Susan McNally's Blog, page 9

Magical Children’s Story – Five Star Reviews for The Morrow Secrets

I just reviewed: ‘The Morrow Secrets (The Morrow Trilogy Plus)’ by Susan McNally

www.amazon.co.uk

“GRIPPING READ”. I loved the Morrow Secrets, was gripped from the first page, kept me enthralled and guessing throughout. Really looking forward to the next one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008CE93AY

The Old House of Secrets at Winderling Spires

5.0 out of 5 stars A dark treat

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Morrow Secrets (The Morrow Trilogy Plus) (Kindle Edition)

You know you’re onto a good book when you start reading it just to get a general feel of the book – only to look up and find it’s been 4 hours since you did anything except read and you have work in the morning. It’s an even better sign when you decide you don’t care much for work anyway and just carry on reading.

That’s exactly what ‘The Morrow Secrets’ is. The first of what looks set to be an incredibly gripping series centred around the adventures of Tallitha and her brother Tyaas as they treck into strange uncharted lands to discover even stranger truths and secrets.

What really stands out about this book is that despite the general consensus being that it’s a children’s novel – the book is unabashedly dark. Not dark in a gratutiously scary way that would dissuade younger readers, but in the same vein that pioneers like Tim Burton and the ‘Series of Unfortunate Events’ have managed to captivate adults as well.

This book is a hugely important addition to that genre and I honestly can’t wait to see what comes next in what looks set to be an epic series.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008CE93AY

http://themorrowsecrets.com/

http://themorrowsecrets.com/index.php/the-blog/

A Magical Adventure Story That Will Keep Children and Adults on The Edge of Their Seats!

Read this great 5 Star Review recently posted on Amazon

Amazon Verified Purchase(What is this?)

 

This review is from: The Morrow Secrets (The Morrow Trilogy Plus) (Kindle Edition)

What a great story! The plot leading you on a dark and dangerous adventure full of intrigue, betrayal and magic.

The Old House of Secrets at Winderling Spires

This book pulls you in and immerses you into a gothic world full of strange creatures, mysterious characters and elusive secrets. The attention to detail is amazing, as well-imagined and developed as anything in the Harry Potter series.

Young girls will especially enjoy the main character Tallitha, a wonderfully strong female character with a rebellious spirit and a taste for adventure! It definitely follows in the footsteps of ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ for fiction that’s not afraid to introduce a little darkness into the story, making it a good read for adults as well.

Accompanied by the superb illustrations, this is a book that will fire the imagination and leave you wondering what’s next in store for Tallitha and the family of Winderling Spires…

Secret Rooms & Hidden Floors in the Gothic House of Winderling Spires

 Tallitha’s story is a gothic fantasy adventure of clandestine exploration in the mysterious house of Winderling Spires, full of secret rooms and hidden floors. The rambling house is a complex interwoven web of staircases leading to abandoned wings and towers.

Will she be able to unearth the secrets as the ghostly spectres bear down on her from the Morrow past?

The house of secrets at Winderling Spires

 It is a house of many secrets to be discovered.

 Inhabited by strange exotic characters.

 Then the journey begins…..

 During my research into the gothic stately homes in England, I came across Highclere Castle

http://www.highclerecastle.co.uk.

Amazing floor plans of the most enormous houses. I have always been fascinated by labyrinthine, complex

dwellings where rooms have been shut

up for years… with family legends and ghostly stories. The Morrow Secrets, is just such a tale…

Create a Great Children’s Novel with Gothic Illustrations

The rambling house of Winderling Spires




The Black Hound from Ragging Brows Forest




Marlin on the dark stairs

These are some of the illustrations from The Morrow Secrets

 
Marlin, the shrove on the dark stairs in Winderling Spires
 
The terrifying Black Hound, from the pack in Ragging Brows Forest
 
The cover of The Morrow Secrets depicting the spooky, rambling old house of Winderling Spires
 
I found, that when writing the story, I wanted illustrations to depict some of the main characters. These drawings capture the essence of the characters.
 
The wicked shrove and perhaps one of the most frightening scenes with the black hounds in the forest….

How To Write A Children’s Novel

http://soundcloud.com/fox-edition/how-to-write-childrens-fiction

Listen to my radio interview with Viv Oyolu on the Dream Corner Radio Show about

the creative process of writing the fantasy children’s story, The Morrow Secrets.

The rambling house of Winderling Spires

The interview includes ideas and tips on how to write children’s fiction, the new e-book phenomenon,

the ups and downs of self-publishing and how to develop your approach to characterisation.

How to Create Great Characters in Your Book

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again. You have to write the book you want to read otherwise it won’t be fun and will feel like very hard work. So choose the subject you’re really interested in, that grabs you each morning and makes you want to get at that computer and begin typing. For me it was writing an exciting children’s fantasy adventure story, with strong female characters and a wealth of strange creatures. I had to create my own mythical world where some very odd things happen. A beguiling mystery with secrets to be unearthed. It’s only when you find your genre, the one you want to inhabit and have to inhabit that your characters come alive.

The Weird Morrow Sisters, Edwina & Sybilla

These characters begin to inhabit your mind… You can imagine them and their reactions in many different circumstances and how they will react. I know what Marlin, the sly old shrove will do in any situation and I know how Ruker the brave Skink will react.

 
I believe once you really know these characters, the dialogue flows easily between them. That’s not to say that you don’t need to re-read your scenes time after time, because you do. I can always improve a passage by re-reading it, often speaking aloud and listening to how the dialogue sounds. Is it natural? Is it too verbose? If it is then cut it.
 
Character continuity is very important. If Neeps (one of the Skinks) has blond hair when he is first introduced into the story… he can’t have brown hair later on ( unless he’s dyed it!) Keep cards with all your characters idiosyncracies, then you don’t have to keep going back to find them in your book. The colour of their eyes, the way they walk and their mannerisms are all recorded on your index cards. ( XYBS5SCSVMWU)