Wednesday, 31 July 2013

Phoenix Countdown & Competition: 1

Only one day to go till the publication of my new book Phoenix!  A nice interview with me appeared today on SFFWorld.com - click here to read it.


Friday, 26 July 2013

Phoenix Countdown & Competition: 4

An amazing review of my new book Phoenix appeared today in the Daily Mail, where Sally Morris described it as "a thrilling space/sci fi adventure...  fabulous, high octane stuff, with an uplifting ending, stunningly illustrated by the brilliant McKean"!

It's now just a week till publication, and Phoenix is officially available to order.  Have a look at my publishers' page, where the 'buy now' button links to lots of places you can order it, including Amazon, Foyles, Waterstones, Blackwells, WH Smith, independent booksellers via Hive, etc...

To celebrate, I'll be posting one of Dave McKean's amazing images here every day.  Please please share these as widely as you can, and help spread the word...  And if you leave a comment on one of these images, I will pick a comment at random and send that reader a signed copy of Phoenix!



Thursday, 25 July 2013

Phoenix Countdown & Competition: 5

It's a week till publication of my new book Phoenix, and it's now officially available to pre-order!  Have a look at my publishers' page, where the 'buy now' button links to lots of places you can order it, including Amazon, Foyles, Waterstones, Blackwells, WH Smith, independent booksellers via Hive, etc...

To celebrate, I'll be posting one of Dave McKean's amazing images here every day.  Please share these as widely as you can, and help spread the word!

And if you leave a comment on one of these images, I will pick a comment at random and send that reader a signed copy of Phoenix!

Ready?  Here goes!


Sunday, 21 July 2013

First Reviews of Phoenix...

The first reviews of my new book Phoenix are beginning to come in.  It's a strange moment for me; having spent seven years writing the book, I have no idea at all how it will seem to someone reading it for the first time...



Vanessa Lewis in picks it as a highlight in The Bookseller's August preview, and says:
"I became totally immersed in the ethereal world created by SF Said in Phoenix... This is an evocative read that highlights the ravages of war while making us consider our place in the universe.  Dave McKean's illuminating illustrations add atmosphere."



And Jill Murphy gives it a fantastic review in The Bookbag - click the link to read the full piece:
"I loved this space quest of a story. It has great worldbuilding, sparkling characters and a thrilling plot. It's beautifully illustrated by the great Dave McKean, who gives the galaxy its rightful majesty.  
You won't find any spoilers here at Bookbag. We hate them. But I will say that Phoenix has a wonderful ending. It's sad but uplifting, grief-stricken but beautiful, and is and utterly, utterly appropriate culmination of the clever plot. I cried!
There aren't many space epics written for middle readers and after enjoying Phoenix so thoroughly, I can't imagine why. Kids love all the TV shows and films - Star Trek, Star Wars etc - and the genre allows for sparkling, nutty characters, so I'm at a loss to explain why this fertile ground isn't cultivated more. It should be. So hats off to SF Said for this fabulous tale. And to Dave McKean, for giving the magnificence and the glory of the galaxy such awe-inspiring artwork.
Phoenix comes highly recommended for all younger fans of sci-fi, a rip-roaring plot and who love a reluctant hero who never stops trying."

What a wonderful review, I really couldn't ask for more!  And I totally agree with her about space epics; I've never understood why there are so few for young readers...

Monday, 15 July 2013

Varjak Paw Around The World, #5

#5: Turkey


One of the nicest things about publishing a book is watching it travel the world.   Varjak Paw has been translated into many languages; there are many editions around the world, and I've been doing a series of posts about them all.  This week, I'm looking at the Turkish edition of Varjak Paw, where he's called Varjak Pençe!


Apparently 'Pençe' means 'Paw' in Turkish, so that makes sense. This edition of the book is printed on a special kind of foil paper, so it's quite glittery in real life, but very hard to scan. Apologies if it looks a bit dark!


Here's the back cover.  As with the German edition, the Turkish publishers decided to switch front and back around, which is fine with me, as I love them both!  The interiors are the same as the UK edition, with all of Dave McKean's fantastic artwork.


Here's the first page, so you can see how it reads in Turkish.  I've learned a few new words by looking at it – for example, the Elder Paw becomes 'Yaşlı Pençe' – but my Turkish isn't strong enough to tell if it's a good translation or not.  So if there are any Turkish-speaking readers looking at this blog, I would love to hear from you!  And if you would like to see more Varjak Paw translations, have a look here...

Monday, 8 July 2013

Big Thanks!

It's been a busy few days, and some big thanks are in order!  First, to everyone I met at the London Film & Comic Con – the organisers, the brilliant Waterstones booksellers, and all the lovely people who came and bought advance copies of Phoenix – thank you!  It was a special day for me, because it was the first time I saw an actual copy of Phoenix, so thanks to everyone who's been part of that journey...  Here's a picture of Dave & I signing; and no, that Toblerone bar didn't last very long!


And today I had the great pleasure of visiting Taxal and Fernilee Primary School, where I met some awesome Varjak Paw fans, some fantastic young readers & writers, and some brilliant teachers!  It was wonderful to hear all your stories, thoughts, and enthusiasm for books; I hope you'll all keep on reading and writing...  And if you want to see the Phoenix book trailer I mentioned, click this link, or have a look at the next post down in this blog!




Friday, 5 July 2013

The Supernova is on YouTube!

Prepare to be amazed: Dave McKean has made an absolutely stunning trailer for my new book Phoenix!  Watch it on YouTube now - and please please share the link, we really need to get this out there!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5yQjwqDFXA&feature=youtu.be

Monday, 1 July 2013

Recommended: July 2013

With my new book Phoenix now only a month away, it seems like a good time to share some inspirations.  So this month, I'm recommending Contact: a brilliant novel about the first contact between humans and aliens, written by Carl Sagan.  There's a film version too, with Jodie Foster, but I prefer the book – it's beautiful, original, thought-provoking science fiction, written by a scientist with a real gift for storytelling.


I first encountered Sagan through his amazing TV series, Cosmos.  I watched it as a child in the 1980s, and re-watched it while writing Phoenix.  It was one of my biggest inspirations.  Apparently I'm not the only one who feels that way.  Professor Brian Cox has said it meant a lot to him too – so if you liked his Wonders Of The Universe, or if you're at all interested in stars, galaxies and space, you should definitely watch Cosmos!  It's all up on YouTube: here's the first episode.


And here's a very silly but entertaining song that uses some of Sagan's quotes from the series – it became an internet phenomenon, and is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me!  But the space imagery in it goes to the heart of what I was trying to do in Phoenix, so I hope you enjoy it too...




Friday, 28 June 2013

School Visit: St Mary's Primary

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone at St Mary's Primary School for giving me such a warm welcome when I visited this week!


It was brilliant to see all the work you've been doing with Varjak Paw, and to hear your enthusiasm for Phoenix too!  It was especially exciting to be able to show you Dave McKean's fantastic book trailer for Phoenix – hopefully I'll be posting a link to it here soon, along with some more news!


Thursday, 20 June 2013

The Supernova Is Coming To Edinburgh!

I'm excited to announce that I'll be doing a public event for my new book Phoenix at the Edinburgh International Book Festival this year!  The event is titled 'Intergalactic War with SF Said' and it's happening on Tuesday 13th August, from 12-1pm.



I love what they've written about Phoenix on the official event page:
Adventure, space, destiny, aliens, explosions, starships, distant stars and galaxies. Whoa! Amazing! Come join S F Said to hear about his latest breathtaking book, Phoenix. Meet Lucky, an ordinary human boy who wakes to find an incredible power rising in him and a supernova coming, bringing with it a war between humans and aliens. Only one boy can save the galaxy – just as well he’s called Lucky!
Tickets are now on sale; here's a link to the booking page!  And of course there'll be copies of Phoenix on sale, which I'll be signing after the event.



I've had some fantastic experiences at Edinburgh in the past, and met some great audiences there, so please come if you can!  There are some wonderful writers doing events this year – some of my favourites include Julie Bertagna, David Almond, Meg Rosoff, Keith GrayGarth Nix and Sally Gardner, who won the Carnegie Medal this year for her fabulous book Maggot Moon!  Congrats Sally – hope to see you there!

Sunday, 16 June 2013

Phoenix: Interior Art Preview!

Have a look at this great feature by Dave McKean on The Guardian about his current work, which includes one of his amazing illustrations from my new book Phoenix:


This one totally took my breath away when I first saw it.  I hope you like it too... and if you do - please share it!

Thursday, 13 June 2013

Phoenix To Launch At London Film & Comic Con!

I'm thrilled to be able to announce that Dave McKean and I will be launching my new book Phoenix at the London Film & Comic Con on Saturday July 6th!


Official publication isn't until August, but there'll be advance copies of the book on sale, and we'll be doing a public signing from 11am to 1pm - so come and get your copy first!


Full details and booking forms can be found on the official website.  It's going to be an amazing weekend, there are some incredible people coming – Peter Dinklage & Lena Headey (Game Of Thrones), Linda Hamilton (Terminator), Eve Myles (Torchwood), even Peter Mayhew & Kenny Baker (who played Chewbacca & R2D2 in the original Star Wars!)  I can't wait!!!

Tuesday, 11 June 2013

Allerton Literacy Festival

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone I met at Allerton Primary School, where I was honoured to take part in the Allerton Literacy Festival last week!


Thank you for giving me such a warm welcome – it really meant a lot to hear how much you'd enjoyed reading Varjak Paw.  Things like that make all the hard work worthwhile!


It was great to hear about all your own stories too; there was some fantastic work going on there!  So good luck with your own writing – and please look out for Phoenix in August!

Thursday, 30 May 2013

The Supernova Is Coming...

Exciting update on my new book Phoenix!  It's now just two months until publication, and we sent the final files to the printers this week – so I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to post the front cover here!


Hasn't Dave McKean done an incredible job?!  Just wait till you see the interior art!  I'll be posting some in the not-too-distant future, along with more updates, sneak previews, and announcements about events... In the meantime, please share this image (there are buttons below for facebook, twitter etc), and help to spread the word!

Thursday, 23 May 2013

School Visit: Hillsgrove Primary

I just wanted to say big thank you to the Year 3's of Hillsgrove Primary School, who I was very honoured to visit this week!


It was amazing to meet so many Varjak Paw fans, and to see all the great work you've been doing.  Thank you so much for your warm welcome and your brilliant questions; I really enjoyed the visit!


It was especially amazing to hear how much some people were looking forward to Phoenix!  I hope you'll enjoy it too... let me know what you think when it comes out!

Monday, 20 May 2013

Lovely comment!

hi sf said I love your books!!! they're amazing!!! Especially Varjak Paw. We have been reading it at school and it is really interesting. We just wanted to say hi!!! :D
NADINE GREEN

Hi Nadine!  Thanks so much for your lovely comment, you've totally made my day!  I hope you'll enjoy reading The Outlaw Varjak Paw as well - here's one of my favourite images from it:


In fact, that's one of my all-time favourite pictures by Dave McKean – along with the unbelievably brilliant work he's done for my new book, Phoenix!  Publication is less than 3 months away now, so I'll be posting some of those new pictures soon...  hope you like them too!  And please let everyone at your school know that there is a new book on the way!!!

Tuesday, 14 May 2013

School Visit: Summerhill Academy

I went to Bristol today to visit Summerhill Academy, and I just wanted to say a big thank you to all the Year 4's for their fantastic welcome!


It was great to meet you all, and to hear your thoughts about Varjak Paw.  It's an amazing thing for a writer to see readers who are enjoying their books; it really makes all that hard work worthwhile!


I know some people had questions that we didn't have time to answer - but if you still want to ask them, or if you want to say anything else about the visit or the books, this is the place to do it!

Friday, 3 May 2013

Recommended: May 2013

As a regular feature on this site, I'm recommending some of my favourite books every month.  This month's featured author is Ursula K Le Guin!


The first book of hers I read was A Wizard Of Earthsea.  It's the first volume in what was then a trilogy, and is now an amazing six-book cycle.  It tells the story of Ged, a shepherd boy who grows into the greatest wizard of his age.  It was originally published as a children's book, but has attracted readers of all ages.  It remains one of my favourite novels; whenever I re-read it, which I do often, it only ever gets better. This was one of the stories that made me want to write children's books: it showed me how brilliant, ambitious and beautifully-written a children's book could be.


But Le Guin doesn't just write fantasy for younger readers.  She's also produced some of the most interesting and thought-provoking adult science fiction.  The Dispossessed is another one of my all-time favourite books.  It imagines an anarchist society that Le Guin describes as 'an ambiguous utopia'.  If you're at all interested in the big questions of human society, this one is for you.  Whenever I read it, I feel excited at the possibilities of science fiction, and depressed at the thought I will never produce anything half as good!


Finally, Always Coming Home is perhaps her most experimental work; it's an anthropological report on an imagined future society, complete with songs, recipes, stories within the story...  It's not always easy reading, but it creates a whole world of incredible richness and depth, and once you've experienced it, you can't ever forget it.


Here she is talking about her work on YouTube.  She's still producing a steady stream of dependably brilliant books, reviews, blogs; at the age of 83, she remains a total inspiration.  If you want to know more, her website is full of great information, and really worth a visit...

Friday, 26 April 2013

Varjak Paw Around The World, #4

Italy


In Italy, Varjak Paw is called ARTIGLIO LUCENTE!  Well, the character is still called Varjak Paw, but the book title is Artiglio Lucente, which apparently means 'Shining Claw'.


Apart from the language, the interiors are the same as the UK edition, with all Dave McKean's art and layouts.  Here's a scan of the first page, to give you an idea of how it reads in Italian.  You'll notice for example that the Elder Paw is called 'Nonno Paw', which I rather like.  Click on the image to see it larger...


And here's the back cover, where they've put one of my all-time favourite quotes!  It came from an excellent book review site called bookmunch.co.uk, which sadly seems to have gone offline.  They gave Varjak Paw a wonderful review, including this line: "Imagine The Karate Kid directed by David Lynch".  The Italian publishers clearly liked this so much that it's the only quote they've used, anywhere on the book!


Are there any Italian readers out there?  If so, I would love to hear from you!

Monday, 22 April 2013

School Visit: Eye Primary

I just wanted to say a big thank you to all the Year 3 & 4 children at Eye Primary School, who I had the great pleasure of visiting last week!



I really enjoyed meeting you all - thank you for your brilliant questions!  I hope you will enjoy reading Varjak Paw, and will look out for my new book Phoenix in August...  And if you have any more questions, or would like to say something about the visit or the books, this is the place for you to do it!


Tuesday, 16 April 2013

Recommended: April 2013

One of my readers recently asked me to recommend some books that I'd enjoyed.  I thought about this, and decided that it might be interesting to do a regular monthly post about things I've enjoyed - not just books, but also comics, films, music, art - anything, really!  So this month, I'm recommending:


The Kin, by Peter Dickinson - an epic set in Africa 200,000 years ago, telling the story of human origins and evolution.  It's totally gripping, and is powered by all sorts of big ideas about the beginnings of language, religion, politics...  I find this subject absolutely fascinating, and this is one of the best treatments of it I've ever read. The only thing I can compare it with is William Golding's The Inheritors, an unforgettable story told from the point of view of a tribe of Neanderthals who are facing extinction.


This month, I also visited the Ice Age Exhibition at the British Museum, where I saw this Lion Man sculpture.  It was carved from mammoth ivory about 40,000 years ago, which makes it one of the oldest surviving artworks in the world - and I love that it's a man with a lion's head!  The exhibition is stunning: there's something totally magical about prehistoric art, and these tiny, ancient objects still have incredible power...  Here's a short video about it; the exhibition runs until May 26th, and is definitely recommended - I might even go back and see it again!



Tuesday, 9 April 2013

Interesting question about Varjak Paw film!

Dear SF Said,
We're huge fans of Varjak Paw! (Books 1+2) And can't wait to read your new book. But please could you tell me if there is an animation film of Varjak Paw. My daughter and her friends are nagging me stupid about it! They say they've found a trailer on Utube - but can't locate the actual movie. Please help!
Thanks so much and really well done for writing two of the best kids books ever! Like the Godfather parts 1+2!
SH

First of all, thanks so much to you and your daughter, SH!  That really means a lot.  The answer is that there is no official Varjak Paw film...  yet.  All the animations, trailers and so on that you see on youtube are unofficial fan works.  Personally, I'm glad they exist - but neither Dave McKean nor I were involved in making them.

Having said that, we have had quite a few adventures in Hollywood, trying to make a Varjak Paw film.  As well as being a genius artist, Dave is a brilliant film director.  So we wrote a script together, and Dave did lots of fantastic designs - here's a poster:



The problem is, it's much harder to get a film made than it is to get a book published, and though we got very close a couple of years ago, it's never quite come together.  So at present, there is no official Varjak Paw animation... but I hope that one day there will be!

Sunday, 7 April 2013

Phoenix news!

Major announcement: the artwork for my new book Phoenix is now complete!  Dave McKean, who also illustrated the Varjak Paw books, has been working round the clock, and this week, he finished all the interior artwork, plus the cover!  I'm going to be sharing some of his incredible images with you in the lead-up to publication in August - but I'm going to start by sharing some of the images I gave him for inspiration while he was working on it.


The biggest thing I gave him was a beautiful book of images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.  Phoenix is set in space, across an entire galaxy.  It starts with a boy dreaming that the stars are singing to him...


... and in the course of the story, he meets Aliens who believe that the stars are in terrible danger.  Together, they must find a way to save the galaxy!  


The Hubble has produced some of the most detailed and astounding images ever made of stars, galaxies, nebulae...


I looked at these images a lot when writing, and was glad to learn that Dave also finds them very inspiring!


For more information on space and the stars, the NASA website is always worth a visit.  And for more Phoenix news, come back soon... I'll be posting lots more about it between now and August!