FOUR THINGS ON THURSDAY

Hello, Dear Readers! Welcome to Thursday - the weekend is almost upon us! Today I have a random sampling of things to share, beginning with:

1) The FRAIL HUMAN HEART Blogtour is about to begin! See the glorious banner to the right? Now this is super exciting not only for the usual reasons, but because I've actually written a bunch of extra content specifically for the blog tour - three 'deleted scenes' from the trilogy which are presented to you *exclusively* on these blogger's sites.

These extra scenes are juicy and spoilerific - I can't even really say what any of them involve (because that would be giving the game away) except to say that two of them star Hikaru and one is from the perspective of a character we've seen but never actually met before - so if you're a fan of the books then you NEED to tune in.

To help ensure you don't miss anything, I'll be posting a link to the requisite site here on the blog each day, and you can just click through to see what the day's offering will be. There are also tantalizing snippets from FRAIL HUMAN HEART (in case you haven't read it yet), a Q&A, and a long thinky piece on my inspiration for the series, looking back at how the idea came to be in the first place. Hurrah!

2) Remaining with the FRAIL HUMAN HEART theme, the book has been out for three weeks now and Amazon has two lovely reviews for it, both of which I'm terribly grateful for. But the first book - THE NIGHT ITSELF - has twenty-three reviews and even DARKNESS HIDDEN has eight. FHH is looking a bit lonely and unloved; and that's the kind of thing that keeps writers like me up at night.

So this is my appeal to you: if you've read the book, whether you loved it, liked it, or have salty comments to make, please could you take a few moments out of your day to pop onto Amazon and leave a review? I would appreciate it so much.

And there is something in it for you, too - if this appeal here yields some extra reviews, I'll randomly pick one of the Amazon reviewers and send them a package containing Delightful Mystery Stuff related to the trilogy. That winner could be you. But whether you review or not, I still love you and am eternally grateful to you, my Dear Readers!

3) SUPER EXCITING NEWS that I am not allowed to tell you sorry! Ahem.

I've been sworn to secrecy at this point by Wonder Editor, but something thrilling is set to happen, and it's related to the released of my Beauty and the Beast retelling - aka #BaBBook - which I can now tell you is set to come out in June next year. Remember that this is a companion novel to Shadows on the Moon, and is also set in the Moonlit Lands.

One thing I can reveal is that #BaBBook's real title is BAREFOOT ON THE WIND (this might still be subject to change, but I hope it won't because I love that title). More details when I get permission to share them - but be excited my lovelies! I am!

4) My friend C.J. Daugherty, author of the legendary (and bestselling!) NIGHT SCHOOL books has just become the first UKYA author with an official pop song dedicated to her books!

She very modestly dropped this into the conversation the other day and I was gobsmacked when I investigated and got a load of this amazing song by Betsa Collins, who is only seventeen! Good work Betsa - and congratulations CJ! The final NIGHT SCHOOL book is out now, by the way, in case you were in the mood to marathon some excellent UKYA...

How rockstar is THAT?!?!

And that's all from me for now, muffins - but I'll be back on Monday next week to kick off the blog tour. Have a lovely weekend!

WOMEN IN FANTASY

Hello, my duckies! Happy Friday to you all! Yesterday - the 5th of July - was FrostFire's official publication date (even though Amazon has been shipping it out to people since late last week) and so now we're in the hushed waiting period, both longing for and dreading reviews. Eeep.

I would absolutely LOVE it if people would send me pictures of FrostFire out in the wild. Shots of it on the shelf, or of yourself holding it in a bookshop - they make my day. So remember to charge your phones or take your cameras when you go shopping next!

Today is the third stop on the FrostFire Blog Tour, and the topic is Women in Fantasy (or Fantasy Women, as I wanted to call it). It's all about my favourite girl characters, and it's been hosted by the delightful Lynsey of Narratively Speaking. Head on over there and read!

This week there's also a couple of really interesting interviews with me online. The first is with Novia at Truly Bookish as part of her MultiCultural Book Challenge - and there's a giveaway of Shadows on the Moon for USians, too! Then Kaylie from the Bluewater Waterstone's interviewed me for her book club's blog. Check those both out. There were some great questions.

In the meantime, to celebrate (belatedly) the release date, and just in case you haven't seen it yet - the FrostFire trailer!

BEHIND THE SCENES ON THE FROSTFIRE TRAILER

Hellooo, Dear Readers! Today I'm taking you on a journey behind the scenes of the making of the FrostFire trailer which, with any luck, will be released sometime before the book's 5th of July publication date. They're still working on cutting it all together and making the best of the amazing footage they got. I've had a sneak preview (yep, author's privilege!) and it looks *stunning*. I can't wait to share!

Now some of you might remember the post I did for the Shadows on the Moon trailer here. Watching that take shape was loads of fun, but I honestly didn't have all that much involvement in the process. I sent them a list of possible shooting locations early on, and then they consulted me on a few key points later, but mostly my involvement was skipping and flailing in the background and badgering people until they let me see photos/early footage.

The FrostFire trailer is different because I - gulp - co-wrote the script. The other writer was Lovely Lass (whom I introduced here). I haven't done anything like that since I left college, so it was pretty nerve-wracking, and the requirement to keep the whole thing down to as short a length as possible was a real challenge for me. As my Dear Readers know, I do have a slight problem with keeping anything I write to a reasonable length...*cough* fourthousandwordblogposts *cough*

Once we'd gone back and forth over the writing of the script for a while we sent it to Lovely Lass's boss, who sent it to the company who actually shoots the trailers. They OK'ed it provisionally. Basically, they were willing to give it a go, but reserved the right to tweak, cut, or downright change anything that they thought could work better (which they definitely did, based on the sneak peek I got, so bear that in mind when you see the finished article - it's not a product solely of my genius!).

A little while later I was sent a storyboard for the way they intended to produce the trailer. I can't share the whole thing with you, but I snipped a tiny part of it so you can see that it's pretty rough and ready and leaves a lot of room for artistic interpretation:

At this point they were hunting for possible shooting locations - not as easy as it sounds, since the book's setting, Ruan, is based on Northern India and Tibet and much of the story takes place in dense forest. But that paled in comparison to the hunt for the right actors.

There are three main characters in FrostFire and they are each very different. Without giving too much away (well, this is mostly on the cover copy) there's Luca, the charismatic and handsome captain of a crack team of mountain soldiers, defending a troubled border against ruthless bandits. There's Arian, his dark and tortured second-in-command and adopted brother, who would do anything to keep Luca safe. And there's Frost, the heroine of the story and it's POV character, whose entry into the boy's lives is a catalyst for huge change for both of them, and who is herself on an epic journey to find a cure for her berserker rages.

Relatively early into the casting process I was sent the images for the boys and did a genuine MUPPET FLAIL (with credit to Laura :) because they looked soooo good. First, the actor playing Luca: Ian James

I love him because he has a deceptively frail quality, as Luca does in the book - the heroine thinks he's like a bird of prey, fierce and silent. He's also got a very pretty face and long hair, which I was hoping for.

Next, meet of Ben Wiggins, taking on the role of Arian:

I was SO happy when I saw Ben. He's got the beautiful curly hair Arian's described as having in the book - and get a load of those eyes! Arian's pale eyes are vital in the book, and I was a little doubtful we'd get them for the trailer.

So far, so squeeful. But then, as I mentioned before, we hit a bit of a snag. In the book Frost is described as being tall  - as tall as Arian - and very strong and tough. She has dark skin and in my head I've always thought she looked like a younger version of Julia Jones, from the Twilight films, only with long hair. This is the sketch I did of Frost when I was writing the book:

Having had so little trouble finding the two guys, I was - well - let's stay stunned when Lovely Lass told me that she was being sent actresses who were completely wrong for Frost.

I mean WRONG.

Not just a little wrong.

Like, tiny petite white girls did-you-even-read-the-character-description wrong.

Why it would be so hard to find an althetic looking, dark-skinned young actress, I can't really understand. They're out there. They are ready for action. Just look at the cast of the British film FAST GIRLS! But for some reason we were not seeing them.

We did some anxious nail-nibbling. But then, at least, we were sent...Sophia Leonie (and what a gorgeous name that is, too):

Go ahead and take another look at my sketch. I don't want to say that the resemblance is uncanny but...it's totally uncanny, right? Eeee!

The only thing the lovely Sophia doesn't have that Frost does is grey eyes. But since she's tall and athletic and perfect in every other other way, I was happy to let that one go. We had a Frost!

Within about a day, I was told that shooting was going ahead in order to take advantage of the fine weather. And lucky you! I have some stills from the filming.

Frost flees in the darkness

Luca and Frost meet

Frost and Arian confront each other

Frost stares into the shadows

Supremely cool, right? I'm so impressed with the setting, as well. I thought I might get some fake connifers against a painted background. All in all I am over the moon with how it seems to be turning out - and you guys will be the first to know as soon as I'm allowed to set it free on the internet, I promise :)

What do you think of the actors and the film stills? Are you looking forward to seeing this? Let me know in the comments!

P.S. Today's second post will be on Friday rather than Thursday this week, peeps. See you then!

SHADOWS ON THE MOON TRAILER - THE DIRECTOR'S CUT!

Hello, Dear Readers - and happy Wednesday to you all!

Some of you may be aware that late last week the original Shadows on the Moon book trailer reached 1,000 views, which was a cause of great smileyness and joy at Casa Zolah.

Now, I promised back when the trailer was first launched that if this happened, I'd persuade my publisher to let me upload the extended version, which had some extra juicy bits. And I'm very happy to say that they've given me the OK to put it on my personal YouTube Channel.

So here it is! Let me know what you think!

WEDNESDAY FIVE #2

Yes, the middle of the week has rolled around again - and once again I have been so embroiled in work, work, work that I have failed to come up with a scintillating new topic for you. So: Random Wednesday (hey - you at the back - no booing on my blog!).

Thing the First:

Yesterday I passed 50,000 words on Big Secret Project! 51k, in actual fact. It's been a long time coming, what with the FF re-writes, so I'm chuffed and excited and very happy to be heading towards the explosive, climactic scenes. I don't want to jinx myself, but barring hideous mischance, I think I should definitely have a complete first draft by the end of the year.

Thing the Second:

I'm hoping to get Some News about Big Secret Project next week. It's all a bit complicated because the News might not be anything definite, and anyway I'm going to be in a cabin in the woods with no way to communicate with you and spotty mobile phone reception which will make it hard for anyone to talk to me. But if I do get News, I shall share it on the blog next week. If I don't say anything, take it that there was no News (this is publishing, folks - all the speed and transparency of an iceberg creeping down a mountain).

Thing the Third:

I love my agent. I adore her. I bless the day that my editor said to me, 'You know who might be a really good fit for you?' and mentioned her name for the first time (even though I had already been worshipping her from afar for a while before that, I hadn't really had the courage to approach). Nancy, you may or may not be psychic, but you definitely rock.

Thing the Fourth:

Tomorrow, I visit the hairstylists. Who knows what will happen to me in there? If something goes wrong, tell my dog I love him. I regret nothing.

Thing the Fifth:

The Shadows on the Moon book trailer has, disappointingly, stalled at just over 850 views. Now, if you think back to when it was first launched, I promised that when it reached 1000, there would be extra features on offer. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've convinced the lovely people at Walker Books to release the Director's Cut version of the trailer, which is longer and has extra exciting bits. So if, while I'm away on my internet free sojourn, you guys were to spread the word, share the trailer, and boost those viewing figures up? I might be able to celebrate my return by posting that. Get on it:

SURPRISE SIXTH THING:

The final line from Chapter Fifteen of Big Secret Project, which I wrote yesterday! Adult language warning:

"Holy shit,” Hikaru whispered.

And with that, I bid you adieu! See you on Friday with new hair pictures.

SHADOWS ON THE MOON SPECIAL POST

Hello everyone! Today is official release day for Shadows on the Moon - the day when the online retailers like Amazon and The Book Depository change the book's status from Pre-Order to Order Now, the day when bookshops nationwide will start putting it out right there on the shelves for people to pick up and leaf through and hopefully BUY.

Eeeep!

Just for your information, I have made another pledge, this time to my Twitter friends, that if Shadows on the Moon makes it onto any UK bestseller's chart, I will film myself doing the famous Zolah Happy Dance and post it on YouTube for all to see (and mock, and laugh at). So, if you'd like to see (and mock, and laugh at) that, now is a great time to order Shadows on the Moon in either paperback or Kindle edition, or pick up a copy (or two!) from your local bookshop. You could even ask about it at your local library and make sure that they've ordered one for their shelves. Just sayin'.

And now that bit's over (phew!) I'm going to talk to you about the thing causing all this fuss. My story. The story that was, at various times, called 'The Moon Mask', 'Fair as the Moon' and 'The Shadow Mantle'. The story we now know as Shadows on the Moon. The following post is based on the talk I gave at the Walker Undercover event in winter last year.

Sometimes as a writer you get an idea that is crazy. So crazy that you have no choice but to write it. In my case the idea came when Memoirs of a Geisha, Cinderella and The Count of Monte Cristo all collided in my head. At the time I was struggling with another book (which is still unfinished) and my crazy, Japanese influenced idea looked incredibly shiny and fun and easy in comparision. So, with the blessing of my editor, I switched.

Guess what? It wasn't shiny. It wasn't fun. And it definitely was not easy.

Almost straight away, things began to go wrong. My heroine turned out to be much darker and more complex than I had bargained for. The story developed twists and turns I never expected. The world expanded until I had lost track of its boundaries. Within a chapter or two I was having a crisis of confidence. The monologue running through my head went something like this:

I made a mistake. This story isn't ready to be written. It's too big. I should never have started it. I’ll never finish it. 

I got stuck for months at a time. I blew two deadlines, one computer, and more braincells than I care to think about.

And it was worth it.

Because when I finished I found that despite the panic attacks, temper tantrums and ripping my hair out over my rising word count, something really extraordinary had happened. A story had forced itself out of me into the world, and even I felt a bit shocked at just how special it was.

It might be surprising to learn, especially for those of you who know how much I love fairytales - but I have never been a fan of Cinderella. In fact, if you'd asked me growing up, I'd probably have said she was my least favourite fairytale heroine of all. Let’s face it, she’s the classic wimp. Throughout the entire fairytale Cinderella never seems to take a single action to improve her lot in life. All she does is sigh and whine and wait for other people to save her – which they duly do, first her fairy godmother, and finally the prince.

But what did Cinderella do to deserve any of that? I'm sorry, but being beautiful and obedient just don't cut it in my view. She never shows a scrap of determination, strength or intelligence. I mean, if I was in her situation and my fairy godmother had arrived in a puff of smoke asking what I wanted, I’d have requested something a bit more practical than a nice dress and a ride to the ball. How about a box of my mum’s jewellery and a coach ticket out of town? Who would just throw away their one chance at freedom to go and sip lukewarm lemonade and get stepped on by some random prince's feet?

For years I'd been rolling my eyes at Cinderella and crossly muttering to myself that no real person - no real girl, with a real heart and a real mind - could be that spineless. And then one day, out of the blue, it occurred to me to ask: What if Cinderella wasn’t? What if she WASN'T a wimp? If that persona was an illusion. A disguise...

What kind of person would play that part? Hide every vestige of their soul beneath a mask of obedience and beauty? And why?

The story flipped in my head. Immediately I saw that a character who was intelligent, cunning and devious enough to play the role of Cinderella would have to have a really good reason to endure all that she does in the story. She would have to want something very badly, badly enough to risk her own soul to get it.

REVENGE. Revenge for the murder of her father. After all, the first important thing that happens in Cinderella is her father's death. The story never says how he died, but what if it was murder?

I began to see that my Cinderella would hide as a common drudge in her enemy’s kitchen in order to preserve her life. And when she rose from the dirt and ashes she would become, not some imitation fairy princess, but the most beautiful courtesan in the land, determined to go to the ball, not to wear a pretty dress and dance with the prince, but to crush her enemy.

And then I began to think of all the ways it could go wrong. All the ways that living a life of such darkness and deception would hurt and twist and eventually destroy a person, no matter how strong they were. I began to wonder just what could save my Cinderella from the vengeance she had sacrificed everything to achieve.

So in the midst of this ruthless quest for vengeance, I knew that my heroine would meet a boy. Not just any boy. The one person in the world who saw through her magic and her beautiful illusions and her mask of Shadows. Someone who could sees all her fury and her hurt and her darkness...and love her anyway. This boy wouldn’t give her up - not even to the prince she was determined to snare.

Shadows on the Moon is a story about transformations, and about how sometimes in our quest to leave our pain behind, we can accidentally leave ourselves behind as well.

It's a story about how deception hurts everyone, even the one practising it.
 
It's a story about illusions and how - frighteningly often - is it easier to believe in lies than truth.

But most of all, Shadows on the Moon turned out to be a story about love. About how, like my version of Cinderella, it can wear many faces. And some them are dark and terrible. But ultimately, the story is about how love can bring you back to yourself when even you thought that you were lost forever.

Here's the trailer again, in case anyone missed it on Sugarscape (or just wants to see it again). And I've been authorised to tell you that if the views on this trailer get up to over 1,000, there may be extra trailer related goodness on offer - like deleted scenes. Yeah, baby! Tell your friends!

SHADOWS ON THE MOON BOOK TRAILER!

Hello dear readers! Today is a momentous day because it is FINALLY time for me to reveal to you the Shadows on the Moon trailer!

I'm really incredibly proud of this (even though my contribution to it was fairly small) and so delighted that my publisher decided to put this much effort into making it something special. They've arranged for it to debut exclusively on Sugarscape.com, which is a digital magazine for teens with a fantastic online book club, which will hopefully get it the attention it deserves - but of course if you want to share it on Facebook or Tweet about it, I'll be very pleased.

But before I give you the link, another quick round-up of the blog tour.

Monday's post was on Writing From the Tub and included a sneak preview of the book and a swag giveaway too.

On Tuesday the wonderful Sarah at Feeling Fictional also offered a sneak preview, and a review - and a brilliant giveaway of two copies of the book, one of which is for INTERNATIONAL readers. So get over there and enter if you haven't already.

Today, lovely Lynsey at Narratively Speaking is doing another exciting giveaway and she will be reviewing the book tomorrow too, so make sure to check that out.

Also tomorrow, in defiance of my normal posting schedule, I'm going to be doing a very special blog post for you, which is based on the talk I gave at the 2010 Walker Undercover event, about the origins of Shadows on the Moon - where the idea came from, how it developed, my experience writing it and what the story means to me. I'll be hosting the book trailer here too. This post won't go up until after 5:30 in the afternoon (due to the exclusivity period which Sugarscape.com has with the trailer) so make sure to check back then for interesting insights into the book.

OK. Now for the moment you've been waiting for. *Deep breaths*

Here's the link to the Shadows on the Moon trailer.

Don't forget to come back and tell me what you think, guys!

SHADOWS ON THE MOON BLOG TOUR DAYS #1 & #2

Hello everyone - I hope you're enjoying this fine, sunny Friday? I certainly am, after a half hour of yoga, a bracing dog-walk and a pint of coffee. Later on I plan to lay out a blanket in my garden and read while soaking up as much vitamin D as is possible for a pasty-skinned girl wearing factor 30. O, lazy holiday lifestyle - I shall miss you when I go back to work next week. Well, not really. But I shall pretend to.

All right, the first order of business today is to remind anyone who hasn't entered yet that the Blogiversary Extravaganza giveaway is still open. You have until midnight on the 3rd of July to collect those points. Clickity clickity to read the rules and the list of prizes.

Next up on the agenda - the Shadows on the Moon Blog Tour has begun! Yesterday the lovely Liz and Sarah of My favourite Books hosted an extract of Shadows on the Moon, a review, and swag giveaway/guest post by me about fairytale and mythology retellings that I love. Check it out!

Today's tour post is up on the Serendipity Blog, hosted by charming Vivienne, and recounts A Day In My Crazy Writing Life (with pictures) AND a giveaway of a copy of Shadows on the Moon!

See how good to you I am? Two posts and three giveaways in one day! I really urge you to head over to both these blogs and comment - let my publisher see your enthusiasm!

Finally, an update on the Shadows book trailer. I have seen a tough cut, and although they intend to trim it down with a little more editing, I am...well...speechless pretty much covers it. I cannot WAIT to show you what they did. I think they're launching it next week, and there are hush-hush things going on as to where, but I'll let you know the second I've got a link.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

BEHIND THE SCENES ON THE SHADOWS ON THE MOON TRAILER

Hello everyone! Happy Friday - a very happy Friday in fact, because I'm about to blow your minds with awesometastic, behind the scenes photographs from the shooting of the Shadows on the Moon trailer.

*Pause for 'Ooooooh!'*

OK, before I start unveiling, here's a question. Did you enter the One Year Blogiversary Extravaganza yet? There are fabulous prizes to be won and the giveaway is open internationally. The reason I ask is that you will be able to gain EXTRA ENTRY POINTS if you blog, Facebook, Tweet or otherwise share today's post. I want to generate some buzz about this trailer! That's right - EXTRA POINTS. Yay! However: I ask that you do not go to other people's blogs and leave comments/links about the giveaway in their comment trails. I know some of you guys have been doing this, and I will count those points, but in future I'd rather you don't do this anymore. The owners of those other blogs probably feel as if they're being spammed by me! And remember - whatever sharing of this post you do, leave a link in a separate comment on the One Year Blogiversary Extravaganza post. Otherwise I won't be able to count it.

Now...to begin.

Last week the lovely Sean from Walker Books sent me an email that made me squeee as I haven't squeeed for many long months. It contained headshots of actors that they were considering for the roles of Otieno and Suzume in the book trailer. They had already decided on the girl to play Suzume:

SO GORGEOUS. Look at those eyes! This girl should be in Hollywood. But I'm glad she's not, because she wouldn't be in my trailer if so. Hurrah!

They wanted my choice between two actors for Otieno. This actor was my favourite. He's called Hainsley. Um. *Swoon*

They also wanted to show me the make-up they had been experimenting with to re-create the tattoos that Otieno has in the story:

So I was already ridiculously excited. But then they told me that they had been given permission to film at the East Asia Gardens at Kew. At this point I pretty much had to grab a paper bag because HOLY CRAP. Dream come true, much?

After some more emailing back and forth to ask me for approval on various details - which I really appreciate, it was wonderful to be consulted - they went out to do the shooting on Tuesday. And on Wednesday, I received a bunch of pictures which had been shot by the delightful Becca on location. I share these with you now. You ready? Seriously. Sit down or something.

This is the East Asia Gardens. THIS IS WHERE THEY WERE SHOOTING MY TRAILER YOU GUYS... *Deep breaths* Next, a wide shot of a scene where Suzume and Otieno confront each other:

I'm fine. Totally fine. I've seen a guy without a shirt on before - what are you saying? I'm just lying here on the floor because it's more comfortable. Really.

Next, a glimpse of a different costume for Jing (that's the actress playing Suzume):

Pretty kimono. Preeetty. Soooo preeeeetty....*Drools* Ahem. *Wipes face* And now for my favourite shot of the whole thing. This is my new profile picture on Twitter:

*Reels away, dizzy and shaking*

*Sits down*

*Fans self*

Right. Right. I'm back. I just have to say that I'm so awed and overjoyed by the attention to detail and the respect that's been showered on this project, both by Walker Books and the production company involved, Shoot. I feel incredibly lucky. And I can't WAIT to share the trailer with you guys, which ought to be, with any luck, sometime next week.

To close, let's have a shot of a new Shadows on the Moon fan the crew found at Kew Gardens:

Fan. FAN. Get it? Get it?! Oh, nevermind.

So what do you guys think? Are you excited to see the trailer? Let me know in the comments! And remember, if you decide to share this post to earn extra giveaway points, do it on the Extraganza post, not here. Thanks!

MONDAY UPDATES

Hi everyone - Happy Monday. I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was a mixture of ups and downs. I had to do my tax return, and despite having undergone this process once a year since 2005, I still don't really understand it. Self Assessment feels like a fiendishly difficult exam, and every year they wrong-foot you by changing the questions and layout. You always finish with a strong feeling that you've messed up. This is an element of the glamorous writer's life that no one ever warns you about. It's my heartfelt ambition to be able to afford an accountant one day.

However, this weekend also brought me this:

With thanks to the lovely Emma of Book Angel's Booktopia for risking people thinking she was mad by frantically shooing them out of the way to take a picture in her local WHS.

I've never seen a book of mine that close to the word 'Bestselling' before, or put on a display with Big Books like Twilight and Starcrossed. To clarify, just out of shot on the left is the word NEW - which is what Shadows on the Moon is - and that's why it's on the shelf, not (unfortunately) because it's bestselling, as far as I'm aware. But it's still thrilling.

Which leads me onto telling you that my publisher is planning all kinds of interesting things for the week of Shadows on the Moon's official release, including guest posts on their Undercover Blog, a blog tour and the release of a book trailer. I am so excited about all of this, especially the book trailer. Last week they sent me headshots of the actors who've been cast as the main characters and...well, let's just say I nearly passed out.

What all this means (apart from the fact that I should probably practise taking deep, slow breaths, or maybe buy some paper bags) is that for a week or maybe a little more around the book's publication date, you'll be getting a lot more posts from me than normal - but I'll be re-directing you to other blogs to read them. I hope that's going to be OK with you guys?

In tangenitally related news, the response to the One Year Blogiversary Extravangaza so far has been wonderful, both in the number of entries and the number of new followers. If it keeps on this way I may be dying pink streaks in my hair before the end of summer. Have you entered yet? What are you waitiing for? Get to it! You've only got until the 3rd of July to enter - but remember, the giveaway is open internationally.

Finally, I'm planning a Reader Questions post on Wednesday, so if anyone would like to ask a question about writing or publishing and get a reply this week, send me an email through my website or drop me a line in the comments.

And now - back to work on FrostFire edits! Hurrah!

FINAL SHADOWS ON THE MOON COVER!

It's here at last - the absolutely, positively FINAL version of the UK Shadows on the Moon artwork.

And look, look! Red lettering! This is a drama you guys don't even know about. When I was shown the very first version of this cover, the lettering was red. I was really pleased about that, because red is an important colour in the story, and it's a traditionally lucky colour in China and the east as well. However, some people in the marketing department felt that the red give the book more of a historical novel look, rather than fantasy. They switched to pale pink lettering.

I hate to be an awkward author (can't always avoid it, but I don't LIKE it) and I also know that marketing are far more experienced and knowledgeable on how cover art will be recieved than I. So I tried not to make a fuss about this. But I did express my love for the red to my editor and to Sophie, the designer. Time passed. The ARCs came out, and the lettering was pink. I resigned myself.

But I think my crafty editor was scheming in the background. She got Sophie to mock up a version of the new The Swan Kingdom cover with red lettering, and everyone in marketing liked it so much they asked Sophie to do a mock-up of Shadows on the Moon with red as well. And lo, somehow the planets aligned, the continents shifted, and my beloved red was BACK.

I haven't got a finished version of the book yet (I'm hoping to see layout pages, or page proofs, soon, which is the final stage before the book goes to production) but I have been sent some cover flats, which are actual book covers which have not been bound to a manuscript. They are, frankly, breath-taking. The red lettering is a really deep, blood red, and it's foiled, which means it's *sparkly*. Another lovely effect is something called 'spot UV' on the Sakura - the white cherry blossoms on the cover - which is basically a clear glaze that makes them shiny.

Other features include a QR code on the back which owners of smartphones will be able to scan to see the official book trailer Walker Books plan to make. Next to the QR code is the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation logo. Shadows on the Moon won the Sasakawa Prize before it was even in its final draft, and I'm honoured to see that logo there.

The best thing about the cover, however, is undoubtedly that beautiful face, smiling so sadly and mysteriously around the spine, like a Japanese Mona Lisa. When I was asked what I would like to see on the cover, of course I knew that my suggestions would only ever be that, and that marketing and sales would naturally have a far bigger impact than I. But I begged - BEGGED - that if they use a picture of a girl on the cover, please let her be Japanese. Please let her be young enough to realistically pass for my heroine. And please, please, not wearing Geisha make-up. I'm so sick of seeing books with Asian heroines who are not even Geisha, and yet have a model with a thick coating of traditional Geisha make-up on the cover. This is called exoticising, and I feel it's patronising and wrong.

But despite my fears - and those were realistic fears, given the repeated instances of white-washing and RaceFail in YA - Walker Books came through. They gave this book a cover model who could truly BE my heroine, a cover I can be proud of, a cover that reflects the book in every way. I have been LUCKY with covers, yo, but this cover makes me feel luckiest of all.

In celebration of this my oh-my-God-I-can't-believe-I-got-so-lucky moment, I finished making two book trailers which I had been holding back on until I had the final cover image. Each trailer focuses on a different aspect of the story, and I hope you'll enjoy them. I think they are rather pretty. Feel free to disseminate them far and wide.






Happy Friday everyone!

ETA: I hope that everyone will send their thoughts, hopes and prayers to the people of Japan this weekend. I will be.

SHADOWS ON THE MOON BUZZ

As I believe I mentioned briefly on this blog before, on Saturday the 27th of November I got up at an unGodly hour (5:55 am), put on my make-up, straightened my hair and then made my way to my local railway station. There I began a somewhat arduous three-hour journey to London. Luckily the snow was not yet as bad as it's been for the past week, but it was still bad enough that I was stuck in Doncaster for an extra hour, and turned up late at my final destination (sorry, everyone!) which was Walker Books Ltd, my UK publisher's office.

But I didn't care! Let me tell you why.

The reason I'd been asked to visit the Walker offices that day is that my publisher has a really exciting line up of new YA books planned for next year. These books will be released as part of their new Undercover Reading range. And Shadows on the Moon is one of those books. The fabulous PR and marketing departments at Walker had decided to hold an event to promote the Undercover range and invite some influential bloggers to hear all about it.

And I, dear readers, was the Mystery Author.

Although I've done quite a few Inspiring Speeches about my books at this point, for instance at the Walker Sales Conference in September, I have to admit that I was reeeally nervous about this event. Shadows on the Moon is so special to me, and I desperately wanted to convey that specialness to these fabulous bloggers (all of whose blogs I already followed). These are people who've been to a LOT of publishing events. These are people who've met and chatted with really famous authors like Maggie Stiefvater. Cue: Zolah Freakout.

I turned up, late, hot and bothered, with hat-hair, and plunged into this roomful of important people to babble at them and give them presents. I told them all about the book, and then answered many astute questions with more babbling (are you sensing a theme there?) To my surprise, I found I really enjoyed it. Of course the bloggers were all passionate about books and reading anyway, so that helped, as did the support of the lovely Annalie (my long-suffering and supremely patient editor) and other Walker peeps Ruth, Rebecca and Sean. And then I went home. And the next day I woke up and thought: "Oh God, WHY did I have to talk so much? Why did I have to talk so fast? I bet no one understood a word I SAID! Arhgkkllghh!"

But it's okay! I need not have despaired, because apparently said bloggers are used to listening to hysterical authors babble. Either that or Annalie was discreetly translating for me. Anyway, the event reports are starting to show up on the interwebz now, and they are overwhelmingly positive about My Preeessshcious. So I thought I'd share.

Lauren at I was a Teenage Book Geek talks about it here.
Liz from My Favourite Books talks about it here.
Sarah from Sarah's Book Reviews talks about it here.

Becky from The Bookette and Lynsey from Narratively Speaking haven't posted their event reports yet, but I'm crossing my fingers that they will soon.

Thanks for making my slightly nerve-wracking day out fun, Kindly Bloggers. Hopefully I'll get to meet you all again one day!

COVERED IN GLORY!

I think I may have mentioned that in July of 2011, Shadows on the Moon (my Cinderella re-telling set in Japan) will be released by Walker Books. Actually, it's safe to say that I may have mentioned it A LOT.

However, what I might not have mentioned quite so often is that at the same time, Walker Books will also be re-packaging and reissuing The Swan Kingdom, my very first book. I'm really ecstatic about this, because not only does it mean that Alexandra and her story will get a completely new chance to reach out to readers, but because it also means the book gets brand spanking new cover art.

Now, I LOVED my original UK paperback artwork, and a lot of people told me they loved it too. I mean, what's not to love?

 

I adore the striking colours - especially the midnight blue - and in real life it is sparkly. But when I compare it to the covers of YA books which are on the shelves now, following the Twilight Boom and the surge in photocovers, it looks a slightly 'young' for a book aimed at 12+. I've even seen, in my local library, a little sticker placed on the book to warn off readers under the age of 12, because it might be too scary for them, which argues that it was appealing to readers of 11 years old and younger.

On the other hand, I have to admit that when when I knew I was getting new artwork, I also felt a bit nervous, because...that first cover really does express the type of story TSK is so well. What if it all went wrong? What if they came up with something I really hated? I've been so lucky with covers so far.  Could this be where my luck ran out?

Thusly, when I recieved an email from my editor which had the words 'Swan Kingdom' and 'Cover' in the title, I had to take a few deep breaths before I opened it up. But I needn't have worried. Because what I found was this:

Will you think less of me if I admit that I did a little happy dance when I saw this? It takes all the things I loved about the original cover - the sense of magic, the organic forms, the nature imagery and most of all that luscious blue, and it turns them into something grown up and sophisticated. And what's more: SWANS!

Just as with the first cover, I know for 100% certain that if I saw that on a book in the shop, I would pick it up and read the back (which is half the battle). I'm so pleased! What do you guys think?

In other news, I've also now seen the cover for Shadows on the Moon - and I will be posting that on Friday for you. Stand by!

FIVE THINGS ON A FRIDAY

I have no idea who came up with Five Things on a Friday, but I see it all over the place, so I thought I would join in.

1. Awesometastic competition to win all kinds of drool-worthy books which haven't been released yet. I've already entered!
2. I've written and delivered the synopsis for the two book series (currently just titled FrostFire One and FrostFire Two, but hopefully something less lame in the near future) to my editor. Now we cross our fingers for a positive response.
   
3. And since I've already finished the first rough draft of Book One - YES! FINISHED! - I'm now giving myself my traditional week off before I start on Book Two, which means I get to read all the amazing books in my TBR pile! Whoohoo! I've already started Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. I'm struggling with it a little at the moment, mostly with Grace's POV, but am pressing onward.
   
4. There is a farmer's market in town today, and I'm about to head out to sample local cheeses and breads and other yummy stuff. For my dinner tonight, I intend to make grilled portobello mushrooms with goat's cheese and a poached egg, followed by homemade leak and blue cheese soup. Yes, that's right - I am a cooking goddess.
5. Have a book trailer for The Swan Kingdom! Pretty, pretty...
   

FIRST!

Does that count on your own blog? Oh, well, whatever. Hello, and welcome to the Zoë-Trope, or as I like to think of it, the Wheel of Life (but someone else already called their blog that. Sigh).

I've never really maintained a blog before, but it seems like everyone else is doing it - besides which, I love to talk and I don't get the chance to talk to my readers enough. So here I am. Let me know if there are questions you want me to answer, topics you want me to cover. I'll do my best.

Video for everyone today. Two videos. Like a Bogof, only you don't have to buy one! I'm a genius.

Firstly, a sneak peak at my new novel which is coming from Walker Books (in the UK) in almost exactly one year.



Next, for any young writers in the audience, some helpful tips from me, inspired by a reader email.



And finally - because I like to surprise people - a THIRD video! This song is helping me plough through the very difficult eighth chapter of my current WIP. What's that you say? This writer is made of awesome? Why thank you, kind reader! So nice to be appreciated.