Check out what top reviewer, Ella McKenzie, had to say about Scream Street 1: Fang of the Vampire…

I can’t remember the last time I read an animal story. It seems I’ve been missing out. If The Tygrine Cat is a typical example of this genre, then I’ll have to look out some more.

Mati is a cat, but he’s no ordinary cat. He is special – the last of his race. Young and unaware of his heritage, Mati is sent away by his Amma (mother) on a ship to a faraway land for his own safety. When the ship makes dock, he must not only escape without notice, but make a new home in the foreign land in which he finds himself.

Inbali Iserles has done a great job in this story of demonstrating the relationships between the cats in a local territory (Cressida Lock). From the dominant tom cat, Pangur, down to the lowest kittens, she shows how cat courtesy and hierarchy works in the neighbourhood that young Mati finds himself in. This is a book of adventure and magic, as Mati has certain abilities that appear strange to the local cats, marking him as different – an alien in the community. Then there’s the Kank’s, a rival territory run by Hanratty, a trouble-making tom cat who’s keen to take control of Cressida Lock.

Throughout the story stalks a mysterious assassin cat, Mithos the Destroyer, sent across the world by the Suzerain to kill Mati and end the line of the Tygrine cats. I found this story fascinating and it will no doubt delight young people who have an interest in animals and their behaviour, but also those who like a little magic in their stories. This story has been added to my list of recommended books for younger readers who have an advanced reading age, as there is nothing unsuitable in the story for anyone aged about seven and up, although I’d say it is more written for nine to twelve-ish. The Tyrine Cat will make great bedtime reading for my son in a couple of years, so I will no doubt return to it. In the meantime, I’ve passed it on to my ten year old daughter, who will no doubt devour it with relish (normally Picallily – strange child!) A great read.

Coming soon – review of Hunger by Michael Grant.

Ever since my brother and sister, Adam and Nicki, got one each for their brilliant poster entry, I’ve nursed a brooding need. Where was MY Blue Peter badge, eh? How had I failed to achieve this dream when they had succeeded?!!

30 odd years (and they have been odd) later, it’s all been set right. I got a badge this week. And – ahem – an award. Frozen In Time won the Blue Peter Children’s Book Award – Book I Couldn’t Put Down category.

Hard to describe my delight, but cold flannels and rubber bands have since been employed in a bid to get the grin off my face (it gets scary after a while). If you’d like to see the point at which the grin arrives, go here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00r4xcv/Blue_Peter_23_02_2010/ – to about the last six minutes of the show.

I’ve been getting a big kick lately out of the novels of Graham Joyce. He’s often considered a Fantasy/SF type of author, and it’s true that his books almost always contain supernatural elements such as ghosts, demons and curses. In most of the books I read and love, those elements tend to result in things like fights, chases, terror, blood and explosions! But Graham Joyce’s style is rather different…

In TWOC, fifteen-year-old joyriding addict Matt is horribly haunted by the ghost of his dead brother Jake…

In DO THE CREEPY THING, a late night dare leaves teenager Caz believing she has been cursed, stalked by a shadowy figure that seems to have granted her extraordinary powers…

…But neither of these stories turn out quite the way you expect. In both TWOC and DO THE CREEPY THING – as in all of Joyce’s books that I’ve read so far – the supernatural elements, while important, aren’t the main thing in the story. The focus, instead, is on the characters – their lives, and the powerful changes to them that the characters’ encounters with the supernatural will cause.

Now: as you’ve probably figured out already(!) I’m not the world’s biggest fan of stories in which people talk out their problems over cups of tea. But Graham Joyce’s low-key approach never fails to keep me absolutely riveted. Make no mistake: these books have their moments of full shiver-down-the-spine terror. But what makes them linger in the mind is the author’s masterful characterisation: the voices of the people in these stories are so real, so wonderfully caught and put across, that you can’t help but engage with your heart as well as your nerves.

Graham Joyce’s books will haunt you in more ways than one. Both TWOC and DO THE CREEPY THING are terrific, and his books for adults (particularly INDIGO) are thoroughly excellent too. If you’re looking for something unusual, look no further.

Sam

I stumbled across an old notebook at the back of the cave the other day, in which I’d written a few quick stories, poems and book ideas.  Most of them weren’t really useful for future projects, but one silly poem was fun to read back – so I thought I’d post it here and give you the chance to add to it.

—

How Do You Sleep?
by Tommy Donbavand & you!

How do you sleep?

Igor the boar does nothing but snore

Drake the snake simply can’t stay awake

Mark the shark likes to snooze in the dark

Sandeep the sheep sometimes sings in his sleep

Honey the bunny sleeps with carrots – how funny!

Pat the rat watches out for the cat

Mog the dog always sleeps like a log

Gayle the whale tucks up under her tale

Bruce the goose dreams of cranberry juice!

Zack the yak sleeps with birds on his back

Claire the bear snuggles up in her fur

How do you sleep?

—

Now, it’s over to you.  Feel free to add to this silly little poem in the comments thread…

It’s always very nice to receive fan mail – but it’s more fun when fans go all out to dress themselves as their favourite hero… or in this case, villain!

Here’s Max Stockdale in his sinister guise as Jake Hunter from my VILLAIN.NET books – dressed to impress for his school’s book day.  Go Max!!

As if the monsters around here weren’t terrifying enough – you can now make your computer a petrifying place on which to read about our constant battle for freedom!

On the Scream Street website, you’ll find two new wicked wallpapers to creep up your computer screen – one for Scream Street 7: Invasion of the Normals, and the other for the forthcoming book, Scream Street 8: Attack of the Trolls.

Both wallpapers are available in three different sizes, so you’re sure to find something that’ll suit your screen and your nerves!

Click here to download the latest Scream Street desktop wallpapers!

I snuck out of the cave last night to take my final club level exam at Tae Kwon Do. Assuming I passed, I will be entitled to wear a ‘black tag’ belt from now on. I aim to take my full black belt in Bristol in the Autumn. My examiner for the evening was Master Don Atkins, eighth dan black belt and National Secretary of the TAGB (Tae Kwon Do Association of Great Britain) – scary!

In earlier gradings the theory side of the test was conducted by our club black belts, but for this belt the questions were asked by the senior examiner. Master Atkins also took time to comment on our performance and to offer tips for the black belt grading later in the year. I faced him after the practical part of the exam confident that I had done well up to that point. Master Atkins was kind enough to confirm this before beginning my grilling on Korean terms and history. I knew the answers to all his questions, so I think it fair to assume that I passed. I just have to await my grade now.

For anyone interested in martial arts, I can very much recommend Tae Kwon Do as a great way of learning a powerful self defence system, while getting fit and having fun at the same time. My local club is run by Master Jackson White. If you live in the Midlands, why not come along and join us? Who knows – if I get good enough I might even be able to fight my way out of here!

One of the questions I’m most frequently asked is whether I draw the illustrations for my Scream Street books – and the answer is always a resounding NO!  I have all the artistic ability of a teaspoon.  My publishers, Walker Books, however knew of a very talented artist by the name of Lily Bernard who works for Cartoon Saloon – and it’s Lily who brings my characters and stories to life in picture form.

To demonstrate the process Lily takes, here are three images of one of my newer Scream Street characters – Kian Negative.  You can see how each image progresses from a preliminary sketch to get a feel for the character (which my editor, designer and I get to see and comment on) through an intermediate stage and finally onto the finished picture.

I’m sure you’ll agree that Lily is not only very talented, but she has a real grasp on the feel of the Scream Street series.  I’m very proud to be working with her.

Tommy