Writer in Residence at The Word

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve been chosen as the first Writer in Residence at The Word, the National Centre for the Written Word.

I’m spending seven days at The Word and I’ll be creating a new short story while I’m there. The dates of my residency are:

Day 1 – Tuesday 21/3

Day 2 – Friday 24/3

Day 3 – Saturday 25/3

Day 4 – Wednesday 5/4

Day 5 – Sunday 9/4

Day 6 – Monday 10/4

Day 7 – Thursday 13/4

My writing will be inspired by the fantastic building and by speaking to the many people who use it – I’m particularly interested in what those people were doing before The Word was built, and what it is they do in the building now it’s here. I’ll be talking to people about their lives – I want to hear their stories.

Here’s my first vlog from Day 1.


If you’re visiting The Word please do say hello!

Timesmith Brazil

My copies of the Brazilian Portuguese translated edition of Timesmith have finally arrived! Called O Artifice Do Tempo the book was released in July last year, so I’ve been waiting with anticipation for my copies to arrive for some time.

What I’m doing next…

Timesmith_secretA few people have asked me what I’m working on right now. It can seem like a long time between book releases for the readers (and the writer) and it might appear as if nothing is happening. You might imagine I’m spending the summer lazing about the garden, topping up my tan and sipping mojitos while I wait for the spark of creativity to hit me, but the truth is far less exotic.

Right now I’ve three – no, four – projects on the go. The third book in the Timesmith Chronicles is in there but it’s not at the top of the list. Why? Well, I wanted a change, and I thought it might be good fun to try something different before I jumped back into time-travel and epic blitzpunk action.

The main project taking up my time is a new stand-alone novel about the end of the world, told through the eyes of a 13-year-old boy and his 8-year-old sister. This one is more science fiction than the Timesmith books. There are no magic swords, mind-readers or trips to other realms. It’s a contemporary account of the world descending into chaos over a few short days while two ordinary children try to find their mother.

The third project is a mix of comedy and fantasy featuring an ancient map-maker who looks like a teenage boy, his decapitated brother, and their search for a missing artefact that could bring about the last war between Heaven and Hell. But with laughs.

Finally I have a picturebook in the works. The story is written, I’m just debating with myself if I want to draw it as well. Ideally I’d love to but I’m not sure when I’ll get round to doing it!

Read Regional, Branford Boase, and other adventures!

Sometimes good news comes from trees. Or is it in threes? Or on buses? Who knows! Anyway, I was thrilled to hear that Sorrowline had made it onto the Brandford Boase Award long-list, a prize for début writers and their editors which recognises excellence in writing and in publishing. The Award is made annually to the most promising book for seven year-olds and upwards by a first time novelist. I’m really pleased to be nominated along with my editor, Charlie Sheppard from Andersen Press. You can see the full long-list here. The short-list will be revealed in May.

And if that wasn’t enough good news Sorrowline has also been short-listed for the Spellbinding 2014 award. Now in its twelfth year the award gives students from reading groups in Cumbrian secondary schools the opportunity to nominate their favourite book published in the previous year. Students in years 7-9 in participating schools review, debate and discuss the 10 titles and then at the Award Day in June vote for the Spellbinding 2014 winner.

This week also sees Read Regional blasting its way into libraries across the north of England! Read Regional is a promotional campaign organised by New Writing North that connects writers living in the North East and Yorkshire with their local readers. Read Regional is the Batman to the north’s library authorities Robin – together they’re a dynamic duo who bring together authors and readers through a series of local events, readings and workshops. I’m just one of many authors doing events across the region – you can see the entire list of here.

Skull

All this and it’s a mere 30 days until the publication of Timesmith! I’m putting together a little trailer video for it right now which I hope to have finished some time in the next week or so. Today’s fun was filming a skull in my back garden. You see, being a writer isn’t just about sitting in front of a computer!

Jack Morrow and the Grave of Time!

One thing I’ve learned is that things take a long time in publishing! Way back in September 2011 the German publisher Heyne  (part of Random House) bought the German rights to Sorrowline and Timesmith. This was my very first book deal – the UK rights sold a few months later. So you can imagine I’ve been keen to see how my work translates into another language. Well, here it is! It’s Sorrowline, but not as we know it! It’s called Jack Morrow und das Grab der Zeit, or Jack Morrow and the Grave of Time. Not only is the title different the cover is too! Take a look:

German edition of Sorrowline

German edition of Sorrowline

It’s refreshingly different to the UK edition – I love them both! But what do you think? It’s due out on the 28th October this year and is already listed on the German Amazon site.

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