Quick one today to say that I’m thrilled to be over at the lovely Jen Campbell’s blog today, answering one or two questions about words. Click here to see.
Month: July 2014
Children’s Writing Workshop
So, on Tuesday 5th August I’m running a writing workshop for children. It’s for children aged 7 and up and will only cost £2. I’m looking forward to it very much. I used to run an awful lot of workshops for children when I wrote for them but since switching to writing things for adults I’ve not really done any (I think the last one was back in 2008). So, yes. I’m looking forward to it. It will be fun. Places are limited so it’s probably best to book early, and you can do so here.
Better Late Than Never
So, I’ve been a little quiet on here of late. Mostly because I’ve been busy. But I’ve managed to shift a mountain of work from my desk/computer and now I’m a little freer I’d like to point you in a couple of cool directions.
First, the winner and shortlisted mini-flash collections, from the Bookimbo competition I judged, are now available. They’re very lovely indeed and you can check them out here. Watch out for an interview with the winner, right here, very soon.
Second, National Flash Fiction Day happened a little while ago and the anthology to celebrate it is available here. There’s a story of mine in it. Doesn’t it look good?
And that’s about it for now. More soon…
Carys Competition Time!
The lovely and very talented Carys Bray has a new book out. A novel, and it sounds excellent. So, as she’s lovely and talented I’m thrilled to have her back on the blog to talk about it. And as if that’s not enough, leave a comment and you could get your hands on a signed copy. Over to Carys…
Nik has invited me to his blog to talk about my debut novel A Song for Issy Bradley which was published on 19th June – thank you, Nik! Here’s a little bit about the book:
This is the story of what happens when Issy Bradley dies.
It’s the story of Ian – husband, father, maths teacher and Mormon bishop – and his unshakeable belief that everything will turn out all right if he can only endure to the end, like the pioneers did. It’s the story of his wife Claire’s lonely wait for a sign from God and her desperate need for life to pause while she comes to terms with what’s happened.
It’s the story of the agony and hope of Zippy Bradley’s first love. The story of Alma Bradley’s cynicism and reluctant bravery. And it is the story of seven-year-old Jacob. His faith is bigger than a mustard seed, probably bigger than a toffee bonbon and he’s planning to use it to mend his broken family with a miracle.
A Song for Issy Bradley is a novel about family, but it’s also about faith, doubt and miracles – things that have always interested me. I was raised in a Mormon family. As a child I spent many hours in church meetings, listening as the adults told miraculous stories from the scriptures and everyday life. Many of the miracles were decidedly prosaic – the finding of lost car keys and fortuitous encounters in Asda – but others were startling and marvellous. In a particularly memorable tale, a Mormon Elder was said to have commanded a dead man to rise, and the man sat up and explained that the life had come back into him like a blanket unrolling. I loved these stories, they made the world a magical place. And as I wrote the novel as I revisited many of them.
I never expected my little book to find a big publisher. As a result I’ve been very uncool (i.e incredibly excited) at pretty much every stage of the publication process. It was exciting to see the book for the first time – it has a beautiful cover, really lovely end pages and, without its jacket, it is red, my favourite colour. It was exciting to read a blog about how the cover was developed. It was exciting to read lovely blurbs and kind reviews. And it was extremely exciting to see A Song for Issy Bradley posters up at various tube stations when I visited London last week. I wandered around the underground with a slightly inane grin on my face (it’s possible that I’m still wearing the inane grin, a whole week later). It is also exciting to visit Nik’s long-established blog and talk about my very first novel – thank you so much for having me, Nik!
If you’d like a chance to win a signed copy of A Song for Issy Bradley, comment at the end of this post and I’ll pick a winner within a week or two.