Ten Things from the 2011 SCBWI Retreat

I returned from my first SCBWI Retreat yesterday, having consumed approximately 20 biscuits, 5 delicious cakes (thanks Teri and Jo) and 10 glasses of wine, written 850 words, walked 1 mile (cheers for the navigation Anne Marie), learned a lot about the realities of marketing (ta, Nick), received some great advice (grats, Janetta) and laughed innumerable times (special mentions to Tommy and Candy).

Once again, we packed a lot into a short time, but here are the top ten points that stuck in my mind (in no particular order):

1. Published authors need good websites
2. Bloggers like it when you comment on their posts (yes we do!)
3. Are your characters explaining their world? If so, you might need to create a new scene to show, rather than tell
4. Develop a clear sense of your story world's rules and limitations
5. Boys prefer to read about older boys and kick-ass girls
6. Reluctant readers respond to short sentences, short chapters of roughly equal length and a solid quest
7. Frances Lincoln are open to submissions and are looking at all types of children's and teen fiction
8. Frances Lincoln would like more people to send entries to the Diverse Voices competition
9. People love The Hunger Games series, especially the first book. Neal Shusterman's novels also very popular.
10. I need to remember to take photos (apologies for the lack of visuals!)

But mainly, I discovered, once again, that SCBWI members are very nice people indeed.  Thanks for being such good company and good luck with the writing and illustrating!

Review: My So-Called Afterlife by Tamsyn Murray

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Fifteen-year-old Lucy Shaw is a ghost. She haunts the men's toilets on Carnaby Street and she's been stuck there ever since she was murdered on the way home from a party. Her dull afterlife finally perks up when a lighting engineer called Jeremy happens to walk in - and he can see and hear her! Slowly and with Jeremy's help, Lucy's existence starts to change. She manages to leave the toilets and meet other ghosts, including the super-cute Ryan and the troubled Hep. She also starts to uncover the truth about her death...

 My So-Called Afterlife is one of those effortless reads that whips you away from everyday life and transports you into another world as soon as you open the first page.  The novel follows the story of Lucy Shaw, a teenage ghost who becomes trapped in public toilets after she’s murdered by a serial killer.  At first, she thinks she’s destined to remain there, alone forever, but then Jeremy, a dorky geography teacher starts talking to her.  It turns out that he can both see and hear spirits.  Despite their differences, they begin to work together to free Lucy from her supernatural shackles.

As the title implies, this book  is pretty darn funny.  Lucy has a kick-ass attitude and this leads to some great one-liners.  She’s able to look after herself and doesn’t suffer fools gladly, especially rubbish ghost hunters!  Although the novel is sad and scary in places, Lucy’s dry sense of humour shines through.  She’s able to learn too.  I found her (platonic) relationship with Jeremy particularly moving as she matures from critical teenager to supportive friend.

I also loved the depiction of the afterlife.   I’ve not come across that many ghosts in teen fiction so I really enjoyed finding out about the spirit world and its rules of engagement, some familiar, some brand new.   The author describes it in such detail that you completely believe in Lucy’s experiences.

So, all-in-all, a fab debut from Tamsyn Murray with enough action and comedy to satisfy the most reluctant reader. Even better, I’m slightly behind publication with this review, so Tamsyn’s other supernatural novels - My So-Called Haunting and My So-Called Phantom Lovelife - are already lined up and ready to read.

Just by chance, Nicky Schmidt posted a marvellous interview with Tamsyn today. You can find this over at Absolute Vanilla.

Mslexia 2011 Women's Novel Competition

As part of my ongoing quest to find writing competitions for YA authors, I've discovered this contest for unpublished women writers.  The first prize is £5000 and it's open to novelists writing in any genre for adults, including young adult fiction.  Mslexia can't guarantee that the winner will secure an agent or a deal, but they do promise that agents and editors will be falling over themselves for a first read of the winning manuscript.


Although the entry fee is high, Mslexia are aiming at a wide range of authors, including new writers and women who have struggled to find an agent in the past.  They'll also accept self-published novels.

The brief submission guidelines are as follows:

Closing date: 30 September

Entry fee: £25
Send up to 5,000 words – which must be the first 5,000 words of your novel. Please make sure you have finished the novel (at least 50,000 words) before you send your entry.

You can find more information on the Mslexia novel competition page.
 

Review: Split by a Kiss by Luisa Plaja

Jo has just moved to America with her mum. She's always been a fairly average girl - not a nerd but certainly never one of the popular kids. But on her first day in her new school, she seems to be adopted by the It girls - and is invited to one of their parties. There, she meets Jake Matthews, officially the hottest boy in school, and when they begin to play the kissing-in-the-closet game, Seven Minutes in Heaven, amazingly Jake picks Jo join him in the closet! She can't believe her luck. But the reality of being kissed and groped by Jake is not quite as great as the fantasy... Jo has a choice to make: should she carry on, kiss Jake and secure her position in the It crowd - or should she tell him where to get off and risk relegation back to the land of the ordinary . . . ? At this moment - Jo splits. She's Josie the Cool - girlfriend of Jake, member of the It crowd. She's also Jo the Nerd - rejected by the It crowd, single . . . Will her two halves ever come back together again? Is Jake the guy she's meant to be with or could some of the other people she meets along her journey - Rachel the scary goth, David the misfit or Albie the rocker - be the answer? A fabulously inventive, heartwarming and funny take on the Sliding Doors idea, for teen readers. 

I’ve been waiting for a book like Split by a Kiss for a while - something funny, yet insightful - a change from the usual YA doom and gloom. The novel tells the story of sixteen-year-old Jo, as she travels to Boston from England to start a new life with her mum. While there, she catches the eye of both the cool clique and the geeky crowd. Jo’s unsure who to hang out with, but after a kiss with the local hot boy, Jake, she becomes even more confused - so much so that she splits into two personalities - Josie the Cool and Jo the Nerd. From here, we follow the adventures of both halves as they come to terms with their new lives - making friends and mistakes along the way.

The narrative takes on an unusual structure at this point as both Cool Josie and Nerdy Jo tell their stories in alternate chapters. This works extremely well. It’s a bit like watching a soap opera - you become addicted to finding out what’s going to happen next. Who fancies Jo? Who can she trust? Can she rely on her own judgement? I love the way that the same characters - Chelsea, Tori, David, Rachel, Albie -appear in both accounts, but from different angles depending on the point of view. This really shows how subjective personality can be and how important it is to be true to yourself.

On the face of it, the book is pure comedy with lots of dry observations, but it goes deeper than chicklit. Some of Jo’s experiences are really moving, and cruel. I think most people will find something to relate to here. I especially like the ending. It’s uplifting without being too slushy. There’s also has a great little section at the back summarising what happens to the characters afterwards. I could easily read this all over again! Highly recommended.

Book Trailer: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

I'm not the greatest at remembering to plug book trailers, but Maggie Stiefvater's beautiful stop motion videos always catch my eye.  She not only designed and filmed this piece herself, she also composed and played the accompanying track.



 If you want to be ahead of the crowd, you can buy signed copies of Forever here.

Highland Fling

My recent holiday included 16 hours of train travel, 9 different overnight stays, 5 full breakfasts, 10 Mars Bars and 95 miles of hiking.  And luckily 0 midgies.  Yep - I finally managed to walk the West Highland Way, a classic long-distance hike from Milngavie (just outside Glasgow) to Fort William that runs along Loch Lomond, over Rannoch Moor then descends in the shadow of Ben Nevis.

It was an epic journey - great weather and lovely accommodation.  We also decided to have our luggage transported for us, which was one of the best decisions we could have made.  Firstly, it avoided heavy lugging on those Scottish hills and secondly, it meant that I could take as many books as I liked. 

As usual, the majority of the novels were YA, but I decided to add a token adult option in too for good measure.

Siren by Tricia Rayburn
Split by a Kiss by Luisa Plaja
My So-Called Afterlife by Tamsyn Murray
Room by Emma Donaghue
Brilliant Coaching by Julie Starr

It was an absolute treat to read all of these, but I enjoyed Split by a Kiss and My So-Called Afterlife the most.  Both hilarious, but coming from completely different angles.  I'll be following up with glowing reviews over the coming weeks while starting on my next TBR pile.