GET THE BOOK OF SNOW & SILENCE FREE!

Hello, Dear Readers - happy Monday! I hope that those of you who celebrate it were able to have a relaxing or fun Christmas despite it being The Hell Year, and that everyone is doing OK out there.

Just a quick update today, but I hope a good one. As a fun way of celebrating our getting to the end of The Hell Year - and 2021 hopefully being marginally better, please Lord Cthulhu, please - I decided to offer up a treat: the ebook edition of The Book of Snow & Silence will be free to download from today for the next four days. That an international offer: it's good wherever you live. 

 

So if you're in the mood for snow bears, ice palaces, ballgowns, and princesses and mermaids who fall madly in love, and you've been wanting to grab the book but haven't yet? Now is the time.

Here's the book's official playlist:

And to the Pinterest board. 

 Happy upcoming New (Slightly Less Awful) Year!

THE BOOK OF SNOW & SILENCE BOOK BIRTHDAY!

Hello, Dear Readers! Happy THE BOOK OF SNOW & SILENCE Release Day!

Wooohoooo!

From today, if you order the ebook of The Book of Snow & Silence it will arrive instantly on your Kindle, laptop, tablet or other device, AND you can order the absolutely GORGEOUS paperback version of the book too. Look at this, guys, just look:

I've had some really amazing covers - as well as some duds, I'll be honest - over the years, but I think this one is my favourite since the original cover of my very first book, The Swan Kingdom, back in 2007. It's just so damn pretty. These sorts of deep, jewel-toned bluey-greens are actually my favourite colours in the world, and I could honestly sit and stare at them, and all the lovely details in this artwork, for hours at a time. So pretty, my precccciousssss... *Strokes cover gently*

If feeling this way about cover art is wrong, baby, I don't wanna be right.

Ahem. Where were we? Oh, right. To celebrate the release of my TENTH NOVEL FOR YOUNG ADULTS (omg omg, breathe, Zolah) I've got some lovely treats in store for readers.

First, to encourage everyone who possibly can to review the book - because reviews are life, Dear Readers - I'll be doing a special giveaway when The Book of Snow & Silence reaches ten reviews on Amazon. The reviews don't have to be long, or extensive, and they should be completely honest, don't worry! Once we get to ten, I'll pick one lucky winner from the entrants to recieve:

• One proof paperback copy of The Book of Snow & Silence, signed and personalised
• One paperback copy of my last book The Hand, the Eye & the Heart, signed and personalised
• Two signed and personalised bookplates
• The Book of Snow & Silence full-colour postcard
• The Hand, the Eye & the Heart full-colour postcard
• Other assorted swag

If you would like to be entered into this giveaway, you don't have to do anything fancy - literally just tell me in the comments below. THAT'S IT. Just leave me a comment. When we reach ten reviews, I'll use a random number generator to pick a winner. Of course, sharing this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter or other social media will speed things up - because hopefully that will encourage people to read and review the book - as would posting a review of your own on Amazon, but all you *have* to do is leave a comment below this post. 

Secondly... I made another book for you?

I made this one all myself! Do you like the cover? It's pretty good, right? I honestly impressed myself with this - I wasn't sure I could figure out how to get it all done, but I really wanted to offer readers something special for release day. This is ebook only - it's novella length - BUT it will be FREE for you to download for the next five days. Unfortunately Amazon won't let me make it permanently free. After that it will only be 99p, though.

SEA FOAM has an exclusive prequel story for The Book of Snow & Silence. It also has poetry, deleted scenes, and fragments from my writer's notebooks, some of it related to published works, some from things that never saw the light of day at all. There's an epilogue to Shadows on the Moon, scenes that I wished I had included in The Name of the Blade Trilogy, and the start of a Twilight spoof that I was never able to take further. Hopefully you'll enjoy it and find it interesting, so if you want it FREE, then get over there and download it ASAP.

To sum up: if you want to enter the giveaway, comment below (and cross your fingers that we get to ten reviews fast). If you want a free novella-length book which includes a Snow & Silence prequel short story, get over to Amazon now.

Have a lovely Book Birthday, muffins!

BOOK BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY: WINNERS!

Hello and happy Thursday, Dear Readers! It's time to announce the winners of last week's The Hand, the Eye & the Heart Book Birthday Giveaway!

Since we ran this thing through Rafflecopter, I used their random winner function to pick out the lucky entries that will each receive a signed copy of the book, as well as a post card and a signed bookplate. The winners are on display on the competition widget below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Is that you? CONGRATULATIONS! Email me here and let me know how you'd like me to personalise your book and bookplate AND where to send your prize!

Out of these random winners I used random number generator to select the Grand Prize winner, who will also receive this gorgeous, custom-made, hand-carved jade phoenix pendant.

I'm very happy to announce that the Grand Prize Winner is: Barker and Jones Staff!

Get in touch as soon as you can, guys - I can see that some of you live in far-off climes and your prize is going to have a real journey to reach you, so the quicker I know your details the better.

Apologies for the short post here, everyone. Release week was pretty hectic - including that wonderful panel with so many amazing authors at Waterstone's Piccadilly - and I've been constantly unwell the whole time, so I'm quite frankly knackered at this point and just want to curl up quietly under a blanket and read and sip cautiously on ginger and lemon tea. Luckily it's Easter half term so I have a couple of weeks off to recover as well as a pile of new books to read. I intend to be a good adult and listen to my body for once.

Here's a picture of me signing books at the MARVELOUS Gay's the Word bookshop on Tuesday to make up for it:

And there's a bunch more exciting news which I should hopefully be able to share with you soon-ish, so keep your eyes peeled. Read you later, my lovelies!

A VERY HAPPY (BOOK) BIRTHDAY TO ME!

HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY DEAR READERS! *Sets off party poppers* *Blows a kazoo* *Flings confetti*

After nearly FOUR YEARS of planning, researching, writing, revising, after nearly two years of working with my publisher and with various wonderful sensitivity readers, and after 10 days of blogtour magic, THE HAND, THE EYE & THE HEART's release day is finally here! The book should now be available to buy from the real life or virtual shelves of your preferred bookshop or vendor and can also be requested from your library. PLEASE DO WHICHEVER ONE OF THESE THINGS YOU CAN AFFORD OR FIND TIME FOR, DEAR READERS. Above all, please do not illegally download this, even though it might be easy and tempting to do so. Support your local starving writers if you want them to keep on writing! And also support their pets, who need to eat too!

Ahem.

Long-time Dear Readers know that this book has had what is commonly referred to as 'a journey' to get published. More information in the personal costs of writing this book can be found here, but today - as I'm looking at the amazing, heartfelt and joyous responses to my weirdo, chunky, queer af little book baby, it all becomes completely worth it. Look at this from Tuesday night:

Number one! *Flings some more confetti* Of course, it's not there anymore, so if anyone felt like nipping across and buying a copy for themselves or as a wonderful gift for a family member or a friend...

Ahem.

Massive thank yous to Arts Council England, the Royal Literary Fund and my agent for believing and investing in this story, to Walker Books for bringing it to the world, and to Fox Benwell, Jay Hulme and Dr Susan Ang Wan-Ling for helping to make it as good as my measley artistic powers would allow. My THE HAND, THE EYE & THE HEART themed Q&A for World Book Day, which has many thoughtful questions about this book, identity, representation and diversity (and my rambling answers) is now up.

Other news! The Queens of Fantasy panel and signing at Piccadilly Waterstones on the 8th of April is SOLD OUT. Don't say I didn't warn you tickets were going fast! I really, *really* hope to see a lot of you guys there - it will be a combined birthday AND book launch treat! - but if you couldn't make it, don't worry, just remember that there's also Cymera in Edinburgh on the 8th of June. Hopefully I'll soon be able to talk about some other upcoming, exciting events...

Now, just in case you missed any, here's a round up of blog tour stops which have taken place since my last update:

Andrew at PewterWolf's fantastic book-themed playlist (you know I am all about that book-playlist life). I love, love, LOVE the fact that Imogen Heap is on here. I'm such a massive fan, and this track in particular is *perfect* for one of my favourite parts of the book which is incredibly dark and intense.

Cora at Tea Party Princess dates The Hand, the Eye & The Heart in exactly the loving yet respectful way that any book mum would hope for. 

Maddie Browse did a gorgeous calligraphy spread of one of my personal favourite quotes from the story (so glad other people found it meaningful too).

Jemima Osborne did a freaky fabulous make-up look inspired by the book and which must have taken a *lot* of work. Respect.

Rosie Freckles finished the tour of in fine style for a book filled with poetry by composing a stunning poem of her own in tribute to many of the important themes and moments in the story.

Here's the whole book tour line-up if you want to go back to the beginning or ensure you haven't missed any. RT and share these fine people's work, muffins - book bloggers, especially our very own #UKYA book blogers, don't get nearly enough love.

And to ensure that they get a bit MORE love, and also to spread that love to as many of you as possible, I'm going to hold a massive giveaway, because that's how we roll!

I have five signed copies of this gorgeous book to give away to a Dear Reader. Each one will be personalised for you, and will arrive complete with signed bookplates for you to put in any other books by me that you currently own or may own in the future, book-themed postcards, and other swag. ONE special prize will also include this:

This is a hand-carved jade pendant which I've commissioned from a Chinese artist, and it shows twin phoenixes - symbols of female strength and power, which are key themes in THE HAND, THE EYE & THE HEART.

The giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY and will run for one week (which is the max time &#5@ing Rafflecopter will allow, sorry!) from today. In order to enter you just need to RT this post on Twitter or share it on Facebook or any other social media site, or RT or share any of the entries on the blog tour (but please don't put a link in the comments on other people's blogs, it's kind of rude).

You can get more entries by sharing and RTing more posts! Just paste the links of your RTs or shares into the giveaway below. Simplez!

Much love, and thank you again for all of your support for this book, my precious muffins!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOG TOUR ROUND UP!

Hello and happy Friday, my lovelies! I hope your week's been delightful so far, and if not, that you're prepared to pamper yourself over the weekend to make up for it. Today (as the title suggests) is a round-up of all the wonderful blog activity on THE HAND, THE EYE & THE HEART's marvellous tour so far. Frankly, I've just been blown away by this, so let's dive right in.

Monday's post was a musical tribute to the book by Alex at The Paperback Piano which is just unspeakably beautiful.



Tuesday's stop was gorgeous Dear Reader Hannah, founder of Luna's Little Library, who engaged in a fairly awe-inspiring chapter by chapter breakdown of her reactions to the book - sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes spoilery (you have been warned!)

On Wednesday Laura Patricia Rose contributed a fashion spread of just the loveliest outfit (that I would definitely wear) inspired by the book. Bird belt inspired by Bingbing: 10/10. 

Thursday we were blessed with Charlotte from Wonderfully Bookish Blog's beautiful, atmospheric and spoiler free image/mood board which is a very interesting insight for me, personally, into the visual impressions a reader might glean from my writing.

And we're closing the week out with Kirsty's endearingly nerdy yet gorgeous Anagrammatical Shenanigans (that's the only term I feel is fitting).

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!

The blog tour continues right up until release day, so I will be rounding up again next Thursday as part of my release day post. I urge you not to wait that long to check these fantastic posts out, though - I'll be sharing and RTing during the week and I'd love it if you did the same to build excitement and buzz, not only about the book's publication but also our fantastic #UKYA blogging community.

And as if that wasn't enough excitement, my lovely publisher Walker Books are currently running a super exciting giveaway on Twitter - you can win not only a copy of the book but also a stunning Chinese calligraphy brushpainting set. UK Dear Readers can win by following them here:

EXCITING COMPETITION ALERT! Want to win a copy of 'The Hand, The Eye & The Heart' by @ZMarriott alongside a stunning calligraphy set?  Follow & RT to enter! By entering this competition you confirm that you accept our terms & conditions of entry (see t&c link in bio). pic.twitter.com/JJ44GvAl3i

— Walker Books (@WalkerBooksUK) March 27, 2019

If you're not in the UK then you should definitely be checking back here on release date for a post about the book's journey and also a new, international giveaway which maaaaaay be of interest...

I've been getting messages on Facebook and Goodreads asking me if I'll be doing any signings for this book, so even though I've been banging on about this non-stop I feel it behooves me to remind everyone again that I'll be in London the week the book's release - on the 8th of April, right after my birthday! - to chat about the book (and other awesome books) with a raft of awesome, award-winning and bestselling authors at Waterstone's Piccadilly. We will also sign copies! AS MANY COPIES AS YOU WANT. Book tickets now so as to avoid the sad, frowning grey unicorn of disappointment!

Finally, perhaps it is time for another NEW and EXCLUSIVE SNIPPET of my precious book baby? Don't mind if I do, muffins! Read below the cut:

READER QUESTIONS: What is Plot?

Hello and happy Wednesday, Dear Readers! I hope your week is going well so far - or at the very least, that it can't get worse from here (ah, pessimist humour, you are so grim).

Today I'm bringing you a post sparked by the loveliest message from reader Hana, who emailed me via my website (and also a little bit inspired by a conversation about plotting on Twitter that got my brain working). But before we get to that, it's time to announce the winner of last week's giveaway! This is actually happening a bit sooner than I expected, because I set the giveaway for two weeks to give people plenty of time to enter. Apparently Rafflecopter had other ideas. And when I checked the entries today I found that the giveaway was closed, but they didn't email me to let me know so... I dunno. I'm as confused as you, Dear Readers, but let's not dwell on the past.

Onward to the winner, who is...

*Drumroll Please*

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RACHEL J ROWLANDS!

Congratulations, Rachel! I'll be emailing you a little later today to ask for your shipping address so that I can get this prize package out in the post to you. I hope you enjoy all the books, and that you remember that ancient and wise proverb: If you love a book and leave a review, the writer will have good luck and so will you. 

I mean, I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but I'm preeeeetty sure Plato said that, so you really ought to pay attention. To Plato. Ahem.

Now for today's Reader Question! The lovely Hana asks:

I just wondered: how you plan out... a story - how does an author like you, of whom I look up to, draft things out? I have book ideas and I like writing in my spare time, and I'd love to understand your technique! I myself am stuck with thinking mostly of the cool, climactic scenes in my stories, but struggle to piece it all together and make it clever without getting too overwhelmed. If you could get back to me - any quick tips would do - I would be super grateful.

Lovely Hana, I have GOT THIS. Listen, some authors just *get* plot, you know? They don't ever have to define it, or plan it, or stress about it, because it is IN THEIR BONES. They're natural storytellers, and it flows for them totally organically. These are the writers who weave the most awesome tapestry of plot threads together and for whom plot twists and narrative balance are like breathing.

I kind of hate those authors?

Most of the writers I know struggle with plot - and me most of all. What you say here about having ideas for cool and climactic scenes but no real idea how to turn that into a story? This makes me feel so seen. Honestly, this is what most writers spend most of their time discussing, worrying over and asking each other for advice about. And that's good news for you! Because it means we have come up with practical answers to these questions which are actually useful!

So here's my run-down of resources that should hopefully help you to understand and construct plots. First up, this three part series that I created a while ago that guides you through the whole process from 'Oooh, I have a cool idea!' to 'Oooh, I have a fully coherent story!'

TURNING IDEAS INTO PLOTS: Part One, Part Two and Part Three

You can click on the diagrams to make them large enough to read all the small writing, btw. Now, this is a method which has reliably worked for me, and I know that it's good for others too because writer-friends of mine have actually used this to teach creative writing courses. BUT! Every writer's mind works differently, and you might be looking for something that goes into a bit more detail about the ways that plot, character, theme etc. interact.

And so next, here's Rachael Stephen's video about her favourite plotting method, the Plot Embryo.



I've used this for my last two books - after coming up with a basic story plan using my own Plot Diamond - as a sort of narrative MOT, to make sure that all the elements of the story are actually working together as they should be.

I also highly recommend John Yorke's book Into The Woods, which is another very different but compelling and useful examination of how plots work and why. The first time that I read it, it honestly blew my mind a little bit, and I think a lot of writers have that reaction, so brace yourself!

If you're looking for something slightly less novel-crafty and more thinky, here's a post I did a little while ago (which includes another video from Rachael Stephen) about the importance of figuring out your thesis, or the 'truth' of your story, and how you can use essay planning methods to ensure you demonstrate this throughout the developing narrative. The triangle structure is maybe more useful for short fiction, but the idea that you should work out your story's thesis first and use that as a 'North Star' to guide you in working out what your novel/essay/short story is truly about, and therefore what stuff should be in it, is universally useful in my opinion. I did another essay about this on the Royal Literary Fund Website, which you can check out if you'd like some more depth.

And finally, there's a wealth of other writing advice here on my All About Writing page, which covers everything from rooting cliches out of your work to how to create a character, so check that out too, Hana. I hope this is useful and gets your story-writing muscles quivering with anticipation to get to work!

UPDATES & A GIVEAWAY

Hello, hello, hello, Dear Readers! Happy Monday to all, and apologies for the long wait since the last time I blogged. This Christmas and New Year period has *kicked my ass*. Repeatedly, in fact, and for a list of reasons as long as my arm.

There are some massive changes coming in my life. Some of them are positive and exciting. Some of them are stressful and not-so-nice. I can't talk about most of them yet, mainly because final decisions (either mine or other people's) haven't been made. I'm aware this is infuriatingly cryptic by the way - but I'm afraid it's the best I can do just now - and I will give details about stuff that I think Dear Readers will be interested in as soon as I can.

There are some updates I can make, though, and I will do so below.

The main reason for the lack of blogging: my mother. She's been very ill over the last few months. At one point she was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night in an ambulance, then transferred to a hospital sixty miles away for emergency surgery - only to have that surgery cancelled at the last minute. She came home on a promise that the surgery would be rescheduled within three weeks, but that didn't happen. As a result she's been suffering a lot of pain and hasn't been able to move about much. Her operation is now on again, and by the time you're reading this I hope she will be comfortably settled into her bed and waiting to go down to the theatre. So please send kind, hopeful and healing thoughts in our direction today, if you can spare them.

Now onto something happier. Not only have I finally upated the blog with a page dedicated to my newest book (check it out for a Q&A about the book and some interesting links) but early copies of The Hand, the Eye & The Heart are here! And they are beeeeeeooootiful:

 

The colours! The internal illustrations! THE TURQUOISE FOIL! *Swoons*

I was lucky enough (well, begged loudly enough) to get two despite the limited numbers. One has winged its way off to a lucky competition winner, as promised. The other stays with me for always (my preeccccciousssss). If you're a blogger, vlogger or other bookish person and you would like one of these early copies to review, you'll need to get in touch with Walker Books as soon as possible - @WalkerBookYA on Twitter is a good bet. If and when any further copies fall into my possession, I will of course do a giveaway.

However, just because The Hand, the Eye & the Heart is as rare as hen's teeth just now that doesn't mean there can be NO giveaways. In fact I happen to have a small pile of absolutely lovely books from Walker right here:

 

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas, the follow-up to mega-hit THUG, which needs no introduction.

The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James. I'm so excited about this one! Lauren's last book The Lonelist Girl in the Universe was *staggeringly* good, and so unique. No one else is writing this kind of imaginative, grounded, hard-science fiction in UKYA right now. You want this.

Nothing but the Truth by Dick Lehr, a book about racial intolerance in the US written by a former Boston Globe reporter who used his experiences to inform his fiction.

These are some of the most sought after books coming out this spring, and personally I prefer this spiffy yellow ARC cover to the official one, for Angie Thomas's book. I'm going to make these available to one lucky winner, ALONG WITH:

• Gorgeous THTE&TH postcards (see below!)
• The first chapter of THTE&TH, printed out and signed by yours truly, to keep you going until its release on the 4th of April.
• A signed and personalised bookplate to stick in THTE&TH (or any of my other books, I guess) when you get your hands on it

All you have to do is comment here on the blog, then share the giveaway somewhere on Twitter, or follow me on Twitter, sometime in the next two weeks. You can get extra chances to win by sharing more than once - and the giveaway is open to readers in Britain and the EU, because that's the postage I can afford just now (sorry international peeps!).

Here's the Rafflecopter. Good luck, muffins!a Rafflecopter giveaway

EARLY COPY GIVEAWAY WINNER

Hello, Dear Readers! Happy Tuesday and happy Christmas! I'm saying that now because I probably won't blog again before it's all over - the dark chocolate brownies, spiced apple cake, roast potatoes and pork shoulder with crackling aren't going to cook themselves, and I'm having my whole family over not once but twice this year so... yeah. Eeep.

Don't worry - of course I'm not going to sign off without announcing the winner of my giveaway of my very first early copy of THE HAND, THE EYE AND THE HEART (which I don't have yet, but which will hopefully land in my hot little hands in the New Year). I'll do that below, but first I wanted to share this:

And seven is my lucky number, too! I'm very proud to see my quirky, chunky book in such lovely company. Thank you everyone who has pre-ordered the book, talked about the book, RTed or shared my posts about the book. It honestly does make such a difference, and that's why I like to notice things like this, celebrate them, and show you what your support can do.

And now for the winner! Drumroll please!

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JACKIE ORTON!

Congratulations, Jackie, I'll email you today and get your postal details so I can send your copy of the book to you as soon as I get it. I hope you enjoy it!

Commiserations to everyone else who hoped to win this and didn't, this time. Please don't be too upset. There will be more giveaways and competitions in the run up to the book's release. And remember that it's not very long until April, now. Which gives me a bit of a flutter of butterflies, honestly! Have a marvellous holiday season and New Year, muffins!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GIRLS OF PAPER & FIRE ARC WINNER

Hello, hello, hello, Dear Readers! Happy Wednesday. Without futher ado, let's announce the winner of last week's competition:

**Drumdoll please***

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JAX. B!

Congratulations! I'm delighted it's gone to a long-time Dear Reader. I know you'll really enjoy this, Jax. I'll be emailing you today to get your address.

I'm currently hard at work on my revisions for Selkie Book, which is defying my usual expectations/process by vearing wildly from pretty good to a deathly vacuum of suckage every couple of pages. I keep getting stuck, thinking 'Eugh, I made a terrible mistake with this, it's AWFUL, it needs a total rewrite!' and then a paragraph later I'm happily skimming along making minor prose tweaks. I don't know if this honestly is as radically different to everything else I've written as I think it is, or if it's just the way it seems to me because I'm immersed in it. Once the edits are done the full, final version will be off to my agent and then I suppose I will find out.

I *hope* to get the manuscript marked up and the edits actually inputted by the end of this month. I emphasize 'hope' there because actually, I probably have no chance in Hell of managing that - but I'm going to try! Mainly because I have two short pieces I need to start AND finish in November (one of which will hopefully be of some interest to Dear Readers) so I really want to be able to relax and concentrate on those without Selkie Book nibbling at the edges of my conscience and attention.

In other news, I've just finished NineFox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee, which is one of the densest and chewiest things I've read in a while. On the surface it's hard (operatic) sci-fi, informed by the author's theoretical maths background. But on a technical level it's actually fantasy. I'm quite jealous that readers were happy to accept this as SF, and also that the author was able to get away with so little explanation of his physics defying magic stuff. I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I'll pick up the sequels for a while.

Read you later my lovelies - next week, to be precise, when I think I'm going to start posting my (failed) entries for this year's Bridport Poetry Prize, because why not? See you soon.

GIRLS OF PAPER & FIRE - MY REVIEW

Hello, hello, hello Dear Readers! Today I bring you a real treat - not only a review of one of the the most highly anticipated YA releases this year, but also... a giveaway. Ooooh! Aaaah! Buckle up, buttercups! Here's the synopsis for Natasha Ngan's Girls of Paper & Fire:

Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It's the highest honor they could hope for...and the most cruel.

But this year, there's a ninth girl. And instead of paper, she's made of fire.

In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it's Lei they're after--the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king's interest.

Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king's consort. But Lei isn't content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable--she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.

Doesn't that sound FREAKING AMAZING???

OK, let me pretend to be a grown-up for minute and explain a bit more about this.

Although we've never met in real life, I've known Natasha Ngan online for a long time - as a delightful person to exchange jokes or writing related complaints with on Twitter and as a fellow contributor to Author Allsorts. And so I've also known about this book, one way or another, for a long time. Through the #UKYA author grape-vine I knew she was working on something new - an exciting departure for her. I'd even spoken to people who'd read the manuscript and said it was something really, really special. As a result, I was excited to hear more about it from the first.

Keeping my ears open, I gradually learned that it was a high fantasy with an Asian-inspired setting. That it was supposed to be a Feminist story, and one which centred a queer romance. Talk about a list of all my favourite things! Eventually I saw the gorgeous cover.

I actually thought I couldn't get much more interested at that point.

But then I saw the synopsis - THAT synopsis - online and I felt shivers go right down my spine.

In one of those utterly unearthly coincidences of creative zeitgeist, Natasha had written a story which echoed, almost perfectly, the tragic and bloody backstory of one of my favourite characters from my own upcoming novel The Hand, the Eye, and the Heart - which also happens to be a queer high fantasy with an Asian-inspired setting.

It felt as if someone had reached into my dreams, plucked something out, and made it real.

I knew I had to get my hands on this book. I can't even express to you how much I HAD TO READ IT. And with every amazing review that drifted through my Twitter timeline, my desperation grew. So I entered every online giveaway I could find (with thanks to longtime reader B&J, who alerted me to most of these) wished for both the UK and US versions on Netgalley (neither were available to request) and also emailed Hodder and Stoughton - calmly and professionally - asking for an ARC to review. And when that didn't work, I broke down and sent pleading tweets to their children's AND adult twitter accounts, offering up a virgin goat or a kidney, whichever worked for them.

Just when I was starting to lose hope a lovely DM from a member of the PR team arrived, offering me what sounded like their very last available ARC. My exultant hiss of "Yesssss!" startled many unfortunate occupants of the station Starbucks where I was waiting for my train when this message arrived. But did I care? I did not. Soon! Soon, the book would be in my grasp and I could at long last discover if this story really WAS really a fragment of my dreams which had gotten lose and become a book.

Readers, the ARC arrived on Saturday in the early afternoon.

Readers, before nine pm that evening, I had finished it.

Readers, despite its main storyline bearing an uncanny resemblance to the one in my head it was not really a fragment of my dreams which had gotten lose and become a book.

It was something much rarer and more wonderful.

There are books that authors enjoy - love - or admire. Lots of those. But for most authors there's another category, which is the most special of all: books we genuinely wish *we* had written. Girls of Paper & Fire is one of these.

Longtime Dear Readers know that my favourite book out of everything I've ever written is Shadows on the Moon. Right? Well, this book is the book I wanted Shadows on the Moon to be. The book it could have been if I'd been just a bit better at my craft, a bit braver in my choices, a crucial shade more open to possibilities, back in 2009 when that story was fighting its way out of me. Girls of Paper & Fire fulfils every craving for that perfect book I couldn't quite achieve. It is brutal and lyrical, beautiful and savage, heart-breaking and transformative. I loved it.

It's hard to talk about books you connect with this much. There's a strong impulse to ramble on about the details. Everything from craft level stuff - gorgeous, deftly woven prose - or big picture stuff - tactile, sensory world-building with the perfect level of detail and exposition - or the characters - flawed, evolving, both broken and beautiful. But ultimately, it's not really about that. What it comes down to is something intangible. Some connection between you and the text that opens a door in your imagination you never knew was there, but which afterwards can never be fully closed again.

Look guys, if you liked any of my books, go get this. If you're a fan of Naomi Novik, or Leigh Bardugo, or Laini Taylor - same. It's just great. You won't regret it. And then you can come and talk to me about it and we'll squee together and mourn just how long it's going to be until the sequel comes out.

And to increase the chances of your getting to read the book, I'm going to bite the bullet and give away this very special, stained-with-my-own-tears ARC (fully intending to save up to buy it when it comes out, of course). It's going to be a wrench, since I kind of want to sleep with it under my pillow forever more, but that's how much I love you guys.

The entry form is below and it's as simple as I can make it. You get one point for RTing this post and the competition to Twitter (and you can do that once each day if you like) and one point for commenting. The giveaway is open to anyone in UK and Europe - but not the US. Sorry USians, the postage is unreal and I'm trying to save up for Christmas presents.

The competition will run until next Wednesday - the 17th of October - and I'll announce the winner on Thursday and send the book out on Friday. Which means one of the best books you're ever likely to read can be in your eager little hands by next weekend. You might want to get on that :) Read you later, muffins!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LINKITY AND WHOOPS AND WIP STUFF

Hello, Dear Readers! It feels a bit insensitive to wish you a happy Monday (especially if the weather where you are is as filthy miserable as the weather where I am right now) so I'll just say that I hope the week's getting off to a good start for you so far.

As you can probably tell from the blog title this week, I've got a sort of gallimaufry to share today. First up, some links to a pair of posts made by the lovely Bonnie of A Backwards Story and her friend Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl where they interview me about BAREFOOT ON THE WIND and you get a chance to win a copy, or a copy of one of nearly a dozen other Beauty and the Beast themed novels, as part of their week of Beauty and the Beast. It's an international giveaway, so get in there!

This is celebrating the release of the Disney live action B&B this week - which, by the way, I really want to see, but have mixed feelings about too. So if anyone's already seen this and wants to give me yays or nays about the film in the comments, feel free!

In other BAREFOOT ON THE WIND related news, the book has been longlisted for the Southern Schools Book award, which is super fab. The longlist is rather intimidating, but it's great to see my strange little Feminist tale there among all the big names, and some friends of mine too.

Finally, *deep breath* at long, long, loooooooong last... the work in progress known as Codename: DTH... is finished!

WHOOOOOOOOP!

Well, I mean that it's finished in first draft. And a particularly messy, rough, incomplete first draft, too. I haven't even written the epilogue, because although I know the book needs a closing chapter to tie up lose ends and give the reader that satisfied The End feeling, I feel as if anything I write now will just be a placeholder that immediately ends up going in the bin once I've re-read the manuscript. So I decided to leave it instead. I've never done that before and it gives me a really queasy, guilty feeling.

However, since the book is already 130,000 words long (yeeeee!) which is as long as Shadows on the Moon was in first draft, I definitely don't feel like I need to be adding any unnecessary new length at this stage!

The book's now printed out in an entirely different font and format than the one that I'm used to working on, and has been secured with a veritable fleet of bulldog clips, since I don't have a folder big enough to fit it (yep, it's a bit... chunky. In a loveable way!). Since I've finished this a little ahead of schedule I'm going to give myself some extra time to get distance from it before I do a complete hard copy re-read and mark-up, write that epilogue, and then get to cutting, revising and polishing. I'm hoping that I'll be able to make substantial reductions in wordcount before I take that scary step of sending this off to my agent to see what she says.

Once it's in a state my agent can live with, then we'll be on a quest to try and find a home for the book - whether that's with my beloved Walker or someone else. I honestly, truly love this story and these characters and this world. I think it's the best and most challenging thing I've written since Shadows. And I believe the book is one that needs to be out there for readers to find. Fingers crossed that there's an editor (and marketing and finance teams) out there who can love it and believe in it as much as I do. If/when it does sell, I should be able to give you all a bit more detail about it.

In the meantime, I'll be refreshing my brain a bit by ploughing through as much as my To Be Read Pile as possible, and also working on some other - COMPLETELY DIFFERENT OMG - stuff, just for fun, to keep the writing muscles limber

Read you later, my muffins!

CHECKING IN

Hi guys - I hope you're having a good week so far (or if not, that it looks up from this point).

The Massive Reviewer Reward Giveaway is over and everyone except one person has their prizes, but if you didn't win there's no need for despair. I'm currently running another giveaway for three signed copies of BAREFOOT ON THE WIND on Goodreads, so anyone who couldn't enter the first giveaway for whatever reason stands a chance of winning there. Check it out.

More good news: this lovely review from Amanda Craig in the new SCOOP Magazine, in which she calls the book 'Beautifully written and imagined' and all sorts of other nice things.

Now for... not so good news. This week some results came back from the vet and gave me a diagnosis that I never, ever wanted to see. Finn has cancer. It's lymphoma, which is treatable (thankfully I kept on stubbornly paying his insurance premiums, year on year, even though they've gotten to the level of ludicrous and lately I've had to make some hard choices about paying the insurance vs. my grocery bill) but not curable. What that means is that he'll have veterinary chemotherapy, designed to ease any symptoms and make the patient comfortable without too many side effects, but not to actually extend his life if it will make him suffer. I might get a few extra months with him... but at the end of that time the cancer will come back and that will be the end of the road.

I'm taking him to hopefully start that treatment today, and I'm praying that he will respond well to it and he'll get as much time as possible with the best quality of life possible before I have to let him go. My dad used to joke that Finn was his favourite grandchild, and he spent so much time playing with and training him that I felt as if he really belonged to both of us. They shared the same personality - mischievous, silly, inquisitive, clever, gentle and affectionate. Even Finn's occasional bouts of selective deafness and pigheaded stubbornness remind me of dad. Facing the prospect of losing him is... pretty bad.

Anyway, if things are rather quiet around here for the next little while, you'll know why. I'm still hoping to take part in NaNo - writing has always been a solace and source of comfort to me during the worst times, and I will definitely need something else to think about. I'll try to check in again at least a couple of times as November progresses and let you know how it worked at the end of the month. Anyone else who is doing NaNo this year is super welcome to add me as a buddy over on the website.

Any good thoughts and good wishes you might have spare, Dear Readers, will be much appreciated. I think Finn and I will both need them.

MASSIVE REVIEWER REWARD WINNER!

Hello, my lovelies! Happy Thursday to you all. Today I bring you the reveal of the winner for the MASSIVE REVIEWER REWARD GIVEAWAY. First up through - if you've reviewed on Amazon and you haven't sent me your address yet? Email me through my website contact form here and let me know it. I'm hoping to get all the Reviewer Rewards out over the next week or so, but obviously that depends on me knowing where to send them!

OK, so at about two minutes past midnight last night I assigned everyone who reviewed on Amazon or Amazon.com a numerical value. Then I fed the numbers into a random number generator and it picked one out. Who is it?

Drumroll please!

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RACHEL BALCOMBE!

*Sparklers explode* *Champagne corks pop* *Trumpets blare*

Hurray, hurray! Congratulations Rachel - I very much hope you will enjoy your prize. You've already sent me your address for the Reviewer Reward, so I'll try and get your (expansive) package out to you in the post in the next week. Part of the prize includes delicious chocolate treats, so if you have any allergies, intolerances or strong likes/dislikes, please let me know (in the comments here is fine)!

In other news, BookTrust have picked BAREFOOT ON THE WIND as one of their October Books We Like and have given it a lovely review, which you can check out there. Obviously I'm delighted (and hope it might cause a few more copies to fly off the shelves).

And another reminder that YAShot is approaching with all the speed of a feral runaway warthog - although the event will of course be much more enjoyable (and more fragrant!) than that. I believe there are still tickets left, but not many, so if you want to get in do it NOW.

Read you later, cookies!

SIGNED BOOKS AND HOW TO GET THEM

Happy Thursday, Dear Readers! Before I get started, I just want to remind everyone about the MASSIVE REVIEWER REWARD GIVEAWAY that's on right now - prizes for literally everyone who leaves a review on Amazon, and a huge mega-prize for one lucky winner that includes all kinds of droolworthy stuff. Get in there now, if you haven't already.

Today's blog was prompted by a lovely email from reader Nikita (hi, Nikita! You have a very cool name!) who lives in Idaho in the US. Since my publishers aren't showing any signs of wanting to send me off on an all-expenses-paid signing tour of America any time soon, she was wondering if I'd sign tags for her books if she sent them to me.

I decided to do a post about this rather than just answering Nikita individually, because I realised that when I redesigned my website last year I never replicated the information on signed books which used to be on the old version. As a result, there might be a few readers like Nikita who would find it useful to have this question answered.

My stance is this: If you'd like your book or books signed, but you live far away or can't get to signings for any other reason, I am always willing to sign bookplates for you. In fact, I have my own generous store of bookplates for the purpose, although if you have your own and you'd prefer them signed then that's fine too.

For readers living in the UK it's very easy - you just send a letter to my publisher at the following address:

Zoë Marriott

C/O Walker Books

87 Vauxhall Walk

London

SE11 5HJ

In the letter you can tell me how many bookplates you'd like and if you want me to dedicate them to you, or someone else - for example, have me write 'To Leila', or 'Happy Birthday Amal!' or 'Keep writing, Beth!' - or just sign them. Include a return envelope with the right postage and your address on it, and I'll send your bookplates back to you in that. 

However, if you're abroad, although the rest of the process remains the same there's a little more to organise, because your stamped, self-addressed envelope needs to have postage on it that will allow me to return it. You should use a service like this to buy the correct amount of internationally valid postage and put that on the envelope so that I can send it back to you. If your country still sells International Reply Coupons (the UK and US don't anymore, sadly) then you can include those instead.

Bear in mind that your letter has to not only reach my publisher but also wend its way through their mail room department, be sent to me, then reach the top of my To Do Pile, and finally work it's way back to you through the postal service before you'll get your bookplates. For what it's worth, I always try to send everything out within a week of receiving it - but I've gotten post from my publisher in October that was dated May before, so I can't answer for how long the whole process will take.

On the other hand, if I get your letter then you have my word that even if it's from a year ago I WILL REPLY, and you'll probably get a few extra bits and pieces of swag thrown in for good measure along with the bookplates.

Armed with all this information: have at it, Nikita (or anyone else who'd like a signed bookplate or bookplates).

Before I go, here's a link to a cool blogpost about how to beat writer's block - it has a couple of tips on it that I've never heard of before and which intrigue me greatly.

And also this piece called O Dreaded Prologue! The title made me snort with amusement, but the points the writer made had me nodding with agreement. 

Finally, a lovely post by bestselling author (and all around lovely lady) Samantha Shannon, who is going to be chairing my panel at YAShot in October (all the details you need on YAShot are here!) in which she makes me want to visit Prague rather desperately and also says some extremely nice things about Barefoot on the Wind.

That's all for this week, my lovelies! Read you later.

MASSIVE REVIEWER REWARD GIVEAWAY

Hello, hello, hello Dear Readers! I hope the week's been great to you so far, and if not, that it takes a turn for the better before the weekend.

Today I bring you, as promised, a giveaway designed to reward those who've answered my appeal here and reviewed BAREFOOT ON THE WIND on Amazon. Thank you all so much! Each of these reviews really does make a difference to the book's 'discoverability' (apparently a real word) online and helps to boost the chances of another reader taking a chance on this weird little Feminist fairytale.

It's been tough to figure out a way to reward everyone who has reviewed so far and also encourage others to review in the future. By definition, people who have written reviews must already have gotten their hands on a copy, whether they bought it or were sent it for review (unless you borrowed it from a library, in which case *fist bump* - libraries rule and deserve our support, thank you). So offering to give away my newly received author copies felt a bit redundant.

After wracking my brains for a little while, I came up with this. If you have reviewed BAREFOOT ON THE WIND on Amazon or if you do so in the next two weeks - that's up to and including the 5th of October - then you are entitled to claim a signed bookplate and gorgeous full-colour book swag from me. If this sounds groovy to you, then get in touch via the contact form on my website here and give me your name and the address you'd like this prize to be posted to, as well as quoting the first line of the review so I know who you are. The book's only out in the UK right now, but if you're abroad and you manage to read and review it despite that then you're still very welcome to take advantage of this offer, so don't be shy!

Here's the really exciting part, though. At the end of the two week period (on the 6th of October) I will enter the names of all the reviewers into a random number generator and one lucky winner will receive a massive special prize. This prize will include, but not be limited to:

• A signed copy of BAREFOOT ON THE WIND personalised for you with custom art by me
• A signed copy of the first three chapters of the new fairytale retelling that I am working on right now (which, of course, is subject to change before publication!)
• Gorgeous book swag of myriad different kinds
• More signed bookplates for use in books you already own or may buy in the future
• Delicious gourmet treats (don't worry, I will check in with you about preferences, allergies and intolerances before sending!)
• And last but not least, this beautiful Sterling silver necklace, calling to mind Hana's beloved hunting bow and arrows, which she puts to such good use throughout BAREFOOT ON THE WIND:

 

 

This is pretty much the biggest and best prize I've ever managed to put together, and if I wasn't the person doing it, I think I'd very much want to be the winner. Excited? I'm excited.

Things to remember:

1. If you've already reviewed, you're already entered, no probs.
2. If you haven't reviewed, then you need to do so by the 5th of October. 
3. International readers are welcomed with open arms.
4. Winner announced on the 6th of October.

If you've already reviewed, and you'd like to claim your signed bookplate and swag, you can get in touch now and I'll send them right out, or you can wait until the giveaway period is over and if you win I'll send everything together. Either is fine with me, but remember that you will need to let me know your address before I can send anything!

Thank you all so much, again, for your support and love for this book. Read you later, muffins.

NEW SHADOWS ON THE MOON PRE-ORDERS ARE LIVE!

Hello, Dear Readers, and happy Tuesday!

A very quick post today to share a nice piece of news - you've probably already guessed it from the blog title, but you can now officially pre-order the new edition of Shadows on the Moon from Amazon here. It's also available from The Book Depository here, Waterstone's here, and from WHSmiths here.

Not only does this reissue of the title possess that gorgeous new cover with so many wonderful deails from the story, which matches the cover of Barefoot on the Wind...

But it will also contain exclusive extra content, including a short story set after the events of the novel, which I'm seeing as a kind of prologue to Yue and Otieno's story, and hoping readers will love as much as I do.

The book is out on the third of November, so I haven't seen any real copies in the flesh yet, but I think it's going to be a very lovely item indeed.

And since we're talking about real copies... look what arrived in the post last week!

Matching nail polish entirely coincidental

The very, very first advanced copy of Barefoot on the Wind! I love the brush-effect on the font so much; it looks just as beautiful on the title page as on the front cover.

This one is out on the first of September, so less than a month to go - and of course you can pre-order this one from Amazon, The Book Depository, Waterstone's and WHSmith too, if you are so moved (you'd be doing me a favour, and you might get the book a few days early, so it's win-win).

Before I go, a quick reminder that my contribution to the YAShot Blogtour is still up at the lovely Luna's blog and that the giveaway for a complete signed set of the Name of the Blade trilogy is still active, so get on that while you can.

That's all for this week, my lovelies, but next week baring unforeseen circumstances I'll be tackling a reader question with regard to fairytale retellings. Read you later!

YA SHOT BLOG TOUR!

Get a load of this sexy .gifwork by Luna! Pwoar!

Hello, hello, hello Dear Readers! Apologies for the long absence from blogging - I've been taking a break from most internet related activity (except Twitter, because I just can't quit it) for mental and physical health reasons, but I'm back today because the thrilling YA Shot is getting closer and closer, and it's my turn to contribute to the blog tour. As a quick reminder for those who didn't catch me talking about YA Shot before, it's... well, I'll just quote from the official website:

"...an author-run, author-led Young Adult and Middle Grade festival that raises the money and resources to run a year-long programme pairing libraries and schools for free author events to foster a love of reading, inspire a passion for writing, and encourage aspirations to careers in the Arts. We believe in equal access to books and opportunities for all – YA Shot brings UKYA and UKMG authors together to pursue that goal, supporting libraries and young people across the country. At present, we’re a not-for-profit organisation but we’re seeking to become a charity. 

YA Shot is a one-day annual festival based in the centre of Uxbridge (London). The 2016 festival will take place on Saturday 22nd October 2016. Around 70 authors are involved in a programme of workshop, panel and ‘in conversation’ events (plus book-signing sessions) in the Uxbridge Civic Centre, Waterstone’s Uxbridge and Uxbridge Library. There is also a programme of fantastic blogging and vlogging workshops. YA Shot is run in partnership with Hillingdon Borough Libraries and Waterstone’s Uxbridge."

Sounds awesome, right? That's because it IS awesome - and this year I'm taking part! I will be on a panel with Alwyn Hamilton (author of Rebel of the Sands) and chaired by Samantha Shannon (creator of the Bone Season books). The panel is titled Little Women: Fantasy, gender, power and constraint, and I am *very* *excited* because these are topics I love to rant - er - calmly and intelligently discuss with other writers. For information on this and all the other amazing panels and events, many of which I hope to be able to attend as an audience-member, check out the website now.

I already know that some Dear Readers will be there and I'm really looking forward to seeing them, along with a bunch of author-friends who I've never had the chance to meet in the flesh before, and hopefully a whole bunch of new reader-peeps who'll be attending too.

To celebrate and promote the festival, I've collaborated with one of my favourite book bloggers, Luna - of Luna's Little Library fame - to make what I hope is a really chewy, interesting and unique interview about fairytales and folklore, how they change and evolve, what they mean to us as a society, and how it all relates back to the fairytale retellings we've seen in various media, including the ones I've written - not least BAREFOOT ON THE WIND (hence the amazing graphics and .gifs from Luna).

Owned by Luna's Little Library

There's also a giveaway! The winner will receive a complete set of The Name of the Blade trilogy, signed and dedicated, with as much additional secret swag as I can stuff in the box before posting.

Owned by Luna's Little Library

The post and the giveaway are live right now, so check them out, leave a comment, enter the giveaway and share on Facebook, Twitter, or wherever. Have a great day, my ducklings - read you later!