Today Alex Keller, author of Haywired, shares a few thoughts with us..

One of the most fun things about writing Haywired was the opportunity to create an entirely new world for me to write about.

When I was young, I loved drawing maps. They weren’t of anywhere I knew, but of entirely made up places. They were islands usually, where any potential explorer would have been only able to walk a few feet or so before they’d come face-to-face with some life-ending peril or other.  I think this may be where I began my interest in fantastical worlds.

As I got older, I tending to veer towards stories that took place in completely new worlds. I loved looking at the maps meticulously drawn in the first pages of whatever book I was reading and trying to work out where the adventurer was going and where they had been. They let my imagination wander outside of the story too, and I could wonder about who or what lived in the dark corners of each world; in their forests, mountains and seas, even when the author hadn’t written about them.

When I finally got round to writing my own story, I had to set it in an entirely new world. I couldn’t resist!

The world of Haywired is not too different from our own. Pallenway, the country where Ludwig and his father live, is very much like England perhaps in the 18th or 19th Century (although I imagine it to be warmer). The world is not as technologically advanced as own (besides the HELOTS of course), but still has ships with engines, trains, and pistols. The world is strange, but also recognisable so anyone who reads it shouldn’t feel too lost.

After I had the world, I had to bring it to life some more. Another part of the fun that can be had with world-building is the history you can create. History is quite important to Haywired; old grudges and family histories especially, and it’s so enjoyable to not only think of the world as it is while the story is being told, but how it came to be that way too. This also helps were creating characters. One thing that caused me to take a long time writing Haywired was the desire to create the entire personal histories for each character, and if my editor let me, I could have quite happily written a book that’s 200,000 words and had of these histories in it!

Anyway, before I ramble on, I’ll leave you with this. For any budding fantasy writer looking for inspiration, I recommend taking a pencil and piece of paper and drawing a world of your very own. Work out what’s in it and why, and who would live there, and you’ll find the stories come flooding out!

Thanks, Alex. Haywired is out in September, and we’ll be bringing you our review of it soon.

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Sarah. She’s been reading Vampire Diaries’ author LJ Smith’s re-released book, out in September.

The Night of the Solstice – LJ Smith

When Claudia Hodges-Bradley meets a fox, she knows it will be an extraordinary day. Not just any fox, this vixen is the magical familiar of the sorceress Morgana Shee. For years, Morgana has guarded the solitary gate between Earth and the Wildworld, a shimmering parallel universe where legends still live. She alone holds the secret of the mirrors that serve as the last surviving passage to enchantment. But Morgana has been betrayed and imprisoned in the Wildworld, and the fox is determined to recruit Claudia and her siblings for the rescue mission. Armed only with courage and determination, Alys, Charles, Jane and Claudia must save Morgana before the winter solstice, when evil sorcerer Cadel Forge plans to escape the Wildworld and conquer Earth. And with December 21st only 2 weeks away, there is no time to lose…

The story focuses on four children Alys, Charles, Janie and Claudia. Despite being brothers and sisters they very rarely spend time with one another. However, the plot brings them closer together and the reader can feel them forming a strong bond. The children must find their way through a secret passage to the Wildworld in order to save Morgana and the whole stillworld from Cadal Forge.

I found the names in this book to be brilliant and so inventive, as was the description of the various locations. The Night of the Solstice is a real page turner at points, I found that I couldn’t really put it down as I was desperate to find out what happened next.

It is a super book and, I think, suitable for children and adults alike - 10/10!

Thanks, Sarah. Thanks to Simon & Schuster Children’s Books for sending us a copy.

Today we have a review from Luke..

Death in the Desert – Jim Eldridge

Another day, another mission. Now a fully-fledged member of covert military squad Delta Unit, Mitch is thrust straight back into the battle zone. And there’s more at stake than ever before.

THE MISSION: smuggle an undercover peace negotiator through war-torn Afghanistan to the secret hideout of a powerful Taliban warlord.

THE SQUAD: elite, Black-Ops soldiers – Mitch, Two Moons, Gaz, Tug, Benny and nelson – codename, Delta Unit.

Six men start out on the mission. How many will come back?

At first glance this is not the type of book I would usually read; however I really enjoyed the story line. We follow the six members of Delta Unit as they embark on an undercover mission in war-torn Afghanistan. They are trying to find a Taliban war-lord Azma Al Haq who wishes to negotiate with the allied forces for a peace treaty. The book follows Delta Unit as they work undercover as drug smugglers, encounter enemy forces, and are even held by English troops on their mission to Kajaki in Afghanistan.

During the book you can easily identify with the six characters and on the last few pages the pictures of the men enable you to visualise them better. The characters are believable and work excellently together as a team to achieve their mission. The book is fast paced and gripping. Certainly after reading this I am more aware of weaponry used and the terrain and conditions of Afghanistan.

The book does stipulate that there are graphic scenes of warfare; however they are in keeping with the story line and relevant. Enjoyed the book and would certainly read other titles from this author.

Thanks, Luke and thanks to Egmont for sending us a copy.

Today we hear from one of our Parent Panel reviewers, Vicky..

Review of The Amazing Adventures of Scary Bones The Skeleton by Ron Dawson

When Sasha and Ben find an old box tied up with a red ribbon, they have no idea of what’s inside. To their great surprise out jumps a skeleton named Scary Bones. Contrary to his name though, there’s nothing scary about this fun filled and friendly set of bones and together the three of them find themselves on some fantastic adventures.

There are three books in the Amazing Adventures of Scary Bones The Skeleton series. Book one, The Lost Dog and Bone introduces the children and Scary Bones. Their new friend is in a bit of a predicament having had a bone stolen by a dog and unable to return home without it. Hunting for the bone reveals another strange occurrence. All the dogs have been stolen. To get back Scary Bones’ missing bone, they must first find who has taken the dogs and get them back.

The second. The Pirates Of  Brownsea Island sees the trio go on a swashbuckling adventure with fellow skeleton, Captain Cross Bones, the most hilarious tongue twisted pirate you could come across. Enemy Pirates have their eye on some hidden treasure, but Captain Cross Bones is determined to get to it first. As Sasha, Ben and Scary Bones get caught up in the battle, they face danger on the high seas and at the end of a plank.

Finally, in The Dinosaurs Of The Jurassic Coast, a day at the beach turns into an adventure when the children and Scary Bones find a doorway in the cliff face to a lost world. Things turn dangerous when they are chased by cave men brothers, Ziggy and Zaggy and some hungry dinosaurs all wanting to eat them. But there’s also a new friend to be found in the shape of super cute and friendly dinosaur Durdle Doorcus.

The Scary Bones series by Ron Dawson is fun from the very first page. Dawson has a naturally funny voice and his words twist and dance in a hugely entertaining and captivating manor. My daughter and I both had a good giggle many times at his fantastic turn of phrase. His characters are original and charming and there’s just the right amount of villainy and drama to excite and thrill. Our favourite was the second book in the series, Captain Cross Bones constant word muddling is hysterical and we both really liked the very sweet ending. At the end of each book is an envelope with a little surprise, which I thought was a lovely touch.

The books are described as being suitable for reading to children from aged 5/6 years old or to be read alone by older readers. My daughter is almost six and a very competent reader, and therefore insists on reading mostly herself.  With quite long passages of text and some complicated wording, she did find reading the books a struggle and it took us a long time to get through them. While the fun and lively language is a joy to read aloud, again the long passages and few illustrations made it a long process (although still enjoyable). I’d definitely recommend these books for children aged 8-10 who enjoy reading themselves. The action packed, humorous and original stories will appeal to both boys and girls and I’m sure the loveable Scary Bones and his fantastic adventures would enchant even a reluctant reader. I’m sure these books will be pulled off the shelves to be fully appreciated again in a couple of years time.

Thanks, Vicky. You can find out more at www.mulberrytreebooks.co.uk, and if you choose to buy them directly from there, the books will come signed and with free P&P. Alternatively, you can buy them from Amazon.

Cambourne Chatterbooks were winners in our May launch giveaways, and bagged themselves a copy of Castle of Shadows, by Ellen Renner. As Ellen’s ‘in residence’ with us this month, the Chatterbooks have put a few questions to her…

Hello Camborne Chatterbooks! Thank you for asking such brilliant questions. I’ve had great fun answering them.

Ellen, why did you decide to change from being a creative artist to being a brilliant writer?

It as a very hard decision. I love drawing and painting. I always wanted to do both and if I wrote picture books perhaps I could have illustrated them. But I write long books for older children and publishers tend not to use illustrations (I think they should use them more). Life is very busy if you have a family to look after, so I had to decide which to focus on and I knew I wanted to tell my stories more than anything else. But I’m not giving up with my drawing and painting. I’m going to put more character illustrations on my website in the autumn and I’m doing a show of  paintings and drawings based on the books in a local gallery next spring. I’ll write about that on my website next year.

What made you want to write your story ‘Castle Of Shadows’?

One day several years ago I was sitting at my computer trying to write another story when a picture popped into my head out of nowhere. It was the king, Charlie’s dad, hanging upside down from scaffolding putting the very last card on his enormous card castle. I knew that I had to write a story about it. But I still don’t know where that image came from.

Are you pleased with the way that the book turned out?

I’m very pleased with Castle. It took a lot of rewriting to get the book the way I wanted it. It went through four major rewrites and at one point I threw away half the book and started again. But I wouldn’t change anything now. And it’s much more satisfying than if it had come out perfectly first time around. I learned a lot during the rewriting process. Working hard on something and making it better is a very good feeling.

Why do you use the phrase ‘in a world of secrets nothing is what it seems’?

My editor, Sarah Lilly at Orchard Books, wrote all the words on the cover, but we did talk it over and we felt that it was a good way of describing the book and making people want to read it. Almost everyone in the book, except for Charlie, has a secret. It really is a shadowy world of secrets and lies.

What inspired you to write about Princess Charlotte and her mother’s life?

Charlie grew into a very real person for me as I was thinking about the book and starting to write it. I wanted her to have fears because no one can be brave if they aren’t afraid. I’m a bit claustrophobic, so I thought it would be good to tie her fear of the dark and claustrophobia to her mother’s disappearance.

As for her mother, I needed Charlie to have a really big problem, something even more fundamental than a wicked housekeeper and mad father, something that was the start of everything. I’ve always been very close to my mother, and I know the thing that would have hurt me most at Charlie’s age would have been losing my mother and not knowing what had happened to her.

What do you think makes us have to read your book? What makes it unputdownable?

There are lots of elements involved in making a story work, but first and foremost I think you need to have a main character that the reader can identify with and care about. The characters need to come first and they determine the shape the story will take and what will happen. If you start with the plot and force your characters to fit it without thinking about who they are and how they would react, it doesn’t work. Plot is important, but you have to stay true to your characters.

The next thing is that you need to give your character a really big problem, something really awful, and grow that problem with every chapter – making it bigger and bigger. That’s what keeps readers turning the pages – to find out if the character is ever going to solve the problem. The classic: what happens next?

Lastly, it’s good to be able to end each chapter with something that makes the reader want to start the next one, a sort of hook into the next scene or cliff-hanger.

Great questions, Chatterbooks! A special thanks to Yasmin, who came up with many of the questions. You’ve heard a bit more from Ellen now, and do remember you can put any more questions or comments to her in our forum or on our Facebook wall this month.

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Luke..

Will Solvit and the Mummy’s Curse – Zed Storm

When Will Solvit is assigned a project on the Egyptians, he didn’t expect to find himself on a real-life trip to Egypt, where he discovers:

One Egyptologist

One cursed tomb

Some very treacherous traps

A temple full of zombie mummies

With the help of a new friend, Will attempts to rescue a long-lost family member while finding the answer to an ancient curse.

Will Solvit needs to complete his project on the Egyptians, and he spends all of his summer holidays on a real life trip to Egypt after using his Morphing Anatomical Dark Energy Device (MORPH) to time travel back to the time of the pharaohs. The MORPH is Wills dad’s greatest invention and can transform into anything he wants it to be. Will needs to use it to find a long lost family member, however it takes him to Egypt where he discovers everything he needs to know for his project work, and gets into some scary escapades. I’ll not say much more as I don’t want to ruin the story!

The great thing about this book is that it is full of fascinating facts on Egyptology and it’s all explained so simply. Even my dad and older brother read through the fact pages! The removable decoder enables you to decode secret messages throughout the book. A great way to learn without actually feeling as though your studying.

Loved the book and would highly recommend.

Thanks, Luke. There are six Will Solvit books out to buy now, with 6 more coming out in September, published by Parragon. They each see Will travelling to different time periods, so to find out more, visit the website here.

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Jessica..

GRK Down Under by Joshua Doder

When Grk sniffs some succulent sausages, he can’t resist following his nose – and ends up on the other side of the world. He’s in Australia, the land of surfing, sharks and the Red Jelly Gang, a ruthless band of crooks who have taken over the Sydney Opera House. Somehow, Tim will have to travel halfway around the planet, rescue his beloved dog and outwit the most wicked villains in the Southern Hemisphere.

This is the first GRK story I have read. I think that’Grk Down Under’ is really good – it has got lots of adventure. GRK is a cheeky dog, always up to mischief. He is really cool. He looks very small but is in the middle of all the action! In this book he finds his way to Australia, leaving his owners back in England. This is a very enjoyable and exciting story. Grk and Tim end up having to outsmart crooks. .My favourite part of the book is when Grk escaped from cuddles kennels. It was a good read from my age group (I’m 8), and I’m now wanting to read more in the series.

Thanks, Jessica and thanks to Andersen Press for sending us a copy.

Today we have a review from Bookbabbler Anna..

Shadow of the Ninja – Andrew Matthews

This is the thrilling sequel to the Samurai tale The Way of the Warrior a story of truth, honour, bravery and love in sixteenth century Japan. Young samurai Jimmu puts his life on the line when he sets out to rescue his master s daughter from a rival warlord. Jimmu cannot save Takeko alone, so when he meets a band of ninja warriors, he is tempted to enlist their help. But samurai live by their code of honour, while ninjas are notorious cold-blooded killers. Will Jimmu join forces with the deadly ninja, and learn to live, and die, their way?

Shadow of the Ninja is a sequel to Matthews’ earlier book – The Way of the Warrior. To be honest I probably wasn’t the most suitable candidate to review this book. I hadn’t read the first book and secondly as an older teenage girl I’m probably not the intended audience. However I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. Shadow of the Ninja can be enjoyed as a standalone and once I got reading I didn’t feel like it was majorly aimed at boys.

The story follows a a young samurai called Jimmu who is risking his own life to resuce his masters daughter, Lady Takeko, from a rival. He cannot do it alone though and so takes on the help of a group of ninja warriors. To begin with I thought it all sounded a little crazy but once I started reading I couldn’t really stop. My favourite character, after the protagonist Jimmu, had to be Ren. A female ninja who joins in on the highly dangerous mission to save Lord Ankan’s beloved daughter. She’s fun and feisty and really shows that girls can be just as forward thinking and good at fighting as boys.

The book is set in Japan in 1575 and I could sense the country through Matthews’ description. Apart from the evident violence though there was much less to suggest the time in which the book was set. It didn’t really matter though as it was the action that I enjoyed most of all. I was always tense as I was never sure if I could trust Jimmu’s companions and if they really could help Jimmu save Takeko from Lord Sabura.

Although it seems from the cover and from the blurb that this is a book for younger teenage boys perhaps, reviewing this book has proven that judgement very wrong. Shadow of the Ninja is a really exciting read and I think girls will enjoy it just as much as boys, I certainly did.

Thanks, Anna and thanks to Usborne Children’s Books for sending us a copy.

Today we hear from David Whitley, author of The Midnight Charter trilogy…

Six Great Supernatural Villains in children’s literature

I’ve been asked so many times which characters are the most fun to write, and villains win every time. Not “bad guys”, and especially not “baddies” – to be a real threat, they deserve their full title. A true villain is fascinating, be they an incomprehensible force of evil, or an ordinary person whose intentions have slowly corrupted. They are the driving force behind every story, and there are so many to choose from! Notice how I’ve had to make the title of this post so specific? If I allowed myself villains from all literature, or drifted into films and television, then this list would be ten times as long. Even as it is, I’ve had to leave a few favourites off. But I decided to concentrate on those I really felt were not merely deliciously villainous and wonderful characters, but were also a little bit unusual. Here, every shade of darkness is revealed. Be prepared…

Jupiter the Cat from The Deptford Mice trilogy by Robin Jarvis

Don’t be fooled. This might be the story of a vicious cat opposed by mice, but Tom and Jerry it aint. Jupiter is the Deptford rats’ god– he consorts with dark forces, uses the flayed skin of one of the mice as a banner, and nearly succeeds in conquering the human world with his black magic. Even death is only a slight inconvenience to this fiendish feline. Jupiter is easily the most brutal of these villains – calling down bloody vengeance on his mouse enemies. Hmmm… actually that is quite like Tom and Jerry. Ah, but Tom never became a sentient blizzard, so Jupiter still has the edge.

Father Hugh MacPhail from The Amber Spyglass

Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials is full of villains – the moral complexity of his characters is one of the main attractions. But for me, in a book full of tyrannical angels and flesh-rending harpies, the worst and most terrifying of the bunch is this priest. He only appears in a couple of scenes, but as the leader of a tyrannical church, it is his job to deal with the problem of the main characters by any means possible. The fact that this involves tearing out his own soul in order to create a world-shaking explosion and murder a twelve-year-old girl doesn’t even give him a moment’s pause. His utter conviction makes him terrifying, but also strangely pathetic. By denying himself any free will, he has made himself less than human.

The Rider from The Dark is Rising quintet by Susan Cooper

A general rule – be careful of characters who have a “The” in their name. Unless it’s the Doctor from Doctor Who, you are probably in trouble. The Rider is a wonderful villain because of his eternal threat – he doesn’t do very much, at least not at first, but as he closes in on the forces of Light, it is clear that the centuries he has had to prepare for this conflict have been put to good use. He always has another helper, is completely inescapable, and if our heroes put a single foot wrong he is waiting, patiently, astride his horse. There is one scene, towards the end of the quintet, when all of the main characters are united for the first time, and see the Rider approaching. Each of them know him by a different name, but all fear him. That’s power.

Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Another series that has so many villains to choose from, I think that Umbridge stands out for one very simple reason – her evil is so petty. In seven books filled with conquest, murder, creatures that feed on souls and all-powerful prophecies, Umbrige’s main concern seems to be imposing her own small-minded views on everyone else, and taking sadistic delight in punishing those who depart from official, government opinions. As the Wizarding world falls under the sway of darkness, she seems to enjoy that job even more. Perhaps, in the end, she is an effective villain because very few of us know anyone set on world domination, but Umbridge’s narrow, unimaginative, banal attitude is all too familiar.

Batu from Skulduggery Pleasant: the Faceless Ones by Derek Landy

I can’t describe this villain very clearly because, if you haven’t read it, I absolutely mustn’t give too much away! Throughout this book, the third in the Skulduggery Pleasant series, the mysterious Batu murders a whole host of sorcerers without detection. I include Batu on this list simply because when his/her/their (can’t tell you!) identity was finally revealed it took my breath away. Perhaps I am easily taken in, but I had suspected practically every other character in the book, apart from this one. And then, in a moment of narrative genius, the very reason why this character was above suspicion proves to be their motivation in becoming a villain in the first place. And if this description sounds confusing… just read the book. You’ll see what I mean.

Jadis, the White Which from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

Cruel, imperious, seductive – Jadis was designed by Lewis to be his own version of Satan, and the White Witch certainly lives up to this. But although the White Witch from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is truly iconic, with her sudden shifts between temptation and rage, I actually find her a more interesting villain in The Magician’s Nephew. In the prequel to the famous story, we discover that her own home world is dead, that every living thing was slain by her simply because she was not allowed to rule it. Impressive she might be, but Jadis reveals the empty heart of villainy – she is incapable of feeling anything for other beings, and so has spent a thousand years alone on an empty world. No wonder, when she saw the fresh new world of Narnia, her thoughts turned to conquest.

Thanks, David! Some fab choices and reasons! To find out more about David, you can visit his website here, and you can buy the first 2 books in The Midnight Charter trilogy in our shop now. To brighten up a Sunday evening, we also have available a signed copy of The Children of the Lost to giveaway to one lucky Bookbabbler. To be entered into the draw, comment on this post, retweet it or Facebook ’like’ it – good luck! We’ll pick a winner Wednesday at 8pm.

Today it’s a book for little ones, with a review from Wendy..

Big Bad Bun – Jeanne Willis

A story book about a bunny telling his parents that he had been very naughty and run away to join a gang so that they would not be annoyed when they read his school report.

The book is mainly written in the style of a letter from the ‘Big Bad Bun’ to his parents telling them of all the naughty things he had got up and is printed as if written. There are illustrations to match it all which match the story telling style very well.

My three year old enjoyed having the story read to him but he did not understand about school reports so did not understand the idea behind the story.

My five year old enjoyed the book and thought the ‘Big Bad Bun’ was very naughty and after I had explained about the bad school report and why he was pretending he had been naughty she understood the story. She was also able to read some of the story and this was helped by the illustrations.

I would suggest that the book would be most appropriate for children that have started school so that they understand about school reports.

Thanks, Wendy and thanks to Andersen Press for sending us a copy.