Network News South West Round-Up, 2013-14: To Bristol – And Beyond!

Lesley Moss

Into Wonderland –
photo by Jo Thomas

Trip to the
Oxford Story Museum

A distant rumble from the Bristol and Bath area last autumn (hmm, it HAS been a long time!) informed us of many members longing to get together. All that was needed was someone brilliant, talented and awfully well organised ...  and on the spot ... step forward Jo Thomas. Professional writer, editor and children’s author Jo had no sooner joined SCBWI than she was persuaded to arrange meet-ups for a mix of published and emerging writers and illustrators, which she has done with aplomb.

Jo says: 

Since starting the Bristol group last autumn (2013), we’ve had several get-togethers and we keep each other up-to-date with any interesting book-related events through regular group emails. There are over 30 members on the mailing list now and we’ve had a good turnout at each of our meetings, with people coming from further afield as well as from Bristol and Bath. 

We’ve met in a different venue each time and tried out different ways of sharing ideas and catching up. Our first meet-up was in a café in a yurt and we had a good time telling each other about what we write and what we’d like to get out of the group. In early 2014, we met up at the Folk House for a chat and lunch and some gentle goal setting! 

Another gathering was at the end of March at Bristol Museum, where we did a short sketch/scrawl around the weird and wonderful exhibits and then had a nice catch up over coffee and cake. This sparked a plan for an outdoor walk and talk sometime over the summer, and we had the idea to organise a trip to the new Story Museum in Oxford. 

SCBWI in Narnia – photo by Jo Thomas

Bristol and Oxford SCBWI’s met up in Oxford.

Oxford Story Museum

Elen tries costume and the Story Loom – photo by Jo Thomas

At the Oxford Story Museum

And the Road Trip took place – complete with car mints!

The late Richard Masson, Undiscovered Voices winner and published author of Boonie (Hot Key Books), came up from Cornwall for the first Bristol meet-up in the yurt cafe, and it was a delight to meet him and talk about his life’s journey and his books. We are sad to lose him, but were so glad to have had the opportunity to meet him – and that he was able to bring his writing to the world, via SCBWI, UV, and Hot Key.

Meanwhile, over in Exeter, we held our very first masterclass, From First Draft To Gold, with the very lovely and skilful author/editor Lil Chase (Secrets, Lies and Locker 32, and Boys For Beginners, published by Quercus).

Lil has a wide range of editing experience with different publishers, including Working Partners, which she shared generously with us. A year later, we’re still feeling inspired ... unfortunately, some of us are still clinging to our adjectives and haven’t quite managed to let go of that vital ten per cent in our edits! But we are definitely using both sides of our brains  ... now where did I put that plot outline ...

After a cocktail-filled December Seasonal Social, Amelia Mansfield kindly arranged our next batch of Exeter write-ins for 2014, and somehow managed to fight her way through the storms to be there to host them, despite all rail links being cut off.

Our write-ins have continued to be popular, including plot discussions, publishing gossip, advice on WIP’s and even agony aunts to proffer support over rejections as a side order to the main event: writing together while consuming coffee and cake.

Recently, we have begun more focused write-ins in a new venue – with set times for silent intensive writing interspersed with coffee breaks. This is a change from our usual cafe drop-in and chat/write sessions, and we’re aiming for a combination of the two, as both have their advantages.

It’s always exciting to hear of our members’ publications and contracts, such as:

Sandra Greaves The Skull In The Woods (Chickenhouse),
Cecilia Busby’s Deep Amber (Templar),
Ellen Renner’s Tribute (Hot Key Books),
Rowena House’s The Marshalling Of Angelique’s Geese, in the War Girls anthology (Anderson Press), and 
Clare Helen Welsh’s first picture book contract, following her second place in the Greenhouse Funny Prize! So do let us know your good news so we can celebrate!

With the imminent demise of our Ning Network group, we now have our own Facebook group, SCBWI SW Chat & Info, which is great for virtual meet-ups and getting to know each other - do join us there. It’s a useful way of organising informal get-togethers – for example several Exeter members arranged to meet recently at a local YA festival. 

We can also check out who else is going to national SCBWI events, such as the Conference or Masterclasses and arrange to meet there or travel together.

Newsflash: Another new group: a critique group has begun in Marlborough, Wiltshire, run by Wendy Allen. Contact us on the email below for information.

I think that is all for now – if you are a South West SCBWI_BI member, do get in touch at southwest@britishscbwi.org and let us know if you have any questions, or any news and events to be included in the next South West round-up! 

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Lesley Moss is the joint SW network organiser.

Jo Thomas, writer and editor,  is currently coordinating

meetings for Bristol and Bath

@jotwriting   

Lil Chase: crafting a great book is 70% editing

After an inspiring SCBWI South West workshop with author and Working Partners editor Lil Chase, Lesley Moss and Rowena House talked to her about her two novels - Boys for Beginners and Secrets, Lies and Locker 62 - and the importance of editing when crafting a great book.

 Can we start with Lil Chase the writer. When did you begin your writing journey?

I had a typewriter. I don’t know if typewriters even exist now, but I remember asking my Mum for a typewriter when I was ten and clacking away on it. But even before that I wrote Gwynnie Goes Girlie (the inspiration for Boys for Beginners, her first novel.) Gwynnie was all written in pencil and I did the drawings and everything.

As a writer, I suppose I am an ideas person, and they go down on the page and I don’t think they’re very good at first. They are getting better, though. I think that first-draft-to-final-draft journey is getting shorter with practice, but even now there’s no way anyone would read a first draft of my book and think it was anywhere near publishable.

You said you found the Gwynnie manuscript your Mum’s attic. That’s must have been a  great way of rediscovering your ten-year-old self.

Absolutely. I feel like I’ve plagiarised somebody, but luckily that person was myself. I always kept diaries at the time. This was before emails, so I have letters my friends sent me, and letters I’d written to my friends but clearly hadn’t sent. All my cares and worries are in those letters, and all my friends’ cares and worries are in them too. I can’t tell you how vital all that information was.

You write a lot about friendship. For what age group do you think that friendship is the most important thing?

Probably 8-13. I describe my books as books for girls who are thinking about thinking about boys. They’re not quite up for boyfriends yet, but they are thinking about them; they know that’s the next step. But some girls are fifteen when it happens and some are eight. So you can’t be that prescriptive about it. Middle-grade is a very, very broad church.

If friendship is the key to middle-grade, what’s the key to YA?

Romance. I don’t know if it’s the publishers who are saying that romance is key, but that’s probably what they’ve found from sales figures. So it’s romance and family, and maybe how romance affects your friendships.

What about coming-of-age stories, rites of passage?

They can be very different from romance. YA is also about making sense of the world, finding out who you are. I started a degree in psychology and went to see a neuroscientist talking about teenagers. He said the amount of change going on in their brains is the equivalent of a toddler’s development. They aren’t young adults and they aren’t old children; they’re a different species. You certainly don’t want to preach about this, but if you’re writing for teenagers it’s probably a good idea to know a bit about their psychology.

Talking of neuroscience, in your workshop you recommended that we use the creative right brain to write and our logical left brains to edit. Can you talk a bit more about that?

Neuroscience says early hominids just had one brain and it didn’t plan or imagine how life might be better if we did something in a different way. Then there was an evolutionary jump, and we got a second brain in the same head that was creative and imaginative. This creative right brain looks ahead and imagines different scenarios. The left brain is logical. So you write with you right brain and you edit with your left brain. The best way to do that is to separate the two. Get in the zone and write, write, write. Then, later on, come back with your logical left brain and edit.

How does that fit with your other advice that we should plan our stories and edit the concept before writing the book? Isn’t that sort of plotting essentially a logical, left-brain activity?

No, not really. When you first write your plan you’re free. You write the plot with your right brain, and then you edit it with your left brain. For example, if I’m about to go upstairs and start writing, I look at my plan and say, ‘Okay, I’m on Chapter 2 where she meets her best friend.’ And that’s all I need to know.

You said at the workshop that 70% of getting your book to a publishable state is editing. Is that true of the planning stage as well?

Yes. I do the creative process of planning the book, and that’s edited, and there’s a 70:30 split there. Then when I write the book there’s another 70:30 split. It’s very important that you’ve got an idea for a story, but you’ve got to tell it in a way that makes sense to the reader and they care about it. That’s where editing comes in. Being an editor has been invaluable to me.

So as an editor, can you edit your own books from start to finish?

No I don’t think so. I know that a fresh set of eyes will make it better. You can always, always, always improve your novel and I think you need somebody else to do that. I know that a lot of people who self-publish will employ editors and I think that’s a good way.

At what point in your story do you know the end?

As soon as I sort out the idea I know the end because I think of stories in terms of change. Your character will start one way, in one position, and will end in the opposite position. Therefore I already have the ending; I just have to work out how the ending should come about. It should probably happen in a dramatic way, at a prom or at a party or in a big dramatic scene. But as soon as I’ve got an idea I know the ending because it has to be the opposite.

For writers trying to sell their first novel to agents and editors, what would you say are the keys to a great pitch? 

An interesting character with an interesting goal and an interesting conflict. You’ve also got to look at your idea and find its hook, which is often in the title. For example, Downton Abbey is all about the setting. James Bond is about a very interesting character. So is Superman; he’s kick-ass, basically. I always talk about My Sister, The Vampire because it’s all there in the title. She’s got this lovely sister, but oh no, she’s a vampire! You’ve got conflict right there. So the pitch is all about finding the hook and emphasising it.

You don’t talk about ‘high concept’ much.

Any story you can describe in five sentences is high concept. The ultimate high concept title is Snakes on a Plane. It was actually a working title and they sent it to Samuel L. Jackson and he said, ‘I’ll do it but only if you don’t change the title!’ The conflict’s right there: there are snakes! And they’re on a plane! It just couldn’t get more terrible.

High concept is just as important for books. You’ve got the blurb on the back to sell your book, but people aren’t going to get that far unless they like the title and the cover. Then they’re going to flip it over and read those five sentences on the back. That’s what’s going to make them shell out their money to buy it. Okay, they might read the first few pages, but you really have to get the concept across in as few words as possible.

Would you say that if people can’t write a five-sentence pitch, they should seriously look at their story and edit their idea before going any further?

I think it’s the difference between commercial fiction and literary fiction. If you’re a poet and you can write beautiful, lyrical, wonderful words, then write literary fiction. This kind of fiction wins prizes, but sadly it doesn't usually sell very well. If you’re interested in commercial fiction then yes, you should aim to make it a High Concept book. The biggest selling books are the ones that focus on page-turning stories.

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Lil Chase is the author of two books; BOYS FOR BEGINNERS and SECRETS, LIES & LOCKER 62, both published by Quercus. Her latest series - THE BOYS' SCHOOL GIRLS - will be published in July 2014.

Lil also works as a commissioning editor at Working Partners Limited, creating fiction for children and adults.

Rowena House is a journalist by trade - an ex-Reuters foreign correspondent in Europe and Africa, now a sub-editor specialising in international affairs. She turned to writing fiction for young people to meet a deep desire to tell gritty stories that are true in an emotional sense, without being constrained by ‘the facts’. At the moment, she’s working on a love story for teens set in Africa as part of the MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa. Rowena lives in rural Devon with her remarkably tolerant family and their less tolerant dog, a grey-and-white sheep dog called Fletcher.

@anonymoss

 Lesley Moss joined SCBWI in 2003 and over several years has volunteered as an e-critique group moderator for Picturebook Too! and the original poetry e-critique group, and as SW Joint Co-ordinator. She is a member of www.thefuneverse.comand writes picture books, funny poetry and 8-12 fiction. She originally studied art and design and spent some years in community arts, including a spell as a mime animateur, working creatively with children of all ages, and much more. But her first love is writing.

Picturebook (E)Critique Too! Who We Are, And What We Do!

By Lesley Moss

Picturebook Critique Too! (PB Too!) was the second peer-led picture book e-critique group for SCBWI_BI. Over three years from its inception it is still running, with many of the original members plus some lovely later additions. Candy Gourlay set it up, and passed the moderating baton to me, now ably assisted by Liz Miller. 

We have authors and author-illustrators of all backgrounds and all stages in the group, which makes for an interesting mix. We are quite a relaxed group, and take time out when we need to. And this seems to work for us. It must – as we’re still here, and still critiquing!

I asked the members about their work, their experience of PB Too! and how it has helped them develop their work.

First up: Joint Moderator Liz Miller! 

I write picture books but have been known to pen the occasional early reader, and I was excited to be Highly Commended for ‘The Pirate Who Liked Pink’ at this year’s Winchester Conference. I joined PB Too! in January 2011 and my time on the e-critique waiting list has been well rewarded. 

I've been lucky to have met quite a few PB Too! members in person at SCBWI events, including the recent Picture Book Retreat. You don’t need to have met to work together well as a group but it's been great to have had these opportunities and who knows, it may help to strengthen the group dynamic. I love the 'Oh yes...', 'Why didn't I spot that?', 'That's a good idea!' moments that come from my ever honest but always constructive and supportive fellow PB Too’ers. 

But it's not just about the critique - I really enjoy the sharing of event information, the cheering of success and the hands that reach out from the emails when someone's had a setback. It's what being a member of SCBWI is all about for me. 

Let's hear from our Author-Illustrators: 

Illustration ©Jamie Stevenson

Jamie Stevenson

I'm a fine artist, a scribbling, doodling crafty person who loves children's books, especially picture books! My illustrations are mainly in pastel or acrylic, and like my writing, tend to be humourous and quirky. 

Wanting to improve my writing/illustrating but with no other PB members around, I looked for an online critique group, becoming part of PB Too! when it was first formed. It is great to be in contact with such a brilliantly sunny collection of talented people, now friends, helping and cheering each other on, having feedback and advice. This lovely little group has made a big difference to me! 

Illustration ©Rikin Parekh

Rikin Parekh, author-illustrator

I worked as a storyboard artist/creature designer on feature films but being a children's picture book author-illustrator is what I was put on this earth to do! I've illustrated four picture books for MX Publishing and am looking for an agent/publisher for my own picture books. I’m now a Year One Teaching Assistant with the nuttiest of kids too! 

I joined PB Critique Too! in March 2012 and since then I have had the pleasure of being critiqued by the nicest, most honest and creative writers. As a group we all want success for each other and I've experienced many gold nuggets of advice, feedback, constructive criticism and a constant force of positivity. Due to this, my writing has improved by leaps and bounds. I feel more confident as an author-illustrator and am so glad to have joined this wonderful group! 

Illustration ©Holly Gatrell

Holly Gatrell, author-illustrator

I joined the critique group after meeting Lesley Moss at an Exeter Sketchcrawl in July 2012. This was the start of my SCWBI journey. I am about to complete my Masters Degree in Illustration. Joining the group was great for me as my MA was distance learning and I was the only person studying children’s books. It has enabled me to understand so much more of the art of writing for children. The group members are really supportive and it’s inspiring to be able to exchange thoughts with such talent, and with published authors and illustrators. It’s great to learn from people who know what they are talking about! 

Illustration © Kate Pankhurst

Kate Pankhurst

I illustrate picture books and young fiction. I recently had my first books as an author-illustrator published (Mariella Mystery Investigates). I love doodling, my favourite subject is anything funny or icky and I'm particularly fond of monsters, dogs and detectives. 

I work from home and being part of PB Too! makes my job seem less solitary. I'm always really inspired by how much work is created by the group – it definitely spurs me on to get that picture book idea I've been mulling over finished off! Having peers to help polish an idea up before sending it in the 'real world' is incredibly useful too.


And now, from our authors: 

Alfie’s Great Escape, by Kate Irwin 

and Clare Elsom, Egmont

Kate Irwin, author of 'Alfie's Great Escape', Blue Bananas, Egmont

The PB Too! group is invaluable to me. I write my stuff, bounce it off my nearest and dearest, then it goes to PB Too! before sending it in for a professional critique. Then, if all goes well, to submission. The PB Too! people are honest, positive, and a pleasure and honour to be involved with. I can't imagine writing life without them now. 

It is also a huge joy to see other people's work developing and taking shape, and improving massively over time. And the debate over what we think works or not is fascinating and informative. Quite possibly the best thing about my SCWBI membership. 

www.karenowen.co.uk

Karen Owen

I’ve had one picture book published, I Could Be, You Could Be. I love being a member of PB Too! because it’s the first place I turn to when I’ve written a new text. Supportive and constructive comments from writers and illustrators make a big difference, especially as I’ve had to learn to think more about the pictures as well as words. 





Lois Johnson

I’m a picture book writer and I also write children's novels, mainly middle grade books for 9-12. I have an MA in Creative Writing: Writing for Children. I think it's great being a member of PB Too! as it's a bonus getting an insight and comments from illustrators as well as other pb writers. I feel the group is very supportive and the generosity of people who spend time giving detailed, helpful comments is wonderful. Very often we are too close to our own writing to be objective but by being a member of such a great group, we can post our work confidently knowing any comments offered are with the sole intention of helping us improve. 

Sheryl Webster:

I've been a member of the group for three years. I find the group invaluable in helping me to shape and enhance my story ideas into more polished texts. Often the obvious errors are staring you in the face, but it takes a fresh pair of eyes to see it. The group offers honest and constructive advice and the support we all give each other is just fabulous. I feel we are at a stage now where we 'know' each others styles and how each person works. I feel really privileged to be working with a group I trust, whose opinions and advice help so much. 

I have had 18 titles published to date, some of which are picture books such as What Small Rabbit Heard (OUP)  Wee William (OUP) Noodle's Knitting (LTP) Tinysaurus (Anderson Press) and some reading scheme titles, including The Bug Club series for Pearson. I also enjoy writing early fiction for older age groups. 

Lesley: 

I wasn’t sure about the wisdom of online critique, but PB Too! converted me. I saw the way critiques could turn a script around, and how analysing someone else’s work could help in learning about editing. We’re also lucky to have a lovely guest contributor, Anne Rooney, who drops by occasionally with informed advice and information! 

I think this dedicated group epitomises SCBWI values, and I thought its members deserved a shout – out!

 

If you are a member of the SCBWI and are looking to join a critique group either online or in your local area, take a look at the critique information page on the SCBWI British Isles website. 

 

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Lesley Moss joined SCBWI in 2003 and over several years has volunteered for SCBWI as SW Joint Network Organiser, e-critique group moderator for Picturebook Too! and the Poetry e-critique group, which became www.thefuneverse.com (run by Maureen Lynas). She writes 8-12 fiction, picture books and funny verse. She originally studied art and design and spent some years in community arts, including a spell as a mime animateur, working creatively with children of all ages, and much more. But her first love is writing.

Network News, Featuring Ellen Renner South West Network

Ellen Renner on SCBWI and the writing life - in conversation with Lesley Moss

@Ellen_Renner

Ellen Renner has been a South West Network Organiser for SCBWI_BI since 2006. She talks to Joint Organiser Lesley Moss about volunteering for SCBWI, her writing career, and her latest book.
 Ellen was born in the USA, but came to England in her twenties, married here, and now lives in an old house in Devon with her husband and son. She originally trained as a painter and surrounds herself with sketches of her characters as she writes. She spins wool as well as stories, knitting and weaving when time allows. She plays the violin, fences (badly!) and collects teapots and motorcycles.
 Her first book, CASTLE OF SHADOWS, won the Cornerstones Wow Factor Competition, the 2010 North East Book Award and was chosen for both the Independent and London Times summer reading lists and, along with the sequel CITY OF THIEVES, was included on The Times list of best children's books of 2010.

Ellen, you’re a multi-published author – how do you fit in volunteering for SCBWI_BI as well?

That's right: start with the tricky question! I wasn't published when I first volunteered. My life went crazy in 2010/11 after CASTLE OF SHADOWS and CITY OF THIEVES came out. I was headhunted to write a series for OUP (THE FLIP FLOP CLUB, as Ellen Richardson). Working with OUP and Working Partners was a totally brilliant experience: I loved the collaborative process, but it was hectic because I was doing a lot of school visits as well as beginning my own next 'big idea'. When the final OUP ms went off, an editor came fishing. Within a few weeks there was a UK auction for two books based on a concept and twenty thousand words. Exciting but scary.
At times, volunteering has had to take a back seat to writing: I've written six books for publication in two-and-a-half years. The fact is, once you have a contract, deadlines can be brutal, especially with the self-promotion side added in. I'm not a born organiser (cue ribald laughter from friends and family) but I enjoy sharing some of the editing and writing skills I've learned working in the industry.

Why did you volunteer for SCBWI?

I wanted to pay back a little of what SCBWI-BI has done for me: given me support and friends, along with the information and tools to understand what it takes to write professionally. SCBWI provides a unique service to aspiring writers/illustrators. Also you make very good buddies in SCBWI.

What kind of events did you put on in the SW in the beginning?

I hosted a critique group and I put on creative writing workshops. The Exeter Write-ins we developed together recently are great fun! Y

You and I met first at a SCBWI_BI conference in 2006. And in 2010 you invited me to be Joint Organiser. We’re based in Exeter, where for me, the best thing has been meeting other lovely SCBWI members. An amazing range of life and writer/illustrator experience passes through the group, with a dedicated core and occasional visitors. What have you enjoyed about volunteering for SCBWI?

Oh definitely: the people you meet! And hearing about the things they're working on. Sometimes I want to be an editor just so I can work on some of these exciting ideas! And talking to other people about their work somehow inspires you to push yourself further with your own. It can revive your interest in the whole process. Writing is hard work, especially if you're always trying to take it to the next level.

Our Exeter Write-Ins (writers / illustrators meet in a café and work / exchange news / eat cake / critique) sprang from our discussion with author Lucy Jones, our socials organiser, author and film maker Yona Wiseman, and author Amelia Mansfield – we wanted to meet, but everyone had work to get on with. How well do Write-ins work for you?

Really well. I get quite a lot done - as long as the chatting doesn't go on too long, which is always the danger, as we enjoy the social side. It is good to get out of your normal writing environment and go to a gathering dedicated to what we're all trying to accomplish. It gives our work its appropriate weight somehow. Writers and illustrators can feel quite isolated and it's a joy to talk to like minded people. Family and friends may love (or tolerate) our obsessions, but only other writers/illustrators understand.

A Write-in with Ellen and Lesley

 Yona Wiseman at a recent Scrawl/Sketchcrawl

 

Exeter has become a supportive network, with people travelling in from far afield at times. In the last few years we have offered Meet-ups, Write-ins – with some informal critiquing - Sketch/Scrawl Crawls, support at book launches, and Seasonal Socials. And we plan to have Edit-ins to follow Write-ins. But the SW is a large network area – what would you say to those too far away to travel to Exeter?

The Write-ins and Scrawl Crawls are great, and I have great hopes of the Edit-ins. The size of the SW region is something I've struggled to deal with over the years. There isn't an easy answer other than to encourage people in places such as Bristol to be self-starting and organise their own meet-ups. But it does take one or two people to step forward, set the ball rolling and keep it rolling. And as I know only too well: everyone is busy.

And finally, we’ve all been inspired by your publishing success and benefited from your experience and industry knowledge during our Write-in chats. Can you tell us anything about your next book, or is it all hush-hush?

I'm very excited about the two books being published next year in the UK by Hot Key Books: TRIBUTE in March 2014 and the sequel, OUTCASTE, following in August. The TRIBUTE books are my first foray into YA fantasy and explore themes very close to my heart: power; politics; war; technology and how it drives social structure. The books are about empathy, and what happens when the ability to feel empathy is short-circuited because of tribalism. 
 TRIBUTE is dark: the inciting incident is told in flashback – a nine year old child is murdered for the crime of literacy in a world where only the magical ruling elite are allowed knowledge. It's not all gloom and doom however: there is a love story, which I found the most challenging part to write, to the great amusement of one of my writing buddies, Sharon Jones, who is disgustingly good at it! She tells me I've pulled it off though, so I'll have to believe her. 
This is the first time I've sold a book based on a concept, and I will admit to trepidation about editorial input from the publisher at that delicate first draft stage. I needn't have worried: my editor, Sara O'Connor, is totally brilliant (as is her maternity leave replacement, Jenny Jacoby) and her guidance has been invaluable. 
 For me, entertaining the reader is paramount. I write to ask questions of myself and the reader – fantasy is the perfect form for exploring issues in our own society – but I never forget that story is everything. My ambition is to transport readers to new places and create characters and worlds that live on in the imagination. I'm delighted to announce that the TRIBUTE books have recently sold at auction in Germany. They'll be published by DTV Junior in 2015 as lead titles.

Thank you, Ellen – it’s been great to share part of your journey. Good luck with Tribute!

Exeter Write-ins will begin again in the autumn. And we are very excited to be hosting a masterclass with an experienced visiting editor in October. Please contact southwest@britishscbwi.org for details or visit your Ning group. 

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Lesley Moss joined SCBWI in 2003 and over several years has volunteered for SCBWI as SW Joint Network Organiser, e-critique group moderator for Picturebook Too!  and the Poetry e-critique group, which became  www.thefuneverse.com (run by Maureen Lynas). She writes 8-12 fiction, picture books and funny verse. She originally studied art and design and spent some years in community arts, including a spell as a mime animateur, working creatively with children of all ages, and much more. But her first love is writing.