Middle Grade Settings: An Introduction Having photos in front of you can help you write about your settings I’m going to make a confession. Settings are not something I often spend time planning. Perhaps my stories are the poorer for it, but the settings come as I’m writing or editing. The Glass Room, in Taking Wing, is not something I planned before I started writing. Personally, I’m a very visual writer, seeing my characters as though they are a video in my head, and I write what I see. As such, the setting just happens! There are benefits and drawbacks to this. The main benefit is that the writing process is more interesting. Not everything is set, and my story can still give me surprises. The drawback is that, similar to AI, I cannot know that I’m not stealing settings from films and books I’ve seen/read previously. I certainly don’t mean to plagiarise but the concern is a real one! With that in mind, I have started to at least have a vague idea of my settings before I start t...
"Black Water" by Barbara Henderson
One of the first things that struck me about the book was how great the cover is. I love the picture, and I love the font. What makes this book even better is the awesome illustrations that appear at the chapter headings. The book is wonderfully formatted and a pleasure to have.
I started this book at tea time on the 5th November, thinking I should really give some time to a book I'd committed to reviewing. I finished the book at half 9 on the exact same day. Within minutes of starting, I realised I couldn't put the book down, but I didn't want to finish at the same time.
What I really liked about this book was that it included real people, which was described at the end. One of these real people was none other than celebrated poet Robert Burns, who was written exactly as I imagined him. I knew he was an Excise Man but I didn't make the connection that he'd be a great character in the book, even when I saw the chapter title "The Poet".
This book would make a very good class read. After Christmas, my topic with my P4s is "on the water", and I'm thrilled that this book has come out in time to be the perfect class novel. Closer to the topic, I will make some classroom resources that could be used in conjunction with this book. Teachers need all the help they can get!!
I was thrilled to be part of the book tour for this book, and I wish it every success through the coming months. Barbara Henderson will be appearing at the John o' Groats Book Festival in April if anyone would like to come and meet the author.
You can buy the book at any book shop worth it's salt, and here on Amazon.
Blurb
Down by the coast, black water swirls and hides its secrets...
Dumfries, 1792. Henry may only be thirteen, but he has already begun his training in the Excise, combatting smuggling like his father does. But when a large smuggling schooner is stranded nearby, the stakes are high—even with reinforcements, and the newly recruited officer, a poet called Robert Burns.
Musket fire, obstructive locals, quicksand and cannonballs—it is a mission of survival. As it turns out: Henry has a crucial part to play...
This book would make a very good class read. After Christmas, my topic with my P4s is "on the water", and I'm thrilled that this book has come out in time to be the perfect class novel. Closer to the topic, I will make some classroom resources that could be used in conjunction with this book. Teachers need all the help they can get!!
I was thrilled to be part of the book tour for this book, and I wish it every success through the coming months. Barbara Henderson will be appearing at the John o' Groats Book Festival in April if anyone would like to come and meet the author.
You can buy the book at any book shop worth it's salt, and here on Amazon.
Blurb
Down by the coast, black water swirls and hides its secrets...
Dumfries, 1792. Henry may only be thirteen, but he has already begun his training in the Excise, combatting smuggling like his father does. But when a large smuggling schooner is stranded nearby, the stakes are high—even with reinforcements, and the newly recruited officer, a poet called Robert Burns.
Musket fire, obstructive locals, quicksand and cannonballs—it is a mission of survival. As it turns out: Henry has a crucial part to play...
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