Floodland

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With both your publisher and author hat on, what advice can you give would-be children's authors in getting published? Marcus has been shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal five times, the Edgar Allan Poe Award (twice) and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize (four times). He is also the most noted author in the history of the Printz Award, with one win and two honour books,for Revolver, The Ghosts of Heaven and Midwinter Blood. saw Marcus turn his attention to books for younger readers with the launch of a humorous new series: The Raven Mysteries, narrated by a grumpy raven, Edgar. In his spare time, was also a stone carver and wood engraver and illustrated all his novels. Marcus was also an enthusiastic drummer. But Eels Island, whose raggle-taggle inhabitants are dominated by the strange boy Dooby, is full of danger too.The belief that she will one day find her parents spurs Zoe on to a dramatic escape in a story of courage and determination that leads to an unexpected and touching conclusion.

It varies from book to book but it's not a chore as I love to do research. It's easier than actually writing the things! For Revolver, the research spanned about 16 months, of little trips here and there and lots and lots of reading!

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What age did you first start writing and when did you think that one day you'd write a novel that would actually be published? I have a pet raven called Edgar, though he doesn’t say much, eat much, or indeed, move much. There’s a possibility that he’s stuffed, I guess. It was a single line, the first line in the book in fact. I'd had it for ages but didn't know where I was going to use it until the character of Edgar came along: "I suspect I may have fleas again". I love music, both listening to it and playing it (I'm a drummer). A day without music is not a proper day... I also love travel and try to travel as much as I can manage.

The idea behind this post apocalyptic world was fascinating and it wasn't too preachy seeing as it is a possible eventuality of global warming. Imagine that a few years from now England is covered by water, and Norwich is an island.Zoe, left behind in the confusion when her parents escaped, survives there as best she can. Alone and desperate among marauding gangs, she manages to dig a derelict boat out of the mud and gets away to Eels Island. Great question, impossible to answer. So many amazing things to go and see – the building of the pyramids, a Viking boat putting out to sea, Man Utd winning the European Championship in 1968… Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing - Many of your novels are inspired by history and by myth and legend - have these areas always been a fascination of yours since childhood and if so how did this passion come about?The pacing was fast, choppy even at times and the narrative quite disjointed. the ending came with a large dose of skepticism on my part as it was unbelievable and unsatisfactory. Finding an empty shell casing on the pavement in St Petersburg. It was a long way from there to the finished book but that was the start of it. Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments