My Three Sisters by Sheena Wilkinson

I’ve just seen the new film of Little Women and I loved it. Little Women has always been a special story to me, my granny and my mother. I was always sorry that my own sister never got into it (too soppy, not enough ponies) because it’s such a brilliant study of sisterhood. I think that this particular version really captured that – the fighting, the rivalry, the loyalty. 

It’s also a story of sisterhood in its wider sense, like my new book, Hope against Hope, set in a girls’ hostel in 1921 Belfast. 

the eldest sister 

I haven’t had a book out since 2017’s Star by Star. I adored writing Star, my most successful book overall. It’s sold well, won awards, been nominated for things and included on lists, and gained me invitations to lovely festivals and events. Set in Ireland in winter 1918, Star by Star shouldn't have been an easy book to write:  the end of the Great War, the Spanish Influenza pandemic, the first general election open to (some) women voters, and Home Rule all jostled for position in a story which had to be accessible to young readers. But though the issues were complex they all impacted on each other so much in real life that it was easy to fit them into a story. Best of all, though the novel was stand-alone, I was able to bring back some of my favourite characters from 2015’s Name upon Name, making the novels companions to each other, sisters.  Middle sisters are meant to the awkward ones, but Star by Star was always a joy to me. 

middle sister

I loved Star by Star so much that I really wanted to write a third historical novel, so when my publisher, Little Island, asked for one, I was thrilled. After writing about the Easter Rising of 1916, and the General Election of 1918, 1921 was the obvious choice. There was so much going on, in particular the partition of Ireland. Because of Brexit, the UK border in Ireland has once again come to the forefront of political discourse. I grew up with army and customs check points and closed roads, with so-called ‘bandit country’ and no-go areas, but in recent years I’ve enjoyed being able to cross the border freely, often hardly being aware of it. The threat of losing that freedom terrifies me, and I wanted to write a book which showed people, particularly young women, living with the very early days of that border. The hostel setting allowed me to explore a community of young women, something I've been fascinated by ever since my first time at Malory Towers. 

Hope against Hope is a stand-alone: you don’t need to have read its sisters Name upon Name or Star by Star. But I love it when writers create a world where you meet old friends in a new context and I was delighted to be able to explore the futures of some of my characters. Like its sisters, it’s very much a feminist novel, exploring the impact of political turmoil on young women trying to make better lives for themselves. 

youngest sister 

I can’t pretend Hope against Hope was a straightforward book to write. Some stories reveal themselves easily; others are shy and awkward and take their time. This particular sister fought with me the whole time – and she fought dirty. At times I hated her. Why couldn’t she just do what I wanted? Why couldn’t she be amenable like Star by Star? Why did she need so many drafts, so much cajoling? 

But by the time I had wrestled this naughty little sister into shape, I had grown to love and respect her. Sometimes it’s the awkward sister who turns out to be the most exciting. I love how Hope looks -- I have been so lucky in wonderful designer Niall McCormack who has made all three books so beautiful  -- and now I can’t wait for her to take her place in the world with her older sisters. 

Old Books, New Books by Ruth Hatfield

Before about five years ago, I can’t remember ever buying a new fiction book for myself. I’d buy them as presents for others, but when I wanted a book for myself I always went for second hand – jumble sales, charity shops, the internet when that came along. 

It wasn’t just economy - there’s something thrilling about a book that’s belonged to somebody else, and what you might find in it. Last week, on World Book Day, I opened a book I’d just bought at the Salvation Army charity shop in Cambridge (children’s books 10p, which does make me wince a bit these days, knowing what I do about the state of authors’ finances). This book was inscribed with the name ‘Joanne Rowling’ in childish scrawl. Was it her? Who knows.

But we all know the joys that can fall out of a second hand book: postcards, tickets, receipts, lists – one that really stuck with me was a list of prospective baby names: Chloe, Emily, Sophie, Ngaire (What did they go for in the end?!). I’ve had letters both formal and personal, pressed flowers, cigarette cards and book reviews cut out of newspapers to helpfully inform me about the book I’m about to read.  I tend to dog-ear my books, which I thought was a horrible enough habit until I discovered that some people actually FOLD THE PAGE IN TWO to mark their spot. There are the dedications – some from loving family, some from friends or the authors themselves, and some from people whose relationship to the recipient is mysterious and hint at an entirely new story.

And then of course there are the names of the previous owners. Kids seem much more keen to write their names in books - So many of the children’s books I buy have multiple marks of possession on them. There are attempts at practising signatures, messages to the wider world to get their hands off this book and that old favourite for of address – Name, street name, town, England, Great Britain, United Kingdom, The World, The Galaxy,  The Universe. My favourites are the sibling-offs, where two kids have competed to write their names the most times in the same book. And kids are also really, really good at graffiti.  

If I wasn’t frantically writing this post the evening before I have to post it, I could have spent hours going through my books finding all those brilliant personal marks to post up here. But actually you don’t need to see mine – anyone who’s got a few shelves of second hand books in their home has a whole new layer of stories lurking inside the pages, of the unseen readers who’ve pawed at your precious books before they jumped into your hands.

These days I do buy new books, basically on principle as a mark of respect to their authors and because I listened to somebody talking recently about the fact that a new book costs about the same as three cups of take away coffee, which, when you consider the ratio of money spent to duration of entertainment seems like a pretty good bargain. But second hand books, besides being  a good way to recycle/save your money/support charity, have that other thing going for them – there’s someone else on the journey with you besides the author. There’s mysterious real person number 3, who once read this, too.

Who were they? A book lover, tucking their Pat Smythe cigarette card carefully away inside her autobiography? A book hater, getting as far as page thirty-four then brutally folding the entire page back on itself? That boy with the slanting doodles? Or just a name, who went on to become the most famous children’s author in the world? They’re stories in themselves, those names. But they’re also real people. The sheer magic of books!

Keeping the story warm – Lari Don

Many things get in the way of writing a book. (Over the last few years, I’ve struggled through moving house, teenagers with exam leave, and constant elections and referendums...) But one thing that regularly gets in the way writing a book, for me, is promoting the previous book.

It shouldn’t take me by surprise, but it seems to ambush me every single time.

Whenever I finish a novel, I allow myself to start investigating new ideas, I get excited about one particular idea, I ask deliciously intriguing questions about that story and begin to consider the answers, then just when I’m ready to start writing – boom! Suddenly the previous book - the book I’d already said good bye to – is published and I have to start promoting it. The time and energy required to launch a book means weeks or months when it's hard to find time to settle into writing the next book...

I’m not complaining. I’m really not. I love that I have a publisher, Floris Books, who care enough to host a launch party, and send me to Aberdeen, Newcastle, Wigtown, St Andrews and all sorts of other places to talk about my books. I love meeting librarians, teachers, parents, booksellers and READERS! I love that. But at the same time a small quiet part of me just wants to settle down into a new story.


So, despite the fact that I have been out and about for all of September and most of October telling people about the Spellchasers trilogy, I have been trying to keep the new story warm.

I knew that if I waited until everything calmed down, if I waited until I had perfect writing conditions, I might be waiting around for ever. And I might lose the ‘what if’ and ‘what happens next’ excitement that makes me want to write this new story. So I tried to keep the story momentum going, even if only a little bit a day...

notebooks, on a comfy bed

Therefore, while touring with the Spellchasers trilogy, I have been reading 18th century collections of folklore on trains, scribbling ideas in notebooks while teachers sat kids in front of me in neat lines, asking my characters vital questions in bookshop cafes. And I have been writing actual words in actual sentences in hotel rooms (never easy, with a comfy bed right there, just asking to be snoozed on...)

But I honestly, I didn’t think I was getting anywhere. I thought I was just making a token effort. I felt like I was only writing tiny slivers of story. Half a scene here. Half a scene there. A snippet of dialogue. A thought about the baddie. A hint of a character’s true voice.

I thought I was just trying to keep a foothold in the story’s world, so that when I finally got time to think about it in peace and quiet at home, I might still have a wee bit of momentum.

But last week, I finally got a chance to stand back and look at what I have. To see how (whether!) all the half-scenes and snippets of dialogue fit together. I was delighted to discover that I had written 10 chapters! They need a lot of tidying, but the characters and their problems are there, and I'm now ready to write forward...

So taking the time to promote the previous book hasn’t stopped me writing the next one at all! All I had to do was keep the story warm, and keep my notebooks close by as I travelled...

Lari Don is the award-winning author of more than 20 books for all ages, including fantasy novels for 8 – 12s, picture books, retellings of traditional tales, a teen thriller and novellas for reluctant readers. 

Lari’s website 

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Lari is on Instagram as LariDonWriter

May the circle be unbroken by Sheena Wilkinson

Thirteenth of the month, and I’m at Arvon for the thirteenth time. Spooky! 

I’ve written about Arvon for this blog before, and it’s possible I will again, because it’s such a big part of my writing life. This time, for the fourth time, I’m here (Totleigh Barton) with the group of young writers I run in Belfast. There are fifteen of them, from nine different schools or colleges, ranging in age from 15 -21. They are all committed writers who attend my monthly workshops and this week is the highlight of our writing year together. We’re so grateful that Arvon, through the generosity of the Harvey McGrath Trust, continue to support the group. The young writers are raring to go, just as I was exactly ten years ago when I first went to Arvon as a student.

Totleigh Barton

In 2007 I was unpublished, full of nerves and hope and bad habits (writing habits, not the other kind, for which I haven’t the time or energy.) If I’d known then that ten years later I’d be writing fulltime, bringing young people to Arvon and sometimes tutoring there myself, I’d have been thrilled. I didn’t know; I only hoped, and that first week at Arvon, with Lee Weatherly and Malorie Blackman as tutors, was the first time I dared to hope a bit harder.

I’ve just come back from the Scattered Authors summer retreat at Charney Manor, which, for the third year, I co-organised with that same Lee Weatherly. And Lee herself has twice tutored my young writers here at Totleigh. It all feels very – circular and right. One of the tutors, Louise Wallwein, and mid-week guest Catherine Johnson, are writers I have got to know through Arvon too.

And of course books are part of the circle, not just people. I’m typing this post at the same desk where, just over three years ago, I typed the first chapter of Street Song. I hadn’t intended to: I thought I wasn’t ready to start, but Arvon had other ideas.

started at Arvon!

This time a year ago, here as a student, I was sent my cover for Street Song. You have to walk for some time to get a wee bit of 3G signal, so the picture downloaded very…very…slowly. My heart was in my mouth as I saw the cover unfold – luckily I loved it. Today I have a copy of the book to give to the library here, in recognition of the part Arvon played in the book’s creation.

And today, very, very slowly, the cover for my next novel, Star By Star, downloaded unto my phone. How neat and fitting, especially as it was here last year, daydreaming lazily after finishing the short radio play I was here to write, that the story for that very novel seemed to download itself – much faster than the picture – into my mind. 

A great place to daydream a story into existence

I don’t have anything very pithy to end with. I just feel very much, here in this beautiful place and at this particular time, that the last ten years have given me so much, and Arvon has been a huge part of it. Another writer at Charney last week spoke of the importance of being grateful, and I’m very, very grateful for Arvon.

I have a new notebook with me, labelled New Novel Plans. I can't think of a better place to begin...