Cornelia Funke's Reckless Blog Tour

As one of Ms. Funke's biggest fans, I swooned with joy when ChickenHouse asked me to be part of the Reckless blog tour. I jumped at the chance and worked my butt off on the questions and the interview below is the result.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did!

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Reckless drips with dark fairy tale menace, and several of your other books also have a ‘fairy tale’ feel. Are you a big fan of fairy tales and can you perhaps tell us which have influenced you the most?

Funnily enough, I never liked fairy tales. I preferred myth and folk tales that are much older. But, as a German child of my generation, I was brought up on Grimm’s fairy tales, and they haunted me and proved to be quite unforgettable. Reckless is also about my experience of living in two worlds: in America, which is in so many ways the younger and more modern world, and in Europe, where we still meet the past at every corner and our own romanticised interpretation of it. Fairy tales talk so much about a lost past, about human nature and all its darkness and light, that the more I explored them the more I was fascinated by how much they have changed and how they were sometimes used as a tool to transport beliefs and social rules.

In Reckless, your writing style is far darker, more mature, than in, say, your Inkheart books. Was this a deliberate change in tone and how did Lionel Wigram co-writing with you affect your writing voice?

When I was editing Inkdeath I started to feel that the style did not fit me anymore. The last few years brought vast private changes for me: my husband of 27 years died, I moved to America, and my daughter left home and now lives in London - which makes me travel a lot. I felt I needed a less ‘baroque’ language; less sentimental, less wordy, more modern. I also felt that there were stories stirring in me that were older. With my being 52 that’s probably not a big surprise; even my ‘young’ son is now 16 and taller than me. When my friend Lionel Wigram [producer of the Harry Potter movies] came to me with the initial ideas for Reckless, he was the perfect collaborator for helping me find that new voice. Lionel and I were soon working so closely together that we were ruthless when it came to criticising each other’s ideas. It feels different to be edited by a close friend who is also a well-respected creative partner. I am much more protective of my characters and stories when editors criticise them, as they only spend a few days or weeks with them while I have been living with them for years. Lionel, in contrast, had created them with me and therefore sometimes knew them even better than I did, especially the male characters. It was also vastly inspiring (and refreshing) to discuss characters and motives not only in my own head but with someone else. It was like I could paint a rather brilliant Yellow and Lionel, a beautiful Blue. But together we could suddenly paint this quite magical Green – rich and dark and unlike anything we could have come up with alone.

I recall Lionel mentioning at your hardback launch last year in London that he had learned a tremendous amount writing Reckless with you. Do you think any of Lionel's script-writing skills have rubbed off on you?

First of all, he taught me how to collaborate, to enjoy the inspiration of another imagination colliding with my own. Guillermo del Toro [producer of Pan’s Labyrinth] asked me to work with him on an animation project this year and I realised how much I had learned about collaboration during the past five years.

Lionel is used to telling a story in a very disciplined and lean way as he has only two hours to fill on the screen. I, in contrast, am a storyteller who can get easily distracted by every minor character who stumbles out of my imagined forests. Lionel learned from me, I think, to sometimes follow those random intruders and I learned to sometimes stay away from them and follow our main hero instead. Lionel is sometimes more insistent on asking a character some quite uncomfortable questions (Jacob hated him for that). On the other hand, Lionel enjoyed spending a whole chapter inside a character’s head – something that is impossible to do in a script. Some readers mistook my new voice for something more movie-like, whereas I personally find it more literary with its inner monologues.

I recently read one of the interviews you gave and you mentioned that your characters sometimes scare you. Who in Reckless had the greatest impact on you and your nerves?

I think that character will fully appear in book three. I only discovered him while I was promoting Reckless in Moscow. I took a walk across the Red Square with my literary agent, Andrew Nurnberg, and suddenly I stopped and murmured something like: “Heavens. I had no idea! So he is behind this.” Writers are used to this kind of fictional ‘encounter’, but Andrew had probably not witnessed it before and was quite amused.
Of course the Tailor, whom we meet in Reckless, is very scary, and two of the characters in the second book aren’t the kind of company you might wish for, but I don’t think they are any competition for the character I met in Moscow. Let’s see…

I loved your two female characters in Reckless (Fox and Clara), and was wondering how much time you spent creating these characters or did they simply turn up, fully formed, ready to be written into the storyline?

Fox turned up fully formed and ready, but only because Lionel fought me when I wanted to turn Valiant into an almost dog-like devoted companion for Jacob. “No!” he said. “If you want a dog, give Jacob a dog; let it be a talking dog if you want, but the dwarf is mean!” A talking dog… hmmm… that was interesting.

Suddenly, all the foxes popped into my head that we meet in the Grimm’s dark forests. They always talk and they are wise and very helpful. So… there was Fox. I only realised that Fox was a woman a few chapters later. That came as quite a surprise. Fox is my alter ego, more than any character ever was; she is the alter ego of my female side.

Clara, in contrast, hid from us. We had endless discussions about her before we could see her clearly, and what finally made me understand her was how she related to Fox.

As for the female characters in Reckless, I admit my secret favourite (aside from Fox) is, for sure, the Dark Fairy, and many girls, even very young ones, love her passionately. But I was once asked to kill her…

You have written extensively for teen and younger readers. Have you considered writing exclusively for the adult audience?

No, I love the fact that as a writer for children I can tell a story for three or four generations, and that they can travel together through the world I offer them. As I am now 52 and my children are both quite grown up I have started having ideas for ‘older’ stories – quite natural I guess. Reckless is a step in that direction, though I have heard from 10-year-olds who loved it. I will for sure write another three or even four books in the Reckless series, and I have plans for stories that are for a younger audience. But I also love the fact that some stories just come my way and won’t leave me alone until I write them. So let’s see who and what will show up in the next few years.

What are some of your favourite reads as an adult? What are you currently reading?

At the moment I mostly read books that are research for Reckless – books on the 19th century and on fairy tales. One is The Conquest of Nature, by David Blackbourn, about the straightening of the Rhine river, completely fascinating. And then, just for fun: Forests and The Dominion of the Dead by Robert Pogue Harrison; The History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor; Mirror of the World by Julian Bell; and Citizens by Simon Schama – which may be research for a possible new project. Additionally, I love to listen to the audio version of Ten by Maugham: A Collection of Short Stories by Somerset Maugham. He is still one of the greatest storytellers for me.

For all the aspiring writers out there, can you share with us any advice you received as an aspiring writer that stuck with you?

I didn’t receive any advice, as I just started writing one night because I was a very bored illustrator and desperately longed for different stories from those the publishers sent me. I developed my method and rhythm of writing over the years myself, as I think that every writer has a different way to find the right story. I tell children who want to be writers that they should always carry a pen with them (one that also writes on skin in case they run out of paper), as the best ideas tend to show up in the most impractical places and dissolve in our minds as easily as soap bubbles. I also recommend that they only choose to write stories that they feel passionate about – passionate enough to spend many months or years with them – and that they should allow their characters to sometimes surprise them and show them what their story is truly about. But, as I said above, for every writer there is a different path through the labyrinth.

***

Thank you so much to ChickenHouse and to Cornelia for this great interview.

Do follow the rest of the tour!

Rockoholic by CJ Skuse

Jody loves Jackson Gatlin. At his only UK rock concert, she’s right at the front. But when she's caught in the crush and carried back stage she has more than concussion to contend with. Throw in a menacing manager, a super-wired super-star, and a curly-wurly, and she finds herself taking home more than just a poster. It’s the accidental kidnapping of the decade. But what happens if you’ve a rock-god in your garage who doesn’t want to leave? Jody’s stuck between a rock-idol and a hard place!



From the pen of C.J. Skuse, author of last year’s super cool debut Pretty Bad Things, comes a tale of rock star obsession gone nuts. Hilariously and sharply explores the fantasy and reality of celebrity obsession through a teenager’s eyes. C. J. Skuse has been billed as the new Nick Hornby for teens.

It really has taken me far too long to review this very excellent, deeply funny and oddly quirky and completely over the top book by CJ Scuse and I apologise.  I read it last year and got to meet the author at the Chickenhouse Breakfast this year.  Needless to say, I went a bit Jody at her.  But without the curly wurly.

Rockoholic's main character is Jody who is one of these girls so many of us would recognise.  Maybe because once upon a time we were like her or we knew someone who was.  Jody is what can be termed a super-fan.  She adores Jackson Gatlin.  It is safe to say, she is more than just a bit obsessed with him.  Everything he sings and does, he does for her alone.  She daydreams about him, she's raised him on a pedestal and he has literally become a god in Jody's eyes.  Jackson Gatlin is part of a very popular band and when she gets the chance to go and see him, she queues up the entire day.  But by the time she gets to do so, things go a bit awry and she is taken to the back of the stage, where the the first aiders go to work on those who have fainted or become ill during the concert.

When Jackson comes backstage, a bit zoned out from adrenalin, uppers/downers and who knows what else, Jody has her chance to talk to him.  But she fumbles and instead pushed a curly wurly (a toffee type sweet, for those of you who don't know) in a silver wrapper at him.  Jackson sees this, thinks it's a knife and lets Jody march him out of the first aid room, to the car where her very best friend Mac is waiting to drive her home.

And, following this "kidnapping" let's just say, high jinks ensue.  Jody is initially so bedazzled by Jackson's presence as she is deeply convinced he is going to see her and fall in love with her as his souldmate.  Instead what she gets is a  spoiled person who acts like a 3 year old.  He throws tantrums, he wees himself, he vomits, he shouts and screams.  It's not pleasant.  Jody is in for a massive wake-up call.  And it is Mac that keeps it all together, explaining to her that Jackson's going cold turkey from whatever drugs he's been on. 

Jody has a tough time consolidating her image that she has of Jackson with the reality, even when he's straightened out.  He is not the hero she expected him to be.  He's just a young man who has undergone a massive learning curve when his band made it big.  All he wants is somewhere to sit and write his songs.  Instead he's forced to perform and act in a certain way.  The band's manager seems half demonic and evil and does everything in his power to keep them toeing the line. I felt that the way she broke down Jody's hero into this fallable human was done with great skill and pathos because you could see the character's humanity shine through.

And of course, the world wants to know what has happened to Jackson.  There are newspaper articles and reporters and it becomes a bigger deal than either Jody or Mac anticipated.

A word here about Mac.  He's such a terrific character.  He's slightly flamboyant and has a very arty soul and wears guyliner.  Everyone including Jody thinks that he might be gay but what he really is is a terrific friend and Jody, through her own stupidity and blinkeredness, almost loses him as she runs after Jackson, failing to see what is right beneath her nose.

It is a great book with Jody being this impulsive and very funny character.   The things this girl gets up to makes you moan a bit in your soul because you seriously think that maybe she has no iota of self-preservation at all.  Thank heavens for Mac.  And for Jackson, in the end.

The story ends well, it made me dash away a tear and things are resolved in a very CJ Skuse way.  I am a big fan of Ms. Skuse, who also wrote the superb Pretty Bad Things. Give Rockoholic a whirl - it is incredibly funny. 

Find the author's website here.  Rockoholic is out now from ChickenHouse!

An evening with Cornelia Funke

Tonight was one of the highlights of my bloggery / fan-girly "career".  I got to attend an event to celebrate the launch of Cornelia Funke's new novel RECKLESS.

I had an opportunity much earlier this year to meet her, at the Chicken House 10 year birthday, but due to being struck down with swine-flu, I couldn't attend.  However, tonight made up for that 100%.  I am still smiling.

Mary, the PR person sent me an email last week to tell me about this dress that Cornelia would be wearing and to make sure that I bring my camera to document it.  Well, I invariably lug my trusty little Nikon with and wow, what an event.

First, let's show off some photos.

Hmm - shiny pretty bookses

I could not resist taking this shot of the room reflected - and no, that's not me you can just about see...

Fantastic treasure on display 

The Lady and the Dress - I have dubbed Cornelia Funke in this dress as the Queen of Air and Darkness

A genuinely charismatic and down to earth lady with a tremendous story-telling gift

Michael Schellenberg from Canada and Cornelia Funke 

Cornelia and Lionel Wigram, co-creator of Reckless in discussion with Nicolette Jones.

It was such a treat listen to Ms. Funke and Mr. Wigram chat about how they came together through mutual friends and then found out that they are very much on the same wave-length when it comes to storytelling.

Now, for those of you who don't know, Lionel Wigram is a pretty cool guy in his own right.  Embarrassingly, it took me AGES to realise who he was.  But once I did, I resolved to chat to him about Sherlock Holmes which I loved.  

I digress - so Nicolette Jones (dressed beautifully in a period frock) chatted to Ms. Funke and Mr. Wigram about their partnership and how different it must have been for Cornelia to work with a narrative partner at this time.  

I was struck by how genuine Ms. Funke seemed.  And wonderfully confident and charismatic.  She spoke the most, I'd say, but she had her audience hanging on her every word.  Between the two of them, they had an easy banter and Nicolette had only been given 20 minutes to chat to them, but I suspect we could have stood there listening to them for a good hour or more.  

Afterwards, Mr. Barry Cunningham, the head of ChickenHouse told us all to nab some of the books off the display and to get the author and co-creator to sign it.  I did not need to be invited twice.  I got two copies - one for me, of course, and one for my friend in Cape Town.  Her name is Michelle and it is through Michelle that I discovered Inkheart and subsequently my love for children's literature.  So, a big thanks, lovely Mich, for sharing your obsession. 

And that's my story - it was an amazing evening.  I didn't really get the chance to say much to Ms. Funke as there was an entire room keen to talk to her. 

Oh! Before I do log off - the picture of Michael and Cornelia has an amusing story:  Michael was downstairs at the venue with some friends when he spotted Mary, the PR lady.  Mary told Michael she was at Beach Blanket Babylon to host an event for an author.  Michael asked who - and then when he heard it was Cornelia, he decided he had to come up and be part of it.  It turns out that Michael works for Random House Canada.  So I made sure to nab his card off him so that I can send him a link to the blogpost so that he has another picture of him and Ms. Funke mugging for the camera. 

My review for Reckless should be soon - I'm taking it with me on holiday to France. A big thanks to Barry Cunningham and his wonderful staff and Mary, for the very flattering invitation to the event.  I am one exceedingly happy fan girl.  Dreams are made of this. 

**A Demon Strike Competition**

I have been remiss as we set off for Eastercon and I should have added this competition to go live with Andy's interview.

BUT! Here I am now, like a benevolent goddess, offering you the opportunity to win a signed copy of Andy's novel: Demon Strike. Not only will it be signed, it will also be dedicated to you / youngling in your home. It will be sent directly from Andy. I am merely the middleman through which you will be entering the competition.

And it's not a difficult competition, at all.

All you have to do is comment on this blogpost - be nice, make sure we know who you are / if you have a website, use that to sign into, and I'll be able to track you down to let you know you've won. Also, let us know if you're on twitter so we can follow you back! Alternatively, leave your email address in code i.e. joe(underscore)blogs(at)blah blah (dot) com - to ensure you don't get spammed and we'll be in touch if you've won.

I'll announce the winner on Sunday 11th April.

The only rule is: British Isles entrants only!

Demon Strike by Andrew Newbound

Synopsis:

Demons from the Dark Dimension pour through a portal in the wall of Pittingham Manor, the mid-point for an attack on high. They’re planning an assault.

Into this chaos stumble 12-year-old ghost-busting psychic Alannah Malarra and burglar Wortley Flint. Up until now they’ve only ever faced tame treasure-hoarding ghosts, but this is something else. Their only hope is a plucky angel police patrol on a routine earth-monitoring mission. Enter Inspectre Flhi Swift and officers Yell and Gloom.

The book also features a fabulous lenticular cover: see the demon strike for yourself!

Demon Strike is filled with fabulous comic characters, including psychic ghost-busting 12-year-old adventurers Allanah Mallara and Wortley Flint, together with rookie A.N.G.E.L police-officers, Flhi Swift and troopers, Yell and Gloom – and some unspeakably villainous demons from the dark-side.

Gah!

As an aspiring children's author, I genuinely don't need the type of competition that Andy Newbound has levelled at the younger age range of readers! How will I ever become famous?

Oh, wait, I'm supposed to review this one, not complain! Right. Gotit.

DemonStrike is one of those rarities that comes along that ticks the funny-bones boxes. Laugh out loud amusing (ever thought hyenas can't be funny?) and completely over the top and silly, I loved DemonStrike (quietly pushes Andy in front of a bus) enough to enter into various email chats with Andy about it. The interview is lined up for tomorrow, so come back to see MFB chat with him...or if you're not that keen, come check out his psycic dog, Charlie.

But, back to the review. Aimed solidly at a market that's been sorely neglected by writers, DemonStrike falls into a very clever market: probably more aimed for boys, there is action, adventure, gadgets, things that slime and dribble and drool, a girl that has something akin to superpowers and nasty bad guys. It's a shopping list of stuff we like to see here on MFB.

He cleverly involves us in the lives of three main characters, that of Alannah Malara, her thief side-kick Wortley and then also, from another perspective, the talented and gutsy Flhi Swift, a police officer from the A.N.G.E.L. team (Attack-ready Network of Global Evanescent Law-enforcers). Flhi has her two troopers Yell and Gloom to back her up on her missions.

And I say cleverly, because the story has so much going on, that you really do need the multiple perspectives. Flhi obviously has to stop the bad things from coming through into our world so her motivations are pretty straight forward. Alannah on the other hand is the one I started out feeling worried about. I found her rude, a bit brash and unpleasant. Also, she seemed very focussed on destroying ghosts, but only after finding out where their treasure was hidden...this worried me as I thought it would be the sole reason for her being in here but I am relieved to say Mr. Newbound managed to turn Alannah into someone much more likeable after a few chapters in because you come to understand her motivation and it's not necessarily what you think it may be. Wortley the thief is just vastly sweet and his constant bickering with Alannah leads to a variety of giggle moments.

The team spirit is evident between both Alannah and Wortley as well as between Flhi and her two troopers Yell and Gloom and I liked this tremendously. We have strong leaders, who lead by example, but they also inspire confidence and loyalty in those they lead. Importantly, we have to strong female leads who can kick butt, chew gum, and still retain their clever attitude.

The story moves rapidly forward and Mr. Newbound shows a dab hand at writing action and uhm, gooey scenes. Ably supported by a walk-on cast of other characters, Demon Strike definitely promises to be the start of a series that may give Messers. Shan and Landy pause for concern.

DemonStrike is definitely aimed at the younger folk and I'm sure it will find favour with both boys and girls - boys for the action and gorey bits, girls for the tomboy heroines who stand up for themselves. Also, the cover is just ace! And yes, I know I'm fickle!

Pop along to Andy's pretty cool website here. Demon Strike is published by Chicken House and is available to buy online and should be in all good book stores.

CJ Skuse - Pretty Bad Things - Interview

CJ in Vegas, casing the joint

Smug cannot begin to describe the fact that I managed to get an interview with debut novelist: C J Skuse, author of Pretty Bad Things. Having read her answers, I totally now get her characters even more.

Here we go:

1. Can you introduce yourself to MFB’s readers?

My name is C.J. Skuse. I come from Weston-super-Mare, I’m 29 and I’ve been writing since I was 17. Pretty Bad Things is my first novel for young adults and is being released by Chicken House in March 2010.


2. Is Pretty Bad Things the first novel you’ve ever written?

No, I actually started writing my first novel when I was 17. I sent it out to fifty literary agents, one after the other, and got about fifty straight rejections back during the course of ten years. I wrote another one after that, but they didn’t want that one either, so then I got the hint that maybe my writing was a bit rubbish, so I enrolled at University and did two degrees in creative writing. It wasn’t until I’d graduated that people started to take me seriously. These courses, along with my two previous novel attempts, were the best learning curves, and I really couldn’t have written PBT without them.


3. What was your inspiration for Pretty Bad Things?

So many things inspired PBT! If you’re into movies, you can probably see the film references in there (Bonnie and Clyde, Thelma and Louise, Natural Born Killers, True Romance, in fact any Tarantino movie!) but it’s not compulsory to know these films to enjoy the book. Music was a huge inspiration too. I’m heavily influenced by rock music when I write, specifically New Jersey band My Chemical Romance (fyi this is the only reason the twins come from NJ) so listening to their music really helped draw certain scenes out of me. For Paisley’s more angry moments, I found Slipknot, Linkin Park and Foo Fighters particularly helpful.


4. Why write for teens?

I started writing when I was 16/17, so every time I go to write a character now, they are always around that age. I think I am emotionally stuck at 17. I still have the same hang ups, fears and rages I had then and a lot of unsolved angst from around that time too. Because I’m quite a passive person, I guess I invented a character like Paisley to kick ass on my behalf because I just don’t have the courage to, a bit like Beau!

5. Paisley is such a wild yet likeable character – how did you manage to keep her from becoming nasty enough to dislike?

I don’t know if I have kept her from being disliked. She’s one of those people for whom trust doesn’t come easy so her defences are always up, but when you know more about her and what she’s been through, you can understand why. I just hope readers will be able to laugh at the funny parts and relate to her total disregard for authority, and perhaps note those few places where her vulnerability comes through. She’s hard-edged because she’s had to be.


6. In complete contrast we have Beau – the quiet studious one, the voice of reason for most of the book. Was it a conscious decision to write Beau’s character this way?

Yes it was, because Paisley is so full on with everything she says and does, I think you need an antidote to that. Someone to point out that, in fact, what she sometimes says and does is downright ridiculous or just wrong. I’d write a Paisley chapter where she’d just be swearing and complaining and it would be one liner after one liner, and it would be a relief to get to a Beau chapter where I could change down a gear, be a bit more poetic, notice the surroundings a bit more etc. A whole book written in Paisley’s voice would be so frenetic I think it would be too much. Beau acts as the perfect balancer.


7. If money was no option and PBT was being made into a movie – who would play Paisley and who would play Beau?

Anyone I say would be way too old if it ever got made into a film but I’d absolutely love Dakota Fanning to play Paisley. Beau, for me, has always been Gerard Way (MCR lead singer) so the dream would be if Gerard Way lost fifteen years and played him because he’s written in his own image. Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) has always reminded me of Beau too. Failing that, Chris Colfer (Kurt in Glee) and Steven R. McQueen (The Vampire Diaries) both have Beau-like qualities about them.


8. Both Beau and Paisley come with a huge amount of back story. What came first – their back story or their current story?

Back story definitely. I had a lot of time to really research these characters and their home lives (down to the kitchen cabinets they had in their home in Jersey!) because I wasn’t really working to a tight deadline, so I could really build the foundations of who they were. If there is to be a sequel, more of that will come out.


9. Are you a big fan of Las Vegas? I ask as I had this impression whilst reading PBT that I was there, experiencing the noise, the glitz and the heat of the Strip.

I only went there for four days and I wasn’t really a fan until I left it. I found it pretty scary. It was like entering a board game. I gradually came to realise that when you’re there, you just have to play the game, have the experience, and try not to lose all your money.


10. What do you do when you’re not writing?

I re-write. Or I read. And I go to the odd rock concert. That’s pretty much all I’ve ever wanted my life to be until I can afford my dream smallholding in the Lake District. Of late I’ve been Googling Robert Pattinson quite a bit too which takes up a fair bit of time.


11. What are your favourite TV shows?

At the moment, Glee and Being Human are my appointments-to-view. Anything else I can take or leave. I get sucked in to things like X Factor, I’m a Celebrity…and all of that, because it’s total light relief. I love sitcoms from the 70s onwards too so I’ll always watch an episode if anything’s on, regardless of how many times I’ve seen it before. I also find Robson Green’s Extreme Fishing strangely watchable.


12. Did you have a soundtrack for writing PBT?

Big time! The soundtracks and the movie posters to my books are always worked out before the books are even finished! MCR, Paramore, Slipknot, Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro, Kings of Leon etc etc. Music is a huge inspiration for my writing and I could go on for days listing bands and songs that have helped me write particular scenes, but they’re the main ones.


13. Can you hint to us about the follow-up novel to PBT or is it Top Secret at the moment?

I’m working on about three different books at the moment, most namely my second book for Chicken House which is due for release in 2011. I’m always a little hesitant to say too much about it too early in case a sneak steals my idea, but I’ll happily tell you more nearer to publication! I’m also working on a very tentative sequel to PBT, though depending on how well PBT is received, it may never see the light of day. And I’ve also gone back to the book I was writing before PBT to see if I can patch it up, more because it’s just something I need to finish for myself.


14. What are you reading / what do you enjoy reading when you’re not head down writing?

I like YA books. I can relate more to teenage characters than I can to adult ones. I loved the Twilight books and I’ve just finished reading all the Harry Potters straight through, which I thought were incredible. I like Christopher Moore, Kevin Brooks, J.D Salinger, Stephen King, those kind of geniuses. I read graphic novels and comics as well. My New Year’s resolution was to read more classic novels, so I’ve started with the Narnia books and To Kill a Mockingbird. I’m gearing myself up for Charles Dickens too.


15. Any advice for young aspiring authors?

There’s no point doggedly sending your work out to agents and publishers if it’s not as good as it can possibly be, so I would recommend anyone truly serious about getting published (if they can afford it) to do a creative writing degree and preferably an MA in Creative Writing. Your writing will improve ten times over I guarantee it and you’ll meet some incredible people and make good contacts too. It’s the best thing I ever did and I would definitely not be published now without it.

*** Competition News***

So, as a superfast competition, one lucky person gets the opportunity to win my finished (and unread) copy of Pretty Bad Things before it's release in March 2010. I'm letting this run until Sunday, 28th Feb. I'll announce the winner AND post the book out to said winner on Monday, 1st March.

Tell MFB who would be your perfect partner in crime (famous or non-famous) and why. The winning comment will be twittered and you'll receive the tidy copy of PBD to read at your leisure. The competition is open to UK peeps only as I'm paying postage. Random.org will choose the winner!

Pretty Bad Things by CJ Skuse

Synopsis

When they were six, twins Paisley and Beau Argent made the headlines. They were the “wonder twins”, found alive in woods after three days missing– spent looking for their dad. But now at sixteen, life’s not so wonderful. Lied to by their money-grabbing grandmother they’re still clueless about their dad’s whereabouts. Until they find an old letter. That’s when they decide to hit the road – and make headlines again. Holding up candy stores in Las Vegas might be extreme but if they can get on the news, and tell their dad they need him, they might get the reunion they never thought could happen.

**please note, there are some slight spoilers further below in this review, but none should detract from the awesomeness of this book**

I read Pretty Bad Things in maybe four hours, maybe a bit less. Not because it’s lightweight. To the contrary: PBT is a wild ride and the story has these chunky boots that climb into your head, with its hang-ups, attitude, sass and all.

At the age of six Paisley and her brother Beau became famous overnight. They survived for three days, on their own in the forest, eating a packet of sweets Paisley had in her pocket. Their mother had just died from an overdose of drink and drugs and there’s still no sign of their dad. Well, it turns out that good old dad did something really silly: he decided to try and rob a well known establishment and got nicked for it, sent to jail.

So the twins got to grow up with their ruthless and grasping grandmother who toured them around tv shows and radio stations, letting them tell their stories over and over again. Meanwhile the money came rolling in to secure their future.

But it doesn’t end there. In fact, it’s just the start of an amazing story that had me alternatively sobbing / shouting with joy, into a tissue on the 73 bus.

Paisley is the girl most of us wish we could have been at school. The wild child. The destructive one. The one you were a little bit afraid of but admired nonetheless. She’s got an awful relationship with her grandmother (affectionately known as the Skankmother) and has been sent to be educated at a variety of boarding schools after it transpired that she could not be controlled. She got herself tossed out of four or five different schools for a variety of reasons. She is on her way to the loony bin if she doesn’t watch her step.

From the above description you may think “why the hell would I care about such a monstrous child?” and the honest answer is: Paisley’s voice. You can easily appreciate exactly where she comes from. As the more dominant one of the twins, she’s the one who took care of them in the forest when they got lost. She’s the one that stood up to her mother when her mother beat her and Beau and put them in the basement or locked them in cupboards whilst going on a drinking binge. Paisley and Beau have not had pretty lives.

Paisley managed to escape to a certain extent, with her grandmother paying for her to be educated elsewhere, where she would be less inclined to influence Beau. It’s hard on the twins. Beau acts as the voice of reason in their relationship. He’s steady but scared of his grandmother and would rather do her bidding than rock the boat.

When Beau discovers an entire box full of letters from his father which had been hidden from them, he sits down to read them all; ten years worth of letters. The most recent letter is a revelation. Their father is just up the road in Las Vegas! Beau sends Paisley a letter which completely takes the wind from Paisley’s sails: her father is alive, out of jail and he is living in Las Vegas.

She beats up another girl in school to secure her expulsion and flies to California where she rescues Beau from her grandmother’s house and together they embark on an adventure the likes of which America’s not seen since Bonnie and Clyde/Thelma and Louise.

After fruitlessly searching Las Vegas, with no sign of their dad, Paisley comes up with this idea to steal sweets from various sweet and candy shops dotted all around Las Vegas. The reasoning is: their exploits would no doubt go up on the large external tv screens that line the streets and this would mean that their dad would know that they were around and try to find them.

It’s an insane plan and one that works, eventually, and then stunningly well. With each robbery their fame grows. Different factions form – those who are Team Paisley and Team Beau – and they garner a huge following online. Their most dedicated fans realise there is definitely something behind them holding up these candy shops. The media goes mad, they can’t believe that America’s sweethearts from ten years ago have turned into villains – robbing shops and creating all kinds of chaos. They search for the twins’ grandmother who runs around giving various heartbreaking interviews about how she’s tried to control them but all they ever did was break her heart, steal her things and burn down her house.

Most poignant for me was when the twins had the opportunity to go online and check out these forums that had been set up on their behalf. How people and kids identified with them, what they were doing (even if it was a bit villainous) and how they rooted for them because it would mean that if Paisley and Beau could get their dream fulfilled of being reunited with their dad, anything could happen for anyone else. Beau and Paisley were living the lives many kids were too scared to live for themselves. They identified with the twins and it meant that their fanbase just keeps growing and growing. And it’s not just kids. It’s adults too. Soon the twins are almost too famous to pull off any robberies. They become victims of their own fame.

Beau and Paisley become true anti-heroes. Their actions become wilder and wilder. Yet they aren’t purposefully malicious. Just clever and desperate to find their dad and they are prepared to do almost anything to realise their dream. Add to that their psychotic grandmother who has machinations of her own and a will as stubborn as Paisley’s and you just know you’re heading for a disaster of some sort.

Pretty Bad Things will raise several eyebrows once it’s released. Some people are bound to be upset by the language, the way Beau and Paisley go about trying to find their dad, the blatant references to sex and drugs (and rock n roll) but for those who can take this in their stride, and see past the brazenness of the characters, you’ll be swept off your feet, rooting for these two amazingly real and honest characters.

I can’t recommend Pretty Bad Things enough – it is definitely for a slightly older audience, fifteen upwards or for younger mature readers who won’t be cowed by the characters or their actions. And to be honest, I’m pretty sure that a lot of adults / older readers, will easily be able to identify with the characters and appreciate the breathless quality of the writing as they rocket around Las Vegas on their quest.

This is CJ Skuse’s first novel and it’s being published by ChickenHouse. Find the Facebook page for Pretty Bad Things here.

The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh

Synopsis:

Will knows a secret.

Somewhere in the forest, behind the abbey where he lives, is a grave.

And buried deep in the snow is an angel

But how can an angel die? What has it to do with the monks of Crowfield Abbey, who have taken care of Will since he was orphaned? And why does Will get the feeling that when he looks out, something hidden in the dusk is staring back at him?

On a bitter winter’s day in the year 1347, 14-year-old Will Paynel is sent to the forest to gather wood. He stumbles across and rescues a creature caught a trap – a hob, who comes to share with him a terrible secret. Somewhere in the forest near Crowfield Abbey, an angel lies buried. With the arrival of two strangers to the abbey, the mystery deepens. Will and the hob are drawn into a dangerous world of Old Magic, a bitter feud and ancient secrets. Will needs to unravel the truth and put right an age-old wrong if he is to survive, and time is running out…

Some books you pick up to read and then you look up and discover an entire afternoon / train journey / evening has disappeared. The Crowfield Curse is a book like that. It’s written so skilfully, by a storyteller who has managed to convey such a sense of place, that you feel transported to a time long gone.

I think Pat Walsh is perhaps going to struggle a bit in the future – but read on, before you gasp in shock, thinking I’m being mean – because like Meg Rosof, she’s difficult to quantify. I’ll try and put my thoughts forward and you can decide if I’m being a bit silly.

The Crowfield Curse defies being pigeonholed. It’s a historical novel, set in the 1300’s in England. The author brings to that age a setting very reminiscent of Umberto Eco’s The name of the Rose. The monks’ and Will’s world is incredibly small. It is a mean world, where heating and food isn’t readily available, the hardships they face are very real and Will’s life is difficult. He fondly remembers his family who died in a fire and dreams about almost-forgotten days when food was fresh and tasted lovely and about being warm.

But The Crowfield Curse is also a fantasy. Fae creatures like the hob exists, as do the Seelie and Unseelie Court and of course, the rumour about the dead angel buried in the woods.

Now, other authors have tried mixing historical and fantasy together and it’s not worked very well. In the case of The Crowfield Curse it does work very well.

There is never a sense of the story being untrue. Will’s realisation that his world is actually much larger than he first thought it to be, is slow in coming and it’s a poignant read. He is hesitant to believe it. He questions it and wrestles with it internally. He’s aware that should he speak to any of the monks about any of his discoveries they would think he’d gone insane / become possessed and he’d no doubt be exiled from their community.

But what struck me the most about Pat Walsh’s writing is how beautifully The Crowfield Curse is written. Wonderfully evocative and literary, it stands in danger to be that cut above standard books for this age group. And I’ll sob my eyes out if readers aged 9+ overlook it, thinking it may not be any fun, as the mature language may initially seem a bit daunting. It has so much to offer.

It’s intelligent and funny and the main character Will comes across as a genuine and likeable main character, someone you can identified with. He’s a normal boy who gets thrust into extraordinary circumstances yet he has to pretend that everything is the same it’s always been. This makes for great conflict and character development and you keep your breath in when the hob does silly things like go and sit in church with Will because dammit, if he gets caught, who knows what will happen!

The mystery about the two unexpected visitors to the abbey heightens the tension, especially when Will realises that neither man is who he appears to be. Small signs of rebellion in Will’s character begins to show, as he starts considering a life outside of the Abbey. The arrival of these strangers seem to further crack and break that delicate balance that kept Will caught in the Abbey’s net. But things never work out as planned. As the story moves towards it conclusions, some questions are answered, but new ones are levelled and it’s then that you realise that Will’s life is due for a dramatic change.

Intricately woven with enough menace throughout you keep paging, wanting to find out the rest of the story makes The Crowfield Curse a cracking read – especially for this, darker, stranger time of year!

Ms. Walsh’s writing is effortless. It’s books like this that give aspiring and untried writers false courage because you read it and go “wow, she makes it look so incredibly easy, I’m sure I can pound out one of those in a few weeks”. The hard work and polish shines through, making The Crowfield Curse a book that will no doubt break out from its established age banding. And I hope it does. It also yearns to be read out loud, which I did to Mark, making him listen to some snippets of the story as it unfolds! Ah, the things we do without authors and publishers knowing when we go geeky about books.

The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh is published by Chicken House on 4th January 2010. Find Pat’s website here.

Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

Synopsis:

Since the extraordinary events of Inkspell, when the story of Inkheart magically drew Meggie, Mo and Dustfinger back into its pages, life in the Inkworld has been far from easy. With Dustfinger dead, and the evil Adderhead now in control, the story in which they are all caught has taken an unhappy turn. Even Elinor,left alone in the real world, believes her family to be lost-lost between the covers of a book. As winter turns to spring, there is reason to hope...

A close friend of mine, Michelle from South Africa, bought me the first book in Cornelia Funke's trilogy, Inkheart quite a few years ago, when it was first released. Michelle insisted that my obsession with books reminded her strongly of the main character, Meggie in Inkheart. Personally I thought it was rubbish - no one can possibly be as obsessed by books as I am. Yes, my friends, I had a lot to learn!

I have read Inkheart and Inkspell several times and have bought copies for other friends to read and enjoy. I have waited a good old time for the closing chapter in this amazing trilogy and I'm thrilled to say that Inkdeath does not disappoint.

Things are very different in Inkdeath, right from the start. The world is in chaos and it is a no holds barred ride mixing all the elements that Cornelia Funke has become known for - with dark obsessive characters and nightmarish events. The story highlights how people change in the face of adversity and the characterisations are at their peak.

I really am not going to give away the story lines, they are vastly complex, with a dizzying array of characters and the author's innate skill at planning and following through story arcs has to be applauded. She has many links to tie up from the two previous books and her storytelling moves you effortlessly through these, tugging the reader along at a thrilling pace.

Inkdeath is a swashbuckling story of princes, villains, lonely characters and a struggle to do the right thing, making momentous decisions or desperately trying to deal with decisions made in the past. There is the confrontation with mortality, vividly portrayed by the pressence of the White Women, and the question of reality versus imagination is raised, along with the pressing need for the characters to find a way to escape the world they are in.

Meggie remains the pivotal character in the story but we find Fenoglio struggling cope with the loss of his writing and story telling ability. In a turn of events self-obsessed Orpheus has the final copy of the Book so he is using that to his own advantage, rewriting Fenoglio's words, trying to control the story. And...well, a lot more besides. It is a must read for anyone who has started on this journey a few years ago with the publication of Inheart, especially as Inkheart movie will soon be coming out to a theatre near you (we saw an extended trailer last night on DVD and it looks AMAZING) with release dates having been set for 12th December 08 in the UK and January 09 in the US.

Inkdeath is a wild ride, buckle up and follow the story to its conclusion, you will not be disappointed.

You can find Cornelia Funke's website here with more information about all her books and movie news. Her publisher's Chicken House, can be found here.