H.M. Castor's Blog, page 13

The Tale of the Onion Sandwich – events 2

So there I was, having visited Moreton School in Wolverhampton (during which visit, unlikely though it sounds, I felt like Andy Murray after at match on Centre Court (see why here))… That evening, I had another event to go to. But first there was some time to fill – a few hours spare. The lovely people at Templar had arranged for me and my equally lovely helper, Liz Scott, to spend said hours at a hotel. It's these things that make a lot of difference – the thought that's put into how you will spend a few hours between events, the care taken to make sure someone is there to look after you, and that the designated place – the hotel in this case – is in a sensible location given where you've been and where you're going next. Considering that I have no sense of direction and couldn't find my own way out of a paper bag, as they say, I need this level of organisation, even with a satnav stuck to my windscreen. There is only so much that gadgets can do.

Lisa Johnson from Wolverhampton Waterstone's looked fantastic!

There we were, then. It was all going so well. Liz and I were relaxing in the lounge of the hotel, chatting, checking our emails, and mostly ignoring the Parliament Channel on TV. But then I made an error. An error that I would like to warn all authors out there against making. I have learnt from it and will never make the same mistake again. But I would like to think that I could save others from having to learn from experience. Actually, you, gentle reader, are no doubt far too sensible to do this in the first place.

My error was this: I chose from the bar menu the toasted panini with mozzarella, red onion and tomato. Sounded good. Sounded healthy. Was delicious. But, oh, my word – the onions!

I was lucky enough, that evening, to have been invited to speak to the Wolverhampton FCBG group.

The cakes were a triumph!

It was a fantastic occasion. Lisa Wharton, the Wolverhampton FCBG Secretary, was wonderfully welcoming and had organised everything perfectly. The atmosphere was so friendly, the audience so interested. Someone – please identify yourselves if you're reading this! – had made Tudor rose cupcakes. And Lisa Johnson from Wolverhampton Waterstone's was even keeping me company in costume!

For me, the entire evening was delightful. It's everyone else I'm a bit concerned about. Despite wearing my Tudor outfit, I rattled with strong mints in a most anachronistic way. I only hope that Henry VIII will not now be, for everyone present, forever associated with the aroma of onions…

Signing a book for a lovely English teacher who came to the Wolverhampton CBG meeting. She may, sensible lady, be keeping her distance. Or not breathing in.

Mr Cosmo is Coming! – events 1

I love Allan Ahlberg's Happy Families series. In one of them - Mr Cosmo the Conjuror – posters mysteriously appear in a town saying MR COSMO IS COMING:

"Mr Cosmo is coming!" everybody said.

"Mr Cosmo is coming!"

"Who is Mr Cosmo?"

I've been wondering whether this is what happens when I visit a school. After all, I'm not, well, Allan Ahlberg. Or Michael Morpurgo. Or Jacqueline Wilson. I'm not remotely famous. Yet it's very touching when you visit a place – and this doesn't always happen, but often does – to find that the children are excited about your visit, even though they might not be entirely sure who, exactly, you are.

"Harriet Castor is coming! Harriet Castor is coming!"

"Who is Harriet Castor?"

VIII was published on October 1st and I've never had a publication month like this. I've never done so many events. It's been brilliant, great fun and a bit scary too. It has presented me with a pretty steep learning curve. But everyone I've met and talked with has been, without exception, lovely. What more could a writer ask for?

First off – and this was September, actually; before VIII had even been published – I went for a day to the Youth Libraries Group conference, at Goldsmiths in London. It was my first time at any conference, and I was bowled over by the heady experience of being among so many expert, enthusiastic book people, all gathered in one place – librarians, authors, publishers and booksellers. The theme of the conference was Opening Doors: the Power of the Story (subtitle: The importance of stories and storytelling in empowering librarians and young people to develop) – which is a fascinating topic to think about and discuss, and I only wish I had heard more speakers.

At the YLG conference in great company: with Johnny O'Brien and Kate de Goldi.

As it was, Johnny O'Brien (author of the Jack Christie time travel adventures) and I had a joint slot, in conversation with Helen Boyle, our editor at Templar. I really enjoyed hearing Johnny speak about the inspiration for his books and the problems (as well as the joys) inherent in grappling with time travel, if only in his imagination…

At the conference I also met Kate de Goldi, author of The 10pm Question, who was over on a visit from her native New Zealand. Full of energy and enthusiasm, she did me the great kindness of sitting near the front during my talk and nodding and smiling at me as I spoke – I can't tell you how much that contributed to my confidence! And since I'd only just met her I thought it was astonishingly kind of her to be so supportive. Afterwards, we had a very interesting chat about siblings (sisters in particular) – a topic which is especially relevant to me right now, not just because I have sisters myself and am the mother of two girls, but because I'm currently writing about a pair of famous half-sisters: Mary I and Elizabeth I.

My next event was very different but no less enjoyable: two full days spent at Filton Hill Primary School here in Bristol on October 4th and 5th. I did sessions with every class from Reception to Year 6. Each group was different, each response was different, but the enthusiasm for books, for stories and for Tudor history (hello, Year 4!) was fantastic. Year 2 made a beautiful book of drawings for me to take home, Year 4 astonished me by going round the class introducing themselves and each telling me who their favourite wife was (from Henry VIII's choice of 6), Year 5 really took off creatively with a fantastic world-building activity we did… I could go on and on. It was a great couple of days. Eye-opening for me, as I have never spent such a concentrated period as a visitor in a single school before, and delightful. Boy, was I tired at the end of it though! Hats off to the teachers who do it day after day.

Before this month, the only schools I have visited have been primaries. VIII, however, being aimed at older readers, is not primary school fare. On Monday October 10th, I visited my first secondary school – with, I have to admit, a bit of trepidation. A hall full of 130 13 year-olds? Eek, how do I entertain them for more than an hour? What if I run out of material? Should I take my tap shoes as a last resort?

You'd have to ask the Year 8s from Moreton School in Wolverhampton yourself how I did, but in the event, they were very nice to me. They were a great group, with lively responses to what I was saying and a direct line in questioning that kept me on my toes. I signed a lot of bare arms afterwards, and felt rather like Andy Murray at the end of a Centre Court match. Though, since one of the questions had been, "Miss, are you famous?" I did wonder if there was an element of Mr Cosmo in there…

 

 

 

 

On the tour bus…

Today is the first day of my first-ever blog tour. Yes, I am on tour – complete with roadie crew and a full schedule of sound-checks, special effects rehearsals and backing dancer warm-ups… Erm, OK, perhaps I made that bit up. I would like a tour bus though… just a small one – anyone?

Ahem. OK. First stop: the very fantastic and wonderful Bookzone (for Boys) – an excellent book website which you don't actually have to be a boy to read. Today I'm writing about the connection between Darth Vader and Henry VIII. You can check out my piece here.

The tour continues all week, up to and past publication day for VIII on October 1st (bring out the bunting!). I feel very privileged to have been invited to appear as a guest on so many superb blogs. You can see the full itinerary here.

And earlier this month I posted a blog on The History Girls site about closing the gap, for readers, between the past and the present. Do let me know your views on this or any of my other pieces. I'm keen, as ever, to hear what you think.

Oh, bother – they're yelling at me for a mic check. And the pantechnicon full of biscuits (my rider, obviously) hasn't turned up yet. Emergency! Must dash…

Dressing the part

Last week I wrote a blog on The History Girls site (you can read it here) about the sequence of events that led me, in July, to acquire a Tudor costume. It came from the collection of the very wonderful Jane Malcolm-Davies, whose work you can see on The Tudor Tailor website. She and her colleagues made the costumes that were used for many years by the guides at Hampton Court Palace. Now she is putting a number of the costumes up for sale. If you have ever fancied owning an authentically-constructed Tudor outfit, this could be your chance…

It really has been a fantastic experience, meeting Jane and grappling with the complications of Tudor court dress. It has helped me immensely in my research for my next book, which is about Henry VIII's daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. I need to walk in their shoes… quite literally, if I can! And now I am determined to find as many occasions to wear this wonderful costume as possible… School visits? Library events? Bookshop signings? Just as long as I don't have to change behind a pillar…

 

Welcome

Hello – welcome to my new website. I hope you'll like it. I hope you'll poke around and read the extract from VIII and watch the videos, and maybe tell me what you think.

I'm going to try to update this blog as often as I can, to let you know what I'm up to, and to pass on any interesting information that comes my way. At the moment I'm busy planning events for the autumn, surrounding the publication of VIII on October 1st. Exciting. And scary. This book has dominated my life for the last two years or more… but now it's time to set it on the water and see if it'll sail. It's a very curious feeling – of letting go, and at the same time of an entirely different sort of engagement. With the outside world. Yikes.

Today I had a meeting – that sounds too formal, it was a really enjoyable chat – with Margaret Pemberton, a lovely & very important person from the Schools Library Service. Amongst many other things, we talked about books we had loved as children, and how they had kindled our enthusiasm for history. I mentioned 'When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit' by Judith Kerr and Margaret mentioned 'Knight Crusader' by Ronald Welch (which I must find and read). Some books are enjoyed, and you move on. Others lodge with you permanently. That's something I'd like to explore in a future blog.

For now, I just wanted to say that this isn't my only blog. I'm writing as one of The History Girls too – it's a joint venture involving 28 writers of historical fiction for Junior, YA and adult readers. It's fantastic (which I'm allowed to say because I'm such a small part of it). Each person has their own regular date and thus each day you can read a piece by someone different. The posts have been so great that it's the first thing I read every morning – I know I could be accused of bias but, hey, take a look if you don't believe me (just click on the name above).

My regular date there is the 12th, and my first post was about the creative process that led to the writing of VIII. It's called 'Sitting in my soup' and you can read it here. For the moment that's the blog where you'll find longer pieces from me – on this one, I'm going to post news, updates and thoughts. More soon…