#SeaBreezeSummer Blog Tour

How excited am I????? Not only am I kicking off the blog tour of the exciting cover reveals for Abbi Glines  amazing Sea Breeze series, but I also get to drool over the hottie on the new cover of  Just For Now!

I loved the Sea Breeze series. In fact, Abbi Glines was the first New Adult author I actually read and since then I’ve been totally hooked. If you haven’t read any of the books in this series yet, then this is the time to start.  I’m so excited to see the stunning new covers.   Check out below, the new cover of Just For Now.

The book publishes in paperback on the 17th July, so you don’t have long to wait to get your hands on it. To follow the other cover reveals this week, check out the blogs taking part below.

This gorgeous new cover will appear later on most e-tailer sites. Check it out here: http://bit.ly/JustForNowEB

Let the #SeaBreezeSummer begin!

Secret Serendipity Seven with Sarah Alderson

As part of the Come Back to Me tour, I am pleased to welcome back Sarah Alderson to tell us seven secrets about her books. Her new adult book, Come Back To Me has been written under the pen name of Mila Gray. Check out details of the competition Sarah is running at the end of the post.

7 things you don’t know about my books

1. I wrote Hunting Lila on a borrowed laptop on my bed, every evening after work. It took me four months. It sold to Simon & Schuster 3 months later.

2. The character of Alex Wakeman was based in part on the actor Alex Skarsgard, after I saw him in Generation Kill playing a Marine. But I borrowed my husband’s eyes and personality (yes, I am the luckiest woman to be married to a real-life Alex Wakeman).

3. I never thought about being a writer until I was 31 and quit my job and needed something to pay the bills (oh, how ironic).

4. I have two books sitting in my drop box folder that I haven’t yet published. One is a dystopia set on a slave-carrying ship in space, and the other is a literary fiction book based on a relationship I had in my early 20s with a South African guy who grew up under apartheid.

5. Though Come Back To Me is my first new adult book, I’ve actually published an erotica too - under a pen name I will never tell anyone. I took the world from Fated and put a twist on it!

6. I set all my books in places that I’ve been. I love California and New York. I nannied in Nantucket. That’s why I set all my books there.

7. I’ve just written the screenplay for the Hunting Lila movie. The BFI funded the development of the script and we have an amazing production team behind it. Now we just need to find a director and finance it!

Sarah has set up the Rafflecopter contest which you can enter below.The prizes include a £60 voucher to the store of your choice, £20 Amazon Voucher and signed books. You just need to review the book on Amazon and Like my Mila Gray page on FB to be in with a chance! It is only open for 8 days so you need to be quick to read and review!

There are two ways to enter listed below.

A Rafflecopter giveaway

And the link to the Rafflecopter page on my FB.

To find out more about Sarah Alderson:

Twitter/Facebook/Website

The Crimson Ribbon by Katherine Clements

Sometimes death comes like an arrow, sudden and swift, an unforeseen shot from an unheeded bow. Sometimes death comes slowly, like the first small sparks of a green-wood fire, smoking and smouldering for the longest time before the kindling flares and the heart of the blaze glows with fierce, consuming heat.

Published by Headline in March 2014

Goodreads Review

England 1646. The Civil War is raging and society turned upside down. 

What should be a rare moment of blessing for the town of Ely takes a brutal turn and Ruth Flowers is left with little choice but to flee the household of Oliver Cromwell, the only home she has ever known. On the road to London, Ruth sparks an uneasy alliance with a deserting soldier, the battle-scarred and troubled Joseph. But when she reaches the city, it’s in the Poole household that she finds refuge. 

Lizzie Poole, beautiful and charismatic, enthrals the vulnerable Ruth, who binds herself inextricably to Lizzie’s world. But in these troubled times, Ruth is haunted by fears of her past catching up with her. And as Lizzie’s radical ideas escalate, Ruth finds herself carried to the heart of the country’s conflict, to the trial of a king.

Based on the real figure of the extraordinary Elizabeth Poole, The Crimson Ribbon conjures a mesmerising story of two women’s obsession, superstition and hope.

********

Reviewed by Sophie Duffy

This vibrant novel is set between the Fens and London during the English Civil War. It is the story of Ruth, a servant of Oliver Cromwell, and her relationship with Lizzie, an enigmatic character based on Elizabeth Poole. The book starts at the point where Ruth must leave her home, on the run, after her mother is killed in a witch hunt, knowing that she will face the same fate if she doesn’t escape. 

Ruth’s mother was a midwife who knew the old ways of charms and herbs, a God-fearing woman, not a devil worshipper. But these were dark days of terror, a time when there was a thin line between the words of God and the words of Satan, a point in English history where the kingdom turned in on itself, bringing about civil war, regicide and genocide.

Lizzie Poole is a charismatic figure. Strong-willed, outspoken and highly politicised, she has a religious fervour and a desire to do God’s will. Clements cleverly allows us to work out for ourselves how far Lizzie’s zeal is God-given, and how much is of her own making. She is a woman out of her time, a writer, a pamphleteer, a preacher, a sexual being, a prophetess. It is no wonder Ruth is entirely under her spell.

Clements uses a first person, present tense narrative that is immediate and engaging. It throws us into Ruth’s unraveling world and we travel with her, holding her hand and feeling her fear, excitement and love. Ruth is naïve in many ways, but she grows in strength over the course of the novel, whereas Lizzie appears more erratic and diminished – both physically and emotionally. 

And then there’s Joseph, a troubled deserter from the army. Ruth and Joseph form an unlikely, uneasy bond that threads its way throughout the book. We also meet Oliver Cromwell himself, portrayed in a different way to his usual ‘warts and all’ image. But we also know that power corrupts. Power does terrible things to men; women bear the brunt of this power – here the horrific, brutal aftermath of the Battle of Naseby is shown through Joseph’s experiences and Cromwell is revealed to be a man who has lost his compassion for the individual in pursuit of his desire to be Lord Protector, a king by any other name.

This is a time of upheaval. The printing press means that political pamphlets can be circulated to the common person. New voices are heard, including Lizzie’s. It’s a time of great change in the church, the non-conformists pursuing religious freedom from ‘Popery’. It’s a time when distant places become possibilities as ships sail for the New World. 

This story may be set centuries ago, but it is relevant today, its language fresh and lively. An astonishingly assured debut novel.

The Write Way with Maureen Doyle McQuerry

Today, I am really pleased to welcome author, Maureen Doyle McQuerry onto the blog, to answer questions about the way she writes.

1) Time Out of Time recently published in the UK. What kind of reception have you received for this book?

It came out in the U.S. at the same time and was featured on the cover of Booklist and named one of their top ten children’s fantasies for the year. The reviews have been good, but I’d love to hear more from UK readers especially since the sequel takes place in… (spoiler) Scotland.

2) Being an experienced writer, do you find the process gets easier with each book you write?

Yes and no. Yes, because with each book I learn so much more as an author. I’m better at thinking my plots through now and I absolutely know stories are about the way events change characters. I don’t write myself into corners as much. But the process for each book is a bit different. Beyond the Door and the sequel, The Telling Stone, were conceived as three books originally and I had to find a way to make them into two. And with a series, you have an arc in each book, but also one for the series.

3) What kind of research did you need to carry out before writing Time Out of Time? 

I did so much research into Celtic mythology, myth in general,  and into the legends surrounding the Stone of Destiny.  I also needed to be familiar with Scotland, Edinburgh and Dunsinanne Hill. Thank goodness for Google Earth and notes from trip to Edinburgh many years ago. My greatest research break through came in an unexpected way. I came across a site Stravaiging Around Scotland http://www.stravaiging.com/  written by Andy Sweet who is a photographer and a mountain biker. The site is well developed now, but it was just starting out when I found it. I asked Andy a huge favour: would he be willing to cycle up Dunsinanne and take photos for me from several specific viewpoints. He sent me twenty or so photos! You never know what connections the research trail will lead to.

4) Do you try and aim for a daily word target when writing?

It depends where I am in my process. In the beginning when I’m just starting to figure things out and plotting, no. But as I get to the sticky middle, a word count forces me to keep going. And in the end, there is a rush to the finish and a word count helps there too. 

5) Do you edit as you go along or do you wait until the first draft is finished?

A little bit of both. I always read over the previous day’s work and edit a bit as I read. My critique partner edits and polishes every scene until it gleams before he moves on to the next. I don’t do that. But it means I have to do more rewrites at the end.

6) When is your ideal time to write? Morning, afternoon or evening?

Definitely mornings and then I often come back and add a bit more at night. In the afternoons, my attention falters and I need to get up and move.

7) Which authors inspired you whilst growing up?

So many and at different periods. I loved the children’s classics: Narnia, Little Women, The Borrowers, The Once and Future King. Then I read the Lord of the Rings series and my life was changed. I wanted to write like that. Susan Cooper and Jane Yolen reinforced my love of myth.  As I got older and serious about writing I fell for Joan Didion’s prose, Annie Dillard, James Agee and poetry! I came to writing fiction through poetry and I still love to read a poem a day.

I love atmospheric writing and some of the best comes from Great Britain!

Oh, and Dorothy Sayers. I’m a little bit in love with Peter Whimsey.

8) If you could have written any other book in the world, what would it be?

Again there are so many. I love the voice in I Capture the Castle , the whimsy in Peace Like a River, the way the landscape becomes a character in Winter’s Bone. But probably like the rest of the world, I’d say The Lord of the Rings series.

9) What are you working on right now?

My agent is shopping a YA adult suspense novel set in a near future Seattle that involves a mind link between two protagonists and mysterious Codex. It’s part mystery, part SciFi, part literary suspense.

And I’m polishing a two generation family saga set in 1919 New York and 1955 San Jose, CA. It’s literary fiction but still has a fairy tale thread. The story of Hansel & Gretel runs through it, the story of two children who survive against all odds.

10) What advice would you give unpublished authors?

“sheer plod makes plough down sillion Shine.” That’s from Hopkins “The Windhover.”  So much of the journey to publication is sheer plod, not quitting, showing up at the page every day. And call it fairy dust or serendipity, but put yourself in the way of luck. Make friends, go to conferences, join a critique group, be generous. It’s hard for luck to find you when you’re home alone with your computer.

Time out of Time is Maureen’s latest book to be published.

Book Summary

With his love of learning and the game of Scrabble, Timothy James feels like the only person who understands him is his older sister, Sarah, and he’s fairly certain nothing interesting will ever happen to him. But one night, while his parents and sister are away, the door opens, and mythical creatures appear in his own living room! Soon, a mystery of unparalleled proportions begins to unfold, revealing an age-old battle of Light against Dark, and Timothy must embark on a quest to prevent the Dark from controlling the future and changing the past. But he can’t complete the quest alone. Timothy has to team up with his sister and the school bully, Jessica, to face an ancient evil, and in the process, this unlikely trio discover they are each more than meets the eye.

To find out more about Maureen Doyle McQuerry:

Website/ Twitter/ Facebook

Fall From India Place by Samantha Young

I’d made a promise to myself when I stepped onto the cobbled streets of Edinburgh on the way to my first teaching job that I’d be the kind of teacher who would do whatever it took to reach my students. Never mind that now keeping that promise meant embarrassing myself and them with my fantastically awful drawing skills.

Published in June 2014 by Piatkus

Pages – 283

Summary

When Hannah Nichols last saw Marco D’Alessandro, five long years ago, he broke her heart. The bad boy with a hidden sweet side was the only guy Hannah ever loved—and the only man she’s ever been with. After one intense night of giving into temptation, Marco took off, leaving Scotland and Hannah behind. Shattered by the consequences of their night together, Hannah has never truly moved on.
Leaving Hannah was the biggest mistake of Marco’s life, something he has deeply regretted for years. So when fate reunites them, he refuses to let her go without a fight. Determined to make her his, Marco pursues Hannah, reminding her of all the reasons they’re meant to be together.…
But just when Marco thinks they’re committed to a future together, Hannah makes a discovery that unearths the secret pain she’s been hiding from him, a secret that could tear them apart before they have a real chance to start over again.

******

This is one of those books that has you cursing by the end of it. Cursing that it’s finished, as you wave goodbye fondly to the characters you have met. Cursing that you didn’t start the series right at the beginning.  I now have to get every last book in the Dublin series, so that I can meet the whole family properly.

It isn’t a necessity that you read the previous books, but I think it may have helped me a little during the first few characters, where we are introduced to an abundance of characters, who I felt lost among. In hindsight, if I’d read the previous books, these lovely characters would’ve been like old friends. So my advice would be to either read the previous novels, or bear with the many introductions in the first few chapters as you will grow to love them all.

I can’t say I loved Hannah to begin with. I felt she was a little spoilt. However as the story progressed, she grew on me. When I discovered her past, I could see why she was treated so gently by the rest of the family. Now Marco was a whole different story. I loved him as soon as he turned up in the book. He oozed hotness as he did everything he could to sweep Hannah off her feet.

This book isn’t just full of sexual tension and hot guys. There is so much more to it, as it deals with some very heavy subjects. I’d love to share those with you, but that would be giving  away an important aspect of the story. The theme of family unity is strong within the story and it made me yearn for a large family.

All I can say is read this book!

Calling all fans of Abbi Glines and Jamie McGuire, meet Britain’s equivalent – Samantha Young.

If you love hot romance within real relationships then this is the book for you. Personally I am really looking forward to exploring the author’s back catalogue, so that I can get to know the rest of the family.

The Case of the Exploding Loo by Rachel Hamilton

I collapse on to the sofa and stare at the newspaper headline.

Wiped out?

WIPED OUT?

Dad hasn’t been ‘wiped out’. He’s gone mussing, that’s all. The reporter changed the facts to make a toilet-paper joke. That’s just rude.

Published in May 2014 by Simon and Schuster

Pages – 288

Summary

Quirky twelve year old Noelle (Know-All) Hawkins may be one of the brightest girls in her class but even she can't explain how her dad, wacky scientist Big Brain Brian, spontaneously combusted while sitting in a portaloo. It's true that he was working on a new top secret Brain Ray machine and was on the point of a great break-through when he vanished - could this have had something to do with his disappearance? Know-All is sure all is not as it seems and with the help of her sister Holly she is determined to find out what really happened to her dad!

******

When Professor Brian ‘Big Brain’ Hawkins mysteriously disappears during a portaloo explosion, leaving only his smouldering shoes behind as proof of identity, his daughter, Noelle takes it upon herself to find out what really happened. With an IQ of 157 and a photographic memory, she investigates the situation in true Sherlockian style, cleverly flavoured with her humorous interpretation of events as they happen. If Miranda Hart wrote Middle Grade fiction, then this is what she would write. With its toilet humour and ‘zany brainy’ wise cracks, this book had me giggling away to myself from start to finish.  With each new chapter, I thought it couldn’t get funnier, yet I would find another situation to laugh at. The illustrations only added emphasis to the hilarity of the plot.

All the characters lifted off the page, making them quirky, unique and easily identifiable. In fact, they were so well written, they could each star in their own novels. The one that outshines them all though, is Noelle, who proves that it is possible to be geeky and cool at the same time.  Her sister, Holly has a dangerous streak running through her veins, bringing humour to unlikely items such as a chainsaw.

The heart of the story is a mystery and I loved that at various intervals through the book there are recaps on all the clues that Noelle has discovered. There are lots of unusual connections such as the colour turquoise, which turn out to be vital to solving the case. The whole plot sets off at a manic pace, as the situation becomes more bizarre with each chapter.

Aimed at the 9 to 12 year old bracket, this book will appeal to all, including reluctant readers and adults who are still young at heart.

Rowena House and the War Girls.

Debut author and fellow Book Bounder, Rowena House, recently won a writing competition. The winning story was chosen to be published alongside some very well known YA authors in War Girls, which was published on the 5th of June. I am really pleased to welcome Rowena onto the blog to tell us all about how her story was chosen. 

I’ll never forget the buzz in the lecture room at Bath Spa University when we learnt that Andersen Press was running a short story competition just for us - the Masters students in creative writing for young people. 

The rules turned out to be simple: it had to be set during World War One, the main character had to be a girl, and the story had to be suitable for 11+ readers. The prize? Publication!  I jumped at the chance, not only because I really wanted to be published, but also because I already had an idea for a story.

A few years earlier I’d seen a TV documentary about a terrible event that began at a British military camp in northern France. (I won’t say what because that’s the point of the story!) I immediate began wondering how a young French girl might have been caught up in this event.

Before I could begin, however, I had to give myself permission to write about a subject as appalling as World War One. After all, I wasn’t there so how could I possibly know what it was like?  I was already researching the history of the war, but that wasn’t enough. I needed a closer, more personal connection. So I studied my grandfather’s diary from the Dardanelles, listened to veterans on the Imperial War Museum’s sound archive, and trawled the internet for letters and diaries. Then I took a copy of the complete works of Wilfred Owen to Étaples, the town where I knew my story had to end. 

Owen’s war poems had upset me hugely when I read them at school, and they still colour my attitude to war today. Reading them again in streets where he walked, where soldiers and nurses dealt daily with death, and the townspeople heard heavy artillery pounding the Front: these things created an emotional bridge to the past, and allowed me to ‘become’ my main character, Angelique Lacroix, and to imagine how she would have felt coming to this town.

Her story starts hundreds of miles south of Étaples, deep in the countryside. She is a 14-year-old peasant girl who works hard, helping her mother run their small family farm. She’s already left school, and only meets her friends once a week when she takes their washing to the village lavoir - a big stone trough where all the local women do their laundry and gossip. 

One day, the postman delivers fateful news: her father is dead, killed on a distant battlefield. After mass, Angelique makes herself a promise: the farm will remain exactly the same until her brother comes home from the Front. ‘I think of it like a magical spell. If I can stop time, if nothing ever changes, then maybe Pascal won’t change either.’ But a storm spoils their harvest, her mother falls sick, then the soldiers come ... As Angelique struggles across war-torn France, in a desperate bid to save her home and her brother’s inheritance, a new danger stirs - a danger more deadly than World War One. 

When Andersen Press emailed to say my story had won the competition, and would I like to come to London to sign a contract and discuss edits, I felt so happy it was almost unreal, like an adrenalin rush of pure joy. It took several months to tighten the plot, copy edit and proof read, but then in the post came two copies of War Girls.

Tearful and excited, I opened the beautiful front cover and there it was: my story, The Marshalling of Angelique’s Geese, alongside tales from Anne Fine, Melvin Burgess, Theresa Breslin, Sally Nicholls and four other authors I very much admire. I felt tremendously proud, not just to see my name next to such amazing writers (which is, of course, fantastic) but also to think that each of our characters is a guide to one fragment of the great and terrible story of the ‘war to end all wars’. 

What a beautiful and inspiring post!

The War Girls is available to buy right now.

Say Her Name by James Dawson

Drip, drip, drip.

Drip, drip, drip.

Drip, drip, drip.

This was really starting to get on her nerves. Taylor Keane tightened the kitchen tap with all her might, even using a tea towel to gain a better grip, but the relentless dripping continued.  Where was it coming from?

Published 5th June 2014 by Hot Key Books

Pages – 304

Roberta 'Bobbie' Rowe is not the kind of person who believes in ghosts. A Halloween dare at her ridiculously spooky boarding school is no big deal, especially when her best friend Naya and cute local boy Caine agree to join in too. They are ordered to summon the legendary ghost of 'Bloody Mary': say her name five times in front of a candlelit mirror, and she shall appear... But, surprise surprise, nothing happens. Or does it?
Next morning, Bobbie finds a message on her bathroom mirror... five days... but what does it mean? And who left it there? Things get increasingly weird and more terrifying for Bobbie and Naya, until it becomes all too clear that Bloody Mary was indeed called from the afterlife that night, and she is definitely not a friendly ghost. Bobbie, Naya and Caine are now in a race against time before their five days are up and Mary comes for them, as she has come for countless others before...

********

Well! Mr Dawson has shown a another side to his prose! And by golly it’s scary!  I knew this book might make me feel a little uneasy, but I wasn’t expecting it to make me desperate for a roommate when I stayed on a writing retreat two days after. In the middle of the night, I was woken by a dripping noise which I actually couldn’t find and spend the rest of the night with the light on. I blame James Dawson completely.

I loved the plot of this book. It has me on the edge of  my seat, holding my breath, with one eye furtively glancing over my shoulder to make sure I was mistaken by the shadow I saw creeping over the mirror.  This book gives a modern twist on a well known urban legend, that many kids over the years have tried out. Not so sure they will be as many volunteers willing to  give it a go after reading this. Bloody Mary reminded me of the  evil character from The Ring, so she only heightened my nightmares while reading this book. She was definitely one of the creepiest characters I’ve come across in a long time.

The characters were strong and their fear really flew off the page. With the imminent threat of something nasty occurring within five days; the pace really was a race against time. I liked the sub plot which centred around the budding relationship between Bobbie and Caine. They were really sweet together, especially as Caine was first portrayed as a bit of a lad.

I love the way James Dawson writes. With each storyline he delivers, he just gets better and better. I honestly didn’t think he could top Cruel Summer, and yet he does.

If you loved the Point Horror books, or grew up enjoying horror legends such as Richard Laymon, then this book  really is for you.  A sensational, super scary spine-chiller that will  make you sleep with the light on!

Minty by Christina Banach

Published in May 2014 by Three Hares Publishing

388 pages in paperback – also available as an e-book

Extract and summary from publisher

“Minty! Stay right there. Wait until I get help!” screams Jess, though I can barely hear her above the crashing waves. “I’m going for Dad!”

Fourteen-year-old twins Minty and Jess are inseparable. Maybe they bicker now and then, even crave a bit of space once in a while. But they have a connection. Unbreakable. Steadfast. Nothing can tear them apart. Until a family trip to the coast puts their bond in jeopardy. As Minty tries to rescue her dog from drowning she ends up fighting for her life. Will Minty survive? If she doesn’t, how will Jess cope without her? Only the stormy sea has the answer.

Minty is a story of love, loss and coming to terms with consequences. It’s a spiritual tale that will linger in your mind long after you’ve read the final word.

*****

Reviewed by K. M. Lockwood

If you want a contemporary family drama that deals with loss in a compassionate way, then this may well be the book for you. Whilst ‘Minty’ does cover grief, the story unfolds through action and relationships and humour too.

It’s told from Minty’s 14 year old point of view and involves a small cast of characters. There’s honesty and emotional intensity – and some well-paced action particularly at the beginning. However it’s the debates about important issues such as mourning and selfishness that stay with you. 

I particularly liked the delicate sense of place. It is anchored in Scotland – yet not in such a way to put Sassenachs like me off. Similarly the inclusion of the twins’ Roman interests gives both insight into customs and beliefs - and made the characters more memorable.

Without giving spoilers, the relationship with Jack is nicely handled and gives rise to comic moments at times – and the inclusion of the twin dogs Romulus and Remus is both poignant and engaging. I don’t think I’m giving too much away if I say you might want a box of hankies to hand.

As you might guess from the stylish cover, there is both mystery and hope in this tale. I would recommend it for confident readers who like emotional family dramas – and enjoy thinking about different beliefs.

Letter To My Younger Self by Michelle Harrison

Day 2 of Michelle Harrison’s Fairy Quest

To celebrate the publication of Michelle Harrison’s magical new novel, One Wish, Simon & Schuster Children’s has set up its very own fairy quest. To be in with a chance of winning a Thirteen Treasures goodie bag, all you have to do is visit each of the five blogs in the banner to the right over the course of this week.

Each blog will have one question associated with its content. Take the first letter from the answer of each of those questions to reveal the identity of a character in One Wish. For example…

If the answers each day were Red, Oak, Whisper, Apple and Night, the final answer would be ROWAN.

When you have the name of the character, please send your answer to childrensbooks@simonandschuster.co.uk with the subject header FAIRY QUEST. Entries will close at midnight on Wednesday 11^th June.

The question you will need to ask at the end of the blog is: Michelle tells her younger self to try harder in Maths because it will save a fortune in what?

Dear Michelle

For a sixteen year old, you've got your head screwed on pretty firmly, haven't you? That's what everyone tells you. You know what you want out of life: to be an author and illustrator. Well, believe it or not, you'll have a book deal before you've hit thirty.

You don't believe it, though, not really. It's a dream, or at the very least a reality you don't expect until you're much, much older. Because people like you aren't authors, are they? Not proper ones, anyway. But you're good at dreaming, when you're awake as well as asleep, and much better at it than you even know. You're also sensible enough to realise that what you want isn't going to be handed to you easily. You're going to have to work for it. You know it's a way off yet, and that you'll have to do jobs you don't like. In a strange way, you'll enjoy the challenge. All those hours of boredom will force your mind to wander, and that's how you'll start thinking up your first book. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

You're still only sixteen. You're doing all the right things that will set you on the path to publication . . . but you need to enjoy yourself a bit more. Don't be so afraid to bend the rules. Sometimes that's where the best ideas come from.

Stop worrying about what people think of you. In years to come, some of those who sneered at you and called you a swot will congratulate you on your success and express regret at not having tried harder themselves.

It's no good telling you not to be upset when you don't win the school art award you wanted so much. It doesn't feel like it at the moment, but winning the English award instead will mean much more to you later on, plus it's a good exercise in disappointment when all those rejection letters start coming in. 

The next two years are going to be tough. One thing – one person – in particular is going to devastate you. They will tell you that you never have anything interesting to say, and it will crush you. Let it. You might be damaged, but even broken things can be mended. It'll be the making of you. You'll want to run away. You will run away; to a college far from home where no one knows you. There you'll meet a brilliant teacher who will show you a book of art and folklore all about fairies, and you'll find that suddenly you have plenty of interesting things to say. So much so, that you'll write a book about them. Four books, in fact. 

I can see your look of disbelief: right now you don't think you'll ever want to write about anything other than ghosts and romance. That's all right, you'll move on to other subjects when you're ready (including some terrible poetry about that boy you like at college). For now, just keep writing your Point Horror inspired stories and take better care of them, because when they go missing in a house move, you'll always regret it.

Keep reading, too. Not just Christopher Pike – there are so many other authors waiting to be discovered. You'll get to them eventually and wonder why it took you so long. We both know you won't though, because you're stubborn. Fine. Just don't stop reading. It's what got you here.

P.S. Try harder in Maths. You might think artists and writers don't need to but you'll change your mind when you realise you could save a fortune in accountants' fees . . .

One Wish by Michelle Harrison was published in May 2014 by Simon and Schuster. Check out the trailer for the book below.

To find out more about Michelle Harrison:

Website/ Twitter

To find out more about Spinney Wicket, the home of One Wish, please click here.