Ten-Minute Blog Break - 7th July

Logo by Melany Pietersen

You may be lucky to read this at all, as my internet connection seems to be having a "technical moment." I suppose, if all else fails, I could ring each of you up personally and narrate it down the phone, although that may take a while. How does a Ten-Hour Blog Break sound?

As someone who's spent quite a bit of time battling the darkness within, I found myself empathising strongly with K.M. Lockwood's latest post. As much as we want to be happy for other people's success, it can sometimes be hard to quiet the voice inside that says: "What about me? When do I get my chance?" (It's also well worth reading the comments to get a fascinating, contradictory view).

Last week's Blog Break Interview stars Space on the Bookshelf have another treat for us this week, in the form of SCBWI stalwart Mo O'Hara and the triumphant return of her zombie goldfish - this time as a picture book! Using their familiar 3D review format, the Bookshelf crew interview Mo and her illustrator Marek Jagucki, and analyse the book from both an adult and child's perspective.

Ever wondered about hiring a P.R. person to promote your book? Well, Larisa Villar Hauser's helpful post may or may not have you reaching for your wallet (depending how thick it is!)

There's some terrific stuff going on in Nottingham, where Paula Rawsthorne is involved with an initiative to get the whole city reading, by contributing a short story to an anthology by notable local authors. Check out her blog post about the Big City Read at The Edge.

Another city where there's a definite literary buzz in the air is Brighton and Hove, and Jane McLoughlin's blog post had me smiling at both her sly literary allusions and the enthusiasm that's gone into their Summer Reading Challenge.

Finally, if you backed Sarah Towle's successful Time Traveller Tours & Tales Kickstarter campaign, you'll already have read her triumphant victory post, if not you can find it on her blog (warning: contains happy dancing).

Nick.

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Nick Cross is an Undiscovered Voices winner and has recently received the SCBWI Magazine Merit Award, for his short story The Last Typewriter.

Click here to read Nick's latest blog post for Notes from the Slushpile. His latest children's short story Hacking History can be found in issue 8 of Stew Magazine.