interview – Grimly Darkwood

Grimly Talks about Stranger Days… plus Books to be Won!

Those really nice people at The Reading Realm app called round for a chat a little while ago (when such things were still possible) and Grimly shared a few thoughts about Stranger Days on Peculiar Hill, the second book in the Vale of Strange series. It’s a really good interview. You’ll find out all about one of the new characters in Stranger Days, Peter’s new friend Mala; how Grimly says you can save the world by asking questions; and what might be coming up in the third book in the series. You’ll find it all on the Reading Realm website here.

And if that wasn’t exciting enough, there’s a chance to win one of three signed copies of Stranger Days on Peculiar Hill! To find out how to enter, visit @reading_realm on Twitter.

And before you go, don’t forget that The Reading Realm app is a great resource to encourage kids to read, with lots of games, extracts from books (including The Shop on Peculiar Hill), and tools to help you write and draw stories yourself.

Right then, that’s it… Good luck in the competition, keep safe, and don’t forget your hat!

You May Not Have Seen This Interview

If you are one of the many who have only just discovered the Vale of Strange books, you may not have read this interview with their author Grimly Darkwood. Grimly was in conversation with Ian Eagleton who is the developer of the excellent app for iPad ‘The Reading Realm’. This app encourages children to read with games and quizzes. An extract from the first Vale of Strange book, ’The Shop on Peculiar Hill’, is one of the texts which Ian has used in his app.

The conversation took place a few months ago and the interview appeared on The Reading Realm site in November, shortly before the publication of the second Vale of Strange book, ‘Stranger Days on Peculiar Hill’. It’s really worth a read if you haven’t seen it. Here’s a brief extract in which Grimly describes what he hoped to achieve when he started out writing the books:

“In writing The Shop on Peculiar Hill, I wanted to produce a book that was funny as well as scary, mysterious as well as exciting, and fun for adults to read as well as for children. I hope readers will think I’ve succeeded.”

You can read the whole of the interview here.

If you read one of the Vale of Strange books over the Christmas holiday, don’t forget to write and tell us what you think of it or send us your impressions of the Vale, either in print or in pictures. You are also welcome to send in any questions you have about the books. We always love to get feedback from you.

And finally, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all at Grimly HQ!

Oh yes, and don’t forget that hat….

Chat and Spin

Don’t miss me (Grimly) speaking on chatandspinradio.com about ‘The Shop on Peculiar Hill’ this Thursday evening 12 Dec. I will be on at around 8pm UK time. I’m sure you can find the time to tune in. It’s not like there’s anything else much going on that day…

The Vale of Strange – Free Access for Five Days only!

If you haven’t yet read The Shop on Peculiar Hill, the first book in the Vale of Strange series, this is the ideal time to give it a try. The eBook version is available FREE for five days only, starting today! The final day of this special offer will be Saturday 30 November. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity!

Please pass this news on to any friends, relatives etc. who you think might enjoy the book. It is aimed at middle grade children (aged 8 to 12 or thereabouts) but feedback suggests that it can be enjoyed by people of just about any age from 7 upwards, adults included. As Grimly said in his recent interview with Ian Eagleton, designer of the Reading Realm app, ‘In writing The Shop on Peculiar Hill, I wanted to produce a book that was funny as well as scary, mysterious as well as exciting, and fun for adults to read as well as for children. I hope readers will think I’ve succeeded.’

This is your ideal chance to see if you think he’s right – and without paying a penny! Download your free E-book now at Amazon UK, Amazon.com, and – as far as I know – other Amazon sites worldwide! And if you enjoy it, don’t forget that the sequel, ‘Stranger Days on Peculiar Hill’ can be pre-ordered in E-book format now and purchased as a paperback on Amazon from Sunday 1st December (i.e. this coming Sunday).

Happy reading! – and please let us know what you think…

Grimly at The Reading Realm

Here’s a really great interview with Grimly by Ian Eagleton, designer of the briliant app The Reading Realm, which can be downloaded now for iPad and has all sorts of quizzes and games to encourage children to read. Ian asks some very interesting questions about the influences on Grimly and how it felt to create the Vale of Strange. Enjoy…

Cover Wars 3 – The ‘Author Shout’ Interview with Grimly

After our joint first position yesterday morning, we’ve just slipped back into second position in the Cover Wars competition, so we’d better pull something extra out of the bag to encourage you to go and vote for us today. And here it is: the Author Shout interview with Grimly Darkwood, in which Grimly (author of The Shop on Peculiar Hill) responds entertainingly, informatively, and occasionally at too great a length, to a number of polite enquiries. Here is a brief excerpt:

Do you proofread/edit your own books or send them off to an editor?

You have to get your book checked over by someone else because we all have holes in our heads through which the mistakes leak. Fortunately other people’s heads have holes in different places so they can catch the mistakes you’ve missed. Professional editors are the best people to use because they have at least 80% fewer holes in total than other people.

If you had the chance to get one message out there to readers all over the world, what would it be?

Please find a way to get along with each other – but not so well that we all get bored.

You can find the rest of the interview here. You may have to scroll down a bit past the bio.

If you enjoy the interview, please vote in the Cover Wars competition here

If you think the interview is rubbish but like Pete’s cover, please vote here anyway.

Don’t forget the 24 hour rule! You need to leave at least 24 hours since you last voted. (How did life get so complicated?)