Alex Rider. Crocodile Tears. 12 November. One week to go.

To win a copy of the much-anticipated eighth book in the series, leave a comment telling us what you love most about the Alex Rider series. (For me it’s that underwater escape sequence in Scorpia.) Check back next week to see if you’ve won. Winner will be announced in ‘Comments’ on this post.

And if you can’t wait for Tears to hit shelves, here are some links that’ll keep you busy for a week.

A blog post on Croc Tears from Anthony Horowitz

Video of the author introducing the book and a sneak peek at Horowitz’s office with secret passageway!

Now head over to www.alexrider.com and dive into the world of Alex’s stunts, spy skills, disguises and most dangerous missions. There are heaps of downloads, trailers and fan packs, too.

Oh, and it’s just been announced today that Mr Horowitz will be speaking at Sydney Writer’s Festival’s 2010 School Days sessions. Book quickly.

Tristan

www.tristanbancksflow.blogspot.com

‘The great thing about explorers is that they go wherever they like and do whatever they want, no matter how stupid. They don’t listen to anybody.’

The Really Nearly Deadly Canoe Ride recently hit shelves and it’s another corker from David Metzenthen featuring two of the funniest, coolest, kookiest characters around – Shiny and Pod. It’s the follow-up to the super-dooper Really Really High Diving Tower and The Really Really Epic Mini-Bike Ride, all part of the ‘Aussie Chomps’ series.

Here you can get the inside stuff on the story from the author himself. And, for a chance to WIN your very own copy of the book, just leave a comment telling us your favourite adventure book ever and check back soon to see if you’ve won. The winner will be announced next week!

Dave, what happens in this instalment of the Really series?

Shiny and Pod are given a Canadian canoe, which they paddle down a creek which turns into a river which leads out onto the bay… where there are ships. Of course, they encounter many dangerous and sometimes disgusting things – which tests their seamanship to the limit – although they really have very little skill in paddling, but stacks of enthusiasm for the adventure.

What made you write another book featuring these characters?

I like the boys! I really like their take on the world …They are explorers, and they are slightly crazy … I like their language, I like their terrible suburb, I like the way things go wrong for them.

As a kid, did you go on lots of crazy adventures?

I did go on a few … I used to ride my bike from the city to the bush when I was about twelve… I used to hitch-hike… (God forbid!) I used to play with spears, knives, bows and arrows, sling shots, cracker guns, air rifles etc. I really liked being outside and totally unsupervised.

Sockby, where the stories are set, isn’t the most beautiful town in literary history. Where is it based on?

I just took the worst of many suburbs, and combined these into a place that offers scope for adventure… an industrial estate, a defunct railway line, a dirty creek – choice areas for Shiny and Pod to get out and about… The name comes from the suburb my wife, Fiona, grew up in… Sockburn, in Christchurch, in New Zealand. 

Can you imagine any future Shiny and Pod adventures?

I do have another idea. It involves a method of tranport that is both unusual and has the potential to be extremely dangerous. But I will not reveal it, as no one’s really written about it yet … If people keep reading the Shiny and Pod books, I will try and keep writing them, because I dream of adventures every day! So, get out there – but no hitch-hiking, and never point a spear gun at anyone, and that probably includes fish. 

Hope you enjoy Shiny and Pod’s latest adventure. And don’t forget to leave a comment on your fave adventure book for your chance to win.

Tristan.

www.tristanbancksflow.blogspot.com

It’s 44 days till John Flanagan’s ninth Ranger’s Apprentice book hits stores in Australia and, to celebrate, Random House have re-jacketed the series and are giving the first book away! If you sign up for the Ranger’s Apprentice newsletter you score yourself an ebook version of Ranger’s Apprentice 1: The Ruins of Gorlan

It’s over at www.rangersapprentice.com.au

See you soon.

Tristan

www.tristanbancks.com

Penguin, the publishers not the small fishing gobbling birds that live in the Southern Ocean, recently hosted the march of the penguins. Mexican waves, live drawing, slow motion monster speckies! Popular authors like Morris Gleitzman, Pat Flynn, Michael Wagner and Felice (Specky Magee) Arena lined up for one spectacular event. To see what they got up to, visit The Squawk website.

Oh, and you can win free movie passes, too.

Boy, was I excited when I opened the mail this morning. The good folks at Walker Books Australia knew how much I raved about Snakehead, the seventh Alex Rider novel. So they have sent me a deluxe tin canister edition of the first six Alex Rider novels. So, what to do? Keep it, or find a new home?

I am a huge fan of the author Anthony Horowitz, too. Why? A couple of years ago Anthony was in Australia researching Snakehead when he stopped in to run a free workshop. He was fantastic. Generous, hard working and great to meet.

This box set would make a good Christmas present, wouldn’t it? The question is, for whom?

Okay, it would be selfish of me to horde it. I give in. To make this slick little box set yours*, tell me the name of Alex’s girlfriend to make this fantastic prize yours. First in, best dressed! Answer via the comments box below.

PS, there is an extra secret chapter of Snakehead here.

*Australian entrants, only.

News has just filtered through from his publishers that Robert Muchamore, author of the massively popular Cherub books, is coming to Australia.

Cherub fanatics will have the chance to win one of 15 exclusive opportunities to interrogate Robert Muchamore with their best mate in top secret location, in Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane in August and September.

For details keep an eye on this special website.

And did I mention the stretch Hummer?

Have you seen Andy Griffiths’ new book? Do you like pirates?

Tell us a good pirate joke (or a bad one) and you could win your own copy of Treasure Fever!

The books also comes with a cool pencil case, too. Competition closes Friday 23 May.

If you have heard, seen or read the news this week you will probably know about the assasination attempts on Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao. Luckily, incredibly, both men survived.

So a new book, The Long Patrol, tracing Australia’s involvement with East Timor, is a timely one. It covers the turbulent times from World War 2, to invasion in 1975 by Indonesia, to independence in 1999 and beyond. If you want to know more about Australia’s near neighbour East Timor, The Long Patrol is exciting, clear and well worth looking at.

The author Richard Plunkett has done a great job in making a difficult subject clear. He has spoken to people who who there, and spent a lot of time reading and researching. There are some great maps and photos, too. The Long Patrol is a history book that will help a lot in making sense of today’s news.

Where would movies be without writers? Earlier this week I was lucky enough to see The Golden Compass, the movie based on Philip Pullman’s novel Northern Lights. It’s an action-packed, dramatic, exciting, scary story. The movie looks amazing, especially when Lyra, the story’s hero looks into the golden compass, the instrument that can tell the truth to any question you ask. (No, not like Wikipedia!)

Now the good people at Scholastic have sent me the movie tie-in edition of Northern     Lights, which I would like to give away. To win it, tell me what’s your favourite movie  based on a book?

Matilda? Lord of the Rings? Deadly Unna? (filmed as Australian Rules)

While you are thinking about that, visit the movie website and find out about your own daemon.

Send your answer via the comments below.

Here’s your chance to get published in The Age! Next year, as part of the Premier’s Reading Challenge, The Age is looking to publish a poster each month. The first one, to be published in February, will feature stories of action, conflict and adventure.

So, if you have read say, Snakehead or the books of Extreme Adventure books by Justin D’Ath or Maxx Rumble or anything else with bags of action, get thinking and gt writing! The posters will include reviews of 150 words. Think: short, sharp, punchy and inviting.

Reviews don’t just tell us the plot. Introduce the main character. What is their problem? Who or what will stop them from getting what they want? (Remember the workshop with Michael Wagner?) Did you find the book exciting? How exciting???

Send your review to Mike Shuttleworth as an email to: youthlit@slv.vic.gov.gov.au or snail mail it to me at the Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria.

Get cracking for a chance to share your thoughts with the whole of Victoria.

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