Dystopian Rules!

Dystopian YA fiction is still hugely popular and nothing shows that more than the awesome blogging event DYSTOPIAN DOMINATION hosted every year by two bloggers, Kai and Precious. I had the privilege of taking part in the event last year, with the release of The Glimpse and now again this year with the release of The Fall. Whether you’re writing dystopian and want to know about this year’s popular releases from around the world, or you just love reading dystopian as much as we do, this is an event you’ll definitely enjoy. There are character interviews, author interviews and international giveaways for signed books and swag. 

Here’s what Precious, who hosts the blog Fragments of Life has to say about it:  

"Dystopian Domination came to life in May 14, 2011. At that time, Kai and I were thinking of hosting our second blog event together. We were both dystopian enthusiasts so naturally, we thought of hosting a blog event about YA dystopian novels. I was the one who suggested that we use Dystopian Domination for the title. Why, you ask? In 2011, it seemed to me that dystopia was dominating the YA field. We hosted our first ever ‘DD’ as we like to call it, with excitement and anxiety. It was our first time to host something that big. I consider it big because we sought out YA dystopian novels not only in USA but also in other parts of the world like Australia (Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres is an example) and UK (such as 20 Years by Emma Newman). That way, we are spreading the dystopian love internationally, highlighting books from across the globe and uniting dystopian enthusiasts and authors in a single blog event. 

After the first post, the comments started trickling in. It turned out that a lot of people were excited for the event! But what really surprised us were the comments that came after the event. There were people who told us that we inspired them to host their own blog events (who wouldn’t smile to that?) There are readers and fellow bloggers who say that they look forward to Dystopian Domination every year. For that reason, we continued hosting the DD blog event series. We hosted DD2 and DD3 last year. This year, from June to July, we are hosting Dystopian Domination 4. It’s not only a tradition for us. It’s also a treat for our readers, a gift to authors and a fountain of discovery (a lot of people discover new reads during DD) for everyone."

To read my character interview with Cole featured on Dystopian Domination last week, and win signed copies of The Glimpse and The Fall click HERE. 

And just up today, you can also check out the interview with Teri Terry and win copies of Fractured. Click HERE. 

Thanks Kai and Precious for such a fabulous blogging event. Dystopian Rules! Link to Kai's blog HERE. Link to Precious' blog HERE

by Claire Merle
author of THE GLIMPSE (2012)
and THE FALL (Glimpse sequel 2013) 

DEMENTION HITS THE ROAD!

Here at Demention we're packing our bags and our books (but hopefully not our wellies) for the Hay Book Festival (Friday May 31st 5.30pm) and the Edinburgh International Book Festival (Wed 21st August am & pm) for DARK, DANGEROUS & DYSTOPIAN debates. Come and meet us - we’d love you to join in. Here’s a taster of what we’re all about...

JULIE BERTAGNA 

A boy and girl, oceans apart, fates entwined, fight for a future in a flooded world. 

Julie says, ‘An SOS from islanders at the mercy of rising seas on the other side of the world sparked Exodus, Zenith and Aurora. I kept thinking, what if that happens to us? How would we cope in a climate-changed world? So I began an apocalyptic tale of young survivors on a storm-ravaged Earth.

I set my story 100 years in the future - then climate change kicked in for real, affecting millions. The floods, tornadoes and storms are unnervingly close to my imagined world. Published in over 20 countries, I love that they’ve made lots of shortlists and won awards (even Green awards in the UK & US) but the most brilliant thing for me is that young readers across the world write and tell me how the books have made them think about the future - though some teachers and librarians in the USA have blasted them as too dangerous...’  

Why do we enjoy dystopian and apocalyptic stories when the real world is scary enough? Are they a thrilling escape? Dangerous? Can they inspire hope and change? 

Watch EXODUS TRAILER 

TERI TERRY

Imagine you’ve been SLATED - your memory wiped clean and you don’t know why. 

Teri says, ‘Slated grew from a dream in the dark murk of my unconscious, so it wasn't a plan to write a dystopian novel at all. But I think I end up writing about my obsessions, things that worry me. Whether I want to, or not. I didn't set out to consider big questions, but the story took me places, and the questions were there.’

If a young person commits a terrible, violent crime, why did they do it? Are people born bad, or made that way? If someone commits a crime as a reaction to horrible things that have happened to them, is it their fault? Should they even be punished? But if they are dangerous to everyone else, you can't just let them go...

CLAIRE MERLE

In a society divided into Pures and Crazies, a DNA test can destroy your life forever.  

Claire says, ‘I don’t write to be controversial, but I do hope to make readers think. My debut novel The Glimpse addresses mental health issues from a rather different dynamic than is more common in fiction. Some readers have completely embraced and understood the book in the way I intended, but interpretations have been wide and in some cases very surprising. 

I didn’t set out to be provocative. I just wanted to write about a subject that concerns me deeply – the direction western society is headed in terms of the perception, diagnosis and treatment of mental health problems. I’m not a particularly confrontational person, but I could easily end up having a heated debate about a pint of milk...' 

Are dystopias so popular because they take risks, exploring all kinds of possible futures in challenging ways? Should there be boundaries in YA fiction? How far dare authors go?

From the Hay Festival Programme...book here:

‘Claire Merle’s The Glimpse was welcomed as a grippingly readable and deeply unsettling British dystopian thriller. Her new book The Fall will be out in June. Claire’s website

Teri Terry’s Slated, a dark psychological thriller, was published to great acclaim last year and has now been followed by the engrossing, fast paced Fractured. Teri’s website
 
Julie Bertagna’s award-winning Exodus is a brilliantly imagined story of love and survival in a climate-changed world. Zenith and Aurora complete this highly-acclaimed, classic dystopian trilogy.’ Julie’s website

Fractured giveaways, happy dancing, and general hysteria!!!

by Teri Terry

Fractured is published on 4th of April by Orchard Books in the UK: yippee!! And I'm SO close to finished writing the third book of the trilogy for next year. I'm having trouble concentrating with all this excitement going on, so I thought I'd spend the afternoon dancing about the house and giving things away.

The giveaway is now closed but do read on if you want to! The winner of a copy of Fractured is..... Barmybex!

Leave a comment on this blog post, below, for a chance to win a copy of Fractured: 
The winner will be chosen at random and posted here on Demention. This is international. If you live anywhere in the world besides the US/Canada, you'll get a lovely final copy of Fractured as being published on 4th April by Orchard Books, as above. If you live in the US/Canada you will get a lovely proof copy of the US version of Fractured, published by Penguin with Nancy Paulsen Books; it looks a lot like the cover to the right, but has 'advance uncorrected galleys - not for sale' along the bottom of it. This closes on 4th April at noon (UK time).

BUT wait... there's more!
There are also giveaways on Goodreads!
There is this one, which is international except for US/Canada for FIVE copies of Fractured: 

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Fractured

by Teri Terry

Giveaway ends April 04, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

AND because I didn't want anyone in the US/Canada to feel left out, I'm doing another one of three copies of US version of Slated as published by Nancy Paulsen Books 24th Jan of this year; this is also on Goodreads. That one I just put up so they have to approve it before it goes live, which should be soon.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Slated

by Teri Terry

Giveaway ends April 15, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

AND the REALLY exciting news is....
I'm not allowed to tell you yet. This is such torture: I hate keeping things to myself - I'm fairly rubbish at it, too - but I'm going to try very hard not to spill until 4th of April, when it'll get a mention here and go up on my website, teriterry.com.

And events:
I'll be at Heffers bookshop in Cambridge for my very first public signing for Fractured, on 20th April, noon to 2ish. More events will be posted soon on my website, here. 

Don't forget to leave a comment below to have a chance to win Fractured.
Now back to happy dancing...

Dystopian YA endings: too dark, or not dark enough?

by Teri Terry, 
on special leave from the Writing Cave

"...genre is just a flavouring. It's not the whole meal. Don't get confused by the scenery."  Terry Practchett, 2001 Carnegie speech

When I'd barely begun writing Slated, I kept getting asked: what is it about? What genre box to we put it in? I struggled to answer this when the story was still forming, but would usually say something about it being a future society where criminal young people have their memories stolen. What I frequently heard back was this: that is dystopian.

So...what does 'dystopian' mean? Back then I'll admit I only had a faint idea. I felt I knew what a utopia was: an imagined perfect society. A dystopia was somehow the opposite, defined by the absence of perfection. Since that time I've read many dystopian novels and recently finished a research MA on dystopian YA fiction, so you might think I've got a grasp of what it is meant to be, and how the Slated trilogy fits (or doesn't) in the dystopian box.

What comes next? For many weeks now I've been hiding away in the Writing Cave*, working hard on the third and final instalment of the Slated trilogy (the second, Fractured, is out soon: April in the UK/Australia; September US/Canada).

     *Writing Cave: a lonely place containing one badly dressed author under threat of deadlines, half drunk cold cups of tea, and empty chocolate wrappers. Often in desperate need of dusting.

Confession time: Should I admit that over half way through the first draft that not only have I not named book 3, I also haven't entirely decided how it is going to end? (please don't alarm my publishers by telling them this!). 

As a writer I like to not know everything about what is going to happen as I write. This is the excitement of writing: waiting for the characters to demand what happens next in ways that surprise. It is also the terror...

Has spending too much time on the academic side of things thrown down a gauntlet for the ending of the Slated trilogy?

Before the YA craze, dystopian novels had a specific function. They are set in a future society where things are going horribly wrong; somebody, our hero, fights against the system, but ultimately, tragically fails. The whole point is that of a lesson, a call to action: change the world now, or this may happen. 

The YA crowd of novels are different: endings are often hopeful, ambiguous rather than miserable, or even happy. Literary critics don't like the departures, say the way they end means they aren't really 'dystopian'. And at the same time there are those that argue the entire genre of YA dystopians are too dark, too depressing.

Having had my head under these academic arguments for too long (way WAY too long...!) it is easy to see the end of my trilogy as something that either comes out on one side of this, or the other.

But getting back to the quote from Terry Practchett: genre boxes can serve useful functions. They help booksellers and librarians know where books fit on their shelves; they help readers make reading choices. But I need to remind myself as a writer that they aren't the whole meal.

Ultimately it is all about this book, this story, and where all the characters yammering away in my head want to go. And the story always wins for me.

Terry Practchett's full Carnegie speech can be found here. I'm really excited that we're both up for the Rotherham Book Award: fingers crossed he is there! Though I may be embarrassingly fangirling if he is.

Breaking the Rules

by Teri Terry

Last weekend I was a Writer Who Rocks: up to my ankles in mud in the pouring rain at Hard Rock Calling at Hyde Park in London. 

The Saturday night was reaching an ecstatic finale, fireworks and all, when some person* literally pulled the plug on Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney.
                 *original word edited to avoid offense

Rock History: Springsteen and McCartney, together, on the same stage!
Moments later it all went very, very quiet
(Thanks to another Writer who Rocks, Laura Smith, for the photos)

There were looks of complete disbelief and a great deal of muttering – and that was just up on stage. But this was a polite crowd, and everyone soon stomped or staggered off in the mud.  

Debate followed in the coming days. They went 10 minutes past curfew. They broke the rules, so the promoter pulled the plug. Fans screamed in outrage. Then there was the backlash: why should some rocker be allowed to break the rules? There was Boris (mayor of London) saying, this won’t happen during the Olympics. 

And I couldn’t help but wonder: is this about an absolute slavish following of rules, or who is allowed to break them? 

One question raised was do you expect creatives like musicians to follow the rules? Time keeping is maybe not first on their mind. And this touched a chord with me and some things I’ve been struggling with as a writer:

When should you follow the rules? When should you break them? 

Julie Bertagna’s post last week Who do YOU write for also sparked this train of thought. 

Although Slated is my first book to be published, I’ve been writing for years. I haven’t jumped on trends, not consciously – not so much because I thought about it and decided not to, but more because I’ve never been able to write something that wasn’t from inside, something I had to write. Nothing against vampires, but it just isn’t my thing creatively. That I wound up writing a dystopian novel that hit that trend was pure lucky coincidence. 

But… I have been led astray. Quite a few times. By things like winning a writing competition and then diverting what I wanted to do to an old project, just because there was some interest in it. I have completely rewritten a book once based on feedback even though I felt it wasn’t right (it wasn’t). 

With Slated I wrote the way I love to write – from inside, characters taking over – but the doubts started when I wrote ‘The End’. Slated didn’t follow the pattern with dystopian novels I’d started reading then in a few respects, and not just because it was set in a near-future UK. It is more a slow and tortured build up of tension – not an action-fest. The ending isn’t neatly tied up. Should I rewrite it, or send it out? 

Out it went, and things have been amazing – first getting an agent, then a publishing deal with Orchard Books. Sure there have been a few voices along the way, and a few reviews, that would have liked Slated better if it followed a more usual pattern. But there have been more the other way – and despite the wobbles I’ve felt about it now and then, I’m so happy I stuck with my guts for how it had to be. 

The one critic’s voice I can’t live with if I go a way that feels wrong is my own. 

And now I’m editing book 2, Fractured, and thinking about book 3, and how they tie together. And I’m contemplating a big break of the rules in book 3, much more than any I’ve attempted before. I’m still thinking about it, and will be for a long time. But it feels right.

Another Writer who Rocks - Siobhan Curham - models
best Rock Chick Attire. I gotta get me some wellies for the next fest!

Slated Book Bloggers! Be afraid, be very afraid...

by Teri Terry

Slated: the Launch! In London,
(Waterstones Islington)

Slated launched on 3rd May of this year in the UK. Before and after, I've been SO very fortunate to have amazing book bloggers and reviewers take the time to read and say what they think about it.


I wanted to say thank-you, but how....?

The day before my book launched, writing friends Candy Gourlay and Jo Wyton launched a surprise Facebook mass Slating of friends - as reported in a Notes from the Slushpile blog, here. And it went a bit nuts: Slated friend's faces took over my page.

Then, a few weeks ago: a light bulb moment!

I emailed book bloggers all over the world who reviewed Slated, interviewed me, or both, looking for those who were brave enough, had just enough sense of adventure, enough of a crazy streak, to be Slated.

And here they are: thanks, guys! In date order of appearance on the web.

A word of caution: Slating is an interesting technique. Lorders would have us believe they know exactly what they are doing, that it is one size fits all. Yet results can be unpredictable. Especially when I am the surgeon. Mwahahahahahaha....

Kerrie and Kim, of Two Girls and a Novel:

Kim reviewed Slated on 28th April, here.

Kerrie

Kim

Tracy, of Tall Tales and Short Stories:

Tracy's review of Slated went up on her blog on 30th April, here. But it was actually the very first review of Slated I ever saw - she had an advance-advance last year - so it is very special to me
(author confession: I actually cried when I read it).

M, of We Sat Down: 

M reviewed Slated on 2nd May, here (this photo is from when she was just a little younger!)

Stephanie of Steph Likes Books:

Steph reviewed Slated on launch day! 3rd of May, here.  

Vicki, of ComaCalm's Corner: 

Vicki reviewed Slated on 4th of May, here. 

Kirsty, of Overflowing Library: 

Kirsty reviewed Slated on 4th of May, here. She also printed extracts of Slated in the lead up to publication.

Evie, of Bookish:

Evie reviewed Slated on 4th May and had a giveaway, here.

Misty, The Book Rat:

Misty interviewed me, here and reviewed Slated, here, on 9th of May

Stephanie, of Ramblings of a Readaholic:
Stephanie - also a bookseller at the by-all-accounts amazing Seven Stories in Newcastle that I'm dying to visit - reviewed Slated on May 21, here.

Kayla, of Kayla's Reads and Reviews:

Kayla reviewed Slated on 1st June, here.

Nicole Burstein, from The Reluctant Hypersomniac: 

Nicole reviewed Slated on 15th of June, here.

Hannah, The Girl in the Cafe
Interview on June 21, here.

And..... just because he is SOOOOO scary -
my fellow Demention blogger, Julienne Durber.

Special thanks: to author Jo Wyton for coming up with this crazy idea in the first place:

Always be nervous of those with the sweetest smiles....

 ...and to author Candy Gourlay, for running with it, and also for the crash course in Photoshop so I could Slate bloggers myself!

Candy & Me, at the Slated book launch! Looking a bit more sane, than Slated by Candy, here:

A final warning: don't try this at home, like author Chris Priestley. DIY Slating could lead to this -

Sorry if I missed anyone! 

BUT it's not too late. This was so much fun, I may like to do it again. Contact me - either here on the Demention contact form, or by Twitter or Facebook. There may be a round 2...

So... who is your favourite Slated Blogger? Let us know!

The Launch of Slated by Teri Terry

by Julienne Durber

At the launch of Slated, the debut novel by Demention’s own Teri Terry, I was challenged to blog about the launch in the style of a dystopian narrative.  Given the extremely high quality of the author who challenged me (who asked to remain nameless), and that fact that I can’t refuse an interesting task, I accepted.  I hope you enjoy it.

The Aspiring and the Elevated

The rendezvous was set. The disguised picture of my co-conspirators – the Aspiring and the Elevated – had been circulated. We each had an idea whom the others were, but hopefully the Organisation didn't!
(To read about the brilliant Facebook stealth mob for the Slated launch campaign, and other great articles on all things writing-related visit the notes from the slushpile blog).

I had managed to infiltrate the sprawling metropolis with the minimum of disturbance. My black market pass had only been checked once, by a low-brow border guard too involved in his own nefarious schemes to question its validity, and now I was standing outside the meeting point – a hidden treasury of books.  The door hung open. Tantalising, beckoning, too much like a trap. From my vantage point I could make out two shadows inside the building. Undesirables? Underclass? Enforcers?!? 

Then, floating across the cracked paving of the long-forgotten square came a giggle. Only when authors gathered to celebrate the success of one of their own was such a sound heard these days. I sprinted across the square and dived through the doors.

The shadowy figures nodded their acknowledgement, recognising me from my picture and I loped up the rickety stars three at a time. Before I'd reached the top, a hidden panel opened, leaking more giggling that lifted my heart. Corinne Gotch - wisewoman, gatekeeper and dispenser of refreshment - welcomed me into the enveloping warmth of the Gathered.

The Gathered

As I looked around the room, I could spot fragments of faces from the distorted images we'd all seen. Some I knew from previous meetings, others were new to me – the latest Aspiring recruits to the cause. All were hastily exchanging information, stories, secrets. We all knew that our time here was limited.

My own time was also short. Without a record of such meetings, future Aspiring members could not be recruited. I pulled out my much repaired picture-capture machine and began collecting images. The dichotomy – any one of these pictures was more than enough to bring the full force of the Organisation down on everyone in them.

Caroline Sheldon

Soon, Corrine called the Gathered to order. The reason for our gathering, the progression of one of our own, Teri Terry, from Aspiring to Elevated was to be celebrated. Caroline Sheldon - co-ordinator, Mistress of Strings and instrumental in assisting the Elevation of so many - began the celebration, by praising the fine work and dedication of Teri in reaching such heights of narrative vision and lauding the thrilling and emotive effects that she experienced.

Megan Larkin

Megan Larkin - gatherer of words, slicer of exposition, Queen of the Orchard - continued, regaling us with tales of the members of her clan and their desire to glimpse Slated in its raw form as news of its majesty spread.

Teri Terry

Finally, Teri took the floor to the applause of the Gathered. Those who had already succeeded, those on the very cusp, new members and even ones racked with doubt that they would ever be Elevated – the young and the old – all hung on Teri's words as she recounted the trials and triumphs that she had experienced on her journey. Of those who had helped her, Mr X received the greatest and most deserved praise.

The Fudge

The line to receive words of wisdom from the newly Elevated Teri was long, but she worked tirelessly, inscribing personal messages to all who sought them, whilst Corinne and her assistants circulated refreshments and life-giving fudge treats to all in need.

But all too soon, the lights dimmed and a hush fell over the gathering at this sign that Enforcers were near and it was time to disperse.  In twos and threes we melted into the night, safe in the knowledge that another of our number had achieved the success we all craved. Every tiny victory against the Organisation is one step closer for us all.  None of us know when the next gathering might happen.  But when it does, we will be there.

For the chance to win a sign copy of Slated and for more information about Teri Terry see last weeks post 'Slated Book Birthday: Q&A, and a giveaway!' below.

Slated Book Birthday: Q&A, and a giveaway!

by Teri Terry

Slated will be published on 3^rd May 2012 by Orchard Books in the UK: three days from now….! Oh my. I want to celebrate my first Book Birthday on Demention by answering some questions posed on Twitter, Facebook and by email, and giving away two signed copies of Slated (more on that below). Thanks to everyone who asked questions & I’ve answered as many as I can fit in! Go ahead and ask some more in comments and I’ll see what I can do.

Iona, 12: What gave you the idea to write Slated?

There is a short answer, and a long one. The short answer is that the start of the book came from a dream I had: a terrified girl, running on a beach, afraid to look back to see what chases her. The story grew from there.

Pick a country - I've been there!

The long answer – I think the things you are obsessed with come out in your unconscious and in your writing. With me that has a lot to do with identity: how can you know who you are when you don’t know where you come from? This is a big question in Slated. And growing up moving all the time with parents from different countries, this is a particular question of mine. Having memories taken away is an extension of this I think. I’m also obsessed with dreams, how you can use them and what you can learn from them.

Flora, 13 asked: I was just wondering how you came up with the memory erasing idea, which i thought was really brilliant! 

And Dave Sivers (just a few years older): The theme of erased/lost memories and something sinister in the past has been tackled before. What new angles have you brought to it in Slated?

I thought it was interesting to put these two questions together. One point that is immediate is that an older reader may look at themes and ideas in a YA book differently: to a teen reading about something for the first time, it is new to them.

How this idea arose – it wasn’t a planned thing, starting with a dream as mentioned above. So it isn’t like I examined what was out there in previous books before going ahead with Slated. I just had this idea of a character and a situation and went for it. And once I start writing something, the last thing I’ll do is read books that touch on similar themes – because I want to avoid any chance of influence on my story.

But a recent one I have read since writing Slated – Forgotten by Cat Patrick – a 2011 YA novel, in which a girl’s memories are gone every morning, a little like Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson in the adult sphere. But in Forgotten, she remembers her future, not her past. What an idea! And the fascination to me of writing in YA is that you can take what might seem a crazy idea, and run with it.

As far as what new angles I’ve brought to it, you have to read the book and decide for yourself.

Emma Pass (author of Acid, Randomhouse 2013): Okay… how did you come up with the idea for the Levo? It's such a sinister device - and such a brilliant idea!

Thanks! For those who don’t know – without giving too much away – a Levo in Slated is a device that monitors happiness levels. Where it came from, I honestly don’t know! Something that appeared in the murk in my mind.  Why it is there is also the whole nature vs nurture debate: are evil people born, or made? If they are born that way, taking their memories away wouldn’t change them, would it? So you’d need a safeguard.

Rashida Decina ummm...Is Slated gonna be available international..i mean in Asia?

Slated is published by Orchard Books in the UK and they have English language rights except for Canada, US and US dependencies. They’ve also sold it in translation in Germany, Turkey and Israel. In the US and Canada it is being published by Penguin Imprint Nancy Paulsen Books in 2013. Do you mean in English or another language? Which country? (sorry to answer a question with more questions – but let me know and I’ll try to find out for you).

@StephLikesBooks (http://stephlikesbooks.blogspot.co.uk/) tweeted me a bunch of questions, and I’ve picked three I haven’t answered anywhere before.

How long did it take to write Slated?

I started it in Sept 2009, and finished the first draft about Jan 2011. I wasn’t working on it all the time, though. Most of it was written in Autumn 2010.

Do you listen to music when you write?

I do! I compulsively listen to a Mark Knopfler playlist of a bunch of albums on my iPod. My favourite album is Kill to Get Crimson, & my favourite song on it is ‘Let it all go’. He tells stories with music, and it just puts me in that frame to write. Though it isn’t quite right to say ‘listen’: I have it on low in the background. It is like my brain knows when the music starts, it is time to get creative.

Reading or writing?

I’m  guessing you mean which do I love the most! I don’t think I can answer that. Funny thing is if I’m not doing enough of either of them, I get miserable. I need to read, and I need to write. There have been times in the last year when all my commitments, writing-wise, have cut into my reading time. And as I said before I try not to read anything that sounds like it may have anything to do with my own story when I am writing.

But then I’ve bumped into a book somewhere along the way and just haven’t been able to stop myself from DEVOURING it in one hit, no matter how busy I am, because I can’t stand not reading any more – like The Adoration of Jenna Fox, by Mary Pearson, and Heart Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne – both I absolutely LOVED.

Iona, 12: Are you going to write some more Slated books?

Yes! I’m just finishing up book 2 now – which is called Fractured. There will be one more after that. Fractured will be out in the UK in May 2013.

Thanks to Hachette Children's Books I can give away two signed copies of Slated! To enter, use the Rafflecopter below: follow this blog, comment on it, tweet the giveaway for an entry each day, like my facebook page, &/or follow me on Twitter! The more stuff you do the more entries you get. This is open for two weeks, and so will close on 14^th of May at 5 a.m. UK time. Open to residents of the UK, Europe and Australia.