The Making of Lullaby of Lies...

Here's a little bit of film that inspired some of Lullaby of Lies. If you've read it, you'll know exactly which bit. If not, I hope you enjoy two of the most adorable actors in existence...




So, to give you a bit of background, and in no particular order, ten things:

1, I knew what the plot of this was going to be before I finished Song to Wake to. I was inspired - partly - by another, very successful YA paranormal story. I won't say which, though...

2, I started writing it in December, but in January and February I hit some kind of wall, and spent hours staring at empty computer screens... or playing around on wikipedia. Somehow I picked up the pace again, it may have been when it stopped raining...

3, Most of it was written at my dining table, though significant bits were written on a trip to the Jordanian desert, by the Red Sea at Aqaba, in Istanbul and Amman airports, in a car on the highway to Petra, and the first draft was finished in the parking lot at the entrance to Jesus's baptism site at the river Jordan. It was polished in front of the TV, showing the Olympic swimming, at JFK airport, in a Starbucks on 31st and 6th, and on my sisters sofa in Dalston, East London ...

4, I proofread it 3 times. My number one wish is to be able to afford a professional proofreader, until then I have to do it myself, which is quite possibly my least favourite part of being a writer. However, it's possible you may find mistakes. If you do, let me know, and I'm sorry...

5, Linked to the above, I've decided (and this is possibly an absurd decision) to make the language and spelling of the Levels series 'mid-Atlantic.' I say sidewalk for pavement, and asphalt for tarmac, and couch for sofa, BUT I spell tire tyre, center centre and realize realise. I'm trying to be inclusive, but it's possible I'm annoying everybody...

6, This may be the last of the series written in first person. With more and more characters it's getting too difficult to tell the story properly. One of the most important strands of this story is the introduction of Hurley, but it was very hard to show what he's really like from Maddie's point of view. If you've read Lullaby of Lies you'll know that there's the promise of a whole team of new characters, and there's no way I can tell their stories only looking through Maddie's eyes. Changes are coming...

7, The next Levels book will be released in 2013, before that I'm going to bring out the first two books of a different series, called THE WATER BOOK. It's from a boys point of view, it's not paranormal, and it features an age-old obsession of mine. Watch this space...

8, Before that I'm going to have a little contest on the blog, with a $30 Amazon voucher prize...

9, Jon Esmere has turned into one of the most interesting characters I've ever written. He constantly surprises me, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how he develops, and how his relationships with the other characters (one of them in particular) changes.

10, The other character I'm growing to love is Hurley Laker. I like him so much that I'm writing a little short story about what happened to him, Jenna, and somebody else, when Maddie was distracted. I'll be giving it away to all readers of Lullaby of Lies.

That's it for now. I'll leave you with a bit more of Emma and Ryan. No reason, apart from them being so pretty and so funny. Enjoy...