Author: C. C. Hunter

“Step into Shadow Falls, a camp for teens with supernatural powers. Here friendship thrives, love takes you by surprise, and our hearts possess the greatest magic of all.”

When I was approached to write a young adult series for St. Martin’s Press/Griffin, the first thing I did was to take a long stroll down Memory Lane.  Why did I do this?  Well, in order to create my characters, I needed to recall what it was like to be sixteen again.  What did I fear when I was that age?  What did I yearn for?

“Taken at Dusk“ is the third book in my Shadow Falls series.  The story revolves around an insecure sixteen-year-old girl trying to walk through the landmines of adolescence.  With her parents divorcing, her grandparents dying, boyfriends wanting more than she’s ready to give, and girlfriends taking a detour to the wild side, Kylie has enough on her plate.  But when she’s sent to Shadow Falls, and learns she’s not human, her search for who she is turns into a pursuit of discovering what she is.

Set in a camp with vampires, werewolves, witches, faes and shape-shifters, the series takes the theme of a sixteen-year-old with an identity crisis to new heights.  However, Kylie’s journey of self-discovery, played out in the five books of the series, involves friendship, young love, acceptance and a yearning for courage, all of which are relatable and inspiring to teens and adults alike. Woven with humor, mystery, and a touch of fantasy, my goal was to write a story filled with characters easy to love and a plot that was hard to put down.  A story about supernatural beings whose choices, mistakes, and struggles can offer insight into being better humans.

We had of late the pleasure of posing some questions to the eminent American Science Fiction author, Joe Haldeman, on his career and the most popular work as a SF writer.

Mr. Haldeman has penned around 20 novels and five short story collections, so far. His best known book, The Forever War, was one of the first SF works inspired by Vietnam War that won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards for the best science fiction novel in 1975. Actually, The Forever War and his first book, the autobiographical novel War Year (1972), were based on his service as a combat engineer from 1967 to 1969 in the US Army in Vietnam.

Haldeman’s other notable works include Camouflage, The Accidental Time Machine, Marsbound and Forever Peace.

Joe Haldeman officially received the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master for 2010 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at the Nebula Awards Weekend in May, 2010 in Hollywood, Fla.

“The Forever War” is your most popular work and has won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for the Best Novel. Our hearty Congratulations to you! Now, what do you think made it so?

 It was one of the best novels of the year.  The two main contenders, though, were Delany’s Dhalgren and Joanna Russ’s The Female Man.  If only one or the other had appeared, it probably would have won, for being au courant.  But they took votes from each other – Russ’s book gathering a strong feminist contingent – and so The Forever War won sort of by default.

Our readers would love to read about this book in your words. Give us a brief description of The Forever War.

Soldiers fight an interstellar war against a mysterious enemy. Because of Einsteinian time dilation and “collapsars,” the soldiers spend only years in combat, while centuries pass on Earth. Any soldier will recognize the real-life metaphor in that situation.

How and when did you come up with the idea of writing this marvelous Science-fiction?

One day in the late autumn of 1970, I sat down at Keith Laumer’s dining room table and typed out a line I remembered from army Basic Training – “Tonight we’re going to show you eight silent ways to kill a man.”  About ten pages later, I realized I was writing a novel.

You must have had some interesting or unusual experiences while writing this Sci-fi. Please share the most remarkable one.

Nothing remarkable.  I just wrote every day.  Sometimes it was easy and usually it was not.

How appropriate the title, The Forever War, of the book is?

Well, it’s about a war that seems to last forever, so it’s appropriate.  The working title, actually, was Hero, but an editor complained that wasn’t “science-fictional” enough.  So I was talking to my brother about this, while we were driving between Baltimore and Washington, and he suggested “The War That Lasted Forever.” I said “The Forever War,” and that’s what it became.

Where did your interest in writing Science Fiction come from and who were your major influences?

I always read it as a kid.  My influences were the usual ones for my generation:  Clarke, Heinlein, Asimov, Bester.

What do you think is the hardest part of writing Science Fiction over Realistic Fiction?

Neither is particularly hard if you aim low enough; neither is easy if you aim high  enough.  I wouldn’t say one is harder than the other.

After enriching the world of literature with many incredible science fiction, now you are teaching writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Which phase of your career you think is the most rewarding: as a writer or a teacher?

Writer.  Teaching is a hobby.

Your readers must be eagerly waiting to know about your next release. So may we know what is coming from you next?

A novel, Work Done for Hire.

Would you like to say anything to your readers?

Buy more books.  Really.

What message or tip you would love to give to the aspiring writers or those who are learning creative writing?

Don’t allow yourself to be easily discouraged.  There’s no consistent correlation between how good a writer you are and how long it takes to first be published.  Once you’ve been published a few times, it’s relatively easy to stay employed.  To people “learning creative writing” (as opposed to non-creative writing?) I would repeat what you’ve no doubt heard before – write every day.  It’s especially important to write when you don’t feel like writing.  If you don’t do that, you probably will never finish a readable book.

Browse through Printsasia.com for more books by Joe Haldeman and other science fiction.

Author: David Whitley

If everything in the world was for sale, what would you buy?

In the past, we’ve bought some strange things. We’ve even sold each other the Moon and the Stars. And for me, the joy of writing fantasy is that you can take an idea like that and push it so much further than you could in the real world – you can look at what would happen if, for example, we really could buy or sell anything – how about thoughts, memories, even emotions? What would that do to our society? What kind of people would flourish, and who would be left behind? And in the end, what would that tell us about ourselves, back here in the real world?

My books, The Midnight Charter and its sequel, The Children of the Lost, are set around the city of Agora – an ancient and proud city where everything is for sale. Emotion peddlers offer you small bottles of Happiness, the poor trade away their own memories for food, and until the age of twelve, children are mere possessions.

In The Midnight Charter my main characters, Mark and Lily, have now passed that all-important twelfth birthday and are technically adults in the eyes of the law, but they are going to have to learn fast to survive in a city where you are only as valuable as what you are willing, or able, to trade. Trapped in the centre of a web of plots and counter-plots, at first they are only trying to escape from their lives as servants. But over time, they find their own paths – Lily, who believes in good for its own sake, founds a charity, an act of sedition in Agora. Whilst fame-obsessed Mark begins a meteoric rise that makes him the darling of a city where reputation holds so much weight. And lurking in the shadows, the sinister ruler of Agora – the Director of Receipts – watches them. For Lily and Mark are no ordinary children, their lives, and the choices they make, appear to be predicted in a mysterious document, which is said to contain secrets that can drive men mad… The Midnight Charter itself.

After the explosive events of book one, Lily and Mark appear to find some respite in book two, The Children of the Lost, when they discover the land of Giseth, the seemingly perfect bucolic world outside the great city of Agora. But their presence brings disharmony to these sheltered villages—and in this land, disharmony leads to destruction, for it attracts the attentions of Giseth’s darkest secret, the predatory “Nightmare”. Lily and Mark must escape and find the Cathedral of the Lost, where they will uncover the most shocking revelations yet about their corrupt and broken world…

The final book of my Agora trilogy, The Canticle of Whispers, will be out in early 2013. I hope you’ll enjoy exploring my world, and if you’re intrigued by my books do visit my website (www.davidwhitley.co.uk) to find out more!

Grab the copies of The Midnight Charter and The Children of the Lost at discounted rates today.

Author: Sherry Helms

Mother’s Day is a celebration honoring mothers, and venerating motherhood and its influence in society. It is a day to acclaim a mother’s eternal and self-less love, care and devotion to her kids. It’s the time to show our due love, concern and respect to our own mother as well as to all the mothers around us by doing something cheerful for them and by making them smile wider.

With Mother’s Day, 2012 fast approaching, many of us must be planning to gift  our mom something as special as the day is, as gift-giving is the part & parcel of any celebration. Here, we are with a great gift idea, and that is books. Books are thoughtful, comparatively inexpensive and easy to wrap, and hence can be used as a perfect gift to express heartiest feelings and love for mother.

Enlisted below some motivational yet well-received Books on Motherhood written by successful authors-cum-mothers, which you can collect to gift not only to your mom but to every mothers in your family as a regard to their sacred motherhood. We believe these books would come out to be of great help to all the women, whether working or housewives, who are into the motherhood or going to experience the warmth of motherhood.

The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child’s Heart for Eternity – There is no greater, nobler, or more fulfilling calling than that of motherhood. Every day, as a mother nurture her children, she influence eternal destiny as no one else can. Yet often women are drawn to seek fulfillment outside of God’s design, despite their inherent desire to embrace motherhood with their whole hearts. In this book, author, speaker, and mother Sally Clarkson asserts that by catching a vision of God’s original design and allowing it to shape their lives, mothers can rediscover the joy of motherhood to which God has called them. Using practical examples, her own personal anecdotes and a challenging vision, Clarkson upholds the traditional, biblical view of God’s plan for motherhood.

The Mask of Motherhood: How Becoming a Mother Changes Our Lives and Why We Never Talk About It – Becoming a mother is filled with the extremes of emotion – the highest highs and the lowest lows. But women are often reluctant to talk honestly about the experience for fear they’ll be seen as bad mothers. This is the book that takes on the myths and the misinformation, letting women know that many, if not most, new mothers are feeling the same way. Susan Maushart, sociologist and mother of three, explores how motherhood affects our marriages and friendships, relationships with parents, our sex lives, and our self-esteem. By reaching the last page of this book, mothers will find the comfort and reassurance that they are looking for with the confirmation that, indeed, motherhood is the toughest job in the world, but can also be the most rewarding.

The Price of Motherhood: Why the Most Important Job in the World Is Still the Least Valued – “A National Bestseller that Changed America’s View of Motherhood”. Bold, galvanizing, and full of innovative solutions, this provocative book shows how mothers are systematically disadvantaged and made dependent by a society that exploits those who perform its most critical work. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and research in economics, history, child development, and law, Ann Crittenden proves definitively that although women have been liberated, mothers have not.

Good Enough Is the New Perfect: Finding Happiness and Success in Modern Motherhood – We’re the generation destined to have it all—a great job, the perfect family and the time to enjoy both. But between the conference calls and soccer practices, we’ve lost track of what really makes us happy? Join a growing new wave of mothers who are learning to let go of the little things and focus on what they really want out of their career, their family and their life. Through their groundbreaking research, Becky Beaupre Gillespie and Hollee Schwartz Temple have discovered a paradigm shift in motherhood today, offering a true roadmap for the incredible balancing act we call motherhood.

The Happiest Mom: 10 Secrets to Enjoying Motherhood – In this magnificent book on motherhood, author Meagan Francis shows us that motherhood is not an obstacle to joy, rather it is a phase to enjoy the life at best. Drawing on recent happiness research, conversations with hundreds of other moms, and her own experience as a mother of five, Francis shares her ten secrets to happy motherhood in this down-to-earth, funny, and accessible book. This is a book that every mom need to read to be a good parent while actually enjoying themselves.

The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined All Women – While taking readers on a provocative tour through thirty years of media images about mothers –the superficial achievements of celebrity moms, the sensational coverage of dangerous day care, the media-manufactured “mommy wars” between working mothers and stay-at-home moms, and more– this book argues that this “new momism – an ideal motherhood” has been shaped by out-of-date civilization, and that no matter how hard they try, women will never achieve it. In this must-read for every woman, Susan J. Douglas and Meredith W. Michaels shatter the myth of the perfect mom and shout, “We’re not gonna take it anymore!”

Grab all these books today and keep browsing printsasia.com for accessing more and more books on Motherhood and other subjects.

Author: Sherry Helms

“War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.” —JIMMY CARTER

World War II destroyed more people, implicated more nations, and cost more money than any other war in history. A total of 70 million people served in the armed forces during this very war and out of this huge number 17 million warriors died. Civilian deaths were even greater.

Each year, May 8-9 is observed as the Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War, as declared by the United Nations (UN). Today, on May 9, lets join your hands with us to pay tribute to all those departed souls. Read popular Books on World War II that we are enlisted below for you. Hope, these books will enable you to empathize the pain, terror and melancholy which civilians and soldiers during WWII lived with as well as let you imagine the heart-wrenching scenes of the holocaust and its aftermath.

The Second World War: A Complete History – It began with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 and came to an end on V-J Day–August 14, 1945. In the final accounting, WWII would turn out to be, in both human terms and material resources, the costliest war in history, taking the lives of forty million people. In this complete one-volume account of the war, Martin Gilbert intertwines political, military, diplomatic, and civilian elements to provide a global perspective on the war, creating a work that is both a treasure trove of information and a dramatic narrative.

Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945 – One of the finest military historians, Max Hastings has researched and written about different aspects of the Second World War for thirty-five years. Now, for the first time, he gives us a magnificent, single-volume history of the entire war. This book is a masterpiece on WWII that shows us at once the truly global reach of war and its deeply personal consequences. Remarkably informed and wide-ranging, this book is a new and essential understanding of one of the greatest and bloodiest events of the twentieth century, illuminating some of the darker and less explored regions under the war’s penumbra.

The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War – The Second World War lasted for 2,174 days, cost $1.5 trillion, and claimed the lives of more than 50 million people. What were the factors that affected the war’s outcome? Why did the Axis lose? And could they, with a different strategy, have won? Andrew Roberts has defined a new history of the second world war that is acclaimed as the finest single-volume account of this epic conflict. From the western front to North Africa, from the Baltic to the Far East, he tells the story of the war – the grand strategy and the individual experience, the cruelty and the heroism – as never before.

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany – Before the Nazis could destroy the files, famed foreign correspondent and historian William L. Shirer sifted through the massive self-documentation of the Third Reich, to create a monumental study that has been widely acclaimed as the definitive record of one of the most frightening chapters in the history of mankind. As per The New York Times, this book is “One of the most important works of history of our time.”

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption – Written by the bestselling author of Seabiscuit, Laura Hillenbrand, this book has an inspiring true story of a man who lived through a series of catastrophes almost too incredible to be believed. In evocative, immediate descriptions, Hillenbrand unfold the story of Louie Zamperini, a juvenile delinquent-turned-Olympic runner-turned-Army hero. During a routine search mission over the Pacific, Louie’s plane crashed into the ocean, and what happened to him over the next three years of his life is a story that will not let you divert your eyes from the pages for a single moment.

If You Survive: From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to the End of World War II, One American Officer’s Riveting True Story – “If you survive your first day, I’ll promote you.” So promised George Wilson‘s World War II commanding officer in the hedgerows of Normandy, and it was to be a promise dramatically fulfilled. From July, 1944, to the closing days of the war, from the first penetration of the Siegfried Line to the Nazis’ last desperate charge in the Battle of the Bulge, Wilson fought in the thickest of the action. Of all the men and officers who started out in Company F of the 4th Infantry Division with him, Wilson was the only one who finished. In the end, he felt not like a conqueror or a victor, but an exhausted survivor, left with nothing but his life, and his emotions.

This book is one of the great first-person accounts of the making of a combat veteran, in the last, most violent months of World War II.

Besides the above mentioned books, readers  find a lot more titles on World  War II  at our online bookstore.