Naomi Young

libraries

2009-10-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

I must be getting old - but when did libraries stop being libraries and become childcare centres? I know I was brought up a bit strictly, but when I was a child you were told to be quiet in libraries by both parents and librarians on pain of strict punishment. If you had to talk it was in a whisper. None of that in Cambridge Central library this Saturday where I went for a quiet (ha ha) read as I had an hour spare before meeting friends. It was absolute bedlam, with kids screaming and shouting and even the adults weren't talking quietly. To be fair, I didn't go upstairs to the 'quiet reading area', but to my mind all of a library should be quiet, that's kind of the point.

Quiet places seem to be disappearing. I've nothing against children, and I realise that "children should be seen and not heard" is no longer appropriate, but no one ever seems to tell their children to be quiet anywhere - not in restaurants, or museums, or shops. I'm prepared to put up with that, but libraries? Is nothing sacred any more?!

Am I the only person left who thinks that it might actually be good for children for them to be silent sometimes, or at least to have a bit of quiet time in the otherwise hectic modern world?

try again

2009-09-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

Did anybody else's parents say to them 'if at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again'? Am feeling a bit down in the dumps with an annoying sprained ankle and not getting a literary thing I was hoping for. But, on the bright side - ankle is only sprained not broken, I still could win the Bridgport competition (hope springs eternal), and I have an idea for the next novel. So, I'll just feel sorry for myself a tiny bit longer (maybe another half hour) and then back in the saddle!

My summer of cycling

2009-07-17T03:16:00.001-07:00

sounds like quite a good title for a book, but I'm not sure it would be that exciting. In my current health drive I have cycled to numerous Cambridgeshire villages I didn't even know existed, got lost - twice, got covered in flies - pretty much every time, and nearly cried from exhaustion - once, but I have lost nearly a stone, and my bmi is back in the 'normal' range. I've now also cycled in Suffolk and Norfolk. If I were famous, I could no doubt do a TV series with accompanying book on cycling round the UK or something!

But what does this have to do with writing I hear you cry? Well, not an awful lot, except that on my hols I managed to do quite a lot on the new novel and the end is in sight. Also, cycling is quite good for the writing process, as it provides time to think things through, and I've come up with a few ideas while in the saddle, so I highly recommend it to writers and non-writers alike!

new review

2009-06-22T06:31:00.000-07:00

Check out the new review for If It Falls on www.amazon.co.uk

I've just finished reading Val McDermid's Fever in the Bone and I so want to spill the beans!

caring not writing

2009-06-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

I currently feel like I'm not getting much writing done between seeing my mum who's just out of hospital and doing errands for my partner who's not very well. Not to mention doing almost daily exercise and shopping for and cooking healthy food to get my blood pressure down! Still, that's life, we're not writing machines immune to what's going on around us and despite all that, I do seem to have done quite a lot on the new novel this week.

Also, I'm madly reading the proof of the new Val McDermid in preparation for my interview with her next week for Velvet. Make sure you go to our wicked new website and subscribe so you don't miss out.

4 weddings and ...

2009-05-26T04:25:00.001-07:00

Not so much 4 weddings and a funeral as 1 funeral, 2 weddings, and a birth! Nothing happens for about 20 years and then it all happens at once! Just back from the first of the weddings - of my second cousin, who I met for the first time at my uncle's funeral. It was in Shropshire, where I've never been before, but it was very nice. A good time was had by all and the fireworks were particularly excellent. Next wedding at the end of June.

blood, sweat and more blood

2009-05-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

Being a magazine editor seems to have become a dangerous occupation - picked up the proof of Velvet from the printers last night, and gashed my finger twice on its razor sharp edges! And to add insult to injury, now I can't fix the bleed on the back page. Sometimes you really just need a graphic designer!

Meanwhile, the new Velvet website is improving by leaps and bounds, check it out from the link here. You still need to go to the existing site to subscribe, but we should have the new Paypal up and running in the next couple of weeks.

Cambridge in the springtime

2009-05-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

I have decided I really need to blog more, so from now I'm going to try and do it at least weekly, unless I really have nothing to say!

Had a very pleasant walk through Kings College, and back via Clare, to the Old Schools - seat of power of the University, where along with the rest of the steering group I had my photo taken to be 'the face' of lgbt staff for profiling purposes. It would seem that while Cambridge is generally a pretty gay friendly place to live and work, getting the University to take equality and diversity issues seriously may be a bit of an uphill struggle.

On the way, chatted to my friend from the Nanna Mexico burrito van, saw a lovely family of ducklings, watched the punting and was nearly mown down by French school children. Ah, roll on summer - more punts, more tourists, less ducklings!

new website

2009-05-18T05:38:00.000-07:00

my publisher finally has its new website: http://www.discoveredauthors.co.uk/ vast improvement on the old one. Not all the stuff is there yet though. Coming soon should be some interviews, a link to the Cambridge Evening News piece and an audio version of the prologue.

Society of Authors

2009-03-26T04:59:00.000-07:00

Off to the reception for new members of the Society of Authors this evening.

30,000 words of the new novel written now!

new review

2009-03-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

Hi, check out the rather fabulous new review of If It Falls, in Chroma Journal online:
http://chromajournal.blogspot.com/2009/03/review-if-it-falls.html

new novel

2009-03-05T08:50:00.001-08:00

The new novel is going well (perhaps shouldn't announce this in case the Muse leaves me!) In fact, have booked a little research trip!

facebook

2009-02-26T07:33:00.000-08:00

I'm now on Facebook and in danger of getting totally addicted!
My publisher, Discovered Authors, is working on a new website, and I'll be featured. Should be live in March - watch this space and I'll let you know.
There is also work a foot on the website of the magazine I edit, Velvet. A spanking new website should be with you soon. Meanwhile, see www.velvet-mag.co.uk for details of the new issue out this Saturday.
And, I'm finally doing some serious work on the new novel, though it's still in the early stages.

I'm back!

2009-02-24T09:53:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been quiet for so long.
Had my big 4 0 and went to India for 3 weeks, and started a new 'day' job. Just now getting back to day-to-day stuff and working on my new novel.

Naomi

Radio Interview 30 September

2008-09-29T04:20:00.000-07:00

I'll be interviewed about If It Falls tomorrow, 30 September 2008 at 3pm on the Sue Dougan Afternoon Show.
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire 96 & 95.7fm

Playing with the 'big girls'

2008-09-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

I am going to be on two panels at this year's YLAF (York Lesbian Arts Festival) 24-26 October 2008:
http://www.ylaf.org.uk/book-festival-programme.html
with the likes of Val McDermid, Manda Scott, and Stella Duffy! Get me!

I'm doing another local reading tomorrow, 26 Sept. at St Columba's in Cambridge.

Thank you to everyone who has said such nice things about If It Falls. I am working on a new novel, but I haven't got too far yet.

I'm the centre fold!

2008-09-01T05:42:00.000-07:00

There is a feature in today's Cambridge Evening News on If It Falls. If you're not able to get a paper copy, you can read the story at: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn%5Fnews%5Ffeatures/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=344989

National Geographic

2008-08-28T05:55:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in finding out more about Guatemala and the Maya indigenous people, the National Geographic magazine currently has a special issue out all about the Maya. Check out: www.ngm.com/maya

And speaking of reading material, hopefully the feature on If It Falls will be in the Cambridge Evening News on Monday 1 September 2008. To check the online version go to: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk

It's gone transatlantic!

2008-08-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

If It Falls is now available in the USA from www.amazon.com

Still waiting to hear about various other things, so watch this space as they say!

Oh so Hollywood!

2008-08-08T07:02:00.001-07:00

Just had my press shots taken, darling! People in the street were watching - so celebrity!! Interview for the feature next week.....

Success!

2008-08-03T02:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who came to my book launch on Friday and made it such a success. Around 35 people were there and asked lots of interesting questions. Someone even compared my style of writing to Hemingway! If you missed it, I'll be reading again on 26 Sept. in Cambridge, watch this space for the details.

Later this week, the Cambridge Evening News will be interviewing me for a feature. I'll let you know when it's going to appear in the paper.

A very happy, but tired, Naomi

small steps...

2008-07-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

A few bits and pieces to report - York library, and some Essex libraries are going to get copies of If It Falls. If you'd like your local library to stock it, just contact them, they seem pretty amenable to getting a copy if someone requests it.
The publisher still seems to be having some difficulties in getting books out, but hopefully it is just teething troubles. Fingers crossed that they will arrive for the launch on Friday!
Anyway, I will be feeling very smug and literary when I'm signing books on Friday with the Mont Blanc fountain pen my sisters bought me to celebrate my success - might as well enjoy my five minutes of fame to the max!

Waterstones Launch

2008-07-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

It's all official - If It Falls will launch at Waterstones in Cambridge at 6.30pm on Friday 1 August 2008.
There will be reading, Q&A, and signing.
You can get tickets from Cambridge Waterstones either before the event or on the night.
Hopefully see some of you there.

Diva!

2008-07-02T06:08:00.001-07:00

Yes folks, I'm on the Books page of DIVA magazine talking about what is on my bedside and what I'm reading. It's the August issue, but out already.

Launch

2008-06-23T02:34:00.000-07:00

Well, my novel is officially launched today. Doesn't feel that much different to any other day really! But the press releases will go out today, so I'm expecting requests for interviews and reviews to come flooding in!!

Oh wow!

2008-06-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

I was just checking Amazon for something else, so I casually typed in If It Falls and it is already there and can be pre-ordered. So go order it people!!

The title

2008-06-17T03:06:00.000-07:00

Someone has asked me what the title means, and why I chose it. I originally thought of the title in Spanish - Si se cae. This is a bit difficult to explain - in Spanish, if someone drops something, you don't say 'I dropped it' you say 'it fell'. In other words, it is not your fault, stuff just happens. This is kind of the feeling I wanted for Raphael - it's not his fault, things just happen to him, and that could be said of Guatemala in general, though of course the roots of the civil war can be traced to a particular fault.

So that was how I ended up with the English version, If It Falls. I'm not especially good at thinking up titles, and I wasn't sure this title was right, but most of the people who read drafts of the novel said they liked it, so it stuck!

More exposure!

2008-06-17T02:08:00.000-07:00

You can now catch me on the website of my alma mater Manchester Metropolitan University, English Department in the 'published students' section (see my links).

My publisher says everything is on track for the launch on 23 June, but with less than a week to go I must confess I'm a bit nervous about it all.

More breaking news as it arrives!

What's it all about?

2008-06-06T06:36:00.001-07:00

Can't believe I haven't actually told you what the book is about!

If It Falls is the story of Raphael, a journalist haunted by his past. Raphael and Josue are both in love with the same woman, Lola. So how do they cope when she is killed? Josue is beaten by the police and later arrested for her murder, while Raphael thinks the best of everyone but himself. He is tormented by guilt that he survived the war, but his wife and son didn’t. Add to this the murder of another journalist, and a sinister ex-military police officer in a corrupt state, and you have the making of a psychological, character-driven thriller.

If It Falls is set in Guatemala in the late 1990s, at the end of the civil war. Naomi lived in Guatemala between 1993 and 1996, working with the Presbyterian Church of Guatemala. In 1995, a colleague and friend, Rev. Manuel Saquic, was kidnapped and murdered. Although the novel is a work of fiction, it is inspired by Naomi’s time in Guatemala, and the murder of Saquic is included in the novel (with names changed)

Praise so far:
“I am intrigued by this story, not simply because it is well written, but because of the command of another language and culture so easily displayed amongst the seductive elements of the narrative. Death, war, bereavement, sex, relationships, politics and the voice of the disenfranchised – it is all combined in a relentless journey of discovery.”
Velvet magazine

How to get hold of a copy

2008-06-05T08:42:00.000-07:00

OK, everything is still on schedule for a 23 June 2008 launch.
After that the book will be available from www.amazon.co.uk and you should be able to order it from any bookshop in the UK. (I actually get more royalties if you order it at your local bookshop and you don't have to pay postage)
Details on when and how it will be available in the US to follow.
Look for me from early July onwards in the August issue of DIVA.

I should be doing a reading in Cambridge in the not too distant future, and another in September - watch this space!

Spooky!

2008-06-02T03:06:00.000-07:00

My novel, If It Falls, alludes to a real murder of a friend of mine in Guatemala in 1995 - Manuel Saquic. I was just googling him and was reminded that he was abducted on 23 June.... my novel is due out on 23 June - spooky or what?!

Just testing

2008-05-30T06:39:00.000-07:00

Getting going with blogging again (see my previous incarnation at pattynazo.blogspot.com) in anticipation of the publication of my first novel If It Falls in late June.
Watch this space for more news!