Guest Post: Beaky Malone Blog Tour

Barry Hutchison has to be one of my favourite middle grade authors - I've loved everything that I have read of his, starting of course with the fabulous Invisible Fiends series. His new book, Beaky Malone World's Greatest Liar, was published a couple of days ago and is no exception to this - it is laugh out loud funny from beginning to end. I am really chuffed that Barry wanted to stop off at The Book Zone on his Beaky Malone blog tour, to tell us how he got into writing funny stories:

FUNNY STUFF, GOOD. PUNCHING ME IN THE HEAD, BAD 

I wasn’t a funny kid. I was the quiet one in class, reasonably studious without being brilliant, and usually found quietly reading a comic in the corner when all my work was done for the day. There was nothing notable about me whatsoever, other than my height. I was abnormally tall for my age, and by the time I’d hit 8 years old, I towered several inches above the rest of my class.

This didn’t go unnoticed by the kids in the years above, and soon I was the target for bullies three or four years older than I was. One kid in particular – I can’t remember his name, so let’s call him Bashy McBashface – spent weeks tormenting me, before finally catching me alone one day as I walked home from school.

I can remember his sneering spotty face, his bunched fists, his home-cut crop of ginger hair and his very obvious intent to pummel my head and torso into the pavement. He had another kid with him – his cousin, if I remember rightly, who had two silvery snot-trails as a permanent fixture on his top lip – who alternated between egging Bashy on, and keeping an eye out for trouble.

I was terrified. Too terrified to even raise my fists. Bashy McBashface was HUGE, and had a reputation for being the best fighter in school. I, on the other hand, was a tall, skinny kid who had a reputation for reading The Beano, and for once coming first in the school sports skipping race. It was less Rumble in the Jungle and more Certain Death in That Bit Behind the Shops.

Bashy’s fist drew back. My mouth opened. Words tumbled out all on their own.

Bashy stopped. He cocked his head to the side like a dog. He frowned.

Then, to my amazement, he threw back his head and laughed.

My mouth started moving again, and this time I listened to the words. They were jokes. No, not jokes, observational comedy about our school, the teachers, the other pupils. I even started to crack wise about the current situation, telling Bashy to pass on to my parents that I’d gone to a better place, and leaving instructions as to who to will my ZX Spectrum and Star Wars figures to.

I had no idea where it was coming from, but I was glad it was coming from somewhere. I made Bashy laugh so much that he completely forgot about pounding my face into a two-dimensional oval (much to his cousin’s disappointment). It turned out I had a latent superpower: I could make people laugh.

The next few years passed in a blur of jokes, impressions, pratfalls and other routines. I became “the funny guy” because, as it turns out, the funny guy is far less likely to get his head kicked in than all those other, non-funny guys.

It was only right, then, that when I’d embark on a professional writing career two decades later, the obvious choice of genre would be… um… horror. My Invisible Fiends series (which was first reviewed right here on this very blog) was a violent and occasionally downright disturbing scare-fest designed to have kids and adults alike too scared to turn the light off at bedtime.

It wasn’t until I started reading the reviews, though (and we all read the reviews, even if we pretend we don’t) that I discovered it was funny, too. Most of the reviews commented on the humour, even though I hadn’t really been aware I’d put any in there.

From there, it made sense to try writing funny books, and I’ve never looked back. I now get to spend my days making myself laugh (always an attractive quality) as I write everything from books to TV animation – and even The Beano.

I’d love to say the reason I write funny stuff is because I want to keep the national smiling, but if I was forced through a Beaky Malone-style Truth Telling Machine, I’d have to own up to the fact that the real reason I write comedy is because I’m worried that, if I don’t, everyone’s going to catch me on my own behind the shops one day, and give me a long-overdue kicking.

So, er, read Beaky Malone: World’s Greatest Liar! It’s hilarious, has brilliant illustrations by the amazing Katie Abey and might – just might – stop you punching me in the head.

Huge thanks to Barry for writing that for us. Beaky Malone, World's Greatest Liar was released in the UK on 2nd June.

Guest Post: Iron Fist Blog Tour

It is always a cause for some personal celebration when Andy Briggs releases a new book. I loved his Tarzan series and I can't wait to read Iron Fist, the first book in his new The Inventory series, especially given its brilliant summary:

The Rules: if you find a secret inventory of utterly deadly battle tech. 

1) Do not try it.

 2) Do not tell anyone. 

3) Do NOT let thieves in behind you. 

What’s more secret than top-secret? The Inventory. Home to the deadliest inventions the world isn’t ready for. Invisible camouflage. HoverBoots. Indestructible metals. Plus a giant creature of chaos: war robot Iron Fist. No one has ever broken past the state-of-the-art AI security system. (Seriously, most bad guys have no idea this stuff is even there.)

Problem 1: the security robot wasn’t ready for a gang of kids wandering in. 

Problem 2: they’ve ONLY brought the ruthless Shadow Helix gang in behind them. Seriously dumb, but it’s a bit late for ‘sorry’. 

Say hello to trouble: the Iron Fist is in the wrong hands!

Today I am overjoyed to be welcoming Andy to The Book Zone, as he gives us an introduction to his main character, Dev:

ENTER THE INVENTORY WITH DEV PARKER

Call him Dev, not Devon, which is his full name. He hates that. The only time he hears his full name is when he is in trouble – which is often. That’s not because he’s a trouble causer, he’s just easily bored. All those lessons in school, he already knows that stuff. Or he thinks he does, but has probably forgotten.  How can he learn anything interesting in school when he lives in an underground complex that houses the most advanced and incredible inventions ever made?

He lives with his uncle, Charles Parker, who is the Inventory’s curator. Their relationship is not exactly fun. Uncle Parker is cool mannered and not very talkative especially when Dev keeps asking about his parents. He doesn’t remember them and his uncle never has the time to talk about them. In fact, Dev doesn't know if they’re dead, missing or simply not interested in him. Not that he dwells on it too much. He’s gone beyond worrying about them – why bother when he can strap on a pair of HoverBoots and fly around the Inventory… even if he’s not allowed to touch any of the exhibits.

Breaking those rules drives his Uncle completely bonkers. To enforce his point, Charles Parker has the help of Eema – an artificial intelligent giant metal sphere with an emoji face and a chirpy personality. She is a battle robot, so is armed to the teeth! Despite that, Dev is more than happy to pit his wits against her as he sneaks into forbidden areas of the Inventory.

Dev’s dreams are to leave all of this behind him. There is a big wide world out there, and living underground – even surrounded by amazing stuff – can be boring, especially if you’re not allowed to touch any of it. It’s not as if he has friends. His Uncle’s strict secrecy orders means Dev has never had the opportunity to befriend anybody. Which, as he grows older, becomes more irritating. He’s constantly trying to avoid being picked on by the school thug, Mason, and is tongue-tied when he has the chance to talk to Lot, a girl with an infectious smile that he desperately hopes he’s not developing a crush on.

One final thing to tell you about Dev is that he has a, well some call it an ability, others call it a phenomenon and to others it’s a disability or neurological condition, called synaesthesia. He sees numbers and letters as colours and sounds because his brain scrambles how he senses such things. It’s a strange, and real, affliction. Some sufferers could easily tell you that yellow plus green equals six; the problem for you and I is that it really does. Dev’s condition is a lot more advanced, and something he has turned to his advantage in a very peculiar way…

So, go down to the Inventory yourself and meet Dev in his first adventure: IRON FIST. The further he delves into the world’s greatest secret the more answers he will discover about himself, his parents, his condition and… he might just make a few friends along the way...

www.andybriggs.co.uk

@abriggswriter

Guest Post: Devil's Blood Blog Tour

Four years ago I wrote a review of Black Arts by debut YA writers Andrew Prentice and Jonathan Weil. Black Arts was billed as the first of The Books of Pandemonium, but then book 2 never materialised. Truth be told, I had given up hope of ever seeing it, but then, out of the blue a couple of months ago I spotted the authors tweeting about their new book. Devil's Blood was published a few days ago, and it was well worth the wait and I am delighted to welcome Prentice and Weil to The Book Zone today as part of the Black Arts and Devil's Blood blog tour, to tell us about the Devils of London.

Prentice & Weil on The Devils of London

Our devils were born out of desperation and despair.  In two years we’d written three drafts of our book Black Arts.  Although it had its good bits, the story was still ungainly, overlong and not flying at all.  Following the savage and wise advice of our new editor Simon Mason we trashed the whole lot, keeping only a few chapters and characters.  It was a mightily bleak spot.


We walked and walked, talking through our fresh start.  We had discovered that one of the problems about writing a book with both magic and time travel is that it gets a little complicated.  Magic works in books when it seems natural and easy.  The minute that you have to launch into convoluted explanations about method and mechanics, you tend to lose the reader’s interest.  We went round and round in circles trying to simplify our system.  But nothing worked – that is until we went for a fateful walk down the Regent’s Park Canal.

I can remember the exact spot where everything changed.  It was on the odd, graffiti-covered stretch between Broadway Market and Victoria Park.  Jon and I were discussing Dr Dee – and how he had believed he was summoning devils and angels when he did magic.  

‘What if we used that?’  A simple suggestion.  We both looked at each other – and suddenly, just like that, we were flying again.   The greatest joy of writing as a team is when an idea starts soaring and lifts you both up with it.  The miles disappeared with our talking.

‘What if all magic was done with devils?  You summon them and then they do what you want.  That’s how magic works!’

‘What if some devils got lost?’

‘What if some devils got forgotten?  What if London was full of them?’

‘What if the devils left behind in hell want revenge?’

In that walk, the whole thing (more or less) fell into place.  It’s hard not to believe that a devil of inspiration wasn’t buried somewhere beneath our feet, granting us a sweet moment of clarity.  The walking definitely played a part, but so too does the city where you walk – and that is the essence of our idea.

You must know some places that make you feel a certain way.  Some of these are obvious: a ruined castle, a forest path, the secret corner in your gran’s greenhouse.  But others are more hidden and subtle – but no less powerful.  Cities are full of these places.  Especially London, where the ancient city hides in plain sight. 

There are buried devils everywhere. Alan Moore, Ian Sinclair and Peter Ackroyd have all written compellingly about the city’s psychogeography.  But that really is a complicated word for a very simple thing.  The paths that we take through life affect us.  Your environment shapes you and your experience.  All we’ve done is spice that common truth with a little pinch of Hellfire.

The funny thing was that when we went hunting for lost devils we hardly had to look.  Dig a little beneath the streets and their history and you can find them yourself.  Black Dog really was a ghost that haunted Newgate Prison.  The spirit that we call Lud has had many names over the years, and the London Stone, where Lud lives, can be visited today.  It sits, at pavement level, embedded in the wall of a bank in the City.  Smithfield has been drenched in blood for millennia: Druids held rituals there, Romans held executions, medieval Londoners made it their slaughterhouse (and in a few days time we’ll have a book launch there too.  Let’s hope it’s not too bloody!)  Wherever we looked we found details that made it seem like we were discovering a truth rather than making things up.

Of course we took liberties, and I don’t expect you to believe that there is a giant leech sitting beneath Smithfield market.  All the same, next time that you are out and about in the city where you live, close your eyes, take a deep breath and imagine all the lives that have passed along the street where you are walking now.  Their treasure and their trash is buried beneath you, layer after layer after layer.  When you open your eyes again, try not to feel dizzy, because you are looking straight down into the abyss.

Author’s Note:  We have been exploring the devils of London in our tumblr: http://londondevils.tumblr.com/.   Go there to find some more devils that we have dug up while tramping around the city.  The pictures in the article are sketched using Alkahest-infused goggles.

Guest Post by Shane Hegarty (Author of the Darkmouth series)

I loved Darkmouth by Shane Hegarty and you can read my review from last April here. Well time flies, and last week saw the publication of Chaos Descends, the THIRD book in the series. I am really excited to welcome Shane to The Book Zone today, to tell us what inspired him to write Darkmouth and his thoughts of how he intends to continue developing the series in the future:


About four years ago now, I was sitting on a train – on the floor of the train actually, head being knocked by knees, back being kicked by feet – and an idea hit me. What if there was a last town on earth which Legends of myth still invaded. And in that town was a family who had too keep the Legends out. And there was one kid who would have to take over, save the town and save the world.

But he wasn’t very good at it.

That idea hit me so strongly I had to start writing straight away. Then someone’s knees hit me and that was the end of that for the train journey at least.

But I went back to that story, developed the story of Finn the reluctant Legend Hunter, and his more adventurous friend Emmie. I fleshed out the town of Darkmouth, and the parallel world of the Legends.

I had no idea of anyone other than me would ever read it, though. All through it, I was trying to create a story not just that I wanted to write, but I would want to read.

I wanted a story with a not particularly competent hero, that mixed fantasy with the everyday reality, that wandered between two worlds and wouldn’t be afraid to head off on a tangent.

I wanted a story with imagination, strange creatures, scares but – very importantly – jokes. And as an adult reader, there are very, very few books combining these things. But novels for younger readers, well that’s where the fun is.

Writing it became a game of “what if?” What if a 12-year-old really had to fight Legends and then go to school straight after? What if monsters had been invading n otherwise normal small town for generations? What if you were one of these Legends – what would be like to be, say, a Minotaur or one of the heads on a Hydra?

The hope is that younger readers end up having as much fun reading it as I do writing it. But there’s the hope they’ll maybe recognise something of themselves in Finn, or Emmie or – if they want – any of the Legends. And they might recognise the grown-ups, and the town (which is a character in its own right). That the “what if” part of the idea means a mix the fantastic with the recognisable.

There have been three books since that train journey, and I’m currently writing the fourth. The aim is to develop Finn and Emmie and the other characters, and to deepen the story, but without losing those things I loved about Darkmouth in the first place. I want to keep the fun, adventure, fantasy, realness, the scary parts and the funny bits. I want it to be fun to write, and to read.

And, most importantly, I now make sure to do it all from a nice quiet office where no-one knees me in the head.

~~~

Huge thanks to Shane for taking the time to write this for us. If you're kids love fun action adventure fantasy stories then the Darkmouth books are definitely must-reads.

UKMG Extravaganza Blog Tour: My Magnificent Seven Pirates by Huw Powell (author of Spacejackers)

Ahoy there, space shipmates!

I’m so excited to be taking part in the UKMG Extravaganza in Nottingham Central Library on 17^th October with over 30 top MG (Middle Grade) authors.

In the build up to this event, I was asked to write a guest post for the brilliant Book Zone. I’m a huge fan of MG novels and have previously blogged about how this category has produced some of the best books ever written, which is why I think MG should stand for ‘Magic Gateway’ (as there is nothing ‘middle’ about these books).

As it was International Talk Like a Pirate Day last week, I’ve decided to do something a bit different for this blog and share my ‘Magnificent Seven’ pirates from children’s literature. There are plenty of great characters to choose from, but here are some of my favourites:

·      Dread Pirate Roberts – this pirate captain from The Princess Bride is feared across the seven seas for his ruthless nature and sword fighting skills. His reputation precedes him and everyone fears him, but how much of it is true and how much is just clever PR?

·      Nancy Kington – in the novel Pirates! the character of Nancy has her comfortable English life turned upside when she’s shipped out to the West Indies. Nancy and her slave friend, Minerva Sharp, become fugitives and they are forced into a swashbuckling life of piracy.

·      Cheng Li – the Vampirates novels are packed with wonderfully dark characters, however one of my favourites is Cheng Li, who serves aboard the pirate ship, The Diablo. Cheng Li is the daughter of a famous pirate captain and she has to work hard to build her own reputation.

·      Jack Havock – this plucky pirate is only fifteen years old and the captain of a non-human pirate crew in the enchanting Victorian space adventure Larklight. Jack rescues Arthur (Art) Mumby and his sister Myrtle, before they embark on an adventure to save the universe.

·      James Turner – not strictly a pirate, but this unfriendly uncle is known as ‘Captain Flint’ in the novel Swallows and Amazons. At first, James Turner is moody and withdrawn, but is reminded how to have fun by two families of children and he ends up walking the plank.  

·      Captain Hook – few pirates are as bitter or flamboyant as the notorious Captain James Hook from Peter Pan. In addition to his elaborate clothes and wide-brimmed hat, he wears an iron hook to replace the hand that was severed by Peter Pan and eaten by a crocodile.

·      Long John Silver – no list of fictional pirates would be complete without mentioning this colourful quartermaster from Treasure Island. Long John Silver is a complex character, whose courage and cunning help him to overcome his physical disadvantages, while his moral ambiguity and sense of survival make him difficult to predict. Arrr, Jim lad!

~~~

Huge thanks to Huw for this wonderful list of fabulous literary pirates. If you've not yet discovered Spacejackers and its sequel The Lost Sword then you are in for a treat - it's pirates in space. What more could you ask for?

As for the UKMG Extravaganza, you can find out more about this awesome sounding event (and it's sister event, the UKYA Extravaganza) over at its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ukyax 

The blog tour continues tomorrow at Matt Ralphs' YouTube channel and then on through the rest of September and well into October. Full details below:

 

YA Shot Blog Tour: Guest Post by Ben Davis

Today we are joined on The Book Zone by author Ben Davis who will be appearing at YA Shot in October. YA Shot is a one-day Young Adult and Middle Grade ‘festival’ taking place in the centre of Uxbridge on Wednesday 28 October 2015 in partnership with Hillingdon Borough Libraries and Waterstone’s Uxbridge. 71 authors will be 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.

“The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives. She went on olden-day sailing ships with Joseph Conrad. She went to Africa with Ernest Hemingway and to India with Rudyard Kipling. She travelled all over the world while sitting in her little room in an English village.” 

Roald Dahl – Matilda.

Reading – it’s the best thing you can do with your eyeballs. From the comfort of your chair, you can explore other worlds, meets strange new people and go on wild adventures. Of course, some might argue that the same thing applies to iPads, but do you know what I say to those people? Shut up. That’s what I say.

The best kind of email I get is from young people who tell me that my books got them into reading. It literally makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It also makes me think about the books that did the same thing for me.

I was a voracious reader from an early age and would devour anything I could get my hands on – Meg and Mog, Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy, the backs of shampoo bottles when I was in the bath. 

Woah! Butylphenyl Methylpropional?! I did NOT see that coming.

Then, when I was a bit older, like so many people, I discovered Roald Dahl. I know, I know, everyone loves Roald Dahl, but there’s a reason for that – he was a bloody genius. I was thrilled by James and the Giant Peach, delighted by The BFG and scared out of my tiny mind by The Witches. In fact, I still have nightmares about it.

I had the film adaptation on VHS. Immediately after watching, I took it outside and buried it.

I think the book that had the biggest impact on me was Matilda. It tells the familiar Dahl-ian tale of a clever kid outsmarting nasty adults, but it stuck with me more than the others, as I think it did all slightly bookish kids. Also, let’s not discount the telekinesis – I mean, how cool would that be? After reading Matilda, I spent hours staring at things and trying to move them with my mind. I think I finally accepted that I didn’t have the gift when a kid went past me on a bike with his arms folded and didn’t fall off.

I rediscovered Dahl as an adult when I picked up his collection of short stories in a charity shop. All the sweet darkness of this children’s books is there, but dialled up to eleven. It remains one of my favourite books to dip into for quick hits of excitement.

In fact, I am such a fan of his that I have already bought my son the Roald Dahl paperback collection, and he hasn’t even been born yet!

After I had read and re-read all of Roald Dahl’s children’s books, I moved on to other authors, most of whom are lost in the mists of time, but a few stand out. I remember enjoying the books of Dick King-Smith, firstly because his brilliant animal tales like the Sheep-Pig and Harry’s Mad gripped me and kept me turning the pages and secondly because, come on, his name is Dick King. To a ten year old boy, that is HILARIOUS. Ah, who am I kidding? It still is.

 

I would take new books out of the library every weekend, read them during the week, then swap them for new ones. I read a series called Buccaneers by Sheila K. McCullagh, which I loved (it was about pirates, what more do you want?) and would regularly blast through football books – usually about a band of plucky outsiders who overcome the odds against slick baddies to save their team from closure, and you know the rest.

I remember just starting high school and being secretly petrified by Gillian Cross’s The Demon Headmaster - both the book and the TV series which was on at the time. Every time my head teacher removed his glasses during assembly, I would silently freak out.

As a teen, I kind of missed out on YA and seemed to go straight from children’s books to adult with no bridge. The first GCSE book I remember really getting into was Lord of the Flies by William Golding. In case you’re unfamiliar with it, it is the story of a group of school boys, stranded on a desert island. Rather than getting into all kinds of jolly tropical adventures, they quickly become savages and their ‘civilisation’ descends into anarchy. The basic message behind the book is that boys, and by extension, humanity, is only a flicker away from going full-on insane like a bunch of crazed chimpanzees. Looking back, it probably had something of an influence on my writing, particularly the ‘high school is a jungle’ bit in The Private Blog of Joe Cowley.

I couldn’t have enjoyed all these books if it weren’t for my local library, which is why it is so sad that so many of them are closing or can’t afford to buy new books. It makes me worry about the kids of the future. Where are they going to find the books that make them readers? This is why we as writers must do everything we can to help promote child literacy. YA Shot is doing this and I’m really thrilled to be part of it and I hope it inspires others as much as it has me.

If you haven’t already, get your tickets NOW!

~~~

Ben Davis is an award-nominated writer of funny children's fiction. His Private Blog of Joe Cowley books have been hailed as Diary of a Wimpy Kid meets the Inbetweeners. He also writes for younger children, with the super-villain adventure, Danny Dread hitting the shops in August 2015. 

He lives in the Midlands with his wife and his big, wimpy dog.

The Dreamsnatcher Blog Tour: The Tribe’s Guide to Not Dying in the Forest by Abi Elphinstone

The Tribe’s Guide to Not Dying in the Forest

I thought about having a go at writing this blog post but then Moll told me to shut up because I’m not technically in The Tribe so there’s no way I could know anything of real importance about forest survival. I tried to point out to Moll that in a way I created The Tribe but she was having none of it, and so before she had a chance to set Gryff on me, I decided to hand over to her…

Introducing Moll – outside her wagon

MOLL: If you haven’t already formed a gang or a club or a secret society, you probably should – especially if you’re planning on Not Dying in the forest. We invented The Tribe a few years ago. At first it was just me, Sid and Gryff – then when we let another member in coz he proved good at picking locks and riding cobs. Most of the time we break rules, avoid chores, tell lies on Tuesdays and Thursdays and do brave things like rescuing trapped otters and mending owl wings. But the first thing we did was to learn how to get by in the forest – how to build shelter and hunt for food – so if you’re keen on staying alive when you’re out in the woods, it’s probably worth listening to us.

First thing: the den. This is VERY important – for meetings, sleeping and generally keeping out of the way of camp chores and witchdoctor chants. The Tribe has a tree house (we call it a tree fort coz Sid says it sounds better) and it’s perched half way up a yew tree – coz every gypsy knows the spirit of the yew grants protection against evil spirits.

Abi’s brother in their childhood den (not as good as The Tribe’s Tree Fort)

Oak, the head of our camp, helped us make the tree fort, and this is how we did it:

1. Gathered up as many planks and slats of wood as we could find 
2. Found a big old yew tree that had a space large enough for a tree house in the middle of its branches. I also checked there was a good swooping branch for Gryff so that he could hang out near us but keep a bit of distance to be all wild and free  
3. Hauled the planks up into the tree (this was the hardest part, mostly coz Sid kept giggling half way up about Porridge The Second, his earthworm, tickling him inside his pocket)
4. Hammered nails into the biggest planks to fix the base to the tree first. Then we made the sides and the roof with the smaller slats. We left a hole for a window (so we can spy on stuff down in the glade), and Mooshie, that’s Oak’s wife, leant us some fancy lace to hang over it as a curtain
5. Collected old jam jars to go in the fort and filled them with funny-looking mushrooms, weird ferns, giant nettles (we tried to pick ALL of these so Mooshie won’t use them to make her disgusting nettle soup) and smooth pebbles for catapulting annoying people
6. Hung wind chimes from the branch under the fort to ward off evil spirits (then I added a dreamcatcher coz I figured the bright feathers might put the evil spirit in a better mood if it did chance on passing our way). We also hung some other good luck charms to help protect our fort from witchdoctor badness: nails dangling from string, bits of mirror stuck into branches, lemon peel tucked into the hollows and a fox tooth in a jam jar by the trunk of the tree

Abi’s Dad cutting down hazel in a Scottish wood for Moll’s catapult

After we built the tree fort, Oak taught us how to hunt. And it’s a good job he did – coz recently Mooshie and me worked out that most of my bad decisions happen when I’m hungry. So to avoid bad decisions, here are The Tribe’s key tips to finding food in the forest:

1. Know how to make a fire. Find a flat area in the forest, dig a circle a few centimetres deep and round enough for your fire (about 75cm). Surround the area with dry rocks to box in the fire. Gather dry twigs, leaves and kindling from fallen branches – birch bark is a good fire starter. Build a small, loose pile of kindling inside the stones and make sure there’s space for the air to feed the fire. Make an inwards tepee of dry twigs and small sticks around and above the kindling pile. Then add to your fire with bigger logs to keep it burning. Remember to put the fire out after you’re finished with it as that can lead to all sorts of annoying problems 
2. Make a catapult. Find a Y-shaped piece of wood (hazel or ash is usually the best as it’s strong), carve it down to shape so that the central base fits into the palm of your hand, use a penknife to make a grove round each of the Y prongs, bake it in an oven for 15 minutes to make the wood stronger, coat it in varnish then fit a strip of strong, thick elastic with a leather pouch in the middle of it over the prongs. Then just find a stone and you’re good to go. I reckon I’m probably the best in The Tribe at catapulting, but Sid’s not bad, and I suppose Gryff is pretty good at hunting and he doesn’t even need a catapult. We get pigeons and rabbits mostly – then we cook them on the fire
3. Tickle a trout. Wade up the river feeling underneath the banks for resting trout. Using one hand, work your fingers from the trout’s tail upwards, gently rubbing its belly with the tips of your fingers so that it goes all still and trance-like. Once you reach the head, grip hard, lift fish out of the water, cook it on the fire. YUM
4. Munch some berries and nuts. Look out for blackberries late summer/early autumn as well as plums, damsons, wild strawberries and raspberries which you’ll find growing in hedgerows. And you can’t go wrong with chestnuts – gather a handful from the ground in Autumn, use a penknife to cut away the shell then roast them over the fire. They taste good dipped in salt

Moll’s catapult (carved by Abi – not that Moll said thank you…)

You should be all right in the wild. I mean, sheltering from the rain and finding food is a walk in the park compared to what I got landed with. Annoyingly there aren’t that many rules on how to avoid witchdoctors and their deadly Dream Snatch. But still, I’ve got my catapult – and that’s a start…

~~~

Big, big thanks to Moll (and Abi) for guesting on The Book Zone today. The Dreamsnatcher is published on 26th February and you can follow Abi on Twitter where she goes by the name of @moontrug.

Guest Post by Matt Brown (author of Compton Valance: The Time-Travelling Sandwich Bites Back)

Back at the beginning of August I posted a review of Compton Valance: The Most Powerful Boy in the Universe, the debut book by writer Matt Brown. It was definitely one of the funniest books I have read this year, and I enjoyed it so much that when a copy arrived from those lovely people at Usborne, on the very same day that my copy of David Walliams's Awful Auntie arrived, it was Matt Brown's book that I chose to read first. Seriously, if you have a child who loves funny stories and hilarious toilet humour then I urge you to get them a copy of the first book, and when they love that go and get them a copy of this second book, which is just as funny and just as full of crazy time travel adventure as its predecessor.

Naturally, when I was asked if I would be interested in hosting a guest piece from Matt on The Book Zone and did not hesitate to say "yes, please!", so it gives me great pleasure to hand you over to Matt Brown:

Prepare yourselves for a shock.  This is me when I was ten…

When I was ten I spent a lot of time thinking about where I would go if I had a time machine.  This was probably due to my love of time travel telly, books and movies. I always wondered what life will be like in the future – and lots of the Science Fiction stories I loved at this age helped me imagine what the future might look like. I think my fascination might also have something to do with the fact that I was born in the last half of the last century.  As a kid in the 1980s I always tried to picture what my life would be like in the year 2000, which at the time seemed like an impossibly long way into the future.  I thought that we’d all be eating pills for food and living with robots.

If you have read the first book in the Compton Valance series, you might have noticed some references to some of my favourite sci-fi stories. For example, Compton Valance’s horrible teacher is called Mr Strickland.  I got Strickland’s name from Back To The Future because Marty McFly’s horrible teacher is called… Mr Strickland. And you might have noticed that Compton lives in Morlock Cottage.  I got the name Morlock from HG Well’s classic time travel book, The Time Machine.  The Morlocks are a fictional species from over 800,000 years in the future.  This reference is continued in the third Compton book that I’ve just finished writing with a new character called Lola Weena.

Doctor Who was also a show that I loved as a kid (and as an adult).  I really love how this crazy, oddly-dressed British bloke travels around through space and time and into the darkest corners of the universe.  My character Samuel Nathaniel Daniels, part man-from-the-future and part civil servant, wears a tight silver suit and a tiny bowler hat perched on top of his head. This look was definitely inspired by the strange wardrobe of clothes that The Doctor wears. 

So many other sci-fi stories have inspired me and while their influence might not be as obvious as the ones I’ve mentioned, their grip on me as a writer was just as powerful.  Stories like The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, the world of Judge Dredd in the 2000AD comics, TV shows like Buck Rogers and movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey.  All of these stories and a whole load more have in some way, small and large, wheedled their way in to my Compton Valance stories.  Some were intended and others were accidental. But then that’s the wonderful thing about writing, isn’t it?  We are all magpies, collecting references wherever we go and readying them to line our story nests at a moment’s notice.

When you read the book see if you can spot the other influences that have made it in!

~~~

Matt Brown is the author of the Compton Valance series, two fantastically funny and delightfully disgusting time-travelling adventures, perfect for fans of The Wimpy Kid and David Walliams. The second book in the series, The Time-Travelling Sandwich Bites Back, is out now.

For more information and loads of fun things to do visit www.comptonvalance.com. You can also follow Matt on Twitter at @frazzleddaddy. 

Guest Post by Chris D'Lacey (A Dark Inheritance blog tour)

A Dark Inheritance by Chris D'Lacey was published by Chicken House earlier this month. The first book in the brand new The Unicorne Files series, A Dark Inheritance is thrilling story with X-Files/paranormal themes and a definite whiff of conspiracy. Today I am really happy to be hosting a guest piece from Chris as he embarks on his UK blog tour:

Remembering Rafferty Nolan

When I was at university, studying biology, there was a particular lecturer I really enjoyed hearing.  His name escapes me now (it’s been a long time since I was a student) but his field of interest was genetics.  Over a period of weeks he taught us, among other things, about the discovery of the genetic code and the structure of DNA.  He told it like a real story, chapter by chapter – the four bases, the alpha helix etc. – and I remember being so gripped that I would get to the lecture theatre early to be sure of getting a good place.  That was the closest I came to being a science nerd.  Not too long after university my life began to move down a literary path and science became something I relied on simply to pay the bills.  But I’m certain that lecturer had a huge influence on my writing.  I still love a good scientific mystery now, and occasionally it shows in my books.

This is partly what fuelled the central theme of A Dark Inheritance, the first in my new series The UNICORNE Files.  I love anything that might be said to lie on the extreme edges of science, particularly those subjects that have no robust scientific credibility yet can’t quite be dismissed as hokum.  The one that pops up in A Dark Inheritance is the fascinating phenomenon of cellular memory.  To explain: people who’ve had organ transplants sometimes make the extraordinary claim that they have some memory of their donor or that they’ve inherited some of their donor’s personality traits.  Imagine a forty-year-old man who has never been interested in gardening receives a new kidney and suddenly begins to know the Latin names for plants or has a strong urge to visit garden centres.  He then finds out that his donor was a keen gardener.  That would be cellular memory.

There have been many theories put up to explain it and I don’t have room to go into them here.  Some people believe that every cell in the human body has full ‘consciousness’.  And to hark back to my genetics teacher, in one lecture he dealt with the captivating subject of totipotent cells, which have the ability to differentiate into a complete organism from a single cell state.  Wow.  So where does this lead us?

Well, in an early review of A Dark Inheritance, the reviewer said they didn’t ‘get’ cellular memory.  Fine.  Hand on heart, I don’t ‘get’ telekinesis or past-life regression or out-of-body experiences – or my beloved dragons, for that matter – but I don’t have to believe in a thing to want to explore it in a work of fiction.  Subjects like these are toys in a writer’s attic, there to be picked up, played with and re-imagined.  With cellular memory, I did what all writers do, I lodged the idea into my subconscious and let it bubble away for a while.  It eventually came back with an interesting question, “What if the donor had died in an accident, but the person receiving the organ remembered something that would suggest the death wasn’t an accident?” And away I went.

A Dark Inheritance is a kind of ghost story with a twist.  The notion of cellular memory is used to unravel the truth behind the untimely death of a girl called Rafferty Nolan.  To say any more than that would be to say too much.  Writing the story hasn’t made me believe in the subject any more now than it did before I started.  But my mind is open and the truth is out there.  A fantasy writer wouldn’t have it any other way.

A Dark Inheritance by Chris D'Lacey, out now in paperback (£6.99, Chicken House) 

Guest Post by Michael Grant (Light Blog Tour)

I am honoured today to welcome Michael Grant to The Book Zone as part of the Light Blog Tour. Michael's here today to tell us what it is like for him on a real world book tour. I was very fortunate to be able to listen to Michael last autumn when we welcomed him in to school to talk to our Year 9s. If you ever get the chance to listen to him then I suggest you grab it!

Thanks to the Book Zone for Boys for letting me blog tour on this blog.  I’ll try not to say anything embarrassing.

So, I am visiting the UK in October on what we like to call “Book Tour.”  I think this will be my sixth or seventh UK book tour, though my first for MESSENGER OF FEAR.  I’ve also done one such tour, for GONE and BZRK, in Australia and New Zealand, one for GONE to Netherlands, a quick dash to Ireland, and of course many such excursions around the States.

My non-US tours are different from my travels around the States.  In the States I know the lay of the land, so to speak, so I fly un-accompanied and generally eschew the offered limousines in favor of renting a car.  In the UK I travel with a publicist, most often by train.  We don’t really do trains in the US, we do cars.  I’m a Californian by birth and we do cars to an even greater extent than other Americans.  California is the birthplace of car culture.

As a part of genus Americanus, species Californius Irascibilus, I am uneasy on trains.  Trains run on schedules and that means I am out of control of my movements.  It means I cannot decide to pull over and go shopping.  It means I cannot park and sleep unobserved.  It means I cannot drive through a fast food restaurant and eat a burger with one hand while driving with the other while adjusting the radio while puffing on a cigar while cursing other drivers and offering useful hand-signals meant to convey my lack of satisfaction with their driving skills.

Being a Californian requires a great deal of eye-hand coordination.  

It seems unsafe somehow to just sit in a train.  God only knows who’s driving the thing and whether he or she is paying attention.  And it’s strange not being on my own.  The publicists are invariably charming, tolerant, bright, tolerant women young enough to be my daughter, who have the unenviable job of guiding a cranky old fart through busy stations and into schools and bookstores where I manage to irritate teachers and administrators by saying things I shouldn’t.  

Did I mention that the publicists are tolerant young women?  One of my favorites sometimes reads religious works.  I like to think she was an atheist before being paired with me and that I drove her to seek the solace of religion.  

Anyway, we careen around the country in trains, stopping here and there so that I can address auditoriums full of kids who’ve escaped math class to hear me ramble on about how much better their lives will be if they’ll only buy my book.  (Which in case you missed it is called, MESSENGER OF FEAR.)  I suppose they should also read my books, but the fact is I’m there to sell books, so, really, what they do with the book is entirely up to them.

I have a love-hate relationship with Book Tour, but always end up having a lot of fun in the UK.  Once I broke away and drove a rented car across Scotland.  As you know, Scots, like Brits, drive on the wrong side of the road, so it wasn’t perhaps my best driving effort.  (Sorry about the side mirrors, you folks parked in Edinburgh, but the road was pretty narrow and I was on the wrong side of it, after all.)  But generally it’s the train, which I have to say, is almost always on time, usually clean and not always packed to the rafters.  

I know Brits often complain about the trains, but it lacks the conviction of a Californian complaining about traffic.  And with no opportunity for useful hand gestures and the possibility of gunfire in response, it all seems just a bit tame.  

In any event, British folk, I will be there soon.  Or may already be there by the time you read this.  You may want to fold in those side mirrors in case I break free and get my hands on a steering wheel.

It’s still drive on the left, right?

Guest Post - My Top 10 Series for Under 14s by Jenny from Wondrous Reads

Today, as part of Under 14s Only Month, we are joined by blogging royalty - the rather brilliant Jenny whose Wondrous Reads blog is one of the most popular YA book blogs in the UK. Wondrous reads is my first port of call when I'm sorting out the book orders for school as my knowledge of books that mainly appeal to girls is very limited. However, Jenny doesn't just read and review YA as like me she is also a big fan of books for younger readers and so I was overjoyed when she volunteered to write a guest piece for my Under 14s Only Month, and even more so when she asked if she could tell us about her Top 10 Series for the Under 14s. 

Over to Jenny:

I'm a big fan of U14 fiction so I was excited to hear about Darren's whole month dedicated to it. It's an area of children's fiction that can appeal to kids and adults alike, and a good chunk of it is hilariously funny and as entertaining as any YA or adult book. I've made a list of my top 10 U14 series by both UK and US authors, all of which I've read and can heartily recommend. I hope you find a new series to get addicted to!

In no particular order:


1. The Raven Mysteries by Marcus Sedgwick

There are six books in this darkly comedic series and I love them all. I've never laughed so much while reading any book, and I'm still really sad that the series is over. It's narrated by a raven called Edgar, who looks out for the Otherhand family who live at Castle Otherhand. It's absolutely crazy but hilariously so. Marcus Sedgwick is a bit of a genius, I think!


2. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Narnia is one of my little obsessions. I collect different editions of the books and the recent trilogy of films is among my all-time favourites.  Although this series was written quite a long time ago, in the 50s, it still holds up today and continues to be widely read.  I like these stories so much because they're magical, with heroes and heroines and a whole selection of fantasy creatures like fauns and centaurs and talking animals. Every time I re-read one of the books, I feel like Narnia really could exist somewhere, and that maybe my wardrobe is magic after all...


3. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

I couldn't write this post and not mention Harry now, could I? I won't ramble on too much because I'm sure you're all fans yourself, but I will say that surely this has to be the best children's series ever written? (Even though I've cheated a bit because the later books are darker and more suitable for older teenagers). I think epic is the word. (Book Zone edit: I am so pleaseed to see Harry Potter mentioned here. It annoys me when the series as a whole so often gets labelled as YA when the first four books are definitely aimed at U14s).


4. Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell

Dork Diaries is the best U14 series for girls that I've come across so far. It's fast, funny and brilliantly illustrated by the author. Just like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, it's written in diary format by Nikki, who chronicles her life growing up and encountering everything teen girls go through. I can't wait for the next book to be published!


5. Scream Street by Tommy Donbavand

Scream Street is one of those series that I wished would never end. There are thirteen books in total, but even that isn't enough. This series is about werewolf Luke, vampire Resus and mummy Cleo. They're on a mission to retrieve six ancient relics left by the founding fathers of Scream Street, and each book is a fantastic supernatural adventure story. 


6. Guardians of Childhood by William Joyce

I'm a huge fan of the Rise of the Guardians film and was very excited to find that there's a series of books connected with it. They do differ from the film, but were written alongside it and tell the early stories of North, Bunnymund, Toothiana and the Sandman. They're action-packed and brilliantly illustrated, perfect for anyone who enjoyed the film and wants to know more about these fascinating characters!


7. The Famous Five by Enid Blyton

Enid Blyton's Famous Five series is another classic that's still in print today. I read these when I was little and basically devoured them faster than my mum and dad could buy them. Julian was my absolute favourite character, though I also had a soft spot for Timmy the dog. I think every child should read these books: they're the best adventure stories out there!


8. Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder by Jo Nesbo

This series is SO funny. I laughed out loud numerous times and was surprised that Jo Nesbo, kind of crime fiction, could be so good at writing for a younger audience.  It is the story of an eccentric inventor and a boy with a very small head, Nilly, and their ensuing madcap capers. I'd really recommend this one to readers who like their books to be a bit daft, but beware: you'll be clutching your sides in fits of laughter. (Book Zone edit: I also totally love the Doctor Proctor books - watch this space for my review of the series)


9. The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

The Spiderwick Chronicles is a series I didn't read until a couple of years ago, but is one that I'm glad I tried. It's about faeries of all shapes and sizes, and what happens when the Grace children move into the old Spiderwick Mansion. Along with the faeries, there's also goblins and other such creatures. Brilliant!


10. Goosebumps by R.L. Stine

Goosebumps was my other favourite series when I was younger, along with The Famous Five. I've always been a fan of horrid, creepy stuff (vampires in particular) so this series was perfect. I haven't read any of the newer titles, though I read every single book in the original series published in the 90s. I still have a copy of Vampire Breath, which I may need to read again one day. Goosebumps is undoubtedly, in my opinion, the best  horror series for children!

~~~

Huge thanks to Jenny for writing this for us. I am ashamed to admit that there are a couple of series on there that I am yet to read, including The Raven Mysteries, which I need to get my hands on immediately.