Hayley King - Highly Commended
Name: Hayley King
Novel name: Astrid and the Book Zombies-Highly Commended-Middle Grade
Hayley is a primary school teacher from the North of England, who loves the spell reading to children casts.
Her debut middle-grade novel, Astrid and the Book Zombies, has been shortlisted for the Cheshire Novel Kid’s Prize and long listed for the Hachette Children’s Book Award.
Hayley has an MA in Victorian Literature and also writes historical fiction for adults. You can find her on Instagram @hayleykingwrites where (please forgive her) she posts more about her writing snacks than daily word count.
What made you enter the Cheshire Novel Prize?
I’ve been entering writing competitions for years and Cheshire Novel Prize is the only one who guarantees feedback to every writer. Last year, my adult’s novel placed in Cheshire’s top 100 and, on the verge of giving up, I realised the progress I had been making. It is so hard to judge the quality of your own writing, and Cheshire Novel Prize has been a wonderful benchmark for me as a writer. I recommend it to everyone!
What did it feel like when you were LL and then SL?
I was in a queue in a pharmacy when Sara rang to say I’d made the shortlist. I’ll remember the moment forever, as I started crying and I’m typically quite reserved in public. After years of floundering around in the dark, it was wonderful to get such validation.
What was the reaction from those around you/family and friends?
My two daughters cheered when they heard the news and demanded we get a cake to celebrate. But it doesn’t take much for them to suggest we eat cake.
You were unrepresented when you entered the Cheshire Novel Prize, can you say what’s happened since?
I have just started querying Astrid and the Book Zombies and have sent out several full manuscripts. I feel that having a placing in a competition can help you stand out in a very saturated market.
How did you come up with the idea for your book?
I was at history festival enjoying a child-free moment with my husband, when he suggested I write a story about a bookshop. We’d just finished reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to my eldest and so I gravitated towards a portal fantasy. However, I’m a lover of dark fiction and so it quickly took a gothic turn and before I knew it, I had a world of story drinkers, shifters and book zombies.
What’s it about?
On the Isles of Luminaire, a young witch breaks a hundred-year truce by drinking a story directly from a child. The result is a terrifying creature, who gradually turns to stone. The main character, Astrid, is shocked when this zombie-like child crawls into her father’s bookshop and bites him on the arm. The next day, her father has vanished, and Astrid must travel through the tunnel behind the bookshelf, into a world of shifters and story-drinkers to defeat these creatures. Desperate to save her father, Astrid agrees with the Council that every story drinker should be destroyed, until she discovers she has powers of her own.
What’s your writing routine?
On the days I’m not teaching, I drop my children off at school and head to a café. My golden hours are between nine and noon, when I try to write between one and two thousand words. When my youngest was a baby, I used to feed her whilst putting my ideas into my phone. Now both hands are free again, I write in Scrivener as I love how easily it allows you to see the shape of your work.
What’s next for you?
I am currently writing the second book of the Story Drinker Chronicles, in which Astrid must face a dangerous shifter who’s been trapped in wolf form for a hundred years. I am also attempting to write a Romantasy, about a young woman who can summon the dead across the veil, only, in her fight against the extermination of her kind, she summons a dark soul she cannot send back.
What are your favourite children’s books and why?
I love everything written by Katherine Rundall as she includes a perfect level of danger and adventure. That woman is a genius. When I was a child, I was initially addicted to The Famous Five mysteries but quickly moved onto Point Horror books. I also adored The Never-Ending Story by Micheal Ende. There is so much great literature for children I could go on forever with this question, but I’ll limit myself to two final favourites: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick and A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.
Any tips for writers intending on entering the competition?
Done is better than perfect. Perfection is the enemy of progress. You get the idea, just ship your work. Hit send. What’s the worst that could happen?