Dan Smith's Blog, page 8

The Child Thief in Paperback!

Today’s the day  The Child Thief makes it’s paperback foray into the world.

Happy paperback publication day!

Next month it’ll be published in the USA where it’s been getting some great attention. It was picked as one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Top Ten Best Summer Books 2013 (Mystery and Thriller section) and picked up a great review in the publication.

There’s also another snip of news about The Child Thief that I’m itching to tell you, but will have to wait just a little while longer.

In the meantime, I’ve put a signed copy of The Child Thief up as a giveaway on Goodreads, so if you’re registered you can enter to win. If you’re not registered, well, it’s free and easy so whattayawaitinfer?

That’s all!

Goodreads Book Giveaway


The Child Thief
by Dan Smith

Giveaway ends July 04, 2013.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Chickens in Manchester!

Chicken House came north yesterday. Well, I say ‘north’, but Manchester’s not north really, is it? For those of us who live in Newcastle, anything on the wrong south side of the river is  . . . well, south. And anyone who watches Game of Thrones knows that north = honest, tough and honourable, while south = well, if you watch it, you’ll know what south means.

Anyway, the event was a huge success – as Chicken House events always are. The room was filled with librarians and booksellers and bloggers, as well as an excellent collection of authors including Melvin Burgess, David Massey, Sam Hepburn, Fletcher Moss and Stuart Hill. Oh, and I also had the chance to meet fellow ‘Allsorts-er’ the lovely Kate Ormand, who had bravely come along and thrown herself into a room full of people she didn’t know – which must have been terribly daunting. Annie Everall from Authors Aloud was there too, and even the Book Witch came along (there are more details and photos of the event on her blog). Cat and hat were left at home though, and the witch came by train rather than broomstick, so I’m not convinced she was really a witch at all.

Oh, and making our way from one venue to another, I was lucky enough to have Melvin Burgess on hand to lug a box of My Friend The Enemy proofs for me. It was a warm day and saved me from developing an unsightly glow.

 

Over there, Burgess, put them over there!

 

That’s all.

 

 

Related articles

Chicken House at Cornerhouse (bookwitch.wordpress.com)
The hit, By Melvin Burgess (independent.co.uk)
Melvin Burgess’s bucket list (guardian.co.uk)
Melvin Burgess: my favourite children’s books (telegraph.co.uk)

What Happens To Lonely Page Proofs?

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you might have seen that I’ve just received the book proof of my new novel Red Winter. If not, well . . .  here it is!

This is a proof, so it’s not the finished book that will sit on the shelf – this is the one that goes out to booksellers and reviewers to get everything moving on the run up to publication. I’m very pleased with the way it’s looking. The cover design does a great job of promising what lies on the pages within and it’s always nice to have a few quotes on the back. So, it’s all taking shape and there’s not long to wait now; it’ll be out in hardback in July

In the meantime, I’ve had my head down for the past few months as I’ve been writing/re-writing/editing a novel for younger readers, which is now finished (as if they’re ever finished!) and is winging it over to my brutally critical agent. I’m really pleased with the way it’s turned out and I think it’ll be a great follow up to my first novel for children – My Friend The Enemy – which will also be out in July.

July is going to be a good month!

Oh, yeah, and isn’t this just the strangest thing? I boxed away the page proofs for My Friend The Enemy, and then there was all this ruckus in the box – strange noises, music – as if there was something going on in there and . . . well, I’ll let you see for yourself.

That’s all

Proofs and Allsorts

Phew – it’s been a busy few weeks.

Page proofs for My Friend The Enemy? Check.

Page proofs for Red Winter? Check.

Sift Judging for writing competition? Check.

School visits? Check.

And now it’s time to get this next novel written.

I finished the first draft of my next children’s book just over a week ago. As usual, I came away from it in a bit of a daze, wondering what it was going to look like when I read through it. You see, there was something about it that just didn’t feel quite right. A blip that was niggling at me.  A character who needed more room to breathe, maybe, or an extra layer of the story that was trying to be noticed. Something . . . something . . .

Aha! That’s it! This morning I noticed it. There it was, staring me right in the face. A photograph that was hiding behind the others, just out of view. And now it feels like everything in the story connects in just the right way. It all clicks into place.

Which is nice.

And as if that wasn’t enough excitement for one week (I’m really spoiling you guys), I’m now part of a group of authors and illustrators of children’s and YA books. We’ll be blogging and sharing our  . . . well, our everything.

No, stop it. Not that.

Anyway, you can read all about us over at AuthorAllsorts and there’s a massive, bumper, huge, mahoosive giveaway of books – including a signed proof copy of My Friend The Enemy.

Oh yeah.

 

 

 

That’s all.

 

 

Related articles

Meet the Allsorts (3) + Giveaway (authorallsorts.wordpress.com)

Books! Books! Books! (And a hamster)

Well, look what arrived in the post today!

 

 

Yes, indeed . . . some very fine looking book proofs for my children’s novel which is due to be published by Chicken House in July. My Friend The Enemy is my first book for children but it won’t be my last. You’re the first to know that I’ve just signed with Chicken House for another two books! They’re a great publisher and I’ve enjoyed working with them, so I’m very excited to know that they’ll be publishing my next two children’s novels.

Oh, and wait till you see all the lovely graphical touches they’ve added to My Friend The Enemy. I can’t wait for you all to read it.

In news from the other side of my writing life, the clever people at Orion have been putting together a fantastic design for my new novel Red Winter, which is also due out in July. So, in another exclusive just for you, here is a sneak peek at the cover!

 

 

Great, isn’t it? Full of menace and foreboding – just like the contents. I’m expecting page proofs any day soon, so this one’s gathering momentum and I’m gearing up for a busy July. I can’t wait.

And, as if that isn’t enough excitement for me to be passing on to you . . . here’s a cute picture of my children’s hamster, Smifette.

 

 

Now, don’t ever say I don’t treat you.

 

That’s all.

Awkward Teenagers

When I was invited to visit The Duchess’s High School in Alnwick on World Book Day, I thought, what better day to visit a school?

But, you know what? To my shame, I didn’t know much about World Book Day. That’s not to say I wasn’t aware of it. In fact, I was VERY aware of it. You see, I have two children. And for parents of young children, World Book Day is all about finding a letter in your child’s bookbag telling you that they have to dress up as a favourite character from a book. Next week.

If it wasn’t for my wife, my children would probably be the ones who turn up at school on World Book Day dressed in their uniform . . . but you have to make an effort, right? Of course you do. So we spend the week before the big day wondering what on earth we’re going to dress them in. We rummage through the old dressing up stuff (theirs, not ours, natch), save cereal packets to make masks, dig out the face paint, persuade them that The Fantastic Mr Fox is going to be much easier than The Gruffalo – that kind of thing.

Anyway, I thought that if I was going to visit a school, I should know a bit more than that. There had to be more to it than being a character from a book. So I did a little bit of research and found out about the core ideas of World Book Day – to promote books for the enrichment and enjoyment of all, and to encourage young readers to explore the pleasure of reading. But y’know, I was asked if I’d talk to teenagers, so I didn’t think The Fantastic Mr Fox was going to cut it. Nuh-uh.

Oh, and teenagers are supposed to be awkward. All mopey and angst-riddled. Monosyllabic and difficult.

Not so, as it turns out . . .

I spoke to two groups, deciding to show them a few photos of the places that inspired the books I’ve written. I told them about some of the more colourful characters I’ve met  - who might have made it into my books in one way or another – and then tried to show the difference between writing stories that draw from personal experience, and those that are borne out of research and pure imagination. Both groups were made up of welcoming and enthusiastic teenagers (who’d have thought, eh?) who listened and then asked some great questions about planning, voice, generating ideas and how you move from being a writer to being a published writer. A number of them expressed an interest in writing – from short stories and novels, to film scripts and journalism – and it was a pleasure to have spent time with them. They really were a great bunch.

So thanks to everyone at the High School who came along to listen to me, and particularly to Liz for organising it all, and here’s wishing you all the best of luck for the future.

 

 

That’s all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eating Death . . .

Death Eater.

I never quite understood that name. Death Bringer or Death Giver, maybe, but Death Eater? I mean, is ‘death’ edible? And if so, what does it taste like? And how would one go about getting hold of it? Is it very filling?

Yeah. That never made much sense to me. It’s a kick-ass name for a bunch of bad guys who wear intimidating robes and masks but . . . well, y’know, what does it really mean?

Anyway, I saw one. Actually, I saw a couple of them. I don’t think they were real ones but the costumes looked great and they were pretty handy with a wand – though they didn’t say much. More menacing than conversational.

I spotted them lurking in the shadows at the Harry Potter Studios, which a friend took us to see at the weekend and . . . wow, what a cool place. It really highlights what a phenomenon the whole HP thing became and I can only imagine how it must feel to have your characters and your fictional world brought to that kind of life.

It’s fascinating to see the sets that were used for the filming of the series, and to get a sense of the trickery used to fool us into thinking that a handful of half-sized beds were a dormitory, or that a foam sculpture is a giant stone statue.

So I took a stroll along Diagon Alley, I peeked into Hagrid’s hut, took a test drive in a flying Ford Anglia, stood outside 4 Privet Drive, clung to the Knight Bus and stood in Dumbledore’s office like a naughty schoolboy. I even got to stand in the Great Hall and sneer at the Slytherin table – collection of psychos and wrongdoers that they are. And . . . oh, yeah, AND I shared a butter beer with the family. Just one, though, because it cost a fortune.

All in all, it was an excellent visit to a great attraction.

I didn’t see any death being eaten, though. Shame ’bout that.

 

That’s all.

A Penguin, a Tip-Top, and a Bit of Sick

When my daughter’s school teacher asked if I would like to join the class on a trip to Eden Camp – a WWII POW camp turned museum – I accepted with enthusiasm. I’m interested in the era, my children’s book is set in 1941, I’d been in to talk to the class about . . .

Hang on.

Eden Camp is in North Yorkshire.

That’s two and a half hours. In a bus.

Packed with eleven-year-olds.

 

That’s when the full extent of my decision hit me. How on earth could I survive such an ordeal? I mean, I remember what school trips were like. Stodgy sandwiches and a packet of Quavers. Maybe a Penguin and a Tip-Top, if you were lucky. Someone being sick. Teachers shouting. Staring out of the window for hours on end.

But I had already agreed. There was no backing down. I had my pride to think of.

Actually, the two and a half hours there and two and half hours back were pretty uneventful. There was a moment when I thought they weren’t going to stop singing the ‘ugly song’ which goes something like this . . .

‘You’re U-G-L-Y, You ain’t got no alibi, you’re ugly. You’re ugly.’

Which is nice.

And then there was the occasional:-

‘Miss! My stomach hurts.’

Or the more troubling:-

‘Miss, I feel sick.’

Which, of course made me silently pray that when the ill child came to the front of the bus, they wouldn’t come anywhere near me. Please, Lord, don’t make me sit on this bus for hours next to a splattering of sick.

Blyeuch.

But, in the end, the bus remained vomitless and the trip was successful. I took a group around the huts and we talked about the start of the war, about women’s role, about life on the home front. We did the U-Boat thing and the blackout thing and the bombed street thing. We had lunch in the mess hut (Penguin but no Tip-Top), we saw a puppet show in the Music Hall. There was water squirting and Anderson shelters and buttons to push.

But the highlight for the children?

 

The gift shop, of course. What else?

 

That’s all.

 

James Dean of a Rodent

Poor Smiffy the hamster. He has gone the way of all things.

He has turned up his toes, vacated the premises, and released his inner-self to the ether. Right now he’s probably frolicking in the summery sunflower fields in the sky, gathering seeds and filling his little pouches.

One moment he was a lively rodent, full of verve and vim; the envy of hamsters everywhere. But, just a few hours later he was a stiff ball of fur. A shell of his former self.

‘But he was so young!’

I hear the kids cry.

‘How could he be cut down in the prime of his life?’

Well, he was indeed just a young, James Dean of a rodent, and all I can assume is that he adhered to the code of ‘live fast, die young and stay pretty.’

So it goes.

 

Hamsters around the world mourn the loss of Smiffy

 

We now have a replacement for Smiffy.

Smiffy is dead, long live Smiffette!

Smiffette is a more timid creature than her predecessor, and spends much of her time cleaning and flicking tiny poos away from her bottom area. This is something Smiffy never did. He took no time to preen himself. He wasted not a moment washing his face.

I can only deduce that lady hamsters are more fastidious than boy hamsters.

There is a down side to this turn of events (aside from the loss of dear, dear Smiffy, of course), and I am beginning to wonder what manner of children I have brought into this world. You see, neither of my children was phased by Smiffy’s passing. They have taken it in their stride as if hamsters die every day in our house. As if our home is the location of the fabled hamster graveyard.

It isn’t.

Not a tear was shed. Hardly even a sad face was displayed. The main line of thought was . . .

‘Well, we have to get another one. This weekend.’

So Smiffy was duly buried in the back  garden and his replacement was brought in. As simple as that. Quick turnaround.

One out, one in.

My only task now, is persuading my children that they can’t just bury me in the back garden and get a new one.

 

That’s all.

First Class Chicken House

I had a great day with the chickens on Friday.

 

No, not that kind of chicken. The ones from Chicken House. Y’know, the publishers of my first book for younger readers. They’re not really chickens at all.

 

Booking early bagged me a first class train ticket for the way down – breakfast included, along with endless coffee refills and a reclining seat . . . which was nice. And then I hot-footed it over to the Soho Hotel in time for the Big Breakfast – a chance for Chicken House to introduce some of their new books to the world. I read a short excerpt from ‘My Friend The Enemy’ which will be published at the beginning of July, and had the chance to meet with authors, librarians, publishers, publicists, book sellers and . . . well, loads of people.

Gatherings like this always trickle a little dread down my spine, because I have a terrible memory for names and faces. Actually, that’s a lie. I have a terrible memory for everything.

Anyway, I managed to make it through without making a fool of myself (I think) and it was a great experience with loads of positive comments about the book which left me brimming with confidence and feeling very pleased with myself.

Had to slum it on the way back – y’know, in the standard class. That put me back in my place.

How about this, though? A first glimpse of the cover for My Friend The Enemy.

Looking awesome, dontcha think?

 

That’s all.