Today, in Caithness, the sun is shining and the air is clear. I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone reading this blog that, certain weathers and certain times of the year ignite certain music in me. And, on late winter days which are filled with sunshine, I am usually to be found singing the songs of The Spinners . Inevitably, I start humming different ones of their songs (and of course adapting them to be about Orlando and Jess) as I go around doing different things. But I remember almost all the words to them. I haven't heard a lot of them in years, but they are all there, rooted in my memory. It is truly fascinating to think about how these songs have passed through history. They are part of my own nostalgia, which is why crisp sunny mornings make me incapable of ignoring the temptation to sing them, but they are part of something much bigger. There are songs amongst them which are a newer step in the folk music movement. Songs like Silver in the Stubble are amongs...
I'm sorry I haven't posted a Middle Grade Monday post for a few weeks. The summer holidays have been in full swing and we have been far from idle. At the start of the holiday, I published the sequel to my debut novel. "Taking Wing" came out in July 2019, and it's a great relief to have launched "Doorway to the Sunset" which continues the story.
Not only does it feel great that it's finally out there, but it was super to be back with those characters again. The Feather Down series is a story I tried multiple times to write. Slightly different over the years, of course. Each time, I could never get beyond the first couple of chapters. I don't know what about "Taking Wing" made it stick. Perhaps because, by then, I was older and had more writing experience. Perhaps because I was teaching children who were the same age as my ideal audience. Either way, "Taking Wing" continues to be the book of mine that sells the most.
Freya, the protagonist, is drawn into a tribal system of Anglo-Saxon warlords, who have the ability to change into birds. There is the crow tribe (mainly because I was fed up with crows being depicted as the baddies) and the owl tribe, and some other minor characters mentioned throughout, but the crows and owls have been at war for centuries because the owl king, Raedwald, believes his enemies killed his wife.
He is, of course, mistaken.
If you'd like to find out who really was responsible, then read "Taking Wing" and, if you enjoy the adventurous escapades of the main characters, why not follow it up with "Doorway to the Sunset".
Next year, I'm taking a break from Freya and publishing the prequel which is a standalone story, but with many of the same characters. Consider signing up to our Crowvus monthly newsletter to get updates and offers as the publication date approaches.
Until next week... happy reading!
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