NEWS
All the stuff that's happening
BLOG TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT!
I'm delighted to announce that my official blog tour for The Girl with the Green Eyes kicks off on publication date, November 5th! I've genuinely loved writing these articles, guest posts and Q&As, feature writing was always my favourite part of journalism so it felt a bit like combining the best of both worlds.
Book Brunch
I wrote The Girl with the Green Eyes in its current form when I was pregnant with my third child three years ago. Most of the characters had been burning away inside my head for over a decade (the novel's earliest version was my final coursework submission for my creative writing BA back in 2008), but the genetic experimentation aspect of the plot was at least partially inspired by my pregnancy.
The Girl with the Green Eyes began life over 13 years ago as the opening of a children’s fantasy novel for my Creative Writing BA. The storyline was about children growing up in a sheltered institution/academy where they were immersed in a suggestive environment intended to harbour supernatural ability. It featured a flying child, her kindly scientist mentor and her enigmatic, anti-heroine mother, Bella. I did actually draft out a full version around 2016 but, as much as I loved the characters and the suggestive-ability storyline, I knew that as a novel it just didn’t work, so I shelved it. A few years later – with the characters continuing to haunt my imagination – I revisited the story. I realised straight away that it should never have been a children’s novel – that the potential for darker themes, the possibility of a more scientific-based approach, the heavy questions I was posing about what it is to be human, to be vulnerable – was all better matched to an adult readership. I also realised that Bella was a far more interesting character than any of the children in it!
In your opinion, how far is too far?
I think it’s safe to say that every example of human genetic modification used in The Girl with the Green Eyes (and the Take Her Back trilogy as a whole) is “too far.” Use GM technology to eradicate disease, create vaccinations, solve world hunger issues by all means. Don’t create designer babies.
Love Books, Read Books
I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember, but the first time I finished a ‘novel’ was when I was 12. That was the when I discovered the heady wonder of creating a world, having the power to make people feel something, however fleeting. Since that time, I’ve always had some form of work-in-progress running in the background, veering between hobby and obsession depending on the time available.
RADIO INTERVIEWS
Times Radio, Talk Radio Europe, River Radio
Listen to my interview with Mariella Frostrup on Times Radio covering all things from the research behind The Girl with the Green Eyes to the reasoning behind my un-gendered author pen name!
My interview with Hannah Murray for Talk Radio Europe discussing the ins and outs of genetic engineering and a bit more about the enigmatic protagonist that is Bella is available to listen to here. (last 10 mins)
I spoke to the lovely Heather Adams of the River Radio Turning Pages programme about the inspiration, research and core ideas behind The Girl with the Green Eyes.
Listen to part one here
Listen to part two here
Marie Claire
It's an ongoing dilemma for most parents today.
Being a parent has always involved a minefield of choices, and the digital age has only raised the stakes. We are faced with decisions our own parents wouldn’t even have fathomed back in the days of screechy dial-up modems and not-so-Instant Messenger.
Round & About
I was delighted to contribute an article for my local Round & About magazine this summer.
School House Magazine
'I don’t know what I am anymore,’ are the words spoken by 13-year-old character Ariana in my new book, The Child Left in the Dark, amid a transformative identity crisis.
But do any of us, really? And how have adolescent identity struggles changed from 2002, when I was a teen, to now?
I was thrilled to write another article for my local Round & About magazine this autumn, sharing the story of how I very nearly didn't end up writing my second novel, The Child Left in the Dark.
Book Brunch
I think it's fair to say that The Child Left in the Dark (and the Take Her Back trilogy as a whole) is pretty far removed from the real world. Genetic engineering resulting in supernatural abilities, human/animal hybrids, slavish soldiers with their humanity altered… It's science fiction with heavy emphasis on the fiction.
Having said that, there are plenty of contemporary issues to be explored within the nonsensical...
Linda's Book Bag
My guest post on Linda's Book Bag as part of the Blog Tour for The Child Left in the Dark.
PUBLICATION DATE SET FOR THE GIRL WITH THE GREEN EYES
Remember, remember the fifth of Novemeber,
Genetic skulduggery's the plot!*
The Girl with the Green Eyes will be officially launched to the unsuspecting (and hopefully one or two suspecting) public on November 5th, 2021. Pre-orders should be available on Kindle the last week of September and paperback editions will be on Amazon in October for pre-launch review.
*I will never not want to use the word skulduggery when an opportunity presents itself
THE GIRL WITH THE GREEN EYES LONG-LISTED FOR THE BRIDPORT PRIZE
National News
The Girl with the Green Eyes was one of just 20 titles long-listed for The Peggy Chapman-Andrews First Novel Award as part of the 2020 Bridport Prize creative writing competition. The competition received more than 1,620 entries in the novel category.
Click here to view the original article and long-list in full.
