Category: writing

And writers

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appearances writers

Castaway!

With lovely Sylvia Vetta in the Summertown Wine Cafe.

I first met Sylvia last year at an event I did for the Oxford Literary Festival Fringe, a writer’s workshop at Blackwells (where most of the lit fest fringe events run). Sylvia is a local journalist and the former owner of The Jam Factory, an antiques centre that had cult status in Oxford for most of my years here, but which closed a few years ago when the neighbourhood was yuppified.

Sylvia writes the monthly ‘Castaway’ article in the Oxford Times limited edition magazine, a glossy special. She interviews local authors, artists, businesspeople, academics etc, through questioning them about their favourite art, antiquarian books and antiques.

And in June, Sylvia’s article will feature me!

(Updated: the Castaway interview is now available on the interviews page.)

I don’t think of myself as an art lover, or collector of antiques etc. Frankly I’m too broke, what with the exorbitant cost of visiting all the foreign lands to research Joshua, as well as my exotically foreign family. (I’m referring to the ones who live in Australia and Switzerland by choice, not the Mexicans…)

Luckily Sylvia allows you any object you desire, since it’s mere fantasy. Even the Elgin Marbles, if I wanted them, hah take that, British Museum! In fact, I did lust after one object in the BM…

When the article is published I’ll let you know. The interview, which we did in the Summertown Wine cafe, is accompanied by images from a photoshoot that is yet to be arranged. I’ve asked to be photographed in an huge leather-upholstered Jakobsen Egg chair in St Catz, reading an Uncle Scrooge McDuck comic.

MG Harris at the Kennington Free Literary festival

If you’re Oxfordshire-based and would like the chance to see me or other local authors talk in a mini literary festival, Sylvia also runs the Kennington Free Literary festival in Kennington, Oxon, on Saturday 24th April. Tickets are free, with a £2 booking charge if you want to guarantee a seat. But even booking is free for children – so come on down to listen to the MG Harris author talk!

Booking form for Kennington Free Literary festival.

Full colour brochure for Kenningtom Free Literary festival.

Categories
jaguar's realm Joshua Files other books zero moment

Cupcakes, waiting and writing Secret New Things

Two weeks to go until ZERO MOMENT is officially published.

Except that, as several readers have already pointed out to me, ZERO MOMENT is now being sold on Amazon.co.uk, Tesco, and Waterstones (in the stores too). Some readers have already bought it, read it and sent me lovely comments – thank you!

(Would be nice if you would put nice comments on Amazon too, that would be RIGHT lovely.)

Meanwhile what does an author do in the run-up period?

1. Plan a ZERO MOMENT launch party. It’s back to Blackwell’s in Oxford, but with more guests and more cakes. I am planning a marathon cupcakes making session, and am choosing four different types to make. Might do a poll, heh heh.

2. Gloatathon! Tracking the progress of Joshua as it starts getting published around the world. The Vietnamese edition of INVISIBLE CITY made their top ten paperback list, according to one blog. Nice reviews are appearing on blogs about the Indonesian and Spanish editions. Lovely, kind bloggers!

ICE SHOCK, which isn’t yet published in the USA, made a Top 12 Young Adult Books of 2009 on a US book blog, Semicolon. (And was also nominated for a Cybil – Middle Grade Fiction Award.)

I have exactly the same attitude to gloating about nice reviews as I once had to good results with my lab experiments. Celebrate them while you can! One day the reviews (or results) will not be so good…

3. Plan the Krispy Kreme FaceBook party. You need to be on the Joshua Files FaceBook Group to come to this, but it would be lovely to see some of the Oxford-based Joshua readers.

4. Meet Lovely Editor to discuss her notes for the manuscript of Joshua #4, DARK PARALLEL. Yes! It’s written and I am now poised, poised I tell you, to move to a second draft.

5. Pitch Quite Secret New Thing (hereafter QSNT) and Top Secret New Thing That I Only Just Thought Of In December But Which Is A Sort Of Major Rewrite Of Jaguar’s Realm (hereafter Top Secret New Thing or TSNT for short). Where am I on this? I have the opening chapters of QSNT which I am rewriting with suggestions from Mr Agent and today I wrote chapter 3 of TSNT.

I don’t know what I will write next! The new MD of Scholastic Children’s Book’s will soon hear both ideas…and decide: which one is best? Or at least, which one is best, next.

So as you see I have been busy. Don’t forget to join the Joshua Files FaceBook Group!

Categories
appearances raves writers youtube

MG – highlights from Hay-on-Wye 2009

Spent the latter half of this week at the Hay-on-Wye literary festival, the UK’s biggest celebration of books.

Highlights:

1. Lovely as ever to meet readers young and old, and to interest new people to the world of Joshua. I had to rush the signing slightly because pretty much everyone wanted to see Anthony Horowitz next. One day I will do a signings in a leisurely way and chat to everyone…

2. Saw terrific author events with Robert Muchamore (funny and frank), Anthony Horowitz (funny and hyper), and Andy Stanton (funny and MAD. 6-9 year olds go crazy for Andy and his books!). Andy is a former standup comedian and described by the Guardian as ‘one of the best performers on the children’s literary circuit’. (I’d agree)

It made me wonder if I should attempt to be funny but yanno what? No. I’m a girl, not a blokey boy like those three guys. Hard for girls to be funny unless you have way more energy than me. So you’ll be getting the laconic archaeology lecture for a bit longer until I can get away with telling childhood anecdotes.

I have already lined up the anecdotes, will save that for another post. First will search for photographic evidence, muahaha.

3. Andy Stanton and I hung out at the Kind of Blue jazz concert. Jimmy Cobb, former drummer with Miles Davis, played on that hugely influential album and now leads a very tight band of tenor sax, alto sax, trumpet, bass and piano. Oh man. Imagine hearing that music…then seeing Jimmy at breakfast at the Swan Hotel in hay next morning! I mentioned to him that Kind of Blue is an important reference for Josh in ‘Joshua Files’. ‘Very interesting’ nodded Jimmy. ‘Write the name of the book down so I can find it…’.

Yeah. Cool, huh?

4. Also chatted with Julia Eccleshare and her charming son George. Good luck with the exams, George. Hope you make those 3 As!

5. Ate much cake and wine with the fab Sir Philip of Ardagh, who agonised about leaving the party atmosphere at Hay for the genteel spa-town charms of Cheltenham. ‘I want to stay here and hang with my homies’ he complained.

6. Philip, Andy and Anthony are soon to be our little daughter’s new favourite authors. I don’t believe a child should live on Roald Dahl and nothing else. Weaning started tonight, with Anthony’s ‘The Switch’.

7. Mr Horowitz gave me a discarded page from his first draft of the new Alex Rider, signed over to my niece and nephew in Oz who LOOOOVE him. I gave Anthony an Invisible City postcard. Anthony swiftly moved to deciphering the code without a single key word!

Code crackers, watch and learn…

Categories
book awards ramble zero moment

A Writer’s Potpourri* (inc Leeds Book Award 2009 update)

As you know, Bob, the blog is commonly used as a vent for the author’s random experiences and emotions.

I’ve been feeling the need for a bit of spillage so here goes. But concise, like. Bullet point-style:

  1. Went up to Leeds where Invisible City had been shortlisted for the Leeds Book Award. There were some totally fab presentations by children of Leeds, using display cards, artwork, Powerpoint, music and even a Dragon’s Den format to talk about the books. The winners were ‘Blood Ties’ by Sophie McKenzie and ‘Before I Die’ by Jenny Downham. All shortlisted authors received a totally ace jewel-shaped ornament engraved with the ‘Leeds Book Award’ logo.Thanks especially to the students from St Mary’s Menston who did the Joshua/MG Harris presentation. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen such a presentation about one of my books so was very exciting! You can see a photo of the St Mary’s gang below. Thanks to Abbey for the photo!

    Students from St Mary's Menston School in Leeds with MG Harris at the 2009 Leeds Children's Book Award.
    Students from St Mary's Menston School in Leeds with shortlisted author MG Harris at the Leeds Book Award ceremony.
  2. Writing Joshua #4 and editing Joshua #3 (ZERO MOMENT). My editor must wonder why it[‘s taking so for long for the latter but the truth is that I’ve only had 4 sessions with the manuscript. It’s the lightest edit I’ve ever had, so of course instead of cracking on with it as I should I’m procrastinating. Must finish by end of next week! However Joshua #4 was really humming along, until I hit a hard part yesterday. I wrote the most dramatic scene in the ms so far…but since it’s not even halfway through, somehow I will have to top it. Plot hints? NO WAY! I’m not even telling you the title!
  3. Looking forward to the Hay-on-Wye literary festival. It’s my first time there and I’m very honoured to be asked! My event is on Thursday 28th May at 10am and you can book online now.

  4. Taking bookings for engagements next year already! Wow. That really makes me feel FABULOUS dahlink!
  5. Starting a totally new thing! Yes, I blogged about this and will again. I don’t have much mental space to devote to it yet but right now I am concentrating on the opening and the title. Many decisions to make still, like the name of the main character and the voice of the narrator. Slow progress but getting there…

*Salsa bands love to slap a potpourri song on their CDs; it’s what English-speaking musicians call a ‘medley’. But we latinos as highly prone to whimsy and sentimentality, hence the more evocative term ‘potpourri’.

Categories
other books writing

Starting something new (Part 1): the idea

Subtitle: Yet another self-indulgent writerly blog post about the process of writing, probably nothing you haven’t read elsewhere, sorry…

I know that a couple of my friends who read this blog are writers too, so I thought I’d actually write some posts about the process of starting a completely new project.

Over the last year I’ve been mulling over an idea for something completely new that I could work on post Joshua. I know Joshua is only on book 2 but I’m already starting Joshua 4 and planning Joshua 5. For me the major part of the Joshua experience will be over by next year.

So last year I started to ponder a question: could I write a crime novel for children? I wondered why there isn’t a really high profile mainstream crime series for children. I wondered if the genre actually lends itself to children and young adults.

Maybe it doesn’t. There are some big problems after all.

  1. Crime is usually motivated by some very adult issues. Things that have little places in the world of children, frankly. So a children’s crime story could be about theft, or something like revenge for a huge injustice. But the best crime stories are about murder…so how do we get around that?
  2. The detective figure is not a natural hero. Smarter than everyone around him/her, the detective must see what others cannot, ideally without turning into too much of an arrogant pig. A child detective would have to be that much smarter. And readers don’t empathize easily with preocious children.Writers of adult crime stories get around this by making us sympathize with the detective through their flaws; drunkenness, loneliness (divorced, single parent), utter wierdness, or by making them into such wise genial figures (MIss Marple, Madam Ramotswe) that we cosy up to them.This isn’t easy to do with a teenage detective.

You could probably solve many of these issues by using humour, but that’s been done. What I wanted to know was – what would it take to make the detective novel work for children, without making it about larks, serious yet also thrilling and adventuresome?

I thought about this for some months. I came up with an idea that I thought could work. During my book tour in 2008 I bounced the idea around with a few of the Scholastic staff who accompanied me. They thought it could work too.

More tweaking of the idea, over months, adding elements into it, exactly like a potion. First comes the problem…the need or lack. Then comes the possible solution…a dash of this, a snippet of that. All borrowed from sources where they work. (I never said I didn’t steal and borrow. I do it all the time!)

After almost a year I had something that is about 60% there in terms of structural elements and conscious influences. Like Orson Scott Card advises, the basis is a cross of two ideas, actually, three, although not in equal proportions.

In a coffee shop with my new editor, I discussed the idea. We’d just seen some people we knew as we passed Trinity College, Oxford and our discussion had turned to something relevant to my idea. It was probably the right time to have an expert listen to the idea, because I believe the plot outline and concept had only recently gained coherence.

My editor was most intrigued by the idea. That’s a good sign that it’s worth pursuing further. Mr Agent, of course needed no persuasion. An editor’s interest can’t be argued with…