One to Watch Wednesday

We took a hiatus from One to Watch last week in order to announce two new acquisitions from authonomy: ERASMUS HOBART AND THE GOLDEN ARROW (aka ROBIN WHO) and BROTHERHOOD OF SHADES. Although, I suppose these should be considered books to watch. I hope you’ve all stopped in for a read. But, ever on the hunt for new reads, my ‘watchlist’ is booming with recommendations. Next up is an edgy literary novel from Tracey Scott-Townsend:

VEIL OF GREY

This is a novel with a really captivating pitch. Young art student Rebecca Grey’s already tumultuous life falls under the shadow of an illness-induced hallucination. Meanwhile, she must contend with her mother’s depression and alcoholism. The novel opens with Rebecca in hospital. The narrative jostles between snapshots of realism and surrealism, creating an unsettling feeling of confusion that reflects Rebecca’s own feverish state. Tracey implies themes that will come up in the novel, without forcing them on the reader, which is an enticing technique. We get glimpses of Rebecca’s broader life: her sexuality and naivety (‘some instinctive signal welds us together like barnacles to rocks’; ’I’ve never done that to anyone before’ ), her mother’s influence (‘Comfort like my mum’s arms when I was little envelops me’).

Like Rebecca, the reader is tugged ‘through the threshold’ into a fantastical world, and then dumped back into reality with the introduction of Bex, Rebecca’s mother, who’s narrative tone is so different to her daughters (possibly too different?). Bex is a mess; hung over – or possibly still drunk – when the hospital calls her about her daughter’s turn. She makes excuses to herself to not visit, and yet Tracey skilfully manages to create the impression that appearances aside, Bex truly cares for her daughter deep down.

The mother-daughter relationship is often interesting to explore, and Tracey paints a sad but engaging portrait in these opening chapters. Moreover, she does so with an edge of mysticism that allows the book to stand out from the crowd.

Here’s Tracey’s pitch: 

Rebecca Grey searches for greater meaning in her life than worrying about her mother. Redemption is possible, but one of them may never recover. 

After a weird hallucinatory experience during a severe illness Rebecca Grey, an artistic, resilient nearly-eighteen year old is left with a haunting feeling of loss. 

She spends the summer searching for something she didn’t even know she needed, a sense of self.
In an echo of Miss Haversham in Great Expectations, Rebecca’s mother Bex has ‘stopped all the clocks’ at the point the love of her life was snatched away. She calls it her Great Grief and Rebecca has lived with it as long as she can remember, as familiar a companion as her mother’s alcoholism that she deals with on a day to day basis. 

A visit to Ireland changes Rebecca’s perspective on everything. Becoming part of a wider family and the promise of love offers redemption but who is the ‘ghost boy’ intruding every time she starts getting closer to Connor? 

Bex is rapidly descending into hell but there is something that can save her. It turns out to be the very dream Rebecca needs to give up if she is ever going to fulfil her true potential and live a normal life.

Spring Acquisitions from authonomy!

Last October we announced that we would be launching a digital imprint for authonomy. Now, with one book already published (the wonderful QUALITIES OF WOOD) and another acquired earlier this year, we’re beginning to find our stride. We’ve spent the last few months searching amongst the several-thousand manuscripts on authonomy; some of them really are gems. . . .

and, I’m thrilled to be able to announce two new acquisitions from amongst the wealth of great books.  

The first is dark and thrilling YA fantasy BROTHERHOOD OF SHADES by Dawn Finch. You may remember Dawn’s novel getting a mention in Scott’s What I’ve been reading blog from February. At the heart of BROTHERHOOD OF SHADES is Adam, a streetwise homeless boy living rough in modern London. In a controversial move for a Children’s author, Dawn writes her protagonist off in the opening chapters . . . sort of. Adam is about to discover the existence of a secret order – a brotherhood formed to protect the world of the living from the world of the dead – and he’s top of their recruitment list. Rich in history and mythology, we think SHADES is just what the YA market needs to shake things up a bit. The first 10 chapters are available to read on authonomy, so we hope you drop in to see why we love it so much. 

The second is ROBIN WHO by Andrew Fish, which we’ll be publishing as ERASMUS HOBART AND THE GOLDEN ARROW. This historical fiction with a twist was my One to Watch last August. In a reimagining of tradition, school teacher Erasmus Hobart uses his time-travelling privy to return to mediaeval Nottingham, only to discover that the legendary Robin Hood was in fact a crook! Fun, exciting, and just a teeny bit sexy, this Terry Pratchett-esque romp is not one to be taken seriously but definitely one to be thoroughly enjoyed. 

We’ve got several more great books in the pipeline, which if I keep my fingers crossed we’ll be able to shout about very soon. It’s shaping up to be an exciting list, and I hope you’ll all support these authors on their journeys, and watch this space for more announcements.

Submissions now open for the 5th Luke Bitmead Writer’s Bursary

Every year, the fantastic Legend Press offer one undiscovered and talented author the opportunity to be published and receive a cash bursary as part of the Luke Bitmead Writer’s Bursary. This is a fantastic opportunity, which I hope all eligible authonomy writers will jump at. 

Luke is the author of the brilliant ‘White Summer’ (the first novel to be published by Legend Press), co-author of ‘Heading South’ and his final novel ‘The Body is a Temple’ will be published posthumously on 1st June 2012. Information about Luke can be found at www.lukebitmead.com.  

This award was set up shortly after Luke’s death in 2006 by his family to support and encourage the work of fledgling novel writers. The bursary is now the UK’s biggest award for unpublished authors. We are pleased announce that this brilliant bursary is going ahead for a fifth year, and will hopefully follow in the success of previous years, whose winners include Andrew Blackman (‘On the Holloway Road’, published February 2009), Ruth Dugdall (‘The Woman Before Me’, August 2010), Sophie Duffy (‘The Generation Game’, August 2011) and J.R. Crook (‘Sleeping Patterns’, July 2012). 

And now for the nitty-gritty:

-          Unfortunately, only adult fiction is eligible.

-          Author must be a UK resident and a first-time author

-          Novels must be complete before entry

To enter, you must submit the following:

-          The first 3-4 chapters of your novel

-          A detailed synopsis (maximum 1 page) – this should include your novel’s word count

-          A personal statement outlining why you would particularly benefit from the bursary

Submissions should be sent to: bitmeadbursary@legendpress.co.uk

Submissions will be accepted from today until 3^rd August 2012.

Further details can be found at www.legendpress.co.uk

Go forth authonomites.

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One to Watch Wednesday

Since it’s been raining since forever, I have been trying to make the most of the indoors, by sitting in the dry – largely in my pyjamas – and read-read-reading.

One of my favourite discoveries has been J.L.Fontaine’s novel, ‘Stonebird’.

‘Stonebird’ tells the story of Simon Valentine, a young man living with psychiatric issues, including a severe case of obsessive compulsive disorder. Simon lives in a half-way house of sorts: he lives alone; shops at his local corner shop; meets with his social worker, the mysterious Peter Andrews; and observes his neighbours – who he calls the ‘flotsam and jetsam of live’ – with remarkable astuteness, as they move into and out of the ‘home’.

There is a lot to commend in ‘Stonebird’, not least its title, which is derived from the mental state Simon has learnt to adopt in moments of panic, and which I absolutely love. The real charm lies in the narrative voice, though. Childlike and knowing at the same time, it reminds me of modern literary classics like Emma Donahue’s ‘Room’ and Mark Haddon’s ‘Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’. Tenses could do with tidying up in places, but don’t distract from what is at present very readable and intriguing narrative.  

Here’s Fontaine’s pitch  

In moments of stress, psychiatric patient Simon Valentine has learned to become Stonebird, an unmoving, unfeeling statue. 

Simon Valentine started life as a foundling, living in a Home. After a fire in which Simon is injured, he spends the next few years in hospital and a psychiatric unit. Now he is out in the Community and learning to cope, helped by his psychiatric nurse. He battles his obsessive/compulsive behaviour and his claustrophbia, all due to his experiences at the orphanage. In moments of stress he has learned to become Stonebird, an unmoving, unfeeling statue. 

After he sees an angel in the local Shopping Precinct and follows her, his life changes dramatically. In reality she is a forty year old woman called Angela, bringing up two children alone. She befriends him and eventually he becomes a lodger in her house. Difficulties arise, not least the problem of his stormy relationship with Angela's teenage son, his unrequited love for Angela and a small boy who goes missing. 

When Angela falls in love with someone else, Simon feels unable to stay and moves to a small flat where he meets Elvi a fellow survivor. All seems to be going well but one day, trapped in a lift that has broken down, he loses control. This time, Stonebird has deserted him.

Writing, Therapy - Guest blog from Tim Atkinson

‘How to…’ books aren’t supposed to be works of fiction, even if the advice they sometimes give can be hard to believe. And writing manuals don’t often tell a story, even if they tell you how to write one.

I’ve been teaching creative writing in schools and mentoring adults on the threshold of a writing career for years. But when I first tackled the ‘How to write’ genre, I felt compelled to disguise the book as a work of fiction. Writing Therapy was described as ‘ideal for those preparing to write their first full length manuscript’ and ‘an effective 'how to' guide cleverly disguised as a novel’. 

I thought I was being clever. But the book fell between two stools and although modestly successful, was neither wholly embraced as a work of fiction nor as the self-help guide I’d hoped it might be. So for my latest foray into the genre, modestly entitled ‘Creative Writing: The Essential Guide’, I thought I’d better ditch fiction in favour of fact.

The trouble is, writing - like teaching - is something everyone thinks they can do. We’ve all been to school, after all. And even if the stigma attached to writing courses is now in decline (thanks both to the academic rigour of university departments and respectable alumni like Ian MacEwan) the ‘how to write’ manual is still something many people won’t take to the till if there is someone else in the shop. Either that, or they’ll say it’s for a ‘friend’.

One to Watch Wednesday

I don’t read a great deal of comedy. So often, humour is all about the delivery, which is difficult to get right in writing. But I do have a great appreciation for cleverness, and a witty use of language can always put a smile on my face, and this week’s one to watch did just that:  

Planet Janet by V Moody

One to Watch Wednesday

This week’s One to Watch is relatively new to authonomy, but already gaining popularity. I came across it and started to read because, in the wake of ‘The Hunger Games’ (yup, I’m still talking about it), I was looking for something a little different to read, and it very much fitted the bill.

That book was ‘Water’s Child’ by Gareth Naylor

The opening chapter of Gareth's book sets up an interesting dynamic; a futuristic Ethiopia, that is much like we know it now, but with one key difference – it is impinged upon by a highly scientifically advanced society just a few 100 miles away from a deprived and diseased village, Amhara.

The story opens with the birth of Aster. Aster is special, her gestation givers her mother, Lemlem, unexpected health and strength, and she is born with an aura – a glow – that neither her mother, nor the village midwife has ever seen before.

As Aster grows up, she continues to ‘charge’ her mother, who must continue the strenuous regime of a farmer’s wife. But even her mother doesn’t realise her daughter’s full potential. At the age of 6 months, Aster prays for rain for her village…

I think for its concept alone, ‘Water’s Child’ is worth a look. But it’s also a well-written and richly evocative narrative. On the one hand, we have a parched and barren land, whose traditions and faiths have changed little over the centuries, and at its heart, a young family, struggling to survive; on the other, a mysterious group – The Origin – have been meddling in the nature of the world: engineering a child who is unimaginably powerful and could change the fate of her lands.

Sounds pretty interesting, right?