What is it about vampires?

Yet another inconvenience of being ill is that I missed Bath Spa University's writer-in-residence Marcus Sedgwick's lecture in college yesterday. When speaking about his book 'My Swordhand is Singing', Marcus apparently said that 'everyone should write a vampire novel'. Well this recommendation lifted me right out of my pity party, because for once I am ahead of schedule: I have already written a book about vampires! It's a picture book called 'Vera the Vegetarian Vampire' about a vampire who just doesn't fit in.

Fitting in is something I've been thinking a lot about lately. I, like so many others, have been enjoying the programme 'Glee'. Its appeal for my friends and I seems to be the fact that the under-represented literally have centre-stage. Is there anyone who does not relate to feeling marginalised in some way, especially as a teenager?

I remember a couple of years ago sitting beside one of the 'popular girls' from my secondary school at a Leonard Cohen concert by chance. She said that she envied me growing up because unlike her I had true friends and that her school days were the worst of her life. At first I assumed she had me mixed up with someone else but as she continued I realised a) she was actually speaking about me and b) no one feels like they fit in as teenagers.

It made me feel pretty good about myself as I sat back and listened to Leonard. Until he sang 'Bird on a Wire' and I realised how much my identity is wrapped-up in being an outsider. I've had a lot of freedom by not conforming. This other girl's view of my formative years flipped my self-image on its head. Perhaps I wasn't quite as unconventional as I'd thought. Shush! Don't tell anyone!

Control freaks don't get sick

I am too much of a control freak to be ill. I'm still waiting for the general anaesthetic to work its way out of my system so that I can go back to normal.

But I wonder how normal that will be after my experiences over the past few days. I have dreamt about jimmying treasure chests in Glastonbury churches and being five years old in my grandmother's house. I've talked to wallpaper and have sent text messages to people I haven't spoken to in years.

I recall reading 'Journey to the River Sea' by Eva Ibbotson but darned if I remember a single salient detail from it.

I hope I'll remember writing this blog post so I can delete it if I need to later :-/

Introducing...

I wrote my first story when I was seven. It was about a talking strawberry called Willis, after the character in 'Different Strokes'. Poor Willis came to a sticky end in a pot of strawberry jam. I was a strange little girl.

I have been writing since then and my efforts have culminated in a MA in Writing for Young People' from Bath Spa University that I started last September.

The focus of my writing has changed since the programme. I used to write preternatural teen fiction but now I write for children aged between 9 and 12.

But I still love the fantasy genre. My main reasearch area is looking at how myths can be re-told for a younger audience. This research has helped me with my plot development for my work-in-progress 'The Heart of All Things', which has an Irish mythical setting.

It has been a dream come true for me to take a year out to study writing for children full-time. Over the coming semester I hope to blog about all manner of things related to children's books. So please visit again soon!