My Science School

The vampre saga continues…

Twelve years ago, a vampire captured the imagination of teens across the world. The story of the terrifying mythical creature – with a pale face and a chiseled jawline – falling in love with a human, won over hearts. Four books and five films later, the series has now received fresh blood.

A new comparison book to the “Twilight” series, “Midnight Sun” by Stephenie Meyer released in August and has already sold more than one million copies. Meyer has even announced plans for two more books in the vampire saga.

The rise of Stephenie Meyer

Like her famous counterpart J.K. Rowling, Meyer got the idea for her book all of a sudden. She was a struggling writer when she had a vivid dream – a boy and girl sitting in a meadow confessing that they were falling in love with each other. There was just one slight problem in this romantic tableau – the boy was a vampire and found the scent of her blood irresistible. Meyer remembered every glorious aspect of the dream and began penning it down so that it won’t slip away. Before she knew it, she had a complete book in her hands!

What’s the new book about?

Titled “Midnight Sun”, the new book is a prequel to “Twilight”. It recounts the story from Edward’s perspective, delving into his past. All the books in the series so far have been from Bella’s point of view. Meyer first announced the publications of Midnight Sun in May. 12 years after she abandoned the manuscript following an online leak of a draft. At the time, Meyer called the leak “a huge violation of my rights as an author, not to mention me as a human being” and put the project on hold indefinitely.

The Twilight saga

The “Twilight” saga was an instant success with teens. The first book came out in 2005, closely followed by a film adaptation with a star cast – Robert Pattinson shone as Edward Cullen and Kirsten Stewart portrayed the clumsy Bella Swan. Though the series received a drubbing from the critics, the films caused a sensation at the box office. More books – “New Moon” (2006), “Eclipse” (2007) and “Breaking Dance” (2008) – followed suit.

Other vampires in fiction you must read:

Here are some famous vampire stories in literature.

• “Dracula”: Bram Stoker’s sophisticated and mysterious Count Dracula remains timeless.


• “The House of Night”: This 2007 series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast follows the adventures of a young vampyre Zoey Redbird.


• “True Blood”: Charlene Harris’s vampire novels feature Sookie Stackhouse and her close encounters with the fanged creatures.

Oh really?

• Meyer started writing the story backwards, starting from the meadow scene in chapter 13 and then writing chronologically till the beginning.


• Meyer began writing “Midnight Sun” in 2008, but abandoned the project after half of the manuscript leaked online. She said it violated her right as an author and a human being.


• Twilight fans are divided into two camps – those who prefer the vampire Edward and those who think that the werewolf Jacob is a better choice. Are you team Edward or team Jacob?

 

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A story about women stifled by a patriarchal society, “Middlemarch” was published under a male pen name so that it would be taken seriously. But now George Eliot’s masterpiece will bear the name of its author Mary Ann Evans for the first time since its release in 1871. “Middlemarch” will be re-released along with 24 female authors who had to use men’s names to sell their books. ‘The Reclaim Her Name’ campaign, has been launched to mark the 25th anniversary of the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Throughout history, many women authors used male pen names. From getting their books published in male-dominated genres to escaping gender bias. Here’s a look at six female authors who had to adopt male pen names…

Mary or George?

Born in 1819, Mary Ann Evans forayed into writing when she was hired as an assistant editor at the radical journal Westminster Review. She adopted a male pseudonym George Eliot when George Henry Lewes – the English philosopher and critic – encouraged her to take up writing action. Evans believed that a male pen name would help her overcome gender bias. Evans’ best-known works include “Middlemarch”, widely considered to be one of the greatest novels ever written.

Messrs. Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell

The Bronte sisters – Chrlotte, Emily and Anne – were among the most important literary voices of the 19th Century. Their novels are known for their strong-willed and feisty female characters. Ironically, when publishing their work, the sisters were forced to use male pseudonyms. They penned several novels and poems using male pen names Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell.

Currer Bell was Charlotte, Emily was Ellis and Anne was Acton. Charlotte even used this pseudonym while writing her most successful novel “Jane Eyre”.

She did not want to reveal her identity as she feared that the readers will not take a female author seriously. A famous poet had even told her once that ‘literature cannot be the business of a woman’s life.”

Playing it safe

Known for her novel “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Nelle Harper Lee consciously dropped her name which sounded too feminine and adopted a gender ambiguous name. When she published her work back in the 1960s, most well established authors were men.

Keeping it short

Author Nora Roberts is synonymous with romance novels, but did you know she took on a male pseudonym to foray into science fiction? From 1995 to 2001, Roberts wrote futuristic sci-fi books as part of the “In Death” series under the pen name J.D. Robb. She finally revealed her identity after the twelfth book of the series hit the shelves. The series is still going strong under the name J.D. Robb.

Writing pulp-fiction

Before she became well-known for “Little Women”, author Louisa May Alcott wrote fiction under the androgynous pseudonym A.M. Barnard. It gave her condense to write more, especially edge-of-the-seat thrillers, which were written largely by men. She penned pulp fiction about spies and revenge under the pseudonym.

From J.K to Robert Galbraith

J.K. Rowling’s publishers advised her to use initials instead of her full name hen publishing the first “Harry Potter” book on the grounds that it would better “appeal to boys and girls.” Years later, she took on another male pen name, Robert Galbraith to write non- “Harry Potter” books, beginning with “The Cuckoo’s Calling”. The book’s publisher even came up with a convincing backstory for Galbraith. He was claimed to be a former member of the Special Investigative Branch of the Royal Military Police.

 

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Deepa Agarwal was born in the beautiful small town of Almora in Uttarakhand, and thanks to her book lover parents – her father, a doctor, and her mother, a school teacher, she became an avid reader. “My parents read to us regularly and provided us with a variety of books. I became such an avid reader that it was inevitable that I end up writing my favourite in school and I always entered any essay competition and often won prizes. I consider the authors that I admire my source of inspiration,” says the writer. She is one of India most prolific writers for the young, with 30 books in three decades of writing! Two of them have been out this year itself – “Blessed” and “Friendship Stories”. Let’s find out how she creates her books.

Writing tips for budding writers

Deepa Agarwal says that her mantra for good writing stems from a whole lot of reading! So, yes, read a lot. “The more you read, the better writer you will be,” she explains. Besides that, she also:

• Maintain an ideas notebook. Some story idea but are not in position to write times you get a story idea but are not in a position to write it. Save your ideas to develop them  when you have time.


• Keep a diary. As in sports and music, good writing needs a lot of practice. Keeping a diary means you are writing every day. Record incidents that made an impression on you and your emotional response to the. This could be valuable material in the future.


• Remember that each story begins with a problem the main character has to solve. She/he will receive help from friends and face opposite from enemies. The attempts to solve this problem create the story.


• “Where”, “when”, “who”, “why”, and “how”, are important questions in your story and you should provide this information of your readers.


• The main characters need to be developed in debit to be credible. Show action rather than report it.


• Dialogue should be natural to the characters.

When you have completed your story, revise, revise and revise!

And there’s not a moment to waste, seems to be the guiding philosophy for Deepa. “ I have two middle readers in the pipeline. One is a retold collection titled ‘Mahabharata Stories’ being published by HarperCollins India. The other, which will be out early next year, is a non-fiction, an account of the exploration of Tibet by legendary surveyor Nain Singh Rawat , titled ‘Journey to the Forbidden City’, to be published by Puffin.”

The writer’s routine

With a repertoire like that, Deepa Agarwal does have a disciplined writing routine. Most days she tries to settle down to her writing around 11.30 a.m., takes a short break for lunch and works for a couple more hours in the afternoon. “Many of my ideas come from real life – incidents that leave a mark or overheard conversations. Sometimes inspiration comes in the form of an opening sentence or a character. My recent nook ‘Blessed’ was sparked off by the image of girl disappearing into a hidden space. For longer works of fiction, I create a plot outline to stay on course, but for my short stories, I let the characters develop on their own and choose their actions. Poetry, of course, is usually spontaneous,” she reveals. That’s interesting don’t you think-having a different working style for different branches of writing?

Deepa Agarwal’s books

• Three Days to Disaster


• Anita and the Game of Shadows


•  The Tricky Tales of Vikram and the Vetal


• Caravan to Tibet


• Folk Tales of Uttarakhand


• Chandrakanta


• Rani Lakshmibai


• Write Right


• Rajula and the Web of Danger


• Ghost Stories Vol I


• Chanakya, the Master of Statecraft


• Spinning Yarns: The Best Children’s Stories from India


• The Wish-fulfilling Cow and Other Classic Indian Tales


• Go, Girl, Go!


• 100 Great Poems for Children


• Words to live By: The Best of Indian Non-fiction for Children


• Listen, O King!: Five-and-Twenty Tales of Vikram and the Vetal


• Best Stories from Around the World


• Scholastic Book of Hindu Gods and Goddess


• Sacked: Folktales You Can Carry Around


• Blessed


• Friendship Stories


• A Capital Adventure


• Everyday Tales


• Traveller’s Ghost


• The Hunt for the Miracle Herb


• Ghosts Everywhere


• The Hilltop Mystery


• Not Just Girls!

Bet you didn’t know that though Deepa writes in English, she only began to speak English fluently at the age of seven when she went to boarding school.

Bet you didn’t know that (this may sound positively pre-historic, she confesses) she had never dialed a number on a telephone till she was 16! They lived in a very small town had no telephone at home.

 

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Why should banned books be marked with a week? And if they're banned, should we read these books at all?

The cause

The website bannedbooks.org tell us that the banned books week is an annual event held celebrating the freedom to read - it highlights the value of free and open access to information.

Ever since books came into being, there have been challenges to the distribution and readership of some. In countries across the world, at one time or another, one book or many have been banned, criticised or challenged, generally for political or religious reasons.

Some books have been banned for a short period of time, the publication of others has been challenged in court, and in some cases, certain books are not allowed as reacting material in schools.

Why books?

Why books, you may wonder. After all, what harm can a mere book do? Books can influence people and the way they think. They can challenge popular beliefs. Or they could hurt the sentiments of a particular community. They could contain material that is not considered suitable to be read.

All these may sound like valid reasons, but if you take a look at some of the books that have banned or challenged in places around the globe, you may be surprised. For instance, did you know that Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was banned? Surprising, isn't it? It was prohibited in a US school in 1900, and later in a province in China.

Censored & challenged

The Catcher in the Rye, a book that now makes it to most recommended, reading lists, was one of the most censored books in schools in the US in the 1960s and 1970s. The Diary of Anne Frank anal Harry Potter are some of the other books that have got into trouble!

If all this sounds like it only happens abroad, think again! In our own country too, books have been banned -both in certain states, and in the country as a whole.

Don't break the law!

So should we then be reading any of these books? As Long as you are not violating the laws of your country or any country you happen to be in, there are some good reasons to read books that have been criticised.

A book that has been banned years ago for instance, may seem completely tame to you! Remember, attitudes to Life and society are changing all the time. Something that was shocking 100 years ago, may seem completely normal now. And so, a book that was once controversial could give you an insight into cultural mores of the past and how they have evolved over time.

Sometimes, it's hard to discuss certain topics - whether it's with your parents, teachers or friends. Books that delve into subjects that are not often talked about - suck as sexuality or substance abuse - may allow you to think about these subjects and perhaps help you form opinions about them, or incite you to find out more.

Discover for yourself

There are some books of course that are definitely not appropriate for children - and you should always be guided by your parents, teachers and Librarians when it comes to this. But in other cases, wouldn't you like to decide? After all, if it's boring, you could always stop reading. And if it's not, it gives you something to think about, doesn't it?

 

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Now Lets start counting on our fingers. she is a management graduate from XLRI. She has been Creative Director with top advertising agencies. She has written for magazines across the world. She is currently co-building an app. And in the middle of all this, she Loves writing books! Meet Jane De Suza, the Singapore-based, multi-talented writer of the SuperZero series, Uncool, The Spy Who Lost Her Head and, the most recent, Flyaway Boy.

Stepping into writing

As an only child, growing up in the town of Jamshedpur, Jane made up stories constantly in her head and (believe it or not) in the margins of her textbooks! "That won me the Love of friends and the dismay of teachers. My parents had loads of books, and when I'd, read all mine, I started on theirs. And when I'd react theirs, 1 started writing my own," she says, about her journey into the world of writing.

The Writer’s Routine

Jane admits that she isn't the sort who can sit and churn out the daily 1000 words. 'The churn shows," she says, "it produces stoic, sludge writing. I've only ever started a book when the idea or character is unique enough to Leap out at me. And then the story writes itself. I start writing manically for hours at a stretch, oblivious to the pings from, either phone or pressure cooker." She gets her first draft out in a fever, and Later rewrites it many more times.

Writing like Jane De Suza

Jane believes that ideas can strike at any moment. And that as a writer, you must always be prepared. So jot down these tips quickly!

Ideas are like sudden storms. Carry a pen and napkin (that you won't blow your nose on Later and fling out). if a tune inspires you, hum it into your phone. If its an image of an upside down crow in a puddle, click the pic. Labels on bottles, lines from a book - write down anything you can build on Later.

Start a chat with people - auto-drivers, hair dressers, grandparents, cobblers who are fixing your shoe. Walk around,. Eavesdrop. Put your phone away if you’re alone in a cafe or street, and look at people around. What’s the couple fighting about, you think? is it a boyfriend, brother, boyfriend's brother? Aha,-story idea emerging, huh?

Look at the world from someone else's point of view. Argue against your own, beliefs. write from the perspective of a tree about to be cut down, or a dog with no home, or a man who cannot remember. Write when completely alone. That's why the best ideas hit in the loo. The only one I’d allow around, me while writing was Marco, my dog.

I write best at night, when everyone's asleep and, my imagination, has the world to romp around, in. I go back and edit in the mornings, in the clear Light of day.

Talk to your characters, talk as your characters. Talk aloud. Make their conversations real.

Write if you love to, not because you want to be rich, or famous. And don't write a me-too book because someone else who wrote it, is now rich and famous. Find, your own voice (it may take months/years of rewrites). Write a story that no one else in the world, but you, can.

Jane De Stint's books

For mid-school readers:

• The SuperZero series: SuperZero, SuperZero and the Grumpy Ghosts , SuperZero and the Clone Crisis


• Uncool


• Flyaway Boy

For YA/adults:

• The Spy Who Lost Her Head

Bet you didn't know that

• Jane cuts off heads and ears and, chins; relax, she takes terrible selfies!


• Jane went through about 25 career options while growing up and still does!


• Jane's sense of humour often gets her into trouble!

 

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‘Kin’ on adventures

Over a few weeks in August, Jeff Kinney, author of the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series, visited bookstores across the U.S. to hand out signed copies of his new book, “Rowley Jeff erson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure,” in a safe, fun, socially distant way – via a custom-made 96-inch, trident!

First published in 2007, the “Wimpy Kid” books have become widely popular among young readers, who have grown up devouring the adventures of the middle-school weakling Greg Heffley. A profile writer, Kinney comes up with at least one book every year.

Rowley is the hero

Originally slated to release in April, the “Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure” was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It finally hit the stands on August 4. The new book is the second in a spin off series that follows Greg’s gullibly sweet friend Rowley. In the latest adventure, Rowley attempts to write a fantasy story. Greg acts as a critic, agent and publicist for his friend, and tries his best to not stir any trouble – which, of course, means that he ends up making things worse.

Rowley’s story features Roland and his best friend, Garg the Barbarian, as they leave the safety of their village and embark on a quest to save Roland’s mum from the White Warlock. On their way, they encounter all kinds of creatures from Sherlock Holmes and mermaids to wizards and a centaur (though it is part cow, not horse.) All the trappings of a must-read!

Doodling for a living?

Right from childhood Kinney loved to draw, but he wasn’t very glad at it. So he developed his own drawing style with stick figures and bug-eyed characters. Using his surroundings as an inspiration, he created comics strips about the life around him. One such comic strip was “Igdoof”, which Kinney ran in his college newspaper at the University of Maryland. However his work looked too juvenile and so he never received any offers from big newspapers. In 1998, he came up with the idea for “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”. Kinney worked on his book for almost eight years before showing it to a publisher.

Did you know?

• The Heffleys are loosely based on Kinney’s own family. Like Greg, the author too felt caught between his four siblings- elder brother Rodrick, his sister, and his younger brother, Patrick while growing up. He draws heavily on these childhood memories to write about Greg’s family.


• Greg’s younger brother, Mannu became associated with the Black Lives Matter movement, after videos and graffiti made by activists went viral on social media. He was chosen as an icon because he is familiar to Gen Z and easy to draw.


• The series started off online on Funbrain.com in 2004 and made its print debut in April of 2007. There are now more than 200 million copies of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” books available in 77 editions of 65 languages.


• Kinney wrote the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” originally for adults. It was meant to be a reflection on what it was like to be in middle school. When he fund an editor who liked the manuscript, he was told that what he had written was more like a children’s series than a book for adults.

Oh really!

• Kinney opened an independent bookstore called An Unlikely Story, in his adopted hometown, Plainville, Massachusetts in 2015. Throughout the lockdown, the bookstore has held online chats with famous authors like Stephenie Meyer, John Grishan and David Nicholls.


• The 15th book, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid; The Deep End”, is set to launch in mid-October, and sees the Heffley family going on an RV vacation.

 

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Librarians all over the world are facing a problem. They have begun to realize that practically all the books that were printed after 1850 are deteriorating rapidly.

What’s the reason?

Before the Chinese invented paper in 105 A.D., books were written on parchment – the skin of sheep or goats and vellum or calf-skin.

The Chinese made paper from mulberry fibre, fish-nets, old rags and waste hemp.

After 1850, the demand for paper increased so much that a low-cost substitute for linen and cotton rags began to be used. This was wood pulp. The drawback is that during processing, a number of chemicals are added to the pulp. These include acids. Over a period of time, these chemicals and acids eat away the paper. It starts yellowing and crumbling to dust at the slightest touch. Thus, ironically, books printed in the 1500’s are in a better condition today than books printed just 40 years ago! Saving these books is a tedious and expensive process, requiring each page to be treated to remove the acid.

 

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Nidhi Chanani was born in India and grew up in southern California. “Pashmina” is her attempt to connect with her roots. Priyanka Das, the protagonist, is full of questions. She wants to know why her mother left everything, including her father, in India all those years ago. But Priyanka’s mother is overprotective, and on the subject of India, her lips are forever sealed. So Priyanka is in the dark, until, one day, she stumbles upon a Pashmina scarf in an old suitcase. Wrapping it around herself, she imagines her mother’s birthplace and homeland in a series of vivid, colourful images. When she wins a cartoon contest, Priyanka buys herself a plane ticket to India with the prize money and begins her journey towards self-discovery.

Nidhi Chanani has illustrated the story herself. Though simple, the artwork is effective.

 

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This one breaks the Cinderella mould and has a cross-dressing prince take centre stage. A perfect foil to him is a poor dress designer with uncommon strength of character. The story begins in Paris where Sebastian, the crown prince of Belgium, is trying his best to hide a secret from everyone while his parents are busy looking for a bride for him. What’s his secret? By night, he dresses and behaves as the fashionable and alluring Lady Crystallia! Not because he is uncomfortable as a man but because it releases him from his royal trappings and allows him to experience complete freedom in an alternate identity. In Paris, he discovers Frances whose only passion in life is designing fashionable clothes. He promises her a decent pay and opportunities to create her own designs. Tempted, France accompanies him to Belgium as part of his staff. That’s when she learns about his secret. But she doesn’t care about it as long as she is given the freedom to design clothes. As the friendship between Sebastian and Frances deepens, they have to face tough questions. Can they go on living a lie? Frances decides that she cannot and leaves, Sebastian must choose between getting his best friend back and marrying a princess he does not know. The simple artwork adequately supports a delightful story.

 

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A Pulitzer prize-winning story told in two volume, “Maus” – a tale within a tale – is about a cartoonist’s troubled relationship with his father. The father, Vladek Spiegelman, is a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust. As the son begins to tell his father’s story, he realizes that his struggles are nothing compared to the ones his father survived. The children of those who survived one of the goriest events in recent history are affected in their own way.

The artwork speaks more than words can. In clever allegory, Nazis are given the form of cats, the Jews are mice, the Polish, pigs and the Americans, dogs. “Maus” is not a comfortable read. It is a raw and powerful experience, where the author explores the fear of death as well as the euphoria of survival that was the everyday reality for those in Hitler’s camps.

 

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The Graveyard Book is a children's fantasy novel written by Neil Gaiman and published in 2008. The story follows the young life of a boy called Nobody Owens who is orphaned as a toddler when a man kills his entire family. Nobody is adopted by ghosts from the local graveyard who raise him in a world of vampires, werewolves, mummies, and ghouls, and teach him to use a variety of supernatural abilities.

After his family is murdered in their beds, a toddler, pursued by the murderer Jack, wanders into a graveyard. Ghosts and other supernatural residents of the cemetery protect and eventually agree to raise him as their own. They name him Nobody Owens. With a vampire as his guardian, Nobody (Bod, to his friends) lives, loves and learns in the graveyard, which is full of adventure and dangers but the safest place for the 10-year-old. Outside the graveyard, Bod will be a target for Jack, the murderer.

A team of renowned artists lend their signature styles to each vignette in this award-winning two-volume story by Neil Gaiman.

 

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