‘WHAT I WISH I’D KNOWN AT 15′ By DIANE MESSIDORO

I am tres excited, for today I shall be hosting my very first guest post.  So dear readers, without further ado, I shall hand you over to Diane Messidoro, debut author of ‘How to Keep a Boy as a Pet’:

 

‘First, thank you Nocturnal Reader – it’s an honour to be your very first blog tour ‘act’!

*takes shy bow*

Second, hmm…

What do I wish I’d known at 15?

It’s a tricky question to answer, to be honest.  It’s so easy to look back and say, oh if only I’d known this/that/the other, everything would have been just peachy.  But, often, when you’re living through something, you just have to get on with it.  For example, if you’d asked what I most wanted to know in the world when I first turned 15, I would have said…

‘Oh My God – how can I make Tarquintius* notice I even exist?’

*Name changed for secrecy and to make Gary sound more exciting.

A few months later, I would have ranted…

‘Why did Tarquintius tell me how cool my hair looked in a really intense and passionate way, then start snogging my so-called best friend?

And just before turning 16…

‘Why does my mum totally not get that GETTING TARQUINTIUS TO LIKE ME IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN PASSING EXAMS?’

I wouldn’t have listened to any sensible answers to these questions, of course.  I was 15, I knew best.  A wise friend did tell me at the time, ‘Diane, there will be other boys, honest.  Besides, Tarquintius IS much shorter than you, even when you hunch your shoulders and bend your knees at the same time.’  But, I just huffed and carried on swooning around.

Here’s one thing I really do wish I’d known though (and I do think it can make a BIG difference to your life learning it now.   I can sum it up with a little doodle…(WARNING: TURN AWAY NOW IF NUDITY OFFENDS YOU!)

Yes, they really are! (Boobs, noses and all other bits of you: ditto.)

Okay, it’s natural to want to make the best of what you’ve got, that’s fine.  And having fun with fashion and make-up, if you’re into that, is cool too.  It’s part of discovering your style, who you really are.  But please, please don’t criticise yourself for not living up to the crazy ‘ideals’ some websites/magazines/TV shows set for girls.

If you see a picture that makes you feel bad, makes you really believe you have to look a particular way to be loved, or even liked, turn the page, then throw your head back and laugh (even if you have to fake it).

And if a boy EVER says to you – ‘I really like you but…you need to get a smaller bum/perkier nose/bigger whatevers.’ Smile – then walk away.  Fast! Believe me, you always look your best when you walk tall, in your own skin.

If I’d known that at 15, maybe I wouldn’t have hobbled around hunched up with knock-knees for a year.  Maybe, just maybe, Tarquintius would have noticed me after all…

 

HUGE thank you to Diane for writing a fantastic post and as an added bonus there is a competition too.

For your chance to win a copy of How to Keep a Boy as a Pet and the cover boy’s T-shirt, visit:

http://www.electricmonkeybooks.co.uk/competitions/how-to-keep-a-boy-as-a-pet-competition/

Next stop on the tour is the Choose YA Blog

TO BE OR NOT TO BE…WITHOUT AGENT OR EDITOR

I’m continually intrigued by the digital self-publishing phenomenon.  I’m unsure of its limits, and like most, am still unable to work out the effects it will have on the traditional publishing routes.

If you read the previous post, you’ll see I have a high regard for those in the position of Editor and find it hard to understand the reality, that their role is under threat.  If the major Publishing Houses are in danger, then so too are their editors.  Not only are these people the gate keepers to the mainstream publishing world and those priority bookshelves. They are invaluable advisors – Literary Guidance Councillers if you will.  Surely a digital possibility can’t swipe that all away?  And yet, with the dawn of Self-Publishing this seems to be the case.  The author is master – and can guide his or her career however they so wish.

So if the Editor is negated what happens to the agent – are they now moot in the face of the independently powerful author?  They shouldn’t be.  Agent, Editor, Author – they shouldn’t be considered as mutually exclusive.   Perhaps the role of agent needs to revert to an older model, one inhabited by the eponymous Gertrude Stein, for instance.  The Agent and Editor will have to become one again.  Self Publishing isn’t a defined model; as the digital age quickly evolves it is easy for certain codes of conduct to be ignored or dismissed.  Contracts still have to be signed, money still has to be dealt with, authors can still be taken advantage of.

Great agents know what’s best for great authors but in this digital age, time is of the essence.  Investing in an author who simply shows promise, but isn’t quite there yet, can be costly.    If, however, the Editorial Agent were to collaborate with new (self-publishing) talents who could do with a little nurturing, in it’s purest sense, they may find that it will be both a financially and editorially rewarding process.

In turn, as the digital self publishing market becomes over-saturated (and I really think it will), the wisest authors will recognise that everyone could do with a helping hand.  So rise up Neo-Agents!  I am pretty certain there’s a Self Publishing wizzo out there looking for a partner in their writing business.

THE BRANFORD BOASE AWARD: SHORTLIST

The Branford Boase Award is special, not just because it acknowledges the work of debut authors,  but it also pays tribute to those editors who work hard to nurture and support authors on their journey to being published and finding success.

It can’t be denied that the author is crucial to a story’s existence, but  it’s amazing how often the editors get’s overlooked.  In this digital age where the growing presence of self-publishing is beginning to make it’s mark, it’s easy to forget the necessity of the editorial role within the publishing process.

So, budding writers out there, never underestimate the knowledge of your Editor, they can be the person to guide you to greatness!

 

Here’s the short list:

LONG LARKIN by Linsey Barraclough, edited by Annie Eaton and Natalie Doherty (Bodley Head)

BEING BILLY by Phil Earle, edited by Shannon Park (Puffin)

SMALL CHANGE FOR STUART  by Lissa Evans, edited by Annie Eaton and Ruth Knowles (Bodley Head)

EVERYBODY JAM  by Ali Lewis, edited by Charlie Sheppard (Anderson Press)

SKY HAWK by Gill Lewis, edited by Liz Cross (OUP)

A BEAUTIFUL LIE by Irfan Master, edited by Emma Matthewson (Bloomsbury)

MY SISTER LIVES ON THE MANTLE PEACE by Annabel Pitcher, edited by Fiona Kennedy (Orion)

Good luck to all!

 

p.s Now all we need is a similar award which recognises the collaboration of the author and agent – wishful thinking…?

BLOG TOUR: HOW TO KEEP A BOY AS A PET

Very excited to say, that I shall participating in my very first Blog Tour!  Courtesy of Electric Monkey and debut author Diane Messidoro.   Diane will become an honorary Nocturnal Reader, by way of a guest post on 3rd May.  The tour begins with 30th April – see left for details -  but in the meantime here’s a blurb to whet your appetite:

‘Can taming a GORGEOUS BOY really be as easy as WALKING A DOG?

Circe Shaw is on a mission.

But life is beyond complicated.  Circe has to deal with a poisonous rival, her mum’s annoying ‘just friends’ men and her own Dark Past.

Can Circe’s daring investigation really teach her the facts of love?

Will it help her finally get a boyfriend?

Or will it break her heart…?

REVIEW: THE CATASTROPHIC HISTORY OF YOU AND ME

AUTHOR: Jess Rothenberg (rrp. £6.99; Penguin; OUT NOW)

VERDICT:

REVIEW: When Brie hear’s the words ‘I don’t love you’ her heart breaks…literally.    So begins Brie’s afterlife, with the help of trusty aide Patrick, and with that comes a new understanding of the life she lived, the people she loved and the world she thought she knew.

This is a likeable book, with characters who genuinely make you laugh and situations which can be effectively heartbreaking. As Brie comes to terms with the fact she’s died, Rothenberg takes the reader through the five stages of grief choosing to explore the onslaught of extreme emotion from a very different point of view.     Though, of course, love is a very central theme to the novel it’s interesting to see how Brie grieves also for a life she can’t continue to hold together, or perhaps never did in the first place.  There are some acutely painful, tear jerking moments,  very much a testament to Rothenberg’s writing skill and her ability to create characters with whom we’ve come to care for.

Ultimately this is an epic love story. Yet the novel was enhanced by Rothenberg’s decision to try and understand the moral maze dictating our routes to heaven or hell. Subjects including reincarnation and suicide are broached, and interesting questions arise as a result.

Though I didn’t love the book, it was still enjoyable and I’d heartily recommend it to those die hard romantics looking for a story with a twist.

3/5