Introducing Julia Ember Author of 'Unicorn Tracks'

Unicorn Tracks

Author: JULIA EMBER

Publisher:  HARMONY INK PRESS
Genre:  YA FANTASY ROMANCE

Release Date:  21 APRIL 2016

Age Category:  14+

Pages: 187

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-63476-878-8

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63476-879-5
Goodreads / Pre-Order Here

After a savage attack drives her from her home, sixteen-year-old Mnemba finds a place in her cousin Tumelo’s successful safari business, where she quickly excels as a guide. Surrounding herself with nature and the mystical animals inhabiting the savannah not only allows Mnemba’s tracking skills to shine, it helps her to hide from the terrible memories that haunt her. Mnemba is employed to guide Mr. Harving and his daughter, Kara, through the wilderness as they study Unicorns. The young women are drawn to each other, despite that fact that Kara is betrothed. During their research, they discover a conspiracy by a group of poachers to capture the Unicorns and exploit their supernatural strength to build a railway. Together, they must find a way to protect the creatures Kara adores while resisting the love they know they can never indulge.

As a member of the SST, I am honored to have the author of Unicorn Tracks here at my blog. I'll be interviewing her today with some really random questions! Please enjoy!

What troubles did you experience while writing this book?
Of my manuscripts, I would say that Unicorn Tracks was one of the easiest to write. I was between jobs when I started it, so I had a lot of free time that I would kill for now! That being said, I’d just trunked a manuscript that I hadn’t been able to sell. So, I was feeling quite a lot of self-doubt while I wrote Unicorn Tracks … questioning whether I could do it, whether or not I had any business trying to write a novel. Self-doubt can really undermine your ability to just tell the story because you constantly second guess your decisions and word choices.

When and why did you decide to make your characters part of the LGBT+ community?

I am a bisexual author and I live with my female partner! Strangely, though, before I wrote Unicorn Tracks, I’d never tried to write a f/f romance before. Once I started, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world and I don’t know why I didn’t do it before.

What is your favorite country/city?
Oh wow, that’s really hard! I’ve been lucky to travel a lot in my quite short life.  The places I’ve lived: Chicago, London, Edinburgh, will of course always be particularly special, but further afield I have amazing memories of Kenya, Tanzania, Bhutan, China … all the places I’ve visited have been special in their own way!

How has traveling affected your writing?
Traveling has definitely affected my writing. I was joking with one of my critique partners recently that I can’t start a new manuscript until I go on a trip and there is some truth to that. Unicorn Tracks was heavily inspired by my travels in East Africa. The series I have contracted to start next year was inspired by my trip to Bhutan and Myanmar. There is something inspiring about being immersed in a totally different world, even for a few short weeks.

If you could travel to any fictional world, which world would that be?

Well, Harry Potter seems like the obvious answer, but I am quite partial to it because I love London and imagining myself in Diagon Alley buying an owl. Beyond Harry, probably the world Emily Skrutskie created for THE ABYSS SURROUNDS US. I’m a huge animal fan and I love the idea of training giant genetically modified sea monsters for a living! Plus, since it’s futuristic, it doesn’t have any of those pesky medieval inconveniences like cold stone castles without bathrooms, plague etc.

If you could pick one fictional character to travel the world with, who would it be?

Definitely Fred and George Weasley (I refuse to accept Fred’s death). With the amount of traveling I’ve done, you learn that things can go wrong at any moment no matter how much planning you’ve done. When things do go badly, having a sense of humour is important. I know those two would keep the trip fun!

What is your favorite animal? And if you had said animal as a pet, what would you name it?

Horses and Cats! I have both as pets. I have two stupidly cute cats (if you follow me on Instagram you will see that ¾ of my photos are of them) called Luna and Sirius. I also have a beautiful pony that I’ve owned since I was 12 named Africa. He’s a total sweetheart.

If your main characters committed a crime, what crime would that be and why?

Well, both Mnemba and Kara are guilty of breaking and entering as well as horse theft in the book! I don’t want to give too many spoilers away!

Thanks, Julia!

About the Author:

Originally from the Windy City, Julia Ember now resides in Sunny Scotland where she learned to enjoy both haggis and black pudding. She spends her days working as a professional Book Nerd for a large book wholesaler, and her nights writing YA Romantic Fantasy novels.  She also spends an inordinate amount of time managing her growing city-based menagerie of pets with Harry Potter themed names. Presently, she is the haggard slave Sirius Black and Luna Lovegood the cats and Bellatrix Le Snake. She also owns a freakishly adorable cob pony called Africa.
A world traveller since childhood, Julia has now visited over 60 countries. Her travels inspire the fictional worlds she writes about and she populates those worlds with magic and monsters.

Author Links:

Website: http://www.julia-ember.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/juliaemberwrites/ GR: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13734129.Julia_Ember Twitter: @jules_chronicle Email: Julia_ember@yahoo.com Inquiries relating to purchase, library stocking or print-publication review can be sent to Anne Regan at Harmony Ink: anneregan@harmonyinkpress.com

The Sunday Street Team is hosted by Nori from ReadWriteLove28. Check her out here. And check out the SST!

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Being Human Sucks: 'Symptoms of Being Human'

Symptoms of Being Human

Author: Jeff Garvin

Goodreads / Amazon

The first thing you’re going to want to know about me is: Am I a boy, or am I a girl?

Riley Cavanaugh is many things: Punk rock. Snarky. Rebellious. And gender fluid. Some days Riley identifies as a boy, and others as a girl. The thing is…Riley isn’t exactly out yet. And between starting a new school and having a congressman father running for reelection in uber-conservative Orange County, the pressure—media and otherwise—is building up in Riley’s so-called “normal” life.

On the advice of a therapist, Riley starts an anonymous blog to vent those pent-up feelings and tell the truth of what it’s REALLY like to be a gender fluid teenager. But just as Riley’s starting to settle in at school—even developing feelings for a mysterious outcast—the blog goes viral, and an unnamed commenter discovers Riley’s real identity, threatening exposure. Riley must make a choice: walk away from what the blog has created—a lifeline, new friends, a cause to believe in—or stand up, come out, and risk everything.

My emotions when I saw this book were as follows:
Shock, disbelief
Excitement
Fear
Dread
Though not in that order. People were hesitant with this book since the last genderqueer book didn't accomplish a lot.

Likes:

• This book had real emotions and realistic portrayal. The story of Riley and Riley's troubles could be somebody else's. People get bullied over this. It's somebody's reality. I'm happy that the author wrote about this. He didn't hold back. He didn't hide the truth. He wrote about the bullying. And he went one step farther by showing the cyber bullying. In this day and age, people use social media to lash out at others. Cyber bullying is, sadly, something that happens. We can't prevent it really, unless you never use the Internet ever again. But then you'd be faced with real life bullying. And I'm not sure which is worse.
• The blogging aspect was amazing. A lot of people turn to social media to vent and figure things out. I mean, I do. Even now. Blogs are great outlets, for the writer and reader. I remember that Instagram let me vent and helped me figure out a lot of things. In middle school, I learned more about the world via Instagram. Social media can teach you, but it can also be destructive. I'm happy that this book also had the social media focus. Social media is amazing but also a little detrimental. Also, bloglr just makes me laugh. Bloglr? Haha. Perfect.
• The LGBT community was strong in this story. There was the Q. And the people who read Riley's blog. The sense of family was strong. I wanted more of that. It was intriguing to read. People who are outcasts band together. Even if they have nothing else in common. We're all different. But the same in a way. And we come together to form a community.

Dislikes:

• The lack of plot really annoyed me. It seemed to just go with the flow. There wasn't an overarching story. To put things bluntly, Riley moved to a new school, Riley met new people, Riley was bullied, Riley came out, and Riley dealt with the aftermath. That is putting things in the most simplistic manner, but the story didn't continue past that. I wanted more of Trans Health Con and the coming out, but the story was too focused on the beginning (with the blog and the bullying.) The thing is Riley didn't do much in the beginning. It was a lot about the dysphoria. And not much else. I wanted more of the story. More of the after-coming-out.
• Bec was just tiresome. Her mood swings and her appearances and disappearances were annoying me. I was sick of her. She was so rude to Riley, and she didn't deserve Riley. I just wanted to shake some sense into her. If I was given more about her life, I'd probably be more sympathetic. But this isn't Bec's story. It's Riley's.

Be a Fan With 'Fans of the Impossible Life'

Fans of the Impossible Life

Author: Kate Scelsa 
Goodreads / Amazon

Ten months after her recurring depression landed her in the hospital, Mira is starting over at Saint Francis Prep. She promised her parents she would at least try to pretend that she could act like a functioning human this time, not a girl who can’t get out of bed for days on end, who only feels awake when she’s with Sebby.

Jeremy is the painfully shy art nerd at Saint Francis who’s been in self-imposed isolation after an incident that ruined his last year of school. When he sees Sebby for the first time across the school lawn, it’s as if he’s been expecting him.

Sebby, Mira’s gay best friend, is a boy who seems to carry sunlight around with him like a backlit halo. Even as life in his foster home starts to take its toll, Sebby and Mira together craft a world of magic rituals and impromptu road trips, designed to fix the broken parts of their lives.

As Jeremy finds himself drawn into Sebby and Mira’s world, he begins to understand the secrets that they hide in order to protect themselves, to keep each other safe from those who don’t understand their quest to live for the impossible.
A captivating and profound debut novel, Fans of the Impossible Life is a story about complicated love and the friendships that change you forever.

City of Fans: 

An amazing city with impossibly real characters, massive amounts of diversity, an art club, running away, thrift shopping, drugs, depression, gay people, and rituals to forget. Sadly, there is a hint of instalove. Written in three PoVs (first, second, and third.) Highly unforgettable. 

"Hey, did you read 'Fans of the Impossible Life' yet? Oh man. It's amazing! The characters seem real. There's a lot of diversity. The problems they go through seem like they can happen in every day life. And some really awesome rituals." 

Where Are Their Personalities and More Questions From My Time Reading 'Scorpion Rules'

The Scorpion Rules

Erin Bow 

Amazon / Goodreads 

The world is at peace, said the Utterances. And really, if the odd princess has a hard day, is that too much to ask?

Greta is a duchess and crown princess—and a hostage to peace. This is how the game is played: if you want to rule, you must give one of your children as a hostage. Go to war and your hostage dies.

Greta will be free if she can survive until her eighteenth birthday. Until then she lives in the Precepture school with the daughters and sons of the world’s leaders. Like them, she is taught to obey the machines that control their lives. Like them, she is prepared to die with dignity, if she must. But everything changes when a new hostage arrives. Elián is a boy who refuses to play by the rules, a boy who defies everything Greta has ever been taught. And he opens Greta’s eyes to the brutality of the system they live under—and to her own power.

As Greta and Elián watch their nations tip closer to war, Greta becomes a target in a new kind of game. A game that will end up killing them both—unless she can find a way to break all the rules.

There are only two things I liked about this book. Talis and Elian.
And there are many things I hated.

Why did I like Talis and Elian? They were the only characters with actual personalities. You think that Children of Peace would rebel more. You know, do drugs or have sex. The stuff typical teenagers do. (Also. How old are these guys? They are so stoic and boring and personality-less that I couldn't tell.)
Talis had amazing humor. The sorta-funny guy you know. And Elian was rebellious. A little too rebellious but he was still great. They both had more emotions than the entire Precepture combined. Seriously. They laughed and loved and fought and killed and joked. I really wanted a story about Talis. He's way more interesting. He has a past, a human one. And he's an AI now. Why? How? Some of the many questions that went unanswered about the two most interesting characters of this book.
The rest of the kids were empty shells. And that seriously annoyed me. With the presence of oppression, a good amount of people rebel. And not hiding in the shadows and 'playing coyotes'. (Where did that phrase come from anyways? It makes no sense. What do coyotes have to do with sex?)

And I will now start a long rant about the rest of the book. Which I'll keep short for you, dear readers.

Let me say this. Greta was emotionless before and after her little procedure. She was robotic. She barely reacted. She barely felt. I was honestly stunned. Most main characters have backstories and pasts and lovers and relationships. Simply put, Greta didn't.
And it's not just her. It's the other Children. Thandi and Xie had no emotions. Atta was barely mentioned. Han and Gregori had more childish emotions, but I think the Abbott hadn't yet sucked out their souls.
These characters were bland. No personality. No spark. No childishness. Elian didn't just bring rebellion to the Precepture. He brought personality as well. (That doesn't mean his arrival changed much either. Just saying he changed tiny things.)

I couldn't stand the romance. Where is the chemistry? Where is the love? I didn't see it. I saw a chance to make the people think this was an even more diverse book with LGBT characters! (Don't think I'm critiquing the author here. I know I actively try to add diversity in my stories.) There was no spark. No prior feelings. Nothing. Just romance out of nowhere. Mind you, these two have known each other for a long time. Since Greta got there. And if these feelings just arise almost thirteen years later, and after you've both spent time together for pretty much every day of those thirteen years, I think there's a problem. It's different when they have subtle hints at romance. It's different when one has an unrequited love for the other. That's not the case here.
And also, that little H and G thing? Nope. I was so confused. I mentally pictured them as little elementary school kids. Not anyone nearly old enough to realize his or her feelings of love for another. Another diversity thing. Sheesh.

And the world. I have a major problem with it. I don't think these rulers would fork over their kids if they knew their kids could die. I wouldn't. And I feel like a single AI ruler is very irrational decision. What if someone kills his program or something? (Is that possible? I lack computer skills, and it shows.) And why is the UN still working? And why exactly did the world end? Was it Mother Nature finally fighting back? Or something else entirely? I was confused. Maybe it's my bad memory or something. I feel like the world was divided between a lot of Causes of The End. And that's confusing for a reader who wants a simple explanation. Especially simple-minded people like me.
And since when can magic-bone-knitter-back-together things exist but not AC? That is not a world I'd live in.

Rating:

1/5

When Will the Terror End? Find Out in 'This is Where It Ends'

This Is Where It Ends
Marieke Nijkamp 

Goodreads / Amazon

10:00 a.m. 

The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve. 

10:02 a.m.The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class. 10:03 The auditorium doors won't open. 10:05 Someone starts shooting. Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

Note: I got this as an eARC from NetGalley.

I don't think I've cried this much because of a book in a long while.

I don't think I've been impacted by a book for a long while.

I don't think I've read a book that might change my life in a long while.

This book isn't at all what you may think it is.

You may think it's another survival story.

It's not. It's this magical piece of work about these kids as they try to survive.

And it was beautiful. I started to cry at the end.

They just wanted to live. And protect their loved ones. And be noticed. And help. And love. And be loved.

It was beautiful.

The one thing that struck me was their absolute love for each other. These strangers or your siblings. You would die for them. You just want them to live. I've never read any book that emphasized that. Ever. It was different. And new. I loved it.

The way the author wove their stories together...amazing. Tyler's ex. His sister. His sister's girlfriend. The girlfriend's brother. A beloved teacher's daughter. Tweets.

It was an interesting way to tell the story. I actually wanted Tyler to be a narrator in the end. He killed. He hurt. But if you looked deep enough, he was human. He was hurt. He was wounded. He lashed out because he didn't know otherwise.

And, somehow, the author got me to feel for Tyler. His mom was dead. His sister was occupied. It wasn't his fault. He lashed out, which wasn't the best idea. But, in all honesty, he was a weakened child who just wanted to be loved.

Somehow, I got to this conclusion.

(I think it's because I'm the antagonist too.)

I didn't like the fact that all the narrators were interwoven at first. Then...I loved it. I realized how important it was to the story. It showed Tyler and what he did in many perspectives. It showed their opinions and their fight for survival.

I'll admit that I didn't like Claire. I didn't care for her perspective. She wasn't interesting. And a lot of her narration was talking to Chris. Which was boring.

I admit that her loss impacted me, though. It shook my soul. He was just a kid!

This isn't a real shooting. (Not one that I know of anyways.)

But. Shootings are becoming common in the USA right now. And I think the author's brave for writing this. It felt real. It felt like I was there.

I'm not sure if I would be brave enough to do what Autumn or Sylv did.

But there are people who are that brave.

Thank goodness.

RIP, shooting victims.

And my sympathy goes out to the families. 

Rating:

5/5

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books That Celebrate Diversity/Diverse Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This Week's Topic:

Ten Books That Celebrate Diversity/Diverse Characters

What is diversity? It might seem like an easy answer, but it really isn't. There isn't one definition of diversity. Everyone defines it differently. 

This is We Need Diverse Books's definition: 

How we define diversity:

We recognize all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities.

I personally think I read diverse books. I will read a LGBT book or a book about mental health. I'm an open-minded person. I think we need diverse books because our world is full of diversity. Books should reflect that. I see the need for diversity in books. 
Here is my top ten list of books that celebrate diversity. I read all these books in 2015.

LGBT 

Gay:

Transgender:

Intersex:

Race/Ethnicity:

Mental Health:

Review: 'None of the Above' by IW Gregorio

None of the Above
IW Gregorio

Amazon / Goodreads

A groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she was born intersex . . . and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Incredibly compelling and sensitively told, None of the Above is a thought-provoking novel that explores what it means to be a boy, a girl, or something in between.

What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?

When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him.

But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned--something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts."

Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?

___________________________________________________________

I liked how Kristin got through it. She had to reach out to people. She had to uncurl. She had to be friendly. She had to accept her diagnosis. I liked it because it shows that with these things need you to accept them. You can't deny them. They are part of you.

Her diagnosis didn't change her. She was still the same person. She wasn't changed because of her intersex condition. She was still, and always will be, just Kristin. 

It portrayed humanity's hypocrisy and cruelty in a way anyone could understand. How we hate and rage. Over the smallest of things. Oh. Yes, she is definitely a man. She shows the outward characteristics of a female. And she thinks she is female. So why should it matter that her chromosomes say otherwise? I'm not sure. 

I've read a lot of books in my time. Most recently, it seems like the trend is revealing how cruel humanity is. It's a simple fact. We have North Korea's prison camps ('Escape from Camp 14'.) The civil wars that make children fight with guns and grenades instead of playing in the sand ('The Way They Bared Their Souls'.) 

I'm not sure if the world is just made for this. Or if humanity adopted their cruelty. Or if it mutated and grew into this mass of black hatred. 

Books like this portray humanity perfectly. We bully our best friend. Our greatest alliance. All because of a single change. A single revelation.

How cruel... 

(I know this is very opinionated. I know. I am trying not to rant. I really am. It's just a topic that I care for. I've seen what hatred can do. I'm afraid of the side-effects. But I'm also scared for humanity. We have so much cruelty in our blood. It's hard to ignore. And it's on the rise.) 

And the condition itself. I have honestly never heard of intersex before this book. (I'm ashamed to admit I don't know all the sexual orientations as well... I need to brush up on my LGBT.) This is an interesting condition. It's biological. But it carries psychological aspects. As an aspiring psychologist, I am eternally fascinated with this. The psychological aspects, I mean. 

Kristin told the world she was a woman. But she isn't? Or is she? The 'lying' she tells brings about bullying. Half of the bullying seems to come from fright of the condition. Is she male? Is she female? Questions, I imagine, many intersex ask. Who are they? Are they still themselves? The answer to these questions determined their fate. It determines so much in their lives. Who they want to hang out with. Who they avoid. 

Being different isn't a bad thing. It makes you special. That isn't ever a bad thing.

I don't deny the cuteness of the relationship. It was quite cute. And I applaud Darren for his acceptance. He is quite kind. I wish there were more Darrens. We need more Darrens. The accepting type. The kind type. Those who will take people for who they are. (I, in fact, am quite judgmental.) I'm happy that our main girl Kristin found such a kind boy. She needs more people like him. 

They were so sweet around each other. It seemed...mildly convenient that Darren was working at the hospital. And mildly convenient they bonded over that. Kristin is a good person. She is a kind-hearted soul. She definitely needed someone like Darren. On our worst days, we need people to pick us up. Brother or sister. Friend or mother. Lover or cousin. We need people to help us. No matter what isolated people think.

I didn't like Kristin's original personality. (Pre-diagnosis.) She was the type of girl I hated. Looking back, I might be a bit foolish for hating Pre-diagnosis Kristin. But gosh. She got on my nerves. She was annoying. A very, very girly girl. I'm not a big fan of girly girls. As people or characters.

 I know that's rude. You're probably wondering how rude can I be! Ranting about a poor girl before she learned the truth. Well. She was quite annoying. Admit that. You can't blame someone for a massive personality change. You really can't. I didn't really like her. (That is evident.) And you can't just look at her after her diagnosis. She is still Kristin before and after. 

Josh also got on my nerves as well. He was a stupid jock, really. He didn't care for love. He didn't really care for Kristin. Kristin was a bit blind to not see that. But she was young and, supposedly, 'in love'. That's such a lie on his part. He turns on her. I hoped he would at least apologize. Or make up a little. Not that I wanted them back together. Oh no no no. I wanted Kristin to see that he could be nice. Putting up a mask to protect honor is stupid. A stupid thing to do. But at least he would have understood.

Though, without Josh out of the picture, we wouldn't have adorable couple! I guess that's one thing he's good for.

Rating: 

4/5