text:
tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90323220694344151382016-08-17T20:36:34.255+01:00Sally PoytonWriter, Artist and Fairy Tale Enthusiast
 Follow my quest as a dyslexic writer battling with words to avoid the perils of the slushpileSallyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-17269895433055839172015-12-21T13:02:00.000+00:002015-12-21T13:06:59.275+00:00A Writers Family – An Ever Giving Gift of Inspiration…As Christmas is looming, The Family Poyton is reading Matt Haig's 'A Boy Called Christmas' and we are loving the story and the amazing illustrations by Chris Mould. As a family we have also been listening to Matt being interviewed about the inspiration behind the book, and that it came when his son asked the question; 'Was Father Christmas ever a Boy?'

This got me thinking about inspiration, and where idea's for books come from. Like many creative people, my inspiration comes from anywhere at any time. However, one thing has inspired me more than anything else is my family.

In fact if it wasn't for my daughter, I wouldn't be writing. So many years ago, when she was coming up three, and my son his first birthday, my husband went away to Australia for six weeks on business. My daughter, a rather pretentious and funny toddler, asked him to bring her back a Kangaroo, and for the whole duration of the trip she persisted in asking me how Daddy would catch the kangaroo. Initially I'd answer simply, but as time went on the answers got more and more extreme, started to rhyme and evolved into my first ever bit of writing a Picture book called, How to Catch a Kangaroo. From tat moment I was hooked, and I haven't stopped writing since.

Spread One

My Daddy has one to Australia.

There is just one thing I asked him to do,

"Daddy, please bring me back a Kangaroo!"

Spread Two

I wonder how he will catch it.

How do you catch a Kangaroo?

Could you catch one with a rod and line?

What would you use for bait?

Peanut butter sandwiches, or jelly on a plate?

It's not just kids that inspire, my two furry, lazy Springbats, (half Springer Spaniel half Basset Hound) also bring a healthy dose of inspiration to, and after a particularly entertaining walk involving some fox excrement, and I began to pen a Picture book from the point of view of a hound. Although I'm pretty sure it's not like to ever get a publisher, I believe it'll strike a chord with anyone who has ever owned a dog…

If Dogs Wrote Picture Books

Because I love you, I've dug up your roses. I know that their horrid smell itches human's noses.

Because I love you, I've made myself smell nice. I found some fox poo and rolled in it twice.

Because I love you, I've warmed up your bed, and now it smells like what I've just been fed.

Because you love me, you left me stake out on the side for a snack. Because I'm so grateful I gulped it down as soon as you turned you back.

Because I love you, I've brought you a present. It's a rather tasty (and energetic) half dead pheasant.

Because I love you, I slept on your best hat. I think I've improved it; It's covered in hair and is now rather flat.

Because I love you, I bark all the time you're out. That way you will know I love you and you'll never be in doubt.

Because you love me, you warm up my chair, I love it when you leave the room so I can snuggle up there.

Because I love you, to let everyone know your mine. I pee in your shoes (It makes them smell better) and gives them a yellowy shine.

Entertaining the children in queues or on long journeys has also provided inspiration for a book about a magic flying toilet, and a mission to save one families ailing sweet making business by stealing the family recipe book back from the Pirate and Captain of 'The Sweet Revenge' who rules the seven seas by supplying all seadogs with the delicious sweets.

My most recent inspiration has been provided by my son, (who's now approaching his 10th Birthday) and his constant attempts to steal my bobble hat and his disappointment that I will not give it to him. He handles this by talking about himself in the third person and calling himself 'No-bobble'. This has presented lot of entertaining ideas for a new Picture Book text which I'm currently working on.

So… this is a little celebration of my eccentric family, and a thank you to the most important people in my life who inspire me every day. Hopefully one day I'll be able to thank them properly with an acknowledgement in an actual book. One day…

Sallyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-74590544653552215192015-11-30T13:50:00.003+00:002015-11-30T13:50:32.760+00:00Ebb and Flow - the life of an unpublished writer

When you writing and pursuing publication life is full of ebb and flow and rather a lot 'NO!' Sometimes you believe that you are flowing closer to the island of 'Publication' as the waves of the slushpile bring you closer to shore. For a few years I sailed by vessel across the turbulent shushpile sea and managed to get the island in sight, a few long-listings and honorary mentions in new writers competitions felt like flow, then the rejections of submission made the ebbing felling come back.

The 2014 brought me closer than I've ever got, so close, that I had to abandon my vessel and swim franticly towards the shoreline. I secured my first contract for a YA novella with an imprint I love and I got taken on by a literary agent. For the first time when someone asked me what I do, I could answer 'Writer' without feeling like fraud and I had an actual positive response to the dread question; Are you published?

It felt great, as if the flow had gained momentum, and I had to swim faster to get edits done, and blog, and network and generally up my game ready for submission. Then disaster hit, the wind changed direction and I was blown out into the middle of the Slushpile Ocean. With in a week, my contract was cancelled, as publishers decided not to proceed with the novella range, and then my lovely agent who I worked so well with and learnt so much from, announced she was leaving the agenting business to pursue another career.

That's when it dawned on me that success as a writer is binary you are either on the island or somewhere in the ocean. And when the ebb is the main course, you need to build yourself another raft, a sturdier one, and start rowing for all your worth.

That being said it's not easy, sometimes you have to drift a while first, for me that was about a month, of rising and falling on the waves, from upbeat to despair. But my kick into action was my writer friends and being thrown safety line from the esteemed ship SCBWI, by way for the conference party. Being surrounded by other folk who are all serious about their craft and passionate about writing and illustrating whether they too are riding the slushpile waves, or standing with their wet feet on the shoreline, made me realise I'm, not alone and that rebuilding the raft was the right thing to do. So, thank you to all my writer friends, and my ever patient family, and here to a upcoming new year which with luck may be more flow than ebb!

Sallyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-71538097197714972032015-09-04T10:38:00.000+01:002015-09-04T10:38:38.103+01:00Running my first Small Creative Writing Session for Children

So this summer has been one of firsts; first job in over a decade, my eldest child's first days in secondary school, first submission with an agent, but perhaps the most nerve wracking – my first small group creative writing session.

I submitted a lot to a charity blind auction, a creative writing session for a small group of children. To my utter surprise the lot was brought, and therefore I began preparing. The group was four children of varying ages and ability; one six year old, one seven year old, one nine year old and an eleven year old. The winner of the lot asked specifically if I could do a session to try and inspire her daughters to write; make it exciting!

After a lot of thought, I decided that the session had to be three things…

1. Exciting (as per the brief)

2. Interactive

3. Fun

So I planned some activities based around the notion that EVERTHING is exciting, no matter how mundane it may initially appear, as long as you allow your imagination to run free.

So we started with a food. I asked the children,

How exciting is a sandwich?

To which I received the expected answer: not very – or - not at all. So I read a passage out of the Dave Shelton book, 'A Boy and a Bear in a Boat,' about the heroic antics of the VLS, VERY LAST SANDWICH. All the children giggled and gawped, and I could see that they were opening up to the concept that in creative writing there are no rules, and that you are only restricted by the scope of your imagination.

We then talked about other foods with exciting properties, like the cakes from Sarah McIntyre's and Philip Reeves Cakes in Space, and we even made our own cake monsters. The discussion also covered food from Harry Potter, George's Marvellous Medicine and then the land of the most exciting food, Wonderland. To make the talk interactive we drunk from bottles marked 'Drink Me' and ate mushroom sweets and pretended to shrink and grow.

"My daughters had a wonderful time during the creative writing session with Sally. I was very impressed by the amount of effort that she put into preparing for it. She kept the girls engaged and gently led them back to their writing piece when they got distracted. It has really helped them to see literacy in a more fun way and hopefully they will bring this enthusiasm with them into the next school year." From Mrs O

After all the excitement we sat down and talked about each child's favourite food, and started to think how that food could be exciting, and then began to build a story around it. To make the session easier I provided each child with a pre-prepared pack with story wheels, and vocabulary sheets. All the children's imaginations soon warmed up and their stories became magical and exciting. It was lovely to see them al enjoying their own crazy worlds and ideas.

The session was short, but the children really seemed to have fun, and took to the notion that writing can be fun. To help the children to continue to develop a love of writing, I sent them so additional activities through the post in the following weeks.

I am very pleased at how my first small creative writing session has gone, and will certainly be thinking of ways to improve and develop it for the future sessions. But one thing I know for sure, it has to be exciting and interactive and most of all fun!

Sallyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-76778466759129958062015-08-27T07:24:00.000+01:002015-08-27T07:24:56.295+01:00Rhino v's Kitten – Reacting to Criticism

When I first began writing, and joined a critique group as I believed that to make it as a writer you needed to be like a rhino; that you needed thick skin. However, my experiences with both giving and receiving feedback in critique groups, and having feedback from industry professionals, and more recently having done extensive edits on my manuscript under the guidance of agent Shelley Instone, my stance has changed.

Me and my rhino skin - painting by Me!

I always thought that tough skin was a perquisite of being a writer, being able to withstand the hurt of criticism. Maybe it is, but a Rhino analogy isn't a good one. After all, Rhinos are stubborn creatures that are aggressive and have a tendency to drop their heads down and charge blindly in one direction. Unless you are a creative genius with the wind of fortune at your back it is unlikely that you will charge directly into a publishing contract. After all it takes more than one person to write a book, and it is rather like nurturing children; it's not just the parents who shape a child, they need support from family friends, nursery staff, teachers, health visitors, doctors, the list goes on. And that it is the combined efforts of people working together, and the parents listening to people with more experience / knowledge and implementing their advice which gives the child the best possible start in life. Much like children where the parents get all the credit for how well they turn out, a book is written and shaped by many more people than just the author who has their name on the cover.

When I recently met up with Shelley and her assistant Olivia, they asked me how I kept so positive when they sent me edits, especially when it came to number 11! As, when they were expecting me to go into writer break down, I remained cheery and upbeat. It was then when I confessed that actually sometimes [most of the time] receiving the edits back was difficult, and that I resorted to getting my husband to read them through first and give me the highlights. That way I got what the main points were without getting blinded in editorial headlights! This approach kept me calm, and allowed me to free my mind, looking for ways and solutions to any issues before I read the editorial report for myself. Crucially, I was calm and over any initial emotional reaction to edits and I could respond in a positive and constructive way.

It is more of a kitten approach, instead of being a Rhino, and not letting the feedback affect me and continuing on my own path, I took time to lick my wounds, (and grieve for cut characters) and then shook myself off, got up and carried on, taking on board the suggestions and advice and implementing it. The' Kitten' reaction has made for an infinitely improved manuscript and a good creative working relationship with my agent too. Although I'm not a great fan of cats in general, I am proud to be a kitten.

Sallyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-28968623809247028102015-08-20T08:04:00.001+01:002015-09-05T17:33:38.931+01:00 My Scrumdiddlyumptious New Job at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre!When I was a child, I LOVED Roald Dahl books, from the first time that the rest of classmates and I sat down on the crowded manky carpet and listened to our teacher read 'The Witches.' It was like nothing I'd ever heard before, and when the teacher showed us the Quenton Blake illustrations of a witch and a non-witch and asked us which we thought was the actual witch, we were all amazed that we got it wrong!

I begged my mother to buy a copy of the book so I could read it myself, and know what happens before the rest of my class mates, and of course, grateful I was showing an interest in reading my mum obliged; only to find out everybody else had had the same idea and the whole class was racing to finish the book first.

Despite my difficulties reading due to severe dyslexia, I read my way through every Roald Dahl book I could find, including the auto-biographies 'Boy' and 'Solo'. I loved the dark humour, the word play and the creepy characters, and I knew that the effort of reading would be paid off with a rip-roaring good yarn. My childhood is saturated by memories of Roald Dahl. A firm family favourite film was Danny the Champion of the world with Jeremy Irons and then amazement when at Christmas the animated version of The BFG came out, made even funnier as my Dad at the time looked identical to the BFG!

Even into my adulthood Roald Dahl shaped my endeavours, when studying Fine Art at university we were paired up and told to give our partner a copy of our favourite book, and that we should use the books to produce some artworks. I gave my partner 'Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH' [sorry Oz!] but my partner gave me 'Revolting Rhymes.' The book lead me down a path that reignited my love for fairy tales, and my art work became fairy tale themed and this eventually resulted in me picking up a pen and beginning to write what would become Through Mortal Eyes.

So when I first visited The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, when my daughter was attending a Puffin Post event for their child guest editors for the 'Pufflings Magazine' in 2011 I was utterly amazed that I hadn't discovered it before , and got very excited about sitting in his chair! I can remembering thinking how great I would be to work there and what a pity it was that it's wasn't within commutable distance.

Then luck changed, as we moved over to Buckinghamshire and settled I a house within sniffing distance of the museum , I started stalking the web-site hoping that a suitable job roll may come up that I could apply for. To my joy, in early summer they advertised for Front of House Staff, so I applied. This was terrifying as it's been a very long time since I last applied for a job, and I had to write up all my eclectic work experience up on to a coherent and appealing CV.

Photo from The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, thank you!

I was relieved when I was offered an opportunity to audition for the job. Yes, you read that right, AUDITION! So after a spot of cram re-reading of Roald Dahl classics, and a minor outfit catastrophe, I turned up for the audition. I was surprised by the amount of people who were attending, there were a least a dozen and half applicants; from students and teachers, to creative-writing graduates and illustrators. We weren't the only audition session either, so one thing was clear it was a desirable job with lots of competition.

The audition was fun and designed to get everyone interacting, with games, and then splitting us into teams and assigning us a project, that we were to collaborate on and then report back to the rest of the applicants and interviewers. I enjoyed the audition, and found that all the applicants were lovely people and we all got on easily. When the session was over and I drove home I had no idea how it had went, and prepared myself for the worst.

I was overjoyed to be called into interview, which despite being on an incredibly hot day, I enjoyed, and I thought went well. But I was completely ecstatic when I got offered the job, cue, dancing around the house like a heffalump!

So with much trepidation I ventured to Great Missenden for my first shadowing day, following an experienced Front of House member of staff around and learning the roll hands on. Thankfully, everyone who works at the museum is cherry and friendly, which quickly put me at ease. I adorned my purple shirt and plunged into the world of Dahl, as we worked at the ticket desk, and manned the galleries and exhibitions. I found that I could converse with the visitors with ease, and my days volunteering in a book shop had really been a good foundation for working in the shop. I'm really enjoying it so far, and I shall blog again about how it goes when I've settled into the roll.

Sallyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-63283060779284986502015-08-13T11:36:00.000+01:002015-08-13T11:41:37.025+01:00Preparing for Submission with an Agent.It's coming up a year since I signed with my Agent, Shelley director of Shelley Instone Literary Agency. It's been a manic but fantastic year, both personally and for my writing. The year has seen a house move, a new business venture sent up, a new job for me, my daughter's last year at primary and now by son is readying up to take the dreaded 11+! Writing wise my manuscript has evolved from YA to MG, from 80,000 words down to 40,000, and then back up to 54,000, over no less than ten edits. Now, Shelley and I are both gearing up to submit it in the autumn.

I have submitted before, to both agents and publishers, and that took a lot of preparation; making sure the manuscript was as good as I could get it. Writing and re-writing my query letter. Polishing my hook and pitch. Writing the dreaded synopsis and then trying to crow bar it on to one page of A4 with tiny margins and hoping no one will notice the tiny font and crammed spacing! Then the actual submitting, researching agents and editors, trying to work out a personal way to open the query letter; consulting my spread sheet of professionals I've met, the when and where, or the review of their client list making sure I reference which author on the list I admire and why I think my book may appeal to them. This takes considerable time for each submission, not to mention researching what every person requires in their submission package and tailoring it appropriately.

Of course having an agent means that I'm not doing all the submission packages myself, but that doesn't mean that I can sit back and drink coffee. No, preparing for submission is still a finely tuned operation, but this time it comes with a team!

The manuscript is presently being proofread to eliminate all my dyslexia associated mistakes, and behind the scenes, Shelley and her assistant, Olivia Payne, are working really hard doing all the amazing agenty things they do.

'When Sally submitted to me I instantly liked her style of writing alongside her immense creative ability. It did not take me long (a few seconds!) to offer her representation. I immediately had a vision for her novel and knew how I wanted to shape and mould it. When you sign a writer you are investing in them and their narrative. In many respects it is a huge gamble, as you ask yourself lots of questions. Will the writer work hard enough and how much do they want this to happen, alongside a million other questions! It really has been a gruelling process but we eventually got where we wanted to be. Sally's professionalism and fantastic attitude just shone through, as everyone at SILA worked their socks off. Now for the scary bit – fingers crossed'

Shelley
Shelley Instone Literary Agency
But I'm preparing too. Actually I started getting into submitting preparation mode in May. It started by meeting with Shelley, and whilst we were all still editing the manuscript we began sub-prep too. I was tasked with working on synopses for my other books, and a synopsis for a sequel to the book we are submitting. Now if you think writing a synopsis for a book you've written is hard try writing one for a book you haven't started yet!

Shelley had an idea to make my submission stand out, by creating something special to go in (and on) the envelope, so I was tasked with getting the secret special thing designed and made.

Then it was the realisation that with the numerous edits and hectic personal life, my personal blog had been somewhat neglected and that it would be beneficial to start posting more ahead of submission. So with that in mind, I had a spring clean of the blog, changing its format and refreshing it to look more vibrant and loved. Plus crucially, getting every blog posted proofread first, to try and pick up some of my many dyslexia associated spelling mistakes.

The preparation is going someway to help me from getting anxious about submitting, but I can still feel those blasted butterflies with razor blade wings flitting about inside my tummy, whenever I stop and think about what's to come. I'm excited, as the process has been hard work, enjoyable, but gruelling, and thinking that we're almost at the point where that we've all been working towards is great. However I can't stop my mind slipping to the dark side; the knowledge that with submitting comes rejection.

Hopefully, with the combined work that Shelley, her team and I have invested in the manuscript, it will find a home, but inevitably there will be some rejections along the way. Although at least this time, I'm part of a team, and we can support each other and keep morals high, which means hopefully I'll be less likely to be crying on my author friends shoulders – well maybe.

In the meantime, it's preparation, preparation, preparation, to make the manuscript and submission package as good as possible!

Sallyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-88985811261412233992015-07-31T08:04:00.001+01:002015-07-31T08:04:04.510+01:00Confessions of an X- Doodler

Since the new Children's Laureate Chris Riddell has been appointed, there has been lots of talk about drawing and doodling. This makes sense as Chris Riddell is not only a gifted wordsmith creating beautiful characters like Ottoline and Goth Girl, but he is also a talented illustrator (to see more details about both his writing and illustration press here to read our Space on the Bookshelf celebration of his work).

Chris Riddell has shared with us all his 5 point plan for his turn as Laureate and used his speech to urge people to 'Draw something every day', and to spend time as a family drawing and doodling. Many people have taken his advice and made a conscious effort to doodle every day, like Lou Minns family who challenged themselves to doodle every day for a month, to read about their endeavours press here. It was whist following Lou's family's progress that I had an epiphany; I realised that I no longer doodle.

Now this may not seem much to most people BUT let me explain. All my life I've been a constant Doodler, no paper was safe, or napkin, or well anything. If there was a pen, pencil, crayon, chalk, lipstick and a scrap of paper (or skin) then it ended up full of intricate drawings and doodles. It caused quite a few fights when I was first married, as if any post was left out, I would not only decorate the envelope but the letter to, even if it was an important document!

My doodling was a gift, I studied Art and Related Arts at university, and many of my strongest works were as a result of doodles. I initially came to writing through the ambition to illustrate, and way back in 2008 I had an meeting with illustration agency Plumb Pudding; their advice – my doodling was far superior to my finished works, and to continue to doodle and work on my finished work (and to stay in touch, ophs!)

So whilst reading all the enthusiastic posts people have been posting about discovering doodling I was amazed to realise that I can't recall the last time I doodled. This got me thinking what has changed?

I can't really put my foot on what it is that has changed or at what point I stopped doodling, and the realisation that I no longer doodle actually makes me rather sad. It is true that the last few years have been hectic; one re-location, three subsequent moves, new EVERYTHING, I've had competition successes in writing, scored an agent, blogged, got puppies, and well then all the every day-to-day stuff. Maybe the lack of doodling is a result of the amount of LIFE that has happened?

I do still draw from time to time with my kids, as does my husband. Plus I can take some reassurance that both small people doodle all the time and are gifted artists. However, this is my pledge to myself; I shall doodle, and I shall endeavour to doodle daily.

Sallyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-71543456105647129972015-07-03T14:17:00.002+01:002015-07-03T14:17:32.730+01:00Happy 80th Birthday Penguin - plus Penguin Classic Goodybag Giveaway!
This summer sees the 80th anniversary since the first publications of the first ever Penguin paperbacks. The now iconic covers are replicated in many forms, such as adorning mugs, deckchairs postcard and posters. Penguin expanded out launching the Puffin imprint publishing children's book in 1941 with it first book being a Worzel Gummidge. Furthermore 1967 saw the launch of the Puffin Post club which ran (on and off) for over 42 years and of which both me my sister and my daughter were all avid members.

<o:p></o:p>

To celebrate the anniversary Penguin Classics have published eighty miniature classics from many of the great authors they have published over the years, all wrapped up in a monotone iconic penguin classic cover. All eighty titles are retailing at just 80pence each!<o:p></o:p>

I'm thrilled to see that one of my all-time favourite Grimm's Fairy Tale's The Robber Bridegroom Is one of the titles along with another great, Hans Christian Andersen's , The Tinder Box. Both fantastic dark tales, (although not perhaps suitable for young or sensitive readers.)<o:p></o:p>

To celebrate Penguins mammoth anniversary, and because I adore these tales so much I want as many people as possible to read them, I'm doing my first ever giveaway. Tweet and follow me @spoyton #Penquin80 and tell me your favourite penguin classic for a chance to win both books and goody bag containing some lovely surprises and treats!<o:p></o:p>

Penguin has seen a vibrant first eighty years, and we hope the next eighty will be even more exciting.<o:p></o:p>

Happy Birthday Penguin!<o:p></o:p>
Sallyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-77786672193268863412015-06-26T13:57:00.002+01:002015-06-26T13:57:39.739+01:00Celebrating Independent Bookshop Week 2015, with a blog post dedicated to my family's favourite Indy Bookshop – Mostly Books!As a reader, writer, book blogger and mother I LOVE books. As a contentious buyer I LOVE independent shops, we buy our meet from a village butchers, we buy our books from an independent bookshop. My favourite book shop is the wondrous Mostly Books in Abingdon.

Mostly Books is a family business headed up my husband and wife team Nicki & Mark Thornton, who run the shop with a team of enthusiastic staff (endorsed by Imogen being short-listed for the Young Bookseller of the year award earlier this year) who are all passionate about books. The façade on the picturesque Stert Street in Abingdon could almost be off of Diagon Alley and walking inside the shop is full of hand picked books with vibrant seasonal displays and dedicated children's room and even court yard garden.

What makes Mostly Books my favourite Book Shop is its; soul, character and its dedication to literacy, bringing a whole of host of events to the shop and to other local venues partnering with schools and societies. That and of course its stock of books, all chosen thoughtfully by Mark, Nicki and the team, who therefore really know their stock and are very equip to match books to readers.

The shop has really helped my small people to embrace a love for books through events, competitions, meeting authors, and by finding books that really engage them.

My daughter helped out on the Nosy Crow Take Over in celebration of Independent Bookshop Week 2013, meeting Helen Peters, Hitchcock and Paula Harrison, therefore inspiring her to read their book and their recommended books which pushed her to read outside her usual comfort zone and vastly improving her reading skills.

My son, really loves Hugless Douglass and was thrilled to have met David Melling at one of Mostly Books author events back in 2013. Also that year he met Jane Hissey and the Old Bear characters which inspired him to draw and write a book with his own teddy 'Red Ted,' this was the first time he ever wrote anything my choice.

Loving the shop and getting to know Nicki and Mark, I began to help out both on the shop floor and at events. This has provided me with much appreciated company (as much as I love it writing can be rather solitary), plus has been a fabulous experience, meeting authors and illustrators and seeing how they engage and inspire children. There is something very humbling and magical about watching children be so enthralled about the written world, and feel very privileged to have been able to observe this.

Helping out at Mostly Books has been a learning curve, I'd worked in shop before but I soon discovered that being a bookseller is a vocation and very different to peddling clothes, or vegetables! Knowing your stock and customers is key, and I soon discovered my talents are almost exclusively children's books. I really enjoy helping children pick books, conversing with them to find out what they like and suggesting titles that I think will really hook them. I like selling to adults too, and since spending time at the shop I've read more adults books than ever in my life and discovered some truly fantastic authors.

The Mostly Books staffs are innovative with their events, competitions, groups and offers. They are always finding ways to improve and modify their unique service to bring their customers the very best Independent book shop experience, this is something which is truly inspiring and also contiguous. In 2014 Mostly Books was announced as Julia Donaldson's Independent Bookshop for the month of August, ahead of which me and the small people made a Gruffalo Child to assist the publicity spreading the word that The Gruffalo was to visit the shop.

In short I LOVE Mostly Books, it is my and my family's favourite bookshop. But it's not the shop or the books alone, but the dedicated hard working team that gives Mostly Books its soul.

Sallyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-15393611069834993942015-06-11T11:57:00.002+01:002015-06-11T11:57:57.216+01:00When Shelley Met Sally... Working with an Agent.

Submitting manuscripts is an exciting business, it's proof that you've got the stamina to write and finish a book, plus it is validation that you are trying to do something further; share your story with the world. But submitting is also an emotional roller-coaster, the highs of full manuscript requests, and the lows of rejections. I've ridden this roller-coaster on numerous occasions (in fact never got off, as the submitting process is perpetual) but last autumn, something strange happened, I was offered representation by an agent.

Much jubilation and trepidation was experienced as I prepared to meet the agent; will they understand what I'm trying to achieve with my book? Will they like me? Will they think I'm someone they can invest in? Will I like them? Will I be able to trust them enough to let them guide me through the next stage of my writing career? What to wear?

So the day drew near, and stress piled on as all the trains were delayed due to 'leaves on track', and then I did a tour of central London as I took a wrong turn and got horribly lost. Eventually I managed to find Foyles, and get to the new café to meet the Agent. I needn't have worried. The agent as it turns out was not some kind of monster who sleeps on the shushpile and snacks on writers, but an actual person, a rather lovely person called Shelley Instone.

Shelley put me straight at ease (aided by writers' stable diet of coffee and cake) and said many lovely things about my writing; she 'got' my book. She totally understood what the book was about, and as having studied classics, she appreciated the intertextual motifs woven in to the duel-narrative plot. I was further impressed by the fact that she mentioned some of the authors whose work had influenced the book. Shelley's enthusiasm was infectious, and we were soon in the throngs of conversation of what work needed to be done to take the book the next stage and ready it for submission. I had the confidence that with Shelley's guidance that my book could really improve.

Feeling invigorated and ready to delve back into my own make-believe world, I signed with Shelley and we began the editing journey. The editing has been extensive, the nuts and bolts of the book have remained, plus the aim, themes, and the fairy tale narrative has been hardly touched. However the main body of the text has been overhauled, two characters have been written, and the word count has been cut by 30,000 words, but the biggest change has been changing it from YA to MG.

So far we've done four edits, the first was actually taking away everything that wasn't working then re-writing for middle grade readers followed by lots of planning, re-plotting, and rewriting. Every subsequent edit has focused one specific things. Until the edits come down, to smaller issues like the over uses of certain words. in my case too much SHUDDER.

The main difference between editing when you have an agent is the confidence that someone who is much more experienced than you believes that the changes are going to strengthen the manuscript, thereby elevating any concerns about the amount of work it may be. The editing has also been a creative endeavour, with many new plot twists or re-envisioning of characters and situations which has meant that the journey has been a fun one with many discoveries.

Editing and writing with an Shelley has been hard work, but fun, and it is a fantastic feeling knowing that someone else is as passionate and invested in your book as you are.

Sallyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-88058910546153889142014-10-13T12:08:00.003+01:002014-10-13T12:08:22.134+01:00Exciting News – I Have an Agent!So I'm totally thrilled to announce that I have been signed by the lovely agent Shelley Instone from the Shelley Instone Literary Agency!!!!

So just to say how pleased I am, (and being slightly spread sheet mad) here is a little look back at my journey to being signed…

I started writing in 2007, I was a closet writer until 2011 when I joined writing critique group Abingdon Writers. Then in the same year, slightly jostled by another member I joined SCBWI and entered Undiscovered Voices 2012, where I was long-listed and honorary mentioned in the anthology. Since then it's been working and submitting, and all that goes with it, the good and the bad, and here are some numbers…

Books written – 2 Novels, I Novella, 5 Picture Book Texts

Agent Submissions – 31

Agent Requests for Full Manuscripts – 7

Agent Rejections – 30

Agent Signed - 1

Publisher Submissions – 7

Publisher Requests for Full Manuscripts – 7

Publisher Rejections – 6

(still waiting on one)

Competitions entered -10

Competitions won – 1

Competitions Long-listing – 2

(The Times Chicken House 2013 & 2014)

Competitions Honorary Mentions – 2

(Undiscovered Voices 2012 & Winchesters Writers Conference 2012)

So there it is, my writing journey to the point of getting signed with an agent in numbers. Numbers look clinical, but I find that they are a good way of monitoring my journey as they are honest and not open to embellishment by pretty words.

Needless to say, I'm very excited and thrilled, and very much looking forward to working with Shelley to beat my manuscripts into shape!

Let the editing commence.

Sallyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-32455012120747656152014-06-10T12:57:00.002+01:002014-06-10T13:04:57.682+01:00A time to CELEBRATE Fairy Tales & Hell Hounds!

A TIME TO CELEBRATE FAIRY TALES!

So last week Richard Dawkins, managed to upset almost everyone I know by doing a talk at the Cheltenham Science fair where he allegedly (and now stringently denies) said that 'fairy tales are harmful to children'. What Mr Dawkins exactly said or implied make little difference the real thing of note to me was the masses of people jumping in to defend the centuries old tales. What more of testament and validation can fairy tales have? The sheer quantity of people who came forward to defend them proved that Fairy Tales are love adored by millions of people. Millions of sane people, who know that they are factious, yet are happy to defend them against any slander.

<o:p></o:p>

Maria Warner defends fairy tales, equating them to Wonder Tales, that promote thought experiments read more press here:

Of head over to the BBC News for a interesting debate with many professors who discuss the merits of all things Once upon a time, press here.

Then Philippa Francis talks about the love of fairy tales over on her blog in way of celebration and support to visit press here.

All in all whether Richard Dawkins intended to or not, he unleashed a wide spread debate about fair tales, and a mass declaration of love for them. This I think should be celebrated!

A TIME TO CELEBRATE HELL HOUNDS!

Hell Hounds, and my most favourite of the un-dead critters, there's something rather wonderful about the Jungian primeval fear that wolves evoke in human kind, whether they are actual wolves, werewolves or dog-headed-people but Hell Hounds are the Daddy of wolf like critters.

Hell hounds, seem to be less unitised in fiction though, after racking my brain the only one I can think of is Miss Lupescu in Neil Gaiman's, The Graveyard Book. But Hell Hound stories are plentiful and far stranger than fiction in history. One of the most fascinating is that of Thiess who in his werewolf trial in 1692 Livonian, admitted to being a werewolf, who descended into Hell to take back and release God's Harvest that had been stolen by Saturn's sorcerer Skeistan. Theiss's own evidence that he was detested by the Devil, and that he was working with his fellow brotherhood of werewolves on god missions was enough to secure the old man life. to read more about Thiess, and translations of the trial read, Witches Werewolves and Fairies by Claude Lecoutex.

Large black wolves with burning fire-like eyes, pop up all over Europe in the Middle Ages, one of the most famous being The Beast of Gavaudin, who In the summer of 1764 terrorized the region in France slaughtering many people. After many attempts to kill or capture the beast, on orders from the King Louis XV a troop of his cavalry was sent to help with the mission. Eventually in June 1767 on a hunt involving 300 men the beast was shot. The body was displayed in the Versailles and was described as being; the size of a donkey and wolf-like, with ears that looked like pointed horns, long fangs it's paws were larger than a man's head and it eyes glowed red. Eventually the beast corpse was buried and lost. In fact all of the bodies of these immense creatures have been lost and so their existence relegated to myth. To find out more about The Beast of Gavaudin read Werewolves by Nigel Suckling.

The UK also had its share of Hell Hounds, including one that in a storm on 4th August, 1577 at the Holy Trinity Church, Blythburgh, broke in to the church and killed a man and boy before fleeing into the night. Now this is why I'm celebrating the Hell Hound, because every other Hell Hound corpse has been lost, all evidence of the huge creatures gone EXCEPT that archaeologist working in Suffolk have found the skeleton of a huge dog that on its hind legs would have been 7 foot long, and would have weighed over 200 pounds! The dog's remains were found in a shallow grave close to The Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh and date from about the same time. To find out more visit and see photo's of the skeleton visit the Ancient Origins site press here.

So, although I never want to meet a living Hell Hound in the flesh, the fact that there existence is proven and they can be restored for myth, is in my view a cause for celebration.

Sallyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-24026464702890943362014-06-06T12:30:00.000+01:002014-06-06T12:31:00.815+01:00My Two Months in a World Without the Web.The world is getting smaller, people say, you can talk to someone the other side of the globe, even see them via Facetime. The world is getting faster, people say, no waiting for the post to deliver important letter or documents, no having to pace up and down next to the fax machine as it painfully prints the message. Unlike a hundred years ago when phones weren't commonplace, and you had to send a post card to invite someone over for afternoon tea, or order bread from the bakers (they had up to four postal deliveries back then), now you simply pick up the phone, wherever you are. Unless that is you live where I live.

The past ten months have been rather hectic in the Poyton household, we've relocated from Oxfordshire to Buckinghamshire, which has meant new everything; school, clubs, doctors, dentist, opticians, everything. My husband has changed jobs. We've moved three times, in addition to moving out of our original house. Which has all been A-MAD, B- Creatively Stifling, C-Exhausting. But ultimately the right thing for the family. But one thing I hadn't been until April, was stressed.

In April we moved to a lovely house where we will stay for the foreseeable future (thankfully), but it seems to be in part of Buckinghamshire which is the equivalent to the DARK AGES when it comes to communication infrastructure. With No Mobile Phone Signal. No Internet, and most of the time NO PHONE LINE.

The lack of communication infrastructure was stressful. Despite people helpfully suggesting that I view it as a retreat and I should get loads of writing done. The problem is our lovely house is in the middle of nowhere, it's a half an hour walk to any other village with amenities.

But stressful it is: What if there was an emergency? How would I contact the emergency services?

One day my son was ill at school, but because I was at home and un-contactable, they had to call his granny. What if my mum had been out?

I applied for a job (first one in near on 15 years) and got an interview (yeah!!!), but how was I going to get the feedback or message with no e-mail? (I didn't get the job, but better luck next time).

I volunteer for a number of societies, which are voluntary run with volunteers from all across the uk and is entirely run over the web and via social networking groups. I could NOT be an active member, and I was stressed that people would think I was shirking. Let alone about getting behind on my responsibilities.

I'm on submission – really, I'm sure I don't need to say any more about that.

Then there's the simple house keeping things, how to change address? Check bank balance? Pay bills when all our accounts are online.

But you may say easy fix, go to a café, drink coffee, eat cake, use the wi-fi. AH, not as easy as you think. My e-mail isn't web-based. So my lovely husband managed to rig a kind of patchwork e-mail system up so my e-mails were visible on line and off I trotted. This was especially imperative I got the e-mails as I had a very important time sensitive one to send.

Try one: Sunday: Coffee shop – Wi-fi Down.

Try Two: Wednesday: John Lewis: Everyone gets internet access but me! The lovely internal support man came and tried to help only to discover that my (relatively new high-spec laptop) has a fault driver that stopped me connecting to the Wi-Fi, and needed re-installing. Guess what to re-install it, it needs to connect to the internet!

Try Three: With my hubby gone away on a business trip taking my laptop with him to try and re-install the drivers, I was left with an i-pad. So off I trot to town with the, i-pad to try and send the e-mail. This isn't great as the i-pad's autocorrect is not very dyslexia friendly, and tends to make my writing less coherent, but needs must. So in town, and EVERY café or establishment with Wi-Fi, was either closed or the Wi-Fi was not working. Eventually we find the Library has functioning wi-fi, and after being set up, I log on to find, my husband has changed the password to the e-mail and not told me! He is also contactable.

This was just one of the many stressful and eventful experiences I had in my two months being dis-connected. Far from making my life simpler and more relaxed, having no internet in a world that evolved to it presence is stressful, and makes it difficult to function. We are now connected, and I'm working to catch up, and unwind. And so you may see some more posts from me now I have the means to post them!

Sallyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-24720930510633132882014-03-17T10:07:00.001+00:002014-03-17T15:39:14.551+00:00Writing Process Blog Tour; Work in Progress, Springbatts and Spreadsheets!Last week the lovely Chitra Soundar tagged me in on her blog post, to be part of the Writing Process Blog Tour. She equated herself to a mosquito and gave a charming and funny insight into her current WIP's and writing processes, so please check out her post by pressing here.

Firstly thanks to Chitra for tagging me in, and second, just to answer a question posed to me by Chitra last week; A Springbatt is what you get if you bread a Basset Hound with a Springer Spaniel, it's a very short, hyperactive manically depressive bi-polar dog, that look rather like this…

What am I working on?
This is ALWAYS a difficult question, as it's never just one project! I'm currently editing my YA science Fiction Novel Journey to the Bone Factory (which was longlisted for this years The Times / Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition), trying to get it ready for submission.

I'm also researching for a new novel which is in the midst of forming into a plot in my mind, which (hopefully) will be a YA Urban Fantasy Romance, about Eros/Cupid's lesser known brother Anteros the god of mutual and unrequited love.

But the main project is a yet to be named YA Near Future Tale, that I'm penning about a group of kids and teens strive to care for the surviving animals in a city zoo, after an epidemic which has wiped out all adults. They have to face problems on how to feed the large carnivores, how to keep reptiles warm, and the perilous task of protecting the animals and themselves from the hungry marauding savages that see them as easy meat.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I believe this will be different as although it could be described as dystopian as it's set in a world where infrastructure and government has broken down, but it's not about a struggle against oppressors, but a group of children who work together to overcome obstacles for a united cause of looking after the incarcerated creatures that would otherwise perish. It's study of nature and survival, which also brings animals in to YA.

It always amazes me that whenever you go into a bookshop or library the shelves are stuffed full of book featuring animals for children but stop abruptly when it gets to YA. Do teens suddenly stop caring about animals? I don't think so, not if you think of how many teenagers want to be Vets, or veterinary nurses, or work with animals in some other capacity. So I'm writing this book for all the teen (who like I was as a teen) who still like to read about animals.

Why do I write what I do?
I write the stories that come to me. They gradually seep into my mind and take form refusing to leave until I write them down. Most the concepts evolve in my brain for months before I put pen to paper, but the ones I do write are the ones that scream the loudest, the one that want to be told. I believe that if the stories are so passionate and ignite my imagination, that other people will enjoy them too.

With the Zoo book, I believe that I've had the upbringing to write this book, as when I was a child, we as a family, bread and hand-reared parrots, kept lizards, fish, pigeons, goats and even a stickleback. This gives me a wealth of knowledge about animal husbandry which is a great platform to start research from.

How does your writing process work?
Well writing is a craft and my writing process is constantly evolving and I like to think improving. Each project that has had a different process of getting it down on paper, but the world building, character development and plotting process is pretty much the same. Every project starts with a an idea that lodges itself in my brain and won't stop nagging until I do something with it. First, I write the first scene that I've imagined, capturing the voice and I note down any plot points, and character notes that have come to be, at which point I file it until I have time to devote to writing the story properly.

When I do have the time to devote to the story, I'll dig out the files, and think, walk, and research anything that I think will help, whist brain storming the plot and profiling characters. When I'm ready I do a brief plot plan, separating the plot into acts, and chapters and planning what I think should happen when, before writing.

The writing is fuelled by caffeine, and the ideas by walking (so much so I brought the aforementioned Springbatt's, so when I talk the dialogue to myself that people will think I'm talking to the dogs!) or driving and I write on both my PC, and pen and paper. This happens pretty quickly and the story and character evolve and strengthen along the way, bring surprises which is always a reassuring sign that the story is alive.

I tend to use spreadsheets for plotting and editing, to make sure that i don't drop any threads. I find that to make a real convincing world, that I need to be able to visualize and even taste and feel the world. So I will spend time and draw, and collect objects to help build up the images in my mind. In Journey to the Bone Factory one character can turn gold to lead, so I ALWAYS had a piece of gold and lead on my desk.

When the first draft is done I start editing, and when it's ready my lovely critique group read it and give me honest constructive feedback, which after I've processes I use to improve the manuscript in further edits.

Finally my long suffering husband translates my manuscript into my bespoke dyslexic form of English into actual English!

So now I hand over the baton to my two tagged authors…

Gabby Aquilina who I met at my first ever critique group, Abingdon Writers. I now hand over to Gabby to introduce herself…

I've lived in four different countries in my life and finally decided England is the place for me (although never say never. I'll probably get itchy feet again one day!). I have a degree in Publishing from Oxford Brookes University. co-founded the very successful writer's group, Abingdon Writers, and am in the fingernail-biting stage of waiting for responses from agent submissions! I'm doing a lot of baking (and running to offset the cake-eating) whilst trying my hardest not to constantly refresh my emails...

Check out Gabby's blog next Monday the 24th March on http://gabrielleaquilina.blogspot.co.uk/

Dawn Finch a fellow SCBWI folk who I met in the wonderful web world…
Dawn Finch spent over a quarter of a century working in libraries, with over a decade of that specialising in children's libraries and children's literature. She was thrilled to discover that children's books come with children attached, and has carved out a career working with children and their development as readers and writers.

After many years of trying she managed to get her own book for young people published and in 2013 her first novel - Brotherhood of Shades - was published to great reviews. She is currently working on the sequel as well as a YA novel about a fifteen year old serial killer.

You can find out more about Dawn at her website; www.dawnfinch.com or follow her on Twitter @dawnafinch

To read Dawn's post next Monday check out her blog at www.deefinch.wordpress.com

Sallyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-33434383975958081692014-02-27T11:46:00.000+00:002014-02-27T12:03:29.890+00:00An Slightly Late Celebration of Tell A Fairy Tale Day (which was yesterday)…Usually I'd be shouting from the roof tops on Tell A Fairy Tale Day, last year I posted a video blog of me telling a self-penned fairy tale [press here to view] but yesterday I was somewhat pre-occupied. However today is a bright sunny new day, and I shall mark the great Tell A Fairy Tale Day, a tad late with this small post of how, on the Tell a Fairy Tale day, 26th of February 2014, Fairy tales are featuring in my family.

My small people got Kindle's for Christmas and were reading Grimm's Fairy tales, the original darker less edited versions and when I spotted them stumbling into some of the grimmest tales, I thought I should possibly encourage them toward more age suited tales. Enter Michael Buckley's Sisters Grimm series, the middle grade adventures of Daphne and Sabrina, the fairy tale detectives who discover their descendants of the famous Wilhelm and Jacob, and must save their parents from a fairy-tale villain in the town of Ferryport Landing, which is populated entirely by fairy tale characters called Everafters. I ordered the first book for my daughter (aged nine), who read it in hours, and then continued on to book two, and is now nagging for me to purchase book three. Then my son (aged seven) a more reluctant reader liked the sound of the books so much he's how reading the first book too.

I'm currently reading Jasper Fforde's fantastic first Nursery Rhymes Division book, The Big Over Easy, which is a hilarious detective yarn, following DI Jack Spratt (who has a nasty reputation for killing giants) as he and DS Mary Mary, try to crack the murder of Humpty Stuyvesant Van Dumpty'. I'm immensely enjoying watching the detectives as they try and work out who done it, with an escalating pile of corpses, and growing list of suspects, from Humpty's lover Rapunzel, small time crook Thom Thumb, to crime king-pin Giorgio Porgia. It's a cleaver, witty and quirky read, that takes fairy-tales to a genre which is unique to Jasper Fforde.

My husband, and me and well everyone who comes around to visit are dipping into the remarkable and humorous, 'Tigger on The Couch' by Laura James. This coffee table book was published back in 2007, and is incredibly hard to come by, but is worth the search. Tigger on The Couch, diagnoses the 'Neuroses, psychoses, disorders and maladies of favourite childhood characters'. Of course Fairy Tale characters feature heavily, for example; Snow White's Stepmother who has ' Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) which manifests with her experiencing severe problems with personal relationships and in controlling her obsessive impulse. It's an entertaining read from Cinderella's trouble with Approval Addiction, to the more serious Bluebeards Psychopathy which results in callous disregard for others and serial murder.

Finally, my son is practicing every waking moment for his upcoming concert, which is a musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's version of Jack and the Beanstalk. So as you can see on Tell A Fairy Tale day 2014, my family is indeed focused on fairy tales!

If that wasn't enough, I'm off to the fantastic book launch this evening of fellow SCBWI member and Undiscovered Voice 2012 Honorary Mention Liz De Jager's fairytale YA Novel Banished!

Sallyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-29411716059729265002014-02-26T09:36:00.001+00:002014-02-26T09:36:52.523+00:00Always the Bridesmaid?!Today, The Times/ Chicken House Children's Fiction shortlist is announced both in the paper and on the Chicken House site [Press Here], and I'm not on it.

So here is a little blog about NOT making the shortlist.

Back in 2011 I submitted my first ever piece of writing to my first ever –ANYTHING – the SCBWI Undiscovered Voice Anthology. To my absolute shock and joy, my entry (an extract from my first novel a YA fantasy Fairy Tale yarn 'Through Mortal Eyes), was longlisted. Then after an agonising wait I found, not unsurprisingly, that I didn't make the anthology, however I did receive an Honorary Mention, which was great. The Honorary Mention really helped my confidence giving me the assurance I needed to persevere, but also gave me something to put in covering letters having a positive impact in various slush piles.

In 2012 after several re-writes with the input of both my great writer buddies and professionals (you know who you are and a BIG thank you to you if you're reading this) I submitted the same story to The Times/ Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition, and to my amazement and jubilation it was long-listed for the 2013 competition. Sadly, Through Mortal Eyes, didn't make the shortlist. This got me worrying that maybe I was a 'not quite' one book wonder. A One Horned Unicorn!

However, having fabulous friends and a supportive family, I started writing again, and produced in ten months another YA manuscript, this time a SCI-FI adventure called 'Journey to the Bone Factory', which I sent it off for the 2014 The Times/ Chicken House Children's Fiction competition. As the book was written so much quicker than my first book, I wasn't expecting it to do well. Then I received the an unexpected and gleeful news that Journey to the Bone Factory, had made it on to the longlist. Overjoyed, and much relieved, I saw this as a sign that I can stop worrying about being a one horned unicorn, and promptly gave myself that second horn.

So this brings us around to today, and The Times/ Chicken House Children's Fiction 2014 shortlist announcement, which I'm not in. What does this mean? Well this obviously is disappointing, (anyone who has had a rejection will know just how much of an understatement that is) but it's more than that! Three long-listings; UV 2012, Chicken House 2013 and Chicken House 2014. No improvement?! No escalation?! Stagnation?!

So, what does that make me? A Two horned unicorn, that's destined to always be the bridesmaid, never the bride? How do I take my craft from the bridesmaid level, to being the bride?

So after sometime licking my wounds, it'll be back to writing, planning and plotting with a new goal; how I make the jump from bridesmaid to bride? Fortunately I've been accepted into the much praised Golden Egg Academy, so here's hoping that out of a golden egg, a phoenix-multi-horned-unicorn-bride will be born.

Oh, and one last thing, to everyone who made it on to the shortlist;

Congratulations and Good Luck!

Sallyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-74996728618311782722014-02-14T09:43:00.002+00:002014-02-14T09:43:54.373+00:00Writing is a SMALL WORLD - Interview with Bea Longworth Author of 'In Too Deep' Hot Key Unlocked Valentines YA Novella

Writing is a SMALL WORLD. Writing for children (and teens) is even smaller. When I came out of the writing closet in 2011 I entered this micro world by starting this blog and reluctantly embracing social media, only to find two of my closest university friends were writing and a school friend was a jobbing illustrator with the Bright Agency.

A few years later and I'm still surprised how many of my non-writer friends and associates are secretly pursing the same goals, and one of those revelations came earlier this week when Hot Key Unlocked announced their Valentines special novellas. There was a name I recognised, Bea Longworth author of 'In Too Deep.'

Now after being scooting the periphery of the writing micro world for a few years now, I feel very strongly that collectively we should and shout from the roof top to celebrate every success, so as it's too wet and windy to stand on the roof top, I've got an interview with Bea instead!

A bit about Bea…
After studying English at Oxford University, Bea intended to pursue a career in publishing but got sidetracked into technology PR instead (as you do). That gave her a chance to indulge her love of gaming and all things gadget-related, as well as develop an appreciation for travel. In early 2013 she and her fiancé Bill packed in the day jobs to start their own company called Freed Fiction making interactive digital novels for young adults. Bea lives in Oxfordshire and spends as much time as possible rowing on the River Thames because it's a good excuse for tea and cake afterwards.

The Interview….

Did you always want to be writer?
I've always enjoyed writing but I find it a bit surreal to think of myself as 'a writer.' When you're growing up there's lots of pressure to know what you want to do with your life, which I never have (although apparently when I was five I was determined to be a waitress!) As well as reading I love gaming, particularly games that have a strong narrative element, and for a long time my dream was to work in the games industry. People tend to see books and computer games as complete opposites but in fact they're very complimentary.

What's you favourite three books?
Aaargh, the unanswerable question! It changes depending what mood I'm in. In terms of seminal books, I remember clearly the first time I read Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I must have been about twelve and it blew my tiny mind! I've stayed a Pratchett and Gaiman fan ever since. I also love William Gibson's writing – he's most famous for his cyberpunk novels like Neuromancer, but for me Pattern Recognition is his best by a whisker. I tend to gravitate towards sci-fi and fantasy novels but I also find myself coming back to My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell again and again. His descriptions of Corfu are absolutely spellbinding. Honourable mention for the Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson, which is sort of about the colonisation of Mars but really about EVERYTHING!

What's your favourite Novella?
I'm not sure if it's technically a short novel or a novella, but I just really enjoyed After Dark by a Japanese author called Haruki Murakami. It takes place in real time over the course of one night in a town in present-day Japan. Murakami's writing is really interesting because he mixes up descriptions of very realistic, everyday situations with totally surreal, off-the-wall stuff. I'm not always sure what it means but I love going along for the ride.

Do you prefer traditional books or e-books?
Cop out alert – I like both! With my favourite books, I'll tend to own both a physical and an electronic copy. I'm into re-reading, although really you can never read the same book twice. It's true! With a great book, every time I read it again I get some new meaning out of it that wasn't there before, maybe because I'm reading it at a different time or place. I love books as objects but, particularly when I was travelling a lot for my previous job, e-books were super convenient and they mean you never have to worry about running out of something to read. One thing traditional books will aways win on though – their battery life is amazing J

What's your day job?
About a year ago I started a digital publishing company called Freed Fiction with my partner making interactive digital novels for children and young adults. The business is still in its early stages so things are very nerve wracking sometimes! I'm lucky that writing is part of my job too. Before that I worked as a PR manager for a big American technology company.

Can you please tell us a bit about your writing Journey?
My mum is BRILLIANT at reading aloud so when I was very little bedtime stories used to absolutely captivate me. That's probably what got me into books and reading but it took a long time for me to actually start writing my own fiction. 'In Too Deep' is the first thing I've ever had published and the first story I've actually finished! What you might call functional writing has been a big part of all the day jobs I've had – press releases, text for web sites, brochures and that kind of thing. Even though that sort of writing is very different from writing a book, I think doing any kind of writing regularly really helps give you confidence to just sit down and do it. My family have been relentless in their encouragement and support. Without them I wouldn't have got up the nerve to have a go at getting published by Hotkey Unlocked. What's your favourite and least favourite aspect of writing?
It's possibly the same thing – I both love and am absolutely tortured by watching someone else read what I've written! It's brilliant when they react as you hoped they would, whether that's laughing at a funny part or their knuckled tightening with excitement at a cliff-hanger. Of course it's disappointing when you don't get the reaction you wanted but you have to take it constructively. My fiancé Bill has the dubious pleasure of being the first person to read my writing and he's really good at telling me when something's working and when I need to go back to the drawing board.

How did you get to be published by Hot Key Unlocked?
Unexpectedly! Hotkey Unlocked ran a competition in late 2013 to win the chance to have a Christmas romance novella published. Bill and I are friends with the lovely ladies who run our local bookshop and we came up with the idea that, for a giggle, we should all enter the competition. The plan was to have a Christmas party where we'd read out our entries and then vote for our favourite but I was incredibly surprised to get a message from Hotkey saying they liked my story enough to publish it! The twist was that the competition had produced a couple of outstanding Christmas stories so they asked if I could reset mine around Valentine's Day, which is exactly what I did.

What was the experience of writing In Too Deep like?
It involved a bit of soul searching, a certain amount of hair-tearing and a lot of cups of tea! The story was originally conceived as a competition entry, for which Hotkey Unlocked had provided a very specific brief. Initially I found it challenging to come up with a story that felt satisfying and fitted the plot outline they wanted. In the end I used rowing, a sport I'm very familiar with, to customise the setting. Rowing isn't a very sexy sport (all those blisters and freezing early mornings don't really put you in the mood!) so I knew it would be a challenge to combine realism with romance elements. I also wanted to sneak a pinch of realism into the romance itself – the heroine is suffering from performance anxiety in her sex life as well as her sport!

Finally can you please tell us a little about In Too Deep?
It's about a student called Daisy who's struggling through her first single Valentine's Day since she was old enough to care about boys. If seeing her (sort of) ex-boyfriend all over Facebook snogging anything with boobs and a pulse wasn't bad enough, she's so broke she can't pay her uni fees for next term. Her only hope is to win a rowing scholarship but she isn't feeling confident.

Getting knocked into the river by an arrogant Blue Boat wannabe feels like the last thing she needs, but things aren't always what they seem. It just so happens that, as well as being the most annoying man alive, the guy who ran her over is drop dead gorgeous… It's time for Daisy to take control of her life for a Valentine's Day she'll never forget.

When I wrote In Too Deep I was thinking about how people tend to fall into habits of perception – not just how they see other people, but how they see themselves, and how damaging that can be. The events of the story help Daisy to rethink her self-image and realise her own potential. I really hope everyone who reads it will let me know what they think by leaving a review on the Kindle or iBooks store, or by tweeting me @bealongworth.

<o:p> </o:p>So on this cold and wet Valentines Day, why not treat yourself,

 wrap up warm with a cuppa and In Too Deep!

Sallyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-23666473846104824742014-01-24T11:28:00.004+00:002014-01-24T12:25:20.087+00:00Never Judge a Book by it's Movie? But Trust the Movie to Help Kid's Stretch their Reading Abilities to Read the Book!

I'm really pleased to see the news article this week about the impact of movie adaptations of books on children reading. Using my best finely honed craft, revered usually for one line pitches, I'll give you the summery; that watching movie adaptations of books, inspires children to read books above their reading age thereby challenging, improving and expanding their reading abilities. To read the full article press here.

I personally welcome the research, as there is always an argument that movies and television are some way in conflict with reading which I stringently disagree with. You see as any of you who have read my blog before will know I'm dyslexic.

My dyslexia was horrendous as a child, and reading was a hard heart breaking and potentially volatile endeavour, and reading despite me LOVING it (and hating it in equal measure) took a great deal of commitment and investment. I read slowly, one word at a time, and usually ended up in an emotional mess because I couldn't read the words, and couldn't look them up in a dictionary either (dictionaries are quite frankly hell for dyslexics!). So reading was a gamble, when I was sacrificing so much time, and investing so much, I was reluctant to read a book if I was unsure that it would pay off. The pay-off, that the story was good enough to make the endurance worthwhile.

Movies, however I watched lots of (still do), and if I really liked a movie then I'd read the book, and even if they were way beyond my reading capabilities, as I knew that there'd be a pay-off. I knew I'd like the story, so the risk factor was removed.

Here's a few…

When The Whales Came, was an amazing English production starring Dame Helen Mirren, released in 1989, adapted from Michael Morpurgo's novel. Again, I fell hook line and sinker for the film, and watched it until the VHS tape started getting lines and going all crinkly, and then I watched it more. This inspired me so much I actually spent my heard earned pocket money (a blog for another time) on a copy of the book with the movie tie-in cover; I read this book many times as a consequence of watching the film.

The NeverEnding Story I saw the film which was made in 1984 probably two years later when I was eight, (and was still reading the equivalent of Biff and Chip starter readers) I LOVED the film, and watch it again, again, and again. When I found a copy of Michael Ende's, original book a few years later (1990 ish), I read it despite the fact that half the print is in green and other in red, and it's the size of a brick, and that it's adapted from German so it is a tad trickier to read than something that has not been translated, I struggled through and LOVED it even more than the movie.

My first ever adult book, was as a result of watching the epic ground breaking CGI masterpiece movie adaptation. Cast your mind back twenty years ago, guest it yet? Back before the invention of contemporary YA novels, all my friends were reading Virginia Andrews's Flowers in the Attic or Stephen King, or The Interview with a Vampire series, and I had nothing the right reading age or anything that inspired me enough to consider tackling adult novels. Then at aged fourteen, I went to the tiny cinema and watched Jurassic Park. The effects, the story, everything about it blew me away, so I brought the book and struggled through it, loving every hurdle, and the pay-off was major. This was the book where I realised just HOW MUCH BETTER, book were than there adaptations. I then went through a brief phases of reading every Michael Crichton novel I could.

The same thing happened with my children most notably with Percy Jackson, which has not only inspired my daughter to read the Rick Riordan's novels, but also anything and everything that feature Greek mythology, thereby stretching her reading capabilities and improving them. I sometime help out at a fantastic Indy Book shop Mostly Book's Abingdon, and whenever a movie adaptation is realised there is always a notable increasing in people coming in to buy the books.

So this little blog is essentially just to say that movies and books aren't in direct competition, but in a misunderstood partnership, helping one another to boost kids reading abilities and love of story, or at least that's my take on it!

<o:p> </o:p>

Sallyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-23450106578078350172014-01-18T09:28:00.000+00:002014-01-18T09:30:21.877+00:00The Times / Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition 2014 Long-List - I'm on it!What a GREAT start to the weekend, The Times / Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition Long-List has been announced, and I've made it on again this year!

Ever so slightly shaking with excitement!

Sallyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-20258581232146334712013-10-16T12:01:00.000+01:002013-10-16T12:17:12.308+01:00Dyslexia Awareness Week - Accessing Reading
This week is Dyslexia Awareness Week, and there are great thing's going on all around the country to celebrate dyslexia and raise awareness and bust any derogatory dyslexia myths. Last year I did a great many post's to contribute in my small way but this year a house move, deadlines and life in general has thwarted my plans. However attending the Oxford Children's Book Group's 'Way's into Reading' Conference at the weekend has inspired me to write about my access into reading, and if you grew up in the 80's you may well get nostalgic… <o:p></o:p>

I was listening to talk my Tom and Caro Fickling about their comic The Pheonix, and how comic and the much more en-vogue graphic novels are gateways to reading for many children and adults (I'm looking at you Tom) alike. This talk got some clogs churning in my head and dislodged a long forgotten memory. The Story Teller Magazines of my child hood.<o:p></o:p>

As a child reading was excruciating, I loved the stories but the reading was so difficult and the stigma of not being able to read made me so ashamed that most accesses into reading were barred. I did however subscribe to the Storyteller magazine. The Story Magazine, [press here to go the fan site]was a periodical that had short stories and serialised novels which were all beautifully illustrated and was delivered to the door, BUT what made in accessible was the TAPE.<o:p></o:p>

Yes a tape, and for those of you too young to know what a tape is; it was kind of an MP3 File, before CD's. Here's a picture… <o:p></o:p>

So I would look through the books again and again, and listen to them being read on the tape recorder. The Storyteller Magazines, also came with files to safely store your magazines, and carry-case storage for the tapes. It was this great combo that had me enwrapped with Gobblino, Wizard of Oz, and the Nightingale. The Storyteller Magazines were an un-barred access into reading on that I could access with independence and make the desire to decrypt the code of words and learn to read even stronger.<o:p></o:p>

Recalling this and listening to the Fickling's talk about The Pheonix, got me wishing that there were something like this now for challenged readers, a magazine with a talking component. Surly with all the new technology this could be possible? <o:p></o:p>

Well Tracey Corderoy the lovely author of many picture books and starter novels, talked about a feature that appears in her Picture books published by Nosy Crow. Inside the covers of her books like ShiftyMcNiffty there is a scan able barcode which you can use with a smart phone of tablet, this will then take you directly (at no cost) to Nosy Crow's web-site and will then read you the text [it's sound only, no visuals] for the book, helpfully 'Pinging' when it's time to turn the page! This enables the child to listen to story and follow the text.<o:p></o:p>

Another access to reading utilising new technology is Me Books, a company which sells books apps where the books are read, or it is possible to record your own reading of the book. This in turn can help children to access reading, as they can listen and follow the words with out the stress of de-coding it themselves.<o:p></o:p>

These are all great advances and open up more accesses to reading, but still I think if we could get a Storyteller type magazine for the 21st century, aimed for he older challenged read this would be a great access into reading.<o:p></o:p>

Dyslexia Awareness Week 2013!
Sallyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-91752478427586548522013-10-07T14:21:00.001+01:002013-10-07T18:39:11.486+01:00The Festive Manuscript – an ode to Spellcheck!I'm red faced and writhing in embarrassment. I am dyslexic, but I'm also an optimist. As a dyslexic I KNOW I can't spell of toffee. As an optimist I BELIEVIE I can learn to spell [this may be too many Disney cartoons coming back to taunt me – if you work hard enough you'll succeed]!

The issue is my current manuscript. My manuscripts are usually always festive. I don't mean that I write about Christmas, NO, but they are decorated all over with red and green squiggly lines. Usually.

My current WIP was amazingly squiggle free, the whole 74,000 words of it were anti-festive. So as a dyslexic and relatively intelligent woman what I SHOULD have thought was – what's wrong with spellcheck. But as an optimist I BELIVIED that my dyslexia was improving and that I'd managed to achieve an error fee MS.

So after my final revisions, MS mark (who know I've forgotten it has been edited do much), I smugly press send to my writer friends to read and critique.

Then my ever-so-lovely husband reads the MS. Three days later my husband surfaces looking like he's been duelling with a hormonal tyrannosaurus rex, to tell me, well; the prognosis isn't good. And then utters the words 'you broke spell check, it wasn't correcting anything.'

Then I recollected this little gem…

Apparently this was a warning from word that spellcheck was about to have a nervous breakdown. As a relatively intelligent dyslexic woman I SHOULD have halted everything and yelled for help. As an optimist I BELIVIED all was fine, laughed it off and carried on (another 50,000 words!)

So thanks to a very patient husband, I have a fixed spell check and a much more readable MS. So MS mark (who know I've forgotten it has been edited do much but a least it's now readable), is pinging its way to my ever so lovely and patient writer friends.

The morel of this story is – respect all your writer friends and don't ignore cries for help even if that friend is spell check.

Sorry spell check!
Sallyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-89307350699446125182013-09-23T11:00:00.002+01:002013-09-23T11:00:31.495+01:00Fairy Tale Lands - Not as far away as you think! Movie Locations.
Yesterday whilst walking the dogs in Black Park (Buckinghamshire), we stumbled on an old building, which I thought was odd I hadn't noticed before, but just as I was questioning my sanity I noticed that the aged stone was in fact actually plywood.

The building is a setting for the upcoming Disney Movie adaptation of Cinderella staring Helena Boham Carter, Cate Blanchett and Hayley Atwell (due for release in 2015). It turns out that Black Park woodlands is no stranger to film crews with Tim Burton using it for 'Dark Shadows'. It also featured in many of the Harry Potter films, and provided the setting for the fairy tale forest in the 80's Fantasy 'Willow.'

So this accidental find got me thinking; with such a wealth of fairy tale movies at the moment, what other locations have been picked by producers and directors (with a bit of dressing, a tad of CGI and bucket load of imagination) to become fairy tale wonderlands.

It turns out that The National Trust which is mostly associated with costume dramas has been doing rather well out of the Hollywood Fairy Tale fascination, with…

Snow White and The Huntsman – that chose their Frensham Ponds as a major location.

Then, Disneys live action take on Sleeping beauty, Maleficent starring Anglina Jolie in the title role, has been filming at yet another of their properties, The Ashridge Estate

'Jack the giant Slayer' filmed at another of the National Trust's treasures, The Cheddar Gorge.

However the Tommy Wirkola directed,' Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters' opted for the Grimm's homeland of Germany, for all of the on location filming.

Bourne Wood's in Surrey has had a fair amount of fairytale action with both t Bryan Singer, 'Jack the giant Slayer' and last year's 'Snow White and The Huntsman', transforming it into a fairy tale forest.

The really great thing about this, is that many of these locations are in the uk, and so we can actually visit experience and be inspired by these the fairy tale settings!

Sallyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-58741450736509987932013-07-04T10:52:00.004+01:002013-07-07T11:21:51.167+01:00Independent Booksellers Week 2013! – Celebrating some of our Favourite Indy Bookshops! This week is Independent Bookseller Week 2013! 29th June to the 6th booksellers, publishers, authors, illustrators, and customers will be involved in events across the nation designed to promote and celebrate Indy bookshops. Press here to read about some of the IBW events across the country.

In a world where the internet is ever reaching, and small indy booksellers are competing in the shadow of giant on line companies, IBW is a way of celebrating these little book-havens and shouting to the world that indy bookselling is still very much alive.

'Independent bookshops are far and away the best, I don't buy in larger chain bookshops, I like the independents. It's the people in the independent bookshops, they're so knowledgeable, and they pick better books.'

Janice Markey, Teaching Assistant, Book-crosser, Book lover.

So in the spirit of Independent Booksellers Week, here are some authors favourite Indy Bookshops . . .

Just Imagine Children's bookshop in Chelmsford - Julia Jones

Recently discovered Just Imagine children's bookshop in Chelmsford, owned and managed by the redoubtable Nikki Gamble.

Julia Jones is an author and owner of Golden Duck (UK) Ltd.

Leaf Old Cross in Hertford - Alice Hemming

My favourite indy bookshop is Leaf - a children's bookshop and café which has recently opened up just around the corner from me at the Old Cross in Hertford. Leaf offers a full range of titles for 0-18 yr olds as well as serving fantastic coffee, tea, milkshakes and home-made cakes in a family friendly space. They also do book readings, craft activities, book clubs and they are offering 10% off all book purchases and putting on extra free craft activities this week for Independent Booksellers week.

<o:p></o:p>

Alice Hemming is a picture book writer. Her first book, The Black and White Club, will be published by Maverick in September.

Mostly Books in Abingdon – Sally Poyton

Mostly Books is a family run indy bookshop that started as a labour of love in 2008 when it won the prestigious New Bookshop of the Year Award. Mostly Books is full of friendly staff who always greet you with a smile, that are very knowledgeable about their stock and spend time to help you find the right books. MB's is more than just a bookshop; it stretches out to the community with a huge calendar of author events, and books groups. It also has great tie with local schools bringing authors to meet the pupils, helping to inspire the next generation of writers.

The Norfolk Children's Book Centre - Paeony Lewis

The Norfolk Children's Book Centre is in the middle of nowhere (off the A140 between Aylsham and Cromer), but they'll always give you a cup of coffee. What I like is that they have books you won't find in many other booksellers. Yesterday I bought a glorious American picture book called Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert.

Paeony Lewis, is a children's author of picture books. http://www.paeonylewis.com

Scarthin Books in Cromford - Mel Rogerson

Derbyshire has its fair share of indie bookshops, but Scarthin Books in Cromford, is one of the best. Spread over three ramshackle floors, it's impossible to leave without finding at least one gem amongst the shelves of new, old and rare books. My favourite place in the belly of this organic beast is, of course, the Children's Book Room. Packed full of brilliant titles, from picture books to YA novels, it has a magical air that only true, well-worn bookshops can bestow. And if all this literary loveliness gets too much, there's always a cup of tea and a slice of chocolate cake waiting in the cafe on the other side of the corridor. Scarthin Books is more than a shop, it's a door to other worlds. Long may it exist!

Mel Rogerson used to make books for a living, but after moving back home to the Peak District, she now writes and reviews them for fun. A fan of all things hidden, Mel loves hiking through secret dales and hunting for lost villages. She's also partial to maps, oatcakes and tiny things. Mel is joint features editor for Words and Pictures, the SCBWI British Isles blogzine.

The Thatcham Bookshop - Anita Loughrey

The Thatcham Bookshop has a surprisingly wide range of books and they will order anything else in.

Anita Loughrey is an author of children's books she also writes for The Writer Forum Magazine.

Finally we finish with a newly opened Bookshop! Last weekend children book author Julia Jones OPENED Between the Lines Bookshop in the village of Great Bardfield Essex. Must surely be the newest bookshop in the country! It's great to see that in a financial downturn that indy bookshops are still opening. Good luck Between the lines!

So why not have a look to find out where your local Indy Bookshop is, and what events they're running this week! Follow this link to find our your nearest Independent bookshop; Independent Bookshop Directory.

What don't you leave a comment and tell us about your favourite independent bookshop!

Sallyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-61567236826161858842013-05-07T10:41:00.000+01:002013-05-07T10:42:28.356+01:00 Giving my creativity a boost (or at least that's my excuse) . . .
<o:p>
 </o:p>Giving my creativity a boost

(or at least that's my excuse) . . .

A while ago I wrote a blog called Dachshund vs Straitjacket [to read press here]. Silly title as it may be it was about the creative mind [well mine at least] working best whilst walking, and the benefits of doing this whilst walking a hound.

I find movement untethers creativity from the shackles of to-do-lists, nagging worries and all the other stodgy thoughts that clog up the brain. When walking my mind is free to meander wherever it wants, and that this is where my best ideas come from.

Apparently it not just me researchers from the University of Utah have done studies which have proven walking does boost creative thinking, and that on one of their test groups the volunteers creative performance was improved by 50% after a four-day hiking trip. [To read full article press here]

However the University of Utah said nothing about talking to one's self whilst walking. This is what I do. I think out story lines, and talk it out loud, trying out dialogue and sometimes even arguing with myself. Now this was all well and good when I had a dog to walk, as passers-by assumed I was talking to the dog. BUT when my four legged friend passed away three years ago, people I passed on my walks would speed up or cross the road and avoid eye contact with the strange woman who was talking to herself. I'm sad to say my walking habits changed and not to the benefit of my creativity.

Missing my creative walks, and after much debate and discussion I have found a solution, one which will stop me from having strange glares, when I'm talking on my rambles through the countryside.

Here is the solution . . .

Sallyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-9032322069434415138.post-8682596300643557212013-04-15T16:10:00.000+01:002013-04-15T16:18:41.076+01:00Living the Fairy Tale - World Building

Living the Fairy Tale - World Building

<o:p></o:p>

A few weeks ago I posted about the world building for my WIP, Journey to the Bone Factory. I spoke about the depth of research and about the methods I use to store all this vital information so that my mind is free to be creative and write [Press here to read]. This got me thinking about the differences between the world building between Bone Factory (YA SCI-FI) and my first book Through Mortal Eye's, and so I decided to post about the world building in Through Mortal Eyes.<o:p></o:p>

Through Mortal Eyes, is a very different book; but it is still one that's heavily reliant on world building for success. Its fantasy told in a duel narrative, but it's a fantasy based in this reality and time. You'd think it'd make world building easier but that's not easier it's just different. <o:p></o:p>

Through Mortal Eyes, is about Fairy tales, but not fluffy one ending with happily ever after, or ones set in different worlds. In the world of Through Mortal eyes, fairy tales are real, the characters moving around in the shadows, and eventually they get entwined with seventeen year old Ruby, who has to bring the all the tales to an end.

Of course I need not have to worry about gravitational pull, and the proximity of planets to their suns, or population density but I did have a whole lot of reading and world building of two different views and times within our world. But instead of the physics of the world I was looking more at species of the world, and making a normal setting seem dark and fairy tale like. <o:p></o:p>

So for the world building I looked at fairy tales, stacks of them. Then I also had species to work out so research veered in the direction of ghouls, beast and the un-dead from mythology and folklore across the world. I noted down species profiles, much like character profiles, but with anatomy, and social histories. I also researched actual history to slip things to make the species history more believable and add depth; researching the dog-headed Saint Christopher and the Hungarian Countess, Elizabeth Bathory who murdered and bathed in young maiden blood.<o:p></o:p>

For places I used the little love town of my youth, using the oldest house in town, and the oldest church with the hollow tree. Both these places in the right light with the right words look like they belong in a fairy tale. Also In the novel there is an abandoned town, which was burnt to the ground in middle ages, only leaving the church standing. This actually happened to a town about fifteen miles from the in the novel, but not knowing what it was called I found a great web-site detailing all the lost medieval town of Berkshire Press here.<o:p></o:p>

Of course sometimes a simple object can be enough to set your mind working, dictating to be used in the narrative and that the world is built to include it. This happened with my dad's old dagger that he dug up on a building site years ago.

All these notes were spread out over an array of notepads, ring-binders and stored virtually. Coming together to build a disturbing yet scarily familiar world. <o:p></o:p>

Sallyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
'Bernie,' 'Beasts' and 'Moonrise' get a boost from 2012 Gotham nominations
The awards season is "officially" under way today as the first awards show of the season has announced its list of nominees. The Gotham Independent Film Awards are typically good for establishing certain independent films in the race early on, films that hope to maintain a profile throughout the season as the bigger titles do battle. Beneficiaries of Gotham recognition have included "Beginners," "The Tree of Life," "The Descendants," "Winter's Bone," "Black Swan," "The Kids Are All Right," "The Hurt Locker" and "A Serious Man" in recent years.
The 22nd annual slate could prove helpful to a film like Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom," which picked up two nominations including Best Feature, as the film looks to turn summer release goodwill into a Best Picture Oscar nomination. (It landed on DVD/Blu-ray yesterday, which also helps.) Richard Linklater's "Bernie," meanwhile, also nominated for Best Feature, can ride an early wave like this and perhaps more voters will put in the screener and give it a look. This after Millennium Entertainment brought Linklater and star Jack Black to New York and Los Angeles for a few soirées to get the engine humming.
Another film that can ride this early tide nicely is "Beasts of the Southern Wild." It was passed over in the Best Feature field but still managed two nods in the breakthrough categories (director Benh Zeitlin and actress Quevenzhané Wallis). "Silver Linings Playbook" also managed to be recognized, in the Best Ensemble category.
And still other films, like "The Sessions" or particularly "Arbitrage," really could have used some attention here. Alas, they were snubbed.
Filling out the Best Feature field was "The Loneliest Planet," "The Master" (its only nod) and "Middle of Nowhere."
Check out the full list of nominees below. The 22nd annual Gotham Independent Film Awards will be held on November 26 at Cipriani in New York.
Best Feature
"The Loneliest Planet"
"The Master"
"Middle of Nowhere"
"Moonrise Kingdom"
Best Documentary
"How to Survive a Plague"
"Marina Abramavi?: The Artist is Present"
"Room 237"
"The Waiting Room"
Best Ensemble Performance
"Moonrise Kingdom"
"Safety Not Guaranteed"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Your Sister's Sister"
Breakthrough Director
Antonio Méndez Esparza, "Aquí y Allá (Here and There)"
Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Brian M. Cassidey, Melanie Shatzky, "Francine"
Jason Corlund, Julia Halperin, "Now, Forager"
Zal Batmanglij, "Sound of My Voice"
Breakthrough Actor
Mike Birbiglia, "Sleepwalk with Me"
Emayatzy Corinealdi, "Middle of Nowhere"
Thure Lindhardt, "Keep the Lights On"
Melanie Lynskey, "Hello, I Must Be Going"
Quevenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You
"An Oversimplification of Her Beauty"
"Red Flag"
"Sun Don't Shine"
"Tiger Tall in Blue"

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Caldera Hot and Cold Therapy Gel Pack The Caldera Hot and Cold Therapy Gel Packs are supremely convenient thermotherapy gel pads specially designed as personal pain management and rehabilitation solutions for use anywhere pain is present. These Hot and Cold Therapy Gel Packs deliver your choice of either hot or cold thermotherapy directly to the source of the pain for fast and effective pain relief. An ideal solution to aches, strains, injuries, headaches and more, these gel packs from Caldera are microwave and freezer safe and reusable for years and years of dedicated use. Not-toxic and latex-free, the Caldera Hot and Cold Therapy Gel Packs ensure you're ready for whatever pains life throws your way. Buy your Caldera Hot and Cold Therapy Gel Packs today from ActiveForever.com! Caldera Hot/Cold Gel Packs Features: Delivers fast and targeted heat or ice therapy Available in a variety of sizes for the perfect fit Can be used nearly anywhere for quick pain relief Ideal for View more
Customer Reviews
Write Your Own Review
Shipping Information, click here
View our easy return policy, click here
To log in to your account and request an RMA, click here


text:
- Thailand
- 9 Months ago
- Offline
- 9 Months ago
About me
I'm Koby (25) from Kempton, United States.
I'm learning French literature at a local university and I'm just about to graduate.
I have a part time job in a university.
by : ihrwg.org
Social Links
- http://www.ihrwg.org/
- n/a
- n/a
- n/a
My favorites
My favorite videos list is empty.
Submitted by Koby Howland
Sorry, there are no videos to show.