Twitter: @boybandmumager
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Agent: Lauren Gardner at Bell Lomax Moreton
Published books: Revising before submission
Genre: MG, any genre within that – In terms of writing style, I’m quite polarised as I like both literary and comic writing.
Bio: I’m British and returned to the UK last year after 13 years in Asia (Hong Kong and Singapore), and am now living in Newcastle (no, it’s not grim up north!) with my husband and four sons. My little angels provide me with inspiration for books, but balance that out by being so noisy I can’t think straight to write. Recently (very recently) I was offered representation by the wonderful Lauren Gardner, and will be working over the coming months on edits of my MG book: THE TRUTH ABOUT CHICKENS. This manuscript was shortlisted for the Joan Aiken Future Classics Prize and the Spotlight First Novel Award.
Experience: I was a magazine editor and freelance journalist in a former life (I specialised in writing about kitchens and bathrooms, so if your book has any particularly descriptive passages about toilets or boilers, I’m your gal). I started writing children’s books about four years ago, joining the SCBWI in Hong Kong and being part of a critique group that pushed me to find my very best words. The Truth About Chickens is the third MS I have finished – I cut my authorial teeth on two previous MSs and I think I made enough mistakes in them to help make me a better writer now. I’m currently working on two further MG manuscripts, but also like to experiment with flash fiction (a new departure for me) and a piece of mine will be published in the Bath Flash Fiction Anthology in December 2018.
Mentoring style: I’m pretty forthright about what works and what doesn’t, but don’t worry – I will temper any negative feedback with a lovefest of praise for what works well in your pages. I think my strength is line editing, though I can also spot big picture weaknesses. I’ll provide detail edits and suggestions for how to take the MS to a higher level.
Mentee style: I’m hoping to find a hard-worker who is willing to take advice and open to making changes. I’m happy for a mentee to explain why my suggestion won’t work, but I don’t want too much defensiveness.
What you’d love to see in a novel? Either something very funny that will make me actually lol or something so emotive that I’m in tears at the end. And please, some beautiful turns of phrase along the way.
Favourite novels: Huge admirer of Katherine Applegate’s writing (particularly Crenshaw) and Katherine Rundell (currently enjoying The Wolf Wilder); I like the humour of Maz Evans’ Who Let The Gods Out?. In my own childhood, I was a big fan of Enid Blyton and Noel Streatfield, but not so much of Roald Dahl (shh, I know it’s sacrilege).
Mentoring package offered: Query package (synopsis, query letter, 1st 3 chapters) – I will do this at a minimum. Time permitting, I hope to be able to offer a few more chapters too.
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