To celebrate today’s launch of New Beginnings (recommended for children aged 8-11), I’m handing my blog over to (and wishing happy publication day to) Rebecca Emin. 

I remember going to see my English teacher after I got an A in my English Language O’Level. After thanking her, I said, “One day I will write a novel.”  Over the years I started many such novels. I would start, be really enthusiastic and then forget all about them for years at a time. I recently found a floppy disc (remember those?) for an ancient Apple Mac, with the word ‘novel’ written on it.  That was one I started at University, I think, in a vague attempt to avoid doing any proper work.

Fast forward a couple of decades, and suddenly there was a birthday looming; one of those ridiculously scary ones with a zero at the end. My mid-life crisis came in the form of knowing that if I didn’t get on and write now it would never happen. So I spent a few months mulling that idea over and eventually signed up to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in 2009; a challenge to write 50,000 words in a month. At the time, my children were seven, five and just under two. But I was determined; I was going to write The Best Chick Lit novel ever.

I always thought I would write chick lit. But on 31 October 2009, I had a flash of inspiration for a novel for children. So I sat down on 1 November, started a document and wrote everything that came into my head. I did exactly what they say you should do during NaNoWriMo, I didn’t look back, I typed madly, waffled on about nonsense and looking back made the following year incredibly hard for myself, but during that month, the story was born.

After NaNoWriMo 2009, I felt a massive anticlimax that it was over. I didn’t look at the document for about five months, and when I did it was terrible; like a ball of wool that had been knitted, twisted and knotted, and handed to someone to unravel. I read through it once, almost deleted the whole thing, left it for another week, and then started to pick away at it slowly but surely.

I have no idea how many times I went through the manuscript, both on screen and on paper, but by the time I handed it over to a professional editor, I was sick of the sight of it. It was terrifying waiting to get it back. But when I did, I discovered something I hadn’t expected at all; I love having my work edited. I read through all the comments and found myself nodding in agreement, smiling, and actually looking forward to working on the manuscript again. It was the best thing I ever did.

It was a lot of hard work, and it took longer than I thought it would, but the fact that someone read my manuscript, and wanted to publish it, made me realise that it was a story worth telling.

Looking back, I didn’t think I’d get anywhere with this novel. It was the first creative writing I had done for a long time; the first novel I had completed, and I have an in-built fear that everyone will laugh at everything I say/do/think/write. If you read my novel it won’t take a genius to realise why. They say to start writing from your own experiences, and that is what I did.

New Beginnings was more than just a novel for me, it was the best therapy I could ever have had. As I wrote the final chapters of the book I finally realised that after nearly thirty years, I have finally forgiven the girls who bullied me at school.

I am donating 10% of all profits I make from this novel to the charity Bullying UK.

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About Rebecca: Rebecca Emin lives in Oxfordshire, England, with her husband and three children. Her debut novel, ‘New Beginnings’ will be published by Grimoire Books on 23 January 2012. Rebecca has finished her second novel ‘When Dreams Come True’ which is also for older children.

Rebecca enjoys writing flash fiction and short stories and has had several flash fiction stories included in fundraising anthologies. ‘A Knowing Look and Other Stories’ is a collection of Rebecca’s short stories which was published in November 2011. Rebecca is also an author for Ether Books who publish short stories and essays to mobile devices via the Ether app.

You can find out more about Rebecca’s writing by following her on Twitter @RebeccaEmin, connecting with her on Facebook or by following her blog.

(To celebrate the launch of ‘The Night Before Christmas‘, I’ve a SIGNED (and wrapped in Christmas paper) copy to give away at the end of this post)

All Lydia’s ever wanted is a perfect Christmas…

So when her oldest friends invite her to spend the holidays with them, it seems like a dream come true. She’s been promised log fires, roasted chestnuts, her own weight in mince pies – all in a setting that looks like something out of a Christmas card.

But her winter wonderland is ruined when she finds herself snowed in with her current boyfriend, her old flame and a hunky stranger. Well, three (wise) men is traditional at this time of year…

The cold weather is upon us, Christmas is a mere 18 DAYS away and so what better time to offer this festive giveaway! And Scarlett Bailey’s debut is a PERFECT book for this time of year. I LOVE that it is truly and absolutely set in the Christmas period (books that use ‘Christmas’ but don’t embrace it are a pet hate!) and that the pages are brimming with festivity. This is a novel to snuggle down with, to juggle with a mug of hot chocolate and a tin of Quality Street. I can promise that you’ll be left with a Christmassy warm glow.

Romantic, funny and packed with likeable characters – what are you waiting for? I absolutely recommend ‘The Night Before Christmas’ to you all.

Talking to Scarlett:

What are your top 3 Christmas films? My top three Christmas films are ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, what’s not to love the gorgeous James Stewart talking to a Christmas angel! ‘Miracle on 34th Street’, obviously Santa is real, duh… and ‘Holiday Inn’ which is actually quite a terrible film, but its got Bing singing ‘White Christmas’, which is my all time most favourite Christmas song. I do have to add a cheeky shout out to ‘Elf’, best Christmas film of recent years, love it.

And your all time favourite 3 Christmas songs? Oh, well ‘White Christmas’ (by Bing) that man had the touch, his vocal stylings always bring a tear to the eye, ‘Fairy Tale in New York’, for a song that is basically about bitterness and recrimination it’s awfully festive, and ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’, sung by Jude Garland, which also brings a tear to the eye. Come to think of it, I’m a bit maudlin aren’t I? Pass the whiskey….

What will you be wishing for this Christmas? A life size chocolate model of Johnny Depp that comes alive when no-one else but me is around. OR an iPad. I think Magic Johnny Depp is a more realistic prospect.

Do you prefer a mince pie, Christmas cake or a dollop of sherry trifle? None of those things, I’m not a fan of fruit, even when its soaked in alcohol. I like a Chocolate Fudge Yule log (must include plastic robin and holly leaves) with a glass of Bailey’s on the side.

Will your Christmas tree be decorated in all one colour or a mix of memories? It will be festooned in tinsel, lots of cheap, nasty, sparkly tat, extending all the way back to my childhood, including the most vile, slutty 1970s Christmas fairy you have ever seen, but which I would not part with.  I’m not a fan of wicker, twiggy, ginghamy, dried oranges, so called tasteful decorations. I think a tree should look like a Slade Christmas single in physical form.

Which 3 people would you like to spend Christmas with (living or dead)? Hmmm. James Stewart, Cary Grant and Gregory Peck. What? I’m a sucker for old style movie star leading men. They don’t make them like that any more. Sigh…

And do you, in any way, think Simon Cowell will end up in my Christmas stocking(s) this year? Listen, if I can get Magic Chocolate Johhny Depp, I don’t see why not.

I’ve a SIGNED copy ( wrapped in Christmas paper AND with a bow) of ‘The Night Before Christmas’’ by Scarlett Bailey to give away. Simply leave a ‘please pick me’ comment by 3pm (GMT) December 9, then I’ll pop all names in a mug and ask a small child to select a winner. This competition is open to all.

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About the author: Scarlett Bailey has loved writing stories since childhood. Before writing her debut novel, ‘The Night Before Christmas‘. she worked as a waitress, cinema usherette and bookseller. Passionate about old movies. Scarlett loves nothing more than spending a wet Sunday afternoon watching her favourite film back-to-back with large quantities of chocolate. Currently she lives in Hertfordshire with her dog, and very large collection of beautiful shoes.

(I have 2 SIGNED sets of ‘Laugh ‘Til It Heals’ and ‘The Clue Phone’s Ringing’ to give away at the end of this post)

A Guest Post: Laugh ‘Til It Heals: Finding Humor in the Journey By Christine K. Clifford, CSP.

Cancer and divorce. Are you laughing yet? Trust me; I wasn’t either when both happened to me.

I was forty when I was diagnosed with breast cancer seventeen years ago. My mom passed from it at 42. Things were different back then: there were no pink ribbons or Cancer Survivor’s Day celebrations. Mom sank into a deep clinical depression, became a recluse and died.

When I heard I had cancer, I thought of my role model: Mom. I’d get depressed, crawl into bed, and die. That is until the night I had my “Twilight Zone” experience. Six weeks after surgery—I had already started chemotherapy and radiation treatments—I woke in the middle of the night with a vision: cartoons. Over 50 cancer-related cartoons started popping up in my head. Scribbling madly, stick-figures flying, exhausted I went upstairs and crawled back into bed.

Something changed for me that night. The next morning I headed to the book store and public library to find a humorous cancer book. The clerks at the Information Counters were not amused. “Humorous book about cancer?!? You’re sick!” (Ah-ha, another cartoon I thought.)

I started searching for signs of humor. The more I searched, the more I found. Suddenly, humor became my focus. Not “I’m going to die,” or “I’m going to crawl into bed,” but “Where are your funny movies, or do you have any new cartoon books?”

I joined organizations like the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor and started communicating with some of the world’s leading authorities on laughter therapy. But something else happened to me, too: I survived.

I cannot pinpoint the exact moment when humor became a purposeful part of my second divorce journey. Looking back on a marriage that included domestic violence and a broken nose, severe alcoholism (his) and loss of identity (mine), there were moments so absurd, that if I couldn’t laugh about them, I’d cry.  Certainly laughter felt better than tears.

Feelings of anger, fear, denial and grief paralleled my cancer experience. The only difference was that one was a struggle for my breast. The other was a struggle for my heart.

It wasn’t easy finding humor in all  I’ve endured. But I called upon that healing power of humor that had literally saved my life years ago, and realized, “I can survive again. I can find life~ and a good life~ on the other side.”

The next time you find yourself at a fork in the road, don’t take the path of least resistance. Paths without obstacles rarely go anywhere. Instead, take the road along the cliff—the one on which you will find humor. Because I promise you this: the sheer exhilaration of the ride will fill you with more laughter, and give you even more permission to laugh harder still. And that one day, will help you survive. But every day will leave you utterly tickled pink. Don’t forget to laugh! ™

 I have 2 signed sets of ‘Laugh ‘Til It Heals’ and ‘The Clue Phone’s Ringing’ by Christine K. Clifford to give away. That’s 2 books for 2 lucky folk! Simply leave a ‘please pick me’ comment by 3pm (GMT) November 30, then I’ll pop all names in a mug and ask a small child to select 2 winners. This competition is open to all.

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About the author: Christine Clifford, CSP is CEO/President of The Cancer Club (www.cancerclub.com) and Divorcing Divas, LLC (www.divorcingdivas.net) and the author of Laugh ‘ Til It Heals: Notes from the World’s Funniest Cancer Mailbox and The Clue Phone’s Ringing… It’s for You! Healing Humor for Women Divorcing.

“Laugh ‘Til it Heals: Notes from the World’s Funniest Cancer Mailbox explores the humorous side of cancer while also providing information on how to support someone who has cancer, and giving advice regarding beneficial nutrition.  The book is also practical in citing resources created by cancer patients worldwide.

As you read these touching stories, you will laugh out loud with the storyteller. Laugh at the story of a woman chasing tumbleweed (her wig) across the parking lot on a windy day, or the woman who suffered the side effect of a powerful diuretic in public.”

 

“The Clue Phone’s Ringing… It’s For You! is a poignant book about how humour became part of Christine’s therapy as she faced her second divorce.

The Clue Phone is the phone inside your head that should set alarm bells ringing when something isn’t quite right about a situation. If only Christine had picked up the Clue Phone on one of the numerous occasions when it rang off the hook, she wouldn’t have entered into a marriage that inevitably ended in divorce.”

Oh, we do have a love of all things Horrid in this house. And the beauty with Horrid Henry books are that you know exactly what you’re going to get with each and every story – high quality writing, fun story lines and never a moment of disappointment. And, yet again, Francesca Simon has delivered two more delicious books.

‘Horrid Henry and the Zombie Vampire‘ is the twentieth storybook in this multi-million-copy-selling series, containing Horrid Henry stories. This new book contains four new stories in which Horrid Henry terrorizes his classmates at a school sleepover in the museum; plays with Perfect Peter and tricks him into handing over all his money; gets out of writing his own story for Miss Battle-Axe by adapting one of Peter’s; and meets the Nudie Foodie, a celebrity chef, who comes to the school to improve school dinners.

‘Horrid Henry’s A – Z of Everything Horrid’ offers a very perfect welcome to Horrid Henry’s wicked world.This essential A-Z gives details of all things hilarious and horrid, crazy and chaotic, fiendishly fantastic and utterly brilliant. A is for APRIL FOOLS’ DAY, Horrid Henry’s favourite day of the year (except his birthday, of course.) B is for BOGEY BABYSITTER, Rabid Rebecca, the toughest teen in town. C is for CHRISTMAS PRESENTS, Father Christmas had better get it right this year! From the Purple Hand to pink frilly knickers; supersoakers to Sour Susan; football fiends to fizzywhiz drinks; demon dinner ladies to Dungeon Drinks – this book has it all and more. An encyclopedia of absolutely EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about Horrid Henry.

But then there’s something a little bit different, for an 8+ audience -  ‘A Year without Autumn’ by Liz Kessler.

If you could see into the future – would you look?

Jenni Green doesn’t have a choice. On her way to visit her best friend, Autumn, Jenni suddenly finds she’s been transported exactly one year forward in time. Now she discovers that in the year that’s gone by, tragedy has struck and her friendship with Autumn will never be the same again.

But what caused the tragedy? How did Jenni skip a year? And can she find her way back to the past to try to change what lies ahead?

I absolutely loved this one (and reading it with Littlest). Looking at the importance of friendships curves the entire narrative. Easy to read, utterly engaging and showing the jigsawing together of events that can lead to tragedy (and how to prevent that tragedy, if you’re brave enough). This book is clever, effortlessly so. I can’t wait to read more by Liz Kessler.

And, finally, a little bit of something else to end this post. I don’t think many of you will have thought of me in this way before…

(Today I hand my blog over to Mr Damian McNicholl. Welcome, Damian…)

Writing for the Silver Screen:

With the recent publication of my new novel, Twisted Agendas, an offbeat tale set in London and New York City, it’s time to get cracking on the screenplay of it. You might think it weird that a novelist is tackling a screenplay but it’s not as silly as it sounds. I dipped my toe in the water with my first novel, A Son Called Gabriel, when a film director optioned the rights.

Like most people do when they first begin to write for film, I thought what could be easier than writing something that’s just a bunch of dialog for actors. So I rushed off to a Manhattan bookstore specializing in selling scripts and purchased two, including Barfly starring Mickey Rourke because I liked that film. My head spun after I finished reading them. They were so short yet complicated. How the hell did the screenwriters manage to make the characters and stories so utterly compelling in 120 pages (industry standard practice) and still leave yards of brilliant white space between action and dialog? I wondered. (Film people like to see lots of white space on the page-not because they’re dumb but because each page represents one minute off screen time.)

I had my critics who thought I was crazy adapting my first novel for the screen, that I’d be too emotionally connected to the material to ruthlessly cut, cut and cut again. After I finished the first draft, I almost bought into their logic. I’d tried so hard to be true to my novel that the script was rubbish. A bloated mess of vanilla rubbish. Yet the attempt helped me understand that a movie should not simply be my novel brought to life. I learned I had to pick the essential truths of my novel, use them as the bones and then add muscle layer by layer until a visual and enthralling story emerged.

Flash forward eighteen months of reading about the craft on the Internet and rewriting and my script has become lean and much tighter. Indeed, I ended up taking the film version much further than I ever took the novel. That was a real surprise. And very satisfying. With some trepidation, I entered the script into this year’s Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting that’s organized by the Oscars folks and was joyfully shocked when it reached the Quarterfinals.

Will adapting Twisted Agendas be easier or go faster? I don’t know. It’ll sure be challenging because the story involves four characters vying for screen time: the protagonist Danny, a young fellow who’s fleeing his domineering father and fiancee Susan; Piper, a feisty American ex-pat studying at the LSE whose younger brother died in a fire that resulted in a difficult relationship with her mother; Julia, a posh immigration officer who becomes Danny’s landlady; and Mrs. Hartley, Julia’s elderly next-door neighbor, who writes letters to the Queen Mother as if they’re best friends and who despises Julia. In addition, Julia and Piper are independent-minded and won’t be content to play sidekick to Danny. They’ll take a bit of handling. It’ll be fun.
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About the author: Damian McNicholl was born in Northern Ireland and attended law school at University College, Cardiff. His first novel, ‘A Son Called Gabriel’ was an American Booksellers Association Booksense Pick and Lambda Literary Awards finalist. Damian currently living in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and ‘Twisted Agendas‘ is his latest novel.

Desperate to escape his predetermined existence, Danny decides to break out from life in Northern Ireland, and move to London. He then meets Piper, a friendly and outgoing American girl on a quest of her own.

Two very different worlds are thrown together as Danny is willingly absorbed into unfamiliar territory. However, when the Hammersmith Bridge is bombed, Piper disappears without a trace and Danny finds himself the centre of a police investigation, hounded by whispers of the IRA.

Dark and humorous, Danny and Piper s story is one of dysfunctional parenting, clashing motives and twenty-something’s negotiating love and big city life.

As a lover of fiction that tackles dysfunctional families, this darkly delicious narrative captured and held my interest. It was the sharpness of the dialogue that kept me and the authenticity of voice that made me relax into the read. But also the perfectly paced delivery and the balance of dark and light, it all fused to engage. I highly recommend ‘Twisted Agendas‘ to you.

One year, I was little, my aunt bought me a pop-up ‘Hansel and Gretel’ book. It twisted around to a carousel shape and tied together with a pink ribbon. It was my most treasured possession and still is, being one of the few things I have from my childhood. I know that it was responsible for my absolute love of pop-up and fairy tale. I also know that I’ve passed on these loves to Littlest.

I happened upon Tango Books on Facebook and now have, in my pop-up collection, new (and utterly delicious) pop-up books.

Look at this delicate take on Hans Christian Anderson’s ‘The Princess and the Pea’. There are six double pages of perfect pop-up.

The illustrations are beautiful, they’re simple which is needed in the often crowded pop-up page. And the retelling has an elegance that nods to the original story, but carries a freshness of its own. This is one of my most favourite fairy tales and I love  this retelling. Littlest read this to me last week, pointing out details in the pop-up and spending as much time on the illustrations as on the words.

Then there’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’, based on ‘Briar Rose’ by those Brothers Grimm.

Again there are six stunning pop-ups, covering six double pages. The retelling of the story, again, has a simplicity, but it is utterly enchanting and delicate. The colours are sharp and crisp, perfect for this fairy tale.

There is something truly unique about reading and interacting with pop-ups. You slow down your reading, you slow down when turning to a new page, almost giving the pages respect, you absorb tiny detail, you savour each word. There’s a need for gentle fingers and a patience of sorts.

Reading pop-up books, I think, sums up why I love storytelling and fairy tales so very much.

And, look at the beautiful pages:

In a world where publishing is turning increasingly digital, beautiful pop-ups are the books that need to survive. These are the books that are given as gifts, as beautiful objects, that will last a lifetime.

I think they’re magical.

(To celebrate today’s launch of  ‘Home for Christmas’ I’ve a copy to give away at the end of this post)

“Beth Prince has always loved fairy tales and now, aged twenty-four, she feels like she’s finally on the verge of her own happily ever after.

She lives by the seaside, works in the Picturebox – a charming but rundown independent cinema – and has a boyfriend who’s so debonair and charming she can’t believe her luck! There’s just one problem – none of her boyfriends have ever told her they love her and it doesn’t look like Aiden’s going to say it any time soon.

Desperate to hear ‘I love you’ for the first time Beth takes matters into her own hands – and instantly wishes she hadn’t. Just when it seems like her luck can’t get any worse, bad news arrives in the devilishly handsome shape of Matt Jones. Matt is the regional director of a multiplex cinema and he’s determined to get his hands on the Picturebox by Christmas.

Can Beth keep her job, her man and her home or is her romantic-comedy life about to turn into a disaster movie?”

Well, it’s no secret (to my nearest and dearest) that I’m a lover of Christmas (I have been counting down – thanks to a phone app – since January!). And, so, at this time of year I indulge in both seasonal movies and books. And, Cally Taylor has delivered a jolly festive read, with the main character being what my girl friends and I would lovingly declare ‘one of us’.‘Home for Christmas’ is a romantic comedy that sparkles with embarrassing moments that will make those who are also ‘one of us’ nod and cringe.

A seasonal read that’s perfect for these cold winter nights. Snuggle up next to your Christmas tree, open your heart and indulge in Beth’s life. ‘Home for Christmas’ is guaranteed to make you cringe, laugh out loud and shed a tear or three.

Asking Cally:

Great title! Where did you find your inspiration to write this novel? ‘Home for Christmas’ was originally called ‘Happiness Ever After’ and it was the notion of happiness and how and where people look for it that drove me to write this novel. The main characters, Beth and Matt, are unhappy in their jobs or relationships and believe that if only X,Y,Z happened then life would be perfect. But, as we all know, life doesn’t quite work out like that!

How long did ‘Home for Christmas’ take to write? Forever! No seriously, I suffered from Second Novel Syndrome big style with this novel and everything took longer than it did with my first novel, ‘Heaven Can Wait’. The first draft of ‘Home for Christmas’ took me seven months to write, I edited it in about four months and then there was a year of rewrites before, finally, it was ready. It took about two years from start to finish which might not sound like a long time considering I’ve got a full time job too but it was double the time it took me to write ‘Heaven Can Wait’.

Tell me about the setting, about Picturebox Cinema. Does it exist in the real world? (I have a love of old cinemas) Yes it does!  There’s a lovely cinema in Brighton called ‘The Duke of York’s’ that I based the Picturebox on. Unlike the Picturebox, which is independently owned in my novel, the Duke of York’s is part of the Picturehouse chain but it’s still a fab, quirky cinema with a bar and cafe on the first floor,  a mezzanine level with sofas, a resident ghost and over 100 years of history. Unlike huge multiplexes it’s got its own individuality and charm and is one of my very favourite places in Brighton!

What advice would you have for anyone who has a partner who can’t say ‘I love you’ to them? Oooh God. Tricky question this. Like Beth in ‘Home for Christmas’ I had to wait a long time to hear ‘I love you’ for the first time. I was twenty-three before a boyfriend said it to me and the relief I felt was huge. I’d genuinely started to worry that there was something unlovable about me.

There does seem to be a time limit on when that phrase should be said and I’ve had several conversations with friends about ‘how long is too long?’ i.e. how long they’d be prepared to wait to hear ‘I love you’ before deciding the relationship was dead in the water and moving on. The general consensus seemed to be that if a partner hadn’t said it within six months then…*makes sawing motion across neck*… but every situation’s different.

The one thing I’ve learnt from relationships is that SAYING I love you is one thing and making the person FEEL loved is another. I’ve had relationships where I’ve been told ‘I love you’ and felt anything but, and been in relationships where the three little words were rarely said but my partner’s ACTIONS made me feel utterly adored and loved. I know which I prefer.

Of course there’s also the issue of what to do if a partner who used to say ‘I love you’ freely at the beginning of a relationship stops saying it several years in… but that’s a topic for another book perhaps.

Writers often find redrafting and self-editing difficult. Can you offer any words of wisdom? Put your head down and get on with it. It sounds harsh, I know, but if you want your book to be the best it can be you’ve got no choice.  If I’m being a bit more helpful, and practical, then I suggest getting out some index cards and jotting down everything you’ve got – all your scenes – and then laying them out on the floor. Pluck out the scenes that aren’t working and see what you’ve got left. Where are the gaps? How can you fill them? Brain storm.  Jig the cards around. Use the characters you’ve got and/or add new ones. In order to redraft effectively you need some kind of map (made of index cards or otherwise) to point you in the right direction or you’ll get horribly tangled up in words. The clearer you can see the solution the easier you’ll find it to write.

Can you offer any tips for people wanting to be published in the current climate? Write the book you HAVE to write but also, and this will sound like a contradiction, keep an eye on the market. If the book you feel you HAVE to write is a Young Adult vampire trilogy you may want to keep your publishing expectations low because that market is pretty much exhausted and you’d have to write something utterly AMAZING for a publisher to take a chance on you.  But don’t try and second guess the market. You might hear on the grapevine that publishers are looking for women’s fiction about the Romans (as a publisher revealed at the RNA conference this summer) and eagerly sit down and start penning one but you’re not figuring on the fact that, from first word to publication, it takes at least two years for a book to get published so you’ve probably already missed the boat. Write the novel that’s burning inside you and, if you’re lucky, you’ll find that someone out there – an agent and/or a publisher – loves it as much as you.

Who do you feel would be your ideal reader?  Someone who can still remember losing themselves in fairytales, someone who believes in happily ever after (or who likes the escapism of books about it), someone who likes to be made to laugh and cry and someone who likes to be entertained rather than have their grey matter fried by fancy language and philosophical questions!

What do you plan to write next? I’m currently taking my own advice and writing the book that I feel compelled to write (I call it Project B) even though I don’t have a publisher for it and my agent only knows the sketchiest of details about it. I’m getting a huge kick from writing something just for me that isn’t under contract. I’d love it to be published, of course I would, but that’s not why I’m writing it. I’ve also started to think about my third chick lit book and am spending time daydreaming about the main character and all the obstacles I’m going to throw at her.

What would you like for Christmas this year? Love and laughter. You can’t ask for more than that.

What are you top 3 favourite Christmas-themed films? Oooh, great question! 1: Scrooged. 2: It’s a Wonderful Life. 3: Miracle on 34^thStreet.

And, finally, (with the skillful smoothness of the finest of interviewers) do you in any way know Simon Cowell? No but I know a TV executive who works for ITV. He might know him…

I’ve a copy of ‘Home for Christmas’ by Cally Taylor to give away. Simply leave a ‘please pick me’ comment by 3pm (GMT) November 14, then I’ll pop all names in a mug and ask a small child to select a winner. This competition is open to all.

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About the author: Cally Taylor lives in Bristol with her boyfriend and their ridiculously large DVD/book/music collection. She shares her ‘study’ with the washing machine and ironing board and writes her novels in any spare moments she can squeeze in between the day job and her social network addiction . She started writing fiction in 2005 and her short stories have won several awards and been published by a variety of women’s magazines. Her debut novel ‘Heaven Can Wait’ has been translated in 13 languages and was voted ‘Debut Novel of the Year’ by chicklitreviews.com and chicklitclub.com. Home for Christmas is her second novel. You can find out more about Cally by visiting her website or blog, or by following her on Twitter and Facebook.

(I’ve got a SIGNED copy of  ‘How I Said Bah! to cancer: A Guide to Thinking, Laughing, Living and Dancing Your Way Through‘ to give a way at the end of this post)

October 2011 is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. One in every nine women in the UK will develop breast cancer at some point in her life – which means more than 45,000 cases are diagnosed each year. It has become the most common cancer in the UK, and it’s probably fair to say that we all know of someone who has or has had breast cancer. But not everyone has such a refreshing approach to talking and dancing with cancer and that’s why I am HONOURED to host Stephanie Butland today:

This book tells how one woman said ‘Bah!’ to cancer through thinking strategies, a proactive approach to treatment, and a determination to keep the rest of her life going and retain a sense of humour (most of the time!). It shares everything she learnt along the way, from the nature of cancer cells and chemotherapy drugs, to how she was able to help her friends and family to help her.

‘I was never going to die from cancer. That hard lump peeping out of the top of my bra was aggressive but it was small enough to be contained, and I was young and strong and otherwise well. All the signs were good. Words like “lucky” and “caught in time” were thrown around like rice at a wedding. No, I was never going to die from cancer. But from the beginning, I never planned simply to survive it. Oh no. I was going to say a great big Bah! to it. Please, join in. Cancer? Bah!’

Truthful, personal, funny, and above all helpful, this book is the straight-talking best friend that will help you survive your cancer journey – or support a loved one on their journey.

Unflinching, refreshing, layered with humour, with positivity and with honesty, Stephanie offers tips, advice and an utterly inspiring take on how to dance with cancer. ‘How I Said Bah! to cancer‘ deserves, needs and absolutely should be supported. It has the potential to change the way we view and treat cancer. Please, I urge you, seek this one out.

Asking Stephanie:

For me, describing you as ‘inspirational’ seems too weak a word. You’re utterly amazing. Can you tell my blog friends how your dance with cancer began? It began with a lump sticking out of the top of my bra. If it hadn’t been so close to the surface, I think I might not have found it in time. At 37 with no history of breast cancer in the family I didn’t really think I was eligible for it, and I didn’t really check my breasts properly or anything grown-up like that. But, it was a cancer, and so I had surgery, and chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, and I still take drugs, and I was so, so lucky that the cancer was caught before it had had the chance to spread further than my breast. My chances of still being alive in 2018 (10 years after diagnosis) are more than 80%, and as cancer odds go, they’re worth taking.

And, in a similar way, how would you describe cancer? A cancer is a funny little thing – it’s a cell that goes wrong and won’t stop going wrong and doesn’t even know it’s going wrong, and in that process can destroy a whole, miraculous human body.

The thing to remember about cancer, though, is that it has really great PR, because everyone who meets it is sure it means the end of them. And of course there was a time when that was more or less true. But now, cancer doesn’t mean dead. Cancer means that yes, you might die, but your chances of living are better than they’ve ever been, and if you go into the process with an open mind you might come out of the other end with a better life. I did, anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I would never have chosen my diagnosis – but there’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be than where I am now, and in a funny way, I have cancer to thank for that.

You’re a Master Trainer in de Bono Thinking methods. I’d like to know a little bit more about that, please, and how the methods helped you. Dr. Edward de Bono is the world’s leading authority on the teaching of thinking as a skill. Early in my career as a trainer, I was frustrated by the way established habits of thought stopped people from changing their behaviour, so I decided to try to find out whether it was possible to train people to think differently. Put that into Google and the first thing that comes out is de Bono, and I’ve been working with Six Thinking Hats (R) and Lateral Thinking (TM) ever since, helping teams, organisations and individuals to think more creatively and more effectively. It’s rewarding and exciting work. And doing it meant that I understood how very much what’s in your head influences your perception of the world – and if you change your perception, everything changes. That was the starting point for the way I approached cancer: how could I think differently to make my life easier? So I thought dance instead of battle. I thought of chemotherapy as particles of bouncing, happy light filling my body. I thought of long afternoons when I couldn’t do anything much as the opportunity to learn to knit socks.

And how did blogging add to your dance? The blog began as a good way to keep my friends and family informed about what I was doing and how treatment was going. But it soon became a way of processing experience, a little every day, which made cancer easier to cope with. And then, as more people started to read the blog, I realised that I could be helpful to others, and that made me feel that all those blisters from my dancing shoes were worthwhile!

So your journey from blog into publication, how did that happen? With a lot of help. First, friends and family read my first goes at writing the book, and were enthusiastic enough for me to approach some people in publishing. Then, I got great help from Nicola Morgan and Scott Pack. Then Twitter got me an agent (Ben Johncock posted the story on the October 21), and in February this year Hay House made an offer. From first pen-to-paper to book-in-hand, I think we’re probably talking 2 and a half years. Which, for publishing, is positively breakneck speed.

What would you say to someone who had recently been diagnosed with cancer? Don’t panic. Not everyone who is diagnosed with cancer dies of it.

Don’t forget you are still a whole person, you are still everything that is in your life that is not cancer, and cancer doesn’t have to define you. Let people help you. They want to. It isn’t a sign of weakness to let the people who love you show that love. Ask your medical team a lot of questions. Don’t let anything go unexplained. It’s your body, your life, and you’re entitled to ask everything you want to.

Who do you feel would be your ideal reader? Is ‘Bah!’ only for people with cancer? I think my ideal reader is probably someone who wants to understand more about cancer, and the process of cancer treatment, and has an open mind about how to approach it.  The book is as much for people who don’t have a cancer as those who do – statistically, most of us will watch someone else dance with cancer, even if we don’t do it ourselves, so the more everyone understands about the process, the better.

And, finally, (with the skillful smoothness of the finest of interviewers) do you in any way know Simon Cowell? Um. The short answer is no, but if we take the ’6 degrees of separation’ route, my daughter’s friend once auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent, though she didn’t get through, and Mr C wasn’t at those auditions, but probably someone who knew him was. So… the long answer is also no. Sorry.

I’ve a SIGNED copy of ‘How  I Said Bah! to Cancer’ by Stephanie Butland to give away. Simply leave a ‘please pick me’ comment by 3pm (GMT) October 28, then I’ll pop all names in a mug and ask a small child to select a winner. This competition is open to all.

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About the author: Stephanie Butland lives in Northumberland with her family. She writes, she trains thinking skills, and she works with individuals to help them to think more effectively. She also knits, reads, bakes, and loves the theatre and long walks on quiet beaches. Stephanie was diagnosed with a breast cancer in October 2008. Now she’s thriving. For more information please go to www.bahtocancer.com

(To celebrate today’s launch of ‘21st Century Dodos‘, I’ve got THREE dedicated copies to give away, but there’s a slight twist. May I introduce you to Mr Steve Stack…)

I have a collection of unusual books. Not that the books themselves are unusual, you understand. They are the regular oblongs of paper and card, much the same as the books you have on your shelves. No, it is something about their contents that are a trifle odd. A bit wonky, to use a phrase that Caroline likes.

You see, whenever I meet an author I ask them to write something insulting in my copy of their book. They can write anything they want, but the more insulting the better.

It all started when I went to see American satirist PJ O’Rourke at a reading in Hammersmith. After the event, people queued up to get their books signed. I was towards the end of the line and was getting a bit bored of people asking PJ to ‘sign Happy Birthday John!’ or ‘can you make it out to Jeremy?’. It was doing my nut in. I had two copies of his book to sign. One for me, and one for my flatmate Andy. By the time I got to the front of the queue I was really fed up.

“Could you sign: ‘To Andy, Fuck Off’?”

He was delighted. I think he was as bored with the niceties as I was. Here’s what he signed in my book:

Ever since then I have tried to collect as many insults as possible. I have some crackers.

John le Carre in a copy of Absolute Friends: Scott – I’ve been wanting to say this for years – FUCK OFF!

Andrew Kaufman wrote in one of my favourite books, All My Friends are Superheroes: You daft cunt!

Jackie Collins in Lovers & Players: Fuck off Scott!!! You asshole!!!

And this work of art from Audrey Niffenegger:

The Fuck Off Books, as they are known, now take up two shelves of my home library. And they are growing. It is a collection that brings me a lot of pleasure.

Which is why I want to share the love by offering to insult you in this splendid blog giveaway.

I have written a book called 21st Century Dodos. In it I attempt to pull together a list of endangered inanimate objects. It is a collection of tributes to things that are on the verge of extinction – VHS tapes, typewriters, handwritten letters, that sort of thing – things that I think deserve a good send off. I’d like to think it is destined for toilet libraries across the nation.

And I will sign and dedicate three copies of the book for readers of Caroline’s blog. But only if you let me insult you, or the intended recipient. Simply leave a comment beneath this blog post telling me what rude message you would like me to write in the book. Caroline and I will then pick the three that most appeal and their wishes will come true. This could be your chance to get the perfect Christmas present for your husband/wife/boss/teenage son.

So go for it. Do your worst. I can’t wait to read them.

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The winning comments will be selected after 3pm (GMT) October 4. This competition is open to all. And if you haven’t yet had enough of Mr Stack, then he’ll be visiting this blog tomorrow and his rather fabulous son read an extract (whilst unicycling!) over on Nik’s blog yesterday.

About the author: Steve Stack is the pen name of my lovely publisher Scott Pack. He is the author of one other book, It Is Just You, Everything’s Not Shit. He is fond of cake, female Scandinavian singer-songwriters and naps. He runs the almost famous Firestation Book Swap with novelist Marie Phillips. He is well fab.

Alfie and his best friend Bernard have a day out full of surprises when they go to meet a very great person indeed.

What’s more there are secret dens to explore, snowy skies, birthday fun and a very unexpected visitor on a special night-time trip!

Join our little hero and his friends and family in a celebration of all things Alfie…

This month, Random House Children’s Books celebrates 30 years of Alfie, the wonderful and much-loved character from the iconic hand of Shirley Hughes, with the release of a brand new (very stunning) hardback: All About Alfie

The first Alfie book, Alfie Gets in First was published by The Bodley Head in 1981.  I can remember it. I can remember Alfie books in school when I was little. Alfie was an instant success back then; children and parents alike fell in love with the charming humour and drama of his everyday life. The Alfie books have gone on to sell over 2 million copies in the UK alone. My children have read each and every single thing that Shirley Hughes has created.

You can buy the stunning, All About Alfie HERE.

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When desperados kill a preacher and his wife in a small frontier town, their foster child P.K. is forced to go on the run. P.K. must get a valuable letter to the Recorder’s Office before anyone else can get their hands on it.

It’s not easy: Virginia City in 1862 is a glorified mining camp on a barren mountain above a great vein of silver. Seething with miners below ground and hustlers above, it’s a dangerous place, full of gamblers, hurdy girls, saloon-keepers and gunmen, all of them on the make.

When twelve year-old P.K. Pinkerton arrives there, homeless, penniless and hunted, things don’t look good. But armed with a Smith & Wesson seven-shooter and a knack for disguises, P.K. takes on the tricksters and desperados who are out to get him and he finds possible allies: Sam Clemens, the new reporter for the paper, a gambler called ‘Poker Face Jace’ who knows how to tell if someone is bluffing, a derringer-packing Soiled Dove, and a Chinese photographer’s apprentice called Ping.

This fast-paced and utterly engaging mystery adventure manages to balance amusing and touching with ease. The attention to detail offered is superb, taking the reader on an authentic journey back in time to the (whip-cracking) Wild West.

Short, sharp chapters, excellent characterisation and a serving of heart thrown in for good measure. Yee-hah and so much more, I’m saying this is a one for 9+ readers. You can buy The Case of the Deadly Desperados: Western Mysteries 1 (The Western Mysteries) HERE