Alice M. Ross - The Nowhere Thief - Author Interview (Q&A) - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

 

Hello readers and welcome to our fourth interview. This week we are meeting the fantastic author, Alice M. Ross, who has recently had her debut children's book published (March 2023) by Nosy Crow. The book is called The Nowhere Thief but watch out as there really is a thief about. This book is surely going to steal your heart! We loved this story and wanted to find out more so check OUT the review. We hope you are loving this series of interviews - thank you all for contributing and reading. 

• How would you describe your multi-verse adventure The Nowhere Thief?

The Nowhere Thief is a mind-bending multiverse adventure aimed at 9-12-year-olds that is also about finding your family. 12-year-old Elsbeth is stealing things from other worlds to sell in her family's antique shop but as a strange boy starts to follow her and the weather turns weird whenever she travels she starts to ask herself: does her gift come with a price?

• Elsbeth and Idris have a special power where they can steal from other worlds. What would you like them to steal for you and why?

Well it's actually only Elsbeth that can steal things: Idris tries to but every time he does it the objects just disappear! His grandmother makes him feel bad about this. Obviously I wouldn't feel comfortable about possessing stolen goods myself, but if they did come across an interesting object by legal means I think it would be pretty cool to have a chamcha, which is a flying sort of cat that lives in Idris's world.

• Which other world would you like to visit in the book and why?

I'd like to visit Victoria's world, where the sea is rising and children are sent on wilderness survival trips: maybe we could get some tips for our own world. I'd like to meet Victoria, who seems like she would be really cool!  

• Do you have any plans for the characters after this book?

We'll have to wait and see! I definitely have ideas in my head of things that will happen to them, but whether that will end up in book form remains to be seen.

 

• You have spent most of your time being a journalist. Can you share a favourite story you wrote or reported on? How do you think a good journalist can make a difference in the real world?

I've reported on lots of things in my career at the Financial Times but recently I've been writing more about climate change, and how investors can get involved - in fact I wrote a non-fiction book on this topic called Investing to Save the Planet in 2020. Journalists can definitely make a difference by highlighting people's voices when they're not heard that often. 

• How do you juggle real-life with fantasy and do they both play important roles in your life?

Well, I guess it would be a bit weird if real-life didn't play an important role in my life! I have kids and cats and a house and all that grown-up jazz to tend to: I find they complement each other quite well right now but I do have to carve out certain times of the day to write or I'd never get it done! 

• Which book or literary work made you think about the impact we have on the planet?

I did write a book myself about the impact we have on the planet, so I certainly thought about it then. I'm not sure I've ever read a fiction work specifically about climate change but I think it's interesting that this is becoming more of a trend in both adult and children's literature.  

• What would you do differently if you were to write another book?

I'd like to say I would plan it better, but I'm not a huge planner of books - I do think that if you just write you come up with ideas as you go. That said I think it's a good idea to have your themes in your mind/some vague idea of what you're trying to do, so that's what I'm trying to do in the next book I'm writing: I know how it ends but not how it will get there!  

• Finally three quick questions: favourite meal, place, and one wish for the future? 

My favourite meal has to be twice-baked potato - it is definitely my comfort food that my Mum used to make for me when I was a kid! These days I have it to cheer myself up or when it's a particularly cold day.

My favourite place is Berlin - it's such a cool city, and my kids are half-German so we spend quite a lot of time there.

My wish for the future is obviously to publish more books! I have lots of ideas and I just need to find the time to turn them all into novels!  

https://nosycrow.com/product/the-nowhere-thief/

Yvonne Banham - The Dark and Dangerous Gifts of Delores Mackenzie - Author Interview (Q&A) - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

 

Hello Everybody. It's time to walk this way to read our second interview. This week we are delighted to introduce Yvonne Banham who is showcasing her debut children's book. The dark and Dangerous Gifts of Delores Mackenzie is a gothic escapade that will be published by Firefly Press in April 2023. The book looks and sounds fabulous - I already have it on my purchase list. If you need any more encouragement then read our little interview to find out more about the book and the author. In the meantime, if you have any questions please leave them in the comments section below. You can pre-order copies of this book at Firefly Press using this link Order Book HERE. 

• The book cover is brilliant as it says so much about the story. What can you tell us about the plot that might entice new readers to give it a go? 

I LOVE the cover. Nathan Collins’ vision of Delores is spot on. The story opens as Delores is being chased home by a restless spirit These spirits crave Delores’ energy to help them return from the dead. They’re not like ordinary ghosts (simply memories stuck on repeat), these spirits know they’re dead and they’re not happy about it! So, Delores is sent to the mysterious Uncles in Edinburgh Old Town to learn to control her paranormal gifts, but a sinister apparition appears and threatens the lives of her strange new housemates. Can Delores Mackenzie really push back the dead? Read on to find out! If you like Jonathan Stroud, Phil Hicks or Frances Hardinge, you might enjoy this too!

• How much of your personality is featured in the different characters? 

Delores and Prudence have a lot of traits stolen from my daughters (though I’ll never say which is which!)  Delores’ love of gothic fiction, her hatred of coriander and the word lobule are all me, as well as a fair bit of Prudence’s sarcasm sorry to say! 

• Tolbooth Book Store is full of curious surprises, what surprises did you find when writing this book?

 I’m not a planner so there were LOTS of surprises. When I started, I didn’t know about the Uncles, or the little demon gargoyle Bartleby, or how unintentionally funny Prudence would be, I didn’t even know the ending. The biggest surprise was Prudence’s secret and I loved going back and weaving that through the plot.

• What do you think makes a really effective dark mystery and do you think you have achieved this in your debut book? 

Maintaining the tension is crucial, but also having resting spots so the reader isn’t overwhelmed by the dark; include lighter characters such as Katy Starr (great fun to write!), grumpy Bartleby, or Sweet-Shop Esme. Mix the clues amongst lots of twists and turns and tap into things that genuinely scare you. Use those feelings to keep the story dark. I hope I’ve achieved that tricky balance, but really that’s for the readers to decide.

• How much has your story changed since the first draft? 

I’m always going back over sections as I write, so I don’t have as many full drafts as most writers. The biggest changes came when I started to thread new ideas through the existing plot to give a more satisfying ending. I also got to add a scene at the end which in hindsight was crucial to the shape of the story. Delores’ world is also much now more richly curated, and I love doing that part. If I had to put a number on it, I’d say 80% of it is from the really proper, fully worked first draft. 

• If you could have a dangerous gift what would it be and why?

 I LOVE that question. I think I’d choose shapeshifting but as shapeshifters are basically outlaws, I’d need to make sure not to get caught. As I’m sometimes late, being able to fly everywhere would be amazing – and just image what you’d see from the sky! Or I’d be a cat next to a log fire when I wanted to just lie there and create spooky plots in my head.

• What has inspired you the most to write a book for children? 

I read lots of books for children and young adults. I love the plots, the characters and the worlds. When I write, that’s where my head’s at and that’s how my own stories come out. My biggest inspiration is Frances Hardinge. Her books show how far you can push the boundaries in children’s fiction and that subject fascinates me. She never patronises her readers in terms of plot, character, dialogue or levels of creepiness.

• What would you like people to know about you?

 I write dark stuff and adore dark stories, but I also love an uncontrollable, unstoppable belly-laugh. You feel amazing after! 

• What are some of the common traps for new writers as they pursue their dreams of getting their book published?

 Trying to guess the trends or following what’s popular. By the time you’ve written yours, the publishing world will have moved on. And sending stuff out too soon; join a writing community, get some feedback, let your story rest a while and come back to it. That story gets one chance to make an impression so make it count. 

• What and where is the spookiest place you've ever been to? 

The Blair Street Vaults under Edinburgh Old Town. SUPER creepy. There’s supposedly the ghost of a young boy down there. I didn’t see him, but other people say they have. It has a peculiar atmosphere and one of the rooms had a very odd kind of dark. It features in the book; go there, I dare you! I want to visit the Covenanter’s Jail in Greyfriars Kirkyard but so far, I’m too scared to go in! It supposedly has the most active poltergeist in all of Edinburgh and that’s up against some pretty steep competition!

Amy McCaw - Mina and the Undead - Interview (Q&A) - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books #10

WELCOME to the Mansion of the Macabre. In the spirit of Halloween, we have a fantastic interview with Amy McCaw the author of the brilliant book Mina and the Undead. This is a fantastic YA read that has found many a fan since it was published in April 2021 by UCLan Publishing. If you like a good old scare and an intelligent read this is definitely the book for your Halloween treat. We hope this interview will inspire you to purchase a copy so check it out below and try to visit the author's website HERE. 

Readers of your book (Mina and the Undead) can expect a paranormal thriller. What else can they expect to find in the book?

Mina and the Undead definitely draws influences from different genres. At its heart, it’s a story about two estranged sisters who rebuild their relationship in unsettling circumstances. The book is set in New Orleans, so there are plenty of local myths and creepy settings. There’s also quite a bit of murder…

How would 17-year-old Mina (the main character in the book) describe herself?

That’s an interesting question! She’d probably describe herself as a lover of all things spooky, from serial killer stories and horror movies to graveyards and haunted locations. Mina has a difficult relationship with her family, and at the beginning she doesn’t feel like she belongs anywhere. She’s insatiably curious and can’t let something go if she thinks a wrong has been committed.

How do you process and use the ideas you have in the development and writing of this book?

I got most of my initial ideas from visiting New Orleans in 2012. I knew I wanted to include the local myths and amazing locations that I learned about during my visit. It was then a case of figuring out my plot, characters and the time period I would set it in. The story really came together when I figured out that the book would be set in the 90s. That gave me a whole decade of pop culture to draw on and set into motion a lot of plot points that have a 90s feel.

I tend to record ideas on a mind map initially. At first, it’s just a messy sprawl of thoughts. I then start organising the ideas that fit together into groups. Once I have enough elements of the story, I start plotting using bullet points. As soon as I’m too excited to put off writing any longer, I know it’s time to plunge into drafting.

Did any of the characters take you on a journey that you were not expecting?

Definitely! From very early on, I had an idea of the basic plot and I knew who all of the characters were. As I started writing, I realised that some characters had the potential to be red herrings, some would be wrapped up in the murder mystery, some would help Mina and some would get in her way. Some of those characters definitely surprised me and felt like they were taking on a life of their own.

How did you decide on the setting for the book?

From the moment I visited New Orleans, I knew I’d set a book there. This book was always set in New Orleans because it is so steeped in the city’s myths and locations. Mina is a Yorkshire girl (like me) who is fascinated with the city.

Is there anything that didn't make the final cut in the book? What was this and how did you work through the edits?

The main plot and structure of the book is quite similar to my early drafts. I had a clear sense of where it was going and future edits were about tightening and shaping the plot. The main scenes I’ve lost along the way weren’t particularly noteworthy, and that’s why I cut them. If they didn’t develop characters or move the plot on, they had to go. Sometimes, I need to write my way through a scene that I know will get cut, but I need it at the time to help me figure something out.

I tend to keep notes of future edits I want to make as I write. I do this in the comments on a Word document and I start lists of ideas and things I need to improve. On each round of edits, I work through these lists quite methodically, tackling one big thing at a time.

I understand that you love travelling. What is the most inspiring place you have visited and why?

I love visiting places with a rich history – that’s one of the things that drew me to New Orleans. Some of my favourite locations are castles, movie filming locations, catacombs and bookshops, so I enjoy places that have these features. Cities I would visit over and over again include New Orleans, Paris, Orlando, Los Angeles, Edinburgh and Lisbon.

I love reading books that scare me. What does your reading diet consist of?

I read mostly YA books, often with elements of horror, thrillers or mysteries. I also enjoy contemporary and historical YA when I’m in the right mood. I read some adult books (mostly horror and thrillers), Middle Grade, Manga and graphic novels too. I have very varied reading tastes, but I tend to gravitate towards spooky subjects.

What do you think is the most important element to get right when writing a YA horror book?

There are so many elements of YA horror, and my favourite books do different things really well.

I think atmosphere is really important. If you read books by authors like Kat Ellis and Dawn Kurtagich, their books simmer with a creepy atmosphere that builds to chilling scares.

I also think characters shouldn’t be neglected in horror. My favourite horror titles, like IT by Stephen King, have characters that you will cheer for and weep over.

Do you think films or books have particularly shaped your writing and the ideas within this book?

I’m definitely influenced by things I’ve read and watched. A lot of people describe Mina and the Undead as a love story to horror, and that’s definitely what I was going for. I found it really useful to know the tropes of YA mysteries and horror, so I could have fun leaning into them or turning them on their heads. I’ve been particularly influenced by 90s slasher movies, vampire movies and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Kate Wilkinson - Edie and the Box of Flits - Interview (Q&A) - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books #6

 

Here on Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books we have another fantastic interview for you to get your fantasy teeth into. We've been given the brilliant opportunity to ask Kate Wilkinson some questions about Edie and the Box Flits. This is an amazing magical debut book which has been illustrated by Joe Berger. The book was published this year by Piccadilly Press (22 July 2021) and will delight both young and old readers - especially those who love brilliant stories like the classic The Borrowers. If this sounds like your kind of book then you can order a copy HERE. 

• Edie and the Box of Flits is your first children's book. Can you tell us something about it and what inspired you to write it?

It’s about a girl called Edie Winter who lives in London and her dad runs the Lost Property Office for the London Underground. Edie has just started secondary school, but she’s not finding it easy as her old primary school friends have abandoned her and she feels very lonely.

So Edie decides to spend the first half term helping Dad to collect missing items. She finds an abandoned box on the Piccadilly Line and as she picks it up, she feels something fluttering inside. And so begins an adventure that takes her into a thumb-sized world deep in the tunnels under London. 

As a Londoner, I spend a lot of time waiting for trains and buses especially at Highbury and Islington station which is on my route home. There is a family of sooty mice that live on the platform and I often sit on a bench watching them gathering up discarded crumbs and crisps. They gave me the idea of a ‘parallel’ world of small creatures foraging on the Underground. 

• Part of the story is set on the London Underground. Why did you choose this as a setting?

I have lived in London most of my adult life and so the London Underground has found its way into my DNA. I love the maze of tunnels, the platforms and the whoosh of air as the trains rush into the station. It also runs overground through many of the suburbs so you rattle along in the dark and then suddenly you are out in the daylight often at rooftop level as you pass between the houses.  

When I was researching my book I took a couple of Hidden London tours that the London Transport Museum organises and saw the ghost stations and abandoned passageways that still exist down under London’s pavements.  That’s when I decided to set the scene when the Flits are freed in a ghost station at Wilde Street. 

• What is the future for the characters? Will there be a sequel?

Yes there will hopefully next year and the adventure will be set on another great Underground system in a different city! Edie will discover the secret of the eyeglass and meet more Flits, but she will also be approaching her thirteenth birthday and once you are thirteen the Flits become invisible. Will this happen to Edie? 

• Joe Berger has illustrated elements of the book. What process did you both use and did you see the illustrations as you were writing the book?

Publishers don’t tend to put illustrators and writers in touch with each other as you both work via an art director, but I was sent roughs for all the illustrations and love Joe Berger’s work. I particularly like the drawings he did of the wilderness station and Edie, Benedict and Charlie walking through the deserted Underground tunnels late at night. As we will be working together on a sequel, I did get in touch with Joe and we met in Bristol where he lives and had a lovely chat. 

• You started out as a children's writer for BBC Radio creating audio stories. What are the main differences in writing a book as opposed to writing an audio story?

I did! It feels like a long time ago, but I wrote two long running series about The Boot Family who lived on a farm and Walter Crumpton who was trusted with looking after all sorts of unruly animals. The stories were for pre-schoolers in a slot called The Listening Corner and the joy of writing for audio is that you can really be playful with the different voices and use lots of music and sound effects to tell the story. The narrators were always brilliant at dialogue and often very funny. My favourite was the voice of a particularly grumpy donkey. 

• What do you particularly love about writing for or listening to audiobooks?

My day job is producing readings and short stories for the BBC and audiobooks for publishers like Penguin and Bloomsbury, although they all tend to be for adults. As the audiobooks are unabridged, I can be in the studio with an actor for five or six days working our way through a particularly long novel. If the actor reads well, it’s an absolute joy and a privilege just to sit there and listen to a brilliant story unfold.  

• At what point in your life did you realise you wanted to be a writer?

I’m afraid I was a bit annoying as a child and full of myself and my earliest memories are bouncing up and down on my mother’s bed, dictating stories to her about a walrus that could fly and insisting that she wrote them down. The walrus as you can imagine came to a sticky end! 

• If you could hold imagination in your hands, what do you think it would look like?

A wardrobe with a hundred tiny doors and drawers. As you pull each one open you are never quite sure what you will find. 

• How do you relax and switch off from the world?

I love to escape London and go for a walk in the woods with my dog or go swimming. Cold water doesn’t put me off so I try to swim right through the winter. Plunging into a river in March is a brilliant way to shake off all the wordly grumbles. 

• Is there anything you wish you'd known sooner as a writer that you would be happy to share with any aspiring authors reading this?

It can take a very long time to find a publisher and for your book to move through the cogs and wheels, but just keep going and you will get there in the end. 

Gattaldo - Fearless: The Story of Daphne Caruana Galizia - Interview (Q&A) - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books #4

I'm delighted to welcome you to an interview with the debut author and illustrator Gattaldo. The book is based on a true-life story that is both brilliantly written and compassionately illustrated as a picture book. The author has brought the story to life so that children and adults will be inspired by it and completely absorb the storyline. It's a story about a female investigative journalist called Daphne Caruana Galizia who discovers the truth against all odds. The book was published by Otter-Barry Books last year (October 2020). 

We hope you enjoy reading this interview as much as we enjoyed asking the questions. You can BUY the book HERE. You will not be disappointed as this is a great book to both read and discuss with others. 

• Fearless: The Story of Daphne Caruana Galizia. What is the book actually about? Is it based on a true story?

It’s the life story of a European investigative journalist who took on the mafia. She uncovered wrongdoing and she did it on her own, with little or no help, a “one-woman WikiLeaks”. The book takes us from Daphne’s childhood with her parents who taught her the importance of always doing what’s right, through her teens where she understood the meaning of protest, her early years as a journalist where she flourished in a largely male-dominated field, to her fight for justice and against corruption. It’s about the courage of ones convictions, about the quest for truth.   

• What inspired you to tell this story and why?

Daphne’s assassination in 2017 left a big hole in the hearts of many Maltese who valued her investigative journalism. To me, Daphne was also a personal friend and I found it extremely difficult to deal with her absence. My 7-year-old niece wanted to know more about Daphne, so I decided to turn my grief into something positive and share Daphne’s life and the importance of journalism with children through a picture book.  

• What emotions do you want the reader to feel once they have finished reading the book?

The book is a celebration of its protagonist, but it’s also an appreciation of journalism, a message to not be afraid of going against the grain, to fight for your convictions. Daphne Caruana Galizia was often alone in her quest. We’ve spoken at times about this and how it made her feel. It took nerve to continue uncovering wrongdoing after some of the attacks on her person and her family.  

I want my readers to appreciate that there is no free choice without information. Journalism is one of the most important if not the most important component of democracy. I want children to be inspired by Daphne. Journalists like her are our heroes. They are role models we should emulate if we are to build a better world.  

• How do you try and balance the writing with the images?

This was my first picture book. Pictures and words must work together, complimenting rather than mirroring each other. I started writing while at the same time searching for the character’s appearance. It’s important to work with rough sketches while writing. Only once you’re happy with the way visuals and words work together, should you start to work up the illustration. Even then, you can expect the book to go through various modifications. In film, each scene is drawn in rudimentary sketches on loose cards so their order can be changed. It’s a good practice to use with picture books as well.   

• Do you think it is important for an illustrator to have their own unique style?

I certainly see advantages marketing-wise with having a unique style that’s unchanging, like a brand, so that readers familiar with your first book feel immediately at home with your second offering. There are however benefits to having a flexible hand, a style that fits each of the stories you animate. My publisher requested that I keep to the same style in my next books and it makes sense because they should feel like part of the same series. I don’t think that means they have to be absolutely identical though. I think each book benefits from having its own identity while still fitting in with the series.  

• How much research did you do before you started the project? Did you find any surprises along the way?

Although I knew my subject on a personal level, I knew very little about Daphne’s childhood. Her early years weren’t something I could research online or in libraries so the only way was to Interview family and friends. This required great sensitivity. Interviewing people who are grieving can be difficult and awkward. It was a journey that led to a closer relationship with Daphne’s family. I can’t think of having come across any surprises as such, but I do feel I got to know her better. I could see what made Daphne the strong person she was.  

• What author/illustrator do you wish could be your mentor and why?

My mentor for Fearless was the journalist and children’s author Juliet Rix (Travels With My Granny - Otter Barry Books) who was very generous with her time and advice. We’re currently collaborating on another children’s book. As a wish list, there are a couple of illustrators I would love to have as mentors. My first would be M. Sasek, but of course he died in 1980 so perhaps, French illustrator Thomas Baas would be a more feasible choice.  

• What is the best way to use social media and illustration to create increased awareness?

Every book is different and its promotion has to be tailor-made. Daphne’s story is real and still current and raw so I couldn’t promote it in the same way you’d do for another book. Amnesty and Reporters Without Borders’ endorsement was a great boost for the book. Regardless of whether Fearless was worthy of Daphne’s story, activists and people who hold Daphne and journalism to heart, were eager to promote the book on social media. But I also had to contend with a small amount of trolling, something I guess most children’s authors wouldn’t face. 

I think most children’s authors realise very soon that publishers have very little time or money to do much for their book so they must work hard at it themselves. I found Twitter introduced me to reviewers, bookshop owners and journalists. Like any conversation it can’t be just about promoting the book though. 

I’m not sure Facebook was much use. As to Instagram, I think I missed a trick by not making use of it. 

When promoting the book online, an author must offer something useful rather than to simply repeat the the book’s USPs. My book’s website fearlessdaphne.com was also a vehicle to get children and their educators interested in journalism through informative articles aimed at children. I also wrote and designed a supplement which was taken up and published by a local newspaper. I’d love to develop the latter into a regular feature, but as with everything, I’d need to find the time and the finance for it. 

• What other projects are you working on at the moment?

When I first presented Fearless to publishers, the proposal was to have a series of similar non-fiction books, so I’m working on the next two. I’m also planning on writing something completely different - a children’s book that is funny and playful. That would give me the opportunity to experiment with a different style of illustration. Now that the Covid-19 restrictions are slowly lifting, I’m also preparing for school visits and also looking forward to the publication of Fearless by Candlewick in the US in September. 

• Do you prefer to write or illustrate?

My background is in fine arts and illustration but I’ve discovered writing can be great fun too. I love the control that comes with doing both. I’ve still got a lot to learn in both idioms, and I’m not confident I’ve yet found my definitive style. I’ve started writing for children rather late in life and I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to get my work published.  

Guest Post Book Plug #2 - Richard Masson - Boonie and Book Competition

                                                            

This is the second post in the guest blog series. This week I would like to welcome Richard Masson to my blog; he has written a post about his debut book 'Boonie'.  At the end of this post you will find an opportunity to win a rather rare and signed first edition book. It is published by Hot Key Books and looks rather wonderful.  If this post has interested and inspired you (which I'm sure it will), then visit Richard's site to enter the competition by following the link provided. Good luck to all of you who enter - we look forward to hearing from you.

So over to Richard.....

What is Boonie?

Since I wrote Boonie, all sorts of people have given it so many different tags that even I sometimes wonder what sort of a book it really is. Essentially, it’s an adventure story, the story of a boy and a girl and their struggle to overcome the perils of the world they live in. It’s set on a planet scourged by war and pollution where water and getting enough of it is the main preoccupation. 

Ah-ha!  you say, an environmental book, a warning to humanity. No, or probably not but if it strikes that chord with you, then that’s fine by me.

Dystopian then, like The Hunger Games? Well, no, not really that either .

Hot Key Books, the publishers have said it’s a book about friendship.  I liked that and certainly friendship and loyalty come into it but maybe, or then again, maybe not. 

What I really like about these descriptions is that different readers seem to be getting different things out of Boonie.  I’m a writer who likes to lay down clues from which the reader can build their own world and gain their own understanding of my people and their motivations. OK, so I write the story but I like to put lots of different layers into it and, encouragingly, it seems readers are seeing through the layers, taking up the clues and  building their own worlds and having  their own light-bulb insights into the characters.

What is it then? What is Boonie all about?

Going back to the beginning, I still maintain that Boonie is an adventure story and if you want to read it as a straight forward yarn about two kids, getting through each day in an arid, desolate world and battling against some pretty nasty enemies in the hope of building a better life for themselves, then I’m happy. If you see an environmental warning in there or get an insight into friendship too, then great because what I’d really like is if everybody who reads Boonie thinks they have read a different book to everybody else, a book essentially their own, a book in which only they see the real story, only they really know JD and what he’s going through or understands that feisty little Aqua girl.

That would make me very happy. 

Getting to the point at last, I wonder what you think? Obviously you can’t say until you’ve read Boonie and here’s how you can.

Boonie Book Giveaway.

Would you like a signed first edition hardback edition of Boonie? 

Just visit my website at www.richardmasson.com where you will find the first 27 pages of the book. I’d love you to read it anyway but if you do just answer a simple question and leave a nice comment.  I promise I’ll read every entry and I’ll post the winner’s name on the website and tweet it too. All entries must be in by 31^st March 2013 and must be from UK residents only. Good luck everybody.