BLOG TOUR: Jenny Downham’s writing process and emotional journey for Furious Thing

Hello, fellow bookworms! Today I’m excited to be kicking off the blog tour for Furious Thing, with a guest post from Jenny Downham about her writing process for the book!

I never plot books in advance.  I use freewriting techniques instead.  This is where you write continuously for a set period without worrying about where the words are taking you. Do enough freewriting in enough locations over enough weeks and months and a story begins to emerge and themes, characters and location begin to clarify.   

With Furious Thing, I simply started with the notion of scapegoating – where one person in a family gets blamed for everything that goes wrong.  It’s something that’s always fascinated me.   

I wrote about a golden family, then a 15-year-old girl, Lexi, who was ‘different’ from this family.  She says, ‘I’m an ogre compared to the rest of them.’  

Then her anger unveiled itself and I realised that families who scapegoat one of their children often have something to hide.   And that sometimes the scapegoated child refuses to accept their role.   

Once I’m sure of the story’s direction and tone I begin to work on ‘main event’ chapters.  These provide stepping-stones for the whole.  For instance, I knew I needed a scene where Lexi flouts family rules and has to face the consequences.  I wanted a scene where she feels desperately alone and another where she feels hopeful and loved.  I take these first draft chapters to my writing group for feedback.  It’s incredibly useful to have your story reflected back at you.  Early readers often see things you don’t know are there and want to see scenes you might not have considered including.   

I have to keep my emotional distance, otherwise there’s a danger the writing becomes indulgent.  It’s important that I can step into each character’s shoes and find their motivation.  This means that even though I might love Lexi and want her to triumph, I also have to understand the people who stand in her way and why they act the way they do.   

Lexi was great fun to write though.  She’s so impulsive and writing from the point of view of someone who doesn’t consider outcomes before they act is enormously freeing.  She might not be as academic as her siblings, but she’s emotionally eloquent.  She was constantly getting into trouble for creating chaos and I had to get her out of it.  I loved that about her. 

Huge thank you to Jenny for the wonderful post! Be sure to check out the other blogs taking part this week: 

 

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BLOG TOUR: First Day of My Life by Lisa Williamson

Hello, fellow bookworms! Today I'm excited to be taking part in the blog tour for The First Day of My Life by Lisa Williamson. 

Pages: 375
Format: Hardback

Publisher: David Fickling Books
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: January 7th 2021

Buy the Book: Book Depository

There are three sides to every story... It's GCSE results day. Frankie's best friend, Jojo, is missing. A baby has been stolen. And more than one person has been lying. Frankie's determined to find out the truth and her ex-boyfriend Ram is the only person who can help her. But they're both in for a shock... EVERYTHING is about to change.

This story is told in three parts, from the perspective of Frankie, her best friend Jojo, and then her ex-boyfriend Ram. Jojo has been distant, and Frankie is determined to get to the bottom of it, but the theory she has in mind couldn’t be further from the truth. 

First Day of My Life begins in the present, when Frankie is picking up her GCSE results, but we get to go back and see how the whole story unfolded for the other characters. It managed to capture my attention super quickly, and I flew through it in just a few days. The element of mystery in the first half regarding the missing baby had me questioning whether everything was what it seemed. 

It’s no secret that I absolutely adore stories that focus on friendship. Friends can be some of the most powerful relationships in a person’s life, and those we make during our childhood and teen years can help shape us for the future. We get to see that the bond between Frankie and Jojo is one that gets tested and strained over the course of the book, but is strong enough to overcome even the biggest obstacles. 

 

With the characters being so different from each other, despite how close they are, it makes for a more unique reading experience during each switch in narration. It was especially interesting to get Ram’s perspective because whilst he’s connected to both girls, he’s still outside of their close-knit friendship.  

• Addictive reading. Once I got started, I couldn’t put the book down! The element of mystery that revolves around finding out each character’s backstory kept me reading until I found out more.  

• Relatable. There will be so many readers who can see a part of themselves in one of these characters. It brings up important conversations about family and friends, education and the future.  

• UKYA. I just feel so at home between the pages of UKYA books, and it’s so important that we support them.  

There are plenty of little threads that weave together perfectly before the end of this story, leaving me satisfying with how everything was wrapped up. I ended up reading this during one of the most difficult weeks of my life, and it provided the little dose of escapism that I needed, so I’m grateful that I got the chance to pick this up!

Royal Rating:

Be sure to check out the fabulous blogs taking part in the rest of the tour:

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BLOG TOUR: Paper Avalanche by Lisa Williamson

Today I’m excited to be taking part in the blog tour for Paper Avalanche, the latest novel by one of my favourite UKYA authors, Lisa Williamson! For my stop on the tour, I’m going to be sharing my thoughts on all three of these wonderful stories. Let’s jump right in with the newest.

Paper Avalanche

Pages: 384 | Publisher: David Fickling Books | Buy The Book: Waterstones

I’m always looking for YA that tackles topics I don’t often see in fiction, so Paper Avalanche immediately called out to me. Ro Snow wants to be invisible to the world, resigning herself to the fact that she can’t have a normal life. She won’t allow anyone to get close to her for fear they’ll discover the truth about her mum and the home they live in. Bonnie is a compulsive hoarder, and Ro does everything she can to keep social services off their back. But then she meets Tanvi, and her whole world changes. 

There’s nothing I love more than a story that focuses on the importance of friendship. The friends we make throughout our lives and the experiences we share with them all play a part in shaping who we are. Tanvi doesn’t force Ro to change anything about her life. She simply helps her to see what she should be doing, as a teenager making her way through high school. She’s been caring for her mum for so long that she’s become more like the parent than the child. 

• Tanvi. Ro’s growing friendship with Tanvi is the most heart-warming part of this story. They’ve led completely different lives and have such contrasting personalities, yet they still manage to share a bond. 

• Eye-opening. Hoarding is a word that people throw around without understanding what it’s truly like to experience. What I loved about this story is that instead of focusing on the person who hoards, it shows us what it’s like to be a person who needs to live alongside it. Ro doesn’t have anywhere else she can call home, and she feels responsible for looking after her mum. There are so many young people who might not have the same home environment as Ro, but are in a situation where they feel trapped by their own home life. This story gives us a glimpse into that world. 

• Ro Snow. Everything about her growth throughout the book is inspiring to read. 

• Fast paced. Paper Avalanche manages to cover so much without feeling rushed. We get a good feel for what Ro’s life is like day-to-day whilst seeing how she deals with things long-term. 

Stories like this are an important tool for shedding light on things we don’t often understand. Ro might be fictional, but young people like her deserve to know that there are people to support them and that their voices should always be heard.  

The Art of Being Normal

This book was love at first blurb for me. From the moment I heard about it, I was desperate to get my hands on it. It follows David Piper, a character who was born a boy, but wants to be a girl, and Leo Denton, a new boy at school who’d rather blend into the background. Filled with lively and witty characters, and packed full of raw emotion, it’s a story that made me both laugh and cry. It became an instant favourite. 

• This book taught me so much. It’s a perfect example of why we need diverse stories in YA to openly discuss important topics. 

• Reminds people that they are not alone. Whilst every person has their own induvial experiences, there will be people out there who connect with the emotions of the characters in this story. 

• It’s honest. School can already be difficult for so many young people, let alone someone who is going through something as personal as David’s journey. This book doesn’t shy away from showing the harm bullies and ignorance can do. 

• Friendships and family. The very heart of this story. We’re shown how important it is to have people there for us, and to allow people to support us when we need it.

My full review for this story was posted back in 2015, if you’d like to read more!

All About Mia

Mia is the middle child. Her older sister, Grace, is as clever as they come and everyone adores her. Her younger sister, Audrey, is destined for Olympic success. Mia feels like an afterthought. With no idea what her ‘thing’ is in life, she struggles to find her place after Grace returns home from her gap year. 

Mia is the exact type of character I love. She’s someone who has a true learning curve throughout the story, making plenty of mistakes and hurting people along the way, but learning in the process. Characters like Mia always feel authentic and true to reality. There are so many students of her age who have no idea what their next step is in life, and everyone copes with it differently. But we can find our place in the end, no matter how pointless it can seem. 

• The characters. Whilst Mia herself is a wonderful main character, her family and friends are just as interesting. Seeing their relationships shift over the course of the story had me hooked. 

• Relatable. Though my life is very different from the one Mia leads, her feelings towards her future are ones that myself and so many others are familiar with. 

• It’s all about the journey. Mia isn’t always a likeable character. She makes bad choices, she can be selfish, and she doesn’t seem to care. But the further we delve into her story, the more we understand why she acts the way she does. Learning slowly along the way makes for a better pay off at the end.

I’m so grateful I’ve been able to read these three stories. Lisa’s characters always stay with me long after I’ve closed the books. I look forward to her future projects! 

Be sure to check out the fantastic blogs taking part in the rest of the tour:

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REVIEW: The Call by Peadar O'Guilin

Pages: 334
Format: ARC Paeperback
Publisher: David Fickling Books
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Release Date: September 1st
Buy The Book: Book Depository

What if you only had 3 minutes to save your own life and the clock is already counting down...

Three minutes.
Nessa, Megan and Anto know that any day now they wake up alone in a horrible land and realise they've been Called.

Two minutes.
Like all teenagers they know that they'll be hunted down and despite all their training only 1 in 10 will survive.

One minute.
And Nessa can't run, her polio twisted legs mean she'll never survive her Call will she?

Time's up.

My Thoughts:

Ireland has been left cut off from the rest of the world. No one gets in or out, there is no outside help, the citizens are trapped and their numbers are dwindling. That’s because all teenagers must face the Call. At random times, day or night, a teenager will be Called to the Grey Land, the place where the Sidhe were forced to remain by the Irish centuries ago. Now they are seeking revenge by hunting the teenagers that they bring to their land in the most brutal ways imaginable. The odds of survival are one in ten. 

I’ve read a lot of stories that have thrown teenagers in the face of death, but I don’t think I’ve ever read one quite as chilling as this. The Sidhe are absolutely terrifying. Their awful ways of hunting down and ‘playing’ with their victims left a shiver down my spine whilst reading. The descriptions of the faeries and their land were vivid and real, definitely one of the creepiest locations I’ve visited in a book for a long time. 

We meet Nessa and her fellow classmates at their survival school where they train as hard as possible in the hopes of being among the lucky few who are able to survive the Call. One by one we see them disappear as they get Called and even though we’re supposed to expect it (because, ya know, that’s what the book is about), it still comes as a shock, to them and the reader. To see these characters who you get to know and learn to adore, actually thrown into this situation they’ve been training for, this nightmarish land of the Sidhe, it’s a stomach-dropping moment. 

These characters are so rich and complex. Nessa, oh my goodness, I love her. Polio leaves her unable to walk properly on her legs, making her the underdog. But she doesn’t let that slow her down for one second. She works twice as hard, being even more determined to prove that she can survive. Her fierce spirit makes it easy to root for her throughout the book. Even though you know that most of these teens won’t come out of this alive, it’s doesn’t stop you from growing attached to them and wanting them to survive. It’s desperately sad to see them thrown into the unpleasant horrors of the Sidhe. Despite their limited time together, the bonds they formed were touching, and I loved the different relationships between them.  

The Sidhe themselves, as terrifying as they are, were fascinating to read about, as was the Grey Land. It was gory and twisted, definitely not for the faint-hearted, but it was hard to turn my eyes away. I was desperate to learn more about these faeries and their history. Since I’m pretty sure this book is the first in a series, I’m highly anticipating another trip into this world that O’Guilin has created, and I’m equally excited to see and dreading what nightmares await the characters next.  

You can read my recent interview with Peadar here!

Royal Rating:

  

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BLOG TOUR: Interview With Peadar O'Guilin

Today I'm excited to welcome Peadar O'Guilin to the blog, author of the chilling new novel The Call!

Hi Peadar, welcome to The Queen of Teen Fiction! Can you tell us a little bit about your novel, The Call?
Thanks a lot! It's great to be here.

Every teenager in Ireland will be Called -- kidnapped into a world of horrors, where the Sídhe, the Fairies, will hunt them down. A small number make it home alive. These are the strong, the lucky and above all, the quick. Unfortunately, Nessa Doherty was lamed by a bout of polio she suffered as a child. She won't be able to run when her turn comes. Everybody is just waiting for her to die.

Nessa, however, intends to surprise them all...

What was it that inspired you to write the story?
Part of the inspiration came from that famous thought experiment, Schrödinger's Cat. I had an image of people just disappearing, their clothing falling to the floor. And everybody who sees this happening knows there's a 90% chance their friends will come back dead. Or worse. I loved this idea, especially because there's a small possibility the victims will survive and that's enough to keep everybody checking their watches until the three minutes of the Call are up.   

You weave Irish mythology into the story. What sort of research did you have to do before writing?
I had to do very little extra research. I grew up with the mythology, after all. But I was never keen on just retelling the old stories, anyway. They're already perfect and need no help from me! Mostly, I was interested in finding a modern, "rational" explanation for the origins of the fairies and for some of their creepier behaviours. That's why, even though this is basically a fantasy book, you'll find a few mouldy old science fiction tropes in there too. They've probably started to smell a bit...

Tell us a bit about your main character, Nessa! What do you think readers will love about her?
Nessa's not a moaner. She's an ordinary girl desperate to live when everybody else has written her off. They can't even be bothered to hide their pity for her. I do think readers admire courage, I know I do!

What were the best and worst parts of the writing process for you whilst working on The Call?
The best part was all the day-dreaming I did about the story. I was tremendously excited by the ideas and loved testing some of the scenes in front of audiences in Boston and Belfast and Luxembourg. It seemed to go down really well.

But then, there were entire weeks of being stuck with the plot; when every solution seemed childish or amateurish. That's the writer's life, I guess!

Did you always intend for the book to be YA, or is that something that happened after writing it?
I didn't grow up expecting to write YA, but again and again, my natural love of fast-paced adventure with strong central concepts, kept dragging me down that path. Years ago, when I submitted my first novel to my agent, he was the one who said, "You know what, Peadar? This book is YA." Turned out he was right.

What were your own favourite books to read as a teenager?
Anything Science Fictional. Harry Harrison's "Deathworld" series. Tanith Lee's "Silver Metal Lover" and "The Books of Paradys". And of course, I read "Lord of the Rings" a dozen times.

Finally, would you survive The Call?
I'm writing this with a fractured collarbone right now, because, apparently, I can't even survive a simple bike ride! If I were Called, the Sídhe would probably catch me within minutes of my arrival in the Grey Land.

But luck definitely plays a part. Anything could happen as long as you don't give up.  

Huge thank you to Peadar for the awesome interview! The Call is available to buy here. Be sure to check out the other blogs taking part in the rest of the tour, and check back here later this week for my thoughts on the book!

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