Susan McNally's Blog, page 5
October 15, 2013
Spooky with Thrilling Twists and Turns! Gothic Fantasy The Morrow Secrets
Great Review on Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing addictive and thrilling, October 14, 2013
By
Mumma R - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
This review is from: The Morrow Secrets: Book One: The Morrow Secrets Trilogy (Paperback)
Not since Harry Potter have I been unable to put a book down. Talitha is a wonderful heroine, strong, willful and adventurous. I loved the twists and turns in the plot, but it is the world of wild and wonderful creatures that Mcnally conjures that thrill the most. When do you publish the next one?
The Black Hound in Ragging Brows Forest
October 6, 2013
Gothic Fantasy Novel, The Morrow Secrets is Published! Perfect Spooky Thriller for Halloween
Susan McNally – The debut Gothic author
A childhood spent roaming the rugged landscapes of the Lake District and theYorkshire Dales, exploring the castles of Northumberland and investigating the wonderfully secluded island of Lindisfarne clearly left a lasting impression on author Susan McNally. Her debut novel, The Morrow Secrets, invites readers into an alternative world,
depicted with a spellbinding vibrancy and inspired by the many pretty landscapes and peculiar quirks from her happy upbringing. But she hadn’t always wanted to be a children’s author. “I always wanted to write a novel but couldn’t find my genre until I began The Morrow Secrets,” she states.
A few years ago the purchase of a children’s illustration by the artist Edward Ardizzone rekindled memories of her favourite childhood authors and her favourite childhood day. “We’d been to a place called Brimham Rocks in North Yorkshire for a picnic,” she says. “Later I went home, jumped in bed and I started reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I look back now and think life doesn’t get any better than that.”
Her early imagination was nourished by her parents and ignited her life-long love of fantasy and mystery genres. “My father told me many made up fairy stories about a princess that I named Varnaseen,” she tells us. This, along with a childhood love of literature, helped spark her vivid imagination. As a child she was surrounded by weird and wonderful characters. “My grandmother used to have a friend who would go into a trance and two or three times she predicted my mother’s future,” she laughs. “My mother liked having her fortune told too so I think my family was into spooky things.” Despite this decidedly eerie influence, Susan didn’t initially set out to write a work of Gothic
‘I ADMIRE WOMEN WHO ARE COMPELLED TO DO THINGS THAT ARE OUTSIDE THE NORM’
fiction. However, setting main character, Tallitha’s story in Winderling Spires, a “strange rambling house where you are never quite sure where the staircases might lead,” meant that “the Gothic atmosphere just fell into place.”
At the heart of her book lies the heroine, Tallitha Mouldson, a headstrong girl caught up in the sinister web of her eccentric family. Susan may have based aspects of Tallitha on a long tradition of inspiring females. “Women who defy convention, who are brave enough to step outside the confines
that society places on them, women who do rare and extraordinary things,” as she puts it. “I admire the musician Joni Mitchell, the Brontë Sisters, the suffragettes Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst, and in literature, Catherine Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights and Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games for contemporary readers. These are women who are compelled to do things that are outside the norm, challenging society.”
Susan wanted to defy the norms of literary convention too by focusing on strong female characters. “It is often boys in literature who get the adventurous plot lines and lead the story forwards. I wanted to challenge that stereotype.” However, in other respects she is very much your classic writer. This includes an almost fanatical love of writing. “I find writing quite compulsive at times. If I’m particularly gripped by a scene then I’ll get up at 2 o’clock in the morning and carry on writing”.
This passion for literature is something she thinks is important to share with the younger generation. “I think reading develops their inner world and their imagination and helps children see the world from many different perspectives. Keen readers develop into clever articulate children. It also helps children empathise with the characters and their plight.” Susan sees the importance of reading, not just as escapism, but also as a tool for learning. The Morrow Secrets is “written in a way that will stretch children’s comprehension in relation to use of vocabulary.”
So what tips does she give to young aspiring writers? “You have to write the book that you want to read,” says Susan. “There is no point struggling to write something just because it’s in vogue”. Equally, she says that there’s no point labouring over something like some writers who have to sit at their computer until they’ve written 1000 words a day, however, “The more you write the more it flows… Get the plot down on paper and even if the writing is not fantastic first time round just keep on going because you can go back and revise it”.
Get your copy of #MorrowSecrets. Spooky new #YA #gothic trilogy! ow.ly/p9H6u @morrowsecrets
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September 27, 2013
The Morrow Secrets is published: First Instalment of Spooky Gothic Trilogy
The Morrow Secrets is published
The day has arrived and The Morrow Secrets is finally published.
Morrow Secrets @Morrow_Secrets
Happy #bookbirthday to us! Our hardback is out today! Get ready to be spooked, its a #gothic #thriller! Get yours at http://ow.ly/pebze
Also on Bangzo.co.uk for £1.99!
September 24, 2013
Gothic Fantasy of Mysterious Castles, Dark Creepy Corridors: A Spooky Delight!
5.0 out of 5 stars A ROLLICKING READ FULL OF WIT AND WONDER!!!
Marlin Creeping on the Dark Stairs
By
Richard S. Friedman “Rick Friedman” - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Morrow Secrets (The Morrow Trilogy Plus) (Kindle Edition)
“The Morrow Secrets’ is a high-fantasy gothic adventure story written for children in the 10 to 14 year age group but also enjoyed by adults who love delving into the world of mystery, suspense, imagination and make-believe. It is the first book in a series about Tallitha Mouldson, a headstrong girl caught up in the sinister web of her eccentric family”
A most magical and wonderful fantasy- while geared towards the YA crowd-The Morrow Secrets makes for a splendid read for all ages!
I was entranced from the very first page- the imaginary prowess of Susan McNally is to be greatly admired!
Characters and locations burst off the page with lusterous gusto- the prose is finely tuned and fast paced- and the plot never slows- Highly recommended for many reasons- wonderful writings style, unique characters and most certainly the first in what promises to be a most remarkable new Fantasy series!! Bravo Susan McNally!!
AN OFFICIAL JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB MUST READ
RICK FRIEDMAN
FOUNDER
THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOKCLUB
September 3, 2013
August 29, 2013
August 22, 2013
The Morrow Secrets Trilogy: Book One – Out in Paperback
First Book in the Gothic Trilogy
The Morrow Secrets is out in paperback on 3rd October 2013 on Amazon with 20 fabulous illustrations.
To pre-order your copy click below:
ISBN-13: 978-1782260356
August 4, 2013
Paranormal Experiences; Secret Rooms in Gothic Houses
So why did I begin writing stories about gothic houses, dark secret rooms and strange unexplained occurrences? Because odd things happened to me when I was younger. Perhaps as children we are in touch with inexplicable outside forces before we cross the threshold into adulthood… sensations and experiences that adults can no longer access.
Thinking about some of the great children’s fiction, Peter Pan by JM Barrie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._M._Barrie, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis and The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Garner, children in these wonderful stories accessed worlds where the grown-ups could not enter. Adults no longer believed in the possibility of magic or worlds beyond their own experience…. these worlds have always fascinated me, hence the creation of The Morrow Secrets.
Some of my early history is a little strange….
The Old Dark House of Secrets at Winderling Spires
My mother had an aunt, who we called Auntie Annie and she would suddenly go into a trance without any warning. She was my grandmother’s closest friend and my mother called her my fairy godmother. The reason for this was that it took my mother many years to get pregnant and this strange woman predicted this. One day Annie was sitting in my grandmother’s house, her head fell backwards and she began to speak with someone else’s voice. She told my mother after 12 years of marriage that she could hear the feet of a small child running beside her… the next month my mother discovered she was pregnant with me.
My mother said that Annie used to frighten her when she went into trances, mostly because of her strange sounding voice and the fact she seemed to become someone else during the time she was in a trance. These stories influenced my creation of the character, Tallitha who is able to enter a trance-like state. Both Annie and Tallitha have clairvoyant powers and the trance-like journey is explored in The Morrow Secrets as Tallitha struggles to understand her destiny.
July 7, 2013
Gothic Fantasy – A Supernatural Saga
5.0 out of 5 stars A ROLLICKING READ FULL OF WIT AND WONDER!!!
The Black Hound in Ragging Brows Forest
Richard S. Friedman “Rick Friedman”
This review is from: The Morrow Secrets (The Morrow Trilogy Plus) (Kindle Edition)
“The Morrow Secrets’ is a high-fantasy gothic adventure story written for children in the 10 to 14 year age group but also enjoyed by adults who love delving into the world of mystery, suspense, imagination and make-believe. It is the first book in a series about Tallitha Mouldson, a headstrong girl caught up in the sinister web of her eccentric family”
A most magical and wonderful fantasy- while geared towards the YA crowd-The Morrow Secrets makes for a splendid read for all ages!
I was entranced from the very first page- the imaginary prowess of Susan McNally is to be greatly admired!
Characters and locations burst off the page with lusterous gusto- the prose is finely tuned and fast paced- and the plot never slows- Highly recommended for many reasons- wonderful writings style, unique characters and most certainly the first in what promises to be a most remarkable new Fantasy series!! Bravo Susan McNally!!
AN OFFICIAL JAMES MASON COMMUNIT
Y BOOK CLUB MUST READ
RICK FRIEDMAN
FOUNDER
THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOKCLUB
May 26, 2013
On Writing The Morrow Secrets
This interview includes my experience of the creative writing process and my favourite writing tips for new and aspiring authors.
This is an excerpt from the broadcast including clips from the Gothic illustrations in the book
The Black Hound in Ragging Brows Forest
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008CE93AY
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