Tag Archives: Uclan Publishing

Special Guest: Q & A with Emma Finlayson-Palmer

I’m thrilled to welcome Emma Finlayson-Palmer to my blog today to celebrate the release of her debut book, Autumn Moonbeam Dance Magic! as part of #TeamAutumnMoonbeam. I have admired Emma and her #ukteenchat on Twitter for many years and it certainly makes a change for her to be on the other end of the author interview questions.

Autumn Moonbeam Dance Magic! is the first book of the Autumn Moonbeam series, It is illustrated by Heidi Cannon and published by Uclan Publishing. Autumn loves gymnastics and dance so when the Sparkledale Dance Academy have try-outs for their competitive dance team, the Black Cats, Autumn thinks it is the most broom-tastic opportunity ever! Just one problem, Autumn is nervous and worries she won’t make it on to the team.

*Autumn Moonbeam Dance Magic!*
by
Emma Finlayson-Palmer and Heidi Cannon

Thanks so much Emma for agreeing to be interviewed about Autumn Moonbeam Dance Magic! and for inviting me to be part of #TeamAutumnMoonbeam.

Now let’s crack on with the interview.

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Q&A with Emma Finlayson-Palmer

Tell us a little about yourself and the inspiration for your character Autumn Moonbeam.

I’ve been writing since I could hold pens. But when I was young, I usually made stories in the form of comics or drawings as I have always loved being creative, and I was a bit slow to read fluently so I found a love of stories through visual mediums and have always been a film addict.

Autumn Moonbeam was inspired by my daughter, who started at a dance club when she was three, then by the age of five she joined the competitive cheer team. She was painfully shy and could barely make eye contact when performing by herself, but once she was part of a team it gave her the confidence to dance and compete in front of hundreds or sometimes thousands of people.

It was this concept of overcoming your fears, teamwork and following your dreams that became the key element for my Autumn’s story. Combining that with my love of dance (although I’m very clumsy, much like Autumn) and anything musical, magical or witch related, Autumn Moonbeam came cartwheeling into the world.

Do you have any writing rituals?

I do have to have all my “equipment” around me before I start, this usually includes a cup of tea in one of my favourite mugs (because it never tastes the same in one of the non favourites!), notebook related to the story I’m working on, because once I’m into the writing I need one notebook that’s solely dedicated to that story. Multiple pens, different coloured ones preferably. My bottle of water, and my phone which I usually listen to music on. Music is a little bit of a ritual as I listen to songs related to the story, or films scores that inspire me or match the genre or tone of the scene I’m working on.

Is there a particular place you like to write?

I am very much a will write anywhere writer and have written on the settee, in bed, at the kid’s swimming lessons, in the car, in a field, café’s, pubs, library, just about anywhere I can. But I especially love a little corner to get settled in or at the picnic bench in my back garden. Anywhere where I have a window with a view of the sky or trees and life passing by.

As this is one of your favourite questions on the brilliant Twitter chat #ukteenchat, are you a plotter or a pantser?

Ha! Yes, one of my favourite questions! I’ve always been a pantser, but I am slowly evolving. I’ve come to enjoy getting some sort of outline and synopsis written these days before I’ll even start a book. Getting the structure and plot holes worked out beforehand really helps, though I still do a fair amount of pantsing!

In your opinion, what makes a great children’s book?

Ooh, this is probably very subjective. For me, it depends which age group I’m reading, but something that I’ve noticed that I love across PBs through to YA and everything in-between is families and friendship. I love intergenerational and blended families too, families are all so varied and different and I love seeing the dynamics of family set ups in books. If there’s a sprinkle of magic that’s good too! Stories that move me in some way, I don’t mind if it’s making me cry or laughing out loud, a great story moves me and I find myself wondering what the characters would be up to long after I’ve finished the book.

What is your favourite thing about writing for children?

I love the huge amount of fun it is to create stories for children. Unlike books for adults, children’s fiction feels limitless, there’s no subject that can’t be explored in a safe and satisfying why. Writing for children makes me feel like I’m on adventures with my younger self.

What writing advice would you give to people aspiring to be a children’s book writer?

Read lots! Use published books like your mentor to show you how to structure stories, getting the balance between narrative and dialogue, and finding your own voice. I love freewriting, and highly recommend this to explore new ideas and to let go of that notion that things have to be perfect. Have fun and when you write about something you love or enjoy, that will really shine through in your writing.

Where can people buy your book?

Various indie bookshops, most are usually happy to order in a copy if you make a request. You an order via The Hive, Bookshop.org, and the usual larger shops online such as Waterstones and Amazon.

What are your social media links so people can find out more about you and your books?

You can find me on most social media sites by searching my surname, Finlayson-Palmer. I have a linktree page where they are all listed, along with links to a few places where you can buy Autumn Moonbeam… Emma Finlayson-Palmer | Linktree

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Thank you Emma. It has been an honour be part of #TeamAutumnMoonbeam. 😊

You can read my review of Autumn Moonbeam Dance Magic! here: Book Review: Autumn Moonbeam Dance Magic!

Don’t forget to keep your eyes open for the second book in the series, Autumn Moonbeam Spooky Sleepover! that is being released this October 2022.

*Autumn Moonbeam Spooky Sleepover!* by
Emma Finlayson Palmer and Heidi Cannon

And don’t forget you can order copies of Emma’s books from your local bookshop, or you can also purchase a copy online at uk.bookshop.org, an organisation with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.

Book Review: Autumn Moonbeam Dance Magic!

To celebrate the launch of Emma Finlayson Palmer’s debut book, Autumn Moonbeam Dance Magic! I am posting an extra special book review as part of #TeamAutumnMoonbeam.

Autumn Moonbeam Dance Magic! is planned to be the first in the ‘spell-tacular’ Autumn Moonbeam series.

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Title: Autumn Moonbeam Dance Magic!

Written by: Emma Finlayson Palmer

Illustrated by: Heidi Cannon

Published by: Uclan Publishing

From the very first page Autumn Moonbeam leaps off the page and into the reader’s heart. Her energy and enthusiasm is infectious. I love the way Emma Finlayson-Palmer has amalgamated the world of dance and the world of witches. This makes this debut stand out head and shoulders above other witch themed books for lower middle-grade. Emma’s imagination and use of language brings the book to life with its own unique dance magic quality.

Autumn Moonbeam Dance Magic! is full of glitzy magic and well-structured friendships. I really felt for Autumn as she tries out for the Black Cat dance team to achieve her life-long goal of joining the Sparkledale Dance Academy. Autumn has to overcome her lack of confidence. She is supported by her best-friend Batty and teased by her mean next door neighbour, Severina Bloodworth. The tension is racked up when Autumn discovers Serina is also trying out for the dance academy. A great example of a character-led book.

Heidi Cannon’s illustrations compliment the text perfectly and add that extra dimension children will love. I particularly liked the pencil portraits of all the characters at the front of the book. Autumn Moonbeam Dance Magic! is perfect for girls who enjoy dancing and gymnastics and also for anyone who loves to read witch school based adventures. Readers will be enthralled by Autumn’s mystical mishaps and I suspect will be trying out a few magical dance moves for themselves. In the classroom children will enjoy making up their own spookytacular words and writing their own witch based stories using spellendous language.

This is definitely a book to cherish and collect the whole series. I can’t wait for book two Autumn Moonbeam Spooky Sleepover! released just in time for Halloween.

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Keep a look out for my first ever Special Guest Q &A with author of the Autumn Moonbeam series, Emma Finlayson-Palmer, which is going live here on my blog tomorrow.

I would like to thank Uclan Publishing for inviting me to be part of #TeamAutumnMoonbeam.

You can buy copies of Autumn Moonbeam Dance Magic! by Emma Finlayson-Palmer from your local bookshop, or online at uk.bookshop.org, an organisation with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.

An interview with… Frances Tosdevin

I interviewed Frances Tosdevin for the #244 8 Jun 2022 issue of Writers’ Forum about her writing process from conception to final draft for An Artist’s Eyes.

An Artist’s Eyes is illustrated by Clémence Monnet and published by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books. It is the story of a little boy, Jo, who goes on a walk with artist, Mo, to look for colours. But it soon becomes clear they don’t see things in the same way, and Jo gets increasingly frustrated because he thinks he’ll never be able to see like an artist.

It isn’t a book about painting, as such, but about the process that comes first — how you see something, what you notice and what sparks your imagination. Frances revealed she got the idea for an An Artist’s Eyes whilst sorting socks into pairs. The blue ones were so many shades of blue she found them impossible to pair. When her husband told her they all look the same to him, she realised people might see variations in colour tones differently.

Frances said all children’s book writers should grab these crazy thoughts, the ones that come at random times when you’re doing ordinary things, and use them in their writing. She told me she decided to focus primarily on colours because these are familiar to children from a young age.

“An Artist’s Eyes is an empowering book – a clarion call to creativity, if you like – and I hope that it will help children to embrace their own unique way of seeing the world and all the wonderful things in it. I would love the book to be used as resource for parents and teachers wanting to start conversations about creativity and I hope that it will encourage children to find their own inner artist’s eyes whilst, of course, having lots of fun doing so.”
Frances Tosdevin

She elaborated that colour is also used in the artwork at key points to convey Jo’s feelings. For example, there is an almost totally black spread, scattered with tiny bursts of colour, to convey Jo’s increasing sense of frustration at not being able to see things in the way Mo can, whilst red is the key to his turning point, when he finally starts to believe in himself and to trust his own artist’s eyes.

Frances explained she prefers to work on several picture book texts at once, because that way, if she hits a block with one and something needs to swirl around in my subconscious a little longer, she has other texts to be working on. She is often found pacing round the kitchen in the middle of the night, working out tricky plot points or strengthening characterisation.

“I love it when the house is dark and quiet, and it’s just me, my thoughts and two slumbering cats.”
Frances Tosdevin

She continued her stories go through numerous drafts, during which time they can change quite dramatically and she spends a good deal of time identifying, and replacing any word or phrase that sounds ‘flat’ to find a more exciting approach. She also roots out text that goes sideways, such as unnecessary details that slow down the story, rather than forwards.

Frances tries to think visually when writing, and pays special attention to page turns. to set up opportunities to surprise the reader. She explained it is a bit like delaying the punchline of a joke, or eeking out a spooky moment before something goes ‘Boo!’ Page turns are all about timing. Plus, in picture books it’s important to build tension until the main character’s lowest point (which is usually in Spread 9) and then to wrap up the story and provide the resolution quite quickly.

Frances warns all picture book writers rejections are the norm when you are querying, but you just have to keep going. She told me she had numerous rejections from multiple agents over several years, and although it can be crushing, each rejection just made hermore determined to write something better.

Her top tip is never to discount any idea, however small. Ideas can fly into your head at any time of day or night and it’s crucial to jot them down. Don’t delay, you might forget your idea. It doesn’t have to be a full-blown concept, it could simply be a pleasing phrase, a quirky title, or a character that demands attention. It could be a feeling you are experiencing, or a sense of place, or a funny situation.

*An Artist’s Eyes* by Frances Tosdevin and Clémence Monnet

She told me she currently has over 600 ideas on her phone, and a full notebook, as well. One of these idea often wriggles its way to the top of her writing brain and keeps making itself louder until she gives in and writes it. She recommends you take opportunities that come your way, sign up for 121s with agents and editors, go in for writing competitions and attend writing events whenever you can.

Find out more about Frances Tosdevin on her website: www.francestosdevin.com and follow her on twitter @FrancesTosdevin.

To read the complete feature you can purchase a copy of #244 8 Jun 2022 Writers’ Forum by ordering online from Select Magazines.

To read my future Writing 4 Children or Research Secrets interviews you can invest in a subscription from the Writers’ Forum website, or download Writers’ Forum to your iOS or Android device.

You can read my book review of An Artist’s Eyes by Frances Tosdevin and Clémence Monnet here: Book Review: An Artist’s Eyes.