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UKYA Day

April 12, 2015 By Sue Ransom 4 Comments

UKYA graphic

Today is UKYA day – a day for special celebrations of the UKYA community, organised by the unstoppable Lucy Powrie at Queen of Contemporary. When I thought about what I’d like to write about to celebrate it, one things seemed most relevant – why I started writing UKYA in the first place.

Yesterday I blogged about what it’s like to be a writer, but only six years ago I wasn’t. I’d not written a word of fiction since I’d been at school decades before. The catalyst was my daughter – she was eleven at the time and was reading the Twilight books. She absolutely loved them, and I borrowed one to read on the train as I was interested in seeing what she liked.

What struck me most about them was how American they were, stuffed full of cultural references which she couldn’t possibly understand. I wanted her to read some books which were age-appropriate but also familiar, so I went to my local bookshop and scanned the shelves. There were plenty of Jacqueline Wilson books, but aside from that everything else I picked up seems to be more by Americans.

I decided that it would be fun to see if I could write a story myself, set in the UK, full of references which my daughter would understand and enjoy. I could base the main character on an older version of my daughter, who could go to a school like hers and have friends with the same names as her friends. I had time on my daily commute to write, and I had a deadline – her birthday in September. I was soon into a rhythm, writing on my BlackBerry every train journey, and then emailing the files to myself. At the weekend I’d patch them all together into a bigger file and edit. I wrote about London, and Twickenham (where she was born), St Paul’s Cathedral, and the stuff that teenage girls do – have unsuitable boyfriends, learn to drive, squabble and gossip. Then I threw in a love interest. Someone who she could fall for, but (and this is crucial if you are writing for your own daughter!) who is also unattainable.

It took six months, but it was ready for her birthday. She had been kept in the dark about it, only knowing that I was writing her something, and I handed her over a copy I’d had bound. It was called Small Blue Thing. She scuttled off to read. At one point she came back, tears streaming down her face. “I can’t believe that you did that to them,” she muttered as she shot off again to finish it. I’d made her cry! I didn’t think it could get any better than that.

Ellie with original SBT

Luckily she loved the whole thing, and started lending it to her friends. One thing led to another and I got introduced to someone who was interested in publishing it – and not only that, but a whole trilogy too.  Fast forward through those six years, and I’ve just had my fourth book published, and I’ve completed the first draft of a new one. Life has changed hugely, and I’ve met so many brilliant people involved in the writing and publication of books for children and teens.

In that time the UK YA community has come of age. We are now a driving force in the publishing industry. There are whole conferences (YALC, for example) just for us. The Children’s Laureate, Malorie Blackman, is a huge champion for us, and the blogging community is awesome. I’m truly proud to have been a small part of that revolution, and I’m also hugely relieved that, on that day when I went looking for books for my daughter, that I didn’t speak to a bookseller. They would have pointed me to some of the new band of writers, and I’d have bought her those books. I might never have made the decision to write my own.

So, to celebrate UKYA day, I’m giving way a signed set of all four of my published books – Small Blue Thing, Perfectly Reflected, Scattering Like Light and The Beneath. To be in with a chance, comment on the post, or RT and follow on Twitter. Good Luck!

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Why I’m not OK with this film

March 31, 2015 By Sue Ransom Leave a Comment

This week the new Cinderella film is being released, and I’ve been reading a lot about it. Not about how skilfully the old fairytale has been converted to live action, or the quality of the acting, or the sumptuousness of the sets – it’s all been about Lily James’s waist in that ball gown.

 

Photo: Disney
Photo: Disney

The actress is already incredibly slim – she couldn’t get away with those flapper dresses in Downton if she had any curves – but the dress has been designed to give her a mind-bogglingly small waist. She admitted that she was laced into an extremely tight corset – so much that it was hard to eat even soup when she was in costume – all to make her as close as possible to the Disney figure we all remember. The design of the dress also helped, with the flare of the full skirt accentuating the microscopic span of her middle.

And I’m really not alright with that.

Cinderella is a film aimed at kids (it has a U rating), and the kids of that age today are pretty savvy about what they see. They watch enough cartoons to know that when something lands on Wile E Coyote he won’t get hurt, or that Marge Simpson’s hair is impossibly high and can’t really conceal the family cat. But this file is live action, not a cartoon. The kids watching will see Lily go from the dowdy cleaner (probably wearing some sort of sack) to the princess of the ball with the tiniest waist in the ballroom. And who gets the boy? Is that really the sort of message we want to give out?

Lily is a beautiful girl and would have looked stunning in whatever dress they put her in – and I bet she still looks stunning in the sack outfit too. The director has made the choice to make her cartoon-like, into an image which no girl could – or should – hope to achieve.

I wasn’t bombarded by these sorts of images when I was younger, but I still spent my teenage years on a perpetual diet, trying and failing to achieve a flat stomach. It wasn’t until much later I realised that I was the shape I was, and learned to accept it as my healthy norm. If I’d been a kid today I think I would have struggled horribly, and film like Cinderella would only have made things worse.

What do you think? Does seeing this make you feel bad about how you look? I hope not.

 

(This post first appeared on Girls Heart Books)

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1D no more

March 27, 2015 By Sue Ransom Leave a Comment

I read something this week which really troubled me. After the news that Zayn had decided to leave One Direction, Twitter was awash with grief. I can see how it would hurt. Your first boy band crush is a real and powerful thing, with every spare waking moment thinking about them, finding out every tiny detail of their lives, stalking them on social media, imagining What If….

 

Zayn-DP

 

With the shock of the news of his departure, 1D fans were reacting to Zayn’s departure as if he had died. But it wasn’t that which I found appalling. It was the report that some girls had decided that the best way to deal with their grief was to self-harm. They even had a hashtag for it. This is wrong on so, so many levels. The majority of people who self harm have a real psychological condition. They need compassion and support to help them work through the issues which have lead to the cutting starting in the first place.  People generally don’t understand what drives sufferers to do this, and that it’s not something which they can just stop – any more than you can decide to suddenly stop having the flu.

And in the same way, you can’t just decide to become a self harmer as a show of solidarity with the other fans. Those who have lost their favourite in Zayn will be grieving, that’s for sure, but like any grief it will improve with time.  He’s not dead, and these kids don’t need a permanent scar to remind them of a moment of stupidity.

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Mother’s Day

March 15, 2015 By Sue Ransom Leave a Comment

Selfie with Mum

Time is a cruel thing. As I watch my children grow and find their independent wings, the harder it is to watch the older generation fade away. This afternoon I was sitting in a car park at a care home, waiting for my husband to get his parents, occupying myself by scanning Twitter. I was reading a beautiful passage tweeted by Matt Haig from his book Reasons to Stay Alive, when a ‘Private Ambulance’ drew up. One resident of the care home didn’t make it through Mother’s Day.

I couldn’t be with my mum today, but we spoke on the phone and I’ll see her soon. Having seen that ambulance I wish I’d changed my plans and made the trip, though. So here is a picture of my Mum and me, back in the day. I’m not sure how recognisable either of us are now from that photo, but we were clearly having fun.

As Matt so eloquently says, there are many, many reasons to stay alive. Cherish the moments which you have with the ones you love.

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School Report

March 14, 2015 By Sue Ransom Leave a Comment

Last week I went back to my old school, and this week I went to my daughter’s school. They are spookily similar!  Luckily Ellie doesn’t mind my coming to talk to her friends, and she didn’t heckle too much from the back either.

The same – really lovely – thing happened at both schools. A girl arrived at the table where I was signing books clutching some very well-read copies of Small Blue Thing. One of them even told me that she had queued outside the shop for the second and third in the trilogy. There is something really special about a book that has been read so often that the edges go soft, and it was a privilege to be able to sign them.

Here are some of the readers from Maidstone Girl’s Grammar School.

MGGS with Students

And the full article can be read here. 

 

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UKYABA and The Beneath in the wild!

March 8, 2015 By Sue Ransom Leave a Comment

Two exciting things happened yesterday – the very first UK YA Blogger Awards, and my first sighting of The Beneath in the wild!

I was invited to the awards by the organiser, the lovely, and slightly mad, Andy Robb. They were held in the huge basement room in the Waterstones store on Kensington High Street. It was a brilliant event – the room was stuffed with bloggers and authors and a considerable amount of wine and nibbles. A full write up of the event can be found on the blog of one of the winners – The Pewter Wolf – here.

It was a great opportunity to catch up with fellow writers and to thank those wonderful bloggers who work so hard in getting out books out there. We really do appreciate all their efforts. I’m already looking forward to going next year.

UKYABA winners

Some of the winners – @ChellyToy, @Serendipity_Viv, @YAYeahYeah, @PewterWolf13 and @SisterSpooky clutching their awards.

And while I was there I took a cheeky peek into the YA department and was delighted to see this:

TB in the Wild

My first sighting of The Beneath in a shop, and I was delighted that they sold out during the event. Do tweet me with a picture if you see it! (on @SCRansom).

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Back to School

March 7, 2015 By Sue Ransom Leave a Comment

MGGS

Today I went back to my old school – Maidstone Girls’ Grammar School – to tell them about the new book. I did my first ever school visit there back in 2011, and I’ve been back many times since then. The staff there are all fabulous, and the librarian has really inspired the pupils in their reading.

I talked to two different groups – the Book Club (who are a mix from various years, inspired by the awesome sixth-formers Iona and Lauren), and then some classes from Year 8. They asked some brilliant questions and the time flew by, and at the end I signed so many books that we ran out – always a good sign! With some groups I’m not sure if they really want to be listening to an author or they are just enjoying missing double German, but if they all get the books I reckon they must be interested.

Once the talks were finished I was given a special tour – I had heard that the old air-raid shelters under the school had been ‘rediscovered’ recently. I think that the caretakers always knew where they were, but when I was at the school we had no idea that these tunnels snaked around under the buildings. When one set was re-opened it was full of rubble and junk, but when it was cleared out all sorts of things were found, including old chemistry equipment and chalk diagrams on the walls, which had doubled as blackboards. There are apparently two more sets on the site where the entrances have been covered over. I wonder what’s down there now?

Air raid shelter

Air raid tunnel - Chemistry

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It’s book launch day!

March 4, 2015 By Sue Ransom Leave a Comment

It’s World Book Day – what better day to have a book birthday?

Lots of authors have books out today, including me! Today is the official launch of The Beneath (although Amazon decided it was yesterday), and lots of reviews are coming in. Here are just a few things which people have said so far:

Lovereading calls it “a gripping teen read”.

Our Book Reviews Online says “The story delivers a fast paced read to keep the reader gripped from start to finish.”

The Overflowing Library describes it as “An exciting and fast paced read”.

If you read it, do let me know what you think – and it would be great if you could also post your comments (whatever they are!) on Amazon and Goodreads – it all helps!

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The reviews are coming in…!

March 2, 2015 By Sue Ransom Leave a Comment

TheBeneath

Launch day is nearly here, and the reviews are starting to come in! The publishers sent out lots of proof copies in the autumn, and usually reviews are posted at or near publication day. If you’re posting one, please let me know.

Here are a couple from today:

Edel runs Edel’s Book Beauty and Life Blog, and here’s some of what she said – “I started this book and never stopped until I was finished. The story does not slow down for a minute making it a pure adrenaline ride ! My favourite characters were Aria, Lily and her nan, so brave!”

Full review here.

Maryom writes on Our Book Reviews Online – “The story delivers a fast paced read to keep the reader gripped from start to finish. There’s a little romance but the emphasis is firmly on mystery and action,with some really nail-biting moments.

Maryom’s review – 5 stars”

Full review here.

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The Winners!

February 18, 2015 By Sue Ransom Leave a Comment

What a great response to the competition!

 

Thank you to everyone who replied, and I’m sorry that I can’t give you all free books. The two lucky winners are:

Georgia (via email)

and

Sherlyn (via Twitter – @gohsherlyn)

 

Please email me at sue@sueransom.com with the address where I can send the book.

 

Well done!

 

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Sue Ransom, author of the Small Blue Thing series and The Beneath. Read More…

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