Greetings 2013 aka Year of Change aka The Year Lindsay Went Into The Woods And Found An Agent And A Publishing Deal!

So, I spent the 29^th Dec – 6^th of Jan in Boston and had a whale of a time!* We soaked up the history, delved into the local cuisine with vigour and enthusiasm, and shopped til we dropped.         New Year’s Eve or First Night (as it is known in those parts) was spent on a cruise ship out in the bay where we watched the fireworks erupt over the Boston skyline. Magnificent!

As one of the oldest cities in the U.S., Boston is jam-packed with historical and literary landmarks – would that I had had the time to see them all. Like any great city, I could have spent months there and still not discovered all Beantown has to offer. Hmm…I guess I’ll have to go back.

Boston has been home to some truly inspirational and influential people (writers, artists, musicians, actors, sports-people, inventors, politicians, and revolutionaries), but to list them all here would be cray-cray. Instead, here are but a handful of notable literary folk who once resided in or around this exciting city: Louisa May Alcott, Robert Frost, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jack Kerouac, Sylvia Plath, Edgar Allen Poe, Henry David Thoreau, and many others. I was also heartily enthused to hear that Charles Dickens had visited Boston on his first trip to the New World in January 1842; upon arriving he was apparently mobbed by fans and complained “I can do nothing that I want to do, go nowhere where I want to go, and see nothing that I want to see. If I turn into the street, I am followed by a multitude.” (Perdue) World’s First Celeb…Dickens? Ha, good on ya, Boz!

My one regret upon leaving Massachusetts was not having the time to visit Concord, home to Louisa May Alcott and the fictional March family. The story of Jo and her sisters in Little Women (1868), Good Wives (1869), Little Men (1871), and Jo’s Boys (1886) was, and still is, one of my favourites. These novels explore such themes as independence, gender constraints, sibling rivalry, economic status, loss, and love. Even thinking about trying to describe my affection for caring and complacent Meg, brave and hot-tempered Jo, gentle and loyal Beth, and spoiled and cultured Amy, and their love for each other, brings a sweet sting to my eyes. Sorry, I’m a bit of a goob.

The release of Little Women really was a turning point in children’s literature; published in what can be described as the first ‘Golden Age’ of books for children (approx. 1862 to 1915) (Hunt 73), Little Women showed young girls and female teenagers behaving in a recognisable way, as opposed to acting as filters for a morality lesson. Sarah Elbert describes Jo and her sisters with their varying characteristics as the first appearance of the ‘American Girl’ (Elbert 199).

I remember how much I identified with them and how many times I reread those books. How I mourned for the loss of my hair when my mother said I had to have it all cut off (from down to my bottom into a bob) and like Jo thought it was my “one true beauty”; and how I longed for a boy to love me like Laurie loved our Jo just so I could break his heart. Sigh.

So, I guess I will just have to visit Concord and walk in Louisa May Alcott’s footsteps another time!

To conclude, Boston is a grand place – not to be missed. There truly is something for everyone.

Thanks, Boston: you had me at chowder, you had me at chowder…

Lx

*Note: this does not mean we saw whales, which you can see off the coast of Massachusetts in the right season. IT DOES NOT MEAN WE SAW WHALES. Full-blown phobia here, people, like a crazy lady. Cetaphobia…yes, it’s a real thing!

Sources:

Perdue, David A. “Dickens in America.” Charles Dickens Page, 1997-2013.        <http://charlesdickenspage.com/america.html>

Hunt, Peter. An Introduction to Children’s Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.

Elbert, Sarah. A Hunger for Home: Louisa May Alcott’s Place in American Culture. Rutgers University Press: New Brunswick, 1987.

Last Wednesday, the exceedingly fabulous Sarah Perry tagged me in her blog as part of the ‘Next Big Thing’ project; ‘Next Big Thing’ invites writers to answer ten delightfully probing questions about their work. I met Sarah in the first year of our doctorate studies at Royal Holloway and it is as fantastic to have her support in my creative endeavours as it is to see her succeed in hers. Sarah Perry’s first novel, Confusion, will be released in 2014 and you can read more details about it here.

Many of our mutual friends (and, indeed, my insanely talented and frightfully dashing husband) were tagged in Sarah’s post last week…if you’re reading this then please do check out their blogs also. I have no doubt you’ll be hearing great things from these future literary stars:

Daniel J Connell – writer of ‘alternative literary fiction’ and rather handy in the kitchen (THAT RHYMES!!!). Dan’s novel, This Is It, explores themes such as Heroism, the duality of Man, and Power.

Sarai Walker – writer of feminist/political fiction, look out for her first novel Dietland, and my future collaborator on a book of food photography! 🙂

Theresa Lee – writer of fantasy and YA fiction. Theresa is the most prolific writer I know and having read one of her novels (Tales of the First World: Spirit of a Kyrie) I’m sure you will see her name in print sometime soon.

Carol McGrath – writer of historical fiction. I had the privilege of reading a few pages of Carol’s first novel, The Handfasted Wife, and am delighted to say Accent Press will be publishing it in 2013.

And now for a little fun….

1. What is the working title of your next book?

Quest. It  sounds simple, it *is* simple – but the ideas, images and rememberances conjured up by such a little word are on a much grander scale. I hear ‘Quest’ and I think Jason & the Argonauts, I think of Atreyu and Falkor soaring over Fantastica, I think Gulliver trapped by the diminutive Lilliputians, I think of Harry searching for Horcruxes, I think of Lyra trying to rescue a friend, and I think: “One Ring to rule them all,/One Ring to find them,/One Ring to bring them all/and in the darkness bind them” and then I get all shivery and excited. One day, children will hear the word ‘Quest’ and they’ll think: Max, Dash, Cavalio! Yep.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

I wrote the first three chapters of Quest for my M.A. in Creative Writing at Brunel University. To be honest, those chapters are now long gone, sadly. I wanted to write about the power of stories and the importance of the imagination but also a sort of coming-of-age trial. Max uses his imaginary world to escape his reality, something that hits home for me…and not at all for the same reasons as Max, both my parents were home for dinner every night and never missed a school play or a birthday or anything really. Saying that, I did demonise them as a teenager (man, I was a terror), my Mum in particular. About two years after writing those opening scenes between Max and Cavalio, I had an epiphany and called up my Mum with this:

Me: Mum, Mum! Guess what?

Mum: What’s that?

Me: I figured it out. Just came to me. You’re Cavalio. Wow, totally; can’t believe I didn’t see it before.

Mum: <confused silence>

Me: You know? Cavalio. You’re the villain in my book!

Mum: Uh…thanks?

Haha. So, yeah, there’s a lot of me in the book, a lot of me in Max. And I definitely have my lil brother, Nicolas, to thank for the inspiration for all those annoying ‘boy’ characteristics! I jest. Kind of.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Fantasy for children. It’s aimed at 8-12 year olds. If we’re getting technical, which I’m more than happy to do, it’s a Portal-Quest fantasy as delineated by Farah Mendlesohn in her work Rhetorics of Fantasy. Portal fantasies require entrance to a fantastical world through a portal, they “are almost always quest novels and they almost always proceed in a linear fashion with a goal that must be met.”

4. What actors would you choose to play the characters in a movie rendition?

I LOVE this kind of question. This is regular dinner-table-talk for my husband and I…Who would play you in the movie of your life? Top5 comic book characters of all time? (at this stage one of us will usually say: “Wait, wait, wait, do you mean best or favourite – it’s important, you know!”) Top5 favourite TV show characters of all time? Top5 best action movies? And so on, and on, and on…

I can’t answer for the roles that would be played by children…mainly because they would presumably be played by unknowns and go on to be huge-mega-famous-stars like Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. Natch. But, for the adults I have a few ideas.

For the role of Ben, (a wild, beardy man living on an ice world) it has to be none other than Brian Blessed! Hahahahaha. As long as he can bring as much gravitas to Quest the Movie as he did to Flash Gordon, I’ll be happy.

Sandra Lipman, Max’s mother, I’m thinking someone like Naomi Watts. You know, beautiful but not offensively so…

For the twins’ mother, the wonderfully wicked Helena Bonham Carter.

Voice of Simmy is 100% Laurence Fishburne. Fact.

And, the main man, Cavalio – well, I don’t want him to be too Jack Sparrow, so that rules out Johnny Depp. Besides, he’s more Barbossa than Jack but I think Geoffrey Rush would be a bit older than I’d like. Dustin Hoffman (too old, again) was a GREAT Hook, as was Jason Isaacs. Ooh, Jason Isaacs…nah. You see mydilemma, right?

Also, I’ve really really thought about this…can you tell?

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Boy goes on epic fantasy journey in search of mother while being chased by a villain who has escaped from his imagination.

6. Is your book represented by an agency?

No. Mean question. Though, I haven’t sent it out yet so, you know, that’s probably why. I know, I know…I’m doing it. Wish me luck!

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

If you discount those first three chapters, which I re-wrote anyway, then I’d say about four months in total. Once I sat down and got into it, it developed wings and flew.

8. What other books would you compare this to within your genre?

In my Ph.D. thesis which I wrote alongside this novel, Quest: Finding Form in Children’s Literature, I analysed the J.K. Rowling Harry Potter series, Peter and Wendy by J.M. Barrie, and Micheal Ende’s The Neverending Story. Out of these I’d say it most closely resembles Ende’s fantasy adventure.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I know I mentioned my Mum earlier, but I have to say that really I took inspiration from all my family for the characters here. I had a pretty idyllic childhood, was very fortunate and cared for, but was still a stroppy madam when I wanted to be. I think there’s elements of Max and the story in general that relate to that.

And it might sound cheesy, but there’s nothing like the wonder you feel as a child when you open a new book. For me, it really was like stepping into Wonderland or Fantastica or Neverland or Miss Honey’s classroom. I’ve tried to hold on to that wonder, that ability to suspend my disbelief, and what I want more than literature prizes or fame or money is to be able to give that pure joy of discovery and adventure to the children who read my books.

10. What else about this book might pique the reader’s interest?

Sarcasm and giant apes. And a faithful friend who looks a lot like someone I know:

Need I say more?

————–

My turn to tag! Next Wednesday you can read the answers to these questions from the talented and fantastically funny Alex Buchanan.

Alex has an M.A. in Creative & Transactional Writing from Brunel University and his work has been used on the BBC Radio 7 show ‘Newsjack‘ and SitsVac. Remember the name and check out Alex’s blog next week!

Thanks for reading,

Lx

My FIRST post on my brand new website…talk about pressure…

Well, here I am; I hope you enjoyed reading my Home page and my About Me. I did my best to avoid being silly and telling you random facts from my nonsensical little life…like how the Animal Kingdom has a vendetta against me. I’ve been attacked by 7 different species to date and the crazy thing is I’m totally an animal person, always had pets, always been moved by RSPCA appeals, I even sponsored a gorilla once (sorry, Dash – read Quest and all will be made clear! ). Maybe it’s because I’m a bit high-pitched…a bit squeaky?

Anyway, I digress, where was I?

My blog – yes. I was recently asked by my delightfully talented friend and soon-to-be-published author, Sarah Perry, to take part in the ‘Next Big Thing’ project. ‘Next Big Thing’ tasks writers to tag fellow writers in their blogs and invites them to answer ten questions about themselves and their most recent project. Sarah has, very kindly, tagged me in her blog and I will be answering the questions next Wednesday and passing the challenge on to a couple more great new voices. And, to do that, I really needed a website, didn’t I? So, this is where we find ourselves.

Check in next Wednesday for the ‘Next Big Thing’ – TTFN.

Lx