tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post1147742316626718568..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: X Marks the Legacy by Julia JonesKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-88587565033841952732022-08-18T08:33:42.130+01:002022-08-18T08:33:42.130+01:00You are so right! The buried treasure on Cormorant...You are so right! The buried treasure on Cormorant Island was the draft of a book. Duncan Hall has just alerted me to this excellent article. I have just added a link to it from my latest blog, hoping this will proved useful. <br />Sophie Nevillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10034613889600871644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-16303987877505570612015-02-02T16:40:15.549+00:002015-02-02T16:40:15.549+00:00Sorry for the very delayed comment on here - but I...Sorry for the very delayed comment on here - but I really enjoyed this blog. In terms of who I wrote (am writing...) the Brambleholme stories for - it's a tricky one! My stories are dedicated to "the Coot Club" which is not Tom, Port & Starboard and the Death and Glories, but my own band of Swallows and Amazonsy childhood friends, some of whom find themselves reshaped as characters in the stories. But I wasn't really writing for them, just thanking/acknowledging them. The immediate audience I had in mind were "the next generation" - children of my student friends (a few of whom - Miranda, Rosalind and Beatrice - leant names to Brambleholme characters) as well as that imagined wider audience. However, most feedback I have received has been from adult Arthur Ransome fans and adult readers who aren't especially Arthur Ransome fans. I would love some feedback from children who aren't related or nearly related and therefore feel they have to say they loved it whether they did or not!!Duncan Hallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16787646693693466048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-91271289397608133602014-11-24T16:28:56.702+00:002014-11-24T16:28:56.702+00:00Sorry, didn't mean to post the above anonymous...Sorry, didn't mean to post the above anonymously. The website sort of jumped me<br /><br />PeterPeter Willisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-69515809145819349582014-11-24T16:25:36.511+00:002014-11-24T16:25:36.511+00:00Wise and thoughtful as ever Julia. On the subject ...Wise and thoughtful as ever Julia. On the subject of who reads these books, I can only speak about Julia’s own books, having avoided the task of investigating the others for fear of disappointment. (I’ve looked at some fanfic and found it enjoyable in its way, which means only if one suspends the usual standards and expectations of literature, ie I expect it was more enjoyable to write than read). I suspect I’m going to have to get round to repairing the omission in respect of the titles/authors Julia covers.<br />But back to who reads them. The reason I admire Julia’s books is because, at an early stage, I could see that they deliberately set out to explore dilemmas, conflicts, situations etc that present-day children could recognise and engage with. The presence of the Ransome references was an additional benefit – a sort of puzzle which those who wanted to could explore, with the reward of discovering the Swallows and Amazons series. This might be much as Ransome would have led his readers back to Stevenson etc, though they perhaps didn’t need as much leading. In Julia’s case the hidden Ransome references (not all that hidden) are an added pleasure for adult AR-familiar readers.<br />Whether the series has in fact succeeded firstly in engaging young readers and secondly in leading them back to Ransome I have no evidence. Julia?? I’d hope so, but they’ve certainly given a great deal of pleasure to a lot of after-a-fashion-grownups.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-85046558442971691982014-11-23T08:01:45.057+00:002014-11-23T08:01:45.057+00:00Ransome on writing:
"Unless I am writing so...Ransome on writing:<br /><br /> "Unless I am writing something that is good fun FOR ME, not for somebody else, I cannot write at all. ... They merely overhear me larking about for my own fun, not for theirs."<br /><br />"Writing is a form of living. Readers, overhearing, as it were, an author muttering to himself, share his experience in so far as they are capable'Peter Dowdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18315759613084758188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-1613822210683583312014-11-23T06:24:21.932+00:002014-11-23T06:24:21.932+00:00Hi Julia
I'm so excited to have found your po...Hi Julia<br /><br />I'm so excited to have found your post and discovered other AR-inspired books to check out! Swallows and Amazons was the first book I read when I was a kid that really inspired my love of reading. I wanted to be those characters, and I spent many happy hours sitting in my tent at the bottom of the garden reading all the Arthur Ransome books I could get my hands on. I've written my own ode to AR, a children's book called Prove It, Josh and my husband is building us a sailing dinghy so we can sail and camp in the Gulf Islands in British Columbia. I'm looking forward to reading your book!<br /><br />Jenny : )Jenny Watsonhttp://www.jennywatson.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-8140144111788627102014-11-10T11:36:19.472+00:002014-11-10T11:36:19.472+00:00We'll think about that. We love Akaroa.We'll think about that. We love Akaroa.Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781139870037634374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-65865346607778891382014-11-10T07:41:01.612+00:002014-11-10T07:41:01.612+00:00Sorry Dennis - I'm based in Tasmania this summ...Sorry Dennis - I'm based in Tasmania this summer (lots happening - Aus Wooden Boat Festival, Aus Children's Authors/Illustrators Festival) but if you're interested, there's a TARS AR Birthday event in Akaroa near Christchurch in Jan - Cheryl Paget would be delighted to have an hon Kiwi Ransome enthusiast attend I'm sure ! Jon Tuckernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-46628936019625040862014-11-10T05:45:34.138+00:002014-11-10T05:45:34.138+00:00A lovely, thoughtful post Julia. Much to think ab...A lovely, thoughtful post Julia. Much to think about. Thank you. Kathleen Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07645566938871914385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-53408335250610684152014-11-09T16:59:14.639+00:002014-11-09T16:59:14.639+00:00I always thought of Titty as a potential writer, h...I always thought of Titty as a potential writer, her imagination was so powerful and she created stories and guided the others' 'mythology'. She was sensitive, and from what I gather, their mother (in real life) was totally undemonstrative to the children and this may have resulted in low self esteem and depression despite the in other ways enviable childhoods they had. <br /><br />Julia, your conclusion is after my own heart, sometimes the ideas come and demand to be written, things like markets, genres, sales are secondary. Work is never wasted though and I'm sure your new book will be fabulous in every way.Lydia Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09328239009863878547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-83208564452331633582014-11-09T16:41:34.134+00:002014-11-09T16:41:34.134+00:00Val, surely the author in the Ransome gang was Dor...Val, surely the author in the Ransome gang was Dorothea of the Ds. Writing the 'Outlaw of the Broads took up a lot of her time in Coot Club. I wonder if it was ever published. I always liked Titty but she seemed to me a dreamer, not a potential writer. I didn't know she ended up a sad character. The thought quite distresses me.Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781139870037634374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-37332873599013734782014-11-09T15:08:58.855+00:002014-11-09T15:08:58.855+00:00you can read the real life children's autobiog...you can read the real life children's autobiographies/biographies which are fascinating. In Aleppo Once, and Chimes from a Wooden Bell by Taqui Altounyan (the eldest who became captain john though a girl - though she might have become part of nancy) to find out what became of them as real people, and of course Roger distinguished himself in war service and inventing the spinhaler for asthmatics. Titty in real life was a rather sad character, I like to think she'd become a famous author of historical fantasy adventures like Rosemary Sutcliffe. <br />Lydia Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09328239009863878547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-41352076822049660502014-11-09T13:20:50.660+00:002014-11-09T13:20:50.660+00:00Thanks Julia for a setting out the Ransome options...Thanks Julia for a setting out the Ransome options - wonderful stuff! Can one of your selected band of authors have a say, because you might have missed an option. In my case I wanted to tackle a question Ransome didn’t get round to – one that I don’t think interested him much. How did his children turn out in the very long run? Susan the home-maker, for example: what on earth would she have been like as an adult? What would all that fretful cooking bring her to? I’ve not written all of my “equivalent’s” adult life yet, but enough to see that it can be an interesting question. I made my (very approximate) version of Titty a precociously talented artist. In this case I can say whether this was a curse or a blessing, because I've actually written much the rest of her life. Ransome for me has to work backwards.Alan Kennedynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-77546010572489769542014-11-09T12:38:47.135+00:002014-11-09T12:38:47.135+00:00Carol - you're too kind and I hope you'll ...Carol - you're too kind and I hope you'll enjoy Jon's story as much as I did. I'm planning to read his non-fiction next (probably clutching a nice hot water bottle!)<br />julia joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773900100240758504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-66711821253983700262014-11-09T12:17:59.994+00:002014-11-09T12:17:59.994+00:00Agree about this being a deeply thoughtful post an...Agree about this being a deeply thoughtful post and especially with your desire to keep digging, it'll be another very interesting book and I'll pre-order now! No pressure then - sorry.<br />As I'll be in both Sydney and Tasmania soon I'm grateful for the introduction to Jon Tucker, on my kindle now to join other such themed reading. CarolShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00354002254611517326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-50828550543474695622014-11-09T11:09:50.443+00:002014-11-09T11:09:50.443+00:00Jon, as an honorary Kiwi I will be in NZ for Janua...Jon, as an honorary Kiwi I will be in NZ for January and February with my real Kiwi wife. We'll be variously in Christchurch (not so good these days) and Queenstown (always brilliant). If you're down that way it would be great to meet.Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781139870037634374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-17986451196318168902014-11-09T11:04:26.254+00:002014-11-09T11:04:26.254+00:00Yup - and thanks also Jan - it's always a comf...Yup - and thanks also Jan - it's always a comfort to think Billy the Bard, though not exactly cmparing like for like (or even measure for measure)<br />julia joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773900100240758504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-82043801546026033992014-11-09T11:01:30.731+00:002014-11-09T11:01:30.731+00:00Thanks Jon - have bought Snow Petrel and am lookin...Thanks Jon - have bought Snow Petrel and am looking forward to Eco-Pirate kids at a later datejulia joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773900100240758504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-36056806491137538082014-11-09T11:01:13.719+00:002014-11-09T11:01:13.719+00:00nothing sensible or useful to say, julia, but than...nothing sensible or useful to say, julia, but thanks. i enjoyed every word, as i do every word of your books. if it's any help, i try to look at it this way: when he was alive, bill shagsper was a litigious capitalist theatre owner and actor-wannabe with a dubious relationship with his wife and a son named after a brand of cigar. and look how he ended up! I've even got some of his books.<br /><br />no, it wasn't any help, was it? ah meJan Needlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15823078224282953782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-85535970209281603272014-11-09T10:32:30.899+00:002014-11-09T10:32:30.899+00:00What a thought-provoking and honest post, Julia - ...What a thought-provoking and honest post, Julia - worthy of genuflection in itself ! So often we feel as if we're writing in a vacuum, so it's refreshing to consider that there are others with similar backgrounds and issues.<br /><br />In particular the pigeon-holing of books into narrow target audience categories is one which fascinates me too. Book-shops, libraries and even Amazon seem unable to embrace the concept of a g-rated book.<br /><br />I struggled with this while writing Snake Island Kids, only to discover that a multi-layered book can appeal to children on one plane whilst successfully attracting mature age readers on a very different level. This gave me the confidence to develop Eco-Pirate Kids with even stronger adult-children interrelationships in which the whole concept of parental responsibility Vs youthful freedom can be explored on two levels.<br /><br />Your new book sounds well worth the soul-searching Julia.Jon Tuckernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-90140441990124335502014-11-09T08:41:57.276+00:002014-11-09T08:41:57.276+00:00I should also mention that I deliberately schedule...I should also mention that I deliberately scheduled a repeat of my Nick Green Firebird trilogy for today because I feel that there is much in there (vol 2 especially) that has a Ransome survival spirit - teamwork, coping in the natural world etc. You may think I'm wrong but you'll have a good read proving it! http://authorselectricreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/the-firebird-trilogy-by-nick-green.htmljulia joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773900100240758504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-28645819454648947042014-11-09T07:49:28.531+00:002014-11-09T07:49:28.531+00:00Thanks Dennis but wow, if you want sailing experti...Thanks Dennis but wow, if you want sailing expertise try Jon Tucker! He may also speak to you about the new area of the world that you are learning to know. There is however the Ransomey danger of telling people to much, trying to instruct as one goes. I did an awful lot of crossing out of those sorts of scenes when I was revising the SSB. julia joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773900100240758504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-27144400586876960902014-11-09T06:20:39.434+00:002014-11-09T06:20:39.434+00:00By the way, can't wait for the new book!By the way, can't wait for the new book!Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781139870037634374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-9316032866474189352014-11-09T06:19:43.592+00:002014-11-09T06:19:43.592+00:00A lovely, thoughtful post, Julia. I found myself r...A lovely, thoughtful post, Julia. I found myself responding to it at many levels. Ransom is a model for me too. I have never, and am not qualified to anyway, written with his sailing background, which I envy you all for. But Ransom taught me how to be both detached from and involved with characters and, pricelessly, the virtues of the plain style which, simply because it's plain, can handle such a wide ranger of feeling with complete clarity. And as I've often said, it was finding Swallowdale in the pillowcase as my main Christmas present in 1944 which turned me into not only a voracious reader but started the first stirrings of wanting to be a writer. My debt to him is immense.Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781139870037634374noreply@blogger.com