 | My debut middle-grade novel ALEX NEPTUNE, DRAGON THIEF will be published by Usborne in August 2022! Here's a story summary: "For as long as Alex Neptune can remember, the ocean has been trying to kill him. So he's not too happy when a bunch of sea creatures drag him to the abandoned aquarium on the hill, where an imprisoned water dragon needs his help. But how can he say no to a magical creature? "Recruiting his tech-genius best friend Zoe, legend-lover Anil, a sharp-shooting octopus, three acrobatic otters and a thieving seagull, Alex plots a heist to break the dragon out. And suddenly discovers the power of the ocean at his fingertips..." It's the first in a series, with two more Alex Neptune books following in 2023. I'm so excited to finally make my middle-grade debut. It's an age group I've always wanted to write for, with many failed attempts before this point, so striking a deal with Usborne really is a dream come true. ALEX NEPTUNE, DRAGON THIEF is available to pre-order now. |
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I've had an article published in The Guardian! Which is cool.
I had the privilege of interviewing Philip Reeve, author of the Mortal Engines series, which is one of my favourites ever. We talked a little bit about the inspiration for the books, before I went off the deep end drawing parallels between their terrible dystopian world and our world today. You can read it here!  My new book is called ALL THE LONELY PEOPLE! It will be published in the UK by Atom Books in January 2019.
All the Lonely People is the story of Kat Waldgrave, a girl who lives her whole life online, and Wesley Graham, the boy who bullies her off the internet. As soon as Kat deletes her online presence, her physical body begins to fade from existence and everybody forgets she exists. Until she meets another girl who is fading too, and realises the only way to save herself is to stop an alt-right terror attack. Wesley might be the only person left who remembers Kat. Overcome by remorse for what he has done, he must decide between being drawn deeper into the alt-right or preventing Kat from disappearing completely. It might be the only way to save himself. All the Lonely People is a story about online culture - both good and bad - that explores the experience of loneliness in a connected world, and the power of kindness and empathy over hatred. The cover design is by Mark Swan, and I am completely heart eyes emoji in love with it. I really think this is the best book I've written yet. Fancy it? Here are some pre-order links: Amazon. Waterstones.  I'm chairing a panel at YALC this year! Joining me will be Alice Oseman, Gayle Forman, and Lauren Price to look at the different types of friendships made in YA - what a line up! You can catch us on the Friday at midday. Don't miss it!
You can find the full YALC line-up here.  I'll be chairing a panel on the Supernatural & Fantastical in YA at this year's Northern YA Literary Festival in Preston on July 21! You can find out more about the event here. Come along!
I'm really pleased to be chairing a YA fantasy panel with authors Sally Green, Alice Broadway, and Taran Matharu at Waterstones Piccadilly on May 4!
Sally is the best-selling author of the the Half Bad trilogy and will be talking about her new book The Smoke Thieves. Taran is the author of the best-selling Summoner series, and will talking about his new book The Outcast. Alice is the author of Ink, and will be talking about her new book Spark. Tickets are available here. Come along! I'll be at Ilkley Words Fest, part of the Ilkley Literature Festival, where I'll be giving a pair of workshops on writing fiction on October 8th!
The workshops are for 12-18 year-olds, and they're going to be laid back and fun. Come along! A speedy post to say that THE FALLEN CHILDREN has been included in Tutora's '90 Best Children's Books of 2017' list!
You'll have to scroll down quite a bit long way to find it, but it's there, I promise! It's a great list, and given that we're only half way through the year who knows how many more amazing books we're going to be treated to?!  My second novel THE FALLEN CHILDREN is out now! It's available in 360 different colour covers, as well as a special edition 'golden egg' edition. Find (and buy) it and you'll win an exclusive artwork poster by the amazing Alice Oseman! Or you can go pot luck with what cover you'll get and order from Amazon! And if you enjoy please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads! Just a quick note to say that I'll be giving a talk on Writing for Young Adults at Winchester Writers' Festival this year!
As a Winchester University alumnus that never managed to attend the festival while I was there, I'm really thrilled not only to go, but to be speaking too. Plus the whole line-up is ace. Come see me and a bunch of other people too! Check out the full program here. |
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