Roz Maclaren

Teen Fiction with a Dark Twist

An update from Mirrordom

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January is (finally) about to draw to a close as I write this. In spite of it being January the 3,001st, payday still being days away and the weather showing no signs of improving, brighter days are on the horizon.

There is something to be said for dark winter nights. There’s a plausible reason to stay home, write books, read books and not socialise. But I am more than ready for the summer!

I’m also one step closer to writing “THE END” on Quiver and Arrow. The book has taken me on an emotional rollercoaster, and I hope you get to enjoy it one day.

I can already see myself going back to Mirrordom and delving into the backstory of Quiver’s mother. But we’ll see if anything comes of that. One thing for sure, she is a fascinating, resourceful woman who definitely has a few stories to tell.

As far as we know for now, though, this is the end of the Mirrordom stories – and definitely the end of the Mirrordom Trilogy. So, it’s important to me that we get a satisfying ending with plenty character resolution and development. Although the stories all happen over the course of one year, there’s numerous events that cause our protagonists all manner of consequences. However, I can safely say the most drastic of all those consequences has happened in Quiver and Arrow.

Meanwhile, in the world of Mirrordom, I’m looking forward to starting the process of editing Venom and Blaze, so it can go straight from my imagination into your hands.

How is your endless January going? I’d love to hear all about it.

Book review: The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter

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6/10

WARNING: SPOILERS

Like many 90’s/00’s babies, I grew up reading Ally Carter in my teenage years. I dreamed of being a Gallagher Girl. I swooned over Hale in Heist Society. I even walked the streets of Embassy Row with Grace. There is no question that Ally Carter is a fabulous author of YA fiction – and that she made my childhood a better place.

So I wanted to love this. But I… didn’t.

The Blonde Identity tells the story of a woman who wakes up in Paris with no idea where she is. She becomes embroiled into top secret plots and spy stuff, all of which she tackles with a relish and enthusiasm that borders on irritating. It becomes apparent she’s been mistaken for her twin sister, who actually is a spy and would treat the situations with the gravity they deserve.

It’s not a terrible book, by any means. But it doesn’t have any of Carter’s trademark twists and turns. It doesn’t have the charm of her other books.

What I loved…

Alex. It’s just a shame the (arguably more interesting) twin doesn’t show up sooner in the book.

The unexpected villain. All eyes are on a man called Kozlov, but the real danger is closer to home… I liked this unexpected twist – it was one of the few I didn’t see coming.

What I didn’t love so much…

The cliches. I think they’re meant to be satirical but the main character literally, repeatedly speaks the word “Gasp!”

The forced relationship. Zoe and Sawyer have known each other for just a few days. Maybe that’s why his declaration of love is so utterly jarring for me. I found it a tad cringeworthy, especially at the end of the book where he gives up his lifelong career for a woman he met that week.

Sawyer. I just didn’t like him. I could get almost get behind Zoe’s relentless lust for life, but Sawyer wasn’t terribly likeable as a character. His backstory felt like it was shoehorned into the story. For example, he has repeated nightmares about a woman called Helena whom he failed to save. I feel this could have been unpacked more and, yes, maybe it would have been a cliché to have Helena be more than just someone on a mission he couldn’t keep alive but it would have given depth to his story and explained why she seems to haunt his dreams.

Overall, The Blonde Identity is a light, fluffy story that would work for killing time on a long train journey.

Book review: Scythe by Neal Shusterman

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10/10

WARNING: SPOILERS

Every once in a while, I read a book that makes me wish I’d written it myself. Scythe is exactly that kind of book. From the cover, to the intro, to the content inside, every little bit of Scythe kept me gripped and enthralled.

Scythe follows the story of a girl called Citra and a boy called Rowan who live fairly normal lives in a world where death and disease have been eradicated. This utopian world keeps its population down through the method of gleaning. Those who glean are called Scythes. When Citra and Rowan are both chosen as apprentices, they stumble on a world of intrigue.

Citra and Rowan are pitted against each other and, when things take a turn for the worse, it becomes apparent that whoever is chosen to be ordained as a scythe will need to glean the other.

To get around this, their scythe gleans himself – inadvertently making matters a whole lot worse for Citra and Rowan. The pair are forced to go their separate ways and train under other scythes. One of them will become a scythe – but at what cost?

What I loved…

The character depictions. The book is mainly dual-perspective, with different journal excerpts from other characters. The author’s remarkable ability to switch tone of voice was brilliant – making it easy to determine whose journal we were reading.

The concept. Truly original concepts are rare – but I feel this was one.

The world building. I love the utopian world Neal Shusterman has created and the way the most human of qualities, like resilience, greed and love, come to the fore even in a utopia.

The pace. I love books that get straight into the story – and this does exactly that. Throughout the book, I feel the pace is pitch-perfect.

What I didn’t love so much…

Absolutely nothing. There’s a reason why I gave Scythe a 10 out of 10. I’ve already ordered the other two in the trilogy from AbeBooks. If I’m being really picky, I would prefer Citra and Rowan to be just friends. Their love story doesn’t have enough development in this book and feels shoe-horned in at the end. I feel having the pair be just close friends would result in a stronger, slightly more plausible storyline.

Back to Mirrordom

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It’s the dreariest of January days as I’m writing this. Rain sluices down the window and biting winds bend the trees into submission. Perfect writing weather – I’m just missing a crackling fire and a mug of hot chocolate.

I’m taking a break from writing Quiver and Arrow, the third and final (is it final, though? Are we sure?) book in the Mirrordom Trilogy. And, let’s just say, it’s the darkest one yet. I’m slightly traumatised writing it. There are a lot of deaths.

And there’s also a lot of new characters. You’ll get to meet Arrow, Zenith, Fang, Sapient and more.

How do I keep my writing sharp?

Behind the scenes, I’ve been watching Harlan Coben’s BBC Maestro course on writing thrillers. Now, I’d be the first to admit I don’t have the brains to write a thriller. But I love Harlan Coben, both his books and his Netflix adaptations (do yourself a favour: stop reading this and watch The Stranger. You can thank me later.), but Quiver and Arrow isn’t like the other books in the Mirrordom Trilogy. You can expect more twists and turns than a Scottish single track road. And there’s no one who knows more about twists and turns than Harlan Coben.

You see Quiver and Arrow starts with a mystery. In fact, there’s quite a few mysteries. And they’re all throwing Quiver’s world into total chaos.

If I’m being honest, Quiver was my least favourite character in the Mirrordom Trilogy. I found his ideals naïve and didn’t think he was especially nice to City, a character I always felt terribly protective of. But now Quiver has come into his own – I can sympathise with his actions and choices. And, let’s be real, he’s getting a really tough time in this book. Will it end happily? There are no guarantees with this series.

How much plotting do I do?

I plot a lot. But I find that it doesn’t really matter if I do or not. I can write the entire plot out, chapter by chapter, and still I get surprised. The act of writing the book, for me, is an entirely organic process. By that I mean that it grows like a plant. I can encourage it in a certain direction. But I have no real control over it. It happens how it happens. Which is very annoying because I’m a planner by nature and I’d quite like to stick to the plan I had at the start.

How do I think of new characters?

The character of Arrow was actually dreamed up back when I wrote the first book in the series. I liked the way her name matches with Quiver’s. However, I never got round to doing anything with her until the third book.

I also decided I wanted Quiver to have a pet, so I gave him a beautiful, pure-white wolf called Fang that never leaves his side.

And what book would be complete without a villain? You’ll have to wait to find out who the villain of this story is, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

What are you working on this January? Are you reading anything exciting? I’d love to hear all about it.

Hello, 2024!

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Up in Scotland, we take New Year quite seriously. Traditionally, we’ll have a holiday on 2 January as well as New Year’s Day.

I’ve never really been a party person – so my main concessions to the fact that we’ve switched 2023 for 2024 were staying up until midnight, watching fireworks and having moments of self-reflection.

Plus: New Year Resolutions. I’ve always made New Year Resolutions for as long as I can remember and find it a good way of taking stock. What have I achieved? What did I fail to accomplish and why? How can I improve next year? I try to set attainable goals and measure how far I’ve come.

As well as personal resolutions, I’ve also created some book-related ones.

Last year, I didn’t manage to read as many books as I’d have liked. I use an app called StoryGraph to keep track of what I’ve read. It’s super simple to use and I’m excited to think that I’ll see one of my books on there one day!

StoryGraph also creates a fantastic Reading Wrap-Up at the end of every year. 2023 saw me read 35 books, with the first being The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell and the last being I’m Not Done With You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto.

I make no apologies for my eclectic taste!

This year, I want to smash my reading goals and enjoy a minimum of 80 books. I am a firm believer that to be a good writer, you need to be a voracious reader. As a child, I could devour hundreds of books each year.

I’ve already kicked 2024 off with two amazing books. The Dark Queen by Dana Gricken caught my eye because of its gorgeous cover. I bought the ebook and I’m loving it so far. I’ve also started the utterly captivating Scythe by Neal Shusterman. I can only aspire to such brilliance.

But my resolutions don’t end with just putting a dent in my TBR list. 2024 is also the year the first two novels in my trilogy are set to come out. That means editing them to within an inch of their lives, choosing covers, promoting, kick-starting my non-existent presence on social media and badgering local independent bookshops to stock my book. Plus more stuff I probably haven’t thought of. And, alongside all that, I need to get the third in the trilogy written. And the novel I started and haven’t finished because I got too excited to go back to Mirrordom. So, yeah. Wish me luck. I’m going to need it.

Do you have hopes and dreams for 2024? Do you make New Year Resolutions? Leave a comment below – I’d love to hear all about what you’re up to.

Venom and Blaze: coming soon!

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My debut novel, Venom and Blaze, is due out in Summer 2024. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the release date:

What’s the book about?

“During a time when unicorns roamed free and dragons cast shadows across the sun, the wise men and women of the land told stories of a troubled future. The legends whispered of a time when every baby born would be blonde, genial and entirely Good. But straight after it would emerge a baby with black hair, dark eyes – and an entirely different nature. They would be called Mirrors and nobody would know from whence they came or what to do with them once they arrived.”
Venom… wants a normal life where no one can tell her what to do. (Especially her father, King Viper.)
Blaze… wants to be free. (After all, he has been imprisoned in a dungeon since he was a
baby.)
Thorn… wants to get the girl. (Which is a shame, because the girl has other things on her mind.)
At least one of them is going to be disappointed.

Who are the main characters and what are they like?

This is the first book in the Mirrordom Trilogy to have dual perspectives. The story is mostly told through the eyes of two of the main characters in alternating chapters.

Blaze was imprisoned in the castle dungeons along with four other Mirrors when they were just babies. Stone walls and scared faces are all he’s ever known. But he’s determined to get out. And, when he gets out, he’s going to make the man who put him there pay. Unfortunately, the man who put him there is the ruler of the land, King Viper.

Venom is King Viper’s seventeen-year-old daughter, who hates her father almost as much as Blaze does. All she wants is a normal life. All her father wants is to pair her off with a politically-advantageous match. But Venom has never been keen on sticking to the rules. And when she discovers and falls in love with the boy down in the dungeons, everything changes. Oh, and did I mention she can communicate with spiders? Because she absolutely can.

Thorn is a Lawkeeper who looks after and befriends Venom. He quickly falls in love with her – but can he compete with Blaze?

Does the book come with a trigger warning?

Yes – I anticipate that all books in the Mirrordom Trilogy will have trigger warnings. It’s not for the faint of heart.

What ages should read the book?

This book is for older teenagers. There is one intimate, tasteful scene in it (sorry, Mum!) and a few swear words (really sorry, Mum!). There are also quite dark scenes.

Will there be another story in the Mirrordom Trilogy?

Yes. There will be a third. I have a title, a plot and a bunch of cool characters I can’t wait to introduce you to. After that, I have no idea. I do know that none of these characters have let me go. Even once I thought their stories were over, I found there were still more to tell.

Which character from Venom and Blaze is my favourite?

I try not to have favourite characters but I love the character of Queen Saffron. She doesn’t feature hugely, but what she does and says is powerful – and ends up shaping Venom’s character.

Why did you write the trilogy backwards?

Because I’m an idiot.

City and Shadow was written first. And then I wrote a prequel, which subsequently ended up being first in the series. Even though it was written second. If I could go back and do it differently, I would. But I’m not sure I could have done it any differently.

Two of the main characters in Venom and Blaze become the main villains in City and Shadow. But this is far more than just an origin story. You’ll see what I mean when you read it.

Summer 2024 is ages away! What about right now?

It’ll be here before we know it! There’s a lot of work to be done in the meantime, including editing, selecting a cover and book promotion – all of which will be completely new to me.

Exciting news – and a bit of a surprise!

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“Are you sure you don’t want to write more about these characters?” my beta reader asked. “I think they have more stories to tell.”

“No, definitely not. I don’t see what else could possibly be done in this world,” I said, decisively.

Cut to me, less than three months later, starting a prequel. A prequel nobody asked for. A prequel I didn’t think anybody would want to read. But a prequel that simply wouldn’t stop flowing.

A prequel that just got accepted for publication next year!

Which left us all with a conundrum. Because the events in Venom and Blaze definitely take place before City and Shadow and set the stage for a potential third novel too. And, when submitting it to my publisher, I (equally as decisively as when I told my beta teacher I wouldn’t be writing more) declared it definitely wasn’t part of a series and I had no plans for one either. So what should I do? Release City and Shadow as planned and then release the prequel? Being a chronic overthinker, the entanglement I got myself in caused me much consternation. However, my lovely publisher effortlessly solved this conundrum by a simple tweak of the scheduling.

The result? City and Shadow will be coming out in Autumn 2024. Venom and Blaze will be coming out in Summer 2024. And, yes, there will be a third in the trilogy (the clue is kind of in the name, I guess!). Once I get myself in gear and actually write it. Because it turns out I was wrong. There’s an abundance of stories to be told in the world of Good and Mirrors.

So, apologies to everyone (mainly my mother) who was hyped up waiting for City and Shadow but I promise* it’ll be worth the wait.

Venom and Blaze

In a game of power, love is the ultimate weapon.

Venom… wants a normal life where no one can tell her what to do. (Especially her father, King Viper.)
Blaze… wants to be free. (After all, he has been imprisoned in a dungeon since he was a baby.)
Thorn… wants to get the girl. (Which is a shame, because the girl has other things on her mind.)
At least one of them is going to be disappointed.

As soon as I have more details, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a wonderful time over the holidays.

Welcome to The Mirrordom Trilogy.

*Disclaimer: I am not to be held responsible if, upon reading City and Shadow, you felt it was not, in fact, worth the wait.

What’s involved in writing a book: the story so far

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When I set up my Instagram page, I did it to document my attempts to get City and Shadow published. I wanted to share the highs and lows, whether that was for myself to look back on later or for other aspiring authors to learn from my (multiple) mistakes.

In a similar vein, I wanted to write a series of blog posts on what’s actually involved in writing a book, from the initial idea to holding the finished copy.

The actual writing

City and Shadow started life off as a couple of notes written on my phone. I’d always loved the word “City” as a name and I thought it would be cool to have a protagonist called that. I was re-reading the old notes for story ideas when I came across that one – and combined it with another one along the lines of “What would happen if everyone had a dark, Mirror-self that was only capable of doing bad things?” Rough, eh?

The writing started in Spring 2023 and didn’t stop until the summer. It seemed to be quite a fast process, and, unusually for me, I didn’t struggle hitting the accepted word count for YA fiction (I’m usually pithier than an orange that’s full of pith). I lost myself in Mirrorworld and even started dreaming of my characters.

The editing process

I let the story sit for a while (okay, not very long) before editing and editing and editing and editing. And editing some more. I asked beta readers for their opinions, sending my work off to strangers in the hopes I’d get some honest feedback (which I did.) I had a wonderful beta reader from across the pond who called out every little inconsistency (of which there were many) and really helped me tighten up the prose.

Agent or publisher?

Then I had to decide whether to look for an agent or try and get it published myself. In the end, I set myself a deadline of September 2023 and, if I didn’t have a publishing offer by that time, I’d go down the agent route.

I kept disgustingly detailed spreadsheets of who I’d submitted to and when, when they’d rejected me and who I would submit to next. This let me see at a glance how many times my baby manuscript had been rejected.

And, much to my delight, by August 2023, I had an offer from a publisher I’d been absolutely dying to work with.

Researching

There are so many amazing resources out there for aspiring authors. I especially found this blog post by Jane Friedman very helpful, along with this one by Lisa Tenor. Both deal with navigating publishing contracts. I also joined the Society of Authors, who have been invaluable and tireless in sharing advice, resources and expertise.

What’s next?

City and Shadow is due to come out in Summer 2024 – and there’s still a mountain of work to be done before then.

The book is yet to go through a detailed edit – and I’ll actually get a team of editors to help me with this, instead of me going through it on my own with a red pen second-guessing myself.

We’ll also be talking covers and picking one that really encapsulates the heart of the book. This means I’ll get to work closely with some amazing and talented designers.

I’m also planning promotional activities as we speak, including getting my book into local book shops, my local library and, maybe (if I overcome my chronic shyness and introversion) doing some kind of book tour.

Stay tuned for Part Two!