News

Paignton Green Festival

Ellen — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:49:04 +0000

This afternoon I’ll be reading from Castle of Shadows and City of Thieves in the Story-telling tent at the Paignton Green Festival. My friend, Steve Hartley will be there too, talking about his Danny Baker, Record Breaker books. Should be loads of fun.

City of Thieves gets a review in the Times!

Ellen — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 10:56:47 +0000

Following Castle of Shadows’ success in making both the Times and the Independent Newspapers’ summer reading lists, City of Thieves gets an excellent review in today’s Times.

Amanda Craig in today’s Times on City of Thieves: ‘It has a dramatic plot, like a cross between Oliver Twist and Black Hearts in Battersea [by Joan Aiken], and Renner is a real discovery.’

City of Thieves Published Today

Ellen — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:47:09 +0000

City of Thieves published Today!

I’m on a mini-holiday in the Welsh Border country with my family, visiting glorious places like Dore Abbey, Llanthony Priory and TreTower Castle and Court. We’ve been blessed with golden light and spectacular views. Today is made even more exciting because it’s the official publication date for City of Thieves.

A Great Visit to Woodroffe School

Ellen — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 10:40:26 +0000

A big thank you to Woodroffe School in Lyme Regis, Dorset, for making my first high school visit a brilliant one. You have a fantastic school!

Scattered Authors Society Writing Retreat

Ellen — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 12:26:59 +0000

I spent last week in Oxfordshire on a writing retreat with fellow members of the Scattered Authors Society. We wrote a bit, thought a great deal and shared ideas and experiences about writing. In between we ate wonderful food. I’ve come back full of carbohydrates, ideas and energy. Can’t wait to go back next year. Hooray for the (other) SAS!

Castle of Shadows makes Amanda Craig’s summer reading list in the Times!

Ellen — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 17:05:56 +0000

Wonderful start to Saturday when I saw that Amanda Craig had chosen Castle of Shadows as one of her picks for summer reading in today’s Times. And she’s given it a stunning review which, since I can’t post a link, I’ll quote in full here:

‘Castle of Shadows is a fantasy thriller reminiscent of Joan Aiken. Charlie is a ragamuffin princess whose mother has mysteriously disappeared. Her father has gone mad, and the kingdom, now ruled by a sinister prime minister, is on the point of revolution. Gorgeously exciting and well written, with a hero as strong-minded and quick-witted as its heroine, Renner’s acute sense of psychology, politics and pace makes this one to revel in – the sequel, City of Thieves, is out later this summer.’

Wow! Just … wow.

Five Villains I Love to Hate

Ellen — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:58:01 +0000

Nip over to An Awfully Big Blog Adventure to read my post on five of my favourite villains in children’s books, and what I think makes a good villain. The link is here: http://bit.ly/90TfIz

Green men!

Ellen — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:24:16 +0000

I have joined fellow members of the Scattered Authors’ Society who regularly post on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure. My first post went up today. It’s all about green men, but not little ones. And you can read it here: http://bit.ly/bbcQrT

Orchard Lunch

Ellen — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:18:59 +0000

Thank you to the lovely folks at Orchard Books for inviting me to their summer lunch party in London today. I had a fabulous time and could happily have spent another three hours talking about children’s books.

My first ever blog post!

Ellen — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:16:07 +0000

I was invited by Norman Geras to write a guest post for his wonderful Normblog as part of his Writer’s Choice series. I chose to write about the works of my favourite author, Diana Wynne Jones. Thank you so much for this opportunity, Norm. I really enjoyed it! You can read the post here: http://bit.ly/bezm7j