A Journey To The Darker Side of Other People's Lives: Meet Chris Macfarlane

Ladies and gents! You got a chance to meet yours truly on the blog last week, so it is now my pleasure to introduce you to one of my most beloved MA colleagues and fellow Where the Wild Words Are author, Chris Macfarlane.  Last year I had the pleasure of sharing a workshop group with Chris, and I was always struck both by her unparalleled sense of story both in her own writing and in her feedback to others.  I'm thrilled that she decided to develop her piece, A Girl Called Harry, into a full manuscript.  It's a book for teens with a strong moral compass and I'm getting excited right now imagining this novel finding its way into the hands of its intended readership! So, without further ado, I'll let the woman speak for herself.  Dear readers, I give you Chris Macfarlane!

Finding her Voice: Introducing Yael Tischler

Afternoon, all!
I'm really excited today, because I get to kick off this run of introductions by interviewing my good friend and co-conspirator Yael Tischler! When I first met Yael, back in September 2012, it was clear within about a minute that we were going to be great friends. Since then we've co-written stories, embarked on numerous adventures, invited you all to join our barricade, and finished some MAs into the bargain.
That alone would be excellent grounds for an interview. But Yael isn't just one of my best friends, she's also someone whose stories always excite me - a fantastically talented writer with a real gift for getting into characters lives and voices. And the reason I'm so excited about today? I honestly can't wait for the rest of the world to get the chance to read her writing.

So, ladies and gentlemen. I give you... Yael Tischler!

Where The Wild Writers Are...

As Harriet reminded us a few weeks ago, summer is well on its way (though you wouldn't know it from the weather outside). And so too is May 13th, when myself and the other writers from Bath Spa's MA in Writing for Young People will be launching our Where the Wild Words Are anthology and setting out into the as-yet uncharted waters of the publishing industry. It's simultaneously exciting and terrifying, and I really can't wait!

(picture courtesy of the fantastic Harriet Balfour Evans)

But of course, before we can launch the anthology in style, there are a few more preparations to be made. Pitches need honing, some books still need finishing, and we clearly can't start transforming the venue until the day intself. And, while the official countdown runs on the anthology site, we thought we'd do a countdown of our own on the Chronicles of Word and give anyone reading the chance to get to know the writers a bit in advance. In other words, for the next three weeks we will be interviewing each other! 

So, are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin... 

Demons, Daim Bars and Good Advice: The long-awaited interview with Sarah Rees Brennan...

Yael and I met Sarah Rees Brennan on Blackfriars Bridge, one late July evening.

Like all stories, the beginning comes a little before that point.

I’ve been a fan of Sarah since before she was published, back when she blogged about her road through publication and kept livejournal rolling in the aisles with regular updates of wit (sidenote: this still happens), and repeatedly threw her books at Yael until she agreed to read them.

[Yael: You will now go read them too, if you know what’s good for you.]

Sarah Rees Brennan is the author of the Demon's Lexicon trilogy and the Lynburn Legacy trilogy. She's also collaborated with other big name YA authors, such as Cassandra Clare and Justine Larbalestier, is vocal about diversity in YA*, and feeds on the tears of her readers. Inevitably, we had to meet her, and we had to interview her for the blog.