Blog Tour: VIII by Harriet Castor

Today I am pleased to be part of the blog tour for VIII by Harriet Castor. The other tour participants are as follows, so make sure you check any you might have missed:

(Click to embiggen!)

This is the blurb/info as lifted from Amazon UK - VIII is published on 1st October 2011!

VIII is the story of Hal: a young, handsome, gifted warrior, who believes he has been chosen to lead his people. But he is plagued by the ghosts of his family's violent past and, once he rises to power, he turns to murder and rapacious cruelty. He is Henry VIII. The Tudors have always captured the popular imagination, but in VIII, Henry is presented fresh for a new generation. H M Castor does for Henry what Hilary Mantel did for Thomas Cromwell - VIII is Wolf Hall for the teen and crossover market. The contemporary, original writing style will have broad appeal and VIII brings the tension of a psychological thriller and the eeriness of a ghost story to historical fiction.

Finally, a very warm welcome to Harriet...

Writing my new book VIII, a YA novel told through the eyes of Henry VIII, took a huge amount of research. I’m not complaining – I loved every bit of it. But today I wanted to tell you a little about some of the more… well, unusual aspects of the research process.

You’d expect me to have read great tomes on Tudor history, to have studied documents, visited palaces and consulted experts on everything from costumes to archery techniques, wouldn’t you? Yes, you’d be right.

But how about my endless obsessive watching of Elton John videos (or rather, two in particular)? How about my mining of Youtube for clips of Robert Downey Jr and John Malkovich? How about studying a huge in-depth biography of Elvis Presley?

No, I’m not mad. Don’t start backing away. Look, I’m a trained historian. Cambridge University, BA, First Class – honest! Let me rummage for my certificate…

You see, I wanted to steep myself in the detail of research, the known facts, the contemporary maps, the historians’ theories, the politics, the policies – all that. But I needed to find the emotional reality of Henry’s story too. This, for me, is a very different process. Because although historical research enables you to make the past vivid and present to yourself, at the same time it highlights the differences between the past and your own world. This is, of course, very necessary – you need to be aware of these differences, work with them, dig into them for insights. But, but. At the same time, because I was writing VIII in the first person, speaking in Henry’s voice, I needed to forget those differences and bring Henry closer… I needed to become him. And above all, I needed to get that Holbein image – of Henry standing arms akimbo, bearded and jewelled – out of my head. I could not inhabit an icon. I had to make Henry a human being.

Take, if you can, a couple of minutes to watch the video below. It’s a fantastic film made by the artist Sam Taylor-Wood of Robert Downey Jr lip-synching to Elton John’s song I Want Love. Downey is alone in palatial surroundings; to me the film speaks viscerally, immediately, of the loneliness of power. And of how easily it can push you into strange states of mind. Downey – or Henry, as he was to me when I was writing VIII – looks hard yet vulnerable, cold yet emotional… and dangerous. Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufbexgPyeJQ

Completely by chance, another video I found hugely useful was also an Elton John one – here it’s Justin Timberlake doing the lip-synching, to This Train Don’t Stop. It’s a brilliant portrayal of the isolation and disconnection of the constantly accompanied ‘star’ (as Henry was in his own day). How, it makes me ask, can such a person remain emotionally undamaged? What madness must it be to live in that situation and have no one (pretty much) to check you, to have life-and-death power over everyone around you? Surely that sort of power must be a hellish, lonely trap? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsuHAn54wPs

When Henry was young he was handsome, charismatic, ridiculously talented. Constantly surrounded by a gang of male friends and hangers-on. Yet, inside, he was in many respects child-like and insecure. Here, Peter Guralnick’s monumental and brilliant 2-volume biography of Elvis came in. Of course Elvis didn’t develop into the monster that Henry became – but, in a radically different time and place, he shared so many of Henry’s natural advantages, and he did manifestly fail to cope with his power and success. How could his story not be relevant to my study of Henry?

John Malkovich’s meltdown in the Coen brothers’ film Burn After Reading put flesh, for me, on Henry’s rage, while a particular scene with Robert Downey Jr and Nicole Kidman in the film Fur epitomised one of Henry’s relationships. Another scene with Robert Downey (him again! My casting for Henry, you see) in The Singing Detective conjured Henry’s grief – these were visual, emotional talismans that I came back to time and time again as I was writing.

The real creative alchemy happens inside the writer, of course. It’s no use trying to stitch together moments from other works – and I don’t in any way mean to suggest that that’s what I was doing. These film and video talismans inspired me as a piece of old glass or a walk by the sea or a painting might inspire… and I have no notion whether anyone else can see, in what I watched, what they signified for me. Perhaps it’s too deeply personal. But I hope, in reading VIII, that you might appreciate the results.


www.hmcastor.com
Twitter: @HMCastor

Thanks so much for stopping by, Harriet!

Boys for Beginners Blog Tour: Welcoming Lil Chase!

Today I am so pleased to be part of the blog tour for Boys for Beginners by Lil Chase. I'm thrilled to welcome Lil Chase to Floor to Ceiling Books, and she has written a fantastic guest post. Without any further ado...

Where Do You Get Your Ideas From?

When I tell someone that I’m a writer this is the conversation that usually follows:

Them: Wow! That’s great. What’s the book called?

Me: Boys For Beginners

Them: Love the title!

Me: Thanks.
(I didn’t come up with the title. A friend suggested it. In return, I bought her an orchid.)

Them: What’s it about?

Me: It’s a funny story about a tomboy who tries to become a girlie girl to impress a boy… but gets it wrong a lot.

Them: (Polite laugh.)
How did you come up with the idea?

Me: Erm… I stole it from a little girl.

Before you judge me, that little girl was me.

I started writing Boys for Beginners when I was 10. Back then I had called it Gwynnie Goes Girlie (a Ronseal title, but not quite as stand out as B4B). I’d never forgotten the concept so I mentioned it to my agent and she told me to get writing. But before I could get writing I had to get researching… which meant a trip to my parents’ attic.

I knew where I’d put it, in a colourful folder with Velcro seal. I knew what that first page would look like: the title, chapter one heading, three quarters of a page of pencil written text, then a picture of Gwynnie, drawn by me… I just had to pray that my parents hadn’t thrown it out.

They hadn’t.

What was surprising about the manuscript – other than the crude drawings and the even cruder spelling – was how well structured it was:

1. I introduced the protagonist Gwynnie and her best friend Paul.

2. I introduce the antagonist – Jenny, the girliest girl in school. Paul starts to fall for Jenny and Gwynnie doesn’t understand how he could like her.

3. I introduce the threat – The headmaster says they’re implementing a school uniform. Which means that Gwynnie will have to wear a skirt!

4. I introduced the goal – the arrival of the hunky boy.

5. Only after all that did I give any backstory – Gwynnie goes home and we see that she has a father and a brother but her mother died when she was little. Now we realise why Gwynnie is a tomboy – she doesn’t know how to be a girl.

Armed with the ingredients from Little Lil – my ten year old self – I started writing. The process was made so much easier because I knew these characters: Gwynnie was based on my best friend Kate… who is still by best friend. Paul was based on Paul, a good friend at the time and we’ve met up again recently. Jenny was… I know who Jenny was but I’m not telling. I took the characters from that original manuscript and adapted them: Gwynnie has become less like Kate and more like me, with the experiences I had when I was a teenager. Paul has become less like Paul and more like another best friend Tom. Jenny has become more like me too: she says all the nasty things I sometimes think but never dare to say out loud.

I would love to be able to go back in time and tell Little Lil that the book she started writing would one day be on bookshelves… and available to download (‘What’s a download?’ she’d ask).

But now I need to write a second book, and Little Lil is not around to plagiarise from so I am left with coming up with the second book on my own. Tricky.

Here are some of the ways I do it.

Keep a notebook
I have a notebook on me at all times in case a flash of inspiration hits me. But it’s one thing to have the note book, it’s another to get it out and write in it.

Eavesdrop
While commuting I pretend to read, but really I’m listening. Being a writer is often about taking in the world around us, that way the writing feels more authentic.

Magazines
The idea for my second novel came to be when reading Bliss Magazine. The banner along the top read: ‘In this issue: Boys… Cringes… Pets… Friends… Secrets…’ A list off things tween girls are interested in.

Travel
Whenever I’m feeling really blocked I try to get out. Much as I love my house, bed, local coffee shop, nearby park, friends and family, sometimes I need to see something I’ve never seen before.

Support networks
In my day job I work with a team of editors, most of whom are writers in their free time. We talk about our books a lot (like the friend who came up with the new title). It’s like Weight Watchers for writers, with everyone bemoaning how little writing they’ve done and helping each other to tackle that flabby second act.

Where do you get your ideas from? Have you got a novel way to inspire your novel? How do you unblock that writer’s block? Please, share your tips.

Please do leave comments for Lil with your suggestions!

And, in the meantime, Boys for Beginners is out now, so go and pick up a copy!

Thanks for dropping by, Lil.

DAVID, The Blog Tour - Mary Hoffman

I am thrilled to be part of the blog tour to celebrate the release of David by Mary Hoffman.

First of all, here are some details about David:

Bestselling and award-winning author Mary Hoffman has always been passionate about Italy. In this brand new novel she combines her love for the country, its culture, art and history to tell the story behind one of the world’s best-known sculptures. Little is known about the true identity of the model for Michelangelo’s statue of David, so Mary has used her persuasive narrative skills to breathe life into his story.

Aged just eighteen, Gabriele sets off from his home in Settignano to make his fortune in Florence. He plans to go straight to the home of renowned sculptor Michelangelo, who is also his ‘milk brother’, but instead finds himself in the house of a wealthy widow. Before he knows it Gabriele’s plans of living a simple life as a stonecutter have disintegrated and instead he has become an artist’s model, embroiled in Florentine politics and spying for the frateschi. Gabriele is playing a dangerous game and will be lucky to escape Florence with his life.

This epic story is full of romance, spies, politics and murder. With cameo appearances from the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, as well as the major role of Michelangelo, this is the perfect book for art fans and historical fiction fans alike.

Mary Hoffman is an acclaimed children’s author and critic. She is the author of the internationally bestselling picture book Amazing Grace. Her Stravaganza sequence for Bloomsbury has a huge fan base and Stravaganza: City of Secrets was nominated for the Carnegie Medal. She has also received award recognition for her stand-alone historical titles: Troubadour was nominated for the 2010 Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the Costa Book Award and The Falconer’s Knot was shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Award and winner of the French Prix Polar Jeunesse 2009. Mary lives with her husband in Oxfordshire.

Sounds brilliant, non?

I'm now delighted to present a guest post from Mary herself:

My five favourite places in Florence


1) The Bargello (especially the Michelangelo Room)

This is where the little Apollo-David is, which is my favourite Michelangelo sculpture, and the full-size drunken Bacchus and a bust of Brutus that looks like Tommy Lee Jones and the Pitti Tondo, described in David –a treasure-house!

You will also find Donatello’s and Verocchio’s takes on David, in the Bargello though the Verocchio is often not able to be seen. And there are lovely Giambolognas , including Mercury, the symbol of the Italian Post Office (and I must say they are VERY good at getting my postcards to the UK quickly). And the original plinth for Cellini’s Perseus statue in the Piazza della Signoria.

2) The Officina- Profumo-Farmaceutica (Profumeria) in Santa Maria Novella

I made use of this in Stravaganza: City of Flowers. Another magical place, with the most heavenly smell in the world! Gabriele buys Grazia some jasmine perfume “from the friars at Santa Maria Novella” and I got some of the same at Christmas from my husband.

3) Orsanmichele

This is a strange cube of a building that started as a grain store and THEN became a church. It is on the main drag from Piazza della Signoria to Piazza del Duomo but is often overlooked. Don’t overlook it – go inside. You won’t be disappointed. I stayed in an apartment near here with youngest daughter in 2007 and it became our “local” – a landmark and a favourite place.

4) The San Lorenzo market

What can I say? If you like to shop, this is the place for you. On my first month in Florence I stayed at the top of number five, Piazza San Lorenzo, and the market arriving every morning at 5.30am was my alarm clock.

It has leather goods in the most stunning range of colours and , though I am a vegetarian, I haven’t quite been able to wean myself off gorgeous purses and wallets. I have also become a glove dealer for my friend the writer Kath Langrish, as well as purveyor of purses to the family.

Just before you reach it on Borgo San Lorenzo you come to a men’s shoe-shop wear my husband buys two pairs of shoes, every other year. Only this year I was commissioned as he wasn’t with me. And in summer opposite the shoe-shop you can buy slices of fresh coconut drenched in iced water.

5) The Dome of the Santa Maria dei Fiori cathedral

On that first month in Florence when I was a student, I became obsessed with the dome of the cathedral, which you can see from all over the city. I climbed up inside it more than once and sat at the top outside on the ‘lantern’ with my feet dangling over the edge. My vertigo won’t let me do it any more.

But if you are young and/or not afraid of heights you must do it.

I'd like to thank Mary Hoffman very much for stopping by!

Here are some extra details!

David is out now!

www.maryhoffman.co.uk

www.twitter.com/@MARYMHOFFMAN

www.facebook.com/maryhoffman.fanpage

www.bookmavenmary.blogspot.com

Go forth and buy!