CALLUM

In a hostile alternative society, the pale-skinned noughts are treated as inferiors by the ruling dark-skinned Crosses. Callum’s a nought. Sephy’s a Cross. In their world, they simply don’t fit – it’s as clear as black and white. But their childhood friendship has grown into intense, burning love. They have to find a way to be together. Then Sephy’s kidnapped, and Callum’s faced with a choice– his love for Sephy or his loyalty to his brother. Once that choice is made, there can be no looking back.An explosive and passionate short story, set during the timeline of Malorie Blackman’s original dystopian bestseller, Noughts and Crosses.

The World Book Day App will be available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch coming soon to the iTunes store and is absolutely FREE! There will also be a World Book Day App author event between 4.30-5.30pm on 1st March at the Apple Store, Covent Garden, featuring Malorie Blackman in conversation.

Check out the photos from Malorie’s talk and signing event at Richmond Library  on 26th May.

What if YOU were left holding the baby?

You’re waiting for the postman – he’s bringing your A level results. University, a career as a journalist – a glittering future lies ahead. But when the doorbell rings it’s your old girlfriend; and she’s carrying a baby. You’re fine to look after it, for an hour or two, while she does some shopping. Then she doesn’t come back and your future suddenly looks very different…

• Sat 21st May 10.30-12.30 - Signing at Dulwich Books, 6 Croxted Road, London SE21 8SW
  For more information: 020 8670 1920

• Tues 24^th May - After school signing at Simply Books Cheshire, 228 Moss Ln, Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire SK7 1BD
  For more information: 0161 439 1436

• 26th May at 7pm – public talk and signing
  Richmond Library, Little Green, Richmond. TW9 1QL
  For more information: 020 8734 3331 for more details

Based on the idea of teenage parenthood in Boys Don’t Cry, the My CriBaby App will put your skills to the test, challenging you to look after a (very cute) baby, who plays, cries and even burps. You can also share your scores with friends on Facebook, and read the first chapter from the book. The App is available now to download from the iTunes store – there’s a free version and a full version for 59p. Hope you like it – and please do share your thoughts here!

Download the free lite My CriBaby App
Download the full version

www.talkaboutrandom.co.uk

You’re thirteen. All you want is a normal life. But most normal kids don’t need heart transplants.

So there’s this doctor. He says there’s a chance for you. But he also says it’s experimental, controversial and risky. And it’s never been done before.

Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, this is a powerful, thought-provoking story from Malorie Blackman.

If you register on my site and then send me a question, please check under the relevant category heading cause that’s where I try to answer most/all of the questions I’m asked.

I never give out my address but if you want to write to me, please send it via my publisher.  The contact details are under the Contact Me sub-category heading.  Click on ‘Malorie’ at the top of the screen, and then click on the ‘Contact Me’ link to the right of the next screen.

Hope that helps!

Here’s why – as stated so eloquently by Keren David.

http://networkedblogs.com/bnn0D

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00w13nq/Open_Book_21_11_2010

Download the free lite My CriBaby App
Download the full version

Winners of the recent Sugar magazine competition tested out a sneak preview of the My CriBaby App when I met them at Pizza Express.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/01/2008_45_wed.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/01/2008_45_wed.shtml

http://living.scotsman.com/books/A-review-of-the-year.6657162.jp?articlepage=4

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/dec/05/fiction-for-teenagers-reviews

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/dec/04/boys-cry-malorie-blackman-review

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8159962/Books-of-the-Year-for-Christmas-Childrens-Books.html

http://themilelongbookshelf.blogspot.com/2010/11/boys-dont-cry-by-malorie-blackman.html

http://yafiction-heavenhellandpurgatory.blogspot.com/2010/11/boys-dont-cry-malorie-blackman.html

http://www.overflowinglibrary.com/2010/11/review-boys-dont-cry-by-malorie.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/boys-dont-cry-by-malorie-blackman-2134922.html

http://keris.typepad.com/chicklet/2010/11/review-boys-dont-cry-by-malorie-blackman.html

http://rhiana-reads.blogspot.com/2010/11/book-review-boys-dont-cry-by-malorie.html

http://katiesbookblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/boys-dont-cry-malorie-blackman.html

http://storiesfromthewebblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/written-in-stars.html

http://empire-of-books.blogspot.com/2010/10/boys-dont-cry-by-malorie-blackman.html

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8239438-boys-don-t-cry

http://carlybennett.blogspot.com/2010/10/review-boys-dont-cry-malorie-blackman.html

http://iwasateenagebookgeek.blogspot.com/2010/10/review-boys-dont-cry-malorie-blackman.html

http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/book/5879/Boys-Don-t-Cry-by-Malorie-Blackman.html

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/junior-book/boys-don-t-cry-malorie-blackman/1509677/

http://bookreviewsbysarah.blogspot.com/2010/10/arc-review-boys-dont-cry-malorie.html

http://readingjunky.blogspot.com/2010/09/boys-dont-cry-by-malorie-blackman.html

I look totally demented!

Charlotte looks lovely.   And her top isn’t totally see-through either.  I won’t be wearing that top again in a hurry.

I am constantly asked to provide writing tips so here are a few that have worked for me over the years.

READ.  You can’t write if you don’t read.

Try to read as many different types of stories by as many different authors as you can.

Develop your own style.  Don’t copy anyone else’s.   Your own voice is individual and unique so don’t be afraid to use it.

Try to get into the habit of writing every day.   Keeping a diary is an excellent way of doing this.

Write from the heart as well as the head.  Write about what makes you angry, what moves you to tears, the things about which you feel passionately.  If you feel it when you write, others will feel it when they read.

Don’t fake it!  Don’t write a vampire story for example if you have no interest in vampires because it will show. 

If your stories run out of steam half way through, try plotting out the beginning, middle and end of your story before you start writing.  That way, you’ll know where your story is going and it’s just a question of how you get there.

Try creating a biography (3 or 4 pages) for each of your major characters.  I find that helps in creating characters who become real, live, living people to me.

When I first started writing, I found joining a supportive writing group invaluable.   Friends and family tend to be less objective when it comes to venturing an opinion of your work.  But if joining a writing group is difficult, try recording your story onto your computer or a digital recording device or somewhere where you can play it back a few days later to hear what it sounds like.  The few days gap is important because that way you’re more likely to hear it as it is, rather than how you expect it to be.

Don’t give up!

Thursday 28th October
7.00pm: Sheffield Off The Shelf Festival, venue: The Pennine Theatre
More information 

Monday 1st November
4pm – 6pm: Waterstone’s Kensington public signing
For full details please contact Waterstone’s Kensington on 0843 290 8419

Tuesday 2nd November
6.00pm – 8.00pm: Waterstone’s Leeds public signing
For full details please contact Waterstone’s Leeds on 0843 290 8443

Thursday 4th November
7.00PM – 8.00pm: Waterstone’s Worcester talk & signing
For full details please contact Waterstone’s Worcester on 0843 290 8705

Friday 5th November
1.00pm -2.00pm: Foyles Charing Cross talk & signing
For full details please contact Foyles on 020 7437 5660

5.30pm -6.30pm:  W H Smith Brent Cross public signing
For full details please contact W H Smith Brent Cross on 020 8202 4226

Sat 6th Nov
10am – 12am: Waterstone’s Bromley public signing
For full details please contact Waterstone’s Bromley on 0843 290 8189

The majority of the letters I receive about the Noughts and Crosses series ask if there are going to be any more stories after Double Cross (the 4th in the series). Watch this space… (You’ll notice it’s not a flat out ‘no!’.)  Please see the Noughts and Crosses page for more information, comments and personal views on this series of books.

What if YOU were left holding the baby?

You’re waiting for the postman – he’s bringing your A level results. University, a career as a journalist – a glittering future lies ahead. But when the doorbell rings it’s your old girlfriend; and she’s carrying a baby. You’re fine to look after it, for an hour or two, while she does some shopping. Then she doesn’t come back and your future suddenly looks very different…

I have written TV scripts, including a number of Byker Grove episodes, Whizziwig episodes and Pig-Heart Boy (the first 4 episodes) as well as a couple of original dramas for CITV and BBC Education. I wrote a play for the Polka Theatre called The Amazing Birthday which was performed in February and March 2002. I’m a graduate of the National Film and Television School, and divide my time between book and script writing.

Before I was a writer, I had a number of jobs including Database Manager, Systems Programmer, Documentation Assistant (in other words, a glorified filing clerk) and I had a number of temporary summer jobs whilst I was doing my O and A Levels, including working as a telephonist/receptionist/typist, a Catering Assistant and Saturday jobs at Littlewoods and British Home Stores. The worst job I ever had was working as a kitchen porter. I lasted a day and a half!

When I was at school, I wanted to be an English teacher but tripped and fell into Computing instead. I worked in the Computing industry a number of years, after which I did an acting course, then became a writer.

I have lots of interests and use some of them in my writing. I love going to the cinema and the theatre. I like comedies and dramas on the telly – dramas seem to be getting much more scarce. So-called reality shows don’t do much for me. BRING BACK DRAMAS!!! (And preferably something else besides medical or detective dramas)

I love, love, love music. I’m predominantly a jazz-funk/soul head but my taste is pretty eclectic. I’m into Joe (what a voice!), Outcast (whose songs are constantly different and fantastic), Muse (pure genius and something to say), Lupe Fiasco (his song with Jill Scott is wonderful), Rob Thomas (not a single duff song on his Something To Be CD!), Maxwell (seriously soulful), Green Day (did I mention, I love songs that have something to say), Akala (like Green Day he has something to say and I love how he says it) and Nickelback (their ‘Saving Me’ video is amazing and ‘How You Remind Me’ is one of my favourite songs), Stevie Wonder (pure genius), Marvin Gaye (the first songwriter to make me cry) and the list goes on.  And on.  And on!  

If I could have one selfish wish in this world, I’d wish I could sing.

When I get the time(!) I’m going to resume my piano lessons.  I MISS THEM   

I used to play the saxophone.  My number one favourite activity however is reading – natch! To be honest, I read more children’s books than adult books, because I love stories with a strong, imaginative plot and interesting characters.

Some of my favourite books are Holes by Louis Sacher, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Curious Incident Of The Dog In the Night Time by Mark Haddon. I’ll read anything by Alan Gibbons, Catherine R. Johnson, Minette Walters, Benjamin Zephaniah, Melvin Burgess, Keith Gray and Jackie Kay to name but a very few, as they’re such fantastic writers.

Over the shark-infested seas they sail, climbing up the high mountain where the dangerous wolves lurk, past the jungles where the fierce wildcats stalk, round the bubble lake where the blubber blob bathes, to the cave of the Marty Monster…

What can Lizzie do when big-headed Jake challenges her to a race in space? She’s GOT to beat him. But Jake has a super-duper, deluxe new spaceship that runs on special fuel…

Zoom to Pluto and back with this super space story from award-winning author, Malorie Blackman.

I most certainly do NOT charge people to write to me, nor do I expect a fee to read letters and emails. What a bizarre idea! I love getting letters and emails and I’d like to assure everyone reading this that if I get them, I do indeed read them. I also try to reply to as many as possible, so please keep them coming! Don’t forget, I’m also contactable via Facebook.

School And Library Visits

Yes, I do school and library visits but I tend to get very booked up. October (Black History Month) and March (school book weeks) tend to get booked up first. I don’t do school visits in December, January, February or July.

Apart from that, I’m all yours!

Please contact me for fee details. I charge by the half day. You may only want me to do one session but by the time I’ve got to you and got home again, at least half a day has passed. My fee is exclusive of any travel expenses. VAT is charged on top of the fee.

My author sessions are for Years 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 only. I do not do school assemblies. My creative writing workshops are aimed at years 5, 6 and 7 only.

I do two types of session

- Creative Writing Workshops
- Writer’s sessions

Creative Writing Workshops:

Workshops are given to a maximum of one class at a time. They do not work otherwise. I try to make these as much fun as possible for all involved. I do NOT teach children how and when to use adverbs and adjectives. I DO give them exercises to get their imaginations going and flowing, to stimulate their curiosity and to show them that ideas can start with an object or even half a sentence. We do diary and empathy exercises using either extracts from my books or an extract from one of the Pig Heart Boy episodes. (I bring the video tape with me.) Sometimes, I give the students a paragraph which I then get them to carry on for me. We use different objects as a starting point to explore storylines and characters. We may also write different types of poetry along a number of themes. Sessions are totally interactive and I try to get as many children as possible to read out what they’ve written throughout the session.

Writer’s Sessions

I talk about being a writer – how I got started, why I write what I write, the writing process, where I get my ideas from, etc. I read excerpts from various books to illustrate the points I make and then I throw it open to questions – my favourite part of the session. I try to make my sessions as interactive as possible so it’s not just me spouting on for an hour. I’m quite happy to talk to around 200 children/young adults in these sessions.

Please contact me at the email address below if you’d like to arrange a school/library visit.

School And Library Visits

A WRITER’S HORROR STORY (OR HOW NOT TO DO IT)

I arrive at the station.
There’s no one to meet me.
Phone the name I’ve been given.
That person’s on holiday.
I’m put on hold, for what seems like forever

When at last someone speaks, they give me directions.
‘Turn left, left, right, left, then right, right, then south!
It’s a good hour’s walk but the view is amazing.’
So I pick up my bag, full of books, sheets and objects.
It weighs half a ton and I’m already tired.

Stumble and fumble my way to the library.
I’m late and I’m knackered.
Why didn’t they meet me?
‘The kids are all here. Go straight in and meet them.’
‘Can I go to the toilet?’

‘But the kids are all restless. And there’re no adults with them -
they’ve gone for a coffee.’
‘How many children?’
‘Two hundred and eighty.’
‘But a workshop’s for thirty. I explained when you phoned me.’

‘Well, they’re here now. You’ll wow them. You’ve no need to worry.’
‘I’ll just do a session. How old are the children?’
‘From three months to sixteen.’
‘But my talks are for the nine plus – as I said in my letter.’
‘But now you’ll reach everyone. That’s so much the better!’

‘Have the children read any of my books?’
‘I don’t think they have – no.’
‘So they don’t even know me?’
‘I’m sure they’ll still love it.’
‘Will my books be on sale at all, after the session?’

‘Our children won’t buy them, if they’re not Harry Potter.
So we didn’t get any – I’m sure you don’t mind.’
But I do, yes I do. I DO mind, you will find.
‘I sent in my invoice, I hope that you got it.’
‘Ah… Er… there’s a problem. I’m afraid we forgot it.

Wait for eight months and we’ll happily pay.
Let’s not talk about money. Let’s just have a good day!’
‘If you don’t mind me asking, why was I invited?’
‘We had surplus budget. And it was use it or lose it.
And Jacqueline Wilson was busy.’

‘Can I at least have some water?’
‘You didn’t bring your own?’
A sigh and a wish that I’d stayed in my home.
‘We love your Ms Wiz books. We think you’re all right!
But I must say Ms Blacker, we thought you were white!!’

(This is a true story! – with apologies to Terence Blacker, the TRUE author of the fantastic Ms Wiz books)

By Malorie Blackman

If you’re going to treat me like in the poem above, please don’t bother to contact me. I’m too old to go through that kind of nonsense any more.

If you’d like to write to me about any of my books or contact me to arrange a school, festival or library visit, please use the following:-

childrenspublicity@randomhouse.co.uk

or my snail mail address is:

Malorie Blackman
c/o Children’s Publicity Department
Random House Children’s Books
61-63 Uxbridge Road
London
W5 5SA

For enquiries about books and book rights, translations, film and/or television rights please contact my agent:

Hilary Delamere
The Agency (UK) Ltd
24, Pottery Lane
Holland Park
London
W11 4LZ

Telephone: 020 7727 1346
hdelamere@theagency.co.uk

BBC Big Read Top 100 Title (Number 61) – Noughts and Crosses

FCBG Children’s Book Award 2002 – Noughts and Crosses

Sheffield Children’s Book of the Year Award 2002 – Noughts and Crosses

Wirral Children’s Paperback of the Year Award 2003 – Noughts and Crosses

Lancashire Children’s Book of the Year Award 2002 – Noughts and Crosses

Fantastic Fiction Award 2004 – Noughts and Crosses

Stockport Children’s Book of the Year Award 2000 – Key Stage 4 – Tell Me No Lies

BAFTA for the Best Children’s Drama 2000 – Pig-Heart Boy

Wirral Children’s Paperback of the Year Award 1999 – Pig-Heart Boy

UKRA Award Winner 1998 – Pig-Heart Boy

Stockport Children’s Book of the Year Award 1997- Key Stage 3 – Antidote (Doubleday/Yearling)

Excelle/Write Thing Children’s Author of the Year Award 1997

Young Telegraph/Fully Booked Children’s Book of the Year Award 1996 – Thief!

W H Smith’s Mind Boggling Book Award 1994 – Hacker

Young Telegraph/Gimme 5 Children’s Book of the Year Award 1994 – Hacker

Pig Heart Boy won the Best Children’s Drama BAFTA.2000 and the Prix Danube Children’s Jury Prize 2001. It was also short-listed for the Chicago TV Festival 2001, the RTS Best Children’s Drama award 2000 and the Race & Media Best Drama award 2000.

Play Time, my graduation film at the NFTS won a Certificate of Merit at the 31st Chicago International Film Fest

BBC Big Read Top 100 Title (Number 61) – Noughts and Crosses

FCBG Children’s Book Award 2002 – Noughts and Crosses

Sheffield Children’s Book of the Year Award 2002 – Noughts and Crosses

Wirral Children’s Paperback of the Year Award 2003 – Noughts and Crosses

Lancashire Children’s Book of the Year Award 2002 – Noughts and Crosses

Fantastic Fiction Award 2004 – Noughts and Crosses

Stockport Children’s Book of the Year Award 2000 – Key Stage 4 – Tell Me No Lies

BAFTA for the Best Children’s Drama 2000 – Pig-Heart Boy

Wirral Children’s Paperback of the Year Award 1999 – Pig-Heart Boy

UKRA Award Winner 1998 – Pig-Heart Boy

Stockport Children’s Book of the Year Award 1997- Key Stage 3 – Antidote (Doubleday/Yearling)

Excelle/Write Thing Children’s Author of the Year Award 1997

Young Telegraph/Fully Booked Children’s Book of the Year Award 1996 – Thief!

W H Smith’s Mind Boggling Book Award 1994 – Hacker

Young Telegraph/Gimme 5 Children’s Book of the Year Award 1994 – Hacker

Pig Heart Boy won the Best Children’s Drama BAFTA.2000 and the Prix Danube Children’s Jury Prize 2001. It was also short-listed for the Chicago TV Festival 2001, the RTS Best Children’s Drama award 2000 and the Race & Media Best Drama award 2000.

Play Time, my graduation film at the NFTS won a Certificate of Merit at the 31st Chicago International Film Fest

What was the first book you had published?
It was a book called Not So Stupid! which is a collection of horror and science fiction stories for young adults. More than half of the ideas for the stories in this book came from nightmares I had…

What was your first novel?
Hacker. It was my first novel but my fifth book.

Do you earn a lot of money?
No! I wish I did!

Are you in any of your books?
I never put myself in any of my books until Noughts and Crosses. Weird as it may sound, the person whose character is closest to my own is Callum – a white boy!

Do you put other people you know into your books?
Never. I used to use the names of people I knew in my books but then those people would think I was writing about them – and I wasn’t. Now I make sure I never use the names of friends. It makes life a lot easier.

What’s your favourite book of all the ones you’ve written?
That’s a hard question to answer as obviously all my books are very dear to my heart. If I had to pick just one though, it’d probably be Noughts and Crosses.

Who is your favourite character in all the books you’ve written?
Vicky from Hacker, Cameron from Pig-Heart Boy and Callum and Sephy from Noughts and Crosses.

What’s your favourite book that you haven’t written?
I’ve got hundreds of favourite books so there’s no way I can just pick one. But I try to read everything by writers such as James Berry, Philip Pullman, Philip Ridley, Catherine Johnson, Jacqueline Roy, Jacqueline Wilson, Melvin Burgess, etc. One book that would be in my top ten though would be Holes by Louis Sacher. If you haven’t read it, get hold of a copy as soon as possible. I thought it was brilliant!!

Do you write every day?
I try to. I work whilst my daughter is at school.

Which of the covers on your books is your favourite?
My favourite covers are Animal Avengers (illustrated by Stik who’s a genius!), Noughts and Crosses and An Eye For An Eye. I think Noughts and Crosses and An Eye For An Eye are very simple but incredibly effective. And I love the Animal Avengers cover because it seems to be almost 3D. The tiger seems to be about to leap right off the cover. Stik, who illustrated the cover and the story inside (it’s a graphic novel) did such a brilliant job, I hope I have the chance to work with him again.

Do you prefer writing scripts or books?
I love writing both. I’ve been lucky enough to adapt a number of my own books for TV such as Thief, Whizziwig and Pig-Heart Boy (the first four episodes). I’ve also written a couple of original dramas for children’s TV. The Amazing Birthday was my first theatre play. It was performed at the Polka Theatre for six weeks in February/March 2002. I hope to write a lot more TV, film and theatre plays as well as books.

Do you ever copy other writers ideas?
No way. I would never copy anyone else’s ideas. Like them or loathe them, at least I can say, hand on heart, that the ideas in my books are mine. In fact, I was once in the middle of writing a novel when I saw a book based on a very similar subject in my local bookshop. I immediately stopped writing my one and started writing something else.

Do you want to write adult books?
Yes, I do and in fact I have a couple of ideas and I’ve actually plotted out one of them. The problem is finding the time to sit down and do them – but I will one day.

Do you illustrate your books?
No. I wish I could, but even my matchstick figures need a lot of help.

How long does it take you to write a book?
That depends. If it’s a picture book, it can take anywhere from two days to a month. If it’s a longer novel like Pig-Heart Boy or Hacker, it can take from four months to almost a year – but a lot of time is sent mulling over the ideas in my head and letting things stew before I even start writing. A lot of my writing takes place in my head. Writing it down or typing it out is the final part of that process. The Noughts and Crosses trilogy took over five years to write in total with the last book in the trilogy, Checkmate, taking just over two years.

Where do you get your ideas?
I get asked that question a lot. Ideas come from anywhere and everywhere – you just have to be open to receiving them. My ideas have sprung from newspaper articles, things on the telly, conversations I overheard, things I saw in the street, visits to other countries, things I’ve been told, things that happened to me or friends of mine at school – like I said, anywhere and everywhere.

What would you do if you weren’t a writer?
If I wasn’t a writer, I’d still like to be involved in books in some way, so maybe I’d work in a publishing house, or in a bookshop or as a librarian or as an agent. I’m not sure, but definitely something to do with books.

Was it difficult to get published?
It was for me. It took me two years to get my first book accepted for publication. I got rejection letter after rejection letter and I must admit I came that close to giving up once, but then I pulled myself together and thought, ‘I’m going to be a writer and I’m not going to take no for an answer.’ Thank goodness I don’t know when to admit defeat!!

What was your favourite subject at school?
English. Followed by Chemistry, although I wasn’t terribly good at it. My worse subject was probably Maths, even though I enjoyed some aspects of it. The most boring subject I did was Geography.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to write?
Keeping a diary is a good way of getting into the habit of writing every day. If you do keep a diary, write down your thoughts and feelings about things, not just the dry facts like ‘I went to school today’. Find your own style and your own way of expressing yourself. Don’t copy anyone else. And most importantly, READ. In my opinion, if you don’t read, you can’t write.

There is nothing Nicky wants more in the world than a dog to play with. But Mum and Dad don’t want a dog. Then Grandad has an idea – he and Nicky can make a dog: a snow-dome dog. Even better, he has some special clay, found at the end of a rainbow, so that the dog will be extra-special. Maybe even magic . . .

“Racial superiority is a mere pigment of the imagination.”

A number of people have stated that Noughts and Crosses is based on Romeo and Juliet. It may well be, but I promise that when I sat down to write the story, that’s not what I was thinking (at least not consciously). As I wrote the story however, I became aware of the parallels between them. Some aspects of the plot are quite close – like the letter that never reaches its intended recipient. Other aspects were more accidental – like the balcony scene!

How did you come up with the idea for Noughts and Crosses?

I’d been mulling over the idea of writing a story about slavery for quite a while, but the reaction from my friends was lukewarm to say the least.
‘Slavery is in the past’, ‘Why d’you want to rehash something so painful?’, ‘Why do black people always harp on about slavery?’ are just a few of the comments I received. Almost everyone I spoke to about it was of the view ‘Been there, done that, let’s move on.’ But I wanted to write a story about the legacy of slavery. About how attitudes way back when, still influence all our lives and the way we think and live today.

I really believe the subject of slavery is terribly important – especially in this day and age. I think it gives a context to modern day Western World thinking and attitudes regarding other races and cultures.

But the comments and feedback I received planted the seed of the idea for Noughts and Crosses in my mind. It occurred to me that the story I had in mind would be more challenging to write and hopefully read if I played with people’s perceptions of the society presented in the story. I wanted to turn society as we know it on its head in my story, with new names for the major divisions in society, i.e. Noughts (the underclass) and Crosses (the majority, ruling society). I wanted to see this new world through the eyes of the main two characters, Callum (a nought) and Sephy (a Cross). Race and racism are emotive issues that most people are loathe to discuss but I think they should be discussed, no matter how painful. I wanted the society in my book to be viewed from two different points of view (Callum and Sephy’s) to show how our perspectives colour our thinking. The adage, ‘you can’t really know someone until you have walked in their shoes’, is like all clichés mostly true. That I think was the idea I had in mind when I sat down to write Noughts and Crosses. I think it was Nietzsche who said, ‘There is no truth, only perspectives. And the more perspectives you have, the closer to the truth you get.’

How did you come up with the title?

Noughts and Crosses is a game that no one really plays much past childhood because once you’ve grasped its objective and tactics, it invariably ends in a draw – a no-win situation. (In the US, I believe the game is called Tic Tac Toe.) At the risk of sounding arty-farty literati, I think that pretty much sums up racism. Ultimately no one wins. And as was said by Abraham Joshua Heschel, ‘Racism is man’s gravest threat to man – the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason.’ I guess that why I love the graphic novel Watchmen by Alan Moore so much. Maybe he’s right. Maybe the only way we’ll get peace on our planet is if we all face a greater threat from outside Earth.

How did you come up with the names of the characters?

I’ve always loved myths and legends from other cultures. One of my favourites has always been the story of Demeter and her daughter, Persephone who was abducted by Hades – and the consequences that had for everyone else on Earth as her mother mourned her daughter’s loss. I hasten to add, Noughts and Crosses isn’t a retelling of that story. The stories aren’t the same – apart from Sephy getting abducted – but that’s why I called the two sisters Persephone and Minerva – I wanted classical names.

The names of the McGregor family were harder to come up with. I wanted names that were not unknown but were not very common either. I decided on Callum as a strong Celtic/Gaelic name. Callum means ‘dove’ – as in someone who is a peacemaker and a bringer of good things. I thought the meaning totally conjured up the character of Callum. So much so that when he is forced by circumstances to do things he hates, he has to switch off his personality, switch off the real ‘Callum’, just to be able to do them. I wanted Lynette’s name to conjure up her personality and the same for Jude.

For the daughter of Callum and Sephy, I wanted a name which would be as close to Callum’s as possible but which would mean something special. Callie means beautiful and I believe its origins are Greek. I think Callie Rose’s name suits her personality.

I must admit, I can’t start a story until I have the names of my characters. For me the names conjure up aspects of character and I think names are incredibly powerful. For example the story of Rumplestiltskin is a case in point. The miller’s daughter doesn’t have any power over him until she learns his real name.

Why do so many awful things happen to Callum’s family?

Being in a society but not of it, takes its toil in many different forms. That’s what I wanted to explore in Callum’s family. For example, Callum’s sister, Lynette suffers from a mental illness, brought on by a trauma she experienced a few years before the story starts. The sad fact is Afro-Caribbean British people are over-represented in British mental institutions. The resentment of Jude (Callum’s brother) for the Crosses, stems from the fact that he was not allowed to stay on at school even though he wanted to and he’s not allowed to play his full part in the society he lives in. He is truly in it but not of it – but there are various ways of doing something about that. Jude, unfortunately, chooses violence. So for dramatic purposes yes, Callum’s family do have a number of ordeals to live through, but some, if not all of these, are issues that ethnic minorities have to deal with a regular basis in real life, i.e. inequalities in education, health, the justice system, employment and access to opportunity.

Why did you end the book the way you did?

Because it had no other ending. It upset me to write it, and I know from the letters, comments and emails I’ve received that the ending upset a number of people to read, but I don’t think it could’ve happened any other way. And I know that a vast majority of the people who’ve read Noughts and Crosses agree with me.

Did you always intend to write a series of books based on Callum and Sephy?

I knew I wanted to tell the story of Callum and Sephy and their daughter Callie Rose. I’d always envisaged telling their stories over two books but the story expanded to fill four books (one book being a World Book Day novella, An Eye For An Eye – see below).

Do you see Noughts and Crosses as a book about racism or a love story first and foremost?

Noughts and Crosses is a story about two friends, Callum and Sephy, and their relationship as they grow older and grow up. The society they live in is the back drop and of course it has an impact on their lives, but I left a lot out because it did not serve their stories. Their stories came first. When I get an idea for a story, I tend to get the general plot in my head first, but for me, the characters make or break a story. I have to care about them to care about the plot so I spend more time on trying to get the characters right before I start writing than on anything else. I don’t necessarily have to sympathise with everything the main characters do but I feel I should empathise with them, that is I should understand what motivates and drives them – even if I disagree with their ultimate actions. Callum is a case in point. I grew really attached to his character but I think he makes some terrible choices. But then, so does Sephy!

Why is An Eye For An Eye so short?

Because I was asked to write a story for World Book Day 2003 which had to be a prescribed length. All World Book Day books are short because they sell for £1 in Britain and can be exchanged for the £1 book tokens every child receives who is at school and below a certain age.

An Eye For An Eye is really hard to get hold of. Will it be published again in the near future?

An Eye For An Eye has now been published at the back of a new edition of Noughts and Crosses.

Why did Jude do what he did to Cara?

Jude (Callum’s brother) is a man who has let hatred and bitterness rule his life. Cara is his last chance to rejoin the human race. He has a choice to make and he makes it. And then he has to live with the consequences of that choice.

Why does Callum write that letter to Sephy?

All is revealed in Checkmate.

What happens to Callie Rose at the end of the book?

All is revealed in Checkmate!

Was Knife Edge hard to write?

Very. I thought the story would end with Knife Edge but realised over a third of the way into writing it, that it wasn’t going to happen. A further book was required. Because the story wasn’t planned from the outset as a trilogy, it meant that some of the things I wanted to happen in Knife Edge had to wait until Checkmate.

Now that I’ve finished all three books, I have to say Knife Edge was the hardest book to write of all three. Being the middle of a trilogy, it doesn’t start or end the Callum-Sephy story. And being the middle of the whole tale, things have to get worse before they can get better and conclude in Checkmate. But the experience has taught me a lot. I have a brand new trilogy in mind now…

SPOILER ALERT!

Don’t read any further if you haven’t finished (or even started) the books and don’t want to know how each book in the trilogy ends.

KNIFE EDGE:

It’s interesting to me that this is the book I’ve had the least amount of letters about! It suffers from middle book of a trilogy syndrome, I fear. I’m a middle child so I know how that feels! In my opinion, the middle book of a trilogy is always the most difficult to write. It doesn’t really start the story and it doesn’t end it either. I wanted Knife Edge to be different in tone to the other two books because I wanted it to be more inward looking, more introspective. I wanted Sephy to be lost inside her own grief with tragic consequences.

As for Jude and Cara, it was very strange writing their scene which appears in the middle of the book. (Those of you who have read it will know what I mean!). When I was writing that scene, I felt sick and I swear a chill ran down my spine. I don’t think I’ve ever written from the point of view of a character I detested quite so much as Jude. That was a strange feeling in itself, putting myself in the shoes – and head – of someone that evil. (Or was he just too much of a coward to go with his true feelings?). When I wrote each chapter of the trilogy, it was as if I became each person who was telling the story, so writing from Jude’s point of view was particularly chilling.

What is it about?

Checkmate concludes the story of Callum, Sephy and their daughter, Callie Rose. It paints a picture of the present using the past as a palate. How’s that for arty-farty alliteration!! To be more serious for a moment, with this book I tried to show how the past has influenced the present for a number of people.

The book is called Checkmate because I wanted to have a number of confrontations taking place – the two major ones are between Jude (Callum’s brother) and Jasmine (Sephy’s mum) and between Sephy and her daughter, Callie Rose. I wanted a sense of tactics and strategy and final chances in these confrontations. And I thought Checkmate would sum up the fact that once the game has been played there would be winners and losers and a time to reflect and learn and hopefully move forward.

Is Checkmate really the last of the Noughts and Crosses series of books?

The whole trilogy has taken almost five years to write. Checkmate took just over two years to finish. When I finished Checkmate, all the characters’ voices were quiet inside my head for the first time in five years. But I have to admit, they’ve started to whisper again… So who knows?! Also, see below.

SPOILER ALERT!

Don’t read any further if you haven’t finished (or even started) the books and don’t want to know how each book in the trilogy ends.

Let’s start with the last book in the trilogy first.

CHECKMATE:

There’s been a quite a lot written about CHECKMATE in the press, an awful lot of it by people who obviously haven’t bothered to read the book. Yes, the book does feature a girl, Callie Rose who is being groomed by her uncle to be a suicide bomber.

Do I feel this is appropriate subject matter for Young Adults? Yes, I most certainly do. The assertion by some individuals that ignorance in our children and young adults is preferable to knowledge and debate is astounding, not to mention frightening. No, I’m not saying that anything goes when it comes to children. Stories have to be age appropriate. This is not so much a question of subject matter but a question of how a particular story is told.

Do I feel the sex scene in CHECKMATE is appropriate? Yes, I do. I didn’t write it for gratuitous reasons but as a remembrance of just how much love there was between Sephy and Callum. The trilogy started off with love, I felt it should end the same way.

Do bad reviews/comments about my books upset me? Hell, no! Besides I do believe that if you can’t accept criticism then you shouldn’t look for praise either. I’ve read some bizarre stuff about me and my books over the last few months. One web site even suggested that I should be taken out and beaten up for writing about Jewish people being blown up on a bus. Needless to say, I didn’t write any such thing but people will believe what they want to believe I guess. And anyone who has read the book will know that’s a load of nonsense!

Why did I leave Checkmate with so many loose ends? To be honest, I really didn’t think I did. I certainly knew in my own mind who was on the beach with Callie Rose and who Sephy decides to be with. But the reason I left it the way I did was because I wanted the reader to believe the characters had lives which would continue after the book was closed. I wanted the reader to speculate as to what might happen to the main characters next. From the letters I’ve received, I think some people found that a bit frustrating. So I’m seriously thinking about what I should do about it! Hence the reason I’m thinking about one more book…

Kyle realises that he isn’t the only one who has buried fears and, more importantly, he now burns with the desire to live, and to live without fear. But will Death release him?

Tobey wants a better life – for him and his girlfriend Callie Rose. He wants nothing to do with the gangs that rule the world he lives in. But when he’s offered the chance to earn some money just for making a few ‘deliveries’, just this once, would it hurt to say ‘yes’?

One small decision can change everything . . .

Malorie Blackman has drawn together some of the finest of today’s writers and poets to contribute to this important anthology. Their short stories and poems sit alongside first-hand accounts of slavery from freed slaves, making a fascinating and absorbing collection that remembers and commemorates one of the most brutal and long-lasting inflictions of misery that human beings have inflicted upon other human beings.

Mike is new to the area; a boy with a terrible secret to hide. A secret about his missing mother.

Gemma and Mike – two kids hurt by their past and now inextricably linked. Their effect on each other’s lives will be explosive.

There’s nothing unusual about getting emails from your dad . . . unless he died a few months ago. In Computer Ghost Jade asks Theo, Ricky and Angela for help to find out what’s going on. Could the mysterious, desperate messages really be from the ghost of Jade’s dad? One thing’s for sure. Whoever – or whatever – is sending the emails wants something badly and they’ll stop at nothing to get it . . .

Theo, Ricky and Angela have to become Lie Detectives to uncover the truth about top inventor, Darius Marriott, after he comes to give a talk at school and collapses. Who is out to get him and why does their friend, Bullet, seem so personally involved? The friends are determined to get to the bottom of it all – but that could prove to be much harder, and more dangerous, than they think . . .