Through the Wardrobe to be Reissued

Benbella is reissuing Through the Wardrobe: Your Favourite Authors on CS Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia in November, with this gorgeous new cover. It will be out in honour of the third Narnia film, Voyage of the Dawn Treader (can't wait!) The book is edited by my dear friend Herbie Brennan who also wrote an article for it. I really enjoyed writing about my favourite author, CS Lewis, and I thoroughly enjoyed the other articles and essays. The pieces are not academic (thank Aslan) but are more of a love fest, with everybody talking about the books and characters from different angles. A great read!

One Down, One to Go and Then ...

Well, that's the edited draft of The Celtic Princess (Book One) done and dusted and off to Canadian and American publishers. It has also gone to UK and Australian/New Zealand publishers who requested to see same, so stay tuned for more news. Now I am taking June off to catch up on the gazillion things that haven't been done due to deadline, i.e. clean house, tend to overgrown garden, see friends, catch up on emails and correspondence, plan research trip to Isle of Erraid (more about that anon), de-clutter house (this is a biggie, I am chucking out the old to make room for the new!), head out to Co. Clare to visit friends and then up to Co. Donegal for annual pilgrimage to Lough Derg ('extreme prayer' as Finn calls it), then it's the whole month of July in a Buddhist retreat while also completing the final draft of my new adult work, People of the Great Journey. I'm half-way through it and looking forward to getting back to it. THEN, when that's done, I'll take another break before getting stuck into second book of The Celtic Princess series. It's called The Celtic Princess and The Dragon King. The storyline is already plotted and notes made, but it is early days yet. The first book was originally called The Celtic Princess and the Stone of Destiny - a totally appropriate title referring to the plot - but I decided to just begin with the series title, also it sounded a bit too like a certain other book, if you know what I mean.

Nightwish - Over the hills and far away

Here's a fantastic video by the Finnish band Nightwish. They fired their lead singer, this amazing woman Tarja Turunen, some time ago and she now sings solo. (Posted one of her fantasy videos months back.) This is the kind of music I would love to see scoring a film version of The Celtic Princess. A writer's dream.

The Celtic Princess

With three contracts signed, sealed and delivered it's time to make the Big Announcement. In fact, my agent - the amazing Marianne Gunn-O'Connor - has already posted the news in Publishers Marketplace, so this is an echo. Yes, my new YA series has legs at last and will be out next year in Canada with Scholastic, in Japan with Shogakukan, and in the United States of America with Penguin Putnam. Very exciting! Stay tuned for who will publish it in the UK and other territories. The Celtic Princess is a mythological adventure series about the 16 year old daughter of the High King of Tara who strives to be a warrior to avenge her father's murder. She is helped by a handsome slave-prince and her beloved wolfhound. I'm also developing the story as a graphic novel. Here's some early artwork from the gifted James Brady, blogged with his permission (copyright: Jim Brady).

OR Melling on Facebook

I'm not one for social network sites chiefly because of all the work it would involve. As is obvious this past while, I am having enough trouble trying to keep my blogs up to date! Don't ask me what I am doing with my time. Well, actually, I'm working one day a week in a beautiful garden on the side of Bray Head, writing two books, taking occasional courses in script-writing, meeting with friends, meditating, reading, visiting my favourite Buddhist Centre, running a spiritual library in a convent twice a month, looking after my cat, occasionally looking after my daughter (studying for exams), visiting my family, helping to run a dance co-op, um, I think that's it. ANYHOO, even though I am not on Facebook, I am: http://pa-in.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&gid=93920199128. Thank you Bethany. Very nice!

Nice Recovery by Susan Juby

I read two books last week. Here's the first one. (Reviewing the second on t'other blog.) It's a memoir by one of my favourite Canadian authors and writer-buddies, Susan Juby, whom I've featured before on this site. She's a hilarious comic writer who, like all great comics, touches on the pain and the dark. In this book she details her own pain and dark, the story of her life as a young alcoholic 'with a minor drug addiction on the side.' She is so brave and honest about the nightmare of those years that you just want her to get well. And thankfully - is this a spoiler? - she does! It's a great read for any age, though you will, of course, be tempted to hand it to the nearest young 'drinky pants' you know and are worried about. Here's her website: www.susanjuby.com.

The Book of Dreams

The paperback edition of The Book of Dreams (revised edition) is now out in America and amazon.com-land. It's another beautiful shiny edition published by Harry N Abrams Inc, New York. Here's what the American Library Association's Booklist said: "a satisfying conclusion to a fascinating romantic series steeped in folklore and archetypal questions of identity, love, family, and shared connections across time and cultures." Thank you, Booklist.