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Emma Carroll

Learn how to write historical fiction from the Ancient Egyptians to WWII with Emma Carroll

About The Author:

After working as a secondary school English teacher, Emma wrote 'Frost Hollow Hall’ during an MA Writing for Young People course at Bath Spa University, and after winning the North East Book Award, she went on to write ‘The Girl Who Walked On Air’, 'In Darkling Wood', 'Strange Star' and a number of other children's books. Emma's sixth book, 'Letters From The Lighthouse', was chosen as the Waterstones Book of the Month for May 2017 and it went on to win the Books Are My Bag award for Best Middle Grade book. It was also nominated for the Carnegie Medal and was a Sunday Times Best Book of 2017. 'Secrets of a Sun King' is Emma's seventh novel and it was also chosen for the Waterstones Book of the Month in August 2018.

 

About The Books:

Secrets of a Sun King - It’s November, 1922. In a valley in Egypt the tomb of a long dead pharaoh is about to be discovered. The world watches and waits for news with baited breath. Thirteen-year-old Lilian Kaye, who lives in a flat above a shop in London, is eagerly following the story. One morning the news takes a sinister turn: a man- a famous Egyptologist- disappears. All that remains of him are his feet. Then Lil’s grandfather is taken suddenly ill, and when a mysterious package turns up for him from the Egyptologist, Lil starts to believe there is truth to the rumours of a pharaoh’s curse…

Letters from the Lighthouse - February, 1941. After months of bombing raids in London, twelve-year-old Olive Bradshaw and her little brother Cliff are evacuated to the Devon coast. The only person with two spare beds is Mr Ephraim, the local lighthouse keeper. But he’s not used to company and he certainly doesn’t want any evacuees. Desperate to be helpful, Olive becomes his post-girl, carrying secret messages (as she likes to think of the letters) to the villagers. But Olive has a secret of her own. Her older sister Sukie went missing in an air raid, and she’s desperate to discover what happened to her. And then she finds a strange coded note which seems to link Sukie to Devon, and to something dark and impossibly dangerous.

 

 

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An Introduction to 'Letters from the Lighthouse'

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The Inspiration Behind 'Letters from the Lighthouse'

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A Reading from 'Letters from the Lighthouse'

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Emma's Writing Challenge

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Objects That Help You Write

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Taking Characters on a Journey

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Writing in 1st Person

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Cracking Codes

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An Introduction to 'Secrets of a Sun King'

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The Inspiration Behind 'Secrets of a Sun King'

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A Reading From 'Secrets of a Sun King'

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Emma's Writing Challenge

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Writing Dual Narratives

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The Importance of Strong Female Protagonists

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Writing Historical Fiction

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Touching Upon Themes of Historic Preservation

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An introduction to 'Tale of Truthwater Lake'

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The inspiration behind 'Tale of Truthwater Lake'

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A reading from 'Tale of Truthwater Lake'

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Emma's writing challenge

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What can you tell us about Polly?

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Do you have any advice when it comes to writing a time-slip story?

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Do you have any advice when it comes to setting stories in the future?

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Do you have any advice when it comes to setting stories in the past?

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What themes can we expect to find in the book?

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How do you come up with titles for your books?

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Extract Download: Extract 1 - Opening Chapter

Extract Download: Extract 2 - Emma's Reading

Extract Download: 'Secrets of a Sun King'

Extract Download: 'The Tale of Truthwater Lake'