Randomness

Hey hey, what have you lot been up to? I'm sure you'll be relieved to hear that I have *not* been watching lots of Jersey Shore and The Inbetweeners and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and being idle. Um. Yeah.


So. Some things.


1. There's a new blog in town and it's a good 'un. The awesome Keris Stainton, Susie Day and Keren David (the Charlie's Angels of the UK YA scene) have only gone and set up a whole blog dedicated to UK YA. It celebrates all that is great about British YA literature, so go check it out if you're at all interested in British books (and if you're not interested, then what the hell are you doing here? Just kidding... sort of). My favourite section is Britishisms, where you can go to translate our crazy lingo and realize it's not all rhyming slang and cor blimey, guvnor.


2. Here's a song for your ears. This track got me through the last couple of months of first draftage of book three. It's the acoustic version of You Make Me Wanna Die by The Pretty Reckless and it is made entirely of awesome.

3. I read and loved this book:

From Amazon: When Cameron Post’s parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief they’ll never know that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl.

But that relief doesn’t last, and Cam is soon forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth and her well-intentioned but hopelessly old-fashioned grandmother. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Survival in Miles City, Montana, means blending in and leaving well enough alone (as her grandmother might say), and Cam becomes an expert at both.

Then Coley Taylor moves to town. Beautiful, pickup-driving Coley is a perfect cowgirl with the perfect boyfriend to match. She and Cam forge an unexpected and intense friendship—one that seems to leave room for something more to emerge. But just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, ultrareligious Aunt Ruth takes drastic action to “fix” her niece, bringing Cam face-to-face with the cost of denying her true self—even if she’s not exactly sure who that is.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a stunning and unforgettable literary debut about discovering who you are and finding the courage to live life according to your own rules.

4. I should probably tell you about that crazy time last weekend when ENTANGLED was number two in the UK Kindle chart for ALL THE BOOKS, snuggling up next to THE HUNGER GAMES... but it all seems like a bit of a dream now. I have been assured by a number of people that it did in fact happen though, and all I can say to that is BAHAHAHAHAHA.

5. I've run out of Things. Here's a Griffpup pic instead of an Actual Thing.

Right, that's your lot for now. I must away for there is book planning to be done. I've got my Sharpies, a big sheet of paper and a head full of ideas. Laterz.

Jako v pavučině!

Hey lovelies. My very first foreign edition will be published on Monday! ENTANGLED is going Czech! And here's the cover...

I *think* this translates as 'Like the web', but please feel free to correct me. So tell me... what do you think? Personally, I reckon my name has never looked cooler. Huge thanks to NAVA, my Czech publisher, and Caroline Hill-Trevor, Rights Ninja, for making this happen!


(I would have posted this on Monday, but I will be busy terrorizing visiting a school in Leeds. Please send me good luck vibes for that.)

Friday already? How did THAT happen?!

This week has been intense. I've been writing. Properly writing in a way I haven't done for a very long time. I don't want to go on about it too much in case I jinx it. Let's just say it's going well so far.

Something nice happened this week: ENTANGLED was reviewed in Books for Keeps. BfK is pretty much the most important children's book magazine we've got over on this side of the pond so I was particularly chuffed that my little book got a mention. If you want to check out the full review, have a look here. Here's the last little bit though... the bit that's helped me get through this week's writing:


Grace is a psychologically convincing troubled teenager and her strange predicament is in itself the stuff of dreams. Cat Clarke handles her multi-layered story with skill and introduces a bold twist at the end but Reader, you must read it yourself... A most accomplished and daring debut novel.


How nice is that?! Thanks, Books for Keeps!

In other news... well, you'll just have to watch this space for other news. *adopts secret smile*

Here's Taylor Kitsch to wish you all a happy weekend...

Happy weekend, y'all? Don't I look mighty fine in eye-liner?!

Music!

Last week I ran a contest on Twitter, asking people to tell me about a song that perfectly encapsulates ENTANGLED. There were a lot of awesome entries, which made me very happy.

Here is the winning song (chosen by @discolemonkayy), followed by a couple of my other favourites. What do you think? Any more to add?

Today's the day

Now. Remember how I said there was something very very very important happening today? Well... I lied. Something not at all important but kinda cool is happening today. My little book ENTANGLED is officially published. I haven't seen it in a shop yet, but that's probably because I haven't looked. I will endeavour to do so soon.
The lovely Nayu is hosting an online launch party today, since she can't come to the real-life one in a couple of weeks. Please pop in and say hello here.

I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who has expressed even a tiny bit of interest in my book, and an especially big thank you to anyone who's read it! You all rock my socks off. Incidentally, I'm wearing odd socks today - orange and pink.

ENTANGLED in the wild

It has come to my attention that ENTANGLED has been released into the wild. This is extremely dangerous for all of us. The location of the first few sightings is a certain retailer named WHSmith. You have been warned.

Here's my advice: The safest thing for you to do is head down to your local branch, pick a copy off the shelf (carefully), and take it to the counter. Give the nice chap or lady some money and take the book home (STILL carefully). Maybe try reading it. Or giving it to an unsuspecting friend. But whatever you do, don't just ignore it. That could be lethal.

It is a well-known fact that the only way to protect ourselves from this menace is to get it out of the shops NOW! Please help. If we all work together, I think we can beat this thing. Good luck, brave soldiers.

If anyone would like to send me a pic of ENTANGLED in the wild, I'd be ever so grateful. (Warning: flash photography can cause these pesky books to attack.)

Thank you for listening.

Oh, and do have a happy Christmas, if you celebrate it. You are all wonderful.

I forgot to mention...

I have a finished copy of ENTANGLED. I can't believe I forgot to tell you! My excuse is that a lot of real-life stuff has been going on recently (all depressing and/or too dull to tell you about). So, here it is...

Pretty cool, huh? I can report that the book is pleasingly chunky and it has pages and everything. There wasn't as much squeeing as I would have thought, primarily due to the aforementioned dull/depressing stuff. Still, getting a finished a copy is another important landmark on the journey towards publication. Three and a bit weeks until 6th January. How did that happen?!

ENTANGLED book trailer!

Excitement! It's the ENTANGLED book trailer. Hope you like it. Make sure you turn the sound up nice and loud because the music is pretty damn cool (in my humble opinion).

The trailer was created by me - creative visionary *cough*, Gareth Barker (awesome art director with the patience of a saint) and Massive Dog (musical genius and all-round top fella).

Here's the youtube link.

So... you like? 



The Last Ever ARC contest... probably (UK only)

Happy Friday! I've decided to give away my last ARC of ENTANGLED. The finished book avec gorgeous cover should be ready soon, so I figured the pink loveliness that is the ARC should go to a good home. I'm not saying it will be easy to part with  - we've been through a lot together.

The ARC is very easy to care for, requires minimal watering (no watering at all, actually). All it asks is that you read it once or more and tell all your friends about it.

To enter the contest:

1. You must live in the UK. (Sorry, international peeps!)
2. You have to be a follower of this here blog.
3. Please complete the following sentence...

I would be the ideal ENTANGLED ARC owner because...

Closing date is Friday 12th November. Good luck!

ARCs in the wild

This week has been a tricky one for all sorts of reasons. I won't go into them here, as I like to keep things light and breezy if I can. (This 'light and breezy' policy may not last... We'll see.) Some good things have happened though: those lovely pink ARCs have been sent out to bloggers. Maybe some of them are even being read at this very moment (although knowing the state of most bloggers' TBR piles, I'm not so sure). The thought of people reading the ARC is exciting and terrifying in equal measures. I'm trying my best to focus on the excitement.

The other good thing was that my fabulous friend who produces music under the pseudonym MASSIVE DOG (coolest pseudonym ever, right?) has sent me the final version of the music for the ENTANGLED trailer. And by God, it's good. I really, really love it. Now I just have to somehow create a trailer to do it justice. (N.B. I have no idea how to make a trailer.)

This afternoon I'm heading into Edinburgh to find a cafe in which to write. I'm in desperate need of inspiration.

I hope you are all feeling rested and happy and inspired this weekend.

Fainting and amazing authors

I wanted to share a couple of quotes from a couple of amazing (SERIOUSLY amazing) authors who have read Entangled.

The first is from Simmone Howell, author of Everything Beautiful and Notes from the Teenage Underground:

"I was glued to the page. Smiling one minute and getting all choky the next. Grace's voice was so clear, tough and tender - I didn't know if I wanted to shake her or hug her (in the end I settled on hugs).

Next up is Courtney Summers, author of Some Girls Are and Cracked Up To Be:

"ENTANGLED is an intense and thrilling story of love and betrayal that goes places you don't expect and Grace is a narrator you won't forget. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down."

I am beyond thrilled that Simmone and Courtney enjoyed my book. They both happen to be writers I hugely admire, which makes it extra-specially thrilling. If you haven't read their books, I suggest you do so.


In other Entangled news, I found out this week that someone FAINTED while reading it. And not just cos she had low blood-sugar levels or summat like that... She fainted because of the actual words on the page! Um... Wow. When I first heard this, I was horrified. I mean, no one expects/wants their book to cause anyone bodily harm, do they? But then I thought about it some more... And I hate to admit this, but I got a bit of a kick out of it. Does that make me a little bit evil? Actually, don't answer that.

Entangled: the back cover blurby bit

I've noticed there are a few different versions of synopses for Entangled floating around t'interweb. So here's the official, final (probably) back cover copy. Hot off the press from Quercus about five seconds ago...

The same questions whirl round and round in my head:

What does he want from me?
How could I have let this happen?
AM I GOING TO DIE?


17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got here.


As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see?


Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?


A story of dangerous secrets, intense friendship and electrifying attraction.

 
Oooh! Loving that last line!

ENTANGLED ARC... The UK tour!

I'm very pleased to announce that the lovely Lynsey over at UK Book Tours is hosting the ENTANGLED UK ARC tour. If you'd like to join in the fun, please head over here.


I'm hoping to host another ARC contest or two over the coming months, so please watch this space. (Please don't watch this space ALL the time though. Your social life might suffer as a result, and I will not be held accountable for this.)


I'm reading the ARC at the moment, and I must say it feels mightily weird to be reading your own book on a crowded train.

I have a cover! I have a cover! I have a cover!

So... what do you think?

We have a winner!

OK, this was a really hard decision. I wish I had ARCs for each and every one of you, I really do. But I don't. Sigh.

Sooooooo the winner is... CarlyB:

I need to read Entangled right this second because...I'm passing the time until Entangled's release date by watching endless episodes of Toddlers and Tiaras to dull the pain of having not read it yet. I've now become so obsessed with child pageants that I actually just wept when one of the kids retired from pageantry. It's bad, Cat, it's bad - particularly bad that I just used the word 'pageantry' without batting an eyelid. Only you can save me.x

I hope you'll all agree that I couldn't possibly leave Carly to this tragic fate. It's just too... tragic. This is clearly a girl in need of an intervention, and if the Entangled ARC can do some good in the world by making one less person watch the horror that is child pageants, then my work will be done.

Congrats, Carly! DM me your address, and let me know if you want the book signed. Oh, and you have to PROMISE never to watch Toddlers & Tiaras ever again. We have a deal, right?

Notable mentions must also go to the following entries:

I need to read Entangled right this second because if not I will scream so loud every single glass shoe in the universe will smash and then what will the princesses do? They'll just have to go right back home on a pumpkin and sweep floors with only singing birds for company. Do you want that on your head? The DESTRUCTION of every "would be" princess in the world? I dont think you do, so this is the only sensible option. (Carla)

I need to read Entangled right this second because it will be more inspiring to me than a pep talk by Coach Taylor.
Also, Tim Riggins wants me to read it, you wouldn't want to let him down, would you?! (Kristy)

I am loving the pink ARC and everyone knows I am slightly obsessed when it comes to that colour (what am I saying, "the" colour, the rest are coffee stains), but the real real real reason why I want to read Entangled (aside from you being awesome and me wanting to read what the awesome you writes) is because you are the most incredible defender of the cause of cheese in the UK at the moment (if not the world!) and this makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. *blinks* What do you mean, my answer has nothing to do with the book? :) (Caroline)

Thanks so much to everyone who entered the contest. Hopefully I'll be able to hold another one in the not-too-distant future.

Win an ARC of ENTANGLED!

Look what turned up in my office yesterday - much to my surprise! A lovely, shiny pink ARC of my book. It's a book - with pages and words and EVERYTHING! And I wrote it. Yes, I'm perfectly aware I sound like an idiot, thank you very much. But this is a Big Deal for me.

I'd like to share the joy by giving you the opportunity to win one of these bad boys.

The rules:

1. You must be a follower of this blog.
2. You must be a person who lives somewhere in the world. Yes, that's right, this contest is open INTERNATIONALLY. I'm willing to brave the hideousness that is the post office for you guys.
3. You must... Nah, that's it. Bored of rules now.

To be in with a chance of winning, please complete the following sentence:

I need to read Entangled right this second because...

The winner will be whoever makes me laugh the most/tugs on my heartstrings/says something just plain crazy. I'll announce the winner on Sunday, so you only have three short days to enter. 


Good luck!

Last chance saloon

For the past week or so I have been deep in Proofreading Purgatory. The page proofs for Entangled arrived. This means the manuscript has been typeset and is now laid out like a real, live (OK, not technically 'live') book. It's very cool to see your words looking so book-like, and definitely makes the whole Oh-my-God-I'm-getting-a-book-published thing seem more real.

Reading Entangled for the thousandth time was an interesting experience. And by 'interesting', I mean 'anxiety-inducing'. This was my last chance to spot mistakes, woeful word choices, unnecessary sentences. My red pen was put to good use, and I started off putting little post-its at the top of each page where I wanted something changed. By the time I'd reached the end of the book, I'd run out of post-its (three times), and realized it would have perhaps been more sensible to post-it the pages I DIDN'T want changed. Ho hum.

The experience caused the following facial expressions/actions:

1. Appreciative nodding (on reading a few of my favourite bits)
2. Wincing (A LOT of wincing. This was when the red pen did its finest work)
3. Full-on cringing (only a couple of times, but WHY DIDN'T I NOTICE THESE BITS BEFORE?! WHY DID NO-ONE TELL ME?! Maybe they were too embarrassed)
4. Eyebrow-raising (for no particular reason. It's just something I do)
5. Crying a little bit (there are sad bits in my book. They still make me cry, which is a good thing, right?)

All in all, a pretty draining experience. I have no doubt that if I started reading it again today, the red pen would be itching to do its thing. I don't think I will ever be able to read this book without wanting to change something. Other writers tell me this is 100% normal, so that's a relief. I suppose that's partly why we keep writing - to make the next book better than the last one.

Next stage: bound proofs/ARCs...

Website is go!

So, I pushed the big red button on my website. It's now out there for everyone to see, in all its non-singing, non-dancing, non-techie glory. You can check it out here if you like. I'd love to know what you think. I'll be adding more content sometime soon - hopefully a playlist or two. But in the meantime I plan to have a cup of tea as a reward for FINALLY getting it done.

In Entangled news, my lovely editor has given the go-ahead on the text, which means next stop Planet Copyedit. I bet it's only a matter of time before I start thinking 'Hmm, maybe that character would have worked better as a girl... perhaps that scene is totally unnecessary... and those aliens at the end are lame as anything.' In order to ward off such thoughts, I am going to spend the weekend not thinking about Entangled, I'm going to think about Exciting New Project instead. Details are on the website!

P.S. There are no aliens at the end of my book. But maybe there should be...?

So what is Entangled all about then?

Grace meets enigmatic Ethan the night she’s planning to kill herself. The next morning she wakes up in a strange room with a table, chair, pens and paper. There’s nothing to do but write, and as she writes, Grace remembers the things she’s tried so hard to forget.

The hazy memories lead Grace into a dark place where friendship, heartbreak and betrayal tangle together...  


My sympathy goes out to all writers who have to sum up their book in a couple of sentences. It's harder than it looks... I need to go and lie down now.

The name game

Thank you lovely people for your comments on the title. None of you said 'Entangled?Pah! Lamest title EVER!' And for that I am deeply grateful. I'm loving the new name, although trying not to get too attached (remembering that book titles can and do change right up until the last minute).

The naming process was a bit of a saga, involving many emails and a phone call or two between me and my editor. Potential titles were run past Sales & Marketing, Publicity etc, but none of them were quite hitting the spot - or they were hitting the spot with one person, but not with someone else. It's a very subjective business, this title malarkey.

While I was writing the book I had a working title that I knew was never ever going to stay the course. I'm too embarrassed to record it here, so I won't. The title I came up with when I was trying to snag an agent was Broken, which I talked about in vague terms here. We kept that title when the book went out on submission to publishers, but I was never really happy with it. It was okaaaaaay, but nothing special. And it was vaguely depressing. Entangled is much more intriguing and mysterious. And I like the way it sounds when I say it.

Now I'm off to dream about book covers. I spent Thursday and Friday looking for photos as reference for three of my characters. Now THAT was fun.