David is one of the coolest YA authors around. He’s not only funny, but sports an impressive resume and has worn the much loved traveling pajants. Yes, those pajants. His incredibly hilarious action packed books include, Soul Enchilada, and sci-fi series Black Hole Sun and Invisible Sun.

Today, we’re discussing the Black Hole Sun series –if you haven’t read this series then you’re missing out. It’s the best of YA science fiction. Yes. THE BEST.

You can find David on:  twitter / facebook / website

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Please explain the unique relationship between Durango, Mimi and Vienne. In five words.
“Durango–torn between two sluggers.” (you have to know the Mary McGregor song to get that; if you don’t know the song, trust me, it’s very apropos. Also, there’s YouTube if you want to sing along.)

There is quite a bit of action in both Back Hole Sun and Invisible Sun, which begs the question – do you ever act out your scenes? If so, whom do you rumble with?
Oh yeah, there are lots of kicks and punches flying when I’m choreographing scenes, after which I visit the chiropractor and ice down my strained hammies, My teenage children helped me with some of the fight scenes in Invisible Sun. For Black Hole Sun, I practiced with our two dogs. They’re closest things to cannibals we have, as they constantly tried to tenderize me with their tongues. The border collie has a mean front kick and whiptastic tail.

How much of you do you place in your books? We’re already assuming you’re a fan of 90’s grunge.
How can you not be a fan of 90′s grunge? It’s like REM on anti-depressants–or not on them, actually. Metal, folk, and flannel shirts, three of the best things ever! On to your real question: So far, there’s very little of me in the three books I’ve published. I try to create characters out of whole cloth so that they aren’t limited by my initial perceptions. Maybe I have Durango’s sense of justice and his belief that you do what’s right when its most inconvenient. Now the jacket art, the model they used for Durango? He looks just like I do…in my dreams. And when I’m fighting the dogs.

Cover envy. Do authors come up to you and ask how you get the cool covers with the tough looking heartthrobs on them? Seriously, you’re covers in this series are unique and stand out against the black and flowy prom dresses of most other YA books.
Those jackets were like manna from heaven. One day, my editor announced that they were getting new covers and here’s the model they’re going to use. I showed his photos to a few girls and a couple of ladies, and it was like vapors day at the cotillion. Seriously, this guy was so hot, even the guys were like, dude, he’s too hot for your books. So he was in. Next, the artist put together concept art, and they shot the photos. The artists added the background visuals, a couple of scenes of destruction, and extra hair for Durango to get that blow-dried look. I wish I could add hair that easily. We’re ecstatic with the jackets. Wait til you see the jacket for the third book Shadow on the Sun (more grunge!).

Please, reassure us that there is a book 3 and that there will be lots of happy things in it.
I think I just did that! Yes, book 3, Shadow on the Sun, slated for a Spring 2013 release. I’ve finished the first draft. Looks of happy things happen. Sad things, too. There will be motorcycles, too. I act out the motorcycle scenes, too, along with sound effects. Every time I practice engine noises, the dogs run away.

Since you wear many literary hats (writer, professor and past president of ALAN), we assume you are a hardcore reader. With that, we have to know, what’s in your STACKS? What gets your heart pumping?
Heart ripping is more like it. I just finished Jo Knowles’ See You at Harry’s. It’s aslobber knocker. I figured I’d get the openly weeping part of my reading out of the way before returning to the mysteries and thrillers I love. There’s a new take on Masque of the Red Death I’m dying to read, along with Alethea Kontis’ Enchanted. The new Stephen King novel is lurking in my pile, too, but it’s so danged long, which is a huge time commitment. I have to save time for fighting with the dogs.

Lighting Round, Holly Black style (pretend you’re standing on a table and we’re all staring at you):
Barbershop, Pro-cuts or Flowbee - Barbershop, if it’s open. Nair if it’s not.
cartoon character you most identify with - Bob Parr from The Incredibles
A book that made you cry - the aforementioned See You at Harry’s. It made me slobber myself. Embarrassing, yes, but oddly liberating.
a la Barbara Walters, if you were a tree what kind would you be - A dogwood, because I would bloom in the Spring, and no one would dare cut me down, even when I got old and full of root rot.
weekend warrior or weekend lounger - Warounger.
the best thing about The Hunger Games - The moment when Katniss takes Prim’s place and she transforms from an unlikeable character into a freaking hero who is so bad-ass, even the dogs won’t practice front kicks with her.
all-time favorite movie - Star Wars. Is anyone surprised?

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No, David we aren’t surprised with your Star Wars love. However, we raise an eyebrow at the emotional mess of ‘aslobber knocking’ over See you at Harry’s and the reaping scene in The Hunger Games. Ah, who are we kidding, we love you and your slobbery hilarity.

Invisible Sun

Undeterred, Durango and Vienne pull off an ill-advised raid on Lyme’s complex. During the ensuing battle, however, Vienne is captured, and Durango is beaten and left for dead. Now, wounded and shaken, Durango must overcome bounty hunters, treacherous terrain, a full scale civil war, and a warrior monk with an eye for vengeance (not to mention his own guilt, self-doubt, and broken arm) to find Vienne and free her from Archibald, a brain-washing pyromaniac with a Napoleon complex who wants to rule Mars–and kill Durango in the process.

my take - What a carking good read!! This follow-up to Back Hole Sun (read my review here) is just as entertaining!

Like the first, this book is jammed packed with action and tons of great fighting scenes. With all the action though, I do wonder if Mr. Gills “acts out” the scenes to get them just right and authentic. However, if he does I hope he spares his family (and students) from the torture of face punches, leg swipes and roundhouse kicks.

This time the evil nemesis is Archibald, and he is one sick and twisted dude. He lacks self-worth (thanks to his mama) and therefore decides to show her his value by becoming a ruthless machine. His desire to prove his mama wrong shows by his utter lack of respect for human life. All his actions were atrocious, but for me the worst were the times he touched Vienne.  I cringed every single time.

Durango and his surgically implanted AI, Mimi, provide lots of comedic wit. The banter between them is still hot and fresh, and a great comic relief when things get a bit dicey and intense. Seriously, Mimi’s one of the best AI’s I have ever read – her love of poetry and her almost human personality have endeared her to me. I mean, I know that she was programmed that way, but still…

We also learn more about Vienne’s past, why she chose to become a dalit and her hearts desires. Okay, maybe not her hearts desires, but she does open up (a bit) about her feeling for Durango. I’m hoping book 3 will give us even more about her past and see more growth between her and Durango. That is if she heals and can forgive herself and Durango. This poor girl goes through quite a traumatic event.

Oh, and I have to give an honorable mention to Ghannouj. He is a perfect cross between Mr. Miygi and Master Po. One minute he’s talking in riddles and reading tealeaves and the next he’s laying it out in ‘plain talk’ for poor confused Durango.

Honestly, I could go on and on about all the new characters introduced, but I’ll let you meet them on your own. However, I really missed the motely crew from the first book – Fuse and Jenkins, come back!

Cover love!!! I know the covers in this series seem a bit heavy on the cheese factor, but I LOVE them! I mean look at Durango (HOT!) and then the tough as nails blonde bombshell. They fit the books perfectly and the genre.

If you enjoyed Black Hole Sun, then you’ll enjoy this one!

Stacy

Happy Leap Day! 

Since this day only comes around once every four years, I should do something special, something grand … like give you seven awesome books to drool over!  But, uh, don’t get used to this.  Seven is a lot to read in one month.  I think next month I’ll pick out two just to make up for it.

Cross my Heart by Sasha Gould
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Pub Date: March 13, 2012

Here we have a book that is set in 1585 Venice.  That’s two pluses right there.  Then we add in a murder mystery, forced marriage, a mysterious society of women and a romance.  Add it all together and that equals get me a copy of this book right now.  And they say my math skills are bad. 

Pfft. 

Savage Grace (Dark Divine Series #3) by Bree Despain
Publisher: Egmont USA
Pub date: March 13, 2012

So here we have the third book in this series … and I haven’t read one or two yet.  *ducks head*  But I want to read them, and now I can go through all three books in one sitting.  Er, I mean, one after the other.  With breaks in between for eating and getting more Dr. Pepper.  It has werewolves, right?  And kissing?  Yep, then this is on my list (after books one and two).

Starters by Lissa Price
Publisher: Random House
Pub date:  March 13, 2012

This one sounds really good – a girl sells her body (no, not that way) to a senior who wants to be young again through a company called Prime Destinations.  But she wakes up mid-rent due to a faulty chip and is living the high life of her renter until she makes a horrible discovery.  This book sounds like Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets Looker (ha! It’s an old 80′s movie).

A Temptation of Angels by Michelle Zink
Publisher: Dial
Pub date: March 20, 2012

Been hearing loads of good buzz on this one – Publisher’s Weekly said it was “Touched by steampunk and Harry Potter”.  Yes, it’s another angel book, but set in an alternate Victorian London full of love, betrayal and magic. Forces of good battle forces of evil and all that. 

So Yummy!

After the Snow by S. D. Crockett
Publisher:  Feiwel & Friends
Pub date:  March 27, 2012

Yah, fist pump for the post-apocolypic novel! *pump*!  Picture this:  the Earth is in a new ice age, and a boy is trudging home to his isolated house in the country, only to find his family has disappeared.  Vanished.  Who took them?  He could go search, but it’s so dangerously cold outside …  can he find them without freezing?  Well, I want to know more.  So off to the e-reader store I go!

Invisible Sun by David Macinnis Gill
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pub Date: March 27, 2012

We really enjoyed the first book in this series, Black Hole Sun (our review), because it was fast, funny and entertaining.  We hope this second book will be more of the same.  Durango and his AI implant banter and bicker, and his kick-patootie sidekick Vienne is obviously into him if he’d just wake up and smell the coffee.  Adventures on Mars (yes, they live on Mars) aside, it should be good just to see if Durango gets a kiss.

Slide by Jill Hathaway
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pub date: March 27, 2012

She tells everyone she’s narcoleptic, but really she can “slide” into people and see through their eyes.  When she slides into a murderer, she knows that the victim did not commit suicide - but cannot tell anyone for fear of being labeled cray-cray.   Sounds creepy and mysterious and definitely buzz-worthy!

Durango is the chief of a band of rouge Regulators. Together with his motley crew davos they fight to protect a group of Martian miners from the evil, flesh eating Draeu led by an equally evil Queen.

This novel was entreatingly good (and fun) for so many reasons. For one thing, it is a sci-fi dystopian (I <3 dystopia) book. I liked the inventive world created by Gill. His world is interesting (heck, I mean it takes place on Mars after all), but he doesn’t let the world-building take over the story. Obviously, it is a major part of the story but he doesn’t drone on and on about specifics. I have always found these Mad Max type stories appealing because something as simple as water is a precious commodity, but getting an AI implant or rocketing into space is normal. Maybe it is the desperation I like, you know the struggle for survival with high tech equipment all around that can’t quench your thirst or your hunger.

My favorite character is Durango. Although young, he is an extremely intelligent leader with quick wit and a good sense of morals. I love the relationship he has with his AI, Mimi. Although she is only an AI she seems to be more (more human), and she truly cares and looks out for Durango.

Durango’s davos. They are truly endearing, in the way only a bunch of odd characters can be. His second in command is Vienne. She is fierce, an excellent marksman and warrior and totally loyal and devoted to Durango. She would lay down her life for him, not only because she is honored bound by the tenants but also because I think she loves him.  Fuse and Jenkins round out his crew and provide the much needed and funny comic relief.

I also enjoyed all the nods to some of my favorite bands and songs of the 90s and a much-quoted Monty Python movie. While I will keep mum on specifies I will say that each nod truly has meaning to the overall story. LOL – try to figure that out!

(FYI: listen to our podcast discussion here, for more info on Gills check out his blog.)

I give this book 4 STACKS!

See you in the STACKS,
Stacy – who is off to keep it copasetic… 

For more information on Black Hole Sun and David Macinnis Gill visit his blog, DavisMacinnisGill/I am Chickin Hear Me Roar!

**SPOLIERS abound and as always you can find us on iTunes**

1. Shannan and I got to talk/podcast/laugh with Kelley Vitollo from Kelley’s Korner. Seriously, she is a kindred spirit and one of our new BFFs. She shares our same passion for reading AND talking about books. We had a hard time hanging up the phone, we just kept talking ‘book.’

2. Since both Shannan’s husband and my husband were out of town we had a slumber party! It was filled with book talk, web stuff, kid stuff and lots and lots of laughs. From her sleeping on the couch to me in Ethan’s twin bed (our boys had my bed) and staying up till 2 a.m., I can’t think of a better way to have started my weekend. LOVE ya girl!

3. Valerie!  She’s wearing one of our t-shirts…she is an official STACKGirl now!

4. Ahhh, the joys of going to grandma’s house (I’m smiling just thinking about it). My kids love their Mimi. So much so that they ignore me completely, which means I get to read! You girls know how much I like to read, so this is one of my favorite places to be on the weekend…kicked back, feet up, book in hand with Mimi entertaining my darling little children.

 
5. While at Mimi’s I finished a very fun and entreatingly cool book, Black Hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill. It’s dystopia (LOVE) with nods to Nirvana, Monty Python and Soundgarden. Hey, I am just happy I picked up on them… 

See you in the STACKS!
Stacy