Exclusive Q&A with Jane Ray, Children's Author and Illustrator

What gave you the idea for this collection of stories?

I’ve always been a collector – not expensive things like vintage cars or crystal ornaments, but everyday bits and pieces: shells and feathers, useful pieces of string and jam jars. I also collect stories and when I had so many that I’d run out of space in my head to keep them, I decided to write them down and turn them into books.

What did you like most about working on this collection – the stories or the artwork?

It was a delight to retell these stories – some old and traditional, some mythic and legendary, fairy tales, folk tales and made-up tales. The variety of characters is immense: good and bad, trickster and magician, prince and pauper. It was wonderful to be able to illustrate them too, and I decided that instead of working in watercolour and collage as usual, I would return to a technique that I had first tried as a teenager.

All the illustrations in these books are done on scraperboard or scratchboard, where board is coated with finely ground white clay and then covered in a layer of black Indian ink. The image is created by scratching, with a sharp stylus, through the black ink to the white clay layer below. The result is almost like an engraving. The pictures are very small, which leads you, as an illustrator, to think in terms of tiny details that might be missed in a bigger picture.

You’ve described the scraperboard technique, but there is a fantastic variety of artwork in the book – with amazing colours. How did this come about?

The stories come from many different countries and cultures, and this gave me the added creative thrill of incorporating traditional patterns from Africa, Inuit animal carvings or elements of Japanese woodblock prints into the illustrations. David Bennett at Boxer Books then worked his magic with the images, enlarging, adding colour, cropping and generally ‘playing around’ with both the illustrations and the look and ‘feel’ of the books, until we felt we had made something really special.

What is your favourite story in the collection and why? And favourite picture?

I really like Mulungu Paints the Birds – it's funny and charming and I’d never seen it before I researched this book. My favourite picture? I think it’s The Owl and the Pussy Cat dancing together hand in hand by moonlight on p.47. I love the simple happiness of the image, and I was quite pleased with how I managed to get the cat's stance and the moonlit edges of the creatures.

What do you think makes a good story?

Light and shade - contrast. The stories that hold your attention are the ones where you want to know what happens next, where you care about the characters and their destiny. You want them to overcome danger and attain happiness or peace. A story that is too happy is often bland and uninvolving – we all like a bit of drama! Having said all that I realise that my favourite story – Mulungu – isn’t  really dramatic at all!  I guess humour and an acknowledgement of human/animal failing makes a good story too.

Where can fans of your work find out more about you and your work?

I have a website www.janeray.com which I have rather neglected recently but I am about to update it. It's still worth having a look because there is a lot of stuff there. Also there is information about me on my publishers website – Orchard Books, Walker Books, Frances Lincoln ...

Can you sum up ‘The Story Collector’ is only 3 words?

Book of Delights!

***

‘The Story Collector: The Emperor’s Nightingale and Other Feathery Tales’

By Jane Ray
Published by Boxer Books
RRP £12.99 (large format hardback)
ISBN 9781907152597
Reviewed by Lynsey Evans
This is the first edition in a new series of tales re-told and illustrated by Jane Ray. And what a great collection it is! There are fairy tales, myths, traditional tales, folk tales and legends, some you’ll know as classics or favourites and some that are lesser known – something for everyone!
What makes this book amazing is the artwork. Just wow! Jane has used a scraperboard technique for the first time to illustrate a book. These are originally black and white minature pieces of art, which have been blown up and produced in a variety of colours throughout the book to a dramatic and beautiful effect! It looks and feels like a very special book, you can see the care and attention that has gone into it. It's like holding a little bit of art!
This is a great book to read and would also make a fab present for any avid reader.
Highly recommended for readers aged 8+

Thanks to Jane for answering our questions!

Exclusive Interview with Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre, creators of 'Oliver and the Seawigs'

What inspired your collaboration on ‘Oliver and the Seawigs’?

PR: Sarah McIntyre is one of my favourite illustrators, and also one of my favourite people. We met at the Edinburgh International Book Festival three years ago, and started talking about books and drawings and swapping ideas, and eventually we just had to start writing books together.

SM: We first wrote a four-page comic for The Phoenix Comic. We did swapsies: I wrote it and Philip drew it, but we tossed it back and forth several times and we were both able to pitch in with words or pictures when something was needed. We wanted to do something longer together, maybe a sea story, and I was talking with him about going to a meeting of the Children’s Writers & Illustrators Group (CWIG). I hate acronyms and always try to turn them into real words, and the word ‘Seawig’ set off a whole flow of ideas. 
  
Are your characters inspired by people you know?

PR: Not usually, but when I was growing up, my parents used to pack me and my sister into their camper van and go exploring all the wildest and wettest parts of Britain in the school holidays, so I can sympathise with Oliver ...

SM: And Iris the mermaid is short-sighted with a big bum, which of course is nothing like me. I wanted to be a mermaid when I was little and actually believed I could breathe underwater. So yeah, Iris is my avatar, really.

How do you create an illustrated novel – do the pictures come first or the words, or do they both play a part in creating the story as you go along?

PR: Oliver and the Seawigs isn't the usual sort of illustrated book where a writer writes something and then an illustrator illustrates it. Sarah was involved right from the start. The words are mine, but at least half of the ideas are hers.

SM: Philip was nice; if I made a mistake in the drawings, he’d tinker with the text so I wouldn’t have to redraw everything. For example, there’s one scene where an island giant emerges from the sea with a silly looking narwal on its head. And the text said the giant’s head was bare. But Philip thought, why would we want to get rid of a perfectly good narwal? And he wrote it into the story. 

If you could go back in time and explore anywhere, where would you choose and why?

SM: I’d have to get laser eye surgery first; if I went back very far in time I’d be completely blind and lost. And I think I’d also want to be a man, so I could do more things without getting burned as a witch or something. I think I’d hang out with the explorer James Cook and get a job as an artist on one of his sea voyages, drawing all the flora and fauna we discover. I once interviewed for a job as a rigger on the Cutty Sark, so I could train and get work fixing up masted ships around the world. But someone else got the job and they hired me instead as Ship’s Illustrator, and the Cutty Sark doesn’t go anywhere.

Or I’d even quite like to go just to the 1970s in Britain; it would have been fun to have been school friends with Philip and seen all these telly shows he’s always going on about. We had very different childhoods.

PR: the great thing about is having an imagination is that you don't need to go back in time and put up with all the witch-burning and lack of medicine and stuff. So I'm always exploring somewhere - Ancient Rome or Victorian London or the Gobi Desert - but I do it through books, from the comfort of my sofa. And I do still spend a lot of time in the 1970s and early '80s - those growing-up years are where most of ideas and influences still come from. It would have been fun if McIntyre had been there!

What were your favourite books as a child?

PR: Too many to list, really, but my favourites were all fantasy (like The Lord of the Rings) or historical (like The Eagle of the Ninth) or funny ones (the Asterix books, and the Molesworth books by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle (a great author/illustrator partnership!).

SM: Lots! The Twenty-one Balloons by William Pène du Bois, Watership Down by Richard Adams, The Runaway Robot by Lester del Ray, No Coins Please by Gordon Korman, The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  

What are your future literary ambitions?

PR: I've really enjoyed working with Sarah on Oliver and the Seawigs. It's a real change of pace and approach after my longer, more YA-ish novels, and in many ways, it feels like a fresh start. So I hope there will be many more books like this, and that we'll build on the style we've developed and experiment with it. The next book will take us to outer space, the one after that to the frozen north (we think), and after that, who knows?

SM: I’d like to keep writing bonkers stories with my best friends, swanning around the world in awesome costumes, experimenting with new kinds of projects, and getting enough time to make silly drawings that aren’t for any project, just for me. I’d also like a full-time PA to deal with all the e-mails and things that keep me from drawing and writing stories.  

Do you have any top tips for budding writers and artists?

PR: I HATE writers' tips, and all those lists of rules for writing. Why are people so keen on rules? Writing should be about breaking rules and writing whatever you want to. The best way to learn is by reading a lot, and thinking about what makes your favourite stories work. It's quite a slow process, but if you keep reading and writing, it will come.

SM: If you particularly want to make books, don’t just study how to make pictures … make books! Make lots of books, make books quickly, don’t always be a perfectionist about them; the more books you make, the better you will get at making books. A little photocopied book makes a great business card, and making books teaches you about all the elements of book design. You can even learn about marketing your book by taking a stack of your home-made books to an indie comics fair or artist book fair where you’ve booked a table. You’ll learn how to present your work and discover what makes people stop, look and buy your books. Get a blog where you can build up an audience who like the way you work. 

Do you have a special place you write and illustrate?

PR: I have a studio in my garden which I write in; I like the peace and quiet, and there's no internet access so I don't have that distraction.  But I can write on trains or in cafés if I need to, I'm not too fussy.

SM: I can sketch anywhere, but I do most of my book drawing in my studio, the Fleece Station. It’s a room in old police station in Deptford that I share with comics artist Gary Northfield and graffiti knitter Lauren O’Farrell (aka Deadly Knitshade). When I’m writing, it helps to go to a café and tank myself up with some coffee.

Do you have any projects in the pipeline you’d like to tell us about?

PR: We're working on some follow-ups to Oliver and the Seawigs, which will be new stories featuring new characters. The first is called Cakes in Space and is about a girl on a long space voyage where all sorts of things go wrong. There are aliens, and robots, and cakes. I've finished writing it and I'm looking forward to seeing Sarah's pictures.

SM: I’m trying not to get ahead of myself and start planning the costumes already. Artwork first. Oh, and did I tell you that I’m going to be drawing much of the book on the International Space Station? I want to test how India ink flows in zero gravity. Oxford University Press are having to stretch their budget for this, but it will TOTALLY BE WORTH IT. That’s why people need to buy lots of our books, to pay for rocket fuel. I might even record a David Bowie song in space – Changes - and wear a different-coloured sparkly space suit for each verse.

Where can fans of your work find out more about you and your work?
 
PR: My website is www.philip-reeve.com, and I blog at philipreeve.blogspot.com I'm also on Twitter as @philipreeve1, and I have a Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Philip-Reeve/104518809593653

SM: I make activity sheets for every book I do, so you can download Make-Your-Own-Seawig sheets, a sheet showing you how to draw a sea monkey and several other things. I think I’m going to keep adding to it: http://www.jabberworks.co.uk.
Twitter: @jabberworks

Can you sum up ‘Oliver and the Seawigs’ in just 3 words?

PR: No I can't!

SM: BETTER THAN TUNAFISH. 

A huge thank you to Philip and Sarah for taking time to answer our questions! Please read on for Teagan Pritchard's review of 'Oliver and the Seawigs' ...

'Oliver and the Seawigs'
By Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre
Published by Oxford University Press on the 5th September 2013
RRP £8.99 (hardback)
ISBN 9780192734556
Reviewed by Teagan Pritchard, aged 9

Oliver grew up in a family of explorers but his big adventure is about to begin, along with his newly- made friends, including a short-sighted mermaid, a grumpy old albatross and a friendly island called Cliff.

Oliver goes in search of his missing parents but before he can put his plan into action to rescue them there is Stacey de Lacey to deal with and, yes she is evil! Oliver also has to deal with an army of greasy sea monkeys that keep getting in the way.

This book was very exciting and funny. The pictures and illustrations are very clear and detailed. A good read to keep you guessing ...

Highly recommended for readers aged 7+


 

Exclusive Interview with Lauren Child MBE, Award-Winning Children's Author

Guest Questions from Year 2 at Newborough Primary School, Peterborough (who are currently doing an author study on Lauren)

Where do you get your ideas from?

Ideas come from everywhere. Can be from just looking out of my window, or from books, films and often my memory. It may be from little things I notice when I visit people’s houses or things I overhear when standing in the supermarket queue. It can be things people tell me, funny things, strange things or touching things or things that are totally imagined, things that just float through my mind.

How long do you take to write your stories?

I am never exactly sure how long it takes me to write my books as I am usually working on several stories or ideas at the same time as lots of other things. For my Clarice Bean novels, it took me about 18 months, once I had properly started writing them. For the Ruby Redfort novels I have to be a bit faster.

What made you base your ideas on fairytale stories and characters?

My book 'Beware the Storybook Wolves' was inspired by a reader who wrote to me and told me the lion on the front of my book, 'I Want a Pet' had frightened him. This made me think about characters coming out of the book. Then with 'Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Book', I reversed this idea and had the character fall into the book. When we did 'The Princess and the Pea', I had wanted to work with the fantastic photographer Polly Borland, and thought about a story that would work well in photographs, something familiar which we could give a different approach to. We decide to use a classic fairytale but have everything in miniature.

What is your favourite book that you have written and why?

There are a few that I am very close to. 'Clarice Bean That’s M'e was the book that launched me as a writer. I stretched myself a lot when I did it. I wrote something that really appealed to me and was about me. At the time it was quite different from what picture books were usually like.

Is there anything you would like to write about that you haven't written about yet?

Yes, there are quite a lot. I’d like to write for older children and adults. I think a lot about quite serious ideas that humour could be added to.  I’d like to write about tough subjects, but address them in a humorous or comical way, a bit like the way children can talk about serious subjects in a matter-of-fact way.

Questions from Book a Poet:

What is your favourite medium of art to use?

When I’m illustrating, I like to be able to use all kinds of medium so I don’t restrict myself to one thing. I would find it very hard to just work in watercolours, for example. Collage suits me well, cutting out and sticking paper, different fabric patterns, but I also use oils, watercolours, gouache.

When you create your books do the pictures or words come first, or do the words change as you draw the illustrations?

I think a lot in pictures so I very rarely need to draw when I’m thinking about an idea. I can see it all in my head.

Your new book, ‘Ruby Redfort 2: Take Your Last Breath’ is just out – and we’re enjoying reading about the schoolgirl detective’s latest adventure at sea. Is it a challenge to write for different age ranges?

Don’t really think it’s a challenge. I try not to think about the age-group that I’m writing for too much because everybody’s taste, reading age is different so I don’t really write for a particular age-group – I always feel that a book is for anybody. The challenge with the Ruby books is plot as they are very plot-driven. The structure and tying up the different threads is the tricky thing.

Ruby’s character is from your Clarice Bean novel, was it easy to write the novels for Ruby, as a much-loved character, or did that make it harder to do?

I think what was hard was working out who she was. I had always talked about her from Clarice’s perspective. if Ruby was too silly, the books would be boring so it took some time to work out what kind of book I wanted to write.

Why do you think the spy genre is so popular with young readers?
 
I think the spy genre is popular with all age readers. The Ruby books are as much thrillers as secret agent books. Reading them you can explore a dangerous and exciting world, of jeopardy, danger and adventures, from a safe place.

What’s the best thing about being an author / illustrator?

It’s the best thing and the worst thing at the same time. You are sort of in charge of your own working life so you can work when you like. You have to motivate yourself and generate ideas. The hardest thing can be fitting it all into the time schedule you’ve got – that can feel like pressure. But coming up with ideas can be a really lovely job as well.

Do you have any tips for budding authors / illustrators?

My advice would be to write what you enjoy. You need to write about something that interests you. It might be something funny that you see out of the window or something that you’ve imagined or about your family. When I was young I wrote and created comic books with a friend – I loved that. You’ve got to enjoy what you’re writing or you won’t be able to carry on.

Do you have any projects in the pipeline you can share with us?

I’m working on the third Ruby book at the moment. Ruby’s in training, learning another agent skill and it will involve another code based on a different sense.

Where can fans find out more about your work?

There’s my own website www.milkmonitor.com where you can find out more about the books. There are some frequently asked questions here too. The Ruby website is www.rubyredfort.com. It’s got some great games and codes to crack.

Lauren Child Biography

^{Lauren is the author of the phenomenally successful CHARLIE AND LOLA books, (as well as Associate Producer on the TV show of the same name), Clarice Bean and Ruby Redfort books. Lauren’s books have been translated into dozens of languages around the world and she has won many prizes, including the Smarties Prize (four times), the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Red House Children’s Book Award. Lauren was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours.}

‘Ruby Redfort 2: Take Your Last Breath’
Published by Harper Collins Children's Books
RRP £12.99 (hardback)
ISBN 978-0007334087

Hey, buster! Normal life is a total yawn. So break out boredom with multi-million-copy bestselling author Lauren Child, and meet your new favourite heroine… Ruby Redfort: detective, secret agent, thirteen-year-old kid.

Everyone’s favourite kid detective is back for a second mind-blowing instalment, packed with all the off-the-wall humour, action and friendship of the first book. This time, though, it’s an adventure on the wide open ocean, and Ruby is all at sea…

Can she crack the case of the Twinford pirates while evading the clutches of a vile sea monster as well as the evil Count von Viscount?

Well, you wouldn’t want to bet against her…

Reviews

“The new Ruby Redfort book is utterly exceptionordinarily brilliant” – Clarice Bean

“Lauren Child has put imagination and fun back into the real worlds of childhood.” – Julia Eccleshare, Guardian

“Lauren Child is so good it’s exhilarating” – The Independent

“What more could adventure-loving girls want?” – The Sunday Times.

 

The  next Puffin Virtually Live webcast is taking place on Monday 4th February 2-2.45pm GMT with bestselling author John Green!
 
Watch John talking about his books and what led him to write the phenomenal The Fault in Our Stars, his incredible online presence and what it means to be awesome!

And you can submit questions that John will answer live during the webcast.

LOG IN or REGISTER now to get involved!

Exclusive Q&A with Paul Dowswell, Historical Fiction Writer

Paul Dowswell is a British writer of non-fiction and fiction, writing mainly for children and young adults. He has written over 60 books, mostly with history as the subject, but also about geography, natural history, and science.

What inspired you to write about the First World War rather than a contemporary conflict?

I think the First World War hangs over the 20th Century like a vast dark cloud. It gave us the awful flu epidemic that killed millions of people as soon as it was over, it spawned Hitler and the Second World War, and created the Bolshevik regime in Russia and the Cold War that blighted the second half of the 20th Century. Then there’s the whole century of wars and upheavals in Eastern Europe and the Middle East that followed the botched and short-sighted peace treaties that ended the war. But mostly, I’m fascinated by the awful gap between expectations and reality for those who volunteered.

Contemporary conflicts need a few years between them and writing about them, I think, to get some proper perspective on them.

Have you always had an interest in that era? What initially interested you about it?

The war is now nearly 100 years old, but it still seems very vivid to me. When I was a child, I had an great uncle who had fought at Gallipoli, and another relative who had been gassed at Passchendaele and who remained an invalid for the rest of his life. I also remember the ‘Maiden Aunts’ – old ladies who’s chances of marriage and motherhood had been destroyed by the great imbalance between the sexes at the end of the war. But what haunts me the most is the terrible disparity between the patriotism, the ‘doing our bit’, the enthusiastic crowds who rushed to join up, and the awful fate that awaited them in the mud and squalor of the trenches.

Which of the three main characters in “Eleven, Eleven” do you identify with most?

I tried to make them all real but I know the boys who signed up for the British ‘Pals’ brigades – they were just born a hundred years later. I based my character Will and his background on my brother Alan’s family, up in Lancaster. Not absolutely directly, but just as a starting point.

Were Axel, Will and Eddie inspired by anyone you know in real life or anyone from history?

They’re all composites. I do find it helpful to find a photograph of someone their age and nationality and then I take it from there, imagining what they’d be thinking and what would have happened to them. I’ve tried to give them all attitudes that were common at the time.

Of all the fiction you have written, which of your books is your personal favourite?

Each of my books takes me a year or so to write so I can’t have favourites. It’d be like choosing your favourite child! I can tell you which one has done me the most favours though: Auslander. That sold in 10 languages and has taken me to Germany, Italy, Ireland, Scotland, France and Australia. I love travelling and it’s tremendously exciting going on these adventures to promote a book, or research it.

Where is your favourite physical place that your writing has taken you - be it on a book tour, for research, etc?

Really difficult to say. I went to Australia to research my book ‘Prison Ship’ which was hugely exciting and memorable (especially when I got lost in the bush outside Sydney). I stood on the beach at Botany Bay, and if you squint a bit to blot out the Radio towers, you can imagine what it was like to be the first Europeans landing on this strange continent, a year’s sailing away from home.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given as a writer?

Show not tell! I have it tattooed to my forehead (backwards of course, so it reads the right way in the mirror).

Do you have any projects in the pipeline, which you would like to tell us about?

I’ve always been fascinated by Russia, so I’d like to set my next book in the Soviet era. I’ve just come back from Moscow, where I was looked after by some very generous, lovely people. It’s an amazing place and I’d really like to go back.

Where can fans of you and your books find out more about you and your writing?

I have a website, www.pauldowswell.co.uk and also make fairly regular contributions to blogs like these. If you’d like to see more it’s prob. best to google my name and they’ll come up by the score. I’m not on Facebook and the rest of it – maybe I ought to be, but I do as many school visits as I can. I love going to schools to talk about my books and do writing workshops. I feel very lucky to be a writer but it is a solitary life and school visits are always fun and a break from my desk.

Thanks Paul!

Interviewed by Katy Hawkins.

***

‘Eleven, Eleven’

By Paul Dowswell
Published by Bloomsbury, 11th October 2012
RRP £6.99 (paperback)
ISBN 9781408826232
Reviewed by Lynsey Evans

Axel is a 16-year-old boy and he’s just enlisted in the Imperial German Army, being posted to the front line at 2am on 11th November 1918.

Will is a British soldier, close to the British frontline on the 11th November 1918, in the platoon his brother commands as Sargeant. Will is only 16 and lied about his age to enlist.

Eddie is a first generation American immigrant, his family emigrated from Germany 40 years ago. He’s a fighter pilot, based at an American Airbase in Europe on the 11th November 1918.

Through spectacular, gripping storytelling we journey with these three young men through their harrowing ordeal, which starts on the day the First World War is declared over. Join them as they fight for their survival in the last few hours of the war, learn how the war ended for them …

This is a brilliant historical fiction novel, that I found breathtaking. Although fiction, the tale is based on a real event, a real war, where many thousands died and it educates in a compelling way.

Highly recommended for readers aged 11+

Exclusive Interview with Dave Lowe, Author of 'Stinky and Jinks' Series

Where did the inspiration for ‘My Hamster is a Genius’ come from?

 

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure.  I had a hamster when I was growing up, but he wasn’t so smart.

As a teacher, as well as writer, do you have a wealth of material to draw on when writing ‘Stinky and Jinks’ tales?

 

I’ve mostly taught adults and high school kids, so I suppose it’s more a case of drawing on my own experiences of being a kid.

If you could have an amazing pet like Stinky, what animal would it be and what unusual skill would it have?

How about a monkey that could baby-sit my kids, whilst performing song-and-dance numbers?  Like a simian Mary Poppins.

Stinky and Jinks have a blog – Stinky’s Family Tree blog post … will any of Stinky’s family appear in future editions?

I don’t think so – Stinky’s kind of unique, although there is a girl hamster slated to appear in a future adventure.

 

The next two books in the series, ‘My Hamster is an Astronaut’ and ‘My Hamster is a Spy’ are out in 2013 – do you have plans for any further Stinky and Jinks books?

Yes, lots!  I’m working on at least 4 more – including my favourite title so far, ‘My Hamster’s Got Talent!’

How was your book tour in the UK this September? Any highlights you’d like to share with us?

I had a great time.  It’s been a lot more fun and a lot less nerve-wracking than I expected.  It’s been great to hear from people who’ve read the book – kids, parents and teachers – and the response has been opverwhelmingly positive.  I got a VIP school dinner at Graiseley Primary School in Wolverhampton (extra potatoes, I think) – which was a highlight.  And the festivals at Bath and Cheltenham were fabulous – I got to meet some fantastic writers.

Do you have any top tips for budding writers?

I guess my advice would be: don’t say you want to be a writer, say you are a writer.  I was a writer for 20 years before I was published.  Have confidence, read a lot, write a lot, and don’t give up.

Do you have a special place you write?

I have a room at home but, really, I only need quiet.  (With two daughters aged 8 and 4, though, quiet isn’t always easy to come by!)

Do you have any projects in the pipeline you’d like to tell us about?

 

I’m working on a book aimed at older kids – a private eye novel.

 

Where can fans of you and your books find out more about you and your writing?

 

The sad fact is that my fictional hamster, Stinky, has more of an online presence than I do.  The publishers, Templar (who’ve been absolutely amazing) have given him his own blog: http://stinkyandjinks.blogspot.co.uk/

Many thanks Dave!

‘Stinky and Jinks: My Hamster is a Genius’

By Dave Lowe
Illustrated by Mark Chambers
Published by Templar Publishing
RRP £5.99 (paperback)
ISBN 9781848772939
Reviewed by Lynsey Evans

This is the first Stinky and Jinks adventure and what a great one it is! Meet Benjamin Jinks – he’s always getting into trouble and his maths is lousy, his teacher is always on his case. Ben’s mum thinks if she gets Ben a pet, that will help teach him responsibility and improve his behaviour. Plus she’s locked all his games, TV and toys in the shed and he won’t get them back until he’s proved himself. Ben thought of all the pets he’s like and … the hamster his mum got him wasn’t on this list. An unimpressed Ben names his hamster ‘Jasper Stinkybottom’, just to be awkward.

Imagine Ben’s surprise, as he’s struggling with his homework, to hear a little voice telling him the answers. The little voice belongs to his hamster, who is now known as ‘Stinky’. Stinky does Jinks’ homework for him and his teacher is very suspicious. In fact his teacher and his dad have a bet, if Jinks doesn’t pass his next test in school he’ll have to clean his teacher’s car wearing a T-shirt saying he’s a cheat. This means one thing, Stinky has to go to school … cue mayhem and laughter all round!

This is an enjoyable book, funny, light-hearted, lots of great illustrations and slapstick moments readers are going to love!

Highly recommended for readers 6+

 

Exclusive Interview with author Benjamin J Myers

With the highly anticpated epic final instalment of the Bad Tuesdays series 'The Spiral Horizon', we've been luckily enough to catch up with the very busy Benjamin J Myers, who's kindly answered our questions ...

Where did the inspiration for ‘The Bad Tuesdays’ come from?

It must be a rare book for which there is only one source of inspiration. I can think of at least three that lie behind ‘The Bad Tuesdays’. I wanted to capture in words the excitement and menace of my favourite films (films like ‘Alien’, ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘The Matrix’) and the energy of comic book art. I wanted to create a world where the boundaries of everyday reality and the fantastic overlapped (not so very different from our world, once you accept a spiritual dimension and the extraordinary universe of quantum physics – or is that universes?). And I wanted to write about people who were faced with overwhelming challenges and faced them from what appeared to be a hopeless starting point.  Young, damaged people like the Tuesdays exist. I wanted to show that no matter what is thrown at them, they are capable of pulling through, and what gets them through is who they are. Ordinary people can do extraordinary things.  

Do you have a favourite character from ‘The Bad Tuesdays’ series? Why?

I couldn’t pick one favourite character, and Ethel would slaughter me if I didn’t pick her. But some characters are easier to write than others: Ethel, Splinter and General Saxmun Vane seem to be able to say and do what they want with the minimum interpretation by me. I think that’s because none of them ever let other people’s feelings get in the way of what they want to say or do. Obviously, the Tuesdays themselves, Chess, Box and Splinter, are very close to me, but them aside, maybe my favourite characters are the ones who are there, supporting others with stoicism, notwithstanding a measure of bewilderment, characters like Pacer, Crazy Boris and Captain Riley. And of course, I love Anna. She is brave, resourceful, unswerving in her character and an iron friend. People like that really matter, particularly when chaos reigns.    

Do you have an ending planned for ‘The Spiral Horizon’ since you wrote the first book, or did you let the stories evolve as you wrote them?

The stories were planned meticulously. It would be impossible to have such an intricate plot without a huge amount of planning. I knew what lay ahead of the principal characters and how the various aspects of the plot would resolve from the outset. Obviously, elements of the stories developed in the writing: you have to make space for the narrative to unfold and for the characters to drive that narrative in their direction. But I had the final sentence of the six books in view as I began to write the first.

Is it difficult to write a series or do you view them as separate stories when you write?

The six books tell one story. One of the challenges in the writing has been to break that down into six stories, each delivering a beginning, a middle and an end whilst advancing the overall story. This means that some plot lines span one book, some span several and some span the whole series.  Whilst this has made the series a complex one to write, it makes it the more rewarding for readers because they are able to enjoy a deepening involvement with the characters and enjoy the hit of getting the answers to their questions as the stories unfold.

As well as an author you are a barrister – where do you find time to write?

By sleeping less than I should!

Do you have plans to write any books in the future that are based on your life experiences, such as being in the military, or the courts? Or do you prefer science-fiction / fantasy as it’s removed from ‘every-day’ life?

At the moment, I don’t plan to write any books that directly relay my experiences, but most writing must be informed by some experience so I imagine it’s all there. There is a fair amount of military activity in ‘The Bad Tuesdays’ and more than a handful of criminals. I really enjoy science fiction and fantasy but I wouldn’t say that it is far removed from everyday life. Well-conceived science fiction, in particular, is a way of writing about reality but in a way which allows for the isolation and exploration of particular issues. Just look at classics such as ‘Brave New World’, ‘1984’, and the much under-read ‘The Chrysalids’. All of them stunningly accurate. You’ll find more sensible analysis of gender, politics, power and society in science fiction than many other forms of ‘every-day life’ fiction, and have a good deal more fun whilst you do so.

Do you have any top tips for budding writers?
 
1. READ.  Lots. Read well and read widely. That’s the top tip.
2. Plan your story – at least give it a beginning, a middle and an end.
3. Keep at it.  Writing takes time so make time – it won’t happen otherwise.  And don’t be spooked by the blank page. Fill it. The only way of writing is by writing. You can always cross it out and start again if you’re not satisfied.
4. Cross it out and start again if you’re not satisfied (which means, if it isn’t the absolute best you can do).
5. Write with a type of reader in mind – writing for yourself may be deeply satisfying but that’s therapy. If you want to be a writer, write for yourself by all means but make sure you are writing for others too. 

Do you have any projects in the pipeline you’d like to tell us about?

I have so many ideas it’s amazing I ever get round to settling on any one of them. I am planning a new story but wouldn’t say more about it than that. I’ve discovered that for me, the more I talk about what I’m going to write, the less I write it!

Where can fans of you and your books find out more about you and your writing?

I am on Twitter (‘Benjamin J Myers’) but I’m not great at regular tweeting (sorry!).  However, there are fans who have set up a Facebook page. I can always be contacted via the people at Orion Publishing and I’m happy to talk about the books, the writing and answer any questions.

Interview by Lynsey Evans

The Bad Tuesdays: The Spiral Horizon
By Benjamin J Myers
Published by Orion Books on 2nd August 2012
RRP £6.99
ISBN 9781842556443

The epic conclusion to the thrilling Bad Tuesdays series ...

Can three children save the Universe against impossible odds?

Children everywhere are disappearing. Orphan, Chess Tuesday, and her brothers, Box and Splinter, don't want to be next. But they are being tracked by two powerful enemy organisations, each intent on destroying the other.

The time when the twelve suns become one is drawing closer and it could mark the end of all things. Only Chess Tuesday can prevent destruction … or make it happen.

She has a choice to make, but there are powerful forces trying to influence her decision and Chess isn't sure who the enemy is any more. Is it Splinter, who betrayed her, and who is now falling forever through time and space?


THE BAD TUESDAYS STORY SO FAR…

Book 1: TWISTED SYMMETRY

Children everywhere are disappearing. Orphan, Chess Tuesday, and her brothers, Box and Splinter, don't want to be next. But they are being tracked by two powerful enemy organizations, each intent on destroying the other.

Who is good and who is evil? Why do both sides need the Tuesdays? And can anyone escape the hunters? Chess, Box and Splinter are about to embark on a terrifying mission to find out.


Book 2: STRANGE ENERGY

Chess and her brothers, Box and Splinter, are caught in a bitter struggle between two ruthless organizations. Now they face a terrifying choice - carry out a dangerous mission for the Committee, or try to outrun the evil Twisted Symmetry alone.

Chess wants to take the mission. But it could prove fatal. And it will lead the Tuesdays into the heart of the very organization that is hunting them…

Book 3: BLOOD ALCHEMY

Chess Tuesday is on the run...And the deadly Twisted Symmetry isn't far behind. They've already hunted down and imprisoned her brothers, Box and Splinter.

In a world where neither friends, enemies nor family are what they seem, trust is not an option. And Chess is about to discover that the truth may be more dangerous than she ever thought possible.

Book 4: THE NONSUCH KING

Splinter Tuesday is hungry for power, and he has a daring plan to get it - if he can stay alive, that is. His brother, Box, is fighting for his life on a distant planet. His sister, Chess, is learning to walk between the worlds. Only then will she be ready to take on the evil Twisted Symmetry - and win.

But the Twisted Symmetry has plans of its own. Time is running out. Splinter, Box and Chess have never been in more danger.

Book 5: A CRYSTAL HORSEMAN

Chess must decide who to trust as things begin to spiral out of control.

Box is now part of the Twisted Symmetry's Elite Cavalry. Has he forgotten where his loyalties lie? Is it too late? Or can he still help Chess in her struggle to stop the Twisted Symmetry's sinister plan?

'The Bad Tuesdays' series are all available to purchase from all good bookshops and online store now. You can find more out about the books and Benjamin J Myers at www.orionbooks.co.uk/authors/j.-myers-benjamin.