You are never alone when you have a book to keep you company by Mary Dinan

As I walked by the sea I saw a solitary figure, head down and fully focused. I wondered if she was lonely but then as I got closer could see she was reading a book. She looked as if she was enjoying the experience. I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew she wasn't lonely. How can you be lonely with a good read? She had entered into another world.

It was then I had a thought. 'You are never alone if you have a good book.' A book can fill almost every void. It can advise, comfort, entertain, inspire, and provide a means of escape. A book can change your life and has changed people's lives. God released one of the most read books in the world, The Holy Bible which has changed countless lives.

A book is an ever reliable friend that you can pick up and put down at will. A good book can really lift the spirit no end; even a cover on a book can lift your mood in an instant.

It's a great gift for a child to learn to love books from a very early age, as they will never be lonely while they have a good book and the thrill of going to a library as a child has stayed with me even to this day. I remember the joy of finding another Famous Five book by Enid Blyton and how I loved escaping into the world of ginger beer and Timmy the dog; joining the children who went on adventures.

Growing up, I remember taking a great interest in self-help books. I read them all, Dale Carnegie - How To Win Friends And Influence People, Wayne Dyer - Pulling Your Own Strings, Susan Jeffers - Feel The fear And Do It Anyway and the list goes on...As an only child these books were my big brothers and sisters. I turned to them for advice when there was no family about.
Books and reading are a gift.

Up, up and away!

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nah, it's a butterfly.

It wouldn't take a barrage of psychological testing to work out that I draw inspiration from many sources. My muse seems to wear different guises depending upon his or her mood.

Many writers talk about listening for 'the voice' and then following the thread to see where it takes you. I assume that's a pretty good definition of a pantser when it comes to novels.

I don't often write children's fiction because I tend to see it as having an added layer of requirements in terms of understanding your audience, as well as using appropriate language and situations for the age group that you think you're writing for.

And I'm fussy about titles too, since I like the title to be in some way indicative of the flavour of the book. Scars & Stripes, for example, is both comedic and dramatic - a coming-of-age story about an adventure that purports to be one thing and is revealed to be something else. Clever, huh?

However, Superhero Club is something of a departure for me. To start with, the lead character is a girl, she's a pre-teen (I have a feeling I just made that word up), she has a dysfunctional mum, and both she and her mum are obese. But the muse knows best.

School days in literature is such an evocative time, reminding us of the emotionally charged atmosphere of discovery, insecurity and vulnerability. My heroine, Jo - because that's what she is - lives her life on the margins and the book opens with her last one-to-one session with a counsellor.

Here's the blurb, which is in American English as the ebook is coming out through US-based Musa Publishing.  

Twelve year-old Jo has never fit in at school, what with being overweight and over-sensitive. Since Dad moved out, Mom forgets who's who in the whole mother-daughter relationship. Jo has one ambition in life: to be normal. Not gifted, or gorgeous, or even particularly popular. Just normal. 

When Jo's counselor offers her a lifeline, there's a bunch of other misfits sharing the rope. Group sessions could help them to help each other, but Chris doesn't like speaking and Alistair's a self-confessed geek. Like Stevie, the joker, says, “Oh yeah, right bunch of bloody superheroes we are!”

Sometimes the most heroic thing is to trust a group of strangers, who also have a lot at stake. Jo may find the unlikeliest of friends, and a way to transform her life from the inside. The Superhero Club could give her all that in the blink of an eye. Well, maybe a double-blink!

Tagline: You only find out you're a butterfly if you spread your wings.

Obviously, I'd love the book to do well. What writer wouldn't wish that for her or his work? But, more importantly than that, my goal is for the book to reach an audience where it can perhaps make a bit of a difference. If you know of any review sites or approaches for an ebook of this kind, please leave me a comment.

Superhero Club is out on the 9th of November:

http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=439

Which books about childhood really chimed with you?

Guest Spot: Carl Ashmore tells us how it feels to have the most successful book of all time on the Authonomy website...

We are delighted to have Carl guest for us at Strictly.  So without any further preamble,  let's find out a bit more about how he got to where he is today...

Who are you?

My name is Carl Ashmore and I’m an aspiring writer for children. I live in Crewe, Cheshire with my partner, Lisa, my one year old daughter, Alice, and a very round, grumpy Cheshire cat that flatly refuses to adhere to the stereotype.

‘The Time Hunters’ is my first novel and is about a teenage girl who discovers her reclusive uncle is a time traveller and becomes involved in a murder/mystery and a quest through time for the Golden Fleece. I am proud to say ‘The Time Hunters’ become the most successful book of all-time on the Harper Collins website www.authonomy.com and won a Harper Collins review in July.

What is Authonomy?

It’s a networking site for writers across the world and an online arena for critiquing work and sharing ideas. There are thousands of books uploaded at any one time and each month, the top five most popular books are selected for a review by an editor from Harper Collins.

What made you join Authonomy?

I was exploring writing websites and happened to stumble across Authonomy. It was never a conscious decision to join a site like it but I’m thrilled I did.

What other routes to publication have you tried?

Agents, mainly. With ‘The Time Hunters’ I had four requests to send ‘fulls’ and one offer of representation from an agency I chose to reject (for very good reasons). I tried one publisher ‘The Chicken House’ and they requested to see a full (this was when they accepted unsolicited submissions) but didn’t pursue it. The feedback from the agents was positive but did highlight issues I have since addressed.

Would you consider Self-Publishing?

I may well do. My dream has always to been to go the traditional route but I’m aware the publishing industry is changing. The development of new technologies (Kindle etc) and the ways readers are accessing books means that it would be rather silly to dismiss it outright. To be honest, I think many literary stars of the future will come from the self-publishing route.

How have you found Authonomy?

I enjoyed it enormously. Authonomy is merely a microcosm of life. Some writers are hugely giving of their time and experience and others are somewhat self-obsessed, egotistical and rather curt. It would be easy to be cynical about Authonomy (many are) but personally, I avoided such cynicism and concentrated on reading/commenting on the work of others and embracing the feedback on my work. I made a good friend in Mel Comley (a fellow gold star winner) and she offered to do an edit of my full MS, giving advice she’d received from other Authonomites. The process becomes a circular one. What I learn today, I pass on tomorrow.

Where did you get your pretty book cover from?

I’m a lecturer in film and media at a college. A friend and colleague of mine, Henryk Szor, created my cover after reading the book. ‘The Time Hunters’ is an adventure that fuses history with mythology (characters include a friendly Minotaur, Will Scarlet etc) and the main time machine is a 1963 Volkswagen campervan. Henryk liked the scene where the campervan is attacked by two Harpies in Ancient Crete and visualised it for the cover. Henryk’s work can be seen on www.henrykszor.com.


What advice would you give aspiring Authors considering using Authonomy?

Don’t expect the site to be the answer to all your publishing dreams. Only join if you’re committed to improving your book and not just because you want to win the Harper Collins review. The journey is what’s important, not gaining the gold star and review. I know ‘The Time Hunters’ is a considerably better book than when I joined because I listened to the advice of others. Treat the site and other writers with respect and it can be a valuable tool for self-improvement. It also increases your visibility on a world-wide stage and if you’re lucky, you may be spotted by an agent (this has happened to a number of Authonomites) or publisher.

What are your plans for the future?

Whilst I wait for my Harper Collins review, I intend to use the success on Authonomy to try and gain an agent. I’m also writing another children’s book ‘The Angel Prophecy’ about a very special thirteen year old boy embroiled in an ancient war between a modern Knights Templar and Hell demons.

I have also written two other children’s books for a younger audience ‘Bernard and the Bibble’ and ‘The Night they Nicked Saint Nick’ which will be re-edited as a result of the advice I’ve received from my time on Authonomy.

Most importantly, I have a beautiful one year old daughter who I am try to get interested in reading. So far, she has successfully destroyed a copy of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ (which she smeared in chocolate) and tore out five pages of ‘Treasure Island’ and buried them under the couch. She may not be reading yet but I’m delighted she’s embracing the spirit of the books.

The link to the Time Hunters is:
http://www.authonomy.com/books/16708/the-time-hunters/

Carl can be contacted on carlashmore@mailcity.com

My archaeological dig

Until recently, I used to sit in my parents' attic on a Sunday afternoon, unearthing all my childhood books and magazines and sitting down on a cardboard box to a good random read. Taking the dust sheets off the boxes and blowing the few particles from the covers, it was a joy to transport myself back to childhood. I was brought up to read from a very young age and my school reports always contained comments in relation to my reading ability. 'Gillian's stories are always interesting to read,' stated my P2 report.

And when I moved from the family home, I took ALL my books, magazines and comics with me (yes, I still have copies of The Beano 1983 floating around somewhere!) They were largely discarded in a spare bedroom, which slowly over the years metamorphosed into a library which looked as if it had been ransacked by the National Party Against Reading (see what I've done there - thrown in a little gesture to the elections!)

While trying to sort out the reading pile, I unearthed many treasures including a plethora of books, I'd read, digested and then forgotten about. I never throw books out, and I never sell them on ebay, or drop them into charity shops. That's one thing I'm selfish about.

I have listed some of them here – many you will recognise, many you might not.

Five Go To Smugglers Top – Enid Blyton – This is one of my favourite of the Famous Five, along with Five Get Into Trouble. It follows the five as they stay in an old house and discover secret passageways. Reading critically now, I see how these incidents of mystery and suspense appeal to the younger generation.

The Lion's Way – Lewis Orde – I bought this at a school fair in 1987. I always headed to the book stall, which was filled with discarded reads sent by parents. However, this story was quite enjoyable, following Daniel Kirshbaum, a Jewish singer, overcoming the obstacles of Depression-era New York, and going on to succeed on the nightclub scene. I then ordered The Lion's Progress which I haven't yet read!

The Haunted Showboat (Nancy Drew) – Carolyn Keene. Poor Carolyn - I wrongly believed Nancy herself was the purveyor of these great mysteries, and the woman who inspired me to write my first novel at the age of 11. It was a Nancy Drew story involving secrets written on paper and hidden in trees. My friends thought it was a great book and better than the rest of the Nancy series!! It's in a landfill site.

The Tripods Trilogy – John Christopher - I remember watching this series with my dad in 1984. It was freaky, and I remember having nightmares as a result of it. These massive alien machines control human minds by 'capping' them.

Ulysses – James Joyce - I'd forgotten about this tattered copy, but I fully intend to get though it in one stint this time, instead of my reading spurt being permeated by other books as was the case a few months ago. If you haven't read it, then you should.

Carrie's War – Nina Bawden – this is what I call a great piece of children's literature. I read it in P5 and I found it such an enjoyable book. Set during World War Two, it follows Carrie and her brother as they are evacuated to Wales. It was made into a television series, such was its popularity.

Have you unearthed anything lately? I have a few quid to spend on Amazon, and always enjoy your recommendations.