James Barclay

[James]

I don't know where to post this really though in the fullness of time it'll have it's own sub-forum.

I've been working on a Young Adult series for a while now and have just got a publishing deal with Walker Books for it.

I'm really excited about this. Won't say too much at this stage but that the series has a contemporary setting with 'fantastical' elements.

More to come but just wanted you all to know first that I am now officially (technically) a Young Adult author.



Am a very happy chap right now.
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'A human with a hand outstretched in friendship carries the fangs of a taipan in his palm.' A TaiGethen saying.

[Drizzt]

A US deal and a new publishing deal - someone's having a good week! Many congratulations! Now... more details!
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Pagan Music

[OLD NEW GUY]

WOW that makes 3 authors i know who are making the YA leap.....when do we get some back ground James?
Is there something in having kids of a certain age that has made you want to write YA or is it more a commercial decision?

Both of the below also have young children.......


Conn Iggulden has Tollins:

Iggulden is clearly sticking to what he knows – HarperCollins describes the books as "Peter Pan meets The Dangerous Book for Boys". The first, Tollins: Dangerous and Explosive Tales for Children, is set in the "explosive, magical and adventurous world" of the "remarkable little flying creatures" the Tollins, complete with illustrations, diagrams and instructions. It's due next October.


Also

Alex Scarrow
So, what can I tell you about it?

Well, for starters, I wanted to write something that would appeal to youngsters who are advanced readers, and adults alike. Getting that balance right is critical, imho, to getting a YA (young adult) book out of the kid's section of a bookstore, and onto the centre-of-store tables. More importantly, it's about letting a potential adult reader know it's okay to be seen holding a book that is deemed 'for kids'.

I think I've got the formula right. And it's no big secret. It boils down to two things.

Firstly, not 'talking down' to a younger audience - or 'kiddie-fying' the novel. There're some pretty mature themes in Streamers; religion, faith, fascism, consumerism, ecological issues. And many, many moments that are morally ambiguous ('good guy' does a very questionable thing, 'bad guys' demonstrating kindness, humanity).

Surprisingly, younger readers can handle this kind of stuff. In fact, it might be argued that younger readers brought up in a more cynical, questioning world, have a greater propensity to understand a world of 'grey areas' than an older generation brought up on absolutes and old Westerns that featured cowboys wearing black and white stetsons (just in case it wasn't obvious enough who the bad fella was).

The other thing to get right, is pace. Keep things moving. No padding. No asides, sub-quests or chapters where you're left thinking 'and this advances the story, how?'.

So what is Streamers about? Well, it's the story of several teenaged protagonists who died. More precisely, should have died...but were plucked at the very last moment out of time and recruited by a nascent agency. It's an agency attempting to keep a lid on a growing tsunami of time contamination from those in the future who've gained access to time travel and are either looking to rewrite history for nefarious reasons, or simply want to observe it - joyride it, even. And as we all know...one tiny change in the past - say...a crushed butterfly - can cause immense change in the present.

The fantastic joy of working this concept is that I have all of history to play with, and better still, all the parallel histories that could be if, say, Jesus had escaped the cross, the Nazis had won the war, the confederates had won at Gettysburg...or Lee Oswald fired and missed.

This first book has been b**** good fun to write and next year, I'll be laying the groundwork for the next book and the entire series. You see, one thing I've discovered with plotting out a time-travel series, is that you really need to know how it all comes to a grisly end, before you can even start.

That's pretty much true to the last five words of Streamers; 'what goes around, comes around.'

[Drizzt]

*Points at the name-dropper and scoffs*
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Pagan Music

[OLD NEW GUY]

LOL...thats not what i was doing...LOL...i just find it quite interesting that so many authors are also making a shift into YA writing.

James Fantasy Writer
Conn Iggulden: Historical Fiction writer
Alex Scarrow: Thriller writer

of all of them i could see the switch being easier for James as fantsay is easier to tone down for YA audience IMHO.

[James]

Interesting stuff. It's similar to my desire to write the sort of fantasy books I used to enjoy that led to The Raven. I've wanted to write for a younger market for a long while now and it was a question of finding the vehicle for the plots and characters I had knocking about my head. Again, it's the sort of stuff I'd have read when I was 12. Hopefully it'll appeal to a wide-ish age range. If i get it right, it will.

Meantime, I'll provide more details about it when I can. I've yet to meet the publishers (not surprisingly given how quickly things have moved) and I want to time stuff along with them. Early New Year I'm sure there'll be more info for you. And a sub-forum...
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'A human with a hand outstretched in friendship carries the fangs of a taipan in his palm.' A TaiGethen saying.

[James]

And another thing. The YA market is fascinating because I'll be writing for a very different demographic with huge and varied interests and so on. It isn't like heroic action fantasy where I know a good deal about potential readers already. In Young Adult, there is no hiding place. It is a hugely competitive marketplace and that makes it a very exciting challenge.

Fantasy writing is my comfort zone you could say (though if i ever produce a comfortable fantasy novel, I'll have you to answer to) and YA is like being thrust into the big wide world of everyone... in theory.

I can't wait to get on with it and I'll be completing the first Earth Guard novel in tandem with constructing the second elves novel. 2009 is going to be very busy.
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'A human with a hand outstretched in friendship carries the fangs of a taipan in his palm.' A TaiGethen saying.

[Mantyluoto]

[OLD NEW GUY]

what age range are you aiming at James? 10-12? 12-15? 15-18?

[Lizzy]

Brilliant! Really pleased to hear all this good news US and YA!

I think you will do very well with YA. A lot of your Raven Fans are YA after all
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Listen to Lizzy, she's always right! as said by Jovial

[Mantyluoto]

[James]

Actually, I'm sure a good number are technically YA. But why not? So was I when I started on fantasy. And like Manty, I've never really got past 12. Farting is still amusing after all.

I'd love to come paintballing again, Manty. Maybe one day I'll do it. Mind you, when I last played a tournament all the guns were pump actuon and you needed to change your 6g CO2 cannister every 30 shots max. Ah, happy days.

ONG - I'm aiming at 12-15 but there'll be plenty of crossover, I'm sure.
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'A human with a hand outstretched in friendship carries the fangs of a taipan in his palm.' A TaiGethen saying.

[sir robin]

'looks at thread' Nice one James congrats!!
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I phoned a psyhic hotline and they told me they see a large phonebill in my future

[Drizzt]

Oh hell, does this mean we could have a legion of.... *coughs*..... kids on here?

I see the plan now: first James conquers the adults, then the kids, then the Yanks. James you'll be replacing Tony Blair as Emperor of the EU within a year at this rate
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Pagan Music

[James]

Damn, you've uncovered my fiendish plot...
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'A human with a hand outstretched in friendship carries the fangs of a taipan in his palm.' A TaiGethen saying.