Happy Christmas!

Hi everyone,

I have to apologise for my lack of blogging throughout December. I started with great plans and they all seem to have gone to pot. I haven’t even managed to  get onto Twitter either. And don’t even mention writing, because that definitely stopped the moment I finished NaNoWriMo.

At the moment, I am working rather long hours in the run up to the festive period, so there hasn’t been a lot of spare time. Any time I have had, has been spent organising Christmas and my twin daughter’s birthday. So I am going to admit defeat and take a blogging break until the beginning of January, when I hope to be back and raring to go. I will have reviews of such fantastic books as The Art of Being Normal, not to mention event reports, showcasing the new books coming from Macmillan Children’s Books and Walker Books. I plan to get as much reading in as possible over the next couple of weeks and be a better blogger in 2014. There will be a few changes. I really want to start writing more personal posts about my writing and crafting abilities, so I hope you will be patient with my while I move things around.

So I wish all my blogging friends, lovely readers and wonderful authors and publishing peeps a very happy Christmas and a totally awesome New Year. Let’s make 2015 bigger and brighter!

Congratulations Kathryn Evans!

I desperately wanted to share this press release with you, because this is about one of my favourite people! Kathryn Evans is an amazing writer and finally the rest of the world will be able to read her amazing book.  Congratulations to an inspirational woman! I will pass you over to the lovely people at Usborne who sent out this press release on Friday.

Usborne acquires ‘incredible’ young adult debut novel

Sarah Stewart, Senior Fiction Editor at Usborne, has acquired World English Language Rights from Sophie Hicks, The Sophie Hicks Agency for More of Me by Kathryn Evans. 
For publication in summer 2016, in paperback.
Stewart says of this book:
“More of Me quite simply has the most original, compelling and incredible concept I’ve ever come across – and yet it’s so convincingly presented that you believe every second. The result is truly unique and utterly unforgettable – a book that demands to be talked about. We are so thrilled and proud to be the publisher to introduce Teva’s shocking and extraordinary story to the world.”
This debut novel will make young adults think about the concept of identity, and what it means to ‘grow up’.
Teva is sixteen. She goes to school, studies for her exams and spends time with her boyfriend, Ollie, and best friend, Maddy. To the rest of the world, she’s normal. But when she goes home, she’s anything but. Because at home there are twelve other Tevas – nearly one for every year she’s been alive. Because once a year, Teva separates into two, leaving a younger version of herself stuck at the same age, in the same house…watching the new Teva live the life that she’d been living.
And since Teva entered her teens, her strange existence has become a battleground. Because when suddenly there are boys at stake, friends lost and lives snatched away, Teva has a fight on her hands. With herself.
As her sixteenth year rolls around, Teva is all too aware that time is running out. She knows that another version of herself will soon be breaking free and taking over her life, and her future. Desperate to prevent this from happening, Teva decides to find out more about her past. In doing so, she finds new empathy for her younger selves and, when she comes head to head with her fifteen-year-old ‘sister’, she comes to realize just what a difference a year can make. 
Usborne Marketing & Publicity Manager, Anna Howorth, says:  “It is testament to Kathryn’s talent that she makes this plotline seem entirely plausible; I was completely swept away. Her characterisation of the different versions of Teva, each at a different age, is insightful and thought-provoking.” 

About Kathryn:  In addition to writing, running a fruit farm and raising two children, Kathryn Evans loves to belly dance and fences competitively. She is Finance Co-ordinator for SCBWI and can’t wait for the day when she holds More of Me in her hands at SCBWI’s annual mass book launch. This is her first book. You can follow Kathryn on Twitter as @mrsbung

Tales from the Crafting Corner (2)

I had hoped that this would be a regular post, but it seems I might have chosen the wrong time of year to do it. As the festive season kick starts into action, I am finding myself working lots of hours so the crafting is nearly at a standstill. Not to mention, reading. My poor blog was abandoned all week, as I struggled to play catch up. However I have plans for this week, so I thought I would share those with you in the hope that once Christmas arrives, I might have time to stop and craft.
Firstly I want to share my Christmas present with you. Well, I haven’t technically got it yet, as it has to be kept for Christmas, but it is in the house.

This little beauty!!!! I’ve been after a new sewing machine since I moved to Sussex, but never got round to replacing my very basic Brother one. But since working at Hobbycraft, I’ve been desperate to start sewing again and as I got a very good deal on this, I honestly couldn’t resist. I bought some fat quarters to go with it and I also have a couple of sewing kits I want to use it for too. I’m going back to basics as it has been a long time since I used a sewing machine and it looks like my daughter might have to show me how to use it again.

You may remember that a couple of weeks ago, I showed you my pom pom wreath. Well as that one was for a demonstration at work, I decided to make another one for home. I am half way through it and hope to get it finished by the end of the weekend.  Then I hope to start making the sequin decorations above. I have a little obsession going on with polystyrene at the moment and I find myself coming up with different ways to decorate it.

I also plan to make these. Apologies for the poor picture. If you can’t work out what they are, I can tell you. They are wine glass charms which have been cross stitched onto plastic canvas. They are then attached to wire rings which you can put around your wine glasses so that you don’t muddle them up for Christmas. Aren’t they fab. They should take about 2 hours each to make, so I am hoping to get them done for Christmas. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
So that’s all from the crafting corner of the blog this week. Look out for lots of book posts this week.