Everything Is Fine - The Trailer

The trailer for EVERYTHING IS FINE (AND OTHER LIES I TELL MYSELF) went live today and it's already making people cry! That wasn't my intention, honest! Well... alright... perhaps it was... a bit.

It took months to film it - almost as long as writing the book - because I had to wait for the weather to change so I could secure that sun-drenched beach and sand dune footage. Let me know what you think...

'EVERYTHING IS FINE' Book Launch

I have a new book coming out next month, yay! On May 9th, in fact. It feels like days, not a WHOLE YEAR, since I was writing it and now it's about to hit the bookshelves. It's been 12+ months of very hard work and I can't wait to show it to you. I'll be celebrating the launch of

'Everything Is Fine (And other Lies I Tell Myself)' 

with a small party at my favourite indie bookshop, Barton's in Leatherhead, on Saturday May 11th. You are invited to come along and have some Pimms (over 18s) and cake and, of course, to get a freshly minted 'signed' copy of the book.

New ideas that didn't set my hair on fire

Me (drawn by Alex during a school visit)

There are a handful of questions that, without fail, infiltrate almost every Q&A session at the end of my writing/drawing workshops. I've been assured by other authors/illustrators that I'm not alone in regularly fielding this handful. They are: 1. Are you rich? (no), 2. Can I have some free books, please? (though, sadly, not always with the 'please'), 3. Are those really your drawings? (yes), 4. Can you put me in your next book? (the villain?) and 5. Where do you get your ideas from?

NOT my inspiration

My replies to all five often disappoint, particularly the last one, because the answer is everywhere and everything. I'm sometimes a little more specific but that really is the most honest answer I can give. Sorry if it's not more romantic like nocturnal visits from a ghostly muse, or flashes of inspiration that set my hair on fire. Just, you know, standing at the Sainsbury's checkout and noticing a wobbly trolley wheel and thinking... car crash! (As you do. If you're a writer!)

Which brings me to my new novel. I've just started writing it and am barely past chapter two, but it's all there in my head (and scribbled chaotically in notebooks). This is my favourite bit of the job. It's when I'm full of excitement and enthusiasm and can't wait to get my new characters down on paper (er, screen) and send them hurtling into the jeopardy I've created for them. It's great because it will be weeks (sometimes months) before I show the first draft to anyone (my sister, my mum, my agent) and they start feeding back and I dissolve into a puddle of insecurity and self-hate (even if they've said nice, encouraging things - other authors will know what I mean).

Anyway, this book was inspired by something quite small, quite insignificant. Actually two small insignificant things. The first was a book of Keats poems from my school days and the second the pattern of shadows under a tree in (you guessed it) Sainsbury's car park! It wasn't the poems in the Keats book that provided the inspiration, but the notes in my rounded fourteen-year-old handwriting found in the margins that got my creative brain fizzing. And those leaf patterns on the Tarmac took me straight back to a particularly unusual meteorological event many years ago that completely freaked me out. I knew I had to make that day the setting for the climax of my book.

That's as much as I'm going to tell you for now. Perhaps I'll share a little more once I've got past chapter two. And I'm peckish and the fridge is empty, so I'm off to the supermarket for milk, tomatoes and... plot twists.

WIP

Here's a sneak peak at my current WIP (Work In Progress). Bet you can't guess what it's about. Check back here later in the year for details and a publishing date.

Secret School Project Revealed

Now that it's officially been unveiled I'm able to share my Top Secret New Year Project. During the Christmas break I've been painting a mural at The Howard of Effingham School. It's a great school with a brilliant library and I'm regularly invited to run creative workshops for Year 7s and 8s. Apart from book publication days, visits to The Howard are the highlight of my year.

Here's the full story...

My task was to 'make reading cool' and to make the English Department an exciting place to be, so my proposal was to depict a mixture of set texts (Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Keats etc.) and my favourite YA fiction, giving them a quirky twist... and a liberal dash of humour.

At the end of last term the plot was hatched. Secret meetings were scheduled. Ideas were submitted. Sketches were approved. The dark, dreary walls of the English Department corridor suddenly acquired a set of huge MDF boards. The pupils suspected that something was afoot but knew they'd have to wait until January to find out what mad scheme would greet them on their return...

Once the building was empty I got to work. I gathered my sketches, bought paint...

...and started to draw...

I just about finished and cleared up by the time everyone returned to school on Monday, but I had to wait until Thursday and the official ribbon cutting (by the Head) before I discovered whether the pupils loved or hated it. The verdict? They love it! Phew!

The ribbon was cut, speeches were made, I was presented some lovely flowers (and a 'thank you' balloon), was photographed by the local paper, interviewed by pupils, then we all drank tea and ate cake! Pretty much a perfect result.

Junior journalists Charley, Francisca and Mary interviewing me while keeping an eye on the cakes!

Season's Greetings

New Book Revealed!

Here it is at last, the cover of my new book.

Hurrah!
I'm afraid you'll have to wait until 9th May 2013 to buy a copy (unless you pre-order) but there will be ARCs available in the New Year from Headline Publishing for eager journos and book bloggers.