Thirst

September 9, 2025 10:04 am ,

Nobody talks about the strange happenings in Maimsbury. No one speaks of the hooded figures glimpsed in the woods, nor the children’s game that went so horribly wrong. But most of all, nobody dares whisper their doubts about the river they have worshipped for centuries.

Like everyone in Maimsbury, Gorse is used to the sacrifices made every spring to the River Yeelde. The life of a farm animal – in return for a year of plenty – seems a fair trade. That is, until a tragedy leads Gorse to a blood-curdling discovery.

Because this year is a Brim Year, and after giving so much, the river needs more than an animal’s life to sate its thirst…

Pushkin Press
Cover quote by A.F. Harold: 'Gripping, gruesome, dark and dripping'. Image of boy appearing out of a river in a spooky forest.
Cover illustration by Natalie Smilie

This was actually the first book by Darren Simpson I’ve read, though I’m not sure why because I’ve seen lots of praise on social media from teachers and librarians for him on social media. I think he might be one of those authors I avoided because where others rave I’m often ‘meh’…but I was certainly biting my nose off to spite my face because, when I sat down to read this, I was hooked from the first page and had to finish it the same day. It raises some big thoughts about whether it can be justifiable to do a bad thing, how decisions affect more than just your own loved ones, and having the courage to say no. All wrapped up in a wonderfully gruesome folklore-ish tale set in the vividly imagined world of a small village.

I asked Darren a few questions:

You write dark but hopeful stories. Do you start with a theme or the world or a character…or something else?

Each book seems to have started with a different thing. Scavengers was inspired by the sight of cats scrapping over a sandwich at a recycling centre, which got me thinking about animals and humans living on landfill. The Memory Thieves was driven by the desire – prompted by the time I crashed my car and went through a rough patch – to encourage emotional openness in young people. In contrast, Furthermoor evolved from the conundrum of how to use a vivid, fantastical setting in an urban, realist story. And my latest book, Thirst, came from an itch to write horror (leaning into that darkness, I guess), and from a growing appreciation of folklore and the part it still plays in our lives today.

As you can see, I have worryingly little control over where my inspiration comes from. But one thing I do have is the instinct to spot it, grab it and see where it takes me.

Without spoilers, are there any bits that you thought might be too scary or that editors asked you to tone down?

There are a couple of scenes I thought I’d have to tone down or take out altogether. But it turned out I didn’t have to do any of that.

As much as Thirst has its grisly moments, they’re never excessive or gratuitous. There’s one scene in particular I thought I’d never get away with in young fiction. But my editor, Sarah Odedina of Pushkin Press, didn’t bat an eyelid. When I quizzed her over this, she said the scene plays a powerful part in saying a lot about a certain antagonist. And as much as the scene is heartbreaking, its events are implied rather than described.

So again, I don’t feel Thirst is gratuitous. Any nastiness in it serves a purpose, not only in saying something, propelling the story or stirring readers’ emotions, but also in delivering within the horror genre. I love horror stories, and would feel let down if I read one that didn’t at some point leave me a little shaken or disturbed. That’s all part of the thrill, isn’t it? That’s why we watch horror movies, ride rollercoasters and tell spooky stories around the campfire.

What kind of author event do you enjoy doing most?

As much as I love giving author presentations, it’s usually creative workshops that give me the biggest buzz. It’s always a joy to watch students warm to a creative task and come up with such brilliant, original, funny things. My workshops focus more on teamwork, imagination and invention than on producing written work, and the freedom of expression that this allows pupils tends to nurture a relaxed, open, even gleeful atmosphere. Encouraging young people to see how much fun inventing and writing can be is the most rewarding thing, and their engagement always leaves me feeling inspired – even though the inspiring is supposed to be my job!

What are you reading and who would you recommend it to?

I’m currently reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons. It’s epic, ultra-ambitious sci-fi and it’s blowing my mind. A perfect mix of literary goodness and downright entertainment. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes their sci-fi lofty, eclectic and original. It’s very adult in places, though. In terms of books for younger readers that I’ve recently enjoyed, The Twelve by Liz Hyder, Greta by Manon Steffan Ros and The Worlds We Leave Behind by A.F. Harrold and Levi Pinfold all come to mind. I’d recommend each of them heartily.

What will we see from you next?

I’m working on something quite special – and very different – with illustrator Keith Robinson. We’ve been chipping away at this project for a couple of years now, and it’s going to be so exciting to finally see it become a reality next year, thanks to Puskin Press. I can’t say too much just yet, but it’s going to be eerie, poignant, and more than a little bold. I can’t wait for folk to see it.

Thirst is published this week by Pushkin Press. Thank you to Vicki Berwick for organising a review copy and the Q&A.

Posted in: Interviews, MG, Reviews

The Little Book of Trees

August 26, 2025 7:46 pm ,

What is a tree and how does it actually grow? How does a tree change over the course of the seasons and what phases does it go through during its entire life? What happens in its crown, trunk or roots if we look closely? Which animals live there and which forests have developed in the different regions of the world where many trees grow close together? The Little Book on Trees takes children into the world of these fascinating plants.

This stunning book for younger readers is a wonderful introduction to trees around the world.

No matter how much you think you may know about trees, you will almost definitely find something new to add to your store of knowledge! Aimed at younger readers and learners, this book is the perfect starting place for budding arboriculturists as well as those with just a passing interest in trees.

Illustrated by Caroline Attia with text by Claire Philip this is an book should be an essential addition for elementary collections in classrooms and libraries.

Posted in: Books, Reviews

The World of Sharks

August 26, 2025 5:27 pm ,

Did you know that sharks are among the oldest creatures on earth? They swam through the primordial oceans long before there were dinosaurs. Many legends surround these animals with their fearsome sharp teeth. But how dangerous are sharks really? In this book, you will not only find out how sharks were able to survive so many other animals and how many different species we know today, but also a lot about their very special teeth, their peculiar lateral line organ and excellent sense of smell. However, many sharks have hardly been researched to this day – their habitats are too deep in the sea for us humans to reach. This book is the starting point for so much more to explore about sharks.

Little Gestalten publishes beautiful, tactile books that are a pleasure to read and share with younger readers.

The World of Sharks is no exception!

When I was a younger reader (around 40 years ago now) I fell in love with a shark book at my local library. It contained stories and information about sharks from around the world, from the Wobbegong (or Carpet Shark) in Australia, to the Great White Shark from South Africa where I grew up, it became one of the books I checked out every few weeks as I had become a shark fan (this happens to many children around the world when they learn about sharks, also common when they discover dinosaurs).

Anyway I digress, The World of Sharks has reawakened that love frenzy I felt for sharks when I was a child, and it did the same for my daughter who is about the age I was when I picked up that book.

Containing a ton of information broken down into bite-size chunks, The World of Sharks is lavishly illustrated with matte pages and a slightly rough cover that is a delight to hold and peruse from cover to cover or just opening to random pages. Honestly if you (or a small person in your life) is a lover of sharks or the ocean then this book is a must-have, or at least a must-borrow if you have a local library that you can request it from!

The World of Sharks is written by Darcy Dobell and illustrated by Becky Thorns and is published by Little Gestalten. It is available now wherever good books are sold!

Posted in: Books, Reviews

About Time

August 26, 2025 9:00 am ,

A children’s guide to the science and history of telling the time and clockmaking in a fun and interactive way.

This interactive book will help children aged 7-9 understand how clocks work and learn how to tell the time on various devices.

Time is central to our experience as humans, and it’s important for children to know not just how to tell the time, but also how to make the most of it. About Time uses fun and unique elements to teach children about the topic of time and introduce concepts like time zones and time management.

DK Children

This is a fascinating book, pitched as 7+ but absolutely suitable for much older readers. I can’t believe they got so much in there…I did a degree in geology before my librarianship qualifications so I particularly loved the section on geological time.

We have some thoughts from the co-authors: watchmaker and horologist Rebecca Struthers and science teacher Alom Shaha:

Rebecca Struthers

Your Favourite Section:

What is your absolute favourite section or concept in About Time and why? What makes this section stand out to you personally? My favourite bit of the book is the central section that takes you through the processes that make a mechanical watch work. Aside from Lucy Rose’s drawings which are stunning, I know I’d have found that fascinating to study when I was a kid.

What do you hope readers will take away from this particular part of the book? I hope it shows that even the most incredible machines can be easy to understand if we break them down and tackle them stage by stage.

Are there any interesting anecdotes or research titbits related to this section that you could share? I structured this section as an age-appropriate version of how watchmakers start their theory training, so this is what they could expect if they wanted to take up the craft when they leave school.

The Contemporary Artisans:

About Time features contemporary artisans from around the world who are keeping the craft of watchmaking and timekeeping alive. This is a fantastic aspect of the book that we’d love to highlight. Why was it important to include these contemporary artisans? I really wanted the subject of watch and clockmaking to feel real, current, and relevant. It was important to me that kids could see themselves in these sorts of jobs when they grow up so the contemporary artisans represent a diverse range of incredible makers from around the world who have learned their skills in a variety of different ways.

Could you pick one or two artisans featured in the book that particularly resonate with you? Who are they, and what makes their work unique or inspiring? They all inspire me, and I feel incredibly privileged to know them all. Alison Moriarty’s story resonates with me as a fellow woman with an auto-immune disease. She manages being an exceptionally talented watchmaker and enameller around her health and being a Mum. She’s a queen of multitasking and an all-round legend.

The book also offers insight into how to become a watchmaker. How do the stories of these artisans tie into that aspiration for young readers? I’m fast running out of my word count so one last thing I’d like to include is how varied the artisans’ training routes are. They include people who’ve studied at top training schools, and, people who are completely self-taught. Some run big companies, others work from home. Some have dyslexia. There are so many different approaches to this craft, as long as you’re passionate and motivated you can be anyone based anywhere in the world and have a successful career.

Alom Shaha

Your Favourite Section:

My favourite section of the book is “Telling the Time without a Clock” and the following pages, up to and including “Good Vibrations”, because they deal with an idea that is absolutely central to horology: in order to measure and record time, we “need a physical process in which something changes in a regular and repetitive way”. I’m particularly pleased with the way these spreads combine scientific and historical information with practical activities that will allow readers to experience and explore these time-keeping related phenomena for themselves. Before writing the book, I’d never actually made my own sundial and found the process of making one absolutely delightful. I think here’s a massive emotional difference between reading about how a sundial works and seeing for yourself how the shadow of a pencil stuck to the floor moves as the day progresses. I hope lots of readers will try this for themselves.

The Contemporary Artisans:

Including contemporary artisans gave us a way to emphasise the fact that watchmaking is not just a thing of the past but something that our readers might aspire to do themselves. It also allowed us to show something that is really important to me personally as a teacher – that people don’t have to choose between science, art, engineering, and craft for their work or passions. Artisans like Tabea Rude and Nathalie Jean-Louis exemplify how people can take an interest in all of these apparently different fields of human endeavour and bring them together in their work. Unfortunately, young people are often presented with very narrow “careers advice” and I’m really proud that we’ve shown that there are a variety of interests and routes that can lead to someone becoming a watchmaker. I hope readers will find someone they relate to among the diverse artisans we’ve featured.

About Time is published by DK Children on 28th August, 2025. Thank you to Natasha Finn for the review copy and organising this guest post.

Posted in: Activities, BAME, Interviews, non-fiction

Going Full Tilt with Alex de Campi

August 19, 2025 3:24 pm ,

Hi Alex, welcome to TeenLibrarian and thank you for taking the time to answer some questions about your amazing Full Tilt Boogie!

Alex de Campi: Hi Matt! It’s great to be here, thank you for having me! 

First question – when developing FTB, what came first, the title or the story?

de Campi: They sort of both happened at the same time. I used to do a lot of sailing when I lived in Hong Kong, racing dayboats called Etchells, and some of the boats had just fantastic names. I mostly raced on a boat called Bellwether, there was an Aussie boat called Lunchcutter, and then another boat called Full Tilt Boogie. I thought, what a great name that would be for a spaceship! 

The FTB story came about through me having grown up on the US dubs of Gatchaman and Space Battle Cruiser Yamato, and wanting to take the things I loved about classic Japanese space opera anime and maybe deconstruct them a little, while also keeping both the emotional arcs and the funny moments. 

I’d spent a lot of time before and during FTB working on books that were more grounded and needed more research, or at least were nominally set in the real world—Bad Girls, Dracula, Motherf**ker!, Parasocial, Bad Karma. So FTB was its own special treat where I could just let my imagination run wild and make things up as I went along—and a whole galaxy to play in!

 How did you first get to work with 2000 AD, the galaxy’s greatest comic?

de Campi: I lived in the UK for a long time, and had a lot of friends who wrote and/or drew for the Prog. Tharg’s door was always open to me, I just never… walked through it, until noted Dredd writer Art Wyatt (Judge Dredd: A Better World and more) kind of strongarmed me through it. He just told me we were writing a Dredd miniseries together.  

2000 AD is really refreshing to write for as a woman writer, because they just don’t care. I’m so used to the big US comic companies only wanting women to write niche or female-led books, but Tharg was immediately like “yeah here’s Dredd, you can kill him if you want” (it was a Dredd movieverse series). 

I can’t tell you how unlikely it would be for DC to call me up and go “yeah here’s Batman, go for it” and Marvel—well, it’s the year of our lord 2025 and Iron Man has still never had a woman writer. But for Tharg, to paraphrase Neko Case, I wasn’t a woman in comics—I was a writer in comics. And that made all the difference. 

If you had to give an elevator pitch to a reader that was not sure about picking up a copy of FTB how would you describe it to them?

de Campi: Broke teenager and her cat jobbing in the galactic gig economy as a bounty hunter accidentally restarts thousand year old galactic war. There’s also a teen super sentai team but some clubs turn out to be a real bummer after you join.

FTB is a glorious love-letter to space opera – what were your inspirations in writing this story?

de Campi: Heavens, so much—from Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan books to classic Japanese space anime (and even more modern ones like Witch from Mercury). 

Full Tilt Boogie made its first appearance in an issue of 2000 AD Regened – a special aimed at attracting younger readers. Apart from FTB can you recommend any of the other Regened stories to readers new to 2000AD?

de Campi: My absolute fave from Regened is Roger Langridge and Brett Parson’s Pandora Perfect—what if teenaged Mary Poppins was a cat burglar? Honestly anytime you see Roger Langridge’s name on a book you should pick it up, he’s one of our greatest writers.

Do you have a favourite 2000 AD character and are there any that you have a hankering to write for?

de Campi: I’ve been doing a few Judge Anderson (Psi Division) scripts recently and I find I have a lot more Anderson stories in me than Dredd ones—which is good, because Art Wyatt and Rob Williams are just turning out epic Dredd story after epic Dredd story, the SMALL HOUSE > CONTROL -> A BETTER WORLD run is one for the ages.

I like digging into the weird side of Mega-City One. I like Judge Giant, I know he just went to space in ENCELADUS but I want to do an Expanse-style story with him.

I would like to ask one question about Rogue Trooper (if I may) – he, Helm, Gunnar and Bagman are some of my all-time favourite characters in 2000 AD, did you feel any pressure about being given the keys to Nu Earth ahead of Duncan Jones’ movie? (I am also a fan of your collaboration Madi that came out a few years ago)

de Campi: I was PETRIFIED. I felt so much pressure, but it was all self imposed. The brief was to create something that would fill in new readers on classic Rogue Trooper, but not be a retread, or a full reimagining. Sometimes you spend ages circling a story and trying to figure out a way in, but then when you do it all falls together with a certain inevitable elegance. That was GHOST PATROL, the long Rogue Trooper story Neil Edwards (who is KILLING it on art) and I have starting in September in the Prog. I hope readers like it. The 2000 AD audience has been very kind and supportive of my work so far, so fingers crossed.

And we just reissued MADI in a revised, refreshed, expanded edition with Image Comics, which means we finally have a digital edition available on Hoopla/Libby!

Where can readers find you online if they want to find out more about you and your works?

de Campi: I’m really only on Bluesky now: @alexdecampi.bsky.social. I also have a free newsletter, buttondown.com/themagpie, which is kind of monthly and filled with strange gain and interesting links.

Full Tilt Boogie is written by Alex de Campi, drawn by Eduardo Ocaña and will be published by 2000AD on October 21. It will be available wherever great comics are sold! You should order yourself a copy or request that your local library purchase a copy, you will not de disappointed! Trust me I am a Librarian!

Posted in: Authors, comics, Graphic Novels, Interviews

Free Palestine!

July 25, 2025 4:45 pm ,

What we have been watching unfold in the Gaza Strip is a brutal and cruel attempt to remove the Palestinian people from their land. Their homes have been destroyed, thousands have been killed in bombings and targeted attacks from Israeli soldiers.

Since the attack on the Nova Music Festival on October 7 2023 we have witnessed ans Israeli defensive and punitive response morph into a drive to wipe towns and cities in Gaza from the map, and the inhabitants with them. I had family in Tel Aviv when Hamas forces started their October 7 attack, like thousands of people around the world I was in desperate contact with my family trying to find out news if they were safe (they were evacuated safely) and I condemned the Hamas assault.

Since then I have written about the assaults on the civilian population of Gaza and shared news and information on this, my personal library site on how to raise funds for the displaced as well as how library folk can help rebuild library services in Gaza and the Occupied Territories. I admit that I am a coward, I did not want to be accused of antisemitism, many of my words hedged around condemnation of what the IDF were doing in Gaza, when some friends and colleagues felt that I had stepped too far over the line they reached out to me in private chats and publicly asking why I was being antisemitic. I have been cut off by others I have known for years. I do not believe that criticising the State of Israel is antisemitic, in my view when someone is committing harm to others it is far more damaging to stand aside and say nothing!

In the words of the anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu:

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.

This morning I made a decision, I cannot be silent any longer or talk around what I see happening. What Israel is committing in Gaza has gone far beyond self-defence. On a daily basis massacre is committed upon massacre has been committed, the blatant shooting of people at aid sites does not even make front-page news any more, a famine has been engineered in Gaza that is killing the weakest and most defenseless still surviving there!

As someone who grew up in Apartheid South Africa I know what segregation and apartheid procedures look like – I grew up on the wrong side of them. Israel was a strong ally of the apartheid regime in Pretoria, conversely the Palestinians were some of the strongest supporters of the Southern African freedom movement.

I believe that Palestinians have the right to live free from subjugation and occupation as well as the right to their own homeland, and I believe the same for the people of Israel. From the Nakba of 1948 until today Palestinians have suffered in their quest for freedom.

History shows how states that engage in ethnic cleansing and genocide are viewed and remembered!

Today I add my voice to the growing chorus of those calling for the liberation of all Palestinians and freedom and peace for all those living in Israel and the future Palestinian State.

Posted in: Uncategorized

Shoot for the Stars

July 17, 2025 11:06 am ,

From double Paralympic gold medallist, five time World Champion and award-winning children’s author Danielle Brown MBE comes a bighearted, empowering handbook about sport, confidence and self-belief.

Drawing on stories from inspiring athletes, as well as Danielle’s own gold-medal-winning experiences (including the hiccups along the way), Shoot for the Stars gives practical examples of how to overcome obstacles, find the courage to dig deep and discover sporting success on your terms – whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out!

Packed with awesome quizzes, team talks, advice from sporting champions, and all kinds of tips and tricks, this interactive handbook will have you covered for every sporting situation, offering reassurance and giving you the confidence to strike out and live your best your life!

Perfect for fans of Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World, HerStory and It’s a Brave Young World.

Little Tiger

I really enjoyed reading this thoughtful guide. My daughter has already chosen her sport (a wonderful fluke) but I can see this being very useful to encourage girls to try new things and reflect. This was published a couple of weeks ago, so huge apologies for posting this lovely Q&A with Danielle Brown so late:

This book could start great conversations. Have you had a chance to share it with groups of girls and get feedback?

It’s early days, but the feedback I’ve had so far has been very encouraging. It was the conversations with girls about their experiences in sport that inspired me to write Shoot for the Stars in the first place. I kept hearing about the same challenges. Some told me that their parents wanted them to focus on their schoolwork rather than sport, others said they felt embarrassed wearing their PE kit, or thought certain sports weren’t for girls.

I’ve included some of their quotes in the book because I wanted it to reflect real challenges and I hope it sparks some honest conversations. When we talk about these issues openly, we change the culture around sport and break down barriers, helping more girls stay in sport and enjoy it more.

There are so many inspiring women quoted in the book. Were there any favourites you had to leave out?

Choosing who to include was one of the hardest parts. I came across so many brilliant stories of women doing incredible things in sport, each with their own unique journey and challenges. I tried to include a wide mix of voices, from different sports and backgrounds, but I could have easily filled several more chapters. Some athletes I really wish I could have squeezed in were Laurentia Tan, Jessica Fox and Chloe Kim.

Do you prefer writing biographies or advice?

This is a tough question. I love writing biographies because it is inspiring to research incredible sportswomen and learn about what makes them tick. However, I probably prefer writing advice because I hope it will help readers realise their own potential and start to feel more confident in themselves.

Shoot for the Stars is brilliantly presented; it’s full of information and questions but never feels overwhelming. How involved were you in the design and layout of the book?

The illustrators and designers have done an amazing job, and the book has come out better than I ever could have imagined when I started with an idea and blank page. I am very lucky to work with an amazing publishing team at Little Tiger, who collaborated with me closely and took my feedback on board to make sure Shoot for the Stars was engaging and accessible to the readers I had in mind.

Is there a sport you haven’t tried that you think looks particularly fun?

I love trying new activities, and adventure sports look like a lot of fun. There’s something exciting about being outdoors, and I enjoy being in environments where it’s just you, focusing on the challenge ahead. I want to give skiing, adaptive mountaineering and surfing a go. They look like great ways to build confidence, stay active, and feel proud of yourself for doing something out of your comfort zone.

What are you reading at the moment, and who would you recommend it to?

I’m reading Yusra Mardini’s Butterfly, which is a beautiful autobiography about her journey as a swimmer and a refugee, and how she found strength through sport. I’d definitely recommend it for people looking for an inspiring read about courage, resilience and hope.

Danielle Brown MBE is an award-winning children’s author, double Paralympic gold medallist in archery, and five-time World Champion. She was World number one for her entire career and made history when she became the first disabled athlete to represent England – and win gold – in an able-bodied category at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Posted in: Interviews, non-fiction, Resources

Before the Hunt by Barry Lyga

June 27, 2025 9:54 pm ,

STOP! I implore you, before you pick up this glorious collection of short stories and novellas about Jasper Dent, his best friend, girlfriend, murderous dad and mysterious mom you need to read I Hunt Killers (review here), Game and Blood Of My Blood.

Back when I read the trilogy for the first time I was in my 30’s and the story blew my mind! I love murder mysteries and I used to be heavily into YA books (I still am but not as much any more) and I Hunt Killers was the perfect meld of YA and serial killer mystery shenanigans to grip my and hold my attention.

Do yo u want to know something? When I reread the books they held up 13 years later and were just as good, honestly it was a relief as sometimes when you pick up a book that you have fond memories of reading, sometimes it does not live up to the original read. Barry Lyga is a phenomenal writer!

You are seventeen years old and your father is a serial killer.

These are the stories that made you.

Set in the years before the groundbreaking, bestselling I Hunt Killers trilogy, Before the Hunt collects the prequels that build on the mythology of the series. From the story of how Jasper Dent came to be known as “Jazz” to the day Billy was arrested and beyond, this anthology is a must-have for any I Hunt Killers fan!

You are going to have to trust me on this (if nothing else) – read the trilogy first and then pick up Before the Hunt, because if you love those books then you will love this one too! You will still love them if you read Before the Hunt first, but probably not as much. It will be like watching the prequel trilogy to Star Wars before the originals, yes you can, but why would you want to? Unless you like spoilers and reading things in date, if not publication order.

Honestly who am I to tell you how to enjoy books? Yes, they are good stories but without knowing the actual story first you will miss the emotional punches they provide and also as I said before there are some massive spoilers contained herein.

You have been warned!

I can honestly say I loved Before The Hunt! I have read it three times already (and not only because I accidentally sat on, and broke my e-reader.

Get your hands on all the books! Check them out of your local library if you have to!

Trust me – I am a Librarian!

Posted in: Books, Reviews

Netta Becker and the Timeline Crime

June 26, 2025 4:38 pm ,

A mysterious labyrinth. A desperate king. A rebellious princess.

Being stuck in a crumbling old villa in Crete with her annoying, history-obsessed little brother Remy isn’t exactly Netta’s idea of a fun summer holiday. But before she can even get bored, Netta starts having very real dreams where she is dragged back thousands of years to Ancient Greece. Here, King Minos is preparing for the opening of his precious labyrinth, and there are rumours that a monster lurks inside.

As Netta becomes more drawn to the past, her present-day self starts slipping away. Netta and Remy must figure out what is pulling her back before they run out of time – and if they don’t solve the puzzle soon, Netta might just become history herself.

Fox & Ink Books

Jennifer Claessen’s page-turner of a time travel mystery was published today! She wrote a piece for us about ideas:

I have an idea! Is it mine?

I don’t know if all writers experience a blind panic that follows an idea but I do.

Last night, for example, I dreamt about zombies but who chase the living with affection, just wanting to love them, pass on the kiss of death. This idea feels FUN and odd – it was a dream after all – kiss chase zombies?! What’s that about?

But immediately on waking, I tried to cite the sources for this dream. I’ve watched the first series of The Last of Us – maybe that planted this seed. I saw the film Warm Bodies years ago – maybe that is the inspiration?!

There are a few analogies I think are useful – the first that ideas must be like magnets, gathering the iron filings of other ideas to them. The other is that our brains (braiiiins) are just giant composters, mulching together what we read, watch, hear and spitting it out, hopefully in new and interesting ways.

And as authors, we must ensure that what our brains (braiiiiiiins) spit out is uniquely ours. Originality is so rare, everything is recycled and comes back around again, especially when working with myth and legend as I do.

Netta Becker and the Timeline Crime grew from a ‘magnet idea’ – to mix my metaphors, it just kept snowballing, growing and sucking in more ideas as it went.

Here are some of my notes that I made in July 2022 when I started to experiment:

NEW NOVEL IDEA

Netta is called back to a certain time period to solve a ‘cold case’?

It LOOKS and FEELS like being transported to a different era but it’s actually an intense haunting?

This idea felt so compelling, I wasn’t sure if I had made it up myself or if it had entered the compost of my brain from elsewhere. I was cautious. I did a lot of time travel research! I knew HOW I wanted my protagonist, Netta, to travel, I just wasn’t sure where I wanted her to go.

I wrote:

No equipment to travel in? The world just grows up around her?

I wrote to my agent, trying to sell her on this concept:

A focus on the sidelined women in myths and unworshipped gods. Curriculum links!

I tried to be very professional by making a business case for why I thought this is a good idea. I have a lot of ideas and many of them are unsaleable so I had to be convincing.

I spent ages on the mechanism of time travel, tried to ensure that WHY Netta time travels remains an exciting mystery.

Only once the idea had nested in my brain for a whole year did I begin writing.

I wrote, in something a bit like a ‘writing journal’:

I stop reading any other fiction. I know that the new idea will drive other stuff out. Some non-fiction books arrive that I want for research purposes. My ideas about the book radically shift.

I stick a lot of post-it notes to the wall and talk the plot through in a LOT of detail.

I feel now, in publication month, more panicked than ever – will people like it? Will people get it? – but the worry about whether this idea is mine is gone: Netta Becker time travels in her own way. The question now is, when haunted, when sucked into the past by a crime in the timeline, whether she can get back home?

In the meantime, I’ll be on the internet, googling zombie romances to check if they’ve been done before.

Jennifer Claessen (photo credit: Jack Barnes)

Posted in: essays, MG

The Librarians

June 25, 2025 8:06 pm ,

Yesterday evening (Tuesday June 24th) at the urging of my wife I took myself off to opening night of the Free State Festival, to watch a documentary called The Librarians.

In Texas, the Krause List targets 850 books focused on race and LGBTQIA+ stories – triggering sweeping book bans across the U.S. at an unprecedented rate. As tensions escalate, librarians connect the dots from heated school and library board meetings nationwide to lay bare the underpinnings of White Christian Nationalism fueling the censorship efforts. Despite facing harassment, threats, and laws aimed at criminalizing their work – the librarians’ rallying cry for freedom to read is a chilling cautionary tale.

I have worked in Libraries for 30-odd years now and for most of those years I have been an advocate for library services and a front-line activist pushing back against those who view libraries as an anachronism or worse, an obstacle to be destroyed so they can enact greater control over what information and materials citizens can access.

I would describe myself as terminally online and plugged in to the national (& international) library news network so I was already aware of much of what was shown and discussed in the documentary but I went in knowing that it would probably be aimed at viewers who do not have an in-depth knowledge of the forces arrayed against public & school libraries and library workers. I will start by saying that this film is essential viewing for anyone wishing to know more about the threat to library services, staff and books by and about minorities in the United States of America!

So, sitting in an audience made up of library folk from my local Lawrence Library, Topeka, KU Libraries and further afield, as well as lovers of libraries and independent cinema the documentary began.

Having watched in real time the assaults against the first and 14th amendment rights of young readers to access materials from libraries as well as the threats made against library workers; seeing them woven together in a coherent story still came as a visceral shock at how wide-spread and pervasive the hate and misinformation about “pornography in libraries” is. I was glad to be in an audience as I feel, that if I had watched it on my own I may have collapsed in despair, but surrounded by like-minded individuals helped better appreciate the speciousness and sheer ridiculousness of the attacks on books by and about LGBTQ+ people and people of color. At points during the film we laughed at the buffoonery on display from elected (& often unelected) people pushing to remove books that offended their limited sense of propriety and our cheers at the bravery of colleagues across the country as time and time again they put their jobs and safety on the line to defend the right to read and see oneself mirrored in the pages of books.

After the showing there was a Q&A With Film Producer Janique L. Robillard, Dean of KU Libraries Carol Smith and Robin Hastings of Northeast Kansas Library System, moderated by Former Kansas Legislator Christina Haswood. 

If I had my druthers the panel discussion would have lasted far longer than it did, the same for the informal discussion in the foyer of the Lawrence Arts Center afterwards, but that is down to my love of making connections and chatting to colleagues about library stuff. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend a minute or two speaking to the producer Janique about my experiences with book banners and I thanked her for the work she and the other filmmakers had put into The Librarians. As was said during the documentary, we don’t put ourselves forward and often prefer to remain in the background helping patrons access the services libraries offer, but in this film I felt that the makers had not only seen us, but understood why we do what we do and accurately portrayed it on the screen.

If you work for a library or know any organization that may be able to host a screening of The Librarians or want to find out how to get involved with fighting for intellectual freedom, there is more information here:

The Librarians is an award-winning film directed by Kim Snyder, and Produced by Janique L Robillard, Maria Cuomo Cole & Jana Edelbaum. You can find out more about this team here: https://thelibrariansfilm.com/filmmakers/

The Free State Festival celebrates the free spirit of the state of Kansas with films that challenge, inspire, and entertain. This signature annual event brings independent films, live music, comedy and art to venues across the vibrant college town of Lawrence. The festival is produced by the Lawrence Arts Center and made possible through programming support from community partners, grants and individual sponsorships and is running now, until Sunday, June 29.

Posted in: Films, Libraries