Library Day + Digital Readman

I’m back at the desk now after spending a big chunk of yesterday in the library. I got there at half three and left just after seven. And it was fun.

First the young writers I’d been working with for eight weeks since January got the books they’ve written. I’ve said before that they looked brilliant and they really, really did. The writers thought so which was the main thing. And then they read from them and the audience was, without question, captivated – and impressed too. I loved seeing it, mostly because the stories are so good, but also because I’ve seen how hard they’ve worked on them over those eight weeks. (Again, huge thanks to the mums and dads who came along to listen too.) And there’s probably a big dollop of pride in there too.

Then we started all over again. I met the next group I’ll be working with over the next couple of months and, again, I loved it. Looks like I’ve got another great group and that there’s plenty of good stuff to look forward to.

And then, after that, I taught my adult group and that was great too – lots of good and interesting stories going on there as well.

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In other news… the very lovely and ridiculously talented Angela Readman goes digital today (click here to see how).

As well as being a friend, Angela’s also one of my absolute favourite writers – I said this about her latest book a little while ago when her publisher asked for a quote, and I meant every word of it:

“Angela Readman’s stories are gems. Rainbow coloured ones that probably glow in the dark and sing too. They are perfect, fizzing explosions of stories, told by a perfect storyteller. You will love them.”

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And here are some picture of the Juniors’ event. Apologies for the quality – the sunshine was gushing into the library while we did our thing.

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Photo Evidence

It’s been another very busy few weeks here – one of the reasons there’s been such little activity on the blog for a little while. But things have been done. Oh yes they have. I’ve been doing plenty of teaching and workshop running, and prepping for ones coming up. The presentation and reading for my last group of Junior Writers is next week, and right after that the next group starts, which is all exiting stuff – especially as the local press are going to be there,

Also exciting has been receiving the books the juniors have written. Huge thanks to the magnificent Vicky for their superb design. They look every it as brilliant as the stories are in them.

Here are a couple of pics:

Junior 2 books 2 Junior 2 Books

It seems a fair old time ago that we were starting with this…

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So lots to look forward to (and writing, there’s always writing). I’m really, really happy to be working with younger people again after so many years only concentrating on grown-up things. For once, it seems I made a good decision.

And, here’s another picture. This is me, snapped while I was looking out for a taxi to take me to a workshop. (Again, thank you, Vicky.)

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Skein Island – Lucky Number 7

I like Aliya Whiteley. I’ve said it beef and I’ll say it again. Hers, I think, was the first blog I subscribed to (way back in 2005, I think) and she even published one of my very early short stories (or one of the early ones I was happy with at least), when she was editor over at the brilliant, but now sadly no more, Serendipity Magazine. (It’s called Martha’s Dance if anyone wants to google it.)*

So it’s with an enormous amount of pleasure that I welcome her back to the blog (she’s been here many times before) to talk about her seventh book (seven! see how far we’ve come! and see! we’re still here, still doing this thing!) Skein Island, which I am very much looking forward to reading as soon as I get the chance – and about the joys of unpredictability (probably another reason why I like her). Of course I’ll let you all know what I think about it when I do. Until then, over to you, Aliya..

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Skein Island is the seventh book I’ve had published, and the fourth novel. But it’s the twelfth book I’ve written, and the seventeenth book I’ve started to write. There have been a lot of book corpses along the way.

If you were to look only at my published efforts you might struggle to find a common thread. It’s been a strange twenty year journey through comedy, mystery and science fiction that has led to fantasy-horror with my latest offering. I’m not even taking into account my first published effort under a pseudonym, which was a romance between a penniless artist and a movie star (so I suppose fantasy isn’t really a new direction at all). But the unseen books would probably fill in the gaps: the crime novel with mythological overtones; the romantic comedy set in space; the mystery solved by a 1950s RAF Officer. Well, perhaps all it really explains is why some of my books have been deemed unpublishable in the first place.

Here’s the thing; I hate predictability. I don’t ever manage to work out what somebody is going to do next in life, and so I rarely like that quality in literature. Having said that, the tension that readers’ thwarted predictions bring to a novel or a short story can be very useful. Think of the way we react to the memorable and yet not at all expected end of Gone With the Wind.

Skein Island has a quest, and a strong hero, and an evil villain. It has an ancient monster, and a wise man, and a comedy sidekick, and a feisty heroine, and everything a good quest narrative should have, but all of those characters don’t want to be what they are, just as Scarlett O’Hara didn’t really want to be, above all else, Rhett Butler’s wife. Still, they find that some personality traits are unavoidable simply because of the roles into which they have been forced. They are fascinated to discover they are types as well as people.

At the time of writing the book I was reminded of how many personality tests exist out there in the world, and how people love to take them, perhaps often with a tongue-in-cheek approach to whatever the results might proclaim them to be. Mostly B’s? Then you’re energetic, cheerful and keen on tapestry weaving. We don’t fit into boxes and we do. We hate to be thought of as a type. Well, the type of people who hate to be thought of as a type hate it. Marketing tells us we’re all unique and special snowflakes while categorising us according to spending habits. It’s a confusing business. The novel is about the tension that exists in a hero, or a villain, or even a monster, between being a personality type and an individual.

I’ve written in a lot of genres, and sometimes I worry that I’m not enough of a type for readers. Can I build a following? Will people read across horror, or fantasy, or even romance? The thing is, when I think about it, readers aren’t exactly types either. We don’t only pick up the same kind of books every time, no matter what the marketing department tells us. And it doesn’t really matter that I’m not one type of writer, because everything I write is still a part of me, and it bears my voice. You might not have any idea what I’m going to say next. I myself rarely have any idea of what I’m going to say, do, or write next. But one thing is for sure; I’m going to say it in the best way I know how. I can’t help it. That’s just part of my personality.

Skein Island. Dog Horn Publishing. 30th March 2015.

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* It is there. I just have.

Junior Writing Group Spaces

As I’ve mentioned a couple of times before, this year I’ve been running writing groups for younger people – and I’ve another on the horizon. It’s been an awful lot of fun and I’ve enjoyed it tremendously and I’m looking forward to working with the next group

And there are spaces available (we’ve had a couple of cancellations).

So, what is it? It’s an eight week course, starting 28th April, which runs from 4:30 – 5:30 every Tuesday at Bollington library. Everyone, aged 7 and up, is welcome. And if you come you’ll learn how to come up with ideas, the basics of good story telling, how to plot a story, how to turn what you’ve plotted into a great story, description and dialogue – amongst other things. By the end of the eight weeks each member of the group will have completed their story which, if you like, can be turned into an actual book (I’m just finishing the latest ones now and they look AMAZING).

It’s had a terrific response so far and I think everyone who’s come along has not only produced something excellent, but has had a lot of fun doing so too.

If anyone’s interested either drop the library a line or give me a shout by pasting your details into the box on this page. Do spread the word!