Sophia Bennett's Blog, page 10
April 16, 2012
Hooray for Liz!
What we need, in these dark and dreary times, is something to lift our spirits. Something light, bright, white and totally divorced from reality. Preferably Spanxed up to the eyebrows, dripping with diamonds, and on the cover of Hello! magazine, arm in arm with a pristine, linen-clad Shane Warne. Bring on Liz Hurley. Oh, Liz, you may be bonkers, but we’ve missed you. Welcome home.
When I say ‘bonkers’, I do of course mean highly intelligent, fiercely ambitious, attractive, successful and admirably single-minded. Liz wants to be a rich country lady, living on a big estate with animals and crops and stuff, and jetting off for lovely holidays in palm-fringed places. And I don’t think there’s a box she hasn’t ticked, so all power to her elbow.
No doubt 21 pages of her, Shane and their children, dressed always and only in crisp white vacation wear across the middle of Hello! will fund the odd chicken, villa somewhere nice and feed for the horses. Not only that, but it gives them a chance to air their side of the story about their whirlwind romance, the marriages that didn’t seem to be over at the time (but apparently were) and the real chain of events behind Shane’s new eyebrows. They sort of look, in these pages, as if they’ve died and gone to Hurley heaven. I’m not sure that’s quite what they were going for, but whatever.
She is, uncannily, what would happen if you crossed Katie Price with Joan Collins (not that I would recommend crossing either of them, frankly). If you turned the glamour up to 11 and removed any shred of privacy or normality. She is the celebrity Hello! was made for. And Shane Warne ….? Oh, the bonkersness of the whole thing is fabulous.
I feel a bit sorry for famous people who value their private lives. It must be hard to explain that actually you don’t want any attention when you’re not working, when for Liz, being on holiday with the children is work. However, nobody can complain that she doesn’t take this work deadly seriously. 21 pages! Plus the cover! All colour-co-ordinated and everything.
I mean – hello?
April 10, 2012
Don’t Mizz Out
Well, I knew it existed because a fan told me it did and I’d seen it on eBay. But now I know it exists, because I saw it with my own two eyes at Victoria Station. (And, Reader, I bought it.)
The latest edition of Mizz magazine comes with a range of lovely goodies, and if you’re lucky – which you would be if you bought it from Victoria Station today – one of those goodies is Threads. The slightly smaller version that I love because it just so cute and cuddly.
So there I was, in WH Smiths, with my friend Sophia (honestly, she’s called Sophia – Soph for short – and she pronounces it the same way as me, too, which is SEW-fia) and there was my book, on top of Jessie J’s face, within spitting distance – not that it would, of course – of Company, Glamour, Bliss and Vogue. Nonie would be so happy if she knew. A part of me thinks she does know.
Soph asked me how I felt, seeing it there, but to be honest I was too busy taking this photo to really notice. I think I felt nervous. Nervous that the next book is proving so tricky to write. (Second album syndrome, except it’s my fifth, and it’s a book.) Nervous for The Look. Have you bought your copy yet? Nervous that maybe loads of girls will put my GORGEOUS, PERFECTLY SIZED little book aside and not read it and fail to find out how much they might have enjoyed it.
I think I’ll probably enjoy the moment more when I come back to this blog, much later, when the new book’s going smoothly at last and I’m confident that The Look has found its place, and I can just be proud of how far Threads has come, and grateful for my lovely publisher, Rachel, for getting it shrink wrapped under some free makeup, and on top of Jessie J.
Don't Mizz Out
Well, I knew it existed because a fan told me it did and I'd seen it on eBay. But now I know it exists, because I saw it with my own two eyes at Victoria Station. (And, Reader, I bought it.)
The latest edition of Mizz magazine comes with a range of lovely goodies, and if you're lucky – which you would be if you bought it from Victoria Station today – one of those goodies is Threads. The slightly smaller version that I love because it just so cute and cuddly.
So there I was, in WH Smiths, with my friend Sophia (honestly, she's called Sophia – Soph for short – and she pronounces it the same way as me, too, which is SEW-fia) and there was my book, on top of Jessie J's face, within spitting distance – not that it would, of course – of Company, Glamour, Bliss and Vogue. Nonie would be so happy if she knew. A part of me thinks she does know.
Soph asked me how I felt, seeing it there, but to be honest I was too busy taking this photo to really notice. I think I felt nervous. Nervous that the next book is proving so tricky to write. (Second album syndrome, except it's my fifth, and it's a book.) Nervous for The Look. Have you bought your copy yet? Nervous that maybe loads of girls will put my GORGEOUS, PERFECTLY SIZED little book aside and not read it and fail to find out how much they might have enjoyed it.
I think I'll probably enjoy the moment more when I come back to this blog, much later, when the new book's going smoothly at last and I'm confident that The Look has found its place, and I can just be proud of how far Threads has come, and grateful for my lovely publisher, Rachel, for getting it shrink wrapped under some free makeup, and on top of Jessie J.
April 7, 2012
Happy Easter
Have you come across the story of Voker Kraft yet? He started decorating the tree in his garden in Saalfeld with Easter eggs in 1965 – when his children were young, the tree was just a sapling and it took 18 plastic eggs to decorate it.
10,000 eggs later … Herr Kraft's tree is a national wonder.
I love these pictures.
Click to view slideshow.
Happy Easter, everyone!
April 5, 2012
April 2, 2012
Roman mummy
So, after the blog tour came … the Actual Tour. I spent a couple of weeks in March travelling to schools in London and talking about writing books, creating characters, choosing book covers and other fun stuff. I mostly met girls (perhaps unsurprising given the current pinkness of my page edges), and they were – all of them – quite lovely. By which I mean very lovely, not quite lovely.
They also had extremely good names. Many of which I will be stealing for future books. There were, for example, two Tigerlilies. And a Cammie Darling (that was her first name – I love her mother already). But mostly, they were just charming and delightful young people. I really enjoy my tours.
Then came the Even More Of A Tour Tour. I'd been promising my 11 yea-old for ages that if he worked hard this year, I'd reward myself – ahem, I mean him – with a trip somewhere interesting. And as I've spent loads of time in Italy over the years and he's just started learning Latin, Rome seemed like a good idea.
So I booked it, assuming the March weather would be rainy and yucky, but at least we'd miss the worst of the summer heat and the summer crowds. And then the weather went and got ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS for the four days we were there. Not a cloud in the sky. Not one. Once. And we had a wonderful time.
We took 319 photos. I will spare you most of them, but here are some. Check out the sky.
Blue. It was March. Sometimes you just get lucky.
Piazza Navona. Just - wow.
If you go in March, the forum is full of wisteria and cherry blossom. Go in March
Travelling with an 11 year-old, it is hard to resist the charm of a well made, antique horse's bottom in the Colisseum
Mummy writing. (In a cafe on the terrace of the Victor Emmanuel Monument. Which I recommend. Because from it, you can't see the Victor Emmanuel Monument.)
Roman lunch
This is what happens when you let the 11 year-old take the pictures. (It's remarkably lifelike, actually.)
Not. A. Single. Cloud.
If you haven't been, Rome looks mostly like this from high up. Note the complete lack of the Victor Emmanuel Monument in this picture.
And this.
At the Capitoline Museums. My favourite foot.
The head of Constantine. Also enormous and fab.
Ditto
Can't remember which goddess this was. Sooooo beautiful.
Bridge statue near Castel Sant'Angelo. Did I mention the sky was cloudless?
Louis Vuitton's shop window in the Via Condotti. A rainbow quiver of arrows. In honour of The Hunger Games, we assumed.
April 1, 2012
Threads goes mini
I got back from Rome a couple of days ago (ah – Rome … more on that later), to discover a little parcel from the lovely people at Chicken House. Inside was a copy of Threads.
'But you've already seen it!' I hear you cry. 'So often you must be sick of it by now!'
Well. Not this one. This is a slightly smaller version of the original (inside the margins are smaller, but otherwise you'd hardly know it was different), and it has the opening chapter of The Look at the back. It's a special version that's being given away with copies of Mizz magazine this month. Thousands and thousands of them. I've never felt so ridiculously excited about giving away thousands of free copies before.
Look out for it in newsagents. It's very cute. I think I just might have to buy a copy of Mizz …
March 12, 2012
Secret dreams
And so we reach the end of The Look blog tour. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who's hosted me so far.
The Look tells the story of a girl who gets the chance to live the dream. Well, some girls' dream, anyway. She's scouted to be a model and if she wants to, she could end up as the star of a campaign in New York. Sounds glamorous, doesn't it? Until you end up in a bath of fake snakes …
Anyway, modelling was never my dream. After my Olympic gymnast and air hostess phases I just wanted to be a writer – ideally a writer for children. It is such a great job that even Madonna wanted to do it. So I thought I'd ask some of my writer friends what their secret dreams were when they were growing up. Was it the dream job they have now? Or something quite different? And what happened next? …
Do check out their websites. They may not have become skate stars or dolphin trainers (although at least one did make archaeologist), but they have, each and every one, written some awesome books.
CJ Skuse Pretty Bad Things, Rockoholic
I wanted to be the following: a geologist of shiny rocks (aged 8); a marine biologist dealing specifically with manatees (aged 9); a fashion designer (aged 10); a Goonie or a professional skateboarder (aged 10/11); Bill and Ted's female time travel companion (aged 11 and a half); a grunge rock star (aged 12/13); a professional basketballer (aged 13); a nanny (for about 20 mins aged 13 and a half); a journalist (aged 14-16); a writer of books for young adults (17-31); and now my life's ambition is to either write scripts or be Hayley Williams of Paramore.
Cathy Cassidy Shine on Daizy Star, The Chocolate Box Girls
I spent my teens writing stories and trying to get them published. I went to art college to train as an illustrator, and afterwards got a job with the once-legendary Jackie mag, eventually becoming Fiction Editor. After a few years as an art teacher/ agony aunt/ freelance mag journalist (I've always liked doing lots of things!), the dream of writing a book re-surfaced and I finally managed to do it… very, very glad I did!
Meg Rosoff How I Live Now, There Is No Dog
I always wanted to be a spy. Maybe being a writer is the next best thing….
Lucy Christopher Stolen, Flyaway
I wanted to be a dolphin trainer!! I desperately wanted to be one of the peeps who worked in Seaworld. Alas, I was not very good at science. Or swimming.
Pat Walsh The Crowfield Curse, The Crowfield Demon
I always wanted to be an archaeologist. The plan was, at age nine, to go hunting for dinosaurs, but by the age of twelve the dinos had lost out to Vikings. I spent school holidays and weekends on digs and took an archaeology degree. I've worked as an archaeologist ever since. Still love it and get ridiculously excited by it even now.
Keris Stainton Della Says OMG!, Jessie Hearts NYC
I wanted to be a singer. I didn't let the fact that I was horribly shy and couldn't really sing interfere with my ambitions. Anyway, it was the eighties and there were LOADS of really popular singers who could barely hold a tune. When Stock Aitken Waterman came along, serious music people were horrified at the lack of talent on display whereas I thought "I COULD TOTALLY DO THAT!" Pepsi & Shirlie! The Reynolds Girls! Sinitta! Even, controversially, Kylie! (I love Kylie, but singing isn't really her strongpoint). And then along came Sonia. Cheeky, chirpy, chubby-cheeked Scouser was totally my "act" – albeit an act that had been entirely confined to my bedroom – and I gave up on the whole idea. I actually saw Pete Waterman on TV last night and had a 'he could have been my mentor' moment. I think what we've learned here is that I've always had a rather tenuous grip on reality…
Luisa Plaja Extreme Kissing, Kiss Date Love Hate
When I was very little, I lived in Italy with my family and in the winter we'd travel to the Alps, where glorious outdoor skating rinks were plentiful. I was fearless on the ice – when you've only just learned the art of toddling without falling flat on your face, I suppose keeping your balance on a sheet of frozen water isn't a million times more difficult. So I taught myself to skate quite naturally, and nothing could stop me whizzing around for hours. One of the tunes that would blare a lot while I zoomed was Dancing Queen by Abba, and although I was a good thirteen years younger than 'only seventeen' and I didn't exactly understand all the words, there were moments when I felt like I was the girl in the song. And in those moments, I secretly longed to be an ice-dancer.
We moved away and I grew up. Ice became something my parents scraped off the car on frosty mornings. Occasionally, I'd persuade my mother to take me to Richmond, where our nearest skating rink was. (It's now the site of luxury homes. Sigh.) Unfortunately, I struggled to skate when I tried it so rarely, and now I can't skate at all. I can wobble a lot, and after a few minutes I can complete a few circuits without holding on to the side. I can glide forwards and I can (just about ) stop without using the crash barrier. But I'm certainly never going to skate in the Olympics. Ah, well. I enjoyed the dream, and lately I've read some great books about skaters.
The other thing I always secretly wanted to be was a writer…
Di Toft The Wolven Series
I wanted to be Dr Who's assistant until I realised it was 'not a real job' apparently, then I switched to being a vet. Unfortuantely, didn't have the brains to take it any further than a dream.
Tamsyn Murray My So-Called Afterlife, My So-Called Phantom Lovelife
I wanted to be Indiana Jones and so studied Archaeology at uni
But secretly, I wanted to be a singer (I still do) and took singing lessons a few years ago. I'd really love to be on stage in the West End someday!
Judi Curtin Alice Next Door, Friends Forever
When I was a child, I had many and varied career dreams. One that particularly stands out is that when I was nine or ten, I dreamed of being a poet. I wrote heaps of poems, then illustrated them and bound them into little books. Everyone I showed them to thought they were amazing, and that I was a particularly gifted poet. (It may not be relevant, but I feel I should mention that I only showed them to my mum, my dad, my auntie Betty, and my little brother who couldn't actually read, but liked looking at the pictures.) Anyway, time moved on, and even though I wrote the occasional poem, I'm not sure that I ever earned the title 'poet'.
Luckily I had other dreams. I dreamed of being a primary school teacher, and of being a novelist. I am very happy to report that those two dreams came true!
Sita Brahmachari Artichoke Hearts Jasmine Skies
I wanted to be a midwife until my Dad ( a doctor) took me to the local hospital to attend a birth ( aged 14) Helpfully I fainted! After my three children I still have an idea that it could be another career! After the fainting incident I decided that something in community work and theatre ( not the medical kind) would be up my street. At Uni I got into touring community theatre plays and in fact until recently worked in theatre creating education projects and writing plays with a for young people.
Sarah Webb Amy Green: Boy Trouble
When I was about 10 I wanted more than anything else in the world to be a ballerina. I loved ballet with a passion and I took classes every week. I read ballet books, listened to ballet music and danced all around the house. Sadly, this dream never came true as I wasn't actually all that good at ballet, even though I loved it! But I'm still a huge ballet fan and go to the ballet whenever I can. I'm off to see Cinderella in the Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin in a few weeks and I can't wait. And the great thing about being a writer is that I can write about my dream jobs. The next Amy Green book is all about – you guessed it – ballet!
Rachel Ward The Numbers Trilogy
I wanted to be a farmer or an estate agent. How wild was I?? Ended up in local government which is a very family-friendly place to work. Writing is an odd hobby that's almost turned into a job now.
Janet Foxley Muncle Trogg, Muncle Trogg and the Flying Donkey
I wanted to be a teacher from the day I started school. But by the time I was old enough, schools had changed and I'd never have been able to keep order!
Plus Susie Day and Joanna Nadin blog rather wonderfully about their dreams here and here.
March 9, 2012
More party
I've already put these pictures up on Facebook, but in case you didn't see them there, here they are again:
There is nothing, simply nothing, quite as nice as holding a party at your very supportive local bookshop. I had a great time and I hope everyone who came did, too.
Meanwhile, the blog tour continues. I'm at Books For Company today, reading another extract from The Look.
March 8, 2012
Party!
Today is launch party day. Always a fun time. And it just happens to coincide with the judging of the latest Times/Chicken House Fiction competition. Good luck to everyone on the shortlist! And the judges too. It must be a tough day for them. I hope food is involved. As indeed it will be at my party …
On this day in 2009, Barry Cunningham called me to tell me I was the lucky winner. I keep on having to count on my fingers that it was only three years ago. So much has happened since then! Four books, for a start.
Talking of which, the latest stops on the blog tour for The Look are at Bookaholics yesterday (writing about illness), Writing From The Tub today (the timeline of writing the book), Books for Company tomorrow (video!) and the Overflowing Library on Saturday (Bookcase Showcase). They keep on coming! Hope you like them.
xxx
