A Memory: Spots

A book review: Unhooking the moon

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

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 a big fan of Neil Gaiman. I loved his Books of Magic (not the Vertigo imprint that came out later - even though I did buy them), but I read a friend's copy and 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 my copies are in storage. I love that series, though. It's probably my favorite comic series done by Gaiman. Thinking about it, there is this scene where Tim is walking off with the Phantom Stranger (I think) that is just etched in my mind. Whether the etching is accurate or not, I don't know, but it's there. I also 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 and read it to their kids. It's great for that. I know, because I've spent more than a little time reading it in my kids' classes at their school, and the kids love it. But for adults, I really think it's capable of taking you back to being a kid and what it was like to think about all the hidden things that could be hiding around the corner. Unless you didn't have an imagination as a kid. In that case, it probably won't do anything for you. Although, it does have more than a tiny bit of humor in it. And, yes, it's available on the Kindle and the Nook and available as a physical book through CreateSpace.

Your book is an e book. How did you reach the decision to be an 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 to self publish only after I finished the book and started querying. It wasn't until that point that I really began to look at the state that traditional publishing is in and the fact that agents, on the whole, don't really do the jobs of agents anymore. Between that and the fact that publishers won't really market you unless you're already going to sell, meaning you have to do it all yourself, 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 publish your book?

Well... that's a long answer. Mostly, because I really did it the wrong way, first. Let's see... I did all of the editing myself. But! I have a degree in English, and I have worked as an editor before, so it wasn't a hard stretch for me. However, I did learn one thing, editing on the computer is hard. 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 a physical copy to look at to do that with. Even if you're just going to e-publish, it could be worth going through CreateSpace -just- to get a proof copy to hold in your hand and edit from. The other main thing I did was read the 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 catch awkward sounding sentences. As for the formatting... well, that was no fun. Everyone wants something different. CreateSpace wanted it as a pdf, which I had never used before, so I had to figure that out, meaning I had to make a bunch of mistakes before I got it to work. The Kindle required different formatting when 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 these things 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 it so important for an indie author?

I didn't think anything about platform when I was writing my book. Mostly, I see these blogs of people that are still working on producing their first novel and using their blogs to prepare the platform so it's there when (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 has made working on the sequel to House much slower than working on House. I suppose what I'm saying is that I think it might be better for people that want to write books to do that, first. Get that first book written and then start working on the platform thing. I don't know... It is important, though. You need to have some way to let people know that you have a book out there. Just because you've written it doesn't mean they'll come, to paraphrase a popular movie. People need to know, and, beyond that, they need to be convinced. That's the hardest part.

Now are you a plotter or pantster?

That's an interesting question, and it's a discussion that I see going on all the time. The people that love the discovery of pantsing vs the 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 down ahead of time. I don't make outlines, I don't make time lines, and I don't write out copious amounts of back story. However, I don't start writing until I know where I'm going. I know my plot arc and have it in my head at all times. I can't really write without having a destination. I suppose pantsers would say that 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 problem with my son all the time. He will sit there and stare at a blank piece of paper for hours trying to get the words to come to him. It's painful. I have to tell him all the time to just start writing and the words will start to work themselves out. Yes, he may have to go back and re-work some of the beginning because 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 always has 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 a resource, per se. I tend to keep a dictionary and a thesaurus open on my desktop while I'm writing, and I use those a lot. Usually because I have a word in mind that is not precisely the word I'm looking for, so I do a lot of cross-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...

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

Coming up on the blog:

Interview with author of The house on the corner Andrew Leon

It's that time of year again

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!