We've got two reviews!

So far, Monster Avengers has two reviews. Both are good! Here's an extract from the longest one:

I'm a fan of Rosen's Smelly Trolls series, so I already knew that she could write an entertaining children's story. However this book is a little different in that she crowd-wrote the story with 300 children. A mammoth task of organisation and patience I'm sure, but how did the actual story turn out?

The story is a lot more coherent than I expected while still retaining the imagination from the children involved. There's a wonderful mix of characters, there's the hero of the story who is a young boy who's not had a good time of things. There's a superhero toddler and best of all are the villains - man eating ducks with vicious spikes!

There's an interesting blend of the fantastical and more mundane concerns and again some fun and imaginative ideas for tackling them. It's well paced and with the range of characters there's some good opportunities for funny voices if you're reading the story out loud.

Mention should also be made of the illustrations sprinkled liberally throughout the book. These are full of charm and also highlight the creations of the children involved. Overall this is a fun story for kids of all ages (even 41 year old ones like me!) and any story that features man eating ducks deserves to be read.

Many thanks to Michael for taking the time to write about our book. 

Our Proof Copy Has Arrived

Something very exciting just happened. This morning, I received a notice from our printer saying that our proof copy of Monster Avengers had been printed. I assumed that meant it would arrive next week.

Then I heard a knock at the door. It was a delivery man with a large, flat package.

I opened it up, and to my delight, it was our proof copy.

Here are some pictures of our book:

Opening the package.

The book, in all its glory.

Monster Avengers next to troll books, to give you an idea of size.

Two pages from the inside.

The back of the book.

Unfortunately, the text is a little close to the margin, so I'll have to make adjustments to the files before we can sell copies, but that is why authors and publishers get proof copies.

This book is going to be incredible.

Monster Avengers eBook out this week

The eBook version of Monster Avengers will be launched this week. The paperback version will be available to order soon after.

You will be able to read the eBook on most mobile phones, tablets, Kindles, laptops or desktop computers.

Watch this space for details on how to buy.

Exciting News - Monster Avengers has been sent to our editor

Today I finished the third draft of Monster Avengers. I've sent it to Olivia, our editor, for a proof read.

Olivia will look for mistakes and highlight them. Then she'll send the file back to me and I'll look through her suggestions and write the final draft.

Once the final draft of the text is ready, I will start fitting the words and pictures together, ready to send to the printer.

Exciting times!

Monster Avengers Merchandise

St Edward's school have been busy creating wonderful merchandise for Monster Avengers.

 Above: a monster bookmark which opens up to save a page.

 Above: Toby the Turbo Toddler 'Action Figure' in special presentation box. Complete with helicopter hair and hand-knitted red pants. Sheer brilliance from Charlotte and Megan.

The Cover for Monster Avengers Has Been Chosen!

Katie W. Stewart and I have been working together to turn your cover ideas into reality.

Here are the first drafts of our front and back covers. We used Chloe's basic idea and brought in illustrations from other children.

What do you think?

More Cover Designs Have Arrived

Yet more Monster Avengers covers have arrived in my inbox. Here are a few of my favourites from St Edward's School:

I enjoyed the acrostic on this cover. It's also bright and cheery.

This cover is very engaging.

I love the bright colours in this one.

I like the way this illustrator has stuck bits on the add colour.

The First Draft of Our Blurb - What do you think?

I've been busy re-reading your brilliant blurbs and trying to put the best bits together. Because blurbs have to be short and snappy, I had to leave out some of the subplots (like Simon and Tigotha falling out) even though those are very important to the story.

Here is my first draft of the blurb. What do you think? Do you like it? Can it be improved?

Deadly ducks with an appetite for chaos, are planning to take over Fangleland. So called because of their luminous poo, the lumipoo momps begin their mayhem by banning bananas – the punishment, getting spiked to death!

Simon is just a regular boy, whose life is turned upside down when his dying grandpa reveals that his parents were killed by a flock of lumipoo momps. He and his beloved best friend, Tigotha, set off on a perilous journey to save Fangleland.

Meanwhile, a scientist tries to invent a predator to eat the lumipoo momps. However, when his plan goes horribly wrong, the heroes end up fighting not just one species of monster – but two!

Simon and Tigotha’s adventure raises many questions. Who is the mysterious caretaker and what is he doing with that hoover? Why is there a disco happening in the microwave? And who is the toddler with helicopter hair, who keeps turning up to save the day? 

Are you aching to know whether the monster avengers save Fangleland? Turn the pages if you dare – these monsters would like to eat you for breakfast!

Week 10 Task - Promote the Book

When you're a professional author, you only get to spend half of your time writing. The other half of the time is spent promoting your book. Promotion is making people aware of something. When you promote a book, you are trying to convince people to buy it.

Here are some of the promotional activities I like to do:
- running competitions
- visiting schools
- giving away badges
- giving away bookmarks
- being interviewed on the radio
- sending press releases to newspapers
- asking bookshops to stock copies

This week, you are going to promote Monster Avengers.

You can choose to create anything you like, as long as it promotes our book. Ideas include:
- giving a talk
- making a poster
- acting out a scene in assembly
- making bookmarks
- a classroom display
- writing a press release
- making Monster Avengers merchandise

Your teacher might have something particular in mind for you to do.

Please send me photos and scans to rosen.trevithick@gmail.com so that I can see all the lovely promotion you have been doing. You've got from now until whenever you like. Promoting a book never ends!

It's a Cover-a-thon!

It's a very exciting blog post - here are some of the fantastic and colourful covers I've received so far:

Above: Charlotte from St Edward's.

Who doesn't love bright and cheery rainbow colours? The bright lumipoo momp pops when you look at it. Plus, the scene with the hairdryer might make a reader think, 'What the Dickens is going on here?' (Then he or she will hopefully open the book to find out!)

Above: Cover by Anonymous from St Edwards

If you look closely, it appear that the features of this monster have been stuck on with glittery paper - very creative.

Above: Cover by Anonymous from St Edward's

The central tubster of terror is rather frightening - the red background helps make him stand out. I really like the bubble font, especially the little monsters peeping over the tops of some of the letters.

Above: Cover by Anonymous from Queensgate

I really enjoyed the cheerful and charismatic characters in this one. They're definitely engaging.

Above: Cover by Cam from Queensgate

Because our book is going to be massive, the idea of lots of small characters mounted on a bright background might work. However, they might be tricky to pick out in a thumbnail or from a distance.

I like the author name: 'Rosen Trevithick, also some young talented school children'.

Above: Cover by Chloe from Queensgate

It's hard not to be attracted to this bright cover. The font is ideal. I like the blue stripe used to make my name stand out. Telling readers of past successes gives them confidence in an author and makes them more likely to trust that a book will be good. All in all, a super piece of work.

Above: Cover by Ella from Queensgate

This is a very simple but effective cover. The title appears to burst from the page, which I particularly like. Also, it gets in many of the key characters.

 Above: Cover by Emilie from Queensgate

'Amazingly Talented Children' is a great way to describe yourselves - it's accurate and will hopefully intrigue potential readers.

Above: Cover by Kiri from Queensgate

The border of this one reminds me of a stamp. I like the way that so many characters - even Simon, appear in this cover.

Above: Cover by Lacey from Queensgate

Again, nice to see so many of the key characters on the cover. Toby flying overhead adds a nice touch.

Above: Cover by Josie from St Edward's

This cover looks like a photo of Fangleland taken from the air - very original. The text is pretty; it might be a little hard to read from a distance because it's very fancy.

Above: Cover by Matthew from St Edward's

Ha ha - a momp going up an old lady's skirt is one of the funniest moments in the book. I like the 'Starring' strip, too.

Blurbs from Queensgate

I enjoyed reading the blurbs created by Queensgate Primary. I decided to add some individual feedback.

Read Queensgate's Blurbs and My Feedback Here.

Includes work by Abi, Cameron, Connor, Sapphire, Grace, Liam and Emily. Many thanks for all of your hard work.

I Just Wrote Bob's Death!

I just drafted Chapter 14 - the section where Bob gets evaporated and Jeff the cleaner bursts into tears. Thank goodness I know what happens next, otherwise I'd be really sad right now.

Feedback on The Troll Trap's Blurb

One of the classes at St Edward's School got so carried away with editing that they commented on one of my blurbs - The Troll Trap.

Here's what they had to say:

Feedback on Blurbs So Far

Are you busy crafting the perfect blurb for our monster book? If so, perhaps this feedback on other children's blurbs might be helpful.

Many thanks to St Edward's and Highfield schools for these intriguing and amusing blurbs.

Corey and Wezley's blurb

James, Tyler, Katy, Corey, Harry, Harvey, Chloe, Wezley, Will and Joe's blurb

Joe and Josh's blurb

Josie's blurb

Tyler and James's blurb

Will, Chloe and Harry's blurb

Anonymous blurb

Madeline's blurb

Highfield School Monster Avengers blurb

Simon and Tigotha Break Friends

I've just drafted the chapter where Tigotha eats Thugodore and Simon says he doesn't want to be her friend anymore - so very sad.

I had to read the end of our detailed plan to cheer myself up!

Appeal for More Illustrations Please

I've been sorting through the illustrations, picking ones to use. There are some fantastic drawings. However, our book is going to be quite long, so it needs even more pictures. Some chapters don't have enough pictures yet and others don't have any.

If you have some spare time, please submit more for:

Chapter 1 - 8x9cm
Chapter 2 - 8x9cm
Chapter 4 - 8x9cm and 16x6cm
Chapter 5 - 8x9cm and 16x6cm
Chapter 6 - 16x6cm
Chapter 7 - 8x9cm and 16x6cm
Chapter 8 - 8x9cm
Chapter 9 - 8x9cm
Chapter 10 - 8x9cm and 16x6cm
Chapter 11 - 8x9cm and 16x6cm
Chapter 13 - 16x6cm
Chapter 14 - 8x9cm and 16x6cm
Chapter 15 - 8x9cm and 16x6cm
Chapter 16 - 8x9cm and 16x6cm
Chapter 17 - 8x9cm and 16x6cm
Chapter 18 - 8x9cm and 16x6cm
Chapter 19 - 8x9cm and 16x6cm
Chapter 20 - 8x9cm and 16x6cm

Here's a reminder on how to draw the perfect illustration for Monster Avengers:
http://ourmonsterbook.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/week-7-task-illustrate-our-monster-book.html

Week 9 Tips - The Making of The Troll Trap's Cover

Here's a quick article explaining how the cover for The Troll Trap was created.

Firstly, Katie hand drew all the illustrations for the inside of the book. We decided they would be best in black and white because of printing costs. Here are three examples:

 

Then, we thought about what would make a good cover. The book is called The Troll Trap, so we knew there had to be a troll on the cover. We narrowed it down to just the pictures with trolls in them. Eventually we decided that the illustration from Chapter 13 would make the best cover.

It's best to have a colour cover, so that it's eye-catching. Katie traced the outline and scanned it into her computer. She used a computer to colour and shade the illustration.

Katie sent the illustration to me by email. Using my computer, I created a file the size and shape of the book. I filled the background in with green, because it's troll-like. Then I pasted Katie's picture onto my cover.

Next I added text. I added the name of the book, my pen name, Katie's name and a note about my past books.

And there we have it - a colourful book cover.

Week 9 Tips - Looking at Other Blurbs

To help you write a blurb for your book, I have collected some of the best blurbs from children's books and made some notes about why they work:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Blurb (taken from Amazon)
Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy. He lives with his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and cousin Dudley, who make him sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. Then Harry starts receiving mysterious letters and his life is changed for ever. He is whisked away by a beetle-eyed giant of a man and enrolled in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The reason: Harry Potter is a wizard!

Why it's great:
- It makes you ask yourself questions (as soon as you read 'thinks he's an ordinary boy', you start to ask yourself 'In what ways is he not ordinary?').
- It creates sympathy (sleeping in a cupboard under the stairs makes you instantly feel for Harry).
- It tell you that the book will be about a school for wizards.
- It doesn't give too much away.

What could be better:
- It's a bit short.

The BFG Blurb (taken from the Puffin website)
Every night, when the world is sleeping, big gruesome giants guzzle up whoppsy-whiffling human beans. And there's only one giant who can stop them - the BFG. He's the kindest giant there is and, with his friend Sophie in his top pocket, he sets out to rid the world of the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater and all their rotsome friends forever...

Why it's great:
- A blurb full of made-up words and funny language suggests a book full of just that.
- You might find yourself wondering why is says 'human beans' not 'human beings'.
- It tells you the book is going to be about ridding the world of giants.

What could be better:
- It's a bit short.

You're a Bad Man, Mr. Gum! Blurb (taken from Amazon)

Shabba me whiskers! It’s one of those Mr Gum books by Andy Stanton. They’re only the craziest, funnest most amazing books for children in the world.

Good evening. Mr Gum is a complete horror who hates children, animals, fun and corn on the cob. This book’s all about him. And an angry fairy who lives in his bathtub. And Jake the dog, and a little girl called Polly and an evil, stinky butcher all covered in guts. And there’s heroes and sweets and adventures and EVERYTHING.

Why it's great:
- It launches straight in with a colourful phrase (i.e. 'Shabba me whiskers!').
- It's quirky (e.g. he hates three general things and corn on the cob).
- It's funny (e.g. an angry fairy who lives in a bathtub is incongruous with what we've come to expect from fairies)
- It's lively. It breaks the rules and starts sentences with 'And' to keep the blurb racing forwards.

What could be better:
- Again, slightly too short.
- The blurb deliberately breaks spelling and grammar rules. Some people think this is brave and modern. Other people think it's stupid. What do you think?

Week 9 Tasks - Create a Front Cover and a Blurb

Now that we've written most of the book, it's time to start thinking about packaging - this means the book's cover and blurb.

Task 1 - Design a cover that:
- is eye catching
- is colourful
- contains the title, 'Monster Avengers'
- contains the author's name*
- contains an illustration
- is 8 by 10 inches (203 x 254 mm) big.

* In our case, there are too many names to list, so you must decide what to call ourselves. It needs to be a name that shows that many children worked together.

You may create your cover by hand, on a computer or using a combination. If you create by hand you may use paint, pens, collaging - whatever it takes to create a bright and cheerful cover.

Task 2 - Design a blurb that:
- make people want to read the story
- is between 100 and 150 words long
- is in third person (e.g. 'Simon is' or 'Turbo is', but not 'I am')
- is in present tense (e.g. 'Simon is' or 'Turbo is', but not 'Simon was')
- tells the reader what our story is about
- doesn't give too much away

Tips
- Looking at other blurbs
- The making of The Troll Trap's cover

Please send your covers and blurbs to rosen.trevithick@gmail.com by Friday, 28th March, 2014.
Please note: you have two weeks to complete this task.

Our Book Will Be Called...

I've just counted up your votes for the title of our monster book. Thanks to everybody who voted. Our book will be called:

Monster Avengers

I think this is a good title. It's snappy. It uses real English words, so readers will know what it means. It captures the essence of our book. It tells readers what it's about. It will fit neatly on a cover. All in all, a great choice.

The runners up were:

2. Momps Go Quackers

3. Enter the Orbit of Zorbit