Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher

This is the premise of the novel: Zoe has done something very bad and she has entirely got away with it. She is anonymously writing to a death-row prisoner about it, because she cannot tell anyone what she has done. Two timelines exist: the present day, when she is writing the letter and dealing with family dramas, and a year ago, in the lead-up to the Very Bad Thing happening.

I think my enjoyment of this book was hindered a bit by the fact that I found the protagonist, Zoe, to be somewhat unlikeable. I think there is often a compromise in books between creating characters that are realistic and creating characters that are likeable (though Zoe behaves stupidly and obnoxiously, there likely would be plenty of real teenage girls that would behave like this - and the plot hinges on some poor behaviour on Zoe's part). 

The novel is suspenseful and easy to read, and though the characters seems young (Zoe's narration often seems like a thirteen-year-old, but she is fifteen), it's inappropriate content-wise for readers on the youngest end of the YA spectrum (definitely a judge-for-yourself type of thing, though. I am not one to dictate what is universally appropriate for a specific age). I liked the inclusion of sign language and Zoe's deaf younger sister Dot was one of my favourite characters in the book. I so love novels that are written as a letter to someone, and the letter-to-a-criminal format gave it an interesting angle.

The title, Ketchup Clouds, is quite odd and removed from what the book is actually about (I assumed ketchup wasn't commonplace in England as it isn't common here, which maybe is not the case. What is the difference between ketchup and tomato sauce? Tomato Sauce Clouds is not an improvement). Of course this is all rather unimportant, but I doubt the title would interest me if I saw it in a bookshop, though the blurb is quite intriguing (the cover is quite atmospheric, also). I wonder whether things are lost in translation, as well - this is an English novel, and I wonder whether people familiar with England would appreciate it more.

If you don't mind reading about a character who can be sometimes be a little unethical, this novel is well-plotted and tense, and though it's technically a YA suspense novel it largely reads as a contemporary YA. It will likely keep you reading to find out what exactly Zoe did. It's certainly well-written and I'm interested to read the author's first novel, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece.

Ketchup Clouds on Goodreads

Ketchup Clouds on the publisher's website

It's super important that you know

It's okay if you haven't finished reading a book in weeks or you're really bad at staying up-to-date with your blog and Twitter and Facebook or if you don't have that many friends or if you have a lot. It's okay if you don't act like everybody else or if you do act like everybody else (if that's the true expression of you) and it's okay to feel lost and confused and ordinary/weird. Everybody does, at some point. It's okay if you feel like you're entirely alone in the world, and it's important to know that you're not. It's okay if you're having trouble writing or if you don't think you're good enough. It's important that you know that those feelings - feelings of inadequacy and isolation and everything else - are felt by everybody.

It's important to know that the perfect faces you see of the people around you, the people on the internet, the people in the magazines - that's what they want you to see, that's what they choose to reveal. And you're probably doing the exact same thing. You are jealous of other people no matter how much you wish you weren't, and other people are jealous of you, and perhaps you're even jealous of each other. And everybody wants to be happy, and everybody has things they keep to themselves, and everyone is fighting a hard battle.

Nobody is absolutely sure of themselves (and if such people exist, they must be absolute legends). And that's okay. But the person you are right now - who is fabulous and beautiful and important to the people around you in ways you can't imagine - is perfect. It doesn't matter whether you get a book deal or lose ten kilos or become rich and famous, because you will still be the same on the inside. Decide to be content right now. Strive for your dreams, absolutely, but know that you're a wonderful person regardless of what happens.

And I know I've said this before, and you've heard it from everyone else before, I'm sorry, but it can never be said enough (and everyone should keep on saying it until everyone believes it): Life's too short to keep putting yourself down. Go out and enjoy it. Follow your dreams, but love yourself right now, not once you attain some ideal you've got set up in your head.

*I originally wrote & posted this two years ago. I hope you don't mind an occasional re-run. Sometimes I run out of blogging inspiration. I think this is a nice post and worth reminding yourself of.*

Self-promoting authors on the internet: This is what you're doing wrong

1. Not bringing value. Contribute. Think of blog posts (whether on your own or on other people's blogs) as articles, rather than press releases.
2. Sending thirty thousand emails that are all non-specific and self-congratulatory. People will just delete these. (Also re Facebook invitations: it turns out that you can resend an invite to like your page after someone has rejected it, however it appears that you just haven't invited them yet. So maybe don't repeatedly invite someone who doesn't like you to like you? Learn from my mistakes.)
3. Just trying to sell and not actually interacting. No actual meaningful interaction occurs if your sole goal is selling lots of copies of your book. It does happen if one of your main goals is making your blog/Twitter/whatever else interesting to read rather than just a method for selling your work. And don't just 'network'. Try to legitimately connect with people.
4. Not promoting others. Don't expect something for nothing. Promote others! Return the favour! But only people you genuinely like the work of. And not everybody at once, because that's just overwhelming.
5. Not being interesting, or being anything. Really. Don't find your niche or whatever and then stay comfortably wedged there. If your blog is identical to hundreds of others, how are readers supposed to know your work is unique and brilliant and worth reading? This is just basic life advice, you-only-live-once type stuff, but applicable here: just do you.
6. Not thinking about what engages you as a reader. Think about the books you purchase, and why. Think about the authors you like. Don't think 'I will sell a lot of copies by emailing everyone in the world, repeatedly' because no one is paying attention anymore. People are just deleting your emails. People who are vaguely annoyed with you do not generally purchase or promote your book.
7. Choosing quantity over quality in terms of communication, who you're contacting, the social media websites you are on, your blog, etc. Again, not emailing everyone in the world repeatedly and having a blog that is just 'this is my book, give me your money' over and over again. It's okay to blog less regularly, really! People have limited time, so they probably would prefer to read a small amount of interesting stuff rather than a large amount of the same old boring stuff. Contact a smaller group of more relevant people rather than a big group that includes everybody (people enjoy feeling special, and only being contacted about things that are relevant to them).
8. Making people do too much. I'm not going to tweet and Facebook and blog and write a sonnet in order to win a copy of your book. I don't actually care for winning copies of books anymore to be honest, but I think you really need to think about what is easy and fun for your readers, rather than just what will get you the most exposure.

Interview with Belinda Dorio

Belinda Dorio is a Melbourne-based, 22-year-old young adult urban fantasy writer (yay for young, awesome Australian writers!). Her most recently published work was in the YA short story collection Possessing Freedom. If you'd like to find out more about Belinda and her work, check out her blog.

Do you think being a young person makes it easier to write about and for young people? Do you think you'll grow out of writing YA as you get older?

 I'm 22 now, and I've found that as I've gotten older its actually been easier for me to write for young adults. Being out of the high school environment really let's you reflect on your years as a teen, and appreciate the growth each person goes through in that time.

I'd ideally like to write for both teens and adults one day, but right now I couldn't imagine not writing YA.

Books were my safe haven when I was a teen and I suppose I keep that thought in my mind when I write, hoping to be able to provide that for someone else.

I know that 'where do you get your ideas?' is a dreaded (and often answerless) question for writers, but I'm curious whether there is anything specific you do when either stuck in a story or trying to generate new ideas - read other books? Or newspaper articles? Were there any specific inspirations for the characters in Possessing Freedom?

For me, it's not so hard to answer. My ideas are usually generated from a place, and I get more ideas the more I travel and see new areas. I'm not talking about traveling the world necessarily, but even driving to a new suburb, or out in the country.

When working as a team to plot a novel, as we did in Possessing Freedom it really helped to discuss ideas to flesh them out. The idea for Alice came when we were thinking about what setting to begin the story in, I thought of a psych ward and then Alice just appeared in my mind, staring at me with her big grey eyes.

I also find reading other books helps too, especially if I haven't written in awhile it 'gets the juices going'.

When writing Faye, my second character in Possessing Freedom I really had to change gears from Alice as they are completely different. And because I was narrating from both perspectives I wanted their voices to be distinct from each other. I used a playlist to help me with this, specifically for the last story in the book. I found a song that fit the story perfectly and played it over and over until I was finished.

Do you prefer novel-writing or short story-writing? How does your writing process differ with each?

Tough question! I can be quite impatient, so I really enjoy the immediate satisfaction I get from churning a short story out. I've been writing shot stories for a while, so I don't write out a plan and they come quite naturally and quickly.

I've done much more short story writing, mainly because of time constraints. Though, writing novels is what I love to do. I wrote my first novel when I was eighteen, but it needs a lot of work. I'm currently 20,000 words into a YA supernatural thriller which I hope to have finished by the end of the year.

My process for each is completely different. My novels are (now) meticulously planned, as I had often find myself getting stuck half way through. I have several completely planned novels but unfortunately between work commitments and university I haven't been able to get to them all.

What is your writing process like? Do you enjoy all parts of writing a story, or are you just happy once you have a finished product?

My favourite part is always the beginning because I love establishing new characters.

I begin with a setting the intrigues me, and a character will then usually present themselves. If a name doesn't pop into my head I spend a while thinking about that because I think naming characters perfectly is really important. A name can represent a characters personality, and it helps me to stay connected to them.

I'll usually write a vignette or first chapter to get my ideas down, and then start to plan the plot etc when writing novels. I get the initial burst of creativity written down and then reign it back in so that it is something I could really work on, not just a fleeting idea quickly forgotten.

Do you write based on reality, and reflect your own experiences in your work, or are the events in your stories very removed from your own life? If this is the case, how do you remain connected to a character with a very different life to your own?

Yes and no. Small parts of my own life can be seen in each story, it could be the best friend, the setting, or the love interest. But generally the stories I write are very far removed from my own. Picturing the character in my head helps a lot. I find as long as I can 'see' the character, I feel connected to them. I have always written from a female perspective and this helps as well.

Which authors (and novels) have inspired you the most?

There are too many to mention in one paragraph. That's for sure!

One book that will stay with me forever is 'Go Ask Alice' (seem to be fond of that name, don't I?). It's written by 'anonymous' and is a diary of a teenage girl who struggles with an addiction to drugs and alcohol and dies tragically young. I discovered the book when I was eleven, though it is intended for a much older audience. The book heavily influenced me as a person and as a writer as I began keeping a diary after reading it, and still do today.

My favourite author would have to be Kelley Armstrong. I don't even know how many books she's written, but I've read most of them and they are all fantastic. My favourites are her adult urban fantasy series 'Women of the Otherworld', and YA urban fantasy series 'Darkest Powers' and 'Darkness Rising'. The 'Otherworld' series changes narrator with each book but stays in the same 'world' over thirteen books, the characters intertwine and it is each is expertly written. 

Do you have a specific writing environment and set-up? Playlists, a writerly hat, a special computer program?

I'm generally a very messy person, but my desk has to be clean when I write, and It sits in front of a large window. I feel that the natural light helps me a lot. Sometimes if I'm stuck, I'll move outside and for some reason this helps too. I have playlists like I explained earlier, but mainly I just go into my own little world. Other than the playlists I need quiet, and my family knows that when I'm sitting at my computer for hours without talking its best to leave me alone!

If you could travel back in time and meet yourself when you first started writing seriously, what advice would you give her? (You? I don't know. Time travel is confusing.)

I started writing seriously when I was eighteen, but I wish I'd have started earlier. I'm not sure, I think I'd tell her to keep her chin up. Every writer faces a lot of rejection, and I've definitely had my fair share. All I ever wanted was to publish a novel, but I've learnt to be patient and that it will happen eventually. Every writers journey is different, and my writing has improved tremendously since I first started. I've been lucky and have had a lot of great experiences and worked with a lot of talented people.

I'd tell her to hold on to her dream, and to have fun with it all!

Blending fact and fiction: Guest post by Cally Jackson

On the about page of Cally Jackson's blog it says she is 'employed by the government' and I am going to assume this is code, and she is actually a spy! She is also a Queenslander and a writer (obviously an awesome person), and recently self-published her debut novel. This guest post is about including real-life experiences in your fiction! Thank you, Cally!

Many people have asked whether my debut New Adult novel, The Big Smoke, is autobiographical. I always answer with an emphatic, ‘NO,’ but that’s not 100% true. While the vast majority of The Big Smoke is fiction, there are parts based on my own experiences.

The Big Smoke is a coming-of-age novel about Ceara and Seb, two country teenagers who move from small country towns into Brisbane (Australia) to go to uni. Considering I grew up in a small country town and moved to Brisbane for uni, you can see why people might assume that it’s my personal story.

Here are some more examples: Seb, The Big Smoke’s main male character, works at a pizza place.
And here’s me, working at a pizza place.

Ceara, The Big Smoke’s main female character, works at a video store.
And here’s me, ‘working’ at a video store (I usually worked very hard in this job, I swear!).

Ceara met her first serious boyfriend at the Rock Eisteddfod finals. So did I. Ceara is a book worm, she’s ultra-sensitive and she’s studying Public Relations. All of those things can also be applied to me.

So yes, there are definitely some similarities between my characters and me. I imagine that many debut novels have similarities with their authors’ experience. But is it a good thing? In my opinion, these are the main benefits and drawbacks of weaving your own experiences into your fiction:

Benefits

• It can help to add an extra layer of authenticity to your writing.
• You know the topic inside out so you can have confidence you’re getting it ‘right’.
• You don’t have to do as much research.
• You can reminisce as you write!

Drawbacks

• Because you know so much about the topic/experience, you might include unnecessary, boring detail.
• People might assume the whole book is about you, which can be awkward depending on what your main characters get up to.
• You’re not pushing the limits of your creativity.
• Friends and family might get offended by characters or scenes in the book. (Whether it’s legitimately about them or not, they may think it is.)

I’ve personally experienced almost all of these benefits and drawbacks with The Big Smoke. I had to cut a number of scenes from early drafts because they were simply my memories in disguise and didn’t move the story forward, and I’ve had friends ask me whether such-and-such-a-character is based on them when that thought had never even crossed my mind.

One friend even went so far as to say to me, ‘I didn’t know you had so much trouble with your flatmates when you first moved to Brisbane.’ ‘Err, I didn’t,’ I said. ‘You know this book is fiction, right?’

If you asked me whether I would use my own experiences in my fictional work again, I’d say yes. For me, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks and I believe The Big Smoke is richer and more authentic because of the personal experiences I’ve weaved throughout it.

What do you think? If you’re an author, do you weave personal experiences into your writing? If you’re a reader, do you think authors should? Why or why not?

More about The Big Smoke

Ceara’s desperate for love; Seb’s desperate to get laid. Ceara adores reading novels; Seb hasn’t finished a book in years. Two strangers, both moving from small country towns to Brisbane – the big smoke. As they prepare to attend the same university, their paths seem set to collide, but they keep missing each other. Maybe fate is keeping them apart, or maybe it’s just chance.

When the semester starts, things get complicated. Ceara’s best friend withdraws from her, Seb’s closest mate turns into a sleazebag, and the relentless demands of university make their stress levels soar. Before their first semester is over, both Seb and Ceara will be forced to question who they are and what they want from their lives. Will they have the courage to find the answers, or will they crumble under the pressure? And when they finally meet, will it be love at first sight or a collision of headstrong personalities?

For more about Cally & her work, visit her blog: http://callyjackson.com/

Interview with Sarah Billington

I met Sarah Billington in 2010 at a Mad Men themed Christmas party thrown by my speakers' agency. (How glamorous does that sound? I am obviously super sophisticated.) Sarah is very lovely and is a freelance editor as well as being a writer. She writes contemporary YA fiction and some spookier stuff under the pen name Edwina Ray. (I haven't read her novel The Kiss Off but Shirley Marr has a quote on the cover, so obviously it is good. There's currently a giveaway for it on Goodreads, too.)

Did you know that there's a professor at Stanford University with the same name as you? Do you actually have a double life, flying between Australia and the US, secretly being a professor of engineering in your free time? 
I did know that! There is also a fifteen year old British singer called Sarah Billington who is constantly having her performances uploaded to Youtube. I haven't seen any yet but I'm getting the impression she is very good. I feel a bit inadequate next to a Stanford professor and singing sensation. If I was in fact ALSO the Stanford professor as well as the young adult fiction writer, clearly I have discovered a time machine or some way to make a daily cross-the-world commute. I write on the trip, obviously.

Where do you get your ideas' is a ridiculous question. But I still want to ask it! What are your inspirations? (If I word it differently, is it excusable?) When you get stuck in a story, or are trying to generate new ideas, are there any specific things you turn to? Other books, newspaper articles, films, music, blogs?

I get inspiration from everything. A thing a person said, a street sign, an interesting relationship dynamic in a TV show, a song lyric, just the way a person behaves, a place I go or see...
When I get stuck in a story, I try and think out possibilities of what could happen, because there is never ONE way a situation could play out. Who will the protagonist choose? The best friend or the bad boy? Making that choice is not the only way the scene could play out. If a girl ran into the room and announced the best friend is her baby daddy, that's a bit different. Or if a stranger appeared in the middle of the scene to mug them and murdered the bad boy, that's...well it's a different direction you could go as well.
Sometimes I get stuck in a genre. I mostly write comedy and that's actually really hard to do when you're not in a good mood or not even remotely feeling funny. Sometimes I need to write something a bit more serious, work on another project and it helps me get it out of my system and find my funny bone again. I've just had that experience today, as a matter of fact.  

Do you have any specific writing tools or special set up? i.e. playlists, computer programs, special writing hat?

Nah. I write on my netbook in bed or on the couch, or on my desktop computer in my office. In Microsoft Word. I tried Scrivener (writing software), and it's really good for plotting out scenes but I'm not such a fan of actually writing the whole book in it as it felt very disjointed and I wasn't writing complete chapters in it. Other writers may know a more effective way of using it, but I haven't figured it out as yet.

I find it hard to write with music playing, as I start concentrating on the story behind the lyrics. That said, it doesn't mean I can't do it. I have a weekly writing date with a friend, lunch at a pub in which we eat and talk books and writing and then we get down to writing for a couple of hours. They have a 90-00s mix that plays constantly. Our lunch date is not complete if they haven't played some John Mayer. Seriously. They always play John.

Do you think you'll ever grow out of writing YA? What in particular draws you to the genre/age group?

I honestly don't think I'll grow out of writing YA. Because I honestly don't think I'll grow up. I'm 28 now and I don't feel like a grown up. I have grown up-type problems, sure, but I can totally relate to the heightened angst of being a teenager. I think all adults still can. Have you ever seen your grandma go out with the girls? Yeah. You heard me. The GIRLS. Not the women or ladies, she's out with her girlfriends. Just like your dad or your grandpa goes out with his boys. They may have grown older in years but inside they're no older than you are. 

Ebooks vs. physical books: can they peacefully coexist?

I hope they can peacefully coexist. It's funny that there are two camps when it comes to digital books and physical books, don't you think? Like we've romanticised paper. This didn't happen with tape vs CD, or CD vs digital music, did it? Or VHS tape vs DVD, and DVD vs Bluray. Are there people out there who are all "you can go stick your digital music where the sun don't shine! I'm keeping my CDs and you can't make me change!"

Personally, my CD collection was just as big as my book collection (okay, that's a TOTAL lie, but it was big) and I gotta love the SPACE I save with digital music. I love that about ebooks, too. And they're super-light when traveling.
All that said, I do prefer the reading experience of a physical book. But I move house a lot. And paper books are heavy.

What advice would you give to authors (particularly YA writers) when promoting themselves online?

It's great to be active and approachable online, but don't be TOO active. You can look like a spammer, or like you NEVER work. There is something to be said for the mysterious, enigmatic writer only really known for their books.

The most important advice I have is: Stop, take a second, and think before replying to something online. Tone doesn't come across the internet very well (which is why the neurotics amongst us can be a bit obsessive with smiley faces  [guilty]) so you have to be aware that what you're saying in a light-hearted way can come across as defensive, hostile or combative. Or even if your comments ARE defensive - you need to stop before you say that defensive thing. Think about it. Maybe the person who made you defensive has a point. Or maybe they have every right to say what they did because they're in THEIR space, on their blog etc. Or maybe they are just a troll TRYING to make you mad. Don't play with trolls.
Just stop, take a second, and think. 

Why did you decide to pursue indie publishing? Do you think traditional publishing is being made redundant?

I had written a book I was really proud of, but my agent didn't think it would sell. I was disheartened by that, and at the same time, I was hearing more and more success stories in the self-publishing field, AND my major assignment for a class at University was to focus on an area of digital publishing. I decided to see what this ebook fuss was about and I've found I'm quite successful at it (I also got a High Distinction for my assignment. Woohoo!). It all happened at the same time and was kind of fate-like.

I certainly don't think traditional publishing will be redundant, more often than not you can trust that the book you buy will have some redeeming qualities, when it really is a gamble with purchasing self published work.
But like indie music, there is now another way to go than with a big backer. Some indie bands aren't very good, just like some indie books aren't very good. Some big label bands also aren't very good, and ditto for some traditionally published books. Being indie or trad doesn't automatically mean really good or really bad.

The thing I like about indie publishing is that books that wouldn't have found a publisher, because they cater to a niche market, are able to find their readers. Short stories and poetry have found a place again, as very little of either get published traditionally. Interestingly, for a couple of years I was consistently hearing that New Adult fiction (18-25ish. College age) doesn't sell. Publishers weren't publishing it because when they did, readers didn't buy it.
New Adult contemporary fiction is currently becoming a really popular genre due to self publishing authors (e.g. Abbi Glines, Tammara Webber and stacks more) finding massive success. New Adult DOES sell, it turns out, but BEFORE self publishing (both have gone on to sell the rights to their books to be published by traditional publishing houses), regardless of how good their books, they may not have been published and readers may not have found these excellent books because "new adult doesn't sell". I find it really interesting and love the diversity and breadth of fiction that self publishing allows for.
 

Imagining you could travel back in time and meet yourself without tearing the fabric of the universe, what advice would you give your younger self (say, as a teenager) about writing and life? 

Just be you. Don't think that just because you're an adult you need to write serious work of literary merit. You're not a serious person, Sarah, you tend to see the funny side of pretty much everything, so just. Be. You.
Also, one I'm still working on is that what other people think of me is NONE of my business. It just matters what I think of me. I'm a big people pleaser, and unfortunately, I just can't please everyone. Learn it and live it, Sarah! 

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For more about Sarah and her novels, check out her website and blog.