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Rose by Holly Webb

By on September 12, 2013   /   Author Interviews, Giveaways  

I received a copy of Rose by Holly Webb a short while ago and started sharing it with my daughter at bedtime. It’s a fun story that we’ve enjoyed reading together! So you’ll definitely want to read on to find out more 🙂

Rose

The grand residence of the famous alchemist, Mr Fountain, is a world away from the dark orphanage Rose has left behind. For the house is positively overflowing with sparkling magic – she can feel it. And it’s not long before Rose realises that maybe, just maybe, she has a little bit of magic in her, too…

Me:   I’ve really enjoyed reading Rose and the world you’ve created.  What do you like most about writing for children?

Holly:  Creating worlds, and knowing that people are actually reading about them and imagining them and adding to them! I spent so much time living in my favourite books as a child, I love it that children meet my characters.

Me:  There’s a great amount of world building in Rose. There’s some great characters, too! Who is your favorite fictional character?

Holly:  Bree, the talking horse from A Horse and His Boy by CS Lewis. He’s so conceited, and actually a bit cowardly, but desperately brave when he has to be.

Me:  Great characteristics – especially for a horse! Favorite place to visit?

Holly:  The seaside in Suffolk, where I spent a lot of childhood holidays. We’ve just been back there with our own children,and it was wonderful. (But it’s always sunny when I remember it!)

Me: Sounds lovely! If you could take one of these two things on a deserted island for two weeks, which would you chose? A library full of books or your favorite restaurant?

Holly: Definitely the books. I could imagine the restaurant, I think. Although I suppose I’d be so bored without the books that I might actually bother to formulate some kind of escape plan.

Me: That’s true – plus, with books you really can escape to just about anywhere! You wouldn’t need to be trapped on a deserted island in order to do so.  Thanks for joining us, Holly.

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Holly Webb is a best-selling author in the UK with her books Lost in the Snow and Lost in the Storm. She was born and grew up in southeast London. She worked for five years as a children’s fiction editor, before deciding to become a writer. The Rose books stem from a childhood love of historical novels, and the wish that animals really could talk. She lives in Reading with her husband and three small children. Visit Holly at her website.

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Want to win a copy of Rose? Just leave a comment and you’ll be automatically entered! Contest ends 9/30/2013.

Amie Borst writes twisted fairy tales with her middle-grade daughter, Bethanie. Their first book, Cinderskella, debuts October 26th, 2013.

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The Name Game

By on September 11, 2013   /   Book Lists  

What’s in a name? Shakespeare’s Juliet says “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Hmm. True, or not? Sorry Juliet, but if your name had been say, Mildred, would you be the same character? Would we even think of you in the same way? Romeo and Mildred just doesn’t have the same ring.

We often get an instant impression of someone just by learning their name. Think of meeting a Frieda or Spike or Priscilla. Whether it turns out to be accurate or not, c’mon, don’t you start getting a feeling right away for the kind of person they might be? A name can define a time or generation, such as a girl named Madison or one named Ethel. Or Morrie or Dylan. And a name can make us recall someone we knew. The name Beth will always evoke the memory of my next door neighbor and first friend in kindergarten.

Many young readers have asked me how I came up with the name Calli for the main character in my 2011 middle grade novel, Calli Be Gold. The truth is, I’m not exactly sure. It sort of just popped in my mind as I was thinking about the story, and I knew that was this character’s name. Calli’s dad goes around the dinner table every night and asks his kids for their accomplishment of the day (he’s an intense, competitive kind of guy), and he does this in ABC order. Calli’s brother is Alex and her sister is Becca, so I wanted a name that started with C. Plus, at the time, I hadn’t heard of another middle grade book with a main character named Calli.

hello-my-name-is[1]Authors use different techniques to come up with original, meaningful, and creative names for their characters. Some have those lightning bolt moments while others painfully search for just the right name. I recently heard Margaret Peterson Haddix speak at my local library and she said that often, as she’s writing, a name just comes to her (hey, we have something in common!), but when she’s stuck, she uses baby name websites. I’ve done that too. I’ve even looked through my kids’ school directory to find unusual first and last names.

However a character is named, aren’t there some that are unforgettable? I know there are for me! Here is my top ten list of favorite middle grade character names:

10. Stanley Yelnats (Holes by Louis Sachar). Who can resist that clever backwards twist?

9. India Opal Buloni (Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo). I love the flow, the first and middle names, and how the last name sounds like bologna!

8. Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern (One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia). Okay, these have to be the best sister names ever.

7. Bubba Sanders and Lamar Washington (How Lamar’s Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy by Crystal Allen). Bubba and Lamar. Now these are guys you want to hang out with!

6. Beezus and Ramona (Ramona series by Beverly Cleary). Who couldn’t adore a girl named Beezus?

5. Moose Flanagan (Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko). Wouldn’t every kid want to read about someone named Moose?

4. Turtle (Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm). Instantly makes you want to give this girl a hug.

3. Jeffrey Lionel “Maniac” Magee (Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli). Immediately lets you know about this character.

2. Wahoo Cray, his dad Mickey Cray, and his friend Tuna Gordon (Chomp by Carl Hiaasen). However unlikely, I just think these are hilarious.

And my #1, absolute all-time favorite is…

1. Pippi Longstocking! (Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren). This has nothing to do with the fact that when I was 10, my frizzy, sticking-out braids exactly resembled Pippi’s. But we’ll leave that story for another post.

Write a comment and let me know your favorite character name!

Michele Weber Hurwitz is the author of Calli Be Gold (Wendy Lamb Books 2011) and The Summer I Saved the World in 65 Days (Wendy Lamb Books, coming spring 2014).

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