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: Guest Post from Chloe Seager and Review of Editing Emma!

Hello my fellow booknerds! Today is my stop on the blog tour for Editing Emma. I'm super excited to share this hilarious guest post from Chloe Seager, and my thoughts on her new novel!

Embarrassing Teen Moments

Growing up, I had so many embarrassing moments that sometimes, when people ask me, it’s hard to think of just one. My teenage life was basically just one huge blur of embarrassment. But after having a skim through my diaries, I’ve got what is hopefully a cringeworthy enough selection for you to laugh at, and for me to relive the pain.

1) The Pen That Wasn’t
I’ve already spoken about this in public, so, might as well immortalise it on the internet. I’d been partnered with the boy I fancied for a project, and I was So. Excited. Having an excuse to actually meet up with him after school and be within three feet of him was pretty much all I could think about for days. Finally, the moment came… After school one day, we got together. Just me and him, alone, in a dark, dingy classroom. I was convinced this was going to be the moment. He was finally going to see me in a different light, and the exciting, secret after-school kissing sessions were bound to commence immediately. I got my pen and pad out, ready to dazzle with my intellect, wit and thoughtful insights on the project.

But after about ten minutes or so, I started to get the feeling we weren’t going to be kissing any time soon. He seemed a bit awkward for one thing, and wouldn’t look me in the eye. Not so uncommon with teenage boys in general, but this guy was usually quite confident and friendly. I started to think, what is it? What’s wrong? Do I have something on my face? And then I clocked it, the ‘pen’ that I’d got out of my bag was not a pen at all.

It was a tampon.

I bet I looked super intellectual, witty and ready to dazzle with thoughtful insights, poised with that in my hand. I went a deep shade of red and put it away IMMEDIATELY, and he pretended not to see. We both never mentioned it and, quelle surprise, whether it was because of the tampon or not, we never ended up having exciting, secret after-school kissing sessions.

2) Photogate
NB - I’d forgotten about this story, and it’s definitely going in Book 2…

My friend and I were bored one Saturday and so started taking photos, posing in our underwear (as you do). We uploaded them to the computer and had lots of fun editing them, being generally narcissistic and not yet realising how stupid we looked etc etc. The next day, my Mum was having a big printer meltdown - she’d accidentally printed out tons of stuff hanging about on our computer, and was screeching about paper wastage. I, of course, superior and bored with her technical issues, said to just turn everything around and put it back in the printer the other way, if she was so worried.

I also had to print out an essay that day. (Do you see where this story is going…?)

Three days later, my (male) teacher handed me back my essay, blushing and not looking me in the eye. My friend was like, ‘Why is he being so weird?’ Then from across the room, another boy in class shouted, ‘Chloe, what’s that on the back of your essay?’

It was, obviously, a picture of me in my underwear. FML.

3) House Music Spotlight
Each year, our school had a ‘house music’ competition, and I somehow got persuaded by my friends that it would be really fun to get involved. God knows how, because I can’t sing, dance or even really move without falling over. That, combined with my apathy towards rehearsals, made it a pretty big disaster. The night of the show rolled up and I remember thinking, can I back out now? But my friends, once again, convinced me that no one would even pay attention to me… I was only part of the chorus, standing at the back, basically in darkness. So I went through with it, and it went fine (or so I thought). Sure, I made lots of mistakes and didn’t know what I was doing AT ALL, but my friends were right… I was at the back, and theoretically should have been in total darkness.

Theoretically.

But for some bizarre, unknown reason, people in the audience later told me that there was a strange spotlight, shining on one spot at the back… Juuuuust where I was standing. People kept coming over later and congratulating me on my ‘comedic performance,’ and I was all, ‘what???! What are you talking about?’ And they’d be all, ‘oh, weren’t you meant to be lit up, doing it wrong?’ It turns out that EVERYONE could see me, really, really clearly, in my strange little spotlight of humiliation.

Here is a picture so you can see what I mean… That is me, at the back there. (Facing the wrong way, obviously).

Thankfully, age twenty-five, I now realise that none of these things were actually a massive deal. So I can’t dance and everyone saw, so what? And if a tampon actually bothered that guy, then would I have wanted to date him anyway? (Categorically no.) But at the time I was convinced these moments were the worst things that could have ever happened. I think that’s what I hoped Emma would give some other teenage readers - knowledge that they’re not alone in their awkwardness, and the message that ultimately, these things really aren’t worth losing sleep over.

Huge thank you to Chloe for the fabulous guest post! Be sure to check out the other blogs taking part in the tour this week, and scroll down for my thoughts on Editing Emma!

Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Publisher: HQ
Genre: Contemporary, Humour
Release Date: August 10th 2017
Buy The Book: Book Depository - A Great Read

When sixteen-year-old Emma Nash is ‘ghosted’ by the love of her life Leon Naylor, she does what any normal teenage girl would do…

Emma spends the summer lurking in her bedroom, avoiding all human contact (and the shower), surrounded by the collection of chewit wrappers she saved from packs Leon gave her, back when he actually acknowledged her existence…

But seeing Leon suddenly ‘In a relationship’ on Facebook with the perfect Anna, spurs Emma into action and she embarks on a mission to make positive changes to her life (or ‘edits,’ if you will) and vows to use the internet for more than obsessively stalking Leon’s activities! Instead, she will use it for good and noble causes like finding someone who will actually be nice to her, and recording her findings for the rest of the world to see (i.e. BFF Steph and her mum) on her new Editing Emma blog.

But Emma soon discovers her ‘habit’ is harder to break than she first thought – turns out she’s not the only one ‘editing’ herself online (thank you Tinder for finding her mum’s profile, age 35, really?) and that life through an Instagram filter isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. But it could be worse, she could have outed her best friend, accidentally chatted up a 12 year old boy and revealed to the world why Leon Naylor is worth no girl’s time or virginity… oh no wait, that’s exactly what happened…

My Thoughts:

Emma really can't catch a break. This story follows her after Leon, her former unconfirmed boyfriend, decides to start completely ignoring her, and then enters a Facebook official relationship with another girl at their school. To stop the constant thoughts of Leon, Emma decides to use her private blog and the online world to recreate herself. She wants to become the ideal Emma. What follows is a whirlwind of dating disasters and wonderfully cringe-worthy moments.

The reason why I really connected with this book is because it reminded me so much of the stories I used to devour throughout my school years. I adored anything written in a chatty, diary-style way with funny and relatable characters. As I've gotten older, I seem to have discovered less stories like this. Instead I seem to constantly be reading either fantasy or more serious stories. Not that books that deal with serious issues aren't super important because they are, but sometimes you really need a good, funny story in your life. A charming bit of escapism. And that's exactly what Editing Emma is. But it's also a little more grown up that some of the former books written in this sort of style. It's on top of the game when it comes to modern issues and situations that teens go through.

For me, Emma is just one of those characters that you can't help but love. She's a little more than questionable at times, but everything that she does just adds to her overall charm. The story starts with her explaining her relationship with Leon and the heartbreak she's currently suffering because of him. I'll admit, with her moping about after losing Leon, especially when I didn't like his attitude from what we learn about him, I didn't take to her straight away. But this story had me in fits of giggles in no time. Honestly, I had one of those rare moments where I almost laughed on a train. In public. In front of actual people. During the early morning rush hour. This book is dangerous.

Emma has a group of friends, Steph, Faith, and Gracie, and we get to know more about them as the story unfolds. Their conversations and the moments between them are brilliant. We even get their tweets and texts included, which add another interesting element to the story and it breaks up the blog writing. Whilst the story is told by Emma, I enjoyed getting to learn about her friends through her, especially Faith who, among all of the witty moments, had some important and heartfelt moments that I'm so glad were included.

The various dating disasters that Emma has to face are hilarious. She has some serious guts to go ahead with some of the things that she does, I'll give her that! I don't want to say anything about how it turned out in the end, obviously, but I will say that I was so proud of the final blog post that Emma writes in this book. With such an interesting bunch of characters and so many laugh-out-loud moments, Editing Emma is perfect when you need a story to make you smile. 

Royal Rating:

 

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GUEST POST: Favourite Childhood Books and Their Hidden Meanings by Aliah Beatrice

Children’s books can be rather silly, colourful, and funny, written specifically to draw in children with the intention of getting a certain message across. The obvious lessons usually focus on morals and are hidden within the storylines. Others, on the other hand, feature much deeper meanings that provide a commentary about real-world issues.

Image credit: Flickr

Curious George 
While Curious George is now more commonly identified by its various products that feature the cute little monkey, his roots actually trace back to the book, Curious George, written by H.A. and Margret Rey, which features him undertaking several misadventures. Behind these adventures is a sobering bit of information. Romper said that according to curator Claudia Nahson, those narrow escapes are actually a loose depiction of the couple’s escape from the Nazis. The two, who were German Jews living in Paris, managed to escape the city on their bikes just a couple of days before it was invaded by Germans.

Paddington Bear 
Paddington Bear is now better known as a television character. Before his small screen appearances, however, he was first known via a children’s book series by Michael Bond, the first of which showed the cute, little bear arriving on the platform of Paddington Station with a suitcase and a note attached to his coat saying, “Please look after this bear. Thank you.” Tablet revealed that this scene came about because the author remembered seeing Jewish children refugees that had nothing but a small label around their neck with their name and address on. His later books would serve as a reflection of how refugees acclimatised to different environments, including dealing with xenophobia. 

Dr. Seuss’s works 
No children’s books list is complete without the works of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. While kids love his books for the seemingly nonsensical rhymes and the colourful pictures, a closer look will reveal that the stories reveal much deeper issues.

For example, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is actually a commentary on consumerism, specifically, how people now see the holiday as a means of purchasing things instead of the real meaning of that day. Another example is The Lorax, which tackles issues about corporate greed and how the environment suffers as a result of this. The deeper meaning of his other works are reviewed in an article on Popsugar.

It’s no wonder that Dr. Seuss’s works remain popular among kids and adults alike, years after he began publishing, the first of which came out in 1931. His legacy lives on not only in the new copies of his books, but also in other products, such as these children’s clothing ranges from Tootsa which were inspired by his works and were launched to celebrate Dr. Seuss’s 111th birthday.

James and the Giant Peach 
James and the Giant Peach is a fantastical story written by Roald Dahl featuring anthropomorphic insects, magical worms, and yes, a giant peach. Behind the magical tale, however, is a lesson to stop fearing the unknown and to look deeper beyond the surface, according to Hello Giggles.

Written by Aliah Beatrice 
Exclusive for queenofteenfiction.co.uk

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BLOG TOUR: Guest Post from Simon James Green!

Hello fellow bookworms! Today I'm super excited to share with you this wonderful guest post from Simon James Green, author of Noah Can't Even.

Being open in coming-of-age stories

Coming-of-age stories have been loved and enjoyed by TV, film and book audiences for years. As an adult looking back on those teenage years, it’s easy to do so through rose-tinted glasses, remembering fondly the first feelings of fancying someone, or the long, endless summers, that beautiful kiss…

Er… no! Of course, it wasn’t like that. Fancying that person was the start of an emotionally turbulent nightmare, the summer wasn’t endless it was packed with revision and stressful exams and that kiss was a stupid drunken one and you’d actually just been sick, and you totally regret it.

Those years – they’re actually quite difficult. And they’re packed with confusion, misinformation, and, a lot of the time, you can feel quite scared. These feelings, the stuff you’re going through, it’s all brand new. You’ve no reference point based on previous experience, so you don’t know if it’ll all work out OK. Whether you’ll get through it. You can feel like you’re lost in the woods: the torch has died, there’s no 4G so Google Maps won’t work and what use is a compass if you don’t know whether you should head North or South anyway?

I think this is why it’s so important to be open and honest in coming-of-age stories: you can feel like you are the only one going through this stuff… and you’re not. It might not make it any easier, but knowing you’re not alone, hell, knowing that just one other person feels like you do, maybe that’s a small crumb of comfort.

I’m pretty sure the internet has made it harder. Sure, you can find like-minded people and support websites to help you with whatever you’re going through. But you can also find a whole lot of utter tripe, written by people pushing their own hateful agendas. You only have to look at some of the vile comments written below videos that LGBTQ+ teens have made on YouTube – you’re exposed to hate these days like never before, and that’s not what anyone needs, especially when you’re making your first tentative steps to working out who you are. And sometimes our educational establishments don’t help. There are many good schools out there doing great work, but some schools don’t. Some schools won’t discuss LGBTQ+ issues in PSHE lessons, or tackle homophobic bullying in any sort of meaningful way. Take a look at the Stonewall report on homophobic bullying in Secondary schools – it’s depressing reading.

But we have a chance to address this in coming-of-age stories. Here we can tell it like it is, explore those feelings, and tell those stories. In the world of YA fiction, those gay kids who feel like they might as well not exist as far as their school experience goes, can read about characters going through the same things they are going through. They can join them as they fall in love, kiss, break up, get back together, laugh, have sex, screw it all up and put it all back together again. Reflecting that real experience, writing it in an honest, open way, in the safe space that a novel offers, that’s so important. With Noah Can’t Even, one of things I really wanted to achieve was exploring teenagers’ different experiences of sexuality and coming out in an open and honest way. If we were all more open, less afraid of being honest, especially with those young people we’re meant to be supporting and nurturing, wouldn’t the world be a better place?

www.simonjamesgreen.com
@simonjamesgreen

Noah Can’t Even is out now – published by Scholastic UK.

Simon James Green grew up in a small town in Lincolnshire that definitely wasn’t the inspiration for Little Fobbing – so no-one from there can be mad with him, OK? He enjoyed a classic British education of assorted humiliations and barbaric PE lessons before reading Law at Queens’ College, Cambridge, where he further embarrassed himself by accidentally joining the rowing team despite having no upper body strength and not being able swim. When it turned out that being a lawyer was nothing like how it looks in Suits or The Good Wife, and buoyed by the success of his late night comedy show that involved an inflatable sheep, he travelled to London to pursue a glamorous career in show business. Within weeks he was working in a call centre, had been mugged, and had racked up thousands of pounds worth of debt. Finding strength and inspiration in the lyrics of Tubthumping by Chumbawumba, he eventually ended up working on a range of West End shows and UK tours, co-wrote a feature-length rom-com for the BBC and directed Hollyoaks for C4 / Lime Pictures. After trying really, really hard, he also managed to write Noah Can’t Even. If you are interested in stalking him, he still lives in London, where he spends a lot of time telling people that Noah Can’t Even is only partly autobiographical, and his mum has definitely never done a Beyoncé tribute act. 

Huge thank you to Simon for stopping by! You can read my review of Noah Can't Even here, and be sure to check out the rest of the awesome blogs taking part in the tour!

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BLOG TOUR: How To Write A Sequel - Guest Post by Sarah Mussi!

I’m totally thrilled to be on day three of my blog tour for book two in The Snowdonia Chronicles: Here be Witches at Queen of Teen Fiction.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME QUEEN OF TEEN FICTION!

During my blog tour I am interviewing myself on HOW TO WRITE A SEQUEL! 

So here goes …

Sarah interviews Sarah on how to write a sequel in a thrilling and compelling romantic fantasy!

Sarah

Welcome to the world of WRITING A SEQUEL.I am going to use Here be Witches to explain my thinking on how to give it a go.

Sarah

OK. I’m going to continue to ask Sarah lots of questions to find out all her writing secrets!

Q

For those who are just catching up with your blog tour – can you recap on what Here be Witches is all about?  

A

Here be Witches is the second story in the series The Snowdonia Chronicles

Here be Witches

 THE SEQUEL TO HERE BE DRAGONS – A PERILOUS ADVENTURE INTO THE MAGICAL AND MURDEROUS REALM OF MYTHICAL SNOWDONIA

All Ellie Morgan wants is to be with her one true love, Henry. But she’s caught in the MIDDLE OF A BATTLE as old as SNOWDON itself. A battle between GOOD and EVIL.

A WITCHES’ SPELL, cast high on the mountain, has sped up time and made matters MUCH WORSE. The dragons are awake and evil creatures have risen.

And nearly all of them want Ellie DEAD.

Q

Now I seem to remember that you promised to tell us then how you dealt with ‘off stage’ scenes and what devices you used to help the reader feel present at the action in Here be Witches?

A

Yes I did! Right, I sorted out the problem of Ellie not being present at the initial witches ceremony, by introducing it as a prologue written in the third person. This separated the action in the spell-casting ceremony, from the first person narration of the entire story by Ellie, my chosen point-of-view character. Some writers frown upon the use of prologues, but in YA fiction and often in the fantasy genre the use of a prologue is quite traditional. 

My rule of thumb is if it works use it and don’t be too worried about what so-called ‘wisdom’ says. I particularly liked the use of a witches’ spell-casting scene at the beginning of the story, as I felt it was reminiscent of Macbeth (can’t be a bad thing!) and it also acted as a hook to bring the reader into the story straight away before falling back to tell them what had happened in the previous novel of the series. 

Here is an excerpt. The witches must speed up the passage of time to break the high magic and release the dragons … I even used Macbeth-style poetry for the spell casting! 

As Above

29^th February Leap Year

At the witching hour upon the eve of St David’s Day

THE GIRL TURNS HER MASKED FACE TO THE SUMMIT, above her the air shudders. Just seconds left. If only she can time it right. Heart pounding, blood hammering, she poises herself. She pulls out the mirror, angles it, catches the refection of the dark night and the stars.

I can do this, she tells herself. I am the High Priestess. I am the Supreme One.

Then she recites aloud:

‘Fair is foul – foul is fair –

By water, fire, earth and air,

Fair is foul – foul is fair –  

Let those who challenge me, BEWARE –

Fair is foul – foul is fair –

FOR I WILL DESTROY THE DRAGONS’ LAIR!’  

Q

WOW! I can see what you mean by opening with a hook. I certainly want to know what happens next!

A

Well I can’t do a spoiler, but I can tell you that in the process of writing the sequel I had to decide about the character cast. I had to decide, should I keep the characters exactly the same as in book one – if not … who should figure in book two and did I need any new characters?

Q

So tell me how you decided that?

A

Well, the opening of any story must draw the reader into the setting of the story, and reveal the everyday life the hero has been living. This is true of a sequel as well as a standalone story. The only problem is that if my reader has read book one they probably don’t really want to read a repeat of information that they already know. So I had to do find inventive ways of sketching out the setting and the world that my characters lived in for those that hadn’t read book one. However I still had to be sure that I had the main expected cast of characters in the story.

Q

So what is the main expected cast of characters in any story?

A

I think there is a basic number of characters you cannot really go below: three or four, maybe. There is no upper limit on characters, and there are many archetypes, but the roles of these basic three or four characters needs to be evident in any story. They are:

The sidekick (George, I thought I would continue his role as sidekick as I thought readers would like to hear more about him.)

The romance character (that’s the one who everyone wants to love/save – and in this case it is Henry, the Dragon. I thought he better go on through in the series too (!) as definitely everybody would want to hear more about him – especially as he is the one that Ellie wants to be with forever).

The antagonist (Oswald has always been the major villain of the series, but he needed his own sidekick and supporters). 

Q

Why do you think Oswald is a good antagonist? Good enough to last throughout the series?

A

Well, I think that the strength of a story lies in how much it challenges the protagonist, and therefore any villain who can challenge a dragon has to be more powerful than a dragon! There are very few things that are more powerful than dragons except perhaps bigger dragons. This is why I believe that Oswald is a good antagonist for the series. I also think it is important to make sure that the forces of evil that are challenging the protagonist are always much stronger and more in number. This meant that in book two I needed Oswald to recruit some villains to work with him. When the magic awoke all of the mythological creatures in Snowdonia this gave me a lot of range to decide which ones would work for Oswald and which ones would work against him.

Q

Aha! I get it. Clever thinking!

A

Mythological characters could work for good or evil, and it was fun deciding  which side each creature would join – particularly when it came to the giants! QAre there giants in Here be Witches?

 AWell, you will have to read the story, but there is a clue in the dedication …

Dedication

To IDRIS GAWR, Stargazer, Overlord and Giant of Cadair Idris

In the land of Merioneth in the parish of Dolgelly in the commote of Talybont is a mount or peak or large high hill that is called Cadair Idris. And on the highest crown of this mountain is a bed-shaped form, great in length and width, built of slabs with stones fixed thereon. And this is called The Bed of Idris. And it is said that of whoever lies and sleeps upon that bed, from sunset until sunrise, one of two things will happen to him: either he will be a hero or poet or bard of the best kind, or descend from that Great Mountain entirely demented.

From The Giants of Wales and Their Dwellings

Sion Dafydd Rhys, ca. 1600

Peniarth Manuscript

So interesting! Thanks Sarah for sharing that and we will carry on with the Q and A session in your next blog post.

Thank you for hosting this blog Queen of Teen Fiction!

We read more from Sarah in her next upcoming post – which looks at setting and dilemmas in sequels and how to make them fresh and enticing. Catch us for blog post four with Everything Alyce http://everythingalyce.blogspot.co.uk/ on 3 March and … HAPPY WORLD BOOK DAY!

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BLOG TOUR: Guest Post by Alice Broadway, author of INK

Hello everyone! Today I'm excited to share with you a fabulous post from author Alice Broadway about the research behind her new novel, Ink! 

The Research Behind Ink 

I am so pleased to have the chance to visit and talk a bit about my debut YA novel, Ink. Ink is based in a world where everybody is tattooed, and at death, your skin is preserved and your tattoos become a book in remembrance of a life well lived. Researching for Ink was one of my favourite things. If you’re into creepy, morbid and macabre stuff, read on.

Tattoos
As someone with no tattoos, I needed some real insight and help in order to write accurately and believably about the process. I had the honour of watching Emma Kierzek work and asked her loads of questions. Emma is an award winning artist based at Aurora Tattoo, Lancaster and her creations are amazing – her realistic black and grey portraits are stunning. I really wanted to get the input of a female tattoo artist and it was fascinating hearing her talk about her work. I also visited a local tattoo studio, New Testament Tattoos, where they brilliantly helped me understand more about how they felt as artists and as people with tattoos. AND they didn’t laugh at my stupid questions, at least not to my face.

Also, the exceptional tattoo journalist, Beccy Rimmer from Inkluded has been ace – she works really hard to make tattoo culture accessible and to demystify some of the process. She also shares the work of incredible artists and her own tattoos are so beautiful.

Preservation
Preserving skin isn’t terribly unusual – the process of creating leather from animal hides is quite normal to us. But the idea of preserving human skin suddenly becomes a lot more sinister-seeming. Thankfully, there are other humans out there who find stuff like this as fascinating as I do and when I found the work of Dr. Gemma Angel at Life and Six Months, I knew I had found my guru. Dr. Angel has studied and handled preserved tattoos and written extensively about them. She also graciously agreed to be interviewed and as a tattooist, writer and reader she was a fount of knowledge and inspiration.

Having read Dr. Angel’s work I knew there were some preserved tattoos at the Wellcome Museum in London and when I had the chance to see them ‘in the flesh’ I couldn’t resist. I was surprised by how emotional I felt seeing these scraps of skin from unknown men.

Death positivity
The world of Saintstone is one where death isn’t feared or hidden and the death positivity movement has been a fascinating area of research for me. I was expecting to find things like The Order of the Good Death interesting in a ‘this is quite weird and maybe you’re all vampires’ way – I wasn’t expecting to have my thoughts and plans about my own death completely altered by what I learned. I love the vlogs by Caitlin Doughty and her book, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes is now one of my favourite non-fiction books of all time.

The thing I have been most struck by is people’s willingness to share their knowledge, expertise and inspiration. I had nothing to offer them but my curiosity and their generosity has impressed me so much.

Alice Broadway drinks more tea than is really necessary loves writing in her yellow camper van. She hates being too cold or too hot, and really likes wearing lipstick and watching terrible Christmas movies.

@alicecrumbs | www.alice-broadway.com

 

Huge thank you to Alice for the fascinating post! I love learning about the research behind a story. Ink is available to buy now, and keep an eye out here for my review soon!

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BLOG TOUR: Guest Post from Matt Dickinson, author of Lie Kill Walk Away

My guest blogger today is Matt Dickinson, author of the brand new YA thriller Lie Kill Walk Away.

GOING VIRAL! Why Bioterror (and a love story) are at the heart of my new thriller Lie Kill Walk Away’ 

One of the questions I often get asked in schools is:

‘What’s the most dangerous journey you’ve ever done?’

The expected answer is probably Everest (four per cent fatality for every 100 who reach the top and return) or perhaps K2 (twenty-nine per cent fatality for every 100 that reach the top and return alive).

No. The most dangerous journey I ever made was a clandestine one, sneaking across the border into Uzbekistan to visit an abandoned Soviet bio-weapons testing facility in the heart of the Aral Sea. I was the director of a documentary film for Channel 4, following presenter Nick Myddelton in a series called Going to Extremes.

It was certainly extreme. In forty-two degree heat (and dressed in bio-hazard protection suits) we travelled with a band of smugglers across the salty Aral Sea. It was a spooky voyage, passing the wrecks of Soviet trawlers that now stand abandoned on the salt flats of this polluted and almost desiccated lake.

When we reached the island of Voz the real terrors began. We filmed the laboratories where sinister bio-weapons were concocted at the height of the cold war.

Anthrax. Equine Flu Virus. Ebola. Really lethal stuff. 

Toxic cocktails cooked up in the minds of Soviet war mongers and stored by the ton ready to be deployed against the west.

A teaspoon of some of those bioweapons could kill everyone in London if it was ever deployed.

It was a terrifying experience, especially to witness the testing rooms where we found beds with restraining straps on them. Rumours say they tested deadly bio weapons on prisoners? Was it true? We couldn’t verify it but the evidence was there in front of our eyes.

I still have nightmares about that filming trip to this day … and that was why I chose a bio-weapons theme at the heart of my new thriller Lie Kill Walk Away.

I chose two teenage characters, Joe and Rebecca, and plunged them into a fast-moving terrorist threat with a bio-weapon at the heart of the tale. Of course I couldn’t resist sprinkling a bit of chemistry into the mix ... by which I mean Lurvvve! Thrillers are always far more interesting when the protagonists end up fancying each other don’t you think? Just ask James Bond!

I am proud of the book but I will never forget the terrors of the place where it all began.

Huge thank you to Matt for stopping by on the blog! Like Kill Walk Away is available to pre-order now!

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GUEST POST: Sarah Mussi Shares Her Tips For Writing About Local Legends!

Today I'm excited to share with you this awesome guest post from author Sarah Mussi - enjoy!

Myth and local legend are a positive gold mine for creative writing - packed with mystery, magic, romance and danger, what better ingredients for a true teen novel!

Better still, every area in the world has its share of local spooky tales and mythical monsters!

Sarah Mussi, multi-award winning author of HERE BE DRAGONS – BOOK ONE IN THE SNOWDONIA CHRONICLES, and a wealth of other topical teen and Y.A. titles, gives her top ten tips to help aspiring young writers use their local legends to create terrifying tales.

1) Create your protagonists: give them heroic qualities.
Who is going to be the hero of your story? And what qualities will they have? Nobody loves a hero who cries and whines a lot, so your protagonist needs to be strong and just the kind of person you would like to be, when you are in a good mood! Take time to think about those qualities, and be very strict about not allowing reality to get in the way of a good story!

2) Your protagonist needs a truly awe-inspiring goal to work towards.
All strong narratives are driven by the need of the central character to achieve a goal. The journey that this person makes may be filled with conflict, tension and obstacles, but as long as they have a strong goal, that they are determined to reach, your protagonist will find the necessary strength to overcome the obstacles and find solutions to all the problems life throws at them.

3) Now you need to do local research.
Every square mile of the UK is filled with tales of the unexpected - local legends of wizards and witches; terrifying accounts of big cats on the loose; myths about hills and valleys, wells, stones and rivers. Your local museum, or ordinance survey map, or tourist souvenir shop, will often have details of these types of stories. Take time to do your research. Talk to residents whose families have grown up in the area. And of course there is always the Internet! Failing all of that, go for a long walk through your nearby countryside, and start imagining the kinds of stories the features of the local landscape might suggest to you.

4) Now serve up your local legends with a twist.
Imagine that your protagonist meets one of the characters from the legends you have learnt about. Perhaps on the way home from school, they face a horrifying encounter with the Beast of Bodmin Moor! (Or whichever truly terrifying monster is rumoured to live in your area.) If you live on the shores of Loch Ness, you have a ready-made monster to work with! Start to believe the myths and legends you have researched into, then imagine how they will impact the life of your protagonist. Will the character/monsters become obstacles, or solutions to your protagonist’s quest to achieve their heart’s desire?

5) Create an antagonist.
All conflict and tension in truly gripping stories is created by the machinations of a villain! If possible borrow one of the many villains that exist in mythology. This gives your villain a second and important layer of terrifying-ness. It makes them genuine and real! Also most villains in myth and legend have supernatural powers too. SHIVER! They also have an archetypal presence, which makes them truly scary.

6) Take time with your setting.
The setting of your story may be one of the single most important features that you have direct control over. Setting can offer all kinds of conflicts and tensions. I chose to set to my teenage romantic, adventure, mythical-fantasy on Mount Snowdon. This meant there was lots of potential to get lost, be put in danger, freeze, or fall off huge cliffs! This all added to the tension and sense of jeopardy in the story. So where is your story set? Can you go there and take notes about what it is like? Notice details of the landscape. The kind of things you hear. Note down bird song, wind activity, sounds far away in the distance, maybe aeroplanes? What about traffic? Or maybe the sound of the sea? Think about what you can smell as well. Every place has a slightly different smell. Unfortunately in the English language, we have a very limited vocabulary for the sense of smell. Things either smell good or bad or putrid or sour or sweet. However, you can add to this by creating metaphors and similes to help the reader imagine what the place smells like.

7) Now begin your story in medias res.
In the medias res is the term authors use for starting a story in the middle of the action. Experienced writers start a story in the middle of things, because this is what engages the readers’ attention the most quickly. Because - don’t forget you are writing a story to entertain a reader! Although you may enjoy it for yourself, you need to keep the reader on your side and totally engaged in the twists and turns your protagonist faces. So your first job is to get the reader to be on your protagonist’s side. This means creating reader empathy with your main character. The best way to do this is to have your readers see the hero in the middle of an action scene, using all their heroic qualities to do something truly great. If your main character has to sacrifice and be hurt in order to do this, it is all the better! Your reader will love them all the more. Once you have your reader on the same side as your main character, you can then tell more about the background to the story.

8) Roughly plot out the journey your story will take. 
Once you have your main character, their goal, a villain, the setting, the local legends and myths with its monsters and problems, you can start to map the journey your protagonist will need to take to meet their goal. This is lots of fun. You can heap obstacles and difficulties in the path of your protagonist. You can use your inventive powers to help them overcome the conflicts. Don’t forget to make it action packed and full of jeopardy, this will keep your reader firmly on the page.

9) Get inside the skin on your character and starts to think like them.
Once you have mapped out the main plot of your story. You need to write it from the viewpoint of your main character. This may be through a first person delivery, or you may use a limited third person point of view. These are the two most common points of view used to promote a narrative about one character’s adventures and journey towards their goal. Using this form of viewpoint enables the reader to closely experience all the thoughts and feelings of the character. This helps the reader to imagine themselves in the role of the main character and experience the events, as if they were happening to themselves.

10) Write the Obligatory Scene.
Nearly all exciting narrative ends with a climax. This is called the obligatory scene. It is when the hero must face their darkest hour, overcome their deepest fears, and go forth to meet the villain in a final confrontation. The main push of the narrative has been bearing down to this collision. The goals of the protagonists and the antagonist will clash during this last important scene. There may be bloodshed! It is useful to have as many characters as you can - from the story - onstage in this scene. This is the shootout at the O.K. Corral! High Noon has come and there can be only one victor! Make the scene as full of action as you can.

Circular endings? After all the dust has settled and every character has received their just deserts. The brave have been rewarded, the wicked punished. After the hero has returned home, triumphant with their goal achieved, it is time for you to go back to the beginning of the story and do your editing. During this second draft, you will see much more clearly the story points that need to stay and the ones that need to be cut or changed. This is very important work for a writer. It tightens the story up and makes it unbeatable!

Sarah Mussi’s latest book HERE BE DRAGONS: Book One of THE SNOWDONIA CHRONICLES (Vertebrate Publishing) is already out. BOOK TWO: HERE BE WICHES is coming OCT 2016.

Ellie Morgan wants a boy who's all hers. Just for once, it would be nice to meet someone that Sheila (the cow) hadn't got her claws in to.

A remote farmhouse on Mount Snowdon is hardly the ideal setting for meeting anyone unless, of course, you count her best friend George or creepy Darren (which Ellie doesn't). But when a boy, glimpsed through the mist and snow, lures her up to the Devil's Bridge, Ellie realises the place she knows so well still has its secrets...

The stronger her feelings for this strange boy become, the more she is in danger: a battle as old as Snowdon itself has been raging for centuries and now Ellie's caught in the middle.

Something has left its lair.

It's out there stalking her.

Who ever said true love was easy? 

SARAH MUSSI (author of over eight children’s books)

Winner of the Glen Dimplex & Irish Writers' Award for Best Children's Book

Shortlisted for Branford Boase Award

Nominated for the Carnegie Medal

RIOT ~ Winner of the 2015 Lancashire Book Award

SIEGE - WINNER OF THE CONTEMPORARY BBUKYA AWARD ~ shortlisted~ Oldham Book Award, Leeds, Catalyst Book Award ~ Listed for UKLA, Hampshire Independent Book Awards

BOMB ~ shortlisted for the Lancashire Book Award 2016

HERE BE DRAGONS out now

www.facebook.com/SarahMussiAuthor

www.sarahmussi.com

@sarahmussi

Here Be Dragons: showcased in The People’s Book Prize! 

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Guest Post from Sherry Soule: Why I Love The YA Genre

I'm pleased to welcome Sherry Soule to The Queen of Teen Fiction! She recently took the time to write a guest post about why she loves the YA genre. Big thanks to Sherry for stopping by, enjoy the post!

“Why I Love the Young Adult Genre”

Guest post by author, Sherry Soule

Today author, Sherry Soule has some exciting news to share with us! She will be publishing a brand new Upper YA / Sci-Fi Romance series: the “Starlight Saga” with scorching-hot character chemistry, exciting suspense, and epic romance on June 26, 2014.

To help promote this amazing interstellar love story, “LOST IN STARLIGHT,” Sherry is doing this guest post to share the news with fellow bibliophiles.

Hi everybody, I’m author, Sherry Soule—waving from the SF Bay Area. Thanks for letting me visit today, it’s an honor to be a guest here and meet fellow booklovers.

Since I was a child, I recognized that books were a way to travel to other places and have incredible adventures. Even though I am older (you’re NEVER too old to read young adult novels, in my opinion) than the average teen reader, I’ve always loved reading Young Adult literature.

I think I love reading YA Lit because I think that most novels in this genre are fast-paced and thrilling, and the stories are written in a style that is engrossing, with story-driven or character-driven plotlines with lots of first love. I also adore that there are so many books created into a series nowadays, so that you can continue to have additional adventures with your favorite characters.

Could my love of YA Lit be simply because I’m still stuck at age sixteen, just a teenager-at-heart in disguise?

Could be. And like many of you, I’ve read hundreds of YA books and I can actually say that I enjoyed them all. Some I genuinely loved and these books became like good friends that I didn’t want to part with, so they adorn my bookshelves and wait patiently to be reread again one day. Other novels were simply read and then disregarded with a contented smile.

And you know what? I am NEVER embarrassed to buy YA novels (although, I buy most of my books online through Amazon) in bookstores, or carry them around with me. I love the genre and always have and always will.

Of course, I realize that we all have diverse tastes in literature. Most of you will have varied genres that you love to read, and probably some of my favorite books are simply your forgotten reads. That is what makes the world of YA Lit, and reading as a whole, so fascinating. Each one of us will enjoy different types of characters, plots, and of course, a writer’s voice, the way only they can tell a story.

At its core my new novel, LOST IN STARLIGHT is basically a love story about two lonely hearts finding each other and how their star-crossed relationship changes both of their lives. And I don’t know about you, but I need some romance in almost every book I read. Even in YA! And if you’re a hopeless romantic at heart, then you’ll enjoy reading my new book.

Thus, LOST IN STARLIGHT is the first book that I’ve ever written that focuses heavily on romance more than any paranormal baddies trying to kill the heroine or having the plot center around a supernatural mystery to solve. And I think the heroine of my new series, Sloane, is rather unique. To me, she’s not your average “Mary Sue” or flawless hero. She’s chubby and has some self-esteem issues, but she’s also headstrong and gutsy, with an eccentric fashion sense. 

Thank you for letting me chat about my love of young adult literature. I hope you enjoyed this post. Now go feed your mind and read a book! Preferably one of mine. :-D

Please mark your calendars to buy your copy of LOST IN STARLIGHT on June 26^th 2014!

Read the first five chapters for free on wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/story/14214838-lost-in-starlight-syfy-romance

VOLUME ONE of the Starlight Saga

High school reporter Sloane Masterson knows she has one helluva story when she witnesses hottie Hayden Lancaster bending forks with his mind.

Like any good journalist, Sloane sets out to uncover the truth, even if it includes a little stalking. When the superhuman feats start to pile up and the undeniable heat rises between them, Hayden has no choice but to reveal his secret: he’s an alien hybrid.

They’re as different as night and day—she’s a curvy, purple-haired, horror junkie and he’s a smoking hot, antisocial, brainiac—yet the intense fascination between them refuses to go away. Even at Hayden’s insistence that dating each other is “off limits” and crazy dangerous, their fiery attraction threatens to go supernova.

Now Sloane’s dealing with creepy government agents, über snobby extraterrestrials, and a psycho alien ex-girlfriend out for revenge. After a crash course on the rules of interstellar dating, Sloane must decide if their star-crossed romance is worth risking her own life....

About Sherry Soule

Sherry Soule lives with her family and one very spoiled black cat in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is the bestselling author of the adult novel, “Immortal Eclipse” and the popular YA series: Spellbound. Sherry writes thrilling tales of romance and suspense, often mingled with a dash of the mystical and a splash of trendy fashion. Her love of literature began when she was a young girl and it has continued throughout her life.

Her published novels do not include any graphic sex scenes or explicit violence, nor excessive profanity, so that all of her novels can be read and enjoyed by both teens and adults.

Sherry’s debut novel, “Beautifully Broken” was nominated for Best Paranormal Romance in the 2011 Wizard and Witch/Sorcery category by The Romance Reviews (TRR). Her adult novel, “Immortal Eclipse” is a *TOP PICK* by Night Owl Reviews.

Places you can find Sherry Soule:

Official Blog: http://www.sherrysoule.blogspot.com/

Twitter @SherrySoule: http://twitter.com/SherrySoule

Please add LOST IN STARLIGHT to your TBR on goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20707942-lost-to-starlight

The awesome book cover was designed by the talented  

Kristen Thompson-Oh of KCT Designs at www.kctdesigns.com

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