April 2009

Hello

On World Book Day, 5th March, the paperback of my book, NEWES FROM THE DEAD was released in the UK. It had some great reviews in hardback (you can see these at the front of the paperback) and my fingers are firmly crossed that it will sell well. I’m doing quite a lot of publicity for it, so if I’m appearing in a bookshop near you, do come in and say hello. It has been nominated for the Carnegie Children’s Book Prize and also chosen by US Libraries as one of the “Outstanding International Books” of 2009. A great honour on both counts; thank you very much.

UK Paperback

US Cover

When I do go to schools to talk to students, I emphasise that NEWES was written as an adult book and so its content is quite mature (and rather grim) but at the last school I visited a ten year old came up to me and said she’d already read it and really enjoyed it. (I spoke to her teacher afterwards and she said she was very bright and reads adult fiction by choice). So…it’s up to you, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!

I’m making great progress with my Victorian Gothic novel (which still hasn’t got a title). It’s set in a funeral parlour and features the Necropolis Railway which ran from Waterloo to Brookwood in Surrey taking bodies for burial; just the sort of quirky thing which appeals to me! I’m lingering over this book, which doesn’t have to be finished until August. Those of you that have read my historical books will know that I like putting real people into them, and Charles Dickens makes an appearance in this.

In the meantime the third book in the Dr Dee series, called THE BETRAYAL comes out in September and has the most gorgeously romantic cover. This completes the AT THE HOUSE OF THE MAGICIAN trilogy (which Books for Keeps have kindly just included in their top ten Tudor novels).

Some of my modern novels are being rejacketed by Bloomsbury over the next few months. Look out for the MEGAN series, the first book of which has a brilliant and very uncompromising cover. Have a look and see what I mean!

Thanks for coming to my website and happy reading to all.

Love from Mary Hooper x x x

N.B. If any schools are interested in seeing some of the original research material I used when writing NEWES FROM THE DEAD, please write to me at the email address on my CONTACT page or contact childrenspublicity @ randomhouse. co. uk (as before, please join up) and a Schools Pack will be emailed to you.