Kate Kelly's Blog, page 23

Books For Chrismas

It’s that time of year again. Everyone is running around wondering what to buy for nephews and nieces, parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles. And what better presents to buy than books.

Now obviously I’m going to say – “buy my book”. Red Rock would be the perfect present for your child or grandchild, nephew or niece. An exhilarating adventure set in an all too possible future. You can find out more about it here.

But even if you’re not buying for children there’s a wealth of books availabl...

Guest: Self Published author Sue Yockney

Please Welcome Sue Yockney to my blog. Sue is a friend from a local writers group and she has just self published a dystopian romance, ‘Happy Deathday’ on kindle. Sue has kindly agreed to come over to my blog and tell us a bit about her book and the self publishing process.

Q. Hi Sue. Could you start by telling us a bit about yourself and your writing?
I was born in London. After studying art at Central St Martins, I went on to qualify as a librarian, eventually becoming a School Library Adviso...

Celebrating UKYA

There’s a whisper among the kids and a buzz around the internet. Something exciting is happening in the world of children’s literature. A new phrase is on the tips of everyone’s tongues. It is gaining momentum. It is UKYA.

For too long the Young Adult market has been dominated by the big hit bestsellers from across the pond. It still is and it probably always will be. But there is a huge and often untapped resource of British Young Adult books – books that bring something fresh to the genre, b...

Red Rock Alliteration Giveaway!

Have you had a chance to read Red Rock yet? Do you like the way both the title and my name are examples of alliteration?

So in order to celebrate the fact that Red Rock has now been out for almost 2 whole months I thought I would organise a giveaway – an alliteration giveaway!

A signed copy of Red Rock and one of these gorgeous Red Rock pendants could be yours. And to enter this giveaway couldn’t be easier.



All you have to do is think of a two word review to describe Red Rock using alliteration...

Bridport Story Slam 2013

Last night I was at the Beach and Barnicott on Bridport for the 2013 story slam, organised by Frances Colville and Kathy Hallsworth, where I had been invited to be one of the judges.

If, like me, you’ve never been to a story slam before, I’ll explain to you what happens.

The format is very straightforward. Authors register to take part and their names are put into a hat and drawn at random. Each then has five minutes in front of the microphone to read their short story.

The five minutes wa...

Tips for Writers: A three Point Checklist.

I hear many authors bemoaning the fat that they are collecting nothing but piles of form rejections. They wonder why this could be. Sometimes they blame the publishing industry.

So I thought I’d share with you my three point checklist – three elements your submission has to have if it’s going to stand out from the slushpile. Of course there’s more to it than just these – but it’s a starting point.

And be honest with yourself, you may think you meet all three – but do you really?

1. Voice: V...

The Post Publication Whirlwind

The past few weeks since Red Rock hit the shelves have passed in a blur of excitement. I don’t think my feet have touched the ground and I’ve barely had time to breathe. There’s been so much happening I hardly know where to begin.

I’ve been taking part in so many author events – I’ve already blogged about the Yeovil Literary Festival but I’ve also been in to a couple of schools and last week I was back up in Yeovil where I was on the panel at their annual Booker Debate.

I was allocated ‘We Need...

Yeovil Literary Festival

Last weekend was the Yeovil Literary Festival, and I was part of it, in my capacity as a newly published author.

I participated in one panel event – past winners of the Yeovil Literary Prize. There have been quite a few success stories now from this internationally renowned competition, and Red Rock is one of them, an earlier version having been Highly Commended back in 2010.

I also gave a workshop to a fabulous bunch of kids – we went on a journey to Mars, smashing into asteroids and battlin...

Let’s Talk about Cli-Fi

In recent months there’s been quite a buzz developing about Cli-Fi. The term Cli-Fi – short for Climate Fiction, was first coined in 2007 by the journalist and blogger, Daniel Bloom to describe a sub-genre of fiction which has the climate as its focus.

Although I didn’t deliberately set out to write a book about climate change it is certainly one of the main themes in Red Rock – the ice caps are melting, sea levels are starting to rise. It doesn’t need much of a sea level rise for the effects...

Red Rock is Published!

Today is the day – it’s Red Rock publication day! Red Rock is now available from Amazon and from all good bookshops – Waterstone’s, Foyles, Blackwells, Smiths…. So no excuses for not picking up a copy. It is also available as an e-book if you prefer that format.



To celebrate I am over at 14kidlit and AuthorAllsorts answering questions about the book, and I also have a guest post up at SFX magazine on the rise of cli-fi – do check it out and tell us what you think about the topic.

Over the next...