Wishbones by Virginia Macgregor
Wishbones by Virginia Macgregor
Hi All!
Today is my spot on the Wishbones blog tour and I am here to share a fantastic guest post with you all!
But first, here’s more info on the book.
About the Book
Feather Tucker has two wishes:
1)To get her mum healthy again
2) To win the Junior UK swimming championships
When Feather comes home on New Year’s Eve to find her mother – one of Britain’s most obese women- in a diabetic coma, she realises something has to be done to save her mum’s life. But when her Mum refuses to co-operate Feather realises that the problem run deeper than just her mum’s unhealthy appetite.
Over time, Feather’s mission to help her Mum becomes an investigation. With the help of friends old and new, and the hindrance of runaway pet goat Houdini, Feather’s starting to uncover when her mum’s life began to spiral out of control and why. But can Feather fix it in time for her mum to watch her swim to victory? And can she save her family for good?
Fictional Inspirations
by Virigina Macgregor
I have so many and continue to be inspired by new writers that I come across: for example, I’m currently reading Emery Lord’s young adult novel, When We Collided, and her ability to get into the head of a teenage girl with bipolar is incredible.
Voice and character are particularly important to me, I think that’s why I love young adult fiction so much – or adult fiction written from the point of view of children and young people: their voices are often fresh and quirky and they have a unique way of looking at the world. Emma Donoghue’s Room was a great inspiration in this, as it’s narrated by a four year old: her writing is pitch perfect and deeply moving. I gather she followed her own four year old around with a paper and pen! Having a hugely vocal three year old of my own makes me want to have a go at writing a very young narrator too.
If you know my writing you’ll also be aware that I’m an animal lover and that I can’t resist weaving including a pig or a goat or a one legged-cat in my stories. I was therefore blown away by Sara Baume’s Spill, Simmer, Falter, Wither, in which the narrator gives a dog, a central character in the novel, a unique voice. Although I get close to it in my novel, The Return of Norah Wells, I haven’t yet written from the point of view of animal, but it’s definitely something I’d love to try.
Going back further, I love both Charles Dickens and Roald Dahl for their creation of wonderfully bonkers but real characters – I hope that my characters, like Feather, have a little of that in them too. Those are the people who tend to appeal to me in real life too: misfits and those who don’t quite toe the line.
I used to teach English literature so I’m a bit of a sucker for beautiful language too, which is why I love the books by Jon McGregor (no relation). I gather he was a poet before he turned his hand to writing long fiction and that certainly shows in the beauty and precision of his sentences: If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things is one of my favourite novels. It feels as though he is writing on the boundary between prose and fiction.
Some other young adult writers who really inspire me include Jonathan Safron Foer: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close brings together all the things I love: real but quirky characters, a contemporary setting, which also feels a little magical and language which feels fresh and original.
Finally, I love writers, especially YA writers, who tackle thorny social issues and taboos. I’ve recently read Dumplin’ by Julie Murray, which takes a humorous and courageous look at a teenage girl who celebrates her excess weight – but also struggles with it.
Oh, and I’m a sucker for a bit of romance too, which makes Rainbow Rowell’s novels irresistible.
Follow the Tour
