Here are just a few of the recent bargains I’ve spotted – either books we already had our sights on, or ones I’ve recently read and highly recommend (prices correct at time of blog):

Drowning Rose by Marika Cobbold

£1.29 (£11.49)

I had the great pleasure of chatting with Marika Cobbold at the Ilkley Literature Festival about her book Drowning Rose – a book I enjoyed enormously.  Beautifully written, and a wonderful, compelling story.  Update – now £5.10.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

£0.99 (£7.99)

I’ve heard a lot of good things about this writer and this book, so I’ve downloaded it, both for me and for my teenage daughter.  Can’t wait to start reading it!

The Outcast by Sadie Jones

£2.49 (£7.99)

I loved this debut, about a boy called Lewis.  It’s a captivating story of childhood and adolescence – one I’ve found stayed with me long after reading.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

£0.86 (£0.86)

I was prompted to download this one after watching the first part of the new BBC adaptation last night.  I’ve read it many times, and find something new in it every time.  I’m sure you can find free versions too, but print/layout quality can vary.

The Island by Victoria Hislop

£1.99 (£7.99)

I’ve been meaning to read this since it first came out, and seeing it listed in the Kindle special offers helpfully reminded me!

Mr Stink by David Walliams

£1.99 (£6.99)

My son’s a fan of David Walliam’s writing (he loved Billionaire Boy and he’s hoping to get his hands on Gangsta Granny before long) – so this was high on his wish-list.

Are We Nearly There Yet by Ben Hatch

£0.99 (£8.99)

I love a good laugh, and this book has lots of promising endorsements from the likes of John Cleese and Terry Wogan, which can’t be a bad sign …  My next read.

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

£0.99 (£6.99)

This was on my son’s Christmas list, but Father Christmas obviously didn’t have it in stock …  So we’ve made up for it now, and loaded it onto the Kindle!

Glasshopper by Isabel Ashdown

£0.99 (£7.99)

And of course, it would be remiss of me to neglect my own books … Glasshopper was named amongst the best books of 2009 in the London Evening Standard and the Observer: “A wonderful debut – intelligent, understated and sensitive.”

Hurry Up and Wait by Isabel Ashdown

£0.99 (£7.99)

“With strong characters, a cleverly constructed story and masses of period detail, this vivid evocation of life in 1985 is a fine second book from a writer who first won The Mail On Sunday novel competition.” – Daily Mail

Wishing you all a very Happy 2012, with many great and varied reading pleasures ahead!

To celebrate Christmas, my publishers at Myriad have put together special offers: kindle ebooks of Hurry Up and Wait and Glasshopper for just 99p, and paperback books direct from them at £5.00 with free p&p!  Thanks for reading x

The talk will be held in the Cloisters Chamber at the university, 5.15-6.30pm and discounted copies of the book will be available to purchase.

The event is free, and everyone is welcome!  For more information, click here.

At every one of the groups I’ve attended recently, there’s been much nostalgic discussion around the years 1985/6, provoked by the world I created for protagonist Sarah Ribbons in Hurry Up and Wait.

And it’s not just the obvious markers of that era, like hair, music and fashion – it’s also the shifting social backdrop, the unpredictability of adolescent friendships, the pain of betrayal.  And there’s always much discussion around the subject of inappropriate relationships – and huge debate over what constitutes ‘inappropriate’.  But for me, most enjoyable of all has to be the laughter at these book meetings, through the shared stories of schooldays scrapes and toe-curling tales of youthful embarrassment.

To accompany my 1980s Hall of Fame/Shame, I thought it would be fun to ask you all – what were you doing in the school year of 1985/6?  To kick it off, here’s a tiny extract from Hurry Up and Wait.  Perhaps it might provoke a few memories . . .

The first morning back after half-term Sarah enters the toilets next to her form room and finds Kate and Tina bunched together at the far end.  They’ve all got exams scheduled after lunch, so the morning is meant to be spent revising.  Tina is leaning over the far basin, her white knuckles gripping the edge, as Kate forces a small gold stud through the ridge of cartilage at the top of Tina’s ear.

‘What are you doing – ?’ asks Sarah as she moves closer.

Kate turns and smiles.

‘Fuckafuckafuckafucka – ‘ Tina chants, her sharp body held rigid against the basin.

‘There!  Let me just pop the butterfly on,’ says Kate, looking delighted with herself.  ‘Da-dah!’

Tina looks side on at her reflection in the mirror.  ‘Shit,’ she mutters.

IA Schooldays 1980s

So, over to you . . .

Go on, entertain us with your memories from 1985/6 using the comment boxes below . . .

But for the non-blockbuster, non-prize-winning, mid-list published author, the greatest fear of all is that they won’t sell enough books to be able to continue writing; a thought that for most is intolerable.

Thankfully, I’m part of the warm community of Twitter, in which I get to chat to other authors, readers and writers across the genres.  We share writing tips, alert each other to new opportunities and enjoy cheering conversations with the most important people of all – our readers.

This week I’ve been thinking about the ways in which we can all help our fellow authors in their uphill profession.  If you’ve loved a book, here are the 4 key things I think can make a big difference to an author:

1)  Tell others

I know this is obvious, but word of mouth is a powerful thing.  If you loved a book, tweet about it, facebook it and tell your mates at work.  The majority of books I read come to me through recommendation, and I love to discover new writing I’ve never heard of before.  So if you want to support a writer, just let the world know they exist!  I’ve recently met a number of lovely readers on twitter, who often retweet my news updates and post engaging, positive reviews of all the books they have read and enjoyed.  Amongst many others, I’m particularly thankful to @shazjera @pamreader @ibc4 @hmhunt who are the ultimate supportive tweeps.  To them I say thank you!  In return I try to retweet their updates and direct people to their fascinating writing & review blogs, which are always worth a look.

2)  Recommend an undiscovered book to your Book Group

I belong to a book group, and I can honestly say our most enjoyable, excitable discussions have been when we’ve read new authors.  This year, The Book of Fires was universally loved by everyone in my reading group – something we’d never experienced before when reading the high-profile, more obvious choices listed on, for example, The Richard and Judy Book Club.  And if you have an author living on your doorstep, make contact and they may be more than happy to return the favour by attending one of your reading group meetings.

3)  Post an Amazon Review

You can’t underestimate how much an Amazon review means to authors.  This is because a) it tells the writer you loved their book (we all need a boost every now and then) b) it tells other readers this is a great read and c) it influences the movers and shakers in the book industry.  To a lesser-known writer, reviews are their life-blood, as they show the world that this is book worth reading!  In the past year, amongst others, I’ve posted reviews for Jane Rusbridge, Gabrielle Kimm, Kate Long, Marika Cobbold, Jonathan Kemp and Elizabeth Haynes – all writers I’ve chatted to on Twitter and whose books I’ve enjoyed reading.  It’s a great way to show to support, and it helps Amazon to give you intelligent recommendations based on your reading preferences.

4)  Give undiscovered books as gifts

Now that I have first-hand experience as a struggling writer, I always give books as gifts to my friends and family.  My most gifted books this year were The Devil’s Music, His Last Duchess, The Book of Fires and Shooting Butterflies.  I loved reading them myself, and they’re all written by authors who I believe deserve a higher-profile.  The recipients raved about the books, and were delighted to discover authors they might never have come across otherwise.  And don’t you just love the feeling of being the first to discover something new?  So, for birthdays, Christmas, Secret Santas, teachers’ gifts etc etc – give ‘em a book!

We really are fortunate to have so many diverse and exciting writers emerging in the UK – let’s work together to keep them writing.  Thanks to all my readers and fellow writers for their much appreciated support.

Book groups, reading clubs and book lovers are warmly invited to join Tom Connolly and Isabel Ashdown as they discuss writing fiction, creating characters of all ages and the exploration of family relationships.

Isabel Ashdown and Tom Connolly’s first novels are both rich depictions of the complex emotional terrain of family life, and both authors very effectively write from the perspective of characters of all ages.

Literary agent Adrian Weston will interview Isabel and Tom about their writing, plus there will be readings from the novels as well as a chance for readers and aspiring writers to ask questions and talk to all three informally in the interval.

Books will be for sale at a special discount, signed by the authors:

6.30pm for 7pm start

How to book:

For more information call Hove Library on 01273-296937

A team of up to 100 keen readers complete a review sheet for each book they read and include a score between 0 and 10. Using these scores a long list of twenty and later a short list of five titles is drawn up. Multiple copies of these five books are distributed at meeting places around the village and everyone is invited to read. All readers are sent ballot papers and a vote takes place prior to the village fete, at which the winner is announced.

This year I’m delighted to hear that Glasshopper has been selected amongst the longlist of 20 debut novels, alongside fellow Myriad author Tom Connolly’s The Spider Truces.

Previous winners:

• 2004 Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
• 2005 Jonathan Trigell – Boy A
• 2006 Marina Lewycka – A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
• 2007 Nicola Monaghan – The Killing Jar
• 2008 Paul Torday – Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
• 2009 Tom Rob Smith – Child 44
• 2010 Andrew Sharp – Ghosts of Eden

I’m thrilled to be associated with such a wonderful local initiative.  It has a fascinating history, and a lovely website – click here to read more.  Many thanks to the readers of Waverton for nominating Glasshopper.

It contains a synopsis of the book together with a comprehensive list of conversation prompts for you to choose from to get your discussion going.  I hope you enjoy reading and talking about Glasshopper.

To download the pdf, please click here:

Reading Group Guide

It seems that this week everyone’s launching their January reads.  Richard and Judy have just announced their Spring 2011 list, below:

Hothouse Flower by Lucinda Riley

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson

This Perfect World by Suzanne Bugler

Room by Emma Donoghue

You’re Next by Greg Hurwitz

Trespass by Rose Tremain

The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale

So there’s plenty to choose from out there – happy reading in 2011!

Costa Novel Award: The Hand that First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell

Costa First Novel Award: Witness the Night by Kishwar Desai

Costa Biography Award: The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal

Costa Poetry Award: Of Mutability by Jo Shapcott

Costa Children’s Book Award: Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace

On Tuesday 25th January the overall winner will be announced as the 2010 Costa Book of the Year.  Congratulations to all of the writers and good luck for the final awards ceremony.