8 May 2013
Imagine the surprise when Anthony Horowitz was commissioned by the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to resurrect the bones of the legendary Sherlock Holmes.
Continue reading “For The Sunday Times: From boy wonder to Holmes revival”
Meeting Anthony Horowitz
Anthony Horowitz kicked off his South African tour with an appearance at Exclusive Books V&A Waterfront. It was a great privilege to introduce the best-selling author to the crowd, and an even greater privilege to soak in the knowledge of one of my all-time favourite authors.
FLF: A writer’s festival
23 May 2013
It’s difficult to come back down to earth after a weekend of non-stop celebration, but that’s what it felt like after this weekend’s Franschhoek Literary Festival. It was a whirlwind of friends, wine, good food and happy memories.
Getting YA right
3 June 2013
Writing young adult (YA) fiction is a complicated business. Not only do I need to worry about getting the tone and dialogue right, but the story needs to be topical and entertaining enough to hold a young reader’s interest.
Bloody Parchment, The Root Cellar and other stories
Every year around Halloween the Book Lounge is taken over by hideous fiends who come out the shadows to share bloodcurdling stories of horror and macabre.
Continue reading “Bloody Parchment, The Root Cellar and other stories”
Why YA?
5 February 2013
Whenever I’m out and about, trying to sell books or talking to kids about pursuing a career in writing, the question inevitably arises about why I write YA.
I’ve made it pretty clear in the past that I didn’t specifically set out to write YA. My first novel had young people in it, and as a result, became branded as YA. To be honest I had never even heard the term before then, but rather assumed that books marketed towards the teen market were simply that – teen books. I grew up devouring L.J Smith and R.L Stine after all. I had no idea they were called YA.
Potty about Potter
13 February 2013
It’s no secret that I’m a bit of a Harry Potter fan(atic). So when I saw that a parody show called Potted Potter was playing at Pieter Toerien’s Theatre on the Bay in January, my heart started beating very fast. Anything Harry Potter related is guaranteed to grab my attention.
LEGO book review: Code Name Verity
25 February 2013
You know that feeling when you have a book for a long time and you just want to kick yourself for not reading it sooner?
Book review: The Mad Scientist’s Daughter
A tale of love, loss and robots.
There is no better feeling in the world than being swallowed whole by a book. The Mad Scientist’s Daughter is one of those rare novels that keeps you spellbound to the point where everything else literally disappears around you. I read the novel in a day, totally forgetting about food and everything else I needed to do. This hasn’t happened in a while.
Continue reading “Book review: The Mad Scientist’s Daughter”
My literary pilgrimage
29 August 2012
I have just returned from the UK where I attended the IBBY World Congress. I’ve already blogged about my experience which was nothing short of incredible. Thanks again to everyone who helped make it happen.
Sally Partridge 