Winners of Medina Hill!

The four lucky winners are:

Kelsey (krae991)
Good Golly Miss Holly

Sandra K321

Orchid

I've sent you all an email, so be sure to respond in the next 72 hours or I'll have to pick a new winner(s). Congrats!!

Didn't win? Well, be sure to test your luck again in any of the contests listed above! :)

Giveaway for FOUR copies of Medina Hill!

Thanks to Tundra books, I have FOUR copies of Medina Hill to giveaway!

Here's the summary:

In the grimy London of 1935, eleven-year-old Dominic Walker has lost his voice. His mother is sick and his father’s unemployed. Rescue comes in the form of his Uncle Roo, who arrives to take him and his young sister, Marlo, to Cornwall. There, in a boarding house populated by eccentric residents, Marlo, who keeps a death grip on her copy of The New Art of Cooking, and Dominic, armed with Incredible Adventures for Boys: Colonel Lawrence and the Revolt in the Desert, find a way of life unlike any they have known. Dominic’s passion for Lawrence of Arabia is tested when he finds himself embroiled in a village uprising against a band of travelers who face expulsion. In defending the vulnerable, Dominic learns what it truly means to have a voice.

Trilby Kent brilliantly handles a far-off time and place to present a story of up-to-the-minute relevance.
 
To enter:
 
Leave a comment!
 
Extra Entries:
 
+4 for following me/ subscriber
+2 for becoming a follower/ subscriber
+1 comment on my review below
+1 comment on my interview below
+1 for each time you link to this contest ( Twitter/Facebook/ Myspace/ Blog Sidebar/ Blog Post/ exc.) 
 
Ends:
 
November 24, 2009. Also, this is open INTERNATIANLY .
 
GOOD LUCK!

Quick Q and A's with Trilby Kent

Trilby Kent is the debut author of Medina Hill which is now out. So, without a futher ado here is part two of the "Let's Tour Medina Hill Blog Tour!".

~~~~~~
1) First off, I’m going to give you a couple of categories and I would like you to list your favorite or favorites if you‘re indecisive like me.

Food?

Ooh, this is hard. Right now, it would probably be a double-baked sweet potato with chorizo, chickpeas, kale and mozarella - real winter comfort food! Living in Belgium, I developed a serious penchant for moules frites. I'm also a sucker for eggs benedict, a good Goan curry, or anything with rhubarb in it.

Drink?

Curled up on the sofa with a good book, there's nothing like a sweet and spicy cup of chai. If I'm celebrating, bellinis all round.

Book?

An impossible question! The first book that really touched something inside me - which I'm sure had a lot to do with the age at which I read it - was Nadine Gordimer's The Lying Days. That said, the book I've re-read the most is almost certainly Patricia Highsmith's Eleven. At the same time, my ultimate "pick me up" read is probably Wendy Cope's Serious Concerns. I could go on...

Author?

See above. I have a real fondness for Flannery O'Connor and Truman Capote, huge admiration for Doris Lessing and Rose Tremain, and I've loved almost all of Ian McEwan's work. I think that Michael Morpurgo has done wonderful things for children's literature.

Movie?

My boyfriend and I spent a large chunk of the last year working our way through the complete Werner Herzog collection, and I thought Fitzcarraldo was marvellous. Some time ago, I stumbled upon a very strange but eerily beautiful French film, Innocence, based on a novella by Frank Wedekind, which was weirdly disturbing but made me think more than probably any other movie I've seen recently.

Season?

I'm really enjoying where we are right now: unpredictable, cozy, colourful mid-autumn.

2) Can your describe your debut book, Medina Hill, in five words or less?

Eclectic, eccentric, evocative, lively, nostalgic.

3) What inspired you to write Medina Hill?

A trip to Cornwall, where we stayed in a house that had once been used as an artists' colony.

4) Do you have a favorite scene or line from Medina Hill?

I'm quite partial to the scene in which Dominic meets Sancha for the first time.

5) Are you and your main character, Dominic, alike in any ways?

We share an interest in history, and a real fondness for Cornwall. We also both loathe hypocrisy and xenophobia.

6) Is there anything specific you hope the readers of Medina Hill take from it?

Find your passion - something that excites and inspires you - and follow it.

7) Is there any book out there you just wish you had written yourself?

Atonement, by Ian McEwan.

8) What type of setting do you usually write in?

My study at home - although I'm trying to diversify!

9) I read somewhere that you currently reside in London, England which I personally find really cool. So, can you share with us non- London people, what it’s like living there?

There's a real feeling of having the world on your doorstep, which I find at once hugely inspiring and very humbling. It's an intense city, not to mention hideously expensive, but I love it.

10) What’s up next for you book-wise?

I've recently sent a new children's novel to my editors at Tundra, and I'm also waiting to hear back from publishers about a novel for grown-ups - it's set around the same time as Medina Hill, but most of the action takes place in Ceylon and Flanders. I've just started a PhD, for which I'll have to produce another novel, so at the moment I'm doing lots of reading and planning, and trying to come up with that perfect first line.

11) Is there anything else you would like to add?

Many thanks for having me here, and I hope that you enjoy the read!

~~~

Thanks, Tribly and look for Part 3 coming soon! :)

Let’s Tour Medina Hill: Medina Hill by Trilby Kent

Summary:

In the grimy London of 1935, eleven-year-old Dominic Walker has lost his voice. His mother is sick and his father’s unemployed. Rescue comes in the form of his Uncle Roo, who arrives to take him and his young sister, Marlo, to Cornwall. There, in a boarding house populated by eccentric residents, Marlo, who keeps a death grip on her copy of The New Art of Cooking, and Dominic, armed with Incredible Adventures for Boys: Colonel Lawrence and the Revolt in the Desert, find a way of life unlike any they have known. Dominic’s passion for Lawrence of Arabia is tested when he finds himself embroiled in a village uprising against a band of travelers who face expulsion. In defending the vulnerable, Dominic learns what it truly means to have a voice.

Trilby Kent brilliantly handles a far-off time and place to present a story of up-to-the-minute relevance.

Review:

Medina Hill is a greatly told young adult historical, because of it's mix of finding true friendship and bravery in life.
Dominic was a character that was easy to like and one you constantly rooted for from the start. The same also goes for his sister, but, I personally would have loved to seen more about Dominic’s aunt and uncle, along with the other artists in the colony, back-stories. Simply because they were easily some of my favorite characters.

Further more, it interesting to see how Medina Hill tied in with the story Dominic was reading about Lawrence of Arabia. Plus, Trilby's writing made story flow quite well, making it an overall captivating tale.

In all, Medina Hill is definitely a novel I suggest to all, especially young boys and girls. I look forward to seeing what Trilby comes up with next!

Grade: B+

Medina Hill is now out! You can also find out more at Tundra's site.

* Source of book: Publisher. Much thanks goes to SC for organizing this all! :)