Zoë Marriott's Blog, page 8
March 22, 2019
THE BLOG TOUR BEGINS (and Other News)
Hello, and happy Saturday, Dear Readers! It is now less than TWO WEEKS until The Hand, the Eye and the Heart is officially released and will hopefully be winging its way to a bookshelf or an ereader near you. Not at all coincidentally, I have lots of cool and fun stuff to share with you today, so let's get right into it. First up -
The Hand, the Eye and the Heart
's Blog Tour begins next week!
Just look at this! Look at it! Music, fashion, read-a-longs, calligraphy, make-up looks? What a feast of madness and brilliance! I'll be RTing and sharing all of these as they go live, and then collecting each week's posts in a masterpost at the end of the both weeks so you don't miss anything.
I urge you to share and RT these as you read and enjoy them, not only to spread the word about the book, and the tour itself - but also to thank each of these dedicated book bloggers for supporting our fandom and giving UKYA a boost in general. I'm honestly humbled by this, guys. I don't often use the term 'awesomesauce' anymore, but this? This is awesomesauce.
Next up! For those of you like me who have poor eyesight or vision impairment, injuries or disabilities that make it hard to read chunky books, or limited space to store physical copies, here's some good news: the Kindle and Kobo versions of the book are now life for pre-orders. Hurrah! And at a discount from the physical copy's price, which is always nice.
Further to this, shortly after the Kindle version went live, both it and the physical book shot back up into the Amazon bestselling ranks again:
Not gonna lie, I DID do a little squeal (while on the train - I ducked down and pretended it wasn't me while people gave each other suspicious looks) when I saw this. As the release date gets closer and closer, pre-orders make a huge difference to whether the book will succeed in both the short and long-term, so thank you to everyone who's managed to scrape up the cash to do this. I know, I really do, that it's not always easy. I hope *so much* that you'll love the story, and Zhi, and Yulong, and Yang Jie, and Wu Jiang, and all the rest, and think it's worth it.
Now before I start blubbing on my keyboard, I'd better remind you about the event coming up to celebrate the book's release in London, in April: Queens of Fantasy with amazing authors Samantha Shannon, Tasha Suri and Zen Cho. I've motored my way through a stack of all of these guys books in the past month and St. Paul on a pogo stick! THEY ARE SO AMAZING. I might not let anyone else even get the chance to ask them any questions because there's so much I want to know. Will we meet Mehr again in the sequal, Tasha?? Samantha, what was the deal with the Unceasing Emperor's ex-girlfriend?? Zen, did you get the term magicienne from the term 'graduette' which used to be applied to female university graduates??
Ahem.
I've been told that the tickets are really going fast - I'm not just saying that - so if you're hoping to come you should probably look into booking your place sooner rather than later.
And now, in celebration of all this gloriousness, it's snippet time. Yes, really! New and exclusive and just for you, I've picked out one of my favourite bits from later in the book (with no spoilers) and it's under the cut. I hope you all enjoy it, my lovelies!
Let me know what you think in the comments. Read you later!
That night, as we huddled down in various miserable poses along the damp gulley wall, none of us as close to our campfires as we really wished to be, I was man enough to admit to myself that I was grateful for the reassuring bulk of the Young General, looming between me and the sinister shadows of the Stone Forest. If any cold, desolate spirits were looking for the consolation of human warmth in the dark, he’d be a more tempting target than I.I expected to stay awake late into that night, worrying and missing Yang Jie and feeling sorry for myself, as usual. But riding on such treacherous terrain all day long seemed to have left me more tired than was usual. I could feel my eyes drooping even as I shifted onto my side, searching for a more comfortable position on the shifting ground. General Wu’s horse, hobbled nearby, stomped his hoof – once, twice. Yulong, who stood nose to nose with him, whickered softly as if in reassurance. The other horse quieted.When I woke, I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. With the mist blocking any sight of stars – or the dawn, if it was coming – all I could see was that it was still as dark as ink in the gulley. But I knew instantly what had woken me. The wind had risen. It was whistling – no, singing, singing around the tops of the stone spires. Playing over the unusual formations in the rock. The resulting noise was like nothing I’d ever heard before, seeming both low and high at once, almost like... like a chorus of voices. Human voices.It was beautiful. It was chilling. The humming notes blended together into a peculiar, haunting music that made the Stone Forest itself vibrate. The more I listened, the more the wind rose, the more cold I felt. All around me, small campfires which had been burning merrily away in the darkness were beginning to dim and sink down. The increasing wind should have whipped them up; instead it seemed to suck the air away from them – and from me – as the darkness grew deeper. Nonsense, I told myself fiercely. It’s just the wind, just these odd rocks. That’s all. Don’t let your imagination run away with you.But the men were stirring restlessly in their sleep. One of General Wu’s bodyguards thrashed in his bedroll, and as he turned over I saw his face in the light of our dying fire. It was twisted, still-sleeping, into a rictus of horror or despair. Nearby someone let out a wavering moan, nearly drowned by the eerie moaning of the wind. The walls of the gulley were shaking now. I could hear... I could hear the voices in the wind. I could hear them. They cried out for help, for release – tormented by the most terrible grief and pain – and their music rumbled through the ground and through my bones, louder and louder. The campfires were nearly out now. I lay frozen, gripped by the most awful fear, the same fear that had held me still on a night long ago when I heard assassins creep into my Father’s house, the same fear which had paralysed me for that vital moment when I saw Lu standing over General Wu with a blood on his hand. Only this time I couldn’t break free. I couldn’t move.One voice rose above the others. A voice as familiar to me as my own. More familiar. One Ihad listened to before I had even had a voice: my Mother.She was screaming.Screaming... for me.The edges of reality cracked. The cold and the dark were eating through me, damaging me, like a hard frost turns soft fruit black. I could feel it beginning already. This was going to drive me out of my mind, I realised dimly. It would kill me. Every man in the gulley would be dead before morning.Yang Jie is in this gulley.With a kind of wrenching, ripping effort that made me cry out in pain – I broke free. I was crouching in the tangle of my damp bedroll, staring into our substantial campfire, which had died down a little, but was no means near to going out. The other campfires flickered and danced, pockets of light in the darkness around me. The other men laid still and peaceful in their places. There was no singing. No wind. No ghosts.On the other side of the campfire, someone let out a choked gasp. Furs and blankets flew back as they clawed their way out of their bed and onto their knees, panting harshly. It was General Wu.His face, even bathed in their rosy glow, was set and white. I opened my mouth – but the look in his eyes, half savage, half lost, stilled my tongue. It didn’t matter. I didn’t need to ask what had woken him. I knew. I knew. Instead, after a moment, he was the one to speak. His voice was almost a growl. “Who? Who did you hear?”I swallowed. “My Mother.” He closed his eyes. Nodded wearily. “Me too.”Swiftly, he turned away and laid down again, pulling one of the heavy, fur-lined blanket up over his shoulder so that his profile was hidden.Little by little, my marrow aching like that of an old man, I shuffled back into my own bedroll. The mist that had hung above the Stone Forest all day and all night was beginning to break up, and stars were winking gently overhead. I laid stiff and unmoving among my blankets for some time listening to the unrestful quiet of the dark before I remembered something. Something I should have remembered before.Wu Jiang’s Mother had been murdered when he was a little boy.
Just look at this! Look at it! Music, fashion, read-a-longs, calligraphy, make-up looks? What a feast of madness and brilliance! I'll be RTing and sharing all of these as they go live, and then collecting each week's posts in a masterpost at the end of the both weeks so you don't miss anything.
I urge you to share and RT these as you read and enjoy them, not only to spread the word about the book, and the tour itself - but also to thank each of these dedicated book bloggers for supporting our fandom and giving UKYA a boost in general. I'm honestly humbled by this, guys. I don't often use the term 'awesomesauce' anymore, but this? This is awesomesauce.
Next up! For those of you like me who have poor eyesight or vision impairment, injuries or disabilities that make it hard to read chunky books, or limited space to store physical copies, here's some good news: the Kindle and Kobo versions of the book are now life for pre-orders. Hurrah! And at a discount from the physical copy's price, which is always nice.
Further to this, shortly after the Kindle version went live, both it and the physical book shot back up into the Amazon bestselling ranks again:
Not gonna lie, I DID do a little squeal (while on the train - I ducked down and pretended it wasn't me while people gave each other suspicious looks) when I saw this. As the release date gets closer and closer, pre-orders make a huge difference to whether the book will succeed in both the short and long-term, so thank you to everyone who's managed to scrape up the cash to do this. I know, I really do, that it's not always easy. I hope *so much* that you'll love the story, and Zhi, and Yulong, and Yang Jie, and Wu Jiang, and all the rest, and think it's worth it.
Now before I start blubbing on my keyboard, I'd better remind you about the event coming up to celebrate the book's release in London, in April: Queens of Fantasy with amazing authors Samantha Shannon, Tasha Suri and Zen Cho. I've motored my way through a stack of all of these guys books in the past month and St. Paul on a pogo stick! THEY ARE SO AMAZING. I might not let anyone else even get the chance to ask them any questions because there's so much I want to know. Will we meet Mehr again in the sequal, Tasha?? Samantha, what was the deal with the Unceasing Emperor's ex-girlfriend?? Zen, did you get the term magicienne from the term 'graduette' which used to be applied to female university graduates??
Ahem.
I've been told that the tickets are really going fast - I'm not just saying that - so if you're hoping to come you should probably look into booking your place sooner rather than later.
And now, in celebration of all this gloriousness, it's snippet time. Yes, really! New and exclusive and just for you, I've picked out one of my favourite bits from later in the book (with no spoilers) and it's under the cut. I hope you all enjoy it, my lovelies!
Let me know what you think in the comments. Read you later!
That night, as we huddled down in various miserable poses along the damp gulley wall, none of us as close to our campfires as we really wished to be, I was man enough to admit to myself that I was grateful for the reassuring bulk of the Young General, looming between me and the sinister shadows of the Stone Forest. If any cold, desolate spirits were looking for the consolation of human warmth in the dark, he’d be a more tempting target than I.I expected to stay awake late into that night, worrying and missing Yang Jie and feeling sorry for myself, as usual. But riding on such treacherous terrain all day long seemed to have left me more tired than was usual. I could feel my eyes drooping even as I shifted onto my side, searching for a more comfortable position on the shifting ground. General Wu’s horse, hobbled nearby, stomped his hoof – once, twice. Yulong, who stood nose to nose with him, whickered softly as if in reassurance. The other horse quieted.When I woke, I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. With the mist blocking any sight of stars – or the dawn, if it was coming – all I could see was that it was still as dark as ink in the gulley. But I knew instantly what had woken me. The wind had risen. It was whistling – no, singing, singing around the tops of the stone spires. Playing over the unusual formations in the rock. The resulting noise was like nothing I’d ever heard before, seeming both low and high at once, almost like... like a chorus of voices. Human voices.It was beautiful. It was chilling. The humming notes blended together into a peculiar, haunting music that made the Stone Forest itself vibrate. The more I listened, the more the wind rose, the more cold I felt. All around me, small campfires which had been burning merrily away in the darkness were beginning to dim and sink down. The increasing wind should have whipped them up; instead it seemed to suck the air away from them – and from me – as the darkness grew deeper. Nonsense, I told myself fiercely. It’s just the wind, just these odd rocks. That’s all. Don’t let your imagination run away with you.But the men were stirring restlessly in their sleep. One of General Wu’s bodyguards thrashed in his bedroll, and as he turned over I saw his face in the light of our dying fire. It was twisted, still-sleeping, into a rictus of horror or despair. Nearby someone let out a wavering moan, nearly drowned by the eerie moaning of the wind. The walls of the gulley were shaking now. I could hear... I could hear the voices in the wind. I could hear them. They cried out for help, for release – tormented by the most terrible grief and pain – and their music rumbled through the ground and through my bones, louder and louder. The campfires were nearly out now. I lay frozen, gripped by the most awful fear, the same fear that had held me still on a night long ago when I heard assassins creep into my Father’s house, the same fear which had paralysed me for that vital moment when I saw Lu standing over General Wu with a blood on his hand. Only this time I couldn’t break free. I couldn’t move.One voice rose above the others. A voice as familiar to me as my own. More familiar. One Ihad listened to before I had even had a voice: my Mother.She was screaming.Screaming... for me.The edges of reality cracked. The cold and the dark were eating through me, damaging me, like a hard frost turns soft fruit black. I could feel it beginning already. This was going to drive me out of my mind, I realised dimly. It would kill me. Every man in the gulley would be dead before morning.Yang Jie is in this gulley.With a kind of wrenching, ripping effort that made me cry out in pain – I broke free. I was crouching in the tangle of my damp bedroll, staring into our substantial campfire, which had died down a little, but was no means near to going out. The other campfires flickered and danced, pockets of light in the darkness around me. The other men laid still and peaceful in their places. There was no singing. No wind. No ghosts.On the other side of the campfire, someone let out a choked gasp. Furs and blankets flew back as they clawed their way out of their bed and onto their knees, panting harshly. It was General Wu.His face, even bathed in their rosy glow, was set and white. I opened my mouth – but the look in his eyes, half savage, half lost, stilled my tongue. It didn’t matter. I didn’t need to ask what had woken him. I knew. I knew. Instead, after a moment, he was the one to speak. His voice was almost a growl. “Who? Who did you hear?”I swallowed. “My Mother.” He closed his eyes. Nodded wearily. “Me too.”Swiftly, he turned away and laid down again, pulling one of the heavy, fur-lined blanket up over his shoulder so that his profile was hidden.Little by little, my marrow aching like that of an old man, I shuffled back into my own bedroll. The mist that had hung above the Stone Forest all day and all night was beginning to break up, and stars were winking gently overhead. I laid stiff and unmoving among my blankets for some time listening to the unrestful quiet of the dark before I remembered something. Something I should have remembered before.Wu Jiang’s Mother had been murdered when he was a little boy.
March 4, 2019
EXCITING EVENTS 2019!
Hello, hello, hello, Dear Readers! Happy Tuesday to all, and I hope your week is off to a great start.
Over the weekend news has broken - at last - that I am to be part of the line-up at the Cymera Festival in Edinburgh this summer; so now I can finally talk about it!
This is super exciting for many reasons. Cymera is Scotland's very first literary festival for science fiction, fantasy and horror. It's partially organised by the wonderful Laura Lam, who is a long-time Twitter-friend of mine and frankly a marvellous writer and all-around jolly good sort. The list of attendees and panels is fantastic, and includes the aforementioned Laura Lam, as well as Elizabeth May, Richard Morgan, Lauren James, Tom Pollock, V.E. Schwab, Samantha Shannon, Tasha Shuri, Charles Stross, Aliette de Bodard, Dhonielle Clayton, Justina Ireland, Zoraida Cordova, Helen Grant and - I am not kidding - literally dozens more.
Finally, I will be doing my panel - which is scheduled for Saturday 3:34-4:45 and is on the theme of Eastern Inspired Fantasy - with New York Times Bestselling Natasha Ngan, author of my FAVOURITE fantasy of last year, Girls of Paper and Fire (read my review).
I cannot WAIT for Cymera. Edinburg is such a beautiful city, the festival is going to be full of people I both like and admire, and I get to meet Natasha Ngan and talk about books and writing with her! I'm pretty sure it's going to be in my top three favourite things I do this year. I hope plenty of northern Dear Readers will be able able to make it - but if you want to get tickets, better act now, they're selling up fast.
Don't think you'll be able to make it up to Edinburgh in June and now feel kind of bummed about it?
FEAR NOT THERE'S MORE!
On April the 8th I am going to be in London doing another bloody fantastic event at Waterstone's Picadilly with - *deep breaths* - one of my favourite people, Internationally Bestselling Samantha Shannon AND Zen Cho (author of The True Queen and Sorcerer to the Crown) AND Tasha Shuri (author of Empire of Sand).
The event - which is 'in conversation' style, meaning it will be super relaxed and chatty - will be chaired by Katherine Webber, fellow Walker author and writer of Only Love Can Break Your Heart. The panel is titled Queens of Fantasy (why thank you, Waterstones Picadilly) and runs from 7pm, with signing and general squeeing and hugs to follow.
I mean, I just... how amazing is this??? It's even on the day after my birthday! Like a very slightly belated birthday present!
Tickets are on sale now and since anything with Samantha in it pretty much sells out in about ten seconds, if you want to be there you should jump in quick.
I'm hoping that a nice chunk of Dear Readers will be able to make it to at least one (or maybe both? Both would be great!) of these. You guys know I live in a very out of the way locale and don't get the chance to do events as often as many writers - plus it's been a couple of years since my last release - and I'd love to catch up with some of you and celebrate the publication of The Hand, The Eye and the Heart.
Please come out to see me if you can! I promise that whether you chose Edinburgh or London, you'll have a lot of fun.
Over the weekend news has broken - at last - that I am to be part of the line-up at the Cymera Festival in Edinburgh this summer; so now I can finally talk about it!
This is super exciting for many reasons. Cymera is Scotland's very first literary festival for science fiction, fantasy and horror. It's partially organised by the wonderful Laura Lam, who is a long-time Twitter-friend of mine and frankly a marvellous writer and all-around jolly good sort. The list of attendees and panels is fantastic, and includes the aforementioned Laura Lam, as well as Elizabeth May, Richard Morgan, Lauren James, Tom Pollock, V.E. Schwab, Samantha Shannon, Tasha Shuri, Charles Stross, Aliette de Bodard, Dhonielle Clayton, Justina Ireland, Zoraida Cordova, Helen Grant and - I am not kidding - literally dozens more.
Finally, I will be doing my panel - which is scheduled for Saturday 3:34-4:45 and is on the theme of Eastern Inspired Fantasy - with New York Times Bestselling Natasha Ngan, author of my FAVOURITE fantasy of last year, Girls of Paper and Fire (read my review).
I cannot WAIT for Cymera. Edinburg is such a beautiful city, the festival is going to be full of people I both like and admire, and I get to meet Natasha Ngan and talk about books and writing with her! I'm pretty sure it's going to be in my top three favourite things I do this year. I hope plenty of northern Dear Readers will be able able to make it - but if you want to get tickets, better act now, they're selling up fast.
Don't think you'll be able to make it up to Edinburgh in June and now feel kind of bummed about it?
FEAR NOT THERE'S MORE!
On April the 8th I am going to be in London doing another bloody fantastic event at Waterstone's Picadilly with - *deep breaths* - one of my favourite people, Internationally Bestselling Samantha Shannon AND Zen Cho (author of The True Queen and Sorcerer to the Crown) AND Tasha Shuri (author of Empire of Sand).
The event - which is 'in conversation' style, meaning it will be super relaxed and chatty - will be chaired by Katherine Webber, fellow Walker author and writer of Only Love Can Break Your Heart. The panel is titled Queens of Fantasy (why thank you, Waterstones Picadilly) and runs from 7pm, with signing and general squeeing and hugs to follow.
I mean, I just... how amazing is this??? It's even on the day after my birthday! Like a very slightly belated birthday present!
Tickets are on sale now and since anything with Samantha in it pretty much sells out in about ten seconds, if you want to be there you should jump in quick.
I'm hoping that a nice chunk of Dear Readers will be able to make it to at least one (or maybe both? Both would be great!) of these. You guys know I live in a very out of the way locale and don't get the chance to do events as often as many writers - plus it's been a couple of years since my last release - and I'd love to catch up with some of you and celebrate the publication of The Hand, The Eye and the Heart.
Please come out to see me if you can! I promise that whether you chose Edinburgh or London, you'll have a lot of fun.
February 28, 2019
THANK YOU!
Hi Guys - happy Thursday. Very quick update for me today as I'm literally on the train home from my Fellowship in York, but I wanted to commemorate this:
And this:
And this whole thing in general!
Pretty exciting, huh? Especially a month before release! And all the result of amazing support from Dear Readers. Pre-ordering a book is the number one best thing anyone can do to support an author they love or a book they're excited for, and I'm so grateful for everyone who has. If you can't pre-order, though, don't despair. A purchase in the first week of release - the week of the 4th of April in this case - is the next best thing, but you can also help by requesting the book at your local library, or leaving a review for it on Amazon or Goodreads. Just talking about it on Twitter or with your friends can make a difference, and I'm humbled and delighted by the number of people who want to do that.
This is a special book to me, and I really hope that it will be special to you, too, once you get the chance to read it.
Barely a month to go now, everyone! Whoop, whoop!
And this:
And this whole thing in general!
Pretty exciting, huh? Especially a month before release! And all the result of amazing support from Dear Readers. Pre-ordering a book is the number one best thing anyone can do to support an author they love or a book they're excited for, and I'm so grateful for everyone who has. If you can't pre-order, though, don't despair. A purchase in the first week of release - the week of the 4th of April in this case - is the next best thing, but you can also help by requesting the book at your local library, or leaving a review for it on Amazon or Goodreads. Just talking about it on Twitter or with your friends can make a difference, and I'm humbled and delighted by the number of people who want to do that.This is a special book to me, and I really hope that it will be special to you, too, once you get the chance to read it.
Barely a month to go now, everyone! Whoop, whoop!
February 20, 2019
READER QUESTIONS: What is Plot?
Hello and happy Wednesday, Dear Readers! I hope your week is going well so far - or at the very least, that it can't get worse from here (ah, pessimist humour, you are so grim).
Today I'm bringing you a post sparked by the loveliest message from reader Hana, who emailed me via my website (and also a little bit inspired by a conversation about plotting on Twitter that got my brain working). But before we get to that, it's time to announce the winner of last week's giveaway! This is actually happening a bit sooner than I expected, because I set the giveaway for two weeks to give people plenty of time to enter. Apparently Rafflecopter had other ideas. And when I checked the entries today I found that the giveaway was closed, but they didn't email me to let me know so... I dunno. I'm as confused as you, Dear Readers, but let's not dwell on the past.
Onward to the winner, who is...
*Drumroll Please*
*
*
*
RACHEL J ROWLANDS!
Congratulations, Rachel! I'll be emailing you a little later today to ask for your shipping address so that I can get this prize package out in the post to you. I hope you enjoy all the books, and that you remember that ancient and wise proverb: If you love a book and leave a review, the writer will have good luck and so will you.
I mean, I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but I'm preeeeetty sure Plato said that, so you really ought to pay attention. To Plato. Ahem.
Now for today's Reader Question! The lovely Hana asks:
I kind of hate those authors?
Most of the writers I know struggle with plot - and me most of all. What you say here about having ideas for cool and climactic scenes but no real idea how to turn that into a story? This makes me feel so seen. Honestly, this is what most writers spend most of their time discussing, worrying over and asking each other for advice about. And that's good news for you! Because it means we have come up with practical answers to these questions which are actually useful!
So here's my run-down of resources that should hopefully help you to understand and construct plots. First up, this three part series that I created a while ago that guides you through the whole process from 'Oooh, I have a cool idea!' to 'Oooh, I have a fully coherent story!'
TURNING IDEAS INTO PLOTS: Part One, Part Two and Part Three
You can click on the diagrams to make them large enough to read all the small writing, btw. Now, this is a method which has reliably worked for me, and I know that it's good for others too because writer-friends of mine have actually used this to teach creative writing courses. BUT! Every writer's mind works differently, and you might be looking for something that goes into a bit more detail about the ways that plot, character, theme etc. interact.
And so next, here's Rachael Stephen's video about her favourite plotting method, the Plot Embryo.
I've used this for my last two books - after coming up with a basic story plan using my own Plot Diamond - as a sort of narrative MOT, to make sure that all the elements of the story are actually working together as they should be.
I also highly recommend John Yorke's book Into The Woods , which is another very different but compelling and useful examination of how plots work and why. The first time that I read it, it honestly blew my mind a little bit, and I think a lot of writers have that reaction, so brace yourself!
If you're looking for something slightly less novel-crafty and more thinky, here's a post I did a little while ago (which includes another video from Rachael Stephen) about the importance of figuring out your thesis, or the 'truth' of your story, and how you can use essay planning methods to ensure you demonstrate this throughout the developing narrative. The triangle structure is maybe more useful for short fiction, but the idea that you should work out your story's thesis first and use that as a 'North Star' to guide you in working out what your novel/essay/short story is truly about, and therefore what stuff should be in it, is universally useful in my opinion. I did another essay about this on the Royal Literary Fund Website, which you can check out if you'd like some more depth.
And finally, there's a wealth of other writing advice here on my All About Writing page, which covers everything from rooting cliches out of your work to how to create a character, so check that out too, Hana. I hope this is useful and gets your story-writing muscles quivering with anticipation to get to work!
Today I'm bringing you a post sparked by the loveliest message from reader Hana, who emailed me via my website (and also a little bit inspired by a conversation about plotting on Twitter that got my brain working). But before we get to that, it's time to announce the winner of last week's giveaway! This is actually happening a bit sooner than I expected, because I set the giveaway for two weeks to give people plenty of time to enter. Apparently Rafflecopter had other ideas. And when I checked the entries today I found that the giveaway was closed, but they didn't email me to let me know so... I dunno. I'm as confused as you, Dear Readers, but let's not dwell on the past.
Onward to the winner, who is...
*Drumroll Please*
*
*
*
RACHEL J ROWLANDS!
Congratulations, Rachel! I'll be emailing you a little later today to ask for your shipping address so that I can get this prize package out in the post to you. I hope you enjoy all the books, and that you remember that ancient and wise proverb: If you love a book and leave a review, the writer will have good luck and so will you.
I mean, I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but I'm preeeeetty sure Plato said that, so you really ought to pay attention. To Plato. Ahem.
Now for today's Reader Question! The lovely Hana asks:
I just wondered: how you plan out... a story - how does an author like you, of whom I look up to, draft things out? I have book ideas and I like writing in my spare time, and I'd love to understand your technique! I myself am stuck with thinking mostly of the cool, climactic scenes in my stories, but struggle to piece it all together and make it clever without getting too overwhelmed. If you could get back to me - any quick tips would do - I would be super grateful.Lovely Hana, I have GOT THIS. Listen, some authors just *get* plot, you know? They don't ever have to define it, or plan it, or stress about it, because it is IN THEIR BONES. They're natural storytellers, and it flows for them totally organically. These are the writers who weave the most awesome tapestry of plot threads together and for whom plot twists and narrative balance are like breathing.
I kind of hate those authors?
Most of the writers I know struggle with plot - and me most of all. What you say here about having ideas for cool and climactic scenes but no real idea how to turn that into a story? This makes me feel so seen. Honestly, this is what most writers spend most of their time discussing, worrying over and asking each other for advice about. And that's good news for you! Because it means we have come up with practical answers to these questions which are actually useful!
So here's my run-down of resources that should hopefully help you to understand and construct plots. First up, this three part series that I created a while ago that guides you through the whole process from 'Oooh, I have a cool idea!' to 'Oooh, I have a fully coherent story!'
TURNING IDEAS INTO PLOTS: Part One, Part Two and Part Three
You can click on the diagrams to make them large enough to read all the small writing, btw. Now, this is a method which has reliably worked for me, and I know that it's good for others too because writer-friends of mine have actually used this to teach creative writing courses. BUT! Every writer's mind works differently, and you might be looking for something that goes into a bit more detail about the ways that plot, character, theme etc. interact.
And so next, here's Rachael Stephen's video about her favourite plotting method, the Plot Embryo.
I've used this for my last two books - after coming up with a basic story plan using my own Plot Diamond - as a sort of narrative MOT, to make sure that all the elements of the story are actually working together as they should be.
I also highly recommend John Yorke's book Into The Woods , which is another very different but compelling and useful examination of how plots work and why. The first time that I read it, it honestly blew my mind a little bit, and I think a lot of writers have that reaction, so brace yourself!
If you're looking for something slightly less novel-crafty and more thinky, here's a post I did a little while ago (which includes another video from Rachael Stephen) about the importance of figuring out your thesis, or the 'truth' of your story, and how you can use essay planning methods to ensure you demonstrate this throughout the developing narrative. The triangle structure is maybe more useful for short fiction, but the idea that you should work out your story's thesis first and use that as a 'North Star' to guide you in working out what your novel/essay/short story is truly about, and therefore what stuff should be in it, is universally useful in my opinion. I did another essay about this on the Royal Literary Fund Website, which you can check out if you'd like some more depth.
And finally, there's a wealth of other writing advice here on my All About Writing page, which covers everything from rooting cliches out of your work to how to create a character, so check that out too, Hana. I hope this is useful and gets your story-writing muscles quivering with anticipation to get to work!
February 10, 2019
UPDATES & A GIVEAWAY
Hello, hello, hello, Dear Readers! Happy Monday to all, and apologies for the long wait since the last time I blogged. This Christmas and New Year period has *kicked my ass*. Repeatedly, in fact, and for a list of reasons as long as my arm.
There are some massive changes coming in my life. Some of them are positive and exciting. Some of them are stressful and not-so-nice. I can't talk about most of them yet, mainly because final decisions (either mine or other people's) haven't been made. I'm aware this is infuriatingly cryptic by the way - but I'm afraid it's the best I can do just now - and I will give details about stuff that I think Dear Readers will be interested in as soon as I can.
There are some updates I can make, though, and I will do so below.
The main reason for the lack of blogging: my mother. She's been very ill over the last few months. At one point she was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night in an ambulance, then transferred to a hospital sixty miles away for emergency surgery - only to have that surgery cancelled at the last minute. She came home on a promise that the surgery would be rescheduled within three weeks, but that didn't happen. As a result she's been suffering a lot of pain and hasn't been able to move about much. Her operation is now on again, and by the time you're reading this I hope she will be comfortably settled into her bed and waiting to go down to the theatre. So please send kind, hopeful and healing thoughts in our direction today, if you can spare them.
Now onto something happier. Early copies of The Hand, the Eye & The Heart are here! And they are beeeeeeooootiful:
The colours! The internal illustrations! THE TURQUOISE FOIL! *Swoons*
I was lucky enough (well, begged loudly enough) to get two despite the limited numbers. One has winged its way off to a lucky competition winner, as promised. The other stays with me for always (my preeccccciousssss). If you're a blogger, vlogger or other bookish person and you would like one of these early copies to review, you'll need to get in touch with Walker Books as soon as possible - @WalkerBookYA on Twitter is a good bet. If and when any further copies fall into my possession, I will of course do a giveaway.
However, just because The Hand, the Eye & the Heart is as rare as hen's teeth just now that doesn't mean there can be NO giveaways. In fact I happen to have a small pile of absolutely lovely books from Walker right here:
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas, the follow-up to mega-hit THUG, which needs no introduction.
The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James. I'm so excited about this one! Lauren's last book The Lonelist Girl in the Universe was *staggeringly* good, and so unique. No one else is writing this kind of imaginative, grounded, hard-science fiction in UKYA right now. You want this.
Nothing but the Truth by Dick Lehr, a book about racial intolerance in the US written by a former Boston Globe reporter who used his experiences to inform his fiction.
These are some of the most sought after books coming out this spring, and personally I prefer this spiffy yellow ARC cover to the official one, for Angie Thomas's book. I'm going to make these available to one lucky winner, ALONG WITH:
Gorgeous THTE&TH postcards (see below!)The first chapter of THTE&TH, printed out and signed by yours truly, to keep you going until its release on the 4th of April.A signed and personalised bookplate to stick in THTE&TH (or any of my other books, I guess) when you get your hands on it
All you have to do is comment here on the blog, then share the giveaway somewhere on Twitter, or follow me on Twitter, sometime in the next two weeks. You can get extra chances to win by sharing more than once - and the giveaway is open to readers in Britain and the EU, because that's the postage I can afford just now (sorry international peeps!).
Here's the Rafflecopter. Good luck, muffins!a Rafflecopter giveaway
There are some massive changes coming in my life. Some of them are positive and exciting. Some of them are stressful and not-so-nice. I can't talk about most of them yet, mainly because final decisions (either mine or other people's) haven't been made. I'm aware this is infuriatingly cryptic by the way - but I'm afraid it's the best I can do just now - and I will give details about stuff that I think Dear Readers will be interested in as soon as I can.
There are some updates I can make, though, and I will do so below.
The main reason for the lack of blogging: my mother. She's been very ill over the last few months. At one point she was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night in an ambulance, then transferred to a hospital sixty miles away for emergency surgery - only to have that surgery cancelled at the last minute. She came home on a promise that the surgery would be rescheduled within three weeks, but that didn't happen. As a result she's been suffering a lot of pain and hasn't been able to move about much. Her operation is now on again, and by the time you're reading this I hope she will be comfortably settled into her bed and waiting to go down to the theatre. So please send kind, hopeful and healing thoughts in our direction today, if you can spare them.
Now onto something happier. Early copies of The Hand, the Eye & The Heart are here! And they are beeeeeeooootiful:
The colours! The internal illustrations! THE TURQUOISE FOIL! *Swoons*
I was lucky enough (well, begged loudly enough) to get two despite the limited numbers. One has winged its way off to a lucky competition winner, as promised. The other stays with me for always (my preeccccciousssss). If you're a blogger, vlogger or other bookish person and you would like one of these early copies to review, you'll need to get in touch with Walker Books as soon as possible - @WalkerBookYA on Twitter is a good bet. If and when any further copies fall into my possession, I will of course do a giveaway.
However, just because The Hand, the Eye & the Heart is as rare as hen's teeth just now that doesn't mean there can be NO giveaways. In fact I happen to have a small pile of absolutely lovely books from Walker right here:
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas, the follow-up to mega-hit THUG, which needs no introduction.
The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James. I'm so excited about this one! Lauren's last book The Lonelist Girl in the Universe was *staggeringly* good, and so unique. No one else is writing this kind of imaginative, grounded, hard-science fiction in UKYA right now. You want this.
Nothing but the Truth by Dick Lehr, a book about racial intolerance in the US written by a former Boston Globe reporter who used his experiences to inform his fiction.
These are some of the most sought after books coming out this spring, and personally I prefer this spiffy yellow ARC cover to the official one, for Angie Thomas's book. I'm going to make these available to one lucky winner, ALONG WITH:
Gorgeous THTE&TH postcards (see below!)The first chapter of THTE&TH, printed out and signed by yours truly, to keep you going until its release on the 4th of April.A signed and personalised bookplate to stick in THTE&TH (or any of my other books, I guess) when you get your hands on it
All you have to do is comment here on the blog, then share the giveaway somewhere on Twitter, or follow me on Twitter, sometime in the next two weeks. You can get extra chances to win by sharing more than once - and the giveaway is open to readers in Britain and the EU, because that's the postage I can afford just now (sorry international peeps!).
Here's the Rafflecopter. Good luck, muffins!a Rafflecopter giveaway
December 18, 2018
EARLY COPY GIVEAWAY WINNER
Hello, Dear Readers! Happy Tuesday and happy Christmas! I'm saying that now because I probably won't blog again before it's all over - the dark chocolate brownies, spiced apple cake, roast potatoes and pork shoulder with crackling aren't going to cook themselves, and I'm having my whole family over not once but twice this year so... yeah. Eeep.
Don't worry - of course I'm not going to sign off without announcing the winner of my giveaway of my very first early copy of THE HAND, THE EYE AND THE HEART (which I don't have yet, but which will hopefully land in my hot little hands in the New Year). I'll do that below, but first I wanted to share this:
And seven is my lucky number, too! I'm very proud to see my quirky, chunky book in such lovely company. Thank you everyone who has pre-ordered the book, talked about the book, RTed or shared my posts about the book. It honestly does make such a difference, and that's why I like to notice things like this, celebrate them, and show you what your support can do.
And now for the winner! Drumroll please!
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JACKIE ORTON!
Congratulations, Jackie, I'll email you today and get your postal details so I can send your copy of the book to you as soon as I get it. I hope you enjoy it!
Commiserations to everyone else who hoped to win this and didn't, this time. Please don't be too upset. There will be more giveaways and competitions in the run up to the book's release. And remember that it's not very long until April, now. Which gives me a bit of a flutter of butterflies, honestly! Have a marvellous holiday season and New Year, muffins!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Don't worry - of course I'm not going to sign off without announcing the winner of my giveaway of my very first early copy of THE HAND, THE EYE AND THE HEART (which I don't have yet, but which will hopefully land in my hot little hands in the New Year). I'll do that below, but first I wanted to share this:
And seven is my lucky number, too! I'm very proud to see my quirky, chunky book in such lovely company. Thank you everyone who has pre-ordered the book, talked about the book, RTed or shared my posts about the book. It honestly does make such a difference, and that's why I like to notice things like this, celebrate them, and show you what your support can do.
And now for the winner! Drumroll please!
*
*
*
*
*
JACKIE ORTON!
Congratulations, Jackie, I'll email you today and get your postal details so I can send your copy of the book to you as soon as I get it. I hope you enjoy it!
Commiserations to everyone else who hoped to win this and didn't, this time. Please don't be too upset. There will be more giveaways and competitions in the run up to the book's release. And remember that it's not very long until April, now. Which gives me a bit of a flutter of butterflies, honestly! Have a marvellous holiday season and New Year, muffins!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
December 3, 2018
THE HAND, THE EYE & THE HEART COVER REVEAL AND GIVEAWAY!
Hello, and welcome to a very special post this Monday evening, Dear Readers. It's time to reveal the gorgeous cover art for a book that (as I've mentioned a few times) is really special to me:
The Hand, the Eye & the Heart
.
And I know you're all busily scrolling past this right now, but I'm going to ramble a bit first anyway because a) it seems less basic than just slapping the cover up here with barely any introduction and letting the art do all the talking and b) it's my blog and I'll ramble if I want to.
This cover illustration (including hand lettering!) was created by a legendary artist, Kate Forrester. You can visit her website and see her brilliant work for yourself (and I highly recommend it, because it's a feast for the eyes) but suffice it to say that she's created covers for some publishing greats. I personally think she's outdone herself this time.
This is the inspiration board I'd put together for any potential artist or designer for the book to look at. That's how I've worked with Delightful Designer over my past four books. I share it here because I think it's interesting - there are so many points of convergence that it is spooky, including the fact that I'd actually pinned a cover created by Kate Forrester long before I ever knew she would be involved - not because, on this occasion, it had anything to do with the cover art. It didn't.
Delightful Designer is currently on maternity leave and the designer Walker had working on The Hand, the Eye & the Heart (hi, Genius Designer! We haven't spoken, but you're awesome!) came up with the concept and decided on an artist without any input from me whatsoever. And all I can say is: good call. Honestly, I don't think it could have worked out any better.
So now, without any further ado... THE COVERRRRR!!
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I mentioned in the teaser post that every detail in the cover is not only informed by the aesthetics of the cultures on which the book itself draws, but also by specific details of the story and characters. All the animals (mythical and real) are significant in the story. The flowers you see - peonies and magnolias - are each mentioned in the story. Above all, the style and composition and colours all remind me very much of a glorious kesi tapestry, and since this kind of weaving is an artform which is very important to the main character of the book, that means a lot to me.
I think it's honestly stunning. And so right for this book. I'm also told there's a chance that the finished version maaaay have foil, so my fingers are crossed for that...
Other details about this book which I can now share! It's 448 pages long - the longest book I've ever written. It starts with an epigraph from The Art of War by Sun Tzu. It will also contain a trigger warning (which I'm very grateful to my publisher for letting me include) and a list of resources which I hope might be useful for trans and non-binary folk.
And just to make this as special as possible, now it's GIVEAWAY time. There won't be any ARCs for this book, but I've been promised that there will be early copies and that these should materialise sometime around the new year. So if you'd like to get your hands on one of these early copies, of which there will be limited numbers, as soon as I do? Then RT or share this post and enter the giveaway below for a chance to win The Hand, the Eye and the Heart in all it's (hopefully) foiled glory.
This giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY and you can increase your odds of being the winner depending on how often you share and RT this post over the next two weeks. Have at it and have fun, muffins!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
And I know you're all busily scrolling past this right now, but I'm going to ramble a bit first anyway because a) it seems less basic than just slapping the cover up here with barely any introduction and letting the art do all the talking and b) it's my blog and I'll ramble if I want to.
This cover illustration (including hand lettering!) was created by a legendary artist, Kate Forrester. You can visit her website and see her brilliant work for yourself (and I highly recommend it, because it's a feast for the eyes) but suffice it to say that she's created covers for some publishing greats. I personally think she's outdone herself this time.
This is the inspiration board I'd put together for any potential artist or designer for the book to look at. That's how I've worked with Delightful Designer over my past four books. I share it here because I think it's interesting - there are so many points of convergence that it is spooky, including the fact that I'd actually pinned a cover created by Kate Forrester long before I ever knew she would be involved - not because, on this occasion, it had anything to do with the cover art. It didn't.
Delightful Designer is currently on maternity leave and the designer Walker had working on The Hand, the Eye & the Heart (hi, Genius Designer! We haven't spoken, but you're awesome!) came up with the concept and decided on an artist without any input from me whatsoever. And all I can say is: good call. Honestly, I don't think it could have worked out any better.
So now, without any further ado... THE COVERRRRR!!
*
*
*
*
*
I mentioned in the teaser post that every detail in the cover is not only informed by the aesthetics of the cultures on which the book itself draws, but also by specific details of the story and characters. All the animals (mythical and real) are significant in the story. The flowers you see - peonies and magnolias - are each mentioned in the story. Above all, the style and composition and colours all remind me very much of a glorious kesi tapestry, and since this kind of weaving is an artform which is very important to the main character of the book, that means a lot to me.
I think it's honestly stunning. And so right for this book. I'm also told there's a chance that the finished version maaaay have foil, so my fingers are crossed for that...
Other details about this book which I can now share! It's 448 pages long - the longest book I've ever written. It starts with an epigraph from The Art of War by Sun Tzu. It will also contain a trigger warning (which I'm very grateful to my publisher for letting me include) and a list of resources which I hope might be useful for trans and non-binary folk.
And just to make this as special as possible, now it's GIVEAWAY time. There won't be any ARCs for this book, but I've been promised that there will be early copies and that these should materialise sometime around the new year. So if you'd like to get your hands on one of these early copies, of which there will be limited numbers, as soon as I do? Then RT or share this post and enter the giveaway below for a chance to win The Hand, the Eye and the Heart in all it's (hopefully) foiled glory.
This giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY and you can increase your odds of being the winner depending on how often you share and RT this post over the next two weeks. Have at it and have fun, muffins!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
November 27, 2018
COVER COMING SOON!!
Hello, hello, hello Dear Readers! Happy Tuesday to all - I hope everyone's having a good week so far. My week is definitely looking up, since I've had some fantastic news today.
I'm basically just posting to tease you this week, but I hope you'll forgive my need to share my excitement - because I've had confirmation that the cover art for The Hand, the Eye & the Heart is FINALISED and that I will be able to share it NEXT WEEK!
I love this cover so much, you guys. I've loved it since I saw the very first, very rough design idea, even though it was in bizarrely in black and white. Walker has really outdone themselves this time. They commissioned the absolutely legendary artist Kate Forrester to illustrate and hand-letter the cover, and every detail in her artwork is so respectful to the cultures the book draws on, and so beautifully and directly specific to this story. My first impression was that it looked like some kind of wonderful ancient tapestry - and since the art of weaving is very important in The Hand, the Eye & the Heart , that makes my little heart sing.
And soon I will get to share it with all of you!
*High pitched incoherent squealing*
Ahem.
OK, so here are the details. If anyone reading this has been lucky enough to be invited to Walker's YA Wonderland:
And you can make it, then on Monday of next week you will not only be meeting a bunch of cool authors and eating a bunch of delicious nibbles - you'll also be getting the very first, exclusive look at this cover art.
But don't worry if you're not going to be there. No, seriously - calm down, folks - would your faithful Zolah toy with her Dear Readers like that? Not only will all the bloggers present be tweeting what they see under #WalkersYAWonderland or #WalkerYA2019, but I'll also set up a blog-post all ready to go on Monday too. As soon as the presentation is over I will press 'Publish' and share the full cover on the internet in all its hi-res full-wrap glory.
Stand by on Monday evening to be BLOWN AWAY. I can't wait!
I'm basically just posting to tease you this week, but I hope you'll forgive my need to share my excitement - because I've had confirmation that the cover art for The Hand, the Eye & the Heart is FINALISED and that I will be able to share it NEXT WEEK!
I love this cover so much, you guys. I've loved it since I saw the very first, very rough design idea, even though it was in bizarrely in black and white. Walker has really outdone themselves this time. They commissioned the absolutely legendary artist Kate Forrester to illustrate and hand-letter the cover, and every detail in her artwork is so respectful to the cultures the book draws on, and so beautifully and directly specific to this story. My first impression was that it looked like some kind of wonderful ancient tapestry - and since the art of weaving is very important in The Hand, the Eye & the Heart , that makes my little heart sing.
And soon I will get to share it with all of you!
*High pitched incoherent squealing*
Ahem.
OK, so here are the details. If anyone reading this has been lucky enough to be invited to Walker's YA Wonderland:
And you can make it, then on Monday of next week you will not only be meeting a bunch of cool authors and eating a bunch of delicious nibbles - you'll also be getting the very first, exclusive look at this cover art.
But don't worry if you're not going to be there. No, seriously - calm down, folks - would your faithful Zolah toy with her Dear Readers like that? Not only will all the bloggers present be tweeting what they see under #WalkersYAWonderland or #WalkerYA2019, but I'll also set up a blog-post all ready to go on Monday too. As soon as the presentation is over I will press 'Publish' and share the full cover on the internet in all its hi-res full-wrap glory.
Stand by on Monday evening to be BLOWN AWAY. I can't wait!
November 14, 2018
WIP WRITING PLAYLISTS
Hello, hello, hello, Dear Readers! I hope you're having a great week so far. I have to be honest and admit that I am not having a great week, but I still hope that it can get better before the end. Cross your fingers for me!
There's not much to report here at Casa Zolah the moment (not that nothing is happening, just that nothing is happening I can talk about) so I thought I would share a couple of playlists that are helping me get into the writing mood. Because you know I'm still writing, even if I'm not able to tell you much about that.
First up is a playlist for a long-time project that observant Dear Readers will know I've mentioned (and even posted snippets from) before: Winterthorne. Although it's actually not called that anymore, but the playlist still is:
And then a newer playlist which is very blandly called Thinking Music 2, but is actually for the very newest idea that I'm still sketching out whenever I have a spare minute or a random brainwave:
Apologies for the cr*p formatting here. Pasting in code always messes Blogger up and for the sake of my blood pressure I have learned to accept it. Anyway, I hope these help to get you into your writing grove, my lovelies! More poetry next week, maybe? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
There's not much to report here at Casa Zolah the moment (not that nothing is happening, just that nothing is happening I can talk about) so I thought I would share a couple of playlists that are helping me get into the writing mood. Because you know I'm still writing, even if I'm not able to tell you much about that.
First up is a playlist for a long-time project that observant Dear Readers will know I've mentioned (and even posted snippets from) before: Winterthorne. Although it's actually not called that anymore, but the playlist still is:
And then a newer playlist which is very blandly called Thinking Music 2, but is actually for the very newest idea that I'm still sketching out whenever I have a spare minute or a random brainwave:
Apologies for the cr*p formatting here. Pasting in code always messes Blogger up and for the sake of my blood pressure I have learned to accept it. Anyway, I hope these help to get you into your writing grove, my lovelies! More poetry next week, maybe? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
November 5, 2018
POETRY TUESDAY
Hello, hello, hello, Dear Readers! I've been super busy with a couple of different projects over the past couple of weeks (one book related, one life related) and forgot to post last week. Sorry about that.
But today at last - the promised poems!
You know how sometimes your dog or cat will have a 'mad hour' and go from peacefully snoozing on the end of the bed to running around in dizzy circles, thudding mysteriously under the furniture, trying to climb the curtains, and scrabbling at imaginary ghosts in the corners? Well, early this year the exact same thing happened to me, except instead of my cat or dog it was my brain, and instead of trying to eat my own tail I wrote poetry.
Look, just go with me here, all right?
As a teenager who was bursting with ideas and thoughts but had not yet developed the ability to finish a longer piece of work (I couldn't even complete short stories) poetry was my number one means of creative expression and refuge. I sometimes wrote three new poems a day, for weeks at a time. I loved poetry and it was as natural to me as breathing.
But when I started channeling my writing juice into novels, slowly but surely that flood of poetry slowed down to a trickle. Those who've read my books know that there are often songs and poems and ballads in there, but those are about expressing things about my character's world or feelings, rather than about putting my own thoughts and feelings onto the page. Up until January, February and March of this year it had been probably a decade since I wrote any poetry that came directly from me, rather than filtered through the lens of what a character was going through.
Then, during the snowy and miserably cold early months of this year - well known and hated by all Britishers under the name The Beast from the East - when I was stuck on Selkie Book (having had to drop it really abruptly when edits for The Hand, the Eye & the Heart appeared) and quite often also stuck on a train for long periods, travelling back and forth to my Fellowship in York, that closed sluice gate on my poetry brain creaked opened juuuust a tiny bit. I found myself scribbling lines of poetry, then verses, and eventually full poems. By the end of that miserable weather system I had a good handful of new stuff, which I worked on fitfully while I slowly got back to work on Selkie Book again.
And then I saw a notice that the Bridport Poetry Prize was open for entries. And I thought 'What the Hell?' I picked out my favourite four poems, worked on them feverishly for a week or so, and sent them off. Lo and behold! They did not win. But I still really like them and feel especially fond of them because that poetry gate in my brain seems to have creaked shut again now. So I thought I'd share a few of them with you now.
I hope you like them! Let me know your thoughts in the comments, lovelies - or share poems you're working on now, if you like :)
THE GREEN GIRL
Ophelia,the wild iris embraces youthough he would not.
And you are silent nowbut the wind singing in the moon-grey bullrushes, and the rising heronspeak your name.
Ophelia,you are shrouded by reflections of the sun.
And dragonflies shall take flightfrom the ivory cagewhich imprisoned your frail human heart.
Ophelia,as your face fadesfrom his memory,do not fear.
The green river remembers the green girl.The waters know who you are.
PHANTOM LIMB
People who tell youThat time healsAre liars
Time doesn't accrete scars over anyone's griefOnly accustoms them to the pain
You might adapt to living without one of your limbsAnd others will learn To stop staring At the empty space that follows you around
You'll figure out how to do the impossibleHow to live nowDress yourself again Make coffee, make jokes, make a bed
But time cannot regrow what was lostAnd sometimes, years and years later sometimesWhen you had grown so adept at telling yourselfThat you had forgotten
Or moved onOr achieved closureOr whatever vacuous thing the liars call it nowYou will speak, unthinkingly
And in the silence that follows you will expectFor one breathFor just for one tiny infinityThat voice, that voice, that voice, to answer
And then you will feel the agonyOf the phantom limb, and know
Time heals nothingOnly teaches you how to pretendThat you were never whole
But today at last - the promised poems!
You know how sometimes your dog or cat will have a 'mad hour' and go from peacefully snoozing on the end of the bed to running around in dizzy circles, thudding mysteriously under the furniture, trying to climb the curtains, and scrabbling at imaginary ghosts in the corners? Well, early this year the exact same thing happened to me, except instead of my cat or dog it was my brain, and instead of trying to eat my own tail I wrote poetry.
Look, just go with me here, all right?
As a teenager who was bursting with ideas and thoughts but had not yet developed the ability to finish a longer piece of work (I couldn't even complete short stories) poetry was my number one means of creative expression and refuge. I sometimes wrote three new poems a day, for weeks at a time. I loved poetry and it was as natural to me as breathing.
But when I started channeling my writing juice into novels, slowly but surely that flood of poetry slowed down to a trickle. Those who've read my books know that there are often songs and poems and ballads in there, but those are about expressing things about my character's world or feelings, rather than about putting my own thoughts and feelings onto the page. Up until January, February and March of this year it had been probably a decade since I wrote any poetry that came directly from me, rather than filtered through the lens of what a character was going through.
Then, during the snowy and miserably cold early months of this year - well known and hated by all Britishers under the name The Beast from the East - when I was stuck on Selkie Book (having had to drop it really abruptly when edits for The Hand, the Eye & the Heart appeared) and quite often also stuck on a train for long periods, travelling back and forth to my Fellowship in York, that closed sluice gate on my poetry brain creaked opened juuuust a tiny bit. I found myself scribbling lines of poetry, then verses, and eventually full poems. By the end of that miserable weather system I had a good handful of new stuff, which I worked on fitfully while I slowly got back to work on Selkie Book again.
And then I saw a notice that the Bridport Poetry Prize was open for entries. And I thought 'What the Hell?' I picked out my favourite four poems, worked on them feverishly for a week or so, and sent them off. Lo and behold! They did not win. But I still really like them and feel especially fond of them because that poetry gate in my brain seems to have creaked shut again now. So I thought I'd share a few of them with you now.
I hope you like them! Let me know your thoughts in the comments, lovelies - or share poems you're working on now, if you like :)
THE GREEN GIRL
Ophelia,the wild iris embraces youthough he would not.
And you are silent nowbut the wind singing in the moon-grey bullrushes, and the rising heronspeak your name.
Ophelia,you are shrouded by reflections of the sun.
And dragonflies shall take flightfrom the ivory cagewhich imprisoned your frail human heart.
Ophelia,as your face fadesfrom his memory,do not fear.
The green river remembers the green girl.The waters know who you are.
PHANTOM LIMB
People who tell youThat time healsAre liars
Time doesn't accrete scars over anyone's griefOnly accustoms them to the pain
You might adapt to living without one of your limbsAnd others will learn To stop staring At the empty space that follows you around
You'll figure out how to do the impossibleHow to live nowDress yourself again Make coffee, make jokes, make a bed
But time cannot regrow what was lostAnd sometimes, years and years later sometimesWhen you had grown so adept at telling yourselfThat you had forgotten
Or moved onOr achieved closureOr whatever vacuous thing the liars call it nowYou will speak, unthinkingly
And in the silence that follows you will expectFor one breathFor just for one tiny infinityThat voice, that voice, that voice, to answer
And then you will feel the agonyOf the phantom limb, and know
Time heals nothingOnly teaches you how to pretendThat you were never whole
