A Wanderer in Paris

A temple to what?

2012-01-28T11:15:00.002+01:00

I am an atheist. I'm also always a little unsure how to spell the word, but there's no squiggly underline, so I think I'm good. Anyway, my point is I don't believe in a god or supreme being or that the world was created in seven days. I look around me and I see what goes on in the name of religion and I don't agree with all that. I don't believe that what counts as religion on this planet today was dictated by some deity, it all smacks a little too much of man's fallibility to me. But, and here's a pretty big but, that's what I think and if you think differently, if you believe, than that's OK. Because in the end we live on a pretty big planet and there's room for what I believe and there's room for what you believe. If (this is another biggie) we can live peacefully and harmoniously, then in the end we don't think too differently, do we?

And then there's Alain de Botton. I've read a couple of his books. Both of which I enjoyed, although there was probably some pages in On Love where I wanted to slap him. He's not a philosopher who leaves me scratching my head and feeling stupid, but does encourage thought. And so I suppose in one sense this whole nonsensical idea of a Temple of Atheism has encouraged thought and a decision making process. I don't agree with it.

Rather than attack religion, De Botton said he wants to borrow the idea of awe-inspiring buildings that give people a better sense of perspective on life.

Personally, I find the Guggenheim in Bilboa, kind of awe-inspiring and because I like art the inside, it gives me a better sense of perspective on life too.

And the tallest suspension bridge over the Tarn Valley in France, I think that would do it to. In fact going over the Severn Bridge on the back of a motorcycle on a windy day pretty much did it for me too.

[Richard] Dawkins criticised the project on Thursday, indicating the money was being misspent

Given the amount of debt we're all in at the moment, £1m probably isn't going to solve a great deal, but I do agree that it's money that could be better spent.

[Dawkins goes on to say] ... that a temple of atheism was a contradiction in terms.

That was my first thought.

The idea has echoes of earlier atheist spaces, ranging from churches converted to "temples of reason" during the French revolution to the Conway Hall in London which is run by the humanist South Place Ethical Society.

Ok so these are/were spaces that served some function to the public. It wasn't just a space right? In which case if you want a temple of something why not give your £1m to... libraries. Don't know, it's just an idea, they're underfunded, threatened with closure, encourage free thinking. They may even lead some people to give up on religion, or get better at cooking, who knows? But they do serve a purpose.

The temple features a single door for visitors who will enter as if it were an art installation.

Because let's face it, that's what it is isn't it? It's a 151 ft tower (snigger snigger) not to atheism, but to the person who managed to raise £1m pounds from anonymous donors and others who want their mere mortality remembered by a great big phallic grave stone in the middle of London, because they can't have a gravestone in a cemetery because they don't believe. PURLEASE. Go and think up some good ideas and leave atheism alone.

Thanks to @dadwhowrites who alerted me to this silly, silly idea yesterday. Although we usually compare three year old bad behaviour, he also puts up lots of cool news articles on Twitter (which get me thinking) and he blogs here: Dad who writes

Quotes are from this Guardian article:

Alain de Botton reveals plans for 'temple to atheism' in heart of London

And photos are from Google image search.

A Memory: Yellow

2012-01-27T09:00:00.001+01:00

Assisi, Italy

A book review: Howl's moving castle

2012-01-23T09:00:00.000+01:00

Title: Howl's moving castle
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Published: Greenwillow Books (1986)

Synopsis: In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks, and seven-league boots were everyday things. The Witch of the Waste was another matter.

After fifty years of quiet, it was rumored that the Witch was about to terrorize the country again. So when a moving black castle, blowing dark smoke from its four thin turrets, appeared on the horizon, everyone thought it was the Witch. The castle, however, belonged to Wizard Howl, who, it was said, liked to suck the souls of young girls.

The Hatter sisters--Sophie, Lettie, and Martha--and all the other girls were warned not to venture into the streets alone. But that was only the beginning.

In this giant jigsaw puzzle of a fantasy, people and things are never quite what they seem. Destinies are intertwined, identities exchanged, lovers confused. The Witch has placed a spell on Howl. Does the clue to breaking it lie in a famous poem? And what will happen to Sophie Hatter when she enters Howl's castle?

From Amazon.co.uk

Star parts: Start with action, introduce your main character straight away, let your reader know what he or she wants. To be honest Wynne Jones doesn't do that. By the time Sophie had got herself into a perfect pickle I was rather fed up with her. She was a wet blanket without a ingle bit of oomph around her. Or at least that's what I thought until she picked the wrong customer to get all lippy with and as I said ended up in a bit of a fix.

Another strong point in the book are the characters. Right from the beginning Wynne Jones made the reader lost sympathy with Sophie, so that when she has to sort things out we're right there with her cheering her along, because she's finally taking some action. Her sisters Lettie and Martha are originally painted as Sophie sees them, and boy is Sophie wrong about her sisters. Michael provides some relief from all the tricky characters by being exactly what he says he is, Howl's apprentice. Calcifer tries very hard to be mean, but he just can't manage it in the end. And Howl, well you never quite know with him, although I did suspect that he couldn't be all bad.

I loved the world building in this book and then when we were unexpectedly transported back into our own world those scenes were hysterical, but I won't say too much about that. Wynne Jones' imagination keeps the reader hooked and then makes you go back through the book to catch all those little hints and clues that you missed the first time.

Black clouds: This is more of a slightly grey cloud on the horizon that can be blown away. The beginning was kind of slow and I was slightly tempted to put the book down, I'm glad I didn't. And the ending was all kind of quick. It reminded me a bit of the ending of Oscar Wilde play (I won't say which one) or a certain Shakespeare play (again won't say which one), and perhaps it was all intentional, but I would have liked maybe a page more of ending.

Do I recommend it: What do you think? Of course I do and I've got another Wynne Jones in my TBR pile.

It's not time for the holidays yet

2012-01-21T11:19:00.002+01:00

One of the things I never appreciated about France until bagging a Frog was the importance of holidays. At work the february school break is called Ski break. Now as one who has never skied, I can drop a whole load of reasons why I don't want to try (and regularly do to my sister in law as February swings round), but this major clue about where holidays lay in the French psyche still didn't get through to mine. The summer holidays are called 'Les grands vacances' another big clue, and I'm sure I've written here about how Paris clears out during the summer. And Boulogne Billancourt as Paris' 21st arrondissement is no exception. If anything, last year our residence was like a ghost building as we rattled around here post move. So why am I mentioning it now? Because in order for the big clear out to take place, the French spend January scouring the internet looking for somewhere to stay. And frankly all those holiday villas, houses, apartments are starting to blend into one and I can't look at another 'annonce' right now.

So, here I am turning my mind to my writing resolutions 2012. Thankfully, what with it being January and all (just about) EVEYRONE has already posted theirs, so I've pilfered the useful ones!

This one isn't directly a writing one. Someone wrote about mind and body and I'm certainly happier when there's a little physical activity going on in my life. NO! *blushes* I meant exercise, sheesh. So I'm going to swim once a week. I was aiming for 1k, but my sports coaches have pointed out that first I need to stop pushing off the sides of the pool!
I will write a synopsis (Thank you writing gods. Nicola Morgane's Write a Great Synopsis came out YESTERDAY).

I will write a query letter (I think that's Nicola's next book!)
I will knock the revision of current WIP on the head.
I will send off some pages to the editors/agents from the December conference I attended.
I will write the first draft of the thing that I started in November.
Crit group is a must (especially since we've shifted to evenings and there's a bottle of wine involved).
Maybe attend one SCBWI thingie.
Keep an eye out on the Chicken House website and see if they're running that MS comp again this year. (Part one of that plan is now in place in that I follow them on Twitter).
Keep the social networking manageable -No Tweetdeck, cull regularly.

And lastly I will take the balloons down. Party time is over, it's time to get to work.

A Memory: Doorways

2012-01-20T09:00:00.000+01:00

Cultural characters

2012-01-14T11:06:00.000+01:00

The other day I was checking my Twitter feed on the way to work when I came across one that linked to a now taken down article in The Guardian and stated that French parents were better than me. Of course, that was bound to set my blood boiling and my little thumbs furiously smacked out a reply all about those great French parents. Then I planned a great big long rant about French and UK parenting, before remembering that this was a writing blog.

By the time I got to work (having already tweeted the 140 characters of aforementioned rant) I had that little moment to reflect on the fact that my child is half Brit, half French. In our parenting combo, right from the off, everything the other did was wrong. Totally wrong. Not because it was wrong, but because we were brought up differently. Where the Frog suffers (and believe me it shows all over his face) the indignity of having to put his child on time out and then asking the child if she understands why she was on time out, I have to chew my lips when I can see the three year old is dying to leave the table, but we haven't all finished eating yet. We're different. It's different, there's no right or wrong parenting. The book French Children Don't Throw Food, may purport French parenting styles, and we may read it to further our understanding of social anthropology in the same way that we might read A Year in the Merde, but we're not actually going to start acting like the French, because we're culturally programmed not to.

Which brings me to writing. I've lived here for eleven years, before that a couple of years in Madrid and before that Mexico. This year I can no longer vote in the UK, I am well and truly an ex-pat, yet I still write British characters. I can't stop. I just don't feel equipped to write a French one, and wouldn't dream of writing a Spanish or Mexican. I may put them in as minor characters, but as a main I wouldn't dream of it. I think that as my child grows up, I'll be in a unique position to write the French character and may even do so one day, but at the moment it's easier to create a whole new fantasy world.

And then boys? Do I write boys? Yes, British boys. But I was reading this blog the other day: Interview with Shelly Harris, and she raised the point:

I was surprised how much I had to learn about a male viewpoint, and how different it can be from that of a woman.

She also wrote from an British Asian point of view and talks about how she went about making the voice authentic. And that is the point. I'm not saying we shouldn't do it. Having just reviewed Unhooking the Moon, by Liverpudlian author Gregory Hughes, one of the things that I really liked about the book was that the characters seemed real. As writers we can write from a male/female POV or a Peruvian one, if we so wish, we have that liberty, but we have to make it true.

And just to prove this was a writing post, books mentioned during this post:
French Children Don't Throw Food by Pamela Druckerman
A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke
Jubilee by Shelly Harris
Unhooking the Moon by Gregory Hughes.

A Memory: Spots

2012-01-13T09:00:00.000+01:00

A book review: Unhooking the moon

2012-01-11T09:00:00.000+01:00

Title: Unhooking the moon
Author: Gregory Hughes
Published: Quercus Publishing Plc (29 April 2010)
Synopsis: Meet the Rat: A dancing, football-playing gangster-baiting ten-year-old. When she foresaw her father's death, she picked up her football and decided to head for New York. Meet her older brother Bob: Protector of the Rat, but more often her follower, he is determined to find their uncle in America and discover a new life for them both. On their adventures across the flatlands of Winnipeg and through the exciting streets of New York, Bob and the Rat make friends with a hilarious con man and a famous rap star, and escape numerous dangers. But is their Uncle a rich business man, or is the word on the street, that he something more sinister, true? And will they ever find him? Hughes has created a funny, warm, unique world that lives and breathes. Like I Capture the Castle, Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Curious Incident, Hughes' story and characters will resonate for many and for years to come.

from Amazon co.uk

Star parts: OK where to start. Well for a start the book made me laugh out loud. And what were the bits that made me laugh the most, well probably the bits that should have had you crying such as the funeral scene. And the climax, which involves some pretty awful people, and is totally exciting, and still hysterically funny.

The characterisation is great, the Rat and Bob really come alive, their voices are authentic and they way Bob deals with his sister is, in my mind, really realistic.

The story also carries you away. You want the kids to succeed and you want everything to turn out alright for them, even though I knew that at every turn things could go so dreadfully wrong. Each time they pull through something completely ridiculous happens, yet the story is so well written that it doesn't matter what Hughes comes up with next.

Black clouds: The thing is, that it's not a black cloud. There are no faults with the book, it's just that it didn't end the way I wanted it to end. In the end despite the far out situations these kids go through, the ending isn't Disney saccharine sweet, it's realistic. I'm not saying I like Disney endings, I just grew to love these characters all of them, the Rat, Bob, the con man, the rap star, the Italian. I just wanted them all to be alright and in real life, that doesn't always work out, does it?

Do I recommend it: Well first of all, a little back story. I read this to see if it was suitable for a 5th grade class. The Rat is always going on about 'goddamn pedophiles', and the books deals with some pretty hardcore issues, so I sent the book along to the high school library as it seemed very YA to me. Now if you find it in the high school library read it, because it's brilliant. And if you don't have access to our library, just get hold of it and read it anyway.

Getting to know you: Andrew Leon

2012-01-09T09:00:00.000+01:00

If you recall from my previous post, I mentioned that there was a list of stuff that: I've started and then not had the time to finish properly. One of the things on this list was an interview with the author Andrew Leon, who has been extremely patient as the ball has gone bouncing down a very long corridor. So finally here is the long awaited interview that was originally meant to be part of the third writer's platform-building campaign (long since finished). Anyway, big apologies to Andrew and with that let's get on with getting to know him.

Well, maybe not straight away, before we talk all about you, I just have to say that I am abig fan of Neil Gaiman. I loved his Books of Magic (not the Vertigo imprintthat came out later - even though I did buy them), but I read a friend's copyand I haven't read it since. Can you just tell me one of your favourite scenes,please? So I can have that geeky 'Oh yes!' moment. Thanks.

Oh, man! It has been so long since I read that, and mycopies are in storage. I love that series, though. It's probably my favoritecomic series done by Gaiman. Thinking about it, there is this scene where Timis walking off with the Phantom Stranger (I think) that is just etched in mymind. Whether the etching is accurate or not, I don't know, but it's there. Ialso loved Gaiman's portrayal of Constantine. 

Your book HOUSE ON THE CORNER is available on Kindle and POD.Why should we add it to our to be read lists?

And, now, you're asking me to be objective about my book?How cruel! Well, first, I think anyone who has kids should read my book andread it to their kids. It's great for that. I know, because I've spent morethan a little time reading it in my kids' classes at their school, and the kidslove it. But for adults, I really think it's capable of taking you back tobeing a kid and what it was like to think about all the hidden things thatcould be hiding around the corner. Unless you didn't have an imagination as akid. In that case, it probably won't do anything for you. Although, it doeshave more than a tiny bit of humor in it. And, yes, it's available on the Kindleand the Nook and available as a physical book through CreateSpace.

Your book is an e book. How did you reach the decision to bean indie writer?

Actually, I hate that term indie writer. I'm just a writer.Now, an indie publisher, that I can get behind. Really, I made the decision toself publish only after I finished the book and started querying. It wasn'tuntil that point that I really began to look at the state that traditionalpublishing is in and the fact that agents, on the whole, don't really do thejobs of agents anymore. Between that and the fact that publishers won't reallymarket you unless you're already going to sell, meaning you have to do it allyourself, I figured I would just do it all myself and skip the 2 year wait.

Can you explain a little about he steps you took e publishyour book?

Well... that's a long answer. Mostly, because I really didit the wrong way, first. Let's see... I did all of the editing myself. But! Ihave a degree in English, and I have worked as an editor before, so it wasn't ahard stretch for me. However, I did learn one thing, editing on the computer ishard. I noticed so much more when I had the actual, physical book in my hand,so, if anyone is thinking of self-editing, I would highly suggest having aphysical copy to look at to do that with. Even if you're just going toe-publish, it could be worth going through CreateSpace -just- to get a proofcopy to hold in your hand and edit from. The other main thing I did was readthe book out loud. As I said, I read the book in my kids' classes at school,both as I was writing it and from the proof, and that really helps to catchawkward sounding sentences. As for the formatting... well, that was no fun.Everyone wants something different. CreateSpace wanted it as a pdf, which I hadnever used before, so I had to figure that out, meaning I had to make a bunchof mistakes before I got it to work. The Kindle required different formattingwhen I went back to do the second edition than it had required the first time,so that took some doing, too. I'm not a very techy person, so all of thesethings are the kids of things I wish I had someone else to do for me. Heh

There is a lot of talk about platforms nowadays, why is itso important for an indie author?

I didn't think anything about platform when I was writing mybook. Mostly, I see these blogs of people that are still working on producingtheir first novel and using their blogs to prepare the platform so it's therewhen (or if) they ever do finish. That's the conventional wisdom these days,but I'm not sure I'm sold on it. What I do know is that managing my blog hasmade working on the sequel to House much slower than working on House. Isuppose what I'm saying is that I think it might be better for people that wantto write books to do that, first. Get that first book written and then startworking on the platform thing. I don't know... It is important, though. Youneed to have some way to let people know that you have a book out there. Justbecause you've written it doesn't mean they'll come, to paraphrase a popularmovie. People need to know, and, beyond that, they need to be convinced. That'sthe hardest part.

Now are you a plotter or pantster?

That's an interesting question, and it's a discussion that Isee going on all the time. The people that love the discovery of pantsing vsthe control of the plotters. When I'm actually writing, I feel like a pantser,I suppose. I'm just doing the writing. I mean, I don't write anything downahead of time. I don't make outlines, I don't make time lines, and I don'twrite out copious amounts of back story. However, I don't start writing until Iknow where I'm going. I know my plot arc and have it in my head at all times. Ican't really write without having a destination. I suppose pantsers would saythat makes me a plotter, but I'm sure plotters wouldn't have me in their club,either. 

What's your top writing tip?

That would have to be to just do it. I have this problemwith my son all the time. He will sit there and stare at a blank piece of paperfor hours trying to get the words to come to him. It's painful. I have to tellhim all the time to just start writing and the words will start to workthemselves out. Yes, he may have to go back and re-work some of the beginningbecause he wasn't “warmed up,” yet, but that's better than just sitting there.He always says how that will never work until he actually does it, so he alwayshas to come back and tell me I was right. 

What's your most valuable writing resource?

That I don't know. I read. But I wouldn't call that aresource, per se. I tend to keep a dictionary and a thesaurus open on mydesktop while I'm writing, and I use those a lot. Usually because I have a wordin mind that is not precisely the word I'm looking for, so I do a lot ofcross-checking of definitions for synonyms. Of course, there's always my kids.They give me a lot to write about. Heh 

If you would like to get to know even more about Andrew you can find him over at Strange Pegs. You can also buy THE HOUSE ON THE CORNER directly from Andrew's blog. See? There in the corner. (I tried to draw a circle around the spot, but it's getting to the stage where this post is NEVER going to go up if I continue trying to do it).

In other news...

2012-01-07T09:00:00.000+01:00

Those pesky writing resolutions...

are just not forthcoming this year. In my hazy memory those resolutions just came really easily last year, whereas this year I'm all kind of ooo, aahh, mmm...

So should I do them? I think I should, because they are motivational and it'll be nice in 2013 to say that I achieved them, but I just don't seem as pumped up as last year.

I think I know why.

The dreaded synopsis

I've never written one before. I've never written one before because although I've started millions* of first drafts, I've only finished two and I've only revised one and now I'm at that stage where I suppose I have to do the dreaded synopsis, followed by the even more dreaded query letter.

Now, while I've done some research on the query letter and can recommend Kidlit and Help! I need a publisher as two sites that can help you get over that obstacle, I've not been paying much attention to the synopsis and more to the point what I've come to realise is that 'I don't get it'. I can write, I'm fairly sure I can. I can even turn out quite a good story if I say so myself (oh yeah, I am saying so myself), but this synopsis thing just gets me. What is it meant to be?

With that in mind I did a search and found many sites, some that I even remember reading before. While each site has its own take, the advice is pretty similar: single spaced unless it's more than a page, simple present, give the tone and voice of your WIP, give everything away. But I still don't get it.

Having recently made the best god damn chocolate cake I've ever made in my whole life (with a lot of help from the frog), I realised what I needed was a recipe.

I have found a site that I think might just work. I'm only on step 1 and this time next week I might be tearing my hair out and swearing, but here it is, I hereby present:

How to write a synopsis of your novel

in 7 easy stages, or not. I have yet to find out. I'll let you know how I get on.

Oh Bo*!/£ks I seem to be breaking the one resolution I've made!

Well I haven't broken it yet, but I'm considering it. Caroline Smailes over at In search of me has posted a challenge:

Are you a writer?
Would you like to be a writer?
Do you write flash fiction?
Do you fancy seeing your work published?

I can whole heartedly answer YES to all four questions, so I'm wondering. If you would like to consider too, then please click on the link below. The deadline is the 11th January. The flash fiction piece is to be no more than a 100 words and should be inspired by a youtube music clip.

A challenge and the chance to see your story in print

Right, that's enough news now. I better go and do some writing.

Coming up on the blog:

Interview with author of The house on the corner Andrew Leon

*That might be a slight over exaggeration.

A Memory: Symbols

2012-01-06T09:00:00.000+01:00

Coming up on the blog:

Interview with author of The house on the corner Andrew Leon

It's that time of year again

2012-01-01T20:54:00.001+01:00

Last year I posted a bunch of writing resolutions, I had a little look at them when I was planning this post and was mostly rather chuffed. But despite that there was also this little niggle. Things that I've started and then not had the time to finish properly. So before I have a good think about this year's writing resolutions, I'm going to try and stick to the tenet:

Know thy limits

in other words:

I challenge myself to take up NO CHALLENGES

While this might seem to be a contradiction, my idea this year is to FOCUS on writing and to spend less time flitting about on the internet going: 'ooh look shiny new blog badge and blog challenge'. Looking back at last year's resolutions, that's exactly what I was and I achieved everything on my definitely list. I did finish the revision of my WIP. I did tentatively get a BETA reader. I went to LOADS of grit group meetings and yes, I occasionally had to get a babysitter. I started on something new and I only abandoned the blog at the end of the year.

On my maybe list I did not apply for the SCBWI work in progress grant. I was umming and ahhing about it in January, and as the deadline neared I had the opportunity to pitch my WIP to agent and author John Cusick, so I turned my focus to that instead.

Number 2 on my list was to go to a SCBWI event. I ended up attending the Pitch session and the December conference. Woo hoo me. There was a cold niggling away in the background, but I managed to get through the weekend sans 'itis' and I had a really enlightening MS review.

Number 3 on my list included starting yet another revision on my current WIP. I've worked out how to use the editors in Scrivener and using what I've learnt about editing at the December conference, I'm doing a general edit before I present the whole MS to my crit group.

Coming up on the blog:

2012 writing resolutions
A book review or four
Two new author interviews
52 photos!

A Memory: Thistle

2011-11-25T10:15:00.000+01:00

A Memory: Normandy wood

2011-11-18T09:00:00.000+01:00

A Memory: Deauville

2011-11-11T09:00:00.000+01:00

I'm not sure that they ever used these beach huts, but we can dream hey.

November British Book Challenge: Cloud Atlas

2011-11-09T22:22:00.000+01:00

Title: Cloud Atlas
Author: David Mitchell
Published: Sceptre, 2005
Synopsis: A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan’s California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified “dinery server” on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilisation -- the narrators of Cloud Atlas hear each other’s echoes down the corridor of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small.

In his captivating third novel, David Mitchell erases the boundaries of language, genre and time to offer a meditation on humanity’ s dangerous will to power, and where it may lead us.

from Amazon.com

Star parts: I read Black Swan Green a good few years ago, and it's a novel that's stayed with me. The MC in that book is a little older than I was in 1982, but I could relate to the lens through which he lived those years. So having really enjoyed that book and having heard some stuff about Cloud Atlas I thought I'd get it. So straight away this book is so different. Secondly, I don't read historical fiction, so on it's own, I probably wouldn't have picked up Adam Ewing's journal or the Letters from Zedelghem. I have no patience for crime fiction, so the Luisa Rey mystery probably wouldn't make it onto my shelf. Timothy Cavendish's story was amusing, I haven't read sci-fi for years and as for dystopian futuristic novels, they are generally on hold at the moment. So having detailed how I wouldn't read any of these books individually, let me tell you how I raced through the first half of the book. Some of the facts of Adam Ewings journal are historically factual. The story was fascinating, although I worked out the twist, but the characters seemed extremely authentic to me and then it ended. In the middle of a sentence at that.

The Zedelghem journal reminded me a little of Fitzgerald. I loved the Luisa Rey's diaries. Here I recognised the Mitchell of Black Swan Green. He recreated the late seventies, the party scene, the changing face of society with women in top jobs, but just early enough to be lacking some key technology. Cavendish's story takes us to England and plays with the idea of memory and people's perceptions of what we remember. I found this part poignant and amusing. I liked Somni's story if only because the brands have taken over the world. It's not so far from reality people. Then Zachary's story was, I think the best. Again Mitchell played with language and dialect, but I liked it because in the end it was the one story that went from beginning to end. It made me question who we are as humans and all our beliefs. Also in this story and the orison story the characters were naive and yet completely authentic.

Black clouds: But by the second half of the book, I slowed right down. All the clever interweaving was clear now (I thought) and I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. Plus because of the way the stories were split up, I felt like I'd forgotten some of the details of the first part of the stories.

Do I recommend it: But you know, in the end the book was pretty amazing, you've got to hand it to Mitchell. When I think of the amount of work that would go into one part of the novel, let alone the six different parts. Then there's the fact that each different part is carefully interwoven into each part. It's an amazing force of imagination and if I could write just one of these novels let alone all six in one book, well you know, I'd be chuffed. So yeah, if you haven't already, read it. But maybe a bit quicker than I did. And I hope you love Zachary's story as much as I did.

This is the twelfth book I've reviewed for the British Book Challenge, which means that I have COMPLETED the challenge. But more importantly, I've read a dozen more children's and YA books that I did last year and I'd like to thank Becky for the necessary kick up the proverbial backside I needed to do my research. I have read a couple of adult books this year, but I haven't missed them a great deal and I really feel like this challenge has helped my writing. I now have a HUGE pile of books to read by my bedside. So with that, I'm going to head off there right now and carry on reading Unhooking the Moon.

Dropped off the edge

2011-11-06T18:05:00.001+01:00

Sometime on Saturday, I had one of those 'sit bolt upright and shout s...' at the top of your voice moments. I realised that no photo had popped up as scheduled on Friday. In fact, that's because I have no more scheduled photos. Actually, I have loads of photos, I just haven't got anything ready. I've also got a well overdue interview (but that's not ready either). And I think I have four book reviews to write for The Bookette's British Book Challenge. I will also confess that I haven't been reading other blogs that much. I've pretty much dropped off the face of Twitter and I've been pretty intermittent on Facebook.

I believe the t'internet term for this is 'going dark'.

To be honest, I didn't mean to, but a couple of weeks have passed and ...

I've taken quite a lot of photos;
I finished the revision of my WIP;
had a crit group meeting;
started a new WIP on the 1st November (but no I'm NOT doing NaNo this year);
and joined my first Google+ hangout on chaired by Nicky Schmidt.

There's also been a most uncharacteristic burst of domestic godessery, but I guess you don't want to hear about that. So instead...

...here's a picture of the sky...

... my final word count on the WIP that I churned out last November and have now revised: 39,600

... the crit group takes place here:

Here are my current project targets...

Did you see how well I did today?

And lastly if you don't want to do NaNo, but you kind of want to join in with the spirit then add me your circles (see the Google+ doobery on the sidebar), leave a comment here and I'll find you, or just leave a comment and say how you're doing. The hangout was pretty cool, but I'll talk about that later. Now I need to go and make dinner!

A Memory: Outside

2011-10-28T09:00:00.000+02:00

A Memory: Inside

2011-10-21T09:00:00.000+02:00

Getting to Know You: Brittany

2011-10-17T09:00:00.000+02:00

This week for theeighth interview of the ‘Getting to Know You’ series, I met thirteen year oldBrittany. Yes, I did say thirteen, but other than that, she blogs over at Hillsand Corkscrews. She is taking part in Rach Harries’ 3^rd WritersPlatform-Building Campaign and she’s pretty cool.

Brittany, you are 13years old, when did you decide you were a writer?

I've written as long as I could. I wrote little stories forschool and just for fun probably from 1st-4th grade. I havecomposition notebooks full of stories and drawings. I didn't really thinkof it as anything more than that until I wrote my first full-length novel

during a NaNo WriMo spin-off in January. I've always wantedto be a writer but I think that's when I started to take my writing seriously.

Wow! I’d say thatI’ve been writing all my life too, I just wish I’d thought to take it seriouslya bit earlier. I've looked at some of the books you love and I see that we likesome of the same authors, namely Neil Gaiman and Cornelia Funke. What do youlove about these authors?

I know this is going to sound cliche, but what I love mostabout an author is his or her's ability to take you to another world.For example, Cornelia Funke can take me to a world that's inside a storyin the world of the novel (book-ception!), Neil Gaiman takes me to placeslike a graveyard full of ghosts or a creepy parallel world (with Coraline). Ialso love writers who can create magical characters and twisty plots.

I see you took partin NaNoWriMo. Will you be taking part this year and why do you do it?

I'm participating in NaNo WriMo this year, and I do NaNobecause it's incredibly motivating for me, it's lots of fun, and Iprobably wouldn't have written my first novel (or at least, it would havebeen a lot later in my life) without it. Even though I've realized bynow that I can't write anything worth keeping during NaNo, I still do itbecause I think it's a great way to write those dirty water words and I can'timagine missing it.

Not sure I agree withyou. I am sure you can get something out of those dirty NaNo words ;) But let’smove onto writing now are you a plotter or pantster?

I'm kind of in between. I plot most of the story on indexcards before writing it, I know a bit about my characters, and I knowwhat happens for the first half or two-thirds of the story. Then when Ihit that point, I usually throw out whatever outline I have left, though I'mnot sure why, and I pants the rest of the story. I like knowing where the storyis going but I also like freedom and spontaneity.

I get that. I sort of plotted my last novel,but what I have now has definitely been the result of some pretty hard writingby the seat of my pants. Although I do recommend planning, too. So what’s yourtop writing tip?

My top writing tip is to write and read (let's pretendthat's one tip instead of two). One of the best ways to get better at writingis to just keep writing, but you also need to read. You can learn a lot aboutwriting from studying your favorite books.

And what’s your mostvaluable writing resource?

Probably some of my favorite blogs and websites aboutwriting, like Janice Hardy's blog Storyflip,which has a TON of blog posts about writing.

And finally why didyou join this challenge?

I joined the Campaign to meet other writers who blog and tobuild my platform, same as everyone else I think. :)

If you’ve enjoyedgetting to know Brittany, don’t forget you can read her blog over at Hills and Corkscrews. Unfortunately, she’s going to be taking a break from blogging, buthopefully we’ll see her again somewhere in the future.

Meanwhile, theremight be a book review here on Wednesday and definitely a photo on Friday, andwho knows I might even tell you a bit about the Red Hot Chilli Peppers gig I’mgoing to on Tuesday.

A Memory: Perspective

2011-10-14T08:30:00.000+02:00

Every year the Grand Palais is given over to an artist whose task is to fill it. The yearly exhibition goes under the name of Monumenta and has been home to artists such as Anselm Keifer, Richard Serra and Christian Boltanski. This year was the turn of British/Indian Artist Anish Kapoor. I was a bit worried about going as the Frog really didn't get the point of Promenade by Richard Serra and didn't see how I could spend so much time fascinated by slabs of bronze. Well as you can see Leviathan was not a slab of bronze and I loved it so much that the next few week's memories will be made up of pictures of the Leviathan. Hope Anish doesn't mind.

Getting to know you: Kelly Smith

2011-10-10T09:00:00.000+02:00

In week seven of Getting to know you, I've hooked up with Kelly Smith from Writtled. She is the first self-published author I've interviewed and gave some insight into the process of going from aspiring to Indie author. As ever Kelly and I were put together through Rach Harrie's 3rd Writer's Platform-Building Campaign.

Your book GLITTERINGASHES is available at Amazon, Smashwords, Apple iBooks and a few other places.Why should we add it to our to be read lists?

I think Glittering Ashes should be added to your TBR pilesbecause I really wrote something that I wanted to read. I wanted to read a YAparanormal romance that wasn't the stereotypical vampires, werewolves, angels,or demon story (though I have read good ones of all of those). You're supposedto write about what you're passionate about, and YA romance is that for me. Ihad fun writing it; so hopefully readers will have fun reading it!

Your book is an ebook. How did you reach the decision to be an indie writer?

It took me a long time to come to that decision. I thoughtabout going the traditional route because of the support writers receive, but Iwanted to be able to have control of my book so ultimately I decided to goalone, at least with this series.

Can you explain alittle about he steps you took e publish your book?

I don't have an agent currently. There hasn't been a need asof one as of yet, but I am not opposed to having one at all. Any help is goodhelp, right? I'm not currently a part of a writer's group, but I have wonderfulpeople surrounding me, through my blog, Twitter friends, and the vibrant YAwriter community all over the internet, let alone my own family and friends.

As far as what steps I chose to self-publish GlitteringAshes, I want to say it took a lot of research. I highly suggest Smashword'sStyle Guide for formatting your actual manuscript. Also, there are many, manyresources (including awesome blog advice) about how to make your own cover. Itmay all seem overwhelming at first, but if you're willing to learn, all of theinformation is available, and it may even turn out to be fun. My experience sofar has been very fun :)

What was yourrevision process to ensure that your book was ready for publishing?

Every person's revision process is different, and the stakesare higher when you decide to self-publish because you don't have an officialteam of editors behind you (unless you hire them). I let friends and familyread the book and give me their feedback, and I did a lot of editing of my own.After much deliberation, I decided I wanted to release Glittering Ashes intothe wild internet and see what people thought of it.

What did you need tolearn in order to get the book ready for e publishing?

Getting the book published is a complicated process,even though it might not seem that way at first. I had to first format themanuscript (the font, title page, dedication (optional), paragraph indentiondecisions, contact page and author bio, table of contents, chapterbookmarks--all of which are outlined fairly succinctly in the Smashwords StyleGuide.).

After formatting the actual manuscript, I had to decide on acover. For me, I chose to make my own cover for Glittering Ashes, but one couldhire a cover creator for several hundred dollars or more, depending on who youchose to design it.

After you format the book and create the cover, it's only amatter of uploading to Amazon, Smashwords, and the like, but those two stepsmay take a while, and I wouldn't suggest trying to rush them.

Once you finish everything and have uploaded your book, it'sall about getting the word out about it (one of the hardest parts).

There is a lot oftalk about platforms nowadays, and this challenge is all about building aplatform; why is it so important for an indie author?

Building a platform is SO important for anindie/self-published author. The hardest part of being an indie orself-published author is getting the word out about your book. You have to havecontacts, followers, and friends to tell about your book, and then you hopeyou've written something good enough for word to spread. Without a platform,success is still possible, but you should have all the friends you can get tohelp you be even more successful. I suggest doing blog interviews (like thisone here, THANK YOU! :) ), having interesting content on your own blog, andbeing active in promoting your book in all avenues.

Now onto writing. Areyou a plotter or pantster?

Good question. I am a loosey-goosey plotter, who sometimesmoonlights as a pantser. All of that means that I have to have a rough outlinebefore I start any WIP, but I don't want to know everything that could possiblyhappen before I start writing. You have to keep yourself focused enough to moveforward but excited enough to not be bored, I say.

What's your topwriting tip?

My top writing tip is definitely to write down everythingthat remotely sounds like a good idea. I have a brain book of sorts (at leastthat's what I call refer to it as on my blog) where I write down any andeverything that seems inspiring to me. Song titles, dreams, snippets ofideas--you never know what you could read over later to inspire your next WIP!

What's your mostvaluable writing resource?

My most valuable writing resource is other people's writingblogs. I love reading about how other writers do what they do, and their blogsare goldmines for that. I highly suggest meeting other writers through blogsand getting familiar with other people's processes. It's inspiring to learnthat other people have been successful and you can be successful too!

If you would like to know more about Kelly, you can find her at her blog Writtled. And if you've been convinced to buy her book, you can click on the link below.

Also remember that voting for the 2nd Campaign Challenge goes on until Friday. You can find my entry here and I'm #153 over at Rach's site.

A Memory: A Windmill

2011-10-07T08:55:00.000+02:00

The Windmill - Wimbledon Common

Getting to know you: Rosalind Adam

2011-10-03T09:00:00.000+02:00

In week six of the 'Getting to Know You' Rosalind Adam joins me from Writing in the Rain. Rosalind is a children's writer from Leicester, England. As well having picture books and non-fiction books to her credit, Rosalind also runs writing workshops, is part of a memories project and was a primary and secondary teacher. Finally, we could say that none of this would have happened without Rosalind. It was her tweet that led me to Rach Harrie's blog and the campaign. So, without further do, let's get to know Rosalind.

Can you tell us a little bit about your most recent book Children's History Leicester? How did you become involved in this project?
My latest children’s book, Children’s History Leicester, is proof that writing a blog can get you published. I was contacted about this commission as a direct result of a blog I’d written. I was asked to submit some ideas for the book and the rest, as they say...

...Is History? Now, Bathtime Rap is a picture book, can you tell us how that came about?
The content of Bathtime Rap was originally a short poem that had been sitting in my computer pending file for over a year. I heard through my crit group that Franklin Watts were looking for Leapfrog manuscripts so I rooted it out and sent it in.

Another writing project you have been involved in is the reminiscence writing project, how did that come about?
In conjunction with Writing School Leicester I put in a bid for a grant from the UK Heritage Lottery to collect memories from the local Jewish community. I spent a year collecting, collating and turning those memories into a book called Jewish Voices. It was an amazing experience.

We've talked about your projects, but as a writer are you a plotter or pantster?
Both! You can’t write a book without knowing something about your plot but your book will never come alive unless you’re prepared to type into the unknown.

Can you share your top writing tip?
To write! People sometimes tell me that they’d love to write and that maybe one day they will. I say, “Why wait for ‘one day’? You only need a pencil, a notepad and words and we’ve all got those.”

And what's your most valuable writing resource?
My imagination. It’s where I prefer to be most of the time. It beats real life and that’s a fact.

Finally, there is a lot of talk about platforms nowadays, and this challenge is all about building a platform; why is it so important for an author?

There are too many of us out there these days. If you read about someone like Beatrix Potter you realise how much easier it once was to get noticed by a publisher. Even ten years ago publishers were still answering unsolicited manuscripts with personal letters and suggesting ways work could be improved. It would seem that they have no time for that sort of thing now so if I’m going to get my name noticed, it has to be out here on the Internet... “Rosalind Adam” flashing brightly... in coloured lights if possible!

Thanks Rosalind for taking the time to do the interview. If you would like to find out more about Rosalind, you can visit her at her blog: Rosalind Adam is writing in the rain or at her website RKA Writing.

Rosalind and I are also both taking part in Imago challenge as part of this campaign. You can read my entry here and you can vote for me here. Rosalind's entry is #90. Just to remind you voting goes on until October 14th and the writer with the most likes wins.

From the past

2011-10-01T10:00:00.000+02:00

Last Sunday I woke to the gurgle of voices in the street. This was unusual on several counts. Although we live in a heavily residential area, it's quite quiet on the street. It was also 8 o'clock in the morning. After shuffling into the front room the Frog informed me that the Brocante I'd mentioned the day before was happening NOW. I stumbled out onto the balcony and indeed, all the little doozers below were feverishly setting up tables and laying out shiny things.

I hate Brocantes, second hand shops, white elephant stalls, stuff like it. I don't know why. Is it all the old dust that is carted around? Or the smell of age and the thought of my own mortality? Or am I just too much a part of the throw away generation? I don't know, I just hate them. But on the other hand, it was just THERE and like the two poles of a magnet are drawn together, I just had to go; with my camera.

It's difficult to comprehend the amount of crap there is out there, and the fact that these people think that other people want to buy it, and that there are people out there who will buy it. But then part of its attraction is the hunt for the real crackers. You know the stuff you thought nobody could possibly have anymore. So, come on hands up? Who had one?

Another thing that existed in the late 70's early 80's were The Specials. Although there are a bunch of albums, and the band went through name changes and various incarnations, the original line up only did two LP's. Their songs form the soundtrack of my youth where you either loved or hated Thatcher, people cared about stuff and pop stars sang about things that mattered. Apart from Terry Hall, I couldn't pick the band out in a crowd, but they form a part of my aural history. And from that soundtrack I've seen quite a few of them: Elvis Costello, The Buzzcocks, Blondie, Billy Bragg, Joe Strummer, but I haven't seen them all. I read an issue of The Word a couple of years ago that was dedicated to the Madness come back (they never split up) and the The Specials reunion tour and I remember thinking then that there was a band I would love to see. And I did! On Tuesday. All that was missing was a Nutty Pure and a 15p bag of chips.

And just a final note (if you look down here). Voting for the second challenge at Rach Harrie's blog goes on until the 14th October. You can read my entry here and then please remember to vote for me here (if you want to that is). And this time I really mean see you Monday when I shall be getting to know Rosalind Adams who writes in the rain.

A Memory: Red sky at night

2011-09-30T09:00:00.000+02:00

My view

If you can tear your eyes away from my red sky, voting for Rach Harrie's second challenge goes on until the 14th October. You can read my entry here and you can vote for me here. See you Monday when I shall be getting to know Rosalind Adams who writes in the rain

The 2nd Challenge

2011-09-28T17:57:00.000+02:00

Right, well last week Rach Harrie (she of the 3rd Writers Platform-Building Platform Campaign) posted her second challenge. I didn't win the last one (did you notice?), but I did get through to the second round. Because of that I was determined to give this second challenge a try. Humph, but did she make it easier? To say this challenge is a stinker is understating things. See what you think:

The Challenge is:

Write a blog post in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, whether flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, poem, etc. The blog post should:

include the word "imago" in the title
include the following 4 random words: "miasma," "lacuna," "oscitate," "synchronicity,"

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional and included in the word count), make reference to a mirror in your post.

For those who want an even greater challenge (optional), make your post 200 words EXACTLY!

(taken from Rach Harrie's blog)

So after scratching my head for a few days. This is what I came up with. What do you think? If you like it I am number #153 on the linky list.

Changing Imago

They sit in silence on either side of the desk.

“No, too many letters.” His eyes scan the next clue. “Youbore me beyond the Latin word?

“Latin for yawn.” He taps his forehead. “Oscitare, no,because that word is definitely synchronicity. But wait, it’s beyond latin, soin English, yes, that’s it, it’s oscitate.” He looks up, his eyes sparkling.“Am I right?”

“Absolutely.” She yawns.

“OK.” He squeezes his hands. “Los Angeles gap in the UnitedNations ABC. Lacuna, yes? Am I right?”

She nods and yawns again.

“Right, last one. A smelly foreboding of somethingunpleasant to come.”

She takes out a packet of cigarettes and lights one, inhalesdeeply and exhales. He looks into the smoke confused, then a smile cracks acrosshis face.

“Of course! Miasma.” He slaps the paper down on the table.“Yes! I did it again. I am the king. Say it, I am the king of the killercrossword.”

“You are.”

“Aren’t you going to say it?” He frowns. “Since when did yousmoke?”

“I’ve always smoked.”

“I don’t smoke.”

“I know.” She nods. “One across?”

“Imago.”

She picks up her handbag and flicks ash on the floor. “Youaren’t mine.”

Getting to know you: Michelle Flick

2011-09-26T09:00:00.000+02:00

We're half way through this series of interviews. If this is the first time you've happened across this blog, Rach Harrie is running a writer's platform building campaign, through this campaign I've been put into contact with a whole bunch of different bloggers, some of whom I've interviewed each Monday. So far we've had some English pre-published writers and some American pre-published writers. We've had a debut author and we've had a couple of teachers. And one thing we've had each and every week are some extremely inspiring women. This week is no exception, so I'll hand straight over to Michelle Flick from Oh! For the Love of Books.

And look another teacher! We've had a few teachers, I think you are number three or four, I've lost count. So what is it with teachers and writing or writing and teachers?

With me, its my students are inspiring. They have awesome, break through moments, emotional rollercoasters that break my heart because they feel so much, and I NEVER know what's going to come out of their mouths. They leave me laughing all the time and that leads to great material for me. And as a high school English teacher, I have them work on creative writing and it's a great chance for me to model the behavior for them.

Your review a lot of YA on your blog. Can you share three of your favorites from this year and why you loved them?

I am in love with Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck. I think the cultural aspect and mystical world she is building is so gripping. November can't come fast enough for me. Another one is Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick. I love how snarky Patch is and talk about a cliffhanger at the end of that story! And my last, I read in December, so I am going to count it, Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. I read this before the Mortal Instrument series, and I fell in love with the world she created and, the 1800s in England is one of my favorite time periods. All three of them are must reads if you like paranormal.

I haven't read any of those, so I will definitely add them to my TBR pile. Thanks. Now if we move on to your writing, You recently finished your first manuscript and are now looking for an agent. What made you decide it was finished?

I worked on my manuscript for over a year, before I let anyone read it. It's super personal and I was really nervous whoever read it, wouldn't like it. So I started with a dear friend of mine, who gave me a lot of insight and a lot of positive reinforcement - which is super important in the writing world. After that, I gave it two more people, one a former English teacher of 30 years (plus) and a librarian who does editing on the side. They were great and did a great job editing and catching where I needed to improve. Did I mention they did this twice? After that I started looking for an agent. I got a little bit of nibble the other day so I hope it pans out for me. But my critique partner, just finished reading my manuscript and picked up ona few things - so, I'm working on it...again.

Oh yes, I know that again feeling and again, and again. But moving on, I've asked everyone this question. When you write are you a plotter or pantster?

Total Panster. It's how I start all of my stories. I get this intense scene in my head, typically the climax or the last three pages of the story, and after that I start to piece it together. And always I keep that first scene that I wrote. It's like my foundation and I have never wanted to change it.

I start with scenes too, but unlike you. they are usually so far from what I end up with. So from one Michelle to another, what's your top writing tip?

Get an honest, positive support system. I have a few people I trust to be completely honest with me but not in a mean way. Encouragement will get you through. You want people who are on your side and won't let you submit something that isn't ready or write something (like a scene) that just doesn't fit. The writing world is critical and I think it is better to hear it from someone who cares than a stranger.

I agree with getting a support system, but my critique group were strangers to begin with, who are now pretty invested in helping me improve. If you don't mind Michelle can you share your most valuable writing resource?

I have two. The book, How Not to Write a Novel (it's hilarious) and Nadine, the English teacher of 30 years plus. Both reliable and knowledgeable in all things writing.

I'll have to check out the book, unfortunately I guess we can't share Nadine. Oh well, we're nearing the end now, so finally why did you join the challenge?

I think networking is great for a lot of reasons: support, comic relief - one of my groups is trying to coin the term "art ho", new information, and feedback are some of them. I think it is a place that I will grow and learn and hopefully move me closer to being published.

Good luck with your journey Michelle and thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. If you'd like to find out more about Michelle you can visit her here at her blog. Michelle is also hosting a bloghop with lots of giveaways. If you would like to enter, it's really easy, just go here and follow the links.

Who Started Your Dream? The winners

2011-09-25T15:28:00.000+02:00

So about 15 days ago a bunch of bloggers got together and divulged all about WHO STARTED THEIR DREAM. As well as sharing with you the writers and books that encouraged us to first put pen to paper, we also offered a range of prizes. In total 161 of you commented and below you will find out the who the lucky winners were.

Zoe Rose commented on nine of the eleven posts. Unfortunately we couldn't find any contact info for her, but if she contacts Cat at katharina at katharinagerlach dot com (replace at with @ and dot with .) she will get an special prize.

Next up is Blueeyedadri who gets a signed copy of "Across the Universe" by Beth Revis.

J.A. Bennet gets a  signed copy of "Supernaturally"by Kiersten White.

Mina Burrows gets a  copy of "Crash Into Me" by Albert Borris.

Joanne Fritz wins a coupon for William L. Hahn’s heroic fantasy "Fencing Reputation".

Small Town Shelly Brown wins the eBook "The Witches of Greenwitch".

Michael Di Gesu gets an eBook-excerpt "Chasing the Grimm Reaper".

Rusty Webb gets a 30 page critique.

Kim gets a  25 pg critique.

Tina Moss gets a 20 page critique.

Alex J. Cavanaugh gets the first 500 words intensive critique.

It was really interesting to see who got us all started and especially to read your comments and find out who you guys discovered, or where you agreed with us.

The campaign continues until the end of August and there are lots of things going on. Check out Rach Harrie's friday post for a round up of Campaign events. Currently Rach is running the 2nd Challenge, a 200 word post that includes five specific words.

Lastly, if you would like to get to know some more campaigners, join me tomorrow to get to know Michelle Flick from Oh! For the the love of books.

Right, I'm going to have a crack at the challenge now.

A Memory: Hole in the wall

2011-09-23T08:46:00.000+02:00

This is just a quick reminder that today is the last day to comment on the Who Started your Dream post. After today, names will be stuck in a hat and pulled out at random and there are a whole bunch of prizes to win. Cat Gerlach will contact you next week if you are one of the lucky winners. Also the more comments you leave around the bloghop, the more chances you get to win a PRIZE!

A Book Review: The Prince of Mist

2011-09-21T09:00:00.000+02:00

Title: The Prince of Mist
Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Published: Phoenix, 2011
Synopsis: 1943. As war sweeps across Europe, Max Carver's father moves his family away from the city, to an old wooden house on the coast. But as soon as they arrive, strange things begin to happen: Max discovers a garden filled with eerie statues; his sisters are plagued by unsettling dreams and voices; a box of old films opens a window to the past. Most unsettling of all are rumours about the previous owners and the mysterious disappearance of their son. As Max delves into the past, he encounters the terrifying story of the Prince of Mist, a sinister shadow who emerges from the night to settle old scores, then disappears with the first mists of dawn . . . Originally published in Spain as a young adult novel, THE PRINCE OF MIST is a mesmerising tale of mystery, romance and adventure.
from Amazon.co.uk

Star parts: This book scared the bejasus out of me. I went through a phase as a teenager where I read a lot of Stephen King and Clive Barker. The two of them made me decide that I preferred the real world with all its real horrors than what their imaginations could whip up, so basically I don't do horror anymore. And evidently I didn't realise this was scary when my LOVELY crit partner leant it to me. I put this as a star part because although I am a complete wimp now, Zafon gets it just right. He creeps you right out so that you have to snuggle closer to your cat/loved one/pillow and then he moves us right out to something that we can deal with like a brother and sister relationship, when they both realise that they're moving into adulthood and can stand each other again. That is explored brilliantly. There's a bit of 'lurve' action (I always went through a bit of a Mills & Boon phase and that has possibly left more scars than King and Barker) and it didn't make me go 'yeurghK'. It's not totally scary though. There's obviously the element of a good old mystery tale, where we need to find out who did what and how it will all end.

Black clouds: It's been a while since I read it, but I'm left with this feeling of certain things left unanswered, not big things, but little niggly things. We also never quite know where the story takes places, which for some reason bothered me. When you're reading in translation I always wonder about stuff, and maybe that's why it so bothered me.

Do I recommend it: Bien sur! OK it's scary and all, and I don't do scary, but Zafon can tell a story and create such an atmosphere that you can almost feel smoke curling around your feet and your stomach tense up as Max opens the gate...

Getting to know you: Stephanie Pace

2011-09-19T00:00:00.000+02:00

In week four of 'Getting to know You' we meet Stephanie Pace. Just to remind you, the idea of the Third Writer's Platform-Building Campaign is to build our writer's platform whether we are published or not and to pay it forward. Stephanie and I have some things in common apart from both being campaigners and in the MG/YA group; we are both teachers too and have you noticed that there's been a couple of us already. So without further ado I'll get on.

Stephanie what do you think it is with teachers and writing or writing and teachers?

I'm not sure but the link is certainly there. Many of my classmates from college were writers and we were far from all English teachers. The math, science and history people loved writing as well, perhaps because it's the best way to get out all those crazy things that happen in the classroom.

Like me you write YA fantasy and Urban fantasy. What makes the two genres different? (This isn't a trick question BTW, I genuinely want to know.)

Well, I'll admit the official definition might be different, but my working definition is as follows. YA fantasy is what I call anything I write that isn't set on Earth and contains magic or magical elements. Urban fantasy is my name for my fantasy works set on Earth, usually modern day.

Thanks, that clears things up nicely for me.

Now on your blog, I see that you seem to have two WIPs. How does that work? Are you revising both? Is one a first draft? In short tell me a bit about how you work. How does that work?

Not every well, to be honest :-) I usually end up focusing on one WIP for a few weeks then switch to the other when the spirit moves me. Shadow of the Wolf is in final revision, and hopefully done soon. 2101 Untitled is in first draft, and crawling along. My mind likes to have two stories going at once because I get bored easily, and since working on a revision is very different from writing a first draft, that's how I try to arrange my simultaneous projects. Once Shadow is done I'll have a brand new piece in the revision slot.

I've asked every one else so I'm going to ask you, are you a plotter or pantster?

A bit of both. I jump into a novel feet first with only a vague idea of what's going on, get about 10K words in and realize I have no idea what to do next. Then I go back and determine where I want the plot and characters to go, and what sort of conflicts will get them there. 2101 has stalled because of that very reason, so I'm now in the process of creating a loose outline for about 46 scenes.

As we're all writers here, what's your top writing tip?

Keep writing. Often said, but very true. Keep yourself fresh by writing at least a couple hundred words every day, and if you hit a wall, plow through it. Maybe what you write will be terrible, but the important thing it to get the story done. You can always go back and fix it.

I'm always on the look out for stuff to help me write, so what's your most valuable writing resource?

Critique groups. Critters.org and Scribophile have been life savers for me. You can never be sure how well a piece is working until someone else reads it and tells you what they think. I recommend finding a few people to get close to within a larger group, people you trust to give an honest opinion about your writing. You'll find plenty who do nothing but gush over everything you submit, but while that's a great ego boost, it's not terribly helpful.

We're getting to the end of the interview here, so finally why did you join the challenge?

Because I love a challenge :-) So when I read there would be contests and challenges I was all for it. I also wanted to get to know other bloggers and find a place for myself in the community. I've already met a lot of amazing people while blogging and I'm looking forward to getting know many more.

Well thanks Stephanie, I hope that you do get to meet some new people. You can find Stephanie over at Word by Word, go take a look.

Three, seven and fifteen

2011-09-18T14:50:00.000+02:00

This morning I woke up feeling a little blue, because as you know in this writerly world, things are not always pink. Anyway, things swiftly picked up. First England were playing Georgia in the Rugby World Cup, this meant I got to stay in bed while the Frog and the Bubba watched it. So, I checked my e mail and saw that Sheri over at Finding Joy in the Journey had left me not ONE but TWO blog awards. Can you imagine the little smile starting to form on my face? I hopped out of bed with a spring in my step (this may be a little fictional) and went to deal with breakfast (before the France/Canada match). I had a little read of some blogs and this time came across Beth Kemp at Thoughts from the Hearthfire and found TWO more awards waiting for me. FOUR!!!! Wow! Alright one of them is the same as the other, but who's quibbling?

Now feeling very cheered up I got cracking with passing these awards straight on. I know that some of you already have these, but there are three to choose from so hopefully ONE of them will be new.

Number 1: The Versatile Blogger

The rules:

Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post. SEE ABOVE and thank you BETH and SHERI.
Share 7 things about yourself. SEE BELOW

I used to blog under the pseudonym Verilion, meaning Very Lion, as I'm a Leo, but not in a typically Leo way, just that I'm a bit like a cat, I like cats and I sleep a lot.
Since starting this blog I have acquired: two cats (one died of FIP), a French man, a baby (now a very boisterous toddler), a flat, two WIP's and what will be next? (This happened in five years, so we have a long time frame here).
I like cooking, and stuff tastes nice, but I ALWAYS follow recipes!
After Primary school, my relationship with the education system went downhill. Yep, I'm a teacher and I really like my job.
I like sticking my hands into a big pile of wood chip or soil and feeling the warmth.
And adore walking on damp grass barefoot.
I don't get golf. When people start talking about it (and you'd be surprised by how many people do) my eyes glaze over and I go to a special place with wet grass, wood chip and bubbles. Sorry, pardon… what was that?

Pass this Award along to 15 recently discovered blogs and let them know about it. SEE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER BELOW

Number 2: Leibster Blog

The Liebster Award, is intended to show bloggy love to blogs with fewer than 200 followers. Count me in then.

The rules:

1. Show your appreciation to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them. THAT'LL BE BETH.
2. Reveal your five picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog. UGH THAT'LL BE THE 15 A BIT FUTHER BELOW
3. Post the award on your blog. DONE
4. Bask in the camaraderie of the most supportive people on the internet. THAT'LL BE ALL OF YOU. YEP, YOU TOO.

5. And best of all have bloggity fun and spread the love. DONE

Number 3: Our lovely blog award

1. Thank and link to the person who nominates you: MERCI SHERI.

2. Pass this Award along to 15 recently discovered blogs and let them know about it! So right below is a list of recently discovered blogs. All 15 of them have been discovered thanks to Rach Harrie's 3rd Writer's Platform-Building Campaign

Stephanie @ Word by Word who will be interviewed right here on this blog TOMORROW.
Brittany @ Hills and Corkscrews who will also be interviewed here on this blog in October
Kelley @ Writtled Kelley is also going to be interviewed here on a very SPECIAL day in October.
Cat Gerlach @ Always try a little harder The demigoddess who organised the 'Who started your dream?' Blog hop
grillyfish @Grillyfish who pops by from time to time
Lady Gwen @Run Gwen, Run! Write Gwen, Write another lady who pops by.
Shannon @ The Warrior Muse who was also part of the bloghop
Melissa @ MG Higgins another bloghopper.
Kate @ The Scribbling SeaSerpent a fellow Litopian and campaigner
Elizabeth Varadan @ Elizabeth Varadan's Fourth Wish a fellow scribblerati and campaigner
Robyn Campbell @ Putting Pen to Paper the lovely lady whose interview you may have read, or maybe you'd like to read it.
Michael @ In Time… another fellow bloghopper
Laila @ The Untroubled Kingdom of Laila Knight a regular visitor and campaigner.
Rosalind @ Rosalind Adam is writing in the rain Check out her interview at the beginning of October.
Andrew @ Strange Pegs and check out his interview towards the end of October.

A Memory: Red light

2011-09-16T08:45:00.000+02:00

And this week my favourite.

Who started your dream?

2011-09-15T07:51:00.000+02:00

As part of Rach Harrie's 3rd Writer's Platform-Building Campaign I've joined a bloghop organised by Cat Gerlach that explores what and who got us started on this writing journey. There are eleven bloggers in this little circle, if you follow the links at the end of the post you should get to visit them all.

Oh! Silly me, I almost forgot! As well as finding out about our writing influences, there are also PRIZES! That's right prizes. The more blogs you visit, and the more comments you leave, the more chance you have of winning a query crit, a 500 word crit, an e book by William L. Hahn, there are 2 YA novels for grabs, and finally a 30 and 25 page critique.

So without further ado, who started my dream?

About four years ago, I went from writing for a hobby, to 'You know, I think I may just take this seriously'. The authors/writers who helped me reach this decision were one small wee colleague that I had the good luck to be closely working with, and a small group of bloggers who commented regularly on this good ole blog. Their names are: Rhian Saadat (an execellent mentor if ever there was one), Kate Bousefield, Debi Alper, Nicky Schmidt, Seamus Kearney, Derec Jones, Maht Wells, Marie Syemou and Jefferson Davies. These guys were supporting and lovely in a way that helped me make the most terrible writing mistakes ever, while still giving me the confidence to carry on.

But why did I then start writing children's? Well another colleague leant me Skellig by David Almond and I was completely blown away. I was big into Magic Realism at the time and after I read another of Almond's books Heaven Eyes I decided I was reading the best Magic Realist ever.

A kid in my class passed along Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke. The kid's book review had not convinced me I would like the book, but I gave it a go despite the animal characters. I really liked it, but reading The Thief Lord shorly after a visit to Venice was just amazing. then there was Inkheart and how my heart bled at the end of Inkspell. So, in case you haven't guessed I'm big into Funke!

And last but not least, who put the steam into punk? Well in my opinion it was Philip Reeve and Mortal Engines. Shortly after reading that book I cancelled my summer holiday and sat down and wrote for two months solid, joined SCBWI... and... no, there's no happy ending, YET. Still a lot of hard work to do and a lot to learn.

Meanwhile, if you want to here about other influences and great books, you can go one way along the ring by going to Robyn Campbell's blog (yes, she of the interview) or you could go the other way by tootling along to M.G. Higgins blog. And remember to comment (before the 23rd, which is when all the comments will go in a big hat).

Tag you're it...

2011-09-14T09:00:00.001+02:00

The lovely Beth from Thoughts from the Hearthfire has tagged me. The idea is to share ten random facts about myself. This is harder than one might first think, but anyway, here goes...

I suffer from koumpounophobia. No seriously, I do. I particularly dislike plastic ones, and unnecessary ones, oh don't get me started on those. Ick, yuck, yucky, yucky yuck.
I'm also a bit traumatised by butterflies. They just flutter about oblivious to everything. I am not a flower butterflies. Stop scaring me. There is a reason behind this trauma, you can read about it here.
I have, if it's possible, too many red shoes. This summer, after a particularly bad spate of not putting my shoes away, the bubba arranged them all in a pretty long line. They are all different shapes, sizes and shades, so it's alright really. Isn't it?
I have a black cat called Merlin, you may have seen him skulking around the blog.
I can't make pancakes. This could be described as problematic in a country that makes lots of money out of selling crepes, and Pancake day used to get me into a bit of a cold sweat, but guess what? I live in a country that sells ready made ones in the supermarket. Thank you France.
I am a pescatarian, not to be mistaken with Presbyterian. I live with two of the biggest meat eaters in the world and I apparently make a mean steak, but ... no... mmm... I just can't do it.
Since owning my first pair of DM's way back then, I have never been without a pair, or two, or three (and two of them are shades of red).
I don't wear a watch, probably because I can't read them, although I used to come out with some complete BS about not wanting to be tied down by time. The folly of that became apparent when I started teaching and realised that I needed to know when playtime and PE ended. I bought a watch, this honking big black thing with big numbers that didn't make it any easier to tell the time. One day I was twirling it around my finger and flinging it into the air (you see I still didn't wear it) while waiting for the kids to line up and... well you can tell how this ends, right?
I have a tree tattoo on my right ankle. Sometimes I forget that it's there and then I admire it all over again.
I'm terribly bad with time. When people asked my religion I used to say that my dad raised me to be late. My friends used to tell me to be somewhere half an hour earlier than they were planning to be there knowing I would be late. And do you know, it's never my fault.

So now, I'm supposed to tag some peeps. So, I'm going to cheat big time. If you are doing the Writer's Platform-Building Campaign, and you like this tag, then take it, do it and just drop me a message in the comments section to let me know you've done it. I look forward to reading your random facts and I'll add the link to the bottom of this post just here...

Who will be first?

Getting to know you: Kate Walton

2011-09-12T00:00:00.000+02:00

Well, it's week 3 now, so I'm guessing you've got the idea, right? Each week as part of the Third Writer's Platform-Building Campaign, I interview a fellow blogger and get to know them just that little bit better. This week is the turn of Kate Walton. Kate is the first (soon to be published) author of this series and was also the first to reply to all her interview questions. Unfortunately, Kate did not win any prizes for this, but hopefully she will gain some new blog readers. So, without further ado, please welcome Kate.

Kate, your book CRACKED comes out on January 3rd 2012. Why should we add it to our to be read lists?

CRACKED is serious and touching, heartbreaking and hopeful. It tells the story of a bully and his victim in alternating points of view. I thought it would be interesting for readers to see the effects of bullying from both sides. I taught middle school for ten years and I never encountered a bully who didn’t have his/her own junk to deal with. That anger and rage has to stem from somewhere.

You are represented by Sarah LaPolla from Curtis Brown. Can you tell us a little bit about how you got your agent?

I’d like to invite everyone to go grab a cup of coffee or tea, put your feet up and get comfy because this is going to take a while. I sent my first query on April 7, 2008 and didn’t land the brilliant Sarah LaPolla until August 2, 2010. Yes, that is 2.4 years. In that time frame I did everything and anything to land an agent: sent close to 150 query letters, attended 4 SCBWI conferences…two of them national conferences, started my blog, publically shared my query letter and the first 250 words of my novel as many times as I could to get the feedback (no matter how painful or snarky), racked up well over 100 rejections…many of them on partial or full requests (you know the kind that REALLY hurt). I’ll tell you what, my husband got so damn tired of putting Band-Aids on my bleeding soul, but he kept doing it—cheering me on and up, telling me it was going to happen, believing in me. His solid belief in me fueled me and I refused to give up.

What does an agent do for a new writer like yourself?

The reason I fought so long and hard to land my agent was because I wanted my writing to be traditionally published. Without an agent you can’t get your work in front of the Big Six publishers. I knew Curtis Brown Ltd. had a long and powerful reputation in publishing, and when I heard Sarah LaPolla was building her client list, I sent my query off to her with lightning speed. What Sarah has done for me as a writer is more incredible than I can put words to (I know—lame—I’m a writer). Of course the obvious, she pulled me from her slush pile and requested a partial manuscript, then full, then “the call” but the real magical parts about her came after all that and continue to come. It’s knowing that she truly believes in my writing and my characters. It’s how she pushes me with her editorial notes before my books go out on submission. It’s how she works tirelessly for me and my stories. All magical. I tell her frequently I’m incredibly lucky to have her leading this ship.

There is a lot of talk about platforms nowadays, and this challenge is all about building a platform; why is it so important for a debut author?

Even though this is my first platform building challenge I have been working diligently on said platform for years. I think I’m everywhere I’m supposed to be as a debut author. My follower number is low but my readers have been loyal and I am thankful for their dedicated readership. But with that said, I would love to build my blog readership and add more lovely people into the fold.

Now onto writing. This is a little obsession of mine, so I'd like to know are you a plotter or pantster?

Pantser all the way. I love to see where the characters and story will take me—it fuels me as a writer. I do generate a bullet pointed stream-of-consciousness list before I begin writing. I also do some character building by jotting down personality ideas for my MCs, so I have a general sense of who they are. I give major props to writers who plot and know the exact direction their stories will take them – I find that absolutely fascinating.

What's your top writing tip?

Write. Write a lot. Write some more. Revise. Revise a lot. Revise some more. Then repeat and repeat and repeat. Never stop writing or growing as a writer. Don’t stop at one book. Push yourself to write a second, then a third, etc….

As a pre-published writer, I look to others for advice about writing, but I do like to share what writing resources I find, so what have been your most valuable writing resources?

For querying: Matthew Rush Casey McCormick andElana Johnson

For writing: read ON WRITING by Stephen King (Check) and BIRDBY BIRD by Anne Lamott (I'll have to look that one up).

Thank you very much for this opportunity to be interviewed,Michele. Your questions were great.

No, no, thank you Kate. It looks like there will be some great reading in 2012. And now dear readers, you can find Kate over here at her blog, here at her well groovy website and here at her publishers. Please do go and take a look.

A Memory: Green light

2011-09-10T08:43:00.001+02:00

My beloved little friend the Green amplemann.

The First Challenge: The Black Box

2011-09-08T18:23:00.001+02:00

It has been absolute ages since I wrote a piece of flash fiction, but Rach Harrie's first challenge for the 3rd Writer's platform-building campaign is to write a piece of flash fiction that is no longer than 200 hundred words. The first line must be: The door swung open and as an extra challenge we can finish with: the door swung shut. As an extra extra challenge it should be 200 words on the dot. So what do you think? If you like it you need to follow the link to Rach's post and give it a like. Cheers.

The Black Box

The door swung open. Sarah’s head jerkedaround; no one there. She breathed, then bit into her lip as the cat curleditself around her legs.

“Get lost!” She pushed it away and edged further into the bottom of the cupboard.She turned the box this way and that, her fingers stroked and searched the blacklacquered surface for some way in. She knew it opened, well she was almost sureshe was certain. When Gemma held it there had been something different, thecurlicue patterns that crawled all over the box seemed more; she searched forthe word, intense. There had to be something special about the box. Why wouldGemma hide it in the back of a cupboard behind shoes and tennis racquets wherenobody could see it?

Sheturned it over again. “Ah!” Fingers duginto her calf and dragged her out the cupboard.

Sarah blinked up at Gemma.Gemma glared down at her. She snatched the box out of Sarah’shand.

“You really want toknow what it is, do you?” Gemma's fingers danced over the box.

She shoved Sarah backinto the cupboard and dropped the glowing box in her lap. The door swung shut.

A Book Review: The Road

2011-09-07T00:00:00.000+02:00

Title: The Road
Author: Cormac McCarthy
Published: Picador, 2009

Synopsis: A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food-—and each other.
from Amazon.com

Star parts: I bought this book because it was recommended to me by three people. Two of them tried to tell me about the book without telling me too much, but explained that they had been profoundly moved by the book.

The story unfolds in a post apocalyptic world. I think one of the things that was so horrifying in the book is that it was all so plausible. Nothing rang false, the sights McCarthy described, the sounds, the smells, it just all seemed so plausible. The boy is experiencing a world lacking in innocence and it makes the readers heart bleed. All the boy and the father have is each other, they are each others hope, they are what makes it bearable to keep reading.

The road is horrific while not being a horror book. It's a beautiful and tender love story between father and son. The descriptions are haunting and throughout it all there is the grey ash that covers everything. It is a moving book for many reasons, not just because I wept all through the final pages and had to go back and read it. The final paragraph is hauntingly beautiful, but after having read the book to me it was actually a chilling lesson.

Black clouds: It's not bedtime reading, which is unfortunately when I do the bulk of my reading. Still that's a personal gripe and thankfully a loooong drive to Italy provided me with all the time I needed to finish the book.

Do I recommend it: Totally, it will make your heart break and sing at the same time.

Getting to know you: Robyn Campbell

2011-09-05T00:00:00.000+02:00

From the 22nd August to the 31st October, Rach Harrie from Rach Writes is running the 3rd Writer's Platform-Building Campaign. Unfortunately, it's too late to sign up now, but it's not too late to get to know some fabulous writers or their blogs.

The idea of the campaign is to connect writers at all different stages of their journey and to pay it forward by helping them build their platforms. Now that Rach has set up the campaign it's basically up to us campaigners to make things happen. There's a little something special going on today as part of the campaign and I can't wait to find out what it is, but meanwhile let's get on with interviewing a a fellow blogger. This week it's the turn of Robyn Campbell, a writer of picture books and children's/middle grade books. When I stopped by to take a look I also discovered that Robyn ran a farm and had seven kids!

So Robyn, what is it like running a farm, being a mum to seven kids and being a writer?

It's wonderful. I have a lot of food for my imagination on the farm. The boys and Ivy have always given me a lot of nourishment for the characters I write about. They are all in my books without even knowing about it. HA! The farm life can be hectic so I have to schedule my writing around that. I love to be in the barn with the sounds of the horses munching on grass or hay, the chickens clucking, cats meowing, dogs jumping around. It is great for the imagination.

I noticed when I was looking at your blog that WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE is one of your favourite picture books. I totally love that book, so I was wondering what do you think makes it so special?

Where the Wild Things Are is the picture book that I wish I would have written. It's pure genius! Even to this day, every time I walk through the pages of that book, I'm whisked away with Max and when we return, we find supper waiting for us. It is always that real to me. Maurice Sendak's imagination must have been set to high level.

I also saw on your blog that you write picture books and middle grade/Children's books; for you what are the similarities and differences between the two genres?

What a great question! Of course we know the ways that they are very different. Different age levels, different reading levels, one has illustrations, most middle grade novels do not. But they do have similarities too. Most middle grade content can be written for picture books. Which I love. Because I have a picture book that I am going to use as an outline for a middle grade novel. I remember a post by Jodell Sadler about incorporating literary devices common to picture books into older genres. Things such as onomatopoeia and consonance help the readers feel like they are more present to place and scene. Another device that picture book writers use is the power of threes. People that write middle grade novels are using these more and more too. And of course, more middle grade books have spot illustrations to draw the reader in and help them connect.

This year I had a bit of a revelation re plotting, but I think in my heart of hears I'm a pantster, so which are you?

Egad! *hides face* Panster. Without a doubt. I hate outlines. They bore me. If I had to write an outline, the book might never get written. But there is one thing I do. I write the synopsis first. It helps me rein in my characters. And it might not be the synopsis I show to my agents or editors when the book is finished and it's really, really, really short, but it works for me.

One thing I like doing on my blog is pointing writer's in the direction of top writing tips. What is yours?

My top writing tip is this: When I am stuck in a scene and can't quite figure out where it's going I draw it out on paper. Believe me. This works. And you don't have to be a skilled artist, because I'm not. But inside those drawings my mind connects and I figure out the scene and immediately write it in.

I like that idea, it sounds a bit like a mind map, but one I can work with. So after writing tips, I like to find good resources, what's your most valuable writing resource?

My most valuable writing resource is my writing. I have read the how to books. But for me, actually writing my stories makes me a better writer. And I learn more from writing and fixing mistakes than reading those books. I will say that The Art of Styling Sentences is an awesome book on that subject. Also Chapter After Chapter is a great book. It's written by Heather Sellers. She also wrote Page After Page. These books show focus. Which I need.

So to wrap up this week's interview, why did you join the challenge Robyn?

I joined the challenge to connect with other like minded folk. I love learning about other writers and sharing with them. I've met some awesome writers in the blogosphere. People that I consider to be my friends. I love the bonds we all share.

Thanks Robyn for taking the time to answer these questions, because after all we can all see that you are one busy lady.

Thank you for this awesome opportunity Michele. <3

No problem. If you'd like to find out more about Robyn, you can visit here at her blog Putting Pen to Paper and her website. And lastly don't forget to drop in next week for another 'Getting to know you' session.

The week that was

2011-09-04T18:25:00.000+02:00

I went back to work this week; on Thursday. OK, I know it's not a full week, but I'm still blooming cream crackered. I had to sit through meetings, I have a student teacher, I'm working with a new teacher to the school and my classroom has moved to another building.

It was a funny old start to the year though. For a start it just felt different. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's different. Every September for the last ten years I have faced September 1st with a kind of dread and usually a bottle or two of wine. This year I watched the Mentalist.

Then the actual day arrived. I got off the metro and yet again was blown away by turning that corner and seeing the Eiffel Tower stretching up into the blue sky.

I skipped through the park pleased that I was wearing my Birks and that I would feel the grass between my toes. I was hoping that the grass would be wet, but you can't have it all.

I drank two glasses of wine over lunch safe in the knowledge that I was a) going to walk it off and b) work it off as I unpacked all those blooming boxes in my room while listening to the Foo Fighters. Even after getting all hot and sweaty and missing quite possibly the best day of summer because I was indoors I was still not totally pissed off.

Then I came home and it hit me. I was in the kitchen cooking after having done all the other chores that needed doing and I realised: that's it, another ten months before I can be ... and it ended. I opened a can of beer, finished cooking dinner, gave myself a mental kick in the shins and reminded myself that I am a teacher and I am a writer. There.

I'll finish off with this. I'm very bad at listening in meetings. I had to confess multiple times to the new and student teacher that I just wasn't listening, but I listened to this. Not because of the horrible screechy noise or because of the pretty pictures (but that helped a lot), but because Sir Ken Robinson has some very interesting things to say. And yes, of course I find them interesting because I agree with him. But I also find it interesting because I'm lucky enough to be able to do some of the stuff he says.

If you're not at all interested in changing education and the world, I get that. So did I mention my recent Foo Fighters obsession? Or that I saw them at Rock en Seine the other week? No? Oh, well this video is for you guys then.

A Memory: Berlin Safari

2011-09-02T00:00:00.000+02:00

Firsts: No Use Crying by Zannah Kearns

2011-09-01T00:00:00.000+02:00

Today I'm a bit excited to announce the first in a series of posts where new authors get a chance to spread the news about their debut novel. First up on Firsts is Zannah Kearns. Her debut novel NO USE CRYING is out today in the UK. So if you would like to find out why you should buy the book, what it's like to go from an unpublished novelist to debut author and how important it is to tweet, read on.

Zannah, your debut novel NO USE CRYING is out TODAY, Why should we add it to our to be read lists?

What a question! Because if you all buy it then my publishers will be more inclined to keep me on?! Because I do actually believe it's a book 'with heart'. The characters are like dear friends, and I hope you might fall in love with them, too. It's funny, heart-warming, and raises some interesting areas of discussion: when does a secret become a lie, how is our identity formed, how do we forgive - ourselves as much as others - how do our relationships evolve as we change/grow?

Wow! There are some big themes there; very intriguing themes might I add. Can you tell us a little bit about your story now. How did you go from unpublished writer to debut author?

I've loved books all my life, but only started taking the idea of writing seriously at University when I took some creative writing modules. I think until then it had felt like a bit of a guilty secret, just too unrealistic. I was fortunate that my parents funded me through an MA after university, so I did Creative Writing then, and whilst I went on to do 'normal jobs' for a while, I kept on writing and I think that's what proved to me it was what I really wanted to do as I kept going.

I had one of those fortuitous moments that will make aspiring authors want to kick me in the shins (we're way too nice to do that Zannah)- my friend asked to read my manuscript and then a month or so later she texted to ask if I'd mind if her sister read it 'as she's a literary agent' (can she be my friend too?). My friend had already shown it to her sister who liked it and wanted to follow up, but that was the first time I heard about it. I do reassure myself that there is more to it than luck though, as my agent wouldn't have said yes if she didn't think she could actually sell it, and the publishers have no connections to me! But I think it probably got me an initial 'real reading' from someone who gets hundreds of manuscripts landing in her mailbox every single day, so I was certainly fortunate.

OK, so apart from being lucky (although you did have a finished MS there), what are the three things that have helped you the most in your writing journey?

Learning to take criticism. That particularly came about through my MA - having work critiqued so frequently. I'm not precious about my writing - if someone says a bit needs changing, I listen, and I know if I feel particularly attached to a phrase or scene, it's probably self-indulgent and needs to go!

Learning that I have to make the time... I had a year when I was 'between' jobs a little while back, and I probably wrote less that year than any other. I think life informs art, and maybe especially writing. Nothing is wasted in that way, so being a full-time mum of two small children doesn't have to hinder my work.

Amazing people. My agent and editors (and all at Frances Lincoln) are passionate about their work, and highly skilled. I have huge confidence in their expertise, and they have made the whole process of getting No Use Crying ready for publication a thoroughly enjoyable one. They have definitely made my writing better.

What advice would you give to unpublished writers?

First, enjoy stories. I think there are times when I've become more obsessed with the idea of being published, or being 'a writer' than simply taking delight in my imagination and the creative process. If I now never get published again, I'd still write because I love it.

Next, it's all about the re-writing. It is liberating to let your first draft be however rubbish it's going to be, but to just get the words down on the page, and then there's something to work with. Re-write, re-write, re-write. You'd be surprised by how much something can improve with multiple drafting!

Don't send out your work too soon! The amount of info online - from getting submissions to their top-notch standard, to how to write query letters, to every other tiny little detail you might need to know is all there to be able to send out your work to its best possible advantage. But doing all that research can distract from getting the story where it needs to be - it's all about the story!

I do agree that it's all about the story. And the Frog too, he's always telling me to get on and write, but there is some good stuff online. Well, for a start we met on Twitter, in fact, we've only ever met on Twitter. How important is it to Tweet?

Clearly writers still make it these days who aren't on Twitter. But it's undoubtedly fun and useful. I love the buzz of other writers and bloggers sharing their projects (even just to say how much they have done that day, or how the whole day has been sabotaged by little Tommy's mumps). And there are some amazing authors on there who are so ready to share their advice and encouragement. I think if you follow the right people, then it's a thoroughly positive booster for the lonely writer's journey.

The place to start is with Nicola Morgan's e-book TweetRight. I saw it as a series of posts on her blog Help! I need a publisher! which is full of fantastic advice for aspiring authors (I second that, Nicola's posts helped me take my first tentative steps on Twitter and now I'm interviewing debut authors). That's what got me started on navigating Twitter, and then you receive this amazingly friendly welcome from lovely people like you! (Why thank you) I think it has been useful for networking and promotion, but there is so much more to it than that.

Lastly, for a bit of fun three random facts about Zannah Kearns.

1) My favourite smell is my children! They are only 2.5yrs and 4.5 months - and they smell like malted biscuits, all sweet and milky, and I love how they smell with suncream on, and when they're soapy-clean after their baths... Sometimes obviously they smell of other, less delightful things, but we won't worry about that... (No let's not, I've just been through a very traumatic potty training summer).

2) I am slightly addicted to two tv series - Gilmour Girls and West Wing. They are very warm and funny, and you can feel slightly intelligent watching West Wing (except if someone asks me what's actually happening as it quickly becomes clear I haven't a clue!) The dialogue in these series is superb,so really when I watch them it counts as research, you know...

3) I spent a year after school living in Chantilly, just south of Paris (to give a French connection!) It's a beautiful racing town, with a chateau that was used in a James Bond movie - Goldfinger, I think. The duke who built the chateau thought he was going to be reincarnated as a horse (so the story goes) so he built stables even larger than the chateau! When we visited the stables, we whispered to each horse in turn, 'Are you the duke?' None confessed.

(You did say random, right?!)

I did say random and I'm rather embarrassed to say that I have never been to Chantilly. So with that confession I shall begin to wrap up this First First. If you have been convinced to buy NO USE CRYING you can do so through the Frances Lincoln website or the Amazon link below.

If you want to find out more about Zannah Kearns there is a NO USE CRYING page on facebook and there's even more info over at Zannah's website: http://zannahkearns.com/

August British Book Challenge 2011: The good man Jesus and the scoundrel Christ

2011-08-31T00:00:00.000+02:00

Title: The good man Jesus and the scoundrel Christ
Author: Philip Pullman
Published: Canongate Books ltd, 2010

Synopsis: This is a story. In this ingenious and spell-binding retelling of the life of Jesus, Philip Pullman revisits the most influential story ever told. Charged with mystery, compassion and enormous power, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ throws fresh light on who Jesus was and asks the reader questions that will continue to resonate long after the final page is turned. For, above all, this book is about how stories become stories.
from Publisher's website

Black clouds: I'm slightly swapping the order of the review this time, because frankly that's how I felt about it. The book is written in the style of the bible, which, eh, well let's face it, while full of amazing stories and an all time best seller, is not written in a very gripping way. I felt alienated and disconnected from the characters, the main ones being Jesus and Christ. And apart from the clever twists, I kind of already knew what was going to happen.

Star parts: And in a way, that's the beauty of the book. In big gold letters on the back of the book are the words: This is a story. Read the blurb above, it's all about how stories become stories, and that is when the story kicks off. When Christ is confronted by the stranger who asks why he is writing Jesus's words down the story takes off. It's no longer a clever retelling of the most retold story in the world, now it becomes a story in its own right. What will Christ do, what are Jesus's motivations, who is he, because Pullman doesn't paint him as a god, far from it. In the end, being a bit of a story teller myself, I found myself liking the book more and more. The last line is an absolute classic.

Do I recommend it: Yes, yes I do. Because the beginning, the bit I didn't like, that is all part of it really. I think it's Pullman's way of saying that it's the story that counts, THIS is how you write a story. But, that's what I think. I'd like to know what you think if you've read it.

This is the eleventh book I've reviewed for the British Book Challenge.

Also just in case you had forgotten, there is NO USE CRYING about going back to work TOMORROW, but if you don't believe me, then come back tomorrow to find out why Zannah Kearns thinks so too. It will all be very exciting, I promise you.

Getting to know you: Beth Kemp

2011-08-29T00:00:00.000+02:00

Last week, I signed up for Rach Harrie's Third Writer's Platform-Building Campaign. She has put hours into organising link-ups and challenges and what not so that we, the writerly bloggers can get together, find each other and build our platforms. Now does this kind of thing work? Well, I for one am not expecting my readership to jump from double digits to quadruple. For me, it would be nice to get to know some people, and that's what this series of interviews is all about. Thanks to Rachael, I've had the chance to get to know a few people a bit more. I've found out where they are on their writing journey, if they are still unpublished, self-published or published. But I wanted to start this series with a special interview. If some of you are a bit dubious about whether these challenges work, I wanted to start with an interview to show you that: yes challenges do help you make new friends. See, Beth is a fellow campaigner, but I met her at the beginning of the year when we both signed up to do the British Book Challenge. We started to follow each other's blogs and we found out we had one or two things in common et voila. Without further ado, read on, and you guys get to know Beth too.

So, like me Beth, you have a full time job (6th Form English teacher) and you're a parent, how do you fit in the writing?

With difficulty! It helps that my kids aren't little now (the youngest is almost 8), so their demands aren't so constant. My family are really supportive of my writing, thankfully. I don't know how I'd manage if they didn't take it seriously and encourage me when I'm struggling. My husband is a stay-at-home Dad so I don't have housework or laundry to worry about and it's quite easy to find family time as there's only one job (and school) to work around.

The job can get in the way though! As you well know, teaching is not a 9-5 job, so it's a question of being really disciplined about how much of my time I allow it to take up. The non-fiction writing I've been successful with so far is all teaching-related so sometimes I'm doubling up by producing something for publication that I will also be using in the classroom myself. I'm trying to work on fiction daily at the moment, even if it's literally only for a few minutes.

So you write fiction and non-fiction; what are the similarities and differences between the two?

I feel quite differently about fiction and non-fiction. For me, the non-fiction has always been commissioned or agreed before I start writing and, to some extent, I'm writing to someone else's plan. Even when I'm producing teaching materials or articles for students which I have pitched (and are therefore my ideas), they're still driven by what A Level English students need to know or be able to do. The fiction stuff, however, is always free and unconstrained. I realise of course that's not entirely true - we need to write what children are likely to want to read - but there is a much greater freedom in the fiction work.

Did non-fiction lead to writing fiction or vice versa? Or have you always done both?

I'd written fiction as a child and teenager, but gave up in my mid-late teens, believing it had all been done and I had nothing to add. I only really picked it up again once I'd had some success with the non-fiction stuff: that's what led me to take my own writing seriously again. I'd made a website for my students with revision notes etc, which has grown and become quite well-used. The networking I'd done through that led to writing for student magazines and an offer to collaborate on a textbook. Those things were the encouragement I needed to try fiction writing again. I'm glad I did; fiction writing gives me so much pleasure.

I'm a little obsessed by this, so are you a plotter or pantster?

Absolutely plotter. I plan the non-fiction too - I can't start without knowing where I'm going. I have to be careful that it doesn't become a busywork kind of procrastination, but I do work best with fairly detailed chapter-level plans when writing stories. For non-fiction, I'll have word counts by section or topic to help me as well.

As a fellow writer, can you share your top writing tip?

Read your work aloud when you're starting fine editing (i.e. not big plot stuff, but word choice and sentence structure). Yes, you may feel like an idiot, but you will catch things you'd otherwise have missed.

I like to share things I find that help me to write, so what's your most valuable writing resource?

My family. Largely my husband. He believes in my writing as worthwhile and valuable - to my mental health as well as it having brought in extra pennies - and helps me not to see it as personal indulgence. The girls are also supportive and know to leave me alone when I'm writing, but that's because they see that Daddy takes it seriously, I'm sure.

Ah! I guess this is one resource we can't share then :)

So to finish off this week's interview, why did you join the challenge?

I've been blogging a lot more over the summer and it's something I want to continue once term restarts, but I do find it a lot easier with a focus or structure. I enjoyed the A-Z Challenge a lot and found the restriction of themed posts led me to write about some really interesting things that I wouldn't have come up with normally. I read quite a lot of blogs and feel ready to pick up some more, but it's not always easy to discover new blogs to follow. This campaign is perfect for showcasing blogs by people with similar and complementary interests. I'm looking forward to making new friends - and continuing to get to know others!

Thanks for the interesting questions. I've enjoyed trying to explain some of my feelings about writing.

Thank you Beth, and I hope you'll join me next week for our next campaigner. If you'd like to find out more about Beth, you can find her at Thoughts from the Hearthfire, and on Twitter as @BethKemp

Also before this post wraps up, I just want to remind you that there is NO USE CRYING about going back to work on Thursday 1st September. In fact there's just NO USE CRYING at all, but why? Be sure to pop back on the 1st to find out why.

A Memory: DDR

2011-08-26T00:00:00.000+02:00

As well as me going back to work on Thursday 1st September there will be something very exciting going on right here, on this blog. Be sure you pop back on the 1st to READ ALL ABOUT IT.

August British Book Challenge 2011: The Book of Dead Days

2011-08-24T09:10:00.000+02:00

Title: The book of dead days
Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Title: Orion Children's, 2004

Synopsis: The days between 27 December and New Year's Eve are dead days - days when spirits roam and magic shifts restlessly just beneath the surface of our everyday lives.There is a man, Valerian, whose time is running out, who must pay the price for the pact he made with evil so many years ago. His servant is Boy, a child with no name and no past; a child he treats with contempt, but who serves his master well and finds solace in the company of his only friend, Willow. Unknown to any of them it is Boy who holds the key to their destiny.

Star parts: I feel like I read this forever ago, but it's just that I've had a bit of reading spree since I read it. So without further ado, the star parts are... all of it. There we go totally unbiased, unjudgemental reviewing here. Go on, go and read it if you haven't already. All right I'll tell you a bit more. Well straight away Boy (who is the main character by the way) starts off in a sticky situation, but the situation he's in at the beginning is nothing compared to the situation he finds himself in by the end of the night, or the next day or the day after that. Things just keep getting worse for Boy and Valerian keeps getting darker and darker.

One of the things I liked about Sedgwick's crafting of character is that nobody is completely evil and the good guys aren't completely good. Boy has his flaws. We are never quite sure about Kessler and right till the end I wondered if Valerian might act differently. Willow is probably the only character who is what she is.

Another thing I really liked about the book is that some things seem completely fantastical, but are eventually revealed as trickery, whereas other things remain completely fantastical.

The plot is amazing and the pacing just right. So...

Black clouds: There's a sequel and I haven't read it.

Do I recommend it: I totally do, whole heartedly and without doubt.

This is the tenth book I've reviewed for the British Book Challenge.

I've done gone and joined yet another...

2011-08-22T23:21:00.000+02:00

...Blog challenge. And it wasn't easy to be honest. There was this whole post to read, there were all these hoops to jump through and then I needed to choose which groups I wanted to be a part of. And I don't read instructions easily and follow them even less easily. But you know it just seemed a kind of cool thing to do. I'm going back to work in September and I thought to myself that Rachael Harrie's challenge was exactly what I needed to get me over that hump.

Don't get me wrong, I love my job. I am truly privileged to help children learn in a way that encourages them to learn in a school where they learn to love learning. I can't ask better than that. But I am also privileged to have a job that allows me the time to write and I've been a writer these last two months, so bear with me, because it's going to be a little hard pushing that job to the sides and going back to the paying one.

Anyway enough gushing and about this blog challenge. Well it's called the Third Writer's Platform-Building Campaign. It runs right from yesterday to October 31st. The idea is that a whole bunch of writers at different stages of the journey get together and we kind of promote each other. There are three blog challenges and there may be prizes. You know me, I like prizes. Other than that, the idea is just to get to know people. So that's what I'm going to be doing. If you would like to join, you have until August 31st to do so. Go on you know you want to.

The technical delights of being on holiday

2011-08-21T23:38:00.000+02:00

The Windmill - Wimbledon Common

A couple of years ago, just before we were about to go on holiday the Frog joked about how I would cope for a whole month without the internet. At the time I felt very justified reminding him of this comment every time I caught him on his Blackberry. But that was before (cue dramatic ta da da dah music). This summer I went to London fully aware that I would continue to work on my WIP even though I left without a USB key or huge wad of papers.

The Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

If somehow you have not heard of the wonders of the simple program Dropbox, it's a little box, somewhere in a technical cloud where you can drop all your files. There was a bit of a hooha this summer as they changed their terms and conditions, but I for one am far too enamoured to be jumping ship just yet. If it means that anywhere I go I can have access to my WIP, then I for one am happy.

Just before I left for London I had a bit of a light bulb moment about my WIP, which resulted in me changing my MC. In the past this would have been bloody horrendous, but I have to say that Scrivener has revolutionised my life. OK to begin with I thought it was a huge problem and had a bit of a panic all over Twitter, Litopia and FB, but after a deep breath, I read all the index cards and saw the light. What happened was that I wrote some new chapters to establish the new MC, popped them into the right place (just like that) and then all I had to (all I had to do) was revise the old chapters to change the POV from old MC to new MC. Sweet huh?

Siena Cathdral

So with this in mind I took my laptop to Italy. I know, I took my laptop to Italy, but, I was pretty good. I only worked when the bubba was having (a two hour) nap, and we went to Assisi, very briefly to Perugia, Siena and Arezzo and I revised all those chapters I was telling you about and ended up right back where I was before I changed the MC. You see there can be balance. The FIL did keep commenting though that next time we went on holiday it would be good if everybody left the computers behind as between fifteen of us there were six laptops and four iPhones!

Which brings me onto the last of my techie delights: the iPhone. It's a phone, I can read the news, find the nearest boulangerie and (we checked today) even measure how loudly I snore, but more importantly I have the Dropbox app on it which means I can read my WIP on twelve hour car drives, send chapters off for critting, receive e mails with chapters and even tap out whole notes with story ideas I have while on those twelve hour car rides.

Piazza del Campo - Siena

Another thing I did on the iPhone was read an article about Lucy Kellaway's new idea called: 'worliday'. The idea is that people go on holiday and spend a part of each day working.To be honest when I read it, the whole idea just seemed ridiculous and reading some of the comments I realised I'm not the only one, but then I reread the last line:

In my suitcase will be my sunglasses and Wellington boots - as you never know with the weather up there - as well as my Blackberry and computer.

I didn't exactly go on a 'worliday' as a 'wriliday' with my family and pals: Dropbox, Scrivener and iPhone. Personally, I kind of recommend it.

A Memory: The wall

2011-08-19T08:52:00.001+02:00

A Book Review: Skullduggery Pleasant

2011-08-17T08:44:00.001+02:00

Title: Skullduggery Pleasant
Author: Derek Landy
Published: Harper Collins Children's Book, 2007

Synopsis:
Meet the great Skulduggery Pleasant: wise-cracking detective, powerful magician, master of dirty tricks and burglary (in the name of the greater good, of course).
Oh yeah. And dead.

Then there's his sidekick, Stephanie. She's… well, she's a twelve-year-old girl. With a pair like this on the case, evil had better watch out…

Stephanie's uncle Gordon is a writer of horror fiction. But when he dies and leaves her his estate, Stephanie learns that while he may have written horror, it certainly wasn't fiction.
Pursued by evil forces intent on recovering a mysterious key, Stephanie finds help from an unusual source – the wisecracking skeleton of a dead wizard.

When all hell breaks loose, it's lucky for Skulduggery that he's already dead. Though he's about to discover that being a skeleton doesn't stop you from being tortured, if the torturer is determined enough. And if there's anything Skulduggery hates, it's torture… Will evil win the day? Will Stephanie and Skulduggery stop bickering long enough to stop it? One thing's for sure: evil won't know what's hit it.
from Amazon.co.uk

Star parts: I always love it when a kid's book is recommended to me by a kid. The mother of the kid who 'lurves' these books said she thought it was a bit splat. So I thought I would take a wee look. Landy's writing style is funny. The majority of the characters are engaging, the story is definitely a page turner, and there's splat, but most people make it out alive... or they were already dead in the first place so it doesn't matter.

The story takes place in Dublin, but in a part that nobody pays too much attention to. Stephanie Edgely decides to join forces with Skullduggery to get to the bottom of her Uncle's mysterious death. What happens along the way is all very thrilling and imaginative like the clothes that protect her from the worst of the dangerous antics she gets up to...

Black clouds: But! You knew there was one coming right? There are pages and pages of witty reposte between Skullduggery and Stephanie. It doesn't serve to move the plot on and it seems like it was just included to show how witty Landry could be and to be perfectly honest I got bored with it. Secondly the characters I found the blossoming investigator Stephanie and Tanith Low a little similar.

Do I recommend it: But! (Oh look another one) The story was exciting. I wanted to read to the end. When the humour wasn't overdone and beaten to death it was funny. I can see why kids like it. I'm not going to say don't read it, I'm just going to say it wasn't my cup of tea. How's that?

The holiday is over

2011-08-15T09:59:00.016+02:00

I thought I was going to post a kind of resume of my hols in London and Tuscany, but instead I found myself starting this political ramble about the UK riots and so it would seem that I have something to say about this past weeks' events and I should just get on with it.

I'm old enough to remember the riots in the '80's and being one of Thatcher's children I've seen society change around me. When I was a kid, the neighbourhood I lived in was still working class, where I would come home to tales of nights spent in the Anderson shelter during air raids. As these people died or moved away each house was gradually yuppified until even if I had wanted to, there was no hope of ever living in the same place I grew up in. I felt quietly left behind by the people who just wanted to make money and lots of it, I doggedly pursued my goal of being a teacher.

I'm not sure who found the '80's riots a surprise. I didn't. The day National Front posters were pasted outside my school we leant over the fence during PE and ripped them off. All brown people were called 'Pakis' and everybody else of a darker complexion 'wogs'. There was some kind of complicated colour code to do with the laces you wore in your DM's which singled you out as a Skin or a racist Skin. When there is that kind of constant tension things kick off. That's why the 2005 riots here in France did not surprise me. Yet again you have a whole generation of people who were born and brought up in France, who thought of themselves as French, but whose educational prospects were low, getting a good job downright difficult if you had the wrong name and don't even think about renting an apartment outside of your citè.

After devouring everything I could on Sunday night I woke up on Monday with two conclusions, 1) The BBC news site is a bit facile. Even the features and analysis is a bit lacking in analysis. 2) These riots were different.

Do you remember those days when you were called 'rent a mob' because you went on a march or two? Well maybe we were the same people going on different marches, but we went because we cared about issues. We believed in democracy and the differences in political parties. But look at the ballot boxes today and people don't care enough to vote their own government in . It doesn't matter who you vote in anyway because be they left or right the policies are broadly similar and every government is shit. We fill our lives with 'things' nowadays and the gap between rich and poor continues to grow. My conception of society is just so different from the rioters who are so disenfranchised from society that we have no common ground.

I wondered if my lack of understanding was down to being outside the country for fifteen years, but I read the same lack of comprehension about the mentality of the rioters in the comments pages of many papers and the status updates of my friends in London. What I kept reading again and again was 'disenfranchised', 'marginalised', a society where there is little chance of social mobility and where the gap between rich and poor is constantly growing. I found Cameron's words empty and lacking in analysis. The idea that cutting benefits or evicting rioters is downright stupid and send them to already overcrowded jails and see what happens, that will really solve all the problems.

The last slightly political post I made here was about library cuts, but I do realise that everything is being cut, everything that is a lifeline to the most vulnerable in society, the young and old alike, from libraries to bus services that connect communities. I know that it's easy to proselytise from the comfort of my home, but I do hope that lessons will be learnt and that changes will be made. We changed into a society where it was all about money and borrowing and having and now we are a society that is bankrupt in so many different ways. Is there a way to change this? And if so how? These are the questions I think politicians should be asking in the next few weeks, rather than how hard can we punish these perpetrators. Let us learn from history, instead of repeating the same old mistakes.

Book reviews, writerly rambles and maybe a little summary of my holidays will now resume...

Meanwhile a couple more links:
Art Li: Riots and Evictions
Provoke. history: London and Rioting: Historical Perspective

A Memory: Currywurst

2011-08-12T08:47:00.001+02:00

A Memory: Concorde

2011-08-05T08:22:00.003+02:00

"I see nothing in space as promising as the view from a Ferris wheel."

— E.B. White (The Points of My Compass)

A Memory: Another window

2011-07-29T08:20:00.002+02:00

"To perceive Christmas through its wrapping becomes more difficult with every year."

- E.B. White, "The Second Tree from the Corner" (1954)

July British Book Challenge 2011: Puddle Goblins

2011-07-27T17:08:00.003+02:00

Title: Puddle Goblins
Author: David Melling
Published: Hodder Children's Books, 2008

Synopsis:The land of the goblins is hidden, but not so far away. If you look carefully, you might just find it … One day, Septic the goblin falls down a deep dark well. He likes it there, but hopes someone will rescue him one day …
From author's website

I was lent this heavily annotated version by Jan from my critique group. Considering we are all following the advice of reading around our genre, I don't know why we didn't think to share books before. Anyway...

Star parts: I love David Melling. He regularly posts his pictures on Trapped by Monsters and I have to admit to rather falling in love with them. I pretend I'm showing them to my LO, but really I'm going: 'I wish I could paint like that', 'I wish I'd imagined something like that.' So I was really rather looking forward to Puddle Goblins because we love Hugless Douglas and we've gone all international and got the French version of Don't worry Douglas. Good Knight, Sleep tight has recently been added to our Melling repetoire as well. But...

Black clouds: ...well it was a bit boring. I didn't get into the characters and the story was a bit silly. I know it's for younger readers than I usually read for, but ...

Do I recommend it: ...I'm very sorry, but it wasn't my cup of tea really. I feel very bad, because like I said I'm a fan of the picture books, I really am. The illustrations are still fantastic, and there are plenty of good gags in it, but... never mind hey, because I've named at least three great books, and it won't be putting me off getting more of his picture books.

This is the ninth book I've reviewed for the British Book Challenge. I've finished THE GOOD MAN JESUS AND THE SCOUNDREL CHRIST and am now taking a break from Children's books and the BBC to read THE ROAD it is not bedtime reading, so maybe I should stop reading it at bedtime.

A Memory: The window

2011-07-22T08:17:00.004+02:00

“A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time.”

Mark Twain quotes (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835-1910)

A Memory: The seagull is landing Part II

2011-07-15T09:12:00.000+02:00

Every summer, Paris empties during the months of July and August. It's called 'les Grandes Vacances'. It used to be my favourite part of my holidays as it was so quiet. This year we're living next door to a building site, which is apparently good for another couple of years. So to be honest I'm quite looking forward to getting away for a while and hogging someone else's laptop. We may even get to see some seagulls landing again, but there'll be a different backdrop of trees in Richmond Park. See you soon and enjoy your holidays. The Friday photo will appear as usual and I shall return mid August with some good news about the progress of my WIP (I hope, no there will be, maybe, definitely).

A different kind of review: ABBA lit fest

2011-07-11T15:30:00.001+02:00

I've never been to a literary festival before, although I suppose they're rather like teaching conferences where you go to meet people, charge your batteries and get re-inspired. I imagine that there are those at festivals who take copious notes, and those who doodle a lot in the margin, giggle and make comments to the person sitting next to them and write key words down, which leaves them scratching their heads when they get home. ABBA lit fest wasn't like that. For a start it was online (and still is if any of you somehow managed to miss it or have ignored its existence).

After going through the programme, I dutifully went to my google calendar and created alerts based on writers that I have connected with in some way through Twitter, blogs or Litopia, but in the end I read/watched ALL the posts. And despite not getting to meet other people or doodle (yep folks that's me I was describing) I do feel re-inspired and there was so much to learn.

So without further ado these are my highlights, purely subjective and whatnot.

Leila Rasheed's 300 words post takes us on a step by step journey through what makes a good opening. Fantastic.
All but one of the competitions is open until 20th July, you have nine days, so go for it.
Anne Rooney and Mary Hoffman. They do spend half the video looking for a multi-millionaire, but watch it because it's really funny.
Wendy Meddour's tale of how she did not become an actress is hysterical and there is a cute little drawing to go with it.
John Dougherty - it may seem just like a competition but scroll down to the video.
Linda Strachan and Cathy MacPhail's reflection on Arvon - I would love to go to one.
I've learnt my lesson about research (maybe), but Jane Eagland's post will help you along the way if you are still battling.
Then there's the little boy who interviews Emma Barnes, he, his curls, his pile of books and his questions are priceless.
Katherine Langrish's post on Magical Rooms gives you plenty to think about and I'm definitely looking at my MC's room differently.

This is my SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE moment. You know how all but one of those competitions are open to the 20th July. Well, if you've peeked at the posts that I really wanted to read, Michelle Lovric's was one that I was particularly interested in. If I tell you that in my 'to be read' pile is Helen Dunmore's Ingo maybe you'll understand where I'm coming from with this one. Anyway, this competition was for the first three people who answered. And *hee hee* I was one of the first three, SQUEE.

Finally, I'd just like to say THANK YOU to all those people at ABBA who gave up their time and organised this for us aspiring/wannabe/gonnabe writers. I've had a great weekend (well it was a bit of a long weekend if we include this morning's more leisurely perusal) and I'm now going to go and have a good hard look at my first three hundred words.

July British Book Challenge 2011: The Blackhope Enigma

2011-07-09T22:35:00.000+02:00

Title: The Blackhope Enigma
Author: Teresa Flavin
Published: Templar publishing, 2010

Synopsis: When Sunni Forrest’s stepbrother accidentally transports himself into a Renaissance painting, she and her friend Blaise set out to bring him back. They find themselves in a strange world of labyrinths, monsters and pirates.

Can they evade their greedy pursuers? And will they ever find their way home?

Star parts: So after saying that I wasn't really into YA, here's another. Someone once made a flippant comment about illustrators 'having no idea how to write'. From what I've read of Flavin's blog I would say that she considers herself an artist and the words on the page paint such vivid pictures. From the Tower to the inside of the painting and the different layers of it, everything was so vivid. I was constantly amazed by Flavin's imagination. She has created a world full of intrigue and wonder and it kept me turning the pages again and again. The characters are put through the mill again and again and again. Each of the characters change in some ways along the way, and the ending forces Sunni to make some tough choices.

Black clouds: We were plunged straight into the action (which I like), but I think I'd liked to have known who Sunni and Blaise were before the life changing experience, but that's more a little wonder rather than anything significantly annoying.

Do I recommend it: Oh absolutely. I loved it. I loved all the characters, good and bad. The little hint of possible future 'lurve' action was intriguing, but didn't detract from the story. I just really, really loved it and The Crimson Shard is out in October, so I'm quite excited about that too.

This is the eighth book I've reviewed for the British Book Challenge. Still got two more reviews to do before I'm all caught up, although I may have finished THE GOOD MAN JESUS AND THE SCOUNDREL CHRIST by then. I'm not sure what I'm thinking about that book at the moment, but I'll save my views for the review.

Also, just in case you aren't paying attention to the Twitterverse or Blogosphere, we're in the middle of ABBA's first ever online literary festival. If you didn't get a chance to catch anything today, don't worry because it will always be there. I think my highlight of today was Mary Hoffman and Anne Rooney's conversation. I hope they don't mind me saying this, but I loved the fact that the camera was off centre and that it was so 'not' professional and yet they really put across their passion.

A Memory: The seagull is landing

2011-07-08T08:10:00.006+02:00

And this is just a quick reminder that tomorrow is An Awfully Big Blog Adventure's 3rd Birthday. As well as that it's their first EVER on line literary Festival. Click on the badge to see what you have to look forward to .

Ssh...

2011-07-05T22:15:00.002+02:00

When I was at university I loved Chumbawamba. I absolutely loved them. Each time I saw them live Alice Nutter came on stage dressed as a nun which I found wonderfully irreverent. They were an excellent band to dance to and I still love them even though they were ALWAYS supporting The Levellers.The thing is I never owned any of their early stuff. When I was at uni I had a cassette of Ssh that I played to death.

Now that we can download music it's really easy to rebuild these early record collections, but although I checked I could never get hold of Ssh on iTunes. Then I read about Spotify, 13 million tunes in a cloud somewhere out there. I wondered what the catch was, but eventually I downloaded it and found out for myself*. I looked up Ssh and listened to ALL of it, starting with Ssh down to Stitch That.

But why this wander down the corridors of nostalgia? Well, you see, today I have been waxing lyrical about the trauma of potty training on Twitter plus one comment about tinkering with my WIP. @belledechocolat replied to the one about my WIP and I started going on about potty training, but soon realised that there were other preoccupations in my life, namely the fact that I have reached a hump in WIP. Something is wrong and until I wrote this, I couldn't put my finger on it:

See that makes me wonder who my MC is. I'm beginning to think it's Morgane and not Ella which is pretty crap as I'm almost at the end of the revision! >:/

And in a blinding flash of light I realised that my MC is wrong. So without further ado I give you: Big Mouth Strikes Again by Chumbawamba and can I make it very clear that the parts of this song that I am relating to right now are not the bits about freedom of speech and censorship.

*The catch is that every couple of songs you get an annoying Bruno Mars advert. Who the hell is Bruno Mars anyway?

July British Book Challenge 2011: Firebrand by Gillian Philip

2011-07-03T15:44:00.001+02:00

Title: Firebrand
Author: Gillian Philip
Published: Strident, 2010
Synopsis: It’s the last decade of the sixteenth century: a time of religious wars in the full-mortal world. But the Sithe are at peace, hidden behind the Veil that protects their world - until their queen, Kate NicNicven, determines to destroy it.

Seth MacGregor is the half-feral son of a Sithe nobleman. When his father is assassinated, and Seth is exiled with his brother Conal to the full-mortal world, they vow not only to survive, but to return to reclaim their fortress and save the Veil.

But even the Veil’s power can’t protect the brothers when the brutal witch-hunts begin…
From Strident Website

Star parts: I don't think I'm a big fan of YA. You know teenagers are just so awkward and troublesome and they think they're so grown up and know it all and they mess up so much. Really, who wants to read that? But I love fantasy and I'm planning on writing one, and it will probably be YA, so in the spirit of reading around the genre Firebrand ended up in my to-be-read pile. And really Seth MacGregor is one of those annoying teenagers, he's in love with the girl who will never have him. He takes ages to recognise the girl who is in love with him. He does stupid, stupid stuff. He's proud, he's a softie, he's all those things that teenagers are. In addition he's this kick ass fairie that can go into people's minds, fight like you wouldn't believe. He has this amazing horse thing and finds and rears two super cute wolves. Even when he is in big, big trouble he goes back for the wolves. How can you not begin to like him? Firebrand kind of crept into my mind, and instead of staying at my bedside I found myself sneaking a read whenever I could. You know, I think I really rather liked it.

Black clouds: And to be perfectly honest when I started reading it, I wasn't at all sure that this was going to be the case. I found the first half of part one a little overly descriptive, with not enough action for my taste, but that was soon forgotten. The other little niggle was that there were times when I wasn't totally sure what was going on. I didn't quite get all the ins and outs of the political shenanigans that were going on at the beginning. But by the second half of the book I was really into it and now...

Do I recommend it: Yes, and Bloodstone the second book in the trilogy is out in August and one of those beautiful wolves is on the cover. Oh and did I mention that Seth is a tad on the vain side as well?

This is the seventh book I've reviewed for the British Book Challenge. I've had a look at the Challenge rules, so I've done the Winston Churchill bit, but I'm heading for the Royal Family. Kudos to those who are going for the 50 reads in one year - Phewy. Now I need to get on with the other reviews, The Blackhope Enigma, Puddle Goblins, The Book of Dead Days and I'm in the middle of reading THE GOODMAN JESUS AND THE SCOUNDREL CHRIST.

A Memory: Evening walk

2011-07-01T09:06:00.001+02:00

June British Book Challenge 2011: The Demon Collector by Jon Mayhew

2011-06-29T11:41:00.001+02:00

Title: The Demon Collector
Author: Jon Mayhew
Published: Bloomsbury, 2011

Synopsis: Edgy Taylor sees demons when nobody else can. Edgy thinks he is insane and expects to be carried off any minute. He is a prime collector, wandering the streets of London collecting dog muck for the tannery. The only thing Edgy is good at is setting and solving riddles, and evading his brutal and abusive master. One night, when his master seems genuinely intent on killing Edgy, Professor Envry Janus intervenes. Envry takes him to the Royal Society of Daemonologie where Edgy will now live. It is here, though, that Edgy discovers chance had nothing to do with their meeting, and that instead he holds the key to a deadly demon prophecy.
From Bloomsbury Website

Star parts: The book starts right in the thick of the action with a chase, an accident and a death, just the way I like it. And I think what I really liked about Edgy is that he was a boy. OK, obviously he's a boy, but what I mean is he thinks like a boy, he acts like a boy, his personal thoughts are boyish. He's even a bit of a geeky boy, he knows the answer to all those riddles and heaven knows I have no patience for that kind of thing, so in the end Edgy comes across as a really authentic boy. Oh and Edgy has a dog called Henry and I really liked that little touch, although the bath scene did have me going: Eugh!

This book is set in an older, darker London. The Royal Society of Daemonologie is a little world within our world that Mayhew peoples with a whole host of weird and wonderful characters. Well there's Professor Janus who saves Edgy's bacon. There's Sally, the ghost, who's a little put out that Edgy has taken her room after all these years. There's Spinorix the keeper of the Exhibition Hall and then there's that slippery slithery character in the library that I won't tell you too much about. And of course, there's Salome! She is a nasty piece of work and as we follow Edgy around on his capers we wonder whether Salome will get her evil claws into him and what, what, what does she really want. Well, you'll have to read the book to find out.

Mayhew's world building carries the reader into the time and the mythology of the Demons really well, while still providing plenty of action. And it's great that the book is dark (well we're talking about devils and demons here) but really funny.

Black clouds: This isn't really a black cloud, I just have to say, because I never got around to reviewing it, that I LOVED MORTLOCK. OK, it's out now.

Do I recommend it: Of course. In fact I've already started recommending it to some of my stronger readers this year. And the front cover alone inspired a whole host of 'scary' stories .

This is the sixth book I've reviewed for the British Book Challenge, which means that I'm halfway through the challenge, although I've already read Firebrand, The Blackhope Enigma, Puddle Goblins and literally just finished The book of dead days for this challenge. Not for the challenge I read Skullduggery Pleasant, so there are some reviews to come yet!