August 9, 2010
The Left Lion Review came out this week:
This young adult novel is a 'Freaky Friday' style body swap that see two seventeen year olds switch lives between 1962 and 2010. The girls, Holly and Marilyn, each go through a convincing range of emotional responses to their parallel personal journeys that keeps you turning the page to discover how they will cope.
Sense of time is evoked through the small details, such as the conversations, clothes and responses of friends. The narratvie itself is straight forward in its delivery, accessible to most readers, but with a few quirks and subtleties that will please a more demanding audience. A must for fans of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.
Posted by Maxine Linnell
July 28, 2010
Shakespeare and Co, the wonderful English language bookshop in Paris, will be stocking Vintage in October, when I go over and take them some copies... If you've never been, it's a treat. Ceiling-high books, browsing chairs placed strategically, one directly in front of the poetry section, and a huge library of books upstairs. The high spot, a tiny writer's cubicle with an ancient typewriter for materspieces. Continue reading...
Posted by Maxine Linnell
July 2, 2010
The book is now in stock at both Waterstone's in Leicester - many thanks to Stephen, who's put signed copies on the summer must read shelves. Continue reading...
Posted by Maxine Linnell
June 19, 2010
Just out - another review! in Un:Bound by Hagelrat...
Also an interview in Left Lion - thanks for all this, Adele...
Vintage – Maxine LinnellPub: Five Leaves Length: 148 pages
I have reviewed this
for Left Lion but wanted to expand on those comments. Also my interview
with Maxine is up on Left Lion
now.
Holly and Marilyn are both seventeen, on the
cusp of adulthood and making decisions about university, dealing with
their families and all the things that matter at that age. During a...
Posted by Maxine Linnell
June 9, 2010
Review by Luisa. Holly and Marilyn are teenage girls
with different home lives. When something weird happens and they find
that they've swapped bodies, there's an additional complication: they
live in the same house, but Holly lives in 2010... and Marilyn lives in
1962. Now their lives have completely changed and the people around them
are strangers who act like they know them. How will either girl cope in
such an unfamiliar decade? I l... Continue reading...
Posted by Maxine Linnell
May 27, 2010
David Belbin was my tutor for fiction for young adults on the NTU Creative Writing MA. I learned such a lot from him, so it was great that he came to the book launch, and sent this feedback on the book. He's not slow to be critical, so this is really appreciated! "I'm fond of good identity swap stories. But they're difficult to pull off well. I thought that you came up with a really good take on the idea, with vivid, believable characters and an intelligent use of the contrasting time periods,... Continue reading...
Posted by Maxine Linnell
May 17, 2010
"I like to read something that I'm enjoying in short bursts and savour it,
but I found as I reached the middle of Vintage that I couldn't put it
down, because I wanted to find out what happened next to each character - and
almost resented having to switch to the other one at the end of each section,
with the same feeling when I got to the end of that bit, and so on.
Thinking about it afterwards, you have got the "feel" of the two periods,
and the feelings too! And there was a great mi... Continue reading...
Posted by Maxine Linnell
May 15, 2010
Vintage was launched on Thursday. Over 80 people turned up, it was a great atmosphere and the nostalgic food fomr 1962 disappeared in no time. We had dairylea sandwiches (cut square of course), pineapple and cheese on sticks, sauage rolls, cheese straws and a collection of biscuits and cakes from the period, including a wonderful victoria sponge. Then there was Vimto and ginger beer, cream soda and dandelion and burdock. The music flowed, and there was lots of laughter. I was overwhelmed at t... Continue reading...
Posted by Maxine Linnell
May 8, 2010
The launch is on Thursday, and I've begin collecting some things from 1962 to take along - some pictures, the seersucker tablecloths, and the food - custard creams, jammie dodgers, crisps. That's as well as the drinks - Vimto and ginger beer. Then there's some wonderful 2010 goodies which my daughter will be cooking up on the day, with me as first slave! And wine too. The music's ready. But am I? Continue reading...
Posted by Maxine Linnell
April 27, 2010
Tomorrow the books will be arriving. Apprehensive, excited, don't know which is uppermost. Am I going to see a typo on the first page I open? Is it any good? It's too late now, so time just to enjoy it all... Continue reading...
Posted by Maxine Linnell
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