Internet love...

You hear a great deal about the dangers of the internet. Correctly, children are taught to watch out for evil paedophiles posing as friendly teens. The internet is a place where you can find extreme politics and extreme porn, ugly views and ugly manners and you can never be sure who's watching you or who's contacting you.
However. You hear considerably less about the love you find on the internet. And I'm not talking about online dating - although it seems to me to be a quite reasonable way to meet someone, and a gentle exchange of emails, texts and phone calls leading up to a date seems infinitely preferable to copping off in a nightclub.
I mean the general warm and friendly supportiveness that seems to thrive on the web just as much - and possibly even more - than the evil stuff. The bloggers who give up their time to read, review and promote books. The writers who use their blogs, Twitter and Amazon to promote the work of new authors. The people who comment on blogs and become your friends. The feeling that we're all comrades in a new kind of democracy - a democracy which genuinely gives everyone an equal say.
Last week Yunaleska threw a fabulous on-line launch party for me and I can't thank her enough. And thank you everyone who twittered about Joe, signed up on the new Facebook page, mentioned me on their blogs, reviewed me, interviewed me and generally made me feel loved and celebrated. I can't thank you enough, and I promise to do the same for you. Very soon.

PS Don't forget the lookalike contest! Getting some great entries - still time to enter.

Party time!

Wonderful Yunaleska is throwing an online party for me on her blog, as I'm snowbound on publication day. Come on over and taste the virtual cookies...

PS And check out the comments for an exciting giveaway from Frances Lincoln.

It's J-Day! And a competition...

It’s publication day! And I have a competition for you..

Amna, over at Amnawrites is keen to get her mitts on the contact details of the gorgeous boy on the cover of my books. Sadly, Jane Donald the talented designer at Frances Lincoln who created the covers claims she has no idea who he is. The pictures are stock from an agency and there is not even an individual photographer’s name to go on. (I for one would not be surprised to find that this is not true at all and that Jane has had long arduous casting sessions to find just the right boy, and, having found him, has hidden him away somewhere.)

But surely there must be some plausible lookalikes out there. If you know someone who’d look Joe-like in a hoodie, then get a picture. Or if you have a possible celebrity in mind, that’ll do. Send me your pictures at almosttrue@hotmail.co.uk and there’ll be a signed copy of When I was Joe for the winner. And another copy for the picture that makes me laugh the most.

In the meantime I have some candidates. When I was writing Joe I found a picture of the lad who plays Freddie on Skins (boy in grey hoodie above) and thought he looked just like Ty. Unfortunately when I saw him act in Skins he wasn’t like Ty at all – too gormless. But I still like this picture.
Then there’s Joe McElderry (in the blue hoodie) - but he’s a bit toothy and smiley. And someone mentioned Jonathan Rhys Meyers (no hoodie)- yummy, but a bit old. I’m sure you can do better.

Almost True

Have sacked the blog-writers in Bangalore…a nasty contretemps over a disputed bill…please ignore any attempts to ruin my reputation made in the last post. Ahem.

Today I can unveil the cover for the UK edition of Almost True, which will be out in August. I absolutely love the cover, which was designed by the very talented Jane Donald at Frances Lincoln and features the same gorgeous model who's on the cover of Joe (who is this boy? Can we track him down? Hmmm...)

Almost True continues Ty’s story. The cover copy will read something like this:

This isn’t the first time that someone’s tried to silence me forever. It’s just the first time that someone else has died instead.

Ruthless killers are hunting Ty. The police move him and his mum to a quiet seaside town. But a horrific attack and a bullet meant for Ty prove he’s not safe yet.

On the road again, Ty’s in hiding with complete strangers . . . who seem to know a lot about him. Meanwhile he’s desperate to see his girlfriend, and terrified that she may betray him. Ty can’t trust his own judgement and he’s making dangerous decisions that could deliver him straight to the gangsters.


In Almost True you learn a lot more about Ty’s background and about the crime that he witnessed. It examines questions about truth, loyalty, friendship and memory. Yes, some of Ty’s friends from the time when he was Joe reappear. And there are lots of new characters as well.

The truth...at last...

Another day...another interview...


So…how did you overcome your natural indolence to write a book?

Well, I know myself well enough to realise that I can only deal with very short deadlines and minimal forward planning. So I wrote the book in 1,000 word chunks. I thought I’d only need about 60 of them, but in the end I did 80. Then I stuck them together and did some editing.


Is it true that you completely neglected your family while writing the book?

Who? Oh…err…no, of course not. They were very useful for trying out plot lines, and my son even had a go at proof-reading in a desperate bid for attention.


Are the rumours true that you have a large staff of junior writers servicing your many social networking outlets?

No, that’s a completely malicious falsehood. My Facebook status updates are as exquisitely crafted as poetry - I agonise over every word, and can take hours…days… to find the exact right phrase. ‘Could murder a cup of tea’ is a recent example - notice the subtle inter-textual reference to the crime thriller genre, the careful use of London vernacular.
The blog is outsourced to WeBlog4U inc in Bangalore, and Veselina, my Bulgarian cleaner tweets for me during her cigarette breaks.

So why did you chose writing for children? Had it always been an ambition?

Absolutely. All my life I have dreamt of weaving stories to entrance and enchant little minds. I wanted to reach out, influence youngsters and emulate my heroes, masters of the craft such as JK Rowling…Stephenie Meyer…the woman who writes Horrid Henry...If I can just achieve 90 per cent of what they’ve achieved then I will be satisfied. Extremely satisfied.

Why did you decide to write a realistic book about crime, when it’s clear that the money is in wizards, vampires and angels?

Look I screwed up, OK? Poor market research. My next book will be about a wizard who stabs a fallen angel, much to the excitement of the gorgeous vampire who lives next door.

What research did you carry out for the book?

I spent six months living undercover as a 14-year-old boy at a south London comprehensive. It was gruelling, but fascinating. Luckily no one ever looked closely enough under my hoodie to spot that I’m actually a middle-aged mum.

Do you come from a literary background?

I come from an ancient dynasty of social networkers. My great-grandfather actually invented Twitter. Unfortunately the internet wasn't invented for another 150 years.

So, what did you think about the reviewer on Amazon who called your characters ‘obnoxious and unlikeable,’ and thought the plot was far-fetched?

Ah yes. The person who didn’t believe that London has gangsters who threaten the lives of people who cross them. He learned the hard way.



At this point the interview with Keren David was terminated, while the interviewer alerted the police. To read another interview with Keren click here





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2009 - looking back

My 2009 was a waiting room. A year of hope and anticipation. A year spent getting ready to be a published author.
My 2009 was hard work - editing one book, writing another. Working as a journalist, creating a blog. Some bits of work clashing with other bits. None of it very lucrative, all of it great fun.
My 2009 was a year of networking. Meeting people on Facebook, Twitter and Blogger. Meeting people in publishing, through journalism. Meeting fantastic, supportive and welcoming children’s authors. Meeting teenagers who’d read early copies of my book. Hearing stories, connecting with others. I don’t think I’ve ever had a year so rich in new friendships.
My 2009 was a year of anxiety. Like many families we’ve been badly hit by the credit crunch - a friendly name for a devastating event. 2009 for us - like many others – was a year of fear, unfairness, economies and big worries.
My 2009 was a half-way healthy year - no major illnesses at any rate - but a year when I spent too much time at the computer, ate too much rubbish and didn’t exercise or sleep enough. In fact 2009 was really the year of sleepless nights.
My 2009 was a year of reading - non-stop, addictive reading, Adult and YA books, too many great ones to pick favourites and a few real turkeys. And 2009 was a year of films and theatre too.
My 2009 was the year of the guinea pigs – bought for my daughter’s birthday, it is incredible how two cuddly cavies have become part of the family.
My 2009 was a year of revisiting the past – going back to Amsterdam as a visitor. Going back to the Jewish Chronicle where I started work as a messenger girl 28 years ago – and finding that lots of the staff are still there. And still readjusting to life back in London, back in our old house which we left in 1999 and returned to in 2007.

That was my 2009. How was yours?

The Pain of Self Promotion

Shameless self-promotion is tough for the British. We’re trained in self-deprecation, reprimanded for showing off.
Why is that? Is it just the British? And is it just my generation? Maybe younger Brits feel easier with blowing their own trumpets.
Anyway, I feel horribly embarassed about posting a few quotes from early reviews at the side of my blog. It hurts, really. I don't like it. It does not come naturally at all.I’m only doing it because, having cleared the hurdles of writing a book and getting it published, I’d really like to sell a few copies. Please forgive me.
And anyway I’m so completely thrilled and delighted to have a review from the amazing Caroline Lawrence, author of the Roman Mysteries series that I have to shout about it. Just a little bit.
Caroline, by the way, is almost unique among authors in that her books are equally loved by my two very different children. Only C S Lewis has achieved the same status. And when we played Trivial Pursuit it was fascinating to see how much they’d learnt from reading her series, set in Ancient Rome.
Anyway, one of the other reviews I quote has probably the best line ever written in the history of book-reviewing. I mean ‘this book has it all…talks of push-up bras’ is guaranteed to sell thousands of copies, don't you think? I certainly hope so.
The same 15-year-old reviewer – who I’ve never met, but I adore – said ‘I'd say it was well suited to early teens right the way up to middle-age, as even if you don't appreciate the character of Ty, you can possibly relate to his Mum.’ Ty’s mum, by the way, is 31. And he adds: ‘You might want to get a few copies, one for yourself and one for your kids.’ Yes! Please do! And don’t forget your friends, aunts, neighbours and boss.