YALC's back - Tracy Darnton

YALC's back! 

Last weekend saw the return of the Young Adult Literary Convention after an absence of three years. Set up in 2014 by then Children's Laureate,  Malorie Blackman to celebrate teen and young adult books, and tap into the fandom overlap with London Film and Comic Con attendees, it has an atmosphere all of its own.

Olympia

For those who've never shared a lift with Chewbacca, Wonder Woman and a Dr Who enthusiast, or wondered if they should buy an inflatable Jabba the Hutt outfit or a replica sword, or contemplated joining in with Cosplay, prepare to be surprised. 

YA authors can struggle to get on the bill at children's lit festivals unless they're already incredibly successful so it's great to have a packed festival where the big American and British names in YA appear alongside debuts and mid-list authors on panels,

as well as deliver workshops and have signings with ticketed queues. 

Obviously a welcome marketing opportunity but also a time to socialise and meet up with all your Twitter author friends, and interact with the bloggers and readers who support your books. 

UKYA thriller writers assemble

In the space of five minutes in my signing queue there were readers from Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain.  Publishers have stalls with their latest books, activities and competitions:

and Waterstones sell the books of all the speakers.  

Many of the attendees are writers so there's also a popular Agent Arena running 1-2-1s, sessions on working with editors or how to get into publishing.  Workshops I attended this year included an Escape Room experience with Bryony Pearce; how to write a thriller with Sophie McKenzie; a mindful creative session with Sita Brahmachari and illustrator Natalie Sirett based on their book When Shadows Fall; and my own Release your inner teen with free curly wurlies where I was very grateful to the man with the white beard that I was not the oldest in the room. 

In addition to YALC royalty of Juno Dawson and Holly Bourne, this year had highlights of an in-depth interview of Jacqueline Wilson by Non Pratt, and the mega fandom around Heartstopper and Alice Oseman. It was fabulous to see a UKYA book attracting so much attention. I spoke to fans who queued from 5 am to get their place in her signing queue. 

So, what didn't work so well at this YALC compared to the others I've been part of? 

The usual part of the Olympia conference centre for YALC has been knocked down for redevelopment so we were on the balcony area around the LFCC hall. It was crowded and noisy! For anyone who struggles with constant background noise like me, it was a challenge to hear all participants, especially in workshops. I missed the usual quiet zone of beanbags and people reading their books. YALC used to have its own much quieter entrance - with no queue in the heat so that was much trickier for attendees this time. 

And I missed the merch or previous years, but then I'm a tote bag fanatic. (And yes, inevitably I did come back with Covid). 

So there you have it - the world of YALC. If you're reading YA, writing YA or just want a dose of popular culture, put it in your diary for next year. 

Tracy Darnton is the author of YA thrillers Ready or Not, The Rules and The Truth About Lies. She is having a well-earned lie down. 

Your invitation to a Halloween festival - by Holly Race

The last eighteen months has given us precious little enjoyment: stuck in our homes, worrying about shortages and vaccines. One of the few things that I have treasured is the greater accessibility of events as everything moved online. For anyone outside the London bubble or with access needs, this has always been a problem, and it's a real shame that it's taken a pandemic to force the wider publishing world to address this.

So as we slowly begin to return to 'in-person' events I really hope that we don't lose sight of how inclusive online events can be, and how important it is to retain that if we want to foster a diverse industry. As one of the founders of a growing community of UK and Ireland-based YA authors, we are hoping to help contribute to this, starting with Killer YA Con, which starts today and ends on Halloween.

Organised largely by horror authors Kat Ellis and Amy McCaw and contemporary author Naomi Gibson, Killer YA Con is a week-long festival of panels, readings and giveaways around spooky or Halloween-related YA novels. Do have a look at the schedule and join us, if you'd like to share our love of YA with a bite!

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Holly Race worked for many years as a script editor in film and television, before becoming a writer.

Her YA urban fantasies, Midnight's Twins and A Gathering Midnight, are published by Hot Key Books.

www.hollyrace.com

One trilogy, three plotting techniques - by Holly Race

I'm living across three books at the moment, albeit all ones in the same series. My first novel, Midnight's Twins, has just been published in Spanish as Ciudad de Pesadillas, reminding me of all the things I loved (and all the aspects I wish I could redraft, now I'm a more experienced writer) about the story. My second book, A Gathering Midnight, is due to be published in the UK in two weeks time: advance copies are in the post, my author copies are sitting on my bookshelves, and a brilliant actress is recording the audiobook as I type. And I'm currently in the middle of drafting the third and final book in the trilogy.

Despite the fact that all three books belong to the same overarching story, I went through very different processes in plotting each of them. Midnight's Twins took me almost a decade to plan and plot - I have notebooks filled with world-building and folders of documents plotting what would happen in each scene. Of course, everything changed when my editor came on board. I may as well have started from scratch.

With A Gathering Midnight, which was largely written during the first UK lockdown, I was forced to pants my first draft entirely. When you've only got an hour to write before you have to either do other work or take over childcare, you don't have the luxury of plotting. You certainly don't have the luxury of spending more than a few months writing a first draft. It was something of a culture shock compared to the first novel.

What I did with both books, at different stages in the process, was break out some techniques I learned when I was a theatre director (an age ago!) and from my script editing toolkit. I used these more as troubleshooting methods, to test what I already had in place in my first or second drafts.

Balancing plots and subplots

With any story that has multiple subplots, it can be difficult to make sure that the focus doesn't stray too far from the central plot for long periods of time. I break my story down into 'beats', then colour-code each one to account for a different plot or subplot (investigation, romance, family etc). This makes it far easier to see where the main plot is missing from the story for long periods of time. Conversely, it is also useful to see where certain subplots bunch together and might need to be separated to create a more even sprinkle through the novel.

Peaks and troughs

In any story, we look for the main character/s to undergo a series of 'highs and lows' as they get closer or further away from their goals. If the pacing is right, these highs and lows are sequential and get bigger as the story progresses and the stakes rise. The easiest way I've found to chart this is to plot the main story out on a graph. Sometimes this will throw up the fact that I have two very big highs right at the start of the plot, for example, leaving the story nowhere to go in the final climax, where the biggest high 'should' take place. Breaking the story down in this way makes the task of structural edits feel less overwhelming: I'm not dealing with 100,000 words; I'm dealing with a simple graph.

For my third book, I'm trying to incorporate these methods into what I hope will be a more orderly an
d streamlined plotting process! I've been using Julie Cohen's brilliant Plotting with Post It Notes course to brainstorm my story before I begin writing. Using different coloured post its for each story strand helps me to balance my subplots and main plot, and I have even placed the post its on a 'graph' on my wall in order to make sure I've got the right sequence of highs and lows. So far, I haven't deviated far from my post it plan, stuck to the wall behind me. That's never happened before, although time will tell on whether my editor has other ideas!

UKYA Spotlight: Clare Owen, author of Zed and the Cormorants - Q&A with Holly Race

Clare Owen's debut novel, Zed and the Cormorants, is released on 29th April - just four days' time! It's a gorgeously evocative story set in Cornwall, full of loving but messed up families, ghosts and warm bread rolls. Clare kindly agreed to chat to me about her inspiration, her thoughts about YA as a genre and what she's working on next...

Please also enjoy some of the stunning illustrations by Sally Atkins, which can be seen in the book.

Hi Clare! To start us off, could you tell us a bit about the story of Zed and the Cormorants?

Zed moves from London to Cornwall with her family. Her dad is convinced that a fresh start and a simpler lifestyle will improve their mother’s mental health and stop her sister Amy going off the rails, but Zed is riddled with anxiety about starting a new school and really misses the friends she’s left behind, particularly her best friend for whom she has quite confusing feelings.

Their new home is very isolated and the few neighbours they do have, won’t go near the boathouse down on the river. Then one night during a storm, Zed is attacked by a flock of cormorants and soon after things start to go very wrong for her family and the local community.  She begins to piece together a local story of love, loss and revenge but can she find a way to appease her tormentors? And in the process face her biggest fears?

It’s a book that defies genre - part ghost story, part contemporary drama that delves into some pretty dark issues, and partly an environmental fairytale. What inspired you to bring those different elements together?

I didn’t set out to defy any genres, I just wanted to write a compelling story with a nuanced young woman at the heart of it.  Most of us have to deal with ‘dark issues’ at some time or another and I don’t think Zed is particularly unusual in having a family all struggle in different ways and therefore aren’t always able to give her the support that she needs. The more gothic elements of the story took me a little by surprise if I’m honest, because I’m much more drawn to contemporary dramas in my own reading, but I did grow up reading novels like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights which are full of emotionally wrought characters in isolating circumstances and often have some kind of ‘haunting’ in the background! 

The Cornish landscape is a huge part of the novel: is that part of the country very close to your heart?

Yes, I live in on a river estuary in Cornwall and my daily dog walk is where the story began to take shape. I haven’t always lived here though, and I think growing up in a city allowed me to really appreciate the beauty of the place and understand the value of the ‘headspace’ that living somewhere rural can offer you. That might not be welcome if your head is filled with anxiety, confusion and fear but if – as Zed does - you can find a way to live in harmony with the natural world; to respect it and stop trying to destroy it, I think it can help you find a bit of peace and positivity too. 

Do you have any tips to writers who are unsure about how far you can go in YA when exploring those darker issues?

Well, the first question here is what is YA? Is it an age group or is it a genre?  And even if we go with an age group there is a big difference between a 13-year-old at one end of the teenage spectrum and a 19-year-old at the other!  Generally, I don’t think anything is out of bounds as long as it is dealt with sensitively and its primary purpose is to serve the narrative. If it’s just there to shock for its own sake, then I’m less interested.  And if there is even a whiff of you trying to work through your own demons, then write by all means – I’m a huge believer in writing as therapy – but maybe it’s better, for the time being, to keep that separate from your fiction.

What are you working on at the moment? Will we be seeing Zed again?

Last year I wrote lots of short stories and I’m actually working on a novel for adults at the moment, mostly from the point of view of an eighty-year-old man, so there’s not a hint of teenage angst! As for a follow up to this book, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about Suki, why she left Cornwall and what coming home might mean for her, Denzil and Tamsin. Zed would definitely have a part to play in that story.

I would love to read more about Suki! She's such a great character.

What are you reading at the moment? Any recent recommendations?

I think everyone should read Liz Kessler’s When the World Was Ours which came out last year. It doesn’t at any point shy away from the horror of what went on at the hands of the Nazis but the compassion and friendship at the heart of the book is such a strong force, it balances out the brutality and loss.  And it’s so relevant to young people today: the rise of extreme right-wing views and refugees needing a safe haven are very much contemporary issues playing out all over the world. I haven’t cried like that for ages, but they were tears of joy, not despair.

Duly added to my TBR list! Finally, which actors would you love to play Zed, Amy and Mum and Dad in a screen adaptation of the book?

I actually think it lends itself to a stylised animation – along the lines of Studio Ghibli (especially since cormorants are very familiar birds in Japanese culture and mythology) but if I had to cast a film I’d have Tom Hollander for Dad, Gina McKee as Mum and maybe someone like Brooke Norbury for Zed and Raffiella Chapman - with a super straight blue/black wig - for Amy.

You're so right, an animated adaptation would be perfect! Clare, thank you so much. Very best of luck for the launch of Zed and the Cormorants. You can find out more about Clare here and order Zed here.

Holly worked for many years as a script editor in film and television, before becoming a writer.

Her debut novel, Midnight's Twins, is published by Hot Key Books. Its sequel, A Gathering Midnight, will be released in June 2021. She also selectively undertakes freelance script editing and story consultant work.

www.hollyrace.com

www.patreon.com/hollyracewriting

UKYA Spotlight: Bex Hogan, author of Viper, Venom and Vulture - Q&A with Holly Race

Bex Hogan is the author of the rip-roaring, heart-pounding The Isles of Storm and Sorrow trilogy. My sole pitch when telling friends to read it is 'lady pirates!' which usually sees them scampering straightaway to the (online) bookshops. In reality, this trilogy is far more than that - it hooks you with a brilliant, bad-ass female pirate heroine, and keeps you with politics, magic, and a world to you'd give your writing arm to swim in (have I made enough sea-based puns yet?)

Bex kindly answered questions about her world-building, her fantasy casting, and what's in store for her and her heroine Marianne. Be warned that there are a few spoilers for Venom and (very lightly) for Vulture.

- Hi Bex! Can you start us off by introducing the world of Viper?

I would love to! The Isles of Storm and Sorrow series is set on the Twelve Isles – six eastern and six western. The two used to be allied, but have long been divided by war. Viper is set primarily in the Eastern Isles, the six without magic, and the six which the Viper ‘defends’. The Viper is the most feared man in all the Isles, supposedly working for the King to protect the people, but in actuality is terrorising the lands, stealing and murdering as he wishes. Marianne is his daughter and his heir, but despite being raised on a ship of assassins, she’s not so keen on killing. She’d rather be a healer, but that would mean standing up to her father, something no one’s done and lived to tell the tale.

 

- Marianne goes on some incredible journeys - both physical and emotional - during the course of the first two books. Can you give us some idea of where she ends up at the end of book two, Venom?

Oh poor Marianne! By the end of Venom she is in a bad, bad place. It’s fair to say she’s made some mistakes – because who doesn’t? – and she’s put her trust in the wrong people. One of the things I like about Marianne is that she really is torn between wanting to do the best for others and putting her own desires first and she doesn’t always get the balance right. During Venom it’s the first time we see her living outside of the very large, oppressive shadow of Captain Adler, and she’s still very much figuring out the kind of woman she wants to be, while having a lot to prove. She’s young and impulsive, often a bit reckless, though her heart is always in the right place. But the events of Venom leave her utterly betrayed and that’s going to have an impact on her.

- Can you give us any hints as to what we can expect from Vulture?

Vulture picks up directly where we left off in Venom, and we’re straight back into the action. I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to say Marianne is alive (it says so in the blurb!) but she’s not doing so well after the events of Venom. And things only go from bad to worse! I describe Viper as quite a piratey book, lots of action on the water, whereas Venom is more land-based, and maybe more political. Vulture is a combination of the two – there are sea battles and land battles, so it’s a good balance to conclude the series.

- You've created a vast world with the Twelve Isles. Did you have any inspiration for the islands, and (this feels like a bit of a silly question, because why wouldn't you want to write about pirates, but...) what made you want to write about pirates?

The whole idea for the series stemmed from a dream I had, a very vivid scene from Viper. So I knew from the beginning that it was set on at least one island. When I started envisaging the world, it made sense for me to draw a huge amount of inspiration both from the Cornish coastlines where I’m from, and the Isles of Scilly which I visited a lot growing up. And if you’re going to have a world with ships and islands, why wouldn’t you make your sailors pirates?! Especially when they’re a particularly cruel lot! 

 

- Well quite, why wouldn't you?! I love that the story came to you in a dream! The magic system that Marianne learns in Venom is beautifully drawn and so grounded in the geography of the Isles - can you talk a bit about how you came up with it?

Ooh, I love this question! So, about seven years ago, we bought our first house and with it, our first garden. I had never been particularly interested in gardening before that, and although I’d always been a lover of nature, it was only when I started getting my hands in the earth that I realised quite how magical it was. How grounding. I take an enormous amount of comfort from the natural world, whether it’s the resilience of plants, the warmth of the soil, or the beam of the moon, and knew that the magic in the Twelve Isles would be entirely based around its own natural world.

 

- That love of the natural world is so evident in Marianne's story. Each book - and the trilogy as a whole - are so intricately planned. Do you have any plotting tips for writers who are currently struggling to map multi-book, epic fantasies?

Firstly, be kind to yourself! These things take time and so be prepared for lots of brainstorming hours, some of which will be productive, others not so much! But no time is ever wasted. Find a way that works for you – for me, I like to make chaotic notes in my trusty notebook, but I know some people prefer a more orderly approach! There really is no right way. And don’t expect it to all happen at once. It’s very much a layering process, I think. Start with the big, essential basic – so for me that was Marianne’s arc. I knew very early on the main beats of all three books, and then built around them, finding the right path to connect them.

- This is your first series - how are you feeling about coming to the end of the trilogy, and what are you doing to distract yourself?!

 

Honestly, I’m trying not to think about it too much! Having two-thirds of your trilogy come out during lockdown is far from ideal, and I haven’t been able to celebrate either Venom or Vulture the way I would have liked. I’ve distracted myself by working on other projects, investing in new characters and their journeys, but honestly, it’s going to be very hard saying goodbye to Marianne and her crew. They’ll always hold a special place in my heart.

- Are you able to tell us a little about what you're working on next?

I’ve been working on a couple of adult projects, one epic fantasy which is going to take me some time to complete, and another one that’s quite a different beast. But there’s a couple of YA fantasies I’m busy with too. Plus something else that’s neither adult or YA! I like to keep myself busy to breaking point!

 

- There's busy and then there's... that. How are you finding the time?! Which may make my next question a bit redundant but... what are you reading at the moment? Any recent recommendations?

I wasn’t going to answer this question at first, because I’ve honestly barely managed to read anything this year. But actually, I think it’s important to admit stuff like this. With everything going on in the world, and finding myself homeschooling along with trying to do my own writing, something had to give. I really struggle with this, because I truly believe reading is essential for writing, but there are only so many hours in the day! So instead of focusing on what I haven’t done, I’m going to look forward and share the things in my TBR pile I’m most excited to get to – The City of Tears by Kate Mosse, The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna, Death and the Maiden by Ariana Franklin and Samantha Norman – and later in the year I’m looking forward to The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani, Monstrous Designs by Kat Dunn, and A Gathering Midnight by you! (Holly Race, be professional, Bex!)

 

- You are too kind, thank you! That's a fantastic list of books to have on one's TBR, no matter when you get around to reading them. Finally, which actors would you want to play Marianne, Bronn and Torin in a screen adaptation of the books?

Two of these are so easy, I don’t even have to think! Zendaya is my dream Marianne, and Colin Morgan my perfect Torin. But when it comes to Bronn? I honestly have spent years trying to head-cast him, and still can’t think of the right person. He’ll have to be a newcomer who can capture that mysterious, tortured soul!

And we'll be swooning over him when he does appear, I'm sure! Thank you so much, Bex, I can't wait for everyone to lose their minds over Vulture, which is published on 8th April 2021. You can find out more about Bex at her website, here.

You can buy Viper here, Venom here and pre-order Vulture here - I'd urge you to get all three because I made the mistake of only getting one and then had to wait a full TWO DAYS for Venom to arrive, which was unacceptable.

Holly worked for many years as a script editor in film and television, before becoming a writer.

Her debut novel, Midnight's Twins, is published by Hot Key Books. Its sequel, A Gathering Midnight, will be released in June 2021. She also selectively undertakes freelance script editing and story consultant work.

www.hollyrace.com

www.patreon.com/hollyracewriting

UKYA Spotlight: The Crooked Mask by Rachel Burge - Q&A with Holly Race

I'm so thrilled to be running a series of Q&As with UKYA authors over the coming months! First up we have Rachel Burge, whose Nordic-set ghost story The Twisted Tree was published in 2018. It follows Martha, who has an unusual ability that's connected to the Norse myths. The sequel, The Crooked Mask has just been released, and Rachel kindly agreed to answer some questions about her brilliantly creepy duology.

Hi Rachel! Can you introduce the world of The Twisted Tree and the start of Martha’s journey for us?

Martha has an unusual gift: she can tell things about people just by touching their clothes, as if their thoughts and emotions have been absorbed into the material. It started the day she fell from the tree in her grandma’s garden in Norway, the day she became blind in one eye. Martha returns to Norway hoping her grandma can explain – but when she gets there, she finds her grandma is dead and a peculiar boy (Stig) is living in her cabin. 

[SPOILER WARNING] 

Martha discovers a disturbing family secret – she is a descendent of Odin and comes from a long line of magical women, and the tree in her grandma’s garden is actually Yggdrasil. Because no one has fulfilled her family’s sacred duty and watered the tree, the trunk has started to rot and the dead have escaped from the underworld. Martha must contend with ghosts as well as a terrifying draugr (walking-corpse) on the loose. 
At least she isn’t alone. Stig proves to be a great ally and Martha is thrilled to discover the attraction is mutual. But then everything changes when she realises he lied to her about his ex-girlfriend, Nina. Stig said she fell from the trapeze at the circus where she worked, but then made a full recovery. But if that’s true, how come Martha can see her ghost? 

I loved The Twisted Tree so much and was so happy to re-join Martha and Stig. Can you talk a bit about where we find Martha at the start of The Crooked Mask?

The sequel starts three weeks later, with Martha arriving at the circus where Nina died. 

Stig left, saying he was going to Oslo and would be back in a few days, but he didn’t return – and he hasn’t been replying to Martha’s calls or texts either. In his absence, Nina has been terrorising the cabin and Martha is afraid her mum’s nerves can’t take it. 

Martha decides to go to the circus where Nina died, thinking there must be a reason why she is haunting her. If she can find out what she wants, maybe she will leave her alone. And if she can find out what happened to Nina, perhaps it will be the missing puzzle piece to Stig.

Martha’s power is so unusual - where did you get the idea for it?

I wanted Martha to have a magical ability and looked to the mythology for inspiration. Odin’s wife Frigg is typically depicted at a spinning wheel where she is said to spin magic, and the Norns ‘weave’ fate in Yggdrasil. The Valkyries, who decide who lives and dies on the battlefield, were said to sit at a huge loom – the weights were severed heads and the threads the entrails of humans, and the pattern they weaved determined which side won. 

Cloth was of huge importance to the Vikings as they needed it for the sails of their ships, and its production was closely associated with magic. Spinning and weaving were considered to be a female undertaking and women would mutter spells as they worked (men who performed magic were mocked for being unmanly in Viking society). 

Some historians believe that while the men were in battle, the women would stay home and perform spells to help them achieve victory. There have been Viking burials sites where weapons have been discovered alongside spinning equipment, which reveals just how important it was to them. 

Having discovered this, I realised that Martha’s gift should be something to do with cloth. I decided that Odin started her family line with a human weaver woman and that their descendents would all have the power to read clothing. I also love that in old English, the female side of your family is called the ‘distaff side’ (the distaff being the long pole that holds the wool while spinning), which is so fitting for a gift passed through the female line. 

This is so interesting - I had no idea that cloth had such symbolic power to the Vikings. Can I ask you a bit about your writing process now? The Twisted Tree has quite a small cast of characters, while The Crooked Mask has a much larger cast. How did you find writing a horror with those different parameters?

I love stories where strangers are thrown together in terrifying circumstances, and found that having just Martha and Stig in the cabin made the first book even more intense. 

In The Crooked Mask, I set out to create a creepy and magical circus where Martha is never quite sure of what’s real or not. The fact that the performers all wear masks (which move and change expression), adds to the sense of confusion. Although the circus is a busy place, I chose to focus on just a few supporting characters. Like The Twisted Tree, the story events take place over about a week, and Martha doesn’t have time to get to know many people.

I made sure the characters she does interact with have a strong back story (there’s not much point being able to tell a person’s secrets if they don’t have any!) and reflect Martha’s own journey in some way. For example, both Ruth and Ulva are struggling with complicated mother/daughter relationships. This allowed Martha to reflect on her own relationship with her mum and the female line of her family, which is so important to her understanding her place in the world. Reflecting aspects of Martha in the supporting characters also helps to make the book feel coherent thematically. 

I wanted to delve much deeper into the myths in the sequel, but I didn’t want a lot of gods running around! For this reason, I decided to give one god a starring role – Loki. I also based the human drama of the story on a single myth, that of the wolf Fenrir. This allowed me to create a ‘play within play,’ which also helps to make the story feel more coherent. 

The world has changed a lot in the few years between the publications of The Twisted Tree and The Crooked Mask - how have you found writing and publishing a book during a pandemic compared to pre-pandemic?

Promoting The Crooked Mask has been a challenge, but I think that’s partly because there’s always more excitement around a debut than a follow-up book. I am sad that bookshops are closed and I won’t get to see The Crooked Mask on the shelves for a while, but I’m also hugely grateful that I had that opportunity with my first book. I really feel for debut authors who are launching at the moment.  

I’ve found writing during the pandemic difficult due to the pressures of home schooling. It’s also frustrating that I can’t visit the location of my next book for research, but I remind myself that I wrote about Norway when I’ve never been there, so it is possible.

What’s your drafting/ writing process? Planner or pantser?

I discovered the story as I went along for The Twisted Tree. For the sequel, I wrote a detailed five-page outline, which I asked my editor to approve before I began writing. I’m still new to being an author, and wanted my publishers to know exactly what they would be getting. This also gave me confidence, as I could write it scene by scene (a bit like painting by numbers) and then look at the whole picture once the first draft was done. 

Are you able to tell us a little about what you’re working on next?

I’m writing another YA dark fantasy/horror – but this time set closer to home and based on a different mythology. 

Finally, which actor would you want to play Loki in a film adaptation of The Crooked Mask (I’m assuming, from one of the references in the book, that it wouldn’t be Tom Hiddleston?!)?

I guess it would have to be someone with red hair, Damian Lewis perhaps? Or Tom Hiddleston in a red wig would be quite ironic!

Thank you so much Rachel. I couldn't put down either of your books once I'd picked them up! If any readers are looking for an edge-of-your-seat ghost story to escape into, I'd highly recommend these fantastic novels. You can find The Twisted Tree here and The Crooked Mask here.

---

Holly worked for many years as a script editor in film and television, before becoming a writer.

Her debut novel, Midnight's Twins, is published by Hot Key Books. Its sequel, A Gathering Midnight, will be released in June 2021. She also selectively undertakes freelance script editing and story consultant work.

www.hollyrace.com

www.patreon.com/hollyracewriting

UK YA Spotlight: Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis and Good Girls Die First by Kathryn Foxfield - Holly Race

I haven't managed to read much over the last few months, as I rather foolishly decided to take part in NaNoWriMo to write book four, at the same time as editing my second novel. But the books I have read have been stunning. Proper, decide-to-let-the-toddler-sleep-in-dangerously-late-so-I-can-finish-this stunning.

The two books in question are both horrors: Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis and Good Girls Die First by Kathryn Foxfield.

HARROW LAKE, Kat Ellis

Lola Nox is the daughter of a celebrated horror filmmaker - she thinks nothing can scare her. But when her father is brutally attacked in their New York apartment, she's swiftly packed off to live with a grandmother she's never met in Harrow Lake, the eerie town where her father's most iconic horror movie was shot.

The locals are weirdly obsessed with the film that put their town on the map - and there are strange disappearances, which the police seem determined to explain away.

And there's someone - or something - stalking Lola's every move.

The more she discovers about the town, the more terrifying it becomes. Because Lola's got secrets of her own. And if she can't find a way out of Harrow Lake, they might just be the death of her...

This is the first of Kat's novels that I've read, but it certainly won't be the last. There's more than a little Stephen King in her writing, but the characters are rich with spikes and hidden trauma. I've seen a lot of people compare Harrow Lake to The Babadook, and that film sprang to my mind too. While the supernatural occurrences in Harrow Lake are creepy enough to keep you up at night, wondering if you, too, can hear Mr Jitters sliding into your room, the psychological roots of the story are equally strong. The ending left me sobbing and giving the air a little victory punch in equal measure.

Buy Harrow Lake on Bookshop.org

GOOD GIRLS DIE FIRST, Kathryn Foxfield

Blackmail lures sixteen-year-old Ava to the derelict carnival on Portgrave Pier. She is one of ten teenagers, all with secrets they intend to protect whatever the cost. When fog and magic swallow the pier, the group find themselves cut off from the real world and from their morals.

As the teenagers turn on each other, Ava will have to face up to the secret that brought her to the pier and decide how far she's willing to go to survive.

As with Harrow Lake, the atmosphere of the setting is one of the stars of this book. But there's more of an Agatha Christie, And Then there Were None vibe to Kathryn's debut novel. Secrets, and the ramifications of holding on to them, is the glue that holds together Ava and the other teenagers who find themselves on Portgrave Pier. Kathryn does an incredible job of making us feel for so many of the characters, despite some of the things they've done or find themselves doing. The momentum of the book swept me up and by the end I was delaying work meetings so that I could find out what happened!

Buy Good Girls Die First on Bookshop.org

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Holly Race worked for many years as a script editor in film and television, before becoming a writer.

Her debut novel, Midnight's Twins, is published by Hot Key Books. She also selectively undertakes freelance script editing and story consultant work.

www.hollyrace.com

www.patreon.com/hollyracewriting

Upcoming YA books to add to your wish list - by Holly Race

2020 has been a tough year for everyone, authors included. Those of us with books out during lockdown suffered from a lack of impulse purchase sales. And those whose publication dates were pushed back to the end of 2020 or the start of 2021 are now going to be vying for coverage with unprecedented numbers of other releases. 3rd September (nicknamed 'Super Thursday') is seeing the release of 600 books - 600!

So I'd like to take this opportunity to highlight a few upcoming young adult books that you may not have heard about but should definitely be adding to your wish lists. All of them are by brilliant UK-based authors, and all are coming out between now and September 2021.

Only on the Weekends by Dean Atta

For fans of Sex Education and Heartstopper.

Fifteen-year-old Mack is a hopeless romantic. He has like Karim for as long as he can remember, and is ecstatic when Karim becomes his boyfriend - it feels like love.

But when Mack's dad gets a job on a film in Scotland, Mack has to move, and soon hediscovers how painful love can be. It's horrible being so far away from Karim, but the worst part is that Karim doesn't make the effort to visit. Love shouldn't be only on the weekends.

Then, when Mack meets actor Finlay on a film set, he experiences something powerful, a feeling like love at first sight. How long until he tells Karim - and when will his old life and new life collide?

A novel written in verse from the author of the incredible The Black Flamingo.

Pre-order here

The World Between Us by Sarah Ann Juckes

For fans of All the Bright Places

Alice may be bed-bound, but that doesn't stop her from Living. Every day, she logs into Stream Cast and becomes part of the world by watching other people Live wonderful and exciting lives.

But when one of the streamers is killed in a cycle accident, Alice is introduced to a new streamer.

Rowan sees beauty in the everyday, allows her to take over his body and really Live for the first time in years. But Rowan too has troubles that mean he's less than comfortable in his own skin.

As Alice and Rowan build a bigger and more beautiful world together, outside forces threaten to bring this new world to an end.

Pre-order here

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

For fans of S.T.A.G.S. and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

Welcome to Niveus Private Academy, where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. Until now. Because anonymous texter, Aces, is bringing two students' dark secrets to light. Talented musician Devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can't escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. Head girl Chiamaka isn't afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power. Someone is out to get them both. Someone who holds all the aces. And they're planning much more than a high-school game...

Pre-order here

A Crown of Talons by Katherine and Elizabeth Corr

The sequel to A Throne of Swans.

A Throne of Swans - an incredible, high fantasy reworking of the Swan Lake story - has been one of my highlights of post-lockdown reading. I won't include the blurb for A Crown of Talons for fear of spoiling the first book, which if you haven't read already, you must! Here's the blurb for A Throne of Swans instead:

When her father dies just before her birthday, seventeen-year-old Aderyn inherits the role of Protector of Atratys, a dominion in a kingdom where nobles are able to transform at will into the bird that represents their family bloodline. Aderyn's ancestral bird is a swan. But she has not transformed for years, not since witnessing the death of her mother - ripped apart by hawks that have supposedly been extinct since the long-ago War of the Raptors.

With the benevolent shelter of her mother and her father now lost, Aderyn is at the mercy of her brutal uncle, the King, and his royal court. Driven by revenge and love, she must venture into the malevolent heart of the Citadel in order to seek the truth about the attack that so nearly destroyed her, to fight for the only home she has ever known and for the land she has vowed to protect.

Order A Throne of Swans here and pre-order A Crown of Talons here

Vulture by Bex Hogan

The final instalment of the Isles of Storm and Sorrow trilogy.

I read Viper - the first in the series - a few weeks ago and am racing through the second book - Venom - now. It's a rip-roaring, heartbreaking story set on the high seas of a fantasy world, with a brilliant, diverse array of characters led by pirate protagonist Marianne.

Here's the blurb for Viper:

Seventeen-year-old Marianne is fated to one day become the Viper, defender of the Twelve Isles.

But the reigning Viper stands in her way. Corrupt and merciless, he prowls the seas in his warship, killing with impunity, leaving only pain and suffering in his wake.

He's the most dangerous man on the ocean . . . and he is Marianne's father.

She was born to protect the islands. But can she fight for them if it means losing her family, her home, the boy she loves - and perhaps even her life?

Order Viper here and pre-order Vulture here