DEBUT JOURNEYS Ashley Thorpe

 

Header image of person reading and writing their first book
For this month's Debut Journeys Robynn Hyde talks to Ashley Thorpe whose book The Boy to Beat the Gods (TBTBTG) published on 4 July 2024 by Usborne.


Where are you now and where did you write your book?

I live in Manchester UK, and the entire book was written at my home, in my study. I’d only been in my house about three months when I started writing it, so I was at it through various stages of domestic upheaval!

What’s it all about? (Your book, that is!)

Lowly goatherd Kayode dreams of eating the forbidden fruit of the Orishas, so he can gain the power of these fearsome gods and stop them terrorizing his people. So when a fruit mysteriously appears in his path after the Orishas snatch his sister, he leaps on it.

Surging with new and difficult-to-control powers, he joins forces with a shapeshifting trickster god, a vengeful princess and a boastful fisher boy, to save his sister and put an end to the mighty Orishas. But each god has more fearful powers than the last – and Kayode’s stolen half-god strength won’t last for ever…

Tell us about your route to publication.

I’ve been writing for many years but I’d say it’s only been the last 10 or so that I’ve had the discipline to see a manuscript through and work at it. Although TBTBTG is my debut publication, it’s my third manuscript. I finished my first in 2015 and was trying to find an agent without really knowing what I was doing. Things changed in 2016 when I joined my first writing group, and the camaraderie and critiques really made me a stronger writer. 

A member of this group made me aware of Penguin Random House’s Write-Now scheme, which I entered and was shortlisted for. That was a real confidence booster.

In 2017/18 I was entering short story competitions to stay sharp. I’d moved onto my second manuscript idea, and all of that experience showed in how much easier it was to write. But eventually, I shelved that project, too, and got to work on what would become TBTBTG. This time I was writing middle grade instead of YA, and it turned out to be the best decision I ever made…


Cover image of The Boy to Beat the Gods


What do you do when you’re not writing?

Because I work in publishing too I’m reading a lot – and not just for pleasure! That aside I also enjoy gaming and watching the odd TV show here and there. I just love stories in all forms.

What was the biggest bump in the road when it came to getting your book out into the world and how did you overcome it?

My biggest bumps were with previous manuscripts, which were YA rather than MG. My second manuscript was especially tough, with three agents requesting the full manuscript but all of them ultimately saying no. I was feeling very lost after that, but thankfully two important things happened. First, I rediscovered middle grade and realised that I had more of a writing style suited to that age bracket than YA. Second, I got support from an entity called New Writing North who were super-supportive. Among the things they helped with was getting me an assessment read for my second manuscript: the results of which convinced me to put that project on hold and start again with a middle grade idea. That middle grade manuscript got me my first-choice agent and sold to my publisher within a couple of months of being on submission. So manuscript three’s successes came very quickly, but only because I was ready, and had learned from my past failures with the other two manuscripts.

Any tips for budding writers hoping to follow in your footsteps?
  1. Read a lot of whatever age group you’re writing for, and read widely. Read what’s current or come out in the last few years rather than what you enjoyed as a child/young person. This will help you understand what publishers are buying and what the current publishing landscape is like. It doesn’t mean you should follow trends or copy a style; it’s just to inform you when it comes to understanding the market and how you’d pitch it to agents and publishers.
  2. Writing can be a lonely journey so find a support network of writers at the same stage as you – either in real life or online. Try and get beta-readers or critiques of your work from the right people. Again this could be a writers group or it could be from entering competitions or writing schemes.
  3. Be disciplined. The key to getting things done is being consistent and finding a rhythm. Five hundred words a day for ten consecutive days is better than one sporadic two-thousand-word day with a drop off. Find out what time of day you write best as well.#
What’s next for you?

My second book should be out next summer (2025). It’s another standalone story that takes inspiration from my heritage only this time it’s the Caribbean part. It’s full of ancestral magic, spirits, feisty heroes and fearsome folklore villains.


Header image: Ell Rose and Tita Berredo


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Photo of Ashley Thorpe


Ashley Thorpe is a writer and creative, born and raised in Nottingham but making Manchester his home. He is an editor and storyliner at the inclusive fiction studio Storymix, where he helps other writers create epic stories. The Boy to Beat the Gods—his first book for readers aged 9 and above—takes inspiration from West African Yoruba mythology. 

Follow him on X, Instagram or at his website: ashleythorpe.com


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Ell Rose is the Illustration Features Editor of Words & Pictures. 

Find their work at fourfooteleven.com 

Follow them on Instagram and Twitter

Contact them at illustrators@britishscbwi.org 


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Tita Berredo is the Illustrator Coordinator of SCBWI British Isles and the Art Director of Words & Pictures. 

Follow her on Instagram and Twitter or www.titaberredo.com 


Contact her at: illuscoordinator@britishscbwi.org


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If you would like to feature in a future Debut Journeys, please email Robynn Hyde at robynn.marie.hyde@gmail.com or find her on X or Instagram.

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