Scheherazade's tips for surviving 1001 nights as an author - Katherine Roberts

Scheherazade: 19th century painting by Sophie Anderson

Let me introduce you to Scheherazade, the Persian princess who bought us the 1001 enchanting tales more popularly known as the Arabian Nights.

Some of you will have met her before. She was quite famous in her day, and many of her stories such as Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Sinbad the Sailor and Aladdin and the Magic Lamp have become classics.

Her own story is no lesser tale. Legend tells us that when Prince Shahryar was jilted by his first wife, he declared that no other woman would ever treat him that way again. To make sure of this, he bedded virgins and then ordered their execution the very next morning. Once word got around, most girls were understandably terrified of being summoned to the prince’s bedchamber. Scheherazade, however, saw this as a golden opportunity.

Knowing the prince’s love of fairytales, each night Scheherazade told him a captivating story created from her extensive knowledge of legend and myths, always stopping just short of the ending. If the prince wanted to hear the end of the story, he had no choice but to spare her life so that she could continue the tale the next night. This went on for 1001 nights, during which time the prince fell in love with Scheherazade and made her his queen.

It’s clear Scheherazade had invented the ultimate serial, which is still a popular form for children’s fiction today. But serials are also popular among adults. In the Victorian era, novels were tested on the public in serial form first, with episodes appearing in the newspapers and periodicals of the day. For example, Charles Dickens shot to fame after publishing serial episodes of the Pickwick Papers in 1836. Alexandre Dumas originally wrote The Three Musketeers as a serial, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes for serialization in the Strand magazine.

These days, you’re more likely to find serials on TV in the form of soaps. However, the ebook format seems to be encouraging a revival of the serial in literature, with successful authors captivating their readers by publishing novella-length episodes of around 20,000 words at regular intervals. Later, these short books can then be bundled into a boxed set for the full-length novel experience. Freed from the constraints of publishing a paper edition for trade distribution, such ebook serials can appear over a course of months, or even weekly or daily, mimicking the nightly tales of Scheherazade.

Ali Baba plots his next move in the thieves' den.

Scheherazade was the ultimate debut novelist of her time - virgin, highly motivated, intelligent, educated, and beautiful with it (just look at that portrait!). She literally put her life on the line every time she opened her mouth to begin a new story. Many newer novelists publishing today will no doubt identify with her. But, having lost my publishing virginity, survived my 1001 nights as an author and divorced the prince, is it possible to create a serial the other way around?

As an experiment with this form that is both ancient and new, I am in the process of dividing up my 150,000-word Alexander the Great novel “I am the Great Horse” into ten episodes of around 15,000 words each, aimed at a slightly younger readership than the original novel with the addition of historical anecdotes at the end of each chapter, bonus stories by the other horses and illustrations. These ten short books will be published initially in e-format between now and Christmas, with print editions following once all the episodes are done. So if you know a young reader with a Kindle (or Kindle app on their phone), I'd love to know what they think!

FREE DOWNLOAD TODAY!

ONLY 99c / 77p

These days, if our stories fail to arrive in the marketplace regularly, captivate our readers, and leave them eager and waiting to buy the next one, their authors are seldom put to physical death. But our books might well get the executioner's chop for one reason or another, which can have exactly the same effect on an author’s career. I've heard that a gap of 12 months in New York publishing is enough to kill a career these days. So if this is your first night with the prince, and you’d like to enjoy 1000 more of them while he falls head over heels in love with you, then why not make Scheherazade your role model, too?

Note: 1001 nights = 2 years 9 months, possibly the average length of a debut author's career today? Discuss below!

***

Katherine Roberts won the Branford Boase Award in 2000 for her debut novel Song Quest. She writes history, myth, legend and fantasy for middle grade/teen readers. Find out more at www.katherineroberts.co.uk

The first two titles of the I am the Great Horse Serial are now available for Kindle (other ebook channels coming soon):

1. Prince of Macedonia * FREE DOWNLOAD TODAY *
2. Treachery at Thebes

The Public Part of UK Author Earnings - Katherine Roberts

April 6th marks the start of a new financial year, and I have a new History Girls post to write... so you can probably guess what this one is going to be about! In the same way that I find it impossible to create anything while I'm thinking about money, I also find it impossible to blog about creativity. Instead, I thought I'd show you a graph from my finance file that counts as vaguely historical since it covers my 14-year career to date (and that feels like a long time in publishing these days).

UK library loans of my books (Year 2000 - 2013)

In case you can't read the figures up the left hand side, these show the approximate lifetime loans for my books. Years are across the bottom, and book titles are written on the curves. Here they all are, listed in order of popularity:

The Great Pyramid Robbery - 56,000 loans (heading off the top of the graph)
Spellfall - 35,800
Song Quest - 28,000
The Babylon Game - 20,000
The Mausoleum Murder - 18,800
The Amazon Temple Quest - 17,200
The Olympic Conspiracy - 15,000
Crystal Mask - 12,900
The Colossus Crisis - 8,000
The Cleopatra Curse - 8,000
I am the Great Horse - 6,800
Sword of Light - 5,500
Dark Quetzal - 5,400
Lance of Truth - 200

Notes:
1) Figures correct to June 2013, as reported by the UK Public Lending Right office.
2) My final two Pendragon titles Crown of Dreams and Grail of Stars are not shown on this graph, since they both published in 2013.
3) Data is not gathered from every library every year. Each year a different sample of UK libraries is taken, and the results are scaled up to account for the whole country - this means it's possible zero loans can show for a book that actually loans quite well in the author's local library, whereas a sample taken from an author's local library where their books are popular might skew figures for that year the other way. (Over time, though, the sampling system should be fair to authors wherever they live.)

You would probably expect books with earlier publication dates to show the most lifetime loans, and indeed my most-loaned title The Great Pyramid Robbery (historical fiction, hooray!) was published back in 2001, while my second most popular title Spellfall (fantasy) was published in 2000. You might also expect books that have had several editions to show more loans than the others, and happily my award-winning debut book Song Quest (currently in its third edition at Catnip, after being first published in hardback by Element and then in paperback by Chicken House) comes in a clear third.

Books only published in the last couple of years will obviously not show many accumulated loans yet, but already the first title of my Pendragon series, Sword of Light (published in 2012 and chosen for the Summer Reading Challenge that year), has performed one of those fascinating crossovers on the graph and is now officially out-loaning the third title of my earlier Echorium Sequence Dark Quetzal (published in 2003).

In fact, if you look carefully at the graph, you'll see several places where my historical titles have overtaken my fantasy titles in the loan stakes, which makes me wonder why children's historical fiction is not easier to place with publishers. On the other hand, this is only a UK graph, and historical books are not popular everywhere. My Echorium Sequence titles (Song Quest, Crystal Mask, Dark Quetzal), which all have surprisingly flat curves on the graph, sold better than their loans suggest particularly in the US. My Seven Fabulous Wonders books on the other hand, even the one shooting off the graph, did not sell in America - or at least only as export copies - since they were not taken on by an American publisher, although they did get translated into several European languages where their historical settings are presumably more familiar with readers.

I find library loans quite interesting, because they are - or used to be - a fairly accurate reflection of print sales, and it's true The Great Pyramid Robbery and Spellfall were my top two selling titles in print. It also used to be that loan figures for a title were higher than the UK print sales, at least in my experience - but lately there's a different pattern emerging, with books selling as many or more copies in print as are being borrowed from libraries. Also, I've had my backlist selling as ebooks with online retailers for a couple of years now, and out of those books I am the Great Horse - although flattening off now on the loans graph - last year outsold the rest of my backlist put together. So perhaps ebooks are taking over where library loans flatten off?

I am the Great Horse - now an ebook

I'll admit the flat part of the curve occurring at a lower rate of loans for each successive book is rather worrying. Is this because of the recent library closures? Cuts to public funding? Or the frustratingly slow period in my career a few years ago? I'd have to compare my graph with other authors' PLR graphs to be sure if it is a trend... but Sword of Light (second curve on the right) looks to be reversing that for me, so perhaps there is some hope yet for my future as an author. Also, this graph shows data from UK public libraries only, and does not include loans from the many excellent school libraries around the country that I know keep copies of my books on their shelves so children can  borrow and read them if they want to. That's a good thought to end on.

Right, that's enough displacement activity! Just got time for a few fun figures to warm up before tackling my accounts...

The reason this graph lives in my finance file is because each one of those loans has earned me between 4p and 6.2p under the Public Lending Right scheme (the rate per loan varies each year). So, over the course of my career to date, working with an average of 5p per loan, my most popular book so far The Great Pyramid Robbery has earned me approximately £2,800 (or £200 per year), and all of my titles added together have earned me a total of  £11,880 (or about £840 per year). I'm always a little uneasy about PLR, since it comes out of people's taxes who might never read books... on the other hand, libraries are one of the public services we pay our taxes for, and there is a cap on payments to limit the burden on the public purse.

Historically, the PLR payment has not always existed for authors, but library loans clearly account for a large section of my readership, as they must do for many other authors. I'd be interested to hear readers' views on whether authors should be paid for these loans, especially if/when ebook lending takes over from print.

***

Katherine Roberts writes historical fiction and fantasy for young readers.

Her latest series the Pendragon Legacy about King Arthur's daughter is now available from Templar in hardcover, paperback or ebook. Meet the heroine Rhianna Pendragon and her friend Prince Elphin of Avalon in the free ebook prequel Horse of Mist.

More at www.katherineroberts.co.uk

Year of the Wood Horse - Katherine Roberts

No, not the one stuffed full of Greeks that destroyed the ancient city of Troy, although war is meant to be one of the wood horse's characteristics! This is the Chinese Year of the Wood (or Green) Horse, which began earlier this week and heralds a year of similar nature to that of 60 years ago, when the element of wood last coincided with the animal sign of the horse. (1954, if my calculations are correct... anyone remember that one?)

Chinese zodiac wheel (picture thanks to wikipedia)

The Chinese zodiac dates back to the Han dynasty of 206-220BC and works on a 12-year cycle, rather than the 12-month cycle associated with our western zodiac. Each year is named after an animal:

Rat

Ox

Tiger

Rabbit (Hare)

Dragon

Snake

Horse

Goat

Monkey

Rooster (Hen)
Dog

Pig

In addition, the Chinese believe that the universe is made up of five elements – earth, water, fire, wood, metal – which interact with the 12 animals to influence the year ahead.

a tiger galloping along the water?

As a horse lover, I've got a natural fondness for horse years, although it seems I was not born in one - I am a tiger (a water tiger to be accurate), but that's ok since tigers can apparently get on well with horses... which is maybe just as well, since I enjoy riding them! You are a probably a horse if you were born in 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, or 2002 although if your birthday falls in January or early February you might be a snake instead. Famous historical figures born in the Year of the Horse include (rather appropriately) the Mongol leader Genghis Khan, the artist Rembrandt, French scientist Louis Pasteur, and US president Franklin Roosevelt.

If you want to check which Chinese zodiac sign you were born under and discover your horoscope for 2014, try this site.

According to the Chinese, this is a year to be bold. There is a lot of fire involved, and may be battles, since the wood aspect means people will stick to their guns this year and not be prepared to negotiate. I imagine it as a rather stubborn horse, digging in his toes when forced to carry a rider where he does not want to go, but galloping keenly in his chosen direction. I have decided it will be a good year to get my Genghis Khan novel out of its drawer and into the world, since my fascination with the Chinese zodiac began while I was doing the research for that book a few years ago... and, of course, it has horses in it!

In the meantime, some other YA books you might like to explore in this Year of the Wood Horse are:

I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade by Diane Wilson - an award-winning young adult title set in the time of Kubla Khan, a delightful story for readers young and old.

The Fire Horse Girl by Kay Honeyman - which I haven't read yet, but the title caught my eye.

I am the Great Horse - the story of Alexander the Great told (with a little help from me) by his warhorse Bucephalas, who left some of his hoof prints across territories later crossed by Genghis Khan.

Troy by Adele Geras - not Chinese, but it contains the famous wooden horse of Greek myth.

Please feel free to add your own recommendations in the comments, and maybe we'll build a History Girls list of titles for this Year of the Horse!

*

Katherine Roberts writes historical fantasy/legend for young readers. Her latest series is the Pendragon Legacy quartet about King Arthur's daughter, available from Templar Books in hardcover, paperback or ebook, which comes complete with magical mist horses from the enchanted land of Avalon. Look out for the free e-prequel - "Horse of Mist" - coming soon!

More details at www.katherineroberts.co.uk

Have written a fairytale. Will travel? Not always! – Katherine Roberts

In less than a month, Grail of Stars, the final book of my Pendragon Legacy quartet for young readers about King Arthur’s daughter, will be published – at least it will be published here in the UK. But not as yet in the US, since this series is considered “too English” for the American market.

Too English!

King Arthur

Well, yes... this series is based on the legend of King Arthur, who was inescapably an English king and/or warlord, if he existed - of which there is some doubt. But King Arthur is killed in battle the day before the first book begins, so my series is actually about his daughter Rhianna Pendragon, a purely fictional character, and her three young friends – also invented by me, one of whom is a fairy and decidedly un-English (though I have to admit he’s not exactly an American fairy, either!)

And yes, as a traditional background for Rhianna’s quest, I did place my Camelot in Somerset on Cadbury Hill, and I located one of the gateways to the enchanted isle of Avalon a few miles away at Glastonbury Tor – although Avalon itself, being fairyland, could be anywhere, even in America. Other ‘English’ scenes are my battles, one of which takes place at Hadrian’s Wall (so possibly our northern cousins would dispute that), and there are plenty of dragon capers around the Welsh valleys in the third book - again not really English. Some of the action in the books takes place on the shores of Avalon, and the fourth book takes my characters across the sea to the Grail Castle - another enchanted location, and maybe somewhere you can reach by boat from English shores, which leaves things wide open, though my bet’s on France.

But I can see what American publishers mean. After all, this is not the first time one of my creations has failed to travel across the Pond. My Seven Fabulous Wonders series - a mixture of fantasy and history based on the old gods and monsters of the time - also failed to sell to an American publisher, since although these books are not English, they were considered “too European” for the American market.

Too European!

The Great Pyramid at Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (my own painting).

They were maybe even a bit too European for the English market, according to a recent survey reported by the Daily Mail. Apparently, only 61% of the British population can name one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the most popular choice being the Great Pyramid (though asking which of the three pyramids at Giza is the actual Wonder might reduce that percentage - if you're curious, it's the oldest one on the right, also the largest, the tomb of Khufu). Only 21% can name a second Wonder on the list, and a mere 6% can list all seven. In fact, an embarrassing 12% of Britons today cannot name a single one, and consider these monuments listed by the ancient Greeks as the wonders of their world to be boring! I suppose the clue is in that word “ancient” – those largely vanished old temples and statues have a bit more competition now that we have so many more modern wonders to marvel at. Also, remember, the world of the ancient Greeks was based around the Mediterranean and Persia, which did not include America.

If you are a US publisher, you'll probably gently remind me at this point that publishing decisions are based on other factors than geographical boundaries, that it’s an increasingly cut-throat business, and everyone is watching the bottom line these days. All of which I understand – I’m no starry-eyed debut author, and I'm not picking on our American cousins by any means, since the same could be said of books that do not travel to China, or even fail to make the short hop across the channel into modern Europe - although in their case there is an extra cost involved with the need to translate the story into a different language. Happily, my Seven Fabulous Wonders did eventually make it into 12 languages, perhaps proving their European appeal, and the Pendragon Legacy is making a good start with French and Turkish deals agreed and others hopefully in the pipeline.

Yet it seems this failure of fantasy stories (which are essentially fairytales, and therefore ought to travel quite easily) to cross geographical boundaries is not a recent thing. I bought this book from a second-hand bookstall the other day, because I fell in love with the beautiful cover:

It is a collection of the original fairytales by the Brothers Grimm, who lived in 18th/19th century Germany, and contains some of perhaps the most famous fairytales of all time. There are detailed notes on the stories in the back, and I was particularly fascinated by the “omitted tales”, and the reasons they were thrown out of this collection at some stage.

These omitted tales include:

Too French!

The Nightingale and the Blindworm, Puss in Boots, Simple Hans, Bluebeard, Okerlo, and Princess Mouseskin were all omitted in 1819 because of their French origins. (Any historian out there hazard a guess as to why?)

Too Scottish!

The Hand With the Knife was omitted in 1819 because of its Scottish origins.

Too Dutch!

The Castle of Murder was omitted in 1819 due to its Dutch origins.

Too Mongolian!

The Faithful Animals was omitted in 1850 because it came from a collection of Mongolian tales.

And a couple of other reasons not really to do with geographical boundaries, but more with culture:

Too Historical!

The Children of Famine and Saint Solicitous were omitted in 1819 because they were too much like legend. (Um, King Arthur's daughter, are you listening?)

Too Gruesome!

How some Children Played at Slaughtering, The Stepmother, and The Children of Famine (doubly unpopular, that one, it seems.)

As you've probably noticed, the omitted tales include some of our best-known fairytales such as Puss in Boots and Bluebeard, so clearly fashions change over time, and also change when stories cross geographical boundaries. How Some Children Played at Slaughtering could even be an early forerunner of  The Hunger Games, one of our most popular YA series today!

So maybe I should not be too upset by “too English” and “too European”, or even "too historical" and "too gruesome"? I am after all an English author and have always felt more European than American culture-wise, even if we do share a language. Perhaps that is why my muse is drawn towards European legends and history? Also, writing something European does not necessarily mean it won’t be published in America – it just has a harder time over there. For example, my Alexander the Great novel from the horse's mouth I am the Great Horse, which one American reviewer (the 2 star one if you follow the B&N link) slammed as unsuitable for children due to its gruesome battle scenes and suggestion of homosexuality, had a hardcover American edition. It did not in the end make it into paperback over there – although I am happy to report this book is now available worldwide as an ebook (see below), crossing geographical boundaries at the click of a key.

The main downside of such labels, of course, is financial. The American market, love it or hate it, is essential in terms of making a living at this writing business. I am now in that scary space between books when I need to decide what to write next, and embarking on new work that I know is going to slam into a geographical wall is probably not the most sensible thing for my career right now.

Of course, in hindsight, I could have set my Greek gods and monsters from the Seven Fabulous Wonders in an American summer camp (like Percy Jackson), or put King Arthur’s daughter and Avalon in space (like the other Pendragon Legacy), shaking off their “too European” and “too English” objections at the outset. No doubt the same approach would work for many other English or European ideas. But they would have lost some of their essential culture and soul along the way. The book that is really begging me to write it next – the one I started last week, meaning to do an hour maybe and ended up writing into the night – is set in ancient Rome. European history again, arghh! I haven’t dared tell my publisher about it, because I do have more American-friendly fantasy series idea, although in the wayward manner of my muse I’ve not written a word of that one yet.

I just know what my editor is going to say...

***

Katherine Roberts writes fantasy and historical fantasy for young readers.

Visit her website for more details www.katherineroberts.co.uk

If you are a slightly older reader, you might like to try her Alexander the Great novel,

now available as an ebook from:

Amazon for Kindle

Apple itunes

Kobo

Nook

Grand National Memories - Katherine Roberts

I have a confession to make. Today I’ll be taking an afternoon off to watch the Grand National, one of Britain’s great sporting traditions. My excuses, if you wish to accept them...

1. I’m horse crazy.

2. I used to work for Venetia Williams, trainer of the 2009 winner, Mon Mome.

3. I won my first bet on Red Rum back in the 1970’s (when I was still underage and had to get my granddad to put the money on for me!)

4. The race is still unpredictable enough to be exciting.

Which is quite a mix of reasons, but I think for most people it's number 4 that makes the Grand National so famous/infamous, depending upon your point of view. Even today with all our carefully-studied form books, safer fences, rules and regulations, the Grand National provides thrills and spills a-plenty. It is still possible (maybe even probable) that a 100-1 outsider will beat the favourite, and that means it’s also possible for someone who can’t tell one end of a horse from another to back a winner.

But how did it all start, and why?

An Irish wager (18th century).
The first steeplechases were run over open fields from one church steeple to the next (hence the name). It all started, apparently, as a wager between two gentlemen in County Cork, who decided to settle the bet by racing their horses across country four miles to the next village. There were few rules, and every obstacle – hedges, ditches, gates, stray sheep – had to be jumped or otherwise climbed over. It was dangerous but must have been very exciting (I don't remember that far back).

an early steeplechase from church to church

The sport quickly caught on. The first recorded steeplechase on a prepared course was run at Bedford in 1810, and the first recognised English National Steeplechase took place on 8th March 1830. This 4-mile race from Bury Orchard in Bedfordshire to the Obelisk in Wrest Park was won by Captain Macdowall on a horse called The Wonder in a time of 16 mins 25 seconds. Not bad, when you consider it can take an hour to drive that distance on a bank holiday!

The First National (1836... maybe)

Becher's Brook, 1890

Lord Sefton laid the foundation stone at Aintree on 7th February 1829, but there is much debate regarding the first official Grand National. Most historians consider the first race to have been run in 1836, when it was won by a horse called The Duke, who won it again the following year 1837. Yet these two early "Grand Nationals" are usually disregarded, because of the belief that they did not actually take place at Aintree. In those days, Becher's Brook was much more formidible than it is today and defined the race.

The War Years (1916–1918)

During the First World War, Aintree Racecourse was taken over by the War Office. To avoid disappointing the racegoing public, the race was moved to Gatwick Racecourse, disused these days and just as well since it is now part of Gatwick Airport. The 1916 race was renamed the Racecourse Association Steeplechase, and the 1917 and 1918 became the War National Steeplechase. They are not usually recognised as Grand Nationals, either.

Last horse standing – Tipperary Tim (1928)

Tipperary Tim started the 1928 Grand National at odds of 100-1. A friend teased his jockey before the race, saying: "You'll only win if all the others fall down!" (I don't remember that year either, but people have said similar things to me in the past). It was a case of famous last words, since 41 of the 42 starters fell during the mist-shrouded, muddy race. Although Billy Barton's jockey managed to remount and complete the race, Tipperary Tim came in first. With only two riders completing the course, this race holds the record for the fewest number of finishers.

“Doing a Devon Loch” - Dick Francis' disappointment (1956)

In 1956 the Queen Mother’s horse, Devon Loch, had cleared the final fence and was leading the field five lengths clear of the second horse. Only yards from what seemed like certain victory, Devon Loch inexplicably half-jumped into the air and collapsed on his belly. Despite efforts by his jockey Dick Francis, he was unable to complete the race. Afterwards, the Queen Mother famously commented: "Oh, that's racing!" and the phrase "to do a Devon Loch" is still sometimes used to describe a last-minute failure to achieve an expected victory. It's the stuff of fiction - as his jockey later proved, when he retired from racing to write his best-selling thrillers. Needless to say, I love those books.

Kindle edition

The horse who had a fence named after him - Foinavon (1967)

When I was a little girl, a melee at the 23rd fence in the 1967 Grand National allowed 100-1 outsider Foinavon to become another surprise winner. A loose horse, which had unseated his rider at the first jump, suddenly veered across the leading group, causing them to stop, refuse, and/or unseat their riders too. Some horses started running in the wrong direction back the way they had come. Foinavon had been lagging 100 yards behind the pack, giving his jockey John Buckingham plenty of time to steer wide of the havoc and make a clean jump of the fence on the outside. Although 17 jockeys remounted and some of them made up considerable ground, none could catch Foinavon before he crossed the finishing line. The 23rd fence (the 7th first time round) is now called  “the Foinavon fence” in his memory.

Red Rum makes me richer (1970’s)

Red Rum is the most successful Grand National horse to date. Originally bought as a yearling in 1966, he passed through various training yards before being bought by trainer Ginger McCain on behalf of one of his owners. Two days later, McCain noticed that Red Rum appeared lame. It turned out his new horse was suffering an inflammatory bone disorder. But McCain had witnessed many lame carthorses recover after being galloped in sea-water, and successfully used this treatment on Red Rum, who went on to win the Grand National three times in 1973, 1974, and 1977 (when he won me my riches - about £2 as I recall). Red Rum finished second in the intervening years 1975 and 1976 and is now buried at Aintree, where his statue also stands, overlooking the course he loved so much.

Red Rum's statue at Aintree

The Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 made it possible for female jockeys to enter the Grand National. The first female jockey to enter the race was Charlotte Brew, who rode the 200-1 outsider Barony Fort in 1977. Sadly she did not finish the race, since her horse refused at the 26th fence. I suppose, being a girl, I should have been rooting for  her... except then Red Rum wouldn't have won.

Safety First (1989) 

After the 1989 Grand National, in which two horses died at Becher's Brook, Aintree finally sucumbed to popular sentiment and modified the course to make it a bit safer. The infamous brook on the landing side of Becher's was filled in, and the incline levelled out although there is still a fearsome drop on the inside of the course. Other fences have been reduced in height, and the entry requirements for the race have been made stricter. The field is now limited to a maximum of 40 horses.

The race that never was (1993)

In 1993, while the race was still under starter's orders, a jockey (think she might have been female, but don't tell anyone) became tangled in the starting tape, which had failed to rise correctly. A false start was declared, but lack of communication between course officials meant that 30 out of the 39 jockeys did not realise this and continued to race. Officials tried to stop the runners further by waving red flags, but many jockeys thought that they were protesters who had invaded the course earlier and ignored them. Seven horses completed the course, including the “winner” Esha Ness (in the second-fastest time ever), ridden by John White and trained by Jenny Pitman – but as the start had been declared false, the result had to be declared void. I can still remember the expression on the winner’s face when he realised this... more stuff of fiction.

A Bomb Scare (1997)

The 1997 Grand National had to be postponed after two coded bomb threats were received from the IRA. I was watching the meeting on TV at the time, terrified there would be an explosion, since my husband was there that year with Venetia’s horses. The course was evacuated, and all cars and coaches were locked in the course grounds leaving 20,000 people without their vehicles for the weekend. With limited accommodation available in the city, local residents opened their doors and took in many of those stranded. My husband slept in his lorry, after stabling the horses nearby. The race was finally run two days later on the Monday.

Up the Girls! (2000 onwards)

In 2009, Mon Mome won at 100-1 for Venetia Williams, only the second female trainer to have a victory in the race since Jenny Pitman. I had got divorced and left the yard by then, but was excited enough to phone my ex-husband and congratulate Venetia's team.

In 2012, Katie Walsh completed the course on Seabass to finish in third place after an exciting race, the best result to date for a female jockey.


I’m writing this ahead of time, so I can’t tell you yet which horse will win in 2013 (if I could, I'd have the mortgage on the beast!). But you can be sure this year’s Grand National winner will touch the hearts of many who do not normally care about horse racing. Will it be another 100-1 shot outsider or the favourite On his Own? Or will Katie Walsh beat her brother Ruby and make it a first for a jockey girl? What a story that would make!

So did you pick a winner this year?

Me and friends playing at being jockey girls in County Sligo, Ireland

My horse racing days might not have turned me into a champion jockey, but they inspired my Alexander the Great novel "I am the Great Horse", since I know what is is like to send a horse you care for into a race (or a battle) praying that he will return unharmed. For those who cannot bear to watch the Grand National, the Kindle edition of "I am the Great Horse" is FREE TODAY AND TOMORROW ONLY from amazon (offer applies midnight to midnight Pacific Time - please check price is zero before downloading).

***

Katherine Roberts is an award winning children's author www.katherineroberts.co.uk

Her latest series the Pendragon Legacy about King Arthur's daughter is published by Templar - Book 3 Crown of Dreams is now available in hardcover.

Blog reclusivemuse.blogspot.com
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From Anne Frank to War Horse: children's historical books sell! - Katherine Roberts

I’ve reached that stage between projects when I don’t quite know what I’ll publish next. I’ve got several files of half-worked ideas, including two novels not yet contracted, mostly historical fantasy for younger readers since that’s where my passion lies. But what of the editor who told me bluntly a few years ago that “historical fiction for children does not sell”? I have ambitions the same as the next author, and certainly don't want to waste everyone's time, including my own, writing something that has no hope of selling because of its subject matter.

So here's the million-dollar question: is it possible to write historical fiction for younger readers that hits the Top 100? (Which I assume is what the editor really meant by "sell".)

In the interests of research, let's analyse the best-seller lists. I began with the Kindle best-sellers, since I can do that lying in bed with no danger of heavy-historical-tome-reader’s-RSI.

Sadly, there 's only one historical novel on the list when I look*, in at number 20: Winter in Madrid by CJ Sansom. It’s not a children’s book, at least I don't think so. Even more sadly, it’s one of those 20p-is-that-all-our-work-is-worth? promotional efforts on behalf of its publisher. In fact, looking at the Kindle bestsellers, I decide this list is flawed because it’s clearly driven by price and not much else, with only two of the ebooks in the Top 20 costing more than £1. Besides, apparently only about 20% of readers – and even fewer younger readers – actually own a Kindle at present, so there obviously isn’t much point me looking there for inspiration... at least not for another few years.

All right, let’s take a peek at best-sellers in (adult) historical fiction.

Wolf Hall & Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan

Dominion by CJ Sansom (interestingly, not Winter in Madrid…)

Pillars of the Earth & World Without End by Ken Follett

HhHH by Laurent Binet and Sam Taylor

The Fever Tree by Jennifer McVee

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

Some of  the above would interest me an adult reader, but none really count as children’s books, even though I can imagine teenagers and young adults enjoying them for the adventure. In fact you have to scroll down to number 143 on the historical list to find The Once and Future King by TH White, which also happens to be one of my all-time favourites from when I was a teenager.

one of my favourite books as a teenager

This is quite encouraging, since my Pendragon Legacy quartet about King Arthur’s daughter is a similar legend-based fantasy for children set in an Arthurian world - and I'm happy to report that the third book in my series Crown of Dreams overtook "The Once and Future King" on amazon last month, so the Arthurian legend still looks promising if you're considering it. But since authors start work on a book a couple of years ahead of publication, I need to get started on a new project even while my publishers are busy bringing out my last one (this is the reason authors sometimes forget the plots of their own books when they are on publicity tours... their head is already starting to spin with the next idea!)

So let’s get a bit more specific and find out what does sell to a younger readership.The current best-selling children’s books in fiction come up as:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (series) by Jeff Kinney

Beautiful Creatures series (film tie-in) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl)

The Hunger Games (trilogy) by Suzanne Collins

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom (picture books) by Julia Donaldson

Harry Potter (series) by JK Rowling

Holes by Louis Sachar

Wonder by R J Palacio

A mixed bag here, covering all ages from picture books to YA. I loved Holes (if you haven’t read this yet, it’s one of those wonderful crossover titles that appeal to a wide readership). And I was blown away in a slightly envious "damn, why didn't I write that?" way by The Hunger Games - what self-respecting SF/F/H fan wouldn’t be? But only two on this list can really be counted as historical, and I suspect both of those are on a curriculum somewhere as required reading, since neither seem to me the sort of book a child would seek out for fun - and Diary of A Young Girl of course isn't  fiction. Although diaries do seem to have an edge, so maybe I'm wrong? Does the diary format make historical subjects more appealing to a child reader?

Ah ha, perhaps the problem for younger readers lies with the actual reading, not the subject matter. So how about the most popular movies of last year?

8th most popular movie of 2012

The top 10 movies of 2012 (according to box office takings) were:

1. The Avengers
2. The Dark Knight Rises
3. The Hunger Games
4. Skyfall (James Bond)
5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
6. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
7. The Amazing Spider Man
8. Brave
9. Ted
10. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

This is encouraging. Science fiction and fantasy settings dominate, as do films aimed at younger audiences, with "Brave" keeping up the historical side by winning Best Animated Film at the recent Oscars. I noted in a previous post on this blog how these three genres have a lot in common, and Brave's heroine is very similar in character to my heroine Rhianna Pendragon, so I'm on target there. But WAIT - this is last year’s movie list, and I was just reading on a famous literary agent’s blog how “dystopia” is now a rude word in publishing circles, when not that long ago it appeared to be all publishers were looking for following the success of the Hunger Games. So this list might work for books already written, but is pretty pointless for the one I haven't started yet.

Right then, let's get to the nitty-gritty and look at the top 10 in children’s historical fiction. Rather tellingly (and surprisingly, because I'd rather assumed it would be there), amazon doesn’t list “historical” in its subcategories under children’s fiction. The closest is “myth/legends”, which is heavily skewed towards fantasy titles such as my Pendragon books, followed by "westerns", which includes fellow History Girl Caroline Lawrence's Western Mysteries in the top 100.

I'd love to have done this list a few years ago, when historical fantasy such as Susan Price's fabulous tale of the border reivers The Sterkarm Handshake won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award, and Celia Rees' Witch Child wowed the world. But these classic titles seem to have slipped out of the lists in favour of Michael Morpurgo's backlist currently riding high on the success of War Horse. Failing to pull up anything sensible by typing "children's historical fiction" into amazon's search box, I call up the list of bestsellers in children's books (general), and work through it by hand looking for historical themes. Given that I'm not a computer algorithm, this is what I came up with:

No. 1 bestselling children's historical title

Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Time Riders by Alex Scarrow
Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Heroes by Robert Cormier
Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
Gladiator: Son of Spartacus by Simon Scarrow

The top-selling title on this list comes in at number 313 in the total books chart, and the final one at number 1,850. Not at all bad, when you consider how many books are listed on amazon's site. And the subcategory 'children's historical fiction' might not (yet) be there for readers, but it is for publishers when you list a book in the Kindle store. My backlist historical novel "I am the Great Horse" (reissued as an ebook last month) made it into the top 100 of the children’s historical fiction subcategory in the US in its first week... and no, it wasn't 20p at the time!

,

Climb on my back, if you dare...

From which I can only conclude that the editor was wrong when she told me that children don't read historical books, because the ones listed above obviously do sell, and I'd guess from looking at their rankings that they are not only selling, but selling enough copies to make their publishers a profit... although from the current children's historical list above, I suspect it helps if you are (a) male and/or (b) writing about a World War.

For a bit of fun, I'll leave you with some History Girl strategies to consider if you write historical fiction for young readers but the big sales are not happening for you yet:


1. Have a sex change (bit drastic maybe).
2. Use a male pseudonym - or better still, initials to keep everyone guessing.
3. Write about a horse (already done that!) in one of the World Wars (ah...)
4. Get on the adult Top 10 historical list first and then write a children's book (talk about making life difficult for yourself.)
5. Forget all of the above, and just write a damn good story!

*Top 10 book and Kindle lists courtesy of amazon.co.uk, correct as of 24th February 2013

I’m away at the moment on tour for my publisher Templar (I do still remember the plots of my Pendragon books, I do, I do...) So if you have any thoughts on the above, please leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you at the weekend when I return.

Meanwhile, happy historical bestseller browsing!

***

Katherine Roberts is an award-winning children's author.

Her Pendragon Legacy series about King Arthur's daughter is published by Templar:
Book 1 SWORD OF LIGHT
Book 2 LANCE OF TRUTH
Book 3 CROWN OF DREAMS 
Book 4 GRAIL OF STARS  (coming October 2013) 

More about her books at www.katherineroberts.co.uk
Her unicorn muse blogs at http://reclusivemuse.blogspot.com
Twitter: @AuthorKatherine and @PendragonGirl

Alexander and Bucephalus at the Gates of Paradise – Katherine Roberts

US hardcover (sadly out of print)

The Year 6 children of Fairholme School have just completed a wonderful project inspired by my novel I am the Great Horse and Paulo Veronese’s painting The Family of Darius before Alexander, part of the National Gallery’s Take One Picture initiative. This led them to produce and publish their own illustrated book “The Amazing Adventures of Bucephalus and Alexander”:

Since "I am the Great Horse" was responsible for some of the contents, their head teacher very kindly sent me copy. In its large and colourful pages are stories, poems, and illustrations by the children, mixed with famous pictures of Alexander and King Darius and film stills from Francis Ford Coppola’s "The Black Stallion" and the final cut of Oliver Stone’s "Alexander" (and if you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend this film!)

Dare I say it, the children of Fairholme School have even improved on the orignal story. Their book opens with an imaginary chapter about Bucephalus being shipwrecked on an island in the Aegean with the boy Alexander. Here boy and horse form a bond so that years later, when Bucephalus is brought to Pella wild and unrideable, he recognises Prince Alexander and trusts him enough to allow him on his back.

The story then whisks us to Persepolis in Persia, where King Darius is celebrating Nowruz, the Persian new year. Delegates from all around the world bring him treasure, except for the Macedonians, who famously bring him nothing but a challenge from Alexander. There are several amusing accounts of this, including the Egyptian Times reporter Sophie Hogg who “always gets the juicy gossip she wants”. King Darius, furious, sends Alexander a bowl of sesame seeds and a bat and ball, telling him to count the seeds because they are the number of soldiers in his army, and to play with the ball because is acting like a child. But Alexander cleverly scatters the seeds on the steps of his palace, where the birds fly down and eat them all. “Those are my soldiers,” he tells the Persian envoy. “Eating King Darius’ army for breakfast.”

The battle of Gaugamela is next, with some colourful pictures of Persian soldiers losing to Alexander. Then comes the famous death of Darius, after which Alexander and Bucephalus fight strange creatures and huge poisonous flowers in a fantasy land inspired by the Greek Alexander Romance, when Alexander tries to get into Paradise but finds the gates firmly locked against him.

This is told in a powerful story "The Vanity of Ambition” where a wise man weighs Alexander’s fragment of a skull against an increasing quantity of gold, yet the skull is always the heaviest, representing the unending desire of man… only when the wise man covers up the skull’s eye socket with earth (representing death) do the scales tip the other way, since this finally puts an end to its lust and ambition.

Alexander should have learned a lesson from that, but fights one last battle against King Porus’ elephants in India, in which Bucephalus dies. Heartbroken, Alexander names a city after his brave horse, inspiring the children to write this touching poem:

I will always remember you.
Even though you have passed on
Our bond will always last
As to me you are forever young.
I am going to make you the biggest and best funeral pyre. Afterwards I am going to keep your ashes in a jar in my tent where I can see you.
Bucephalus, I hope you make it to Paradise!

And you'll be pleased to know that in the Fairholme book Bucephalus does make it into Paradise, where he bathes in the Waters of Eternity.

So even while the Great Horse gasps his last in printed form, if he has inspired just one class of children to create such wonderful work and discover along the way more about Alexander the Great, then my book was worth writing. Such is the power of historical novels (and films) that educate and inspire as well as entertain.


The rights to I am the Great Horse are reverting.



http://www.katherineroberts.co.uk/
http://reclusivemuse.blogspot.com/