...Meet All the Time in the World ! Our next release is the gripping Middle Grade adventure All the Time in the World by Elizabeth McKay. This book is released on 16th September, but you can pre-order your copy here . This book is perfect for readers aged 9-13, but it can be enjoyed by children of all ages and adults too! Imagine a world not governed by time. When twelve-year-old twins Jake and Abi stumble upon the mysterious Merchiston Hall, they think they’ve found somewhere to work, somewhere to sleep, and, if they’re lucky, a place to stay safe. Instead, they discover a world unlike anything they’ve ever known. A house with no clock. Unicorns roaming the grounds. And a bridge across the river that nobody wants them to cross. For the first time since their mother’s death, Jake and Abi begin to feel happy. They begin to feel at home. But there is an underlying threat of a stolen power - the ability to control all the time in the world. Now let's meet the author... Elizabeth stil...
Be honest, who does not love the stories of Atlantis or Brigadoon or any other disappearing and disappeared world? World mysteries have always fascinated me, wondering what people imagined from these lost communities and - even more so - what they wanted them to be and represent.
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| The Destruction of Ravenser Odd |
I stumbled across the history of Ravenser Odd entirely by chance. But what a chance! Here was a setting for a story, one which was almost Biblical in its existence and destruction. Unlike Dunwich, which gradually succumbed to the sea, Ravenser Odd was swallowed in a very short space of time, the final straw coming in The Great Drowning of Men on Saint Marcellus' Day 1362. As well as this, the town was in the Humber, an area with which I was very familiar, having lived in Barrow-upon-Humber for ten years and being an alumnus of Hull University.
Could there be a better setting for a historical fiction tale which was to be laced with horror? Well, I didn't think so.
The product was an 8,000 word story which tells the imagined truth behind the destruction of this town, who was to blame, and what was at stake. For saying this story was rather well received by readers, it has had a frustrating journey so far. I self-published it in a collection of short stories, then had it accepted for another publication on the condition I removed it from the collection... I'm still waiting on this... Any day now, that collection should be published!
Here's the first few lines to whet your appetite...
The end of Ravenser Odd came at a time when there were great changes beginning to grow across Europe. Those who had survived the plague were looking to rebuild lives and communities. Ravenser Odd now belonged to the past.
That symbolism is immense!
There is one more wonderfully enticing aspect of lost landscapes. Anything - anything at all - could have happened in them. And, as a writer, that is one of the most appealing and inspiring prospects!
If you would like to know more, have a look at Hull History Centre, who are currently holding an exhibition about Ravenser Odd.
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