tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-119049262011-11-28T00:04:43.794ZThis is the official blog of Sarra Manning, writer of Guitar Girl, Pretty Things, Let's Get Lost. the Fashionistas series, Nobody's Girl and the Diary Of A Crush trilogy. Also, Unsticky, Sarra's first novel for grown-up girls. This blog will have regular postings from Sarra, answers to your questions, sneak previews of her forthcoming projects, competitions and a lot of ranting and raving about her current obsessions from Glee to obscure female Swedish singers and everything in between.Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.comBlogger1421100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-20605056504558431442011-02-01T17:45:00.006Z2011-02-02T19:46:31.807Z

Hallo, hallo, hallo!It's two days to go until the publication of my second grown-up novel You Don't Have To Say You Love Me, so I just wanted to give you a heads up that there are two different covers. Yes, two! Because I am special like that.This is the petals cover, which will be sold in supermarkets.And this is the lips cover, which will be sold everywhere else. I would love to know which

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-57084739222705648362011-01-03T20:11:00.004Z2011-01-03T21:18:29.309Z

Happy New Year, readers! Or I should say Bonne Annee, mes amis, as I've just come back from Paris where I consumed huge quantities of cheese and wine and did some book research. But mostly, I just consumed huge quantities of cheese and wine.Because I was elbow deep in finishing a draft of my third grown-up book and then disappearing off to Paris, I wasn't able to post details of my Annual

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-3050967914765638932010-11-19T18:31:00.003Z2010-11-19T18:48:48.747Z

Holla!I'm just going to jump into the great big news I have.I have a new publisher for my YA (teen) fic, who are the lovely people at Atom Books, the UK publishers for the Twilight series, among many other things. This doesn't mean I'm going to start writing about vampires. What I am going to write is a novel called Adorkable. It won't be out until Spring 2012 though. Yup, that's right, 2012,

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-42882237040999163672010-09-27T13:16:00.001Z2010-09-27T13:39:56.276Z

Yo, yo, yo!I forgot to tell you that next Tuesday, 5th October, I'll be doing an event in Blackpool as part of the Wordpool Literary Festival. I'll be in conversation with Alexandra Heminsley (author of Ex In The City) and we'll be talking about books, writing and all manner of related things. I'm bound to drop the f-bomb at least once, because I just can't help myself. The event is at Blackpool

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-41884213988572248042010-08-26T22:30:00.003Z2010-08-30T18:46:57.194Z

... should you choose to accept it, is to vote me for in The Queen Of Teen Awards. Closing date is 31st August, so step to it, dear readers.I'm heading off to Edinburgh to do an event with Cathy Forde on Monday on how we use music as part of our writing process. I'll be posting our setlist (man, like, we're in a band or something) on Spotify once the event is done. EDITED TO ADD: Here is the

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-35388738393875908572010-07-15T17:16:00.002Z2010-07-15T17:24:29.045Z

Salut!Head like a sieve these days. Forgot to tell you that I've made the shortlist of the Queen of Teen awards and y'all need to vote for me. Which you can do hereSomeone has to represent for the older, snarkier, sexier end of the teen fic world and that someone could be me. My fate is in your hands. Tell all your friends. Post the link on Facebook etc etc. Lather, rinse repeat.In other news, my

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-20136143010043891812010-06-27T17:15:00.002Z2010-06-27T17:20:24.584Z

Last reminder that I'll be doing my only London event this year (probably) tomorrow evening at Dulwich Library. Appearing with other teen fiction authors, Simmone Howell, Luisa Plaja and Keris Stainton at an event to celebrate Chicklish's fourth anniversary. Come if you can!

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-59686436233180012542010-06-09T19:01:00.006Z2010-06-10T12:55:42.573Z

To celebrate the 4th birthday of fantastic teen fic site, Chicklish, Tales on Moon Lane and Southwark Libraries would like to invite you to spend an evening with teen authors Luisa Plaja, Sarra Manning, Keris Stainton and Simmone Howell at Dulwich Library on Monday 28th June at 5.45pm.The authors will be discussing their writing from 6.15 followed by an opportunity to get books signed. Drinks

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-968403082074246262010-05-28T14:16:00.003Z2010-05-28T14:18:11.333Z

Holla Just a reminder that this time next week, I'll be on a teen panel at the Hay Festival with writer Ann Kelley. Think it's sold out now, but here's the link.When I'm finally done with the edits on the second grown-up book, I'll do a nice, juicy link-tastic post.That's a promise.Live onSarra x

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-47915321209618378502010-05-08T14:44:00.002Z2010-05-08T14:51:32.577Z

I like to think of myself as the Greta Garbo of teen fiction, but I will be doing two literary festivals this year.The first is the Hay Festival on June 4th (which I think is half term week.) I'm taking part in a teen fiction panel with fellow author Ann Kelley, and will be talking about Nobody's Girl among other things. You can book tickets hereI will also be appearing at another festival later

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-3593722456369657832010-04-29T13:56:00.002Z2010-04-29T14:24:18.804Z

Holla!Just a quick post because I am drowning in book edits to let you know that the second Queen Of Teen awards is upon us.If you're aged between ten and eighteen, you can nominate your favourite author, which is obviously me because you're reading my blog, having read my books, which automatically makes you intelligent, discerning and have I mentioned how especially gorgeous your hair looks

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-53807101746277097452010-03-27T19:35:00.013Z2010-03-28T17:48:15.956Z

No, I don't mean updating my blog, though it has been an age, but doing one of those posts where I blather on about all the stuff I've been loving of late. First, a little catch up.While I'm waiting for my editor to get back to me with her notes for my second grown-up book, You Don't Have To Say You Love Me (which will be out Jan/Feb 2011, no matter what it might say on Amazon,) I'm working on my

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-50133321350875457092010-02-15T19:24:00.003Z2010-02-15T19:51:10.446Z

Bonsoir Mes AmisHope you are all peachy. As you know, Nobody's Girl is out in the UK now (and sorry, not a whiff of a foreign deal thus far) so I wanted to link to a couple of pieces of press I've done that may interest you.Five things about France that are tres bon at Chicklish.A guest blog on writing and loving toxic boys at Wondrous Reads.(Much thanks to Luisa and Jenny for making this happen.

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-22190627433807720832010-02-04T10:23:00.003Z2010-02-04T10:41:30.824Z

Morning!Nobody's Girl officially goes on sale in the UK today. Available from all good bookshops and Amazon.Bea thinks she's the most boring seventeen-year-old in the world. She's not pretty or popular or funny, unlike her mother who had Bea when she was 17. The only glamorous thing about Bea is the French father who left before she was born and lives in Paris. She yearns for la vie Parisienne

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-82591696717377087942010-02-01T16:52:00.002Z2010-02-01T17:09:27.694Z

I said, brr, it's cold in here. There must be some Toros in the atmosphere.Ahem, don't know what came over me then. Anyways, hi! Hello! Greetings! How have you been?Well, that's enough about you, let's talk about me. Although the official UK release date is February 4th, I think it would be fair to say that Nobody's Girl is out now. You can buy it on Amazon and it seems to be in the shops - even

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-7234844014871469562010-01-26T17:51:00.003Z2010-01-26T18:42:24.909Z

Feliciations, mes petites angesFinally, I can announce the winners of my Crimbo poetry competition who will all be receiving a shiny, new copy of Nobody's Girl, plus a poster and bookmark, as well as having their winning poems posted right here, right now.I had a lot of entries (especially after that time I had a leetle bit of a hissy fit, you remember?) and instead of having only five winners, I

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-81161922002866942282010-01-10T12:14:00.002Z2010-01-10T12:21:13.064Z

Hey!Just wanted to remind you that the Chrismukkah poem competition ends up at midnight tomorrow (GMT.) So you have a little more than twenty four hours to get your entry in.Since I had my little hissy-fit on here I've had tons of entries and I'm loving reading them. Remember it has to be some form of POEM about someone or something in one of my BOOKS left as a COMMENT here and the five best

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-8637195097337916802010-01-01T13:38:00.002Z2010-01-01T13:53:01.507Z

C'mon people!I expected a much better response to my amazing end-of-year competition to win an advance copy of Nobody's Girl plus poster and bookmark. I've had four entries so far (two of them from the same person) and it's really not worth my while going to my publishers to plead for prizes if no-one's that interested in entering.I'm extending the closing date to 11th January in the hope of

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-62186916988797608082009-12-22T16:53:00.005Z2009-12-22T18:21:22.920Z

Happy Holidays, dear sweet readersI hope whatever your religious affiliations (even if it's to the Great God of eating so many mince pies that you hurl) you have a wondrous time over the break and that 2010 will be your best year ever. (By the way I'm calling the new decade The Terrible Teens, please join me!)Anyways, onto more important stuff. I have a great competition lined up for you. There

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-6032114758101031602009-12-18T22:46:00.002Z2009-12-18T22:59:02.571Z

Just wanted you to know that a) I'm still alive and b) I will be posting news of my usual Chrismukkah competition very soon. You will collectively pee your pants when you find out what the prizes are. (Or at least I hope you will, but I'm talking about metaphorical pee, if you will.)The reason for the delay is boring and technical. I use this comment aggregator thingy but now it's been bought by

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-72734652525330271732009-10-26T18:02:00.002Z2009-10-26T18:09:45.301Z

Greetings my little choux bunsI have, not more than an hour ago, finished going through the page proofs for Nobody's Girl (out February 4th.) Then I got to thinking as I'm wont to do of a way to give you a teaser ahead of publication, so...Every day from now until publication, I'm going to Tweet a random line from Nobody's Girl on my Twitter. Here's the link. Of course, my tweets show up on this

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-63034507206379119732009-10-06T16:06:00.002Z2009-10-06T16:09:11.363Z

Hola!Wanted you guys to be the firs to see the cover for Nobody's Girl. The cover that's circulating on the interwebz is not the correct cover. Sigh. Let's not even go there, otherwise I will have a rage blackout!Anyway, I hope you like it.Live onSarra x

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-38354495935950074492009-09-30T09:39:00.002Z2009-09-30T09:51:54.296Z

Just to let you know that the Nobody's Girl cover that's up on Waterstones and Amazon and the blogs is an early, rough version of the cover and not the finished product.As soon as I get a jpeg of the right cover, I'll post it here! But here is the full synopsis:Bea thinks she's the most boring seventeen-year-old in the world. She's not pretty or popular or funny, unlike her mother who had Bea

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-76620049756931935732009-09-08T15:31:00.004Z2009-09-08T15:41:43.412Z

Peeps,I can exclusively reveal that the title of my second grown-up novel will be: You Don't Have To Say You Love MeYes, after the Dusty Springfield song because Dusty makes everything better.On the teen front, the synopsis for Nobody's Girl is now up on Amazon.co.ukAlso, if you are a serious producer interested in the film rights to any of my novels, you need to get in touch with my film and TV

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-59127785741053964632009-08-16T12:39:00.007Z2009-08-16T13:31:22.409Z

You know you're long overdue a blog post when people are leaving gentle reminders on my Twitter asking me when I'm going to update. Ooops!Anyway, here I am with a few snippets of news and links and some stuff for you to look at. I'm deep in the first draft hinterlands for my second grown-up book, which is not going to be called Lightweight anymore. It's going to be called something else but I

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-43009991730234039232009-06-26T15:48:00.002Z2009-06-26T16:15:01.166Z

Hola! Holla!I know I've been absent from this blog for a while. I wish I could tell you that I was doing all sorts of glamorous things, but sadly the truth is that my adsl has been wonky for weeks. In fact it's been one of those months where I should have taken to my bed and refused to move.There's been flooding (my washing machine,) fire (someone set my fully laden recycling bin on fire so I had

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-53127592131693975002009-05-14T16:06:00.003Z2009-05-14T16:13:29.735Z

Hullo!Finally, the day is come when the paperback of Unsticky goes on sale in the UK! Hurrah! It is my first grown-up book and not wholly suitable for under sixteens but YMMV.And I've just finished and delivered my next teen book, Nobody's Girl, so that will be out in February 2010. Now, run, don't walk... in fact, don't even run but sprint full pelt to your nearest bookshop and buy a copy of

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-64308523019720525122009-04-25T16:38:00.003Z2009-04-25T17:31:48.147Z

Sunny salutations, sweet readersNothing much to report from round these parts. I'm a mere handful of days away from delivering my next teen book, Nobody's Girl, and am actually writing the first three chapters of my teen book after that, as inspiration has struck and I don't want to forget it all. But I will be writing my second adult book first.I got my first proper paperback copy of Unsticky in

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-38255618891445437162009-03-20T19:10:00.002Z2009-03-20T19:38:37.970Z

Bonsoir mes amisI bring you news. Exciting news from London town. I have just finished the first draft of my next teen opus and it will be published in February of next year in the UK. It's also going to be called Nobody's Girl. Well, it is at the moment. I'm not sure that I love that title but have yet to come up with anything better. I'm not sure if I nabbed it from one of your shuffle

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-22098156580410724002009-02-22T14:35:00.003Z2009-02-22T14:45:19.710Z

Sunday salutationsI've been very quiet of late, I know. I have some family stuff that's taking up a lot of my time right now, but I am twittering frequently and you can follow my tweets right here.I am still hard at work on my next teen opus and still mulling over titles, but mostly I'm gearing up for the publication of my grown-up book, Unsticky, which comes out in April in hardback and in May

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-61229081251667770252009-01-26T18:44:00.002Z2009-01-26T18:51:49.305Z

My ladyfingerlingsThank you so, so, so much for all your shuffle suggestions. I am blown away by the response and also in awe of your eclectic and deeply cool song stylings. There are a couple I'm quite taken with and a couple I came up with all my by very own. I will keep you posted. And you know how I said that my new teen book (they very one, which I don't have a title for!) would be out next

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-26743958609760213902009-01-20T10:49:00.004Z2009-01-20T22:30:21.057Z

May I introduce you to the two winners of my Chrismukkah quiz? All hail Ella McBride from Blighty and Kathryn Piekkala in Australia, which is going to cost me a small fortune in postage!Ella and Kathryn won because they had the most right answers, I liked their tie-breaker answers and they also went above and beyond in getting round blogger's maximum wordage in comments rules. Ella's tie-breaker

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-28701093588178168052008-12-24T19:06:00.005Z2009-01-04T12:47:31.160Z

DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL JANUARY 12TH - COME ON LADIES, IT TOOK ME TWO DAYS TO WRITE THAT QUIZ! AT LEAST HAVE A BASH AT IT...Sweetlings,I promised a surprise and here it is! It's a quiz. A very special quiz with a very special prize. Fifty questions all about my books and one lucky winner will get signed set of the newly re-jacketed Diary Of A Crush books. (That's them at the top of the page and

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-2319456391006568612008-12-22T23:22:00.005Z2008-12-22T23:35:41.569Z

Happy Holidays, readers!In the next couple of days I'll be posting an extra special thing that will thrill, delight and astound you. That's the general plan, anyway!But in the meantime, I just wanted to shout out to my North American readers, that includes you kooky Canucks, to let you know I have a short story, Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others, in a wonderful collection called Does This Book

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-47805667546203518982008-12-10T14:42:00.003Z2008-12-10T15:17:49.739Z

Greetings to one and all!Winter is upon us, Chrismukkah is just around the corner and I still haven't sent off my mammoth Amazon order to ensure that all my presents will arrive in a timely fashion and I don't have to slip IOU's into my cards.This is the season for many things:* Norwegian formula hand cream* Long-sleeved black thermal vests under everything I wear* Home-made soup * Suddenly

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-56546778476692320782008-11-10T18:02:00.003Z2008-11-10T18:51:48.228Z

Photo by Sandra Löv.Sayonora, sweetlings!I'm back! I have survived the the mammoth revisions of the grown-up book and can say no more about the experience because it's too traumatising. I've also been doing a ton of magazine-y stuff, which I'll let you know about as and when it's out - though actually I think I have a piece in the new Grazia out tomorrow. But I feel liberated from the yoke of

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-38740223159811100952008-10-20T13:38:00.003Z2008-10-20T13:50:04.919Z

Dearlings,I am alive. But very busy doing hideous rewrites and edits on grown-up books and as much freelance work as I can get my hands on because, oh my God, credit crunch!I will be back soon enough, in the meantime, here's a song to fall in love with.Live onSarra x(I should point out that I don't actually resemble the photo above when I'm working. The smile alone should make that obvious,

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-53563653245590289132008-09-11T17:11:00.002Z2008-09-11T17:21:56.838Z

Greetings!I am still alive. Just. Though it's been so long without sunshine in Blighty that I feel like taking to my bed and staying there for a while.And then I read this on the interpipes. I'm definitely taking to my bed now, possibly with an eau de cologne-soaked handkerchief draped decoratively over my forehead.Really not much to report except I'm well under way with my new teen opus.Like,

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-71246641740236767362008-08-15T12:49:00.002Z2008-08-15T14:02:35.617Z

Hola Senoritas!Since last we talked I've become a platinum blonde (I went from black to brassy blonde a couple of months ago,) had a birthday and started my next teen opus. It only has a working title but it's a standalone and I'm very excited about it. I love my heroine and it feels so good to write in the first person again. Also, not to be writing a series, because I'm never doing one of them

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-87567099642280835302008-08-03T19:19:00.007Z2008-08-03T22:01:14.877Z

Is anyone even reading my humble blog offerings anymore or are you all sunning yourself in foreign climes?Anyways, on Friday I delivered my first grown-up book, except today I decided there were at least two chapters that needed to be completely rewritten. But mostly it's done and as Dusty once sang, I just don't know what to do with myself. Tomorrow I will probably start my next teen book as I

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-16710482340099186422008-07-29T13:02:00.002Z2008-12-11T04:55:28.648Z

As some of you know, I'm on the shortlist for the Book People's Queen Of Teen award.If you're 18 or under you can vote for me hereI'm in some pretty illustrious, best-selling company, but still it would be nice to get upgraded from princess to queen! There could even be a tiara involved and I've always wanted one of them.Thanking you in advanceSarra x

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-10935647683722133592008-07-13T18:37:00.002Z2008-07-13T21:42:25.372Z

Finally, in the downtime between the second and third drafts of the grown up book and filing my business taxes (because being a writer is dead glamorous), I have found an hour to compile some book recs. It will be a part work, because there are so damn many of them.So, I'm starting with the classics. Those books of yore that you might even have to study at school and always end up on those 100

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-53681398166913221132008-06-13T13:08:00.005Z2008-12-11T04:55:28.803Z

Greetings, senoritasOK, I am going to compile a summer reading list in the next couple of weeks, but it needs careful thought and consideration. I've compiled another list for you, because it was fun and I welcome all distractions as I trudge through the dark hinterlands of second draft hell. Oh, yes.Also, someone left a comment asking me if I have to pay to mention songs or bands in my books.

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-62895267394530525242008-05-25T13:28:00.006Z2008-12-11T04:55:28.939Z

Hello chickadeesI'm back from the Lake District, where I spent a lot of time being harassed by swans, geese, ducks and moorhens, which was very traumatising for a city girl like me. And I ate too much thunder and lightning ice cream, which is vanilla with chocolate and cinder toffee. Absolutely delicious!I've been told by the Powers That Be to ask you to nominate me to be Queen Of Teen. It's a

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-39094216380179690432008-05-16T13:40:00.004Z2008-12-11T04:55:30.839Z

A science-based compare and contrast on which show rockeths the most: The OC or Gossip Girl(**WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR UK READERS/VIEWERS**)Marissa Cooper vs. Serena Van Der WoodsenBoth blonde girls with issues, low-rent boyfriends and an extremely low tolerance for alcohol. Serena does deserve some credit for being even more freaking annoying than Marissa, which I didn't even think was

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-42701084940373374202008-05-04T18:25:00.004Z2008-12-11T04:55:31.217Z

So, with the recent UK release of Candy, I have no new teen books coming out for a while, as I work on my first grown-up book Unsticky. And it's grown-up in that I'd be kinda horrified if anyone under 16 read it, though I guess the content is no more racy than you might find in an episode of, like, Sex And The City. And I guess you all watch that...Anyways, there will be new teen-friendly fare

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-5421875983473915052008-04-18T13:08:00.002Z2008-04-18T13:12:14.302Z

I'm in deep hibernation mode as I try to get to the end of the never-ending first draft of my grown up novel, Unsticky.The fourth and final book in the Fashionistas series, Candy, is out or is almost out or was stocked way too early by some bookshops. Whatever! Either way, here is a teaser to whet your appetites:"I'm moving to London and that's all there is to it," Candy informed her mother who

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-78264213946122537882008-03-07T13:33:00.003Z2008-03-07T13:39:15.535Z

I promised a sneak preview of Irina and here it is! I can't wait for you guys to get hold of a copy of this book, especially as there's a very special guest star who may well make you squeal out loud. As ever, though the book isn't officially released for a week or so, there are copies already for sale. This is because unless you're JK Rowling, book shop staff usually start putting books on the

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-38361273094805609712008-03-03T14:12:00.002Z2008-03-03T14:14:37.205Z

I'll be posting a sneak preview from Fashionistas: Irina later in the week but for now I just have to say:It's Edie. Ee-dee. Not Eddie. Short for Edith. Please stop spelling her name wrong as it causes both Edie and I untold amounts of distress.Live onSarra x

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-82616840898905723582008-02-14T13:49:00.005Z2008-12-11T04:55:31.627Z

Happy Valentine's Day, readersYou know, I'm so glad I work from home and I don't have to see those really smug girls on the tube clutching bouquets of red roses. Yes, because I am bitter, thank you for asking.It's been a tough couple of weeks, overshadowed by grief and loss, but I'm climbing out of the hole and have many things to tell you.The first is that the third book in the Fashionistas

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-73376702736373135862008-01-23T16:50:00.000Z2008-12-11T04:55:31.900Z

I'm in love. L.U.V. I saw a preview screening of a new American film called Juno on Monday, which I think anyone who likes my books will adore.It's the story of 16-year-old Juno McDuff, who gets up the duff to her orange TicTac addicted boyfriend and follows the story of what happnes next. This is why I loved it:1. Juno is a snarky, moody, too cool for skool, but dorky girl with a hamburger

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-32342435104332964552008-01-01T13:40:00.000Z2008-01-01T13:45:55.236Z

Happy New Year to one and all! I am feeling a little bit fragile this morning. Except it isn't actually morning because that was over and done with while I was still sleeping. Oh dear!Anyway, my random Chrismukkah gift-giving continues with a bit that got cut out of the final draft of Let's Get Lost, like a deleted scene friom a DVD if you will. I tend to overwrite then find myself having to cut

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-26712818553718670052007-12-29T16:54:00.000Z2007-12-29T16:59:43.517Z

Just before I head bathroomwards for a super intensive beautification programme as I'm going out tonight, I'm posting the next Chrismukkah gift for you.This is Edie's (of Diary Of A Crush fame, like you didn't already know that) giode to crushing. Way back when God was a boy, this was a non-Edie feature for J17. And after that, it became an Edie-centric article for my micro-site, which has

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-44328220078153935332007-12-26T11:38:00.000Z2007-12-26T11:44:59.947Z

Happy Giftmas, readers!I'm still in a food coma, but can just about move enough to post my send present to you: an interview with Molly from Guitar Girl. I think I did this for my US publishers when the book was first published in the States in 2004 so some of the references may be a bit dated. Oh, and the subject title is from a song by Helen Love, which reminds me of Molly a little bit. Of

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-34604154278949190832007-12-21T20:34:00.000Z2008-12-11T04:55:32.522Z

To start my Chrismukkah extravaganze, I'm going to give you a pictorial guide to the Guitar Girl cover.First there was this picture of Courtney Love, which I loved like a fat kid love cake:I sent it to my publishers, who used the Courtney pic as inspiration and came up with this. Yikes!:I ranted. I raved. I had to have a lie down every time I looked at the picture on the back cover. But once I

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-26958783739337111892007-12-12T11:30:00.000Z2007-12-12T12:05:30.742Z

Hello from my sunny study where I'm frantically trying to lose 15,000 extraneous words from the final draft of Candy, the last book in the Fashionistas series. And sprinkle magic dust on the words that are left before the end of next week. Jeesh!I wanted to give you a heads up on my plans for next year. The third Fashionistas book, Irina is out in March and Candy will follow in April (if she's

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-59576305800303157272007-11-11T15:09:00.000Z2008-12-11T04:55:32.767Z

I know. I know! I haven't updated in ages. Mostly because I've been working flat-out on the final book in the Fashionistas series, Candy. I finished the first draft yesterday (I don't get to have the weekends off) and now I'm just about to start re-writing the whole thing and hoping that I can deliver it in time for the final deadline. Ho hum!Apart from that my life has become incredibly boring.

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-84913341765068377752007-10-07T14:05:00.000Z2007-10-07T14:24:30.551Z

Hey pop kidsI realise I haven't updated in an age. I wish I could report that I've been off doing all manner of impossibly glamorous things, but sadly that's not the case.What I have been doing is writing so much that I'm surprised my fingers aren't little bloody stumps. The third book in the Fashionistas series, Irina, has been delivered but its release has been put back to May 2008 because of

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-61841123814445137812007-09-10T12:58:00.000Z2007-09-10T13:09:42.640Z

Officially out on September 20th (though it seems to be available from most good bookshops and amazon.co.uk now, which isn't something I'm losing any sleep over), here is a small taste of Hadley Harlow to whet your appetites:Hadley didn't believe in what might have beens. It was better to regret something you had done, than something you hadn't. That's what her yogi used to tell her. But then her

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-5102076711069255802007-08-30T10:34:00.000Z2008-12-11T04:55:33.175Z

Hadley Harlow was once the world's biggest child star. Now she's strictly C-list and launching herself on the London celebrity circuit to revive her flagging career. Sure, Hadley's high maintenance but she's also a tough cookie who isn't going to let anything stand in her way whether it's pesky agents, jealous co-stars or three diva-like flatmates. Not to mention the disapproval of Reed, hip film

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-25089167114269880802007-08-20T10:18:00.000Z2007-08-20T19:25:36.347Z

I have a bit of time to kill this morning as I'm doing a celebrity interview, which has been put back by an hour and a half. As a lot of you know, when I'm not writing tawdry teen novels, I earn a crust or two by writing for glossy women's magazines. The weird thing is that I've been doing this for over a decade (!) but I still get in a right panic before an interview. I never sleep the night

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-6883448228693665352007-07-31T18:01:00.000Z2007-07-31T18:29:01.609Z

Hello earthlingsAfter the wettest, soggiest summer since records began, I'm happy to report that London is finally sunshine-y and warm. Hurrah! Also, I escaped unscathed after getting run over by a bus but will never step out into the road without looking again.On to more important topics. Thank you so much to everyone who commented on the first Fashionista's book, Laura. I know that it seems

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-5272449893123084192007-07-18T21:34:00.000Z2008-12-11T04:55:33.431Z

Forget about the adventures of that Potter kid and get yourself to a bookshop tomorrow when Fashionistas: Laura officially goes on sale in the UK!fash_ion-is-ta - NounPronounciation: [fash-uhn –ee-stuh]Definition: 1. Someone who eats, sleeps, breathes and lives for fashion.2. Someone who works in the fashion industry.3. Someone who would never be seen dead in last season's looksLaura isn't that

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-67998535417392477612007-07-02T11:08:00.000Z2007-07-02T11:23:20.024Z

I'm gearing up to the publication of Laura in a couple of weeks. It's worth reminding you that this is its UK release. French, German and Dutch editions will follow, but there's no US release date as yet. I've been getting comments from people who've already seen copies on sale. As far as I can understand, this is because bookshops receive delivery early but some of them break the publication

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-17104789671586351872007-06-15T13:50:00.000Z2008-12-11T04:55:33.800Z

EDITED TO ADD: THAT COMMENTING HAS BEEN TURNED OFF AS THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED! THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED - WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY EMAIL.Do you want me to bang on about how busy I am? Or repeat for the gazillionth time that there are no plans to ever write any more Diary Of A Crush books (for reasons explained in the tags to your left?) Or shall I just get on with the competition

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-52474929440966236482007-05-26T10:16:00.000Z2008-12-11T04:55:34.102Z

Hi there, my chickadees...I sit here and realise I have no witty, amusing opening sentence so I shall just plunge straight in.First thing I need to tell you is that my official microsite - there's a link to it on the left hand side of the page - is not working. It's reverted to a much earlier version with an old design and all the fantastic extra content (an interview with Molly from Guitar Girl,

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-34526165473644956642007-05-12T10:02:00.000Z2007-05-12T10:14:37.565Z

Happy Eurovision Day readersTonight I will be going to a Eurovision Song Contest Party, as is my wont to do. There's going to be a Sweepstake though I will pick the country that only get a measly un point from the Slovakian jury. But I think you can either turn up your nose and be too cool for skool about Eurovision or you can embrace the cheese. I embrace it with both arms!I also just want to

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-15706836973007424212007-04-29T19:49:00.000Z2008-12-11T04:55:34.363Z

When you're a nipper, you imagine being a proper grown up is going to be ace with completely added bits of aceness. Like, you'll be able to eat chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You never have to tidy up if you don't want to. And you can listen to your music as obnoxiously loud as you please without parental intervention. But actually, not so much. I like to eat well balanced, nutritious

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-10005056233037373002007-04-15T10:29:00.000Z2007-04-15T10:57:53.001Z

I'm determined to get through this post without any controversial statements, which I can be berated for, except it's not going to happen, is it?I've had a spate of the "Please write another DOAC book/sequel to Guitar Girl/Let's Get Lost" comments - strangely no on ever asks for a sequel to Pretty Things. There's not really much I can say, apart from I have no plans to ever. I have explained why

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-34423986821590308432007-03-30T10:28:00.000Z2008-12-11T04:55:35.661Z

After the Avril-gate that erupted after the last post, I got called a lesbo, a feminazi and a retard, among other things. None of which persauded me to see the error of my Avril-disapproving ways. And FYI, words are never meaningless especially in a pop song, which is why I can be moved to tears when I listen to a 3 minute slice of pop perfection.But what really disheartened and disappointed me

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-3895362445978404002007-03-17T15:50:00.000Z2008-12-11T04:55:35.858Z

Busy. So very busy. With a bigass freelance commission and book-writing. I'm behind on everything and have a ton of outstanding messages on MySpace that I may get round to replying to one of these days. At this precise moment in time I'm waiting for someone to come round and turn off my leccy so he can install a fetching new kitchen light and take the kitchen door off so I can actually shift my

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-75447254841387759222007-03-06T20:50:00.000Z2007-03-06T20:54:52.249Z

• Do you spend all your time flitting between your Facebook, MySpace, Flickr account and Livejournal?• Do you have your own website?• Have you ever been recognised on the street because someone's seen your picture online?• Do you run a messageboard or forum?• Do you have an MP3 blog?• Do you post pictures of your daily outfits?• Have you ever dumped a boyfriend by changing the relationship status

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-38221721635749718822007-03-04T12:53:00.000Z2008-12-11T04:55:36.094Z

Happy Sunday to you my little darlingsIt's very soggy, chilled and grey here in London. I wish Spring would just hurry up and sprung already.As ever, thanks for all your comments, particularly about my new series Fashionistas. I can't wait for you to read the first book when it comes out in June. Or is it July? I never can remember! And thanks for all your other comments, though I have to remind

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-43279302512986598732007-02-17T17:03:00.000Z2008-12-11T04:55:36.376Z

Finally, after months and months, I'm absolutely chuffed to be able to tell you about my latest book. I've been working on a four-novel sequential series called Fashionistas about four girls sharing a flat in London who are all signed to the Fierce Talent Agency; two of them are models, one of them is an ex-child star trying to re-launch her career and one of them is a reality TV celebrity with

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-24602451404791965512007-02-11T16:54:00.000Z2008-12-11T04:55:36.629Z

There's really nowt going on. Well, there's lots going on but as I still can't tell you anything about my new series and I refuse to do the whole "there will NEVER be a fourth Diary Of A Crush book" speech for the umpteenth time, I've been trying hard to think of anything interesting to post.But this week, I was searching through my hard disk and realised that I have a ton of articles that might

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-14326991682081608822007-02-03T15:16:00.001Z2007-02-03T15:21:24.203Z

Very busy right now. Very, very busy. Every time I turn my head there's another manuscript that needs editing or a big piece for a magazine to write. Not that I'm complaining. Except actually I am. Loudly and frequently because it's that very special time in a girl's month. I think you know what I'm saying!Right now though, the video above is causing me much joy. Little Korean kids playing

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-18919212055206301782007-01-22T14:08:00.000Z2007-01-22T14:16:13.016Z

My beloved fashionistasI have a bad head cold. I am blaming this squarely on majorly cutting back on my nicotine consumption. Yes, I smoke and actually it's not as big and clever as I used to think it was. Also really expensive. Don't start, OK?Anyway, I'm a bit sinus-y and headache-y and very snotty and I feel sorry for myself but I kinda like having colds; they're quite comforting maladies I

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-29350112434877700092007-01-15T17:29:00.000Z2007-01-15T17:49:56.592Z

Waving, not drowning...Why yes, there is a shiny, new look to this blog with many added features. For good reason.I've been absolutely swamped with emails and comments and MySpace messages over the last few weeks. I love, love, love hearing from you. I do. And I appreciate that you pour your hearts out and that my books mean a lot to you. It makes me feel very humble and honoured.But the amount

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-37106372757911241692007-01-01T14:28:00.000Z2007-01-15T17:08:05.027Z

Happy New Year!I crawled out of bed at noon today after a very late night. I had a little party where I stuffed my guests full of an ungodly amount of food. Then we walked up to Ally Pally (the second highest point in London) for midnight and watched all the fireworks across the city as we drank champagne. Then back to my place for more Cava and pomegranate juice cocktails – because I am old

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-76186488151265783542006-12-24T16:01:00.000Z2007-01-15T17:07:24.438Z

Happy Chrismukkah, dear readers!I have a little present for you. Think of it like a DVD extra feature but with words. I'm posting some excerpts from Walker's bit of Pretty Things that never made it into the final version. I thought they might amuse you.And then we had to stop because Lavinia strutted in and started screaming like a fishwife at us.I had Charlie practically in catatonic shock next

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-18965412759481301712006-12-10T23:04:00.000Z2007-01-15T17:06:43.158Z

Hey there, my little buttercupsI had a ginormous plate of spaghetti bolognaise for dinner tonight at my favourite Italian restaurant, then walked three and a half miles home and now I'm feeling rather peckish again. Dang! I hate when that happens.Life is a huge whirlygig of whirl at the moment. I'm still working on my second and final draft of a new book, plus have two big freelance assignments

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-77280638221944240572006-12-02T16:21:00.000Z2007-01-15T17:05:11.248Z

Buenos dias, my sweet onesI'm a little hurty today as I've been going out too much and possibly drinking too much as well. Last night, I saw my good friend Kate Kannibal (possibly not her real last name) and her wonderful band, The Priscillas, play their Christmas show. And very wonderful it was, plus there was spectacular fake snow that got everywhere.I'm meant to be going out tonight but the

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-43987986502758661822006-11-25T19:02:00.000Z2007-01-15T17:03:56.444Z

I'm back from NYC and struggling with the dreaded jetlag. I'm going to bed late, really late, like 3.30 am late, not sleeping and then struggling out of bed at lunch-time. Oh dear!But I had a wonderful time, so different from my London life where I live in jeans and spend most of my time in front of the computer. I went to lots of fashionable restaurants, an Edie Sedgwick book launch (I was

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1163256399598215692006-11-11T14:27:00.000Z2007-01-15T17:02:28.766Z

Guten tag my little strudelsMy contact lenses are giving me grief so I apologise if this post is riddled with typos.It's been quite a tumultuous week. I'm still reeling from the Britney and k-Fed split, not like it was any surprise. And even more importantly the Roland Mouret 10 dresses went into Gap, while at H&M was the quite wonderful Viktor & Rolf collection. Alas, the Viktor & Rolf pieces

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1162653888884757892006-11-04T15:09:00.000Z2007-01-15T17:01:18.592Z

A cheery top of the morning (or afternoon to be more specific) to you, dear readersI am freezing. I'm sitting here with my stylin' Marc Jacobs fingerless gloves on as I type this because the central heating has yet to warm up the Arctic conditions in my flat. Despite the fact that I'm fighting a cold, tonight I will be attending a Bonfire and Fireworks Extravaganza at Alexandra Palace (Ally Pally

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1161170041847475542006-10-18T11:06:00.000Z2007-01-15T16:48:37.016Z

Salutations, my sweets!I guess that some of you may be reading this blog for the first time, having found the address in the back of my new book, Let's get Lost. In which case, I say welcome! I try to update my blog weekly-ish with news, views and lots of ungodly whining. And really, that's the main theme at the moment. Let's Get Lost goes on sale in North America (which includes Canada, yes?)

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1160231551113763722006-10-07T14:07:00.000Z2007-01-15T16:47:31.151Z

Sunny afternoon greetings, gentle readersBut though the sun is shining (which makes a change round London town), I have dark clouds in my heart. Nothing too serious though I am incandescent with rage at the curtains and blinds department of John Lewis in Brent Cross Shopping Centre. I had to leave a very angry message on someone's answerphone, which did contain the phrase, "It beggars belief,

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1159365779637076182006-09-27T13:47:00.000Z2007-01-15T16:46:07.066Z

Oh, peopleI'm so elusive these days, I know. Apart from a delightful trip to Florence to try on clothes in Zara, rather than looking at paintings of naked cherubim, and eating yummy fruit the size of my head, I haven't been up to much. But alas, my interpipe connection is extremely poorly, nay in a critical condition, and swapping to a new ISP is going to take about a month.In the meantime a huge

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1157811418041435982006-09-09T14:13:00.000Z2007-01-15T16:45:16.075Z

Hello, gentle readersMy interpipe connection is wigging out in a quite spectacular fashion, while my broadband is upgraded. It's a cause of much vexation. So I'm going to post this in one of the rare seconds when I am actually online.It's actually probably quite good that I can't while away many hours on the internet as I'm going to Florence for a little holiday the week after next and have made

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1157208169603532372006-09-02T14:30:00.000Z2007-01-15T16:44:31.149Z

Greetings girlieaAh, the sun is but a dim and distant memory; it's grey and cold and all the delicious new autumn fashions are in the shops. Hurrah!Because I spend most of my time in front of dark!Wes, my computer, I tend to live in jeans and a collection of faded logo retro tees but I'm coveting and even buying some fabulous frocks at the moment. And slouchy boy trousers. And I'm still loving

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1156098926239084162006-08-20T18:17:00.000Z2007-01-15T16:43:16.793Z

Hello Kitty-katsWell, I'm back - did you miss me? Thank you for all your birthday wishes and condolences. It's been a very hard week, but now it's time to put on my brightest smile and get back into the fray.I notice that on some of my Amazon reviews and in your comments, you ask about movie adapatations of my books. Sadly, the fact that I would LOVE someone to make a film of Guitar Girl or any

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1155377664830740462006-08-12T10:02:00.000Z2006-08-23T11:42:22.436Z

Owing to my birthday and now a family bereavement, I haven't been able to post recently. Hope to resume normal service soon.

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1154202141548790062006-07-29T18:55:00.000Z2007-01-15T17:28:11.804Z

I managed not to update last week, mainly because I was buried under freelance commissions that had to be in for Monday morning. Being a writer is one of those jobs where inevitably you always have to hand something in on Monday morning and can never shake that 'back to school' feeling on a Sunday night.I've started the second book in my four book sequential series and that's ticking along in a

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1152972534179707162006-07-15T13:55:00.000Z2007-01-15T16:40:30.538Z

Hello pop tartsI emailed off the final draft of my book on Thursday night. Apart from a bit of line editing, i do believe that it's done. Of course, if the Powers That Be demand another draft, then I may well cry real tears. So, I did what any other writer in my situation would do and yesterday I started book two. (I'm writing a sequential series of four books and, no, I'm still not allowed to

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1152361800144579042006-07-08T12:24:00.000Z2007-01-15T16:39:36.916Z

Oh dear. I overslept big-time this morning. Until 11.30. And I can't really say that I'm raring to go and ready to take on the world. In fact, I'd rather just go back to bed.You see, I'm at that stage with my new book where the finishing line is clearly in sight but my legs have turned into two unwieldy things that won't keep me upright. I'm fixing my plotholes, amping up my emotional tipping

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1151157442957621902006-06-24T13:49:00.000Z2007-01-15T16:39:00.050Z

There is no better feeling in the world that coming home from the gym on a hot day, all sweaty and rank, and jumping in a shower. I'm exfoliated, moisturised, fake-tanned and letting my hair dry in the breeze from the open windows. I love being a girl!So, the first important thing I have to tell you is that my first podcast is now online. I can't bear to listen to it all the way through as my

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1150552061006140642006-06-17T13:36:00.000Z2007-01-15T16:37:07.486Z

I'm posting because I try to post every Saturday but I'm afraid I have nothing much to report.My deadlines have been pushed up so I'm racing to try and get the second draft of my new book (which I'm still not allowed to tell anyone about) done for early next week. The good news is that I had a breakthrough moment at precisely 11.56 pm on Wednesday night and the book actually has proper plot

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1149945375116327402006-06-10T13:11:00.000Z2007-01-15T16:36:24.672Z

I'm a very bad person. I will not be watching England vs Paraguay in the World Cup, in favour of slaving away on the revisions for my new opus. Which have reached the excruciating "My God, why am I doing this?" stage. But all the windows are open so if England score, I'm confident that I will hear a roar rise up from the streets.It's very hot here. After weeks of whining about how cold and damp

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1149444772866518322006-06-04T18:05:00.000Z2007-01-15T16:35:30.474Z

This is really a drive-by post with a little compendium of favourite things I compiled earlier in the week. I have a friend staying from New York so I've actually taken the weekend off from writing (don't tell my editor) to make the most of the glorious weather.Yesterday I walked over seven miles taking in the green and rustic charms of Highgate and Hampstead and today, we hang out on the South

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11904926.post-1148739139712708212006-05-27T13:30:00.000Z2007-01-15T16:34:23.697Z

I can't believe that June is only three days away. London is wet and grey and I'm really going to have to turn the central heating on after I've finished my blogging duties.It's been a busy week. On Tuesday I was involved in two events as part of the Birmingham Young Readers' festival. I took part in a live debate in the morning - I was speaking for the motion that Text Speak Is Destroying the

Sarra Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17868656940569051462noreply@blogger.com1