Busy bee… tours, reviews, and Harry Potter

The blog has been a bit quiet, but it’s because I’ve been a busy bee elsewhere! Soon you are going to see far too much of me, however, as I will be on the Totally Random Tour with fellow UK YA authors Emma Pass and Karen Mahoney. Look out for more information soon!

There’s also been a bit more very nice review coverage for The Oathbreaker’s Shadow, which has been great to see.

	“Amy McCulloch shapes an undeniably entertaining debut that put me in mind of The Painted Man by Peter V. Brett. And there’s every chance The Oathbreaker’s Shadow will be just such a success. Sometimes the oldest stories are the ones which take hold of one’s imagination most, and the plight of Raim set against the rich tapestry of Darhan is entirely alive in my mind’s eye.” – Tor.com
	“Inventive and exciting … A splendid book” – Starburst Magazine

Lastly…

I went to the Harry Potter/Warner Bros Studio Tour! It was a birthday present from my sister and, in a word, it was epic. It’s hard to explain just how much HP and JK Rowling have meant to me over the years, and if there’s any criticism I might have of the studio tour is that there’s not enough emphasis on the books. I would have loved even a tiny section on some of JK Rowling’s early drafts/material, or a collection of first editions or foreign editions – something like that. I realize – obviously – that this is a Warner Brothers and a Studio Lot tour, but I still think they could have spared the books a touch more thought!

That being said, getting to ride a broomstick on the green screen was amazing (and I will share the video soon!). It was also absolutely amazing to see all the concept art and architectural designs that went into building all the sets. I’m not going to share too many photos here, because I just know that so many of you will want to go and experience it for yourself (I know I did, and so purposefully avoided ‘spoilers’ – and it was better for it).

But this particular sign struck a chord with me – back in June 1997, JK Rowling was just a debut author just like me! Did I say something about June being a good month for book releases?

 

And then of course, a quick snap of me in my natural habitat… on a Nimbus 2000, training to be a Seeker!

 

And one final reminder that my Epic (no purchase required) Pre-order contest is still on!! You can pre-order The Oathbreaker’s Shadow from here (UK) and here (Canada).

Robin Hobb quote and launch parties!

I couldn’t let a blog post go by without sharing this here… as I am so excited that Robin Hobb has given The Oathbreaker’s Shadow a lovely endorsement:

“The Oathbreaker’s Shadow is a very promising debut in what bodes to be an electrifying duology. Unusual magic set in an exotic location and nomadic culture lures the reader to total immersion in Raim’s world” – Robin Hobb, internationally bestselling author of the Farseer trilogy

I’ve also started an ‘Events’ page, showcasing when and where I’m going to be in the time around release. At the moment, it’s pretty light on details, but it includes details to my two launch parties – which everyone in either area is very welcome to attend!

London, UK launch – June 6, 2013
Daunt Books, Marylebone
6:30pm-8pm
Let me know you’re coming on Facebook!

Ottawa, CA launch – June 20, 2013
Spoon! Lounge, Byward Market
6pm-8pm
Let me know you’re coming on Facebook!

The great big The Oathbreaker’s Shadow pre-order giveaway!!

I am pretty much freaking out because it is only ONE MONTH until The Oathbreaker’s Shadow is unleashed in the UK. Actually, it’s LESS than an a month until it’s released in Canada! Ahhhh!

Inspired by another YA author Shannon Messenger, I’ve decided to host only one giveaway to do with The Oathbreaker’s Shadow release, but my word – it is going to be epic. In fact, it’s so epic that there is going to be THREE tiers of prizes that are open  INTERNATIONALLY, and it’s all to say thank you to those who pre-order Oathbreaker, either the hardback edition or Kindle edition.

You have until June 3rd, 2013 to enter!

Without further ado:

1) First tier: 10 x postcard + knot string bracelet + a sterling silver knot bracelet

Ten lucky winners will get a beautiful The Oathbreaker’s Shadow-inspired .925 sterling silver knot bracelet, plus a postcard, which I will happily personalize, and a handmade string bracelet.

2) Second tier: 2 x Package of awesome #UKYA books

Two lucky people will win a package of 5 #UKYA books, from awesome authors like Emma Pass, James Dawson, Kim Curran, Laura Lam, Will Hill, Tanya Byrne, Abigail Gibbs, Janet Edwards, Zoe Marriott, Phil Earle, Karen Mahoney and Sarwat Chadda, plus a postcard, plus a handmade string bracelet!

3) Third tier: The Grand Prize! Full manuscript evaluation + signed, personalized hardback + postcard + a handmade string bracelet OR a £50 Amazon.co.uk giftcard + a signed, personalized hardback + postcard + a handmade string bracelet.

If you’ve been following my blog, you know that in my day job I work as a commissioning editor for HarperVoyager, HarperCollins’ SF&F imprint. I know that there are a lot of aspiring writers out there, so as a grand prize – open internationally – I’m offering a full manuscript evaluation to one winner (to a maximum of 100,000 words, any genre as long as it’s fiction – I wouldn’t be very helpful with non-fiction anyway!) alongside a signed, personalized hardback.

Equally, I know that the person who is drawn for the grand prize might *not* be a writer, so I’m offering a £50 Amazon gift card as a grand prize instead (or if it works out that a more local gift card works out better, I’ll offer it for the equivalent amount, to be determined with the winner). And the signed hardback. Woohoo!

But wait, there’s more! (sorry, I’ve always wanted to say that… in true Shopping Channel style)

Additionally, pre-order entries from the UK AND COMMONWEALTH (including Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand) will ALL receive a postcard and a bracelet – just for entering!

A bit of background behind these awesome bracelets… My amazing mum has been working tirelessly at hand-knotting these  The Oathbreaker’s Shadow bracelets, in a variety of awesome colours. Don’t worry, I will pay her back in love and a big present, and she promises me they pass the time while she’s watching American Idol, so it’s perfectly fine that I’m exploiting her hard work  In the book, promises are bound with knots, so it’s the perfect tie-in. Unfortunately, because supplies of postcards and bracelets are limited, I can only offer them to readers in countries where The Oathbreaker’s Shadow is being sold… that means I can’t offer it in the US and non-Commonwealth countries yet Boo!

Now, the other important thing is that I am NOT going to ask you to send in proof of your pre-order with your entry, unless your name is drawn to win one of the prizes. Honour system all the way (a big theme of the book is about promises and trust, after all…) There are pre-order links in the sidebar of the blog, but I’m not going to ask you to pre-order anywhere specific and please support your local bookstore if you are able to If your name is drawn, then I will ask the winners to e-mail me proof of purchase within a week of receiving the notification.

If you’ve already pre-ordered, that’s AMAZING and please enter anyway because OF COURSE that counts too!

Without further ado, here is the form… but if for some reason it doesn’t load, please CLICK HERE.

Phew. I think that’s all. Any questions, please fire away in the comments. And THANK YOU for entering!!

One month… AHHH!

SFX magazine, Liz de Jager and Lauren Beukes

So, today I fulfilled a lifelong dream of being within a few millimetres of Henry Cavill, a man whom I have been in love with since he played the dashing Albert Mondego in The Count of Monte Cristo (sorry Lofty).

Smile for me, Henry!

Okay, so it’s because we’re both in this month’s issue of SFX magazine – but who’s really debating semantics? I’m the subject of their ‘New Author’ interview, so if you get a chance then do pick up a copy!

I was also very excited to receive a review from the wonderful Liz de Jager this week. Liz was a book review blogger for a long time, and I was selfishly very upset when she, Mark and Sarah closed My Favourite Books, as it used to be one of my favourite book blogs and I was looking forward to getting their take on The Oathbreaker’s Shadow. Of course, Liz had excellent reason to shut up shop – she is in possession of her very own book deal with TOR UK, who are going to do an amazing job with her series The Blackhart Legacy that I cannot WAIT to read!

A snippet of her review:

“I think Ms. McCulloch has done something really special here – there are hints of Robin Hobb and George RR Martin … the traditions and lore that we are introduced to feels fresh and different”

Liz de Jager, What I’m Reading

Yay!

Lastly, I was hugely excited to attend the Arthur C. Clarke Awards last night and the Write the Future conference (#WTF13) in the afternoon. I helped to Kickstart the WTF conference, so it was great to see it all come together so seamlessly (great job, Tom Hunter!). Congratulations to Clarke Award winner Chris Beckett, who won with After Eden – the book sounds right up my alley, so I look forward to reading it.

One of the speakers at the conference was Lauren Beukes, who has been over this week promoting The Shining Girls. I will definitely be doing a bigger post on this book, because it was one of the most visceral and gripping reads I’ve encountered, ever. There’s one scene in it that just had my stomach in absolute knots, but I couldn’t put it down no matter how uncomfortable the reading was. A brilliant, brilliant storyteller. So I was very excited that she signed my copy, as I grabbed her at literally the very last moment she was around.

“May the words always do what you tell them”

 

Coming up later this week (on May 6, to be precise – ONE MONTH UNTIL LAUNCH!!) I will be running a HUGE pre-order contest, with the chance to win some cool Oathbreaker-related swag, and maybe even a manuscript critique by yours truly. Look out for it then!

Read the first chapter of The Oathbreaker’s Shadow

If you would like to read the first chapter of my debut YA fantasy novel, The Oathbreaker’s Shadow, you can now do so on my FB page! At the moment you have to ‘like’ the page to read it, but I’ll be sharing it more widely soon…

Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Me, Neil Gaiman, and Jamie Byng (of Canongate and World Book Night) looking suitably dark and moody. Photo credit (c) Toby Madden 

Sometime in the late hours of the night/early hours of this morning, I finished Neil Gaiman’s latest book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which is out in June this year. (A good time for books, obviously. I’m just saying.)

After I had ‘turned’ the final electronic page (I cannot wait to have this in a physical – oh god, I almost said proper! – edition), I had this strange moment where the floodgates I’d been trying so hard to keep tightly shut, opened ever so slightly. I let in a wave of emotion I’d been struggling to contain (or at least, to put a lid on – not permanently, but just while there has been so much stuff going on that I know I just can’t deal with right now…), and I sat on the sofa in my darkened living room trying to orient myself back in the real world. Oh yes, here is my mug of tea – gone stone cold. Oh look, there is my laptop – abandoned. Oh wow, is that the time?

I’d been held in the book’s grip for most of the night, shut away in the story and in that place where nothing and no one can reach me to break the spell. (Only ‘The End’ has that power). It felt strange, and cathartic, and affecting… and for a while I remembered what truly great books can do to a person. Or, more specifically, what a great book can do to me.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane arrived with me at the right time. That is to say, a time when I’ve been thinking a lot about oceans. There’s my workload and to-do list, which feel ocean-wide and ocean-deep. There’s the ocean of books out there that soon the tiny drop of water that is my book will be diving in to, and the fear that it will make barely a ripple – let alone something resembling a wave. There’s the literal ocean, that big one to the west of me, the one that separates me from my family and makes me feel so far away from some of the people and places that I love. The imminent reality of having several oceans separating me from my sister, who is planning that big jump to the land down under. And then there’s the ever-present desire to pack it all in and sail away on an ocean for a while, journal and pen in hand…

Even though I know all these oceans can be navigated, they still feel like they dominate my world.

The ocean in Neil’s book doesn’t seem like much more than a pond at first glance. But of course, it is far more than that. The ocean belongs to the land of the mysterious Hempstocks – three generations of women, all living together on a farm. There is a strong sense of nostalgia to the England portrayed in the book that reminds me of my dad’s stories of growing up in Nutfield, Surrey, on acres of land where you had to walk to school through muddy fields, before large farms made way for housing developments and villages gave way to towns. The food served at the Hempstock farm is the kind of warm, cosy cooking I am served from my aunt’s Aga – shepherd’s pie with fluffy mash and rich mince, spotted dick with lashings of homemade custard, thick slices of bread toasted between wire mesh and covered in butter and jam. Ever-present is Neil’s wonderful interplay with language, and sentences you want to cherish forever.

Ocean is an intensely personal book – even more than just in terms of how much Neil drew on his own experiences to shape it. It’s the type of book that has the power to affect each reader differently. For me, at least, it opened up a vast well of memories of being a child and discovering things that adults never could – some of them terrifying, most of them wondrous. While I never came across a pond that was actually an ocean, I remember believing that the hollows in old, gnarled oak trees in Richmond Park were the doorways to Another World, and that if I climbed high enough the branches would allow me to reach the place beyond the clouds. It also reminded me of the monsters of my childhood imagination – and how the monsters that don’t look like monsters, but look more like people, are actually the scariest of all.

But returning to the late hours of last night, the resounding sense of finishing Ocean was of wanting to dive straight back in and start reading it all over again. Because as terrifying and overwhelming and vast an ocean can be, they can also be restorative, and healing. They can remind you of the awe that exists in the world and that it’s okay to be swept away in it for a while, even as it’s equally okay to come back. And sometimes – if you try hard enough – you can fit that ocean into a bucket and carry it with you, so that maybe the weight of all that water won’t seem so heavy after all.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans

Oh man, less than 50 days to The Oathbreaker’s Shadow UK publication. Now that *is* scary! I’m working on quite a few blogs and giveaways over the next few weeks, and there should be a first chapter excerpt available very soon! I’ve also been loading things up on Pinterest – go have a look there if you want some visual representation

But throughout the lead-up to the release, I’m going to pay things forward by shouting out to some brilliant Lucky 13 and Author Allsort books I’ve been reading recently. First up is Level 2 by the brilliant Lenore Appelhans, which was published earlier this year by Usborne books… which means you can head out and get a copy RIGHT NOW.

I was lucky enough to be able to attend Lenore’s launch party, which was held in a very cool venue known as the ‘ice tank’ in Central London. Everything in it was bright, industrial white – the perfect setting for Level 2. Usborne, Lenore’s publishers, had brought along some neat props – but the crazy telephone contraption thingy I’m wearing on my head gave me neck ache for days after! Worth it for awesome photos like this though:

Goofing around with Lenore at her launch!

Now, how about the book itself…

(Quick caveat: Level 2 is actually going to be better known in the US as ‘The Memory of After’, but will still be known as Level 2 over here in the UK. I love The Memory of After as a new title: it fits the book perfectly!)

Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans

Felicia Ward is dead. Trapped in Level 2, the hive-like waiting room between Earth and Heaven, she has spent endless days downloading and replaying memories of her family, friends, boyfriend, and the guy who broke her heart. Now a rebellion is brewing in this limbo world, and Felicia is the key. Suspended between Heaven and Earth, she must make a choice between two worlds, two lives and two loves. Her decision will change everything. An astonishing, imaginative and out-of-this-world story of love, life and death from debut author Lenore Applehans.

I really sped through this book as Lenore has developed a totally immersive concept and a very original portrayal of the Afterlife. Felicia is a complex character, and I love the idea of being able to access, share and rate memories with other people. Despite it being a novel of ‘what’s next’ after death, the memories of Felicia’s life were probably my favourite sections to read. One of the main elements that struck me was how naturally Lenore weaves in the details of Felicia’s travels. For me, the most vivid part was when Felicia travels into the Turkish hills to hunt for bell-ringing goats with her dad. Lenore’s writing completely transported me there – and I was amazed when she told me that this wasn’t actually one of her travel experiences (although she does have many!) but an encounter related to her by her husband. She really made it come to life.

An amazing debut, a blend of contemporary with science fiction, that deals with the big questions as well as delving closely into the personal relationships between characters. Highly recommended.

Buy it from Amazon UK

Writing advice and all that jazz…

The lovely team at HarperImpulse, HarperCollins’ newest romance imprint, asked me to provide my Top 5 tips for writing fantasy, which I happily provided. The 5 headlines were:

5. Create a believable world
4. Create conflict
3. Drive plot
2. Characters
1. Learn from the best!

(You can read the actual tips here: on.fb.me/16Veku8) But as several people commented, my writing advice can really apply to ALL aspects of fiction, not just fantasy. That’s very true! Writing a great genre story isn’t any different to writing a great modern or historical or literary story.

I always hesitate when giving writing advice, because really I’m still so new to the game. I think that the best way to learn is to learn from the best. That’s why I’m a big fan of the Reddit AMA’s (“Ask me anything”). I especially enjoyed Guy Gavriel Kay’s latest AMA, for the publication of River of Stars. If you scroll through the questions, you can find some great insight into Guy Kay’s writing process. This is usually far more useful to an aspiring author than any other writing advice. Even if his methods don’t work for you exactly, there is always so much to be gleaned from a master of the trade.

#Livetweetingofadebutbookdelivery

So today I had the day off of work, with a plan to do loads of writing, a fair bit of admin, send out invites to my launch party, tidy the flat, etc. etc.

Needless to say, THE DAY HAD OTHER PLANS. It started with an e-mail from my editor informing me that my finished hardbacks had arrived hot off the press… and one was being biked over to me that very moment.

I did, I’m unashamed to say, actually start crying at that point, but you know… it’s an emotional day!

So for the rest of the morning, I was waiting impatiently for this man:

The bike man! The bike man! He had a package for me, which I immediately ripped open to reveal…

THE FINISHED COPY!! Oh wow oh wow oh wow. My reaction was something like this:

And then I ran taking pictures of it from every angle like a loon, but my favourite is seeing it on the bookshelf, with all my faves:

And then I bored everyone on Facebook and Twitter with my incessant tweets… but you know, you only debut once

Amyx

Sharm el Sheikh relaxing & chillaxing

My absolute favourite blogs to write are travel blogs – maybe because I kept one going for so long and it reminds me of my gap year (if you haven’t seen that blog, it’s still archived over on http://amytravels.wordpress.com). This holiday was much more of the ‘relax’ variety rather than the ‘adventure’ one, and ended up being the perfect antidote to the freezing cold winter weather we’ve been having in the UK right now. It also had the added benefit of kickstarting my writing routine and I wrote well over 12,000 words – clearly I need the occasional week in the sun to keep me productive!

We stayed at the Hilton Waterfalls all-inclusive in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, getting a great last-minute deal. Luckily Lofty had researched the hotels pretty thoroughly so we knew we’d be getting a decent place to stay. We both fell in love with Egypt on our trip there last year (check the Egypt tag for more trip reports) and the combination of decent price with guaranteed sunshine made it a good bet!

The hotel was lovely – but even better, it had its own funicular! So when we got a bit tired of all the walking… we could just hop in the glass elevator.

Both L & I are keen divers (we did our Advanced PADIs in Dahab last year), so our first port of call was the diving school at the hotel. Unfortunately they were asking ludicrous amounts (clearly Hilton Hotel Guest prices) for four dives, and we left feeling very disappointed. We weren’t about to drop around £200 each for four dives when we’d expected to pay less than half that. Luckily, our holiday rep used a different dive company, which was much more reasonable. We went out to the local reef for our refresher dives, which was pretty interesting in itself, but then the next day ventured out to Tiran Island, which had some pretty amazing coral gardens. We saw lots of blue-spotted stingrays, lionfish, napoleon wrasse, grouper, Nemos and brightly coloured coral. The only downside was that it was very busy on the reef – lots of boats, lots of divers, lots of snorkelers. I know it is Easter hols, but Egypt is hardly at the height of tourism at the moment… so I can’t imagine what it would be like when it was really packed!

One of the things we loved most about Dahab was the relaxed vibe – just chilling out on cushions under fairy lights… and I was worried that we wouldn’t really feel that in Sharm el Sheikh. And while it’s true that it was definitely much more of a Tourist (capital T) destination – filled with Brits, but mostly Russians! – our hotel had one little spot on the roof which fulfilled our bohemian traveller dreams – Shish Bish, a little shisha bar out under the stars. Suffice to say that most evenings were spent with some mint tea and a shisha pipe and a brightly coloured blanket to ward away the pesky mosquitos! It was a very relaxing way to end our days.

We didn’t spend every night cooped up in our hotel though, and we ventured out into Old Sharm to dine on some delicious seafood. We’d had a recommendation from a French family to head to Fares – which was definitely a good call. For around £20 for the two of us, we gorged on seafood soup, lobster, crab, grouper, calamari, shrimp… the works. It was delish! We then wandered around the market for a bit, stopping at El Mawardy – a cafe which had been recommended to us by our waiter at Fares. The owner was lovely, even if I was the only woman in the entire place… naturally they positioned us out front, probably to try to attract more tourists! That being said, pretty much every Egyptian I met assumed that I was Egyptian… but then no one can EVER guess my background so I can’t really blame them. (Spot the odd one out in the picture below…)

Ultimately though, the trip was an opportunity for me to get some writing done, which I thankfully managed to squeeze in between the sunbathing and the eating and the swimming and the diving and the shisha… but before you all think I had TOO much of a good time, I did end the trip with a not-so-pleasant case of Egypt Belly. And we were so good with the bottled water!

We’re back home now, and there’s been lots of exciting writing stuff happening, but that’s a blog for another time! Bye Egypt, I’m sure we’ll see you again soon…