Originally my plan was to write a story every weekend, but that has already been forgotten! Life gets in the way of writing, but I am starting to record things in my ideas diary. From the crazy bag lady feeding the pigeons to the dog pulled along by bicycles, my brain is creating so many stories. I have finally realised that I need to stop and notice everything around me as inspiration is everywhere. The Jubilee weekend will be the ideal time to do more writing so expect dogs and crazy old bag ladies!

I am now so pleased that I undertook the OU course. Not only has it forced me to finally write, rather than procrastinate, I also get to take the journey with other writers.

Before I add my short story, I should give a slight introduction. I am a Children's Librarian, so I primarily read children's and young adult fiction. Therefore, that is the shape that my writing seems to take. As always any feedback is welcome.

Revenge

It wasn’t fair. Why was he being punished? Ben had taken part too, but of course he wasn’t sent to his room. He got away with it, as always. Thomas slammed his door as hard as he possibly could. He gave a smug smile as something crashed to the floor outside his room. If he was lucky it would be his mother’s favourite vase, hopefully smashed to a blue and white heap. He threw himself down on the bed and angrily thought of all the revengeful acts he could exact on his brother. His favourite was the custard bed. Ben always jumped into bed in the pitch black, so he wouldn’t be able to see what he was about to land in. Thomas chuckled at the thought of Ben covered in slimy smelly custard.

Hours later, Thomas was bored. He still couldn’t leave his room and there was only so much daydreaming and staring at football posters he could do. He considered tearing up some of his posters, but the England squad hadn’t done anything wrong, why should they suffer. He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed at his mass of curly hair. Nothing he could do would ever control the unruly mass on his head. He reached for some gel and then changed his mind and grabbed a cap. The bright green cap clashed with his freckled pale face, but he didn’t care. It’s not as if anyone would actually see him wearing it. 

Tap. Tap. Tap. An unusual noise was coming from the window. He decided to ignore it; it was probably his brother throwing stones at the window again. Tap. Tap. Tap. Thomas was starting to get annoyed now; he just wanted to be left alone to sulk. The curtains were closed, that should have been enough of a hint. Tap. Tap. Tap. In frustration Thomas ripped the curtains open and soon wished he hadn’t. For there was nobody there. He scanned the garden and the road outside but no one was in sight. He shuddered and strained his eyes to see as far as he possibly could. The road was completely empty, not even a cat wandered among the houses. It was then that he noticed the words written in tiny print upon his window. He stared in wonder at the tiny handwriting and tried to imagine the creature that would be small enough to write it. His nose was almost pressed against the glass and his breath clouded around the words as he read them. 

‘Nice cap. Custard it is’. 

Puzzled, Thomas read the words again. Lying on his bed might help him to think and it was almost bedtime, so he sunk down underneath his squishy duvet and punched his pillow into a more comfortable shape. He was just about to close his eyes when he heard a scream from next door, from his brother’s room. 

‘Muuuuuuuuummmmm’, Ben was yelling, ‘there’s something disgusting in my bed’. 

Thomas smiled and pulled his football pitch sheets tighter around his body. He didn’t understand what had happened, but revenge was definitely served – and this time it was a delicious slimy bed.  

Outside Thomas’s window a tiny winged shadow chuckled, before launching itself delicately from the ledge. The Revenge Fairy was needed elsewhere that night.

I very rarely give up on a book, but I just can't get into 'Everybody Jam'.  I may try again in a few days because I might change my mind. Having 'Bsrk' and 'The Demon's Watch' in my book pile were also distracting me. So for now I am moving onto them! 'The Demon's Watch' has been very hard to put down and I can imagine staying up until the early hours of the morning just to read one more chapter! I can't wait to read 'Bsrk' - ever since reading 'Gone' and seeing Michael Grant speak at the YLG conference I have been a huge fan. I just know that I won't get any sleep when I start to read it! Book reviews will follow.

I'll start off with a quick rant. Has the art of saying "thank you" completely disappeared? I was extremely disappointed today when several people refused to thank me. I held a door open, stood aside to let someone pass and waited patiently for a car to pass me in a narrow street. Not one of these people said thank you or even smiled at me. Nothing makes me more angry than rudeness and surely courtesy doesn't take much effort.

Anyway rant over. I am thoroughly enjoying the Carnegie shortlist. I'm now on the final book 'Everybody Jam'. My favourites so far are 'A Monster Calls' and 'Between Shades of Gray'. It's going to be a close competition this year and I can't wait to find out who wins.

One of my book reviews:

Book Title: Jasmine Skies

Author: Sita Brahmachari

Genre:

ISBN: 978-1447205180

Number of pages: 337

Suggested Age / Year Group: 13+

‘Jasmine Skies’ deals with differing cultures and how it feels to belong to more than one culture. The story is set in Kolkata, India and explores the differences between India and the UK. Issues such as extreme poverty, education, career prospects and cultural traditions are all included in this story. Grief is another subject dealt with as well as a sense of belonging.

Mira’s trip to India allows her to explore her family’s origins. Priya, her crazy cousin, is not at all what Mira expects. Will they get on? What will Mira discover so far from home? Will she discover hidden secrets? Will she discover new feelings?

After her granddad dies, Mira is desperate to feel close to him again and this is part of the reason she travels to India. She can finally see all the sights that her granddad so lovingly described. She can fully immerse herself into the traditions, cultures and languages of India and see the place that her granddad called home. The question of ‘home’ – which can be in more than one place, is crucial in this story.

Mira uses her Artwork to interpret what she sees whilst sightseeing. Some of the sights are magical and some are heartbreaking. Mira becomes even more appreciative of what she has at home and how lucky she is. Viewing India through Mira’s eyes also allows the reader to enter that world and to be just as spellbound or shocked at all of the surroundings.

This is for the more confident reader and would be more appealing to girls because of the romance elements of the story.

‘Artichoke Hearts’ is the author’s first book and begins Mira’s story. Another series with similar cultural themes is Malorie Blackman’s ‘Noughts and Crosses’ series.

The world of Blogging is entirely new to me, but after completing an OU course I thought I would give it a go. My aim is to write, write, write - it's the only way to improve apparently. So what better medium than a blog to make me write!