Tea at Fortnum's with Kate de Goldi

Before Kate De Goldi left London to fly back to her home in New Zealand, she joined Dinah Hall, Sunday Telegraph book reviewer and blogger, Jo from Foyles Children's Department CXR and Jess from Primrose Books in North London for tea at Fortnum's in Piccadilly. Also enjoying the delicious cakes and ice-creams (they do these little mini-cones with different flavours as a 'starter') were myself, Templar commissioning editor for fiction Helen Boyle and Lesley Preston from Bounce!

Kate kept us entertained with her stories of her travels around Britain - she started off in Edinburgh and worked her way slowly south - falling in love with each new city and region as she went. Her indefatigable travelling companion was Reena - an extraordinary walking talking powerhouse of knowledge and wisdom. They made a great pair - I won't forget them whistling in harmony in the mornings at our Edinburgh flat.

Dinah Hall has also written up a short blog - http://ladybookbird.tumblr.com - which sums up Kate perfectly!

Click here for an extract

The 10pm Question
Kate de Goldi

Twelve-year-old Frankie Parsons has a head full of questions. Only Ma takes him seriously, but unfortunately she is the cause of the most worrying question of all, the one Frankie can never bring himself to ask. Then a new girl arrives at school with questions of her own: questions that make Frankie’s carefully controlled world begin to unravel.

"De Goldi is the brightest star in Templar’s new and exciting fiction list. This is an effusive novel packed with garrulous dialogue and layers of characters, that really capture the themes of family complexity and mental health. Definitely one to watch in young adult fiction this autumn."

The Bookseller Highlights of the Season

The Crimson Shard Blog Tour 3rd October - 14th October

Well, it had to happen at some point... Templar's last young adult novel to be published in 2011 is almost here but we're definitely ending things on a high with The Crimson Shard, the fantastic time travel adventure sequel to The Blackhope Enigma by Teresa Flavin.

THE CRIMSON SHARD
Teresa Flavin

This sequel to The Blackhope Enigma is imbued with alchemy and intrigue. During what seems like an ordinary museum visit, tour guide Throgmorton lures Sunni and Blaise through a painted doorway into eighteenth-century London. When Throgmorton demands secret information from the pair about their Blackhope escapades, they attempt to flee, encountering body snatchers, art thieves and forgers in this gripping time-travel adventure.

Read an extract!




Teresa will be visiting 8 exciting young adult and children's book blogs to drop off some fantastic guest posts, provide the As in some Q&As and of course, it wouldn't be a proper blog tour without the odd giveaway...

3rd October

First up Teresa with be at Nayu's Reading Corner to talk about where, or rather when, she would go if she had a magical painted doorway through time.

4th October

Teresa picks out her favourite books over at Serendipity Reviews on day 2: time travel books, historical books, books that inspire and books that must be on her shelf at all times!

5th October

Readaraptor has the first giveaway and the first interview of the tour so head here if you want to find out how Teresa's work as an illustrator influences her writing and perhaps what her favourite dinosaur is too...

6th October

You can find Teresa's next guest post at Our Book Reviews Online where she will be talking all about the inspirations behind the magical worlds of the paintings in her books.

7th October

The tour's next interview will be hosted by Heaven, Hell and Purgatory Book Reviews so head here for more juicy insights!

8th October

Heading into the weekend, Teresa will be dropping off another guest post for Steph Likes Books - you'll just have to wait to find out what it's about!

9th October

Lyrical Reviews will be hosting the third and final Q&A and here is the place to find out more about Teresa's research, who her favourite artist is and what she thinks of the cover designs for her books. There will also be a giveaway so make sure you enter to win a copy of The Crimson Shard.

14th October

Don't think that is it! There's one more stop a few days later with Tall Tales and Short Stories who will be hosting Teresa's last guest post and also your last chance on the tour to bag a copy of the new book - definitely not one to miss!

~

Teresa was born in New York and studied Illustration at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. Since 1993 she has illustrated a number of picture and chapter books for children and young adults.

In 1995 she moved to Glasgow, Scotland, where she began writing her own stories to illustrate. She was awarded a 2006 Scottish Arts Council New Writers Bursary to work on her first illustrated novel for 9-14 year olds, The Blackhope Enigma, of which The Crimson Shard is the sequel. Teresa is currently working on her third novel.


Find out more about Teresa Flavin on her website or follow her on Twitter!

Meet the Templar Team - Introducing Laura Garrod

Meet Laura Garrod - Uk Sales Administrator

How long have you been at Templar?
I have been at Templar for 4 months, I joined as an intern where I worked in the foreign rights department and was then lucky enough to bag a job in UK sales!

What does your job involve?
My job primarily involves assisting Clare, the UK Publishing Manager. I also work closely with Bounce! Our sales and marketing agency. We meet on a bi-weekly basis to discuss sales developments and it gives us a chance to present current and future titles to them.

What is the most satisfying element of your job?
As cliché as it sounds, seeing a book finally finished. I haven’t been at Templar long enough yet to see the entire process but being able to hold a finished copy is really satisfying.

Have you had any funny awkward moments?
Not that I can remember, but I am sure in time there will be a few.

What did you want to be when you were a child?
I really wanted to be a Doctor when I was younger. I even had work experience at Epsom hospital in Accident and Emergency, but fainted on my first day when a lady had a nose bleed (not my finest hour!) I was then advised by the Doctor I was shadowing to rethink my career choice.

What is your most memorable moment or biggest achievement at Templar to date? Presenting to the Sales reps at the Bounce Spring Conference in August. It was the first time I met all the reps together and really enjoyed the whole experience.

How do you take your tea?
I don’t drink tea.

Fave book related blogs / twitter accounts/websites ?
The Book Sniffer for interesting book reviews, the bookseller for industry ‘gossip’ and cupcakesandcashmere.com for fashion and food.

What are you working on at the moment?
I am currently preparing sales material for a meeting with Early Learning Centre and WH Smiths.

Are there any authors or illustrators you haven’t worked with yet who you would like to work with in the future?
Growing up I really loved reading Hans Christian Andersen stories. It would be really nice to see a Templar collection of these.

What are your favourite books (both Templar and non Templar)?
My favourite Templar books (because I cant choose just one) are Monstrous Book of Monsters, Santa’s Handbook and Jack and the Baked Beanstalk. My favourite non Templar books are The Hungry Caterpillar and The Cat in the Hat. I also love the Alice Sebold books; The Lovely Bones, Full Moon and Lucky.


QUICK FIRE

Which Monster Mate are you? Nancy
Bookshop or library Bookshop
Physical or digital Physical
Mac or PC PC
Coffee or tea Neither..diet coke!
Biscuit or cake Biscuit – chocolate!!
Heatwave or snowstorm Snowstorm

Thanks Laura - You're the TOPS!

VIII Blog Tour 26th September - 3rd October

So, how much do you think you know about the most infamous King of England? Well, if you haven't read VIII by H. M. Castor then you don't know the half of it! Prepare to enter the mind of Henry VIII and discover just why he turned from an ordinary, fun-loving boy into the cruel tyrant of his later years.

VIII
H. M. Castor

Destined for greatness; tormented by demons... VIII is the story of Hal: a young, handsome, gifted warrior, who believes he has been chosen to lead his people. But he is tormented by the ghosts of his family's violent past and, once he rises to power, he turns to murder and rapacious cruelty. He is Henry VIII. The Tudors have always captured the popular imagination. In VIII, Henry is presented afresh for a new generation of teenage readers.

"Succeeds brilliantly in portraying the troubled soul of Henry from youth to old age." Bookseller Pod

"A real page-turner for older readers." Bookseller

Read an extract!


To welcome this fantastic historical novel onto our bookshelves, Harriet Castor will be making her way around eight blogs run by historical fiction lovers up and down the UK. Definitely not something to miss if you want to solve the enigma of Henry VIII, have a passion for historical fiction or just plain love a good story. Here's what you can expect:

26th September

First off, Harriet will be over at The Book Zone where she'll be talking about why Henry VIII as a character has such a timeless appeal and why his story is so relevant to the modern reader.

27th September

If that whets your appetite, there will be an exclusive extract from VIII at Daisy Chain Book Reviews along with a giveaway so make sure you enter to win the beautiful hardback of VIII.

28th September

On day three, Harriet will be at The Overflowing Library to drop off another brilliant guest post, talking about all her research for VIII with perhaps a sneak preview of the next project...

29th September

The first Q&A of the tour will be held over at A Little Sun Shy so don't miss the chance to find out all the juiciest gossip!

30th September

Find out why Elvis, Elton and Robert Downey Jr were essential to building Henry's character profile over at Floor To Ceiling Books - especially Robert Downey Jr!

1st October

Cheezyfeet Books will be hosting the next Q&A. What better way to celebrate publication day?

2nd October

You can find Harriet's final guest post over at A Dream of Books and she'll be talking about why villains make such good heroes. Embrace the baddy!

3rd October

It's the last stop but it definitely promises to be a goody over at The Book Bug who will be grilling Harriet in her final interview and posting a review just in case you need one more reason to grace your bookshelf with VIII.

~

H. M. Castor has been obsessed with the Tudors since primary school. She studied Tudor History at Cambridge University, and despite spending time after that doing a variety of jobs – including teaching English in Prague and working as a Benesh Movement Notator for the Royal Ballet – the Tudors have never lost their hold on
her.

H. M. Castor lives in Bristol with her husband and two daughters.

For more, check out Harriet's website or follow her on Twitter.

A Wicked entry from the desk of Templar fiction

After a few days soaking up the bookish culture at the Edinburgh Book Festival we've returned to find summer is officially over, it's September and the starting gun for autumn and Christmas titles has sounded. One good thing about being back in the office after a nice break up North was returning to find some lovely sparkling and shiny new books waiting on our desk. Oh yes they look so pretty, we do love seeing the finished book all brand new and waiting to be read by new readers.

September marks the start of a busy two months for Templar fiction with some big new titles and debut authors coming over the autumn months. As many of you know the epic survival thriller POD by Stephen Wallenfels has been invading blogs and bookshops these last few weeks and now launches with an extremely cool new website. Check out www.podinvasion.co.uk and play our survival game to be in with a chance to win an iPad.

Two of the shiny new books we returned to find were Wickedness and Frogspell, (more to come in a later post on Frogspell antics). Both are outstanding debut novels from two new authors on the Templar fiction list and we're super excited about them both. 

 

Wickedness is a real genre-busting book, combining historical, paranormal, magic and romance. It tells the interconnected tales of two red-headed girls living 400 years apart, an ancient prophecy and a sinister and seductive stranger...It's gripping, magical, scary, romantic, heart-stopping all at the same time. Add to this beautifully crafted story-telling skills from author Deborah White and we reckon we've got a real new talent in teenage writing.

To celebrate the publication, Debbie has just embarked on virtual tour, so check her posts out at the following blogs. There are lots of exclusives, extracts and extras, personally I'm very much looking forward to 17th Century make-up and Day in the Life of an Egyptian teen!

Thurs 1st Sept  I Want to Read That Competiton to win 5 signed books, pens and intro
Fri 2nd Sept Fluttering Butterflies Extract exclusive
Mon 5th Sept Books for Company Character profile
Tues 6th Sept My Favourite Books 17th Century make-up
Wed 7th Sept Wondrous Reads Day in the life of Debbie
Thurs 8th Sept Musings of a Bookshop Girl Q&A with Debbie about writing
Fri 9th Sept Once Upon a Bookcase Day in life of an Egyptian teen
Mon 12th September Love Fantasy Sci-Fi Novels Why Egypt is inspiring
Tues 13th Sept The Great, the Good & the Bad I wouldn’t be here without

So to celebrate the publication of Wickedness, why not do something wicked this September!

And whilst all that's going on the fiction team are still planning and plotting world domination, our fiction list for 2012. There's so much exciting stuff, we can't wait to tell you all about it...