Dear Reader...

Dear Dylan has been out for two weeks now and last week something truly wonderful happened - I received my first emails from readers of the book. Although I reply to every email I receive, I wanted to use my blog today to say a massive thank you to everyone who has taken the time to contact me.

One of the main reasons I wrote Dear Dylan was to try and help and encourage young people who might be going through similar issues to the main character, Georgie. Issues like so-called friends turning on you, problems at home and first love.

The night before publication I said a little prayer hoping that Dear Dylan would somehow find its way to the readers who needed it the most. I had imagined that I’d never know whether this happened or not. But I hadn’t counted on the fact that we now live in the world of the email – which is hugely ironic given that Dear Dylan is all about a girl who emails her favourite actor!

To receive emails from readers telling me how Dear Dylan has helped them in their own lives is mind-blowing.

Sometimes writing can be a bit of a lonely and scary business. You can get hung up on things like reviews and sales figures, but actually, for something you have written to have changed even one person’s life for the better is the best achievement going.

Thank you so, so much to the readers who have got in touch. I feel honoured that you chose my book, and that it made some kind of difference to you…

Siobhan x

POETRY COMPETITION WINNERS!

To celebrate the publication of Dear Dylan I thought it would be nice to have a poetry competition for young writers here at The Faded Bookmark. The competition was open to writers aged from 10 – 17 and the theme had to be one from the book – either family, friendships or dreams.

I was absolutely blown away by the quality of the writing and it gives me great pleasure to showcase the winners, Naomi Jones and Ben O’Shea below.

‘Night Dreaming’ by Naomi Jones (age 13)

The whispering trees with waving arms, reach out to me eagerly,

Stumbling in the darkness, losing my way, wandering feebly,

Walking slowly with silent paces, the shadows around me wear scary faces,

At last I see a clearing, away from the dark,

I pick up speed to get there fast,

Apart from the stars like fairy lights, that twinkle down at me,

There is something else that I can see,

The moon my guardian, a cat’s eye,

Protective, beautiful, in the night’s sky,

A shining pearl, suspended in mid air,

Holding court in lieu of the sun’s bright glare,

I had forgotten how cold it is, I shiver when a gust of wind hits my face,

The sharp slap of reality sends me on my way.

I loved this poem and the images it conjures up in the reader’s mind – it is scary and magical at the same time. It is beautifully written too – I love the idea of the shadows wearing scary faces and the moon as a pearl suspended in the sky. This poem also had a key winning quality – it stayed in my mind long after I had finished reading it. Here’s what my editor at Egmont, Ali Dougal, had to say about it: ‘Sophisticated and beautifully evocative. I could practically feel the night air!’

'Secondary Start' by Ben O'Shea (age 11)

We're all leaving, parting ways for the first time,

Tears in our faces, but it's all a wall we must climb.

As we go for our first step, we remember our first day,

knowing each other’s name, hobbies and birthday.

Oh, those were the days.

 Hugs will come first then the tears.

Cascading along with all former years.

Friends going away, for the summer or life,

we’ll all see each other in another life.

Some might be bosses, a husband or a wife.

You’re near the top but still can't see,

tears still blinding and no hope of glee.

Forget your arguments and become one,

because all our years together are done

I could really relate to this poem. Reading it took me back to the day I left school and brought back so many memories. I felt that Ben really captured the bitter sweet elements of school life – the friendships, the arguments and the sorrow that comes when you finally part ways after so many years together. Although it’s a sad poem in many ways, I love the positive note that it ends on – that it’s time to forget arguments and become one because all their years together are done. The winning quality for me was in the detail and how Ben has managed to write a poem that every reader can relate to. Here’s what Ali at Egmont had to say: ‘Warm, moving and nostalgic. We can all recognise ourselves in this poem.’

Massive congratulations to both winners – your prizes are on their way!

Coming soon to The Faded Bookmark – details of an exciting competition for aspiring young novelists…

Blog Tour

It's now less than a week till the publication of Dear Dylan and I'm really excited to announce that, as part of the publication publicity, I'll be going on my very first blog tour.

One of the great things about the internet is that it's given readers from all over the world a forum in which to share their love of books. And in the YA book world there is an abundance of fantastic blogs run by book-lovers for book-lovers.

When I initially self-published Dear Dylan I didn't think there was a hope of getting the book reviewed. I had previously written an article about publicising self-published books and every literary editor I interviewed said that they would never review a book that didn't come from a traditional publishing house.

But then I discovered the world of the YA book blogger and was delighted to see that such snobbery didn't exist here. Every blogger I approached agreed to review Dear Dylan - and, as their sites were aimed solely at my target reader - their reviews were worth their word count in gold!

What's lovely is that every site I'll be 'visiting' on my blog tour was massively supportive the first time round. It feels really nice to be coming full circle like this - a sort of home-coming tour...

Electric Monkey Launch Party

Last night I went to the Electric Monkey launch party. Electric Monkey is Egmont’s new YA imprint, and, I’m delighted to say, my new publishing home. It was thrilling to see Dear Dylan be a part of such a fantastic list.



With my editor Ali Dougal



After Dear Dylan won the Young Minds Award I was lucky enough for it to go to auction, which left me in the bizarre position of actually being able to choose a publisher (rather than my previous default setting of begging!) Last night underlined for me yet again that I had made the absolutely right decision. It was so nice to meet the members of the Egmont team, who have been so supportive and enthusiastic in getting the book ready for publication. (I just about managed to stop myself declaring my undying love to the person responsible for the Waterstones order!) After self-publishing Dear Dylan the first time round, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the fact that there are now other people working really hard to make sure the book gets into the shops, and that readers get to hear about it. Going it alone was exciting, and a massive learning curve, but it was also bloody hard work. Several people asked me last night whether I would recommend self-publishing over traditional publishing and I guess my answer is that I would recommend self-publishing as a way of getting a traditional publisher’s attention. And as a way of learning the nuts and bolts of the business of publishing. But ultimately as an author, you can’t beat the feeling of being part of a team, and having the support and expertise of a publishing house behind you.

Electric Monkey Goodie Bag

After drinks and canapes (I’ve now discovered that I’m able to eat an entire mini-burger in one bite) there was a panel discussion featuring three of my fellow ‘Electric Monkeys’ – authors Michael Grant (BZRK), Elizabeth Wein (Codename Verity) and Laura Jarratt (Skin Deep). Writing is obviously a very solitary process so it was great to hear the experiences and opinions of other YA authors. The points raised that really resonated with me were:

• Michael Grant saying that his main responsibility as a YA author is to entertain; that he wants his readers to stay up all night because they cannot put his book down. This is such a good tip for any novelist and it reminded me of a book I once read by an American editor called Sol Stein. He said that every chapter should start with a hook and end with a ‘thruster’, so that it becomes impossible to put down. To me, this is one of the most crucial (and fun) parts of being a novelist. Never forget who you are writing for, and challenge yourself to keep them thoroughly entertained – and sleep-deprived!

• Laura Jarratt talking about the importance of writing romantic novels that are empowering for female readers. Novels where the heroine learns that getting a boyfriend isn’t the be all and end all, and that if her relationship doesn’t work out she is more than capable of carrying on. She also spoke about the importance of challenging peoples’ prejudices when it comes to physical appearance and background – another issue that I think is of key importance to teens.

• Elizabeth Wein’s novel Codename Verity is set during World War Two, and she spoke about feeling a terrific sense of responsibility when it came to recreating that world, so that today’s teens could get a real sense of what it was like.

All in all, I came away feeling proud and privileged to write for young adults. It is a job that comes with a lot of responsibility but hopefully the stories you write and the characters you write about can really make a difference – whether that be to entertain, inspire or inform.

Dear Dylan Poetry Competition

Last week I received my first copies of Dear Dylan. It was such a thrilling moment it took every ounce of willpower for me to not grab my postman in a wild embrace - this is a very good thing, as my postman is so scary even his tattoos have tattoos!

Anyway, as a way of spreading the joy I’ve decided to run a celebratory poetry competition, inspired by the themes raised in the book.

Entrants must be age 10 – 17 and the poems should be based on one of the following themes:

Friendship: Dear Dylan is the story of a friendship that begins online – in fact the whole novel is made up of emails between the two characters as their friendship grows. Perhaps you would like to write a poem about your own experience of friendship and how important your friends are to you.

Family: The main character in Dear Dylan, Georgie, hasn’t had the easiest family life. Her father died when she was little and she doesn’t get on with her step-dad at all. There is no denying that families can be very complicated. But they can also be full of love and good times. Maybe you would like to write a poem about your own experience of family life – good or bad, happy or sad…

Dreams: Georgie dreams of being an actress and the book follows her determination to pursue her dream, no matter what obstacles life – or her step-dad – throw at her. Do you have a burning dream or ambition? Would you like to write a poem about your pursuit of this dream, and the importance of never giving up?

Please send your submissions to: contact[AT]siobhancurham[DOT]co[DOT]uk by Monday 2^nd April. And please give your name and age in your covering email.

The two winning entrants will each receive a signed copy of Dear Dylan and their poems will be published on this blog in April as part of the official book launch celebrations.

I can’t wait to hear from you!

Countdown to Publication

Hello lovely blogosphere!

Long time no speak to… but I do have a good excuse, honestly.

For the past few months I’ve been in the ‘hibernation’ part of the writer’s cycle, working furiously on the second draft of my YA novel Finding Cherokee Brown and the first draft of a tres exciting and, for now, top secret new YA series. It hasn’t been all work and no play though – I’ve also managed to squeeze in a visit to my family in South Carolina for Thanksgiving, which was truly turkey-tastic. Other fun events included learning to dance like a Brazilian fisherman (it involves a lot of stomping in case you’re interested) and spending Christmas with my family, including BOTH of my divorced parents. Other kids of divorcees will know what a big deal this is – and no, no-one got killed!

View from the porch, South Carolina

But now it’s time to enter another key part of the writer’s cycle – THE COUNTDOWN TO PUBLICATION!

This time in a writer’s life is both exciting and terrifying in equal measure. Exciting because you finally get to see the book ‘baby’ that you spent so many days, weeks, months, even years, lovingly nurturing into life take it’s first tentative steps alone in the outside world. Terrifying because so much of what happens next is out of your hands. Questions like, Will the shops stock it? Will the reviewers like it? Will the readers buy it? echo through your mind like a really annoying jingle. The interesting thing about the book I have coming out in April is that this will actually be its second publication. The first time round, I chose to self-publish Dear Dylan. This meant that I didn’t manage to get it into any shops (shops hate self-published books), BUT it did somehow manage to win a national book award and the reviewers and readers who managed to get their hands on a copy were lovely about it. Dear Dylan then ended up going to a book auction and the very lovely Electric Monkey at Egmont UK became its new home. So, whenever the fearful questions in my head start to get a little too noisy, I quieten them with the thought that Dear Dylan was voted a winner by young people up and down the country – the very people I had written it for. In that sense, it can never fail.

Dear Dylan, out April 2012

Next week I’ll be blogging about devising a pre-publication publicity plan (try saying that with a mouthful of peanuts!) and all the fun ways you can let the world know about your book. Till then, happy reading!

An Act of Love by Alan Gibbons

This month's recommended read on The Faded Bookmark is An Act of Love by Alan Gibbons, an extremely powerful and topical read. 


Alan was also kind enough to answer some questions about the book from our reviewer Tamsin Jupp...

An Act Of Love by Alan Gibbons

Waiting to collect his medal at a high profile military ceremony, Chris receives a text message from his childhood best friend. A bomb is about to go off. The only problem is that the last time Chris saw Imran, Imran told him he was a kuffar, pressed his fingers to his head and pretended to shoot him. They chose very different paths in life, Chris joined the army and returned injured from Afghanistan; Imran, having lost his best friend and older brother, drifted angrily through life until he found what he thought was his cause, a radical Islamic group, wanting to bring war to infidels. The type of group who spawned the 7/7 bombers.  Chris has to decide if he can really trust his old blood brother, or have ten years and life choices driven them too far apart?  Using flashbacks and changing viewpoints between the two main protagonists, Gibbons creates a pressure cooker of tension.

Having grown up in the Middle East, I was interested to see how this delicate subject would be broached, and I can't fault the research that has obviously been put into this book. Gibbons captures the anger, frustration and sense of isolation that a teenager of any faith or colour feels. "You think you're in control of your life but you're not. Not really. It's like you stumble through the years with a hood over your head.  Nobody knows where they're going."  We all make mistakes growing up, sometimes we choose the wrong path but, with knowledge, sometimes you can get back on track.

An Act of Love is about friendship, growing up in a multi-racial country and looking at everyday people as well as the extremists. I remember the riots and unrest of the 1980's, and had to double check the dates in the book, with the depressing conclusion that history is repeating itself. All these events happened in the last ten years, not thirty years ago, which is a sobering thought about society. Maybe if more people read this book, understanding differences can help break cycles.

This is an enormous and heavy topic to cover, but An Act of Love is not just boy meets girl, Muslims vs the West, it's about a love that fights and conquers hate. A sometimes uncomfortable, but intuitively written and compelling read.  Gibbons gives the invisible a voice. 

Alan answers Tamsin's questions about An Act of Love.

Which came first, the story or the time line?

The story came first. Obviously, the research was integral but I only drew up the time line on request from my editor to give the readers an overview and reference point.

The story has strong similarities to what was going in 1981 especially the Toxteth riots in Liverpool. Did that influence you in any way?

I have lived in Liverpool since 1979 and lived in Liverpool 8 during the riots so it was one of my reference points.

Did you have a specific age group in mind when you wrote this (as adults can learn a lot from your book!)?

I think it was Philip Pullman who said he writes for people. Me too. There is a term crossover, but essentially I think when you write Young Adult fiction it always spills back to younger readers who are mature enough to handle the themes and forward to adults who will appreciate a well-researched, deeply felt story.

What inspired you to tackle this subject?

I had written on the implications of George Bush and Tony Blair’s decision to respond to 9/11 with military invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan indirectly in Caught in the Crossfire. I felt I had unfinished business and it was time to grasp the nettle and deal with the material directly.

I would love to think that this book goes some way towards giving people a more informed perspective, but do you think that things are going to get worse before they get better this country?

I believe the word crisis in Chinese contains the concept danger and opportunity. That is where I think we are. There is an unfortunate and ignorant strand of deep hostility to Muslims in the UK, but there is also a disenchantment with the policies that produced it. We have the opportunity to create a respectful country of many faiths, cultures and energies or slip into distrust and division. On the whole I am optimistic but there are always sinister forces in the wings. It is up to good people to promote the idea of a united community which generates a positive identity out of the many strands of our people.

An Act of Love is available on Amazon and in all good bookstores. I thoroughly recommend you buy a copy...