BLOG TOUR - CHARACTER INTERVIEW & REVIEW - EVERY MOVE by ELLIE MARNEY - EVERY # 3 - ALLEN & UNWIN - YA SUSPENSE ROMANCE

I would like to welcome the amazing Mycroft and Watts to Novels On The Run today for my tour stop of the Every Move blog tour.

I have my review up first and then you can read a Q & A with Mycroft and Rachel.

Go forth and enjoy!

By: Ellie Marney
Published By : Allen & Unwin
Released: 1st March 2015
Details: Paperback from publisher for honest review, 338 Pages

RATING: 4.5 MYCROFT STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

The sequel to Every Breath and Every Word.After the dramatic events of London, a road trip back to her old home in Five Mile sounds good (in theory) to Rachel Watts, with her brother Mike in the driving seat. But when Mike picks up his old buddy – the wildly unreliable Harris Derwent – things start to go south. Back in Melbourne, Rachel’s ‘partner in crime’, James Mycroft, clashes with Harris, and then a series of murders suggest that the mysterious Mr Wild – Mycroft’s own personal Moriarty – is hot on their tail. When tragedy strikes, Rachel and Mycroft realise they’ll have to recruit Harris and take matters into their own hands…


BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I simply adore this series, Mycroft and Watts are a brilliant pairing of characters.

I liked Every Breath, more for Mycroft and Watts  as they totally stole the show, and I was blown away by Every Word with its action and suspense and ...Mycroft.

Seriously the things that Ellie had Mycroft and Watts put up against were crazy exciting and the story I simply couldn’t get enough of.

I wanted more.

Now I have more.

I have Every Move.

Mycroft, how I still love thee. You do have a bit of a smoking problem, but I love thee. You are eccentric and I so love you for it. I would so like to meet you in real life.

Watts has her own demons to deal with and I don’t blame her in this installment.

While Mycroft does his thing, Watts has time on her hands and we get to meet somebody else.

I really liked the idea of bringing Harris into the mix, and he has really grown on me.

I like him!

Damn straight!

I think he grew more on my eyeballs when he lifted his shirt. (I so said that out loud didn’t I) 

Harris Derwent – sun-bleached, Driza-Bone-wearing, dickhead tearaway – takes Mike’s proffered hand and smiles from ear to ear as he pulls Mike into something that could be a hug bit looks more like two bulls bumping chests.


Harris’s back is developed in a way I know only happens when men work hard at a physical task for a long time. I can see the bulges at his trapezius when his shoulder blades flex. His waist is tapered, banded with muscle at the back and down either side of his spine.

I love ALL the Aussie slang littered throughout this installment. I chuckled on more than one occasion.

Now I don’t know if this is the last in the series, but I want MORE.

PUBLISHERS! We need more Mycroft and Watts with a delicious side order of Harris, a BFF serve of Mai and her sweet Gus and a yummy helping of Mike.

There is just something spesh about this full on Aussie series with a dash of British eccentricity thrown in.

It's not often we get to make good use of the word conniption, either.

Back at my place, Mum and Dad will probably be having conniptions, and Harris will be borrowing a dry shirt.

Mycroft got smexy!

The feel of his hands on my bare skin makes me reel. He slides his fingertips under the hem of my slip. Trickles his fingers down my outer thighs to my knee-highs, then all the way back up. My whole body is alive, burning with a kinds of delirium.

Then there was Mycroft and the stars. 

The verandah doors open. I glance over, surprised to see Mycroft. he pulls on his coat, his head tilted up, chin high. His Adam's apple moves as he swallows in the sight of all these stars.

"Is it always like this?"

I breathe out. "Not always. But when it's clear - yeah."

"My god."  He smiles up, like he's three years old. "This is incredible."

"Haven't you seen stars before?"

"Not this way. Not so..." He opens out his hands. "It's so big."

"Yep."

He looks at me. "You're jaded, aren't you? It's all old hat to you."

"No," I say. "No I still feel it." 

We know the how and why, Watts and family made it to the city, but then she reflects on where she came from while she has Harris...

Well, you better have a read and see what all this Harris business is all about.

If I was to complain about anything there wasn’t enough of Harris’s muscles, and Mycroft needs to stub his ciggie out. I do know it is his personality and it is a little rebellious to throw that into his character, but... that’s just me.

I love Pickup, he certainly has his hands full with Mycroft and Watts thinking they can handle situations their way when really there was a much more professional way to handle it. But that is these two crazy kids putting themselves into the craziest, dangerous situations and then calling in the big guns when it looks like they are in too much shite.

A fave scene or two was Mycroft looking rather debonair and somebody doing self defense classes.

Mycroft.

The trousers lengthen his legs, hug his slim hips. Thin black braces snap up from his waist. The white shirt and braces accentuate his height and his lean figure- he looks broad-shouldered and classy. His op-shop suit jacket hangs loosely over his shoulder by one finger. There’s a cigarette tucked behind his ear, and his purple –laced Cos add to his outfit’s offbeat allure.

He looks older, somehow, like a boho sophisticate, as though he’s just stepped off the set of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. He looks good – Jesus, he looks so goddamn good I’ve forgotten to breathe. He’s smooth-shaved, and his dark curls are tumbling, and ...and...

I do love this YA series and hope we get some more time with Mycroft and Watts.

Michelle

In the mean time check out this fun Q & A with this great couple.

CHARACTER Q & A 

WITH

MYCROFT & WATTS

Hi Mycroft and Rachel, thank you for joining me today for this Q & A session.

I’ve really enjoyed watching you two in the Every series. I thought Ellie was pretty tough on you both in Every Word.

Holy smokes! You both took a bit of a beating. Good to see you are both doing well.

Michelle: Mycroft, what five words would you use to describe Ellie Marney?

Mycroft: Ellie who?



Michelle: Rachel Watts, if you could choose five words what would they be to describe Mycroft or do you need more? I have to admit I am rather keen to hear what they would be.

When I wrote my review for Every Breath, I came up with this little list : He is quirky, eccentric, a wild card, spontaneous, a contradiction sometimes, observant, sometimes manic, passionate, seventeen, kind hearted, lonely, curious, angry and a genius.

Rachel: Oh, I think I could probably add a few… How about rude –

Mycroft: Rude? I am not rude!

Rachel: You are totally rude. C’mon, Mycroft, you know you’re rude.

Mycroft: (grumbles) Yeah, well I’m not that rude…

Rachel: He’s also –

Mycroft: I like genius. Can we just stick with genius and ditch the rest?

Rachel: Interrupting is rude.



Michelle: I personally love both of your characters. Mycroft, what song would you pick that best describes Watts and why? I was totally bopping to My Sharona by The Knack in Every Breath. 

Mycroft: That is, actually, my go-to song for Rachel. Only she doesn’t think of it that way – (flails) Rachel, would you please stop hitting me, that’s just – ow!

Rachel: I like Riptide, by Vance Joy. 

Mycroft: What she said.



Michelle: Watts, if you could choose any song that would describe your friendship with Mycroft, what would it be and why?

Rachel: (laughs)

Mycroft: Are you not going to answer this question?

Rachel: (wipes away tears) No, no, I am… Right. Ahem. Okay, right, yes, I have the perfect song – Allies by Mutemath. 

Mycroft: That’s not… Actually, y’know that’s not a bad song.

Rachel: I know. That’s why I chose it.

Mycroft: You don’t wanna go for something more punk? I know a few songs by T Rex that are pretty –

Rachel: No. That’s the song.

Mycroft: For the record, I’m going for What I Like About You by the Romantics. 

Rachel: Hey, you already had a go.

Mycroft: (shrugs) It’s a good song. (aside) It’s the best song.



Michelle: Mycroft you are a rule breaker in Every Breath. You beat to your own drum, how do you think you have evolved as a person from being the guy with his lab in his bedroom to the guy who is in Every Move?

Mycroft: I have a girlfriend now.

Rachel: (laughs)

Mycroft: Shut up! (laughs) Seriously, I think I have, y’know.

Rachel: Evolved?

Mycroft: Yes. I’ve evolved. That makes me sound kind of primordial, doesn’t it?

Rachel: You have fewer bad habits, now.

Mycroft: I don’t think evolution is just about reducing your number of bad habits. I think it’s about improving. ‘Adding to’, not just subtracting from. I’ve gotten better at talking.

Rachel: (smiles) Actually, I always thought you were pretty good at talking.

Mycroft: I mean, I’ve gotten better at being honest.

Rachel: Saying what you really feel?

Mycroft: (smiles) You’ve been a good influence on me.



Michelle: If both of you could each cast somebody to play the other persons part in the Every series THE MOVIE, ( thinking big here, people) who would you choose for each other and why? You go first Mycroft and tell me who you would pick for Watt’s character and while you are at it give me Harris too.

Mycroft: Harris could be played by…a mollusc.

Rachel: James! (hits him)

Mycroft: All right, sorry. Ow. Not a mollusc. Rachel could be played by…god, that’s really hard. I can’t think of you being anybody else but Rachel.

Rachel: (smiles) Thank you.

Mycroft: Well, I can’t think of anyone… I don’t really watch telly, y’know, or movies, so I’m not really up with all the actors and so forth…

Rachel: Someone kick-arse.

Mycroft: Definitely someone kick-arse… What about that girl on that show you made me watch, the one that was really scientifically incorrect, about the space station and the kids that were sent to Earth –

Rachel: The 100.

Mycroft: Was that the one?

Rachel: The one that annoyed you, because you said that radiation levels on the ground would have been too high to support –

Mycroft: That’s the one. The girl in that.

Rachel: The lead character? With the blonde hair?

Mycroft: Actually I was thinking of the fierce girl.

Rachel: Lexa? Oh my god…

Mycroft: You’re fierce.

Rachel: (laughs) Okay, fine. I can be Lexa and you can be…

Mycroft: Oh no, not that aggravating guy with the –

Rachel: Bellamy. You can be Bellamy.

Mycroft: He’s tan! He’s not even English!

Rachel: (laughs)



Michelle: Mycroft, we get a new character in Every Move, tell us your personal thoughts on Mike’s friend, Harris and what was going through your head at the dance in that ...err, moment. You know the one. I personally want to add you looked very well put together that night.

Mycroft: Well, thank you, and you’re looking very well-put-together yourself –

Rachel: James.

Mycroft: It’s a compliment! For gods’ sake… (aside) I couldn’t tell you what was going through my head, sorry, as there weren’t a lot of actual thoughts. There were a lot of, um, emotions. I don’t think I was operating at full capacity in that moment, I have to say.

Rachel: You were emotional, at the dance?

Mycroft: It was an emotional moment. And, y’know, I was jet-lagged…

Rachel: (touches his cheek) Silly.



Michelle: Watts, what were your first thoughts when you first laid eyes on Mycroft?

Rachel: Um, I think my first thought was ‘Wow’.

Mycroft: (smug) Ah. Thank you.



Michelle: Mycroft, what was one of the first things that came to mind when you first laid eyes on Rachel?

Mycroft: That she was hitting some strange guy who was standing too close to her, and she looked incredible, because dress, and also she never primps, so she looked really different, and also Strange Guy needed his head punched in, but that wasn’t really a thought so much as… Look, I’m paraphrasing, but yes.



Michelle: Mycroft do you see yourself as a romantic? If you were to take Watts out on a date, what do you think she would expect from a Mycroft style date? I am imagining some danger along the way, even with good intentions of it being a law abiding date.

Mycroft: I am always law-abiding.

Rachel: That is so not true.

Mycroft: Have we ever actually been out on a date?

Rachel: Y’know, I don’t think we have.

Mycroft: That’s a definite oversight. We should go out on a date. Yes – what do you do on dates?

Rachel: Fun stuff that ends in kissing?

Mycroft: That sounds perfectly acceptable. Yes, I’m excited about this idea now. I think I am a romantic.

Rachel: (rolls eyes) When was that not ever a given?

Mycroft: I think…coffee. Or dinner. And then a visit to the most romantic place I know.

Rachel: If you say the Museum, I’m going to –

Mycroft: Carlton Gardens.

Rachel: (laughs)

Mycroft: And then the Museum.

Rachel: (laughs harder)

Mycroft: Come on, the Museum is awesome! How can you not love the Museum!



Michelle: Mycroft, as you seem to be a drop-everything-and-take-an-adventure kind of guy, how do you see your future with Watts? Normal isn’t something that you currently do. Spontaneous is more your cup of tea.

Mycroft: Spontaneous and tea, in one question! I love this question! But for the future…I don’t know. I think we’d probably better study for a bit, which isn’t very spontaneous, but still kind of necessary. And then…travel?

Rachel: I’d actually like to see London as a tourist, instead of a hostage.

Mycroft: That would make a nice change, wouldn’t it? And I promise to show you all the nice parts of it.

Rachel: (smiles) I’m already looking at the nicest part.



Michelle: What quotes would best describe each of you, where you are at in your lives, now?

Mycroft: A quote? Oh god, another hard question…

Rachel: I like the one you already told me.

Mycroft: About covalent bonds?

Rachel: Yep. The covalent bonds. (aside) Covalent bonds are stronger than anything, you know.



Michelle: To finish off, could you each make a four verse poem that lets the other one know what is the thing you like the most about him or her.

Mycroft: Ah. No.

Rachel: (laughs) What he said. Sorry. Oh, but I know a nice piece of poem, by Walter de la Mare, so I could quote that? Okay, here goes:

‘Flee into some forgotten night, and be

Of all dark long, my Moonbright company.

Beyond the rumour even of Paradise, come;

There, out of all remembrance, make our Home.’

Mycroft: I like that.

Rachel: Me too (smiles)



Michelle: Thank you for chatting with me today, guys.

Mycroft: A pleasure!

Rachel: (laughs) It really was. Thanks for having us! (waves)

BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY - EVERY WORD by ELLIE MARNEY - EVERY # 2 - YA SUSPENSE THRILLER ROMANCE - ALLEN & UNWIN - 5 STARS!!

By: Ellie Marney
Published By : Allen & Unwin
Released : Available Now
Details : Paperback from publisher for honest review, 340 Pages

RATING: 5 HELL YEAH STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

James Mycroft has just left for London to investigate a car accident similar to the one that killed his parents seven years ago...without saying goodbye to Rachel Watts, his 'partner in crime'.

Rachel is furious and worried about his strange behaviour - not that Mycroft's ever exactly normal, but London is the scene of so many of his nightmares. So Rachel jumps on a plane to follow him...and lands straight in a whole storm of trouble.

The theft of a copy of Shakespeare's First Folio, the possible murder of a rare books conservator, and the deaths of Mycroft's parents...Can Watts help Mycroft make sense of the three events - or will she lose him forever?

Sparks fly when Watts and Mycroft reunite in this second sophisticated thriller about the teen sleuthing duo.


BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

WOW!

Loved this installment.

Holy mac and cheese, it has everything.

Every series is set in and around Melbourne, Australia, but in this installment we head off to London. We get to see the true UK version of Mycroft. He is in his natural habitat. I did laugh at his views on how to pull the wool over an English persons eyes.

Mycroft, bless him, he was simply brilliant in Every Word. There are many layers to this lad. I loved him in Every Breath, he is even more, in this installment.

He’s wearing jeans and his black T-shirt, he’s stripped off his red trackie jacket and tied it around his waist, and his hair is like a riot in a rubber band factory. His jaw works furiously as he chews on a tab of nicotine gum -- he hasn’t had a cigarette in eight weeks, so it must help somehow -- but he’s grinning at me.


This is what I wrote in my Every Breath, Every # 1, review about Mycroft :

He is quite an addictive character. He is a different YA male lead that we can crush on.

He is quirky, eccentric, a wild card, spontaneous, a contradiction sometimes, observant, sometimes manic, passionate, seventeen, kind hearted, lonely, curious, angry and a genius. You want to see what he does next.

He is a rule breaker. He sees the inside of a jail cell.

He is interesting.


All of the above, still stands. Mycroft, is just such an addictive character. Ellie writes him so well. I have a fictional crush on him. She gives him highs and she gives him his lows.

He might need to just ... crash and burn a bit before he’s ready to accept support.

He has a tendency to be quite theatrical with his passionate dialogue.

“This is all you get, Rachel -- a pile of fucking debris. The rest of me is just ...smoke.”

But, in the next breath he can be quite the lad.

“Please don’t smoke that in my car,” Walsh says firmly. Actual proof that he sometimes checks the rear-view mirror.

“It’s a rental,” Mycroft complains.

“I’m not renting these lungs. They’re mine.”

I tap my own chest between the zipper teeth. “And these are mine.”

“The boobs?” Mycroft gives my chest an appraising look. “Well, they’re certainly not fake.”

“Mycroft, stop talking.” Walsh says.


There was danger.

Smackdowns!!!

“Watts.” His whole face relaxes when he sees me. He grins. “Have you been having fun without me?”


Smexi YA moments. * waggles eyebrows *


“Shall we try this again?” Mycroft slides his hands around my waist as I turn.

“Yes.” I grin. “Without the crashing this time.”

“Right. No bump and grind. Slow dancing.” Mycroft pushes gently until my back hits the wall. His eyes flare as he leans in. "Got a bit carried away before, sorry. You’re here.”

“I’m here.” I nod and smile.

“Inside my room.” His lips turn up delightfully.

“Uh-huh.”

Ellie did turn the heat up quite a bit with the smexi.

What would it be like with his shirt off, the two of us pressed up against the wall near his bed... What if it was deeper, stronger...

In that instant, I want to know what it would be like.

Deeper. Stronger.

I push him back, yank my T-shirt up over my head.

Mycroft’s blue eyes light with a high, serious burn. He arches and strips off his own T-shirt.


See, now, if you wanna know more, you have to get the book.

But!!

All is not smooth sailing.


This was not that. I don’t know what it was. It had a quality about it... A finality.

It’s rattled me to the core. I stand there, staring at the cracks in the hallway paintwork, completely shell-shocked.


I was rattled too. I was spluttering.

My breath catches in my throat. I can’t knock. I can’t break this spell. This boy who makes my heart lose rhythm, whose hands have touched my skin, whose mind is bright as diamond. This boy who cannot let go, whose past is buried in the ground, in another country...


I love me some Pickup. He's really grown on me.

Detective Senior Sergeant Vincent Pickup, of St. Kilda Road Police Headquarters, Homicide Division, looks like a ginger tomcat that was dumped in a hessian sack and thrown in the river, before clawing its way out and drying on the bank.

He’s wearing what appears to be the exact same suit he had on the last three times I saw him, possibly with the same shirt. His nose and cheeks are a knobbled, pockmarked mass and his ranga hair has been flattened with the palm of his hand.

Pickup’s eyes, though, are steady, like pale blue chips off an Arctic glacier. Right now, he’s got them squarely focused on me.

I just reread my review for Every Breath and Ellie has definitely stepped it up. She made this a brilliant five star read for me, because she made it believable that these two kids could pull off what they did in this book. My love for Watts and Mycroft has only grown.

I have Watcroft love or Mywatts. :D

Man, I am excited for everybody to read Every Word. Like, uber excited. Ellie  brought the party to London, she gave them chaperones, so to speak, not that these two used them a lot, but it made how the plot unfolded believable and highly exciting. I was flipping the pages. I was reading until 2.00am. I didn’t want to put the book down.

Mike, Rachel’s brother was a really cool guy in this book. He really has grown on me.

Ellie really cemented these two kids and their abilities as crime solvers. They are only seventeen, and you do tend to forget that when reading. I think to a certain extent Ellie has listened to the readers reviews for, Every Breath.  She totally brought an exciting, believable adventure, that really did have me wanting to be Watts and have a bit of a snog with Mycroft. It brought back all that brilliant escapism of my youth. I just want to be Watts. She rolls her sleeves up, she is tough, she is there for Mycroft.

The villain, was a darn good villain. Ellie meant business with this villain. Oh, yeah! 

Ouch!

I so could see this as a tv series. 

I can't stop talking about Mycroft!

Mycroft is such an interesting, complex guy who we certainly discover more about in this book, with more seeds dropped. Mycroft is not your normal lead guy, he is different, and I so love him for it.

He is cool, without trying to be cool.

Rachel Watts aka Watts is a really great female lead. I loved her whole thought process when it came to Mycroft. They simply work well together. It may not always be easy with Mycroft, but Watts is always loyal and dependable. 

True to Every Breath, Mycroft is the knight in a shining hoodie when it counts.

I really didn’t want this book to end. It was a non stop ride. Strap yourself in for the emotional. The smexi and the peril.

Oh and there are some pretty hot kisses too.

Double thumbs up for Every Word.

Hell. Yeah!

I'm rather bouncy for Every Move # 3 releases March 2015.

I could so read a pile of books in this series, but Every Move is the conclusion. 

* sad face * 

Michelle

GIVEAWAY 

The lovely Allen & Unwin are donating

 1 x paperback of Every Word

For me to giveaway.

You will want to win this!!

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Aussie Residents Only

Publisher is posting the prize

Leave comment, and email addy or twitter or facebook so I can contact winner, easily.

Answer Q: What was the last book you read by an Australian author?

Go like Ellie's Facebook page HERE

STARTS NOW

ENDS 12TH JUNE 2014

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ellie Marney was born in Brisbane, and has lived in Indonesia, Singapore and India. Now she writes, teaches, talks about kid’s literature at libraries and schools, and gardens when she can, while living in a country idyll (actually a very messy wooden house on ten acres with a dog and lots of chickens) near Castlemaine, in north-central Victoria. Her partner and four sons still love her even though she often forgets things and lets the housework go. Ellie’s short stories for adults have won awards and been published in various anthologies. Every Breath is her first novel for young adults.

Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

BLOG TOUR - INTERVIEW with EVERY BREATH AUSTRALIAN DEBUT AUTHOR ELLIE MARNEY - YA CRIME THRILLER - ALLEN & UNWIN

Today I would like to welcome Australian debut author, Ellie Marney to Novels On The Run for a Q & A session. Her recently released YA debut, is titled Every Breath and I personally loved Mycroft and Watts. Here is my review . So, without further ado, here is the interview with Ellie.

Enjoy!

Michelle: Hi Ellie.

Ellie: Hi Michelle, nice to meet you!

Michelle:  What five words describe Ellie Marney the AUTHOR?

Ellie: Um, let me see… Tenacious (definitely), passionate (which I sometimes have to dial down, so my friends don’t always get ‘here, let me talk to you about books all day’), rural (country people write a little different, I reckon), and always learning! 

Michelle:  Every Breath has quite a different male lead. He is a genius, but he comes with his own skeletons. He is complicated. Mycroft , the name I had to get used to as I kept calling him Microsoft in my head. I know, silly me. It is an unusual name, James being his first name, but you choose to write him as Mycroft. But it suits the whole super sleuth thing you are doing. Watts and Mycroft. Or is it Mycroft and Watts? It has a nice ring to it. How did you come up with their names? Was it intentional to give them that Sherlock and Watson type feel being a fan of the crime genre like you are?

Ellie: I always think of them as Mycroft and Watts. Although my editor pointed out that Watts is relating the story, so really it should be the other way round! But in Conan Doyle’s stories, it was always Holmes and Watson, even though Watson was the narrator, so I guess I’m following the theme! But Mycroft is complicated, and he’s kind of the catalyst for the story – when Mycroft’s around, crazy things happen – so I usually think of him in the lead.

Mycroft certainly has some dark backstory – eccentric characters like Mycroft usually get that way for a reason. Interestingly, I plucked his first name, James, out of the air (he just seemed like a James!), and only when I went back and did more research did I discover that Sherlock’s old nemesis, Moriarty, is actually James Moriarty. So in a way, Mycroft is his own worst enemy!

Michelle:  The more I read Mycroft, the more I kept likening his characteristics to Robert Downey Jr’s version of his Holmes. He is unpredictable, eccentric and addictive. No matter what he comes up with, you go along with his plan or idea. What five words would Mycroft use to describe Watts? What five to ten words would Watts use to describe Mycroft? I just feel like there are more than five words for this lad.

Ellie: In the original canon, Sherlock Holmes was unpredictable, eccentric and addictive – and persuasive! He could talk Watson into going off on an adventure with him at a moment’s notice. I think Mycroft has that same power – everything he says sounds so reasonable and logical, you can’t help but agree to his schemes! Watts has to remind herself all the time that Mycroft’s plans aren’t always the most sensible option, but she finds him rather hard to resist…

Mycroft’s words for Watts, hm… I think he would choose obscure hard-to-pronounce words just for the hell of it! Like cognisant (when he meant ‘being perceptive’), perspicacious (when he meant ‘smart’), homeostatic (when he meant ‘steadfast’), pulchritudinous (when he meant ‘hot’). I think there’s actually a whole lot of words about Watts that Mycroft expends a lot of energy not saying…especially to her, face to face.

Watts would have way more than five to ten words for Mycroft, and a lot of them would probably be swear words! That’s one of Watts’s best characteristics – she calls it like she sees it. So what would she call Mycroft? Probably…tall, sarcastic, too intelligent for his own good, eccentric, extreme, infuriating, exhausting…but in the back of her mind there would be other words too, like incredibly attractive, and alone.

Michelle:  What song would best describe Mycroft’s character and why?

Ellie: Well this is gonna sounds crazy, but Mycroft kind of has a theme song for every book! And actually finding Mycroft’s song has become an important part of writing each book, kind of a touchstone I keep returning to.

In Every Breath, Mycroft’s song is the one we discover him bopping along to when Watts first visits him in his room (‘The Stranger’s Room’) in chapter two – My Sharona, by The Knack. Something about the lyrics and the frenetic energy of that song really drew me! And then I remembered that in the old detective show Monk, the ‘girl Watson’ character was actually called Sharona, so I figured it was perfect. :) 

Michelle: It is almost gender reversal roles for these two characters. Watts is more about the action, she can horse ride, motorbike ride, appears fitter and Mycroft is not. He smokes, drinks, gets thrown into jail and he has his in-room lab. Was this more a conscious thing to do with their characters, or the more you wrote Mycroft, the more he told you how he was going to behave?

Ellie: Oh that was very deliberate, and the characters seemed to want it that way too. It made sense: Rachel Watts is a country girl, she’s pragmatic, down-to-earth, with a lot of practical skills and ruddy cheeks. Mycroft is all about the smarts – he’s a book-learning kind of guy – and he has a lot of vices.

But curiously enough, Mycroft is also good with people, after growing up in the city – he likes to talk to people, to understand them, as well as find out the word on the street. Rachel has lived in an isolated rural area up to this point, so she’s really not that used to people. I think she finds Mycroft’s easy way with people quite disarming, and charming – it’s kind of an old-fashioned charm she enjoys and appreciates.

Michelle:  Book Two in the series is titled Every Word. Mycroft ends up in London.

What five words can you use without spoiling, that describe Every Word?

Ellie: Dangerous, spontaneous, sexy, angsty, heart-stopping! Oh, there’s so much I love about Every Word – but I don’t want to give too much away!

Michelle:   From when you started the first page of Every Breath , to the last page, what was the most surprising thing you learnt along the way?

Ellie: I think the surprising thing I discovered was how exciting it became, to be caught up in Rachel and Mycroft’s world. I write very early in the morning (5am-7am), and you’d think it would be groan-inducing to get up that early to write…but so many mornings my alarm would go off and I would be like, ‘Yeess!’ It was really exciting to get up and throw myself back amongst the characters! So I think I knew, even before Every Breath was accepted for publication, that if the writing was giving me such a thrill, then the book would be thrilling for readers as well.

Michelle:  We readers, we generally have a book boyfriend. Who is yours and from what book and why?

Ellie: Oh, I have so many book boyfriends! (I really get around!)

No, seriously, I’ve fallen for many book characters in my time – Homer, from Tomorrow When the War Began, and Wolfboy, from This is Shyness, and Jonah Griggs, from On The Jellicoe Road…and I had a major crush on Clarice Starling, from The Silence of the Lambs for a long time.

But my current amour would have to be Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. Will is so storm-tossed and angsty and sarcastic…*sigh* He might even be enough to tempt me away from my long-term bf, Sherlock Holmes…well, maybe.

Michelle:  What has been the most memorable book signing event for another author or a book event you have attended, and why?

Ellie: I think probably the most memorable event I’ve been to for another author was the Melbourne Writers Festival, about five years ago, when I saw Margo Lanagan speak. Later, I joined the queue to get her autograph on my copy of Black Spikes – she’s an incredible writer, and I was just so thrilled to meet her!

Michelle: What has been the best advice given to you by another author?

Ellie: I was at the Ballarat Writers Festival a few years ago, with a 10-page excerpt from my own novel in my hot sweaty hand, and I’d just stepped outside the venue for a moment to gather my nerve before attempting to talk to some of the publishers and agents on the panels.

At that moment, another author (who’d been on a panel and whose name I don’t even recall now) was leaving to go home, and she caught my eye on the stairs. She asked me if I had anything to shop, and I said yes. And then she said ‘Don’t wimp out. Go do it. This is your chance to talk to people in the industry, so grab it with both hands’. It really bolstered my courage, and I’ve been appreciative ever since.

Michelle:  To close out the interview, if I gave you a plain T-shirt to write a quote on that meant something to you, what would it say?

Ellie: Oh, that’s easy – it would be this, from the poem The Tryst, by Walter de la Mare. I read it when I was in high school, and for some reason it’s never left me.

‘Flee, into some forgotten night, and be

Of all dark long, my Moonbright Company.

Beyond the rumour even of Paradise, come:

There, out of all remembrance, make our home.’

Michelle: Thank you again for answering my Questions Ellie, and all the best with your writing!


Ellie: Thanks Michelle, I had a great time!

Xx Ellie

BOOK REVIEW - EVERY BREATH by ELLIE MARNEY - YA CRIME THRILLER - ALLEN & UNWIN

By: Ellie Marney

Published By: Allen & Unwin

Released : Available Now

Details : Paperback from Publisher for review, 335 Pages

Rating: 4 MARVELOUSLY QUIRKY MYCROFT & WATTS STARS 

Blurb: Goodreads

Rachel Watts is an unwilling new arrival to Melbourne from the country. James Mycroft is her neighbour, an intriguingly troubled seventeen-year-old genius with a passion for forensics. Despite her misgivings, Rachel finds herself unable to resist Mycroft when he wants her help investigating a murder. And when Watts and Mycroft follow a trail to the cold-blooded killer, they find themselves in the lion's den - literally.

A night at the zoo will never have quite the same meaning again..


BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I liked this story. I loved Mycroft and Watts. I uber loved Mycroft.

He is Sherlock’s Robert Downey Jr meets Elementary’s Sherlock aka Jonny Lee Miller in a seventeen year old body. And, you know without the Matrix style combat that Robert has down pat.

I LOVE Mycroft. Just had to say it again.

He is quite an addictive character. He is a different YA male lead that we can crush on.

He is quirky, eccentric, a wild card, spontaneous, a contradiction sometimes, observant, sometimes manic, passionate, seventeen, kind hearted, lonely, curious, angry and a genius. You want to see what he does next.

He is a rule breaker. He sees the inside of a jail cell.

He is interesting.

Rachel Watts is intelligent, more the go getter, action gal, curious, spontaneous, seventeen, observant, angry, dependable. 

Yes, they have similarities but they also don’t. They complement each other. One balances out the others manic. They can calm each other when need be.

Mycroft can convince Watts to do almost anything, yet she can be in charge too, doing the convincing. 

You can forget they are only seventeen.

There is like a gender reversal in their roles to an extent. Mycroft will become the saviour when he is pushed to come through for Watts but she is more the one to do the climbing and jumping.

She is verbs to his nouns.

They are a genuine team.

Mycroft can rattle off all this genius stuff, he knows shiz. He has a website. He wants to discuss and talk, get answers, debate, solve...do stuff with his in-room lab... which he smashed.

Mycroft grins, 'So, you've only been in the city four months and you're already the babysitter for the school's eccentric genius.'

'It's been four and a half months. And if you were such a genius, you wouldn't have a black eye.'

'I'm only a genius with facts. I'm an academic genius and a social moron.'

'At least you admit to being a moron at something.'

'I admit to being a moron at lots of things. Being a moron in one or two areas serves to highlight my extraordinary brilliance in everything else.'

Now I am going to be honest, as this is Ellie’s debut book, and explain why I am not giving this a five star. I really do love the characters, even the sub characters Mai and Gus, Gray Jetta and Mike.

I thought, and this is my one opinion, that the actual believability of a part of the plot was a little wobbly for me. Seventeen year olds getting the information they got from Professor Walsh and just the whole bit where they didn’t really give Detective Pickup the chance to investigate, they thought they knew better and assumed that the professionals were not smart enough to solve the crime or cared to. I know that is the whole premise of this story, Ellie’s characters are crime solvers. But I wanted it to be stronger and more believable that part of the story line.

What I am trying to say is, what teenagers really could take on a crime solving mission and get as far as they got with getting information from adult professionals, getting a look at the body in the morgue etc. You really don’t just ask and get a yes in the real world. But then that is the magic of these two I suppose. Doing what others can’t. 

AND this is a Sherlock style read. I just thought maybe it wasn’t for me personally, the strongest part of the book. 

I liked where Ellie had them doing their own investigating with things they could do without being involved with the Police/Pathologist/Professionals side of it. That felt more real. I could see them working it out and talking to who they needed to talk to, to get information. More puzzle pieces collected to put towards the bigger picture.

Putting that aside, because that may be me being uber picky, I really like where Ellie is going.

Mycroft has a lot of layers to him, he is driven by his own personal demons to seek justice.

There is a scene in Every Breath which shows us Mycroft's inner pain. It kinda hurt my heart watching him in his stupor. Well, actually a couple of scenes.

He looked pitiful.

I sank on my knees on the booze-sodden carpet, as though I was trying to make myself seem less intimidating to an injured animal. 'Mycroft, take it easy.'

'No, you jes'...'

'Hey.' My hands were up, palms out. 'It's okay.'

One of my fave parts of the book was being introduced to Mycroft's room and essentially Mycroft too. We get a lot of his personality from this scene.

Mycroft's door has a hand-lettered sign, The Stranger's Room, taped to it along with a bunch of other crap: a poster for The Chemical Brothers, a sign saying WARNING: Safety Glasses Must Be Worn at All Times, and a yellow plaque with the universal black skull-and-crossbones danger symbol. I can hear the unmistakeable thump of The Knack oozing from behind the wood veneer.

I rap twice. 'Oi! It's me!'

The door is flung wide. The music is suddenly much louder. A fug of cigarette smoke escapes from the room, taking off for the stratosphere by way of the hall ceiling.

Mycroft stands there with a fag dangling from his lips, nodding along to 'My Sharona' like one of those floppy-headed dogs that sit on the dashboard. He's wearing a burgundy velveteen robe, loosely belted over cotton boxer shorts. His cuts and bruises stand out, and his hair looks particularly frightful.

'About bloody time.' The cigarette wobbles, spills ash onto the carpet. 'I'm starving.'

He puts his hands on his hips and his robe gapes.

'For god's sake, Mycroft, get your gear on. That's more than I really need to see.

The minute I saw the name My Sharona, I heard the song coming out of the book. That very, The Knack's beat, for this song. It just gave this whole 3D feel to being in Mycroft's room with him all burgundy..ed up and nodding to the beat. What can I say, it is my vintage.

Ellie has thrown in some serious issues along the way that show us Mycroft in a different light. A lad that is carrying a lot of pain about with him.

'Thanks, Watts. For getting me squared away.'

What I will say is Ellie gave me such a distraction with Mycroft and Watts.

They are a wonderful escapism to read. 

'I can already see you in ripped fishnets, knee pads and a crash helmet,'Mycroft says in a thoughtful voice. 'Your name would be ... Whacker Watts!'

I really do love them. They have only known each other four months but they gel. I couldn't really imagine these two apart from each other. I see them with little genius kids who are bopping to My Sharona. We can see that Mycroft wouldn't do well without Watts in his life.

'How can someone so smart be such an utter moron? What on earth were you thinking?'

'I WASN'T BLOODY THINKING, okay?'

What I liked was Ellie made the two families, real Aussie battlers. Watt’s family has fallen on hard times and everybody is doing the best they can to get through the day. Nobody is enjoying the job they have, but they are doing what they have to do to pay the bills, put food on the table.

Mycroft’s situation is a little different, a little sadder.

A little lonelier.

His personality, I really absorbed. He has many sides to him. He can be a bit of a hermit when he chooses to be, being anti social to Watt’s family who feeds him, yet he is a bit of a lad about town with all the people he knows that can get him from A to B and a free Baklava . He knows how to work being penniless to his advantage.

'Is there a tram driver in this city you aren't on a first-name basis with?' I ask as I flump down. I'm still stinging from the 'country girl' thing. 'I mean, there's Sharman on the school run, and Glenda on Saturdays. We had Cheryl last week -'

'Nick only does alternating months.' Mycroft checks the thermos and tries to shove it further into his backpack but it won't go. 'The racing keeps him busy.'

'You didn't answer my question.'

He blinks at me. 'Well, Watts, I'll let you in on a secret: people, if you talk to them, often talk back. Staggering concept, I know. And not freqently applied to in the city, but I'm an old-fashioned guy. Chatting's not a crime, is it?'

Yet at the same time, he brings on negativity from his peers by breaking rules, spontaneously, deliberately. He has bigger things on his mind than to worry about little rules. They just get in his way.

I really liked the ending. I was on the edge of my chair, so to speak. I felt very , very tense. I liked the villain. You can’t pick the motive and the weapon. That was a cool twist. A clever well thought out villain. 

The blurb for Every Word # 2 in the series is already telling me something from what I read in Every Breath.

Ellie drops seeds in this book for Every Word # 2. Look for them, you will find them.

I am intrigued to know more. I am interested to see how penniless Mycroft makes it to London. Again were there seeds dropped in this installment? Well there may have been. All I know is Mycroft and Watts may be doing it hard now financially but with their brains, they will go on to much better things eventually, financially. You can’t be this intelligent and stay an Aussie battler.

Oh and he sounds like a gorgeous kisser, too.

'Bossy, aren't you?' He's grinning as he heads for the door. 'Stay over one night, and it's all do this, do that, get me tea - '

Michelle