Sarra Manning's Blog, page 4

A video for women who don’t consider themselves feminists…

Right on, sisters

This has been doing the rounds on Twitter and is a spoken word performance from Mindy Nettifee on why we all need to stand up and represent. Hell, yeah!

For women who don’t consider themselves feminists…

And for anyone who is going to take issue, look, hey, I’ve saved you the bother:

Wow, I’m feeling quite punchy today. Obvs.

Live on,

Sarra x

Reading list

Hallå homies!

The clocks have gone back and now the next few months are about hunkering down and being cosy. Craving crumble, watching black and white movies with the dog snuggled into my armpit, and taking to my bed with a really good book.

Often on the Twitter, I’m asked to recommend books that are just like mine. Well, I hope that my books aren’t like anybody else but me and I also find it hard to rec books because mostly I read books either set or written between 1920 – 1949. Generally, I don’t read a lot of contemporary commercial women’s fiction because I like to write in a vacuum where I’m not worrying that my plot is similar to something I’ve read or my heroine has the same name as a character in another book.

That said, there are some books that I’ve read that I’ve loved and I want to spread that love around. But, I would warn you that none of these books are romance novels with big makeover scenes and cupcakes a go go and a loveable ditz of a heroine. A million times no.

You Had Me At Hello by Mhairi McFarlane

Full disclosure, Mhairi and I are Twitter friends and she asked if she could send me an advance copy of her first novel. And because Mhairi is darkly funny and quite, quite rude, I had no qualms about reading You Had Me At Hello. It’s a breath of tart, Northern air in a genre beset with cupcakes and lovable ditzes. Rachel is a court reporter in Manchester and had just walked away from her imminent wedding when the boy who got away ten years ago, now a married man suddenly walks back into her life. What happens next is not what you expect to happen next and I loved Rachel because she was real and chaotic and fucked things up but was never a victim.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow is another writer I know from Twitter (what can I tell you? I follow a lot of writers) but I started following her after I’d read Attachments, which I loved. Rainbow’s writing has that grown-up Sassy magazine vibe, which i eat like salted caramel chocolate. Set in 1999, when you could ‘do’ the entire internet in an afternoon (and I often did) it’s the story of two women exchanging countless emails about their lives and the IT guy who spends hours reading them in the still of the night until he realises he’s in love with one of the women but can’t approach her because of the whole creepy ‘I’ve read your emails’ thing. Also, Rainbow’s forthcoming book is called Fangirl and she once lurked in the near vicinity of Tavi Gevinson so she is obviously ace.

The Girl You Left Behind by JoJo Moyes

Guess what? JoJo is another friend from Twitter and we have actually met in real life twice. She’s lovely! And I’m sure most of you must have sobbed your way through her last book Me Before You. The Girl You Left Behind is another book that will see you through a box of tissues. Set in France during WW1 in France and some hundred years later in the present day, this is the story of two women linked by a painting, both of them unable to be with the men they love. II swear, I’m welling up just writing that brief description.

Fabulous Nobodies by Lee Tulloch

I have recc’ed this book to SO many people. Blogged about it before too. And though it remains obscure and out of print, it’s going to be made into a film, apparently, so I really hope that it reaches the audience it deserves. I first read Fabulous Nobodies many, many years ago when I was struggling to find any kind of paid job as a writer. This was before Sex And The City, before Bridget Jones, before rom-coms and chick lit were known as rom-coms and chick lit and Fabulous Nobodies is head and shoulders above it all. Set in NYC, Reality Nirvana (hippy mother, friends call her Really) has a closet full of vintage frocks who all have names and talk to her, in her tiny apartment and is the door whore at a fashionable club until she gets the sack and decides to open her own fashionable club in her tiny apartment. There’s a sneering love interest, a gay best friend (before gay best friends became such a cliche,) heaps of zingy one liners and gorgeous descriptions of clothes. This is one of my Desert Island books. You will love it too. I have no doubt.

Lace by Shirley Conran

I really worry about a generation of girls (and also grown women) reading Twilight and Shades of Grey and thinking that true love means being a passive, helpless moon of a girl because that’s what it takes to attract an emotionally abusive (and actually downright physically abusive) man. It doesn’t. But then I think of my generation who grew up passing copies of Lace round the classroom and wonder if this is the reason that we aspired to be strong, independent women. Anyhoo, I digress. Lace has been re-released for its 30th anniversary and all you need to know is that there’s a sex scene where a goldfish features quite heavily and the very first line of the book is “Which one of you bitches is my mother?”

I hope you enjoy these five books. I’ll be posting some more book recs in a big Christmas gift guide (I don’t like to think that I Pinterested in vain all year!) in the next few weeks.

Now tuck up warm and don’t forget to wear a vest.

Live on

Sarra x

On rewriting…

I’m tidying up my computer, deleting years worth of stuff from various old computers that I migrated. Qu’elle boring!

But I did find this quote that I’d felt the need to copy and paste, which was just as well because I can’t find it on the interpipe anymore. I get asked for a lot of writing tips and I’m all about the planning, the outlining, the writing, then the rewriting and more rewriting. Best advice I ever got was “don’t get it right, get it written.” Second best piece of advice I ever got was “everything is cut-able.” Honestly, it really is.

Anyway, this is an Anthony Lane (critic for The New Yorker and memoirist) quote from his November 2 diary in *Slate* back in 2002, when you could do the whole internet in one afternoon and sums up why rewriting and cutting and rewriting is so pleasurable.

And so to Tuesday. Tuesday is a treat because Tuesday gives me leave not to write, which signals pain, but to rewrite, which augurs joy.

Between the squalls of composition and the bathetic pangs of publication comes an interval of peace in which I return to the work, print it out in proofs, immediately spy 17 correctable errors for every 1,000 words, lop off whole paragraphs like a tree surgeon hacking at a larch, and tenderly position the remainder so as to give the impression, or the illusion, of coherence.

The thrill of this activity is not, strictly speaking, a literary matter; it is, in its small way, more of a spiritual hint, reminding us that, more often than not, we have left undone those things which we ought to have done, that we have done those things which we ought not to have done, and that there is no health in us.

Rewriting is one of the few pursuits in life which enable us to make good our mistakes, or to make better our cheesy efforts, and to get immediate results; what is more, all of this can be achieved without having to buy flowers, lingerie, or chocolate truffles.

I would also heartily recommend Nobody’s Perfect: Writings from the New Yorker by Anthony Lane

Keep cutting!

Sarra x

YA event. Bath. Stop.

Say hello,

Thank you so much for all the amazing comments you left on my last blog, which was a bit woe-is-me (actually, it was a lot woe-is-me) but I did want to explain the delay with publication dates and that I don’t just bang out books, I take time writing and I struggle and generally I’m quite a sensitive little flower. It means a lot that Nine Uses For An Ex-Boyfriend means a lot to some of you and I am really grateful that you left comments telling me why.

Now, if I may put on my teenage head, I just wanted to let you know that I’m doing a YA event in Bath next week. On the 3rd of October. I’ll be talking all things Adorkable and I have to pay for a dogsitter so come on, make the effort, buy a ticket. All details here

I think this may well be my last event of the year and I then cloister myself writing my new YA, The Worst Girlfriend In The World, and hopefully not having to do too many edits on my next adult book, It Felt Like A Kiss.

Really hope to see some of you next week.

Live on

Sarra x

A day late… Kind of…

Hey amigos!

I bring not great tidings, I’m afraid.

First, sadly, my London event, next Sunday (September 9th) at the Hampstead & Highgate Literary festival is now cancelled. I’m really sorry if you’ve already bought a ticket. Hate to let people down but hopefully will do at least one London event next year.

My book release dates have also moved way back. My next grown-up novel, IT FELT LIKE A KISS, is now published in May 2013 and my YA novel, THE WORST GIRLFRIEND IN THE WORLD has now moved back to 2014.

It’s always been a point of pride with me that I never miss a deadline and always deliver my manuscripts on time but, as you’ll know, if you follow my blog, my father was very ill and passed away a couple of months ago and while he was ill, I’m happy to say that he was my only priority. And trying to work through your grief, or even just work out how you feel, is not conducive to sitting down and writing a novel. Or the novel that I was trying to write! I’m very fortunate and grateful that I have two very understanding, empathetic editors who would rather that I took some extra time on both novels, than just meet my deadline.

That said, to be really honest, the er, mixed reaction to NINE USES FOR AN EX-BOYFRIEND sent me into a dark spiral of despair.

Originally, this blog post was much longer and I specifically addressed some of criticisms levelled at NINE USES but I know that however rational and reasonable I try to be, it’s going to come across like a big old bowl of sour grapes. I will say that I was so spooked and upset by how spiteful some of the reviews were, I questioned whether I was going to be able to finish IT FELT LIKE A KISS, or if I actually wanted to write anymore. I was in an extraordinarily sensitive place because of what was going on in my personal life and it was hard to take a step back. I think I’m over that now. Hell, I know I am. So many novels and stories I still want to tell.

However, like I said, there were lots of comments, both good and not so good, about NINE USES that I really did take on board and tried to use constructively. I really hope that IT FELT LIKE A KISS will be a better piece of writing as I was forced to take a long, hard look at what I was trying to achieve with the story and my characters and realised I was falling short. I also now get a nervy, flippy feeling in my tummy when I see I have a new review. And also I want you to know that yes, we totally should have gone with a different title. Hands up. Guilty as charged. From coming up with the titles, then actually writing four different drafts of the books, the story changed a hell of a lot on the journey to being published.

So, that is a long-winded and I hope not-too-defensive other reason why my release dates have been put back.

I do want to reiterate that anyone who buys a book and takes the time to read it is entitled to review it, whether they liked it or not. I get that. I’m all for that, but sometimes it can be hard to be on the receiving end. And sometimes it really knocks all the stuffing out of a writer, which is why I’m just about to start rewriting my rewrites.

Live on

Sarra x

Unsticky, Edinburgh and one more thing to make it an uneven three…

Greetings!

A few things that you really need to know about!

Thing the first Unsticky will be reissued on August 2nd. It is the same Unsticky that you may know or love but with a different jacket and a different publishers. It’s also available as an ebook too. If you’d like to buy another copy, I’m not going to stop you though! And no, a thousand times no, I am NOT flattered by any comparisons to 50 Shades.

Thing the second, is that I will be appearing at Edinburgh Book Festival along with my fellow author and all round good people, Sophia Bennett. It is a YA event, so it’s 13+ but there is no upper age limit and we will be taking questions, so do come along! Sophia’s latest book, The Look is a great read about a girl plucked from obscurity to the dizzy height of supermodeldom and we will be talking about all things fashion. You can book tickets here.

Thing the third is that I’m also doing a London event. One that I can walk to! I’ll be taking part in the Hampstead and Highgate Literary Festival on September 9th.

And those are three things that I thought you should know about.

Live on,

Sarra x

Loss

My father died early in the morning, Wednesday, 27th June. Last week. Nine days ago.

It was sudden in that his worst case prognosis was weeks, though I was hoping for months, but then his condition unexpectedly and irrevocably declined, as conditions do when you’ve had prostate cancer for twelve years, and in the last three it had crept into the bones.

I loved my Dad. It always strikes me that love is this unquantifiable, intangible thing, especially when it’s a slow, steady familial love. It’s not giddy like passion. You don’t walk around with a daffy smile on your face, constantly telling yourself how much you’re in love with another person. The love I had for my father was weighed out in the Wednesday afternoons that I set by for him and him alone. In the hour detour on the way to his house so I could bring him the Jewish rye bread he loved so much. For the hours spent making chicken soup to tempt his ailing appetite. For threatening to smack him, and making good on my threat, when he led me astray as we did the crossword together. Love was the vigil that my brother, sister and I sat for three days as Dad slipped away and we vowed that he wouldn’t be left alone. When he went, peacefully in his sleep at last, at last, we’d all had a chance to say our goodbyes, to speak of our love and to wish him Godspeed on his way to the kingdom.

The next two days were spent in forward motion. Arranging the funeral. Attending the funeral. Getting through the eulogy without crying. Sitting shiva. And then it all stopped. There was nothing left to do but carry on living without him.

I don’t cry. I did so much crying during that last week in the hospital that I sometimes think I might never cry again. Mostly I just feel sad. It’s a pervasive, grey kind of sadness that I don’t probe or examine too deeply, because then I remember exactly why I’m sad and it hurts too much.

And I feel alone, in the way that I suppose you do when both your father and mother are gone. Like, I have no roots, nothing to anchor me down. The buck stops with me. I am my own family now. I’m the person who gets me the most. I’m not and never can be a child again, I’m a grown-up.

And I keep forgetting too, because countless times every day I file away bits of information and funny anecdotes and questions for when I call my Dad because I call him at least twice a day. Then I remember, I don’t get to call him anymore.

But you know what? The world still turns same as it ever did. I get up, get dressed, go to the gym, feel slightly pleased that for once in my life I’ve lost my appetite and I carry on. I don’t want to get all Pollyanna, but I’ve still found reasons to cheer. My friends have been incredible, even the friends who shouldn’t have been because Lord knows, they’re dealing with enough bad shit themselves. The kindness of strangers, of readers, of the people who live on my Twitter feed has made me melt. And yeah, I also discovered who my friends never, ever were, which always simples things up.

I’m not the sort of person who has a philosophy on life but I do believe that when something bloody awful happens, you have to balance it out and make something bloody good happen to. So, I’ve let someone new into my life (I’ll blog about them some other time, because right now I want to blog about my Dad and if you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know who I’m talking about.) There’s no schedule to grief, no right or wrong way to feel, though it feels wrong not to give all my energy and attention to my grief. It also feels wrong that mixed in with the sadness that I talked about earlier are huge amounts of happiness, but it’s a relief to know that I can still be happy.

I will never get over the loss of my Dad. I wouldn’t want to because the depth of my loss is equal to the depth of my love for him, but I know that in time, the loss gets less raw, less painful, less like I could take to my bed and stay there for ever.

Right now, that loss is all around me, but it’s not until you’re lost, that someone can find you.

Live on,

Sarra x

Kill your idols – Adorkable inspiration…

Guten tag, my little chums

Thank you so much for all your comments and love for Adorkable. I can’t tell you how much they mean to be, but my brittle heart is overflowing from it all.

As you may know, I’ve been doing this YA thing for nigh on close to ten years so when my publishers, Atom Books, asked if I’d like to shoot some videos, I jumped at the chance to talk about the things that have always inspired my writing and helped me put my teenage head on. (Though when I say jumped at the chance, what I really mean is that I wailed long and loud about how a media executive once told me that I should never do TV and that I am the least telegenic person you could ever hope to meet. Seriously. But the people at Atom were all like, yeah, whatevs, so we’ll come round to yours next week.)

So, here is me, I, Sarra talking about some of my formative influences. Which I loved long before that Tavi girl got all up in popular culture business.

And here I am talking about the bands that soundtracked my wild teenage years.

I hope you enjoy both them and my soft furnishings, which you can clearly see in the background.

And talking of inspirations, Atom are running a competition in association with the mighty London Roller Girls, to win tickets to go to Roller Derby. You’d be a fool to miss it!

Live on,

Sarra x

Happy Adorkable day!

Buenos Dias!

Today, at last, at last, my new YA book Adorkable is officially available to purchase. It’s also my first YA novel to be released as one of those e-book thingies. Hurrah!

This is what it’s about:

Welcome to the dorkside. It’s going to be a bumpy ride. . .

Jeane Smith’s a blogger, a dreamer, a dare-to-dreamer, jumble sale queen, CEO of her own lifestyle brand and has half a million followers on twitter.

Michael Lee’s star of school, stage and playing field. A golden boy in a Jack Wills hoodie.

They have nothing in common but a pair of cheating exes. So why the hell can’t they stop snogging?

It’s also about Haribo, Roller Derby, dogs on skateboards, dogs on surfboards, dogs doing any form of extreme sport, old skool hip hop, jumble sales, riding your bike downhill really fast, riot grrrl, those boys you want to kiss but punch in the face at the same time, dyeing your hair ridiculous colours just because you can, stitch ‘n’ bitch, the songs that make you dance, the songs that make you cry, being a bad ass, cake, love, death and everything in between.

It’s been thrilled to put my teenage head back on and go back to my writing roots. I had an absolute blast writing Adorkable and I hope you enjoy reading it.

There are stacks of Adorkable things going on. Like, this amazing Pinterest competition.

There’s also a competition in association with Waterstones to win a fricking bike! Not just any bike but a beautiful red Velorbis bike. I am coveting it SO hard.

What else? You can see my actual lounge and my actual cushions and my actual mini bar and here actual me talking about your actual feminism and how you are already an actual feminist even if you don’t realise it. *actual feminist face*

And finally, there’s an official Adorkable playlist. Well, technically it’s not official but it’s the songs that inspire Jeane and me. It’s on Spotify. It’s pretty darn ace.

I know it seems hard to believe but there’s even more Adorkable stuff coming up. Crazy, I know! Best to keep checking in, dorkettes.

Live on

Sarra x

The most adorkably Adorkable competition in the adorkable world.

Hola lovers!

It’s less than a week to go until the UK release of Adorkable. Only six of your actual Earth days. It’s almost too much!

If you can’t wait, you can get a sneak preview of the first few chapters, by going to my website homepage and clicking on the Read A Bit link

But wait! There’s more! My lovely publishers, Atom Books, are running a competition so you can win Adorkable goodies including the amazing Dork Is The New Black tote bag, a cupcake decorating class and actual things that are mentioned in the book, like Haribo and the new Kitty, Daisy and Lewis album, Smoking In Heaven

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to create an Adorkable Pinterest board, like I have. There’s a bit more to it than that, but all the details are on Atom’s website. Don’t worry if you’re not signed up to Pinterest, just do it now and you’ll get an invite back in the next 24 hours. I will be judging the boards and you should know that you are going to have to try a little harder than shoving a few pics of Zooey Deschanel up on your Pinterest board. *stern face*

I don’t know about you, but I can hardly stand it!

And as I’m officially on countdown to launch now, don’t forget to check back here and on Twitter because there’s all sorts of good stuff coming up that I’d hate you to miss. Honestly, it would pain me.

See you in a day or two.

Live on,

Sarra x