!
Writers Submit Your Story
Enter for a chance to join the House of Transmedia Stories Company

Hey! I have taken a very long ‘holiday’ and I apologise profusely, however, I am finally back for good!
To kick start my presence, I decided to help spread the word about World’s Best Story for all of you passionate writers, reading this.

The details are all below, but if you have any questions whatsoever, don’t hesitate to contact me via the designated ‘Contact Me’ page {original and creative, I know} and I’ll get onto it!

Ciao, for now.

What is World’s Best Story?

“This is not just a literary contest, we’re looking for stories that will be consumed in multiple media formats – from books to the big screen and beyond,” says Vincent Salera, founder of World’s Best Story. “Our goal is to revolutionise the traditional literary contest and identify a story with blockbuster appeal. We’re looking for a story that audiences will love and help authors turn that story into trans-media franchises, which is why we’re empowering readers to judge the contest.”

How does it work?

Readers will vote for stories and awarded judges will declare the final Top 10 winners.

2015 Judges: Warren Adler, Victor Malarek, Tamarra Kennelly, Brooke Burgess, Samreen Ashan, Alistair Cross, Rhonda Hayter

Timeline:

November 8th Entry Period Closes/Public Voting ends.

November 8th Top 10 Winners Announced!

November 8th to December 8th Professional Review/Voting.

December 8th Winner and Top 10 Ranking Announced!

What are the prizes?

The top 3 winners will receive a full publishing package by FriesenPress, trademark protection in the U.S. and Canada by IP agency Benoit & Cote, a virtual book tour by Laura Fabiani of iRead Book Tours as well as consulting/marketing services with book expert Anne Chaconas of BadAss Marketing. Busbud and YoDough will be providing lots of goodies for both writers and readers.

How do I submit my story?

To learn more about World’s Best Story, including how to enter, please visit World’s Best Story.

World’s Best Story : info@worldsbeststory.com

See what’s buzzing at World’s Best Story:

How to Get Readers Buzzing About Your Book: Secrets from the World of Book Blogging

Viral campaign with famous characters:

What if Oscar Wilde wrote Sex and the City? {series of posts}

What if Lady Gaga wrote Gone With the Wind? {series of posts}

The Current Top 10 Most Voted Stories

Connect
Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

ENTER TODAY!

July 14, 2015 by Bianca Leave a Comment

Book Tour: Queen of Tomorrow by Sherry D. Ficklin

Title: Queen of Tomorrow {Stolen Empire #2}

Author: Sherry D. Ficklin

Release Date: 14th of July, 2015

Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing

Pages: 280

Synopsis: Sophie—now Catherine, Grand Duchess of Russia—had a tough first year at Imperial Court. Married at sixteen to Grand Duke Peter, heir to the throne, and sett

led in their own palace, things are finally looking up. As a new day dawns, she thinks only of securing her future, and the future of their country, during one of the greatest political upheavals of her time. Fighting desperately against forces trying to depose the Empress Elizabeth and put the young Prince Ivan on her throne, Sophie soon finds herself in the middle of a war brewing between her beloved

Prussia, and her new empire. But even as she navigates the fragile polit

ical landscape, she

quickly realizes that she has only begun to discover the tangled web of dece

it and infidelity

woven over the lavish court of Oranienbaum Palace.

When a strange and delicate alliance forms between the young couple, she glimpses a future of happiness, only to see it lost in a moment at the hands of those who still seek to end her life—and prevent her reign. Out of favor with the empress and running out of options, Sophie will have to sacrifice her own innocence on the altar of Russia if she is to save the nation, and herself. To survive, she will have to do the unthinkable, betray those closest to her and become something greater and more dangerous than she ever imagined she could be… a queen.

Add to Goodreads

Purchase

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo Books

Book One:

Queen of Someday (Stolen Empire #1) Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Sherry D. Ficklin is a full time writer from Colorado where she lives with her husband, four kids, two dogs, and a fluctuating number of chickens and house guests. A former military brat, she loves to travel and meet new people. She can often be found browsing her local bookstore with a large white hot chocolate in one hand and a towering stack of books in the other. That is, unless she’s on deadline at which time she, like the Loch Ness monster, is only seen in blurry photographs.

She is the author of several YA novels and in her spare time she co-hosts Curvy Writer Radio.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

Thanks for reading! 😀

July 14, 2015 by Bianca Leave a Comment

Top Ten Tuesday: Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession {2}

This week, for Top Ten Tuesday, I am participating in The Broke and the Bookish‘s book blogging meme {yeah, the one that won an award in the 2011 BBAW awards!}.

The theme of this week’s T10T is “Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession {bought, borrowed or gifted}”.

My memory is not great, so these titles are in no particular order…

[Read more…]

July 10, 2015 by Bianca 2 Comments

Review: We are Watching by M. Stephen Stewart

WeAreWatching Title: We Are Watching

Series: Mindshare
Book Number: #1
Author/s: M. Stephen Stewart

Publication Date: December 16th, 2014
Publisher: Primrose Publishing LLC

Pages: 404

Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis:Henry Malone’s childhood was shattered by the unexplained suicide of his father. Now a teenager, his days are spent studying to become a Neural Implant Technician for Planetary Link Corporation, helping them maintain an iron grip over his walled country and every iota of knowledge contained within—but he leads a double life. Henry’s nights are spent helping his mother wage a cyber war against them in her quest to find the truth behind his father’s death.

He’s managed to keep his two lives separate, a delicate balance that’s endangered after he repairs the neural implant of a stranger. He finds she’s in possession of illegal memories from the outside world, unauthorized knowledge of his father, and a message: speak to me later and tell no one. Henry has a choice to make—ignore the message and maintain his double-life, or answer and risk everything to uncover secrets Planetary Link would kill to keep buried.

[Read more…]

May 14, 2015 by Bianca Leave a Comment

Review: Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Unravel Me

Series: The Juliette Chronicles
Book Number: #2
Author/s: Tahereh Mafi

Publication Date: February 5th, 2013
Publisher: Harper Collins

Pages: 461

Purchase: Amazon | iBooks | Booktopia | The Book Depository

Synopsis:

tick
tick
tick
tick
tick
it’s almost
time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She’s finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam’s life.

Shatter Me introduced readers to Juliette, a strong girl with some serious psychological issues – no thanks to her parents and the civilians of Sector 45, who were programmed to hate her. Juliette had grown up, not knowing what it’s like to love or be loved, yet she still treated every single person with respect.

We also meet her saviour, Adam, who becomes her love interest, and her ‘enemy’, Warner, the commander of the Sector in which these books take place.

Unravel Me explored these characters further. It explained that not everything goes as planned and you come to realise that people’s intentions are most definitely not what they seem from a broader perspective. Tahereh Mafi’s knowledge of how humans work is clearly shown throughout Unravel Me, and I definitely think that this is an important aspect of writing a fabulous book.

“Books are easily destroyed. But words will live as long as people can remember them.”

I have read a lot of reviews of Shatter Me and Unravel Me, which state that they thought that Juliette, being the strong character that she is, should have been less reliant on Adam, and the other characters, however, if an average human being – I don’t mean to say that Juliette is one, – had been treated like an animal for their entire life, had been forced to believe that they were not worth anything and actually believed half of the insults that were thrown her way, I don’t think that that person would have the psychological capabilities of busting out of a cell and starting a revolution.

Tahereh Mafi definitely had a talent in creating characters, but I would have enjoyed Unravel Me if more happened. Unfortunately, for me, Unravel Me was like the Mockingjay of the Juliette Chronicles – meaningful but downright boring. Despite saying this, I was fascinated by the chemistry between Juliette + Adam and Juliette + Warner changing.

Overall, Unravel Me was a heart-shattering book (I intend to laugh at my pun, straight after I finish crying over fictional characters) and I would most definitely recommend it to people who’ve read Shatter Me.

😉 No, but seriously, if you enjoyed Branded, Delirium, The Hunger Games, Divergent and/or the Hush, Hush saga, I can almost guarantee that you will adore the Juliette Chronicles, as well.