So you know how a couple of weeks ago I revealed the covers for Marianne de Pierres’s Burn Bright? The trilogy’s international release? Well, that was to get you excited. Those covers will actually be used for free e-chapters – a little gothic taste to get you enticed.

Kubicki, the artist of the art that Random House Australia originally used for the trilogy’s covers, and Marianne have come to an agreement to share these amazing covers with the world (check out Kubicki’s site here). But as RHA had copyright with the titles and other details, they had to be altered a little bit, but they’re still pretty cool. I’m incredibly happy international folks are able to have the same cover art in addition to the goodness that the books hold.

BEHOLD! The covers for the international paperbacks:

Wait. What? Is that my blog and a quote from my review on the back of Shine Light?

WHY, YES IT IS!

*flails around the house at uni*

So what do you think? EXCITED?! I know I am!

The books are going to be available next week some time on Amazon so make sure you’re one of the first to purchase this awesome trilogy!

In recent weeks Marianne de Pierres announced that her Burn Bright trilogy – Burn Bright, Angel Arias, Shine Light – which was originally published by Random House Australia, will be available through Amazon for an international release at the end of March. With this release comes new covers. Although the original cover arts make up some of my very favourite covers ever, the newly designed covers present a gothic imagery that pretty much saturates these books. Of course, I prefer the original covers; nothing will beat them. But on Amazon, Marianne’s books will fit right in with the new covers.

Since I first read Burn Bright back in 2011 and the sequels when they came out I had been pining for these books to be picked up by international publishers, mostly in the UK and the US, so that more readers would be able to share in the same magic of Naif’s travels within her world that I had experienced. I have sent these books to bloggerly friends in the US and UK more than a year ago – I’m unsure whether they’ve gotten around to them yet, and I hope they do – but I want more people, such as Amazon customers, browsers, and ordinary folk, to come across Marianne’s books and decide to pick them up for themselves.

I feel incredibly happy to share with you these new covers. I’m incredibly proud of Marianne, too. I also would like to say a thank you to Random House Australia for allowing the Burn Bright trilogy to be available through Amazon and to tread the international boards, making these books – hopefully – more successful. After all, there are many readers anticipating these books to be published in their country, and now, finally, they are able to.

So what do I say to you now? When Marianne’s Burn Bright trilogy hits Amazon at the end of the month… SUPPORT THEM!

And now the cover reveals:

To view these covers larger click on the following links.

Burn Bright
Angel Arias
Shine Light

So what do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

If you’re interested check out my reviews:

Burn Bright
Angel Arias
Shine Light

And once again: SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!

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Are you a fan of Marianne de Pierre’s Night Creatures series, comprising of Burn Bright, Angel Arias and Shine Light?

Then this blog tour is perfect for you, just as it is for me!

Check out my review of Shine Light here.

Welcome to the Shine Light Blog Tour! At each stop we’ll be revealing something new about the characters in Shine Light. What makes them tick? Do they have any secrets? Marianne sheds light and background information that we would have only dreamt about knowing. Secondly, there is a running extract from Shine Light, which started on the first stop of the tour here. Additionally, there is a code-breaking element to each post in which you can win a super mystery prize. For the full tour listing see the Burn Bright site. Today, the Ripers are spotlighted – and the light is not their thing at all!

As I mentioned in my Night Creatures blog, the whole concept for the Ripers was sparked by a book I read years ago called Grass by Sheri Tepper. In that novel, I was entranced by her mysterious alien native animals and their strange evolutionary cycle. I must have read the book at least 15 years ago now, but the idea lodged so firmly with me that it took seed and blossomed.

The Ripers are deliberately vampiric in some ways but in essence they are NOT vampires. I like many of the window dressings of vampire lore but am no longer enamoured with the genre. At heart, I am a science fiction writer and I could not write a fantasy story without having SF elements. It would, for me, be like a salad without dressing.

I wanted the Ripers to be attractive but dangerous, alluring but sinister, outwardly supernatural but inwardly science fictional. I had enormous fun creating them, as I got to indulge my tendency to subvert writing norms. They were supposed to be mysterious creatures – leaving readers unsure whether to trust them or not. Into the mix of this I threw Lenoir, a Riper who displayed conflicting values.  I will talk about him in detail in the next tour stop, but essentially I wanted him to both attract and repulse, to be sympathetic and yet alien. To me the Ripers were all about opposites and dichotomy.

If you felt confused and unsure about them, then that’s what I wanted you to feel and I did my job.  Hopefully, when you’ve read Shine Light, many of your questions will have been answered. Anything left undisclosed, will help to create the myth of the Riper.

Ready for your next fix?
Meet the Lenoir at http://www.rachybee-the-rest-is-still-unwritten.blogspot.com.au/

Did you miss the feature on Varonessa?
See http://www.darkmatterfanzine.com/dmf/

EXTRACT

‘Hush,’ said Naif.

The gantry swung closer to the ground. Naif saw the outline of bushes and Vank’s solid architecture looming in front of them.

A few moments later, the platform suddenly stopped lowering and swayed. The ground was still too far away to step off. It seemed Ruzalia could get them no closer.

‘I’ll go first,’ whispered Charlonge.

‘No, let me,’ said Jarrold.

He slid forward and dropped straight off the edge of the gantry.  Naif heard the thuds of his landing, like a loose boulder skipping down the side of a cliff.

‘Him stupid,’ said Liam quietly. He pressed into Naif ’s hand some rope that he’d unwound from around the pulley. ‘Use this.’

She did as he suggested and managed to lower herself down the rope to the ground without falling.

Charlonge came next. Then Liam.

Liam let the rope free, sending a silent message to the airship. In a matter of moments the gantry began to disappear upwards.

The three of them stood together in silence, listening, until they heard a groan.

Jarrold! Naif took the lead, stepping quickly onto a lit path that wound through the bushes at the rear of Vank. She followed down the path’s incline, almost stepping on top of Jarrold, who was curled up in a ball close to the foundations of the stone wall.

‘Oww!’

She knelt down next to him and took his hands.

‘Are you all right?’ she asked quietly. The others had stopped close behind her and squatted down as well.

‘I think so. I rolled down the hill,’ said Jarrold.

Charlonge leaned forward. ‘Jarrold. You can’t just jump off things! You have to listen to me while we’re here. On Ixion, risks like that can be fatal.’

‘Char’s right, Jarrold. She’s been here the longest. Just like you and Gurney know the secrets of Grave, Char can show you how to do things here,’ said Naif. ‘Night Creatures watch from the dark. You have to be careful. Stay in the light.’

‘All right,’ he said in a small, defensive voice.

Liam made a soft snorting noise of disbelief.

Naif sighed. ‘Let’s go back and wait for the others.’

The four of them climbed back up close to the spot where they’d got off the gantry.

‘Look,’ Liam said, pointing up. ‘Them come.’

‘It’s a fair drop,’ Naif called out as the gantry got closer. ‘Use the rope to let yourself down.’

She watched Markes help Emilia negotiate her way down the rope. Then he threw a sack to the ground before he followed.

Every moment they stood there on the edge of the lit path made Naif more uneasy. She could sense a presence watching them from the dark. How long before the Night Creatures came for them? Or worse, before they communicated what they’d seen to the Ripers?

What happens next?
Visit The Rest Is Still Unwritten to find out!

Break each code at the end of every blog post on the tour and your name will go in the draw to win a**super mystery prize** basket. Email your answers to marianne@mariannedepierres.com.

GXK KXSTL QKT YTV WXZ QWLGSXZT.

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Thanks to Dorothy at Random House Australia and Marianne for organising this blog tour for Shine Light.

If you haven’t read this series yet… WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

‘Ixion’s not a place for friends. They die or they leave. On Ixion you need allies.’

Title: Shine Light, Night Creatures #3
Author: Marianne de Pierres
Publication: November 1, 2012 by Random House Australia
Format, pages: Paperback, 239
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Dystopia
My Rating:  

From Goodreads:

Ixion. The island of ever-night.

If she had a choice, Naif wouldn’t go back. But her friends will die if she doesn’t find a cure for the badges that are slowly killing them, and her brother is there, fighting against the Ripers who hold everyone in thrall. And Naif has knowledge that might save them all.

First she must solve the mystery of Ixion’s eternal night. Then she must convince everyone – rebels and revellers alike – to join her cause. And all the while, she must fight the urge to go to Lenoir – her greatest love, her mortal enemy.

The secrets of Ixion must be revealed. The evils must be stopped. A new dawn will come.

When you get a book, begin reading immediately, and devour it within a matter of hours, then that book must be juicy and gripping and excellent. Shine Light was one of those books. After reading Burn Bright and Angel Arias last year, all I wanted to do was find out how everything concluded – Naif’s conquest, the Ripers’ ruination, the night creatures’ survival… and Ixion’s illumination. I wanted to know more, experience more, discover more; and I sure did get more than I had hoped.

Shine Light was a fantastic final instalment in the Night Creatures series. If you had any questions or speculations from the previous two books then have no fear. Answers slowly come to light as we journey from Ruzalia’s airship to Danskoi, beginning to end. Have you ever wondered why Ixion was forever, eternally in darkness? Shine light, burn bright, and READ THIS BOOK, baby bats, because then you will learn why. Marianne de Pierres bleeds the pages of Shine Light with wonder, pleasure, knowledge… and most of all, hope for a brighter world.

In Shine Light Naif and those she befriended along the way in Burn Bright and Angel Arias return to Ixion to uncover the many secrets and mysteries that have been buried beneath the feet of its ignorant and carousing youth and veiled behind a sky of darkness. As Naif and crew learn about the truths of Ixion, so does the reader – truths continue to spring from the pages, like mice triggering traps for some wanted goodness they rarely ever come across. And once Naif and co. do, they use their new-found knowledge to bring good, hope, and light to Ixion.

This series has a splendid cast of characters; each character changes in ways we do not expect them to, especially in Shine Light. I loved the addition of Liam in Angel Arias, and to learn more about him and the person he is – or was – in Shine Light was great, as well as his relationship with Suki (Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!) and the overarching role he played/s in Ixion’s past, present and future. One character that changed considerably was Lenoir. Lenoir sacrificed a lot to help Naif and company achieve what they set out to do, even if it harmed him. After all, there is no good without sacrifice. And sacrifice he sure did. And Naif and Jarrod and Emilia… all the feels!

Shine Light was complete; the Night Creatures series is complete. However, when I reached the end of this book I was a bit surprised. Sure, I was surprised at everything that happened in the last thirty or so pages, but I was really surprised at how fast the final pages and climax was; it came and it went. I just wish there was more conflict, that it was drawn out, and that there was something… more. It concluded all too fast considering how much of the book focused on uncovering the truths and righting them. It ended great, just not the great I was expecting. But I still really, really enjoyed it! And the very end – I. Loved. It! I continue to wonder what happens next (I found it quite reminiscent of The Phantom of the Opera, however that is just my interpretation). If there’s ever an opportunity to return to Ixion, I’ll be there with streamers in my hands and bells on my feet.

Other books in the series:

• Burn Bright (March, 2011)
• Angel Arias (October, 2011)
• Shine Light (November, 2012)

Don’t miss the upcoming Shine Light Blog Tour – With A Difference!

I haven’t done a WoW post since February, but I just had to share with you an amazing cover of a book – the third in a series – that I am eagerly waiting for since I have been captivated in this world from the very start one to two years or so ago.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly book meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine in which we showcase upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating to sink our teeth into, in which we want you to as well.

The book I’m waiting for is SHINE LIGHT by Marianne de Pierres, the third book in the Night Creatures series (formerly known as Blaze Dark).

How beautifully, amazingly, breathtakingly, brilliantly awesome is this cover? And not just this cover but the all three covers, of BURN BRIGHT’s and ANGEL ARIAS’s too.

I also cannot wait to read this book and discover the conclusion. I was lucky enough to receive an advanced bound manuscript for Angel Arias, so I hope I get to have that same opportunity once again for this wonder of a book.

These books are only available in Australia, but if you’re lucky enough to have someone from Oz send you copies (like I have for quite a few of you, my friends – and signed!) then that is awesome that you’ll be able to experience this same  beauty of Marianne de Pierres’s original and exotic and absorbing world.

SHINE LIGHT will be published September 1st, 2012 by Random House Australia <3

Add it to Goodreads here.

Just for your pleasure, here are the covers for Burn Bright and Angel Arias again.

What are you waiting on this week? Anything exciting? Any new covers you adore?

Please do share.

Title: Angel Arias
(The Night Creatures #2)
Author: Marianne de Pierres
Publication: October 3, 2011 by Random House Australia
Format; Pages: Paperback; 264
Thanks, Random House Australia & Marianne de Pierres
My Rating: 
Advice? Get it now!
More Info? Goodreads

In the sequel to Burn Bright, Naif is caught in the unrest on the island owned by the pirate, Ruzalia. To stop Ruzalia harming the rebels, and to uncover more answers to the mysteries of Ixion, she has to return to Grave. There she confronts her domineering father and the sinister Grave Elders. [From Goodreads.]

I was so ecstatic when Marianne asked if I would like an uncorrected manuscript of Angel Arias. I want to first say thank you to Marianne as well as the crew at Random House Australia for giving me the chance to read it in advanced. And now, from what I see so far… nobody has been disappointed in this sequel to Burn Bright. As Burn Bright is currently only available in Australia – for the moment at least – I am not going to go into too much detail about the plot of Angel Arias. It’s best that you get a copy of Burn Bright first and be wound up in this original and captivating story yourself.

Rather than being set predominantly on Ixion, the island of freedom and eternal pleasure like Burn Bright was, Angel Arias brings us back to Grave. We previously saw a glimpse of Grave at the beginning of Burn Bright, where Retra – now Naif – was escaping to Ixion to find her brother Joel. But this time, we are given the chance to see the environment, the restricted and controlled Seal Compound that Retra/Naif was raised in. She returns to try and discover if there’s a connection between what’s been happening on Ixion and her home island of Grave, and to ultimately save her friends and brother who are still on Ixion.

Naif continues to evolve. In Burn Bright, she transformed herself completely to fit in with everyone on Ixion, leaving behind her past. However, this time Naif solitarily questions Grave, its authorities, and her upbringing to uncover the realities and truths of her world – and of her life. On this journey we are introduced to many more new faces. There was one character in particular, Jarrold, that I really grew to admire. Most likely because he constantly risked his young life to help Naif. Also partly because I wish when I was at that age, that I was as adventurous, intelligent and bold as he was. We are also presented with a new type of creature, separate from the already known night creatures. These new creatures although initially mysteriously anonymous, and encountered with caution and uncertainty, developed into endearing allies despite of their physical features. Learning about the causes of how they came to be like that and got those physical attributes was fantastic. Marianne did a splendid job at introducing us to all these new characters, and weaved them into this plot flawlessly well.

I really want this world that Marianne de Pierres has conjured in the Night Creatures series to be known and shared by all. I hope soon that all of you – whether your American, British, Canadian, Indian, French, German, or even an inhabitant of the North Pole – get to experience this world as us Aussies have been lucky to be captivated in, and for some, twice already. Grave felt just as real as Ixion and you’ll be thrown into the story along with Naif to find the truth behind the truth. Angel Arias is a captivating sequel that outdoes its predecessor – well, for me at least.