The #PerfectlyFlawed Ideal Cast with Cecelia Ahern

Now this will definitely be my last post for a while. I'm so pleased to welcome best selling author, Cecelia Ahern onto the blog to tell us all about her ideal cast for her thrilling sequel to Flawed, Perfect. 

First of all, my disclaimer is that my boring answer to this question is that I’m really happy with any actor who is qualified for the role - it does not have to be somebody famous, or already established, I love new talent! However, that is not the answer anybody wants to hear so in order to play along here are some of the thoughts I have on who’d be great in these roles!

Celestine:

Celestine moves from logical girl who follows the rules, who thinks in black and white, to being somebody who questions authority, who questions society, who questions herself and as a result discovers her own strong opinions, finds her voice and becomes a person of influence and a great natural leader. She is somebody who is quietly confident which is a great strength, she doesn’t scream and shout her views but through her actions and her inner strength inspires. I think actresses Zendaya Coleman or Amandla Stenberg both have this inner confidence that inspire people, are passionate activists, and most importantly they are great actresses. 

Judge Crevan: 

Bosco is a ‘bad guy’ but he’s not a cartoon villan. He’s human, he’s charming, he’s likeable. People trust in what he says. He sees himself as somebody who is trying to protect his country from falling into the hands of weak and bad leaders. His family started the Guild to push out any weaknesses in government leadership so that they would never suffer as a nation again, and while he believes his actions are for the good of his fellow people, of course he is going about it in the wrong way. He also goes even further when his wife passes away and brands the doctor for missing the diagnosis. So for this reason I think Nikolaj Coster- Waldau (Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones) would be an ideal Judge Crevan. Or how about Tom Cruise? A likeable bad guy, someone who can pass shocking laws with soothing talk and a twinkle in his blue eyes.

Summer:

Celestine’s mother is a famous model. I picture somebody like Heidi Klum, Gwyneth Paltrow, January Jones. Summer appears serene and calm at all times, she believes in always presenting her best side, putting her best foot forward and being appropriate at all times. She believes that people should always appear perfect and never let their weaknesses or faults be shown, in character and in appearances. 

Art: 

Art is Bosco Crevan’s son and is charming like him. While his dad is more serious in his professional role, and they are both grieving the loss of Art’s mother, he copes by being the funny guy. He turns every dark serious situation into something funny as it’s the only way he can cope. Dylan Minette? I watched him in ‘Alexander and the Terrible Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day’ and thought that he was terrific. 

Ewan:

Celestine’s little brother is terrified of her when she becomes Flawed. He’s afraid to talk to her, he’s afraid to pass the salt at the dinner table in case he’s seen as helping her - which is against the law. It’s heart breaking for Celestine to see how terrified her brother is, and the trauma he’s going through. 

Angelina Tinder:

Natalie Dormer. I think she’d be a fantastic Angelina. She can be so haunting, which is what Angelina becomes after she’s branded. She can’t cope at all with how her life has changed, it seems to darken her soul.

Colleen Tinder:

Elle Fanning would be a brilliant daughter to Angelina. She feels betrayed and incredibly hurt by Celestine when Celestine ignores her after her mother’s branding and decides to get revenge, which goes horribly wrong. 

Carrick:

I’m in love with Carrick. He barely speaks in Flawed, Celestine and his communication is based on expression, on shared looks, hands pressed up against the glass. I thought it would be so powerful to have a silent relationship. Celestine learns to read his moods through his eyes. He is very vocal in Perfect and has an important role and I don’t know of any actors who can play him but somebody with a really strong presence, determined, mysterious and solid. When Celestine sees him first she thinks he’s a soldier, he has that demeanor and physique and in a way she’s right. 

Alpha:

Octavia Spencer. I love Octavia. She can in fact, be anyone she wants to be! Alpha’s mission is to protect the children of the Flawed, she has desperately tried to have her own children and can’t. Her husband has been branded Flawed and for that reason can’t adopt but she sets up charities for families affected by the Flawed community and takes in children who leave the FAB institutions and is secretly doing all that she can for the rights of Flawed children. 

***

Thank you Cecelia for picking an excellent cast. 

Summary

Celestine North lives in a society that demands perfection. After she was branded Flawed by a morality court, Celestine's life has completely fractured - all her freedoms gone.

Since Judge Crevan has declared her the number one threat to the public, she has been a ghost, on the run with the complicated, powerfully attractive Carrick, the only person she can trust. But Celestine has a secret - one that could bring the entire Flawed system crumbling to the ground.

Judge Crevan is gaining the upper hand, and time is running out for Celestine. With tensions building, Celestine must make a choice: save only herself, or risk her life to save all the Flawed. And, most important of all, can she prove that to be human in itself is to be Flawed…?

To find out more about Cecelia Ahern: 

Twitter / Website

Want to catch the other stops on the blog tour? 

Location, Location, Location - Geek Girl Around the World by Holly Smale

It's an honour to be part of the Geek Girl blog tour today, celebrating the final book in the series and feature this amazing post from Holly Smale. In this post, Holly talks about choosing the right locations for the Geek Girl series. 

Travel has always been fundamental to the Geek Girl series: both because I love it, and because it was incredibly important and poignant to show Harriet developing from a sheltered, anxious young girl - hiding in a world within her books - to a much more adventurous and brave young woman with a fascination for the real world and an ability to both handle it and explore it. I needed to show that world slowly expanding and teaching her, and I wanted to celebrate just how glorious and accessible the real world can be: to both inspire and excite my readers to travel, especially girls. While the modelling angle made that easier to do realistically, it was really the Trojan Horse that snuck travelling in: the series was far less about Harriet modelling in different countries, and much more about using the modelling to get Harriet to them.

In terms of picking the locations, I wanted each book to have at least one new country: I wanted the maximum adventure possible, I wanted Harriet to have as many different experiences as she could, and I also wanted to write about the countries I’ve been to that have had the most impact on me personally. I picked Japan, for instance, because I lived there for two years and had so many hilarious anecdotes and details saved up, I was desperate to use them!

There also needed to be a wide spread of different feels to the locations in order to keep each book feeling fresh and new, so I consciously picked huge cities (Paris, Tokyo, New York) and natural wonders (Mount Fuji, the Sahara Desert, the Great Barrier Reef), cold (snow in Moscow) and hot (Sydney in summer), far-flung and more exotic (India) and closer to home and more familiar (London). I also tried to avoid all the ‘obvious’ tourist traps, so instead of the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State she ends up in a swimming pool and Gotham Hall.

While a lot of Geek Girl is sheer fiction, I’d never write about anywhere I haven’t been: I don’t think you really know how a place sounds, or smells, or feels, until you’ve actually been there. So I used a lot of my own, real adventures in Harriet’s stories: I’ve scuba-dived in the Whitsundays, stood in the snow in Red Square, ridden a camel in the desert, been to the lake by Mount Fuji, gotten lost in New York. Occasionally I went back for “research”, but I never wrote about a location that I hadn’t visited in real life: I needed that solid base to build a realistic story on top of it.

And - just like the facts Harriet uses - the locations were also thematically important. So for instance in book five she was actually supposed to go to Cambodia but I realised at the last minute that it wasn’t right for the theme of the novel: it was a book about letting go, about bright colours and black-and-white thinking, about control, about internal and external chaos, and I needed the location to express that. So at the very last minute, I looked up the date of the Holi festival in India, realised it fell at exactly the right time for the book, and knew it was exactly what I needed: I’d already been to India and the adventure would be spot on, thematically, and central to Harriet’s development.

Over the course of the series, Harriet visits seven different countries and frankly I could have kept going: the world is full of so many exciting places and people and adventures. So who knows? Maybe one day I’ll go back with her.

Summary

Harriet Manners knows almost every fact there is.

Modelling isn’t a sure-fire route to popularity. Neither is making endless lists. The people you love don’t expect you to transform into someone else. Statistically, you are more likely to not meet your Australian ex-boyfriend in Australia than bump into him there.

So on the trip of a lifetime Down Under Harriet’s to-do lists are gone and it’s Nat’s time to shine! Yet with nearly-not-quite-boyfriend Jasper back home, Harriet’s completely unprepared to see supermodel ex Nick. Is the fashion world about to turn ugly for GEEK GIRL?

It’s time for Harriet to face the future. Time to work out where her heart lies. To learn how to let go…

To find out more about Holly Smale: 

Twitter / Website

If you loved this post, then make sure you check out all the other blog posts on the tour as listed below.

Debuts 2016 - Katharine & Elizabeth Corr

Today's guests for the Debuts series are writing sisters, Katharine and Elizabeth Corr,  who published The Witch's Kiss earlier this year. The second book in the series, The Witch's Tears will be published in February by Harper Collins. 

1) What was the reaction to your book cover when it was revealed?

Liz: Extremely positive. We know from the reviews of The Witch’s Kiss that a lot of people were initially drawn to it because of the cover (as is so often the case). Although we didn’t have any input into the cover artwork, we were lucky enough to have the very talented Lisa Brewster (from Blacksheep Design) on board as the designer. She has a lot of experience, and has designed some stunning covers for YA books. Harper Collins provided her with a brief (focusing on the great forest of black holly surrounding our antagonist’s lair) and she came up with a couple of drafts before the final version was decided upon. When Kate and I saw the first draft we were completely bowled-over. We were absolutely ecstatic about the final version.

Kate: As Liz said, the feedback we’ve received for the book cover has been wonderful. We think Lisa has designed a beautiful cover, and we were also thrilled with the Maximum Pop animated cover. Dripping blood is always going to have a certain wow factor!  Lisa has used a similar basic design for the next book in the series, The Witch’s Tears, although this time the cover is a brilliant shade of blue with blood-speckled ice-shards. We’ve already had a lot of comments on social media saying how lovely it is. There’s a link here to an interview with Lisa that we posted on our website, if people want to know more about the design process.

2) What has been the easiest thing about being a debut author?

Liz: Our ignorance! Having never been published before we really didn’t know what was involved, and therefore had very little in the way of expectations to manage. Of course, our agent and publisher have been invaluable in guiding us through the process, but at the outset we didn’t have a clue as to what to expect. We were just so happy to have been taken on by our agents (RCW) and to have landed a publishing deal with Harper Collins. On the flip side, it’s been a real learning curve - finding out how a book evolves from a manuscript into a physical hardcopy in the shops. It’s been incredibly exciting.

Kate: Connecting with other YA writers and readers. There are so many wonderful people who run blogs (like this one!) or organize YA themed Twitter chats. They do an amazing job of bringing like-minded people together. As writers, it’s so much fun chatting about writing in general and about our own books especially, and social media makes it all so much easier.

3) What has been the hardest thing about being a debut author?

Liz: Obviously, we knew our agent and Harper Collins loved The Witch’s Kiss, but we had no idea what sort of reception the book would get from the public. It’s scary putting your work out there to be judged and commented upon, over and over. We have had an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the book, with some glowing reviews and fantastic fan-art. But we’ve had some not so nice reviews, too. We’ve sort of got used to it now. Any writer knows that whilst some people will love your book, others won’t: it’s subjective. But that very first negative review was still hard to deal with!

Kate: Realizing quite how much hard work there is to do, and how much of it isn’t writing! I think, before we had an agent, we had this vague idea that once we got an agent (and a publishing deal) we’d just have to keep producing the words. But there’s so much more to it than that, certainly for a pair of unknown authors. There are an awful lot of books published each year; it’s hard work trying to make sure your voice is heard. 

4) How did it feel to sign your first book? 

Liz: It was very surreal! It was at our book launch back in July. I think I managed to sign the book with the wrong signature, too (we write under a family surname, not our day-to-day names). It was a lovely feeling though, and brought home to me that the whole thing hadn’t just been an amazing dream: we were bona fide published authors!

Kate: Surreal about covers it. I was so nervous that I’d somehow mess it up, by signing the wrong name, or tearing the paper, or writing something stupid. Like Liz says, it was the first time I truly felt yes - this has happened. A moment that’s branded into my memory.

5) What was the best quote about your book that you received? 

Liz: The very first review we ever received was from an incredibly lovely blogger who posts reviews under the name ‘Childishly Passionate’. I remember almost bursting for joy when I read it. She wrote that ‘…this book is an amazing story and probably one of the greatest fantasy books I have encountered in my lifetime.’ 

Kate: Being a massive Harry Potter fan, I was over the moon when a girl on Facebook wrote ‘Just finished reading The Witch’s Kiss. Best book since Harry Potter for me.’ I can’t think of many people I’d rather be compared with than JK Rowling!

The Witch's Tears Summary

Can true love's kiss break your heart...? The spellbinding sequel to THE WITCH'S KISS by authors and sisters, Katharine and Elizabeth Corr. It's not easy being a teenage witch. Just ask Merry. She's drowning in textbooks and rules set by the coven; drowning in heartbreak after the loss of Jack. But Merry's not the only one whose fairy tale is over. Big brother Leo is falling apart and everything Merry does seems to push him further to the brink. And everything that happens to Leo makes her ache for revenge. So when strangers offering friendship show them a different path they'd be mad not to take it...Some rules were made to be broken, right? The darkly magical sequel to THE WITCH'S KISS burns wickedly bright.

To find out more about Katharine and Elizabeth Corr: 

Katherine's Twitter / Elizabeth's Twitter /

Tumblr / Website

The Witch’s Kiss goes to the movies

Today I am pleased to welcome  talented authors and sisters, Katherine and Elizabeth Corr onto the blog, to talk about the cast and settings they would use if The Witch's Kiss was made into a movie. 

Katharine Corr

Elizabeth Corr

As readers - and as writers - we see the settings, the action and the characters from books inside our heads. Everybody does. It’s why turning a book into a film can be so fraught with danger: is the director going to trample all over the readers’ - and the writer’s - cherished ideas of how the film should look? Are they going to take terrible liberties with the plot or the setting? We can both name films where it’s been done well (Lord of the Rings) and where the whole thing has been an utter disaster (The Dark is Rising, aka The Seeker. Don’t even go there.) 

But still, we can hardly pretend that if someone offered to make The Witch’s Kiss into a film we wouldn’t both be jumping up and down screaming with excitement. Seeing a world one has created recreated on the big screen must be an amazing experience. So, in anticipation of that possibility, we present our recommendations for the film of the book.

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Hardwicke directed the first (and we think, the best) of the Twilight films. Everything in Twilight looked much better than the later films, particularly the vampires. We think the kind of dreamy, slightly gothic atmosphere she created would work well for The Witch’s Kiss.

Cast

We’re taking a leaf out of J K Rowling’s book here. The Witch’s Kiss is UK YA, so we’ve chosen British actors .

 Merry: Kaya Scodelario

Merry is our hero. We always think of her as a cross between Buffy and Maleficent (once she finally realises her own potential). Kaya Scolelario looks quite a lot like we imagine Merry and she was born in the next county from where the book is set. She’s also already played a character in a strong sibling relationship in Skins.

Leo: Alex Pettyfer

We really liked Alex Pettyfer in I Am Number Four. He’s physically about right for the part of Leo, Merry’s elder brother. Plus, he looks like the kind of big brother we both desperately wanted when we were teenagers.

 Jack: Jamie Campbell Bower

Jack is our Sleeping Beauty - a cursed Anglo-Saxon prince who falls asleep in the 6^th century and wakes up in the 21^st. Jamie Campbell Bower would be perfect: he’s got a face that looks like it could come from a Pre-Raphaelite painting and exactly the right hair. And we really loved him in The Mortal Instruments.

Gwydion - Tom Hiddleston

Who better to play the evil wizard Gwydion than Tom Hiddleston? He does such a good line in villains. One of us in particular is Team Loki. *Sigh*.

Ruby: Nathalie Emmanuel

Ruby is Merry’s clever, super-stylish best friend and a strong character in her own right. We first saw Nathalie Emmanuel in Game of Thrones as another strong character: Missandei, the friend and counsellor of Daenerys.

Gran: Judi Dench

Gran is a formidable woman: head of her coven and an internationally renowned witch. After watching the amazing Judi Dench play the head of the British secret service, we think she could pull it off.

Setting: the Surrey Hills

Stunning countryside within easy distance of London. There are even handily positioned film studios at Shepperton. Besides, Tillingham is loosely based on Farnham. 

****

Published June 30th 2016 by Harper Collins 

Summary

Sixteeen-year-old Meredith is fed-up with her feuding family and feeling invisible at school - not to mention the witch magic that shoots out of her fingernails when she’s stressed. Then sweet, sensitive Jack comes into her life and she falls for him hard. The only problem is that he is periodically possessed by a destructive centuries-old curse. Meredith has lost her heart, but will she also lose her life? Or in true fairytale tradition, can true love’s kiss save the day?

   

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

Hello.

I hope somebody is listening.

I'm sending out this call via radio signal - long outdated, I know, but perhaps one of the few methods of communication the City has forgotten to monitor - in a dark and desperate cry for help.

Things in Universe City are not what they seem.

Published by Harper Collins Children's Books in February 2016

Pages - 410

Summary

What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong?

Frances has always been a study machine with one goal, elite university. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret - not even the person she is on the inside.

But when Frances meets Aled, the shy genius behind her favourite podcast, she discovers a new freedom. He unlocks the door to Real Frances and for the first time she experiences true friendship, unafraid to be herself. Then the podcast goes viral and the fragile trust between them is broken.

Caught between who she was and who she longs to be, Frances’ dreams come crashing down. Suffocating with guilt, she knows that she has to confront her past…

She has to confess why Carys disappeared…

Meanwhile at uni, Aled is alone, fighting even darker secrets.

It’s only by facing up to your fears that you can overcome them. And it’s only by being your true self that you can find happiness.

Frances is going to need every bit of courage she has.

*****

What a clever plot. I loved discovering the truth behind Universe City and I really wish I'd thought of it first.  I hadn't read Alice Osman's previous novel, Solitaire, but I heard so much about it that I was desperate to read this one. 

The characters in this book are diverse, very much representing the teenage society of today. This book made me feel hopeful. It felt like a blue print for society going forward.

I loved the relationship between Alex and Frances. It was brilliant to experience a relationship based on friendship instead of sex.  It's clear that Alex and Frances are very fond of each other, but it's not remotely sexual. 

This book made me think. It made me view things differently. 

It showed:

•  That love has no boundaries. You can fall in love with anyone in the world regardless of their sexuality or gender. This book shows many kinds of love, all beautiful in their own way. 

• The darker side of YouTube fame. It doesn't sound like it is all it is cracked up to be and the trolls and threats you get aren't worth the bother.

• That reality fame isn't that glamourous. So many people want to be the next Zoella and Alfie, when really their lives aren't that different from anyone else's. OK, they make lots of money but they also have absolutely no privacy. It's like they are practically owned by their viewing public. 

• That true friendship will always get you through the dark days. 

I can see why the YA community are giving this book a lot of love. It's current and deals with situations that they can relate to. Mental health issues are dealt with sensitively. The portrayal of exam stress is spot on; that underlying pressure to get excellent grades in order to live a prosperous life are still the norm, when it's  actually possible to achieve a career without them. Not everyone is academic and there are other options.  The stress of living on social media 24-7, which is a growing problem among the teenage community. 

I didn't really know much about podcasts before this, but I'm now curious to listen to Welcome To Night Vale, which I believe inspired this book. 

An excellent photograph of the teenage community of today. 

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

All the best thing in my life have started with a Dolly Parton song. Including my friendship with Ellen Dryver. 

Published on the 28th January 2016 by Balzer and Bray, an imprint of Harper Collins. 

Pages - 375

Summary

Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked . . . until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine— Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart. 

****
This is the book that every girl should read! Willowdean is a wonderful protagonist. Most of the time she is comfortable in her skin, but like every female she has wobbles. It is not easy in our society to love the way we look and we are constantly thrown images that make us doubt ourselves. 
Willowdean's decision to take part in the pageant is brilliant. She shows us that size doesn't affect how beautiful we are. It is only society brainwashing us into thinking that skinny is gorgeous. Willowdean shows hands down how it isn't. I am so pleased that Willowdean didn't decide that she had to lose weight to conform. She stayed strong in her beliefs and her own skin, making her one of my most favourite characters this year. The fact that the other girls follow her is just the icing on the cake. I loved Amanda, Millie and Hannah! They are such brilliant characters. They reminded me of the girls in Pitch Perfect. The scene during the Dolly Parton Night will stay with me for ever. 
This is a brilliantly, funny read with an excellent cast of characters. 
Throw out those scales ladies, big is beautiful and don't let anyone tell you differently. 

The Write Way with Jasmine Richards

Jasmine Richards is one of my favourite people. Not only is she an extremely talented senior editor for Oxford University Press, but she is also a talented writer in her own right. This week sees the publication of her third novel, Secrets of Valhalla.

Your new book, Secrets of Valhalla is due out today, how are you feeling about it? 

Secrets of Valhalla has been a rather long time in the making. After the publication of my first novel Book of Wonders I have been busy renovating a house, running Book Bound which offers intensive writing workshops and retreats, becoming a mum and developing and editing children’s fiction at Oxford University Press. 

It has been a manic few years but the characters of Buzz and Mary and the idea of gods in hibernation wouldn’t leave me and the seeds for Secrets of Valhalla were slowly germinating. Still, I had to dig very deep to turn ideas into a finished manuscript. 

In some ways then, seeing this book being published feels more momentous than publishing my debut novel [which I really didn’t think was possible] because finding the time to write it has been such a challenge. I feel incredibly proud that this day has come and in particular I need to thank my phenomenal editor Andrew Harwell at Harper Collins for getting me over the finish line! 

Can you tell my readers a little bit about it to whet their appetites? 

Secrets of Valhalla is the story of Buzz [a British boy who hates mythology] and Mary [an American girl on holiday who has some rather unique abilities] and their quest to save Sunna [Norse Goddess of the sun and famous weather woman]. They also need to find the Runes of Valhalla and restore time as we know it in our world. 

With Sunna kidnapped and taken to a different realm the world is stuck on a loop and things are deteriorating fast. The stakes then are pretty high and I draw on both Norse and Roman mythology for my gatekeepers, heroes and villains. Oh yeah, there is also a talking squirrel and a dragon with an attitude problem. 

I really wanted this to be a classic quest novel but with young people that felt relevant and modern. It was also important to me that the characters were diverse as I think fantasy is for all readers and children fiction should represent that. 

The cover is gorgeous. Did you have any say in it’s development and are you pleased with it? 

I’d say the cover was a joint endeavour between the publisher, the illustrator Sam Nielson and myself but obviously we all had different roles to play. I remember talking to my editor early on and saying that I thought the mythical World Tree that features prominently in the story could be a great starting place for the cover. After speaking to the designer he came back and asked for some visual references for the characters of Buzz and Mary which I provided. After that, it was just a matter of waiting to see what the illustrator created with those ingredients and I have totally lucked out with my gorgeous cover! I love the colours, I love that the more you look at it the more you see and that it gives you a sense of wonder and adventure and invites you in to find out more.

I know you are a very busy working mum. How do you fit writing around motherhood and working in publishing? 

For sure, it is a challenge to write whilst working and being a parent and I am still learning strategies to help me with that balance. I talk a bit about some of things that have worked for me over on the Book Bound blog. 

But a key thing for me, I think, was having a support network of friends and family who I could ask for help if I needed time. There is no quick fix solution, you have to write a book one word at a time and you need time to do that. There’s no getting away from it! 

Sometimes, I wish I was a faster writer but with each book I think you do get a bit quicker and certainly more confident. Being a busy mum adds to the time pressure but the upside to that is that there is less time to procrastinate which is a huge enemy to writing!

Have you read many Young Adult novels and if so, which one was your favourite? 

To be honest, I don’t have as much time to read as I once did but I think it is absolutely key for a writer to consume books for their own craft. Reading helps elevate your own writing and it gives you an escape into other worlds and headspaces. Therefore, I try and make it a priority to read a range of books and I find audiobooks really aids with that. 

Something I’ve read recently which I thought was really strong was The Rest of Us Live Here by Patrick Ness. In terms of an all-time favourite young adult novel I think it might have to be Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. 

Do you have any advice for unpublished authors on dealing with rejection?

I think the only thing you can do is keep going and keep believing in your writing. Instead of saying ‘I haven’t got a publishing deal’, say ‘I haven’t got a publishing deal yet!’. 

The truth is, it may not be this book, it may not be the next one but you are improving each time and no writing is wasted. It’s all practice and experience. 

Write characters that feel authentic and real to you and seek out those ideas that excite you as much as your future readers. 

The market is incredibly competitive but tenacity and imagination will eventually get you across the line as just long as you put the work in to make your novel as strong as it can possibly be.

Secrets of Valhalla is published by Harper Collins on January 19th 2016

Summary 

Two friends awaken a world of myth and magic in this clever middle grade fantasy perfect for fans of Rick Riordan and Anne Ursu.

It’s not every day that you find a famous weatherwoman bound by magic to a tree deep in the woods. Or discover that the weatherwoman is in fact Sunna, the Norse Goddess of the Sun, and one of the seven day guardians who keep time in order. But that’s just what happens to new friends Buzz and Mary—and it’s only the start of their adventure.

Now, as the people of Earth are forced to repeat the same Saturday over and over again, Buzz and Mary must journey to collect the Runes of Valhalla and awaken the other day guardians, before vengeful god Loki can get to them first. 

To find out more about Jasmine Richards: 

Website

Twitter

Facebook

The Bell Between Worlds (Mirror Chronicles No 1) by Ian Johnstone

Half of your soul is missing.

The lost part is in the mirror.

And unless Sylas Tate can save you, you will never be whole again.

Harper Collins 2015

511 pages in paperback

Cover art by Richard Jones and Elizabeth Huseyin

Summary from the publisher's website

Sylas Tate leads a lonely existence since his mother died. But then the tolling of a giant bell draws him into another world known as the Other, where he discovers not only that he has an inborn talent for the nature-influenced magic of the Fourth Way, but also that his mother might just have come from this strange parallel place.

Meanwhile, evil forces are stirring, and an astounding revelation awaits Sylas as to the true nature of the Other. As violence looms and the stakes get ever higher, Sylas must seek out a girl called Naeo who might just be the other half of his soul - otherwise the entire universe may fall…

******

Reviewed by K. M. Lockwood

As you can see from the cover, we have a boy for a central character in an adventure on the grand scale. Without too many spoilers, we begin with a light-hearted glimpse of a mistreated orphan not entirely unlike J.K. Rowling. Matters become darker and more intriguing as we learn Silas has been deceived about his mother. There’s a hint of Philip Pullman’s Will here.

However the summoning of the central character by the chime of a giant bell is powerful and different. (The only thing I can think of remotely like it is with Empress Jade of Charn in C.S. Lewis’ ‘The Magician’s Nephew’). Then we get an involving and immersive contrast of cultures. Two worlds intersect: one of magic and one of science.

Not your bog standard average sub-Tolkien universe.

We encounter dreadful monsters and it zips along like a nightmarish video game. There are striking locations, mysterious forms of magic and some extraordinary mentors, both male and female, for Silas to deal with. For me, one of the highlights is his developing friendship with the sparky Simia. There’s a fine variety of characters throughout, both human and not-so-human. 

The novel ends with an exciting escape (I can’t say for whom) but there’s clearly more to come in Book 2. 

If you want a full-on big-scale immersive fantasy with lots going off and much at stake, then this series looks as if it should do the trick.

Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher

Dear Committee Members,

Over the past twenty-odd years I’ve recommended got only knows how many talented candidates for the Bentham January residency-that enviable literary oasis in the woods south of Skowhegan: the solitude, the pristine cabins, the artistic camaraderie, and those exquisite hand-delivered satchels of apples and cheese… Well, you can scratch all prior nominees and pretenders from your mailing lists, because none is as provocative or as promising as Darren Browles.

Published by The Friday Project, an imprint of Harper Collins in February 2015

Pages - 180

Cover Design by We Are Laura

******

I’m always on the lookout for an epistolary novel, so I was excited to discover this one, which recently became a New York Times bestseller.

Set in a cash strapped, arts college in America’s Midwest, the reader finds themselves at the writing desk of Jason Fitger, a professor of creative writing. In his younger years, Jason stood on the verge of a promising literary career, happily married and highly thought of by his peers. Now his glittering future lies shattered at his feet and yet, surprisingly, there is still a smidgeon of pompousness about him.

Through his love of the written word, he demonstrates how miserable and sarcastic he has become, as he writes letter after letter of recommendation for former students and colleagues, some of whom he barely knew. His marriage and following liaisons now a distant memory, after he decided to include his private affairs in his books. As his wife and former mistress gang up on him, he attempts to make amends, by asking for their help in employing his former students. You can’t help but laugh at the irony of his situation as everyone he recommends surpasses him in life, while he trundles on in what he considers a second rate career.

It isn’t surprising when former colleagues and students complain about his recommendations, as each letter is brimming with bitterness. Yet with each letter, you get a real feel for his state of mind and present situation.

This is a really short novel but extremely hilarious. To an aspiring writer, it highlights how fickle and subjective the publishing industry can be. It also shows that a writer is only as good as their last book.  A satirical look at one man’s downward spiral into a midlife crisis through the dying art of letter writing, from within the walls of a crumbling English department.

Ruby Redfort - Take Your Last Breath by Lauren Child

 

The sun flickered on the ocean, cutting bright diamonds of light into the surface of the indigo water.  A three-year-old girl was peering over the side of a sailboat, staring down into the deep.  The only sounds came from her parents’ laughter, the sing-song hum of a man’s voice and the clapping of the waves against the yacht.

   Gradually the sounds became less and less distinct until the girl was quite alone with the ocean.  It seemed to be pulling her, drawing her to it…confiding a secret, almost whispering to her.  

   She barely felt herself fall as she tipped forward and slipped into the soft ink of the sea.

   Down she twisted, her arms, her legs above her like tendrils.  The water felt smooth and perfectly cold; fish darted and silver things whisked by - her breath bubbled up as transparent pearls.

   Then suddenly, like a snap of the fingers, all the fish were gone; it was just the girl in the big wide ocean.

   But she wasn’t quite alone.

   There was something else.

Published by Harper Collins Children’s Books  on 6th June 2013

432 pages

Book Summary

All at sea?  Ok, here’s the lowdown…Ruby Redfort: secret agent, thirteen-year-old kid.  Super-smart, super-cool and not afraid of the water or anything in it.  Sharks?  Cut-throat pirates?  A giant tentacled sea monster?  No problem, buster.  Diving without oxygen, is NOT Ruby’s strong suit.  Can she do it?  There’s only one way to find out…

*******

Reviewed by Georgina Tranter

Ruby Redfort made her first appearance in Lauren Child’s earlier books about Clarice Bean, and due to requests made by children around the globe, she was given her own series.  Take Your Last Breath is the second book.  Ruby is a sassy thirteen year old with a passion for wearing t-shirts with couldn’t care less slogans on them, such as excuse me while I yawn and a nose for spotting the out-of-the-ordinary.  In fact, she is so good at this, she is currently the youngest recruit at Spectrum, a spy agency set up to foil the plots and plans of evil geniuses capable of grand theft, extortion, fraud and murder.  She only heard of Spectrum six weeks ago, and it looks like she’s already on to her second case!

Strange things are happening at sea.  An agent has been found drowned.  Shipping cargo has been confused, unusual marine activity is taking place, and strange sounds have been heard.  But how, what and why?  And are these things connected at all?  Under her guise as a normal thirteen year old, Ruby sets out to solve this mystery, with a little help from her butler Hitch (secret agent) and best friend Clancy.  But can she do so in time?

I think this book is perfect for the 9-12 year old age bracket.  It’s easy to read, with lots of diagrams and puzzles to try to work out (the answers to the clues are given at the end) and most importantly, it’s fun.  I loved this book and am looking forward to the next Ruby Redfort adventure!