WASTED on KINDLE

Hooray - by popular demand, there is now a Kindle version of Wasted!

Its here: WASTED on Kindle

Enjoy! I can't, because I don't have a Kindle :(

The other e-formats will be available soon.

I NEED TO SPEAK LOUDLY

I write for teenagers. I do that because I like them and respect them. I want to tell their stories, which are my stories too, because I was a teenager and I remember it.

That's why I am so so very angry about the people in America who are trying to ban the amazing SPEAK, by Laurie Halse Anderson, from schools. They say it's pornographic. It isn't. It's the story of a girl, screwed up, driven mad and silenced by the apalling memory of having been raped. Which she blames herself for. It's called Speak because she can't. She chews her lips, makes them bleed through her tension. And she is saved in the end by the wisdom of a teacher who helps her tell her story through art.

Yeah, right. Pornography.

I'm just appalled.

I'd like you to watch a video. I'll put it at the end of this post. Laurie Halse Anderson reads a poem that she wrote about the book and the reactions she has had to it, not the reactions from ignorant people who misunderstand it, but reactions from young people who have dealt with rape or other terrible things they can't talk about, things I didn't suffer but which I wish no one suffered.

Let the book speak. Let them speak.

Here it is. It's called LISTEN.

BOOKS FOR KEEPS

Very thrilled to find a 5 star review of Wasted in Books for Keeps - they don't give out 5 stars too often.

BUT, I find it really strange that people keep saying that the reader is asked "to take an active role in determining their fate" Now, I know you are asked to do this at the end, but that's not what the reviewer means, as you'll see from the context. I find this intriguing because actually the reader has NO control over their fate up till then.

What do you think? Did you feel in control? Because you shouldn't have!!

Here's a bit I will treasure: "In Wasted, Morgan creates sympathetic, intelligent characters you really care about and when the book ends, you can hardly bear to leave their stories behind."

Thank you, Lois Keith! If I ever meet you, please introduce yourself!

THE NORTH EAST BOOK AWARD

Some lovely news for WASTED today - its third shortlisting! And it's a particularly lovely one: The North East Book Award. Books from all over the UK but voted for by teenagers in the north east of England. It's a daunting shortlist but I don't mind because I know the party will be fab! (I know this because I was there with Fleshmarket seven years ago and it's where my favourite quote from a teenager comes from: "People who say teenagers don't read haven't seen us!")

The full shortlist is:

The Dead House by Anne Cassidy
When I Was Joe by Keren David
Auslander by Paul Dowswell
Rowan the Strange by Julie Hearn
Savannah Grey by Cliff McNish
Wasted by Nicola Morgan

I'm really pleased to see Keren David there. I met her for the first time last week and really liked her. I think it's her first shortlisting, or at least it's her first book. Hooray! And Anne Cassidy is a friend too, so it will be lovely to see her again, and to meet the others.

The result is announced at a ceremony and party in Newcastle at the end of January. But I honestly am just delighted to be on the shortlist. That's the clever bit - the rest comes down to chance. But I hope no one actually tosses a coin to make their decision.

THRILLERS BOOK FESTIVAL EVENT

Really enjoyed by Edinburgh Book Festival event yesterday. The Bookwitch wrote about it here, if you're interested. I didn't know if the audience would be mostly teenagers or more adults and I was really pleased to see that it was almost all teenagers and even a bit younger. All of them listened brilliantly and asked some great questions.

The only difficulty was trying to manhandle the microphone while turning the pages of my book when I was reading two short bits, but no one laughed at me, which was a help.

I had some lovely chats in the signing queue afterwards, too. Two people were there because I'd been mentioned on another blog months ago; and one girl had seen me at a school event; another girl said, "I hadn't heard of you but my aunt always picks me a random person." LOVE IT! And, considering that Wasted is about randomness, what better proof could I have in the power of luck, chance and randomness?

I was also really pleased that some South African teachers, who'd brought their keen readers to compete in the Kids Lit Quiz final, came to see me afterwards and we are talking about the possibility of my going over there to do some school talks and inspire reading. I would love that! I've done foreign visits to Switzerland and Paris, but never as far as SA. I really hope we can get this organised.

Meanwhile, if your school would like me to visit, let me know.

PS Weirdly, I had four separate conversations with South African people yesterday. It's a sign.

FACEBOOK PAGE - DO SIGN UP

Started a Facebook author page - an experiment. There's a competition going on there now. Do get lots of friends to join the FB page - the more who join, the more prizes there will be! I'd especially like teenage readers to join.

Facebook page here.

NEWS, REMINDERS, SIGNED BOOKS AND EVENTS

Scottish schools go back soon - apologies for the reminder... So, now seems like a good time to remind you of the idea for schools that I suggested here.

I've got a number of events booked up for Wasted, in Glasgow, Dundee, Fortrose, Manchester, Derby and elsewhere. Happy to take another booking or two in November and a couple each in January, February and March. See the events page of my author website.

I also have copies of my books to sell so if you fancy a signed copy, let me know. I do not charge postage and packing!

I'll be doing some events at the Edinburgh Book Festival. They're all sold out, I'm afraid, but I'll be around to meet any readers or writers after each one. For details, go to my other blog - Help!I Need a Publisher! - and click on the Edinburgh Book festival meet-ups page.

Enjoy the rest of your holidays!

WASTED ON SHORTLISTS

I am proud and thrilled to tell you that Wasted is on two lovely shortlists for awards. One is a secret for absolutely ages but I will tell you when I can. :((

The other is a complicated one. It's the Manchester Book Award, but it's not going to be like previous years, which is a real shame. Apparently, funding has been withdrawn so there won't now be any voting or winners. That's a shame for readers in Manchester schools, who normally have such fun voting in this prestigious award. On the other hand, it's good because we're all equal and equally pleased! (Also, I believe there will be various ways that Manchester schools can get involved and some of us will probably do school events - if anyone invites us. Hint, hint...)

The reason it's complicated is that we aren't really sure how to describe it. It's not exactly a shortlist, because there's no further voting, and it's longer than a normal shortlist would be. It's sort of a list of recommended books, as far as I can make out. It's lovely, though.

Anyway, huge thanks to whoever liked Wasted enough to choose it. These are awards where publishers don't nominate books, so it's entirely down to the librarians involved. Thank you, librarians!

Another book on the Manchester list is the wonderful When I Was Joe, by Keren David, whose blog I visited on the Wasted blog tour. We've become friends on Twitter, which has been lovely. Hooray for us! (And WIWJ is a very very good book, btw.)

WASTED BOOK OF THE WEEK FOR "ULTIMATE BOOK GUIDE"

I knew I loved The Ultimate Book Guide, edited by Daniel Hahn, Leonie Flynn and Susan Reuben. Now, I love them even more, as they have made WASTED their book of the week and put a wonderful review there. Do go over and see their blog and read some of the other books recommended over the weeks.

I've been lucky enough to have a lot of lovely reviews for Wasted, but this is one of the ones that most cleverly captures what I was trying to do. If you read it, you'll see what I mean.

Meanwhile, the Scotsman also did a lovely review which isn't online and the Times one is here. I won't bother listing the others, because you've got better things to do than trawl through them, but if you happen to need any - for a school project, for example - an internet search will find them. And there are lots on Amazon here. I never ask anyone to write a review, as I hate anyone to feel they should, but I am always so grateful to anyone who takes the time.

Hope you're all enjoying or about to enjoy your summer holidays. It's raining here. :(((

WHAT MAKES A GOOD ENDING?

Something writers worry about is how to end their books. Readers get very cross with us sometimes! Thing is, some readers like neat endings and others like everything to be more mysterious. What do you think? What do you like or not like about types of endings?

I've made a poll for you here - please vote! And (or) just comment in the comments section below.





By the way, a very nice person in contact with schools in Australia, told me that she knows several classes who enjoy this blog, but that they aren't able to comment because of school internet policy. I quite understand and I just love the idea that you're out there reading this. So, helloooooo!

AN IDEA FOR SCHOOLS

The beginning of the school summer holidays is perhaps not the best time to attract the attention of teachers and school librarians with an idea! But, hey, I like to live dangerously.

Anyway, if you are a teacher or school librarian or if perhaps you run a teenage reading group, this might interest you. If you would like to use any of the following creative writing ideas in your school, I would love to help by a) offering a signed book (or perhaps more), which you could either offer as a prize or else just have in the school library b) providing some posters and cards for your participating pupils c) be available to answer questions and engage with your pupils in any way I can. I'd also love to come and do an event, but I'm afraid I have to charge for that - though if we combine with other schools this can work out very reasonably.

So, here are some creative writing ideas, but you could also have your own - just let me know what you want to do.

• There are a couple of points in Wasted where I write two alternative scenes, toss a coin and one scene vanishes. WHAT IF I'd tossed the coin differently - how would the story have turned out?
• A "favourite scene" competition - say why you like a particular scene.
• Write the conversation you'd like to have with Kelly (the bad girl!)
• Write about a time when a chance event changed your life - perhaps an accident that almost happened, or actually did happen, thanks to a chance event.
• Write a story where the events depend on a tiny chance event.
• Do you think we can make our own luck or are we quite powerless? Discuss.
• Is it possible to predict the future?

Anything else you can think of? Really, I'm up for anything that gets pupils writing and enjoying writing.

Please email me on talkaboutwasted@hotmail.co.uk

ALSO - does anyone have any other good ideas for school-appropriate activities based on Wasted? Add in the comments below!

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF TEENAGERS

I have just come back from Inverkeithing High School and I have a story to share.

First, though, I had a great time - two large events, each with around 150 pupils, 14-15 year-olds, and a few 13-year-olds, huge hall, microphone that worked, eager faces, really attentive. And some good questions, including some very good questions.

Second, it was lovely to see some 6th form pupils there completely voluntarily, mostly boys. And to see them inspired to buy books when they hadn't planned to and to have them say it was nice to meet me, and to thank me. 

Third, it was a new experience for me to see some pupils actually reading from their own copies of Wasted while I was reading from it - their faces were a picture of excitement, even though they'd already read that bit!

But what I want to share with you is a comment by a girl who came up to me afterwards. Now, this will only make sense to you if you have read Wasted, but this is what she said:

"You know how you were talking about how everything could be different if something before it had happened differently? And you know you were talking about failing to get published for 21 years? Well, just think: if you hadn't had those years of failure, your mind would be different and you might never have come up with the idea for Wasted."

 WOW!

She was so right; had so very got it. I was gobsmacked. That required some seriously deep thought, some thought-experiment, out-of-the-box thinking.And she was one of the younger ones.

NOW do you see why I write for teenagers??

Anyway, to the librarian, Angela Macari, her lovely daughter, Nicole, and all the pupils of Inverkeithing High School whom I met today, have a lovely summer holiday and enjoy your reading - you never know how it might change your life.

HOORAY - SOME COMPETITION RESULTS

I've kept you waiting long enough. It's time to announce some competition results.

GUESS THE NAME

This was where you had to guess whether Jess was originally going to be called Josie, Laura or Izzy.

There was an interesting result to this. First, only one person got it right. Second, of those who got it wrong, everyone apart from one thought the correct answer was Josie. And third, something a bit odd and Wastedesque has happened. See, when I thought of the two wrong options of Josie and Laura, I thought I was doing it purely randomly, just picking names out of my head and they could have been anything. Then I forgot about it. A few days ago, I started writing a new book. I couldn't think of the character's name at first, and then the name I chose was...Josie, again thinking it was just any name. Only when I looked at all the competition entries last night did I realise that a) Josie was one of the false options I'd given you, and b) that everyone apart from two of you would think that was the correct answer.

Are you spookily reading my mind, or what?

Anyway, the winner of that competition is the only one who correctly guessed that Jess was originally going to be called Izzy. And that clever person is...Isla Donaldson! Well done, Isla! (This is not the first time Isla has won a book from me - she won a writing comp on my other blog a while ago.)

FARANTELLA'S NAME
And then there was the competition to say what Farantella's real name was. Surprisingly, there were only two entries to this. And, amusingly, the entries were from Isla and her mother, Clare! They both got the right answer - Doreen - so I had to choose which of their reasons for picking them I liked better. I liked them both a lot because they were witty and very nice to me, but I chose Clare, simply because I couldn't have her being beaten by her daughter AGAIN!

So, Clare and Isla both need to tell me which of my books they'd like and who they'd like them signed to.

THE RANDOMNESS COMPETITION

This was a fascinating one. Check out the entries here. I asked each entrant to suggest a method whereby I could pick as randomly as possible. I would then choose the method I preferred and then use it to determine the winner.

So, first I had to decide whose randomness generator I preferred. Because I'm lazy, I looked for the easiest method and Captain Black's was the one. It was also, basically, magic. Utterly cool to someone of my little brain. Try it. You copy and paste this code into your browser:

javascript:alert (1 + Math.floor (Math.random () * 100));

(Replace the 100 by whatever number you want - in my case 15 because there were 15 entries.)

When I applied Captain Black's method, I got the number 5. Which means that the winner is.... Lacer! Well done! So, Lacer, please email me your address and say which book you'd like and to whom you'd like it signed.

So, thanks to all of you for being good sports and amusing me and better luck next time.

Meanwhile, there's still the chance to enter TWO competitions. Go here and check out the two last competitions. Go for it!

FLASH FICTION RESULTS

What a lot of entries I had for this competition! And the standard was quite extraordinary, in both age categories. I'd like to make a special point of thanking and praising an Edinburgh school, George Watson's College, for sending in so many entries and for producing the winner and several commended entries.

As I'm a chicken, I decided to choose an expert guest author as a judge. My first choice, and a very easy one, was the talented and delightful Nik Perring, and I was so pleased that he accepted. I knew he'd take it very seriously and consider the stories carefully, which I knew they deserved. But I knew how busy he would be, as he has just had a book out, and so I was all the more grateful to him for accepting. To make it fair, my assistant, Catherine, sorted all the entries into a document and removed the names, so that Nik wouldn't feel awkward if he recognised any of the writers.

A bit about Nik Perring:

1. He's had loads of stories published, plus a children's book, and most recently a brilliant collection of flash fiction pieces, published by RoastBooks and titled Not So Perfect. It's beside my bed just now and I am horribly reluctant to finish it because each one is such a gem. If you look on Amazon you'll see some amazing reviews and I will be adding mine.

2. He has a great blog - http://nikperring.blogspot.com/ If you're at all interested in the process and art of writing, do check it out.

3. You can follow him on Twitter as @nikperring

4. He's lovely.

And now I will hand you over to Nik.

Before the winners are announced, I’d like to thank Nicola for asking me to judge the fabulous WASTED flash fiction competition – it was an honour and a privilege. I’d also like to explain a little about how I chose my winners.

What I look for in a good piece of flash fiction is, mostly, a good story. I want to be able to read something that’s believable and affecting and that moves me in some way; I want it to make me laugh or cry or think. And I want, ideally, the story to last long after the final word, to stay with me after I’ve put it down.

And in reading all of the entries (many times over two days!) I found that pretty much all of them fitted that, in one way or another. The quality was brilliantly high and I was impressed, not only that so many people had written flash fiction pieces, but that they’d written them so well.

Of course, that left me with a problem: picking winners.

And it was a BIG problem. So I ended up drawing up a short list, for both categories, of six. And from there, after much head scratching and frowning I eventually picked a winner. Eventually.

Congratulations to all who entered. And I’m not just saying this - but every entry was good.

I hope you all keep writing short fiction because you’re all rather good at it!

I second all that! And now, here are Nik's decisions. The winner in each category gets a signed copy of Wasted, or any other of my books. (By the way, you may notice that occasional punctuation or small errors have often not spoilt the overall enjoyment of the reader. I would also like to point out that I happen to know that most of the school entries were done in one lesson, without warning, and with no time to proof-read or do much tweaking.)

CATEGORY A – school age (including 6th form college students)

WINNER: Ellis Smith (13)

My head was pounding, everyone was unnoticeable, out of focus. The monitor was bleeping powerfully. The hospital bed was brick, my cuts and bruises were agonizing. Thoughts came and gone in my head, was it luck or fate for Marcus? Was he in the same position as me?

(Nik says: An excellent piece of flash fiction which does what flash should – it delivers a brilliantly affecting story which lasts far beyond the last word. Excellent.)

COMMENDED STORIES BY

Eve Kelsey (17)

A girl lay in the field, her lover lay beneath her. They’d always dreamed of visiting Paris, and now they finally had the chance, after years of turmoil and disaster. She smiled, then suddenly wept- and reached out a trembling hand… to caress the broken cross, amidst the poppies.

(Nik says: I love the way this works as a whole story in such a small amount of, very cleverly used, words. Excellent and touching ending without being too obvious.)

Jonny Urquhart (13)

Harris was a boy, the luckiest boy alive. It all started because once he walked into a shop and bought a lovely chocolate ice-cream and won the prize of the thousandth person to buy it. He was very lucky because the boy in front of him had decided on vanilla.

(Nik says: I really liked the narrator’s voice in this. And it made me laugh. Excellent work!)

Heather Philp (age not known but I think 13, as in same school class as the other 12/13 year-olds)

FATE
She bowed her head as a river appeared to flood from her eyes, drowning her black patent shoes in tears of sorrow.

I wanted to comfort her, to tell her that everything would be all right. That mum would get better. I was wrong, fate just wasn't on my side.

(Nik says: A story packed with emotion which was brilliantly and concisely told. And a killer ending.)

Daniel Baird (12)

My Stolen Jet
The alarm sounded to tell us there was a Luftwaffe attack. I ran outside to find my plane but someone was already at my jet.

"Oi! That my jet!"

 He never heard and was taking off.

 I saw my jet in the sky. It was a giant ball of fire.

(Nik says: Excellent and atmospheric with impressive dialogue.)

Hannah Nicholson (13)

Looking back on Chance.
There was once a boy.  An unusual boy.  You were never certain of what he was up to, in fact you were never certain of where he was.  He was never around in daylight.  He only showed up, creeping in shadows at midnight. Maybe it's chance I never knew him.

(Nik says: A lovely, mysterious short tale)

CATEGORY B - adults...

WINNER: Tanya Byrne

Cats and dogs
 
Mum says that rain is God crying.  Actually, it’s me.

It rained the day she died; at the funeral; at the foster home while I waited for someone to tell me that I was going to be a hero, that my powers would save the world.

It rained and rained.

(Nik says: This is a perfect example of what flash fiction is and can do. The word count’s tiny and yet there’s SO MUCH here, and it echoes long after the final word. And when all that’s coupled with smooth writing and an excellent and believable voice it has to be my winner. Brilliant and affecting. Congratulations.)

COMMENDED STORIES BY:

Stephanie Butland

He shouldn’t have left. Not tonight.

Sharp shadows spike from his feet as he runs, runs, lungs wailing, to a wired white room where her breath barely shivers the air.

He is almost here, but corridors, lifts, stairs sprawl between them.

Her cold hand suddenly colder.

He’s too late.

(Nik says: A brilliant piece which captures so much in such a small number of words. Full of atmosphere and excellent writing.)

Barbara  O Connor

FATE

I always said, “It won’t happen to me”.  I was wrong and you were born.  It’s strange that we can produce another life, yet can’t always save our own.

 I feel that part of you, so unselfishly given, filling me with life. I am so glad you happened to me.

(Nik says: I love the language used here, love how the writing’s to the point and all the words are the right ones. There’s a lovely, honest tenderness here too.)

Kate Kelly

Fate

Keep playing, bows on strings. Don’t stop. All paths converge on this moment. Nothing could have changed that. Fate.

The sky is starlit clear, the air filled with screams. They can’t drown our music with their panic. But the music will drown. The deck tips. Titanic sinks.

Keep playing.

(Nik says: Brilliant in its brevity and it captures a moment we’re all familiar with wonderfully. It’s what’s unsaid that makes this work.)

Dan Metcalf

Revelation.

“If you got pregnant now, would you keep it?”

We’d been arguing.  I guess I wanted ammunition.  I just wanted to know if she loved me.  We’d been dating for years, but I wasn’t convinced.  It was a cheap trick.

She turned, eyes glistening:

“What do you mean ‘if’?”

(Nik says: A perfect snapshot of a life-changing conversation. Well written. And it made me laugh.)

José Kilbride

"So, what do you think it was? Luck?"
"No."
"Chance?"
"No."
"Fate."
"No."
Frowns.
"Okay, what then?"
"Sheer bloody stupidity on my part and an extraordinarily forgiving
universe."
Silence.
"Oh."

(Nik says: Another piece that made me smile. I especially like the form of this – I think the writer’s been brave and that (s)he’s produced something believable, funny and moving.)

Congratulations to all the named authors and especially, of course, to the two winners, Ellis Smith and Tanya Byrne! Catherine will be in touch to ask where to send your prizes and I will sign the books and write to you personally.

To the others: remember, all fiction reading is about personal response. A different judge might have made a different choice. I might have made some different choices. If Nik had eaten something different for breakfast, HE might have made a different choice! That's what Wasted is about, after all, the tiny things that make us do what we do.

The choice you made, the thing you could and did control, was to enter the competition. And in doing so, who knows what positive changes you have created in your life?

So, whether or not you were lucky this time, well done and thank you for contributing to a wonderful standard of entries. Oh, and on Tuesday I'll be announcing some winners of other competitions. Meanwhile, there are still two competitions to enter. Go here and check out the last two on the page. If you don't enter, you can't win!

PS - the librarian at George Watson's has just emailed me to say that "by chance" (as always!) my email telling her about all their success came on the morning of the year prize-giving, so the pupils had their achievement read out in front of the whole year group. Lovely!!

MY MYTHIC VISIT TO SCRIBBLECITYCENTRAL

Today I am over at lovely author Lucy Coats's blog - ScribbleCityCentral - talking about myths. I was brought up on a rich diet of myths of all sorts. They are stories that permeate all cultures and affect and influence writers all around the world. They are gory, shocking, violent, scary, passionate, exuberant and just great fun.

So, if you'd like to see Lucy's piercing questions and what she managed to make me say, head over there!

The Greek and Roman myths, which are the ones I know best, are so much about fate and chance and luck that I think it's highly likely that they influenced my thinking in Wasted and caused the obsession that I have with the part that chance plays in our lives.

And, of course, the Oedipus story is firmly at the centre of Wasted. Lucy got me talking about that in a different blog post, too - if you want to know why I hate the Oedipus story so much, go here. There was some pretty hefty discussion after it, too!

WASTED, DEATHWATCH AND A CRY FOR HELP

This week I've been around the UK doing school events for Wasted and I've had a lovely time answering superb questions from pupils who have really engaged with the ideas behind the book. When I set out to write it, I worried that because it was such an unusual book lots of people would find it TOO unusual, but if they have they haven't told me! (Long may that continue...)

Bizarrely, I also heard this week that my previous novel, Deathwatch, was the No 1 best-seller for the year June 2009 to June 2010 in the Edinburgh Children's Bookshop, outselling JK Rowling, Stephanie Meyer, Michael Morpurgo and everyone! I can hardly believe this and I'm wondering if the bookshop owner, Vanessa Robertson, might have made a mistake but she assures me she didn't. So, Vanessa wonders, can she do the same for Wasted? I hope so. She's certainly selling it well already.

But, I need your help, since if Wasted is to sell well it's going to need word of mouth success. It is actually achieving that at the moment, thanks to you and to some fabulously supportive friends. When a book is not a "highlight" title for its publishers,  the author has to work extra hard, and that's what I'm doing - nothing special: all authors have to do this, unless they're big commercial sellers with big marketing budgets. So, if you enjoyed Wasted, please do one thing for me: tell a librarian. Librarians are very important when it comes to spreading the word about books and without them authors are dead. There's a press release which you can give them to explain about the response the book has had - if you want one, let me know and I'll email you a copy.

Do I sound desperate? I am! I've had the most fabulous response to the book on Amazon, Twitter, blogs and in The Times, among other places, and I just want it to have the best chance. Until I know I've done my best for it, I can't get stuck into writing my next one.

It's an emotional roller-coaster being a writer!

I AM INTRIGUED BY READERS!

There's something funny going on when people read Wasted. I have lost count of the number of people who, in reviews or comments, have said something about the reader having control, or the reader getting to choose an outcome or path.

Now, don't get me wrong: I'm NOT cross or criticizing them but in fact they are ...um...wrong! There are two reasons why I want to point this out and talk a little about it.

1. It may make people who haven't read it think it's going to be like one of those "quest" books from the 1990s, where the reader could choose different paths. Anyone who has read Wasted knows that nothing could be further from the truth. I tell the story and the reader has no choice at all until the end (and I'll come to what sort of a "choice" that is in a minute.)
2. I find it interesting that some readers subconsciously feel in control when they are not, and I want to think about why that might be.

I think that's because the unique narrator / narrative voice in Wasted allows the reader to see what it (the narrator) sees. So, in a way that you don't often find, the reader is fully aware of everything, looking down on the characters from exactly the same viewpoint as the godlike narrator.

So, because you assume that the narrator (or author) is in control, you assume that the reader also is.

But no, the reader has no control. In fact, the narrator doesn't have much either. The narrator simply directs you as to what to see, but is entirely at the mercy of what happens. The narrator is little more than photographer and wise spectator combined.

So, what about the "choice" that the reader is supposed to have at the end? Some people have called this a choice of endings. No, you have no choice of endings! You have only one choice: whether to toss the coin and follow it to the ending that it gives you, or to refuse to toss the coin and just read both endings. (Of course, I fully expect that even if you do toss the coin, you will read both endings...).

And it's this funny thing about choice, too: do we really have choice? (I believe we do, but it's hard to explain and prove.) When you chose to toss the coin or not, was that really your choice or have I influenced you and primed you so much that, when combined with either your natural curiousity or your natural refusal to do what you're told, you really have no choice at all? Is an author really more godlike than you suppose? Have I manipulated you into believing that it makes any difference at all whether you spin the coin or not, so that you either decide you must or that you mustn't?

DOES it make any difference at all whether you spin the coin or not?

Why is it that we can KNOW that an author is making a story up and yet believe in the characters and their situation so fully that we seem to believe and feel their pain? So fully that we even have to consider whether spinning a coin is the right thing to do to find out what happens to them?

DOES it make any difference at all whether you read Wasted or not? Will it make you think differently? Will that be a good thing or not? 


But then, you know, every book changes you. Everything you hear or read or see or think changes you. In ways you can't predict or control.

Which is what Wasted is, essentially, about. Probably the only choice you have is whether to read it or not - after that, you are putty in my hands! Yay for author power! That's why I write: I'm power-crazy...

I ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS

I said I'd spend today answering your questions from the post on Friday.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

At some point during school, I knew I wanted to be published, but I didn't immediately think of this as a job or career. I can't explain why that was. At university I got some bits published in newspapers and magazines, and I knew I wanted to do this much, much more, but I still didn't think of it as a career, though I did consider being a journalist. (Which sounds the same but isn't.) In my final year at uni, I decided, grandly, "I want to be A Novelist". (I wrote a letter to my parents saying this, and my father kept the letter!) I started trying straightaway, and 21 years later I succeeded...

As a kid, did you have a teacher or aunt or someone like that who continues to inspire you today?
No. No one ever, ever suggested that I become a writer. The people who inspire me now are the friends I've made as a writer, the readers who say nice things, and my husband who continues to allow me to earn a pathetic income doing what I want to do. When I was failing the get a novel published for so long, my mother-in-law was hugely supportive and used to get terribly annoyed on my behalf every time I failed again. She was dying in hospital when the news started to come through that my first novel might be published. I think she understood and knew before she died, and my first novel, Mondays are Red is dedicated to her. I wish she were here now to see what happened next.

Which novel or author has influenced you the most?
Reading Skellig by David Almoond is what made me decide to write for teenagers. I've never looked back. And now I know him!

What's your favourite kind of weather?
Warm (but not too hot) and breezy, with me sitting in the shade of a huge tree.

What thing would you use to describe yourself and why?
I think I'm quite like a cat. I can be aloof; I'm independent; you don't know what I'm thinking; some people are frightened of me but others like me (I hope).

Can you sing?

Not well. A lot of people think that from my descriptions of Jess's feelings while she sings, I must be a singer. No. I used to sing in choirs, reasonably well, and was also in madrigal groups, which requires a fair amount of skill, but I was never good enough to be a soloist, and never confident enough. I never wanted to, either. And now my voice has gone - I'm pretty rubbish now!

What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten?

I have strong tastes in foods, so I love anchovies, strong stinky cheese, pickles, olives, and Brussels sprouts. Probably the oddest thing (to you) is that during the winter, when Brussels sprouts are in season, if my husband is away (because he hates them) I will have as my evening meal a plate of sprouts, doused with a little lemon juice, butter and black pepper, and then sprinkled with cheese!

If you could bring one character to life from one of your books, who would it be?
Jack, in Wasted. I'd tell him that he's a wonderful guy but that he mustn't think so much. I'd tell him he had nothing to feel guilty about. I'd tell him just to live his live.

If you joined the circus, what act would you perform?
Something on horseback. Except that I don't like animals in the circus. So, maybe fire-eating. Or juggling. Except that I can't juggle. Mind you, I can't fire-eat either.

Do you collect anything?
Shoes! And boots.

Did any of your characters give you a lot of trouble? i.e. did they just refuse to do what you wanted them to?

The bad girls, the Kelly Gang, were difficult at first because I couldn't get what they looked like in my mind. In the end, I had to resort to looking at pictures on the internet, after googling the phrase "bad girls". I found some that looked just as I wanted, and then I was fine. But otherwise, no, my characters ALWAYS do what I tell them!

What is immediately to your right hand side at the moment?

The computer mouse and a cup of coffee. As always.

Catdownunder, who is actually a cat, wants to ask some questions of Spike, the cat in Wasted. So, Spike will answer.

How do you feel about being such an important part of Wasted? 

Can't you hear me purring?

Was it a comfortable experience fitting in to a book? 

It was my idea to be in the book, because I am brave and inquisitive, but I found it strangely disconcerting how much I cared about Jess. I worried for her a lot, even though I kept telling myself she wasn't real. I admire the human for making it feel so real. [Spike, you are lovely. Have a sardine - NM.]

Did you have problems getting that human to understand you as a cat?

The human is incredibly clever [thanks again, Spike] and really understood my feelings very well. I think she has known cats herself and she tuned in remarkably well, disconcertingly so, in fact. I tried to hide my feelings from her most of the time but it was impossible, so I decided just to relax and go with the flow.

Do you think it is difficult for humans to portray animals in books in this way?

It is very annoying when humans make them wear clothes or speak in human language and so often we are portrayed as having human characteristics because humans are so narrow-minded and think the universe revolves around them. So, I think this human did a wonderful job [oh, Spike... NM] in not falling into that trap. I'd actually be quite happy to live with her. [Spike, that's a lovely idea but I'm terribly sorry: I currently have a ... ahem ... *whispers* ...dog with me, so I'm not sure you'd be happy.]

Spike turned away at this point and began washing himself, so we cut the interview short.

Thanks everyone for your questions. If you have any more, just add them here and I'll answer them another day.

WASTED BLOG TOUR - WHERE AM I TODAY? Nowhere - I've finished! In real life I'm going to Dunbar this evening, to talk to a group of teenage readers about Deathwatch. I may also find a way to talk about Wasted...

Everyone, this has been such fun. We've come to the end of the main blog marathon, but, as I said the other day, I'll still blog here, just not every day. In fact, very soon I'm going to talk about something that a lot of people have been wrong about when they've talked about Wasted...

Come back every now and then for news and competitions. And when you read Wasted and have anything to ask or say, just say it! Add your reviews to the link on the reviews page above, and/or to Amazon.

Be bold in your lives. Don't be afraid of failure - next step: success. Good luck and take care but not too much care. Life is for living and it's yours to live.

NEARLY THE END AS WE KNOW IT

We're getting so near the end of this 39-day blogathon. I said I'd be posting something new every day from April 23rd till the end of May and I have enjoyed every bit of it (except the few days when I was away from internet access - grrrrrr - and I couldn't join in comments).

Let me tell you what's going to happen next.

Tomorrow, the last day of the main show, I will answer the questions that you started asking me yesterday. If you'd like to add your questions, go here and see what other people have asked, then add your questions to that post. Those that I don't manage to answer tomorrow, I will come to another day.

After tomorrow, I will still keep blogging here but more occasionally. Do stick around, because sometimes I will have news, reviews, thoughts and opportunities for you.

When I do school events, I will blog about these.If you'd like me to visit your school, ask your librarian or English department. I travel a lot and am delighted to visit anywhere I can. I can do (and have done) overseas trips, too, but obviously the finances of that may be difficult.

What can you do?

• If you liked Wasted, tell people about it. Adding a nice review somewhere like Amazon or Goodreads is always hugely appreciated.
• Tell people about this blog.
• Stick around and leave comments - then I know you're out there! It's lonely being an author sometimes!
• Keep buying and recommending and valuing books of all sorts - not just mine. Writers need you! We need you to buy, borrow from libraries and talk about our books. The recession is hitting writers very hard - and not just the recession: the habit of slashing prices, the pirating of books, illegal downloading, and the difficulties that we have in continuing to earn in an environment when too many people think that words should be free. Violins, please!

Back to today...

...and I have a little snippet for you now. I thought I'd tell you my favourite lines from Wasted. I think all writers have their favourite lines in a book. Here are mine - they made me think or cry or laugh.

"He feels so small now. A fractional part of something vast and unknowable. Because everyone, everyone in the world, has an equal loss. Everyone has a billion things that haven't happened. He is nothing special."

"It is the sound the future would make if it slipped through a gap in the skin of time."

"...frankly I'd rather be kissed by an eel."

"She'd puked on a gnome..."

THE WASTED BLOG TOUR - WHERE AM I TODAY? Nowhere, but tomorrow I will be in South Africa, at Absolute Vanilla. Sunshine!

COMPETITION - FAV SCENE

Which is your favourite bit of Wasted, and why?

If you would like to win a signed copy of any of my other in-print books, just answer that question in no more than 60 words and email it to talkaboutwasted@hotmail.co.uk with the words FAV SCENE COMP in the subject line.

Closing date: June 30th 2010

I will email the winner and ask for an address and your choice of prize after June 30th.

I'll tell you my favourite scene, but you don't get extra points for having the same favourite as mine! The competition is all about how you explain why your favourite is your favourite. And I'm looking for a perceptive take on the scene, something that gets under its skin a bit.

My favourite is the beach scene near the end. For those who haven't read it: it's after the Leavers' Prom and Jack, Jess and lots of friends go to the beach for a late night party. They light fires, toast marshmallows and drink. They talk and mess around. I love the atmosphere, the wood smoke, the dizziness, the euphoria of the end of their schooldays, the feeling as Jess and Jack wrap their arms around each other; and the readers' horrible knowledge that something terrible is about to happen, that this is the end of innocence, the end of peace. They are hanging onto every moment of pleasure, and I hope the reader does, too. I was when I was writing it. I could hardly bear to end it. But end it I did. I'm sorry.

I'm dying to hear what your favourite bit is.

Good luck!

WASTED BLOG TOUR - WHERE AM I TODAY? Over at Fairyhedghog's place, talking about cats. Join us.

Pick ME!

Sometimes what we call luck is about being noticed. People who are too pushy can be really irritating and that makes others not want to choose them or do good things for them. These over-pushy people can sometimes be really successful at first, but they fall hard and painfully when people cotton on to the fact that their heads and mouths are bigger than their talent. But not being pushy enough means you don't get noticed. A lot of the whole art of "getting on" in life is about treading the line between being too pushy and not pushy enough.

What is my point? My point is that I'm giving you a chance to attract luck by being just the right amount of pushy. I'm asking you to ask me to pick you to receive a free copy of Wasted. So, if you'd like to win a signed copy, sent** anywhere in the UK, (sorry!), then add a comment to the bottom of this post, a comment which must include the words "pick me". So, wow me, amuse me, impress me, tell me something I won't forget, intrigue me, lie to me, persuade me, bribe me - it's your choice. Push the right buttons.

Also, whether or not you're entering the pick me comp, I NEED YOUR HELP to fill a space in my diary for May 31st. So, what I'd like you to do is ask me some questions. I'll answer them all in a post on May 31st. I'll need tham by Sunday, please. Hurry!!

** or possibly handed over personally - see below...

Over to you!

WASTED BLOG TOUR - WHERE AM I TODAY? At Iffath's place - and I was nearly late - sorry, Iffath!

In real life, I'm at home, partly writing - I've got two books on the go, one fiction and one non-fiction - and partly indulging in my favourite hobby: cooking. I'm having a lunch party for Wasted next Tuesday and I want to get some puds in the freezer. My patent lemon cheesecake and a tiramisu gateau, plus some meringues marbled with raspberries. (Experiment suggested by my agent, who is one of the guests).

Yesterday, I found myself on Talli Roland's blog, accidentally. Talli's blog is amazing and she is a lovely person and a talented writer. I met her recently, when I handed over a copy of Wasted that she had won. It turned out to be very lucky for me that she won it, because she loved it and wrote about it. She was also, over on my other blog, my first blog baby.

And, inspired by my meeting with Talli, here's a suggestion for you:

EXTRA: If by any chance you live in London and can manage to meet me on June 8th (as long as we can agree a time and place that will suit us both) I will actually hand over your copy to you personally and buy you a coffee! (If you are under 18, this might not be appropriate - we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.)

OTHER BOOKS ABOUT CHANCE OR FATE?

What about other books where chance plays a big part? Do you know any?

Here are some I thought of (with a little help from my Twitter friends). I haven't read them all but I'd like to. So many books, so little time...

The classic - aimed at adults, though likely to be enjoyed by keen teenagers, too

The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart. I'm definitely going to read this. I know there's some kind of similarity with the premise of Wasted. From all the reviews, it's obviously different though - the only similarity is a character who lets an object rule his life; but for very different reasons, in totally different circumstances, with different intention and different results. Here's the product description from Amazon: "The cult classic that can still change your life! Let the dice decide! This is the philosophy that changes the life of bored psychiatrist Luke Rhinehart -- and in some ways changes the world as well. Because once you hand over your life to the dice, anything can happen. Entertaining, humorous, scary, shocking, subversive, The Dice Man is one of the cult bestsellers of our time."

For younger readers - 10+ as a guideline, though I believe readers should read whatever they want whenever they want...

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet was a book your children (older children and young teenagers, I think) that did really well. I haven't read it but I know it was regarded as interesting and unusual and had some excellent reviews - and there's a puzzle to solve. Actually, it was the puzzle that stopped me wanting to read it but don't let that put you off - that's just me! The book plays with the theme of chance and coincidences.

Romantic fiction - aimed at adults

Fortunate Wager by Jan Jones - Jan is a romantic novelist who I know through Twitter. And her regency romance, Fortunate Wager, looks a lot of fun. I loved Georgette Heyer and I think Jan can fairly be called a writer in that tradition, but with extra feistiness to her heroines. What's it got to do with luck, chance or fate? Well, the central character is called Caroline Fortune, for a start; then there's the title itself ... does what it says on the tin, folks! And I'm looking forward to reading it.

Definitely aimed at adults, or at least older teenagers...

Atonement by Ian McEwan - the tragedies of this story hinge on several tiny chance events: an act  accidenttally witnessed, a letter mis-directed, a remark misunderstood. A fabulous read, but quite shocking in lots of ways, so be prepared. One of my favourite books and one of the few where I've felt compelled to go back and read it again as soon as I got to the last page.

And here's one for teenagers and older children

A Crack in the Line by Michael Lawrence. I haven't read it but I've  met Michael a couple of times and he's lovely, which is one way to encourage me to read a book. But also, MUCH more importantly, it sounds really good. Here's a review on Chicklish. AND it's part of a trilogy so if you like it, it will keep you going for a while.

But now - over to you. what books have you read and loved where chance or luck play an important part? Tell us the title and author and maybe say something about the part that chance plays.

WASTED BLOG TOUR - WHERE AM I TODAY? Over at lovely Cat Clarke's blog, This Counts as Writing, Right? Yes, it certainly does.

OSWALD AND THE END OF THE WORLD

I got chatting to a children's author, Andrew Strong, recently. I'd seen something he wrote on the Awfully Big Blog Adventure blog and I was attracted by the title of the post, GOOD LUCK. And if you've been reading about Wasted, you'll know just why that struck me. He talks about coincidences, chance, luck, and miracles.

I thought: here's a man who is fascinated by chance, just like me, and he's talking about a book, so what's his book like? Well, it's aimed at quite young children and it's called Oswald and the End of the World. I thought I'd ask Andrew about it. Let's have a bit of a rest from heavy teenage stuff and relax with a beautiful picture book. We deserve it after all our deep philosophy and science. (Mind you, Andrew's book is still deep - never make the mistake of thinking that simple can't be deep...)

NM: Hello, Andrew, and thanks for dropping by. Can you tell us what gave you the idea for Oswald? Is this something that's fascinated you for a long time? 

AS: Part of me is like Oswald's father - I want to be able to predict the future. It's a very childish way to be: that instead of working to make the future better, just cross your fingers, or touch wood. When I realised Oswald's father was going to be so childish, then it became obvious that Oswald himself had to be the rational adult. And so the idea for the book was born - a clear thinking, practical boy, with a fortune telling, slightly unhinged father.

NM: Do you think people "make their own luck"? Or is it entirely "random", pure chance?

AS: It's both. People who work at things don't always succeed, but it is much rarer that people who choose to do nothing ever get what they want. I think there is a third option, however. That like migrating birds, or spawning salmon returning home, we have instincts that make us do things that later we try to see as being thought through, but probably weren't. [NM: Mmm, I think that's what Jack does in Wasted.]

NM: Have you ever had your fortune told / would you ever? Do you know anyone who has and who has changed something they've done because of it?

AS:My grandmother used to read tea leaves. My father used to use dowsing rods to predict the winners of horse races. I once met a clairvoyant who told me I had an aura, and that I could see the future if I wanted to. I'm not sure I do.

NM: In "Oswald and the End of the World" Oswald's father believes he can control the future. He sees signs in snail trails and seaweed. Do you do things like this yourself - see signs in things?

AS: Yes, all the time, although I have learnt to ignore them. I think we often choose which signs to take notice of and which to ignore.[NM: Very true!]

NM: So, do you think you're mostly a scientist / rationalist or mostly a dreamer / wonderer?

AS: I'm both, absolutely. I swing from one to the other and am sometimes both, or neither, at the same time. I refuse to make up my mind.

NM: I'm asking everyone to think about small "chance" events or decisions that have changed their lives in big / unpredicted ways - do you have any examples form your own life?

AS: When my children were quite small I decided to move us all out of the city and into a rambling old house in the middle of nowhere. I thought it would be good fun. I thought less about this decision than when I've bought a new jacket. It was a good decision, however, and we've lived in this house for over ten years. My mother grew up in the war and was told she would have to be evacuated to Canada. On the day she was due to leave she had toothache and wasn't allowed to go. The ship she was to sail on was torpedoed and sunk. If it wasn't for that toothache, me, nor brothers or sisters, nor my children, would be here today.

Wow. That was one important toothache. Incredible story.

Thank you, Andrew - really, really interesting. Just shows how much goes into a picture book - and there's something for us all in there.

WASTED BLOG TOUR - WHERE TODAY? Over at Rhianareads and I can't remember for the life of me what I was talking about so I'll have to head over there myself...

Also, yesterday I was on Vanessa Robertson's blog at the Edinburgh Children's Bookshop, talking about how horrible it can be for an author going into a bookshop. She said I could be snarky - hooray!

Please do visit them and leave comments. And do tell me what you think of Oswald and the End of the World.

TEEN TITLES and ST THOMAS of AQUIN'S

Yesterday, I went to St Thomas of Aquin's School in Edinburgh and did an event for some S2s (that's Year 8 / second year of high school if you're not Scottish) and was then interviewed by some of them for Teen Titles. I had a lovely time and heard loads of their lucky escape stories and "how did your parents meet" stories - the point of that being that if your parents hadn't met, you wouldn't exist...

Anyway, I also want to tell you about Teen Titles. It's a remarkable magazine, which began its life in Edinburgh and is still produced here, funded by the Edinburgh City Council, but you'll find it in schools all across the UK now. Its selling point is that every single review is written by a teenage reader and all the interviews are done by teenage readers. Since the whole magazine is reviews and interviews, this means that the entire content is provided by teenagers.

For YA authors, this is a) wonderful and b) absolutely terrifying. Because when teenagers don't like your books, they say so. And we cry.

Another fab thing about Teen Titles is the annual party, held during the Edinburgh Book Festival, when as many authors as possible will be available. A couple of huge rooms heave with milling authors and teenage readers hunting autographs and pouncing with amazing questions. And the food is the best, most plentiful and most appreciated party food of all the festival parties. 

What is my point? My point is that people who say that teenagers don't read haven't read Teen Titles. People who says that teenagers can't hold a conversation haven't been to the Teen Titles party. It's a fabulous atmosphere and the conversations you can have about books and what they mean are just wonderful. I come away from it every year feeling better and reminded of the point of what I do.

I have to mention as well that a couple of years ago Teen Titles got schools to come up with their 40 Best Books Ever and I was thrilled to find Fleshmarket named there - so, yes, I have a bit of a soft spot for them!

So, hats off to Teen Titles and the dedicated adults behind it and if you're interested in getting it for your school or library or for yourself, contact the address you'll find on this website.

And thanks to St Thom's for interviewing me for it - I just hope I said something sensible. I do seem to remember that several times I said, "Hmmm, I think you shouldn't put that bit in..."

ENTANGLEMENT

Extraordinary weirdness about the consequences of quantum physics in this video. We're all connected? I'm touching you? Help - run away now: I've got chocolate on my fingers!

http://vodpod.com/watch/1600081-dr-quantum-entanglement

WASTED BLOG TOUR - WHERE AM I TODAY? Was supposed to be over at the Edinburgh Children's Bookshop / Fidra Blog talking about the horrible feeling for an author having to go into a bookshop. Vanessa even told me I could be snarky... But there was a technical glitch and I'm going there another day.

In real life, I'm visiting St Thomas of Aquin's school, to be interviewed for Teen Titles and also do a school talk for them. Really looking forward to it!

A TRIP TO THE NUT PRESS

I'm having a little rest today but you'll find me over at Kath Eastman's lovely blog, The Nut Press, where I did an interview.

Also, if you haven't entered any of the competitions in the blog, why not do that today? The Flash Fiction comp has lots of fab entries in both age categories - goodness knows how the judge is going to decide the winners. But the other easier competitions have only a very few correct entries so you have a real chance. Click here for all the comps so far.

Good luck!

ST JOHN'S RC SCHOOL & CHANCES

I do loads of school visits - I couldn't really guess how many different schools I've visited but we're talking hundreds. And some stand out as being exceptionally exciting.

One school like that is St John's Catholic School and Sixth Form Centre in County Durham. I did a school visit there a few years ago as part of the Northern Children's Book Festival and the response from the pupils was really special. They had incredible ideas and dynamism and the questions were fantastic. Actually, one boy asked my favourite question ever:

"How does someone as nice as you write such nasty books?" Love it!

Anyway, as I went back home on the train, I got thinking about how I could respond to their enthusiasm. To cut a long story short, I handed over the promotion of my next book, The Highwayman's Footsteps, to them. They did the most amazing job, involving the English, art and history departments for the whole of Years 7 and 8, and it culminated in a launch in front of 700 pupils, with press and photographers and all sorts of coverage. The project was led by two remarkable pupils, Brogan and George, and Brogan even mentioned it in her personal statement when applying to Oxford University - she got a place, she told me recently!

What has this got to do with Wasted? Well, the connection continued and about a year ago I had a vibrant and excited email from another pupil there, Amy, who had remembered being in Year 7 and in the audience when HF was launched. We got chatting. (You can't not get chatting with Amy...) And I thought, hmmm, it would be wrong to ignore such enthusiasm - what could we do? I asked Amy if she'd like to be my teenage marketing person (along with another vibrant teenager from the other side of the country, Iffath at lovereadingx). Amy is known for her enthusiasm and her reply kind of went off the scale of excitement.

Amy and her friends have been reading and planning and talking and thinking and getting their school involved. I'm going to report on that later - but for now, suffice it to say that I am in awe of them and St John's.

But there are some interesting chance happenings to do with this, and since Wasted is about Chance, I thought you should know them.

The St John's librarian, who has been hugely important in all this, is called Miss Heads. Considering this is about a game with a coin, don't you think that's quite a coincidence?

It gets more spooky.

The pupils and Miss Heads were trying to think of a game involving a coin that they could get the whole school to play, as a way of sparking interest in the book. At this stage, most of them hadn't read it so they were a bit in the dark, but they kept thinking. The night before the copies of the book were due to arrive, Miss Heads's husband went to a fund-raising event of some sort and there they played a game called ... Heads or Tails.

Result! And that is the game they played in assembly for the whole school on Publication Day for Wasted.

Here's the game. You need a room full of people, and one coin.

1. Everyone stands up.
2. On the count of three everyone puts their hands either on their heads or on their hips / buttocks / whatever. 
3. Everyone keeps their hands where they've chosen until the leader tosses the coin and calls out the result.
4. If the coin landed heads up, all those with hands on head remain standing. Everyone else sits down.
5. This is repeated until only one person is left standing. That person wins a copy of the book!

Do you fancy doing this in your school? If so, the school could win a signed copy. All you need to do is get your school librarian or teacher to contact me if your school would like to do this. I have three books to give away as priazes. If more than 3 schools sign up, I will pick 3 at random. The only conditions are: that you agree to spend a few minutes explaining to the assembly / class why you are doing this; that you agree to receive some posters of Wasted and recommend Wasted to readers who you think will like it. The book will be bought and posted at my expense so I hope you don't mind my asking this.

Pass it on!

Meanwhile, if you'd like me to come to talk to your school about Wasted and my other books, the page about my events is here. I love doing events so I'd love to hear from you. I have some vacancies in the autumn and lots of space next year but I do tend to be booked far in advance so don't delay!

WASTED BLOG TOUR - WHERE AM I TODAY?  Over at the remarkable Jesse Owens's blog - Books4Teens - where, by chance, you'll see a picture of me after a school event.

DELLA SAYS OMG AND MY SO-CALLED AFTERLIFE

A double interview here today, with two brand new YA authors, both of whom I know through Twitter. The first is Keris Stainton, author of Della Says: OMG! and the second is Tamsyn Murray, author of My So-Called Afterlife. I've read both books and loved them. They are very different from Wasted and very different from each other, but I link them in my mind because they are both what I call "fresh new voices", they both show how much YA fcition has broadened and moved on in the last few years and they both tackle tough topics in a deceptively light way.

Later today, I'm also over on Keris's blog - come and join us there, but DO first take a peek into their minds and comment below.

Hello Keris!

Do you have an examples of how an unpredictable "random" event has changed your life?

Years ago I read a magazine article that really resonated with me. It was called Get What You Really Want. It was fairly typical 'seize the day' type stuff, but so funny and inspiring that I googled the writer, Martha Beck, and read that she had a book coming out called Finding Your Own North Star: How to Claim the Life You Were Meant to Live. At the time, I totally felt that I'd taken a wrong turn and was living the wrong life and so I couldn't read it fast enough. It not only made me realise I wanted to be a writer, but it also convinced me that I could be a writer, that I SHOULD be a writer. I started taking steps towards my "right life" and now I'm living it.

I read a lot of magazines, but I hardly ever even finish articles (short attention span) let alone tear them out and get googling. I'm sure I would have heard about Martha Beck at some point, but I truly trace the transformation of my life to reading that one article.

Did luck play any part in you getting your publishing deal?

I actually pitched a different agent at the agency I'm with now and she passed me on to Alice, who was just starting out with her own list. And then when Alice sent my book to Orchard they'd just started expanding their teen list. So, yes, I definitely feel like my manuscript was in the right place at the right time... twice.

Do you think we can affect our own luck? A lot or a little or not at all? Can you give an example of something that's happened to you that might look like luck but was actually based on good decisions?

My journalism career probably looks like luck to many. I gave up my job after selling just two articles (both to the same magazine) and then had (and continue to have, I hope) a moderately successful freelance career. I'd always believed you needed to have worked on staff and made lots of contacts to make it as a freelancer, but I just threw myself in and hoped for the best. As to whether we an affect our own luck... I tend to believe the Seneca quote: "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

Would you ever be tempted (or have you ever been) to have your fortune told? If a fortune-teller gave you a warning, would it change how you behaved??

No. I have no interest in fortune telling really. I don't believe a word of it and yet I'm scared of it at the same time.

What three things do you "thank your lucky stars" for?

1. My husband, David. Not only is he funny and lovely, he cooks, does the washing and, er, contributed to my two amazing and gorgeous sons.

2. My health. And I really wanted to say "touch wood" then, even though I don't believe in that either. And I've deleted this twice since I don't want to "jinx" it. Ha.

3. Martha Beck. Really. She set me on the right path and continues to inspire me every day.

Thanks, Keris and good luck with Della - may you and she go places!

Now, over to Tamsyn. Same questions, otherwise it wouldn't be fair and they might fight each other. Or me.

Do you have an examples of how an unpredictable "random" event has changed your life?

I do. A few years ago, I was looking for a part-time job and got chatting to a stranger about work. She told me her friend owned a pub and was looking for a barmaid. I went to the pub and the owner gave me a job. A few days later, I met the man who would become the father of my daughter.

Did luck play any part in you getting your publishing deal?

I think it played a part in getting my agent, which in turn influenced my publishing deal. A friend pointed out that a new agent had started up around the same time that I'd finished my manuscript. I queried the agent and she asked to see the full MS. A couple of months later, following her heavy-duty editorial advice, she signed me to her agency and a few months after that I had a publishing deal. If my friend hadn't told me about that agent, my book would have looked very different and might not have been published at all.

[I think you're wrong in assigning this to luck: if your book hadn't been good enough or promising enough, the agent would have utterly ignored you!]

Do you think we can affect our own luck? A lot or a little or not at all? can you give an example of something that's happened to you that might look like luck but was actually based on good decisions?

Yes, to a certain extent I do think we make our own luck. I tend to be optimistic and expect things to work out for the best. I've been known to give up jobs I didn't like, for example, and have the perfect job drop into my lap within days. I've had a lot of success with my writing in a relatively short period of time, too, which on the surface looks like luck but is actually a case of understanding the market and writing something publishers are looking for. [YES!]

Would you ever be tempted (or have you ever been) to have your fortune told? If a fortune-teller gave you a warning, would it change how you behaved??

When I was twenty-one, I went to a group reading with two psychics. I didn't know many people there but listened as one of the psychics worked his around the circle, making comments to people at random. When he got to me, he studied me for a minute, then said, "Why did you give up writing? You have something to say." No one in that room knew I wanted to be a writer, I don't think I even knew I wanted to write. It stayed with me all my adult life until the day I picked up a how to write book and realised it was what I was meant to do. That was two years ago and I think I'm now a writer. Whether or not I have anything to say is another matter...

[Spooky.]

What three things do you "thank your lucky stars" for?

My health, my family and my empathy.

Thanks, both and may we all have luck with our books!

JACK'S GAME + KEREN DAVID

Jack plays a game of risk. Often. And very dangerously.

Warning: do not try this at home! There are plenty of games you can play with a coin which will not risk anything dangerous happening to you. Jack means no harm - he's somewhat damaged by stuff that happened to him when he was younger. Also, Wasted is a story, not real life... So, if you choose to play games with a coin, use your common sense and don't do anything dangerous to yourself or anyone else. (Sorry to sound like a boring adult, but I have to say this otherwise I'll be in trouble!)

Jack's Game is simple. Every now and then he decides to sacrifice himself to "luck". Although he was very unlucky as a baby and small child, he's pretty lucky now - and a bit cocky about it. He thinks that the reason he's lucky now is that he makes sacrifices to luck. He promises to do what the coin says, and if the coin brings him a bad result, he is fine with this because it means (he thinks) that this increases his chance of good luck next time.

One night, for example, he goes out of his house in the middle of the night (BAD idea!) and uses the coin to tell him whether to go left or right; then, at every corner he spins it again. This random journey takes him into huge danger and will affect the rest of the story.

Have you ever let a coin help you make a decision? If you have, or if you would, tell me about it. It's easy to imagine situations where it would be a good way to choose. For example, suppose you can't decide between two different garments in a shop, or your family is arguing about what to do on holiday, or about whether it's going to be chicken or fish. But you wouldn't get obsessed about it. Or would you?? I've had readers of Wasted tell me that they now look at coins differently, see a power in them they never saw before, think of luck and chance in an entirely new light.

Tomorrow, I'm going to show you what the pupils of St John's RC Community School in County Durham have been doing, using Wasted as a prompt for ideas. They came up with a way of playing Jack's Game in school assembly!

WHERE IS THE WASTED BLOG TOUR TODAY? Hop over to ace YA writer Keren David's blog and find me there. I absolutely massively loved her debut book, When I Was Joe, and I'm lucky enough to have read the sequel, Almost True, before publication. It's so gripping, so gritty, and SO good. It's just the sort of YA book I'm naturally drawn to.