Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Sally Green - Half Wild First Chapter Reveal - Penguin 2015

Strong language warning . This extract may not be suitable for younger readers. 

Here is the first chapter of Half Wild which doesn’t come out until March 2015! 

You’ll feel my heavy spirit chill your chest, And climb your throat on sobs, Wild with all Regrets, Wilfred Owen

a new day

a crossbill calls

another bird replies, not a crossbill

the first bird takes over again

and again

the crossbill-

shit, it’s morning

i’ve been asleep

it’s morning, very early

shit, shit, shit

don’t panic

need to wake up need to wake up

can’t believe i’ve been asl-

chchchchchchchhchchchc chhhhhchchch hchcchchchhhchc hchhchchchcchchhcchhchchhchchchhcchchchchchchhchch chchchhchchchchhchhhchchchchccchchchchh chchchchhchchc hhchchchchhc hchchhchhchch chchchchchchchhchh hchchccchchchchhchchchh hchhchchch

SHIT!

the noise is here. HERE!

chchchchchchchhchchchcchhhhhch chchhchcc hchchhhchchchhchch chcchchhcchchchhchchchhcch chchchchchhchchc hchchhchchchchhchhh chchchchccchchchchhhchchc hchhchchchhchchchchhchchc hhchhchchchch chchchchchhchhhch chccchchchchhc hchchhhchhchchch 

that level of noise means, oh shit, someone with a mobile is close. very close. shit, i can’t believe i’ve been asleep with Hunters on my tail. and her. the fast one. she was close last night.

chchchchch chchhchchchcchh hhhchchc hhchcchchchhhch chchhch chchcchchhcchh chchhchchchhcchch chchchchhchchchc hchhchchchchhchhhchchchch ccchchch cchhchchchchhc hchchhchchchchhchc hchhchhchchchchchchchchchhc hhhchchccchchchchh chchchhhchhchchch 

THINK! THINK!

chchchchchchch hchchchcchhhhhchchchh chcchchchhhchchchhchchchc chchhcch chchchhchchchhcchchchchchchhch chchchchhc hchchchhchh hchchchchc cchchchchhhc hchchc hhchchchhchch chchhchchch hchhchc hchc hchchch chchhchh hchchccchc hchchhchch chhhchhchchch

it’s a mobile phone, for sure it’s a mobile phone. the noise is in my head, not in my ears, it’s to the upper right side, inside, constant, like an electrical interference, pure hiss, mobile hiss, loud, three or four meters away loud. SHIT! THINK! THINK!

chchchchchchchhch chchcchhhhhchchchhc hcchchchh hchchchhchchchcchc hhcchchchc hhchchchhcchchc hchchchhchch chchchhchc hchchhchhhc hchchchc cchchchch

ok right, lots of people have mobiles. if it’s a Hunter, that Hunter, and she could see me, i’d be dead by now.

i’m not dead

she can’t see me

chchchchchc hchhchchchcchhhh hchchchhchcc hchchhhchchch hchchch cchchhcch chchchhchchchh cchchchchc hchhchchch chchhchchchchh chhhchchchchccchchc hch

the noise isn’t getting louder. she’s not moving closer. but she’s not moving away either.

am i hidden?

i’m lying on my side, face pressed into the ground. totally still. can’t see anything but earth.

got to move a little.

but not yet. think first. stay calm and work it out.

there’s no breeze, no sun, just a lightness. it’s early. the sun has to be behind the mountain still. there’s the smell of earth, the pine of the forest. the ground is cool, dry, no dew. there’s the smell of the forest and . . . there’s another smell.

what is that smell?

and there’s a taste.

a bad taste. it tastes like . . . oh no-

don’t think about it

don’t think about it

don’t think about it

don’t think about it

think about something else

think about where you are

You’re lying on the ground, in the early morning and the air is cool. You’re cold. You’re cold because . . . oh shit, oh shit . . . you’re naked. You’re naked and the top half of you is wet. Your chest, your arms . . . your face are wet.

And you move the fingers of your left hand, the tiniest of movements, and they’re sticky. Sticking together. As if with drying, sugary juice. But it’s not juice.

don’t think about it

don’t think about it don’t think about it don’t think about it don’t think about it

DoN’t THiNk aBOUT IT

THINK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE

THINK ABOUT STAYING ALIVE

You’ve got to move. The Hunters are close on your tail. That fast one was close. She was very close last night.

what happened last night?

what happened?

remember!

NO.

FORGET THAT. THINK ABOUT STAYING ALIVE

WORK OUT WHAT TO DO

You can look, move your head a fraction to see more. The ground by your face is thick with pine-needles. Brown pine-needles. But the brown isn’t from the pine, it’s the colour of dried blood. You’re left arm is extended. It’s streaked in it, dried, brown. But your hand isn’t streaked in it, it’s thick with it. Sopping. Red

close your eyes

close your eyes

close your eyes

chchchchchchchhc hchchcchhhhhch chchhchcc hchchhhchc hchhchchchcchchhcch cchchchhc hchchhcchchchch chchhchchchchchh chchchchhchh hchc hchch ccchch chchchh chchchchhchchc hhchchchchhc hchchhchhch chchchchch chchchh chhhch chccchchch chhchchc hhhchhchchch

You need to go. Without thinking or looking or remembering. You need to go. For you’re own safety you have to get out of here. You need to get moving. Get away from here. You can find a stream and wash. Wash it all off.

The mobile phone is close, not changing. It won’t be coming closer.

You should look, check. Turn your head to the other side. You can do it. Look, check. . .

it looks like a log

Please be a log. Please be a log. Please be a log.

Please.

it’s not a log.

it’s a shape in black and red, with black boots and with two legs; one straight, one bent. legs dressed in black. black material covering the torso. light-brown hair. her hair. cut short. sopping with blood. her face is turned away.

she’s lying as still as a log

still wet

still oozing

not fast any more

the mobile phone is hers

chchchchchc hchhchchchcch hhhhchch chhchcchc hchhhchch chhchchchc chchhcch cchchch hchchchhcchchchc hchchhchchchchchhchchc hchhchhh chchchch ccchch chchchh

and as you raise your head you see the wound that is her throat

and it is jagged and bloody and deep and red

Half Bad has gone into the new Guinness World Record as the most translated book and most translated children’s book by a debut author before publication. Now comes book two in the trilogy, Half Wild. 

Penguin have also announced an e-short which will come out on 13^th November and is called Half Lies.

You can watch the trailer of Half Bad here.

RELEATED POSTS: Also check out my book review HERE AND A Exclusive Interview From Sally Green - HERE Thank you all for reading....

Interview with Sally Green - Half Bad Blog Tour - Published by Penguin Books - March 2014

On today's stop of the Half Bad blog tour  day six you can read an interview with author, Sally Green. On the final stop you can win lovely signed copies of the book. Go to www.realmoffiction.blogspot.com (on 2nd March)

Is this the first book that you have written?

Half Bad is the first book I've had published. I have written one other novel before this, which I tried and failed to get it published and now it is in a box never to be looked at again. 

When and where did you get the first ideas for this book?

I think my first inspiration came from a storytelling festival I went to in 2009 (Festival at the Edge in Shropshire) - I was steeped in folklore for three days and loved it. In these old stories three was a significant number (three brothers, three branches on a bramble, three wishes etc.) and I had the basic idea of a scenario where to become a true, adult witch you had to be given three gifts. 

I didn't know much about witches but I knew there was 'good' White magic and 'bad' black magic and the themes of good and bad reminded me of the lines from Hamlet 'there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so'. I liked the idea of playing around with the assumptions that the White Witches would be the good guys and the Black Witches would be bad.  

To potential readers, can you describe the book as you see it?

Half Bad is the story of Nathan a teenage witch. At the beginning of the story he is a prisoner of the White Witches. He is being kept in a cage, not because of anything he has done, but because of what he is - a Half Code (half White Witch and half Black Witch) - and because his father is the most feared of the Black Witches. The story traces Nathan's life from birth to his seventeenth birthday by which time he must escape White Witches and go through a ceremony (receiving three gifts) to become a true, adult witch.

Nathan's life is full of physical hardship, even torture, but his mental struggles are as difficult as his physical ones. He is alone, abused and afraid of both the White Witches and the Black, and added to that he is not sure how he himself is going to turn out - whether his Black half or White half will dominate.

Did you do any research for the book? If so what did comprise of?

I didn't do a lot or research. I used a lot of what I know, for example all the places are based on real locations that I'm familiar with, though most of them aren't named. 

For my research I mostly had the help of my research buddy, Google,  for example I had an important knife in my story and I read up on knives and found out about the Fairbairn-Sykes dagger which I modelled my knife, the Fairborn, upon. 

Who has influenced you or influences you as a writer?

I'm influenced by many other writers and the books I read. I love Hemingway's style and his short stories in particular, and his ideas about writing do influence me - in particular his idea that you have to know a character but that doesn't mean you have to tell the reader these things, even important things, just knowing them will mean the character will come out in the story. I do believe you have to trust the reader to fill in the gaps, you have to assume the reader is pretty smart.

What kind of books do you read for pleasure?

I read a mix of YA (about a third of my reading) and literary fiction, some non-fiction and some younger children's books with my 11 year old son. The authors who have recently given me a lot of pleasure are David Mitchell, Hemingway, Kate Atkinson, Ben Fountain, Patrick Ness, Mohsin Hamid, Emily Bronte, JG Ballard, Philip Roth…I could go on, the list is actually quite long.

I rarely put up with a book if it's not giving me any pleasure. I guess I've started and given up on 3 in the last year.

Do you have any tips on how to get published?

Be the best writer you can. To do that you need to work hard at your writing, get feedback from fellow writers whom you respect and whose feedback style you understand. Give feedback to them too - analysing writing and working out its strengths and weaknesses will benefit your own writing. 

Write your novel - live and breathe it.

Edit your novel - ruthlessly.

When submitting your manuscript follow the instructions given by the agent and always be professional.

When your manuscript is rejected don't give up but do consider starting again on a new novel. I was inspired by Iain Banks' path to publication. He told himself that he would have 3 (there's that number again!) attempts at submitting different novels before he would give up. The Wasp Factory was his third, but I suspect he would have done a fourth and a fifth. 

If/ when the book becomes a film, what kind of input would you like on the production?

I'm no expert on film making and can't imagine striding around saying much of anything about the production of the film. I'm confident that the producers will stick closely to the book (as they did with Twilight for example) - if I wasn't sure they knew what they were doing I wouldn't have agreed to the film deal. I will have some input - to ensure that the overall sense of the trilogy is followed and important but minor aspects of Book 1 are not ignored.

How many books do you plan to write in this series?

Three. The second will be published in March 2015 and the third in March 2016.

Could you give us a little insight into your next book?

All I can say is that I'm writing the second book of the trilogy at the moment. It follows on from the first book and I'm trying to make sure it lives up to its title - Half Wild.

Twitter: @Sa11eGreen 

www.halfbadworld.com

Best New Children's/Teen Books Published In March 2014 - UK

Roy Gill - Werewolf Parallel - Published by Kelpiesteen - 20, March 2014
'His arms kept stretching, as if they were somehow getting longer. His fingers clenched in, then spread out again like claws. The shape of his head was changing impossibly too, the ears becoming pointed and growing upward, his jaw pushing and thrusting out...The wolf threw back its head and howled.' Cameron's life of shifting between the humanian and daemonic worlds is under threat and the magic that once protected him and his friends is failing. His best friends Morgan, a werewolf with an attitude, and Eve, ex-prisoner of a vicious weaver demon, discover that they aren't the only ones in danger: the very existence of their worlds is at stake. Two sinister figures want to destroy the Parallel -- the void in between worlds populated by a dark mixture of the humanian and daemonic -- and everyone in it. What will Cameron sacrifice to defeat the demons and save the Parallel?

Sophia McDougall - Mars Evacuees - Published by Egmont - 27, March 2014 - (Review to come this week)

The fact that someone had decided I’d be safer on Mars, where you could still only SORT OF breathe the air and SORT OF not get sunburned to death, was a sign that the war with the aliens was not going fantastically well.

When Alice Dare finds out that she's being evacuated to Mars to join the youth defence force, she isn't sure what to expect. But it sure wasn't being shot at, chased by invisible aliens, befriending a robot goldfish – and then having to save the galaxy!

Sally Green - Half Bad - Published by Penguin - 3, March 2014 - Review Here

A breathtaking debut novel about one boy's struggle for survival in a hidden society of witches.

You can't read, can't write, but you heal fast, even for a witch.

You get sick if you stay indoors after dark.

You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one.

You've been kept in a cage since you were fourteen.

All you've got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys. And do that before your seventeenth birthday.

Darren Shan - Zom-B Mission - Published by Simon & Schuster Children's - March 27, 2014 

What has happened to the world since the dead took over? Where have the humans gone to hide? Who do the living most have to fear? B Smith is heading for unknown territory...Leading a group of humans through London and out into zombie-infested suburbs sounds like suicide - but not for the undead! Even so, the horrors of the journey will be beyond anything B has yet seen ...'Do not underestimate the dangers of this mission. Other zombies will not ignore you when they catch the scent of fresh brains. You will almost surely be called upon to fight. The city and countryside are full of angry, bitter people who are trying to execute as many of the undead as they can. They will not distinguish between a revitalised and a revived. Most do not know there is a difference. And most would not care.'