Rip-roaring Fun and Adventure in the Air: The Bother in Burmeon

I've just finished reading a new children's book, aimed at 9-12s, by debut author S. P. Moss. And what a book! Young Billy, staying with his gran, finds a kaleidoscope in a box of toys in what used to be his mother's bedroom. Rather an interesting kaleidoscope, as it turns out, since when Billy turns it he is whisked back to 1962, where he meets a dashing young RAF pilot who turns out to be Billy's granddad (who in the present day has been dead for the past twelve years).

In spite of the shock, it doesn' t take Billy long to find his feet (and his wings, as it were) in 1962, and soon he's on the way with Grandpop to the depths of South East Asia, where he pilots a flying boat, rescues a captive tiger, comes face to face with an Indian cobra and pits his wits against a mad dictator...

It's all very real - certainly not a dream - and very convincing to read. S. P. Moss knows her stuff about the RAF (I know - I'm an RAF crewman's daughter) and she has the language of 1962 and the sights and smells of that long-lost age off pat (again, I know... my memory just about goes back that far!)

But in spite of the retro feel there is nothing old-fashioned about this tale - certainly nothing slow and ponderous. Billy's adventures unfold at (at least) Mach 3 - and whatever your age, you'll be chewing your knuckles with the excitement of it all long before the thrilling (and rather moving) end.

Climb aboard, hold tight, prepare for take-off... whoosh! away we go....

With Billy and Grandpop for company, flying out over enemy territory to battle with beasts, baddies and bombs, you'll have tons of fun with no need for screens, apps and computer games.

(And I should add that this adventure is great for girls as well as boys - yet another of those books I wish had been around when I was young!)

The Bother in Burmeon has its own wonderful website, too.

Well done to S. P. Moss and here's wishing her lots of success. Let's hope she has some sequels in the pipeline...

Title: The Bother in Burmeon
Author: S. P. Moss
Age-range: 9-12 approx
Publication date: 2012
Publisher: Circaidy Gregory Press
Price: £7.49 (paperback version); £4.11 (Amazon Kindle version). EPub edition coming soon - see publisher's website for details

 The Bother in Burmeon is available direct from the publisher, Circaidy Gregory Press

Turning 'Chloe' into a play...

It's an idea that's occurred to me before, but I've never done anything about it - partly because:

1. I don't know much about writing plays
2. Ghost stories (or anything with even a hint of paranormal, like 'Chloe') are difficult to put on stage. Not impossible, but challenging...

Then, a few days ago, a young reader called Ella GE, who writes a wonderful blog called Everything + Anything + Life, named Coping with Chloe as one of her seven choices for YA books to be made into films. (Thanks, Ella.) And this got me thinking again...

OK, so in Coping with Chloe we have a 12-year-old girl called Anna who believes that her twin sister Chloe is living inside her head - sharing Anna's body, if you like. Everyone else believes Chloe died in the accident, but Anna is convinced she is still around. Garfie the golden labrador does tricks for Chloe, the way he always used to - he never did them for Anna. Chloe helps Anna with her school work and writes poetry. And Joe the gorgeous new boy - who has he just kissed, Anna or Chloe?

So how do you dramatise that? It's gets even harder as the story goes on. At one stage Anna and Chloe are fighting for ownership of Anna's body. And later, Chloe steps in to help when Anna gets herself into real trouble.

That's the challenge, and it's an interesting one. Putting a golden labrador on stage and getting it to 'act' is going to be impossible, I would think, apart from anything else!

But who knows what can be done? I'm up for the challenge, and I'm looking forward to running a workshop soon, where I will hope to get ideas from a group of young readers and budding actors.

I also need some guidance on how to create a play based on a book.

Suggestions very welcome - please!

A Very Warm Welcome - my visit to King Henry VIII School, Coventry, for World Book Day

Just over a week ago I visited an amazing and wonderful school - King Henry VIII School, Coventry. I was a bit nervous beforehand, as I always am with these things, but I needn't have worried. Everyone was kind and welcoming, especially the school librarian, Kirsty Hill, who organised my visit. And the students were lovely - all very enthusiastic and full of questions, comments and ideas.

I met some keen readers and budding young authors - always a big treat. I spoke to all the Year 7s (130 of them) about how my YA novel Coping to Chloe came into being, and showed them some of my first scribbled ideas. I also passed round some of the early cover designs - the ones we rejected before homing in on the present cover, which I love (look closely - the locket chain is actually a string of words...)

I told the Year 7s how I wrote my first book at 15 but didn't get published until I was, er... well into middle age! And I thoroughly enjoyed running a workshop for one of the Year 7 classes, in which I provided a worksheet to help them get started with creating a character and giving that character a problem. (That's exactly what I'm doing now as I get started on my latest YA novel.) Some of the students shared their characters and read aloud the beginnings of their books. I don't think anyone need worry about the future of literature, if these young people are anything to go by. I'll be looking out for their books on the shelves in future years.

Finally, after a welcome lunch and an interesting chat with librarian Kirsty Hill, I met several keen young readers and writers and did my best to answer their very good questions.

So, thank you, King Henry VIII School, for inviting me to speak and for looking after me so well. You have a beautiful school, a lovely library and a very committed librarian and teaching staff. And special thanks to everyone who bought a signed copy of Coping with Chloe. Don't forget to let me know what you thought of it (one of you already has - thank you!)

Finally, here is a lovely piece about my visit written by one of the students, Leanne Cope of Class 7MN:


Rosalie Warren- A Visit to KHVIII

On the second of March, 2011, the year seven pupils of King Henry VIII School got an exciting visit from Rosalie Warren - author of Coping with Chloe, Charity’s Child and Low Tide, Lunan Bay.

Initially, we had a brief plot of Coping with Chloe. Then, Rosalie handed out several covers for the books which the publishers had suggested. Some worked really well with the book but others I felt didn’t.

Finally, Rosalie asked for ideas about her new book. We had ideas from children in care retracing their long lost parents; to innocent prisoners stuck in prison.

It was an interesting session with Rosalie, but little did 7MN know that for their next lesson they would be having a professional writer taking them for English.

Firstly, we got given a sheet of paper with basic ideas about the main character of a book we were going to write by ourselves. Some of the questions included the character's favourite music and favourite films.

Overall I thought the day was really fun and I’m sure the rest of year seven will agree. We all thank you very much for coming in Rosalie!


Many thanks, Leanne. Hope to see you all again soon.

Best wishes,
Rosalie

Photos by Kirsty Hill