Michelle

That was incredibly dark though, and such a contrast to the basic 'gore' element of the zombies.

I have Testimony on my shelf, and I'll be picking it up very soon. Looking at reviews, he does seem to have a style which not everyone gets on with, but I was gripped by it.

The Machine is set in a bleak near future, where global warming has taken control, with heat and floods, and the youth are to be feared. It's present tense, which is hard to do, and there are no speech marks used. I've read a similar style before, and it was a little jarring, but in this case, I didn't even realise until about half way through! The style is sharp and bleak, and fits perfectly. Beth's husband came back from the war with problems, and was treated using a new machine, which worked by stripping out bad memories and inserting new ones in their place. Developed too quickly, and used by many, including dementia patients, it actually left most severely damaged by it, in a close to catatonic state, and was withdrawn. Beth manages to get hold of an illegal machine, and has a hard copy of her husband's memories. Can she restore him, and then heal him the traditional way instead? I bought this book on Saturday, read a little that night, and finished the rest today - it was literally a hard book to put down, and had me absolutely hooked. It's been called a modern day Frankenstein, which is certainly is, but it's also a frightening glimpse of a possible future, even if you don't consider the memory affecting machine. It's a dark, unsettling book, but with a style which fits, and a story which will keep you reading and thinking.

I have 2 reviews to get done now - the 1st is for Glaze by Kim Curran - this is a YA book being released in May, and is a rather frightening look at what our future of social networking could look like, and how far it could be taken. The 2nd is for The Machine by James Smythe - I picked this up in Waterstones yesterday, when it jumped out at me. I've been literally unable to put it down, and for me, it's been one of those 'wow' books.. although I know it won't be for everyone. Has anyone else read anything by him? Added: Review done!

Yep, it's not quite the same with them all separated out.

Cookie and pontalba are also receiving signed copies, once I can get to the post office! For the other books, names and addresses have gone to the publisher - well done everyone, and happy reading!

I've just finished Shattered, the conclusion to a trilogy by Teri Terry - http://teriterry.jimdo.com/ - it's been a really good series, with each book being strong in it's own way. Well worth checking out.

Don't forget to click on the advert at the top of the forum to get there.

I haven't finalised these yet, but it seems certain that Chrissy and Cookie will receive copies of The Lost and Until You're Mine, so could you please PM me your addresses. Tunn300 - are you in the UK? If so, can you also PM your address please. With the International entries, I need to look at postage costs etc and decide what to do.

Here we are - March already! It's my birthday today, at 41 I've decided that once you hit 40 it should start going backwards! Wednesday is Amy's birthday, she'll be hitting double figures for the 1st time! She has a craft party planned for next Saturday. How's everyone else doing?

It is already mentioned in a few places.

It's very common on forums - message count is supposed to show your contribution to the forum discussions, and thread games aren't really part of that.

There are quite a few Jasper Fforde fans lurking around on here.

A final question from me to our visiting authors.. what's next for you, do you have something due to be published, or something you're working on?

And I would in turn like to thank the authors who have taken the time to come and chat to us. It's not been as busy as I hoped it would be, but it's still been worth it. Also thank you to those authors who spoke to their publishers about arranging giveaways, I will sorting those out at the weekend. Steve, have you met up with Sam yet to sign yours?

How about crime for the YA market - would that work?

Not long left now - remember though that you have to take part in this section to be able to win.

Thank you everyone for taking part so far - there are still a few days left, so do you have any more questions for our authors, recommendations, or topics for discussion? And don't foget to get your name down for the competitions!

My latest audio book was The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey, a book I'd like to recommend, but can't say much about! We're introduced to Melanie, who's kept in a cell, and is taken to her lessons strapped to her wheelchair. This is normal to Melanie, and when she jokes to the adults that she won't bite them, they don't laugh. Yes, this is a type of zombie book, but it takes a rather different approach. The cause of the 'hungries' is different to what I've read before, and the book is very much character driven. Definitely one to check out.

I listened to an audio version of The Martian, and really enjoyed it.. it was like watching a movie in my head.

I've ordered a 2nd hand copy of that one, it sounds good.

I've almost finished a thriller, and there has been times when I've (in my head) yelled at the characters to not do a certain thing, or go to a certain place. However, if they sat around drinking coffee, the story wouldn't have progressed. So, I was wondering whether you can forgive characters in thrillers who make silly decisions, if it keeps the story moving?

I like dark.. I'd read them!

Julia, do you still think thay'd be deemed too dark? There seems to be a lot of scope in children's books now.

Just watched District 9 - a strange film, I'm not sure whether I liked it or not!