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Hi guys, not a lot of spectacular news, but ANGEL is now out in paperback, with its dark gothic new cover, so it's obviously important that you go out and buy it in large quantities ... Also, the Doomspell books are being re-issued in June 2008 with excellent gothic new covers (see below) and I've finished the bulk of my new horror novel, SAVANNAH GREY ... EVENTS Thursday MAY 8th 2008 I will be at the Brighton Festival at 2.00 p.m talking about my books at the Old Market Arts Centre, 11a Upper Market Street, Hove. BN3 1AS. Anyone can come. AWARDS So far every time I've been to an awards ceremony (The Salford, The Calderdale) I've won. Therefore, imagine my astonishment when I only placed second for BREATHE at the Warwickshire Book Award. I was flabbergasted! Even so, it was very nicely organized, and I enjoyed being there. There was a quiz on BREATHE as well, and I couldn't get most of the answers. It makes you realize that half the facts you put in books are arbitrary, so you never recall them. How many years has Charlie been in the house? I dunno. About 20? No, it was longer. Plus I forgot that Jack likes his jam cold from the fridge. I was the least useful member of my own team! SAVANNAH GREY - latest Novel The third draft of SAVANNAH GREY: a STORY OF LOVE AND HORROR is complete now. It's been a long time in coming right, this one, requiring three major redrafts - reminding me in that way of BREATHE. My publishers in the UK and the USA are now looking at it. It's a dark book, especially compared to ANGEL, my last novel, but stories just have a way of going where they want, irrespective of the author's wishes sometimes. In fact, nearly all the best stories do exactly that. It took me a long time to get the ending I wanted, but I'm satisfied with it at last. What's it all about, you ask? Well, it's all about horror. No, it's all about love. It's both, really. Er - I'll just have another look at that ending. I've just finished a tedious stage in the writing where I have to remove certain words I get fixated on. Eg GRIPPED. Eg STARED Eg SUDDENLY. All authors have their favourite words and phrases. I always say ALWAYS, for example. Plus 'I knew/he knew' turns up with monotonous frequency. I've got a listing on my computer called CHKWORDS which reminds me of all the damned things. To be honest, it's not easy getting up in the morning to do this task, but it does lead to some surprising rewrites which have nothing to do with the individual words, and a lot to do with seeing certain sentences out of context and hence in a new light. Anyhow, I'm sure you're all fascinated by that. If you want to have the full CHKWORDS list, you only have to ask. It makes riveting reading. For anyone who wants a taster, here's a bit of chapter 1 of SAVANNAH GREY ... It was long past midnight when the Horror appeared at the end of Westmoreland Road. No one in the run-down London council estate saw it. No one heard it as it burst through the washing lines of the poky little gardens. The Horror knew exactly where Savannah's room was. The layout of the house had been thoroughly explained to it by the Ocrassa. Tiptoeing across the hallway, it stayed silent, containing its eagerness. A gland in its throat constantly spouted a yellowish liquid, but it was used to that and careful not to let any drip onto the carpet. Reaching her bedroom, it lowered its star-shaped head, pressed a furred ear to her door and simply listened. DOOMSPELL - NEW COVERS
March 11th 2008 Update Hi guys, not a lot of spectacular news, but the Doomspell books are being re-issued with gothic new covers ... I like the new way of showing my name ... EVENTS Thursday MAY 8th 2008 – I will be at the Brighton Festival at 2.00 p.m talking about my books at the Old Market Arts Centre, 11a AWARDS So far every time I've been to an awards ceremony (The Salford, The Calderdale) I've won. Therefore, imagine my astonishment when I only placed second for BREATHE at the Warwickshire Book Award. I was flabbergasted! What a joke! Even so ... it was nicely organized, and I enjoyed being there. There was a quiz on BREATHE as well, and I couldn't get most of the answers. It makes you realize that half the facts you put in books are arbitrary, so you never recall them. How many years has Charlie been in the house? I dunno. About 20? No, it was longer. Plus I forgot that Jack likes his jam cold from the fridge. I forgot plenty more. I wasn't a very useful member of my own team. SAVANNAH GREY - latest Novel That's all for now. Be good to each other. Ciao. Cliff
29th January 2008 Update Hi guys, bit of a while since my last update .... EVENTS Nothing public going on right now. A few school events, that's all. I'm looking to do a few more schools as well this year, so if there are any librarians/teachers out there who'd like a visit then check out the SCHOOLS page on my website. AWARDS I was at the Salford Book Awards on January 25th, and I'm pleased to let you know that BREATHE won their best book of the year award. The competition on the shortlist was stiff, with excellent novels by Marcus Sedgwick, Livi Michael, Alex Shearer, Michael Morpurgo and Lauren St. John all in contention. It's the second award BREATHE has won now, and it's still shortlisted on a few other award lists. In fact, only next week I'm going to the midlands, where it's in contention for the Warwickshire Book Award. Since my record is at 100% so far - 2 events attended, 2 victories - I'm starting to get rather hopeful about my chances there as well - To be honest, it's just lovely to get a bit of recognition for the book. A bit more publicity never hurts. And it's great meeting other authors as well on these occasions you'd never normally see. I got a bit misty eyed during my speech, starting waxing on about following your dreams, not letting anyone say you can't do things dear to your heart etc. Bit embarrassing really, but my friend Sophie McKenzie found the same thing happened to her when she won the RED HOUSE book award last year- so maybe it's an occupational hazard. Gwyneth Paltrow - I now understand! My publisher, Orion, have now had a chance to read my latest novel, SAVANNAH GREY: a STORY OF LOVE AND HORROR. As usual I've been asked to make plenty of changes, but they like it. It's a real SF/horror story this one, much darker than ANGEL. It's due out in January 2009. I normally get a novel out by late summer, but various things have conspired against me this time, so it's delayed. Apologies if you're desperately waiting - you ARE desperately waiting, aren't you? NEW IDEAS While I was away on holiday in I've got other ideas: a couple of parallel word stories in particular, and a new ghost story, but it's the vampire one I keep wanting to come back to - and I know myself well enough now to accept that and leave the others for the moment. ANGEL PAPERBACK - NEW COVER Orion have decided that the current cover of ANGEL needs upgrading - I asked if anyone liked/loathed it, but no one replied on that, so I'll assume you are all speechless with awe. Anyhow, it'll be on sale from April 2008. Can't think of anything else right now. Ciao. Cliff
DECEMBER UPDATE ..... EVENTS I will be taking part in an interactive internet session on January 14th on ghost stories with the organisation 'write away.' I think there'll be an opportuntity to tune into this and ask me questions. Write Away ('writeaway.org.uk') host an excellent website all about fiction for young people, and are well worth a visit regardless of whether you take part in the session or not. More details to follow ... All my news at the moment is related to books past and present and future first the present SAVANNAH GREY I've just finished the first draft of a new novel, SAVANNAH GREY. At the moment it's got the subtitle A STORY OF LOVE AND HORROR. This pretty much sums it up. It's a dark sci-fi/horror thriller aimed squarely at a 12+ audience. Basically it's about a girl who has an unusual throat and an unusual arm - and there's a reason for this. She's meant to be confronting something hiding in a dark wood. I like monsters, and there are 3 of them in this story. The book's hefty, too - 86,000 words - about 340 pages - and that's without even a proper ending yet (I can never write that until I know exactly how the rest of the book should go.) I've just sent it to my publishers, so we'll see what they make of it ANGEL PAPERBACK - NEW COVER Orion have decided that the current cover of ANGEL isn't quite right, and have commissioned a much more gothic look. Here's what it looks like? Whaddaya think? It'll be on sale from April 2008.
 NEW IDEAS Although SAVANNAH GREY is just the latest in a long line of dark fantasies, a part of me hankers for sunlight and humour. I want to write a story about a boy and his pet cockatoo, Nibs. Those of you who read the updates regularly will know that this story has been knocking around in my head (and partly on paper too) for a while. I'm just hoping my publishers want me to write it. I'm also working on a new edgy idea that I first brought up in public a week ago when I was at a school in Berwick-on-Tweed as part of the Northern Children's Book festival. Imagine this: You start keeping a diary. In this diary you jot down what happens to you on a daily basis - good things, bad things, whatever. But then you look one day, and there's another diary entry after yours. It's been written by ANOTHER YOU leading your life in a parallel universe. This other you has the same things in their life - same pets, family, friends. Except that if you have a good day they have a bad day. And vice versa. So the question is: are you influencing each other? And if so, should you be changing your life to help the other person? It's just an idea at the moment, but I like it, and I'm gonna think about it a bit more let me know if it sounds interesting to you? apart from that, I've got loads of other ideas. It's time to dust a few of them off and see what's worth rethinking Ciao for now. Be good to each other. Cliff
September /Ocober 2007 update ... SCHOOLS - ONLINE FORUMS It can be hard for me to get to distant schools, but I like interacting with classes who have done special projects on my books. I've worked out that it's easy to use interactive media like GOOGLTALK to set up such online forums for real-time discussions. If any school would like to plan something like that with me, let me know
I had a good time recently at the Edinburgh festival. I was part of a panel which included Marcus Sedgwick and new author Tom Becker discussing what makes gothic stories tic. During it we discovered that the thing most adults seem to fear the most isn't vampires, or rats or even the threat of death. No, it's not getting enough sleep. It's fear of not being able to sleep, or the consequences of not getting enough of it. Interesting, huh? If you have a pet fear let me know as I'm compiling a list... BOOK NEWS I still haven't discussed contract terms with my publisher, Orion, about the planned graphic novel of THE DOOMSPELL. However, I'm sure this will get underway soon. In the meantime, I've shelved the novel I had been working on - THE SECRET ROOM - for another book provisionally entitled SAVANNAH GREY. However, I'm thinking about changing it to something more direct like THE ASSASSIN. Let me know which title you prefer. I'm also thinking about giving it a subtitle of A STORY OF LOVE AND HORROR because that is what it is. How can I describe it to you? Well, in the film world, you are supposed to be able to sum up a concept or idea in a single resonant sentence, so here goes: °•BRIDGET JONES MEETS ALIEN'. Intrigued? Confused? Laughing? It's basically about a girl with superhuman powers, but designed for a particular purpose, to defeat a single immensely powerful opponent. But there's also a romance. In fact, two romances really, but not Romeo and Juliet, I assure you - standard boy-girl kissy stuff is not my picnic at all. I'll keep you updated on this one. My aim is to complete it by the end of 2007, but I probably won't manage it. OTHER NEWS - READING YOUR MANUSCRIPTS I'm thinking of starting up professionally reading manuscripts. So many adults are trying to slide into children's fiction these days, and I kinda feel that I can advise them as well as anyone else. I'd be interested to know if there are any adults out there who think a service like this would be one they'd use. TOP IDEAS Next update I'm gonna pitch 5-10 new ideas at you. I just want to know which, at face value, you like the sound of most so keep a look out for that. For now, Ciao, and be good to each other. JULY update ....................
A NOTE TO MY AMERICAN READERS First, Hi! - There seem to be an increasing number of you out there, thanks to the excellent Carolrhoda Press publishing my three SILVER SEQUENCE books and BREATHE: A GHOST STORY. My latest novel, ANGEL, will also be published soon, but the date of publication is not agreed yet). To find out more about the U.S. editions of these books and how to order them, please click on the following website: http://www.lernerbooks.com/cgi-bin/books.sh/lernerpublishing.p?navaction=f6_title.w&navvalue=082256503X BOOK NEWS Two new books in planning phase 1. First - Dragwena is back. Well, sort of. What do you think of the idea of a graphic novel version of THE DOOMSPELL? I suggested this to my publisher a few years ago, and I'm pleased to say they now think it's a fine idea. So far I've had preliminary discussions with my main editor at Orion, Jon Appleton, and also met with illustrator Gary Chalk. Subject to agreeing terms and conditions for the project, I'll be going ahead with this almost immediately, but there's no planned publication date yet. Wonderfully, if we go ahead, it looks like I'll be able to use a likeness of my own daughter for the Rachel in the story. Since my daughter was the inspiration for the book, that's particularly appropriate. A few years ago she remarked to me that she was obviously now too old to play the part of Rachel if a film was ever made. True. But I guess now, being nearly 19 years old, she could play the part of Dragwena. Strange thought, huh? But, since she recently considered buying a dress from a designer shop in London called FAIRY GOTHMOTHER, a thought closer to the truth than you might think I'll keep you informed about this project. 2. NEW NOVEL. After a lot of twisting and turning to get the subject and plot right, I'm close to starting a new fantasy novel. It will figure an alien that makes THE ROAR look tame, but also, as they say, some laughs, and even a romance. I don't really do romances in my books, though, so something will have to go wrong with that to keep me interested. Any ideas? PODCAST Have you checked out the following website: http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/author_audio_interview.aspx?athid=5558 It contains a 20-25 minute interview I did with esteemed author and critic Phil Ardagh, covering all my books. Listen in wonder BOOK AWARDS It was such a pleasure yesterday to turn up at the Calderdale Book Award for teenage fiction, and find at the end of the day that I'd WON IT for Breathe: A ghost story. The final votes were cast by students local to the Halifax area, and I even got a cheer. It was especially nice to win because the competition was stiff. I was up against Marcus Sedgwick, and also the excellent and previously award-winning authors Catherine Forde, Rebecca Lisle, and Sue Mayfield. My prize was a cool £2.5 million, which was obviously nice. No, sorry, that was the award I didn't win. My award was a bottle of champagne and some fine crystal glass. So almost as good.
- updated June 14th 2007 Hi everyone, just a quick added note to say 2 things: 1. The podcasts of me talking in my usual overly fast-speaking manner about my books and the process of writing (with eminent writer and critic Phil Ardagh) are now available on my publisher, Orion's, website. Just go to http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/author_audio_interview.aspx?athid=5558 and all will be revealed. 2. SUGAR Magazine - great promotion offer The teen magaize SUGAR is doing a promotion for my latest book ANGEL where you can win nice stuff...
JUNE 10th update... PUBLIC TALKS - none scheduled ANGEL Well, ANGEL is out at last - tomorrow actually. I was thinking of doing my own litle celebration this time to mark the publication, but I haven't got round to organizing it. I never do. That's 8 books without arranging anything ... I'm just lazy I guess. Anyhow, it's nice to see the book out there. I did a signing session at Littlehampton Book Press recently and I'm semi-officially the fastest ever signer they have. I can sign 500 books in 40 minutes with time for tea and chat to spare. RADIO BROADCAST If you missed the ONEWORD Radio broadcast I did recently to mark the publication of ANGEL, I'm told it'll soon be on the ONEWORD website. I'll let you know where to find this as soon as I know myself. I'm also going back in to do a talk about BREATHE in a week or so. So hopefully, along with the podcasts Orion are still putting together, I'll be talking away from all over the shop soon. Watch this space to find out more ... actually, I must admit it was a real pleasure talking to Paul Kent at ONEWORD about Angel. I found that I'd thought a lot more about historical angels and ways to think about angels than I realized. I also found out how fast I talk - Jesus, I'm a damned machine gun. If only I was a smooth and I am fast! I read the two book extracts in record time. Ridiculously quickly. Next time I must ... slow... d o w n. PODCAST My publisher has kindly recorded some audio podcasts of me talking about my books, including ANGEL, with the noted novelist and critic Phil Ardagh. It was a pleasure to meet him again and he put me very much at ease. I'll tell you where you can listen to these as soon as they are available. (STILL NO NEW NEWS ON THIS) WHAT I'M WORKING ON NOW ... DOOMSPELL GRAPHIC NOVEL ... maybe.... Generally speaking ...Various ... er ... ideas. I wish there was a short story market for children's fantasy like there is for adult fantasy, SF and horror. But there isn't, apart from a few very specific collections. It's a pity coz I have loads of ideas that I'd like to crash on the young people's world in short story form that don't warrant a full-sized novel. I'm a keen short story reader. It just seems the perfect medium for some ideas. Anyway, I guess I should let you know that my publisher decided in the end that they didn't want to go ahead with THE SECRET ROOM (for reasons I can entirely understand). So I'm trying not to sulk and instead to come up with a new, brilliant, original idea. I'll let you know if I do. The nicer news is that years ago I suggested to Orion that they should consider a graphic novel of DOOMSPELL, and now... well, they're considering it. I'm going to be looking at some work by an illustrator whose name I'll keep to myself right now, and maybe we'll have a project to collaborate on. I've never done any collaborating before, and I like the idea of it. I always think visually, so to me graphic novels seem a natural thing to get into. Plus it's a chronically easy medium to excel in, it seems to me. Maybe I'm being cocky and blase here, but most graphic novel stories are kiddie-comic drivel, aren't they? Of course the best stuff is pure genius, but I'm not overawed by the general level when I cock an eye that way. Maybe I'll change my mind once I actually have to do it... OTHER BOOK NEWS - BREATHE out in paperback The paperback of Breathe: a ghost story is finally out in U.K. bookshops . It will have a bright red star on it, saying: ARE YOU BRAVE ENOUGH? to read the book. Well, if you haven't already read it, are you? Death of Margaret Clark My main editor up until BREATHE was a woman called Margaret Clark. She had a very distinguished publishing careeer, and really helped me make sense of my early manuscripts and write far better books. She passed away recently and will be sorely missed by many people. On that note, I'll leave you I think. Be good to each other. Cliff March 28th 2007 update Hi everyone. Well, I seem to have managed to get over my brief post-completion blues regarding my new novel ANGEL, out in the U.K in June. All the pre-publication feedback for it has been terrific, actually, which has buoyed me up. If anyone wants a taster of ANGEL, just email me This year I'm doing a talk at the Edinburgh Festival and the Birmingham Festival. I'll put the details on the website a little closer to the time so hopefully, if you live nearby, I'll see you there NEW BOOK I've now also finished the first draft of my new novel. I'm provisionally calling it °•THE SECRET ROOM - a mystery'. It's a shortish novel, written in mostly very short chapters as well, which hopefully means it rolls along at a fast pace. I don't want to tell you too much about it yet, but there seems to be a monster in the house. It's a fairly claustrophobic novel, set exclusively in a house, like BREATHE. I seem to enjoy writing these very geographically narrow stories these days. It's useful because you can concentrate on atmosphere and character, instead of having to do a lot of explanation, which is inevitable if you create large-scale fantasies, as in the Doomspell Trilogy. I'm quite excited by this new story - it sort of wrote itself. I've given it two endings, one of which is horror. My daughter, Rachel, read this ending and it nearly freaked her out. She didn't like it one bit, and thought it unnecessary. I fear she is right. I wrote it in a mad moment, thinking I was very clever to manipulate the story facts in two contrasting ways. But it doesn't seem to work - it's too much of a downer, and probably inappropriate. However, rather than take it out at this stage, I've sent the version with 2 endings to my publisher. I will be interesting to see what they have to say. I'm now in my usual post-first-draft restless mode. I'm always anxious to begin a new story at once, but I know from experience that I need to take a mental break, let my mind wander, go for walks etc. I have a lot of ideas for new stories, but there isn't one that's shouting at me at the moment. Or, rather, there is - but I don't know what to do with it. It's just an idea, but I haven't a clue how to construct a story around it yet. I've also got an different idea for a parallel world story, and also another ghost story - but totally different from BREATHE. I'm very attracted to ghost stories. Why is it that dead people in fiction often appear more alive and charged than living people? I think it's because we sense, from some deep instinct, that if a person ever did return from the dead there would have to be a dramatic reason for it. Their very arrival is supercharged with meaning and importance. They are extremely motivated to get whatever it is they want. It makes them almost automatically intriguing and compelling characters. In my next update, I'll hopefully be able to give you more info on publicity for the paperback of BREATHE (out May) and ANGEL (hardback), out in June. I'll also put some advance material on the BOOKS page of the website on ANGEL in the next couple of weeks, so look out for that. I have no date for the publication of ANGEL in the U.S.A yet, but I'll keep you up to date on that as I know a growing number of you are logging in from the States. Nice to know my books are winging my way towards you guys out there. Take care, and be good to each other. March 7th update ........................................................ I've been busy trying to get the first draft of my new novel done. A week or 2 and I should be there. It's sort of fantasy, sort of science fiction as well - oh, and horror, too. And at the moment it has 2 different endings - one happy, the other terrifying. I suspect it'll probably end up with a single ending - and not the terrifying one. But I've written it so that the facts make both equally plausible. We'll see what my publisher, Orion, thinks soon enough. I've had a hankering for a long time to do a story with 2 or even more endings. The longer you're immersed in the fiction process, the more you can see that a twist or turn here and there would dramatically change the whole story. BUT readers tend to prefer a single, emotionally clear and unified ending - so it's hard to get away with multiple conclusions. I'm calling it THE SECRET ROOM right now. but I could also call it MONSTER: a mystery. On other matters, I've just received the final proof pages for ANGEL, my last novel (the one about the girl who is half human and half angel, coming out June this year). Proof pages look exactly as the book will, and the author's very last chance to change anything. I've found some bad writing in several places, usually on sections I've worked and worked on as well. It's very dispiriting, especially as they can't now be radically rewritten. For various reasons due to the printing process ( I won't go into) you can only makes fairly small changes at this late stage. I also felt very flat reading it - unhappy, really. I haven't looked at it for months, and hoped it would be better than this. It has less of a fantasy/science-fiction feel than anything I've written before (except for the angels), and while that gives it a chance to read a wider audience, since writing THE SILVER CHILD I prefer to feel I'm hanging out there in the wind a bit, and not in what feels like somewhat safer - dare I say DULLER - territory. But I'm probably overreacting - you get used to such feelings coming and going - liking something/disliking/thinking it's rubbish/thinking you're rubbish. It's a normal and necessary part of the writing process. I've never met a decent writer who didn't hate an aspect of their book at some point during the writing process or after the story's finished. BREATHE - my ghost story - is coming out in paperback in MAY. It should have a sticker on it saying something like "DARE TO READ THIS?" Hopefully that'll get it some extra interest. Go forth and buy in vast quantities! AWARDS There's an influential new set of awards in America called the CYBILS. Check out http://dadtalk.typepad.com/cybils/ for details. Science Fiction and Fantasy is one of the categories, and SILVER CITY, the middle book of the SILVER SEQUENCE, was nominated on the shortlist for 2006. The final winner was Jonathon Stroud's PTOLEMY'S GATE, which has won seven thousand million other awards as well. Never mind. It was nice for this series to get some attention. Ciao for now.
- updated 21st January 2007
FIRST FIRST FIRST - I have a MYSPACE profile now - www.myspace.com/cliffmcnish. Check it out. And from now on all my LATEST NEWS will be on there as well as this website. I had a great marketing and publicity meeting with my publishers, Orion, recently. Hopefully, there'll be a big push when BREATHE: a ghost story comes out in paperback. Newspaper articles. Special postcards in cinemas/schools, etc. My latest book, which I'm provisionally entitling THE SECRET ROOM (though my publishers want a one-word title to match BREATHE and ANGEL) is coming along - sort of. It's so weird at the moment that I find it difficult to describe. Let me tell you right now, however, that I've been looking up influencing techniques so that I can implant ideas in your subconscious when you read the book. Either this will make the book explosively amazing when you read it or - or I won't pull it off. I'm still in the detailed planning stages and early writing right now. But for those of you who read my last report on Nibs, the cockatoo - he is alive and well, and thriving. He's got an age, a life-expectancy and everything. I even went to a pet shop to watch how cockatoos move. They have very intelligent eyes. They look as if they know things. Until recently, I've been blogging about once a month. I know this isn't very often. And I rarely write much even then. I might start doing it a little more often. Or I might not. I'm not one of those authors who reports on a near daily basis on their progress. Those people are very confident. I always think the whole story is going to fall over like a pack of cards. Any confidence I have lasts five minutes. Or three. Then I go on long walks to get away from it. I don't know why I agonize really. The chances of anyone reading my books in 20 years time, let alone fifty, are remote statistically. So I need to try to enjoy myself more. Chat. Socialize. I met someone recently who told me that from my books they expected me to be dressed in black and really strange. Maybe I should live up to this image ... I'm always depressed when I first start a book. I think it's going to be rubbish. It IS rubbish. Each book starts this weak and pathetic way. It never gets any easier, either. In fact, with each book it gets harder. I think the reason is that as you (hopefully) become more skilled as a writer more perspectives are open to you. You see so many different ways to present a story, and it's harder to choose the best way. When I wrote my first book, THE DOOMSPELL, I just wrote something I thought my daughter would like. Since then writing seems to have gotten more complicated. You hope you're a better writer as time goes by, but it gnaws at you. You're never sure! There you are. At least I've provided an update!! DECEMBER 2006 UPDATE
Hi everyone, I've been scandalously late delivering an update, but that's mainly because there hasn't been all that much news. First things first: my next book, ANGEL, is finally complete. If anyone wants to look at the cover check out http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1842551116/ref=pd_rhf_p_1/026-7178913-0162861 If anyone wants a preview of the book's content, email me. It will be out June 2006 in the UK. There's no U.S. publication date at the moment. I'll let you know once I have that. Prior to that, BREATHE: a ghost story will come out in paperback, May 2006 (in the U.K.). My publisher, Orion, are getting behind a marketing and publicity campaign for this - more details in January. As part of that, I was asked my thoughts. I said, "Why not have a whopping great banner up in bookshops that says, 'IS THIS THE SCARIEST GHOST STORY YOU'VE EVER READ?'" Challenging, simple, direct. The problem is that I'm sure it's way too expensive even to consider. If you have any brilliant ideas for publicising BREATHE let me know! My new book will be a kind of gothic dark fantasy novel. I've started it, but it keeps evolving all the time. I've no idea what it's going to end up like. It started off very dark, but then, out of the blue, I wrote this really warm scene between a boy and his pet cockatoo, Nibs. I don't know where this came from. It seemed to belong to a different book - a different world, almost. I tried to put Nibs away, back in his place, but he keeps returning. Not sure what to do about him. I think he needs to live, but if so my book's changing all out of recognition - who knows where it'll all end up. Any other news? Not really. Not doing any public events. But who's that screeching in my ear? It is Nibs, the one and only. Nibs, the mad cockatoo is a-calling. He needs to be fed! Take care, be good and have a happy Xmas and New Year. See you again in 2007, when either Nibs will have been throttled, or he will have achieved words, plumage and a plucky little part to wend into your heart. Bye for now. November 2006 update ... Hi everyone, Tricky to get through this month. A frustrating one. I'm still waiting for my UK and American publishers views on the third draft of ANGEL (and they want still more changes, that much I do know). Meantime, I'm also waiting for their final views on the synopsis of my next book, THE IMMORTAL before I really get on with it in earnest. As a result of all this I'm not doing any real writing, just waiting around. But an interesting thing happened: as soon as I finished my last (3rd) draft of ANGEL the floodgates opened, and I realized that I easily had enough material and an interesting enough story to do ANGEL 2. Then, when I was on a walk, I suddenly realized how the whole ANGEL series had to end - I knew exactly where I has to put the main character, Freya. I knew the whole last paragraph, almost word for word, including the last sentence, 'And then she made her choice.' So now I've sent a detailed synopsis of both potential ANGEL sequels to my publisher. They're read the first, and will get back with their comments shortly... but, as you see, it's all waiting. I haven't done a substantial piece of original creative writing for ages. So I'm doing a lot of walking instead. I'm really getting fit, let me tell you. Six hours a day three times a week on the Sussex hills is making me an expert in the peculiarities of the good old Sussex Border Path. Hopefully, next month, I'll have ANGEL finally finished and also, I hope, something new and substantial started. One nice bit of real news is that BREATHE has been short-listed for a regional award, The Calderdale. I'll pick up the award next year. Or more likely sit there politely clapping while someone else does. Take care and Be good. Cliff.
OCTOBER UPDATE This month I've mainly spent finishing off the changes to my latest novel, ANGEL. It's been a bit of a slog in the latter stages, this one, but hopefully it will all be worth it in the end. I've also ditched my Battle Story idea for now and instead revisited a gothic horror story idea I had some time ago. I've revamped this, and put it forward as a proposal for my next novel to Orion, and am provisionally calling it THE IMMORTAL. I'll be meeting with them on October 4th to discuss it, so we'll see what they think. Basically, it's about an immortal monster that has been imprisoned on our world, but now it is stirring - and using the power of children to help it escape. The monster itself has several other Horrors, creatures that are part of its body, and scattered from it, that it must reassemble before it can regain its full power. I see this as a fantasy-horror aimed at 10-14 year olds, my usual age-group, written in third-person throughout. I guess it's a kind of companion piece to BREATHE, inasmuch as it is set largely inside a house, but instead of a confused Ghost Mother we're dealing with a classic monster here. In that sense, this is a true horror story more than the supernatural chiller BREATHE was. I see it as being fairly short and simply structured, a genre piece, with an emphasis on gothic atmosphere rather than detailed character development. This month I've also been meeting with an illustrator friend, Caroline Hotoph, and we've come up with a story line for younger people that suits her improvisatory style. I've finished it now, and am calling it 'Looking for Stevie B'. It's a fairly simple story of loss and how to cope with that aimed, I guess, largely at 7-8 year olds. I wrote lots of silly little stories for my daughter Rachel in the distant past, but this is just about the first story for younger readers I've seriously written with a mind to publication. It's with my agent at the moment, to see what she thinks of it. So we'll see... Oh, and one afternoon this month I also wrote a very strange story just in pictures (like the format of The Snowman). I felt very inspired when I did it, and there is something very powerful and almost primal about conceiving an emotionally-driven story purely in images. However, I don't think there is a market for it out there, at least in its present format, and need to get some space away from it, and refashion it somehow, so I won't go into the content for now. Over time I've realised that lots of my story ideas seem to go through this kind of genesis - initial conception, followed by a long break, then I come back to it (maybe years later) with a very altered perspective. ANGEL certainly did, and of all my stories perhaps that's the one that kept haunting me long before I started the actual writing of the novel. Anyhow, take care, and be nice to each other. I'll do another update next month.
AUGUST 5th Update Well, I finally finished the second draft of my story about a girl who is a hybrid human/angel, and it's with my publisher. The story is going to be called - guess what? - ANGEL. Original, huh? I've also sent a pic of a girl/angel that was on my wall throughout the writing to Orion, hoping they'll want to use it. We'll see... So I'm now officially in my saddo state. Instead of feeling happy and satisfied after getting to this stage with a book I always feel deflated. Pathetic. I don't know why. So I'm getting on with thinking about my new story. I've mentioned it before. Science Fiction. Battle School for Kids. Fighting. Mayhem. Death. Leadership. Genius children, with adults pitting them against each other for their own unscrupulous reasons. I'm putting the synopsis together over the next couple of weeks and hope to WOW! Orion with it. BREATHE - the ghost story - has been out a few weeks and seems to be doing OK. Are you all buying it as birthday and Christmas presents? If not, think again... Still doing no promotion for it, that I can tell - except a couple of closed venue things and a radio interview. We'll see how things go, I guess. Nothing much else to report, really. I've got a few free posters to give away of Doomspell/Silver Sequence. If anyone wants one, just email me to say so... Bye for now...
JULY 5th Update BREATHE, my ghost novel, is now available in, as they say, all good bookshops. Published 6th July. I think Orion have got the cover just right - very creepy. See what you think for yourself... Oh, and SILVER WORLD is out in paperback now, too, so that means all 3 of the silver books are in paperback. Don't forget about this series. I sweated blood over it!
PUBLIC EVENTS and VISITS STILL No definite dates on launch talks for BREATHE, my latest novel. Will update you here as soon as I get the dates. OTHER BREATHE news. I was fortunate enough, actually, to get a good early review of BREATHE in THE BOOKSELLER, which recommmends to the book world what to buy. They called it 'wonderfully spine-chilling' but not for the faint of heart. That's also what was said about SILVER WORLD. I'm obviously a scary author. I don't mean to be - things just get scary, it's out of my hands. Anyway, it's not that scary. I'm sure you'll let me know what you think...
ANGEL STORY latest Those of you who follow this section will know I've been working on my angel story about a human/angel hybrid. I'm now nearing the completion of my second draft of this book. I've found an amazing picture of a statue-girl-angel, which has been on my wall throughout, inspiring me. I'm hoping Orion like it too and will use it on the cover. It looks like the title, after a lot of agonizing, will simply be ANGEL. More on this soon... I'll post another extract here shortly ... That's it for now. Take care of yourselves... Cliff
May update The last update was April, when I gave you a taste of the first draft of my latest novel, ANGEL STORY. Since then I've received my publisher's comments on the first draft, plus sent it out to about 20 young and older people whose judgements I respect. It's amazing what different viewpoints you get when you do this. To remind you, the book's about a 14 year old girl who has been obsessed with angels all her life. The question is - why? Is it just a childish obsession she's never let go of, or is she part angel, and that's why she keeps wanting to fly? This novel is a more grounded story than any I've written before, in the sense that a lot of the story is set in a standard secondary school - with normal lessons, teachers, chat, even a boyfriend in the wings - but I wanted to do that partly to make you believe that this could be the school you went to or are going to now, and partly to contrast the real world with the otherworldliness of the angels. There's something right about having true angels passing over KFC and kids who might be angels also enjoying a night eating burgers and drinking milkshakes/coke in some local burger joint in the town centre. I now have to go through all those comments and decide what I need to change or jettison altogether - and then convince my publisher I'm right. Some of these judgements are tricky calls, but there you go. Here, for those who want a peek, are the opening paragraphs... Freya Harrison had always wanted to be an angel. Ever since she could remember she'd wanted wings instead of arms and a halo instead of toys. And perhaps dreams come true, because when she was barely eight years old an angel paid her a fleeting visit. It was at least seven feet tall, with creamy-white skin, manifesting itself to her in what she now recognized as the classic Late-Victorian angelic style: shining, fully-robed, its halo like a mane of golden sunshine. And male. Definitely a man. Or was it? Freya had to look twice to be sure. The body was male, and so was the face-structure, but weren't those lips curiously soft and full, the contour of the eyes almost feminine? Androgynous. Freya didn't know the term at the time, but she did now. Neither exclusively male nor female, but somehow both. The visitation took place on a summer night. She'd been asleep in her open-windowed bedroom when the angel admitted himself, and whenever Freya thought back to that time it was always as if it was happening to her again now, not then. The curtains slowly swirl and, like an impossibly perfect dream, there he is, just for her - a glorious angel in the dead of night. He's so huge. He's too big for her room, or any room for that matter. Despite which, she's not alarmed, not afraid at all. On the contrary, it is as if some part of her has been waiting her whole life for him to deftly lift aside that thin bedroom curtain. An angel. An actual angel. To gaze in wonder upon such a thing. She fell in love with the wings at first glance. Glowing wings with real sunshine playing between the tips of the feathers. Just seeing them made Freya yearn for wider spaces. And when she reached out to touch them it was like dipping her fingers inside light itself.
BREATHE - UPDATE OK. The cover for BREATHE, my ghost novel due out on July 6th this year, has taken on a much more 'adult' look. This is the final cover at last, and that plus other details about the novel are now available in the BOOKS section of the website - so check it out. Orion, my publisher, suspect BREATHE will do better commercially than the silver books a) because it is a one-off and b) because, so I'm told, ghosts are perennially popular. We shall see I'll let you know what dates/venues I'll be doing to launch the book once they've been agreed with my publicist. I've also finished my second draft of an attempt to convert the book into a film script. The new version is an attempt to rewrite the story as an adult-focused ghost thriller, with the mother, instead of Jack (the son) at the centre of the action. It's an interesting experiment, but like the first time I had a go at this I felt slightly trapped by the screenwriting format. It's all functional description and dialogue, no room for a novelist to get into the thought processes of the characters or let themselves go. Everything feels at a surface level. I suspect I might have to spend a long time within this format before I feel truly comfortable with it. However, it certainly tightens up your dialogue - and makes you realize, for that matter, how much a story can be carried purely by dialogue and gesture alone. I'm happy enopugh with it, I guess, and getting some professional advice on it now, prior to trying to take it further. More on this as time rolls by ...
JAN 11 update Well, Happy New Year , and I hope 2006 will be a good one for us all! My wife keeps badgering me to get in several months stocks of canned foods in case Bird Flu devastates the globe, and we have to hole out here in our humble home to avoid contamination from you lot infected out there. Maybe not such a bad idea at that, but I'd have to clear the cellar, and go to the supermarket and queue up with a 1000 tins of peas and sweet corn and beans, and probably 6 trolleys of dogfood, so I keep putting her off. Apart from that, and walking my dog the only thing I'm doing really is slowly getting into the writing of my latest book, the angel story (see below). But for some reason I'm just lacking energy every time I sit down to it. Not sure why. Bit of a new experience for me, this. I'm writing it in cold blood, rather than the warm glow of inspiration. Anyway, enough of that, what else can I tell you? Oh, I got a really nice review for the last of the Silver books, SILVER WORLD, from Phil Ardagh in the Guardian newspaper. It's the only review it's got, so it by default becomes the definitive review, I guess. Here it is. 'The Third book in the Silver Sequence, which started with the highly original SILVER CHILD and moved into even darker territory in the claustrophobic SILVER CITY. McNish has an extraordinary, inventive mind, matched by his skill in translating ideas, characters and raw emotions onto the page. Very distrurbing, grippin and ultimately uplifting , SILVER WORLD offers a wholly satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. Not for the faint-hearted, McNish takes the reader into uncharted territory, manifpulating language in the most extraordinary way.' I like Phil Ardagh. He's a genius, massively wise and his judgement is impeccable. I just wish someone else might give the silver series a boost, so that its sales pick up. Grumble, grumble ... Anyway, apart from some schools in January and Feb, I'm coming to Cambridge to do a public event in March, so maybe I'll see one or two of you there... (see below)
CONTINUATION OF DOOMSPELL TRILOGY So many people from all over the world continue to ask me for a 4th Doomspell book that I'm beginning to consider writing one. The trouble is that to market it (ie sell it) my publishers would probably need 3 titles, and I'm not sure I can handle that. However, I came across this excellent continuation of THE WIZARD'S PROMISE on the web, and I liked it enormously. It's by teenager Caitriona O'Mahony from Ireland, who has kindly given me permission to quote it here. So all of you out there who might want another helping of Rachel, Eric, Morpeth etc read on ... Title: Promise fulfilled. Rachel flew with Serpantha, Heiki and the Essa between the worlds towards Ool and the last of the High Witches. They had asked Eric and Larpskendya to come with them but they had said that they would follow on later. It made Rachel rather uneasy. No matter how weak and diminished they were, High Witches were still High Witches and two Wizards and a spell-destroyer were better than one Wizard. Right? When they landed on the gray snow-filled planet the Essa immediately squeaked their apologies and goodbyes and set off towards the Detaclyver. Rachel, Serpantha and Heiki made their way towards the Gridda tunnels. The only Griddas they passed were infants incapable of flying and Rachel was able to put them to sleep with a single, simple spell. Serpantha led the way towards the caves of the High Witches. Even with her direction spells, Rachel found the maze of tunnels disorientating. The layers of spells the Griddas had put on the caves to stop the High Witches escaping didn't help either. A sudden noise behind them and Rachel found herself in the grasp of a High Witch. All her spells screamed, "Fight back! Fight back!" But Rachel looked at Serpantha, who was offering no resistance and allowed herself to be dragged into the cave. Once inside Rachel caught a glimpse of a face she hoped never to see again. Only Serpantha's calm stopped her from screaming out loud. It was Calen. Out of the corner of her eye, Rachel saw Heiki trembling. She had good reason to. It was not all that long ago that Calen had picked and trained Heiki as Rachel's executioner. Not all that long ago that Heebra, Calen's mother, had given Heiki a fake soul snake with the promise of becoming a Witch. Not all that long ago that Calen had nearly killed Heiki in the Artic before Larpskendya had saved her. Serpantha bowed and began to speak. Heebra's daughter visibly relaxed at his deep, pleasant voice. "I come on behalf of the Wizards to offer you a chance for a new beginning. The Griddas are no longer a threat. You and your Witches are free. You can leave these caves." Calen sneered at the tall Wizard and Nylo flicked out his forked tongue brazenly. "Do you expect me to believe that the Griddas have been defeated, Serpantha? Not even a hundred thousand Wizards could do that. The Griddas are too vicious." "A hundred thousand Wizards didn't. One boy and a group of Witches did." "We are the last of the Witches Serpantha. There are none anywhere left on Ool thanks to the Griddas." "I realize that. Did I say these Witches came from Ool?" Calen drew herself up, tattooed eyes flashing. "There are no Witches anywhere other than us few sitting injured in these caves below Ool! You and your Wizards have seen to that! See what you have reduced us to! A feeble group sitting desolately in the remains of our world!" Serpantha reached out to Calen. Rachel hadn't even realized that the High Witch holding his wrists had let him go. Surprisingly she let him touch her. He stroked her two jaws that had been shattered by Gultrathaca. "I told you Wizards and Witches were once the same" he said gently. "Your High Witches were the descendants of a group of Witches that broke away. The remainder of the original Witches still dwell on Orin Fen with us." "You lie", Calen murmured. "You know I do not. Rejoin your sister Witches and us. Come back to Orin Fen." Rachel stared disbelievingly at the scene playing out before her eyes. Serpantha cradled the High Witch Calen in his arms. All the other High Witches had let go of Heiki and Rachel and were watching their leader. Serpantha's gentle fingers stroked Calen's face and miraculously the blood red of her skin started to fade in to peach-colored human skin like Rachel, Heiki and Serpantha's. He ran his fingers along her jaws and they disappeared, leaving her with one small human one. Calen was becoming human. Black hair grew from her head and her claws shortened into human fingers with small fingernails. She now looked as human as Rachel and Heiki albeit a little taller. The one sign of her being a Witch was an amazed Nylo curled around her neck and her tattooed eyes. "That's better", Serpantha murmured, "Come with us. All of your Witches are welcome." Calen didn't say a word. Serpantha whispered in her ear. "You would not have submitted to me changing your appearance if you did not mean to come." Calen uttered three words, just loud enough for the Wizard to hear. "We will come." Serpantha then did something no one, except maybe Calen, had been expecting. He leaned forward to kiss the Witch in his arms. Calen's arms, along with Nylo, reached up to twine around the Wizard's neck as he pressed his mouth up against hers. The children and the High Witches looked on. The Witches appeared rather confused as none of them had an idea what a kiss was and the two girls were sighing happily over the perfection of the fairytale kiss. "Are we interrupting something, brother dear?" Calen and Serpantha broke apart and turned to look along with the rest of the High Witches and Rachel and Heiki as Larpskendya's voice came from where he and Eric, with Clara, Eric's thrill-seeker and the prapsies, were standing in the entrance to the cave. Serpantha blushed but said clearly "As a matter of fact you are." Larpskendya smiled broadly and leant up against the rock wall. "Well please don't pay any attention to me. Continue." Serpantha looked like he might say something but instead turned, wrapped his arms around Calen and kissed her once more. "Does this mean that your diplomacy was successful my dear brother?" Larpskendya asked. "I believe it does." Serpantha looked back at Calen who nodded. "Sister Witches!", she said clearly. "How long have we fought against these Wizards?" "Forever", most of the Witches answered. "How many of you know why we fight against them?" Not one Witch volunteered an answer. Calen waited for a moment and still received no answer. "How many of you think that is a good enough reason?" Again, she received no answer. "These Wizards have tamed the Griddas. They have all the magic of the children of Earth and Ithrea at their sides. Do we have enough to beat them? Do we have to?" The Witches still remained silent. "I ask you as a sister to consider the offer these Wizards are making. A home rather than these worn tunnels. A sisterhood of hundreds of other Witches. How many of you agree to this?" One by one each witches soul snake rose and slithered forward to briefly twine around either Serpantha's or Larpskendya's wrist. "I believe your diplomacy has succeeded," said Calen to Serpantha. "You have my loyalty and the loyalty of the Witches you see before you." "What about the Witches in the other tunnels?" "This is all of us. We came together for the end. We believed that the Griddas would come back and finish us. We decided to spend our last days together as a sisterhood." "Would your Witches like to alter their appearance as you have? Perhaps they would like the choice anyway? Nobody will force them to change if they do not wish to." Calen nodded and turned again to the Witches. "If any of you wish to alter your appearance as I have done you may do so now. This visage was given to us by the Witches who broke away from the Wizards two hundred thousand years ago. We need not keep it if we wish not to." Some Witches touched their black teeth and red skin with longing but all of them slowly changed to their original woman-like selves. "Good thing too", Larpskendya whispered into Eric's ear "I'd be willing to bet the Griddas wouldn't be too pleased if we came back to Orin Fen with a flock of High Witches." Eric smiled. Serpantha held his hand out to Calen and another Witch and Larpskendya took the hands of the children. Together the group flew straight out of the tunnels and off the world of Ool, leaving it to the antics of the storm-whirls, the Essa and the Detaclyver. As they left Ool behind, Larpskendya moved to say to Rachel, "What about a detour to Ithrea? I know you want to see Morpeth." Even flying through the air at amazing speed, Rachel managed to throw her arms around Larpskendya. "How do you always know everything?" Larpskendya moved forward to consult with Serpantha, who agreed to lead the Witches to Orin Fen while Larpskendya brought the children to Ithrea. As soon as they landed on the planet Morpeth appeared to greet them. "Rachel!" he cried. "Morpeth!" Rachel ran forward to meet him in such a forceful hug that both of them went tumbling to the ground. "What was that for?" he asked. Unable to form a coherent sentence Rachel said. "Yemi. Eric. Griddas. Orin Fen. Witches. Peace. Ool. High Witches. Serpantha. Calen." "What?!" Larpskendya laughed as Morpeth tried to figure this out. Seeing the Wizard with the other children, Morpeth turned to Eric for help. "Eric, what is she talking about?" "The Griddas kidnapped Yemi. Rachel and me went after them. I led the Griddas to Orin Fen and nearly killed them all. There's Witches on Orin Fen that aren't like Griddas or High Witches. The Griddas made peace with the Wizards. The High Witches did too. Serpantha's fallen in love with Calen. That's pretty much it. "WHAT!?" "Yep." "Are you alright? Is Rachel all right? Is Yemi all right? Is Earth all right?" "Don't worry. Everything's fine. Serpantha just went with the High Witches back to Orin Fen and Rachel wanted to come get you." "Serpantha and Calen?" "Yep. The worlds are strange places. You find out something new every day." Morpeth was silent for a moment until Rachel spoke up. "Um? Morpeth? Could you get off me please?" "Oh, sorry!" Embarrassed, Morpeth scrambled up and held out a hand to help Rachel. Rachel stumbled as she rose and somehow fell against Morpeth so their lips met. Neither pulled away but kissed each other hard and didn't stop until both of the prapsies whistled from Eric's pockets. "Look at them boys, didn't we always tell you it would happen.?" One prapsy scowled at the other. "Fine you was right." The other prapsy began to fly circles around Eric's head. "I was right, Eric. You said I was. We were right!" Morpeth blushed as he pulled away from Rachel. Rachel smiled dreamily and Larpskendya looked at the two of them with a fatherly smile. "Well, well", he said. "Romances are breaking out everywhere. Next thing you know, Heiki will be falling for Albertus Robertson." Heiki blushed and looked down. How did Larpskendya always know everything? Rachel turned to Morpeth and took his hand. "Come on, Morpeth", she said. "Let me show you Orin Fen. I'll tell you the whole story of what happened on the way." Morpeth grasped her hand firmly. "Okay", he said simply, and the two of them took off into the sky together.
Tsunami Project now complete You may remember that I was asked, along with several other writers, to contribute to a book of short stories recounting the true events of the Tsunami disaster in December 2004. Each story will be from a specific child's viewpoint . I've been fortunate to get the heroic story of a 10-year-old English school girl who saved hundreds of lives in Phuket, Thailand. She saw the beach waters retreating and remembered from a geography lesson 2 weeks earlier what it meant - a tidal wave approaching. It's an honour to get her story, and such an uplifting one at that, but it's weird for me to be on 'realistic' territory. I'm anxious to make sure the story I write is absolutely authentic in all the details if I can, though interestingly, for legal reasons, I was asked to change many of the story details so the original people involved cannot be traced via the narrative. I think I've done this without damaging the story. Anyway, loads of other good writers are involved in this project, so the quality of the final book should be very good. It's OUT NOW, and here are the details (below), so go out and buy it to support the brave people at the heart of this disaster - all the profits from the book go to charitities for them... so get buying, you'll find it soon in all thre major charity shops... see below for details... A powerful anthology of 15 stories about the real-life experiences of children from all the regions affected by the tsunami of Boxing Day 2004. Each child's story, retold by a different well-known children's author, is followed by a short update of the child's progress by an aid-worker. The book is positive, inspirational and forward-looking. It tells incredible stories of bravery and survival and looks at how the global aid effort has affected the children involved. TSUNAMI ANTHOLOGY CONTRIBUTORS Michael Morpurgo said: ëThis book will serve to help fund long term reconstruction projects that are so vital to the future of all the people living in those far away lands where the tsunami hit. Such a book is a fine and important thing.? The book is available on 6th of October and will be sold in aid of five children's charities: Unicef, Save the Children, Y Care International, SOS Children, Handicap International ISBN 1844585816 For more information, you can visit www.highergroundproject.org.uk
Have I responded to your email? If I've received them, the answer is yes. I promise I always write back. I never ignore anything except really stupid emails. So if you wrote to me and never got a reply, I'm sorry. Try again. But some mails, apparently, I never receive, and others, when I reply, never get my answers! The most common reasons, however, why I can't send a reply are these: 1) even though I make you put your email address in twice on the website, some of you still type it in wrong. Do check that you have definitely typed the email address exactly right. 2) If your email is only set up to receive mail from FRIENDS - ie people known to you, on a select list - you need to add my email address to that list. It is cliffmcnish@hotmail.com. Otherwise your email will reject my replies. This can happen if your mail address has been set up with security by your parents or guardians. If you're not sure - ask them! But if you still don't get a reply after checking these things, please write to my publishers in the UK, Orion, and make sure you provide a snailmail address I can reach you. Here is my publisher's address: Orion Children's Books, Orion House, 5 Upper Saint Martin's Lane, London, WC2H 9EA. Their telephone number is +44 (0)207 240 3444. Their fax number is +44 (0)207 240 4822.
ORDERING BOOKS Don't forget you can order books directly from this website from anywhere in the world by following the simple links. I'm getting letters recently from U.S. readers of THE SILVER CHILD, asking where they can get hold of the other volumes. The answer is that the North American editions are coming out annually from Lerner Press (so you'll have to wait until about January 2006 for SILVER CITY, and a year later for SILVER WORLD), but if you can't wait that long just order them from this website or any online book site like amazon.com for that matter. Obviously, you'll have additonal postage to pay for overseas deliveries. For the record, SILVER CITY, part 2 of the sequence, is available now in paperback. The last part, SILVER WORLD, comes out in hardback in August 2005 - see below. Anyway, take care of yourselves and be nice to each other. Cliff. |
- April 7th 2008
