Yeovil Literary Festival

Last weekend was the Yeovil Literary Festival, and I was part of it, in my capacity as a newly published author.

I participated in one panel event – past winners of the Yeovil Literary Prize. There have been quite a few success stories now from this internationally renowned competition, and Red Rock is one of them, an earlier version having been Highly Commended back in 2010.

I also gave a workshop to a fabulous bunch of kids – we went on a journey to Mars, smashing into asteroids and battling aliens.

But for me the real highlight of the festival was going with the family to see Michael Morpurgo, Private Peaceful the Concert. It was absolutely superb - a blend of reading and music, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that there wasn’t a dry eye in the theatre.

So all in all I think the organisers deserve a big round of applause for such a successful event! Roll on Yeovil Literary Festival 2014!

And look what I spotted in the window of Yeovil Waterstones….

Let’s Talk about Cli-Fi

In recent months there’s been quite a buzz developing about Cli-Fi. The term Cli-Fi – short for Climate Fiction, was first coined in 2007 by the journalist and blogger, Daniel Bloom to describe a sub-genre of fiction which has the climate as its focus.

Although I didn’t deliberately set out to write a book about climate change it is certainly one of the main themes in Red Rock – the ice caps are melting, sea levels are starting to rise. It doesn’t need much of a sea level rise for the effects to be devastating – just look at countries like the Netherlands where large areas are below sea level – reclaimed land, the sea held back by dikes, or northern Germany – only a few metres above sea level. It doesn’t take a huge stretch of the imagination to imagine a world where this has already happened.

And I’m not the only author thinking this way. There has been a recent upsurge in Cli-Fi themed books hitting the shelves, and I’ve been watching this trend with interest.

Something exciting is going on here and it’s wonderful to be a part of it.

So do check out my post over at SFX magazine on the Rise of Cli Fi, my guest post over at the Scottish Book Trust on Cli-Fi in teen fiction, and, also at the Scottish Book Trust, my list of 9 Cli-Fi novels for teens.

So what Cli-Fi books have you read recently?

Red Rock is Published!

Today is the day – it’s Red Rock publication day! Red Rock is now available from Amazon and from all good bookshops – Waterstone’s, Foyles, Blackwells, Smiths…. So no excuses for not picking up a copy. It is also available as an e-book if you prefer that format.

To celebrate I am over at 14kidlit and AuthorAllsorts answering questions about the book, and I also have a guest post up at SFX magazine on the rise of cli-fi – do check it out and tell us what you think about the topic.

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be guesting on a number of blogs - I’ll keep you posted – and do keep a special eye out for the giveaway over at Girls Heart Books!

Countdown to Publication

There is only one week to go until publication day for Red Rock and there’s so much to do!

 

I’m busy organising a book launch party in my local village hall, so I’m planning activities and a competition, co-ordinating my kind helpers, and trying to work out how much wine to buy and how many cupcakes to bake!

 

I’ve been busy writing guest blog posts, completing book birthday interviews and putting together the talks I will be giving at schools and festivals. Press releases have been sent out and the publicity machine is in full swing.

 

There’s going to be a really exciting giveaway over at Girls Heart Books, not only for copies of the book – but one of these lovely Red Rock pendants will be up for grabs! So keep and eye out for that one!

 

And much much more….

 

Oh – and look at my lovelies that just arrived in the post!!