TYGER interviews & conversations!

If you'd like to know more about my new book TYGER – I've done quite a few interviews about it lately that you might enjoy.

Here's a video of an online event I did with The Blake Society, where I talked about TYGER with the brilliant bookseller and artist Tamsin Rosewell.  We covered lots of topics in our conversation, especially how it was inspired by the work of William Blake, and his great poem The Tyger:

If you'd rather read something than watch a video, here's a written Q&A interview I did with the Tyger Tale blog.  I think this is one of the best-named and most brilliant of all children's books blogs, and they asked me lots of great questions about TYGER, including its connections to my earlier books, like Varjak Paw.  They also featured lots of Dave McKean's beautiful artwork from TYGER, such as this incredible image:

If you're looking for a longer interview, here's a really thoughtful conversation I had with the critic Imogen Russell Williams for Books For Keeps – the UK's leading children's books magazine.  We talked a lot about TYGER's roots in my own life and experiences, and went into a lot of detail about the inspirations for both the story and the artwork.

And finally, if you want to read something a little different, here's an interview that takes the form of a walk through the world of TYGER, in the company of the terrific children's literature blogger Nick Campbell.  This is one of the most original and interesting pieces I've seen about the book, and I hope you enjoy it too!

End Of The Year Round-Up

So after seven long years of writing, this was the year that my new book Phoenix was finally published!  It's been amazing to see it get some fantastic reviews, and even appear on some Book Of The Year lists...

The Guardian picked Phoenix in their Best Children's Literature Of 2013 selection, where Michelle Pauli described it as an "epic space quest", and said: "Not only is the story of boy hero Lucky's journey through galaxies completely absorbing, launching the reader into an alien world with its own mythology, but the book is beautiful – lavishly illustrated by Dave McKean, with words and pictures working seamlessly together." (Click the links to read the full reviews)

Metro picked it in their Top 20 Books Of 2013, where Imogen Russell-Williams described it as "fierily poetic on a galactic scale... totally transporting – as are McKean’s space-spanning illustrations."

Phoenix featured in the Independent On Sunday's Christmas Books, where Daniel Hahn described it as: "A powerful story of great scope and ambition, from an expert storyteller. And with these gorgeously deep black-and-white illustrations, the great McKean is on absolutely top form here."

I've been delighted to see Phoenix appear on some excellent book blogs recently. Georgia Walters of Books and Writers JNR featured it on her End Of The Year Books Survey, alongside books by writers like Patrick Ness and John Green. She gave Phoenix a fabulous five-star review, and said: "I feel in love with this story... HIGHLY recommended for any sci-fi fans, fantasy fans, etc., out there- and also anybody who wants a new favourite book (:"

Phoenix was also featured in Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books Favourites Of 2013; and Mr Ripley was kind enough to offer me a guest spot on his blog. So I wrote a piece about the inspirations behind Phoenix, where I talked a lot about collaborating with the great Dave McKean.  Definitely worth reading if you want to know some behind-the-scenes stuff about how the book was made!

The Book Addicted Girl also kindly offered me a guest spot on her blog, for her 'Book Addicted Boys' feature.  So this time, I wrote a piece about space stories, and why I love them! 

Sister Spooky gave Phoenix a lovely review, where she said: "I zoomed through Phoenix... [It] will tickle fans of Doctor Who and Star Wars that love a bit of adventure with a dash of morality."  I also did Sister Spooky's fab Twenty Random Questions interview, so if you'd like to know my answers to questions like "What superpowers would you have?", click the link to find out!

Finally, I was knocked out to see Phoenix reviewed in Interzone, a great science fiction magazine I used to read in the 1990s! Barbara Melville gave it a fantastic review, in which she said: "Not only does it break new territory – epic space adventures are, after all, not in abundance on the children’s shelf – but it is layered with depth and meaning right from the get go... These multilayered themes and ideas, reinforced by strong characterisation, make this book shine. It could have worked without them, making for a fun but depthless guilty pleasure. I’m glad Said picked the path he did. The result is a touching, meaningful story for children and adults alike." 

Unfortunately Interzone is not available online, but if you'd like a print copy, you can get one here.

I'd like to say a huge & heartfelt thanks to all these writers for taking the time to read Phoenix, engage with it, and write such lovely things about it!  You have no idea how much it means to see someone take your work seriously; it really makes those seven years feel worthwhile! 

Video Review, plus Questions & Answers!

Here's a fantastic video review of Phoenix, by the brilliant book blogger Leena Norms – justkissmyfrog on YouTube.  I love the way she talks about children's books, with real passion and intelligence, and I love what she says about Phoenix, comparing it to Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls, among other things!  She's great on Dave McKean's artwork too; it's really worth watching, check it out:

Leena also interviewed me, and asked some very interesting questions, about both Phoenix and Varjak Paw – covering subjects like world-building, martial arts, character creation and collaboration with Dave McKean. Read the full interview here!

Photo © Leena Norms

Meanwhile, I received a lovely message on this site from a reader in France.  He writes:

Dear SF Said,
Hello, my name is Victor, i live in France... and I have some questions to ask you if you don’t mind. I know that you may not have time to reply my message, but it’ll be the best if you reply, I will be soooooo excited!

Hi Victor! Many thanks for your message, and your questions. I don't think I can answer all of them, as there were lots & lots, but I'll answer a few!

When is Varjak Paw 3 coming out? What will it be about? Will there be a Varjak Paw collection (Varjak Paw 1,2,3,4,5,6,7.......)?

There will definitely be a third Varjak Paw book, but I don't think there'll be more. You see, in the first book, he's a kitten.  In the second, he's an adult cat. In the third book, I think he'll be an old cat, like the Elder Paw or Jalal. But to write a book about an old character, I need to be old myself, to know what it feels like. I'm getting there, but I'm not quite ready yet! In the meantime, if you enjoyed Varjak Paw, I hope you'll read Phoenix – I think it's the best book I've written so far!

How do you write a book? How long does it take to write a book like varjak paw?

I work every day – I go to the library, and I sit there and write until I've done my work. I do that every day (except weekends & holidays!) I write in drafts, and with each draft, I try to make the story better, with the aim of getting to the point where I can't find any way to make it any better. That takes a long time. Varjak Paw took five years; The Outlaw Varjak Paw took three; and Phoenix took seven! I wish I was quicker, but that's how long it took me to make those stories as good as I could. 

What methods do you use for writing such so interesting books?- I even think your books are better than Roald Dahl, Jacqueline Wilson and Michael Morpurgo’s books!! The books you wrote are the best books I’ve ever read!!

Thank you, that's an amazing compliment, though I can't agree about the other authors, because they're among my own all-time favourites! I think the best thing a writer can do is to read a lot. Every writer is really just a reader who's decided to write the books they want to read, the ones that don't exist yet. I have many favourite authors; some others are Ursula Le Guin, Peter Dickinson, Philip Pullman... I could go on... So my advice to anyone who wants to write would be to read as much as you can; be prepared to do lots of work; and never give up!

Phoenix news, reviews & interviews...

There's been more coverage of my new book Phoenix, so it's time for another update of reviews & interviews... Click the links to read the full pieces!

Louise Ellis-Barrett of Armadillo children's book magazine interviewed Dave McKean and myself at the London ComicCon back in July. The full interview appears in the autumn 2013 issue, where she writes:

"Phoenix is a delicately balanced book, a work of love, a delicate, complex and yet balanced world, a blend of story and illustration... It was worth the 7 years of work!"

Meanwhile Phoenix received five stars in the children's book magazine Books For Keeps, and a wonderful review from Ferelith Hordon, which means a lot to me, as she is one of Britain's most distinguished children's librarians. She writes:

"It is exciting to see the partnership between S. F. Said and Dave McKean back and the combination is as dynamic as before. The plot is full of action... Sentences are short, description is kept to the minimum and is delivered with confidence while there is plenty of dialogue, ensuring the story moves along briskly. All of this will make it attractive to young readers who will find it easy to identify with the characters... Throughout, the text is intertwined - invaded even - by McKean's trademark black and white illustrations. Except here these are more than illustrations, picking up as they do elements of the narrative, driving it on, creating visual excitement and tension through images that have form and at the same time the formless energy of the universe." 

There was an excellent post by Jake Hayes of the beautiful book blog tygertale - particularly exciting for me as the working title of my next book is TYGER! He writes:

"This is a sprawling, big hearted space opera written with the ambition of Star Wars, imbued with the emotion of E.T., shot through with the grit of Alien and the downbeat mood of Moon... It's a thing of beauty, a masterclass of how text and image can work together for a slightly older audience."

There've also been three reviews in recent days from young readers, which I have to say, I value more than anything. Two of these appeared on the Guardian Children's Books site. First BookTrain125 wrote:

"Phoenix is an amazing book. It really grabbed my attention. If adventure is what you want, this is the book for you! It's gripping and I could not put it down. It was absolutely irresistible."

Then Wizard wrote:

"I thought that Phoenix was an absolutely fabulous book... Normally I am not too keen on science-fiction books but this book was an exception. When I started reading, I just couldn't stop! Phoenix is one of the best books I have ever read!!!!!!"

And finally, 11 year old book blogger Louis of Home For Bookworms gave Phoenix a 10/10 review:

"I really liked this book because Lucky is a great super hero for kids, someone who puts others first. People who like SCI FI and adventure novels and are Varjak Paw fans will enjoy this too."

 Please share these links if you like them – it would really help to spread the word about Phoenix!

Guardian Children's Books Podcast

Very exciting news – I'm on the Guardian Children's Books Podcast this week, talking about my new book Phoenix (and also about Varjak Paw!)   Click the link to have a listen; you can also download it & listen later if you like...

Amazing Reactions...

I'm feeling a little emotional tonight, because there've been some seriously amazing reactions to Phoenix coming in...

For a start, one of my very favourite writers, Jacqueline Wilson, sent me a postcard telling me she thought was Phoenix was brilliant (and yes, she actually underlined the word 'brilliant'), structurally perfect, and a total page-turner!  And then she wrote a piece on her website about her summer reading, which says she 'especially loved Phoenix'!  When one of your heroes says something like that, it really means the world, especially when their own work is so brilliant in every way...  I can't wait to read her next one, Diamond, which is out in September!

Then I got a text from Paul Stewart, the awesome author of The Edge Chronicles, Wyrmeweald and Barnaby Grimes, saying that he'd started reading Phoenix on Wednesday, couldn't stop, and had just finished it on Friday morning!  He apologised for reading it in two days when it had taken me seven years to write – but he knows what a compliment that is, something every writer dreams of hearing...  I couldn't thank him enough, particularly as I find his own work unputdownable...

And then there've been some fantastic reviews in the past few days.  I particularly love this one by Shelagh Rowan-Legg on Dorkshelf, who also interviewed me for the same site.  She says Phoenix is:

"one of my best reading experiences this year.  A science fiction story with amazing and real characters, dramatic action, a fascinating mythology and incredible artwork by Dave McKean, I can’t recommend this enough...  At nearly 500 pages, the book may seem daunting, but it’s the kind you can’t put down... A remarkable adventure story for any age."

Click here to read the full piece!

Phoenix Countdown & Competition: 1

Only one day to go till the publication of my new book Phoenix!  A nice interview with me appeared today on SFFWorld.com - click here to read it.