Thursday, 7 January 2010

PSnarkiversary: William Kostakis (Loathing Lola)

It seemed only fitting that I would post Aussie author, William Kostakis, after Courtney Summers. They are delightfully quirky, of course William's a little more 'off' with his sense of humour but I like him enough to give him a free pass. His debut novel, Loathing Lola was published last year (when he was nineteen) and he's busy at work on book number two.

Adele asked me to write a guest blog about Persnickety Snark, which, to be honest, I stopped reading after she stopped talking about me. But, like any author looking for an avenue to shamelessly promote his work, I graciously accepted her invitation, on the proviso that she hyperlinked every second word to my book’s listing on an online bookstore.

But yes… Persnickety Snark. Now, whether she’ll admit it or not, Adele is important for Australian YA. And I’m not just blowing smoke.

To garner success in today’s YA industry, you need to either have a recognisable name or an unhealthy interest in paranormal abstinence porn. For newcomer YA authors with neither a name nor a penchant for dreamy vampiric leads that sparkle, people with sites like Adele’s are my saviours.

Their decision to read and review a book isn’t based on a name or how Cullen-esque its subject matter is. Their recommendations aren’t dependant on an author’s cumulative sales, their reviews are honest - sometimes brutally so - and they fight for books that they believe in.

I don’t just like Persnickety Snark because it featured a positive review of my own book. Sure, it helped, but what has really endeared me to the blog is its consistency. Every book that I have read that Adele recommended, I have loved. She has yet to get one wrong. And this is high praise coming from me, I’ve disagreed with Roger Ebert - and more than once. Her reviews make sense, her opinions are founded, and the underhanded bitchiness is an absolute delight :)

So, as Adele readies herself for Japanese shenanigans, I wanted to congratulate her on a bumper first year of on-the-nose reviews and much-appreciated snark. Here’s to many, many, many more.

Having anticipated the corniness of what I’m about to say next, I figured it best to say it in lolcat:

Yep, he's a keeper...he made me my own LOLcat.

A big thank you to the snarkalicious William Kostakis for his guest blog. Loathing Lola is available in Australian bookstores and also through the variety of online stores you can find here. You can find out more about this scallywag by visiting his website.

2 comments:

Teena in Toronto said...

Happy new year!

Happy blogoversary!

Adele said...

Happy Bloggiversary *clappity claps*
It's a great blog and I enjoy your reviews. Yay for your guest poster too.