Most of you probably aren’t even aware that I have a number of children’s publications to my name. Indeed, writing for primary school children was my first love. I’ve also written a number of children’s picture book manuscripts and had a dream to publish one of them but it never happened as I got sidetracked into writing for adults.

My dream has finally been realised when Books To Treasure publisher, Adrianne Fitzpatrick gave my story Serious Sas and Messy Magda the nod. This was made all the more meaningful by the fact that Adrianne taught me most everything I know about children’s writing over a decade ago, back when she ran classes.

She’s gone on to have a long career as an editor in Australia and the UK and now has her own publishing house.

In the coming weeks I’ll be able to share the cover with you, but for now please join me in a cheer and the knowledge that when dreams do come true it feels as good as you imagined it would!

I’ll update you with release date and buy details in due course. I’m so excited that I’ll be able to share the book with all my new great nieces and nephews.

For starters, I adore the cover art. Black, white and almost cerulean blue. Feathers, scrolling and embossing wrap their way from front to back. Then there is my weakness at the moment, foiling. This all comes together to make a charming and understated, yet relevant cover design.

The Blurb on the back of the book reads…

“ Ebony has led a very sheltered life. She isn’t ready for the disturbing things which start happening to her. But these events are just part of a discovery that will rock her whole world.

Ebony’s life wasn’t ‘sheltered’- she was hidden away. Now her location is no longer a secret, but who will find her first?”

At first reading, I doubt there are too many markers that this story is set in rural Australia. It’s extremely universal besides the mention of black butt trees, koalas and gumtrees. It’s something a little special, to think this story isn’t your usual Connecticut connection. The subtlety isn’t so much ignoring the Aussie hallmarks, as it is contradicting the alienation some may feel about the unknown nature of ‘down under’ for the US, Canadian and UK readership.

Ebony is a girl trying to find her way, and her friend Amber is someone I’d love as a friend of my very own. Fiercely protective, constantly loyal and sweet as pie. She’s right there for Ebony through everything, good or bad with her head held high and screaming at the world to bring it on. A strong companion for a level headed heroine.

This wouldn’t be a YA book without some sort of romantic element. But I believe this is going to have a few more angles than a love triangle, especially in the books to come. Nothing will be as it seems and morality will come into play.

We were bombarded with Angel books the last couple of years, but this one is set apart from the rest to a certain extent. Ebony isn’t a drama driven teen. Jordan isn’t hateful and misguided.

I had this read from cover to cover in a day, so I would definitely class it as a quick read. Perhaps put it on the reading list for the next Holidays. It’s not a bog you down and make you sad book, but it’s not so sweet to be cavity inducing.

Hidden will leave you smiling.

http://www.mariannecurley.com/

Paperback, 336 pages

Expected publication: March 1st 2013 by Bloomsbury Publishing Australia

ISBN: 987140882262

Book one Kat, Incorrigible, brings us in on a typical middle class British blended family. Four children, widowed father and a step mother who’s only concern is marrying off her stepdaughters to wealthy gentlemen. However Kathrine (Kat) has other ideas. She discovers the mother she never knew has left her a legacy of magical talent and she will stop at nothing to keep her family safe… even if it is improper and not at all ladylike.

Book 2 Renegade Magic, Kat is happy enough to see one sister happily married, however now her other sister has gone and created a situation where their step mother has shipped them all off to Bath to find her a suitor. Heavens above! How will Kat fix this?

Book 3 Stolen Magic, What to do, What to do? Somebody is out to get Kat. She’s being followed and her family seems to be in the line of fire. Can Kat save the day before her sister’s big day?

I enjoyed this series immensely and I think it’s my love for strong female protagonists that really sealed the deal. Katherine is delightfully persistent and unashamed of her family history. Her sisters are of the same vein, however they’ve realised their place in society, and in the 1800′s status was everything. As for Charles… well you’ll have to find out for yourselves.

I’ve never been to the UK, so the settings seem real and plausible to my naive mind. The thought of travelling to a Castle anywhere seems like such an adventure all on it’s own, but to add magic and high society to the mix made me quite excited to read on.

I’m not really a die hard fan of the accuracy of the era, so shows like Lost in Austen and this Kat Incorrigible book trilogy, add a level of normalcy and rebellion that make it far easier to consume.

I found myself day dreaming about the possible outcomes in certain scenes and Stephanie Burgis kept me on my toes for a good part of the series.

I would suggest this book to middle graders and older who want to wade gently into the era of Jane Austen and see how they find it, or for those who want to take a lighter journey through the early 1800′s from a young girls perspective.

It would be perfect on a rainy, dreary day when you can imagine yourself in England and not so very far away from the heart of the action.

http://www.stephanieburgis.com/

Kat, Incorrigible Paperback, 295 pages

Published April 3rd 2012 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers (first published January 1st 2010)

ISBN: 1416994483 (ISBN13: 9781416994480)

Renegade Magic Paperback, 352 pages

Published March 5th 2013 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers (first published August 1st 2011)

ISBN: 1416994505 (ISBN13: 9781416994503)

Stolen Magic Hardcover, 400 pages

Published April 2nd 2013 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers (first published October 1st 2012)

ISBN: 1416994513 (ISBN13: 9781416994510)

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with “freaky” scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth.

But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his surprising understanding, Echo’s world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can PUSH THE LIMITS and what she’ll risk for the one guy who might teach her HOW TO LOVE AGAIN.”

Pushing The Limits alternates point of view between the two main characters, Noah and Echo. Echo deals with the loss of her older brother during a deployment to Iraq, the scars from the accident with her mother, her father getting remarried and the pregnancy of her stepmother. Meanwhile, Noah has a lot to deal with himself; getting his life back on track after jumping from one foster home to the next, and fighting for the right to have his younger brothers’ back.

When both attend counselling sessions to get help with the many things they each have going on, Echo is assigned to become Noah’s tutor, and they start to see one another more often. Despising one another at first, and avoiding each other at all cost, they come to realize that the only person who truly understands them, and knows how it feels going through those rough times, is each other.

Finally, they come together to reach their goals (getting Noah’s brothers’ back, and finding out what really happened to Echo the night of the accident with her mother), the two attempt to get their files from the guidance office. In doing so, they develop a strong connection with each other.

Pushing The Limits is one of those books where you’re laughing one minute, completely in love the next, and before you know it, you’re sobbing into the pages, and throwing it across the room.

You can buy Burn Bright in paperback or ebook on Amazon right here.

You can buy Angel Arias in paperback or ebook on Amazon right here.

You can buy Shine Light in paperback or ebook on Amazon right here.

Author, speaker, consultant and media expert, Sarah’s expertise is working with gifted and talented young people who have the capacity to become high achievers.  She has an ability to raise expectations and aspirations of all young people she comes into contact with.  Sarah Newton has shared her wisdom with millions who have tuned into her TV and radio shows, followed her writing and listened to her thought-provoking talks.

Hailed as ”The Supernanny for Teens” by TV Times Sarah has worked in this field now for over 19 years of her life. Sarah is also the founder of Talented Teens, Teenage Dr Love and the editor and creator of Celebrity Parent Advice. Sarah is also leading the way forward in personality led parenting and youth coaching.

What set you along this life path, working with teens?

I worked with young offenders and children at risk of offending for 10 years as a police officer in London. When one of the young people I worked with took their own life, it made me think there had to be a different way to deal with youth and I started on the track I am on nowadays.

A catch phrase when speaking about trolling (online bullying) is, “You can’t troll a troll”, which boils down to an eye for an eye. As a global community, how do you suggest young adults approach trolling?

As a global community, I think we need to see “trolling” as a crime and label it as such. If you said these things in public they would be, so why is it different on-line? I think all social networks should stop anonymous accounts and be on top of this more than they are.

Young adults themselves need to think more before they start these accounts and turn comments off on YouTube, for example if it upsets them too much, then have some else manage their account so they can field some of the offensive comments. I see so many young people engage with the trolls and this only puts fuel to the fire. Never answer anonymous comments on Ask FM, etc. It really isn’t worth it. Always think what a potential college/employer might think if they saw your comments back to these people. A girl in the UK has just had to pull out of a very prestigious job because of comments she made on twitter 4 years earlier. Be careful what you write; it may come back to bite you.

In your opinion do parents place too much emphasis on the academic achievements of their young adults rather than their hobbies or personal life goals?

In my opinion No they don’t. While I recognise the importance of hobbies and life goals, I also know that education is the key to opening doors and I believe that we should always have high expectations for our children when it comes to education. I have never heard an adult saying they wished that they had tried less at school.

Do you believe in the generation gap, and how much of an issue do you think it plays in the effective communication between young adults and their parents?

I think the gap has gone and we have more of a generation lap now, with young people lapping their parents in their knowledge of such important thing such as the Internet. A lot of the study results coming out about this are showing that parents and young adults are becoming closer than ever, with young people looking to their parents more than ever before for advice and guidance and most of them citing parents as role models. I think young people will always feel misunderstood; I think that is the nature of things, but I feel communication is better and different than it was when I was a teenager.

What can young adults gain from visiting your website www.sarahnewton.com?

They will find someone who understands them, the world they live in and offers different perspectives to the adults in their lives.

The majority of my site is aimed at parents and adults who work with youth, however one of my projects, Talented Teens, http://sarahnewton.com/talented-teens/ shares inspirational stories and advice about young people for young people and we do have a very cool little gadget which allows young people to discover their talent. You can find it in the left hand column on this page http://sarahnewton.com/c/blog/

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Hardcover, 371 pages  Published January 1st 2013 by Amulet Books  ISBN  1419704281 (ISBN13: 9781419704284)

I dare you to read this book and not have the imagery of great movies from Tim Burton (The Nightmare Before Christmas) and Henry Selick (Coraline). This is definitely not a re-telling of Alice in Wonderland. This is a re-imagining. Everything that you have grown up knowing about the world from the tales of Lewis Carroll are so far from what this book represents that you will question everything you thought you have ever loved about the tale.

Alyssa is the great, great, great grand-daughter of Alice Liddell, the once naive young girl who recounted stories to Mr Lewis Carroll. Since Alice’s first venture into Wonderland, and her finding her way home, all of the females in her family have become cursed. It’s on one of Alyssa’s visits to her mother in the Asylum that things go wrong. Alyssa decides that once and for all the curse must be broken. She returns to Wonderland to release them from it.

Alyssa has always heard the insects talk to her; she collects them for her artwork. But when she sees a huge moth and decides to research it, she inadvertently calls it’s interest to her. It’s name is Morpheus, from Wonderland itself, and it has come to guide her. But before Alyssa can enter the mirrored gateway, her love interest and long-time neighbour Jeb shows up at her door. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that Jeb would jump after her into the hole. And now they must work together to break the curse and get home safely.

The creatures of A.G. Howard’s visions of Wonderland are very Gothic and more evil than I expected. The rabid rabbit (known by Alice as the White Rabbit because of his skeletal figure), is just one of the creatures that we think we know as readers of the original story – but with a difference. The creatures in this world are unique, horrific and sometimes enticing.

Alyssa must complete several tasks –  from quenching the hunger of the great Walrus, to fixing the watch at the tea party. Each task will take her and Jeb into more danger, especially because he doesn’t trust Morpheus. Morpheus seems to have another agenda.The danger is that Alyssa is strangely attracted to Morpheus and Wonderland is beginning to feel more like home.

This novel had more twists and turns than a roller coaster. As soon as I finished it, I picked up the audio-book, just because I felt like I missed too much the first time through. The imagery is amazingly eerily. When trying to compare it to the original work of Alice in Wonderland you can see how a young child might have construed these much darker characters and it makes sense. And it’s kind of scary. And there are more plot twists and story lines so that the ending makes for a huge “wow” moment. It’s going to make an amazing movie someday, great visuals and I highly recommend if you like dark twists to your stories.

Firstly to my wonderful agent who I love to bits, who has kept the faith with me through all kinds of ups and downs. I never feel like I’m on this journey alone with her at my side. Love you big time Tara!

To Jarek Kubicki, who was ABSOLUTELY amazing and generous, making his covers available to me. I think you will all agree that they are quite exceptional and worthy of many awards. I love Jarek’s art and I hope he has a splendid, successful career. Please take the time to browse his Deviant Art website and experience his genius. Jarek also has a store where you can buy the images from the covers for your t-shirts and coffee mugs etc.

To Yunyu, for making her song available to share with the Night Creatures VIP’s. And for writing Angel Arias for me. What a beautiful, haunting, special song! What a special talent she is!

To the VIP club for spreading the love, and then for spreading MORE love when we rebooted the covers. Gigantic squeezy hugs to you all.

To my team, who put up with endless emails from me. I hope you’re having fun?! Love you all.

For all my friends on FB, Twitter etc who have helped me along the way by sharing news and putting up with my endless retweets and posts.

Well what a journey this has been! Seven years to write, three years to see it available every where! I SO hope you enjoy it.

Marianne xxx000

It will take 12 to 48 hours to appear in your browsers, so I’m offering a signed copy of Nylon Angel to the first person who spots the links on Amazon and shares them with us either here or on Facebook.