Keris Stainton's Blog, page 48

Friday Favourites (featuring a cupcake ATM)

Rolognese Spaghetti fork. Genius.

How cute are these bookcase dollhouses?

The Gender Diary account is one of my favourites on Twitter and I love this F-Word post about their first year.

Fabulous – and downloadable – Rights of a Reader poster from Walker Books (via a few people on Tumblr).

Going to have to make a trip to London to see the V&A's Hollywood Costume exhibition. Who's with me?

Really pleased that the government is tackling teen rape with this campaign.

The cupcake ATM is a real thing in the world. Look!

What would you put on Harry's playlist?

Harry's always been interested in music and frequently hears a song and asks us to add it to his playlist, which he then listens to over and over in the car (sometimes singing along despite wearing headphones, which is highly entertaining).

I decided recently that I'd make him a 'Musical Education' playlist and add a song each day that I thought he should hear / would love. Here's what we've got so far:

Day 1. I suggested he should start with The Beatles. I played Harry a few songs and he went for Penny Lane.

Day 2. David had watched a documentary about Gerry Rafferty and so added Baker Street.

Day 3. H chose a version of Dancing in the Moonlight by Alyson Stoner that he'd seen in Space Buddies. :/

Day 4. Harry said he should have some opera and I chose Nessun Dorma, since it's the most famous (at least it is to me).

Day 5. Man or Muppet. a) Because it's fabulous and b) Because it won the Oscar for Best Song.

Day 6. Hello Hello by Elton John. Harry's pick because he'd heard it in Gnomeo & Juliet. I argued for a better Elton song, but he wouldn't be moved.

Day 7. Davy Jones died. I'm A Believer. Also the Google Doodle was to commemorate Rossini's birthday, so we had a listen to some Rossini and bought the William Tell Overture.

Day 8. A Little Less Conversation by Elvis. Harry knows it from an advert and I said he had to have some Elvis.

Day 9. Don't Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin. I looked it up for a blog post I was writing and knew Harry would love it.

Day 10. We Built This City by Starship. We went to see The Muppets again and Harry requested this song, which is featured in the film.

Day 11. Temptation by Heaven 17. Harry's request. No idea where he heard it.

So. What I'd like to know is what you would put on the playlist. What songs does Harry need to hear and why? 

(Forgot to say that the favourite so far has been the William Tell Overture – both Harry and Joe do frenzied dancing to that one!)

So. How've you been?

I think that's the longest I've ever gone without blogging…

So I finished the rewrite on Saturday and spent the rest of the day feeling like I had a hangover. Is a writing hangover a real thing? I think I've heard other authors mention it.

Anyway, I have at least a couple of days before the book comes bouncing back again so I'm trying to catch up on the stuff I've missed and missed sharing here.

I love this tilt shift video of Rio (via @StephenFry)

This Marie Claire South Africa cover made me do a double-take. I don't think I've ever seen a semi-naked man with a handlebar moustache on the cover of a British women's magazine…

I bought myself this after seeing my friend Emma's on facebook. I LOVE it.

I spent a happy half hour with the Go Fug Yourself Best and Worst Oscar frocks. Not sure which was my fave – I thought Felicity Jones, Vanessa Hudgins and Octavia Spencer looked fabulous – but my worst was Maria Sharapova, no question (although Mena Suvari came close).

My amazing writer friend Zoe Marriott's Dear Teen Me blog post made me cry. She's so brave and inspirational.

This Guardian piece about how Refuge could be forced to close due to budget cuts made me furious. "What kind of a world do we live in where women and children are beaten and funding for services to protect them is being withdrawn?"

But to end on a more positive note, I just found my favourite singer, Jason Mraz, singing The Rainbow Connection, which is my second favourite song from The Muppets (which we saw for the second time today) (my first favourite song is Man or Muppet, obv.).

52 Books: You Do Not Need Another Self-help Book by Sarah Salway

I love Sarah Salway's fiction so when she asked if anyone was interested in reading her first poetry collection I jumped at the chance.

I don't read a lot of poetry and I certainly don't claim to know much about it, but I loved this collection.

Some of the poems are surreal (a few reminded me of Nik Perring's short story collection, Not So Perfect), others are laugh out loud funny and quite a few made me well up.

My favourites are Love and Stationery, The Interruption, and Through Carved Wooden Binoculars, all of which, oddly enough, you can read here.

I really should read more poetry…

52 Books: Spies, Dad, Big Lauren & Me by Joanna Nadin

I'm still wrangling with the rewrite* so I'm afraid I don't have time to write very much this week, but I did want to say that I really loved this book.

It's a middle grade / 9-12 book and it's funny, sweet and quirky. I started reading it in bed one morning and didn't get up until I'd finished it, even though I had Stuff To Do.

The sequel – The Money, Stan, Big Lauren & Me – is out now. I'll be reading it asap.

52 Books: Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi

I wouldn't normally choose to read an anorexia memoir – I once pitched an article about pro-ana websites, started to do some research and actually emailed the editor to "retract" my pitch since I couldn't bear to read any more – but I've read a few interviews with Portia de Rossi and thought this book would be interesting. And it was.

De Rossi's issues with food started after she became a model, aged 12, but were really compounded when she got a part on Ally McBeal and became internationally famous pretty quickly. Her marriage had ended, and as well as coming to terms with fame, she was also trying to come to terms with her sexuality – she was utterly convinced that coming out would mean the end of her career (and she may have been right – this was not long after de Rossi's future wife, Ellen Degeneres, had seen her career all but killed off after she came out).

De Rossi basically believed her looks were the most important thing about her, that they would never be good enough and she could never be thin enough. Of course, the culture of Hollywood only encouraged this idea – even when she was eating 300 calories a day, her manager told her she'd struggled to fit into the clothes at a photoshoot because she had "big legs". At her lowest point, de Rossi weighed 82lbs, five and a half stone (she's 5'6″), but she was still being photographed for magazine articles and even got a part in a major film. It was during the making of this film that her body started to fail and she collapsed and was hospitalised, which started the process that led to her eventual recovery.

I found this book honest, shocking and – I know this sounds awful – fascinating. It's hard to read and I sometimes found myself almost scanning to get past an episode of disordered eating and on to something less brutal. De Rossi writes compellingly, with very little self-pity. Her recovery, however, is rather glossed over. I read a review that said the bulk of the book could be used as a 'how to' for potential anorexics and I did find that aspect worrying. The other thing that bothered me was that, after her recovery, she writes of her shock that Ellen was interested in her even though she was overweight – she never seems to question her belief that being overweight is shameful or unattractive. I understand that may be down to her history, but I would have thought an editor would have picked up on it.

It was a dark and stormy night…

If you follow me on Twitter or are a facebook friend, you'll know that I got my editorial notes for Emma yesterday and I'm being a big baby about it. So much to do! So little time!

A couple of other authors have said that the worst thing about getting these notes is that you know the editor is right and I do (mostly, I don't believe teenagers wouldn't get Friends references!). But why does that make it harder instead of easier? I don't know.

What I do know is that for the next couple of weeks I need to knuckle down like I've never knuckled before (come to think of it, I'm not sure I ever have knuckled before…) (Wait. Is that rude?) So that means going dark, internet-wise. You know, mostly. During the week.

And to make myself laugh, I've been doing this – I sing the music and everything. If you're feeling miserable, you should totally try it. It cheers me right up, oddly enough.

What we did for our anniversary

You know how much Harry loves the Premier Inn, Albert Dock, right? Well I booked it for our anniversary on one of their cheapo special offers. And then I read about Alma de Cuba's Sunday Service Gospel Brunch and so booked it for Sunday lunch.

It's a gorgeous building: both boys were gobsmacked and even David was impressed because some colleague told him it's the seventh best bar in the world (and he got knocked back from it).

I had a delicious roast with a lovely fishbowl of wine and then I had to order ALMAS AWESOME PJ CLUB: The ultimate Peanut butter and Jelly Club sandwich, vanilla and peanut butter mascapone with raspberry jelly, crushed raspberries and hazlenut brittle on a peanut layer, all served on brioche with a banana and vanilla shake on the side… this definitely contains nuts.

Joe had the milkshake and Harry had the ice cream and I could only manage half the sandwich, but… it was just as good as it looks.

From there, we went back to the hotel – Harry insisted – and then we went to see The Muppets, which was fabulous. This was my favourite bit – spoilery so don't watch if you haven't seen the film yet (and want to):

Interview with a Foreign Rights Reader

An online friend recently mentioned that she's a reader for a French Publisher and I was fascinated, so I thought I'd interview her here. Introducing Jennifer Chevais.

So who are you and what do you do?

My name is Jennifer Chevais and I'm a Foreign Rights Reader for Hachette Jeunesse's young adult imprint Black Moon in France. I read not-yet-published English language books that come to Black Moon either from English language publishers or via literary agents wanting to sell the Foreign Rights on the author they're representing's book. I read the book and then I write a report on what I've read.

I read so that the editors don't have to mush through all of the slush themselves.

I've also done translations for Hachette when they've had a French language novel that they're particularly excited about and want to sell to the English-reading market.

How did you get the job?

As with a lot of things in the publishing business, finding this job was an off the wall, never to be repeated, bit of luck.

I found the job because I knit.

I have a close friend who has a tea/local yarn shop (L'OisiveThé) in the Butte aux Cailles area (found in the 13th arrondissement of Paris) and every Wednesday evening she holds a knitting night (a TricoThé – cute, right?). I hadn't been in ages but I decided to go one particular evening and was sitting with a bunch of people I didn't know.

I can't remember how the conversation veered to "what we do" but it turned out that the girl across from me worked as a Reader/Translator. My "Spidey Senses" actually tingled and I, as casually as I could, mentioned that I'd love to do something like that. I might have gushed. She hooked me up with Black Moon that evening for a test read and away I went!

What's the best part of your job? And the worst part?

Being paid to read is a dream come true! I admit it! I have read some absolutely brilliant manuscripts and I have to admit that I'm really excited that in a small way I'm helping to bring some absolutely amazing literature to young adults in France.

That said, that doesn't mean that everything I've read is amazing. To be honest, some of it is downright nasty.

Case in point: while I won't name any names, there was one book that took me ages to read because… it kept putting me to sleep. Pinky swear. I kept trying and I kept nodding off. In fact, in order to write my synopsis of the storyline, I had to keep the word document open and scroll through it to make sure I didn't leave anything out. I honestly couldn't even remember the climax of the story!

This was a real eye-opener for me. I hadn't realised beforehand that a lot of really terrible books get published.

My job as a Reader is to be ruthless. If a story doesn't work, if there are loose ends, if it flies into the realm of cliché, if the writing is hilariously ludicrous, this is no time to be positive. The reputation of the publisher is at stake for one thing and editors are too busy to be bothered with having to read a text that doesn't work for another.

Do you have any tools of the trade?

I use an electronic reader. Either the publisher or the literary scout they work with sends me a manuscript via email that I then transfer to my reader. The work is sporadic as I can get a number of manuscripts at once or nothing (I still depend on a day job).

On average, I read and report on 2 books a week.

Have you discovered any books you think we should know about?

After reading How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr, I actually felt compelled to write an email to the author and tell her, in my most polite, unstalkerish way, that her book blew me away. Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Blunt tore my heart out a little and The Children of Willesden Lane by Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen made my throat ache for days after reading it. The 13th Horseman by Barry Hutchison made me laugh out loud though I wish they wouldn't market it as being "Pratchett meets Python" because it's charming on its own merit. The premise behind The Archived by Victoria Schwab is drop-dead fascinating and I hope it does well. Another one I really enjoyed was Devine Intervention by Martha Brockenbrough. I have to admit that I'm still not sure as to why she intentionally misspelled Devine but the story is a lot of fun.

To date, of all the books that I've read for Black Moon, I'm only aware of one book whose rights have been acquired for France.

I assume you need to take cultural differences into consideration – are there books you've turned down just because they wouldn't work in France?

As it happens, I don't have the role of turning anything down. My job consists of giving my opinion on the story but ultimately, even if a story is terrible, it could still be acquired and translated.

There are more factors involved in book choosing than Readers have access to. These factors include the current catalogue and the one that's being put together, ensuring that books don't have the same themes and compete with one another. There may be pressure from one market to publish popular authors in another market even if the books/series aren't very well written.

However, that said and to answer your question, I have come across books that, though United Kingdom publishers may dare them, knowing the kids I know here and knowing their parents (ie, the people buying the books), those books simply wouldn't work here in France.

Honestly, my biggest fear is that I'll detest the next Twilight (I know the Reader who read Twilight for Black Moon and I'm reassured that though she wasn't keen on the book, Black Moon still bought the rights).

What's your desert island book?

I suppose that saying my e-reader stuffed to the gills with "books" is the wrong answer.

If you could live in a book – but still be yourself – which book would you choose?

I have always had a soft spot for fantasy novels. I wish I had it in me to go all medieval, but honestly I don't think I'd last a day in their hard world. What are the chances that I'd be the aristocrat?

Finally… David Mitchell or Russell Brand?

Who? Just give me a minute to Google…

Wow, I obviously live in a vacuum. Or my nose is stuck too close to my e-reader. Who are those dudes? And which David Mitchell?

Family album

A few days after my dad died at the end of 2010, the pipes burst in his house and everywhere was flooded. My sister phoned to tell me and I completely panicked at the thought that the boxes and boxes of slides we'd found would have been ruined. Thankfully, they weren't and I've just started scanning them on to the computer and will now be boring you for, like, ever.

This one is of me, Christmas 1974, I think. In my hands I'm holding two little rollerskating dolls. I've still got them. Or rather, we've still got them – I haven't played with them for a while, but Joe often carries the girl around with him (I don't know where the boy is at the moment, but he's in the house somewhere!)

 

Her outfit's a bit the worse for wear – I don't think her bum was hanging out when I got her – but she's still v loved.