Portobello Christmas Shopping Crawl

This week Edinburgh switches on its Christmas lights and the fair opens and all that stuff (mulled wine at the German market!), and also Portobello has its own special evening on Thursday 29th November. Lots of the shops on the High Street are open late, there is singing and other fun stuff. Here is a poster by ME to advertise it.

SUZI MOORE IS THE NEXT BIG THING!

So it's Wednesday again and the authors and illustrators who I bothered into answering the questions for The Next Big Thing have been blogging.

Suzi has no blog set up, so is hi-jaking mine for a while so that we can all have a good old nose round her head.

Here are Suzi's answers...

What are the working title of your next book?

Lexiland (junior fiction out Jan 2013)

Chosen (junior fiction 2014)

The Magic in the Night (picture book)

Whoops! (picture book)

Where did the idea come from for the book? 

(We best stick to the JF! Ideas for PBs come from weird places - like on a run up to Yes Tor and I got lost in the mist on the way down and I was like er WHOOPS!)

Lexiland  my grandfather had just died. he was a twin. Mum wasn't sure where to scatter his ashes

Chosen (working title) comes from something my husband once said about being adopted and from something he wrote in his column for the Guardian Weekend Magazine

What genre does your book fall under?

Lexiland  Friendship, idenity and loss

Chosen  Adoption, identity and coping with change.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

 I really can't answer that!

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Lexiland
My sister died on March the first which was really annoying because it was my birthday, well, actually it was our birthday;  Laura was my identical twin

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

MBA Literary Agents

 Simon and Schuster

 Bloomsbury 

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

My first drafts are very very rough!

 Lexiland - 2 months

 Chosen  - 3 months

 What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

 EEK! I have no idea but my German publishers ( Random House) compared it to A Monster Calls  by Patrick Ness but I haven't read that yet so I have no idea what that means.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

 Lexiland - A childhood memory, a childhood friend and the fact that someone said I couldn't.

 Chosen - My husband, Exmoor and the words just needed to come out of my head

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

 Chosen is set in a place and at a house that really exists - it is as magical as it sounds http://www.helpfulholidays.com/property.asp?ref=F63&year=2012

The Next Big Thing

Blogging is something that i am not very good at remembering to do really, but last week I was asked by lovely Lari Don to be one of her authors to pass the blog-baton onto, as part of The Next Big Thing. The idea behind this is to spread the word about as many writers as possible. I have three to pass onto, two of whom are illustrators like me. 

I am primarily an artist, but telling stories visually has taught me a lot about writing and I am now giving it a go myself. 

I couldn't pass up the opportunity here to mention the amazing Vivian French (my adopted Edinburgh Mum) who has not only had hundreds of books published, but also taught me everything I know about working as a visiting illustrator in schools and libraries and book festivals. She is the best. I would've asked her to be one of my authors to pass the questions onto, but I am sure she is far too busy, and has probably been asked by everyone!

So anyway...here are the questions, and my answers.

. What is the working title of your next book?

Basil. It is about a rabbit. And that is all I am saying at the moment. I didn't know what to call him so I googled "good names for rabbits" and that was a suggestion.

. Where did the idea come from for the book?

I have had an idea in my head for a picture book about a rabbit since I graduated from my Illustration masters course in 2007. My brother always wanted a pet rabbit when he was wee, and he got one. He was called Carrots and my mum still has a scar on her finger where he bit her.

. What genre does your book fall under?

Picture books. The pictures are the easy bit.

. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Well...since my characters are animals and the only way Basil would become a film is through animation, I guess I would need a voice actor. My choice would be Peter Serafinowicz.

. What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

A counting book seen through the eyes of an adventurous rabbit.

. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I am very pleased to be represented by Katherine Ross at Fraser Ross Associates.

. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

About half and hour. Should I say that?!

. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I'm not a fan of comparison but it always happens anyway. I would say Rosie's Walk and The Cockatoos have probably both inspired me whilst working on this particular book.

. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Oh! See above! Also, I have worked with Vivian French as a tutoring team at Edinburgh College of Art. I have heard her suggest to many stuck students that they perhaps think about a counting book. I took her advice and I think I have come up with a really sweet story. Thanks Viv!

. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

The images are great, even if I do say so myself. 

So now I am handing over to the following awesome people:

Kristyna Litten is one of the most talented people I know in the picture book field, and indeed illustration in general. She is also from Yorkshire and tiny, like me.

Kasia Matyjaszek was previously one of my printmaking students at Edinburgh College of Art. She has a great eye for a character and fun stories that are a little bit dark and wicked.

Suzi Moore is an author of books for children. We met on Twitter and regularly discuss important issues such running and eating. I am excited to read Suzi's new novel which I am hoping she will tell us more about next week...

And of course, you can read Lari's answers by visiting her blog. Lari and I will have a book of Scottish Stories published next year by Frances Lincoln. 

picture this...

Last month I was chosen to exhibit in picture this... which is at the Riverside Gallery in beautiful Richmond (in London). On Friday last week I travelled down to hand deliver Harry and Barry (the squirrel twins) to the gorgeous Orleans House gallery in St Margarets, which is now where I would like to live, if I ever leave Edinburgh. 

If you happen to be in the area then please go and have a look at the exhibition. It is a showcase of contemporary children's book illustration and free to get in. Perfect!

Details in the photo above.