tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8783370923576060112024-03-13T04:41:58.757-07:00Write For RealAuthor interviews. Writing tips. Book reviews.
Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-37349863222315575312016-11-05T11:35:00.001-07:002016-11-05T11:35:17.977-07:0012 Character Costume Ideas - and Not a Harry Potter in Sight!By <a href="http://www.olivialevez.com/">Olivia Levez</a>, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Island-Olivia-Levez/dp/1780748590/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">The Island</a><br />
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It's almost that time of year again.<br />
That time when SCBWI members will be scratching their heads about What to Wear at the annual mass book launch party. Well, fear not. Here's a fail-safe list of 12 book character costume ideas that will delight, amaze and stun your writerly friends:<br />
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#1 The Wardrobe (CS Lewis)</h3>
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Pros: Easy to get hold of a cardboard box.</div>
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Cons: Might not be able to get into the taxi.</div>
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#2 Mockingjay pin (Suzanne Collins)</h3>
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Pros: Can wear normal clothes underneath.</div>
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Cons: Might accidentally spike someone.</div>
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#3 Cruella Deville (Dodie Smith)</h3>
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Pros: That two-toned hair is instantly recognisable. No one will ask who you're meant to be.</div>
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Cons: Freaking terrifying.</div>
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#4 Mr Twit (Roald Dahl)</h3>
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Pros: Easy. Just add cornflakes.</div>
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Cons: Might put people off their Prosecco.</div>
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#5 Princess and the Pea (Brothers Grimm)</h3>
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Pros: Very ap-pea-ling costume.</div>
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Cons: Trying way too hard.</div>
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#6 Cleo (Lucy Coats)</h3>
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Pros: Just need to dig out that liquid eyeliner...</div>
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Cons: Bare-armed Egyptian look might be chilly for November.</div>
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#7 Zombie Goldfish (Mo O' Hara)</h3>
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Pros: Cardboard box time again.</div>
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Cons: Maybe not so cute on an adult?</div>
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#8 Other Mother (Neil Gaiman)</h3>
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Pros: Just need two black buttons.</div>
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Cons: See #3.</div>
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#9 The Boy in the Dress (David Walliams)</h3>
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Pros: Can go glam and enjoy looking down on all those sporting cardboard boxes.</div>
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Cons: David Walliams gets *way* too much press on World Book Day (lessons to be learnt from his character branding, folks)</div>
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#10 The Peach (Roald Dahl again)</h3>
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Pros: Totally peachy for pregnant peeps.</div>
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Cons: A bit...wrong?</div>
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#11 Moaning Myrtle (JK Rowling)</h3>
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Pros: I know it's more cardboard, but easy peasy costume, n'est-ce pas?</div>
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Cons: Do you really want to be in school uniform all evening?</div>
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#12 War Horse</h3>
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Pros: Hahahahahahahaha!</div>
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Cons: There are literally no cons to this. It's brilliant.</div>
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And there you have it: 12 fail-safe ways to wow your fellow guests at any book character inspired costume event.</div>
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My job is done.</div>
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#costume #worldbookday #bookcharacters #fancydress #scbwi</div>
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Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-79945549497408145742016-11-05T08:46:00.001-07:002016-11-05T08:46:31.561-07:00A Room Of One's Own - why writers need their restorative nicheBy Olivia Levez<br />
I have a hectic people-filled day job.<br />
My days are filled with corridors, metal lockers, scraping chairs, bags on floors, shoving on stairs, shrieks in playgrounds, banter, banana peel, homework-groaning, yawning, sighing, catcalling, laughter, humming projectors, hushing, complaining, tapping, flicking, shushing, crisp-eating, phone-buzzing, arguing, explaining, giggling, fire-drilling, bell-ringing...<br />
So, when it all ends, I just want peace.<br />
I am a teacher in a big secondary school, and I fit my writing in when I can. Impossible on a school day, probable at a weekend, and wonderfully possible in a school holiday.<br />
I write in bed, when I'm at home, but when I can, I escape to my own little writer's paradise: my caravan by the sea in West Wales.<br />
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It isn't much, but it's mine. And it's a place where I can focus only on writing, and all that hectic hubbub of family, job, housework gets filtered out. There's no internet and no mobile reception, so that means no Twitter, no Facebook, no Instagram, no constant checking of my phone. If I need to call home, I have to walk up two lanes, where the view over the gorse hedge looks like this:<br />
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And somehow, looking at that view, the way the cornflower blue ocean turns milky where it touches the sky; smelling the wafts of coconut and honey from the gorse, and watching the wild violets tangle with the bluebells, my mind calms and a little bit of magic happens: I start to get ideas for my story and plot knots unravel.<br />
I have found my restorative niche. Ideas flow. My word count grows.<br />
So this post is homage to all writers and their dens. And also to George Clarke and his Amazing Spaces, because don't all writers want and need one? (George Clarke, if you're reading this, I'd like you to build me a tree house or hobbit hole. Please.)<br />
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We all know the familiar sight of Roald Dahl's writing shed...<br />
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And Dylan Thomas' boathouse at Laugharne...<br />
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There's Will Self's Post-it filled attic in South London...<br />
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And Stephen King's cluttered man-space...<br />
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But whether it's an empty desk, an upcycled shed or a Cupboard Under the Stairs (yes, I've always been envious of HP's first den), I believe that all writers need their own space to create, dream and shut off the noise of the pushing, shoving world. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Quiet-Power-Introverts-World-Talking/dp/0141029196">In Susan Cain's words (her book, Quiet, is a Bible for writerly, reflective types that need to escape once in a while. Read it.)</a> you need your 'restorative niche'.<br />
I've found mine. What's yours?<br />
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#MondayBlogsOlivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-1981254196705777442016-06-17T08:19:00.002-07:002016-11-05T08:43:34.441-07:00Review: In Darkling Wood by Emma Carroll<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By Olivia Levez</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Magical. Evocative. Classic.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Alice doesn’t believe in fairies.
With her little brother very sick, her life is all too real.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But everything changes when she has
to move in with her eccentric aunt, on the very edge of the mysterious Darkling
Wood. Amongst those whispering trees, anything can happen…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I loved this story. It has a classic
feel, reminding me of old favourites like <i>The
Faraway Tree, The Secret Garden</i> and <i>Five
Children and It.</i> But at the same time, it is contemporary and realistic, convincingly
exploring modern day Alice’s confusion and anger at her situation. Historical
research is woven through with the letters from Alfred’s sister, during the
First World War, and there’s even a cameo role by Arthur Conan Doyle, when he
comes to talk faeries at Darkling Cottage.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cottlingley Faeries</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Beautifully written, this is a
perfect read for 10+. I'm very much looking forward to the launch of Emma's next book, Strange Star, at the end of the month!</span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><b>*****</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Out at the end of June</td></tr>
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Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-73394134005147017122016-05-16T09:38:00.000-07:002016-11-05T08:44:25.140-07:00Food For Thought (and Plot and Character)<h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">By Olivia Levez</span></h3>
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What are the best things to consume when writing?</h3>
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What does the brain need when plot unknotting, structure reassembling and wordage editing?<br />
Custard creams? Cups of tea? A bottle of Scotch?<br />
Or...broccoli?<br />
Brain cells need twice as much energy as any other body cell. Picasso, for instance, lived on fish and spinach to boost his creativity.<br />
So here's my countdown of all foods creative, starting with:<br />
<h2>
#7 Oily fish</h2>
The fatty acids contained in cold water fish such as salmon and trout apparently boost your memory function by up to 15%. So great for remembering where on earth you saved that random scene that you really, really need right now. A few mouthfuls of trout will totally help with close reading for inconsistencies. Blue eyes? Brown eyes? Red bag? No problem.<br />
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#6 Dark green leafy things</h2>
Broccoli and brussels. Kale and chard. All of this green leafy loveliness is high in anti-oxidants - which means slowing down your brain degeneration, and an end to leaving your pen drive in the library computer on an author visit.<br />
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#5 Whole grains</h2>
Instead of munching on toast and butter, get out the oats, barley, and muesli. Grains give a slow release of mental energy, which will give you the stamina to reach that 5K word count by mid afternoon.<br />
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#4 Fresh fruit</h2>
Liberally dose your day with strawberries, oranges, peaches and pears. Fruit gives you a slow release glucose for bags of writerly energy. Blue or black berries have the added advantage of feeding your poor, tired, degenerating brain with anti-oxidants too. So snack on blueberries, blackcurrants and raisins, and chuck out the chocolate digestives.<br />
<h2>
#3 Coffee</h2>
A shot of caffeine mid morning will kickstart you into creativity again, when you start feeling The Slump. But - never drink coffee too early (I know!) as it could make you crash mid creative flow, thus slowing down your brain and stopping all those random plot ideas.<br />
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#2 Alcohol</h2>
It's official! Alcohol is good for creativity! Many famous writers have found themselves grappling with the demon drink. But did you know that a certain amount of alcohol in your bloodstream really does boost creativity? The magic number, according to Professor Jennifer Wiley, is a blood alcohol level of exactly 0.075, and there's actually a beer that's specially designed to help you reach your creative peak! Introducing...'The Problem Solver', a pale ale designed by an innovative Danish brewery (click on the picture to follow the link to this beer-for-creatives.) Once your brain is relaxed, that is when ideas ping like popcorn.<br />
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#1 Chocolate and walnuts</h2>
I've put these two together, because I figured that they would make the perfect writer's snack (Walnut Whip, anyone?). With chocolate, the darkier and snappier the better, because it contains such large amounts of flavanols, that it boosts short-term cognitive skills and helps with brain-blood circulation for three hours. That's one big brain boost. And if you couple your chocolate chomping with walnuts, well, it's goodbye tired old draft, and hello, buzzy next bestseller, as walnuts are super-powered snacks which improve memory and boost all-around brain function, because they are literally stuffed with omega-3 fatty acids. They even make you HAPPIER as too little of this compound in people's diet has been linked to depression.<br />
So it's official. Booze in moderate amounts gives you IDEAS and chocolate/walnuts helps you to process information for creative thinking.<br />
Keep reading for my perfect daily menu for writers...<br />
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The perfect menu for a day of binge-writing?</h2>
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Breakfast</h3>
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Porridge made with bananas and blueberries. </div>
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Stir in spoonful of coconut oil for essential fatty acids.</div>
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Mid morning boost</h3>
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Shot of expresso & handful of dark chocolate & walnuts</div>
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Lunch</h3>
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A Picasso sandwich: salmon and spinach/avocado</div>
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Mid afternoon treat </h3>
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Pint of pale ale to reach your creative peak<span id="goog_349394593"></span><span id="goog_349394594"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
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Dinner</h3>
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Stir fried broccoli, kale, spring onions in Asian dressing</div>
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Random treat</h3>
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Well, a walnut whip - obs!</div>
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And if you would like to feast upon all things gourmet and literary, this classic guide to dining scenes in literature is a must-read...</div>
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What's <i>your</i> favourite writerly snack? How do you boost your creativity?</h3>
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#amediting</div>
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#amwriting</div>
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#wordcount</div>
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#MondayBlogs</div>
Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-28653836296774956022016-04-10T03:32:00.000-07:002016-11-05T08:47:27.853-07:00Easter Reading - a Clutch of Good EggsBy Olivia Levez<br />
Spring has sprung, and I've been catching up with my reading pile. So here are three Easter stunners:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Darkmere-Helen-Maslin/dp/1910002348">Darkmere, by Helen Maslin</a></span><br />
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I met Helen at the UKYA Bookbinge Festival at Birmingham Waterstones, and the moment she said that her influences included Daphne du Maurier, I knew that I had to read this one.( <i>Rebecca </i>is the book that I would save from a burning house.) So, clutching my copy of <i>Darkmere</i>, I took myself off to my caravan to work on my book 2, but first treated myself to a whole afternoon's reading, when I arrived after a four hour car drive. </div>
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And I couldn't put this one down! </div>
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Told from the viewpoint of Kate – edgy outsider & secret geek –
and the enigmatic Elinor, this is a cleverly plotted and pulse-racing thriller
set in a Mandalay-esque castle on a cliff top.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Reminiscent of Dawson (Cruel Summer, Say My Name) with its
cast of arrogant and effete teens whose comeuppance you’re guiltily rooting for, I read this at a
gallop (despite being alone in a storm at my caravan with only a howling dog
for company).<o:p></o:p></div>
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The sky darkened. Looking up, I realised that I hadn't yet drawn the curtains, and all the windows were dark mirrors. Added to which, the dog needed to go outside for a wee. One problem: I was on P219, which is PETRIFYING!</div>
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I gallantly plunged on, and finished the book in a couple of sittings. Confident writing and deftly plotted, it's difficult to see that this is Helen's debut novel. I can't wait for her second.</div>
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Dead smugglers. Crumbling castles. And camper vans. What’s
not to like?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.fireflypress.co.uk/node/161"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Boy Who Drew the Future, by Rhian Ivory</span></a></div>
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I actually read this one when it first came out, whilst I was in Bulgaria. I read it for the first time in a wooden panelled hotel room between sips of <i>rakija</i> (Bulgarian plum brandy), but there was no internet, otherwise I would have tweeted the hell out of this one. Because who could resist such a premise? Told from dual narrative of
Noah, desperately trying to start a new life after a horrific trauma for which
he feels responsible, and Blaze, a boy from the past, also an outsider, with
only his dog for company, this is a sensitively drawn study of guilt, struggle
and hope. Noah battles to contain his drawings, but they take over him like an
addiction, and the descriptions of him feverishly drawing are truly compelling.
Ditto the watery tunnel scenes near the end of the book, which drip with menace.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Atmospheric. Sensitive. Woven with historical detail. I found Rhian's book well constructed and thought-provoking. It also made me want to go and explore the witch-steeped little village of Sible Hedingham.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Swan-Boy-Nikki-Sheehan/dp/1780749244">Swan Boy, by Nikki Sheehan</a></span></div>
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Like me, Nikki is published by Rock the Boat at Oneworld, so I asked for a proof copy of this one, which is out in May. We also share the same jacket designer - the talented Nathan Burton - and I was keen to read this book, as I love all things ballet. </div>
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This is the quirky, imaginative tale of Johnny and the mad and majestic Mrs Cray, who sets about teaching Johnny and the school bullies to release their inner swans.</div>
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At first I thought this would be like Billy Elliot, but it is better: funny, sad, strange and magical. Just when you think you have your feet set firmly in reality, it leaps off into a world of freak rainstorms and chest feathers.</div>
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Layered between the feathers is a poignant study in bereavement, and I found the scenes where Johnny takes his adorable but troubled little brother, Mojo, to see their father, deeply moving.</div>
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Nikki writes beautifully, and I especially liked the descriptions of swans: above him, their feet 'pairs of black triangles, paddling like clockwork toys.'</div>
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An original and compelling story of finding your inner strength.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Next on my TBR list:</span></div>
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Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-935130916145359152016-02-29T12:38:00.000-08:002016-11-05T08:48:30.228-07:00Why Writers Make Excellent SurvivorsBy Olivia Levez<br />
So this year at my school, I'm organising World Book Day.<br />
<br />
I've run World Book Day before, but this one is special. Because it also happens to be the launch date of my debut novel.This means assemblies on growth mindset to plan, and costumes to decide (will Jack Merridew from Lord of the Flies be OK, and should it be pre or post pig blood?) and tweets to retweet, and blog posts to write, all the time whilst bringing my WIP character to a climax, structurally speaking.<br />
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<i>Current costume-in-progress</i></div>
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My YA book is a castaway story called <b>The Island</b>. Planning my assemblies got me thinking about what survivors and authors have in common.<br />
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<li><b><u>Creative thinking</u></b></li>
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Here’s the thing.</div>
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Google ‘tampon’ and ‘survival’ and you will find many
pictures of men in woods, gazing solemnly at Lil-lets on logs. From water
filters to bandages, fire tinder to blow-darts, it seems that tampons are much
revered as a crucial part of any serious survival kit.</div>
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It seems that survival is all about creative thinking. You’ve
just got to think outside the (tampon) box.</div>
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<a href="http://www.outsideonline.com/sites/default/files/styles/img_600x600/public/migrated-images/4tampon-tiner-survival_ph.jpg?itok=87cRV0zU" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.outsideonline.com/sites/default/files/styles/img_600x600/public/migrated-images/4tampon-tiner-survival_ph.jpg?itok=87cRV0zU" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Tampon tinder, survivalist-style</i></div>
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Part of my research for <b>The Island</b> involved finding out about the Tom Hanks film, Cast Away. The story goes that the writers, in pooling ideas for the film, brainstormed as many random objects as they could, giving these to survival experts to tell them how they could be used in a survival situation. These were then cast up for Hanks' character to find, in Fed Ex parcels.</div>
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Just like a castaway knows instantly that her pair of tights is going to make an excellent slingshot as well as keeping the mozzies at bay, any writer worth her sea-salt can make random connections and constantly surprise. Having a co-star that’s a volleyball? He’ll be called Wilson, right? Genius.</div>
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2. <b><u>Perseverance</u></b></div>
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If that fire doesn’t light the first time, if that flint
isn’t making a spark, the only thing to do is to keep on trying. Each failure
is a baby step closer to making fire, just like each new word is another word closer to getting that agent deal. </div>
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<b> 3. <u>Having a growth mindset</u></b></div>
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Marooned on a desert island, it's crucial to learn from feedback. Why isn’t that fish or fire catching? Examining each failed attempt gives a survivor information on what she could do differently next
time. Ditto for writing. There's nothing like joining a critique group and being brave enough to submit your two thousand words for objective scrutiny, to develop your writing skills.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>4. <u>Optimism</u></b></div>
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Yes, you've learnt from feedback, but there’s no point in looking back and having regrets. <i>Why on earth did I step on that plane?</i> isn’t going to help you open that coconut. <i>It’s never going to happen,</i> isn’t particularly helpful. And brooding about the size of the slush pile isn’t going to help you write that next book either.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 5. </span><u style="font-weight: bold;">Ability to cope with enforced isolation</u></div>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;"></u>Writers have their Room of One’s Own, castaways get their island. One of the major challenges of the castaway, far more than the physical endurance, is enforced isolation: being forced to live inside her head and be alone with her thoughts for weeks on end. Which is kind of what writers do for a living. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UYPvBwHwANw/VtSrUCAmQRI/AAAAAAAABAw/yDDu9IkAcqc/s1600/basil%2Bin%2Bcaravan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UYPvBwHwANw/VtSrUCAmQRI/AAAAAAAABAw/yDDu9IkAcqc/s320/basil%2Bin%2Bcaravan.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>Inside my writer's hideaway, my caravan</i></div>
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<b>6. <u>Ability to hook</u></b></div>
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It doesn't matter if it's a fish or a reader, being able to reel them in is yet another thing that writers and survivors have in common.</div>
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<b> 7. <u>Multi-tasking </u></b></div>
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Keeping that fire going, whilst fixing the roof on your shelter, whilst boiling the next batch of water - it's all in the day's work for a castaway. As for writers? </div>
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Blog post, tick. Link to growth mindset, tick.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Oh wait, I think I have my assembly…<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EdTKzNuBQGI/VtStsVThJqI/AAAAAAAABBA/uSocWZpNKoo/s1600/The%2BIsland%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EdTKzNuBQGI/VtStsVThJqI/AAAAAAAABBA/uSocWZpNKoo/s320/The%2BIsland%2Bcover.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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My debut YA castaway adventure, <b>The Island</b>, is out on 3rd March. </div>
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You can buy it <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-island/olivia-levez/9781780748597">here</a>.</div>
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<br />Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-5348870848646567552016-02-17T02:00:00.002-08:002016-11-05T08:49:08.365-07:00How I Used Method Writing for The Island<i>By Olivia Levez</i><br />
<i>Method acting: a technique of acting in which an actor aspires to complete emotional identification with a part.</i><br />
<i>Method writing: a technique of writing in which a writer attempts to do the same.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Blame Tom Hanks.<br />
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That’s all I’m saying.<br />
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I was preparing for a long stint writing my first draft of <i><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-island/olivia-levez/9781780748597">The Island</a></i>. I’d got everything prepared: informed the family I would be going away for a Very Long Time, along with Dog; packed up the car with dog biscuits and leads and laptop and charger and notebooks; filled up with petrol; remembered which friend I’d last lent the caravan to and retrieved the keys.<br />
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Then I had a Bright Idea. It was an idea which would see me never looking coconut water in the face for a very long time.<br />
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Let me rewind.<br />
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I’d got the idea for writing a YA castaway book, one with a girl survivor. Fran, my castaway, wants to be alone. Betrayed by everyone she knows, she considers herself a rock, an island. And then, one day, enroute to an island bootcamp as punishment for a crime she has tried to block out, she gets exactly what she wishes for.<br />
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So I’d re-watched Tom Hanks in the excellent film, <i>Castaway</i>; watched all of Ed Stafford’s clips in <i>Naked and Marooned</i> on the Discovery Channel; read <i>Adrift</i>, a harrowing true-life tale of a man lost at sea for seventy-six days, and reread <i>Castaway</i>, about Lucy Irvine’s year on a real desert island with a bloke who would be later played by Oliver Reed in an eighties film version with lots of nudity.<br />
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<i>Ed Stafford, before and after his castaway experience</i></div>
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I had lit many beach fires; read travel blogs; trekked for howler monkeys in a Belizean jungle; fished for snapper in Caribbean waters; slept in a cabanna on a tropical beach. I’d even forced myself to get in a plane after spending days researching plane crashes in minute detail, and examining photographs of plane wreckage at sea. Bad timing, but necessary.<br />
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I was ready to write.<br />
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It was as I hovered outside Tesco, ready to stock up for my writerly stay, when I had my Big Idea.<br />
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Why not do as The Hanks does?<br />
Why not go one step further, and…<i>method write</i>?<br />
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After all, method acting was what Tom Hanks did to prepare for his film role as Chuck Noland. He didn’t shave or cut his hair for weeks and lost 55lbs to look and feel like a real castaway.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DRFAAuxO9zg/VsQ_ztu-usI/AAAAAAAAA_w/Xu_eSb8_HFA/s1600/th.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DRFAAuxO9zg/VsQ_ztu-usI/AAAAAAAAA_w/Xu_eSb8_HFA/s320/th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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He took a year to prepare for his role. I had six weeks.</div>
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Well, not cutting my hair or shaving was easy enough. Who cares about hairy legs when you’re stuck in a caravan anyway? And easy to ignore that long, strange mutant hair that seemed to have sprouted on my chin by simply not looking in the mirror. Kind of a relief to not bother, and also sort of liberating.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4f81TdxcO-w/VsRAjhzjPkI/AAAAAAAAA_4/9lfTslM6ouw/s1600/caravan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4f81TdxcO-w/VsRAjhzjPkI/AAAAAAAAA_4/9lfTslM6ouw/s320/caravan.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>It doesn't look much, but this is my Room of One's Own, my writer's hideaway</i></div>
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So this is what I did. I decided to live only off the contents of what I found in my caravan cupboard, left over from renting out to friends, and friends of friends.</div>
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I bought only:</div>
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<li>A bag of oranges (didn’t want to get scurvy, even in the name of Art and Writing)</li>
<li>Five cartons of coconut water (for authenticity – see Tom Hanks again)</li>
<li>Lots of tins of sardines</li>
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With some trepidation, I turned the key (thankfully it was the right one) and threw open my caravan curtains, opened windows to air, and then…I opened the cupboard doors. </div>
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Inside, I found:</div>
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Tomato cuppa soup, lots (whoever stayed here last must have been quite a fan)</div>
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Porridge, thankfully (my brother’s an ardent porridge fan and connoisseur)</div>
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>More tinned sardines </div>
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chamomile tea</div>
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Rice crackers, with a strange deep orange cheesy coating</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gUkl646ewfU/VsRBUN4A4kI/AAAAAAAABAA/xhpbvBjrmNE/s1600/cuppa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gUkl646ewfU/VsRBUN4A4kI/AAAAAAAABAA/xhpbvBjrmNE/s320/cuppa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>One of my cupboard 'finds'</i></div>
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OK, so not a great haul. But it would serve its purpose. I, like any true survivor, would learn how it is to forage, and make-do. Sighing, I tipped the contents of a tin of sardines for Dog, shook out my first rice cracker, and began to write…</div>
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At first, method-writing was an interesting challenge. There was nothing like the thrill of finding half a packet of crumbling sultanas deep in the recesses of the cupboard on Day 3. Now I could add flavour to my porridge-made-with-water!</div>
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As the week went on, I realised that I was really, really bored. And hungry. But I took long walks with Dog every couple of hours, along the beach at low tide, scrambling up over sea-slimed rocks and exploring caves which, in days of old, were used by wreckers and smugglers.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OwoZLq9K05s/VsRB0Jud7eI/AAAAAAAABAE/tOSHWy5cyto/s1600/pen%2Bsunset.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OwoZLq9K05s/VsRB0Jud7eI/AAAAAAAABAE/tOSHWy5cyto/s320/pen%2Bsunset.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>The beach at night, before walking back for our suppertime treat of cheesy rice crackers</i></div>
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We swam, and we lit fires, and we watched the sun slide into the sea like melted butter. And never have I been more lonely. Which was great for my method-writing experiment.</div>
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Fran, my island castaway, spends days on the beach, hungry and lonely, with only a dog for company. So did I.</div>
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<i>Campfires on the beach, as the sun dies</i></div>
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It was easy, then, to get into Fran’s voice. For a week I was her. And, even though I did eventually end up going to the local store for coffee and bread and fruit and salad and cheese and wine, I stayed on at the caravan, and immersed myself in the sea and the cliffs and the beach. Listened as the sea breathed in and out.</div>
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And it was worth it.</div>
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Because when I finally came home, desperate to talk to human beings, not only did I feel cleansed after my coconut water and sardine diet, on my pen-drive nestled the first draft of a new novel, this time the one that was going to make me finally be able to call myself an author.</div>
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Thank you, Tom Hanks.</div>
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#TheIsland<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t1WrmmWN8bY/VsRFyBZBRwI/AAAAAAAABAg/eErSTbHvZVk/s1600/The%2BIsland%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t1WrmmWN8bY/VsRFyBZBRwI/AAAAAAAABAg/eErSTbHvZVk/s320/The%2BIsland%2Bcover.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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My debut YA castaway novel is out on 3rd March, published by Rock the Boat, Oneworld.<br />
<a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-island/olivia-levez/9781780748597">You can pre-order it here:</a></div>
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Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-39498076194630076792016-02-04T01:24:00.000-08:002016-11-05T08:49:50.033-07:00Dogs (and Cats and Raccoons) and their Writers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sox-Pals-B-Taylor/dp/0956100767">B</a>y Olivia Levez</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sox-Pals-B-Taylor/dp/0956100767"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="http://images.mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/insert_main_wide_image/public/gaiman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/insert_main_wide_image/public/gaiman.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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Neil Gaiman and one of his beloved cats</h3>
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Life has been manic and hectic and frantic, so I haven't had the time to blog or tweet or work on Book Two, what with Ofsted hovering menacingly near our school, but still not actually arriving yet. And then there are school visits of a different kind to organise for when <span style="color: blue;">The Island</span> is officially published (can't believe it's only <span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>one month away</i></span>...) and my big book launch event to arrange, and assemblies to give at my school, and indie bookshops to talk to and competitions to plan and...</h2>
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And breathe.</div>
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So in a rare lull, I am going to immerse myself in all things Dog (And Cat and Raccoon) in the final post about the special relationship pets have with their writers. Here, then, in no particular order:</div>
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Neil Gaiman often used to write about his cats, Coconut, Pod and Princess. He was very close to his dog, Cabal, who he rescued by the side of the road.</h2>
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<span style="color: #767676; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">'We were a
sort of an Odd Couple, both of us fascinated and delighted by the other one.
Both of us protective.'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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But not all writers stick with cats or dogs as their inspiration. Over to Sox the Raccoon and his writer, Melissa Bowen, aka BB Taylor:</h2>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/12345503_1669487209995474_4986844393213716837_n.jpg?oh=3a30a73b73b1e37c1cf369ca9695d050&oe=572CF6BA" width="400" /></span></div>
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Sox the raccoon and Melissa Bowen</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.94px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sox came to Melissa at about 3 days old as his mom was struggling to feed him. He is one of 5 raccoons that live with Melissa and spends a lot of time educating people about raccoons and visiting special people such as children in hospices. Sox is the star of one of Melissa's books: Sox and Pals. She writes under the name BB Taylor.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1879849939"></span><span id="goog_1879849940"></span><img border="0" height="320" src="https://www.scbwi.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/12299237_889237401164808_6832186611535931808_n.jpg" width="320" /></div>
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<a href="https://www.scbwi.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/12299237_889237401164808_6832186611535931808_n.jpg">Melissa Bowen</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1879849951"></span>Sox and Pals<span id="goog_1879849952"></span></a></div>
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Kurt Vonnegurt and Pumpkin, ahhhh...</h2>
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<span style="color: #767676; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">'I cannot
distinguish between the love I have for people and the love I have for
dogs.'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Next up...</div>
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The Dog that Owns Rowena House</h2>
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Rowena House's adored mutt</div>
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You can follow Rowena <span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.94px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"> @houserowena. She is the author of Angelique's Geese in War Girls (Andersen 2014) and currently finishing a structural edit of The Butterfly's Wing, a coming-of-age story set in France during WW1.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #767676; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Steinbeck's little Charley...</span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #767676; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 21.6pt;">'I need a dog pretty
badly. I dreamed of dogs last night. They sat in a circle and looked at me and
I wanted all of them.'</span></div>
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Next up is the indefatigable Roly, writing companion to SCBWI member Kellie Jackson:</h2>
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'This is Roly. He's 77 in dog years. My constant companion and mud-rolling champion. Smells like clothes left in the washing machine overnight. Eats anything and everything. Terrible breath. Fire hog. Likes barking at the postman and specialises in scaring delivery people but allows baddies into the back garden to steal bird feeders. Nervous of pet rabbits and dog groomers. Once ate a whole Stilton. Main goal in life: to catch a squirrel.'</div>
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From this point on, Roly took over the interview somewhat:</div>
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'Kellie, my dog-mother, spends a lot of time upstairs in her study talking to herself and tapping away at that awful computer. I wait at the bottom of the stairs WILLING her to take me for a walk, or failing that, feed me a biscuit. Biscuits are referred to in our house as a ‘B’ - she thinks I don't know this. She uses the ‘B’ word to get me to do things I don’t want to do, like shift from my spot beside the fire, but I’m on to her. I happen to love the smell of my own fur singeing even if she doesn’t.</div>
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Kellie’s been trying to write a novel since before I was born. The poor thing. I feel a bit sorry for her. I hope to Dog Heaven she succeeds or no one in this house will ever get any rest. That includes our postman. She’s written a couple of short stories which have been on the radio apparently. I only remember this because Kellie forgot to shut the front door after the postie delivered a contract last spring. Kellie didn’t notice I’d pinned him against the garden gate because she was too busy doing an embarrassing dance on two legs. Who dances on two legs? It’s unnatural, right? </div>
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Speaking of unnatural, Kellie spent most of November doing something bizarre called NaNoWriMo. ‘Knocking out a crappy first draft’ she said. IS SHE MAD? November, that glorious month, with the park haunch high in fallen leaves and deep muddy puddles, not to mention all those fluffy-tailed squirrels to chase…Still, she’s all I’ve got. All my dog-brothers have grown up and my dog-sister is busy doing A-levels. At least Kellie takes me out for a walk everyday. I don’t mind that she rabbits on endlessly about her ‘WIP’, whatever that is. I try not to let on but I have no idea what she’s talking about most of the time. It’s quite possible she’s unhinged. But as long as she keeps the biscuits coming I’m hers for life.</div>
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Btw you can tweet my writer @KellieAJackson.'</div>
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Santa Paws</div>
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Elizabeth Barrett Browning was deeply attached to her cocker spaniel, Flush. In a letter to her friend, she wrote:</h2>
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'You understand — don’t you? — that Flush is my constant companion, my friend, my amusement, lying with his head on one page of my folios while I read the other.'</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Klaxon! And now to our SCBWI Gallery of Pet Plotters....</span></h2>
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SCBWI member Helen Lapping's Becky. Woof!</div>
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Nicola Keller's much missed ginger girl, constant companion and foot warmer...</div>
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...and Ottaline, Nicola's new line manager, enjoying some relaxing music.</div>
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Smile for the camera! Jane Howard's Archie</div>
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Watson Jones, posing nicely for his writer, Eloise Williams</div>
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Jeannie Waudby's writing buddy and plot advisor, Dougal</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karen Minto's loon</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another of Karen Minto's loons</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sally Poynton's writing companions, enjoying a moment of snuggliciousness<br />
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Marie Basting's Polly, who steals and throws things to ensure her writer takes regular screen breaks</td></tr>
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As everyone knows, cats are the ones that ultimately rule in any writing household. So the last word, or picture, must go to Julia Underwood's Fudge...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julia's secretary cat, a Tonkinese named Fudge</td></tr>
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<br />Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-9023163474301369062016-01-02T04:22:00.001-08:002016-11-05T08:50:34.582-07:00Dogs and their Writers - Part 2<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;">By Olivia Levez</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;">Welcome to Part 2 of my Dogs and their Writers post, featuring Diesel and his debut
author Kathryn Evans, Mitzi and her writer, Amanda George, and Stanley Chester’s
author Camilla Chester.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"> First, a picture of Basil, who inspired Dog in my debut
book <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-island/olivia-levez/9781780748597">The Island</a>. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">I wrote my book over a teacher holiday one summer, and hid away from all internet and mobile reception in my caravan in West Wales. My only companion was my Jack Russell dog, so little by little I suppose it was only natural that he crept his way into my book as well as onto the bed. My teenage castaway Fran has Dog as her only companion on a desert island in the middle of the Indian Ocean...</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">If you look closely, he has even found his way onto the spine of my book!</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GcGGz-Ug3kM/VoezsamBkjI/AAAAAAAAA-E/UmfDMxc0vFg/s1600/The%2BIsland%2Bjacket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GcGGz-Ug3kM/VoezsamBkjI/AAAAAAAAA-E/UmfDMxc0vFg/s320/The%2BIsland%2Bjacket.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Now to this week's dogs and their writers:</b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Diesel, and his writer, Kathryn Evans...</span></b></h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diesel and Kathy among the strawberries</td></tr>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--><b>Have you ever featured your pet dog in a
book? Which and how? </b><span style="color: purple;">Not as a dog but his personality has definitely been
hijacked – loyal, loving and a bit dim.</span><b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><b>Is your
dog an essential part of your daily writing routine?</b> <span style="color: purple;">In so many ways!</span> <b>How? </b><span style="color: purple;">He is always by my side when I’m
writing. My office is also where I work for the farm so when people come in
unannounced, and I’m acting out a scene from a book, I just pretend I’m talking
to the dog! It’s a bit strange if I happen to be crying at the time. Also, when
I have plot problems, we go for a walk to unstick them. Never fails – though sometimes we have to go
for very long walks… </span></div>
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<b> Where does your dog
like to be when you’re writing? </b>I<span style="color: purple;">n his stinky bed, by my feet. Unless one
of the cats beat him to it and then I have to move the cat or Diesel makes his
sad face.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--><b>How does your dog help/inspire you in your
life as a writer?<span style="color: purple;"> </span></b><span style="color: purple;">I think it’s just having a companion, someone to talk to
who just listens! You don’t need answers to work things out, you just need to
go through the process of discussing them. Dogs are perfect for that. My cats
just look at me as if I’m stupid then through all my papers on the floor.
Diesel looks at me as if I’m brilliant, the best thing in the world. It helps when you are convinced you can’t
write for toffee!</span><b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--><b>What does your dog think of your current
WIP? How would s/he describe it? </b><span style="color: purple;"><i>There’s a cat
in my bed. Is it walk time? Is it dinner time? Is it walk time? There’s a cat
in my bed.</i> Sorry, to be honest, he isn’t the brightest…</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;"><b> I am sure that Diesel would like everyone to know that his writer has her debut book coming out in February, and that his writer is very brilliant indeed! I was lucky enough to critique the opening, and can't wait to read it.</b></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.usborne.com/catalogue/book/1~FY~FYCA~9827/more-of-me.aspx" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3LWXUXWOlto/Voe2SGFFgMI/AAAAAAAAA-k/m0rQjJ4xXm8/s320/25%2BMore%2Bof%2BMe_FC%2B2.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kathrynevans.ink/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uLoZnCLb_Tk/Voe5NziKVFI/AAAAAAAAA-w/Q8mFL7DxOvA/s320/ke.jpg" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Follow Kathy @mrsbung<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">
Mitzi and her SCBWI writer, Amanda George</span></h2>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: large;">Have you ever featured your pet dog in a
book? Which and how?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: large;">One of my WIPs is based on Mitzi and she is going to
donate the payments from that book straight to the Dogs Trust when a publisher
takes it on… needs to be edited first though!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><b>2.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--><b>Is your dog an essential part of your daily
writing routine? How? Where does your dog like to be when you’re writing?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: large;">Mitzi is a vital part of my creativity! She’s never far away whenever I’m writing and
she just needs to look at me with her soft, brown eyes that somehow wakes my
muse up!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BcAualXQSQQ/Voe7Bx7HtSI/AAAAAAAAA-8/2UZ7z_KcAq0/s1600/mitzi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BcAualXQSQQ/Voe7Bx7HtSI/AAAAAAAAA-8/2UZ7z_KcAq0/s320/mitzi.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: large;">This is me giving Amanda my 'you cannot be serious' look</span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><b>3.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--><b>How does your dog help/inspire you in your
life as a writer?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: large;">I can bounce ideas off her without her putting me down or
telling me that I’m writing crud until it’s editing time when she sits on my
right foot and yawns if it’s boring<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><b>4.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--><b>What does your dog think of your current
WIP? </b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #00b0f0; font-size: large;">Amanda writes terrible stuff during her first drafts so I
just stay in my bed and dream of the editing times when she really takes my
comments to heart and usually makes the changes I say about. She sometimes reads her first drafts to me
but I don’t take much notice until it’s finished and editing it… I can’t wait
for her to edit my book!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_bpOe_CXINA/Voe72zNDPQI/AAAAAAAAA_E/SySrWOj7F6E/s1600/amanda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_bpOe_CXINA/Voe72zNDPQI/AAAAAAAAA_E/SySrWOj7F6E/s1600/amanda.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #00b0f0; font-size: large;">Mitzi and her writer, Amanda</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;">Stanley, and his writer, Camilla Chester</span></h2>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--><b>Have you ever featured your pet dog in a
book? Which and how?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">My dog Stanley Chester is not featured as himself but I sneak in his
name. He wheedles his way into every aspect of my life!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">In my first book, which I am due to publish in the spring (<a href="http://www.troubador.co.uk/book_info.asp?bookid=3914">JarredDreams</a>) the creepy town where the book is set is named Stanbridge and one of
the dreams is his (Stanley Chester’s dippity do dog circus with matching hats
for all)</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><b>2.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--><b>Is your dog an essential part of your daily
writing routine? How? Where does your dog like to be when you’re writing?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">If I am on my own in
the house then I always write at the table with Stanley next to me in his
basket. Occasionally he will come and put his head on my knee. So gorgeous.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">I walk dogs for a
living so all my dogs help really as I use the time to think things through and
might make voice notes into my phone as thoughts come to me. </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><b>3.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--><b>How does your dog help/inspire you in your
life as a writer?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">He believes in me and
I love him. He is patient, non judgemental and loves it when I read my work out
loud.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--ZEeZtFmxj4/Voe9bUhCqYI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/xgeGKqyZX8w/s1600/stan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--ZEeZtFmxj4/Voe9bUhCqYI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/xgeGKqyZX8w/s320/stan.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">“Being
the wise king was ok, but the crown didn’t taste as good as gravy bones.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><b>4.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--><b>What does your dog think of your current
WIP? How would s/he describe it? <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Well, that Mummy HB
is always click clacking away into the shiny thing. She’s telling stories. This
one is about a boy called Lucas Larks who likes cooking (he can come and cook
for me anytime – although he only makes veggie stuff which is not as good as
sausages). Anyway, he goes to a big house and then tries to get out of it
again. It all sounds a bit pointless if you ask me, but then all HBs are mad,
so carry on.</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://camillachester.weebly.com/"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ryzErBg6JpA/Voe-nYIlVtI/AAAAAAAAA_c/TGzRWuP5bFE/s1600/3325648.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>You can read
Stan’s blog here: </b><a href="http://thestanleydiaries.blogspot.co.uk/"><b>http://thestanleydiaries.blogspot.co.uk</b></a></span><b style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-57440800023512074582015-12-13T15:54:00.000-08:002016-11-05T08:51:41.572-07:00Dogs and their Writers: Molly and Stephen King; Chester and Nick Mackie; Mickey and Jo Franklin<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">By Olivia Levez</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Stephen King has one. So does Neil Gaiman, and
so did Kurt Vonnegurt and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and John Steinbeck.</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I know I couldn’t do without mine. He’s there now, jumping onto the bed as I write.</span></b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Basil. Rescue Jack Russell. A little
bit bite-y. Breath warm as sewers. But my constant writing companion when
writing <i><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-island/olivia-levez/9781780748597">The Island</a>.</i></span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As he realises it’s one of Mummy’s
writing days, and snuggles under the duvet with a contented little <i>huff</i>, it makes me wonder about the bond dogs
have with their writers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wwGl89wdBjA/Vm30J0dIlOI/AAAAAAAAA8c/fWT0Lz9-88Y/s1600/Basil%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wwGl89wdBjA/Vm30J0dIlOI/AAAAAAAAA8c/fWT0Lz9-88Y/s320/Basil%2B3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basil, aka Dog</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">He's even inveigled his way into my book, and plays a starring role as Dog, a castaway canine companion to survivor Fran.</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But how many other dogs influence their writers in this way?</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><u>Molly and her writer, Stephen King</u></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Molly the corgi appears in several of her writer's novels, and luckily for her corgis do not seem to suffer the horrible fate of King's most famous canine creation, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cujo-Stephen-King/dp/0451161351">Cujo</a>.</span></span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dRUXtNjEpBM/Vm32YDzOCuI/AAAAAAAAA8o/byN3E1vakbY/s1600/step%2Bking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dRUXtNjEpBM/Vm32YDzOCuI/AAAAAAAAA8o/byN3E1vakbY/s320/step%2Bking.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #767676; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">"It might be
that the biggest division in the world isn't men and women but folks who like
cats and folks who like dogs."</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><u>Chester and Nick Mackie</u></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></span></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1AUEI52eaIw/Vm34tWBlSPI/AAAAAAAAA80/zmjM5KCQEdc/s1600/chester%2Basleep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1AUEI52eaIw/Vm34tWBlSPI/AAAAAAAAA80/zmjM5KCQEdc/s320/chester%2Basleep.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chester asleep</td></tr>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">1 </span></b><b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">Have you ever featured your pet dog in a book? Which and how?</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Chester</b></span></span></st1:city></st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b> is my 7 yr old border terrier. He is
a constant companion as I predominantly work from home. I titled my recent
children's picture book '<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Chester</st1:city></st1:place>
and the Eggie Boo'. The train's dog conductor is styled on <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Chester</st1:city></st1:place>.</b></span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chester-Eggie-Boo-Nick-Mackie/dp/0956329012"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51G-ZvwepjL._SY498_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">1<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Is your dog an essential part of your daily writing routine? How? Where
does your dog like to be when you’re writing?</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I walk <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Chester</st1:city></st1:place>
twice a day - often when I need inspiration, to clear my head, or simply to let
off steam. Some of my better ideas have come during a long walk.<br />
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Chester</st1:city></st1:place> will
either sit upstairs in the attic (my studio) with me or at the bottom of the
stairs - whichever is warmer at the time!</b></span><b style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">How does your dog help/inspire you in your life as a writer?</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>He makes me go for walks - which I probably wouldn't do as much of if I
didn't have him. He is also a calming & entertaining influence.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I'm fortunate to live near the coast and we both enjoy some lovely beach
walks. (Weston super Mare, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Somerset</st1:city>,
<st1:city w:st="on">UK</st1:city></st1:city>)</b></span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lets-dress-Jeremy-Corbyn-book/dp/0956329047/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450048664&sr=1-1&keywords=jeremy+cut+out+book" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1lD3AdaCAgo/Vm39U4AVAMI/AAAAAAAAA9U/A28Hd80BzZ0/s320/jez.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What Nick gets up to when he's not walking Chester...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: lime; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>So what does Chester think of your current WIP?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Well, I'll let him tell you himself...</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><b>I'm slightly
miffed as my walking companion has been very busy lately illustrating a new
book. This means I'm not getting as many long adventures as I would like. It's
boring watching him tap away all day at the computer when all I want to do is
go out and have a run on the sand. </b></i></span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.nickmackie.co.uk/"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3m03ElDL5nA/Vm37df1g-7I/AAAAAAAAA9A/Dx3-JZ6Y4I0/s320/nick%2Bchester.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nickmackie.co.uk/">Chester with his writer, Nick</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 21.3333px; line-height: 24.5333px;"><i>For some reason Nick likes tweeting better than barking, so find him </i></span></span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/NickMackieBook">@nickmackiebook</a></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 115%;"><u>Mickey and Jo Franklin</u></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><u><br /></u></span></b>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4wrPnZdQ6aM/Vm4Ax9zjY_I/AAAAAAAAA9o/oCsnRCn_vQI/s1600/mickey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4wrPnZdQ6aM/Vm4Ax9zjY_I/AAAAAAAAA9o/oCsnRCn_vQI/s320/mickey.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoListParagraph">
<b><span style="color: #4f81bd; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">At
last Mum is off the computer. Time to write my next blog post.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><u><br /></u></span></b>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Have you ever featured your pet dog
in a book? Which and how?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="color: #4f81bd; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I’m
working on it! It’s taken me a while to get the right story and the right
voice. </span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4f81bd; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 21.3333px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Is your dog an essential part of your
daily writing routine? How? Where does your dog like to be when you’re writing?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4f81bd; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We
go out for our morning walk before I start work. Either to Peckham Rye Park or
to Nunhead Cemetery. I use this time to get my thoughts together and I have
started doing a workout app while we are out. But Mickey likes to go off on his
own and as soon as he gets a whiff of fox scent he turns his ears off and won’t
come back. I have been known to be wandering the cemetery for 2 hours looking
for him which is very bad for my writing day. When the weather is better I can
sit and make notes on my phone until he decides to come back to me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4f81bd; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We
take a shorter walk towards the end of the day which is useful if I have a
problem to work out. Mickey has a chair in my study or he sits on the sofa
watching GardenHD out the window.</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><u><br /></u></span></b>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MTMyfJctpE0/Vm4Btq2f9TI/AAAAAAAAA90/VGCY9pj5aL0/s1600/tasty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MTMyfJctpE0/Vm4Btq2f9TI/AAAAAAAAA90/VGCY9pj5aL0/s320/tasty.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A bit of tasty inspiration</span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">How does your dog help/inspire you in
your life as a writer?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="color: #4f81bd; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">He
is good company and forces me to go outside even in bad weather. It’s also
lovely to have a big hug when I’m feeling fed up with my paltry word count or
the latest rejection. Dog walking is very sociable. Most days the only people I
speak to outside of my family are fellow dog walkers.</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4f81bd; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.jofranklinauthor.co.uk/my-books.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.jofranklinauthor.co.uk/uploads/2/5/4/4/25448323/9410727.jpg?250" height="320" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Jo Franklin writes
for 8-10 year olds. Her first book <i>Help
I’m an Alien</i> is published by Troika Books </span></span></b></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And Mickey, what do you think of your writer's current WIP?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4f81bd; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>It’s
about time you started writing a story about a dog, but why did you have made
your dog character so naughty? I thought you were going to write about me. </i></span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4f81bd; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4f81bd; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Btw </i></span></span></b><b><span style="color: #4f81bd; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>did you know I have my own blog page and twitter?</i></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.jofranklinauthor.co.uk/mickeys-dog-blog"><b><span style="line-height: 24.5333px;">www.jofranklinauthor.co.uk/mickeys-dog-blog</span></b></a><b><span style="color: #4f81bd; line-height: 24.5333px;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<b><span style="color: #4f81bd; line-height: 24.5333px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>@Mickeydogsblog</i></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 24.5333px;"><b><i>And here's my writer's one: </i></b></span></span><a href="http://www.jofranklinauthor.co.uk/"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">www.jofranklinauthor.co.uk</span></span></b></a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
<b><span style="color: #4f81bd; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">@jofranklin2</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-83702235307898370942015-10-19T15:08:00.000-07:002016-11-05T09:09:07.543-07:00What to Wear at the SCBWI Party (And No Pirates in Sight!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<ol>By Olivia Levez<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/cf/d4/ab/cfd4abb391f5371cb45acf792b6a850b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/cf/d4/ab/cfd4abb391f5371cb45acf792b6a850b.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sea. Just go as the sea. Here is version 1 = very classy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</ol>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/c8/74/0c/c8740c995ea5b8759b6179359c84e1ef.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/c8/74/0c/c8740c995ea5b8759b6179359c84e1ef.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And here is version 2 = not so classy (but does have a modesty scallop.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/f4/e0/d9/f4e0d9daf39f9b5cb3b11adfd1a6aa61.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/f4/e0/d9/f4e0d9daf39f9b5cb3b11adfd1a6aa61.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Or you could go all elegant and understated, maybe as a pineapple...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DC5QfpLxOQs/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DC5QfpLxOQs/maxresdefault.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And, if you're feeling that little bit more crafty, here are three different palm tree costumes. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0413/9233/products/DESERT-ISLAND-PALM-TREE-COSTUME-3454.jpeg?v=1409746802" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0413/9233/products/DESERT-ISLAND-PALM-TREE-COSTUME-3454.jpeg?v=1409746802" height="320" width="176" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's a more, um, ridged version.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://photos.costume-works.com/full/palm3f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://photos.costume-works.com/full/palm3f.jpg" height="320" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damn it, why not go as the entire island?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/07/20/8f/07208f4cb373e93caa8b57944d1e111f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/07/20/8f/07208f4cb373e93caa8b57944d1e111f.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not really pirates, but here's Wilson from Castaway.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/78/5b/88/785b88d94f52e303fbb916824be44281.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/78/5b/88/785b88d94f52e303fbb916824be44281.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still a little lost? There's always a Lost Boy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mydisguises.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/shark-attack-costume.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://mydisguises.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/shark-attack-costume.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you're feeling the after-effects of Hallowe'en, perhaps a shark and its mangled pirate victim might float your boat?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dabbled.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Andreas-costume.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://dabbled.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Andreas-costume.jpg" height="320" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still on creatures of the sea, here's the perfect outfit for another daring duo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mommycise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/82193335ecb0a29fbfd43ef3bd4ef9e2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.mommycise.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/82193335ecb0a29fbfd43ef3bd4ef9e2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Or grab that spare brolly and become a little jellyfish!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/59/a9/31/59a93123e8fe0bc060218cbbd3c90e63.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/59/a9/31/59a93123e8fe0bc060218cbbd3c90e63.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Make like Marie Antoinette, and cunningly craft a ship to your tresses.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Q7En-Euu38/TpJ0lFoxeFI/AAAAAAAARP4/J2LHZhLapac/s1600/16-Miss-Universe-Bolivia-2011-Olivia-Pinheiro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Q7En-Euu38/TpJ0lFoxeFI/AAAAAAAARP4/J2LHZhLapac/s1600/16-Miss-Universe-Bolivia-2011-Olivia-Pinheiro.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally, forget the pirates, and become a parrot instead. Here are four to get you started...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://babygizmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Pirate-and-parrot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://babygizmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Pirate-and-parrot.jpg" height="320" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why have a babysitter when you can accessorise?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.werecallingshenanigans.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/parrot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.werecallingshenanigans.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/parrot.jpg" height="170" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Get all creative with hair chalks (easy to make from old chalk pastels, but might mess up that B&B washbasin...)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://thoughtpantry.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/35_parakeet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://thoughtpantry.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/35_parakeet.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So obviously I'm going as this one. Easy. Nothing to it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-31008806603524380902015-10-19T13:37:00.002-07:002016-11-05T09:09:48.081-07:00Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.6667px;"><b>By Olivia Levez</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So my school’s due an Ofsted.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Any minute now, any day, any unit, the
door of my classroom will creak slowly open, and there’ll be that drymouthheartbeatfeelsick
moment when An Inspector Calls.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.jbpriestleysociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/An-Inspector-Calls-300x234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.jbpriestleysociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/An-Inspector-Calls-300x234.jpg" /></a><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A middle-aged man, or possibly a
woman, will nod once, then sit in the chair which I will have made available to
them, right behind the boy or girl who is most likely to be on task and hopefully
has the neatest book.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And The Inspector will scrutinise
every aspect of my lesson, every flaw, every missed learning opportunity, every
doodled penis on every dictionary spine, every moment of mediocrity in between
the crammed garbled quest for outstandingness.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, um, Ofsted’s pretty scary.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s got me thinking about the fears in being a writer.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I first made the decision to
actually do something about becoming an author, I definitely had my Yellow
Thinking Hat on. For any non teachers out there, this means that I was using
the part of my brain that thinks in terms of optimism and positivity and
hopefulness. Except thinking hats are a bit old hat now.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I took a sabbatical from school and
made the decision that, after fifteen years of teaching, I was going to be:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">a)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A writer<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">b)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">An artist<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Either would do. I wanted to swap my
desk of marking for a lovely battered table filled with pots of paintbrushes
and found objects and mood boards. I wanted to leave the busy, shovey, clamour-and-din
of school corridors for a Room of One’s Own.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I imagined floating around, looking
nicely arty, and a tiny bit scatty, clutching my iMac Air and wandering off to
my Roald Dahlesque writing shed, complete with dog blanket on my knees and a
giant rubber band ball for when I needed to Find My Muse.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’d dash off a novel, send in a
couple of chapters, get a book deal, and then live off my earnings, happily
pottering/writing.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Never again would I have to Feel the
Fear.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Never again would I have that feeling
of someone looking over your shoulder and judging you.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Wait.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Judging you?</span></i></b><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I was to learn, of course, that being
rejected and feeling a failure is an important part of being a writer.
Strengthening. Character-building. Growth mindset encouraging. And that
critique groups are a gentle way to show you how much you still don’t know. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/colored_wires_bomb_cutter_3268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/colored_wires_bomb_cutter_3268.jpg" height="262" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But nothing comes close to Being On
Submission and waiting for your agent’s email. Thinking that maybe it could be
a phone call, because probably that means A Six Figure Deal and then…*drifts
into reverie of taking The Call at school, maybe in a staff meeting, and having
to say “oh, so sorry, my agent, yah, just discussing the ahm deal, please
excuse me for one moment…”*<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Soon, I worked out that an email with
an exclamation mark often meant Exciting News! whereas a straightforward,
common-or-garden email came with a thoughtfully edited rejection or two.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Or three.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Or four.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Or five.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So I took to approaching my inbox
like a bomb disposal engineer.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And now there are new fears:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NotSellingAnyBooksGettingBadReviewsNoOneAttendingtheLaunch</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NotKnowingAboutTaxNobodyLikingtheBookNotBeingAbletoWriteAnotherBookNotHaving a latformNobodyComingtoMyBookSigningTwoHundredPairsofTeenage</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Eyes</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LookingatYouSardonicallyasYouDoA</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ReadingHavingABadNielsonRating</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">PeopleThinkingYouAreAPushyVileBoastySelfPromotingTweeterNotHaving</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">EnoughTwitterFollowersNotHavingEnoughLikesNotBeingAbleToDoEdits…</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Borrowing a quote from the brilliant<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/We-Were-Liars-E-Lockhart/dp/147140398X"> </a><i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/We-Were-Liars-E-Lockhart/dp/147140398X">We Were Liars</a> by <a href="http://www.emilylockhart.com/books">E. Lockhart</a></i>, in which the main characters
write quotes on their hands, I’ve put one of them up in my classroom:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Always do what you are
afraid to do.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, realising that being a writer has
equal terrors to being a teacher, I decided to force myself to do hideously
scary things in preparation. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Fearful things I’ve made myself do:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Give assemblies about Write For Real,
sharing my experiences of trying and failing to get published.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Speak at TeachMeets – horrifically terrifying
events where you give micro or nano speeches, watching your name teeter on the
fruit machine ‘fun’ random-name-picker.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Make myself go alone to the intriguingly named SCBWI conference that I kept hearing so much about.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Set up a writing critique group,
attended by the assistant headteacher and a book group friend who I didn’t know
too well.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Give a teacher training session at
the Pedigoo for local teachers.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Talk, many times in Staff Briefing –
literally hundreds of teachers on a Monday morning, all needing to get their
lessons set up – sharing Word of the Week.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Go to my first SCBWI Friday critique
session, clutching five amazing scripts that I knew I didn’t have a hope in
hell of being as good as.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Skyping Melvin Burgess after my
friend won him in a SCBWI raffle and agreed to swap. It was a little awkward
when we were setting up, and I could see him but he couldn’t see me and, oh,
eek, oh.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Weirdly, having <i>two</i> scary jobs rather than just the one has put them both into
perspective. Now, when An Inspector Calls, I shall serenely teach on, and
think, why, this is nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Not compared to an email with no
exclamation mark.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-77653236668798368572015-07-27T02:22:00.001-07:002015-07-27T02:33:23.945-07:00Blogging 101 and Taking it to the Next LevelThe bloggers' workshops at <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books/adults/young-adults/yalc/">YALC</a></span> were at the top of my list for tips and of course, to meet the bloggers.<br />
The first workshop had <a href="https://twitter.com/PewterWolf13">Andrew Hall</a> (<a href="http://thepewterwolf.blogspot.co.uk/">The Pewter Wolf</a>), <a href="https://twitter.com/sisterspooky">Laura</a> (<a href="http://www.sisterspooky.co.uk/">Sisterspooky</a>) and the always lovely <a href="https://twitter.com/ChelleyToy">Michelle Toy</a> (<a href="http://talesofyesterday.co.uk/">Tales of Yesterday</a>) answering thoughtful questions posed by the wondrously coated <a href="https://twitter.com/ThatAndyBloke">Andy Robb</a> (@ThatAndyBloke).<br />
Advice included Andrew's "be constructive. Be kind" when reviewing any book, and "the fifty page rule" advocated by Laura, who uses this rule with any book when deciding if she wants to read on.<br />
So, how do these enormously successful bloggers (each of whom have won UKYA Blogger Awards in 2015) make themselves visible online?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-28V2TpqQNqA/VbXpWJXj-2I/AAAAAAAAA6U/CEjvX9GqKo4/s1600/better%2Bblog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-28V2TpqQNqA/VbXpWJXj-2I/AAAAAAAAA6U/CEjvX9GqKo4/s320/better%2Bblog.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Top Tips</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Tweet publishers and authors and link to your blog</li>
<li>Make your blog unique</li>
<li>Include some personal posts, so that it's not all about books</li>
<li>If you really don't like a book you've been asked to review, either link it with a blogger who might enjoy it, or write a topic post instead. (All of the bloggers were firm about not posting negative reviews.)</li>
<li>Blogger language learnt: "Recs" = recommended reads; "TBR" = to be read. </li>
</ul>
<div>
Best of all, I finally got to meet Michelle Toy, who I first met very briefly at the UKYA Extravaganza in Birmingham. Always warm and welcoming, she had thoughtfully made us goody bags packed with useful blogging advice, how to write a review, and TWO FREE BOOKS!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zS9rVsSnybY/VbXrZmLqiRI/AAAAAAAAA6o/l0NypNQU42U/s1600/goody%2Bbag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zS9rVsSnybY/VbXrZmLqiRI/AAAAAAAAA6o/l0NypNQU42U/s320/goody%2Bbag.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div>
Inside I found the beautiful, shimmery SEED by Lisa Heathfield, which I had already read before, but now I can gift it to someone else to enjoy. Published by Egmont, it is the dark intense tale of a girl born in a closed cult community, which I read in one sitting.</div>
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<a href="http://www.yainterrobang.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/seed-lisa-heathfield.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.yainterrobang.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/seed-lisa-heathfield.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>
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And I was delighted to find THE IT GIRL by Katy Birchall, also pub'd by Egmont, which I've been itching to read.</div>
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hqWWlf18L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hqWWlf18L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AxKUSCHJE_0/VbXrRCAQ6EI/AAAAAAAAA6g/KWO6e5urCmI/s1600/photo%2B%25289%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AxKUSCHJE_0/VbXrRCAQ6EI/AAAAAAAAA6g/KWO6e5urCmI/s1600/photo%2B%25289%2529.jpg" /></a></div>
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Chelley Toy and me, taken by Sally AKA <a href="http://thedarkdictator.blogspot.co.uk/">The Dark Dictator</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Next Level Blogging </span>featured another stellar panel of bloggers, namely:</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/Yayeahyeah">Jim</a> of <a href="http://www.yayeahyeah.com/">YAYeahYeah</a> and <a href="http://teensonmoonlane.co.uk/">Teens on Moon Lane</a> fame</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/Serendipity_Viv">Viv Dacosta</a> from the venerable <a href="http://www.serendipityreviews.co.uk/"> Serendipity Reviews</a> which is on the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/dec/29/top-10-best-books-bloggers">Guardian's Top Ten Book Bloggers</a> list</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/LucyTheReader">Lucy Powrie</a> teen blogger and creator of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ukyachat?src=hash">#ukyachat</a> and <a href="http://queenofcontemporary.com/">Queen of Contemporary</a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7bSYD0KUcdY/VbX38zTANXI/AAAAAAAAA7I/9HXQS7GrLNw/s1600/photo%2B%252810%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7bSYD0KUcdY/VbX38zTANXI/AAAAAAAAA7I/9HXQS7GrLNw/s1600/photo%2B%252810%2529.jpg" /></a></div>
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Once again, Andy Robb led the questions...</div>
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<span style="color: orange;">So what defines a good blog?</span></div>
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Jim: "Enthusiasm"</div>
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Viv: "Being unique. Being specific to an author."</div>
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<span style="color: orange;">And how do you think of new content?</span></div>
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Viv gets her ideas first thing in the morning, whereas Jim bounces ideas off the blogger community. Lucy, however, likes lists, which she calls her "ideas bank".</div>
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<span style="color: orange;">What is your USP as a blogger?</span></div>
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Lucy: "Being personal. Always being yourself."</div>
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Viv: "As I writer myself, my posts often focus on the writing process. I'm a SCBWI member, and many of my readers want to know how to write, tips on the writing process..."</div>
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Jim: "Author interviews."</div>
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<span style="color: orange;">Does a blog full of 4 or 5* ratings look false?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Viv: "I detest the Goodreads rating system."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Jim: "I no longer write negative reviews to avoid being snarky."</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">Extra Tips?</span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #444444;">Tweet pictures</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;">Buy your own blog space - don't just use Blogspot (Oops!)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;">Make guest posts specific - Viv says one of her most visited guest posts was Abi Elphinstone's <a href="http://www.serendipityreviews.co.uk/2015/01/the-art-of-rejection-by-abi-elphinstone.html">The Art of Rejection</a></span></li>
<li>Be constructive (this came up again and again)</li>
<li>Write "mini-recs" - this fab advice came from Jim, if you don't have time to write full reviews</li>
<li>Tweet at different time zones</li>
<li>Use social media managers like <a href="http://signuptoday.hootsuite.com/br-pro-ent-gbr-english/?&mkwid=sn0sf8csz_dc&pcrid=75568400164&pkw=hootsuite&pmt=e&cntry=emea-gbr&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hootsuite_pro_google_search_gbr_english_branded_alpha&gclid=Cj0KEQjwrdetBRCJg92s44SB77IBEiQAEIWmVb-DPCMClNym-MOBZLLAAU4fnQNfoBY4AuyfnzHMMnYaApkW8P8HAQ">Hootsuite</a> to schedule your tweets</li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: orange;">And finally?</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444;">What came across hugely from both workshops was the wonderful sense of community that bloggers enjoy, described as "hugely supportive" and "a second family". Each of the bloggers was so passionate about books, authors, reading, and promotion of all things bookish. As a newbie author I was thrilled to finally meet them in person, and delighted when <a href="http://www.serendipityreviews.co.uk/">Viv from Serendipity</a>, <a href="http://thedarkdictator.blogspot.co.uk/">Sally The Dark Dictator</a> and <a href="http://talesofyesterday.co.uk/">Chelley Toy of Tales of Yesterday</a> agreed to review my debut book <a href="http://www.thebookseller.com/news/odedina-makes-first-buys-oneworld-307039">THE ISLAND</a>!</span></div>
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Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-89909299739959195492015-07-26T01:53:00.002-07:002015-07-26T02:11:31.760-07:00A Pair of Chillers<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Birdy-Jess-Vallance/dp/1471404668">Birdy</a> by <a href="http://www.jessvallance.com/">Jess Vallance</a>, pub’d by <a href="https://www.hotkeybooks.com/">HotKey Books</a></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This was the first book I bought at
<a href="http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books/adults/young-adults/yalc/">YALC</a> because I’d seen the cover through twitter, and I’m a sucker for swirly
ink-blots.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.jessvallance.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/birdy_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.jessvallance.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/birdy_cover.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Straight away the narrative voice
gripped me, in a slightly disturbing way. There was something out of kilter,
something left unsaid – a sense of corner-of-your-eye creepiness, that reminded
me of Ishiguro’s harrowing tale, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Never-Let-Me-Kazuo-Ishiguro/dp/0571258093">Never Let Me Go</a>. This book also brought to
mind another sneakingly unsettling narrator – <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Engleby-Sebastian-Faulks/dp/0099458276">Engleby</a> by Sebastian Faulks. Oh,
and there’s a touch of the crowing <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Talented-Ripley-Patricia-Highsmith/dp/0099282879">The Talented Mr Ripley</a> (Patricia Highsmith) too.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, now to the story.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is meticulously well-plotted,
with each new reveal at just the right moment, so that when the final scene
happens you have to blink and immediately turn back to try to pin-point when
exactly things started changing. But you can’t. Because it’s all handled with
such subtlety and deftness. As a writer tackling final edits for my debut
novel, I’m massively impressed (and just a tad jealous!)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Without giving too much away, Birdy
is the story of a friendship between two girls, one lonely and alone, the other
bubbly, bold and energetic. It’s a friendship that dramatically changes their
lives, but darkens into obsession and possession.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And how it darkens!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Killer line: “I was going to have to
break the news to her gently.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Envy moments: That den. That egg
chair.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Once you reach the end, it all comes
together; the swirly ink-blots make beautiful sense, and you blink with
surprise to see that the sun’s still out.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Because that’s the sort of book it
is.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you like this, you’ll like…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1180497.Single_White_Female">Single White Female Seeks Same</a>, by John Lutz.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">When I read the acknowledgements (am
I the only writer who always does this first?) I was interested to see a
mention of </span><a href="http://www.jamesdawsonbooks.com/" style="font-size: 12pt;">James Dawson</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> (also of Hot
Key) as I read this book straight after reading Dawson’s beautifully tattooed
</span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23582973-under-my-skin"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Under My Skin</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://thebooksmugglers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/UNDER_MY_SKIN_B_PB_MEDIUM1-e1413450179503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://thebooksmugglers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/UNDER_MY_SKIN_B_PB_MEDIUM1-e1413450179503.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Again, bought because I couldn’t
resist the gorgeous cover, and have managed to get hold of one of the freebie
posters at YALC for my classroom wall. And the edges are PINK. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Under My Skin was a treat to read ,
just because I love Dawson’s teenage girl voice so much. He balances
bitchiness, humour and horror in equal measures, and it’s very fresh and
lively.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is about a girl who gets her
heart’s desire when she gets a demon tattoo – a sort of tattoo salon Doctor
Faustus. I loved the make-over she gets when her tattoo possesses her, and the
scenes with the school’s unholy trinity Melanora are very authentic.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is the third Dawson I’ve read
(after <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Say-Her-Name-James-Dawson/dp/1471402444">Say Her Name</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hollow-Pike-James-Dawson-x/dp/1780621280">Hollow Pike</a>) and just as much gory fun. After seeing
the author’s lively hosting of the Sex panel at YALC – clad in Daenerys
Stormborn body suit and “modesty dragon” – Dawson’s writing similarly switches
from serious, saucy to outrageous – but is always entertaining.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A5SIIweY4M8/VbSewjZ7q7I/AAAAAAAAA50/0YYpC0tECGk/s1600/photo%2B%25287%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A5SIIweY4M8/VbSewjZ7q7I/AAAAAAAAA50/0YYpC0tECGk/s1600/photo%2B%25287%2529.jpg" /></a></div>
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Fabulous as Daenerys</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Killer line: “There was no vegetable
on earth her mother couldn’t over-boil.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Envy moments: Those boots. That
Satanville hair-cut.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you like this, you’ll like…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Needful-Things-Stephen-King/dp/1444707876">Needful Things</a> by Stephen King<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Frozen-Charlotte-Red-Alex-Bell/dp/1847154530">Frozen Charlotte</a> by Alex Bell<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LXIgc0xzY8o/VbSfoXVRllI/AAAAAAAAA6A/dA4bpZZZ5Ks/s1600/photo%2B%25288%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LXIgc0xzY8o/VbSfoXVRllI/AAAAAAAAA6A/dA4bpZZZ5Ks/s320/photo%2B%25288%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> James Dawson: "It's easy to write as a 16 year old teenage girl. Inside I <i>am</i> a 16 year old teenage girl!"</span></b></div>
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Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-10282941794420256042015-06-27T09:58:00.000-07:002015-06-27T09:58:27.805-07:00Under My Skin by Zoe Markham<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Chlo is a girl with a big problem:
she was brought back to life by her scientist father and now lives with a
regime of hard-core skincare, stomach injections, and enough foundation to
cover the entire cast of TOWIE.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Because Chlo is, well, a zombie. If
she doesn’t top herself up with protein every few hours, if she misses an
injection, if she lets herself be seen in public, then the secret government
department responsible for Project Rise (a sinister scheme to raise soldiers
from the dead) will find out she exists. And that will mean the end of her
secret life and the death of her father; it will mean her mother died for
nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/72/f6/7d/72f67ddb60bff0985ef9ea5aba314336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/72/f6/7d/72f67ddb60bff0985ef9ea5aba314336.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Did I mention that Chlo only has
enough life-giving serum for a few months? So whilst she hides away in the
attic, surrounded by heaters for her poor cold flesh, and immersed in Jane Eyre
(there are lovely nods to Gothic literature in this book) her dad spends day
and night in his basement laboratory, working frantically on making more.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is high concept stuff, and I
read “Under My Skin” in a gallop one sunny afternoon in my caravan – although
an attic-y book-nook would have been far more suitable (I was very envious of
Chlo’s ). The tale is especially good at conveying the claustrophobic atmosphere
of Chlo’s world in the first third of the book, before she puts her foot down
and demands to be allowed to go to school. It deals with teenage angst very cleverly
and equates Chlo’s situation to every young person’s desire to break away from
parental control. Only here, of course, the restraints which Chlo’s dad impose
on her are a matter of life and death. Or should I say, <i>undeath</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I found the boarding school sections
a little stereotypical in parts, although the portrayal of toxic friends like
psycho bitch Emily was perhaps fitting in a book about monsters. (Micro-quibble
– if they’re that posh, I think they’d play lacrosse, not hockey.) But Daz is a
fab Hot Guy for Chlo, who doesn’t seem to mind her stuffing herself with
battered sausages every time she sees him.
Those chip-shop scenes made me laugh out loud btw, and were a lovely antidote
to all the dark shadowy passages in Chlo and her father’s cottage hide-away.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Some key cinematic moments:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That</span></i></b><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> scene when Daz takes his top off<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That </span></i></b><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">scene where Chlo is caught in the
rain *shudders*<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That </span></i></b><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">scene at the school disco<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is the first book in a series,
and I was disappointed when I got to 85% on my Kindle and realised that I
wouldn’t get to see the denouement. But I will definitely be getting the sequel.
I mean I’ve just got to know what happens to Chlo when…and then she… (cut for
spoilers!)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is less <i>Frankenstein </i>and more <i>In The
Flesh </i>– which was one of my favourite TV series in the last two years. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s a meaty, angsty, Gothic-y read
which teen fans of <i>Day of the Dead, Warm
Bodies, </i>and yes, even <i>Twilight</i>,
will love to get their teeth into.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Not literally of course.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">****<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-3798820292022512562015-06-26T00:30:00.002-07:002015-06-26T00:31:16.601-07:00The National Curriculum Does Not "Damage" Children's Creative Writing<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/23/national-curriculum-is-damaging-childrens-creative-writing-say-authors?CMP=share_btn_fb#comment-54470927">Just read something that made me angry...</a><br />
<span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; color: #333333; font-family: 'Guardian Text Sans Web', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The thing is, children love experimenting with new words (we call them Wow Words in our school) and take delight in trying to shoe-horn them into their writing. And somewhere, at some stage, they must learn to use simple, compound, complex sentences, and yes, longer and longer ones (sometimes including parenthesis or "comma sandwich") all without losing control of that ("let's make it even longer! Let's be like Dickens!) multi-clausal sentence.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">And it's fun. And they learn. And the writing's awful, of course it is.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">But that doesn't matter. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Because they're not aiming to produce writing that will be noticed on a slush-pile. They're learning the rules. And experimenting. And having fun.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Just like learning a foreign language, the writing's going to be pretty bizarre at times (our year sevens have been trying to fit our latest Word of the Week "transmogrification" into their work this week!), but it has to go through an "awful" stage before it gets better. It's like anything that's part of the creative process. I mean, Picasso wouldn't have produced his pared back genius abstractions without first learning by producing a whole lot of flowery, fussy, over-detailed drawings, right?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">So.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Let all children over-embellish; excitedly, enthusiastically and entertainingly (whoop, a list of three!) shovel in as many Wow Words as they want; let them clutter their writing with adverbs, adjectives and all manner of hellish intensifiers; let them experiment. Let them explore.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Let them sing.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Badly.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">But. It. Doesn't. Matter.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Because one day, that one child who is destined to become a writer (as in claw themselves out of the slush-pile, make it their life's obsession until they've got their first book deal), they will join SCBWI, form a critique group, maybe scrape enough pennies to do an MA in creative writing.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">And they'll read Stephen King's "On Writing" and realise that, gosh yes, "the road to hell is paved with adverbs", and they'll pare back all that silly floweriness,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">and they'll write.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">And write.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">And write.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">And all the over-zealous teachers and all the National Curriculum criteria in the world never did them a jot of harm.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">I know because it happened to me.</span>Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-22244004792131401062015-05-12T10:50:00.000-07:002015-05-12T10:50:01.764-07:00Authors For Nepal<b><span style="color: blue;">Ebay help-line for earthquake victims...</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b>
It has just been announced that a second earthquake has hit Kathmandu, killing dozens and injuring more than a thousand.<br />
<b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
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<a href="http://images.indianexpress.com/2015/05/nepal-new-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.indianexpress.com/2015/05/nepal-new-large.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></a></div>
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Many authors are offering a whole host of services, from critiques to retreats to naming a character in their next book - all in aid of the recent earthquake disaster victims in Nepal. To quote Kathy Evans in her <a href="https://mrsbung.wordpress.com/2015/05/10/authors-for-nepal/">blog</a>:<br />
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"They are amazing and resilient people but they are living in devastation. They need water and sanitation. They need to clear up. They need our help. They need your money.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.1599998474121px; line-height: 19.4559993743897px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;">
You can give to the charity that my daughter worked for last year, <a href="https://www.justgiving.com/hvpukdonations" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #265e15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">HVP Nepal.</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.1599998474121px; line-height: 19.4559993743897px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;">
You can give to the <a href="http://www.dec.org.uk/?gclid=CPLDxaCCuMUCFZTLtAodflgAjw" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #265e15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Disasters Emergency Committee</a>"</div>
So please help by bidding <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Character-name-next-book-Kathryn-Evans-/171783705531?clk_rvr_id=829541542512&afsrc=1&rmvSB=true">here:</a><br />
<br />Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-70831370174869111332015-05-03T01:13:00.000-07:002015-05-03T10:33:36.034-07:00Wish I'd Written... Only Ever Yours by Louise O' Neill<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://ec1f234efcd44fd455a0-6aaf0a2e2991e656883c5119142839e5.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/large/9781/8486/9781848664159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://ec1f234efcd44fd455a0-6aaf0a2e2991e656883c5119142839e5.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/large/9781/8486/9781848664159.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21805717-only-ever-yours">Only Ever Yours</a> is the most unsettling book I’ve read for a
long time. So I had to immediately gift it to my friends. I needed someone to
talk to about it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Set in the disturbing world of an all-girls’ school where
the pupils are trained to become the perfect Companions for men, this seems at
first to be yet another dystopian set-up.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is not.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It. Is. Not.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is pure scathing satire, ripping into our society of
relentless adverts and media pressure to look, feel and act a certain way.
Girls should be thin. Girls should be hairless. Girls should be pretty. Girls
should find a hot guy. Girls should aspire to be on telly.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The awful thing is, I found myself buying into the petty
competitiveness of frieda, isabel and megan’s world (lower case intentional – no
female’s name is capitalised). All the details of their outfits (chosen and
futuristically fitted onto them every morning) are described straight from Elle
magazine. Oh to have a messy side-plait!<o:p></o:p></div>
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The clever thing is: not only does it tear girls’ worlds
into shreds “with a scalpel” to quote <a href="http://www.louiseoneillauthor.com/flattery/">Jeanette Winterson</a>, it also reads as a scathing
commentary on many YA books.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yes, there’s a dystopian setting, but it’s subverted and
feels far too real.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yes, there’s a hot guy, brilliantly named Darwin Goldsmith, but any
romance set up is twisted and revealed to be shallow and hopeless.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, there’s a beautiful female protagonist, but is she
feisty and rebellious? Is she heck. frieda is passive, helpless, bitchy, and
broken. And her ending is one of the most shocking I’ve read.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Brilliant. Brutal. Unrelenting to the final page, this book
is as pitiless as 1984; bleaker than The Handmaid’s Tale.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And any Companion over forty?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Oh, they get sent to the pyre.</div>
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Ranks with Caitlin Moran's <a href="http://www.caitlinmoran.co.uk/">How to Be a Woman</a> as a must-buy for anyone who has daughters or nieces, and for anyone who thinks that Feminism is a dirty word.</div>
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<a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.1932367.1410973498!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_620_330/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.1932367.1410973498!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_620_330/image.jpg" height="170" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><a href="http://www.louiseoneillauthor.com/">Louise O' Neil</a>l</i></div>
Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-72796370682905657602015-04-04T05:01:00.000-07:002015-04-04T05:21:39.410-07:00School Visit with Beth ReeklesMeet <a href="http://authorbethreekles.tumblr.com/">Beth Reekles</a>: one of the world's sixteen most influential teenagers, according to <a href="http://time100.time.com/2013/11/12/the-16-most-influential-teens-of-2013/slide/beth-reekles/">Time Magazine</a>.<br />
As part of World Book Day celebrations, <a href="http://writeforrealw4r.blogspot.co.uk/">Write For Real</a> invited her to The Chase School to share her writing journey.<br />
First, Beth was interviewed by three students in the school library. After a very nice lunch provided by the school canteen (in a basket no less), Beth had a double workshop session in the lecture theatre, each with around fifty year ten students.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iUrIHIxMMME/VPiGIKYOsrI/AAAAAAAAA4g/DLYbLBZr9NE/s1600/IMG_9563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iUrIHIxMMME/VPiGIKYOsrI/AAAAAAAAA4g/DLYbLBZr9NE/s1600/IMG_9563.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Mrs Levez and Beth Reekles</div>
Beth told the students (and some very envious teachers!) about her rise to author success at the tender age of fifteen, where she used to tap out romances on her second-hand lap-top in revision breaks.<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.0000190734863px;">The Welsh high school student was looking for something to read other than stories about vampires and werewolves when she decided to write her own teen fiction book.</span> Wattpad provided the platform for real readers to give her feedback for her growing story, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13410943-the-kissing-booth">The Kissing Booth</a>, set in America. To her astonishment, over a few mo<span style="font-family: inherit;">nths her readers grew from a couple into 19 million views!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She started getting over 500 e mails a day from fans across the globe, desperate to read the next episode of her book. Her success <span style="color: #333333; line-height: 22.0000190734863px;">caught the attention of Random House Children’s Publishers U.K. and Beth, now 19, scored a three-book deal with U.S. Random House and has since appeared on the </span><em style="color: #333333; line-height: 22.0000190734863px;">Today </em><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 22.0000190734863px;">show.</span></span><br />
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Beth Reekles is interviewed by students</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Beth shares her writing journey</div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
The Interview</h3>
<span style="color: red;"><b>Was it difficult to get noticed on Wattpad?</b></span><br />
It was slow at first, but I made sure that each episode ended on a horrid cliff-hanger. After a few months I woke up and found 500 e mails in my inbox!<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Tell us more about Wattpad.</b></span><br />
At first I had zero confidence as a writer, but Wattpad is great for getting feedback on your writing. I posted anonymously and was surprised and happy to find that people seemed to like what they read. It gave me so much confidence, I started telling people about my writing.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>What are your favourite YA books?</b></span><br />
I love <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20618110-solitaire">Solitaire</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/aliceoseman">Alice Oseman</a> and I also love <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18298225-on-the-fence">On The Fence</a> by <a href="http://www.teenreads.com/">Kasie West</a>. The characters in them are so cute.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>If you were a piece of furniture, what would you be?</b></span><br />
A foot-stool (definitely not a chair!)<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>What was the process after your publisher contract?</b></span><br />
After I got an e mail from Random House inviting me to London, I had to pinch myself to stop freaking out! My Dad and I went to their offices and I was offered a three book deal there and then. It usually takes about eighteen months for a book from signing the contract to publication, but in my case it took only eight weeks to get the e book of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Kissing-Booth-Beth-Reekles/dp/0552568813">The Kissing Booth</a> out by Boxing Day.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>How much chopping and changing did you have to do with the edits?</b></span><br />
Well, I had already edited the book myself, but the "fluffy cute" chapters got taken out.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Did you let your family and friends read your book?</b></span><br />
No! Not until it was published. My family used to see me tapping away on the lap-top and say "what are you doing?" They all thought it was just a weird little hobby.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Are you a dog or a cat person?</b></span><br />
Dogs. I dog-sit for my auntie.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Your passion has now become a business. How do you keep that initial enjoyment?</b></span><br />
I try not to think of it as work - unless there's a stressy dead-line. Also, there's enough stress from uni work (Beth is currently reading Physics at Exeter University) so writing for me is down-time.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Was it a big step uploading your first story onto Wattpad?</b></span><br />
Yes, it was absolutely terrifying! It was just a matter of copy-paste-click, but how did I know if someone would like it? I remember pressing screen refresh loads of times and being really pleased when I saw I had three followers!<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Should more people use Wattpad?</b></span><br />
Yes, definitely. 99.9% of the writing community is incredibly positive - really encouraging and supportive.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Has negative feedback ever upset you?</b></span><br />
Whenever there's a "troll", other readers jump in and stop. It's easy to ignore, because there's so much positive feedback.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>How do you manage to keep your characters interesting?</b></span><br />
I try to give them little quirks and characteristics, but I never base them directly on people I know. I advise you to look at online character profile question-aids, for example: is my character superstitious?<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Was it daunting when you met your editor?</b></span><br />
Not at all. They were lovely and sweet and very welcoming. I knew I was in the right place when I saw a giant Tardis cut-out in the entrance to the Random House offices. There were also piles of YA books, and they said I could take as many as I wanted, so I was happy!<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>What age-group are your books aimed at?</b></span><br />
Twelve to thirteen plus.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Is there any of yourself in any of your characters?</b></span><br />
I think there's a bit of me in all of them. A good example is in <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17614644-rolling-dice">Rolling Dice</a>, my second book, which features a physics nerd!<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Finally, do you have any advice that you can give to aspiring young writers?</b></span><br />
My advice is always this: "Write what you read."<br />
Our huge thanks to Beth Reekles, for a very inspiring school visit.<br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span>Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-74918476178434546262015-03-19T10:20:00.000-07:002015-03-22T15:34:27.359-07:00NYCMidnight Short Story Challenge, Second Round<div style="border-bottom: solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 4.0pt 0cm;">
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So the second round challenge was:</div>
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Write a story in 3 days.</div>
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Word count: 2000</div>
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Genre: historical</div>
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Character: 7 year old boy</div>
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Subject: an unveiling.</div>
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Here's my effort. (Very cross with myself because I submitted before I'd edited it properly.)</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;">All Our Little Ones</span></span></h2>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Billy-boy
sits in the Box with his apple, his bell and his ball.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He
must do as he and Ma and Gentleman have rehearsed or there’ll be no meat pie
tonight.</span></i> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today I am seven. I have my apple, my bell, my ball.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ma says to keep tight hold of the string, not like
last time. Last time I let the apple bump too early and nobody was half as Amazed
and Flabbergasted as they should have been.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So I hold the string in my hand and listen hard just
like Ma taught me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Gentleman helped me into the Box when the lights
went out. He has on his silk kerchief and his pocket-watch tonight and says he
will let me have a nip of his fire water if I am a good boy. Since it is my
birthday he has even promised me a wiper of my very own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The string is hot and sticky in my fingers. I wind
it round and listen hard to what’s going on outside in the parlour cause if I
miss my cue it will mean no meat pie for me. Worse still, we might get nibbed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have excellent ears, Gentleman says. Ma says he
spoils me; I will get all rotten like a bad apple, she says. But I like it when
Gentleman tweaks my ear and gives me sixpences and Fox’s mints.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Though I can’t see her I can picture Ma at the head of
the tipping table. She’s all dressed up to the nines in her fine muslin and
good silk stockings, taking her place with the ladies. Her pocket-purse will be
fat with coins, all of them sovereigns and all of them good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“We’ll be swells too one day, Billy-boy,” she said,
before smothering me with kisses that smelled of cinder toffee and snuff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apple. Bell. Ball.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I scratch my scabs and listen hard. Ma’ll be going
under soon; I can hear the catch in her throat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If I hold my breath I can hear:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The ladies whispering and rustling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ma’s breath going deepdeepdeep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The ticking of Gentleman’s pocket-watch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My heart small and quick.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The tiniest sound of me scratching at my leg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My ankles are scabbed with flea bites. Back in our kitchen, Mr Gladstone
the blind old terrier has been scratching and worrying at his hind leg like he
would tear strips from it. I twist the string and try not to think of the
itching like hot little needles jumping and wriggling over my skin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My left leg is twisted from where a cab-wheel caught
it. It means I am smaller than I ought to be and that is good for prigging. Ma
is not my real Ma. She found me curled up tight as you like when my real mother
died, so she says, never a word did I speak, not for all the cinder toffee she
could tempt me with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Her being such a kind soul, heart as soft as lambs
wool, she scooped me up and declared she would have me for her own, there and
then. That first night, after she pulled me way from my poor cold mother, she
took me to her room and we lay, spooned together in the narrow bed, her rubbing
at my feet to warm them, stroking flat my fine baby hair. Where my real mother
had been string-thin like me, Ma is fat as butter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She fed me up, but not too much. She had plans for
me and my being a shrimp fit in just fine. After all, Ma is the boldest handsomest betty
on Cleet Street.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I can feel the cold hard edge of the bell against my
foot, which is greasy with blacking. Ma rubbed my feet and hands and face hard with
soot before we left for our Most Spectacular and Genuine Unveiling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ma’s voice calls out, only a bit muffled on account
of all the chiffon she has stuffed in there. She and Gentleman have rubbed it
with goosefat so it will slide out nice and smooth when the time comes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“John Quinn, John Quinn, John Quinn, are you
coming?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She has tried muslin and cheese-cloth and even
chewed paper but says her chiffon wedding veil works best and Ma knows cause
she is the Most Remarkable and Prodigious spiritualist in London.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Besides me, Gentleman coughs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am ready.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Taking the string, I raise it high and quiet and drop
it so the apple bounces.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bump.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is a cry from one of the ladies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“John Quinn, are you here to see your dear Mamma?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bump<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Can you tell us how old you were when you passed to
the spirit world?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Three is harder cause you have to time the bounces
just right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bump
bump bump<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A sigh, heavy and sweet from the sitters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Do not break the circle,” reminds Ma.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was on the day I was five she announced it was
time to earn my keep. No-one knew when my birthday was so Ma made me take it on
Jubilee Day seeing as that was the day she found me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“All right my dear,” she said, spitting snuff juice
into a little jug she keeps, looped over her finger. “You are ready for work. You and me and
Gentleman are going to be Most Astounding and Spectacular, and don’t you ever forget
it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then she coaxed me into the Box with a piece of hot
meat pie, and sang to me in the dark
till I forgot my tears and ate it all up quick as you like. I have an appetite
you wouldn’t believe even though I’m small. Skinny-diddles, Ma calls me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is an oooh from the sitters and I know that
Gentleman has done his table-tipping. That means it is only the bell and the ball
left. I need to be careful not to touch the ball cause it is all full of water
for the poor drowned little ones. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ma specialises in children that have gone to Heaven
early.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I reach the bell with my toes and lift it, careful now,
and just have room to shake it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is loud and clear as cut glass. It is the sound
of angels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is a little moan from the room outside and I
know that one of the ladies has fainted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Keep your hands together. Do not break the circle,”
drones Ma. Her voice is going all husky cause she’s sucking up the spirit now.
She’s being transfigurated and this is her favourite part.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When she and Gentleman have had a pitcher of wine,
he pinches her and says she should be on the stage, that she should. I like it
when Ma goes all girlish cause that’s when she hugs me most, squeezing and pinching
like she can’t get enough of me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Soon, real soon, Gentleman is going to let me out
the back of the Box and that is when I am to perform my real business.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The veil is thinnest at this hour,” Ma intones,
voice all growly and deep. “It is a time when the Oneness and Earthliness join
together. All our little ones cross over on their tiny spirit feet.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Gentleman undoes a secret catch on the Box and it
splits open like a crackerjack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I untwist my poor numb feet and there’s no time to
rub life into them. Gentleman lifts me out of the Box and I crouch on the
floor, nearest the tipping table as I can. After being in the Box this room is
bright as daylight to me or near enough, though all the swells can’t see me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are six pale ladies with their eyes shut tight
as fists, pale arms stretched forward over the table. Each pale hand is clasped
it the neighbour’s wrist but of course Ma has fixed it so she has a free hand.
There she is at the head of the table, with her cheeks all swollen cause of her
veil, and there’s Gentleman, posed with his fishing-rod.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the ladies sways and moans. She has light shining
hair like an angel, and has narrow wrists, like they’d snap like sugar if she’s
not careful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Silent as a sigh, I pad my sooted foot on the floor
and then another, quick and light as anything. I go to the swaying lady first;
tip-toe over and crouch down, stroke her cheek with my small hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Aaah,” she says, and smiles like all her wishes
have come at once; someone’s released a bird in a cage and set her free. She
leans her head against my hand and I let her, but only for a moment cause
Gentleman is fixing me hard. He’s wanting me to go round and give each of them
a turn before Ma’s Grand Spectacular Finale.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> “Aieeeeeaieeeeeeeaieeeeee,”
intones Ma. She’s building up now, she’s been practising in the kitchen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I move close as you like to a large lady in swags
and feathers, and pluck a feather out of her hair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“My Johnny, my Johnny,” she moans. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Next, the water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I breathe, moth-soft, on her softly folded neck.
Then I squeeze the ball till it drips.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ma opens one eye. I see it gleam bold in the gloom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Your poor spirit son, was it a drowning?” she
breathes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Yes, yes,” gasps the lady. Her head is jerking up
and down like the madwoman we once saw bundled out of her house on Cleet
Street.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The water trickles down the frill of her dress as
Gentleman takes the fishing-rod. Jiggles it so that the tambourine on its hook
shivers and shakes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“He’s calling,” bawls Ma. “Hark at his little voice
like bells.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Oh my boy, my boy,” Swagged Lady says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I duck and dive, touching and tapping and poking
till the ladies gasp and buck and stream with tears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The air is damp with scent and ladies’ sweat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> “My boy came
to me. I felt him.” An old lady’s voice, racked with sobs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“He touched me too,” breathes another. It is Angel
Hair; her mouth is a wide O. “A hand, small and soft upon my cheek.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Taken by the fever,” another whispers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All is going well. This may be the Most Astounding
Breath-taking Sitting Ever. I think of the meat pies we’re going to have, hot
and steaming and dripping with gravy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But then.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I see an old lady dressed in widow’s weeds gazing at
Gentleman still crouched with his fishing-rod. Her eyes are bright with
staring. Has she seen? Quick as thinking I reach with the feather and tickle
her cheek.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is a close one. She closes her eyes and gasps
like one who has just woken up after years and years of sleep-walking.
Gentleman presses the rod back into itself, over and over till it’s small as a
poker and slips it under his good twill trousers. Slides into his seat without
breaking contact. He’s a marvel, is Gentleman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ma is almost done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Whaooowhaooowhaooo,” she says and the parlour is
hushed cause this is the part where the lady’s poor dead spirit boy comes out
of Ma’s mouth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ma lets out a howl and everyone falls silent as ectoplasm,
yards and yards of it, uncoils from her mouth and falls wriggling to the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When the ladies leave the parlour, they are laughing
and murmuring about their spirit children. Swagged Lady has looped her arm in
Angel Hair and they are giving each other special smiles and squeezes. The old
Black Widow has unwrinkled a line ot two of skin like paper that’s uncrumpling.
She too has seen her poor dead spirit child, has felt the pats on her ancient
cheek.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Gentleman joins them of course. He bows his head and
nods, very serious. He offers two pale ladies an arm each and glides with them
out of the room. There is soot upon their faces.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ma looks after them and smiles all tender-like.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Poor dear ones with their hearts mended now their
sweet little angels have come visiting.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She pats her pockets and sighs with satisfaction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Soft as butter Ma is, and no mistake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-66943032555797205452015-03-14T11:53:00.001-07:002015-03-14T11:53:37.794-07:00NYCMidnight Short Story ChallengeWhoop whoop.<br />
Delighted to have got through to second round! <a href="http://nycmidnight.com/Competitions/SSC/Challenge.htm">http://nycmidnight.com/Competitions/SSC/Challenge.htm</a><br />
My Round 1 challenge:<br />
<span style="color: red;">Write a story in 8 days.</span><br />
Length: <span style="color: red;">2500 words.</span><br />
Genre: <span style="color: red;">mystery</span><br />
Character: <span style="color: red;">butler</span><br />
Object: <span style="color: red;">bank account</span><br />
So.<br />
Here it is...<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 4.0pt 0cm;">
<h3>
<b>A Man For All Seasons</b></h3>
<div class="MsoTitle">
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><i><b>Flathers is horrified to find someone has been withdrawing funds from her ladyship's account.</b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><i><b>How ever can he continue to keep her in the manner to which she has become accustomed?</b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hi I’m Shelly! chatters away as she swipes. She’s a
fast swiper and for that I am grateful. It is almost four o’ clock and I need
to be ready for Lady Josephine’s tea in the garden.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I straighten the plastic divide between my neatly
stacked tins of Cream of Chicken soup and the family-size packs of crisps
belonging to the woman behind me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is a mother with three small children who is
letting them open chocolate milk. The one near me – a boy – has a chocolate
moustache and I take care to not let him near my good flannel trousers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Do you want your Club Points, love?” the swiper asks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I shake my head. Her Ladyship will want her Darjeeling
and rosewater biscuits before I take her to admire the azaleas. But before
that, the ha ha needs mowing. I hope I remembered to mend the broken window in
the ice house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I said, are you collecting stickers for your
knife-set?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hi I’m Shelly! is waving a sheet of what looks like
little coloured stamps at me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Oh no, thank you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If there’s one thing we don’t need it’s more knives.
That’s another job that needs doing, polishing all the silver. I place the last
sachet of Angel Delight into my shopping bags and turn to pay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A tap on my arm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Are you wanting those? It’s just that we’re saving
for the knife Royale.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I’m sorry?” The big clock by Costa Coffee says ten
past four. My trolley is bulging with carrier bags. I have twenty minutes to
pack all this in the Bentley and assume my next role. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s the mother, the one with the chocolatey
children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Like what Gino del Campo has,” she says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have no idea what she is talking about, but nod
curtly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Eighteen minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I slot Lady Josephine’s Goldcard into the paying
machine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Enter your pin please,” sings Hi I’m Shelly!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Chocolate Moustache rubs himself against my leg and
I move myself hastily to the other side of the trolley. It’s packed now with bags
filled with the cans, boxes and sachets that constitute our weekly shop. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then the thunder-bolt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I’m sorry love, it’s saying do you have any
alternative means of payment?” Hi I’m Shelly says brightly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My hand freezes over a bag of luncheon meat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I beg your pardon?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“It’s not letting me use it to pay, love. Have you
got another card I could try?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We both stare at my bank card. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I have one hundred and eighty three pounds
seventy-seven in that bank account,” I splutter. “There must be some mistake.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hi I’m Shelly! shakes her head. “No mistake love.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course I don’t have any funds. Not after I’ve
paid off the rates and the gas bill and the man who mended the roof of the East
Wing where the squirrels have been getting in and doing all sorts of untold
damage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Until the money comes through from the cottage
rentals at the end of the month, that one hundred and eighty three pounds
seventy-seven is all we have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The store manager has materialised now. Behind him,
the knife-collecting mother and her sticky-faced children are gaping at me in
fascination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I’m afraid we’ll have to leave your items at
Customer Services Sir. Until you come back and pay for them. If you’d like to
leave your name and contact number, Sir.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I must have my Darjeeling. Lady Josephine must have
her Darjeeling!” I am almost shrieking and the little cluster around Till 9
stares.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With trembling hands I reach into my pocket and pull
out a handful of coins and other detritus: Lady Josephine’s smelling salts, a
hair-pin to open the sticking lock on the side-gate, a couple of biscuits for
Pipkin, the ancient labrador. I count the coins, holding my breath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Two pounds ninety-three.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hi I’m Sally! sighs and we begin the long process of
unpacking every bag in order to find Lady Josephine’s tea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The time is seventeen minutes past four.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">#<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have barely enough time to pull on my Nearly Nude
tights and tidy my hair when the bell jangles in the pantry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lady Josephine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I arrange the rosewater shortbreads neatly in a fan
on her favourite Royal Worcester tea plate and place the tea-pot onto the silver
tray. Lady Josephine is already sitting by the ha ha and I pray she doesn’t see
the unpruned hedging, the sprouting lawn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Picking up the tray I hurry over the lawn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Ah there you are, Sylvia. What a beautiful day.
Don’t you think it is a beautiful day?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Her voice is light as larks and the late afternoon
sun gleams in her hair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Indeed it is Madam,” I say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As always at first, my voice comes out far too deep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lady Josephine laughs. “Oh Sylvia, you sound as
though you have a frog in your throat! Come, pour the tea, do.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I flush and am glad I put on an extra layer of Crème Matte Foundation. Next time I speak, I
concentrate and am relieved when my voice comes out a notch higher.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Shortbread, Madam? Fresh baked this morning.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Ooh, delish, thank you, Sylvia.” She waves her arm
at the lawns, the ha ha, the willow maze.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Isn’t all of this lovely? Don’t you think it’s
lovely, Sylvia?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Indeed, Madam. It’s very nice.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All I’m seeing is the nineteen acres of lawns to be
mown and the stables to be swept and the horses and hens fed and the kitchen
garden needs weeding, the vine weevils have got into the pots again, and while
I’m at it I might as well take a broom and sweep the sky.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">#<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I stare at the computer screen and tremble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Over drawn by three pounds forty-three.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The screen doesn’t lie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But I know, <i>I
know</i> there were sufficient funds in this morning. In my role as Financial
Advisor, I make it my business to check her Ladyship’s affairs most
meticulously.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Someone has stolen one hundred and eighty-seven
pounds twenty from Lady Josephine’s bank account.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The only two occupants of Wittington Hall are her
Ladyship and me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Her Ladyship doesn’t know how to turn on a computer
and has never used a bank card or held money in her life. Like all her
venerable family, sadly now all deceased, she has never needed to. Not when she
has me to look after her needs. And my father before me, and his father before
that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is what we Flathers do and what I will never stop
doing so long as I live and breathe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I blink at the computer screen and the figures blink
back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">£3.43 DR.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is only one person who could have withdrawn
those fundings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Scullery Skulker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That man last week who was crouching down by the
scullery when I was laundering her Ladyship’s panty girdles; I distinctly
remember his furtive manner, and the way he slunk away when I waved my soapsudded
fist at him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What if he is the mysterious thief?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He could have got valuable information from the log
of receipts I keep in the study, or picked up a bank letter from the table in
the hall. Have I received any suspicious telephone calls recently? Attempting
to whittle out information such as account numbers and passwords? I know such
things exist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In which case the person at fault is me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To calm myself, I pull on my Head Groom’s outfit,
thinking to check on Millie and Sugardrop. Their quiet champing will allow me
to clear my head. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is as I am putting on my chaps that the pantry
bell jangles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Yes Ma’am.” I use my Cook’s voice this time, with
its soft Somerset burr. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Ah, it’s you Jane. Just who I was after. I’m having
a few friends round for dinner this evening and I wondered if you’d pull out
all the stops tonight. You know, some of your wonderful Foie Gras, your
fabulous Panacotta, that sort of thing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I’ll do my best, Ma’am.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My burr falters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">#<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Wouldn’t you just <i>die </i>without Prosecco?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Literally, darling, I would literally die.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lady Josephine seems to be enjoying herself and for
that I am grateful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">No-one raised a comment about the ‘homemade’ Cream
of Chicken Soup I rustled up with the last of the cans from the pantry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Everyone seemed to enjoy the Game pie I made with a
brace of hastily shot pheasants. Lucky for me they shot out of the bushes just
as I was taking Sugardrop out to test her lame leg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They have got through the last of the
Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Speciale 2002 from the cellar and haven’t noticed
that the Prosecco is Lidl’s own. I hope and pray they will be too squiffy to
notice that instead of the Vanilla Panacotta Lady Josephine requested, they’re
getting butterscotch Angel Delight with chocolate sprinkles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“More wine,” drawls a man in a flashy tie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am topping up his glass when Lady Josephine’s best
girlfriend lets out a shriek. Lady Lavinia is in her seventies but is bedecked
with her finest party jewels, her long earlobes pendulous with emeralds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The cook. We must thank the cook,” she shrieks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I slop Prosecco over the table-cloth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Flathers. Dear, dear Flathers. Would you be so kind
as to bring in Jane.” Lady Josephine is leaning forward, her eyes still bright
as stars in her softly lined face. She too is sparkling with jewels tonight.
She doesn’t know that hers are all paste, that I’ve sold them over the years to
the Pawn shop in Englefield Green, all to protect her from her withering
finances and to keep her in the manner to which she is accustomed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I swallow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Indeed, Madam.” I bow my head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">#<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jane requires extra padding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is no time to get the size 40 EE brassiere I
found on a sales rack in the supermarket and into which I’ve carefully stitched
wadding to construct Jane’s ample bosom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is no time to get the size 12 lady’s court
shoes which she favours because they’re wide enough for her bunions. I located
those in a charity shop off Portabello Road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is, however, the wig.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jane’s wig is a splendid affair which I acquired
from a friend in the acting profession, along with all the makeup. It is rich
and red and plump with curls. Best still, those bouncy waves hide most of my
face. Luckily for me, it now resides in the bread crock in the scullery, which
is where I placed it when I was once caught short halfway between being Jane
and Old Mills, the Gardener.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lady Josephine didn’t seem to notice though; her
flowery hat was shading her eyes as she stepped out of the sunlight that day,
and besides, I fear her eye-sight is dimming, just like mine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have a large floral pinafore which hangs off the
hook for emergencies such as this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I dress myself, panting, and hurry through to the
dining room, folding my arms over my sadly deficient bosom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Oh Jane, dear,” says Lady Josephine, and her smile
is radiant, her eyes full of sparkle. “My guests want to say something to you.
Don’t be shy, dear. Come right in.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jane is extremely bashful by nature. At her
Ladyship’s request I shuffle forward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“We wanted to congratulate you on your food,” smirks
a voice. “Wonderful dessert, Jane. Light as air.” The voice pauses. “Almost as
if it were made by…<i>angels</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I flush, then raise my eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is the fellow in the gawdy tie. The penguins on
it wave their wings at me as he leans forward. But then I look at his face and
feel ice slip into my stomach.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is the skulker. The man in the grounds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Thank you for your kind comments, sir,” I manage at
last.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jane’s voice comes out a little louder than I
intended and they all stare.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I can no longer keep this to myself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">#<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is as Flathers that I tell her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lady Josephine listens without interrupting and then
looks very serious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Stolen almost two hundred pounds, you say? And you
think that my bank account details were somehow intercepted by my guest who
could be the mysterious man in the garden? Why Flathers, that’s terrible.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She frowns in thought, then her face clears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“You must arrange for me to interview each member of
staff at once.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">#<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am eighty-three years old.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There comes a time when even a Flathers must admit
defeat. This is that time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am sitting on the steps overlooking the rose
garden when Lady Josephine comes to find me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Oh Flathers, Flathers, you darling man.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She sits down beside me and places a gloved hand
over mine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Please don’t be upset. It will all be all right, I
promise.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I look at her. “Indeed it won’t Madam. I have failed
you. I have allowed your money to slip out of your account without noticing.
There is worse, Madam-” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I swallow. It is time to confess to her Ladyship how
I have lied and deceived her all these years, all to no avail. “You have no
more money, Madam. I fear you may be forced to give up your ancestral home, I-”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Oh I know all that,” she says breezily.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I freeze.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I beg your pardon, Madam?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“That we’re poor as church mice. Skint. Broke.
Thoroughly in Queer Street.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I struggle to form the words.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“You <i>knew</i>,
Madam?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“But of course. That’s why I invited that ghastly
man to dinner. He’s a property developer who’s going to turn Wittington into
darling little flats. Lavinia’s idea. Everyone’s doing it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Her Ladyship turns to face me and her blue eyes are
bright as stars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“It means we never have to leave here, Flathers.
We’ll have the best apartment, overlooking the ha ha, and you’ll be able to
look after me just as you’ve always done.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am speechless. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Flathers?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Madam.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Do you want to know what happened to that money?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I swallow. “Indeed I would, Madam.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Well I know how much you like,” she gives a little
cough, “dressing up.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I stiffen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Madam?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“All your different guises. They’re simply
marvellous. So I decided to arrange a little treat for you, as a way of saying
thank you.” Her Ladyship squeezes my hand. “I dragged Lavinia over to the bank
on the high street, Flathers, and a rather lovely young clerk helped show me
how to transfer the last of the funds to pay for something rather special.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She drops something onto my lap.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Theatre tickets, Flathers. We have the best seats
at the London Palladium.We are going to see The Mousetrap, Flathers, just you
and me, and there’ll be enough left over for a pot of tea at Claridges.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Once again I find myself unable to speak. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lady Josephine pats my hand. “Dear, dear Flathers,”
she says. And we sit together, watching the lengthening shadows sweep gently
over the lawns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<br />Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-26989983917497475112015-03-01T12:01:00.003-08:002015-03-01T15:01:43.503-08:0035 authors. 1 upstairs room. 1 bookshop.2 pm onwards, and the very top floor of Birmingham High Street Waterstones is buzzing with writers, readers and bloggers.<br />
Tables are crammed with all the latest YA reads and writers stand around with sticky white labels on, signing books and waiting their turn for their 2 minute elevator pitch.<br />
It's the long awaited UKYA Extravaganza...<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NLLLQN-Mv8I/VPNTnIu4oBI/AAAAAAAAA2U/sRo2nQUozT8/s1600/IMG_9536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NLLLQN-Mv8I/VPNTnIu4oBI/AAAAAAAAA2U/sRo2nQUozT8/s1600/IMG_9536.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Clutching my copies of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Murder-Most-Unladylike-Wells-Mystery/dp/0552570729">Murder Most Unladylike</a> and its sequel Arsenic For Tea, I ask the author, <a href="http://robin-stevens.co.uk/">Robin Stevens</a>, how she came up with the idea for her Agatha Christie/Malory Towers mash-up.<br />
"Well, I went to Cheltenham Ladies College as a boarder and really wanted to use the setting where I'd spent such fun times and add a darker twist - I've always loved Agatha Christie mysteries," she tells me.<br />
And why did she use a Chinese girl as her protagonist?<br />
"That's easy. There were lots of Chinese girls in my boarding school and as an outsider myself - I'm American - I really wanted to write from that point of view."<br />
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<img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-acvKH3UNVKk/VPNV9yoKgeI/AAAAAAAAA2g/Amho6fm5bJo/s1600/IMG_9539.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/redbreastedbird">Robin Stevens</a></div>
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We are interrupted by the next panel, and this time it's the turn of <a href="https://twitter.com/sarahjnaughton">Sarah Naughton</a> to pitch her two books, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16000727-the-hanged-man-rises">The Hanged Man Rises</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Blood-List-Sarah-Naughton/dp/0857078666">The Blood List</a> - a Medieval tale about a Changeling boy left in the woods. Sarah talks about her research for the story, inspired by watching a Tony Robinson documentary and reading about the disturbing things they used to do to so-called fairy babies.</div>
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Rhian Ivory reads the very tense and creepy prologue of her new book, <a href="http://writeforrealw4r.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/an-interview-with-rhian-ivory.html">The Boy Who Drew the Future</a> - the ending of which came to her in a dream - and then it is the turn of <a href="http://www.carolinegreen.net/about">Caroline Green</a> to pitch her YA horror, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cracks-Caroline-Green/dp/1848121687">Cracks</a>.</div>
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"I basically put my character through hell," she says, after describing how she got the idea after gazing at a crack in her bathroom tiles, and wondered what would happen if it just kept on going...</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LODm4VfX8Nk/VPNZsWFJabI/AAAAAAAAA2s/yzqQA2oNFgs/s1600/IMG_9537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LODm4VfX8Nk/VPNZsWFJabI/AAAAAAAAA2s/yzqQA2oNFgs/s1600/IMG_9537.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/Rhian_Ivory">Rhian Ivory</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Next,<a href="http://www.cjdaugherty.com/night-school-series/"> CJ Daugherty</a> tells us about her Night School series- "based on Eton if it were cooler, scarier and more murderous" and says she was inspired by a photo in a paper of the notorious Bullingdon Club - the elite secret society where most of our leaders wreaked terribly posh havoc.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18042063-glimpse">Kendra Leighton</a> was inspired by teaching Alfred Noyes famous poem The Highwayman in the classroom for her debut novel, Glimpse, a ghost story set in the present day.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FVN2XoxOq-w/VPNcqOR2shI/AAAAAAAAA24/Asj3heVBkNc/s1600/IMG_9538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FVN2XoxOq-w/VPNcqOR2shI/AAAAAAAAA24/Asj3heVBkNc/s1600/IMG_9538.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/kendraleighton">Kendra Leighton</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Pitching books is a daunting experience, with co-organiser Kerry Drewery shouting "ten seconds" each time a writer wavers near the end of their strict time, however it means that the event runs like clockwork as we are plunged from one story-world into another.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.alangibbons.com/">Alan Gibbons</a> stands up and manages to squeeze in a passionate argument against the closure of libraries into his pitch. Inspired by the tragic true-life story of Sophie Lancaster, murdered because she was a goth, he talks about his latest book, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18692305-hate">Hate</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oKlwPvWqaA4/VPNt8xiCLUI/AAAAAAAAA3o/Wm4bjwZdC34/s1600/IMG_9542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oKlwPvWqaA4/VPNt8xiCLUI/AAAAAAAAA3o/Wm4bjwZdC34/s1600/IMG_9542.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pitch 'n' panel</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">After a break, the panel includes Rachel Ward, author of the YA Book I Have Wanted To Read From The Moment I Heard About It And Still Haven't Read Yet. That's not actually its name though - it is <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6609758-numbers">Numbers</a>, the story of a girl with the disturbing gift of looking into people's eyes and being able to see their death dates. Talking about her contemporary novel, The Drowning - about a ghost who haunts through the medium of water she says, "it scared me so much that I haven't been swimming since I started writing it." The sequel </span><a href="http://www.rachelwardbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/THE-DROWNING-2-Cover-stg2c.jpg" style="text-align: left;">Water Born</a><span style="text-align: left;"> is out now.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVQFtWoYw_w/VPNmhg6viLI/AAAAAAAAA3I/t113VsG6jSM/s1600/IMG_9548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVQFtWoYw_w/VPNmhg6viLI/AAAAAAAAA3I/t113VsG6jSM/s1600/IMG_9548.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.rachelwardbooks.com/">Rachel Ward</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
As a grand finale (and after lots of fab authors I haven't got space to mention) wonderful organisers Kerry Drewery and Emma Pass finally get a chance to pitch their own books! Kerry's book <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16121169-a-dream-of-lights">A Dream of Lights</a> tells the harrowing tale of a girl in a North Korean prisoner camp. "I was inspired by the strength of the people," she says. "Although I haven't been to North Korea as visitors are under permanent escort and not given a glimpse into the realities of life there, to me it doesn't matter. As a writer, whether it's science fiction or historical, these are all uncharted territories that we can research and empathise with without actually visiting."</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Emma's dystopian police thriller <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13062484-acid">Acid </a> was written, she says, in 1000 words a day in her pyjamas.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-03uxJTROeuc/VPNrdFemb_I/AAAAAAAAA3c/84VNCAJmjNg/s1600/IMG_9554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-03uxJTROeuc/VPNrdFemb_I/AAAAAAAAA3c/84VNCAJmjNg/s1600/IMG_9554.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/kerrydrewery">Kerry Drewery</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/emmapass">Emma Pass</a>, Organisers Extraordinaire</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
So, what it at all stressful, organising such a big event with so many authors?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
"It started with only four or five people," Emma and Kerry tell us. "Then it became thirty-five! It totally snow-balled, but in a good way."</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w9ZBLHJdftw/VPNrACTLJlI/AAAAAAAAA3U/rkzdyjLdxRE/s1600/IMG_9552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w9ZBLHJdftw/VPNrACTLJlI/AAAAAAAAA3U/rkzdyjLdxRE/s1600/IMG_9552.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
How do you squeeze 35 YA authors into one photo?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
A wonderful afternoon, with a great bookish buzz.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
As a teacher, it's lovely to see so many teens giving up their time to grab the latest reads and autograph-hunt.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Here's to the next UKYA Extravaganza!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZC0ln5-H7Qg/VPNuy391nYI/AAAAAAAAA30/PDDjhI4gxo8/s1600/IMG_9557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZC0ln5-H7Qg/VPNuy391nYI/AAAAAAAAA30/PDDjhI4gxo8/s1600/IMG_9557.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My stash of goodies. Which to read first..?</div>
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<br /></div>
Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-77458691562925535932015-02-16T10:05:00.001-08:002015-02-16T10:05:50.250-08:00Just For Fun: Rhian IvoryAs part of the countdown to <a href="https://twitter.com/yabirmingham">UKYA Extravaganza, Birmingham</a>, we at <a href="https://twitter.com/livilev">Write For Real</a> asked our Blog Tour author <a href="http://www.davidgodwinassociates.com/blog/2014/11/12/rhian-ivorys-the-boy-who-drew-the-future-to-be-published-by-firefly-press">Rhian Ivory</a> to share her answers to some fairly random questions...<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Tea or coffee?</span></b></div>
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Always tea. I like to drink at least six cups of Earl Grey a day! Never coffee unless I'm really tired...</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Cats or dogs?</span></b></div>
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Definitely dogs. I have two: a black lab called Betty and a Springer Spaniel called Badger. Both are nuts.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kuWNpnpg4s8/VOIlufk3URI/AAAAAAAAAy8/dYAFj0OgI8Y/s1600/Betty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kuWNpnpg4s8/VOIlufk3URI/AAAAAAAAAy8/dYAFj0OgI8Y/s1600/Betty.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X46y5iCdoFE/VOIlzHMw_FI/AAAAAAAAAzE/VctKqgbFU0w/s1600/Badger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X46y5iCdoFE/VOIlzHMw_FI/AAAAAAAAAzE/VctKqgbFU0w/s1600/Badger.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: red;">Pause as thinks "aaahhh, those eyes" and "did you know you have the same sofa as me?"</span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Cake or chocolate?</span></b></div>
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Chocolate - but I'm incredibly fussy so it has to have something in it like nuts or fruit.</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Camping or luxury hotel?</span></b></div>
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Luxury hotel because I've never really stayed in one apart from <a href="https://www.roccofortehotels.com/hotels-and-resorts/the-balmoral-hotel/?gclid=CjwKEAiAx4anBRDz6JLYjMDxoQYSJAA4loRmR8qGQkD6hDYa-bbr8gNSf3pKaOHr7VzefhfEebNHHRoCUc_w_wcB">The Balmoral</a> in Edinburgh once which was pretty special.</div>
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<a href="http://www.hoteldirectcorporate.com/images/BalExtMain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.hoteldirectcorporate.com/images/BalExtMain.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: red;">The Balmoral - with doormen and everything</span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Paper books or e books?</span></b></div>
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Paper - but I do have a Kindle.</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Heels or wellies?</span></b></div>
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Wellies. With having two dogs and living next to a farmer's field, heels won't get me very far!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eK8rn8SzY6g/VOIu177nPVI/AAAAAAAAAzg/u_1l_eglob8/s1600/P1020937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eK8rn8SzY6g/VOIu177nPVI/AAAAAAAAAzg/u_1l_eglob8/s1600/P1020937.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b><i>The farmer's field where Betty and Badger get their daily run (no heels in sight)</i></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Which Hogwarts House?</span></b></div>
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I've done the test and I'm Ravenclaw.</div>
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<a href="http://www.nyunyucosplay.com/wp-content/uploads/lg-gallery/Costumes/topimages/luna_ref.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.nyunyucosplay.com/wp-content/uploads/lg-gallery/Costumes/topimages/luna_ref.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: red;">Luna Lovegood - a fellow Ravenclaw</span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Write or type?</span></b></div>
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Type. I need Spell-check!</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Summer or Winter?</span></b></div>
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Summer. This Winter has gone on far too long and I need Spring and some sunshine.</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Minimalist or hoarder?</span></b></div>
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Minimalist apart from my book collection, which is verging on an obsession!</div>
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<a href="http://loops.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451d4c869e20133f4b40131970b-320wi" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://loops.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451d4c869e20133f4b40131970b-320wi" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: red;">Rhian's book collection - maybe</span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Red or brown sauce?</span></b></div>
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Red. I can't stand brown. And I only use red on bacon sandwiches.</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Meticulous planner or "straight in with the first draft"?</span></b></div>
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Straight in and sort out the mess later!</div>
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<b><i><span style="color: red;">Hmmm. Let's look again at Rhian's author pic. We at Write For Real are thinking "what about all those post-it notes? Looks pretty planned to us."</span></i></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-59qy6ga8560/VOIklZRauOI/AAAAAAAAAyw/JdhcjfxEtUs/s1600/Author%2Bphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-59qy6ga8560/VOIklZRauOI/AAAAAAAAAyw/JdhcjfxEtUs/s1600/Author%2Bphoto.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Finally- and most importantly: Marmite. Do you love it or hate it?</span></b></div>
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Love it!</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">You will find Rhian Ivory talking about her books at UKYA Birmingham on Saturday 28th February.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">See you there if you've been lucky enough to get your hands on a ticket!</span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c82SXH0ICrc/VOItRBoqdcI/AAAAAAAAAzU/tBKwY69Y3kM/s1600/Blog%2BTour%2BButton%2BPicture%2B(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c82SXH0ICrc/VOItRBoqdcI/AAAAAAAAAzU/tBKwY69Y3kM/s1600/Blog%2BTour%2BButton%2BPicture%2B(1).jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></b></div>
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Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-36372919699710807492015-02-12T08:46:00.000-08:002015-02-20T07:53:56.058-08:00Nosy Crow Masterclass<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c7UIE1ud3HA/VOdYhQNHJ9I/AAAAAAAAAzw/iNiIpmdyznc/s1600/nosy%2Bcrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c7UIE1ud3HA/VOdYhQNHJ9I/AAAAAAAAAzw/iNiIpmdyznc/s1600/nosy%2Bcrow.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
Twenty or so would-be authors huddle in the courtyard of <a href="http://nosycrow.com/">Nosy Crow</a> converted tea warehouse on Lant Street. We are led up twisty iron steps into the Nosy Crow reception area, which has very lovely tree illustration wallpaper and shelves of prizes.<br />
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<a href="http://www.nosycrow.com/images/2506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.nosycrow.com/images/2506.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/nosycrow">Kate Wilson</a>, Managing Director, leads the line-up with a warm and witty welcome, followed by fiction editor,<a href="http://nosycrow.com/about/kirsty-stansfield"> Kirsty Stansfield</a>, who talks about the importance of knowing who you're writing for and having a USP.<br />
She tells to research the market to see what's buoyant but most importantly to realise that trends are cyclical - look at what was successful but has now gone quiet. You can feel us all racking our brains to think of The Next Big Thing. Until Kirsty gives a small smile and said, "let us know when you've found it."<br />
On the dreaded synopsis, she urges us to think about our trailers, hook and blurb: what it is about our character that others will want to read about. Make it easy to pitch and sell. And to remember that 99% of book-buyers are Not The Child.<br />
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Next to speak is The Rescue Princesses' author <a href="http://paulaharrison.jimdo.com/">Paula Harrison</a>, who gives us wise advice on whether a story concept is strong enough for the 5-8 year old bracket.<br />
Think Wish Fulfilment, Wish Fulfilment, Wish Fulfilment.<br />
Keep it narrow in focus.<br />
And each book in a series is a one-off adventure, whereas in 9-12 series the main character needs to grow up and develop - there must be a definite end-point.<br />
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Literary agent <a href="http://www.thebentagency.com/agent_gemma_cooper.php">Gemma Cooper</a> of Bent Agency shows off her bright green skull nails - promoting her client Robin Stevens' new book <a href="http://robin-stevens.co.uk/arsenic-for-tea/">Arsenic For Tea</a> before giving lively advice on submitting to agents.<br />
Did you know that:<br />
the subject line of your e mail acts like a mini-pitch? So get that title working for you! She recommends membership of the wonderful and supportive<a href="http://britishisles.scbwi.org/"> SCBWI</a> as a great addition to your writer's bio in your query letter. There follows a heated debate on whether a children's book can support two protagonists. Gemma's response is yes absolutely, but take care the dual narration doesn't spoil the pace.<br />
Gemma's detailed list of what she'd love to find in the slush pile includes:<br />
toxic girls, glam fantasy, X Files will they - won't they relationship, the new coming of age/ the summer before Stand By Me and anything with animals as the main characters. The new Homeward Bound, anyone?<br />
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Kate Wilson laughs about "this ludicrously subjective industry" before a delicious lunch (I have chicken and avocado sandwiches followed by something yummy with feta cheese).<br />
Lunch is also manuscript critique time with some tactful but frank feedback from the industry professionals and plenty of "ouch" moments with our own writing.<br />
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Our next guest is<a href="https://twitter.com/farmgirlwriter"> Helen Peters</a>, author of <a href="http://nosycrow.com/books/helen-peters">The Secret Hen House Theatre</a> books.<br />
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<a href="http://nosycrow.com/images/914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://nosycrow.com/images/914.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>
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Helen talks us through her writing process, showing us notes and folders and post-its. The first draft is "full of notes-to-self" she tell us, quoting Pamela Johnson: "Writing is a bit like making a film - only you're doing all the jobs." She urges us to read <a href="http://www.cliffmcnish.com/">Cliff McNish</a> on Five Great Story Ideas:<br />
Overcoming the Monster<br />
The Dream Come True<br />
The Good Person Who Cannot Be Kept Down<br />
The Loss of Something Important and...<br />
The Journey<br />
and says the more of these you can stuff into a book the better!<br />
We all struggle to think of ways to make sure all these elements are threatened in our own books.<br />
Great advice re: making a cast-list of characters. Are there any that could be doubled up to stream-line your plot?<br />
Ex English teacher Helen has us all focused and on task as she gives us the best advice I've had on scenes:<br />
"Get in late and get out early".We all scribble away feverishly on the need to drive action by the character's "want" and to have a focal point of action per chapter.<br />
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Heads full to bursting, we listen to fantasy writer <a href="http://www.ellenrenner.com/">Ellen Renner</a> on the importance of world-building:<br />
"It's totally about detail," she says, "but most of it doesn't have to go in the book!"<br />
We are all made to think of a magic power we'd like to have and how it might affect our relationships.<br />
Mine, flying. Problem, wings budding, a constant need to take off and occasionally waking up in a tall tree.<br />
Great advice on including a Mirror Moment in our plot. Sinking feeling as I realise my character doesn't appear to have a midway moment of inner realisation. Yikes. Yet another plot problem to solve...<br />
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Luckily I am saved from despair by the lovely Tom's equally lovely cupcakes and all is well.<br />
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Finally, we are entertained by The Grunts author <a href="http://nosycrow.com/authors-etc/philip-ardagh">Philip Ardagh</a> who has us all in stitches as he regales us with all things scatalogical, along with nuggets of writerly advice.<br />
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After, everyone swaps twitter handles and is treated to a glass of wine before negotiating those twisty steps again.<br />
Now to get back to that plot...<br />
<br />Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878337092357606011.post-25065578547474360732015-02-12T08:28:00.000-08:002015-02-12T08:28:40.484-08:00An Interview with Rhian Ivory <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are delighted that Rhian Ivory has agreed to be interviewed by Write For Real as part of the UKYA Extravaganza Blog Tour.</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.fireflypress.co.uk/sites/default/files/Rhian2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://www.fireflypress.co.uk/sites/default/files/Rhian2.jpg" height="400" width="310" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is the pitch for your current book? Can you sum it up in ten words?</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Two boys live in the same village over one hundred years and suffer the same curse but will history repeat itself or can a new future be drawn?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>What inspired you to write it? What gave you the ideas?</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I dreamt the ending of The boy who drew the future and had to work backwards from that point! I also had some very spooky coincidences as I researched about witchcraft, drawings and prophecies. All of these went into the novel.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Could you tell us when it is due out? </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Boy who drew the Future will be published by <a href="http://www.fireflypress.co.uk/node/162">Firefly Press</a> under my married name Rhian Ivory on September 17th. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can you give us a brief summary of other books you have written?</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I've written three Young Adult novels and one Middle Grade, all of them published by Bloomsbury. I'll now sum them up:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><a href="http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/when-isla-meets-luke-meets-isla-9780747563440/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Isla meets Luke meets Isla</span></a></b><br />
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<a href="http://media.bloomsbury.com/rep/bj/9780747563440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://media.bloomsbury.com/rep/bj/9780747563440.jpg" height="320" width="204" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A stroppy Scottish girl meets chilled out English boy when she is forced to move to Maidstone.<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24.6133346557617px;"> A f</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24.6133346557617px;">riendship fo</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24.6133346557617px;">llows an</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24.6133346557617px;">d then disaster. The novel is told from both their perspectives and charts how they deal with a dramatic event in their lives.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Isla-Luke-Break-Rhian-Tracey/dp/0747566496" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Isla and Luke: Make or Break?</b></a><br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41%2BQWlVpWUL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41%2BQWlVpWUL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The sequel to Isla Meets Luke Meets Isla, it continues their story as they start sixth form college.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Girls-Club-Rhian-Tracey/dp/0747575673">The Bad Girls Club</a></span></b><br />
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<a href="http://images.mrcdn.net/ebay/9780747575672.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.mrcdn.net/ebay/9780747575672.jpg" height="320" width="217" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 24.6133346557617px;">Four girls are forced to form a book club and review real YA novels. They go on their local radio station once a month and discuss books such as Anne Frank's Diary, a dystopian novel called Daz 4 Zoe and other books. The novels they read help them deal with events happening in their own lives as they are tested by all the usual trials of teenage life.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.bokkilden.no/SamboWeb/produkt.do?produktId=2727770" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 24.6133346557617px;"><b>True Colours</b></a></div>
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<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51D0S2bjt9L._UY250_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51D0S2bjt9L._UY250_.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 24.6133346557617px;">Rosie has always wanted to see a fortune teller but until now her mum has always had something against them. When Rosie asks the fortune teller to help her see the future she is given a different kind of gift which allows Rosie to look past people's little white lies and see their true colours.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 24.6133346557617px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 24.6133346557617px;"><b>Do you find yourself returning to any common themes in your books for teenagers?</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 24.6133346557617px;"> Well, I seem to have a bit of a thing about seeing the future! This mostly comes down to being nosy and incredibly impatient. A lot of my characters are often the new girl/the new boy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 24.6133346557617px;">Having moved around a lot as a teen this is something I can relate to and seems to sneak into my writing. Friendship is another constant theme throughout my books, as well as feeling not alone but perhaps a little bit different to everyone else.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 24.6133346557617px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 24.6133346557617px;"><b>Which author's style is most like yours and why?</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 24.6133346557617px;"> I am a big fan of Marcus Sedgwick's writing and love the way he evokes atmosphere in his writing. This is something I strive to achieve myself.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Um, and if you were a piece of furniture, what would it be and why?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A bookcase of course!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you so much for letting us interview you!</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't forget, you can see Rhian Ivory on February 28th in Birmingham, along with thirty-four other YA authors.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can follow Rhian here:</span></b></div>
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Olivia Levezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13169618320579989651noreply@blogger.com0