We Can Be Heroes Blog Tour: Catherine Bruton's Favourite Books

After graduating from the University of Oxford, Catherine Bruton began her career as an English teacher and later went on to write feature articles for The Times, among other publications. She started writing fiction while teaching at a school in Africa, inspired by the children she was working with, and the culture that surrounded her. She still teaches, and her pupils continue to be one of her main sources of inspiration. We Can Be Heroes is her first novel for Egmont. Catherine lives near Bath with her husband and two small children.

To find out more about Catherine or about We Can Be Heroes, please do visit Catherine on Twitter or Catherine Bruton's website Here's the product description of the book:

My dad was killed in the 9/11 attacks in New York. But the stuff in this book isn't about that. It's about the summer my mum went away.

The summer that me and Jed and Priti tried to catch a suicide bomber and prevent an honour killing. There's stuff about how we built a tree house and joined the bomb squad; how I found my dad and Jed lost his; and how we both lost our mums then found them again.

So it's not really about 9/11 but, then again, none of those things would have happened if it hadn't been for that day. So I guess it's all back to front, sort of...

To celebrate the publication of Catherine's book, We Can Be Heroes, she's here today talking about her Top Ten Favourite books! Welcome Catherine...


Ooh! So many fab books – so hard to decide on a top ten. Number 1 is easy: ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. I studied it for GCSE with Mr Scott (best English teacher ever) and then reread it again a couple of years ago and it was the reason I wrote my novel ‘We Can be Heroes’. Scout and Jem reminded me so much of my own son and daughter and it made me think about how they are growing up in a country that is plagued by a different set of racial divisions, perhaps less obvious but no less invidious. So I guess I tried to write a ‘Mockingbird’ for the 21st Century. And I can’t quite believe I just said that out loud (or blogged it out loud!) and I’m not claiming for a second that ‘We Can be Heroes’ even comes close to Lee’s novel, but I figure if you’re going to be inspired you may as well be inspired by the best. So, I nicked the structure of Lee’s novel for ‘We Can be Heroes’ and my characters Priti and Jed are very much inspired by Scout and Dill; and the themes I’m exploring – racial tensions, divided communities, broken families - are similar too. So ‘Mockingbird’ is my all time No.1.

Now to the other nine. Well, I read somewhere that you’re either a ‘Wuthering Heights’ person or a ‘Pride and Prejudice’ person but I love both so I’m not sure what that makes me. Although I think I prefer ‘Persuasion’ to ‘P and P’ because I’m a sucker for a rom-com ending and Captain Wentworth’s letter gets me every time. And I do find Cathy Earnshaw very irritating and self absorbed but then I get swept up by all that, ‘I cannot live without my life. I cannot live without my soul,’ and, ‘Nelly, I am Heathcliff!’ stuff, even though – and I’ve got my agony aunt head on here - I don’t honestly think that love should be that miserable and masochistic (seriously, girls, men like Heathcliff are bad news!) - oh, but when he jumps in that grave I’m quivering toast. Plus, I get ridiculously excited about the pre-Freudian imagery of windows and doors – but that’s probably cos I totally fancied this professor at Oxford who did lectures on Pyscho-analytical post-modernism that made my head spin and my heart beat very , very fast!

Anyway, moving on. What else? I love ‘Millions’ by Frank Cottrell Boyce and ‘Spies, Dad, Big Lauren and Me’ by Joanna Nadin - both of which are hilarious and heartbreaking and magnificent. How many is that? Five? Hmm . . . ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’ by Jean Rhys – which is the story of the mad woman in the attic from ‘Jane Eyre’ before she got locked in the loft and went loopy. Rhys turns Bronte’s novel on its head, makes you despise Rochester, think differently about madness, and it is written in the most luscious, dense, clotted prose that is so extraordinary it almost makes you feel like you’re losing your mind yourself.

Oh, and ‘Cry, The Beloved country’ by Alan Paton. I worked in South Africa for a couple of years and although I think Paton’s novel is hugely flawed (fervently anti- apartheid but paradoxically stereotyped in its portrayal of black characters) it was a novel that helped bring about the end of racial segregation in South Africa so it demonstrates that great stories have the power to change the world and that writers should not shy away from the most difficult topics of the day. It is also very beautiful and utterly heartbreaking and the opening paragraph is one of the most lyrical and poetical ever written.

I LOVE Harry Potter and No 3 - ‘The Prisoner of Azkhaban’ is my favourite – although No 5 ‘The Order of the Phoenix’ holds a special place in my heart because I read it whilst I was giving birth to my son. Yes, literally during labour – let’s just say Joe was in no hurry to get out because I read it cover to cover between contractions. Best pain relief in the world – thanks JK!

Oh dear, only two left. I love Andy Stanton’s Mr Gum books but I also love ‘The Great Gatsby’ - F Scott Fitzgerald; and ‘Streetcar Names Desire’ - Tennessee Williams (am I even allowed a play?); and ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck; and ‘The Family from One End Street’; and ‘Staying On’ by Paul Scott; and ‘The God of Small Things’ by Arundhati Rhoy; and ‘The Hours’ by Michael Cunningham and almost anything by Virginia Woolf and ‘In the Fourth at Malory Towers’ and ‘Adolphus Tips’ by Michael Morpurgo and - oh, I give in! I know that’s way more than ten but I’m a writer: I can’t be expected to count too! Tell you what, let’s just pretend that was only ten and move on!

Too many books, too little time! And so many fab ones still left to read – hooray!

Thank you for that Catherine! So many great books there. Though I'm still a little surprised that you read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix whilst in labour!!

Dave Cousins (Awesome Women)

Today I'd like to extend a very warm welcome to Dave Cousins author of 15 Days Without A Head which will be published in January of 2012. Dave is the first man to take part in my Awesome Women feature, but I think honouring and appreciating awesome women is definitely not limited to either gender! Here's the summary for 15 Days Without a Head, which sounds really good:


Two brothers. One cartoon dog. And a load of trouble.

Meet Laurence, fifteen years old and six feet tall. Very soon, he'll dress up as his mum and impersonate a dead man on the radio.

Meet Jay, his six year old brother. He looks like an angel but thinks he's a dog. He'll sink his teeth into anyone who gets in the way.

Today is Tuesday and the next fifteen days will change the boys' lives for ever.


Thank you so much for being here today Dave! And if you'd like to find out more about Dave Cousins or 15 Days Without A Head, please do visit the following websites.

Dave's blog ... Dave on Twitter ... The Edge

Can you tell me a little something about yourself?

I should point out right from the start that I’m not an awesome woman. I do however know a few, so hopefully that means I’m eligible to take part in this feature.

I grew up in Birmingham, in a house full of books, records and table football. When I was a kid I wanted to be an astronaut, but ended up going to art college in Bradford instead. There I joined a band, moved to London and was nearly famous. I now live in Hertfordshire with my family, and write every day in a corner of the attic with an anarchic ginger cat for company.

Did you have a role model growing up?

My parents were young when they had me, so I grew up with lots of their friends around, which meant I had a lot of interesting role models to choose from. I spent a great deal of time with both sets of grandparents too – making cakes and dismantling car engines in the morning, then playing football and learning how to knit in the afternoon (my nan was a demon goalkeeper).

Who do you look up to now?

My wife! It may sound like I’m trying to score points saying that, but she really is an inspiration. She’s one of the most creative and generous people I’ve ever met and she’s prepared to fight for what she believes in. Whereas a lot of us moan about stuff, she’ll actually do something about it, write letters, or go out and campaign. I respect her opinion and trust her judgement.

She’s my second best critic (after me!) and will always give me an honest opinion on my writing. If it wasn’t for her, I’d have binned the early draft of 15 DAYS WITHOUT A HEAD. She convinced me it was worth sticking with. I’m glad she did!

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

For a while I wanted to be Batman, or to play football for Birmingham City, or be an astronaut. I actually wrote to NASA asking how I could join – and they wrote back! They sent me some great photos from the moon landings and told me I would need to be good at maths and science, and then join the air-force.

Not long after that though I discovered The Beatles, and decided that being in a band looked a lot more fun than science and maths. I was lucky enough to achieve that dream, and spent ten years touring and recording – even appearing on TV a few times. But writing was something I always did, whatever else was going on.Eventually I decided to have a proper go and see if I could write anything as good as the books I loved to read.

I’m not sure I’ve grown up yet, but when I do, I’d like to still be a writer!

Tell me something about the women in your life who have been an influence on you.

That’s a question with potentially a very long answer! There have been so many – my wife, my mum … friends … the list goes on. But, I’ve decided to narrow it down and just tell you about my two nans, both of whom had a great influence on me and still do. Physically they couldn’t have been more different: one was small and cuddly, the other tall and glamorous.

My Little Nan (whose name, until she married, was actually Little) was a genius at making things and once conjured a pair of football boots for my Action Man from a pair of old leather gloves (they had studs and everything!) She was inventive and incredibly patient, but the thing I remember most was how much she loved books. Having suffered whooping cough as a small child, she had problems breathing for the rest of her life and had to spend a couple of hours each day using a nebulizer. She never complained and used the time to read – working her way through the entire works of Charles Dickens, at least twice. From the time I started reading, up until a few months before she died, my Little Nan and I read, talked about and swapped books. Sadly she didn’t live to see my book published – but she did find her way into the story itself. I think she would have been pleased about that.

My Tall Nan has never been a typical grandma. Even as a young teenager I was aware that some of the advice she offered was somewhat radical. But she’s always been the best kind of bad influence. She encouraged me to believe in myself and follow my heart – not be steered by other people’s expectations or criticism. She always believed I would be a writer and bought me the computer on which I typed my first novel.

She travelled a lot as a child and when the Second World War broke out joined the British Army in India, transferring to the Navy a few months later because, she says, they had better uniforms! She rose through the ranks of naval intelligence, earning a letter of commendation from the Vice Admiral. Following her own philosophy and ignoring the objections of her family, she left the services after the war and married a penniless Irish teacher. Never one to walk away from a fight, she has beaten off muggers with her umbrella and embarrassed my dad on many occasions by breaking up skirmishes outside his school. She’s in her eighties now and still awesome – doing exactly what she wants and not caring what anybody else thinks.

Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

Another tough question, but as the theme of this interview is Awesome Women, I’ve decided to go for my favourite fictional heroine. It was still a difficult choice, even when I narrowed it down to heroines from teen books. Artemis Fowl’s adversary and sometimes friend Holly Short was a contender, as was Hester from Philip Reeve’s MORTAL ENGINES and Gemma from Lucy Christopher’s STOLEN.

In the end I chose Sally Lockhart, from Philip Pullman’s series of Victorian thrillers. She not only battles some truly evil enemies, but also the inequalities of the era – epitomised by the fact that Sally refuses to marry the man she loves until the law changes. This was a time when women were not allowed to vote, and the law regarded a married couple as one person. Women were forced to give up the rights to any property they brought into a marriage, and hand over legal control of all money to their husband. Of all the brave and dangerous things Sally does in the books, this act is probably the most painful for her, but shows a strength of conviction you have to admire.

What were you like as a teenager and how did you cope with all the changes that occurred?

I suspect I was fairly normal, i.e. grumpy and introspective. We moved away from Birmingham when I was eleven, so I had a period of adjustment leading up to my teens, starting a new school, making new friends. It wasn’t easy at times, but taught me to be adaptable and not fear change.

I remember spending a lot of time in my room, reading and listening to music, which inspired me to write angst-filled stories and tortured songs. Through listening to bands like The Jam and Billy Bragg, I developed an interest in socialism and read lots of George Orwell. There was a period of time when I couldn’t watch the news without running off to write a song or a story about something I’d seen. I’ve still got some of my notebooks from that era – they’re very earnest and sometimes quite funny – if unintentionally so.

If you had any advice for your self as a teenager, what would you say?

Don’t be so serious. Get out more. Have fun!

In all honesty, I’d probably just whisper – “Don’t worry, it all works out OK”. I wouldn’t want to change anything or I might not end up with the life I have now. You have to make mistakes and go through set-backs in order to learn and grow. Having said that, I might have something to say about my choice of hair style and clothes. The eighties was a truly terrible decade for fashion.

Of the issues and concerns that women are faced with today, what’s the ar ea you most like reading/writing about?

Of course I can only answer this from a male perspective and therefore am not as tuned in to the issues and concerns facing women today as a woman would be. However, I’m often drawn to stories of injustice, and despite the fact that the position of women in British society has improved in many ways since Sally Lockhart’s time, there is still a long way to go and each change brings its own set of pressures. The world is full of inequality and every day people take small steps towards making things better – many of them women. Whether it is as fundamental as finding food and water for their children, speaking out against domestic violence, or like the women of Egypt at the moment – campaigning for a right to shape the future of their country. Injustice makes me angry, so I’m always interested in reading about people of either gender who are brave enough to attempt to effect change.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I have an idea for a story that requires a female protagonist and I would like to write it in the first person, but I’m nervous about getting it wrong. It’s very important to me that characters feel authentic and believable, so to write as a teenage girl would be a challenge to say the least. I’m sure I’d learn a lot along the way though and stories are all about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes – even if they are a pair of Top Shop t-bar flats. Whatever happens, I can promise I’ll do my very best to make her awesome …


Thank you so much for that, Dave! Brilliant answers. I think I'd have loved to have had a Nan like either of yours!

Books and music

I find it really interesting how drawn I am to music in literature. I'm not a big enthusiast of music and while I did have a small interest in learning the piano once when I was younger, it never really happened. I'm very impressed with other people though, who do possess musical ability and can play and make music. And of course, I find it fascinating when music either supports a storyline or in fact drives the plot of books that I read.

I thought today that I might look at some of my favourites that I've read over the past few years. Please do share your own favourites in comments, of course. Links go to my original reviews.


Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway - While in some ways I think this book is a little far-fetched in the way that Audrey becomes famous, I was wholly willing to suspend my disbelief during the course of this book as it is just hugely, hugely fun. Everything about it made me smile. It was fairly popular on some American blogs awhile back, but I never really saw many reviews here in the UK. You should have seen me squeal with excitement when I saw this book in the library and of course, I do highly recommend it!

It's the story of a teenage girl whose break-up with her musician ex-boyfriend ends up becoming the inspiration for a bestselling hit. The paparazzi start to follow Audrey around and it begins to interfere with her life and her new relationship with another boy. I really loved it and I can't wait to get my hands on Robin Benway's new book.


Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan - I'd heard OF the book, but I watched the film version before I read the book of Nick and Norah. While I thought the film version to be quite cute, I much preferred the book.

I loved how it all happens on one adventurous night jumping around in different clubs and things in New York City as a bunch of people (Nick and Norah) included are on this hunt for a mysterious gig by a favourite band. The music mentioned in the book all feels like really trendy music from bands I've never heard of (or entirely made-up bands? I don't recall, not being into the trendy music scene you see!), but it doesn't really matter. I think the music is really just cool backdrop as these two realise stuff about themselves and each other. I think it's a real sweet story and quite romantic as well.


The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg - How I came to hear about The Lonely Hearts Club, I'll never quite be sure. But once I had heard that the book really heavily features the music of the Beatles and in particular a teenage girl who takes the lyrics a bit seriously and forms her OWN Lonely Hearts Club in which she swears off teenage boys? I kind of knew I had to read it. And I did and it was just as entertaining and cute as I thought it would be.

I finished reading this book and I had the instant craving to lay about listening to Beatles music on a constant loop. Which I erm, may or may not have actually did. *cough*


If I Stay by Gayle Forman - I absolutely adore Gayle Forman's writing. If I Stay and also Where She Went were both such emotional and heart-breaking books for me. When I read If I Stay, I remember really being drawn to the way in which Adam and Mia are connected by two very different types of music. And while I find Adam being in a band to be pretty cool, it was really Mia's interest in classical music to be what I found most interesting.

I remember listening to the cello music iin the book trailer for If I Stay and it almost felt as though I was hearing the cello for the first time. And just as I found the written words of the story to be moving and emotional, I really found the music to be as well.


Rockoholic by CJ Skuse - Rockoholic is probably the most recent book to be included on my list, and thinking about it, is probably the book that inspired me to create and write this post about books with a musical theme. It's such a wonderful book and one that I keep returning to in my thoughts. I absolutely adore the characters and the bizarre situation in which they find themselves in. Jody, grieving for her grandfather, is obsessed with a rockband and at one of their concerts, accidentally kidnaps a rock star. HA! How is that even possible?! What follows is in turns hugely funny and also uncomfortable as Jody and her best friend try to work out what exactly to DO with the drugged-out, demanding rock star they've stashed in the garage . One of my favourite books that I've read all year. I seriously love it.


A Note of Madness by Tabitha Suzuma - I really love this book. After reading the absolutely incredible Forbidden last year, I was desperate to read more from Tabitha Suzuma. A Note of Madness is the first book I came across. It's the story of a classical pianist at a really prestigious academy of music in London. He's studying hard and practicing in this really competitive environment and is also struggling with manic depression.

On his highs, Flynn stays up all night composing music and entire operas and his passion for music is so incredible that I began, just by reading the words on the page, like I was being sucked into Flynn's energy while he becomes so focused and enthusiastic for music. And then the low points emerge and Flynn can't get out of bed and he's contemplating the worst. It can be difficult reading, A Note of Madness, but I'm really glad that I did read it.


The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney - The Mockingbirds isn't a book I'd normally think of and associate it with music. I'd probably think of 'date rape' first, or something in terms of standing up against injustice but one particular scene from the book really stands out for me. The Mockingbirds, if you aren't already aware, is a book in which a girl at a boarding school has been drugged and date raped by a fellow student. It's a very powerful book, and despite a big issue I had with it, I thought it was a very brave and honest look at something that I haven't seen spoken about much in YA. The main character is obviously going through a great deal of emotions and at one point she plays the piano and she just lets everything she's feeling out through the piano. And that one expression of emotion has stayed with me for absolutely ages.


I'm sure that as soon as this post is published, I'll have remembered several more books I really should have mentioned, but oh well! I leave that up to you in comments :)

What is your favourite book or books that use music as a central part of the story?

REVIEW: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

I've read a lot of mixed reviews for The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter - it seems as though you either love this one or you hate it. I was slightly worried going into it, but luckily for me, it's a book that I really enjoyed. And I'm looking forward to reading more in the series!

Perhaps it's the fact that I know very little about Greek mythology that allowed me to sink into the story and the characters without the extra burden of looking critically at the basis of mythology behind the book? I'm not sure. I thought it was a very readable story with likeable characters and a sweet romance.

I think what really pulled me into The Goddess Test initially is the relationship between Kate and her mother. When 18 year old Kate's mother asks for one last dying wish, of course Kate complies. She drives her mother back home and tries to spend as much time with her as possible. I loved this connection between mother and daughter. It's something that when done well, always manages to make me feel like my heart is being ripped out.

Kate's plan to spend every waking minute with her mother doesn't quite work out as her mother would like Kate to live her own life - go to school, make some friends. At a party that Kate never wanted to attend she witnesses the tragic death of a schoolmate. When a mysterious boy, Henry, offers to bring the girl back to life, Kate becomes involved in something much bigger and more complicated. In exchange for the life of the girl at the party, Kate has agreed to spend six months with Henry and if she passes a series of tests, she will become both Henry's wife and a goddess.

I really liked Kate. She seemed to have a pretty level head on her shoulders, she seemed to really care for the people around her and is determined to make the best out of her situation without being a push-over. I thought the slow build-up of romance between Kate and Henry was utterly sweet. The transformation from strangers to friends to something more is done so gradually that I almost cheered. It felt really refreshing to have two people fall in love over time rather than immediately and passionately, and I'm looking forward to further progression of this relationship in future books. There was also some really fun and interesting secondary characters but at times I did question the believability of some of their actions. But it all made sense in the end.

I liked it and will definitely be on the look out for the next book in the series!

REVIEW: David by Mary Hoffman

David by Mary Hoffman is the first book of hers that I've read, but it certainly won't be the last.

This book really just felt very different from anything I've read lately. It isn't just that it's historical, which is a genre that I don't often read, but the combination of political intrigue, scandal, art and descriptions of an Italy I'd be desperate to see made this book hugely exciting and fascinating. I couldn't wait to find out what had happened, but at the same time I felt inspired to learn more about the different political factions in Florence, and about art and sculpture. It isn't often that an author can pull that off so successfully.

David is the fictionalised story of what it might have been like for the artist's model of Michaelangelo's now-famous sculpture of David. Gabriele has come to the city in order to visit his milk-brother, the famous artist he refers to simply as 'Angelo.' Whilst in Florence, Gabriele has an affair with a wealthy widow, becomes an artist's model and finds himself dangerously involved in the different political parties of the time.

It seems so obvious now, but I hadn't realised that the David being referred to with this piece of art is from the David versus the Goliath story. And of course that David and the story seems to mirror some of the politcal turmoil at the time. I think at first, Gabriele's dabbling in politics is done without any real forethought into what could possibly happen and he allows himself to get drawn in further and further. And much can also be said about his romantic entanglements! Gabriele really isn't the usual YA hero. He makes lots of mistakes and is quite lazy in his choices. In some ways, I felt a little detached from him as a character, but never from the story, which I feel was more important anyway.

David by Mary Hoffman was such an enjoyable and interesting read, I'm really quite glad to have read it. Mary Hoffman fans, which book of hers shall I read next?

Guest Post: Chanda: My Sister, My Soul by Allan Stratton

Allan Stratton is the author of Chanda's Secrets, a really powerful novel about HIV/AIDS in Africa and about humanity and the strength of the human spirit. It's about friendship and family and admitting and facing the truth.

When I approached Allan to write a guest post on the theme of death and bereavement, he very kindly sent me this.

Chanda's Secrets has been made into a film called Life Above All. Here is the film trailer.

If you'd like to know more about Allan Stratton or about his books, please do visit his website and his blog. Thank you Allan. Over to you...




I love to travel. Experiencing the diversity of world cultures is humbling and liberating. But no matter how different the surface of things, I’m always struck by the similarities that lie just under the skin. Our shared humanity was driven home to me as I worked on CHANDA'S SECRETS.

Throughout the mid-nineteen-eighties, I lived in Manhattan’s gay community. It was a time, a place and a culture so far removed from contemporary sub-Saharan Africa that it might have existed in a faraway galaxy. Yet the parallels between the early days of the pandemic here/then, there/now are striking.

In both times, in both places: A third of the community was infected. There was no treatment. Discrimination was rampant. Most politicians were silent. Many religious leaders claimed AIDS was God’s curse on the afflicted. And the stigma that resulted, discouraged testing, encouraged denial, and left the sick and vulnerable to die alone in fear and shame with a lie. (Incidentally, although muted, that stigma lives on in North America today. Recently, a friend died of AIDS; his father and brothers refused to go to his funeral. And even in big-city obituary columns, AIDS remains, for the most part, the disease that dare not speak its name.)

My experience within my community taught me the psychological, as well as the physical, horrors of the pandemic. But I also knew that its effects in sub-Saharan Africa were far worse than in the West, set, as they are, against a continental context of poverty, decimated civil societies, and a generation of orphans. So, before writing a word of CHANDA'S SECRETS, I traveled to Zimbabwe and Botswana to visit front line African HIV/AIDS workers, and to meet those in their care.

I’d like to share with you a few of the people whose lives moved and inspired me in the writing of my book.

In Monarch, a slum district on the outskirts of Francistown, I met an eighteen-year-old whom I’ll call Sara. Sara had become pregnant, and infected, at fifteen; her son, age two, was infected at birth. Aside from the woman who ran the AIDS awareness center where she volunteered, I was the only one she trusted with her diagnosis; she was silenced by the same terror that affects so many worldwide -- that if her status was disclosed, she and her son would be shunned, and left to die alone. We sat with the center's director in Sara’s one-room hut, the shutters closed, her son’s crayon drawings nailed to the mud wall. “I am my parents’ only child,” she said. “How do I tell them I will be dead soon? How do I tell them their only grandchild will be dead soon too?” She didn’t want to think about her son dying before her, but she was afraid of what would happen to him if she died first. That’s why she’d volunteered at the center: so that, just in case, there’d be people who’d know him and might look after him. There was a silence. Then she said: “If I can live four more years, he will be six. If he is six, maybe he will be old enough to survive without me.”

I remember the mother, a few streets over from Sara, with the yard full of kids. Miriam’s husband had died of “pneumonia” -- or so she told the neighbors. But she wanted me to see his medical records. She studied my face as I read: “Bloody diarrhea. Night sweats. Swollen glands.” We looked at each other. We didn’t have to say anything. The whites of her eyes were yellow, and her body skeletal, but she still chopped firewood, waited in line at the standpipe for water to bathe her babies, and somehow kept a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. Before I left Francistown, Miriam asked me to take a photograph of her and her kids in their Sunday clothes, so that there’d be a picture of them together.

My mind is full of other pictures, other people: a young man, Pako, raising his even younger brothers. Pako was thirteen when his papa died, officially of “tuberculosis”. Within the year, his mama was in hospital dying too. His aunties and uncles came by his home; they wanted to sell it and divide him and his brothers among them. They weren’t trying to be cruel. It’s just that none of them had the money to provide for all three. Pako told me how he went to his mama’s deathbed. “Please mama,” he said, “me and my brothers, we want to be together. In case anything happens, please make a will. Please leave us the home. ” His mama made the will that night; by morning she’d passed. When I met him, Pako had been raising his kid brothers, alone, for four years.

Downtown, a small cinderblock building houses the Coping Center for People Living with HIV/AIDS. Those who are brave enough are brought on visits by unmarked van to an entrance off the back alley. Inside, in a main room lined with folding chairs and lumpy sofas, they sit, talk, hold hands, or simply stare into the middle-distance, an ever-present pot of tea and a plate of biscuits on the battered card table by the piano. There is pain in this room, but there is also a palpable grace. A white bed sheet hangs on the far wall, beside a magic marker on a string; people are asked to write what's on their minds. Among the many words that remain with me: "We cannot change the past, but we can change the future", "Where there is love there is life; where there is life there is hope"; and "Live now."

We, in North America, avoid issues. Perhaps it’s self-preservation, given that our culture reduces the greatest issues of our day to sound bites and partisan political rhetoric. But the lives of the people I met in Botswana compel attention. Issues, such as the AIDS pandemic, are more than dry polemic. They are issues because they affect us, both as individuals and as members of a global community. How we respond to issues speaks to our values, defines who we are, and expresses our understanding of what it is to be human.

Those of us love literature -- as readers, writers, bloggers, librarians, and teachers -- have a long history of engaging issues. We do it through stories. Whether it’s Oliver Twist alerting Victorian England to child sweatshops and street gangs, or Huck Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird confronting America with racism, stories put us readers into the shoes of ‘The Other’. Once there, we’re never quite the same again. We realize that in another life, we could be ‘The Other’. That jolt of recognition is how stories change lives.

Stories get under our skin and into our viscera -- not by stating their issues, but by revealing the universal humanity at the heart of the issues. This human bond is what allows us to empathize with others, no matter how radical our differences, or unique our circumstances. It’s why we respond to stories, no matter the ‘who’, the ‘when’, the ‘where’, or the ‘why’ of their telling.

Early on, when people asked what CHANDA'S SECRETS was about, I’d say, “The African AIDS pandemic.” That was only superficially true. The more I worked, the more I saw myself in Chanda, and her family and community in my own. At once, I realized that while CHANDA'S SECRETS is set against the backdrop of the African AIDS pandemic, what it’s really about, at heart, is people like us: people who love their family and friends, who fear shame and stigma, who feel the pain of bereavement, and who struggle for the courage to live with truth.

REVIEW: Chanda's Secrets by Allan Stratton

A huge thank you to Caroline of Portrait of A Woman, for sending this book for me to read. This review was originally posted on Caroline's blog for her HIV/Aids in Teen Lit event back in December.

Chanda's Secrets was the only YA book I knew of before her event that dealt with HIV/AIDS and I'm so glad to have read it. I knew beforehand that this book would be difficult to read, and it was. But it also highlighted a lot of the issues surrounding HIV and AIDS.

Chanda is a bright 16 year old girl living in (a fictional sub-Saharan country in) Africa - she hopes to do well in school and maybe get a scholarship and make something of her life. As the novel opens, she's on her way to make the arrangements for her little sister's funeral and burial. At just 18 months, Sara didn't have much of a life. Crying constantly and always poorly, Chanda feels guilty for all those horrible things that she used to think about her little sister. But Chanda soon realises that it wasn't bad thoughts that caused Sara's death but something much bigger and more dangerous. And it won't stop with just poor Sara. Chanda is an amazing character, smart and observant and really brave. She has to grow up very quickly dealing with Sara's death and her mother depends on her a great deal to keep the family together and to get what needs to be done.

Sara's death affects everyone. Sara's mother is depressed and doesn't want to get out of bed, Sara's father goes off on drunken benders. Chanda's little sister, Iris, believes Sara is her imaginary friend and stops listening to Chanda or her mother, skipping school and playing in dangerous places. All around her, Chanda witnesses the effects of AIDS on her community and the shame that it is wrapped up in. It is never spoken of however, but covered up in so many ways. Causes of death are lied about and hidden and the nearby AIDS clinic is avoided at all costs. Nobody wants to own up to having AIDS or having a loved one with AIDS, believing it a curse of God. Everyone keeps their family's secrets. When Chanda's mother continues to worsen, Chanda must keep another secret. She must face the reality that her mother might die of AIDS as well.

Alongside Chanda's ongoing problems with her family, times are also tough for Chanda's best friend, Esther. After her parents died (of AIDS), Esther and her younger brothers and sisters are separated from each other and in order to save up money to bring her family back together, Esther turns to prostitution. Beaten and cast out of her aunt's house for shaming the family, Esther has no where to go and no one to turn to other than Chanda. I thought the friendship between Chanda and Esther was really sweet. And it's mirrored with Mama's friendship with her neighbour, Mrs Tafa. Mrs Tafa seems quite outspoken and controlling and a busybody, but she's still always there for Chanda's family.

It's an absolutely heartbreaking book, this one. Reading of the make-shift coffins especially for children at the funeral home. You'll be angry at the doctor who claims multiple medical diplomas and that his medicines will cure even AIDS and taking advantage of his ignorant and illiterate patients. There's previous little running water and lots of work involved in order to get water for cooking and cleaning. Through poverty and general hard times, Chanda's mother has had several different relationships borne of a need to provide for her family, some of which left permanent scars.

This was a very complex novel which touches on some really huge concerns facing the epidemic of AIDS in Africa. The lack of accurate information of it's treatment and prevention coupled with the traditional beliefs of spirit doctors and a lack of trust towards medical doctors. The shame and prejudices that surround the disease which prevent people from stepping forward and seeking help. The levels of poverty which mean that paying for legitimate medicines is out of the question.

But it's still also the story of Chanda and her family, and most readers will be able to connect in a very personal and emotional way to the journey of Chanda through this difficult time. Chanda's Secrets is about family and friendship. It's about shame and having the courage to stand up and against the stigma of such an evasive issue facing Africa.

Allan Stratton's website

REVIEW: Tiger's Quest by Colleen Houck

I don't generally like reading books in the same series back-to-back. I like time in between books in order to process what I've just read and some room to anticipate what's going to happen next? But sometimes, and, for me, not very often, the compulsion to read the next book is so IMMEDIATE that nothing could stand in my way. Such was the case with Tiger's Quest by Colleen Houck.

Not half an hour after finishing Tiger's Curse and there I was diving head-first into the sequel. I HAD TO KNOW where Colleen Houck was taking the story, I needed to spend more time with Kelsey and Ren and Kishan and get my tiger fix. I haven't come across a series of books like this in such a long time - books that are so all-consuming and addictive and obsession-inducing.

In some small way, I was worried that I wouldn't love Tiger's Quest as much as the first book, Tiger's Curse. I needn't have worried. Tiger's Quest contains everything I loved about the first book - really wonderful characters, strong and fascinating relationships amongst them, action and adventure, romance and heartbreak and especially a really cool setting.

Tiger's Quest begins with our main character, Kelsey, back at home in Oregon studying at university and trying not to pine over Ren. She's made her decision to walk about from what they had and is trying to stick to it by dating other men. In some ways this part of the story is absolutely fun and a bit funny and in other ways it made me feel a little sad. I'm glad that it's included into the story as it gives Kelsey more perspective of what is out there for her and some experience away from Ren and their strong connection to each other. It also crystalises Kelsey's feelings for Ren and soon Kelsey is once again caught up in the tiger drama with both Ren and Kishan swooping in on the life that Kelsey is trying to build for herself.

When events veer out of control, Kelsey finds herself mostly in the company of Ren's charming brother Kishan and together Kelsey and Kishan must solve the second part of the tiger's curse before time runs out. Again, I really love Kelsey, who tries to stay true to her own ideals and beliefs when it comes to both Ren and Kishan. Despite the absense of Ren and with Kishan's almost overwhelming forwardness, Kelsey doesn't waver in her belief that Ren and her will be together soon and that her and Kishan can work together to solve this next piece of the puzzle.

In Tiger's Quest we're able to see a closer insight to what makes Kishan tick and hear more of the story from his point of view, which I found really interesting, seeing the levels of which he holds himself responsible for the things that have occurred. While I didn't much care for Kishan's behaviour towards Kelsey throughout the book, Kishan does end up surprising me and I *might* have been won over towards the end!

Whereas Tiger's Curse seemed more focuses on Indian stories and mythology, there's more of an East Asian theme here, which I particularly loved. As Kishan, Kelsey and Mr Kadam continue this quest, I found myself absolutely soaking up every last details of Tibet and their surroundings. I'm still amazed at Colleen Houck's skill at weaving together so many different and fantastic strands of this wonderful story. I will, however, now cry myself to sleep that I shall have to wait until November for the next book in the series. I really do need it NOW.

REVIEW: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

"What do you want from me?" he asks. What I want from every person in my life, I want to tell him. More.

Melina Marchetta is one of my favourite authors ever. With each book she just amazes me more and more. If I'm honest, Jellicoe Road really intimidated me. I put off reading it for such a long time because I'd read that the story is a little confusing and a bit hard to get into. People also rave about it and I didn't want to let my really expectations get in the way of my enjoyment of reading one of my favourite authors. Instead, I waited. And I waited.

And finally, while on holiday, with plenty of time to relax and to sink into a fabulous book, I started it. And I loved the story immediately. And Jellicoe Road seems very different to the other books I've read by Melina Marchetta. It feels like the story goes deeper and darker than her other books. The story is told in two different parts at the same time. One part focusing on a group of students at this school on the Jellicoe Road in the present day - three different warring factions with all of these rules of interaction as they're fighting for control of different surrounding areas. And the second part tells a story of a similar group of students twenty years previously. How and why the two stories are connected is at the heart of the novel and it was an incredible journey solving that mystery.

We begin Jellicoe Road with this really dramatic opening of a car crash that throws the reader and our characters into this awful situation where lives have been lost. I think that death and grief is a huge aspect of the novel and it really permeates both of the parallel stories. There's a lot of grim subject matter that was quite difficult to read, death, suicide, child abuse, neglect.

Taylor Markham, main character in the current day storyline, is a student at the school. She's led a very difficult life, one that, as we learn more details, becomes more and more heartwrenching. She's tough though, and while she would like to remain distant and seperate from all in her life, it just isn't possible. When caretaker and surrogate-mother, Hannah, mysteriously leaves with barely any notice, Taylor feels incredibly lost. She's determined to learn more about Hannah and Hannah's history in order to find out where and why she's left.

Being elected leader of one of the three warring groups, Taylor must also come into contact with Jonah Griggs, one of the cadets that she's had this emotional history with. Together with a surprising cast of new friends, they discover their own personal histories as well as the school's history and the intersection between both sets of stories of students current and past.

Jellicoe Road is a beautiful story which is constructed and written amazingly well. It's so emotional and sad and hopeful. There's moments of absolute beauty and tenderness and romance. There's so many different themes to the story, that of friendship and family, grief and loss, secrets and truth. It brings tears to my eyes even now just thinking about this book.

Jellicoe Road is a masterpiece of storytelling and it will stay with me for a very long time.

Guest Post: Heroines of Jane Austen (Awesome Women)

I have the absolute GREAT pleasure today to welcome Sophie from So Many Books, So Little Time to my blog. Not only is Sophie's blogs one of my all-time favourites, but I've run into Sophie at quite a few bookish events now and she's an absolute sweetheart.

Thank you so much for this beautiful guest post.

Awesome Women: The Heroines of Jane Austen

When I agreed to write this guest post for Michelle, I had at least six different awesome women circulating my in head. And I thought it would be impossible to choose between so many inspirational people. I had Luisa Plaja, Sarah Dessen, Coco Chanel, Cleopatra and Boudicca. But there was one idea that I kept coming back to: the ever-inspiring heroines of Jane Austen’s novels.

From a young age my mum has raved to me about Jane Austen and the strength and vitality of her heroines, but it took me until my mid-teens to even pick one of her novels up. I read Pride and Prejudice first as it’s the most famous, followed by my mum’s favourite, Persuasion, and followed by Sense and Sensibility as I had loved the adaptation starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. And I fell in love.

“She was sensible and clever; but eager in everything: her sorrows, her joys, could have no moderation. She was generous, amiable, interesting: she was everything but prudent.” (Sense and Sensibility, Chapter 1)

There’s the passionate and dramatic Marianne whose romantic ideals are the epitome of what nearly every teen girl wants at some point: a handsome young man who recites Cowper and Keats at the drop of a hat and just generally has a way with sweeping, flowery words. He’s a Byronic hero, and who isn’t a sucker for one of those?!

For me, Marianne’s theatrical reaction to Willoughby’s betrayal is how we react inside when you get your heart broken, but you can't show it have because we have to carry on with our lives. Marianne doesn’t have those responsibilities. As the oldest daughter, Elinor takes the public face for the sisters and Marianne having not yet been introduced to society she can hide away and grieve for her broken heart. That moment when Kate Winslet as Marianne in the 1995 adaptation runs upstairs, throws herself across the bed and tells Elinor that she couldn’t possibly
imagine how she’s feeling after discovering Willoughby’s past is how every girl wants to behave in that situation. Instead, like Elinor, most of us take a deep breath, swallow the tears and smile softly. The freedom to be that passionate and carefree is rare for Jane Austen’s time and even now. And that’s a damn shame, in my opinion!


“She had an excellent heart;- her disposition was affectionate, and her feelings were strong; but she knew how to govern them...” (Sense and Sensibility, Chapter 1)


But though I love Marianne, I’ve always had a particular soft spot for Elinor. I remember reading Sense and Sensibility for the first time and my heart breaking as she waits for Edward to return; while Lucy Steele gushes about her betrothed and as she hears the news of Edward’s disinheritance and the reason for it. How she suffers in silence and doesn’t even tell her sister of the torture of her feelings. The strength and endurance that she shows throughout the novel blows my mind. I know that in her situation, I could never be that cool.

Even though I could never reach Elinor’s levels of awesome, I feel a kind of kinship with her. My first introduction to her story was when I was very little and watching Emma Thompson look longingly at Hugh Grant’s Edward Ferrars and there was no going back for me. We had a connection. It was then after my first reading of Sense and Sensibility and my declaration to my mum that I loved Elinor that she told me something that connected us further: “Why do you think your middle name is Eleanor?”. It turned out that that was what she had wanted to call me, after falling for Elinor herself, only my dad didn’t like it and so it was relegated to my middle name. I was always confused that I got a different spelling though...


"A few years before, Anne Elliot had been a very pretty girl, but her bloom had vanished early; and as even in its height, her father had found little to admire in her, (so totally different were her delicate features and mild dark eyes from his own), there could be nothing in them, now that she was faded and thin, to excite his esteem." (Persuasion, Chapter 1)


My next favourite Austen heroine is Anne Elliot from Persuasion. For me, Anne is the balance of Elinor and Marianne in that she has Marianne’s passion and Elinor’s practicality. She is described as having lost the bloom of her youth and is no longer seen as a prospective wife. Anne’s family often overlooks and dismisses her position in the household and so she relies on Lady Russell as her confidante and mother-figure. This leads her to make the worst decision of her life that comes back to haunt her. My heart broke for her when it was rumoured that Captain Wentworth was in love with Louisa Musgrove and their engagement was to be announced any day soon. Her strength was admirable, and rather similar to Elinor’s, and I was fervently hoping that it wasn’t true and that Anne would get a second chance.

To me, Anne Elliot is the quiet, overlooked girl who sits at the back of the class whom once you get to know, you’re be shocked that you’ve never spoken to her before. Anne is the type of woman who you need to get to know and grow to love as she doesn’t really put herself out there and is instead fond of quiet conversation and more intimate gatherings. Sometimes I wonder how many amazing people are overlooked as Anne is purely because of their tendency to be introverted.


“She was small of her age, with no glow of complexion, nor any other striking beauty; exceedingly timid and shy, and shrinking from notice; but her air, though awkward, was not vulgar, her voice was sweet, and when she spoke, her countenance was pretty.” (Mansfield Park, Chapter 2)


Another one of the Austen’s heroines that is overlooked by their families is Mansfield Park’s Fanny Price. By many readers, Fanny is regarded as the most boring and lustreless of Austen’s heroines, but she’s one of my favourites. She withstands her cousins’ and Mrs Norris’s taunts and put-downs with dignity and poise until she is alone and is always modest and proper in society. But what I love most about Fanny is how she slowly becomes one of the most valuable members of the Bertram family and is eventually deeply cared for by her aunt and uncle as she
grows older and beings to attract the attention of Henry Crawford and comes into her own.

I know I have three of Austen’s heroines left: Lizzie Bennett, Emma and Catherine Moorland, but I actually don't like Lizzie and Emma Woodhouse, who Austen herself admitted that "...no one but myself will much like", too much and I’ve never read Northanger Abbey so I’m going to stop there. I’ve told you all, in this rather long post, my favourites of Austen’s heroines and I’d love to know who yours are.

I’d also like to say a huge thank you to Michelle for hosting such an amazing and inspiring feature.


Thank you so much Sophie! You are truly awesome. If you don't follow Sophie at So Many Books, So Little Time, please do so now.

Happy birthday to me!

Hello all! Today is my birthday, I am 29 years old. I've been thinking a lot about getting older in the past week. It's occurred to me that (so far!) I don't mind being a year older as I'm fairly happy and content at where I am in my life. I'd always like things to better, but right here? right now? I'm OK. And I think it's taken me a long time to get to this point. And a large reason that I'm so OK is because of you, my lovely blog readers. So thank you.

Still, in some ways, today almost feels like New Year's Day and like I should be writing a list of goals and resolutions for myself in the lead up to my 30th birthday. I've seen lots of people write blogs and lists specifically for the things they'd like to accomplish by their 30th (or 40th or any significant number, really) birthdays and it seems like fun. I don't think that *I'll* be doing anything too strenuous or challenging, but we'll see how things happen. Here goes...

By my 30th birthday -


1. Have a relaxing and fun-filled summer holidays with my two gorgeous boys and take lots of photos

2. Update both boys' baby books and write down all the crazy/funny things they've said regularly

3. See The Lion King in the West End

4. Read all of the Roald Dahl books to the boys

5. Visit the Roald Dahl museum

6. Visit the Jane Austen centre and take a Jane Austen tour

7. Have 500 blog followers (is that even attainable?!)

8. See an event at the London Olympics 2012

9. Finish a first draft of my novel (yes, I am writing one!)

10. Complete Operation Read Own Books!

11. Host Love Month again next February

12. Help the boys make handmade Christmas presents for the Nana


...And why can I not think of any more? Please do leave some suggestions for me in comments. I hope you're having a wonderful weekend, and as I'm writing this in advance I hope that I am eating lots of cake right at this very second!

Birthdays in books

Perhaps it's because it's my birthday tomorrow (have I mentioned that already?!) but I've been noticing the strange and almost sinister way in which birthdays have been portrayed in some of the books I've been reading lately. As you will see in a minute, birthdays in these books are never great - traumatic experiences, life changes, the deaths of loved ones, the possible death of yourself, or the transformation into a near-zombie. Why do these things happen on birthdays? Is it the writer's way of juxtaposing something that should be happy and worthy of celebration and turning into something dramatic or terrible?

I'm not complaining or criticising, I just find it curious more than anything else. I have, in fact, loved every one of the following books:


Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott - When I first had the idea for this post, Shadows on the Moon is the first book I thought of. Poor Suzume. On her 14th birthday, she witnesses the murder of her cousin and her father right in front of her eyes. On any day that would be a terrible and traumatic experience. It never leaves her and she plans on an elaborate scheme for revenge in this beautifully told retelling of Cinderella.


The Iron King by Julie Kagawa - Things aren't great for Meghan Chase either, in Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series. Meghan Chase is getting by just fine until, on her 16th birthday, she discovers she is in fact part fairy and that her little brother has been kidnapped and replaced by a changeling. In order to get him back, Meghan and her best friend journey into a dangerous fairy world in order to rescue him.


Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon - Here's another one on the main character's 16th birthday. She's out driving and inexplicably, she's drawn to a different road and discovers her parents' abandoned car on the edge of a wood. Despite it being a large forest, she knows just where to go in order to find the bodies of her mom and dad. That's really awful.


Divergent by Veronica Roth - For Beatrice Prior, her 16th birthday means choosing between her family and everything she's ever known, and choosing something more dangerous and daring. I absolutely adore this dystopian novel with the different factions and I love Tris and Four and all the great characters we meet, the action and the adventure of it all. But it's a lot of pressure for one birthday, isn't it? :)


Delirium by Lauren Oliver - Whereas in Delirium, Lauren Oliver places the future 18th birthday of our main character, Lena, as the defining birthday in which she grow up, and choose a future for herself. In other fab dystopic novel in which love is seen as an illness, Lena must choose which path to choose for her upcoming birthday - that of safety and without the threat of pain or heartbreak - or to turn away from taking the 'cure' and embracing love. Would you take the cure?


Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling - But it isn't all doom and gloom, at least not originally for Harry Potter, as on his 11th birthday, he finds out that there is more in his future than a room under-the-stairs of his horrid aunt and uncle's house and even though it does get really life-threatening a lot of times, at least he's able to find a place where he belongs and family and friends who care and support him.

And that's it from me. I'd love to hear of the books in which birthdays play a pivotal role that have stuck in your minds?

REVIEW: Defiance by Lili St Crow

Oh hurrah for such a fun and exciting series as the Strange Angels series by Lili St. Crow! Defiance is the 4th book in the series, and it is one of my favourites of the four books published so far. What I love so much about these books is how exciting and fast-paced they are. Everything moves at such a quick rate and so many surprising things happen, I'm almost left breathless by it all.

The huge cliffhanger of Jealousy made me all the more excited to read this book, and it was certainly no disappointment. We're immediately thrust into Dru's life, as she must continue her training and her education of the Real World while she struggles through the agony of not knowing where Graves is or what he is suffering at the hands of Sergej.

Though Graves is missing from much of the story (WAHH! I love heart Graves) in his place is Christophe, whose relationship with Dru has always been a little complicated. The progression of the Christophe and Dru relationship during Defiance had me absolutely fascinated and my excitement for more in this bizarre love triangle grows and grows. I cannot wait to read more in the next installment!

There's LOTS of action here, as you'd expect, as well as lots of deceit and betrayal and nobody is sure quite who can be trusted and who can't. I love how Lili St. Crow really keeps me guessing in that respect and I admit to seeing none of the twisty plot turns in advance. This series just makes me incredibly happy to read and I will always be excited to read more in the Strange Angels series!

Guest Post: On the inspiration for Angel's Fury by Bryony Pearce

I have the great pleasure today of welcoming back Bryony Pearce to my blog today to celebrate the last stop of her fabulous Angel's Fury blog tour!

I absolutely adored Angel's Fury (read my review) and found it to be an exciting and different YA book to anything I've been reading! Angel's Fury is about a girl suffering from horrible nightmares who learns the nightmares are memories from her past lives.


To find out more about Angel's Fury or Bryony Pearce, please do visit the following websites, and over to you, Bryony...

Bryony's website ... Bryony on Twitter ... Bryony on Facebook

My secondary characters are often drawn from life, an amalgamation of characteristics, physical attributes and tics that I’ve noticed and been impressed by (either positively or negatively). The appearance of Seth for example, is based on an older boy from school.

The protagonist in Angel’s Fury, however, is not so easily pinned down. All my main characters tend to be created in the same way – at some point an image pops into my head of the character in a frozen moment. I can see them clearly, I even know their name but I don’t yet know their story.

When I see Cassie, I still see her in as she first appeared to me - struggling up out of a nightmare, her hair in disarray, her face tormented, patting herself down to check that she is still alive, still herself.

I know Cassie comes from a part of me because I suffer from nightmares myself. In fact I was an adult before I found out that the extremity of my nightmares was greater than the norm. A colleague was telling me about this terrible dream she’d had … and her idea of a bad dream was my idea of a pretty good night’s sleep. I was curious. So … no blood? No-one trying to kill you? No monsters ripping your limbs off? It’s obvious that a large part of Cassie comes from that not so well buried part of me.

But Cassie is so much more complex than just a physical receptacle for dreams and I didn’t know why this character suffered in this way. Then in 2002 I flew to Bali and the in-flight magazine had an article on reincarnation. Fascinated, I made of point of visiting temples and speaking to the locals about their beliefs - and that gave me a reason for Cassie’s bad dreams: reincarnation. I asked myself what would be the worst point in history for her past life to have come from and the natural answer was ‘the holocaust’. Cue a great deal of research – thank goodness for the Internet.

I still didn’t have a story for Cassie though, so she sat there in the back of my mind until I stumbled across the myth of Shemhazai and Azael. Cassie’s story fell into place almost instantly and I wrote the first draft of Angel’s Fury (working title Incarnation) in about seven months.

I wanted the book to be as grounded in reality as possible partly because I’m keen on accuracy where possible (I have a research background), partly because real life stories and facts can be so inspirational (often research took my story off in fruitful alternative directions) and partly because the more closely based in reality a piece of writing is, the creepier I find the paranormal elements.

I like to think my book is a chilling paranormal tale with an air of realism that comes from a great deal of research and Cassie herself, who visited me years ago and never left.