Authors Electric

The Fall of a Sparrow by  Griselda Heppel (2021) A friend who loved the eccentric boarding school setting of my recent children’s book, The Fall of a Sparrow , gave me a copy of another novel he’d enjoyed, also set in a boarding school. He was keen to know what I thought of it; I have to say I was riveted, though any similarity between my book and The Ruined Boys by Roy Fuller begins and ends with the setting. The Ruined Boys  by Roy Fuller (1959)   It’s fascinating how the same structure can be used to create imaginary worlds that have absolutely nothing to do with each other.   To begin with, The Ruined Boys is not a children’s book. Like David Copperfield , it’s told from the point of view of a child whose childhood has come to a cruel end with a change in family circumstances. His parents’ marriage break-up sends young Gerald Bracher to Seafold House, an austere, comfortless public school. Place and date are left vague but some time in the 1920s would ...

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you.. . The famous poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling needs little introduction. But did you know this poem was originally published in 1910 as a mere introduction to a chapter in a book of historical fantasy stories for children called Rewards and Fairies ? (I didn't, and I write historical fantasy for young readers myself.) Several other poems and short stories by Rudyard Kipling appeared in that collection, and yet "If" is the one most people remember today. The poem is now in the public domain, so you can read it in full by following the link below. CLICK HERE TO READ RUDYARD KIPLING'S "IF" There are obvious lessons an author can take away from "If" - not the least that a single story or poem buried in a collection might turn out to be the most important work of your entire career... so watch those contracts, people! I've been having the kind of ...