Gingerbread Sherlock, and his faithful Watson

Happy Birthday! May your celebrations be worthy of fistfuls of Mrs Hudson’s soothers.

As you may have heard, that nice Mr Cable-Knit there has gone and got himself a rather significant new job. This development has been met with universal whoops of glee and hula-dancing to They’re Taking The Hobbits To Isengard, swiftly followed by a trembly lower lip at the consequences for Sherlocky fun. (Or perhaps that was just at my house.) However, since Freeman is quite perfect for both roles, I think we can all agree that there’s only one logical solution.

Sherlock: The Adventure of the Bag-End Burglar

Yep, that is me blethering away there in the background.  (Even the Mycroft Christie bits.)  That’s my special ‘oh no, I’m talking to myself, let’s try to get this over and done with as quickly as possible’ voice.

MY INVISIBLE BOYFRIEND has now been read by lots of people who aren’t my Mum, including the lovely ABA, who’ve picked it for the Kids’ Indie Next List Summer 2010. (I’m rubbing shoulders with Diana Wynne Jones, David Almond, Mark Haddon, David Levithan… mind officially blown, tyvm.)

And here’s what some other people (who also aren’t my Mum, unless she’s been very busy) thought:

‘quirky, hilarious, and entertaining… Heidi is an unforgettable protagonist that will not fail to make readers laugh with her LOL-worthy shenanigans and escapades’ – The Undercover Book Lover

‘a strong first-person narrative voice that reminds me a little of Georgia in Louise Rennison’s series (Angus, Thongs, and Full-frontal Snogging, etc.)… very funny’ – Book Aunt

‘one darlin’ book that I simply couldn’t get enough of’ – Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf

‘very, very funny… Every single secondary character (Dai, Ludo, Teddy and Fili especially) comes to life on the page, and I want to be friends with all of them’ – Wondrous Reads (on GIRL MEETS CAKE, the UK/World edition)

‘I just really fell for Heidi and her friends… cute and entertaining, and if you like Brit humor the way I do, like fun romantic comedy-type stories, or like books with a funky and diverse cast of characters, you’ll really get a kick out of it’ – Forever Young

Just in case you were, you know, wondering if it was your cup of tea…    I think what’s really stuck out in all the reviews so far is how very British people have found it.  I’m still wondering exactly what that means.  Blog on the subject will ensue, once I’ve pondered some more…

I’m reading a book about faeries – and loving it to pieces (despite being a cynical git who tends to find straight fantasy and ‘magick’ a bit of a stretch) because it’s just that good.  It’s R.J. Anderson’s Knife (published in the US as Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter), which so far is reminding me of The Borrowers: an enticing doll’s house world of tiny furniture and monstrous humans (who might turn out to be allies, after all), and a tough bored girl who wants to see the big wide world.  The prose is glorious too.  Zippy clever stuff for 9+ girls.

Still puttering away at the opening chapters of Exciting New Secret Book Thingy, juggling a few scenes around to get the best fit.  It’s like a jigsaw with a piece missing at the moment (sorry, peanut-butter-in-bra story I borrowed from Girl Scout camp, not sure you’re quite good enough) – but I’m itching to get to the next bit.  Plus coffee with agent, shop-talky dinner with an old mate who’s now commissioning teen lit for a living (small small world), and oceans of tea with awesome writer-buddy Sarah Mussi. That all counts as work, right?

Going out for dinner and ending up dancing to random 60s girl groups in an awesomely manky student nightclub; discovering that the Marylebone Oxfam Bookshop is where Scholastic mock-ups go to die (I found a Philip Pullman with a Big Woo cover, and an Ally Kennen which was Girl Meets Cake on the inside: utterly surreal); eating a lot of peas.  Mmm, peas.

IFFATH, for her magnificent Gingerbread Susie!

Look! It's me, only gingerbready!

I have it on good authority that there was an iced version of those green Converse, but it went the way of all gingerbread before it could be photographed.    Congratulations, Iffath – signed books and gingerbread goodies will be on their way to you soon!  And since she’s apparently multi-talented, the rest of you can cheer yourself up by visiting Iffath’s brilliant YA book blog, LoveReadingX.

Am running out of creative ways to wedge books into my overflowing bookshelves, so I’m back in local library mode – which means my choices are down to serendipity (and how many I can fit in my handbag).  Just finishing Madeleine L’Engle’s classic A Wrinkle In Time, which has the best opening few chapters imaginable.  I could live without the unicorns and the bits where I get told how Jesus is a bit like Rembrandt – but there’s Proper Science, a heartfelt quest for a missing mathematical genius parent, and kids who are weird and brainy and that’s presented as really quite handy.  Hooray!

Writing group met this weekend.  We interspersed our usual curry and wailing with masses of practical stuff, and much constructive hand-holding.  How people carry on writing without that sort of support, I’ll never know.  They giggled at the appropriate moments in my chapter, anyway – and reminded me of several abandoned projects of mine I’d completely forgotten.  They say when you finish a manuscript, you should put it in a drawer, so you can gain some distance.  YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO TAKE IT OUT AGAIN THOUGH.  Brain, please take note.

Wishing daytime telly still meant Utter Bobbins, and not Chuck reruns and Project Runway; attempting to explain the British electoral system to a 16-year-old Kazakh student (apparently I should’ve said ‘we don’t have one’, sigh); becoming oddly obsessed with ham.

Flesh and Stone: angels and Amy and SPOILERS, oh my!

Public Service Announcement, for anyone still planning to enter the FABULOUS BAKE-A-BOY CHALLENGE competition (closing date is this Friday, btw): Delia’s gingerbread men recipe is rubbish! Now have kitchen full of inedible people. I sense the Ginger(bread) Companions Club beckoning, just to get rid of the little beggars…  (Much nicerer recipe here, btw.)  Did I mention that you can win lovely free signed books and things?  Go on go on, you will, you will, you will…

This weekend is all about the snogging, apparently. Just finished Luisa Plaja’s Swapped By A Kiss, the semi-sequel to the very funny Split By A Kiss, and it’s another twisty and touching treat. Spiky American Rachel, convinced her British best mate Jo has the perfect life, wishes they could swap places – but when they do, walking in Jo’s shoes isn’t quite as she’d imagined. So far, so Freaky Friday – but as with her previous novels it’s a deceptively clever read, with each girl keeping secrets from the reader as well as each other until the end. The incidental characters are sharply drawn (Tori, Clyde and Tamber especially), Jo’s frantic diary excerpts are a giggle (despite being reproduced in Comic Sans: oh, editors, why do you do such things?), and it’s a thrill to read a fluffy teen romance where the heroine is a sharp-tongued, comic-book-drawing, plus-sized grump.  Frankly, any novel which turns on being able to identify a text message code based on Buffy episode titles cannot fail to charm.

Erm.  I’m having motivation issues, and for once they aren’t even mine.  Too many characters, all going in different directions!  Now I remember why I liked writing in the first person.

Attempting to cure womanflu through the power of early Supernatural alone (Dean Winchester: like paracetamol, in a way); getting overexcited about the election, and then horribly depressed at the prospect of any of the likely outcomes; being Twitterspammed by Gene Hunt.

Want to get your hands on this little lot?

Up for grabs: a signed copy of My Invisible Boyfriend, a signed copy of serafina67 *urgently requires life*, and a gingerbread goodiebag (not as pictured – they seem to have mysteriously vanished post photoshoot )…

In My Invisible Boyfriend, Heidi creates an imaginary BF inspired by a gingerbread man.  To win, create your own invisible friend (no gender required, and you’re very welcome to keep things platonic), and send me a picture.  It can be a real gingerbread cookie, or a drawing of one.  Check out the last Fabulous Bake-A-Boy Challenge gallery for inspiration, and links to a deeply yummy gingerbread recipe.  Send me your invisible friends!

Email your entries to: susie AT susieday.com (or here, with a link to your image hosted online): all images in jpg, png, or gif format please
Contest open to: everyone!  All territories, all ages (please ask permission from a guardian if you are <13)
Closing date: Friday 7th May

Entries must be your own creative work and not infringe copyright.  For example:

THIS IS OK

THIS IS CUTE BUT NOT OK

Good luck! And if you missed it, don’t forget to check out the rest of the 7 Days of Stuff!

Full T&Cs are listed below:
1. Please read these competition rules carefully. If you enter this competition, we will assume that you have read these competition rules and agree to them.
2. This competition is open to residents of any territory.  Void where prohibited.
3. No purchase necessary.
4. Only one entry per person.
5. The instructions for entry contained in the adverts publicizing this competition form part of the competition rules.
6. Any personal information (entrant’s real full name, age, address, telephone number and/or email address will be used solely in connection with this competition and will not be disclosed to any third party, except for the purpose of fulfilling the prize where applicable. Any personal information held by the Promoter in respect of the competition will be held on record for a short period for the purpose of ensuring fulfillment of the competition.
7. Entrants give permission to the Promoter to reproduce any images submitted by entrants in connection with this competition on this website.
8. The winner will be the entrant whose entry is selected by the judges.
9. The closing date for the competition is May 7th 2010, and the winner will be decided on May 8th 2010.
10. If you win the competition, we will notify you by email on May 10th 2010. The judges’ decision will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
11. Prizes should be received within twenty one (21) days of the closing date.
12. In the event that the Promoter cannot for any reason contact the winner by 25th May 2010 the promoter reserves the right to select another winner.
13. No part of the prize is exchangeable for cash or any other prize, although if the advertised prize is not available, we reserve the right to offer an alternative prize of equal or greater value. The prize is subject to the additional terms and conditions of the manufacter and/or supplier.
14. Incorrectly completed and/or copyright-infringing entries will be disqualified.
15. These competition Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and constructed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and the courts of England shall have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any disputes arising there from.