It's been a while...

It really has.

I've been wanting to get back to blogging again for ages, but there's always been a combination of things stopping me, the main one being my own ability to procrastinate at all costs.

And then there's the added pressure that comes with choosing to review books on a regular basis, that underlying guilt when you finish one, leave it a while and say 'oh, I'll probably write a review next week', but then you start another book and another and before you realise it, several months have gone passed and you've all but given up on the reviews, because, really, what's the point?

And then you start to miss it, writing and discussing books, writing for the love of it, writing because you can and not because you have to.

And then there's the more practical reasons associated with non-blogging - life stuff, moving house, family, work, not being able to bear to look at the screen of my laptop in the evenings without my eyes glazing over. The usual.

Things I found whilst packing, some more respectable than others.

Which all brings me back to right now. This blog has alwasy had a reading and writing theme and this has mostly been to do with YA because that's what I like to read and write about. This probably isn't going to change in the future but I think I'm going to enjoy the fact that my blog doesn't really have any particular theme or remit and write about other stuff too. Life stuff, books other than YA (which I have been reading a bit of recently) and maybe even bits of my own writing. Who knows.

Anyway, in short, I'm back for a bit. Not going to make any promises, but here are a few things you can expect in the coming weeks, months etc...

I recently attended the Judy Blume talk in London and I still can't get over the fact that I sat a few feet away from Judy Blume. JUDY FRICKIN' BLUME. When I think about my favourite books as a kid and a teenager, I think about Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Superfudge, Deenie, Are you There God? It's Me Margaret and Tiger Eyes, so not only did this talk bring a huge grin to my chops, but it's also inspired me to read the Judy Blume back catalogue, to revisit those old favourites and discover the ones that weren't stocked by my local library the first time round.

(By the way, this will be a lot of different blog posts over a long period of time, not one MAMMOTH  JUDY BLUME POST, as amazing as that would be).

Before that though, I'm going to write a bit about all the books I've enjoyed and haven't reviewed in the last six months or so, because they deserve a little bit of love for being so fantastic.

But that's for next week. This week is about me saying hello again and this photo....

I Need to Get Out More #3: Scottishness

*WARNING: CONTAINS HOLIDAY SNAPS*

So I was mulling over what I could write about for this feature, seeing as I haven't been to any writing or reading-related events recently. And then it dawned on me that I have been somewhere. Somewhere that involved going a bit further than a few stops on the tube (this a rare occasion these days).

Pebble tossing: it never gets old

Yes, you may have already guessed that this post is about a land north of the border. But it's not going to be just me waffling on about what we got up to on our jollies (eating fish and chips for the most part, in case you actually are interested). No, I'm going to attempt to link this into my writing a bit and and also a few things I've been thinking about recently. I don't think I've talked much about my WIP before, only because I live in fear of sounding like a right twonk if I start, but here goes....

Nice chest

My story is set in west London. I live in west London and I love living in west London, but it does have it's downsides, the main one being the cost. And most of my family live in Scotland, relatively near to a very beautiful part of Scotland. So you can imagine that thoughts have turned to the possibility of moving there. However, whenever I travel to places that I love, or that I imagine I will love, it always gets me thinking about where I consider to be home and why I consider it to be home.

In my WIP, I'm trying to explore this - trying to explore a teenager's ties with her home and why these bonds can't always be put into words and no matter how much we desire to go see the world, certain things that we can't always put our fingers on will always draw us back or maybe even prevent us from leaving in the first place.

WHEN THE SKY FAAAALLLLLLLSSSS.....

I've lived in this part of London on and off for the last ten years and we've tried moving away. As far away as possible, in fact, but we're are always drawn back. Personally, I don't consider the town where I grew up as home at all. I barely even give it a second thought and I certainly don't miss it (it's not in Scotland by the way). But I can understand the idea of a place getting under someone's skin and leaving it's mark. Hopefully I'll be able to convey this in my writing, and my recent visit to Scotland emphasised this even more - no matter how beautiful and breath-taking a place is, no matter how strong your ties are with the people who live there, home is home is home.

So London is where we shall remain....

So farewell then 2012...

...or otherwise known as the obligatory end of year post.

I think it's fair to say I haven't been the most diligent blogger this year. I could cite many reasons/excuses, but I think it generally comes down to a touch of laziness on my part. As with many things in life, I love them when I'm actually doing them, it's just the getting there that's a bit of an effort, and in the last few months, I've been trying to concentrate on work and writing my book, so blogging has had to take a bit of a back seat. But this will change in 2013, I promise you! I will strive to become slightly more organised with my time (ha!) and fit in regular posts on a fortnightly basis. I'm also going to continue my Shorts on Shorts feature, which I enjoyed immensely and suits my low attention span.

If memory serves, I think in the post I wrote at the start of 2012, I stated I was going to have a YA Classics month. Yeah, that didn't happen. So instead, I'm going to make it a regular feature next year! I don't think my working habits suit themed months too well....So anyway, in true NYE stylee, here's my round up of the things I've enjoyed in the past 12 months...


Books...

I've read some beautiful books this year, some old, some new, but one that really sticks in my memory was Code Name Verity. Gosh, this was a stunning read - so clever, so intriguing, so different. I bought a copy for my best mate for Christmas (those of you who have read it will know why), and she sent sent me a text on Christmas Eve to say she couldn't wait, opened it early, read in on the beach in Morocco in a couple of hours (alright for some) and promptly sobbed her eyes out for another two hours. You're welcome.




TV...

Ok, top highlights...

Skins - I know many have slagged it off in recent years, but I still love it. It's what made me start writing YA and for that I shall remain forever grateful. And the second episode of this series made me sob heaps, which is always a good sign.

Downton Abbey - There are so many things wrong with this programme (miracle recoveries from paralysis, anyone?), but luckily, I got hooked on the first series, before it went a bit weird. I adore Sybil and Branson, which is why it pains me to mention THAT episode. But yeah, still essential fangirl viewing for me.

Britains Got Talent - one word - PUDSEY. Oh, and Loveable Rogues too.

I didn't really watch a huge amount of telly this year, but also mentions to the latest series of Peep Show and Sherlock, which kept me riveted despite me not being able to concentrate or most TV for more than ten minutes these days. Oh, and James Arthur. The only reason I watched the X Factor this year.

And I can't not mention those other big events that you might remember over the summer. Yes, I'm talking about Grace Jones hula-hooping at the Jubilee concert. And who didn't cry when Jess Ennis collected her gold medal? If you didn't, you have a heart of stone and are dead to me.


Blogging Bits...

A peacock. Yikes.

One of my blogging highlights of this year didn't occur on this blog, it occurred here. Writing these was so much fun. Jo, when are we going to do some more please???

But I'd also like to mention all the lovely blogging friends I've made in the last year. You all make me LOL on a regular basis. You know who you are.


So onto 2013. I don't know about you, but I'm excited...

MY YA CONFESSIONS #3 - I really should be reading more UKYA...

My reading habits fluctuate, much like everyone's else's I should imagine. Although, recently, they've come to a bit of a standstill. You know the usual excuses, life, kids, work, blah blah blah, so I won't go on about it. BUT I really need something to give me a bit of kick start and this post gave me just that the other week. The lovely Flannery over at The Readventurer put together this rather astonishing wall of awesome UKYA titles. when she asked me to contribute my Top Ten, I was like 'yeah, sure, no probs...' but when I actually came to jot them down, something struck me. Some of my all time favourite titles have been written by UK authors, so I had no grappling around for ten titles (although I cheated a bit with Rosoff and Ness, but they live here, so there). But when I noticed that my choices we limited to so few UK authors, I realised I haven't actually read a huge amount of UKYA, in whole the scheme of bookish things..

And then I looked at my bookshelf and on the old kindle and noticed a few more things, namely the sheer amount UKYA waiting to be read, a lot of it also featuring on Flann's wall. So why do I choose to overlook it so much? The subject matter is intriguing, the covers are striking and original, so why aren't I chomping at the bit to devour them? I think one of the issues I've had in the past with some titles is that sometimes the writing style can feel a bit young and considered in comparison to some titles from Australia, say. Is this me being ridiculously unfair? Or maybe this is just my very narrow opinion as an older YA reader. But it is definitely wrong of me to generalise based on a few off experiences.

So here is my pledge. I will now be much more patriotic in my reading habits and will go on a UKYA binge for a bit. I have kicked off by continuing with His Dark Materials trilogy - something I started with Jo's Pullman Week a little while ago. Although I won't be reviewing them because, well, I wouldn't have the foggiest where to start. I've never read anything like them before and probably never will again. There you go, that was a mini review of sorts.

So here's a few title's I'm going to be picking up in the next few months...

There will be more, but I have temporarily misplaced my Kindle and I can't remember what else I have on there. Let's see how I get on...

Help Required! Pretty Please...

So I have a favour to ask. I'm doing a bit of research into a few interesting topics for a few interesting reasons (secrets, secrets) and I need some help. I've been trying to get hold of some recommendations  for YA that deals with political issues, be it directly, such as elections or actual proper mentionS of political type things, or indirectly, with broader political themes.

THIS IS A POLITICAL BOOK...BUT NOT THE ONE I AM LOOKING FOR

Also, any YA set in the 1960s, either written back then, or set back then. Or both. Anything. I'm desperate.

And do you know what would be abso-blimmin-lutely amazing? If anyone has any tips for political YA set in the 1960s. Does such a thing exist?

I will love you forever and ever and a day if you are able to help...

Summer is Over, Time to Get Back to Business...

I told you I would make it to Brighton one day

So, all my grands plans for the summer didn't quite some to fruition. I did kind of fall in love with the idea of a Short Story Summer but I'm going to use the excuse of a double onslaught of mother AND mother-in-law visits that put paid to my blogging plans over the last couple of months.
And the little matter of a minor reading slump over the last few weeks. I'm not quite sure what happening but my ability to concentrate of pretty much anything has gone out of the window recently. Hopefully this is very much a short term thing and I will be back in the land of the bookish quick sharpish.

And, of course, I had some well-earned family time to be getting on with an enjoying. Which I did. With bells on.

BUT, from this week and going onwards I am going to do my darndest to do pretty much everything I've been putting off recently. So that's picking up books and reading more than a few sentences at a time, sitting in front of my laptop without having a monumental faff and generally being a bit less crap at stuff.

This is the plan...

So, enough about me, how was your summer?

It's International Short Story Day!

On the shortest night of the year (20th June) (today) (or tonight, even) is International Short Story Day...

Now, I've been a pondering for a little while about doing some thing short story related on the blog. As I explained in my last YA Confessions post, one of the main reasons I started this blog was to encourage myself to read and write more. and ever since I started the whole writing experiment, short stories have been at the forefront of my mind. They're a natural starting point for any new writer - when I first started out (not that long ago), I made the very stupid mistake of assuming that the shortness of them would naturally make them easier to write.
WRONG. The short story is still a literary nut I've yet to successfully crack and I find it utterly fascinating when people get it so, so right. If you've yet to come across an amazing short story, I urge you to seek one out. In some ways, it is so much more impressive when a writer can engage and astound with so few words.

Which brings me onto why I am writing this post... Actually, sorry, I'm going to digress AGAIN. Bear with me, it is all related, I promise....

I've been a bit worried about how much reading and writing I'm going to get done over the summer holidays. With the kids being with me 24-7, all my work has to be crammed into the evenings, which means blogging gets shunted to the back of the queue *apologises to blog* *strokes blog* *pats blog on the head*. However, with all this pondering about short stories, I got to thinking THEY'RE SHORT. THEY TAKE LESS TIME TO READ THAN THOSE BOOK THINGS. I WILL HAVE LESS TIME... Do you see where I'm going with this one....?

Well, let me introduce you to Short Story Summer...

Over July and August, I'm going to do some posts about the short stories I love, maybe dig out a few new ones, chat to some short story writers, just anything short story related, really.

And I would like you to join me - if you fancy doing any short story reviews in the next few months, either as a guest post or on your own blog, we could all link arms together and celebrate the shortness of the stories. And have many larfs and larks and the like.

Ok, so in my quest for less stuff to do, I appear to have given myself more things to do. Oh well...
Anyway, I'm not that good at planning stuff, so it will all be very ad hoc. Just let me know if you want to take part....

So, celebrate International Short Story Day by reading one, maybe even writing one if you're feeling particularly motivated. And keep your eyes peeled for my first Short Story Summer post, coming soon to a neglected blog near you...

YA REVIEW - 'Kill All Enemies', Melvin Burgess (Penguin, 2011)

14-year-old Billie has managed to alienate nearly everyone who has ever meant anything to her - her mother, her foster parents, her friends. Rob has been labelled a bully, but is struggling to cope with a violent stepfather and absent mother. Chris is always quick with a smart remark but struggles at school and has his parents putting pressure on him to change his ways. When they end up at the Brandt Pupil Referral Unit, care worker Hannah tries to help them overcome their problems. But is it too late for one of them?

I ashamed to admit that I'd never actually picked up a Melvin Burgess book before this one. Which is a terrible, terrible thing as he a lord of UKYA and in particular, the sort of YA that I love reading - contemporary, angsty, hormone-fuelled pages that drip with ISSUES and RAGE and FURROWED BROWS.

And even though I've got two of his books sitting on my shelf already, just waiting to be devoured, I wanted this to be my First Melvin Burgess. Why? I was just attracted to everything about it - teenagers on the fringes of society, the fantastic title, the RAAAHHHH cover, the split narratives (love a great split narrative). It all sounded brilliant.

Mmmm, well. Yes, umm...

It's not that I didn't like it. Because I did. There are so many things to commend it - it is an ambitious, controversial subject he tackles here and it could so easily have fallen apart and just become one big messy old mess. I'm sometimes weary of books that wear their issues on their sleeves - it can be so easy to simplify and trivialise these things and it takes a writer of great skill to do these characters justice. And I'm pleased to say that Mr. burgess does just that.

He doesn't choose to tackle only one 'problem' teenager, but three. On the surface, these kids, especially Billie, wouldn't garner much sympathy from most - from the first page, the reader is treated to an onslaught of her violent, unpredictable temper. But all three are allowed to tell their own story in a convinving voice. From Billie, who struggles to articulate her emotions  through any way, other than with her fists, shy, frustrated Rob and, my personal favourite, Chris - quick-witted and smart but stubborn to the point of you really want to shove his head through a wall on a number of occasions. He provides some much needed and very welcome comic relief. And his logic is oddly convincing, especially when putting his arguments forward about exactly why he shouldn't be doing any homework

Even if you are stupid enough to want to go to uni and run up massive debts, why not wait until you're nineteen or twenty? You don't even have to do all those stupid A-levels then. You can do a nice, easy, one-year access course and get in almost for free because you're a grown-up. Why bust a gut doing it he hard way now, when you can do it the easy way, just by waiting a few years?

But like I said before, it's an ambitious book and he doesn't always pull it off. So much happens in not that many words and some scenes which I would consider important, are glossed over. The time span here was very confusing. With one character we are given the impression that several days, maybe weeks, have past, then we move back to another and it only feels like hours, yet the story lines tally up. One particularly harrowing and disturbing incident involving Billie is given particularly short shrift - the situation that she finds herself in is possibly one of the most terrifying any young girl, or woman, could be in, but the whole incident feels so rushed. I would have loved a bit more insight into Billie's thoughts and feelings - she was such a complex character, I just felt a bit cheated out of really 'getting' her.

And you know when you want two characters to get together but clearly the author has entirely different ideas? That's really annoying, right? Well, it happened here for me. I won't give anything away, but I reckon he really missed a trick on that one.

Now I come to the sticking point which really prevented me from enjoying this book completely. Dividing the narrative between three - good job well done. He's a talented writer and he manages it here, apart from the points I've mentioned already. But adding a fourth perspective into the mix? It might have worked if it had provided any genuine insight and had been an engaging character, but care worker Hannah only succeeded in making me get a major case of character RAGE. Her holier than thou, condescending tone just annoyed the shit out of me to be honest. Was she supposed to annoy and infuriate? I don't know, I really don't. I'm guessing her narrative was there to provide an informed, outsider's opinion on these kids and some sort of explanation as to why they behave like they do. But, honestly, I think the author did a good job of conveying these points to the reader through the kids perspective...and would have done an even better job if he used the words he wasted on Hannah and gave us a bit more Billie, Rob and Chris.

If I were to meet a Hannah in real life I suspect I would have a strong urge to do a Billie on her. Ok, maybe just roll my eyes at her a lot.

And the close bond she was supposed to have with Billie, which felt like the whole reason for the inclusion of her perspective, was never properly explained - we are told that she loves her, but without putting this in context, it just felt a bit,,,meh.

I can't not mention the ending - MINOR SPOILER ALARM. OK MAYBE NOT ALARM, MORE LIKE LITTLE TINKLING BELL - would everything really be tied up so neatly, all thanks to the power of death metal? And why the rush to the end? Before I knew it, everyone was all smiles (or as smiley as you can be screaming metal into a mic), and I was thumbing back through the pages, convinced I'd  missed a major plot point.

I feel very strongly, VERY STRONGLY, that these sorts of stories have to be written and need to be told and this book does it extremely well indeed. Just more of the brilliant characters and less of the daft music story lines and MUCH LESS of annoying care workers called Hannah who like to point out the bleeding obvious.

So less is more. Or is that more is more? I'm confused. But I can say with absolute certainty that I will be working my way through Mr. Burgess's back catalogue in the next few months. *picks up copy of Doing It* *gasps* *clutches pearls*

MY YA CONFESSIONS #2 - I'm a YA Blogging Dabbler

You may have noticed my posting frequency has not be very, well, frequent as of late. That old mistress, time, has been eating away at my schedule (HA! like I have a 'schedule') and all that stuff they call life has been getting in the way of blogging business. And sometimes, well, I don't think I class myself as a YA blogger proper and I'm not sure how I feel about that. Let me explain...

I've been having a bit of a dilemma of late - should I be continuing with this blogging lark? I'm not as committed to it as most and my plan was to always put more effort and time into it eventually to make it a proper 'YA book blog' with all the memes and wotnot, but now it's come to a point where, at the moment I just cannot spare the time - children, work, WIP, more work, a bit of study thrown in. And I really, really hate making excuses that start with 'but I don't have the time', because, if you really want to do something, you make the time, right? Which brings me back to my dilemma - maybe I don't want to do the blogging thing enough, and that is why I am letting it slide.

So I thought about the reasons why I started it in the first place - I really didn't have any clue about the world of YA blogging at about this time last year. I just enjoyed writing reviews and wanted to discuss the books I love with other bookish folk. I'd started writing a few YA-themed short stories and wanted to give myself a project to get reading more YA. And by this, I mean a solid diet of YA. And by this I mean mainly contemporary YA, because that is what I enjoy reading and writing the most. And I guess, in the last 12 months, I've ticked all these boxes. So why do I want to stop this - just because it's not something that I think it should be?

A few weeks back, I was determined to start a new all-singing, all-dancing blog. I would post at least one review a week, I would do memes, and would make a proper effort to get more followers. And then I thought, well, what's wrong with what I've got now. It brings a smile to my face, it gets me reading and writing, and I get to read all these fantastic blogs by you lot, and remain in awe that you all manage to make them so blinkin' brilliant.

So yes, I'm not sure if I would call myself a YA 'blogger'. But I'm a blogging dabbler and proud. And that is what I will continue to be. For the time being, anyway..

TRAVELLING TALES MONTH...SIGNING OFF... FOR NOW

Well, we're at the departure lounge, we've visited the duty free and the flight's now boarding. Time to put all the holiday pics on Facebook (ditching the more unflattering ones, of course), check out the tan line and hope our lift is their at the other end to pick us up from the airport...

So, lessons I have learned after completing my first theme month -

1) Don't schedule a theme month during school holidays if you have kids. School holidays = no working during the day = all work to be done in evening = less time for blog posts.

2) Umm, well that's about it, really...

Actually, I have really enjoyed this month, but as organisation is not my strong point, there is obviously stuff I was forced to leave out. (That makes it sound like I have draft posts just sitting on Blogger, destined never to see the light of day. What you and I really know is that I never actually got around to writing the bloody things in the first place).

I really loved writing my 'Let's Go...' posts and wished I could have done more. So many of my favourite destinations still left to be explored in the literary sense...Rome, Cambodia (not sure exactly how many Cambodian-set novels there are, but...) and last, but definitely not least, good old London Town.

I know it's a bit of a cop-out wanting to write about my home town, but this city is a dream destination for many a traveller and there is no shortage of London-masterpieces to peruse and weep over.

I now a section I've decided to call...

Books I Wanted to Read for Travelling Tales Month But Didn't Quite Get Around To It. But Will Do In The Future. At Some Point.

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

I was desperate to find a South/Central America set YA book, but stumbled across this one a little too late. Which is such a shame, because when I read the synopsis, I fell a little bit in love with it.






On The Road by Jack Kerouac

Quite a topical one, with the film adaption coming out soon. And how could I not have read one of the most essential travel reads, um, ever? I'm sorry, I don't know the answer to that question. *hangs head in shame*







Dark Star Safari:: Overland Form Cairo to Cape Town by Paul Theroux

I've never read any Paul Theroux *ashamed face* *again* and I also had a bit Africa shaped-hole in my theme month. This book should have filled that hole. It looks FASCINATING.






The Journey is the Destination by Dan Eldon

This is a collection of the journals of murdered photo-journalist, Dan Eldon. One of my friends owns a copy that I first read years ago at university and it has been burnt on my memory ever since. I have always meant to buy a hardback edition but never quite got around to it. This month seemed like the perfect opportunity, but, alas, funds did not permit :(
BUT I will definitely be buying and reviewing it in the near future. A beautiful, inspiring book.

MY PICK OF THE MONTH

Oooo, toughie.
Umm, aahh, weeelllll...RIGHT. DECISION MADE.

My travel pick of the month is.....*drum roll*

Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd.

I don't think I can say anymore about how much I loved this, so you'll just have to read my review.

Well, that's Travelling Tales Month over for this year. Let's not mention about how this 'month' has gone over just a little bit. So, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. As much fun as it's been reading about travel, it's so just as much more fun doing the actual travelling. I hope I get the opportunity to do it again soon.

LETS GO TO...BRIGHTON!

Hale knew, before he had been in Brighton three hours, that they meant to murder him...

Ok, so I promise not all of these posts are going to be about a location that starts with the letters BRI... Promise, this is the last one. I SWEAR.

Brighton, Brighton, Brighton...what can I say. 'London by the sea' as some folk might call it? This city on the south coast of England is famous for it's hipster-ish qualities, alternative vibe and just general trendiness. So, my reasons for including a location that is just shy of an hour's train journey from where I live at the moment?

Well, one hour on the train does still technically count as travelling. Fact.

Secondly, despite have lived in London on and off for the last nine years, I have never been to Brighton *hangs head in shame*. I know, it's ridiculous and embarrassing and I'm not quite sure why. I'm 99 percent sure I would love it there, but I guess it's that old saying all those people say (you know the ones), something about what's on you own doorstep and that you might over look it, or something. Ok, maybe there isn't a saying. Well, there should be. Or I should be able to remember it.

So, why a literary tour of Brighton? Well, only for the reason that I'm planning on going there in the next couple of weeks and it's probably the only place I'll talk about this month that I will actually visit in the near future. And I just wanted to write a bit about these books. So there. Well, I've picked a few books to talk about, not all of them I've had the good fortune to read (yet). The first is probably the most famous Brighton related book. And when I wrote the first book review I'd written since my school days last year, it was about this classic. So still fairly fresh in my memory then (hopefully).

It is, of course, Brighton Rock by Graham Greene.

And what a book. It has it's faults in terms of some of the characterisation, but when it comes to utterly compelling villains, teenage psychopath Pinky takes some beating.

The 1930s Brighton here is a bleak, tacky affair, where people fall victim to their weaknesses and they is always someone looming to prey on the vulnerable.

And the most amazing, most fabulous thing about this? It has THE BEST opening and closing lines ever. Seriously, they're just magnificent.

I've never since the original film adaptation. You know, the Dickie Attenborough one. Yes, him out of Jurassic Park. But I so want to after watching the more recent 1960s set one. (Looks good, but god, it was LONG). (And felt even longer when you're watching it in an empty room, sitting on a very uncomfortable plastic chair after all you normal furniture has been shipped half way across the world...)

So, if you've never read Graham Greene, you love classics and you love YA, then I would thoroughly recommend this - it goes for the extreme end of the teen angst spectrum but is defintely worth it.

Brighton Book Number 2 - Sugar Rush by Julie Burchill.

I can't believe I still haven't read this. I've been planning to for my YA classics month coming up in the not too distant future (ok, I haven't actually pinned down a month yet, but I'm guessing it will be closer to the end of the year then the beginning). In terms of UKYA, I would argue it has the reputation as a bit of a modern classic, with the Channel 4 adaptation from a few years ago gaining a slight cult status. Anyway, it's written by Julie Burchill, who you can find out a bit more about here. Trust me, you have to read this *lifts jaw up off floor*. To call her controversial is a slight understatement. Famous journalist and 'militant feminist' she appears to have pissed off pretty much everyone in the last 30-odd years. Having not read the book myself, I can't comment on the whole Brighton aspect of it all, but I know this is a bit of a milestone in LGBT literature and any book considered a 'milestone' is worth a read, in my book. (cue cheesy comedy drum roll)

When I started writing this, I was mulling the depths of my memory for some more Brighton-set YA, THEN - light bulb moment - of course, not that long ago, I read...

Brighton Book Number 3 - Let's Get Lost by Sarra Manning.

Apart from being one of my favourite titles of a book ever, this has a great mix of comedy, snark and tragedy, following queen bitch Isobel as she comes to terms with an event from the past that's been haunting her and the fact that she has fallen for a slightly-less-than-acceptable older guy. I can't remember whether the location gets that much of a look in, apart from all the trendy references, but I love books about bad girls turned good(ish). And it has an awesome cover.

So, I'm fairly sure calling Brighton 'London by the sea' doesn't do it anywhere near enough justice. Maybe I'll go there, fall in love with it, move there and write a book set there. One day, Anna...One Day...

...She walked rapidly in the thin June sunlight towards the worst horror of all.

LETS GO TO....BRISBANE!

Well, this is my first little literary travel tour, And, yes, I have chosen a rather odd location, agreed. But I have my reasons...

Over the years, I have had a bit of a like/love/really love/miss/get-slightly-annoyed-with/resent/sort-of love-from-a-distance-kind of relationship with this city. Let me explain...When I was eighteen (lets just say this was a while back) I decided to go to Australia on a gap year. About a week after arriving in the Land Down Under I, along with some other fellow fresh-faced backpacking types, decided Sydney wasn't quite doing it for us and we bought bus tickets up the coast. The plan was to find work on the Gold Coast or Brisbane and work out what we were going to to from there.

Well, in short, this decision changed my life. A few days after hoping off the bus in Brissy, I applied for a boring sales job, met a boy and, well, several years and two children later, he's still sitting next to me on the sofa watching a film on his phone whilst I veg out in front of Britain's Got Talent (the Australian in him just doesn't get it) (and before you say it, Australia's Got Talent just isn't the same - no Cowell, no Walliams, ok, get back to matter in hand Anna...). A lot of key decisions I have made in my life, I have made in this city. The most recent one was deciding I wanted to be a writer. So when I think of writing YA, I think of Brisbane.

A house, not an old person. Romantic...Sort of

Over the years we have flitted back and forth to the place they call BrisVegas (I've never been entirely sure why it is called this - irony? It's not that laid back). This place has a very strange hold over me. When I think of Australia, I think of Brisbane. It doesn't have the obvious WOW factor of Sydney or Melbourne, but when I was a little traveller person, shacked up with my Aussie fella in the a slowly falling apart little wooden shack in the suburbs (ok, not quite a shack, but pretty close, looking back *shudders thinking about size of mahoosive cockroaches*), I remember thinking I was experiencing much more of the real Australia than in any backpackers hostel in Kings Cross. It's this strange mix of city and country and there's something about a rickety old Queenslander than conjures up dusky, laid back, romantic images (that's a HOUSE by the way, not an old native Queensland person. That would be weird.).

So, literary Brisbane. Well, in the whole YA genre, the man man here is Nick Earls. Resident Brisbanite and Aussie YA champion. I, personally, am not a massive fan of his writing - he has a very unique style, that I get you either love, or not-love-very much-at-all. Anyway, as an introduction, I would go with 48 Shades of Brown. I remember catching the film adaptation late one night, and getting all excited spotting places we drove past on the way to do the shopping etc. As much as I found fault with some of the book, I love the way he captures this place and the feeling of being young and in love here. Sorry, sorry, feel free to vom. Cheeszoid mushy stuff is over now.

Another Brisbane author worth checking out is Rebecca Sparrow. It is a real regret that I never got a chance to read more of her stuff while I was there, (hopefully I will in the future when funds permit me to ship vast amounts of Aussie books to London) but The Girl Most Likely is a great, very funny depiction of a woman having a mid-20s crisis and not knowing what the blooming heck to do about it. With sexy neighbour thrown in for good measure. What's not to love?

Probably my favourite Brisbane-based author is Belinda Jeffrey. Ok, so none of books so far have actually been set in Brisbane, but I urge you to check out Brown Skin Blue. One of the most affecting YA books I've ever read. That's all you need to know.

Two other things I have to mention that are literary and Brisbane related -

1) Annerley Community Bookshop on the south side. I used to work here one day a week last year and it is one of my absolute favourite places in the whole of the city. If I could live there, then I would, well, live there and just smell the books all day (what? come on, it can't be just me..)

2) One Book Many Brisbanes. This is an annual short story competition run by Brisbane City Council, with the winners being published in an anthology. You can't find a better literary-shaped depiction of this unique place anywhere else. Oh, and one Belinda Jeffrey was a winner back in the day. You can't get better pedigree than that. So if you can find a copy of one of them then, read it, obvs.

So, that concludes my mini-literary tour of Brisbane. Hope you've enjoyed it. I've only really scratched the surface here. Wonder where we'll be going next? *drums fingers on chin and looks of into distance with misty-eyes expression*