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 🙂
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:Â 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:Â There’s a great amount of world building in Rose. There’s some great characters, too! Who is your favorite fictional character?
Holly:Â 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:Â Great characteristics – especially for a horse! Favorite place to visit?
Holly:Â 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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Love the premise!
My 9-year-old has long been a huge fan of Holly Webb’s books and we would love to win a copy of this new one! Neat article, thanks.
This sounds so fun!
This sounds fun. We’ve been exploring “orphan lit” (is that a genre?) lately with Annie, Pippi Longstocking, Harry Potter, and A Little Princess…. this would be a fun addition.
Love the premise of this book. My 10 year old and I have really been enjoying reading together this year and our favorite genre is Fantasy. Rose seems like a great read that will be right up our alley! Thanks for the interview!
The first thing that caught my eye when I came into this screen was the wonderful cover art on this novel – definitely eye-catching. And the description? Sounds amazing. This sounds like a great book – would love to read and will definitely be searching out the author’s previous books.
I like the interviewer/interviewee’s last 2 responses also 🙂