Competition Time!


OK, at last the moment has come: Tiger-lily Gold is about to hit the shops. Official publication date is May 6th, but you may find it sooner than that; I know at least one local independent bookshop that has copies in stock now.

So, to celebrate, I have ten* signed copies to give away! All you have to do is answer three questions about my Silk Sisters books; email them to me at fidunbar@yahoo.co.uk, giving me your full name and address, including postcode – or that of your school, if you prefer. If you are one of the first ten to get the answers right, a copy will be in the post to you, complete with dedication!

NB Sorry, but this competition is only open to readers in the UK.

The questions are:

1. What is the name of the 'Queen of Fashion', who takes Rorie and Elsie in at the end of Pink Chameleon?

2. What kind of work do Rorie and Elsie's parents do?

3. What year is the story set in? Is it:

a) 2050
b) 2109
c) I deliberately don't give a year.

For a fun bonus point, tell me in 100 words or less what you think might happen in Tiger-Lily Gold. You won't get an extra prize, but I'll enjoy reading your answers and if I get any really interesting ones, I'll put them in my next blog post!

I hope you enjoy this, the last title in my Silk Sisters trilogy. I worked hard for you, you know; I fretted and agonized and lay awake at night, trying to work out, 'how on earth do I get them out of this one?' I even thought, at times, 'that's it: I've told everyone it's a trilogy, I've done two books but I can't do number three...I can't! And now I shall be exposed as a fraud and everyone will hate me. They will march up to my house and throw their copies of Pink Chameleon and Blue Gene Baby back at me in disgust. So yes; I hope you appreciate the suffering and torment I endured, all for your benefit! (Not that I want you to feel bad, or anything...)

Anyway I DID find the answers...eventually. There's always an answer, you know; always a way out of a sticky situation. Remember that. I may not have put this on my writing tips page in so many words – though I do suggest you throw obstacles in your protagonist's way – but take it from one who has made things seemingly impossible for her characters many times over: you'll be amazed at your own inventiveness. Seriously. Necessity is the mother of invention, and all that.

Do please look at my writing tips page, by the way. I know that many of you are keen writers, but unfortunately I cannot read your manuscripts as I just don't have the time. I do say this on the writing tips page – and will now go and put it on the contact page as well. Happy writing! I lied, it's not agony, it's FUN, honest!

* NB: THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED