In the Wishing Chair

Write A Great Synopsis: An Expert Guide

Welcome back to In the Wishing Chair! Thanks for bearing with me over the Christmas period, and if this is the first time you’ve visited, then do have a listen to some of the other interviews. I’ve been lucky enough to speak to some fabulous people.

I’m joined once again by Nicola Morgan as she releases another of her extremely useful how-to ebooks. Write A Great Synopsis: An Expert Guide follows on from the success of Tweet Right and gives invaluable advice on how to deal with the stressful question of the Dreaded Synopsis. We chat about this and about forthcoming ebooks from Nicola.

You can listen/subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here or alternatively try this link.

More about Write A Great Synopsis:

Most writers hate writing synopses. They need dread them no more. In Write a Great Synopsis – An Expert Guide, Nicola Morgan takes the stress out of the subject and applies calm, systematic guidance, with her renowned no-nonsense approach.

Write a Great Synopsis covers: the function of a synopsis, differences between outlines and synopses, different requirements for different agents and publishers, finding the heart of your book, how to tackle non-linear plots, multiples themes, sub-plots and long novels, and it answers all the questions and confusions that writers have. Nicola also introduces readers to her useful Crappy Memory Tool, explains the art of crafting a 25-word pitch, and demonstrates with real examples. Gold-dust for writers at all stages.

Nicola is the author of around ninety books for all ages, fiction and non-fiction. To writers she is known for the no-nonsense expert advice in her blog, Help! I Need a Publisher! and her highly acclaimed book for writers, Write to be Published, as well as Tweet Right – The Sensible Person’s Guide to Twitter.

You can find more information on Nicola at her website here, or have a look at her acclaimed blog for aspiring writers, Help! I need a publisher. You can also like her page on Facebook, or seek her out in the Twittersphere.

Listeners can also take part in a competition to win one of 3 synopsis critiques among other prizes. For more details, visit here, but to take part leave a comment on any blog taking part in the blog tour (see the competition page) and you will be entered into a Grand Draw. Leave comments on as many blogs as you like, one entry per blog!

You can buy Write A Great Synopsis from amazon.co.uk here. And don’t forget to have a look at the Wishing Chair list for details of all the books recommended so far!

Gemma Laws - Bookseller Extraordinaire

This is an exciting interview for me, as it’s my first done face to face as opposed to via Skype! I’m talking to Gemma Laws, who is in charge of the children’s department of Waterstones, Durham City. We discuss book signings, author events, and new trends in children’s and YA literature, as well as what makes a successful children’s book department. 

You can listen and subscribe to In The Wishing Chair podcasts through iTunes here, or try this direct download for this episode. 

More about Gemma:

Gemma is the Senior Children’s Bookseller at Waterstone’s in Durham. Give her a good book, and she’s happy. Which is convenient, since she spends most of her day surrounded by some of the very best in children’s fiction, and the rest of her day talking about it.

Gemma’s recommended book was Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings, but I have to mention that she mentioned many other good books and authors too - you’ll have to listen to find out some of her favourites! Pawn of Prophecy is on the In The Wishing Chair Listmania list, Vol 2 which is linked here along with Vol 1 and all the books recommended in the podcasts so far. 

Waterstones website is here, and I do recommend you visit the Durham store (66 Saddler Street) if you’re in the area, or if you’re a local author and would like to arrange an author event. You can also follow them on twitter here and find Gemma herself on twitter here. 

Nicola Morgan - Mondays Are Red

In a special edition, I talk to Nicola Morgan (author of over 90 books including Wasted, Tweet Right and Write to be Published) as she re-launches her debut novel, Mondays Are Red as an ebook. 

To listen, click here: You can also find us on iTunes if you would like to hear more episodes or subscribe. 

More About Mondays Are Red:

When Luke wakes from a coma, his world has altered. Synaesthesia confuses his senses and a sinister creature called Dreeg inhabits his mind. Dreeg offers him limitless power – even the power to fly – and the temptations are huge, but the price is high. Who will pay? His mysteriously perfect girlfriend, with hair as long as the sound of honey? His detested sister, Laura, with the wasps in her hair? When Laura goes missing, Luke realizes the terrible truth about himself and his power. His decision is a matter of life and death, and he will have to run faster than fire.

For more information about Nicola, visit her website or her fantastic blog or follow her on twitter. To buy Mondays Are Red on amazon.co.uk, follow this link. 

To see any books featured In The Wishing Chair so far, check this list out. 

John Harding - The Thrill of Language

In this interview, I get the opportunity to talk to John Harding who has had huge success with his book, Florence and Giles, particularly on twitter. We discuss his creepy, Gothic thriller, the fluidity of language, and how social media can be used by authors, aspiring writers and readers to connect together in new ways.

You can listen and subscribe to the podcast through iTunes here or alternatively try this link.

More about John:

John Harding is one of Britain’s most versatile contemporary novelists. He is the author of four novels, all very different from one another. He was born in and grew up in a small Fenland village in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire. He was educated at the village school and local grammar school and read English at St Catherine’s College, Oxford. Apart from a short period working on newspapers and magazines as a reporter and editor, he has been a freelance writer and novelist all his working life.

John’s recommended book, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, can be found on the In The Wishing Chair listmania on amazon, along with all the other books mentioned in the podcasts so far.

John’s website is here and he’s a lovely man to twitter with here.

Zannah Kearns - No Use Crying

In this episode of the podcast, I talk to Zannah about her long road to publication, how she’s found working with an agent and how she’s preparing for her first school visits. 

You can listen and subscribe to the podcast through iTunes here, or alternatively try this direct download. 

More about Zannah:

Zannah Kearns is a first-time author who grew up in a village near St Albans. She studied English Literature at Cardiff University, and later returned there to complete an MA in Creative Writing. She has spent most of her professional life working with teenagers - from Costa Rica to UK inner cities. She has also worked in Communications in the charity sector. Zannah lives in Maidenhead with her husband and young children.

Zannah’s website is here; you can also follow her on twitter here or find her at her facebook page here. 

Zannah’s recommended book was My Name is Mina by David Almond. You can find this and every other book recommended in the series so far at our amazon list here. 

SC Ransom - Dedication!

In my interview with Sue Ransom, we discuss how she wrote her debut novel on her Blackberry on the way to and from work, and how she’s found life as a published author with Nosy Crow. 

You can listen and subscribe to the podcast through iTunes here or alternatively try this link. 

 More about Sue:

Sue Ransom, the author of Small Blue Thing, Perfectly Reflected, and 2012 publication, Scattering Like Light, is a senior headhunter, but on the way to work and in the evenings she’s a writer: she wrote Small Blue Thing, her debut novel, as a birthday present for her daughter, and she composed it mostly on her BlackBerry. Serendipity led her to Nosy Crow, and she’s now busy thinking up her next project. She lives with her husband and two teenage children in Surrey.

Sue’s website is here, you can also follow her on twitter here or see her Facebook page here. 

For more information about Sue’s books, plus her recommendation and all other books mentioned in the podcasts so far, check out the In The Wishing Chair list on amazon.co.uk, here. 

Hello again…

Just a quick post to say, if you’re here wondering where on earth the next episode of In The Wishing Chair has got to, it’s on the way. Keep checking back over the next couple of days for my interview with SC Ransom, author of Small Blue Thing. 

In the meantime, if you’re interested in seeing what my interviewees so far recommend, have a look here! 

Keren David - Award-winning Author

Today I’m talking to the lovely Keren David about being a 14 year old boy, winning awards such as the North East Teenage Book Award, and what you might do if you won the lottery. 

You can listen and subscribe to the podcast through iTunes here, or alternatively try this link. 

More about Keren:

Growing up in a small town in Hertfordshire, Keren David had two ambitions: to write a book and to live in London. Several decades on, she has finally achieved both. She was distracted by journalism, starting out at 18 as a messenger girl, then working as a reporter, news editor, features editor and feature writer for national newspapers and magazines. She has lived in Glasgow and Amsterdam, where in eight years she learned enough Dutch to order coffee and buy fruit and vegetables. She is now back in London and lives with her husband, two children and their insatiably hungry guinea pigs.
Keren wrote her first novel When I Was Joe as a project for a course in writing for Children at City University. Starting the course to publishing the novel took exactly two years.

You can follow Keren on twitter here, or at her Facebook page for When I Was Joe here. Her blog is here and she also blogs occasionally for An Awfully Big Blog Adventure (highly recommended for all children’s writers, by the way!). 

Keren’s recommended book was Taking Flight by Sheena Wilkinson, and you can find this along with When I Was Joe and Keren’s other books here. This list also gives all the other books mentioned on the podcast so far!

Rebecca Emin - Debut Author

Here I’m talking to the really lovely Rebecca Emin about her debut novel, New Beginnings and how she’s found being a new author. She also talks about her marketing and the time she has spent in schools doing her first author presentations.

There is a little sound interference in the first half of the podcast, but it soon sorts itself out. Thanks for bearing with me while I get to grips with this editing malarkey!

Click here to listen and subscribe via iTunes, or try here. And don’t forget, all reviews are very much appreciated!

More about Rebecca:

REBECCA EMIN lives in Oxfordshire, with her husband and three small children. Her first novel for children, ‘New Beginnings,’ will be published by Grimoire Books in January 2012. She is currently working on her second novel. Rebecca enjoys writing flash fiction and short stories and has had several stories included in fundraising anthologies, including ‘50 Stories for Pakistan’ and ‘Literary Mix Tapes: Nothing But Flowers.’

Rebecca is also an author for Ether Books who publish short stories and essays via their iOS app.

You can follow Rebecca on twitter here or find her on Facebook here. Her blog is here and her children’s blog is here. Shamblelurkling, the anthology of short stories for children which Rebecca was involved with can be bought here.

New Beginnings can be found on amazon.co.uk here, along with Rebecca’s recommended book, The Gruffalo, and all other books mentioned in the series so far.

In case you’re wondering, the next podcast will be up later this week, featuring the lovely debut author, Rebecca Emin! Meanwhile feel free to leave comments, reviews (either here or on iTunes, hint hint…) or suggestions for interviews you’d really like to hear! If you’re involved in writing, illustrating or publishing for children and wouldn’t mind being interviewed, send me a message here or on twitter @rebeccaebrown. 

Thanks very much to everyone who’s been listening. The stats have sailed past my expectations waving merrily as they went and I’ve been so chuffed with the response. You have given me much confidence and I hope the Wishing Chair will keep going from strength to strength.