I thought I would share a writing tip with you today about SHOW NOT TELL. Have you ever heard of that phrase? It’s when writers show their character’s emotions rather than tell them. It makes the story far more enticing, giving the reader a chance to share in the same feelings. This can be done through physical and … Continue reading
Thanks to everyone who entered the recent competitions! And congratulations to the winners of: ALICE JONES: THE GHOST LIGHT RosieJayne Bennett, Simon Williams and Gaynor McClarey ♥ FENN HALFLIN AND THE FEAR ZERO Anne Cunningham, Crystal Hall and Lucy Georgeson ♥ ST GRIZZLE’S SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, GOATS AND RANDOM BOYS Jessica Cunningham, Claire Thompson and Tess Brooker ♥ WAITING FOR … Continue reading
I’ve been thinking about the first book I ever wrote recently, Secret of the Sirens, the first part in the Companions Quartet. As things worked out in the wonderful world of publishing, it actually came out a few months after my first published book (the other publishing house was quicker off the mark) but it … Continue reading
I am slightly addicted to Facebook and one thing I particularly love is its trick of telling you what happened ‘On This Day’ last year, or the year before or a gazillion years ago. I like the flashback to things I’d forgotten, and I like the reminder of how much things have changed. Recently, a link popped … Continue reading
This year has been a most interesting one so far. I’m currently the Writer in Residence for Dún Laoghaire and I have a wonderful office in the library there overlooking the sea. This is a picture of me and my niece at an exhibition at the library. As part of the residency I’ve been running … Continue reading
Once I knew a girl who was haunted by wolves. They came for her in her dreams and in her awakes They leapt out at her in the supermarket from behind boxes of cereal and other produce. They didn’t care where and had no decorum. Porridge or beans, it was all the same to them. … Continue reading
I was really excited this week to hear that Philip Pullman was writing a further series about Lyra Belacqua, the heroine of the Northern Lights trilogy. He’s calling it an ‘equel’ – not a sequel coming afterwards or a prequel coming before, but a series of three stories which cover several decades around … Continue reading
Our guest blogger this week is Eve Ainsworth. Some of you might remember Eve, she’s blogged here before. Eve’s an award-winning author of teen fiction, so her books are more suitable for older readers. Eve’s going to tell us about her new book, Damage. Welcome back to GHB, Eve. Thanks for stopping by. Writing from the … Continue reading
This month I’ve been thinking about friendship. My best friend, Zanna, went away at the beginning of February for 7 weeks, and despite the wonders of Whatsapp and Skype, what with the time difference and her working long hours it’s been hard for us to connect and I have to admit I’ve felt pretty lost … Continue reading
When I was a kid, I refused to read first chapters. They were boring, nothing happened, and usually the story didn’t really get started until Chapter Two anyway. This changed when I read Matilda. The first line grabbed me by the eyeballs and didn’t let go. After that I started reading books from the beginning, or … Continue reading
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