Book after Book

I am in a pickle! I enjoyed so much writing ' My top 5 books in 2017 ' post last year that I thought I'd do that again. I didn't read a lot in 2017, though, and picking my top 5 books was a breeze. If you've come across 'My 2018 in books' post last week, however, you know that I had a stellar 2018 when it comes to reading. There is no way I can do a Top 5 list. I tried. I failed. I refuse to try again. As I don't think anybody would survive a 'My top 70 books in 2018' post, I have therefore settled for a Top 10 instead. Just as hard but more doable. What I am NOT attempting is ranking these books in order of merit, enjoyment or any other classification. The numbers purely help me tidy up the page. In my heart, they are all in first place! So here it goes… And please do let me know in the comments below or on Twitter whether you also have loved some or all of these! 1) The Lion Tamer Who Lost by Louise Beech If you haven't experienc...

By Victor Dixen Translated from the French by Daniel Hahn Published by Hot Key Books Synopsis: Six girls, six boys: looking for glory and romance on Mars  They thought they were masters of their destiny. They are the twelve pioneers of the Genesis programme. They thought they were taking part in the most extraordinary of missions. In fact, they are the victims of the cruellest of plots. Leonor was looking for glory - and love - on Mars. She thought she would be able to open her heart there. But what she has done is open up a Pandora's box of her past… How did this book end up in my hands? I won this book in a giveaway. Afterwards, having made it quite clear online that I had adored the first book in the Phobos trilogy, Ascension , I was also approached by the publisher to join the blog tour . Was it a page-turner? I was apprehensive that the second book might have lost the momentum that had started in Ascension but I needn’t have feared. It is as gr...

It is no secret that I adored Ascension by Victor Dixen, which was published in June this year. If you follow me on Twitter, you will have seen me gushing over it again and again. If you only follow my blog, you might have noticed my enthusiasm when I tracked down and interviewed both the English translator and the book cover designer of the series! Despite brief interactions on Twitter, the idea of approaching Victor Dixen himself seemed too daunting so you can imagine my excitement when I was recently offered the opportunity to join the Phobos Distortion blog tour and… wait for it… interview the author! I’m still pinching myself. Ouch! I can confirm I’m not asleep and it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to my stop along the awesome space journey below: And without further ado, I give you Victor Dixen… Hi Victor! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the publication of Distortion , the second book in the Phobos series! Can you please briefly tell u...

Hi Cherie! Thank you for joining me today. I am the proud owner of the first two books in the Phobos trilogy, which you designed the covers for, and they look stunning on my shelves! But let’s begin…  How did you get started in this field? A: No worries, Silvia, and thank you for loving the covers! I always knew I wanted to do something creative but never what to specialise in. I went to University and did a Graphic Design course. In my first year it allowed me to try a mixture of Graphic Design, Animation, Photography, Publishing and Illustration and I ended up specialising in Graphic Design. It wasn’t until after I graduated and did a few work placements within the designing industries, that I knew for sure I wanted to get into publishing, especially fiction book cover design. I landed my first job at Hodder and Stoughton as a junior, then I went on to be a designer at HarperCollins, then finally at Bonnier Zaffre. I’ve now been a freelance designer for the last four months...

By Victor Dixen Translated from the French by Daniel Hahn Published by Hot Key Books Synopsis: Six girls, six boys. Each in the two separate bays of a single spaceship. They have six minutes each week to seduce and to make their choices, under the unblinking eye of the on-board cameras. They are the contenders in the Genesis programme, the world's craziest speed-dating show ever, aimed at creating the first human colony on Mars. Leonor, an 18 year old orphan, is one of the chosen ones. She has signed up for glory. She has signed up for love. She has signed up for a one-way ticket. Even if the dream turns to a nightmare, it is too late for regrets. How did this book end up in my hands? I won a copy of this book ahead of its publication date. I didn’t pay enough attention at the time and I wasn’t aware that this is the first book in a trilogy. It wouldn’t have stopped me from wanting it but I might have waited to read it closer to the publication date of the secon...

Hi Daniel ! Thank you for joining me today. I have just finished reading Ascension , which you translated from the French to English, and I’d like to ask you a few questions both on this specific book and more generally on translation. So let’s begin… How did you get started in literary translation? A: Hi Silvia. Like a lot of people (especially those who started more than a few years ago), I started more or less by accident. A publisher friend asked me to read a book she was considering for publication and tell her what I thought of it; I read it, and told her it was brilliant, and she asked me to translate it, and I said yes. It seemed like a sensible idea at the time, tho’ I’m not so sure now… What did you think when you were first approached to work on Dixen’s first book in the Phobos trilogy? Is this a genre you enjoy translating? A: I haven’t translated anything like this before, but I do read and work with a lot of YA writing (not specifically speculative stuff, just m...