Freed Fiction – Book App Launch of Jeff Norton MetaWars: Blood Nexus – Episode 1.0 Interview with company founder Bea Longworth.

Think back to when you were a child and the hours of fun and frustration you had whilst reading ‘Guide Your Own Adventure’ books. The thrill of being in control and choosing the direction your story would take, the annoyance of making decisions that always took you back through the trap door and getting you stuck in the dungeon.

Now think how amazing it’d be if you could have a ‘Guide Your Own Adventure’ book for the 21st century, one that utilises new technology and eliminates the possibility of retracing your steps, wouldn’t that be great. Well you don’t have to imagine for long, because Oxfordshire based Freed Fiction has created just that, and their first Adventure Book App, is launched TODAY and it’s based on Jeff Norton’s much loved MetaWars series.

So to celebrate the launch and find out more, we have an interview with Freed Fiction co-founder and Hot Keys author Bea Longworth.

Before diving into the world of publishing in early 2013, I spent most of my working life in technology PR, including a stint leading the European PR team for US tech giant NVIDIA. Along with partner Bill Cole, I founded Freed Fiction as a way of bringing together my love of books and computer games. At the moment I’m busy co-authoring Freed Fiction’s first product, a collaboration with Jeff Norton titled MetaWars: Blood Nexus aimed at ages 9+. I’ve also just had my first book published by Hotkey Unlocked - it’s a rowing themed romance called In Too Deep for ages 16 and up. I live with Bill in Oxfordshire and divide my free time between Wallingford Rowing Club and the town's fabulous local bookshop, which just happens to be next door to a lovely tea room!

Freed Fiction is a two-person digital publishing startup based in South Oxfordshire. The two people in question are me and my fiancé Bill Cole - we started the company in February 2013. We make interactive digital novels for children and young adults. Our goal is to tap into kids’ instinctive appetite to get creatively involved with the stories they love. By combining game-like elements with an ebook format, we give readers the chance to influence how stories and characters unfold. For us, technology is there to serve the narrative, not the other way around. We’re interested in innovating through storytelling and firm believers that the best 3D graphics are the ones in your imagination!

What was your favourite children’s book as a child?

From early childhood Rumer Godden’s Tottie: The Story of a Doll’s House was one my mum and I read over and over again. I can’t read it any more, it sends me off in floods of tears! When I got older I loved anything sci-fi and fantasy related. I have clear memories of devouring The Alchemist’s Cat by Robin Jarvis in very short order.

What is your favourite children’s book as an adult?

I love Terry Pratchett’s YA books – Tiffany Aching is a brilliant character and a very clever extension of the Witches characters from his adult Discworld series. Maurice and His Amazing Educated Rodents is also great. You have to admire anyone who can sneak an allegory about canonised texts into a kids’ book!

What do you think makes children’s books so inspirational?

The best children’s books are like poetry – they’re incredibly economical in their use of language. They look simple at first glance and, depending on how you read them, they can be a straightforward story or something much more deep and touching.

What made you want to work in children’s publishing?

I’d like to have a very profound answer to this but, to be honest, it just sort of happened! I’ve always had a vague idea that liking books would be a good starting point to doing something book-related as a career but never got further than that till we started Freed Fiction in 2013. Before that I was working as a PR manager for a big technology company, which involved quite a lot of writing but certainly nothing literary!

Do you read traditional books or E-books, or combination of both?

I read a combination of both. I’ll tend to own both hard and digital copies of my favourite books, just to be sure I’m never without them! I love re-reading books, there’s something very comforting about it. Over the last couple of years I’ve tended to buy more traditional books because my partner and I have become really good friends with the owner of our local bookshop in Wallingford and she shouts at us if we buy ebooks from Amazon. She’s tiny but very ferocious, not to mention a fabulous bookseller.

Freed Fiction is a lot like the Guide Your Own Story books from when we were children; did you read these kinds of books when you were growing up?

I dabbled a bit with Choose Your Own Adventure but I found the books a bit frustrating. From about the age of eleven I was really into computer games and found they offered a much more intuitive and effective way to interact with stories. My favourite genre was (and still is!) adventure games with a strong story line. I think some of the story-driven graphic adventures I played were as influential to my appreciation and understanding of narrative as books. As far as I’m concerned, books and computer games aren’t polar opposites – they can be very complimentary.

What inspired you to create Freed Fiction?

My partner Bill and I were both at a point in our work lives when we wanted to shake things up a bit – go after the Holy Grail of a job that allowed us to do something we were genuinely passionate about and have a good work/life balance. Bill is a bit of a serial entrepreneur and has been involved with a few start-ups before but I’d never really considered starting my own business before he suggested the idea. I took a bit of convincing but in the end I knew I’d regret not taking the opportunity to give it a go.

Our starting point was the idea of mashing up the most compatible elements of books and computer games. It really frustrates me that people tend to position reading and gaming as antithetical – it ain’t necessarily so. There’s a big trend at the moment towards even triple-A game titles like Mass Effect, Grand Theft Auto and Bioshock being strongly narrative driven. The latest Tomb Raider game was actually written by Rhianna Pratchett, Terry Pratchett’s daughter. People engage with good stories, whether they’re on a page, in a film or part of a game. With Freed Fiction, we wanted to explore how we could bring the interactive elements of a game to reading without allowing the technology to distract from or compromise the narrative.

We’ve also discovered that adding interaction to reading is a great way to draw in children who don’t naturally see reading as something fun. Kids now expect to be active participants in the brands and stories they love, whether by posting YouTube reviews, writing fan fiction or posting in forums and on social media. By putting readers in control of the action, we can give them the interactivity they crave and hopefully help them develop a love of reading for pleasure.

One of the most frustrating parts of reading the, Guide Your Own Story books, was when you ended up repeatedly going back to the same page, is this something that will happen in your Freed Fiction titles?

That used to drive me nuts! You had to keep you finger in the previous page in case you chose the wrong thing and go eaten by a polar bear or frozen to death. I was adamant we had to avoid this happening in Freed Fiction titles. Creating content for our format is an interesting process – it’s a balancing act between offering the reader enough choices and different outcomes that it feels like their choices matter without the writing totally unmanageable.

Our aim is to give readers the illusion that the book is writing itself as they read it, even though all the story threads are pre-written. I find what are called ‘sand box’ games, where you can do anything in whatever order you want, aren’t as interesting as more tightly scripted narratives that offer you more limited choices but tell more satisfying stories. Freed Fiction titles are almost a half way house between being a reader and a writer. For most people, writing is work, not entertainment! We want to give kids some of the thrill of controlling and authoring a story without the heavy lifting. I’d love it if, further down the line, we can play a part in inspiring our readers take the next step and start writing their own stories.

Can you tell us in some more detail about your first Freed Fiction title, DARK FATE: THE TREASURE ISLAND CHRONICLES, and more crucially when it will be released?

We started work on Dark Fate early last year, with the intention of it being our first title. However, in the meantime the opportunity came along to work with an author called Jeff Norton who’s written a series of books for young adults called MetaWars. MetaWars: Blood Nexus – Episode 1.0 will be in the iBook Store on March 20th 2014 as a free download for iPad, iPod, iPod Touch and iPhone.

Freed Fiction was a great fit with Jeff in a couple of ways. First, Jeff was a reluctant reader himself when he was younger so he created MetaWars to be very action-packed and cinematic to appeal to kids who engage more readily with films and games, like he did at a young age. Adding interactivity to a MetaWars story was the next logical step in finding ways to connect with reluctant readers. Jeff is also a big fan of Choose Your Own Adventure books and cites them as one of the key things that turned him on to reading.

Blood Nexus is an action-packed thriller set in a dystopian future. It’s a prequel to the MetaWars book series by Jeff Norton – our book takes place just before the action of MetaWars 1.0: Fight For the Future. In Blood Nexus [cue deep movie trailer voice!], teenager Sam Kavanaugh is fighting for the freedom of the MetaSphere, a virtual world that offers mankind its only escape from the ruins of reality. When Sam is critically injured during a mission, she discovers that the lines between the digital world and real life are dangerously blurred. To understand the past, she must survive long enough to have a future.

Our intention with Blood Nexus is to appeal to both existing MetaWars fans and readers who are new to the books. If you’re already into MetaWars, Blood Nexus takes you deeper into the mythology and characters, but if you’re a newcomer it’s a great introduction to the MetaWars world.

Do you have any other Freed Fiction titles in the works, if so can you give us a hint at what to expect?

We have a super exciting project on the cards but I’m afraid it’s very hush hush! All I can say is that it would be an amazing one to work on and an opportunity to really push the boundaries of what interactivity can add to a story. Fingers crossed we’ll be able to tell you about it soon.

We have a LOT of writes follow this blog who will be very keen to know if there is any opportunities to write for Freed Fiction, is there? If so how can they apply /submit?

We’d like to hear from anyone who’s interested in working with us! Writing interactive stories requires a particular mind-set and approach but I can say from experience that it’s very rewarding. I should throw in some expectation management here. Creatively we’re up for considering any great ideas but any potential collaborators should bear in mind that we’re a very tiny start-up with non-existent budgets. Our goal right now is to survive financially long enough to continue making innovative, exciting interactive novels.


You can get in touch via email on info@freedfiction.com, on Twitter we’re @freedfiction or we’re on Facebook – www.facebook.com/freedfiction. We would also absolutely love to get any feedback on MetaWars: Blood Nexus from Space on the Bookshelf readers. Get downloading, have a read and tell us what you think! Your comments will help us make our next title even better.

MetaWars Blood Nexus is available for FREE from itunes, if you want to checkit out Press Here. 

Mini-3D Review Fortunately The Milk by Neil Gaiman

Adult Review

Fortunately the Milk, is a book where you wish you had been a fly on the wall when it was pitched. I believe if anyone else had said, ‘I’m going to write a book about a dad who pop’s out to buy some milk, and there’s going to be dinosaurs, pirates, vampires, rainbow ponies and a space time continuum breach,’ they would have been laughed out the room.  To be fair, who else would have tried? Who else other than Fortunately the Milks, author Neil Gaiman could pull all these elements together to create an exciting, fun, and quirky book?

Fortunately the Milk tells the tale of dad (who has an uncanny resemblance to the author) who pop’s to the shop to buy milk for his children’s breakfast and upon his return explains his delay on being abducted by interior decorating obsessed aliens, then escape in to the hands of bloodthirsty pirates, before becoming sidekick to a Professor Steg, an time travelling dinosaur. The book is simply bonkersly fabulous, and enhanced by Chris Riddle’s beautiful illustrations, they are so good that my seven year old son spent hours (and hours) utterly mesmerised by them, especially the pull out in the centre. 

The thing which makes the story so unique, is that all the elements, (all of which singularly would capture the imagination of a child), are put together in a way that delivers complexity to the readers yet remaining obtainable. It’s a hilarious jaunt through space and time, that trusts the young readers to keep up with the more complex concept, like...

 “what would happen if I touched these two [pints of milk, the same pint, one from actual time and one from fifteen minutes earlier] together?’

"If two things that are the same touch… then the whole universe shall end." responds the Volcanoes God.

Of course you’d all expect the Volcanoes Gods answer to be correct; But this is Neil Gaiman so be prepared for something completely different.

Everyone in my family has read the loved this book, son (see review below), my daughter me and my husband. We all LOVE the book. It’s funny for children, amusing for adults, and perfect for the generation of children who have been weaned on Dr Who and Star Wars who have the capacity and thirst for more complex plots to capture their imaginations.

Child's Review - Spike Aged 7

I liked Fortunately the Milk because the Dad is telling the children a brilliant story about him and ProfessorSteg ( a stegosaurs who travels in a hot air balloon-time machine) going backwards in time and seeing all sorts of things as they try to get the milk back for the children’s breakfast. It is really really funny! I love the illustrations because they are very funny too, I like the fold out picture in the middle most of all. I think everyone will like this book.

GIVEWAWAY

We have a copy of Fortunately the Milk to give away! Along with a bad of Milk Bottle Sweets!  Just e-mail SpaceOnTheBookshelf@yahoo.com with your name address and Milk in the subject bar  and tell us where you go if you had a time machine, (don't forget to tell us your address too!)

Good Luck!

Barrington Stoke Review: Tilly’s Promise, Linda Newbery

Being dyslexic, and knowing many dyslexic youngsters, I’m a BIG fan of Barrington Stoke’s books. Barrington Stoke’s are publishers that publish books produced and written especially for challenged readers. I have in the past had conversations with teachers who praise the books for their readability for children and teens with reading challenges, and with people who teach English as a foreign language to adults who say that the YA books are fantastic teaching tools for their students. So Barrington Stoke books are versatile and are enjoyed by many non-challenged readers, for instance my nine year old is obsessed by Tony Bradman’s , Young Merlin Series, and if any further proof were required we need look no further than the Clip Carnegie longlist which features Anthony McGowan’s Brock. We featured Brock as a 3D review last year press here to read. 

In the Future we at Space on The Bookshelf intend on reviewing many more Barrington Stoke titles, and to kick off 2014 we are reviewing Linda Newberys touching World War One tale, Tilly’s Promise.

Tilly’s Promise is set as, Interest Age: Teen and Reading Age: 8

Tilly's Promise has a beautiful designed front cover in the style of the embroidered Postcard of time, to read more about the cover visit Barrington Stoke blog by pressing here.

28 July 2014 will see the centenary of the start of World War One, so Tilly’s Promise is published to coincide with a year that is set to be filled with many books, documentaries and talks of the anniversary. Linda has produced a beautiful, touching and gentle tale which focuses on relationships and the fragile nature of promises which are so easily shattered amongst the tragedies of war. Linda tells the tale of Tilly who trains to be a nurse and her blossoming relationship with her sweetheart Harry who is called to the frontline.

The story is exquisitely set in a rural village showing the new of war spilling into the idyllic life, and the impacts on the community as son’s and Tilly’s Sweetheart Harry head for war. In the frugal word count the setting unfolds, watching Tilly’s feelings for Harry unveil despite distance and constraints of war, and how one simple promise threatens to unravel their evolving love.

Linda’s brother Georgie “…was a big, strong boy, but he’d always been slow to learn.” But George is a gentle sole loving the company of animals, “…he loved to groom and feed Bramble, the fat pony…. He’d have spent all his time at the stable if her could.” When George is called up, Tilly makes Harry promise he’ll look after him.

Tilly’s Promise, is delight, showing the experience of war through a strong independent minded girl, and highlighting the atrocities of war on individuals; the venerable both human and animals, in a way that gentle enough for its audience whilst retaining the emotion and highlighting the questions of humanity and morals.

Tilly’s Promise it a captivating read for both teens and middle grade readers

Getting serious about getting a book published?

Tempted to start typing ‘Chapter One’ this year?

To get serious about getting a book published anyone might well take a quick squint at the current state of the publishing industry and notice there have been rapid changes in recent years. And think PANIC.

Niche publishers, e-publishing, creative writing MAs. How many different courses and services spring up all the time. Which ones are any good? Does any of this make getting published any smoother? Or is it actually just placing extra hurdles (and expensive ones at that) between you and your goals?

Our news at Space on the Bookshelf (we all write as well as being involved in children’s books in other ways) is that Sally has been longlisted for the second year running in The Times / Chicken House Children’s FictionCompetition. 

It seemed a good time to have a bit of a focus on writing. We like interviewing authors and editors, so we were intrigued that a group of editors have launched a weekend retreat where writers can engage directly with a bunch of children’s editors.

We set out to find more, and Karen Ball, publisher at Little Brown, has kindly answered some of our questions about what industry people think of courses like these, what authors should think about them . .  and about what their course in particular offers.

Over to Karen, one of the four editors behind Book Bound.

There has been an upsurge in workshops and retreats supplied by publishers and agents. I address this issue on Book Bound's inaugural blog post here. Yes, it's fiercely competitive out there for an author, but there’s also something more subtle and yet larger. There has been a shift in the entire industry's way of thinking. With the advent of self-publishing, fan fiction and other business models publishing, we need to re-think their engagement with both audience and authors.

We need to prove to ourselves and to you why you should (and you really should!) want to continue with some of the established models. One way of doing that is by reaching out to authors with expert knowledge. The friendliest and most constructive way of doing that is on a retreat!

We haven't organised this retreat in order to improve the quality of submissions. After all, we'll only be engaging with a select number of authors on the weekend. I certainly wouldn't say publishers are struggling to find the right books to publish. Define 'right' book!

Q:  The retreat has a really interesting programme. It appears to have a strong focus on how to present yourself to publishers and how to pitch. It seems to place less emphasis on creative writing, committing ideas to paper and improving your manuscript. Is this a focus on where you feel authors particularly need advice/work? Do you think it is a particular barrier authors face – the ability to be able to pitch a good idea and sell their writing, rather than the writing itself being an issue?

KB: This balance is because of the type of author we're inviting to join us. We are asking applicants to have a complete first draft. It's our hope to engage with people who may need some help polishing their diamond, but who are now flexing their muscles, getting ready to engage with the publishing industry. We could run an entirely different weekend, helping people get down their first chapters, but we consciously honed this retreat for authors who are at a different stage in their journey. Our hope is that all attendees will get a precisely focused set of workshops perfect for their needs as we help them become Book Bound.

Q: What is the best help currently available for writers to make the transition from pre-published to published author? If you see a submission that is close to being ready to be accepted, what sort of advice do you normally give?

KB: You've taken this long, why rush the process now? If a pre-published author receives some constructive feedback on their work, I'd suggest taking the time to absorb that advice, scrutinise your manuscript and devote enough hours to getting it right. Don't panic and rush revisions, just to be back in the game – whatever the game is. It's a big myth that editors are impressed by speed. We aren't. Editors and publishers often judge potential authors by how well they can take constructive feedback – you may be unwittingly be passing your first 'test' when you react in a considered way to comments.

Q: In launching this retreat, there must be goals that you have, and ways you’ll judge if the retreat has been successful. Are there specific things you are looking to get out of the retreat as the organisers, and is part of it a chance to discover ‘the next big thing’?

KB: There are some concrete ways of judging the success of our first retreat. For example, have we covered our costs? Good business management is key to enabling creativity! Do we feel we achieved the right balance of attendees? But other deciders of 'success' are more subtle. I will care deeply that attendees go home feeling fulfilled and inspired, that we saw a community build before our eyes and that someone who might have felt scared, leaves feeling confident. Yes, if we stumbled upon an amazing manuscript that could reach a wider audience, it would be humbling to help on that journey! But I believe that author engagement can be much, much more long-term and gentle than that. Publishing is a people-industry and it's a marathon, not a sprint. Both author and publisher careers can be built on a generous spirit and the desire to simply engage. You can't rush that type of chemistry.

Q:And finally: there are all kinds of reasons writers choose to go on retreats or residential workshops. You invite applications from writers that have ‘got the basics’. Why should writers consider ‘Book Bound’, and what is the best thing writers will get out of joining the retreat?

KB: This is a retreat organised by four friends who have expert knowledge, who know the industry as both writers and publishers and who want to help. You simply couldn't ask for more! Also, I'm going to come clean here – the venue is amazing! If I was going on a writers' retreat (and I've been on many!) I would be clamouring to stay in our Kent country estate. Imagine peace and tranquility. Imagine acres of manicured gardens dotted with stone fountains. Imagine a freshly-decorated bedroom, wooden staircases, servants' bells, a vegetable garden and book-filled library with cracked leather chairs. Yup, you got it. Then imagine a rigorous programme of workshops, led by four of the friendliest people in children's publishing, a whole weekend devoted to considering the next stage of your career and ways of improving your manuscript. 

Karen Ball has worked in publishing for over twenty years and is Publisher at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers & Atom. Sara O’Connor is the Editorial Director, Print and Digital, at the innovative children’s fiction publisher, Hot Key. Sara Grant works as a freelance editor, helping children’s publishers develop series fiction for children and teen readers. She writes books for both children and teens. And Jasmine Richards is Senior Commissioning Editor for children’s fiction at Oxford University Press.

Interview with Tracey Corderoy

Last year we did a DIY Story Sack feature where we made a story sack. The book chosen for the sack was Tracey Corderoys ‘Little White Owl’ [to read press here].

Little did we know that Tracey herself is an avid story sack maker, and then she makes on for every book she writes, and takes them to school, shops and libraries for book events. We caught up with her at the Oxford Children’s Book Groups, ‘Ways into Reading’ conference [ to read more about the conference check out Mostly Books Blog click here and Child-led Chaos blog here], and managed to give her one of our specially made ‘little white owls’ we also managed slip in a get a quick interview.

What was your favourite book as a child?

Had to be the Ladybird Cinderella book, it was the only book I remember having.

What is your favourite children’s book as an adult?

It has to be the Harry Potter books they’re incredible and JK Rowling is an amazing storyteller who paints incredible pictures.

Why do you think children’s books are so inspirational?

I think they are inspirational because they are not afraid to express the impossible and take you on amazing journeys into the imagination. They are also full of amazing characters you want to care about.

Why did you want to write for children?

When I was a primary school teacher I discovered that reading to the children was my favourite part of the day and theirs. I found I had so many ideas of stories and concept so when I moved into an old cottage I decided to just do it. To write.

What is the best thing about writing for children?

For me it’s the amazing adventures you can go on when you write. When I write I live the story and it enriches me. It can take me anywhere, for me it opens up horizons.

What is the most difficult thing about writing for children?

I think when you’re writing a number of stories at the same time it can be difficult to meet all the deadlines. It would be nice to take your time. I NEVER deliver things I don’t love. So sometimes I work through the night to make them as perfect as they can be.

Which is harder to write Picture Books or Fiction? Which do you like the most?

By far picture books are the hardest books to write technically there is so much to convey; plot, emotion and nuance in such few words. So every word needs to earn its place. Picture books are like pieces of poetry when all the elements need to work together which is what I love about them. But I do enjoy the way writing young fiction and older fiction allows you to develop characters over a number of situations, and you get to know how they’ll react which is fun!

Do you work with or meet the illustrators who illustrate your picture books?

It usually works that I write the story and then edit with my editor. Then the illustrator gets involved. I don’t meet them generally (although I’ve met some) when the illustrations come back the text will change because the illustrations add to the story. It’s a four way process between; the writer, the editor, the book designer and the illustrator. You have to share the characters which can be hard but it makes for a better book. Like my Picture book NO! I sent it off with notes saying the character was a mouse. He came back a rhino which was a bit of a shock, but it’s better as a rhino!

Sophia Bennett's - Book in Every Stocking

Today's recommendation is not one book but two, from Sophia Bennett, Winner of the 2009 The Times / Chicken House Children's Fiction Prize, and author of the acclaimed Treads Trilogy. Beware she's suggesting putting something deadly into the stockings....

Please come back and check out the the other book stocking filler suggestions!

If you want to join the campaign, please tweet using the hashtag #BookinEveryStocking2013.

Or if you have Stocking suggestion do write a letter to Santa and e-mail it to us at SpaceOnTheBookshelf@yahoo.com and we'll try and post it on the blog.

Don't forget that Sophia's books also make great stocking fillers too...

Amy Bulter-Greenfield's - Book in Every Stocking

Today's Book in Every Stocking suggestion comes from Amy Butler Greenfield author of the stunning 'Chantress', a historical fantasy where singing is both magical and dangerous.

Please come back and check out the the other book stocking filler suggestions!

If you want to join the campaign, please tweet using the hashtag #BookinEveryStocking2013.

Or if you have Stocking suggestion do write a letter to Santa and e-mail it to us at SpaceOnTheBookshelf@yahoo.com and we'll try and post it on the blog.