Live.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the people who read this book in its infancy and gave me massive support, particularly my fantastic mum and sister, Kerry and Elizabeth. Your belief in me leaves me lost for words.
Thank you to my fabulous friend Polly, for spending many hours reading through the early manuscript and offering your brilliant advice.
I am also hugely grateful to Shirley, Dan, Alison, Esther, Kedi, Kate and Niki – your thoughtful comments and feedback turned out to be exactly what I needed.
And thank you, Julia and Alex, for taking a chance and making this happen.
Violet Ink
REBECCA WESTCOTT
Coming in summer 2014
Turn over for an exclusive extract from Rebecca’s next book.
Mellow Yellow
I am a hundred per cent determined to win. Never, in living memory has Alex lost a game of Snap, but tonight history is about to be rewritten. In fact, it’s my New Year’s resolution. I have decided that this year is going to be the Year of Yellow and that means the Year of Happiness because yellow is a very happy colour. Winning this game against Alex is definitely going to make me happy. I crack my knuckles and wiggle my fingers – best to be flexible and ready for ninja-like moves.
‘OK,’ says Mum, shuffling the cards. Our deck is ancient, all dog-eared and crumpled. ‘Are we all agreed on the rules?’
‘Bring it on,’ says Alex, sounding confident. I just nod, not taking my eyes off the cards that Mum is dealing out on to the kitchen table. When all the cards have been shared out between the three of us, we each pick up our pile, keeping the cards face down so that they can’t be seen.
‘Your turn to go first,’ Mum says to me.
I put down the first card, turning it over as it reaches the table. Alex slams a card on top and the game has begun.
Jack, Two, Queen, Ace. I am totally focused, looking at nothing but the cards mounting up in front of me. My mouth is half open, the ‘s’ ready on my lips. I WILL beat her this time – there’s no way she can win again.
Three, Ten, Jack, King, King.
‘Sn–’ I start, but unbelievably my noisy, annoying big sister gets there before me.
‘Cheese sandwiches!’ she yells, nearly deafening me, and whacking her hand down on top of the stack of cards, just in case we’re in any doubt about who has won. ‘I win! Again!’
I cannot actually believe that this is happening. She’s going to be utterly unbearable now. I really thought I’d win this time. I’d just like to win ONCE – is that too much to ask? I think I’d be a pretty good winner too and not do what Alex is doing now, making ‘loser’ signs at us and dancing round the kitchen bragging. I’d just smile generously and say, ‘Good game.’ Well, I think I would. It’s hard to know what I’d do when I never actually get to win. Ever.
Mum is laughing and Alex sinks back into her chair, looking across at me with a huge grin on her face.
‘How, how –?’ I splutter, but I can’t even get the words out properly. ‘It’s not right, Alex. You’ve GOT to be cheating. We made you say “cheese sandwiches” – there was no way you could win.’
‘What can I say?’ says Alex, flicking her hair behind her shoulder and shrugging. I’m sure she’ll think of something though; she’s never usually short of a word or two. ‘Natural talent, I guess. If there was an A level in playing Snap then I’d get an A star, that’s for sure!’
‘Well, it’s totally unfair,’ I tell her, feeling cross. ‘We have to play again and this time you’ve got to say “cheese and mayonnaise sandwiches”. And NO cheating.’
I grab the cards and start to reshuffle the deck, but Mum stops me.
‘Not tonight, Izzy. Alex has got studying to do and, sadly for her, Snap is not one of her A level subjects, so she needs to put a bit of effort into doing some work.’
Alex groans dramatically. Alex does everything dramatically actually, like her entire life is really a show and she’s the star. It means that she’s noisy and bossy and very opinionated, but it also makes her a pretty exciting person to live with. You never quite know what she’s going to do next – the only thing you do know is that it won’t be boring. In the whole seventeen years that Alex has been alive I don’t think she’s ever done anything average. Not like me. My name could be the definition of average.
‘Do you have to remind me? We haven’t even gone back to school yet. I was just starting to relax.’ She scowls at Mum. ‘It’s very important that I have rest sessions in between all the hard work you know – all my teachers say so. Stress can be very damaging at this stage of my life.’
Mum stands up and starts to clear away our leftover dinner plates. ‘Stress can be very damaging at my time of life too, I’ll have you know. And I think you’ll find the most important part of what you just said was the bit about resting in between working. WORKING! And, as I’ve seen precious little evidence of you doing any actual work over the Christmas holidays, I think you’ll survive with a shorter “relaxation” session tonight!’
She is smiling at Alex, but in that way that means ‘do what I say or I’ll stop pretending that you have a choice’. Alex pushes back her chair and gets up, pulling a face when Mum has turned towards the sink.
‘Sorry, Izzy. I’ll have to thrash you at Snap another night.’
‘No rush,’ I mutter. ‘I’m probably going to be really busy with violin practice for the next few weeks.’
‘Oh joy. More screeching and wailing to set my teeth on edge.’ Alex grimaces at me as she leaves the room, her pile of school books still on the table and her jumper and scarf hanging over the back of her chair. She’ll be back down in ten minutes, once she’s spent a while making her room right for studying. That doesn’t mean that she’ll tidy it up. No. Alex says that the ambience has to be right so she’ll drape a silk scarf over her lamp and light some joss sticks, and then flit around lighting candles all over the place.
It drives Mum crazy – she’s terrified that Alex is going to burn the house down – but Alex says it’s her room and she’s virtually an adult so Mum should trust her for a change. Mum lets her, but what Alex doesn’t know is that, when she’s asleep, Mum always creeps into her bedroom and checks everything is safe. I know this because I check on her too, and one night I opened my bedroom door just as Mum was going into Alex’s room. I saw her tiptoe round the room, turning off the lamp and making sure that the candles were out. When she came out, I pretended that I was going to the bathroom. Mum gave me a hug and put her finger to her lips and I knew that she didn’t want Alex to know that Mum still looks after her.
I’m glad that Alex has got me AND Mum to keep her safe because sometimes her head is so busy with exciting things, she forgets to do the things that she really should be doing. We’re like her protectors so that she can get on with being Alex.
Dandelion Clocks
Reading Group Questions
Dandelion Clocks is written in the first person, from the point of view of Liv. Do you think the story would have had less/more impact if it had been written in the third person?
Which character would you most like to meet? What would you ask them?
How would you describe the relationship between Isaac and Liv? Do you think they both rely on each other equally or does one need the other more?
Mum tells Liv that she’s ready to live life loudly. What do you think Mum means when she says this?
How do Liv’s feelings towards her mum change at the start/middle/end of the book?
Who do you think is the bravest character in the book? Who has the most courage?
Despite the sadness of the story, there are some funny moments in Dandelion Clocks. Are there any scenes that you identify with and think ‘that could have happened to me’?
Isaac has Asperger’s syndrome and finds it difficult to understand idioms (phrases that mean something different to what is actually said). So when Liv tells him to ‘speak to the hand’ he litera
lly talks to his hand. How many idioms can you think of that are used in everyday language? For example: It’s raining cats and dogs = raining heavily, or spill the beans = tell a secret.
How is the theme of rules used throughout Dandelion Clocks?
Liv says, ‘I’m kind of obsessed with photographs. I love the way that they’re memory evidence.’ What does she mean by this?
Liv is a character who often leaps to the wrong conclusion. How does this get her into trouble on several occasions?
How does the mood of the book change after Mum has died? How does Liv change?
Did you like the ending? How would you have liked it to end?
At the end of the book, Liv decides that she needs to remember her mum’s rules and try to live life loudly. What do you think happens to Liv after the book ends?
Writing Activity
Do you keep a diary? I’ve been writing diaries since I was eight years old and most of the entries are either really boring or completely embarrassing! I used some of my own diary entries as Mum’s diary in Dandelion Clocks. For example, I really did have a guinea pig called Smokey and I cried every night for weeks when he died. I also had a list of four and a half boys that I really liked, but I was definitely not in the cool group at school and all the boys thought that I was loud and annoying.
When I was eighteen, I spent hours writing meaningful song lyrics in the margins with felt-tip pens (I said I was uncool …). I really like reading my old diaries and remembering how I felt when I was a child and then a teenager, even if they do make me cringe.
Writing a diary from the point of view of someone else can really improve your writing. It’s important to write events in a chronological order and to make the tone of your writing really personal. Using rhetorical questions (a question that won’t be answered) can help the reader understand how the writer is feeling and give us more information about their state of mind.
Try writing a diary entry for each of these characters – and maybe start keeping your own diary. You don’t need to use anything special – you can write in an old notebook. Fill in your own Secret File page to help you get started!
A well-known celebrity who has had a bad day and discovers that they are splashed across the front pages of the newspapers.
A character from a children’s picture book. I’d love to read the diary of the Hungry Caterpillar, hearing about his week from his point of view!
Your own diary entry from the day you made your biggest mistake. Include one lie – something that didn’t really happen.
Liv’s diary entry from the day she goes on her date with Ben. What happens? Does it go well? How does she feel when she gets home?
Questions for Rebecca
How long did it take you to write Dandelion Clocks and Violet Ink?
I tend to write a first draft quite quickly – it takes me about six to eight weeks, writing after work in the evenings and at weekends. Being a teacher is great because I get lots of writing time during the holidays, which helps! Once the first draft is written I’ll take my time on the edit, really developing the voice of the main character and making sure that there are no inconsistencies in the plot.
Does anyone read your books while you are in the process of writing them?
I’m really lucky to have an incredibly supportive family, who read everything that I write (and have an opinion on everything I write too!). My eleven-year-old daughter was the first person to read both books. In fact, it was a conversation that I had with her in our garden one day last spring that gave me the idea for Dandelion Clocks. She also helped me to write some of Izzy’s poems in Violet Ink. Once I’m happy with what I’ve written, I’ll ask people to have a read and give me their thoughts. My husband, mum, sister and lovely friends are great at doing this!
Which authors have inspired you?
One of my favourite authors is Robert Cormier. He writes about topics that are quite grown up in a way that younger readers can access, without being patronizing. I often find his books chilling – they always leave me with a list of questions and wanting more.
When I was a child, I loved Judy Blume. I would read her books and feel as if I completely knew the characters, even though their lives were so different to mine.
Now, I enjoy reading books by authors like Patrick Ness, Meg Rosoff and John Green. They aren’t afraid of tackling ‘big’ issues. After all, life happens to everyone – not just to adults.
What is your favourite way to spend a day off from teaching and writing?
I love spending time with my family. We are all big fans of camping and what I enjoy most is sitting in the sunshine watching my husband cook us an amazing campfire meal while our three children race around on their bikes (I’m not completely lazy though – I do the washing-up!).
In the winter, if I’m not writing then I’m probably reading, while my husband cooks us a meal and the children create chaos with Nerf guns. (You can probably tell that I really, really hate cooking.) Actually, I’m not that fond of housework either, so at the weekends we play a card game after supper – the loser has to do the washing up.
I want to be a writer. What are your top tips for getting published?
Write for fun! When I wrote Dandelion Clocks I was so excited by the idea that I wanted to write it down just to find out if I could create a story from beginning to end. I didn’t write to get published – I wrote because it made me feel happy.
Sometimes, write as quickly as you possibly can. Don’t worry about whether it’s perfect – just enjoy the excitement of writing your words down. And then leave it. One of my favourite things about writing is returning to read something I wrote a while ago. It’s a great way of figuring out what works in your writing.
Write for lots of different reasons. Being a writer doesn’t mean that you are writing a book. It means that you communicate and record information using written words. So write a diary, write letters, write emails, send texts. Make lists, write a poem that you’ll only ever show one person, leave notes for your family on the fridge in magnetic letters. Write using as many exciting, interesting words as you can and then write using only twenty words. Play about – they’re your words and there aren’t any rules.
Don’t give up. If someone gives you feedback on your writing (it could be your friends, family or a teacher), then listen to what they have to say. Try out their ideas and decide if it improves your writing. If it does, then great – you’ve developed your skills. If it doesn’t, then you haven’t lost anything.
Rebecca’s Top 5
Best books
Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
After the First Death by Robert Cormier
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Skallagrigg by William Horwood
(But really, it’s impossible to choose just five! I have always loved The Dark Is Rising trilogy by Susan Cooper and I’ve recently started reading books by John Green. When I was growing up my reading included Enid Blyton, Judy Blume, Willard Price, Lynne Reid Banks and Lucy M. Boston to name just a few. I’ve just read Grace by Morris Gleitzman and thought it was amazing.)
Favourite photos
Holidaying on the Isles of Scilly, we stumbled across a deserted beach with hundreds of Makka Pakka rocks. We stayed there for hours, adding our own contribution.
On holiday last year in France – I was terrified that the rope swing would break but I made myself swing across the river!
Me, aged five. Check out the dodgy haircut!
My little sister and me, aged six and fourteen. I am cuddling Bracken, the guinea pig I had when I (eventually!) recovered from the tragic death of Smokey.
I took this at a local festival. It was really muddy and my children went inside this storytelling shed. I like the way that the filthy wellies look as if they’re waiting for feet to be returned to them.
This photo makes me laugh! My family are very outdoorsy. I am less outdoorsy. We were in th
e French Alps and I look utterly lost, trying to find signal for my phone.
Perfecting the art of pancake tossing, aged eleven.
Favourite foods
Pizza with extra pepperoni
Toast with crunchy peanut butter
Satsumas
Very spicy beef chilli with lots of fresh green chilli peppers
Butterscotch Angel Delight – it HAS to be butterscotch. Every other flavour is disgusting but this one tastes like a little bit of perfection!
Cosiest places to read
In bed, with a cup of tea
In the bath – I hardly ever drop my book in the water
Halfway up the stairs, looking through the window into the garden
In a tent, with the rain lashing down outside
Snuggled up next to a roaring fire (although I am a total fire-killer, and if I’m in charge then the fire will be less roaring and more spluttering)
Things to put in Room 101
Umbrellas: I have always disliked umbrellas. Sure, I get that they keep you dry but at what cost? If you’re holding an umbrella, then you suddenly can’t do anything that requires two hands and the risk of poking someone in the eye is dramatically increased. I would rather get wet or put my hood up (even if this does make me look a bit daft).
Cooking: I love eating but I really cannot stand cooking. When I was younger I used to believe that it was something I’d grow to enjoy – but one husband and three kids later I can honestly say that I loathe cooking. And making packed lunches. My repertoire is basically limited to chilli, spaghetti Bolognese, pesto pasta and baked potatoes. Perhaps it isn’t surprising that I married an excellent cook and our children are fast becoming great chefs …
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