Angel Fish

I have two books coming out this year - Pink in August, and Angel Fish in September.

I've been working on Angel Fish for a couple of years now. It's about the Children's Crusade, which happened (maybe) in 1212, where a shepherd boy called Stephen decided that the only thing that would liberate Jerusalem from the Infidel was the purity and innocence of Children. He raised an army of 10 000 children, marched over the Swiss Alps (where a bunch of them died, due to a lack of important cold-weather gear like, um, shoes), and got to Genoa, where he said the ocean would part before him and they would walk across the ocean floor to the Holy Land.

This was problematic for two reasons: a) Greece was in the way; and b) it didn't work.

But two nice men called William the Iron and Hugh the Pig turned up and said that they were rich merchants who TOTALLY believed in the children's cause, and that would charter a bunch of ships to take the kids to the Holy Land. And Stephen said "well, of course that's exactly what I meant when I said the ocean would part." And off they went.

Except William and Hugh weren't merchants at all. They were PIRATES, and sold all the kids into slavery.

It's a feel-good kind of novel. I'll be posting the cover and an excerpt in weeks to come.

Also, I write books

It has been brought to my attention that I haven't been posting much about my actual writing of books. So I present an interview with Lili Wilkinson, Author. By me. About what I'm writing.

Self: So. Lili. How's the writing going?

Lili: Very well, thank you.

Self: Are you working on a book at the moment?

Lili: Actually, I'm working on two books at the moment.

Self: (mutters) Overachiever.

Lili: (modest cough)

Self: So what are these books about?

Lili: Hmm. They are about (in no particular order): love, high school, bisexuality, belief, obsession, silvery fish, musical theatre, the Holy Land, stage crew, Isaac Newton, pirates and pink cashmere jumpers.

Self: I'm not sure that was a very helpful answer.

Lili: Fine. One of the books is about bisexuality, stage crew and high school musicals. The other is about the Children's Crusade.

Self: The what?

Lili: In 1212, an army of 10 000 kids marched through France and Italy to save Jerusalem from the Infidel.

Self: Wow! Really?

Lili: Probably not, actually, given that there are no contemporary records of it. But it's a great story nonetheless.

Self: Did they get there? To Jerusalem?

Lili: No. They were kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery.

Self: A feel-good kind of story, then.

Lili: It's your average boy-meets-spiritual-guru-and-follows-blindly-into- mortal-peril romcom. Think Stand By Me meets Ten Things I Hate About You meets John 6:5-15, with just a whiff of The God Delusion for good measure.

Self: Right. And the other one? The musical theatre one?

Lili: It's about a lesbian who secretly thinks she might like boys.

Self: A going-back-into-the-closet story?

Lili: Sort of. It's supposed to be my response to this.

Self: Is it just me, or are both these books a little... controversial?

Lili: Pfft. I'm just getting started.

Self: Do either of these books have a title?

Lili: The stage crew one is currently called Pink is for Girls, although that may well change. The Children's Crusade one has no title, and I shall pay cold hard cash for a good one. Anybody? Anybody?

Self: Well, it's good to see you've been keeping busy.

Lili: Thank you. Can I get back to it now? I haven't met today's deadline yet.

Self: Right, of course. Carry on.