Keris Stainton's Blog, page 29
October 21, 2012
“The plain truth of the word of God”
You have to watch to the end.
I thought I knew where he was going with this. I was wrong.
When I did get it, I cried. (I just watched it again before posting here, and cried again.)
{via Tim Minchin on Twitter}
October 19, 2012
Friday favourites
This video about author and illustrator Peter H Reynolds is short, but inspiring. I love his artwork and I’ve finally ordered one of his books. (This one, if you’re interested.)
I’ve been trying to write a blog post about pinkification and boys and now I don’t have to because this one is bloody brilliant (via @mssusieday)
This is wonderful. The Secret Bookstore.
October 17, 2012
The next big thing
I was tagged by the gorgeous Rowan Coleman to answer these questions. I’m a bit wary since I’m still writing the book and no one really knows much about it, but I’ll do my best… (and I’ve included some pretty photos of trees – taken by me – to liven things up).
• What is the working title of your next book?
Lilly’s Wish. Not a very exciting title, but I’m rubbish at titles, and it’ll do to be going on with.
• Where did the idea come from for the book?
I can’t remember. I know I was thinking about wishes, but the rest of it – the bit I can’t really say – came out of nowhere. Or rather the same mysterious place ideas always come from…
• What genre does your book fall under?
Magical realism for 9-12? Although I’m not sure if that’s really a genre…
What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Blimey. I’ve no idea. I’ve got a really clear picture of Lilly in my head and I feel like I know the actress who should play her, but I just can’t grab it. Small. Dark hair. Cute. Oh actually, I just realised I’m thinking of a little girl I used to babysit, not an actress at all. She must be about 25 now though, so she can’t play her. I’ll have to keep thinking…
• What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
I can’t say! ‘Be careful what you wish for’ is sort of a clue, I suppose.
• Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I don’t know yet. I’m out of contract at the moment and I haven’t finished it, so it’s all open right now.
• How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
I haven’t finished it! I’m just over halfway through and stuck in my usual ‘wanting to write – putting off writing – writing and loving it – putting off writing’ cycle. And no, knowing that I do this every single time doesn’t seem to help me stop. Gah.
• What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I can’t think of any within my genre, but since I started writing it, I keep thinking about Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. I’d love it if I could make it even a squillionth as magical as that book.
• Who or what inspired you to write this book?
It was partly inspired by the Year 6 class in Harry’s old school. Once I had the idea, I went in to the school to talk to the students about it and they were all kind enough to share their wishes with me – written on luggage tags, which is what happens in the book – and some of them have inspired events in the story. They’re actually really gorgeous. Here’s just a few:
I wish that my Aunty Bill could come back alive. That’s what I would like to wish for.
I wish I could go in a shark cage.
I wish to be able to fly so I can grab my own star from the Northern sky.
I wish my arch-enemy got stung to death by bees!
• What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
There may be a talking dog…
My five writers for next Wednesday are:
Stephanie Burgis
Luisa Plaja
Sophia Bennett
Clodagh Murphy
Keren David
October 15, 2012
Have you had the pen talk?
I’m sure you’ve all seen the ridiculous Bic for Her pens and the hilarious Amazon reviews, but my friend Susan just sent me this piece of characteristic brilliance from Ellen. Stick with it to the end, the commercial is fabulous.
“When you have an opinion, you write it down on a piece of paper… then crumple it up and throw it away because no one wants to know our opinions, sweetheart.” LOVE.
What’s cute and squeaky and distracting me from my work?
Today, we had a lot to do. We’re finally (fingers crossed) getting a new bed and I figured that if we’re (finally) getting a new bed, we should also (finally) get a new carpet and paint the walls. (We’ve been in this house for eight years and haven’t done a single thing to our bedroom. It still has pale blue mottled carpet and lemon walls. Ugh.) So Harry and I went to B&Q for paint, the bed shop for a mattress (the frame will have to wait until tomorrow) and the carpet shop for, you know, a carpet. (I’d been thinking of a teal coloured carpet, but Harry suggested we get one the colour of Kirby’s feet and that’s actually perfect. He’s a handy kid to have around…)
And then we went to look at some guinea pigs. Just to look. We definitely weren’t going to buy any. Not today.
“I don’t want to leave her,” he said. I know. I’m a total pushover. And then I picked this one.
Harry named the white one Sweety and the brown one Speedy and they are now next to my desk in a ginormous cage, chasing each other round and making cute little Mogwai noises.
I may never get anything done again.
October 14, 2012
52 Books: This Green and Pleasant Land by Anstey Spraggan & Dimmi Khan
So I should say up front that this book has been written by friends of mine (Anstey is a good friend; Dimmi I’ve only met once, but I think we got on well. I can’t be absolutely certain, because I’d had a lot to drink…), but you should know by now that I wouldn’t recommend a book I didn’t enjoy just because it was written by someone I know (you do know that, right?).
From Amazon:
Like so many classic British romances, Honour and Ali’s began in a pub. They have so much in common: their education, their nationality, their hopes and their dreams, and until the day they introduce their families to one another they have no reason to suspect that they come from completely different worlds. Britpak Ali wonders if he can ever manage the chaotic and hedonistic lifestyle of Honour’s friends, whilst Honour is terrified by Ali’s family’s devotion to their god and their culture.
On the day that terrorism rips their country apart, their Honour and Ali’s lives dissolve into chaos. Suddenly, they can see the differences that everyone else had believed in all along.
I probably wouldn’t have read this book if I didn’t know the authors, but I’m so glad I did. It’s totally involving, beautifully written and it made me sob so much on the train that people actually stopped what they were doing to stare at me (but no bastard asked me if I was okay). I loved it.
(Yes, I do always seem to find myself crying over books on trains. I have no idea why this is. I don’t even use trains all that often.)
October 12, 2012
Why I love Kirby
A guest post from Harry
Kirby is a Star Warrior that lives in Planet Popstar Dreamland.
He’s been in games since 1992 and it is now Kirby’s 20th Anniversary and all the games I’ve played, Kirby’s Adventure, Mass Attack and many more Kirby games and I’m a really fan of Kirby.
You should get Kirby’s Mass Attack for the DS (but not for the 3DS) because it’s really good, you can control about up to ten Kirbys and also for the Gameboy Advance SP, it’s Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, which you can control one Kirby and change the colour of it.
There’s many more games that we can’t fit in this post. And Kirby is a really good main character with Kirby’s Epic Yarn for the Wii. He’s been turned into yarn by Yin.Yarn and try to get him back to normal with his pal Prince Fluff. And many more you couldn’t understand.
October 11, 2012
Friday favourites
You’ll all have read this Ashley Judd piece for The Daily Beast already, I’m sure, but I finally got around to it and it’s just as wonderful as I’d heard. Particularly this:
Patriarchy is not men. Patriarchy is a system in which both women and men participate. It privileges, inter alia, the interests of boys and men over the bodily integrity, autonomy, and dignity of girls and women. It is subtle, insidious, and never more dangerous than when women passionately deny that they themselves are engaging in it.
Don’t read the comments, though; they’re even stupider than usual.
This video of Alex Rawlings speaking eight different languages is oddly thrilling. I could watch it over and over. (via @katheastman)
Advert for a Norwegian bank. Starring George Clooney. Tagline: “Some people are lucky in life. For the rest of us, saving up a bit can be smart.” (via @sarramanning)
October 10, 2012
Homeschooling Harry: Having fun.
In the park one morning last week, Harry suddenly said, “It’s good that I’m homeschooling.”
“Why?” I said, cautiously.
“I needed a break from school.”
“Just a break?”
“Yes! For a million years!”
“Why did you need a break?”
“I just did.”
“So do you want to go back to school? Maybe next year?”
“No. I just want to be at home, having fun with you. When I was at school I wasn’t having fun. I was just sitting there and writing and it was a boring way to learn… and that brings us to now!”
I can’t tell you how pleased I was with this conversation. Harry hasn’t really told me how he feels about homeschooling. I’ve asked a couple of times if he’s happy with it and he’s said yes. I’ve asked if he wants to go back to school and he’s said no. But his hadn’t previously given me any extra detail/information.
I suspect the reason he suddenly opened up was because I was acting like I wasn’t bothered, rather than my usual “Are you suuuuuure you’re okay? You don’t miss your friends?” way of asking. In fact, I started transcribing it into my phone (which is why I’ve got such a good record of it) since I know he’s more likely to talk if he doesn’t think I’m listening.
So I was thrilled. I must say that whenever I do ask him how he thinks it’s going, I get a nervous feeling in my stomach. I really love having him at home, I’m convinced it’s the best thing for us all, and if he suddenly said he wanted to go back to school I’d be gutted. But I don’t see that happening any time soon and that’s a relief.
Leo Barbuta, creator of zenhabits (one of the Top 50 websites in the world, apparently), blogged about unschooling last week and it’s well worth a read, if you’re interested: The Beginner’s Guide to Unschooling. (Thanks so much to Kirsty for sending it to me.)
See the ‘recommended reading‘ page under ‘Unschooling‘ on the menu for the books I’ve read so far and whatever I’m currently reading on the subject.
