Karen Comer

Collecting Stories

Immersion into other worlds

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I’m not back into writing yet – I still need to conserve my energy after getting Covid almost six weeks ago. I’m back into my editing work and am edging my way back to writing by immersing myself into research for my third book.

This book for young adults has a fairy-tale theme, and I’ve been reading many scholarly works by Marie-Louise von Franz, Bruno Bettelheim, Joan Gould and Lisa Marchiano on fairy tales.

But as I’ve spent a considerable amount of time lying down over the past few weeks, i’ve been using that time somewhat productively by watching Once upon a time, the Disney series.

I’d watched the first three (of seven!) seasons a few years ago but decided to rewatch them to immerse myself in a visual fairy-tale world.

The premise for the show – the evil queen, Regina, (the stepmother in Snow White’s story) has cursed all inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest, transporting them to a small town in Maine where they have led controlled, dull lives for 28 years, with no knowledge of who they really are until Snow White and Prince Charming’s daughter (sent through a portal before the curse) wakes them up.

The characters play dual roles, each with a contemporary modern existence with flashbacks to their lives in the Enchanted Forest. For example, Jiminy Cricket in the Enchanted Forest is now a psychologist in Storybrook, Maine, the evil queen is the mayor and Rumplestiltskin is Mr Gold, an antiques dealer.

Occasionally, I’ll roll my eyes and wonder how many more portals and strange lands can these characters fall into but most of the time, I love the characters and the way their hidden depths and secrets are revealed. As I’m looking at my book through a Jungian perspective, I’m really interested in the split roles of the characters, how the ‘evil’ characters are often a catalyst for the ‘good’ characters to wake up and how most characters are a fascinating blend of good and evil.

I watch each episode with either my phone or a notebook, so I can pause the show and take notes.

I’m up to season 6! I can strongly recommend films and television series for a visual immersion into another world!

And thank you all so much for your kind comments – I really appreciate your support and interest in my writing.

A publishing contract with Hachette!

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I’m so thrilled to share with you that this week I signed a publishing contract with Hachette for my debut young adult novel, Even the ocean! It’s due to be published in February 2023.

This is a verse novel about two fifteen-year-olds living in Melbourne during 2020, trying to hold on to their creativity despite being restricted by both lockdowns and their families. Crux wants to be a street artist but it’s illegal for kids to carry spray cans in public. Talia wants to become a professional violinist but her family has academic expectations. It’s a book about self-expression and resilience.

Oceans of thanks to Danielle Binks, my agent, and Kate Stevens, Hachette publisher, for their belief in this story from the very beginning. Their enthusiasm came through my screen in Zoom meetings during Melbourne’s lockdowns!

Hachette publish some of my favourite young adult and middle-grade authors – Danielle Binks, Pip Harry, Cath Crowley, Jessica Townsend – I’m in excellent company!

I’m looking forward to sharing more details about my research into street art and my violin lessons. Warning – I do not share my characters’ talents in these fields!

It was so wonderful to receive the contract this week – I’m almost five weeks past getting Covid (hence my silence on the blog) and I’ve been struggling through Covid brain fog and physical exhaustion. The Hachette contract is absolutely a highlight for my year!

Art journals for writing

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There are art journals – and there are art journals. My art journal – well, it’s more of a collection of notes, scribbles and diagrams than a beautiful object to be placed behind museum glass one day.

I created my art journal to collect all my ramblings about my young adult verse novel, Even the ocean. I have three sections – one for general notes, and one each for my two protagonists.

My art journal is a great place to be messy – something which is absolutely essential to the creative process but not always appreciated by my editorial brain. So my art journal gives me permission to doodle, record scraps of ideas, work through plot problems, add images, tuck secret notes inside envelopes, research – all non-linear, imaginative, daydreamy ways to follow my story.

This art journal concept has worked so well for me that I am now in the process of making another two journals – one for a new middle-grade idea and one for a new young adult book. I think I’ve found my process!

Readings YA Prize announcement

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This post was going to be all about the wonderful night Miss 14 and I had last night at the Readings Young Adult Prize announcement, held at the State Library. The Prize recognises exciting emerging voices in Australian young adult literature. Miss 14 was going in her capacity as a Readings teen advisory board member (corporate-sounding title, isn’t it!) and I was going because I love young adult books (and I’m writing one!).

However, due to the fifth Melbourne lockdown beginning at midnight, we decided not to go, even though technically we could have gone. Not worth the risk.

However, I can still bring you the vital information. The shortlisted books were:

  • Future girl by Asphyxia
  • The end of the world is bigger than love by Davina Bell
  • The F team by Rawah Arja
  • The boy from the Mish by Gary Lonesborough
  • Metal fish, falling snow by Cath Moore
  • Where we begin by Christie Nieman.

Miss 14 has read all six titles, I have two more to read.

Congratulations to all the shortlisted writers, especially Asphxia who won the Prize. Miss 14 reviewed Future Girl here – a gorgeously illustrated novel, set in the future, narrated by a Deaf teenager.

Here’s hoping we will all be able to gather together soon.

Two new YA novels

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Miss 14 is part of the Readings teen advisory board for 2020 and she is lucky enough to receive advance copies of young adult books. And I am lucky enough to read them, too! This week, I read two wonderful young adult books.

The boy from the Mish by Gary Lonesborough was published in February 2020 and Henry Hamlet’s heart by Rhiannon Wilde is due out next month.

I loved the characters in Henry Hamlet’s heart – Henry’s family, including his bisexual Gran, is quirky, and his group of mates are believable, authentic teens. Henry is geeky, literary, clumsy and hasn’t kissed a girl. He’s in his last year of school and doesn’t know what he wants to do – or be. His best mate Len has always been there, and now he’s both pulling back and leaning forward in unexpected ways.

The boy from the Mish is about Jackson, a seventeen-year-old Aboriginal boy. His aunty and her kids come to visit for Christmas, bringing with them a boy called Tomas who has spent time in ‘juvie’. Jackson has always thought he’s straight – you couldn’t really be anything else in the Mish – but after spending time with Tomas, he’s not so sure.

Two fabulous reads with wonderful characters that kept me up way past my bedtime!

My violin, my violin

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I am a fine musician,
I practise every day.
And people come from miles around
just to hear me play.
My violin, my violin…
they love to hear my violin…

This old Play School song is going through my head – along with David Garrett’s version of Coldplay’s Viva la vida – because I have recently started learning the violin!

One of the main characters in the current young adult book I’m writing plays the violin – it’s a crucial element of her identity. Don’t ask me why – I had an image of a teenage girl playing a violin in an empty tram and knew I wanted to write a story about her.

I wanted to write this part of her story with a little more knowledge so I bought a beginner’s violin and booked in for some lessons.

Some observations:

  • It’s an interesting process to learn something completely new as an adult, because let’s face it, it takes a while to learn the basic skills. I had to fight my frustration at hearing such awful screeching sounds coming from my beautiful violin, and my frustration at having to practise again and again the basic bow hold, even how to position the violin under my chin and the boredom of doing the same basic bowing techniques over and over and over.
  • But oh the satisfaction in making a beautiful sound, even if it’s just one reverberating D string!
  • The dismay on my children’s faces when I suggested I could play a few strings to summon them to dinner!
  • The pride in being able to play Twinkle twinkle little star – not well. Not fluently. Not hitting the right string every time. Not seamlessly easing from the E string with three fingers held down, thank you very much, to the A string. But I can play a somewhat recognisable version.
  • The rituals – how I love the ritual of adding rosin to the strings on my bow, then using the tuning app on my phone to tune my violin, before settling the violin into position tucked into my neck.
  • The distinct sound of my husband or children shutting the hall door when they hear the first screech of my violin!

I’ve been out a couple of times to listen to a contemporary violinist. First of all, how wonderful to be out in Melbourne hearing live music! And then all the notes I took, how each violinist held her bow with such grace, how the violin sounded played with the piano or the drums, how both violinists were also singers and how they moved between singing and playing effortlessly.

My violinist character now has some added depth, some authenticity as I describe her playing movements or talk about her musical dreams. I have a stronger image of her playing her violin in an empty tram now.

And sure, thanks for asking, if you’re interested, I can probably free up some time to play jazz violin at your next event – just check with my manager!

‘The end of the world is bigger than love’ – book review

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If you’re looking for a book that has tension, lyrical evocative writing, humour, romance, and above all, love, look no further. Davina Bell’s recently released young adult book, The end of the world is bigger than love, is my favourite young adult book of all time.

It’s the story of Summer and Winter, identical twins, set slightly in the future where climate change, a pandemic and technology mishaps have completely changed the world. They live on an abandoned island, nourished by their mother’s books and their father’s stash of tinned food. Their isolated but idyllic life changes when Edward appears.

The story alternates between Winter and Summer, and it’s clear from the beginning that one of them, perhaps both of them, are unreliable narrators. I found it fascinating to look for tiny hints of whose version of the truth was slightly truer.

The language is beautiful and humorous and exciting.

This is Summer – We didn’t have any books that, like, specifically advised what to do when your identical twin sister falls in love with a bear with Real Murderous Potential. But as I was looking through the piles for one, I came across Matilda, that short, minxy genius, and thought to myself, well, her headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, isn’t too far off some kind of unpredictable, bloodthirsty grizzly ….

And here’s Winter – A butterfly can’t crawl back into a chrysalis. And so I said, “Not.”

And Summer said nothing and her face said everything.

And not that much later, I could feel that she had left.

And for the first time in so long, I was alone.

Alan Watts wrote that “A satisfying ending fulfils two criteria. It is, to some degree, a surprise while also being utterly inevitable; in retrospect, it could not have ended any other way.” A difficult feat to pull off but Bell’s ending had me reading both quickly and slowly (as contradictory, I know, as writing an ending that is both a surprise and the only possible ending).

This is the sort of book you want to immediately go over to savour the poetic language and to understand the story a little more once you know the ending.

It’s almost the end of June, I’ve read almost 50 books this year, and this book is my equal number one choice.

Books for young adults – Christmas ideas

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With potentially seven or eight weeks of holidays ahead of them, teenagers need some decent books to keep them away from their screens! Young adult fiction can be a tricky area to navigate – a book that a nineteen-year-old might enjoy may not be suitable for a fourteen-year-old. The age of the protagonist is a good guide as teenagers usually like reading about a protagonist a year or two older than they are. However, there aren’t any rules with young adult fiction so don’t let the suggested ages hinder anyone from reading a good story. There are a couple of books here told by both a female and male protagonist, which makes it more appealing to girls and boys. While girls will usually want to read a book with a female protagonist and vice versa, it’s so important to encourage kids to read about a variety of viewpoints. Here’s a selection of ten fabulous young adult reads.

Take three girls by Cath Crowley, Simmone Howell and Fiona Wood – this book delighted me because of the concept – three Yr 10 girls at the same school who didn’t have much to do with each other are forced into a group through a school wellness program. They all branch out and develop in unexpected ways, as does their friendship. The story is told from three different viewpoints, and all three voices are strong. This book also terrified me because of the social media angle – there’s an anonymous website where students at local schools comment on different posts, like a list of girls with eating disorders and unflattering photos. This book is one for girls aged 14-16.

The gathering by Isobelle Carmody – this is an oldie, published in 1993.  Nathaniel has moved with his mother to a quiet suburb where everything appears to be in order but underneath the surface lies evil. Nathanial learns he is one of the Chain, a group of five kids who have been chosen to break the reign of evil by the head master, Mr Karle. This is quite a grim, page-turning tale, suitable for 13-15 year-old boys and girls.

Legend by Marie Lu – I’ve just started this one, and so far, I’m intrigued. One of the protagonists is Day, a boy who is undercover because he’s wanted by the authorities but secretly watches over his family. The other protagonist is June, who has skipped ahead a few years at college, and lives with her beloved older brother. Day and June have heard of each other but don’t know each other. One day, June’s brother is killed by Day, and June swears to find Day and kill him.

The hate you give by Angie Thomas – this is one of my favourite reads (children, young adult and adult fiction) for this year. It’s about Starr Carter, a sixteen-year-old African American girl living in Garden Heights, an area notorious for crime and drugs. She goes to school at Williamson, where she’s one of a handful of black students. Within the first twenty pages, she’s at a party chatting to an old friend, Khalil. There’s gunshots at the party so they flee in Khalil’s car, are pulled over by the police and because Khalil checks to see if Starr is ok, he’s shot dead. As you can predict, the novel focuses on the cruelty and unfairness of a young black man’s life at the hands of a white policeman. You can read a longer review here. Suitable for boys and girls, aged 13-16.

This is Shyness by Leanne Hall – This is an apocalyptic type book, where darkness reigns over the suburb of Shyness. While many have left Shyness, those that remain live out their days without sunlight, watching out the for sugar-high Kidds. When Wildgirl, an outsider, meets Wolfboy from Shyness, they spend a night exploring the best and worst of Shyness. This story is told from both viewpoints, making it an excellent choice for boys and girls, aged 13-16. It won the Text prize in 2009.

The girl from everywhere by Heidi Heilig – It’s about a sixteen-year-old girl called Nix Song, who is a Navigator on a pirate ship with the ability to follow maps into the margins, into different countries and different timelines. Led by her father the Captain, and supported by a crew of time refugees, she discovers her own abilities. She needs to, lest her father steer them into a time and place where Nix doesn’t exist. Perfect for 14-16 year-olds.

No limits by Ellie Marney – I loved reading this book earlier in the year. It’s gritty but the two characters are interesting, the danger they find themselves in is page-turning and the chemistry between them is magnetic. Because the story is told from both Derwent and Amie’s viewpoints, it’s another great read for boys and girls, aged 15-18. You can read a longer review here.

His dark materials by Phillip Pullman – this one I haven’t read but am planning to over January because I’ve heard so many good things about it. It’s a trilogy which contains Northern lights, The subtle knife and The amber spyglass. This description comes straight from the book blurb for Northern lights – ‘Lyra, an orphan lives in a parallel universe in which science, theology and magic are entwined. Lyra’s search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children and turns into a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust.’

Moonrise by Sarah Crossan – I haven’t read this one either but it’s on my list because I loved her earlier book, One, so much. One was so extraordinary that I would read anything by Sarah Crossan without knowing a thing about it. The blurb below comes from the book –

‘They think I hurt someone.
But I didn’t. You hear?
Cos people are gonna be telling you
all kinds of lies.
I need you to know the truth.

Joe hasn’t seen his brother for ten years, and it’s for the most brutal of reasons. Ed is on death row. But now Ed’s execution date has been set, and Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with him, no matter what other people think …’

Turtles all the way down by John Green – another moving book by best-selling young adult novelist, John Green. I didn’t cry through this one, like I did with his earlier book, The fault in our stars, but it was definitely a page turner. The protagonist of this story, Aza Holmes, has anxiety. She lives with her mother, loves her best friend Daisy (who is one of the most vividly-drawn sidekick characters I’ve enjoyed) and has reconnected with an old friend, Davis, whose billionaire father is missing. Anxiety for Aza manifests itself in a fear about the bacteria Clostridium difficile. This means she has to constantly check an old wound on her finger, washing it, using hand sanitiser and reapplying fresh bandaids. It also means she worries about kissing Davis – all that bacteria. Reading Aza’s thought processes was exhausting but it put me right into her head. Like all John Green’s characters, Aza has a strong voice and her courage makes her a likeable character. The orange spiral on the front cover is a motif for the way Aza sees her thoughts, spiralling down and down into a never-ending vortex. This book is suitable for 14 years plus. Green has added a list of supportive websites at the back of his book for readers who may be affected by the issues raised in his book.

Please pass this post on to anyone who may be looking for young adult books to buy as Christmas presents. I’ll be compiling a list for adult fiction within the next week or two. Happy Christmas shopping!

No limits by Ellie Marney – book review

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No-Limits_Cover

At her book launch at the Collins Street Dymocks bookshop, Ellie Marney said she was grateful to everyone who told her to keep writing. Now those supporters are grateful she did keep writing, because the result is No limits, a newly released young adult novel.

Ellie is the author of the Every trilogy, a series of romantic crime books for young adults. The third book, Every move, had a draft which killed off Harris Derwent, a minor character. Ellie’s agent convinced her to keep Harris alive, as she thought he would make a fabulous protagonist in another book. Luckily, Ellie agreed, because Harris is now front and centre page of No limits!

I was fortunate enough to read an early digital copy of No limits, just before it was released, and I’m glad I did. I’m also glad I bought a print copy and asked Ellie to sign it. (I love a signed book by the author!)

No limits is told from the viewpoint of two characters, Harris Derwent, a nineteen-year-old who begins the story in hospital. He’s also broke, and forced to go back to live with his father who has physically and emotionally abused him all his life. Working at the hospital is Amita Blunt (Amie), the local police sergeant’s daughter, who cares for Harris. When Harris chooses to work as a runner for a local drug cartel, he also chooses to feed information back to the sergeant, through Amie. Although Harris and Amie start off as acquaintances, then friends, their relationship develops into a sizzling romance – just as hot as the danger they find themselves in.

Each chapter alternates between Amie and Harris’s voice – it’s one of those fabulous books where you like both narrators and don’t really mind who is telling the story.

No limits is set in Ouyen and Mildura. Ellie explained at her launch that the sensitive issues of domestic abuse and crystal methamphetamine are serious in north-central Victoria where she lives.

No limits was launched by the YA room, an initiate that promotes young adult fiction by holding monthly bookclub meetings.

I found it an absolute page-turner. For me, a page-turner book is one where I care about the characters so much that I can’t stop reading about them to find out what happens next for them. It’s a bit like having a coffee with a friend and saying, ‘Tell me everything!’

I loved Amie’s blend of practical and responsible – she looks after Harris, she looks after her widowed Dad, she looks after her elderly Indian Nani – and her daring and creativity. She’s a talented photographer and she doesn’t hesitate to put herself in danger to save Harris. As for Harris, there’s definitely some of the bad-boy vibe which makes him an interesting character from the beginning, but understanding his history with his dad, as well as seeing how he gradually tries to turn his life around, makes him a character to be admired as well.

When these two characters are set against a sordid world of drug-dealing, as well as a rural setting and Amie’s Indian family, it’s no wonder it’s hard to stop reading.

Ellie’s first book, Every breath, is the most borrowed YA book from libraries in 2015 – I can admit to contributing to that statistic! She’s also the founder of the LoveOZYA movement, to promote Australian young adult fiction. Her blog post, ‘Above the waterline’ was also widely read – she writes about fitting in writing around country driving, four kids and part-time work.

I find Ellie and her writing inspirational. I suggest you go and read her books!

Three strong, original books

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I’ve been reading quite a few wonderful books lately so I thought I’d bundle a few together in a review. I have so many library books teetering in a pile on my bedside table that I’m worried I’ll be decapitated during the night!

I’ve reviewed an adult novel by a well-known Australian writer, a young adult novel by a US novelist and a debut children’s novel. All three books had strong female characters, with so much determination and courage.

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  • Beauty in thorns by Kate Forsyth (adult historical fiction) – I am such a fan of Kate’s. She teaches a wonderful writing course in Sydney through the Australian Writers Centre on plotting, and her latest book is testament to her ability to weave together threads from a few stories and timelines. It’s set in the Pre-Raphaelite era and focuses on the lives of a few artists  – Ned Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Morris, and the women who loved them. The story focuses mainly on the women – and they were a talented, creative force as well. I didn’t enjoy this book as much as Kate’s previous books, perhaps because it felt that she was following the stories in a chronological manner, rather than crafting a story. But the characters are compelling, the settings evocative and Kate’s writing is as rich and descriptive as usual.

the-girl-from-everywhere

  • The girl from everywhere by Heidi Heilig (young adult fiction) – a friend recommended this book to me, and I’m glad she did. It’s about a sixteen-year-old girl called Nix Song, who is a Navigator on a pirate ship with the ability to follow maps into the margins, into different countries and different timelines. Led by her father the Captain, and supported by a crew of time refugees, she discovers her own abilities. She needs to, lest her father steer them into a time and place where Nix doesn’t exist. Because of the complex and sophisticated plot of time travelling, I know I’ll read this book again to figure out the connections between the different timeframes. (That’s a sign of a wonderful book, when the reader is planning to read it again after finishing the last page!) It’s a really unique book, that shows a different sort of protagonist to the usual YA ones concerned with school and parties and friendships. There’s also a sequel available now – The ship beyond time – I can’t wait to read it. Best for 14-16 year-olds, but absolutely fabulous for all adults.

how-to-bee

  • How to Bee by Bren MacDribble (children’s novel) – this is set in a dystopian world, where nine-year-old Peony is desperate to become a  ‘Bee’, someone who climbs the trees, waving a wand to collect the honey. She lives and works on a farm with her sister and grandfather. But trouble arrives in the form of Peony’s mother, who wants to take Peony away to a different life. Peony’s voice is strong and compelling and whisks readers away into her world where you just want everything to work out for her because she is such a hard worker and so determined to support her family. I loved this book – definitely one of the best children’s books I’ve read this year. And the cover is gorgeously striking! A fabulous read for 9-12 year-olds.

I’ve also spent a bit of time in the last fortnight reading some unpublished books. I’m part of a writer’s group and last weekend we met up as usual to discuss each other’s work. I absolutely believe in the writing from the other members – I’m sure I’ll be reviewing their published work one day – a crime novel, a middle-grade novel and a young adult book.

Any recommendations for me? I’m compiling a wishlist for National Bookshop Day on Saturday 12th August – I’ll definitely be visiting my local. Tell me what’s on your book wishlist!