Fantasy and Historical Fiction? The Same Thing, Really.
Bold statement – writing Historical Fiction and writing Fantasy (of certain sorts) are almost identical undertakings. A Game of Thrones and Wolf Hall? The same thing, really. Think about it. Writers of both have to introduce and explain an unfamiliar world. Writers of Historical Fiction and writers of Fantasy can’t...
Back cover reveal
And here’s the back cover for Leo da Vinci Vs the Ice-cream Domination League, with lots of teasers. The fabulous Jules Faber does the illustrations, and the book is due out from Random House Australia in August....
DISTRACTION THROUGH ACTION
When advising or teaching people about writing, I often emphasise the usefulness of doing preparatory work before starting to write. With Fantasy and Science Fiction that can mean considering details of the world in which the story will take place. Listing aspects of the world can mean thinking about...
Leo da Vinci Vs The Ice-cream Domination League
And here it is, the cover for my next book, a zany fun adventure for younger readers. In a world very much like ours, 10 year old Leo da Vinci is an inventor, artist, dreamer, and dedicated fighter against supervillains … And don’t I just love Jules Faber’s illustration? Outrageously...
A New Series!
Leo da Vinci. Artist. Scientist. Inventor. Dreamer. Ten year old fighter against supervillains. As promised, it’s time to reveal some details of my new writing project. This is another departure from my writing for Young Adults, and I’m fairly and squarely writing for primary school readers this time with...
Laws of Magic Audiobooks!
At last – The Laws of Magic is now appearing as audiobooks! The fine people at Audible are turning the adventures of Aubrey, George, Caroline and Sophie into quality audio texts. The first to be released is Word of Honour and the books will be read by the very talented...
From the Work in Progress
Here’s a sneak peek at something I’m working on right now. Dad put both hands flat on the table in front of him and stared at them. ‘You need to shoot your own dog.’ ‘What? Where did that come from? Is this non sequitur week? ‘I can’t let you...
Doctor Sleep – A Masterclass in Character
Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep isn’t a perfect novel. It has inconsistencies, a few plot holes, some ‘What the …?’ moments, but they’re forgiven because King does something surpassingly well, something that drags us into the story and keeps us reading right through. Character. Stephen King does character like few...
Five Top Tips for Top Tips List Makers
Get your tips in the right order. Having your ‘Beginner’ tips coming in at Number 5 is an amateur mistake/ Ease your reader in with some baby tips then graduate to tougher stuff and finish with some tips for Advanced Tip Types. Alternatively, keep your good stuff until last...
Buy Books and Save the Planet!
I took a break from my latest Work In Progress and started thinking about how I could save the planet. As you do. I swivelled away from the computer, hands behind my head, tossing up between instituting a utopian regime and formulating a plan to maximise innate human...