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My blog charts my progress in writing and publishing the Burly and Grum books.
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It may be that the heat that's affecting me but I'm offering ALL of the Burly & Grum books FREE to download from the wonderful Smashwords site until 31 July 2013. So if you're not sure what Burly & Grum is all about - now is your chance to find out free of charge! Your children will love them!
Just click on the links below, type in the coupon code you'll see to the right of the page (SW100) and then download. It could not be easier!
All has been quiet in the Burly and Grum world recently because most of my spare time has been spent scribbling down ideas for new stories - my handbag has at least 3 scrappy, dog-eared notepads in it! Although I've been trying to focus on Burly and Grum my thoughts, for some reason, keep taking me back to stories I wrote some time ago for an older audience which are more along the lines of heroic fantasy adventures (I'm a dab hand at writing a sword fight for some inexplicable reason...) rather than bears and groblins. Wondering why I was going in that direction made me think about how I actually go about writing. When I write Burly and Grum stories I go back in time to when my son was very young. I remember one occasion when he came home from nursery to find a new bear, Jessica, resplendent in a red dress, appear under the stairs. Jessica had made a picnic for his other bears consisting of teddy bear biscuits and teddy bear crisps, crunchy apples, etc. My son sat at the opening to underneath the stairs, joined in the picnic and chatted to the bears. His bears all had very different personalities (it turned out that Jessica was slightly bossy and organised all the other bears) and together they had all kind of adventures - the Teddy Olympics was one I remember well. When I write for young children I take myself back, I remember the look on his face, the ease with which he accepted an imaginary world and I try to capture that. I'm a big kid myself (why else would I have arranged a surprise teddy bear's picnic?!) so I find it easy to step into a child's world and imagine having lots of adventures. So why have I been moving towards an older, more heroic fantasy world? No idea.
At first I tried to fight it and concentrate on Burly and Grum but then gave in and followed my instinct. I've just looked through those dog-eared notepads and the majority of my writing centres around a world of journeys, battling against all odds, striving for answers, sword fights and yes, a bit of romance. So I've decided I'm just going to go with the flow for the time being - I'm going to pull those notes together and see what happens. Now I've made a decision I feel quite relieved because I actually think it will be easier to do Burly and Grum work now I know there's something else going on in that brain of mine that needs to be dealt with! So, watch this space and see what happens - maybe Burly and Grum will go on an heroic fantasy journey?!
I think that summer may finally have made an appearance! It's been a beautiful weekend, lovely and sunny - I've opened wide all the windows in my house to let the breeze through, I'm in my shorts and sitting in the garden and all is well with the world. Can't get much better really. I've been busy on the Burly and Grum front - the vist to Our Lady & St George's School went very well. I've put a few photos below (photographs of students are not allowed to be shown web sites other than the school's, which is fair enough, so the photos below are of children with their heads down writing or drawing away!) I actually ended up speaking to over 180 children. The first group were aged 6/7 and we worked on writing a short story or a poem about animals and the importance of taking care of the environment because it was EcoWeek at the school. I was so impressed by their concentration and the quality of the work they produced was wonderful - I don't think I was able to write as well when I was their age! The second group I spoke to were younger, aged 5/6. We discussed the importance of looking after animals again, I read a piece from Burly & Grum and The Tiger's Tale and then they spent time colouring in some sheets I'd brought along. After lunch (great school lunch by the way!). I went to the Upper School and met with my third and final group of Year 3 students (7/8 year olds) and they created a comic strip story. They worked incredibly hard and produced some excellent work which I know they were all proud of and quite rightly so, the quality was outstanding. Everyone at the school made me feel very welcome, the children were a joy to work with; not only were they polite, they were all so enthusiastic about stories and writing. Thank you everyone and I hope to come back and visit at some point to see how you're all doing!
Yes, Burly and Grum are going to be in the spotlight tomorrow - they're visiting Our Lady & St George's Primary School in Walthamstow and will be meeting over 130 pupils. Yes, over 130 - no wonder they look a bit nervous! Yesterday I was thanking my lucky stars when my order from Vistaprint arrived - just in the nick of time for the visit, but now I'm wondering how I'm going to get everything into my bag! As well as a few copies of the Burly and Grum books I have my companion Grum to take with me, some colouring-in sheets, stickers, etc. My table is positively groaning with goodies! I'll be working with the older pupils on a writing exercise and in addition to everything else I'm also taking along information about two young authors Jennifer Wilson and Olivia Miller because I want to show them that writing is not only fun but that you can be published no matter how old you are. It's Eco Week at Our Lady & St George's Primary School and I'm looking forward to talking the pupils not only about Burly and Grum but also about the importance of looking after the environment and the animals in it. I spoke to my friends at the Born Free Foundation and they have already sent the school details of the 'Global Friends' project which aims to link schools in the developed world with a Born Free supported school in Africa or Asia. Fingers crossed that the teachers and children at Our Lady & St George are interested because Global Friends is a great initiative and well worth being part of. And so now I suppose I'd better stop procrastinating and get on and pack my bag (this is going to be an interesting exercise!). Wish me luck and I'll let you know how it all goes :)
Yes, sometimes life surprises you!
I should perhaps quickly add that, unlike Burly, I've had a few nice surprises this past week but the stunned expression he's wearing is pretty familiar! The first nice surprise was that Emmy, a young Burly & Grum fan, sent me a copy of a picture she'd coloured in which is absolutely gorgeous (see below) - I love the colours she's used. I often give away postcards of Burly & Grum pictures and children love colouring them in. That's one of the beauties of Rob's drawings - children can go wild colouring them in and I'm always suprised at how innovative and imaginative the results are. I'm thinking of doing two things - creating a colouring-in book and also having a gallery on the website of the children's pictures. Watch this space!
A couple of weeks ago I interviewed Mark Miller, children's author and discovered that his daughter, Olivia, is following in his footsteps - she
co-authored 'Sons of The King' with him and now has many more plans....
You must be so proud to see your name next to your father’s on the front cover of ‘Sons of the King’. Can you tell me what the story is about?
Olivia: I am proud. It’s about three brothers who have a life changing turn and go their own separate ways for many years until they meet their destiny. There are thieves, sword fights, haunted forests and aliens. That sounds really exciting!! Can you remember how old you were when you first wanted to help your father with his books?
Not really. I think I was between seven and nine because I remember wanting to help illustrate some of his other books a while ago. My third grade teacher liked my writing in class, so my dad asked me to write a story with him.Can you tell me how you work together? Do you sit down and do some the writing yourself or do you talk to your father and tell him what you’d like put in the story?
A little of both, but I do most of the editing. I have final say on everything after he writes it.Do you have any say in the characters? If so, where do you get your ideas from?
Yes, I named all of the characters and towns. Some of the characters are ones I created for a story I tried to write on my own.Did you help to design the cover of ‘Sons of the King’?Partly. We work together.Olivia and her father working well together!
Do any of your brothers and sisters like to write? And what do your friends think about the fact you’re a published author? Some of them, and at that, not very much. My little brother wrote a story about the video game Minecraft. My older brother started a story, but he is always busy on the computer talking to his friends. My friends think it is pretty cool that I’m an author.Do you help out with Authors in thePark and get to meet other writers? It must be lots of fun!I helped set up tables once and I do meet some of the authors. I get to be in the October show and that will be fun!What kind of books do you like to read and who are your favourite authors?
I love fantasy books! Besides my father, my favourite author is J.K. Rowling.I love JK Rowling too! What is your favourite subject at school?
Reading. Technically, it is my second favourite subject, but art class was cancelled.I can't believe art class has been cancelled and I hope it gets reinstated soon :) You’re obviously very creative – what else are you interested in as well as writing?
Reading and art. I love both a lot.Have you got any plans to write and publish your own books? If you have, can you tell me all about it!
I do. I have an idea for a children’s picture book. It was inspired by some tinfoil statues I made. Tinfoil Girl by Olivia Miller
Well I'm looking forward to reading the book when you've finished it - a story inspired by tinfoil statues has to be exciting! Thank you for letting me answer some questions. It made me feel special.Thank you so much for coming on the Burly & Grum blog Olivia, it has been an absolute pleasure and I know you're going to be a great inspiration to other young writers all over the world! Keep on writing and keep on drawing :)
I am so happy I feel like doing a few backflips - woohoo! Yes, I finally have my laptop back!!! My son asked if he could borrow it for a couple of weeks because he needed to write up his end of year university assignments and I said yes, sure son, no problem. I had no idea how difficult it would be for me - I felt like an addict, roaming around the house, waiting for him to have a coffee break so I could sneak in and have a look at my emails. I've really missed coming home of an evening and sitting down and writing, and my Burly and Grum social networking has all but disappeared! He'd better get good grades after all the agony he's put me through (oh, and a job so he can save up for his own laptop would also be good...) My social networking and writing may have disappeared over the horizon but I've been busy in other ways, I've been editing 'Unlucky Dip' (print version), talking to some lovely teachers who would like me to come along to their schools and work with their students, and I signed up to NetGalley for a month to see if I can build up some reviews for 'Beyond the Forest' - so if you want a free children's book in exchange for a review, just pop along there! It's nearing the end of the day and here I am, a big smug smile on my face feeling as though I'm back on track! Thank goodness for that :)
Today I have a very talented children's author, Mark Miller, as my guest. Mark lives in Florida with his wife Traci and their four children. The books that I've read in his Empyrical Tales fantasy series are extremely well written, have strong, positive characters and to top it all they're very exciting and action packed! He is brimming with energy, ideas and enthusiasm for writing so I was keen to ask him all about his own writing, starting at the very beginning....
What inspired you to begin writing?
I joke that it is genetic. My father refers to himself as an “old newspaper man” and he named me after Mark Twain. I guess it was inevitable. I have been writing, in some form or another, since grade school.I love the fact that your father named you after Mark Twain! He passed on his love of words to you and now you’ve passed on your love of writing to your children because I believe they’ve helped you with your books. What kind of input do they have and will we be seeing any books from them in the future?
My youngest daughter, Olivia, and I co-wrote Sons of the King. It is a sci-fi/fantasy about faith and destiny. She had a lot of creative input; naming characters and places. Some of the dialogue and writing is entirely hers. We shaped the plot together and nothing went to print without her approval.
Empyrical Tales is a wonderful series of 3 books, can you tell us more about them and why you love writing fantasy so much.
The Empyrical Tales are only just beginning. There will be eight books when the story is complete. I originally wrote it for my children and based the characters on them. It has grown so much since then. The basic idea came from what might happen to the fairytales and myths of my childhood after “happily ever after”. Characters and creatures of myths, folklore and fairytales from all cultures and parts of the world have come to live in Empyrean with my own unique twist. As to why I love fantasy, I grew up on it. Star Wars and Narnia are among my favourite stories. In the United States, and probably the world, the early 1980s had to be one of the best times for the fantasy genre and I was at an impressionable age. What has been the most exciting part of being a published author?
I’ve done some special events. Authors in the Park has been about the most fun. Still, the most exciting times are when I get to interact with students. My adult readers are great, but young readers always seem to have a unique point of view. I love being in the classroom and watching kids’ reactions. I know we’d all love to know a bit more about Authors in the Park and how you became involved in it.
Authors in the Park (AIP) came about as a result of meeting two wonderful authors, Janet Beasley and Jean E. Lane. I had the honour of becoming an executive member of JLB Creatives (www.JLBCreatives.com) and things exploded from there. We wanted to do something different than a typical library show or one-author signing. AIP is intended to showcase a variety of local and independent authors. Janet, Jean and I present our books at the shows, but we try to take a backseat to the other great authors in attendance. Please like us at www.FB.com/AuthorsInTheParkto see our upcoming events and find links to participating authors. We have four themed events each year: Spring Into Art, Picnic with an Author, Booktoberfest and the Christmas Spectacular. Each event will have anywhere from ten to thirty authors and they are different each time. You never know who might be there next! The next event will be on July 6th at Gilbert Park in Mount Dora, FL from 11AM to 1PM. One of our local churches will be doing a fund raiser selling hot dogs, so guests will literally have the opportunity to sit down and have a “Picnic with an Author”. You also combine a lot of charity work in your work and your life in general. Do your beliefs influence your writing and, if so, how?
Again, it’s about the kids. The charities that I work with are all about helping children. I have four of my own and have been blessed with generally good health. I’m not a millionaire philanthropist, but I try to give back when I can. With the Oneseries (www.FB.com/MarkMillersOne), I donate 100% of my author proceeds and encourage the other authors to do the same. All of them have been great and eager to be a part of it. Yes, my beliefs do influence my writing. I have always tried to have positive role models and good morals on display. It has grown to be a bigger part of my writing in recent years.What do you do to prepare for a writing session?
Prepare? Are we supposed to do that? I usually write when the mood strikes. Sometimes, it is two in the morning, or a typical Saturday afternoon. I have tried to write on a schedule, but that seldom works out as planned. As close as I come to preparation is the research I put into each project. I do outlining and plotting, but the physical act of writing is very spontaneous.Does writing get easier with each project?
Yes and no. I try to challenge myself. I get a little more ambitious and learn new things. Some days, it flows and I surprise myself, like an athlete getting “in the zone”. Other days, it is difficult to stay off Facebook.Is there an author (past or present) that you would really like to meet?
Is there one I wouldn’t want to meet? Every author that I have encountered has a story. I enjoy meeting them and hearing their tales, trying to put myself in their shoes. There are some inspiring authors out there that haven’t quite made it big. I’m pulling for them. Of course, I would like to meet my namesake. I wonder if I could hold my own against his wit? Tolkien would be another. And of course, Stephen King. He came a long way and that journey is inspirational and motivational for an up and coming author.If you could talk to your former self, what advice would you give him?
Funny. I talk to myself a lot anyway. I would probably say things like “Listen to your wife more. Be patient. Have faith.” I wouldn’t say I have ever felt like giving up on writing, but I have had days when I haven’t felt like writing. It is a slow process to build a body of work and get people to recognize your name. Our society is so much about instant gratification that the publishing process can be slow and frustrating. I find a lot of satisfaction in writing when I am doing it to help others, like Authors in the Park.Are you currently working on any other projects?
I am always working on something. The Empyrical Tales Book IV, Small World Global Protection Agency #3, Defective Amish Detective short story series. Working with JLB Creatives, this has been one of my busiest years in terms of author events and book signings since being first published. I have to give a huge amount of credit to my wife Traci. She makes most of what I do possible and she is my muse.
What is the last thing you read? Did you like it, hate it?
I have weakness for zombie stories. I read World War Z and the Pride & Prejudice & Zombies prequel. I found them both entertaining. I am also in the midst of both Janet Beasley’s Hidden Earth Series Volume 1: Mayclyand Jean E. Lane’s Lill and Mewe and the Secrets of Mars. Both are delightful stories and great for kids – lots of inspiration and education. It is a treat to read an author’s book, then be able to turn to them in the seat next to you and ask a question or give a compliment.Those books sound great - I'll have to read them, thanks for the tip! Tell us about your latest novel and your plans for the future!
My newest story is called Promise of Tomorrow. It is a serialized novel. Volume 1: Salvation is available now in eBook. My publisher, Helping Hands Press, has been doing this format for about two years. Recently, Amazon added a category for it. Basically, each month, I write a volume of the story until we get about ten volumes, which is roughly the equivalent of a full novel. I can’t say much about it without giving away the big surprise of Volume 2: Discovery. What I can say is that it is my first stand-alone, serious attempt at Amish fiction. It gives me a chance to reach an entirely new audience and affirm my own beliefs at the same time. On the side, I am editing and revising The Empyrical Tales Book IV: The First Queen. I am also assisting my daughter Olivia with a new project and trying out a few other ideas.Mark - thank you so much for being a guest on the Burly & Grum blog. We all think you're a great inspiration for writers, you're always trying to come up with new ideas and are very encouraging and generous to up and coming authors. We wish you all the best and I'm sure your future in writing will be wonderful!
It's been a very interesting and fulfiling week - so fulfiling I still haven't managed to find the time yet to do the ironing... but who needs crisply ironed clothes anyway? I've had a brilliant week talking to people who love writing, working with children who want to become writers and I've also done a lot of writing - it just can't get much better than that really!
Saturday morning was especially busy as I wanted to be at the Just Imagine Storytelling Centre in Chelmsford soon after 10am to set up for the writing session. Soon all the aspiring authors aged between 6-7 years old arrived and I have to say we had a brilliant time!
I'd photocopied and cut out lots of pictures from the Burly and Grum books. The children looked through them, chose ones they liked, then put them in an order that would tell a story. Once they had their pictures in the right place they glued them into their 'story books' and started to write.
They ended up with a comic-like book. Although the time went by incredibly quickly, there was enough time for me to read them a little bit from 'The Birthday Surprise' and some of them were brave enough to read out the stories they'd written.
I have to say that I was incredibly impressed - the stories were imaginative and very well written, simply brilliant. I had a fantastic time! One of the girls told me she wanted to be a writer when she grew up because writing was so cool - well, you can't argue with that really can you?
On Tuesday I went to the London Book Fair for the day - I knew it would be busy but even so I did feel a bit overwhelmed when I first walked in, for one thing the noise level from people talking was through the roof. The very first stall I stopped to look at was the Writers' Advice Centre - I have a feeling the polite lady I spoke to there may have thought I was a little simple because I could barely put two words together! As I walked around and became more accustomed to the exhibition centre it became easier to absorb what was actually going on and to talk to people. I popped along to a couple of interesting seminars - one on social networking and the other on 21st Century Publishing but there was so much I missed that I would liked to have gone along to. What I hope is that those who led other seminars will put their presentations on the net somewhere so I can find it and read up on what I've missed. And so another week has just flown by. This coming week is going to be a bit quieter I think and I'm just going to sit and write - ah, that does sound nice!
A brief blog today as I've got a busy week ahead of me and I've got quite a lot to prepare. As you can see from the above picture, Grum and I are off to the London Book Fair at Earl's Court on Tuesday. It'll be great fun to meet new people and find out what's happening in children's books. I'll be wearing my most comfortable shoes because it's a massive venue and over 1500 exhibitors will be there! That'll keep me busy and out of mischief for the day! Yesterday the print proof of The Tiger's Tale arrived and I was really pleased with the way it turned out (I was a little concerned because it's only a short story) so after reading through it I've approved it and hopefully it will be on Amazon by the end of the week. And last but far from least, this coming week I'll be preparing for a storytelling session and writing workshop at Just Imagine Storytelling Centre, Chelmsford. I'll be there on Saturday, 20 April between 10.30am-11.30am and I am so looking foward to it; I've got lots of ideas and want to create some storyboards which I hope will help bring out the children's creativity. Ooh, this week is sure is going to be a good one - bring it on!
It's been a funny old few weeks. All the excitement from the tiger event at St Pancras quickly died down and I've spent a lot of time pondering the future and what the next step for Burly & Grum will be. Having written 3 books and 2 short stories in the Burly & Grum Tales so far I do feel a sense of restlessness, that I need to move on and really push them but the trouble is I'm a bit unsure about what exactly that next step should be. Having lots of thoughts flying around in my head but not quite knowing quite what to do with them means I procrastinated so I didn't have to make a decision. (Procrastinating is the next best thing to napping sometimes, although having said that I get a lot of my best ideas whilst nappping!) My spare time has, therefore, been spent putting 'The Tiger's Tale' into print format (should be available very soon). I also spent quite a bit of time republishing 'Unlucky Dip', my young adult book, for kindle, print and Smashwords. See - keeping busy but not coming to any decision is an art form! Apart from editing and working on my books I also bought a ticket for the London Book Fair. I want to look around, meet people, get some ideas. It'll be exciting and I'm hoping that I will get the input and the spark I need to move on because I do want to see the Burly & Grum books actually in bookshops and not just on Amazon. I also want to see them animated, I want plush toys made, I want them all made into apps and audio books - there's a great big mountain I want to climb and I need to know how to go about getting to the top! Once I'm focussed I'll be fine and Burly and Grum will be boldly going where no bear and groblin have gone before! Well, that's the theory anyway :)
By:
Kate Tenbeth,
on 3/17/2013
Blog:
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As soon as I knew about the Save Wild Tigers organisation and their mission to raise awareness of the plight of the wild tiger, which is near extinction, I wanted to part of it. I knew it would be special and I was absolutely right. When I walked into St Pancras Station yesterday the first thing I saw was a little boy in a tiger costume skipping along between his parents. When I looked around I could see tigers of all shapes and sizes all busily walking this way and that but somehow, even amongst all bustle of a busy station they didn't seem out of place. There was real excitment in the air - people stopped to look at displays like the tiger above (made from recycled items), they chatted to 'tiger helpers' and asked questions, they brought their children along to listen to stories being read, to create artwork, music, even decorate bisuits - it was absolutely brilliant! Pat and I were there to be part of the Tiny Tigers weekend. We had been asked to read The Tiger's Tale at 3.30pm and hopefully sell some print versions of the story in order to raise some money. We made our way to the Reading Jungle - an area right in the middle of St Pancras that had been made comfortable with lots of tiger bean bags so that children could sit and listen to authors and celebrities read stories about tigers. I was lucky enough to arrive in time to hear Virginia McKenna read from Winnie the Pooh - that was a real treat, I felt like a kid myself! I was so, so proud to see 'The Tiger's Tale' booklets on display in the front window of Foyles (yes, there's Grum posing in front of them!)
Pat and I were warmly met by Fiona and Sarah from the Clinton Partnership and Lisa from Foyles bookshop and before we knew it, it was time for us to start the reading! Children settled down on the tiger bean bags, their parents stood behind the barriers - all eyes were on us! I had the job of videoing Pat as he read (good luck with editing that Pat!) and of holding knitted Grum - a very important job. Pat explained to the children a little bit about Burly and Grum and then he was off!
The story was, I think, probably a bit longer than the others that had been read throughout the day but the children were as good as gold and seemed to love it. Pat is a brilliant narrator and made the characters come alive - I loved looking at the children's faces, they were absolutely captured!
After the reading I signed some copies of the print version of The Tiger's Tale (only 200 have been printed so they're real collector's copies!) and gave away some stickers and postcards to the children. It was a fabulous afternoon. Everyone who took part in the organisation of the event must be incredibly proud of what they have acheived, and I have no doubt that Tiger Tracks (which ends on 21 March) has raised awareness of the huge problems tigers are facing to thousands, if not millions, of people. Tigers need man's help or they will disappear forever and who wants to live in a world without tigers? I don't.
Pat and I had a brilliant time yesterday - thank you everyone!
Save the Wild Tiger is a global initiative set up by Simon Clinton in 2010, working alongside 2 of the world’s leading conservation organisations the Born Free Foundation and the EIA. Together they are working globally to provide a unified, focussed and coordinated programme of Tiger conservation initiatives.
If you have children who are bored and you're near St Pancras Station London next weekend then stop by because Tiny Tigers will be taking place and that means there will be lots of activities for children throughout each day - tiger puppet making, biscuit decoration, dance, reading jungle, fancy dress - it's non-stop fun! Any money raised will go to the Born Free Foundation and the Environmental Investigation Agency and they will try to ensure that tigers are protected for future generations. Who wants a world without tigers? I don't. I want a world where some kind of compromise can be reached between man and tiger and tiger numbers will once again increase. At the moment Burly & Grum and The Tiger's Tale is for sale at Foyles St Pancras and any money raised will go to the Save Wild Tigers fund. Look - there it is at the top of the display! Only 200 of these were printed, so get yourself a copy while you can!Burly & Grum and The Tiger's Tale is also available as an ebook and is only .99p/$1.49 and, once again, any profits will go to Save Wild Tigers fund. Go on, download one - you and your children will love it! :)
Pat Scullion and I will be at St Pancras Station on Saturday, 16 March and Pat will be reading The Tiger's Tale at 3.30pm at Foyles - please come and join us, it'll be a lot of fun!
As well as Amazon, I use Smashwords as a distributor for the Burly & Grum books. Smashwords is taking part in 'Read an E-Book Week', which is the world's largest global celebration of the e-book, and invited its authors to offer their books at special deals if they wanted to. I decided I'd love to take part, so you'll find the Burly & Grum books on special offer via this link. They're only on offer until 9 March so hurry! If you do download the stories and like them (even if you don't like them!), then it would be brilliant if could leave a review. Thank you and enjoy!
I've been very quiet for the last couple of weeks. There's been no singing in the kitchen, no impromptu dancing or indeed, anything spontaneous or frivolous. The world has been a fuzzy and dull place. Why? Because after managing to avoid a virus all winter, a particularly nasty little one finally caught up with me and brought me crashing to the ground. Darn it. Darn all viruses. Darn all those people who told me 'Oh I had that - I just worked through it' and made me feel even worse. There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel and today I laughed out loud for the first time since I can't remember when. I'm beginning to get a semblance of my old voice back and even though I can't sing along to the radio at the moment (as I sound like a squeaky Barry White) I can imagine it. A breakthrough indeed!
It's been somewhat frustrating period of time because there's been a lot to do and I've just been nibbling at the edges. Luckily, I'd published 'The Tiger's Tale' as an ebook on Amazon and Smashwords just before I fell ill, but I feel as though I haven't done everything I perhaps should have done to promote 'The Tiger's Tale'. Ah well, there is a silver lining - even though I haven't been up to scratch, the story has had an incredible amount of support from Burly & Grum fans - it's already had a lot of great reviews and all of them 5*. A big thank you to each and every one of you who took the time to leave a review, it really does make a huge difference. Somehow, the 'The Tiger's Tale' booklet managed to get printed and should now be for sale in Foyles bookshop, St Pancras International. Only 200 were printed so, if possible, you should go grab one while you can - you never know, they could well be an investment for the future (she says optimistically!). The event Tiger Tracks is being launched tonight, Friday 1 March at St Pancras International and will run for three weeks - all money raised will go towards 'Save Wild Tigers', something I believe passionately in.
So it looks as though I have a busy time ahead of me and I have to say that I'm looking forward to getting out and about, dancing around the kitchen and generally feeling as if I have a tiger in my tank once more - bring it on!
“I loved reading Burly & Grum and The Tiger’s Tale. It was sweet and funny and meaningful at the same time, and the pictures were enchanting. I’m sure any animal loving youngster out there will love this funny but very serious tale.”
If you like the story, please could I ask you to leave a review - the higher it gets in the rankings, the more people will see it and the more money the charities will make!
THANK YOU AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE STORY!
Writing books for children means that I often have the opportunity to get to know other authors and one of my favourite children's authors is Alan S Blood. I'm pleased today to be able to welcome Alan to the Burly & Grum blog to tell you a bit more about him and also his writing. His book 'Once Upon a Castle' caught my eye some months ago and I have to say that as soon as I started reading I couldn't put it down - it's an excellent read for both adults and children.
The inspiration for the story came about when Alan's car broke down in Northumberland and he found himself gazing down at the white beaches below Bamburgh Castle. 'Vikings landed here' he thought to himself and imagined a longship landing with Viking warriors jumping out and storming inland. The seed of a story was born in that moment. 'Once Upon a Castle' is set in the Second World War when twins Tom and Mary are evacuated to wild Northumbria to live with their Aunt Victoria and Uncle Leslie. They are drawn into bizarre supernatural events of a time-warp between the war itself and ancient warfare. They encounter dark forces, as the story twists and turns, and are even rescued by the Royal Navy. It's an excellent read, well written, imaginative and full of adventure. Alan has also written a novel (for adults) 'Cry of the Machi- A Suffolk Murder Mystery' which incoporates Morris Men with a supernatural link to a Patagonian 'Machi' of the Mapuche Indians. He travelled a great deal in order to do the necessary research for this book and amongst his hobbies is morris dancing so he was able to draw on his experience of that. Yes, he is a man of many interests! Alan worked in advertising and the Civil Service before qualifying as a teacher and enjoyed a long and distinguished career in this profession. He then retired to Wales. When I say retired, I don't mean Alan then put his feet up and took it easy - far from it - he writes plays, books and poetry, he travels widely, gives talks about writing and publishing, paints, is interested in wildlife photography and generally gets up all sorts of things! At the moment he is in the middle of writing another book and I have to say I'm looking forward to reading it when it comes out. Additional links for Alan:
Last week was pretty amazing and I have to admit that I'm still on a bit of a high.
You may remember that last week I spoke to you about Jeff Rivera, the author and media personality who contacted me asking if he could interview me. Well, he sent me some questions and my interview is now on his website. He is such a nice guy, very generous and obviously keeps his eyes open for other author's work and tries to help and encourage them. He has written some very funny books that children will love Um ... Mommy, I Think I Flushed My Brother Down The Toilet - I'd definitely recommend you buy them, the books are funny, imaginative and very well written! He's one of the good guys in life for sure. Now, last but by no means least, I have to tell you about my visit to Chancellor Park Primary School in Chelmsford where I spoke to 120 children about writing and the Burly & Grum books. I was a little worried about this event because the age range was quite wide - what a 6 year old finds interesting is very different to what a 10 year old finds interesting, but I really need not have worried, they they were so welcoming and their teachers had worked with them so they were well prepared. I told them a little bit about Burly & Grum and the different characters in the book, I read them the new tiger story which luckily they seemed to love, they asked me some questions and then we held a draw and three pupils each won a Burly & Grum book. That took us to lunch time and I was asked to visit the classrooms because the children all wanted me to autograph the Burly & Grum postcard I'd given to each of them. There just wasn't enough time and I would loved to have spent more time with them because they were so keen to talk about their writing. I'd also liked to have spent more time encouraging them to publish their work like 10 year old Jennifer but maybe next time! They have to be one of the nicest groups of children I've come across - I'd like to give a big thank you to Mrs Manji for inviting me, to the children for being so wonderful and interested in what I had to say. I hope that by next week I will have some pictures to show you. This coming week will be quite quiet by comparison! I'll be finishing off the tiger story for the event Tiger Tracks at St Pancras Station and I'll also preparing for my very first blog tour. I'll tell you more about that next time. Just as I'm finishing this blog, my cats Puzzle and Bud have come in, both of them wet, both wanting some attention. They tend to wander all over my laptop if I'm not quick enough so I'm going to feed them and take their minds and muddy paws away from here! Goodbye everyone - have a wonderful week!
I can now tell you a little more about the tiger event I'll be involved in. The Born Free Foundation is working with the Clinton Partnership and Save Wild Tigers to help raise money and also awarness of the plight of wild tigers. Tiger Tracks will be the world's biggest tiger event and is being held at St Pancras Station, London between 1st-21st March this year. There will be a wide variety of events taking place throughout the three weeks and I am very proud to be part of it. I'm writing a Burly & Grum tiger story specifically for the event and will be reading to children at 11.30am on Saturday, 16 March at Foyles, St Pancras Station. Pat Scullion will be with me to help out, not only with the reading but with some art sessions. We both hope that as well as having fun we can explain to children and adults the importance of trying to save tigers from extinction - there are only approximately 3,500 left in this world and we need to help them before it's too late. Another important thing that's happened is that I've been contacted by a writer called Jeff Rivera who asked if he can interview me. Being British and therefore sometimes being somewhat cautious I replied - really? Me? You mean me? He's interviewed Hugh Hefner, Stan Lee, Jackie Collins, Jamie Raab, Fergie, Enrique Iglesias, Avril Lavigne, Macy Gray, Joel Schumacher, James Patterson, Janet Evanovich, Jeff Kinney, Harlan Coben as well as 200 others so maybe you can understand my confusion! He's yet to reply back to my message - he probably thinks I'm a brick short of a load!! Reading through his site and also having read his book for children Um...Mommy, I Think I Flushed My Brother Down The Toilet he seems like a great person with a wonderful sense of humour so here's hoping it all works out! Right, I'm just off to the library now to finish off my tiger story. It was either that or vacuum. No contest - writing won! Have a good week everyone!
This year has got off to a wonderful start and I’ve got lots to tell you, starting with book reviews. Book reviews mean a lot to all authors. For me this is not just because good reviews encourage others to read the Burly & Grum books, but because I’m always pleased and surprised that someone I don’t know has taken time out of their day to specifically write about something I’ve written. Last weekend, however, I received six 5* reviews in just 24 hours! Six! I couldn’t believe it – I did a little dance of sheer happiness! Thank you everyone who has left a review - yes, even Nat who left a 1* review yesterday saying The Secret City was rubbish and he wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
Funnily enough, just last week I had an interesting conversation with another author about reviews - personally I think that people who leave reviews that don’t contain constructive criticism are not worth worrying about – I’m always happy to hear from those who have positive suggestions to make about how the story can be improved but those who simply say the book is no good without any explanation I ignore. Some authors, however, really take bad reviews to heart. I personally won't leave anyone a review if I think it's going to be under 3 stars - I'd rather contact the writer direct and say look, this needs editing, the plot doesn't work, etc. and give feedback that they can work on. Then it's up to them.One thing I do wish, however, is that Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com would find a way to combine reviews – on Amazon.com I have 23 reviews of The Secret City but on Amazon.co.uk I only have 8. All authors have the same problem so I shouldn’t complain but it is something that Amazon could improve. I digress! This week I’ve firmed up a few events - copies of The Birthday Surprise have now been given to the children’s reading group at the Barbican Library in London who will be reviewing it over the next couple of weeks and I’ll be chatting to them on 5th February to see what they think. Children are very honest and I’m looking forward to chatting to them and seeing what they have to say about the book.
On 7th February I’m at two events. In the morning I’m going to Chancellor Park Primary School, Chelmsford and I’ll be talking to 120 children aged between 7-11 about writing. Funnily enough, after my initial reaction of heading for the hills, I’m okay with talking to so many children – it’ll be fun and I want to encourage them to write as much as possible. One of the things I want to highlight is the fact that they can write and publish stories themselves and I thought I’d tell them about Jennifer Wilson who I interviewed last year. Jennifer is now 11 and writes, illustrates and publishes her own stories. Everything is possible in this world and I want to make sure that if there’s a child out there who loves writing they will be able to feel they can go ahead and publish if they want to. That same afternoon I’m going along to a storytelling session at ‘Just Imagine’ storytelling centre in Chelmsford. Just Imagine is a wonderful place, my absolute dream and I’m really looking forward to being there. So, three completely different events in a very short space of time. Another learning curve! The most exciting event though is something connected to the charity that Burly & Grum supports, Born Free. I don’t want to say too much at the moment in case I somehow jinx it but I can tell you that it’s going to be pretty amazing so watch this space!
2012 has been a fabulous year for Burly and Grum. I wanted to show you what they've been up to but in a fun way so I put together a small 'video' - this is my first attempt at doing this so I hope you don't think it's too awful! (I did my best, honest!)
I'm really looking forward to 2013 and everything it brings. I'll be starting off by talking to the children at Chancellor Park Primary School and then chatting to the children's reading group at the Barbican children's library. I want to write lots more Burly and Grum stories and I will, of course, be publishing audio books with the help of Pat Scullion. Thank you everyone for all your support, I wish you a wonderful New Year and, of course, I know that...2013 will be another fabulous year!
By:
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on 12/21/2012
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Christmas is just around the corner and even though all the Burly & Grum Christmas cards have been written and posted there is a tangible feeling of panic in the air as I go through my countless 'things to do' lists. Oh, who am I kidding? I love the run up to Christmas, meeting up with friends, trying to find a gift that absolutely that suits them and all the general mayhem and madness that accompanies this time of year. Christmas? Bring it on! For me personally, it's been incredibly challenging year because as well as writing and trying to promote Burly & Grum I've been working full time and also had to come to terms with the fact my father has Alzheimers - I think I've used up almost all of my holiday time this year in hospital waiting rooms! Burly and Grum would have continued despite the various pressures because for one thing I can't stop writing, but I would never have come this far without the talent and encouragement of my friends. I'd like to give special Christmas wishes, love and hugs to:- Rob Jones, the Burly & Grum artist, a shy and quiet man who is endlessly patient with me and my crazy ideas.
- Pat Scullion, who has done a brilliant job on the audio books despite working on his degree at the same time.
- Stuart Wakefield who has seen me make some outstanding mistakes along the way but has always been there to pick me up and dust me down.
- Lisa Wakefield, Stuart's sister, who is always so encouraging on the Burly & Grum facebook site.
- Richard Farr, the graphic artist who has helped me clean up drawings when need be and design book covers at the drop of a hat - he is simply fantastic.
- The amazing staff from Born Free who have been incredible in their support despite the daily pressures of the work they do (Burly gives his love to Ginny the beautiful Moon Bear by the way!).
- Gemma who has been a wonderful proof reader - thank you Gemma!
- Dawn Colclasure and her daughter Jennifer who write and illustrate their own wonderful books and who, like me, love Dr Who - you can't go wrong with people who love Dr Who!
- Everyone - and I mean everyone - who has read the Burly & Grum stories and said such lovely things about them. I genuinely appreciate the fact that each and every one of you has taken the time in this busy world to either write a review or leave a message on facebook for me. Big hugs to you guys!
- And last but by no means least, I have to give thanks and lots of love to Kitty from GMTA who has been one of my biggest supporters and is an absolute star.
Not one of them has asked anything from me and I count myself incredibly lucky to have such wonderful, talented friends. I owe them a great deal Meanwhile, back to earth - I'm afraid I haven't managed to write the Burly & Grum Christmas special as promised. I'm so sorry, but I'm over half way through the story and you will be able to read it next year - it's worth waiting for, I promise! 2013 promises so much (I'll tell you in my New Year's blog) and I'm looking forward what's ahead because I know it's going to be full of surprises and be very exciting! Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas - I hope enjoy spending time with those you love and that you get lots of pressies!
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on 12/2/2012
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You'll be pleased to learn that Burly's Gallery of bear pictures looks wonderful - what a great mixture of photos I've received - old bears, young bears, Super Bears and even Grum the groblin managed to make a personal appearance! The response has been brilliant - a big thank you to everyone who has sent in a photo! If you want to see them all just go to the Burly & Grum website. You can send me your photos until the end of December - my email address is [email protected]. I'll be updating the website soon for Christmas and Burly's Bear Gallery will be moved to a different page, but don't worry I'll let you know when that happens. But enough of the Bear Gallery for the moment because I've been up to lots! I've now got stickers to give out when I go to read to children -
I've also created a 2013 calendar but really, I'm not sure about how it looks so think I'm going to hold onto that one. My Burly & Grum t-shirt arrived and the print quality was a lot better than I thought it would be, which is great. As you can see from the above picture of Grum, I also roped in additional help and persuaded my sister to knit a small Grum - I couldn't stop laughing when he first arrived but honestly, that was because she managed to capture him so well! With regard to the Burly & Grum books I've been trying to consolidate and get things up to date now that I'm publishing under Magic Toy Books. This isn't easy and at the moment I'm discussing with Kindle Support the problem that although customers can visually see that The Secret City is free on Kindle, when they go to download it Amazon are asking them to pay. True, it's not a huge amount ($1.99) but that's not the point. Sorting this problem out isn't easy. This can be demonstrated by the fact that at first the problem was confined to the US but as soon as I asked Kindle Support for help suddenly the problem was world-wide. Yup, publishing is not easy and takes the patience of a saint! I've also been finding out about audiobook distribution and at this point I'd like to say thanks to Andrew Parker from Open Book Audio who restored my faith in the fact there are helpful people out there who can think a little outside the box. As someone who constantly thinks a little strangely, it's comforting to know I'm not alone! I'm sure we'll be working together in the future and I'm looking forward to it. Tomorrow I'm off to the Barbican Library to talk about doing an author's reading. I've also been asked to visit a couple of schools so things are looking good! But all the visits will have to be for next year as I have no more leave left (darn this having to work for a living!). Over the next few weeks and months I'll be working hard to consolidate, promote and make Burly & Grum as professional as possible because I love them and want to continue writing stories about them for as long as possible. Now I know Unlucky Dip isn't part of the Burly & Grum tales, but I'm going to sneak in a mention. It's picking up great reviews and I'm really happy with how it's doing. Thank you especially to Kate from Read2Review (GMTA UK) who has been brilliant with the promotion and also Masquerade Crew (I received so many retweets from their one tweet I lost count!).
Have a good week everyone!
This is Jessica bear. I adopted Jessica some years ago when she was about to be thrown out and she now sits on a shelf in my bedroom. She's a lovely bear, very smiley and good natured which is just how a bear should be (well, in my mind anyway!) and she was the first bear I thought of to put on Burly's gallery on the Burly & Grum website. So if you have a favourite teddy bear you'd like me to put on the gallery just let me know, either via this blog, or Facebook or write to me at [email protected] and I'll put it on with the other fabulous bears. So far, we have a lovely Snow Bear sent in by Jacqui, a most beautiful picture of Jack fast asleep next to his two cuddly toys, and Ginny the Moon Bear. I'm hoping that soon Burly will have a lot more bear friends! I did a lot of thinking and organising while I was away on holiday in Tunisia and at this point I have to say a big thank you to Stuart for helping me talk through everything - Tunisa was warm, but I think his ears were burning I was talking so much! The main decision I made was to withdraw the Burly & Grum books from my independent publisher, GMTA. This is absolutely no reflection on GMTA whatsoever, I am still firm friends with Kitty and would absolutely recommend working with her - she is a star - and I am keeping my YA book 'Unlucky Dip' with GMTA. My reason for leaving is because I feel more comfortable going along my own path with Burly & Grum at the moment. As simple as that. So here I am, spending my weekend republishing all my books under Magic Toy Books (again, a bit thank you to Stuart). Amazon looks a little messy at the moment because of the different versions but it won't take long to tidy up. In a few weeks I sincerely hope that the books will be in bookshops, and this time thank you to Annaliese at Mauve Square for the pointers! What else am I up to? Well, Burly & Grum's Halloween Adventure is now on Amazon as an ebook and it's still available free on Soundcloud to download. Pat Scullion is working hard to get that first book in audio format and I'm in contact with Audible to find out the best and most professional way to link up ebook/print and audio books on Amazon. I'm hoping to get myself into gear and write another short story in time for Christmas and also put together a colouring book. I've also been invited to read at a school in the New Year and the wonderful children's story center, Just Imagine, have asked me to pop by as well. I'd like to add that if you're ever in Chelmsford you should stop by Just Imagine because it is simply a wonderful, glorious place for children! So, it looks like I'm going to have a busy few weeks ahead of me but I'm really looking forward to it!
I've been on holiday (had a brilliant time) and will be back with the full blog next week to let you know all the momentus decisions I made whilst I was away.
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Hope you feel better soon!
Thank you Jaimie - I'm definitely feeling better as time goes on thanks! :)