R. L. Stedman

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Facial Recognition: Fact or Fiction?

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London

Most travellers agree: London is a fantastic city. There’s Big Ben, the Eye, Buck Palace and oh, only about a hundred galleries and museums – mostly FREE. Hey, what’s not to love about modern living mixed with gardens, palaces and loads of history?

In 2014, I travelled to London. Fun fact: writers notice things. We look at people: their clothes, their mannerisms, their habits. We’re aware of our surroundings: the light, the smells, the sounds. And, in the case of London – I was interested in the watchers.

Okay, partly this the result of a lifetime of John Le Carre and James Bond, and probably shows an unhealthy paranoia. But quite quickly it became apparent that in London, someone’s always watching.

CCTV camera

What would happen, I wondered, if the tech, both public and private, became linked. Networked. And what would happen if this was used for facial recognition? I started developing the idea into a story, and quickly fell into the research rabbit hole. This is what I learned …

Facial Recognition (FR)

In 2014, FR was well under development. Facebook and Apple were working on it for app useage – FR sure makes filing photographs easier. But unsurprisingly, Governments and security firms were also interested. And in 2011, FR was used at the Superbowl.

Modern FR tech is a freaky thing. Modern systems don’t match you against a photo: modern systems map your face. Digital points are assigned to key points on your face, and an algorithm works out the distance between your eyes, the height of your nose, the width of your forehead and more. It works in 3D, and with a variety of light sources.

Embed from Getty Images

These data points are unique to you – and if the data set on your face is large enough, and accurate enough, not even a balaclava will hide you. Under FR, Zorro’s mask would be a waste of time!

Fast forward to today …

I began developing the idea of Inner Fire, a story about a girl with a genetic ability, who could avoid a FR algorithm. And then I wondered who else might be interested in this ability, and what might be the other side-effects of such a genetic disorder. I learned about malignant hyperthermia, and fell into a whole new rabbit hole – but that’s a different blogpost.

I wanted to set Inner Fire in the near future, so as part of the story design, I had to imagine where this tech could lead … Scarily, it turns out, I was right.

At the time of writing this blog post (2018), it’s now possible to match FR against other biometric data: fingerprints, iris prints and finger vein recognition. These datasets can be queried almost instantaneously, so a match of who you are and where you are is very possible. This makes these systems highly effective at security (and customer service). That’s why FR will be installed at the 2020 Olympics.

Here’s an advertising video by FaceFirst, that shows how FR can be used.

There’s obviously a downside to the tech. In the hands of some governments, it’s frightening. Follow this link to see how China manages minority groups.

Can Facial Recognition have errors?

No tech is perfect: an algorithim is based on statistics and training, so there’s a learning curve, and errors can occur. With FR, the consequences of mistakes can be huge: a subject is mis-identified as a criminal. Currently, the data’s not as accurate for women, people of color, or trans- individuals, although no doubt that will change as algorithms are changed and improved.

In response to these concerns about Facial Recognition, last week San Francisco banned its adoption by law enforcement. Other cities are considering this too. Not London though – at least, not as far as I know.

Who else is developing this technology?

More scary than the tech itself is the question: who has access to these lovely, juicy datasets? As soon as any data is linked to the internet it becomes vulnerable. So, why bother to create FR tech when you can just hack someone elses?

My bet is that government spy agencies (maybe non-government ones as well) will be working out ways to hack these data-rich datasets. Hell, maybe they already have. Just last week, a secretive Israeli software company, NSO Group, admitted a hack on WhatsApp.

FR isn’t only being used on humans – a guy I know is working on an algorithm for sheep! There’s more information here on current trends in FR: https://blokt.com/guides/facial-recognition .

Fact or Fiction?

And all this leads me back to London. Because, as I say – writers notice things.

Back in 2014, I noticed all the cameras and had an idea for a story. If my heroine has a genetic code making her untraceable by cameras, what might an agency do, to discover her DNA? And if they came looking for her, how would she respond?

And so Inner Fire was born. A tale about Corinne Peterson, cursed with an hereditary disease; a secret government agency; and of course – true love. Inner Fire is fiction.

But sometimes fiction leads to fact. It’s exciting, but more than a little scary to discover that in 2014, I was right.

Diversity Matters: Why It’s Important to Write Diverse Characters

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Ten days ago, during Friday prayers, a man entered the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch and began shooting. There are two mosques in Christchurch, so after a time he drove across town and did it all again. By the time he’d finished, 50 worshippers were dead, and 50 were injured.

The first I knew about this was a message from my son: ‘Is everyone okay? There’s been a shooting!’

Mass Shootings

From time to time, mass-shootings happen. Some idiot goes on a rampage, kills a few random unfortunates. Horrifying, and sad. But this felt different. It was hate-filled; targeted. At first, no-one knew there was only one person. Could there be more men with guns? Were there bombs? And my family lives in Christchurch.

Messages began flooding in. ‘We’re fine. We’re at the hospital…We’re at school … We’re okay, we’re okay, we’re okay.’ We are used to urgent communications, in Christchurch. After the earthquakes.

The police put the city on lock-down. No-one was to leave their house, no children were to leave their schools. The injured were ferried to Christchurch Hospital. The hospital was surrounded by police with guns, because perhaps the hospital was another target.

What about Dad, we thought. Could he have been near the mosque? Dad was fine – at home, unaware of was going on. (Dad plugs into the interwebs at specific times. He upgraded from dial-up a few years back and doesn’t follow twitter or Facebook or news sites. He doesn’t need to, because he gets the paper and he has the telephone. I kind of envy him.)

WTF

Two policeman decided to see if they could find the shooter. Surely, he’d try and get out of town, so they drove along the main exit roads, trying to spot him. Their hunch proved correct. They rammed their vehicle into his car. The man carried bombs and ammo: they took a calculated risk. Afterwards they rang their boss. Sorry about the car.

In Christchurch, parents returned home; kids were let out of schools. Slowly, information emerged.

Turned out, there was one shooter. A white Australian living in Dunedin. Probably, he’d originally planned to target the Dunedin site. But there’s only one small mosque in Dunedin, and I guess he wanted to make a statement. So he tooled himself up and drove the four hours north to Christchurch. I wonder what that drive was like?

The shooter lived not far from me. I may have met him, at the supermarket, or the post-office. On the beach.

Local and Global

I know folk who go to Friday prayers at Dunedin mosque. I’m grateful they were spared. Like Mohammad, the owner of the pharmacy up the hill, who tells me about his Mum and how she’s doing after her stroke. Hafife, who runs cooking classes and sells incredible baklava, and helps integrate Syrian refugees into their new lives.

My sister’s Moslem friend had an anxious wait because her daughter was supposed to be at the mosque in Christchurch. (Fortunately, she’d skipped prayers that day).

A post shared by RL Stedman (@rlstedman) on

There are only five million people in the whole of New Zealand, and a lot less in Dunedin and Christchurch. We all know someone directly affected by the shootings. We feel a collective guilt; a collective responsibility. How could this have happened? How could someone shoot children, old men, people at prayers? These worshippers, they have names; they are people. They are our people. Our friends, our colleagues, our schoolmates.

Diversity: A New Buzzword?

Diversity is the new buzzword. A black hero? How wonderful! A female superhero, how profound. A Korean heroine? Yes please! What about disability? Could we have a character in a wheelchair?

But as soon as we label someone as disabled or black or Asian or whatever, we label them as ‘other’. To paraphrase Martin Luther King: It’s not the colour of their skin that matters; it’s their character that’s important.

How do I write diverse characters? (Oh, a mixed race heroine, how clever. A character in a wheelchair, how brave!) Well, here’s a tip: I try to write about people. And guess what, people come in all shapes and sizes and colour and religions.

Some kids are too scared to go to the mosque for prayers. So the last two Fridays I, and many others, have stood outside the Dunedin mosque. It’s not a big building, and you can see through its green paint the words ‘Dunedin Orphan’s Society.’ Its black wrought-iron fence is currently covered with bunches of flowers. Bright balloons (three stars, two as hearts) bob in the wind.

So now, in Dunedin, if anyone wants to take a pot shot at the worshippers inside the mosque, they’ll have to shoot a lot more folk outside first.

Why Diversity Matters.

Hate speech turns people into groups; and labels that group as other.

Such words are dangerous. Why? Because it is easy to fear the ‘other’. The other becomes shunned; the other is not worth of protection; eventually, perhaps, the other is killed.

“Carefully watch your thoughts, for they become your words.

Manage and watch your words, for they will become your actions.

Consider and judge your actions, for they have become your habits.

Acknowledge and watch your habits, for they shall become your values.

Understand and embrace your values, for they become your destiny.”

Mahatma Gandhi

But we belong not to one group, but to many. We are school friends, colleagues, members of sports teams, church groups. Citizens; friends. In truth, there is no ‘other,’ only a collective ‘us’.

We each have unique names, faces, stories. This uniqueness is as varied and diverse as the colors of a rainbow.

Diversity is about valuing differences; about seeing the beauty in the variation. About treating people as people.

Embed from Getty Images

This image, from Getty Images, is of New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, visiting Wellington’s Kilbirnie Mosque after the attacks.

New Year’s Update – Change is the Only Constant

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It’s a new year, and changes are afoot. As there is quite a bit happening in my writing calendar this year, I thought easier to share as a one-off blog post rather than little pieces on social media.

history of publishing

Homelife

My youngest son is leaving home 😢 so I’m officially an empty nester. In theory this should leave more time for writing, but actually, no. Because not only have I had a promotion in the Day Job, I’ve also increased my hours.

Now I only have 1.5 days for writing, plus anything I can squeeze into the weekends and evenings. This means my output will probably go down this year. Weirdly, I’m okay with that. I’m lucky, in that I love my job, and unlike writing, it pays well and regularly

The other benefit to a Day Job (as opposed to writing), is that it provides validation. Writers are rarely praised, and when we are we don’t believe it. But at work I get told, on a daily basis!, that I’m doing a GREAT job. I know this makes me seem like a precious snow-flake and I should just get over this ridiculous self-doubt, but I’ve not met a writer yet who’s achieved that nirvana-like state.

WTF

Zeph the Caravan

Other news: my husband and I are renovating our retro caravan. His name is Zeph, short for ‘Zephyr’. He’s definitely NOT a light breeze, (the original meaning of the word and a less apt name I’ve yet to find, because Zeph is a pig to tow) – but he is a 1977 Zephyr 410. We’ve had him since 2001, when the kids were small. And since they’ve now left home, hubby and I have decided to convert him into a Love Shack. 😀

At the moment, Zeph is parked up in our driveway, looking more than a little worse for wear, as we’re sanding the exterior and pulling out the interior. But he’s a work in progress and one day I’m hoping he’ll be beautiful.

Zeph the Caravan

Story Worlds

Ghostly Melodies

Ghostly Melodies is coming out in 1 March, and I am SO EXCITED. This retold fairytale marks a change from my epic fantasies, and I wasn’t sure how I would find setting a story in the present day. Would it be boring?

Ghostly Melodies is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, and is based in Beverley Hills. I wasn’t sure how that would go, as I’ve never visited L.A. but thanks to the power of the internet, and especially thanks to Lucifer 🙂 it turned out to be surprisingly easy to set a story there.

Ghostly Melodies

A lot of the story is about a singer-songwriter, and I spent a lot of time watching music docos – and I also wrote my own songs for the story! (The words, not the music.) That was a lot of fun, as was the Ed Sheeren concert I attended ‘for research purposes’! (click here to see my instagram video of the concert!)

DreamScapes

I’m working on an expanding short story collection called DreamScapes. It’s being sent to my email list only at present, with one story for each special time of the year.

The first story (All Hallow’s Eve) marked Hallowe’en. Then we had a surfer who just may have been an angel at Christmas-time (Midsummer Christmas). I’m just working on an novella-length vampire-hunter story (Millicent Metcalfe) for Valentine’s Day and Easter. This one might well stretch to Hallowe’en, too as it’s looking pretty long already. I’ve set part of MM in Holland, as my character visits the Mauritshuis ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritshuis) – a fabulous museum I visited a few years ago. Just goes to show, everything’s material to a writer, even a writer who struggles to anchor her stories in reality!

DreamScapes

Pictures in Time

My other, more complex WIP is Pictures in Time. PiT is a retelling of Aladdin, and a sequel to Ghostly Melodies. Early stages, but already PiT is looking darker than the original Arabian Nights tale, because in the original story we never knew anything about Aladdin’s father, except that he was dead.

PiT is tentatively set in the UK, in one of the many antiques and collectibles markets. It won’t be ready until at least 2020, though, so I don’t want to give away too much just yet. But I can already say that there’s definitely going to be a whole lot more to Jasmine and Aladdin (whom I’ve renamed Aaron), than any Disney adventure.

Other life stuff

Hopefully mid-year will see a holiday overseas, as we have a very long, cold winter in Dunedin, and by July sunshine feels like a distant memory.

Plus, I’m also helping to organise a Children’s and Illustrator’s Hui in Dunedin later this year. Again, this is early days, so there’s a lot to work through, but it will sure keep me busy! And there’s the Romance Writer’s of NZ Conference to look forward to, and oh, so many writerly things. So even if I’m working longer hours, I’ll still be heavily engaged in the writing community.

To conclude: It looks like its going to be a busy year!

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone.

Rachel xxx

Old-Fashioned Romance

What can I read on holiday? Here’s some great books for all ages.

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Three Great Holiday Reads

Are you looking for a great book to read on holiday? Well, I’ve just been on holiday! Lucky me 🙂

On this holiday I’ve discovered three AMAZING reads that I’d love to share with you. Here’s some of them:

Lies Sleeping – by Ben Aaronovitch

Lies Sleeping

The newest release from Doctor Who writer Ben Aaronovitch is out! Lies Sleeping is the most recent instalment in the Rivers of London series. If you’ve not yet discovered the Rivers of London, then lucky you, because you’re in for a treat. These stories, set mostly in London, follow the adventures of Peter Grant, Detective Constable and apprentice wizard. Although each story is a stand-alone, they do form a continuous adventure, so you’re best to start at the beginning and read right through if you can. More information on the Rivers of London series here: rlstedman.com/doctor-who

Ben Aaronovitch Peter Grant Series
All the lovely books

In Lies Sleeping, Peter is fighting the Faceless Man and his ex-copper friend, Lesley, to prevent the downfall of London. Will he be able to solve the clues and so prevent the end of the world as he knows it?

In the story we also learn more about the nature of Molly, the mysterious domestic servant at The Folly, the Wizard’s Headquarters in London (and never to be referred to as Hogwarts, because Hogwarts is fictional!). Of course, we see more of Beverley Brook, Peter’s girlfriend and part-time goddess, and discover the true story behind the nefarious Mr Punch.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading the Rivers of London: the characters are lively, funny and believable and each book is a gripping read. The settings are great, too – Peter always comments on the architecture or the scenery, so these books are better than a guidebook! I used to live on the Kennet Canal, which feeds into the Thames, so it’s a lot of fun to read about an area I know well.

To be honest, I didn’t find Lies Sleeping quite as good as the earlier books in the series – I do wonder if Aaronovitch is getting a little over Peter Grant. But still, it’s a great read, and full of the trademark Londonisms and snarky humor that sets this series apart. Highly recommended,  especially if you’re planning a visit to London.

Find Lies Sleeping on AMAZON: https://amzn.to/2SJ

Hyperion – by Dan Simmons

Hyperion

Hyperion is a stunning book! If you love epic science fiction, like Dune or Asimov’s Foundation Series, Hyperion is a must-read. Here’s the blurb from Amazon:

“On the world called Hyperion, beyond the reach of galactic law, waits a creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.” 

Hyperion tells the backstory of seven pilgrims who set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion and to the Shrike. Each pilgrim has had their own encounter with the Shrike, and each relays this in their own voice.

Hyperion is beautifully written, and the characters and action are unbelievably good. Like the best stories, Hyperion deals with the nature of evil, the evidence for God, and the reason for existence, all set against a backdrop of exceptionally gifted world-building.

I have a little quibble about the role of women in the story (I felt that most of the women in this story were there for sexual interest only) but whatever, Simmons is not the first sci-fi writer to relegate women from the action, and at least the book is amazing.

Part Canterbury Tales, part Keatsian epic (‘Hyperion’ is also a poem by John Keats), this is one of those stories you have to read again and again. It’s a classic (and I can’t believe I’ve only just heard about it!). My son told me about this book, which only goes to show that it is so worth getting your kids into science fiction.

Find Hyperion on AMAZON at: https://amzn.to/2SHRqWG

The Wizards of Once – Cressida Cowell

Wizards of Once

A new book by the author of How To Train Your Dragon, this is a fabulous fantasy story.

“Once there were Wizards, who were Magic, and Warriors, who were not. And there were Witches, too, who wove evil magic: the kind of magic that kills larks and brings only darkness. But Witches were all killed by the Warriors – or so it is thought. Until Xar, son of the King of Wizards and Wish, daughter of the Warrior Queen collide in the wildwood … And magic is changed forever.”

Wizards of Once is probably aimed at competent middle grade readers around 9 – 13 years, but I totally enjoyed it, much to my nephew’s amusement! 🙂

Cowell is a fantastic author: the story rips along, and the characters are beautifully drawn (literally, as the book is illustrated by Cowell herself). Wizards of Once felt like Diana Wynne Jones crossed with Roald Dahl and flavoured with a little bit of Alan Garner. Anyone who enjoys English-based fantasy will love this story.

I’ve not listened to the Audio version, but it might be worth checking the audio edition, if only because David Tennant (aka Doctor Who) is the narrator.

Find The Wizards of Once on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/2Fi40Ir

How to Write Amazing Urban Fantasy

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Amazing Urban Fantasy

fairytale book
Image source

What is Urban Fantasy?

Urban fantasy stories are tales of magic, but unlike other fantasy sub-genres, like Epic Fantasy (think Lord of the Rings) or High Fantasy (like Game of Thrones), they’re set in the real world. Urban fantasy stories are HUGE on TV, film, and books. They’re the oldest kind of story. I think urban fantasy is amazing!

Here’s some tips on how to craft a great urban fantasy story:

1. Use Recognizable Settings

Make sure the reader recognizes the setting of the story.

The house design is familiar, or the story takes place in a well-known city.

Generally, urban fantasies occur in a man-made environment, although sometimes they’re set in at the boundary between the urban and the wild. Like the story of Hansel and Gretel: the witch who lives in the woods in a house made of gingerbread.

2. Plot Structure

Often UF’s follow the typical hero’s journey:

  • At the start of the story, the protagonist is happily living his/her life, ignorant of the magical world. Generally, he will be from of humble origins and not blessed with any special powers. He or she will be ordinary. Good-hearted, perhaps, and sometimes naive. At the beginning of the tale, the hero never sees themselves as special.
  • Then … enter the miraculous; the theatrical; the magical. Generally, in an Urban Fantasy, the magical is a total, freaky surprise to the hero. Of course, the reader will know that its there, because it’s an Urban Fantasy, after all!
  • Frequently, upon entering this magical realm, the hero finds they have a super-power. He or she might be amazingly talented, or beautiful or desirable. Sometimes the hero discovers he’s from a magical dynasty and was hidden at birth to protect him from opponents of this dynasty. (Harry Potter, anyone?)
  • Sometimes the hero is the secret hope of the hidden world, but perhaps he’s a bystander. Either way, he’ll have to use his newly-discovered powers to overcome a threat, and in so doing will return to the real world changed.
  • He may leave the real world altogether and continue in the hidden lands, or he may continue as a bridge between the worlds, and move at will between them.
  • There are variations on this. For example, the hero may be inside the hidden realm at the start of the story – in which case, entering our real world may be a total shock.

But either way, all this is good stuff for a story, right?

3. What Tone Should I Use?

Urban fantasy stories are generally funny, although sometimes they’re dark, almost gothic in tone – Vampire stories are classic UF but they’re rarely funny.

Where there is humor it usually comes from the contrast between the magic and the real, and how characters in the magical realms just don’t get technology, or vice-versa.

But wait – there’s more!

I love reading and writing urban fantasy, and gradually I’m focussing more and more on the genre.

Over the next few blog posts I’ll showcase some of my favorite UF books, but right now I’m going to leave you with an Excerpt from Welcome to Faery.

Excerpt: Beauty is a Subjective Term

I’ve put this story below as it demonstrates many of the points above. (P.S. You can download this entire story collection at this link here: https://bookhip.com/VHJFPS)

– Define: Fairest
The Queen tapped her fingers on the marble dressing table. Click click click. Nails filed to a killing point. ‘Stupid Mirror. “Fair” means “beauty”.’

– Define: Beauty

The last mirror had done what she’d asked. But oh no, the dwarfs had talked her into this new one, saying magic words like ‘memory’ and ‘voice activation’ and ‘ram’ and she hadn’t wanted to look stupid, not in front of a bunch of dwarves. And now look at this super-sleek mirror; so beautiful on the wall and yet so, so useless. How was she supposed to find Snow White without a working mirror? An upgrade, they’d said, as if an upgrade was a good thing.

The Queen threw a crystal jar across her chamber. It shattered on the stone tiles, spilling musk-flavored perfume. A serving girl scurried to clean it up, ducking low to avoid any other stray objects that the Queen might throw.

‘I mean, you stupid mirror, is there anyone else in this Kingdom more beautiful than I?’

– Define: More beautiful

The Queen paused. How does one define beautiful, anyway? ‘Girl,’ she said over her shoulder.

The maid paused in her cleaning. ‘Yes, my Lady?’

‘What makes someone beautiful?

Kneeling on the floor, the maid carefully placed shards of glass onto a folded piece of paper. ‘Like you, my Lady?’

The Queen smiled. This girl was intelligent. ‘Exactly,’ she purred. ‘Like me.’

The girl scrambled to her feet, bending her head. ‘Beauty, my Lady? Ah, maybe something like clear skin. Red lips.’

‘Is that all?’ The Queen was disappointed. ‘Why, you have red lips.’

‘Thank you, my Lady.’

‘There you are, mirror.’ The Queen turned her back on the servant. ‘I want you to find out for me if there is anyone in the Kingdom with clearer skin and redder lips than I.’

Behind her, the girl went to get a mop and bucket.

– Subjective terms. Reframe your search parameters

‘Servant,’ called the Queen.

The girl was folding the paper into a funnel, ready to pour the glass into a small tumbler. ‘Yes, my Lady?’

‘What does it mean now?’

The girl ducked her head. ‘I think, my Lady, it does not understand your question.’

‘Why not? I am perfectly clear.’

Tap-tap went the nails. The Queen’s hand twitched towards another glass bottle and the girl added quickly, ‘It’s a dwarf mirror. My Ma works for them. They’re scientific. Need to use very specific terms, to get their magic working.’

‘Specific terms?’ asked the Queen grimly. ‘I’ll show them how specific I can be. With my wand, I can very specific.’ She sighed. ‘So. What should I ask this wretched mirror?’

‘May I, my Lady?’ The girl indicated the space beside the Queen.

The Queen nodded, and the servant stepped beside her. She smelt of musk perfume and bleach. Her face, what the Queen could see of it behind the fall of grubby hair, seemed pale. She was right to be nervous, thought the Queen grimly. Persons that got too close to her were apt to have a significantly shortened lifespan.

‘Mirror mirror,’ said the girl softly.

‘I said that. Didn’t I say that?’

‘That’s just the start command.’

‘Oh,’ said the Queen. ‘I knew that.’

The girl cleared her throat. ‘Definition input.’

– Inputting

‘Beauty = Fair. Beauty: blemish-free skin.’

‘Amazing,’ thought the Queen. ‘How does she make that noise in her throat? It sounds just someone choking.’ She frowned, remembering: red apple, blood falling on snow.

– Define: blemish

‘Definition input: Crease, line or wrinkles.’

‘Freckles,’ whispered the queen.

The girl nodded. ‘Definition continues: moles, warts, lentigines, skin tags.’

– Definition received

‘What is a lentigine?’ asked the Queen

‘Like a freckle.’ The girl pointed at a sunspot on the Queen’s hand. The Queen moved her hand quickly, hiding the imperfection. ‘So now, if you ask it to tell you who is the most beautiful in the land, it will tell you who has the clearest skin.’

‘Well,’ said the Queen, looking pleased, ‘that’s very clever. Back you go, girl, clean up that mess. The perfume is giving me a headache.’ The girl crept back to the floor and the scrubbing brush.

The Queen stared up at the mirror’s silver screen, tapped her finger and asked: ‘Mirror mirror, who is the most beautiful in the land?’

On the screen appeared faces, flickering in and out, changing too rapidly to recognize any individual. A montage of faces, from happy to sad, from fat to thin, in a rainbow of skin tones. All clear-skinned, all beautiful.

All of them children.

The Queen screamed, stood up, backed away from the mirror. She stumbled over the servant, still scrubbing the floor.

‘Your Majesty. What is it?’

The Queen pointed at the mirror. The menagerie of children floated past. But never her own face, never her own!

‘Girl! Make it stop!’

The servant sat back on her heels, called out: ‘Mirror. End query.’

The screen faltered, the faces disappeared. The Queen slowly straightened.

‘Beauty,’ she said crisply, ‘is in the eye of the beholder. And I behold my face, and I say I am beautiful. I do not need to ask any mirror anything.’

The girl returned to her scrubbing. ‘That’s what my Ma says. She says beauty isn’t that special. It’s what you do that counts.’

The Queen sniffed and returned to her dresser. ‘When you’ve finished clearing up,’ she said, ‘go and wash.’

The girl wrung her perfume-scented cloth into the bucket, picked up her brush and backed from the room. ‘That’s why she stayed with them. She’s never coming home. She’s no interest in your stupid kingdom. And we’re good at hiding. So stop trying to find us.’

The Queen spun on her chair, stared at the servant girl, creeping backward from the room with her mop and brush and bucket. She did look familiar; black hair, creamy skin. ‘Wait!’ she called. ‘Wait!’

But the girl had gone. Out into the corridor, merging with the other waiting staff. Hundreds of them, scurrying about like mice. Identical in their grey coveralls, hiding their faces. The Queen would never find her.

The mirror! The mirror could tell her.

‘Mirror, mirror,’ she said. ‘Show me…’

She stopped. She would never succeed. Curse the dwarves and their wretched technology! Only Snow White had ever managed to work with them.

Great Books for Brainy Boys

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Great Books for Brainy Boys

Do you have a bright boy in your life? Lucky you!

teenager - school visit

BUT it’s hard to keep a bright boy fed with books. So many MG and YA books have pink covers, or touchy-feely romance, or feature bearded manly-men: my boys just couldn’t relate to these stories.

You know how kids can be fussy eaters? (“I don’t like broccoli/tomatoes/mushrooms?”) They’re exactly the same with books.

But it’s really important that kids learn to love reading. If nothing else, a book is a battery-free boredom-killer. A book can be carried anywhere and shoved under your little darling’s nose the moment he becomes restless.

But books are more than entertainment; they’re education. Books teach without even trying. From stories, kids learn facts, coping strategies and how to see the world through another’s eyes. In today’s techno-focussed society, words are super important; if you’re unable to communicate ideas, its pretty hard to hold down any well-paid job. Today, being brain-fit is more important than being physically-fit.

Here’s a list that might help.

Full disclosure: my boys are in their late teens. In their middle grade years (ages 8 – 10) they were competent, not voracious readers. I had to work real hard to find stories they liked. One son likes character-focussed novels; the other is (still) crazy about science, and for the longest time he’d only read ‘how to’ manuals. (I remember reading him the dishwasher plumbing manual for bed time reading!)

But now they’re both advanced readers, in the top streams at their university/schools and while they still have strong preferences, they’ll read across genres. I compiled this list of books with their help.

I’ve put in links to the Amazon pages of all the titles, so you can read a bit more about them.

Please note: this list is by no means complete. I’ve left out most of the mega hits, like The Hobbit, The Maze Runner, The Hunger Games and Harry Potter, as I’m sure you’re already aware of them. Plus, of course there are plenty of other wonderful stories I’ve left out, or just haven’t discovered yet. This list is mostly speculative fiction (horror, sci-fi and fantasy) as I found my science-focussed son engaged best with this genre.

If you’re looking for further ideas, try Zac Harding’s blog: https://bestfriendsarebooks.com – or ask a librarian

Younger Readers (8 – 10)

Animorphs – KA Applegate

Goosebumps – R. L. Stine

  • These are science-fiction/horror-lite series, and both have an enormous number of titles. One son insisted on reading them in order, which I found real stressful, because do you think the library had them all available at the right time?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory & Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator  – Roald Dahl

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar   – Roald Dahl

“What keeps the elevator up?” asked Charlie.

“Skyhooks, of course,” said Mr Willy Wonka.

When Our Jack Went to War – Sandy McKay.

Based on the true story of Sandy’s great-uncle in WW1. This book is really good for kids with shorter attention spans, as it’s interspersed with cuttings from newspapers, so the formatting helps retain the interest.

The Prankster and the Ghost – R. L. Stedman

This is my book, so I guess this could be shameless self-promotion, but I wrote this with my kids in mind. The idea came about from my son’s school camp: within the first hour, one kid had their arm run over by the bus, another had a trip to ED, and my son was convinced the camp was haunted.

The Horse and His Boy – C. S. Lewis

The story of Shasta, runaway slave and his talking horse. A stand-alone adventure set in the Narnia world, this was the only one in the series my kids warmed to, but they both loved it.

Middle Grade (10 – 13)

Horowitz Horror – Anthony Horowitz

These are really good horror stories for kids, but be aware that they may induce delicious terror in the child-reader. So I don’t recommend these for binge- or late-night reading (unless you want to be woken by a kid with nightmares). Horowitz also wrote the Alex Rider series for older kids, about a spy academy for teens. TBH my kids didn’t really relate to the Rider series, “they’re too predictable”, but others may enjoy.

The Cherub Series – Robert Muchamore

Another series about teen spies for MG – YA readers. These stories are the ultimate in formulaic, binge-reading, so once a kid is hooked they’ll be gagging for the next in series. One of my sons hated these books, but the other devoured them, so again, worth a try. There are heaps of titles in this series – definitely a bonus when you’ve got a holiday planned. Just be aware that Muchamore writes about real-life issues, like trafficking. Younger children may not be ready for this type of content, so I do suggest caution.

The City of Ember (3 book series) – Jeanne DuPrau

A story about a civilisation surviving underground. This was made into a neat little movie, starring Bill Murray and Tim Robbins, and is a well-written exciting science-fiction dystopia for younger readers.

A Wrinkle in Time – Madeline L’Engle

An absolute, must-read classic for intelligent MG and YA readers: time travel, space travel, a brain-box kid and his older sister. This is part of a series, but you don’t need to have the entire series to enjoy this outstanding adventure.

When You Reach Me – Rebecca Stead

An award-winning adventure about time travel. Miranda receives anonymous letters that seem to be able to predict the future. This story is full of puzzles and plot twists. It’s based on an idea in A Wrinkle in Time, so its good to read them together.

Cosmic – Frank Cottrell-Boyce.

The story of an unusually tall 12-year-old who’s mistaken for an adult, and how he pranks his way into becoming an astronaut. This isn’t a simplistic read, but if you’ve a kid with a good attention span, they’ll love this story. Cosmic (and Cottrell-Boyce’s other works) make very good audio books, great for long car journeys.

Johnny Maxwell Series – Terry Pratchett

More information in this blog post.

Only You Can Save Mankind

Under the Mountain – Maurice Gee

See this blog post here. Fantastic story, disappointing movie.

Chrestomanci Series – Diana Wynne Jones.

This was the series that got me hooked on reading, when I was only 9! My favourite in the series is still Charmed Life, about orphan Cat and the mysterious enchanter Chrestomanci, but Witch Week is also great, and even now I laugh out loud when I read it. This series introduces the concept of multiple worlds and discusses causality, so it’s a thought-provoking read for science-fiends.

Older Readers (13 +)

I think my kids enjoyed the books here precisely because they are NOT written for kids – most were written before YA was a ‘proper’ genre.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

Great fun to read aloud and surprisingly accessible; we laughed our way through this book.

The Invisible Man – HG Wells

A classic, and still a fantastic story. A man walks into a bar, his face wrapped in bandages …

The Day of The Triffids – John Wyndham

Wyndham’s novels are written in a rather dry, reportage style, which my son loved.  If your child enjoyed the Triffids, they’ll be happy, because there are others to try: The Kraken Wakes, Chocky, The Midwich Cuckoos. (My son also loved The Trouble With Lichen, but I couldn’t stand it!)

The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown

I know, right? But my 13 year old totally loved this book, the idea of the puzzles and the fast-paced story-telling kept him hooked.

The Raven Boys – Maggie Stiefvater

My boys weren’t massively into this series, but it will certainly appeal to some boy readers. More info in this blog post here.

The Foundation Series – Isaac Asimov

My son devoured this series when he was 14, and it’s still one of his favourites. The combination of science and world-building in Asimov’s books makes these books deeply appealing to young people. Apologies to all Asimov fans, but I find reading his books as exciting as watching paint dry. The ideas are great, but it’s hard work to reach them (plus he’s as sexist as hell), so I wouldn’t expose a teen to Foundation until he or she is a truly competent reader.

And then …

Well, once a kid is says he’s enjoying Asimov, they’re on their own, and good luck keeping up with them!

Rights in Space


photographs from pixabay and deposit photos – used under license