http://www.wendyblaxland.com/apps/blog/here-are-the-details-of-my-next
I've asked some writer friends to play and so far the lovely Joy Hopwood, Michelle Hamer and Alyssa Brugman have agreed. Watch out for their blogposts Wednesday 8 January.
What is the working title of your next book?
This blog came about at a great
time as I my new book, Clementine
Rose and the Pet Day Disaster launched 1 January 2013.
Where did the idea come from for the book?
This is the second book in the
series about Clementine Rose who is five years old. Clementine Rose began as an idea for a
prequel to my Alice-Miranda series but then ended up being her own character
and now her own series. There is
intertextuality between the two series as the girls come from the same part of
the world and share some friends and experiences (Alice-Miranda went to
Clemmie’s school, Ellery Prep before she headed off to boarding school). They haven’t met yet but I think they will
soon.
What genre does your book fall under?
Junior fiction. I see Clementine Rose being read by 5-9
year olds.
What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Clementine Rose would have to be
played by my niece Eden but she needs to get a little older. The illustrations of Clemmie are based on
photographs of her. Clemmie’s mother,
Lady Clarissa Appleby could be Kate Winslet, Uncle Digby Pertwhistle, the
butler should be Jim Carter who plays Mr Carson in Downton Abbey (yes I know
typecasting there) and Aunt Violet Appleby simply has to be Anna Wintour (I know she’s
not an actress but she’s Aunt V to a t!).
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Clementine Rose is starting
school, with high expectations, all of which are dashed by the end of the day;
the only thing that might bring her back to school is the announcement of a pet
day where she can take her beloved tea cup pig, Lavender.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Clementine Rose and the Pet Day Disaster will be published by Random House Australia and later in
the year the series will start to be published by Random House Children’s Books in the
UK.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
About 10 days to actually write
the 20,000 words, but many more days thinking, rewriting and editing.
What other books would you
compare this story to within your genre?
Maybe Judy Moody or Clarice Bean. And of course Clementine Rose and the Surprise Visitor which is the first book in the series.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Writing Alice-Miranda and wanting
to engage younger readers gave me the idea to develop another character. I sat down with my former publisher, Linsay
Knight and RHA Director of Children’s Books, Julie Burland and we talked about
lots of ideas and concepts initially.
Linsay suggested Clemmie should have a cute pet and it was her idea to
have a tea cup pig, which I loved from the outset.
What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?
Clementine Rose starts school in
this book and has very high expectations (as many children do) of all the
things she’s going to learn on the first day.
Clementine thinks she’s going to learn to read, do number and tell the
time. She can’t wait – and is expecting
the beautiful Miss Arabella Critchley to be her teacher. However, that doesn’t turn out to be the case
and she winds up with the very sartorially brown Mrs Ethel Bottomley. To top it all off, she ends up sitting next
to the meanest boy she’s ever met, Angus Archibald. After the first day she’s had enough and
decides that a visit to Dr Everingham from whom she hopes to elicit a note that
she never has to go back, will mean the end of school forever. He has other ideas though and lets slip that
there’s a big announcement about a pet day - and of course when you own the
cutest pet in the world, a tea cup pig called Lavender, Clementine could hardly
resist going back. That’s not to say
it’s all smooth sailing from there – the title is Clementine Rose and the Pet Day Disaster after all.
