Happy New Year!

And what an exciting year it's going to be. So many of my friends have wonderful things happening, I decided I'd have to blog about them!

I'll start with my two FIRST-TIME AUTHORS!! Candy Gourlay and Keren David.

Candy you will know about by now; very possibly you have been following her excellent blog for longer than you have mine. Given that the blog's title is Notes From The Slush-Pile, she may need to change it; the slush-pile, in case you didn't know, is the heap of unsolicited and not-yet-read manuscripts that grows on publishers' and agents' desks. And Candy's work will no longer be sitting in any slush-pile; her first book, Tall Story (David Fickling Books) is to be published in June (NB: this is not the actual cover: it is a temporary design by Candy herself).

I've read it, and it is an absolutely captivating and original tale, both funny and touching. The story is alternately narrated by Andi, in London, and her giant (yes, really!) brother Bernardo, in the Philippines (where Candy herself originates from), but on his way to join her in London. You're going to love it.

Keren David is another brilliant writer (as well as star blogger: puts me to shame!) and her book When I Was Joe, (Frances Lincoln) out now(ish: you may have to order it) is already creating a buzz among readers. It's about a 14-year-old boy who has to go into police protection after he witnesses a stabbing. He assumes a new identity...but all does not go smoothly, and he is in danger. It's a hard-hitting novel that I wouldn't advise for anyone under 12 – this couldn't be more far removed from my own stories! – but if you've outgrown my stuff anyway, then read this.

Next up, two more fabulously talented writers who have feature film adaptations of their books coming out this year: Cressida Cowell and Sally Nicholls.

Cressida's series of Dragon books have been making readers laugh out loud for a long time, and now her work is transferred to the screen in How To Train Your Dragon, which opens in March. Here's a still from it, which I think is lovely; look at that CUTE dragon!

To be honest, I am slightly blinded by the shimmer coming off Cressida right now, and not just because every time I see her, she out-blings me (see evidence of out-blinging below); I mean, this film is BIG HOLLYWOOD stuff. It's Dreamworks, for heaven's sake! Yes, THAT Dreamworks, the Steven Spielberg one, that brought you Shrek! Ha! Like she need publicity from me. I'm just trying to bathe in the reflected glory.

Sally Nicholls is going to have an amazing year; not only is she getting married, but her first novel Ways to Live Forever is being made into a film. If you don't know the book, and I tell you it's about a boy who's dying of leukemia, you might think 'argh! Depressing!' But you'd be very, very wrong; Sam is a funny and engaging character. Yes, of course there's sadness too, but in that really good tear-jerky way, not a weighing-you-down-with-grief way.

I think the film's going to be good as well: it's crammed with really good actors like Emilia Fox and Ben Chaplin and director Gustavo Ron has stayed faithful to the book and set it in Newcastle. Get your hankies ready. No release date as yet, but will definitely be this year; will keep you posted!

One of the friends I want to mention here is sadly no longer around. My lovely friend Siobhan Dowd died of cancer in 2007, so has missed seeing her novel The London Eye Mystery being made into a stage play, at the Unicorn Theatre, London (6th March - 18th April).

She would be thrilled. I'm looking forward to seeing it; absolutely loved the book, and am intrigued to see how the London Eye itself will be realised on the stage.

Finally, but no less excitingly, I have news of forthcoming books by my friends Jo Cotterill and Lee Weatherly. I have lots of friends with new books coming out, but these two stand out because they are new directions for both.

Despite the demands of a full-time job (until very recently) and a small child (still!), Jo Cotterill (nee Kenrick) is already racing ahead with her new romance series for 10-13s, Sweet Hearts (Random House). The first story, Star Crossed, comes out in June. I'm particularly curious about this one, because as with my own Cupid Cakes (Lulu Baker), it has a plot centred on a Shakespearean school play – in this case, appropriately, Romeo & Juliet. Jo used to be an actress, so she has a wealth of experience to bring to this theme! Other stories in the series of six will feature different characters and themes.

Writing under the name of LA Weatherly, Lee (who has also published under the names of Titania Woods and Kitty Wells) has new trilogy coming out, starting with Angel (Usborne) in October; it is set to do for angels what Twilight did for vampires. Need I say more?! Lee is a superb writer (um...dare I say it? Yes I will: better than Stephanie Meyer) and I'm excited to see what she does with this theme. Again, it's aimed at a slightly older age group than my own books. I don't have a cover to show you, so here instead is a rather silly picture of me with Lee (and that's Candy Gourlay on the left):

Books, films, a play...what a lot to look forward to! Happy new year.

Yule Blog
(saving the best bit till the end, so DON'T MISS IT! Scroll down...)

I was looking for a nice Christmassy picture to put here, and came across this, which made me giggle: I especially like the 'too dumb to win an award' sticker. Looks like a fun stocking-filler.

So, what have I been up to? Well, I've been going to the dentist a lot.

 I could make a career out of going to the dentist. By the way, the above drawing lives on the wall in my house, along with half a dozen other vintage artworks by MOI. They are drawings I did for a magazine called Punch; this one is from a column by the late Miles Kington called "Let's Parler Franglais" – which is why I put in a caption in Franglais, a language he devised that could be understood by almost anyone who failed GCSE French (trivia: Kington was invited to join the Monty Python team, but declined).
Occasionally I have been allowed out of the dentist's chair long enough to go home, jot a few barely intelligible sentences on my computer, consume baby food and even go to other places like Winchester and Oxford. Because of my fragile dental state, my dentist arranged for me to be looked after by a tall bearded person whenever I ventured too far. It was very nice of said bearded personage (henceforth 'Beardy') to provide this service, as he was paid only in Chunky Kit-Kats (hmm...I wonder if my dentist is looking forward to some more fillings...?)

 

 OK, some of you are smart enough not to be fooled by the above and will recognise recent winner of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, Philip Ardagh, seen above at the SCBWI conference in Winchester, where I was a guest author (my first ever grown-up talk! To grown-ups!) and he was the hilarious after-dinner speaker. Lots of other authors were there too, including Meg Rosoff, who revealed that when she first became a 'children's author', someone told her that she would now have to 'put on a big necklace and go round schools'.  

The other picture featuring Beardy was taken at the Kids' Lit Quiz National Final in Oxford, where there were even more authors, among them Mary Hoffman, Alan Gibbons, Julia Golding...oh, far too many of us than it is wise to cram into one room (find out more here), and Harry Enfield. The kids were a very brainy lot indeed, and it was a close-run thing; congrats to the kids of Wheatley Park School, who won.

One of the teams in the final was from Cockermouth in Cumbria, which was recently in the news because of the terrible flooding there. Another fellow author, Chris Priestley, has been persuading lots of us to contribute signed copies of our books, so that we can do our little bit to help replenish damaged library stocks in the area. He was hoping to get the whole thing done in time for Christmas, but the flood was very inconsiderate and didn't schedule its arrival well enough in advance to make this possible. But the good news is that Chris' initiative IS going to happen – in the New Year. And possibly – though I don't want to jinx it – a very well-known TV show will get involved in the appeal as well...watch this space. Meanwhile, a very happy Christmas to all of you in the flood-stricken area, and I do hope that life gets back to 'normal' for you soon.

Last, but by no means least! My friend Candy Gourlay is going to fill a new website with recommendations for really special independent booksellers – because she is worried. 'With only a few big players left in the bookselling market - Waterstones and the supermarkets,'  says Candy, 'our reading culture which is enriched by diversity and choice is under threat.'
So: here is my contribution: 
Readers of past blog posts will not be surprised to learn that my choice is the wonderful Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green. It's still only a baby – not even two yet – but is blessed with the knowledge and startling charisma of one far older. This is because it is run by two guys – Tim West and Simon Key – who have 35 years of book selling experience between them (that's Simon in the picture, with Horrid Henry). They set up shop after the last chain bookshop in Wood Green – where they worked – closed down. A brave thing to do, but the passion and dedication they bring to what they do is second to none. They wanted to offer:
 'The kind of bookshop that we’d like to visit ourselves...with a thoughtful range of titles, friendly knowledgeable staff and some cracking gems that surprise and excite us'. 
Exactly what I look for in a bookshop! They also have a very amusing blog.

It is a general bookshop, not a specialist children's one, yet their calendar of events (of all kinds as well as children's) and their involvement with local schools is truly impressive. Here are Simon's own very personal current favourite children's books (at this particular moment in time):
'The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle - A simple gorgeously illustrated picture book that I loved as a child and that is a clear favourite with my own daughter. She loves pointing at all the bad things the caterpillar eats before he gets a stomach ache.

'Olga Da Polga by Michael Bond - This in my opinion is a much better series of books than Michael's more famous Paddington Bear and follows the exploits of a rather extraordinary Guinea Pig. The stories in it are gentle and heartwarming, and it's a great bedtime read.

'You're a Bad Man Mr Gum! by Andy Stanton - This is a work of absolute genius. Andy Stanton has managed to write a series of books that adults and kids find equally hilarious. Very much in the vain of Roald Dahl, but with a modern twist.

 'Speaking of Roald Dahl, Danny Champion of the World is a book I read at least once a year. A magical story asbout the relationship between a boy and his father, who leads a secret life...As a story for boys, I'd say this pretty much tops anything.

'The Riddle of the Poisoned Monk by Sarah Matthias. Time travel, murder, mystery, fantastic characters and a hugely entertaining page turner for children aged 8-14. Written by Sarah for her own children, I devoured it in one sitting, and was left wondering whodunnit right until the end.' 
'Our customers are a real mix, which reflects Wood Green's demographic,' says Simon. 'Most people that come through the door are extremely well read and keep up with the latest reviews. We have particulary strong children's and literary fiction sections and also do extremely well with books on local history, which suggests there is an enormous pride in living in Haringey [the local borough].' 
Hurrah for booksellers who really love books, and know what they're talking about. Merry Christmas everybody!

Oh Goody! Another Distraction



OK I told myself I would wait till this evening to do this, but I have a busy evening ahead of me, am waiting to hear from my editor on something, and...in no time there will be a million other reasons not to do it. So here goes: the splendid Lucy Coats (Hootcat Hill out in paperback this week, people!) has nominated this blog for the Sisterhood Award! Which I'd never heard of. And I'm wondering who started it, and whether it was Ann Brashares, author of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants...? (A title I dearly would have liked to come up with).

No matter.

So now my job is to nominate ten other 'sisters' whose blogs I like. My list overlaps considerably with Lucy's, a fact for which I make no apology at all. So here goes:

Bookwitch I could easily nomintate her twice over, because she is the very same witch who writes about Culture over on another blog. But I want to mention my other nine favourites as well, so will settle for putting her at the top of the list. Bookwitch is fast becoming legendary in the children's/young adult book world. Living in a gingerbread house in the woods somewhere in darkest Cheshire, she occasionally gets on her broom and whizzes off to book launches around the country. Here terrified authors vie with each other to befriend her, lest she take against them in some way and mutter spells in an obscure Swedish/Mancunian dialect, upon which their next book will be a flop. In between such visits, she sits beside her bubbling cauldron reading books and writing about them. She has also gathered a truly impressive range of author interviews. Check it out!

Candy Gourlay Her Notes from the Slushpile website is an absolute must-read for writers, and not just yet-to-be-published ones. It has been rumoured that Candy doesn't in fact exist at all but is the invention of a consortium of six different people – an author, a website designer, a cartoonist, a mother of three, a film-maker, and a person-who-spends-inordinate-amounts-of-time-on-YouTube, so you don't have to. I can lay this particular rumour to rest, as I have actually met her and can tell you that she is in fact able to do all six of these things, although unfortunately her children are frequently to be found on the streets of Holloway, begging to be fed by passing strangers.

Lucy Coats I am nominating Lucy as well, of course, and not just because she nominated me, but because she and her dog really know how to blog. Yes, she has a Dog Who Blogs, which I believe is the canine equivalent of Ladies Who Lunch. I have known Lucy for some time, but only Virtually, so it came as some shock just this past weekend when I met the analogue version and I was amazed to find that she is an actual three-dimensional, living, breathing person. Here we are with a bunch of other brilliant writers and bloggers: from left to right: Mary Hoffman, Kath Langrish, Liz Kessler, Lucy Coats, moi and Joe Friedman. Which leads me neatly onto ABBA. No, not the 70's Swedish singing group (who would have got absolutely nowhere if it had not been for CultureWitch's rigging of the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest) but a loosely-knit gang of balaclava-clad outlaws and occasional writers who blog about writing under the title of An Awfully Big Blog Adventure. The fact that Lucy Coats is one of them in no way disqualifies them, because for the purpose of this nomination we shall IGNORE her. Likewise the fact that some of them are rumoured to be men (this is a SISTERHOOD award), since those people are outnumbered by women roughly 5-1. Everyone who contributes to this blog is far brainier than me (including Kath Langrish, also featured in the picture above) which is why I wouldn't dare appear there. And...yes, they blog about writing, which actually means they blog about Everything, so it's an endlessly fascinating read. They keep quiet about their criminal work, naturally.

Mary Hoffman OK, it's about time I `fessed up: I want to be Mary Hoffman. I labour under the pathetic delusion that if I spend enough time around her, some of that sparkling brilliance will rub off on me. In no time I'll be exchanging quips in Italian with Florentine aristocrats, dashing off the odd 5,000 words of the sequel to my bestseller before reading and reviewing half a dozen novels over lunch, then nipping up to Stratford to catch the latest Hamlet, which I know practically verbatim. Alas, I fear it is never to be; likewise I suspect I shall never be as incredibly Organised as she is, and am destined always to get red reminders for the electricity bill. So the best I can hope for is to live her life vicariously, through her blog.

* STOP PRESS! * The above link takes you to Mary's diary, as distinct from her brand new book blog. Take a look! What a busy lady she is.

Liz Kessler Once again, I make no apologies for duplicating Lucy's list here, because this is lovely stuff. In fact, I read Liz's blog for the same reason I do Mary's: because I wish that I too was traveling around Europe in a campervan with my pal and my dalmation (I don't have a dalmation, but if I were to do this, I think one would be required, somehow). She doesn't add posts often enough for my liking, but that's because she's got better things to do, like going surfing at some glorious Andalucian beach, having barbecue parties or wandering around Barcelona. I'm GREEN with envy at her carefree lifestyle, so I waste no time in gloating at her on Facebook when it's raining there but sunny here.


Amanda Craig Amanda, the famous Titian-haired novelist, Times reviewer and journalist, has held out a remarkably long time before venturing into the blogosphere – perhaps because, like me, she was afraid of being swallowed up by the Blog Monster (see my very first post). I for one am delighted that she's finally caved in. I suspect, though, that she's still a bit afraid of the Blog Monster (I see she hasn't blogged for a week, so she's slacking already) so the best thing you can do is go there and post lots of comments about how brilliant she is, and she really mustn't worry about the fact that nobody's paying her to do it. In any case she also has a new novel coming out that's bound to be a huge success: it's called Hearts and Minds; apparently it's a Big London Novel, and I can't wait to read it.

Nina Killham I haven't known Nina for very long; we first met at a party to celebrate the election of Barack Obama last year (she's American; I'm married to an American). But I feel as if I've known her a lot longer – as indeed I should have done, since she's lived only about three streets away from me for the past several years. Despite the fact that she is an extremely glamorous ex Hollywood screenwriter (OK, secretary at Columbia Studios) she does not have her head up her own backside; on the contrary, she is very funny, doing a nice line in self-deprecating humour. I haven't read her books yet, because for some reason they're not published over here yet (wake up, UK publishers!) Here's hoping they will be before long.


Sarah McIntyre I love Sarah's work. She is an illustrator, creator of the Vern & Lettuce strip that first appeared in the DFC (the brilliant but endangered David Fickling Comic; somebody please come to the rescue there! We LOVE the DFC) and is now in the Saturday Guardian, and all-round fab, talented girl. Her blog is wonderfully random, full of doodles and digressions. Check out her superb website as well.

Wilf You'll have to take it on faith that Wilf is actually a woman. To be honest, I'm taking this on faith myself since, uniquely among my nominees, she's the one I've never actually met. In fact I don't even know what she looks like, because even though she's a Facebook friend of mine she was for a long time hiding behind a beard, and now she's a cartoon. I know her name, of course, but I'm not telling you what it is because it appears to be Secret. Anyway, her alter-ego Wilf is a very funny aspiring astronaut and general science geek with an irrational hatred of people called Alan. I'm a bit worried about Wilf now, though, because he's been gone a long time, being paid real money to catalogue his grandpa's teeth. I hope he comes back soon...who knows, maybe in book form?

NOW! IF YOU ARE ONE OF MY NOMINEES, PLEASE GO AHEAD AND....

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 favourite blogs of your own.

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Link to this post to the person from whom you received your award.