The shortlist for the 2010 Waterstones Children’s Bookprize has been announced!

This is an annual award from the largest high street book store chain in the UK, and is given to a work of children’s literature published during the previous year.

The purpose of the prize is to uncover emerging talent in children’s writing and so is only open to authors who have published three books or less.

Previous winners include, Michelle Harrison and Sally Nicholls

Flyaway by Lucy Christopher	The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh	The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester	Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur	Desperate Measures by Laura Summers
The Seven Sorcerers by Caro King	The Toymaker by Jeremy De Quidt	The Toymaker by Jeremy De Quidt	The Great Hamster Massacre by Katie Davies

Final judging is underway, and the winner will be announced on Wednesday 10th February.

Have you read any of the books on the shortlist? What did you think? Talk about them in the comments!

But in the meantime a giveaway!

For my first giveaway in 2010 I am going to give a book of their choice from the shortlist to one of my readers!

Important: Entry is by the form below only, entries via the comments will not be counted.

• I entry just by entering the giveaway.
• 2 extra entries for following me on twitter** and 2 for tweeting about the giveaway.
• 2 extra for becoming a fan on facebook!** and and 2 for mentioning the giveaway
• 2 extra entries for blogging about the giveaway. (leave me a comment with the link)
• and finally 2 extra entries for subscribing to my feed via RSS or Email.

Giveaway is international. Contest is open until midnight GMT on Sunday 24th January 2010.

** If you already are doing so, be sure to mention it as that still counts!

See: Contest Policy

Have you read any of the books on the shortlist? What did you think? Talk about them in the comments! If you haven’t read any of them, which one would you like to read the most?

Related posts:

1. Guardian Children's Fiction Prize – Longlist Annouced
2. Galaxy British Book Awards – Winners
3. The Young City Announced

Well, when I was given the understandably rare opportunity to interview an author, who was still working even though he is long past this mortal coil, I immediately said yes!

As you can imagine, conducting such an interview is fraught with difficulties, and I can’t thank, Christopher Wiley, Mortimus’ good friend and assistant enough for acting as a go-between, and making everything run as smoothly as possible!

So, Christopher, over to you!

Christopher Wiley here, interviewing my dear deceased friend, Mortimus Clay, for Bart’s Bookshelf. Thanks Bart for providing the thought-provoking questions. The alternative – naturally – are questions that do not provoke thought – and we know you would never be so thoughtless. So here we go!

Mortimus Clay: Hmmm now, where to begin? Partly it came from my first reading of Plato’s Republic under the strict tutelage of my childhood teacher, the Earl of Bustleworth. (Long, painful story. No time, thankfully.) Many things to like in the Republic, and many to recoil from. Particularly distasteful are the inhuman views on the family and childrearing. If you have ever read it you know what I am addressing: mothers blindfolded at birth, fathers unknown because of copulation on rotation, children fresh from the womb thrust into state run orphanages that make no provision for affection and familial contact. Plato saw the family as the primary threat to the integrity of the state, you see. You could say Plato was an inspiration for any attempt to pit progeny against parents. Creepy stuff rife with story line possibilities!

Then I died and met Plato personally and I knew I had to write my little book. The other inspiration for the story was a beatific vision of the end of the story. I cannot tell you anything about that without finding a way to have you join me on this side of the Jordan.

As to the second part of your question – well, it is not done yet – so I cannot say. Easily 3-5 books to tell the tale of the Weirdling. I am nearly done with the second installment and have an outline for the third.

Mortimus Clay: Oh yes! Any author who loves his characters knows he cannot make them do what they’re not inclined to do. One must listen to them and try to persuade without recourse to violence. Plot is just character in action you might say. If you don’t see plot as character working out in circumstances then your plot will be flat, wooden, dull and contrived.

Some characters are stronger than others – their personalities I mean. When they enter the room they tend to set the agenda. If two such characters meet – there are fire works! In the beginning of The Purloined Boy, Trevor is very much the character who responds to what others are doing. By the end of book one we see him beginning to be an agent to be reckoned with. His transformation is really what the book is about. I have heard it said that when you tell a story you should tell it from the point of view of the character with the most to lose. I think that is right.

Mortimus Clay: When Finster Press commissioned Justin Gerard I was very pleased! The way he works with light and shadow reminds me of London in my day. I knew he could capture the mood of my book. Here is a link to his website.

He actually shared some of his initial concept work with me. I admit, at the time I didn’t agree to the direction he wanted to go. He thought a collage of images from the book would work best and I wanted a scene from the book – something like the cover art for book two. But he insisted and I’m glad he did – it turned out wonderfully. Currently he’s working on a set of illustrations of The Hobbit that I think are very good.

Mortimus Clay: Well I did try to get into something by Dickens if you recall but he snubbed me. Oh he’s sorry about it now but when it counted I was persona non-grata.

Having been accused of being a fictional character I have a certain sympathy that your readers may not share. Reading exciting stories is wonderful. Actually being in an exciting story is another matter. I think I should like to be a character that is loved and respected by all and introduces a story then steps out of it only to reenter at the very end when all the fighting is over. I suppose Elrond fits the description. Yes, I should like to be Elrond.

Mortimus Clay: As you note – I am in a unique position. Time is no object. Unfortunately it is for my personal secretary, Christopher Wiley. Once he’s gone I’ll have to find another assistant. Either that or get on with the business of being dead.

Mortimus Clay: Holding a pen. Zombies manage for a while but eventually they go the way of all flesh. Dead of the insubstantial sort such as I find lifting anything – even a pen – beyond our ability.

That is why the internet is such a wonderful development! Why it is practically magical. The postmortem community is most grateful to Al gore for inventing it. Of course many of us suspect that the former Vice President of the American Colonies is actually one of us passing as a living person.

Mortimus Clay: Tutoring wayward knitters was not terribly rewarding I’m sorry to say. The factory girls had no interest in Chaucer. (Byron, if you explained him to them.) All they ever wanted to talk about was men and ale. I aspired to publication but was thwarted at every turn. I’d say two things to living authors. First, don’t quit your day job and second, take heart in the truth that your chances of success go up exponentially after death.

Mortimus Clay: Certainly. Anything written by me.

About the Author

Mortimus Clay is the most prolific author writing posthumously in the world today. Dead since 1885, Professor Clay’s first book was published in 2009.

While alive Mortimus Clay was a dismal failure as an author. Scorned by editors, laughed at by fellow writers, Mortimus spent his life trying to emulate his hero Charles Dickens, but instead ended up living like a character in a Dickens novel.

During the day he served as Professor of Arts and Letters at Her Majesty’s Knitting College for Wayward Girls, but his evenings were spent writing late into the night in his unheated Manchester flat.

After fifty years of teaching Beowulf and The Faerie Queene to unappreciative knitters, Professor Clay died in 1885, half-starved and grasping the shards of a poorly crafted poem entitled, “Ode to a Grecian Fern.”

It was the best thing to ever happen to the old boy at his writing took and immediate turn for the better.

Mortimus Clay has managed to create his own website (and it doesn’t even stink, which is amazing since it was created by a dead guy) and you can check it out HERE.

• Useful Links: Other TLC Tour Dates | Finster Press | Mortimus Clay’s Website
• Purchase From: Amazon

Related posts:

1. Review: The Purloined Boy by Mortimus Clay
2. Review: Clay by David Almond
3. Boy A by Jonathan Trigell

About the Book

Like most young women, Jennifer Scales is slowly coming into her own. But for her, this means reconciling two sides of herself. She’s half weredragon—and able to shift into that form at will But she’s also half beaststalker—the deadly nemesis of all dragonkind. So she’s an odd girl out on both sides of her family.

But now the seemingly endless mutual hatred may finally be overcome. There is hope that diplomacy—not fire and sword—might enable the longtime enemies to coexist. But in both camps, suspicion runs rampant and bad blood boils. Now to secure the peace, Jennifer will be called upon to learn the most ancient skills of dragonkind—if she lives long enough to finish the lessons…

My Thoughts

I’ve read and enjoyed the previous books in the Jennifer Scales series, so I was really looking forward to this the latest instalment.

I was in for a bit of a shock, when I started to read this one though, the previous books have all been from the Jennifer’s point of view, and her sarcastic sense of humour was missing, making this already darker book feel even more so.

In fact, for most of this book Jennifer herself is not present (although it could also be argued she’s present on every page as the events detailed all eventually revolve around her).

Seraph of Sorrow, follows six of the main secondary characters in the years and decades leading up to the present day and the dramatic events that are about to place, events which will change all their worlds forever. We get to know their histories, dealings, and connections that have shaped who and what they are, and we learn more about their involvement in Jennifer’s previous adventures.

We also get to follow from each of the six narrators, the lead-up to a point in the story where the beaststalkers, weredragons and werachnids, meet in a dramatic showdown that not all will survive.

I can see many fans initially hating, such a departure from the previous books. And whilst reading it, I like I suspect many, spent the time reading it, waiting for Jennifer to return.

But, once I had finished the book and had had time to think about it, I realised what a good book it was, this is a sophisticated and complex tale, that treats it’s audience with a great deal of intelligence.

And despite her reduced physical presence in the book, she is there in the background, even decades before she is born, the events are all leading to this one point in time, and right at the centre, the catalyst, is Jennifer Scales.

It does suffer from a slight – unavoidable – repetitiveness as we relive events from other points of view, some of which as I have noted we have seen from Jennifer’s in the previous books. But, the pay-off is that we gain new information each time that drives, each sub-story and the main arc forwards.

It is as I say a much darker world we are in now, and especially with the adult view point, the depictions, events and language reflect that.

The real value in this book I think will come in re-reading the book as part of the complete series, when you haven’t had to wait for the book to come out and the wait again for the next one.

[rating:4/5]

Other Reviews to Consider

• SciFiGuy

Related posts:

1. Review: The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll
2. Review: Blue Noon [Midnighters #3] by Scott Westerfeld
3. The Young City by James Bow

About the Book

Twelve year old Luke Garner, is not like most twelve year olds. He’s never been to school, and whilst for most kids this would be something to celebrate it also means he’s never spent time with friends – or had friends even.

You see, in the years before Luke was born, the government passed a law forbidding couples from having more than two children, and Luke is a third child, one of the shadow children.

Kept secret by their families, they must live in hiding, rarely going outside, or communicating with anyone outside their direct families,  because the penalties should they be discovered by the ‘Population Police’ are too severe to contemplate.

For Luke, living in a remote house surrounded by woods, he has at least been allowed to spend time outside, as long as he says close by the house, and then one day the bulldozers arrive. The government have ordered the building of a bunch of houses, Luke and his family are about to acquire one of the things they least wanted. Neighbours.

Luke, must now stay inside his house at all times, and even then, as the neighbours start to move in, he can not join his family for meals around the table – closing the shutters would cause too many questions – so he must eat his meals sitting on the stairs leading to his attic bedroom.

One day when he is sneaking a look outside, he spots something that should not be there, in one of his neighbours houses he spots a child’s face looking out at him from a window of a house where he knows two children already live, two children he knows have already left for school.

What should he do? Should he try and meet this other child? Could they be friends? What would happen if he risked everything to try?

“It never had occurred to him that knowing another person would give him someone else to worry about.”

My Thoughts

This is one of those books (and authors) I’ve only become aware of via blogging. I think I first heard of Haddix with the release of ‘The Missing’ and a spate of reviews that followed, most of which mentioned part of her back catalogue, and more often that not, her ‘Shadow Children’ sequence. I knew she was an author I had to try.

And whilst the book isn’t quite as complex as I would like (it is aimed at 8-12 year olds, so that in not a major surprise) it can however be read on many levels, so most readers will find something to intrigue them – whether it is Luke’s dilemma, or the back story of just what a totalitarian government is prepared to do, to keep control over their citizens.

An excellent book for younger teens set in a near-future version of our world, but as I said earlier it has many levels is can be read on many levels, so there is plenty for people of all ages to enjoy.

I would love however to have read a slightly ‘older’ version of the book, where some of the issues raised could have been explored in more detail.

[rating:3.5/5]

Other Reviews to Consider

Related posts:

1. Starseeker by Tim Bowler
2. Mouse Guard Autumn 1152 – David Peterson
3. So Much to Tell You by John Marsden

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother’s rock band, until an ominous attack forces them back to her childhood home. To the place where she used to see Faeries. They’re still there.

But Kaye’s not a child anymore. This time she’s dragged into the thick of their dangerous, frightening world. A realm where black horses dwell beneath the sea, desperate to drown you…

Where the sinister Thistlewitch divines dark futures…

And where beautiful faerie knights are driven to perform acts of brutal depravity for the love of their uncaring queens. Once there, Kaye finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms – a struggle that could end in her death…

My Thoughts

Do you believe in faeries? Not the soft, gentle kind, but the sinister, feral kind – the ones that wreak havoc on everything in their path…

The comparisons between this book and Mellissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely are really unavoidable, fairies and teenagers from the seedier en of town, but thankfully they both have their own stories to tell.

Whilst both of them are dark tales, Tithe, had a more morbid feel about it for me, that’s not a bad thing by-the-way, but it did lead to a certain detachment from the story.

There were some really nice things about the book, the faerie lore was intriguing and well developed, the characters were well rounded, and less than perfect and full of flaws, and the depictions of the both the real and fey world were nicely vivid.

And the plot more than matched the rest of the book good points, with lots of twists and turns and page turning action.

All in all, just about everything you could want from a book about faeries, but for me, Wicked Lovely just edges it in my ratings.

But I have notice that people who read Wicked Lovely first tend to prefer that one and vice versa, so it is still well worth the read!

A very strong: [rating:3.5/5]

Other Reviews to Consider

• Betty’s Books
• Mind of a Bibliophile
• Books and Other Thoughts

Buy: Tithe from The Book Depository with FREE WORLDWIDE DELIVERY!

Related posts:

1. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
2. Pendragon #5: Black Water by D.J. Machale | Narrated by William Dufris
3. Review: The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

Rosemary and Peter, welcome to Bart’s Bookshelf, please make yourself comfortable, and don’t worry, you can be as honest as you like, James has promised not to listen too closely to your answers!

Rosemary: Well, my life has changed a lot since you asked that question, with the biggest change being that Peter and I are married! Yes, the marriage certificate has a bit of a hard-to-believe date on it, but we went before a priest, and that’s what matters, in my opinion. We’ve known each other for, what? Six years? He’s been my best friend that whole time. He’s kind, smart, sweet, encouraging. He… um… he makes me feel special. Is that what you’re looking for? I didn’t expect to be psychoanalysed!

Peter: Well… yeah, I didn’t expect to be psychoanalysed either. Rosemary is… Rosemary. She’s smart, kind, brave… I just like being around her; I like that I can help her. If she lets me.
Rosemary: When have I not let you help me?
Peter: Well, there was that time we first entered the Land of Fiction. You hit me rather than let me follow you in.
Rosemary: I hardly knew you back then, Peter!
Peter: I didn’t say you hadn’t grown since.

Peter: I don’t know. I really liked our first apartment.
Rosemary: Peter! It didn’t have electricity or running water!
Peter: Yeah, but it was _ours_. And it was better than some of the student housing we’ve been able to avoid.
Rosemary (grimaces): Point.

Rosemary: (winces)
Peter: The Zeppelin?
Rosemary: Yeah.
Peter: You know, he _did_ come back after.
Rosemary: I know, but…
Peter: Yeah.
Rosemary: You?
Peter (winces): Arial.
Rosemary: Oh, yeah.

Rosemary: What’s normal? Is the fact that we’ve gone to different worlds or gone back in time abnormal? Maybe. But we’re at University, now. We’re together. How do you separate that from the stuff that happened to us before?

Peter: Look, before I met Rosemary, I’d lost my parents. Would I like to change that? Maybe. Yeah, I would. But then I wouldn’t have come to Clarksbury. I wouldn’t have met Rosemary. I wouldn’t want that taken away from me. You got to take the bad with the good. In the end, we’re happy, and that’s what matters.

So Peter, how’s Rosemary’s dancing getting on these days?

Peter: I assume you’re not talking about our ballroom dancing, are you? We take classes; once a week. We started the spring after we came back, when Rosemary’s parents made us get married a second time.
Rosemary: They wanted a ceremony for the family.
Peter: You mean the stepdancing, don’t you? Well…
Rosemary (growls): Peter…
Peter: She’s still pretty good at it. It’s just not something she does publicly, is all. Only in private among friends, after _much_ cajoling. She should take it up, though. She’s very good.
Rosemary: (slaps the back of Peter’s head)
Peter: Ow!

Rosemary: Oh, camping with Peter is an interesting experience. He’s a real trooper — something he reminds me about on an ongoing basis. (sighs) I shouldn’t tease him. If he stopped going camping with me, who else would lure away the mosquitos and black flies?

(Peter and Rosemary look at each other)
Peter: We’ve got to get jobs first.
Rosemary (nods): Establish our careers.
Peter: Still…
Rosemary (nods): Kids would be nice.
Peter: Yeah. (gulps) Just maybe not now.
Rosemary: No. A while from now.
Peter: Yeah. A while.
Rosemary: A little while.
Peter: Little?

Rosemary: If we could avoid going in, I think we would. I mean, why walk into danger like that?
Peter: Yeah. You’re assuming we had a choice.
Rosemary (to Peter): You had a choice. You didn’t have to enter the Land of Fiction.
Peter: No. I didn’t.
Rosemary: Yes, you did.
Peter: Did you have a choice about not rescuing Theo?
Rosemary: That’s different.
Peter: How, exactly?
(silence for a moment)
Rosemary (to interviewer): Anyway. If we could _see_ the gate, I don’t think we’d walk in.
Peter (nods): Yes. Unless we really had to.

(Peter and Rosemary look)
Rosemary: And who are you again?

Erm… Well you see… I’m erm… Oh, is that my phone, really sorry about this, I’m going to have to take the call, if you stop by the desk on the way out, they’ll give you my card, and thanks once again for stopping by!

Intrigued by what Rosemary and Peter had to say in this interview? Want to know more? Want to meet them properly? Then catch up on their adventures!

Buy: The Unwritten Girl from The Book Depository and get FREE Worldwide Delivery!
Buy: Fathom Five from The Book Depository and get FREE Worldwide Delivery!
Buy: The Young City from The Book Depository and get FREE Worldwide Delivery!

Related posts:

1. The Young City by James Bow
2. Fathom Five ~ James Bow
3. The Unwritten Girl – James Bow

Canadian young adult author & blogger, James Bow joins us today to talk about his latest novel, The Young City, and the previous books in his Unwritten Girl Trilogy.

I just reviewed, The Young City, a couple of weeks ago, and you can also check out my thoughts on books 1 & 2 in the series.

In a special treat tomorrow, the stars of The Unwritten Books, Peter and Rosemary will be joining us to answer some questions themselves! I just know you don’t want to miss that!

James Bow: I’m 37, living in the mid-sized city of Kitchener in Ontario, Canada. I’m the father of two beautiful daughters, and the husband of a brilliant poet and writer named Erin. I write. A lot. This includes work on the transportation-themed web site Transit Toronto, freelance journalism articles for a variety of publications, and, so far, three young adult fantasy novels collectively entitled the Unwritten Books series.

My latest novel is entitled "The Young City". It’s the third book in the Unwritten Books series following the adventures of Peter McAllister and Rosemary Watson. This story has the two characters at eighteen. They’re helping Rosemary’s brother Theo move into his basement apartment in downtown Toronto when they fall through a hole in his floor and into an underground river. When they climb out, they discover that they’ve gone back in time to Toronto in 1884. There, they have to pose as a married couple while they struggle to find a way back home, which forces them to confront questions about their relationship and what they want for their future.

James Bow: The Unwritten Books series as a whole was inspired by Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quartet sequence. At the time I started writing "The Unwritten Girl", back in 2001 when it was known as "Rosemary and Time", I had been getting back into reading "A Wrinkle in Time". That’s a classic story about an awkward young woman (Meg) who discovers that she is far more capable than she gives herself credit for when she’s called upon to save her father and her brother from the evil forces snaring the planet Camazotz. I especially liked the chemistry between Meg and the popular but awkward neighbour kid Calvin O’Keefe.

"A Wrinkle in Time" is followed by "A Wind in the Door", which features Meg and Calvin at sixteen. They’ve clearly grown closer in the time between the books, and are really in love, but in denial about it. Again, the chemistry between the two characters really drew me into the story, and I looked forward to seeing where Madeleine took it next. Well, the next book in their sequence happens to be "A Swiftly Tilting Planet", which features Meg and Calvin at 24, married and expecting their first child. It was very frustrating to see that Madeleine had skipped a step. It’s even more frustrating that the next book to be published in the Time Quartet, "Many Waters", while set when Meg and Calvin are 19 and off in college, focuses instead on Meg’s brothers, gives Meg little more than a cameo role, and doesn’t mention Calvin _at all_.

At the time, it was clear that L’Engle wasn’t going to revisit this period, and if I wanted to read a story where a young couple meets at an early age, share adventures, and draw closer together over the course of many books, I’d have to write it myself. And that’s what I did.

So I envisioned a four book series, where the "Swiftly Tilting Planet" story would be _fourth_ (Rosemary and Peter would be 24, married, and expecting their first child). That fourth book ended up getting lopped off, but the third book was always intended to be the book where the two characters confronted their relationship and made their decisions about it.

What made me think of a story which brought the two characters to Toronto and brought them back to time? Well, that had been a storyline I’d been wanting to use for a while. Near where I grew up, in downtown Toronto, there used to be an river called Taddle Creek. It doesn’t exist anymore; its course was bricked up and covered over, turning this natural treasure into a storm sewer. The buried rivers of Toronto have had a number of urban legends grow up around them, including the suggestion that there are these huge caverns beneath the University of Toronto or the provincial legislature. I decided to use this story idea for "The Young City", and just explored to see where it would take me.

A very organic process followed. I learned that the last section of the Taddle was covered over in 1884, and that gave me the date and the rough setting for the story. I researched more about the period, and learned that it wasn’t too long before that that the first female doctors in Canada started practising, overcoming considerable institutionalized sexism in the process. And that made the character of Faith Watson step from the shadows. Originally, she was just an off-screen source of period clothing for Rosemary, but once I learned about this aspect of the period, and saw the parallels between her and Rosemary, she practically leapt from the page and demanded that she be written in.

James Bow: Blogging has been a boon for me. I set up my blog about the same time I started writing "The Unwritten Girl" (2001-2002) because I made a decision at that time that I was going to be a writer. The first advice many writers give prospective writers about how to become a writer is simply "write, write, write." Some writers carry journals with them so they can write something every day, but the blog appealed to me because I’m something of a techno-geek. Even better, as I gathered an audience, that was a further inducement to keep writing.

These days, it can be a bit of a struggle to keep up the blog. Between that, writing "The Night Girl", trying to keep the house clean and taking care of my two kids, I end up skipping days, but I think it’s important to keep it up. It would be a bad habit for me to stop this outlet to my writing. Today, I might be stopping my blog, tomorrow it could be my
novel. So I keep writing.

James Bow: Peter and Rosemary didn’t give me any trouble. But then, I don’t think I tried to stop them from doing what they wanted to do. Peter’s motivation did flesh itself out as I was writing "Fathom Five". I’d always known that he was an orphan and he missed having a family, but I didn’t realize how much until I was well in the writing "Fathom Five" and the character of Arial took form. Previously, Fiona was supposed to be the direct competition the Sirens had against Rosemary, but then I realized that this wasn’t what Peter really wanted. He wanted family, and so he got a little sister.

James Bow: I’d always loved writing. I always loved fantasy and science fiction. I loevd telling stories. I wrote stories from before I was fourteen, starting with Doctor Who fan fiction stories that I submitted to a club fanzine. I would write a lot of fan fiction over the next fifteen years, writing over forty stories and editing three fan fiction magazines. Writing was something I did as a hobby, but I never expected to do it professionally. I tried to route my education along some lucrative professional field. Urban planning interested me, but I found myself unable to find a job in the field for a variety of reasons. My jobs have included admin assistant, database manager and circulation manager. It took me a while to realize that the one common thing I enjoyed about all of my jobs was the fact that I got to _create_ things. And it came to a point when I decided to take the leap, and try to write professionally.

James Bow: I do like the scene at the end of chapter ten of "The Unwritten Girl" where Puck has to sacrifice himself to save Peter and Rosemary. That scene came late in the writing process when I had to nail down the tone of the novel. Back then, I’d unsuccessfully shopped the manuscript to four different publishers, and the advice I was getting was that this was a middle-grade novel in feel, but with teen novel elements. The structure was episodic and the writing young, but the characters were fourteen and there was a love interest between them. As good as the story might have been for the publishers, they didn’t know how to market it. I needed to pick one and stick with it.

By and large, I took the middle-grade route, lowering the ages of Peter and Rosemary from fourteen to twelve and embracing the younger feel of the book. Except for this scene where Puck has to sacrifice himself. In the original draft, he didn’t do that. Essentially killing him off was something that was more the realm of the teen novel, but I realized that this was what the story _needed_, and I embraced that, and it gave the story a stronger moral centre.

James Bow: I loved the cover art for all three books. The Dundurn Group does a fantastic job on these. Their books really jump off the shelves for me. Jennifer Scott designed the covers for "The Unwritten Girl" and "Fathom Five", and Erin Mallory designed the cover for "The Young City", and it really does fit in well. I wrote Jennifer to thank her for her work on the third book, and she said to me, "I didn’t do it, though, Erin did."

James Bow: Faith Watson, I think, is my favourite. She really came out of nowhere and surprised me. Her story anchors "The Young City" and gives Rosemary an obvious parallel to work with. She’s also a lot of fun, with her slightly school-marmish no-nonsense attitude being very in period while at the same time being very modern. I’d like to write a book around her at some point, frankly, though in her case it would probably be more of a pure historical rather than a fantasy.

Arial from "Fathom Five" also stepped off the page. It took me a long time to figure out the nature of the siren threat, and I didn’t realize at first that this quiet little girl that was given to Peter to be his little sister was the key to it all. And when I did figure it out, it gave "Fathom Five" a very bittersweet ending that I’m proud of.

And, of course, Puck was a lot of fun, even if iambic pentameter is a pain to write.

James Bow: Though I had vague ideas for a fourth Rosemary-Peter novel, I’m going to be stepping away from the series, which I think has hit a natural stopping point. I have two manuscripts that I’m working on. My next novel (fingers crossed) is entitled "The Night Girl" and is about a young woman who finds work as a secretary for an employment agency that finds work for goblins and trolls. The book after that is entitled "The Dream King’s Daughter", about a young woman who can see what other people are dreaming just by looking them in the eye. No word on when these will be published. I’m currently rewriting "The Night Girl", but I hope to send it out soon.

Okay, it looks like Peter and Rosemary have arrived, thank you for your time James, and I’m certain they won’t say anything you need worry about…

Don’t forget the stars of The Unwritten Books, Peter and Rosemary will be joining us to answer some questions themselves tomorrow!

If you enjoyed this interview, and don’t want to miss out on any great posts in the future, then then why not subscribe and receive updates via RSS or Email!

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1. The Young City by James Bow
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I have been with the Court all my life, travelling with the King’s Progress.

About the Book

One of the main characters from Deep Secret, Fourteen year old Nick Mallory returns in this semi-sequel.

But the book opens with us meeting a new character, Roddy. A young page with the Kings Progress a neverending journey around the Isles of Blest.

Not long after the old Merlin dies, she and her young friend Grundo, come across a conspiracy, seemingly involving Grundo’s mother and the new Merlin, they must do all they can to uncover the truth.

But, when Roddy’s grandfather summens her for a visit, she has not choice but to go althgough she does insist on being accompanied by her young friend. During their visit they discover Roddy’s grandfather knows more about the situation than he can tell them, and although he does all he can to help, but it will be down to them both to discover all they need to know.

When the time comes to return to the progress, they discover that it has moved on and no one seems to know exactly where it is.

Meanwhile, back on earth, Nick Mallory dreams of once again visiting other worlds, but the only place he appears to be visiting is a literary convention with his father.

While there someone bumps into him and he is thrown into a dreamlike adventure where he meets the powerful wizard Romanov and embarks on a wild journey of his own. Along the way he picks up an charming elephant called Mini (and I challenge you not to love her!), and a malevolent goat named Helga.

As Roddy and Nick’s seemingly separate journeys begin to mesh they must work together in a mission to save the worlds from the upset planned by the conspiracy.

My Thoughts

Like Deep Secret before it, Diana Wynne Jones drops the reader straight into the story and trusts the reader to know what is going on, and I don’t know whether it’s just the better book or that after recently reading Deep Secret I was more familier with the style, and plot, but I enjoyed this one a whole lot more.

I really liked the character of Nick Mallory and his interactions with Roddy when they finally meet were a joy to observe. There is an obvious attraction between the two of them – Nick more outright and honest than Roddy’s denile, and I like the fact that Wynne Jones, doesn’t take the easy route and put them together romantically at the end, and just leaves the prospect there for the reader to decide what happens next.

Saying that I wouldn’t mind another return to the world, just to find out what happens next, both their prospective future  journeys whether seperate of together would be interesting to read about. 

[rating:4/5]

Other Reviews of Consider

• Fyrefly
• Books and Other Thoughts
• Fiddle-de-dee’s Not English

Are you a fan of Young Adult books? Then don’t miss my giveaway, open until next Sunday 7th June!

Related posts:

1. Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones
2. Review: The Young Merlin Trilogy by Jane Yolen
3. The Lost Years of Merlin by T.A. Barron

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia, of The Printed Page.  Head over there if you want to see what everyone else got last week or you want to play along.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Alessandra that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

Bad Bloggers

Is hosted by Chris of Stuff as Dreams are Made on.

The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway: This is were the hidden treat come in! I picked this one in my local Oxfam when I was perusing the second-hand books, it was only when I got it home it appears to be a signed copy!

Blood Brothers (Traces #6): I started reading this series, just over a year ago, set in a distopian near-future version of the UK, they follow sixteen year old forensic investgater Luke Harding, as he investigates crime with his right-hand robot, MALC.

The Savage by David Almond and Illustrated by Dave McKean: The observant among you will know I’ve allready pointed the finger of blame at Nymeth, for this one, in my review from over the weekend.

Tithe by Holy Black: Holly Black’s dark world of Fey, has been sitting on my wishlist, since April last year, thanks to Fyrefly!

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1. The Savage by David Almond – Illustrated by Dave McKean
2. Review: Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
3. Review: Clay by David Almond

The announcement of the winner of the £1,500 prize will be announced on 8 October 2009, following the unveiling of the shortlist in September.

A panel of judges featuring authors Celia Rees, Andy Stanton, and Patrick Ness (the winner of last year’s prize for his novel The Knife of Never Letting Go) will join Guardian children’s book editor, Julia Eccleshare in the unenviable position in having to decide between some fantastic books.

Past winners of the prize, which has been running since 1968 and is the the only children’s award in which authors are judged by their peers, include Philip Pullman, Ted Hughes, Anne Fine and Jacqueline Wilson.

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