Writer Wednesday – Wendy S. Russo & January Black

Writer Wednesday – Wendy S. Russo & January Black

Today I’m featuring Wendy S. Russo, and her new YA novel January Black, which I also had the pleasure of reviewing. Oh – and somewhere in this post, there’s a super secret hidden link to a super secret second blurb for the novel…look carefully! When you find it, the password is “matty”. All you have to do is click on the link, put in the password, read the excerpt, and then leave a comment and you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a copy of JANUARY BLACK! Woot!

Let’s take a look at the cover:

Isn’t that cover stunning?

January Black Blurb
Sixteen-year-old genius Matty Ducayn has never fit in on The Hill, an ordered place seriously lacking a sense of humor. After his school’s headmaster expels him for a small act of mischief, Matty’s future looks grim until King Hadrian comes to his rescue with a challenge: answer a question for a master’s diploma.

More than a second chance, this means freedom. Masters can choose where they work, a rarity among Regents, and the question is simple.

What was January Black?

It’s a ship. Everyone knows that. Hadrian rejects that answer, though, and Matty becomes compelled by curiosity and pride to solve the puzzle. When his search for an answer turns up long-buried state secrets, Matty’s journey becomes a collision course with a deadly royal decree. He’s been set up to fail, which forces him to choose. Run for his life with the challenge lost…or call the king’s bluff.

My Review:
I lost a few hours as I read this book. It’s a Young Adult novel that is refreshingly and astonishingly intelligent, and the love story is perfectly played out.

Set in a world that is similar to our own but far removed, with a King who leads the people and set mostly in the royal city of Aventine, Matty is given a problem to solve. What was January Black? It takes him two years to solve this question; in that time, we as readers get to know this fascinating world, and delve along with Matty into astronomy, computer coding, chess, a rogue section of the city and even the words of Shakespeare. But as Matty draws closer to an answer, it is the politics of the question that will turn his world upside down.

From Matty’s lightheadedness when he walks into the King’s immense library of real books (ah! The scent of old books!) to the stargazing, to the cryptic messages passed between people who are known only by their number, to the sweet, tentative steps of first and lasting love between Matty and Iris, this is a book to be savored, read, and then read again.

Do you want an excerpt? Click RIGHT HERE for Excerpt Number One. Remember to look for the hidden link to Excerpt Number Two! Password is “matty”.

And of course, here’s a BUY LINK.

You can stalk find Wendy at these fine places:

Blog: http://wendysrusso.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wendy-S-Russo/134565346603922
G+: https://plus.google.com/112814882028410401663
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/wendysrusso
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/wendysrusso

~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~

Demon Soul, Blood Dreams and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?