Roger Daltrey sings our song

The track that Roger Daltrey and I wrote together has been released on his new album, AS LONG AS I HAVE YOU. The song is called Always Heading Home and I think he sings it beautifully. You can listen to it on Spotify.

https://open.spotify.com/track/5NpSWqwuo7tgJVNoIhx8Uy?si=k2_1wv9FTDqXzUGBljvvkQ

Great Review of The Norris Girls in Carousel

Roger Daltrey sings a song we wrote together

Thrilled to be at the Royal Albert Hall in London to see Roger Daltrey sing a song we wrote together. It's called Always Heading Home and it will be on his new album due out in June.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3IHtGw7Pw4&t=33s

Short video of a scene from THE NORRIS GIRLS

Candy Jar Books have made a short video based on Chapter 9 of THE NORRIS GIRLS. They are having a video call with their dad who is away in a dangerous country and it's a great introduction to the three girls - Katie, George and Beth - and their dreams and hopes.

Reviews of THE NORRIS GIRLS from girl readers

Dear Nigel

I thought the book was fantastic and I would recommend to everyone that is the age of 9-14.

I loved the way that the girls stuck together when they heard the devastating news of their dad being captured.

My favourite character would have to be Katie because 1. She is my age 2. She loves animals and horses, ponies 3. She was very kind and generous giving up her Pony,Matt to raise money for her dad just like Beth did for Water Angles so I think she was just pure awesome!

I know this sounds bad but I thought the bit where the dad got captured and was getting held hostage with the other 2 men was exciting, and you were waiting to see what would happen.

I never left the book down and I would rate it 10 out of 10 or a gold medal.

Awesome book!!!👍😀📚🖋📝

 From Zoe

First review of THE NORRIS GIRLS and it's a great one, too.

  http://

BOOK OF THE WEEK, FAMILY, FICTION, MIDDLE GRADE (AGE 8-13YRS)

The Norris Girls by Nigel Hinton

by Minerva • June 25, 2017

I remember searching for new Nigel Hinton books when I was in my teens, relishing Collision Course, The Finders and Buddy. So, when I was approached by an independent publisher to review a book they were calling ‘Little Women’ for the twenty-first century, I was a little surprised to discover the author was the very same. It’s a far cry from the broken father/son relationship of Buddy, or the guilt-ridden teenage angst of Collision Course. And yet, is it?

In fact, the book owes more to Hinton’s previous novels and his exploration of family relationships than it does Little Women, (although there is a Beth in both, and a tomboy, not called Jo, but Georgy). Hinton explores sibling relationships, guilt, and personal passions, which come together to form a rounded family portrait, in this delightfully vivacious novel for children.

The father in the Norris girls is working abroad, in dangerous territory. But life at home goes on. Beth is in her early teens, keen to shine in the school musical, whilst keeping her options open with potential boyfriends, Georgy is focussed on her running and trying out for the Inter-Counties competition, and Katie, the youngest, wants a pet.

The chapters move between the siblings, giving each their own perspective on the others at home, but also insight into their own preoccupations. What Hinton does here, by voicing so many points of view, is to show a typical family structure at work – each person enveloped within their own interests and individual lives, and yet also part of a whole – sharing relationships and worries and common goals. The reader gets a clear view of the girls’ individual passions and hobbies and friendships, yet also sees how that bounces off the conflicts and dilemmas within the family. The tension mounts as each faces a struggle on their own, which is all the time very much tied to the general conflict when their father gets taken hostage.

There is a lovely balance of supportive and friendly adults, as well as those who offer support in a harsher manner, with the petty jealousies, bickering, and upsets between peers. There are also strong friendships, as well as burgeoning boyfriend/girlfriend scenarios – but all on such a tame level that it’s quite suitable for a young audience. In fact, an older audience might be less taken with the chapters told from Katie’s point of view, endearing though they are.

There are ups and downs for the girls, successes and failures. Hinton captures well Georgy’s running abilities, and gives a real poignancy to Katie’s loveable ways. I wanted to feel Beth in a little more depth – she is at that perfect age where she’s struggling to identify herself as a girlfriend and as a teen within the family – she argues most with their mother, but I would have liked to see this more. Hinton also uses the first chapter to explore her texting with her friend, but this dies down shortly afterwards and it could have been embellished further – teens look to friends so much in the scenarios in which Beth finds herself.

But these small criticisms aside, this is a read to relish. As easy and breezy to read as a Jacqueline Wilson, yet filled with pathos and understanding. For me, it was less Little Women, and more like the Gemma stories by Noel Streatfield. The characters are fresh and sharp and have so much more to give – I would warrant this could be stretched to a series easily.

Hinton’s style and characterisations shine through, and he’s embraced the modernity of the girls’ lives, with video chats, phones at the ready, and media galore. He’s collided into the world of girls beautifully, with a soft ending that exemplifies exactly why his publishers have compared it to Little Women, or The Railway Children in fact. You can’t beat a happy ending for precipitating the tears. You can purchase it here.

THE NORRIS GIRLS BLOG PIECE

Check out my guest blog piece about THE NORRIS GIRLS on the wonderful Cathy Cassidy's blog, Dreamcatcher.

cathycassidydreamcatcher.blogspot.com/

I'm delighted that my new book, THE NORRIS GIRLS, is published today. It's a real departure for me - a book for girls about girls (although I hope guys will like it, too!). It was inspired by reading LITTLE WOMEN. I thought, I'd like to write a 21st century version, with sisters and a dad off in a dangerous place. Two great writers for girls, Jacqueline Wilson and Cathy Cassidy have given me terrific quotes for the cover of the book.

Goodreads are offering ten signed copies for free. Meanwhile there's a great Norris Girls playlist on Spotify - https://twitter.com/NHinton_Author/status/869237604755148800


A very cool cover, I think.

34 Years Old

BUDDY has been in print now since 1982. To celebrate all those years Penguin have now made it part of their PENGUIN ORIGINALS  - a list of books that they consider are classic Young Adult titles. I'm really honoured that the book is among such exalted titles as The Red Pony and The Outsiders. I think the new cover looks splendid - classic and cool:

BEAVER TOWERS PLAY AT DULWICH COLLEGE

There was a wonderful production of the musical play of my book BEAVER TOWERS put on by the Junior School at Dulwich College in South East London. There were three performances and all the pupils in Year Six were involved. They acted wonderfully and sang their hearts out. It was visually stunning and very imaginatively staged. Here are some photos of the production:

Some of the huge cast can be seen here - there were 64 of them involved altogether.

This shows the imaginative and very funny staging of the old car, Doris being pushed by The Mechanics.

The evil Oyin meets her end at the hands of the Growlers.

DAREDEVIL

My latest book has just been published. It tells the story of two brothers and their rivalry which has tragic consequences

REVIEW

Barrington Stoke

Fantastic review just in for my book 'On The Edge' in School Librarian magazine: 

'Terrifying and overwhelmingly sad, this powerful book deserves to be widely read'.

VISIT TO CORNELIUS VERMUYDEN

Had a great return visit to Cornelius Vermuyden School on Canvey Island. I spoke to all of their Year 8s and then presented copies of GHOST GAME to some pupils who had done good work during the term. Congratulations to them.

WORLD WAR 1 STORY

I am honoured to be one of the contributors to Tony Bradman's anthology of new stories about the 1914-18 War, called simply STORIES OF WW1 and published by Orchard Books. All the stories, by writers such as Malorie Blackman, Ian Beck, Geraldine McCaughren, Adele Geras and Linda Newberry, are brilliant and give a wide window onto the lives of people - soldiers and civilians - who went through that terrible time. My story, called WHAT'S IN A NAME, uses as a starting point something that happened to my family back then.

There has already been an excellent review of the book:

http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=Stories_of_World_War_One_by_Tony_Bradman

PARTNERS IN CRIME WINS

I was very pleased to learn that PARTNERS IN CRIME had won its category in the Coventry Inspiration Book Award.

My thanks to everyone who voted for it. And now I'm looking forward to the awards ceremony in June.

Last Four

PARTNERS IN CRIME is among the four books still standing in the Coventry Inspiration Award in the Adult 'Fancy A Quickie' section. Eight books have already been eliminated. Two more will be eliminated next Monday (17th) and then the winner will be announced on 19th February. If you've read the book and would like to vote for it, follow this link:

http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/2000735/fancy_a_quickie/2008/partners_in_crime

FIRST REVIEW

The first review for ON THE EDGE has just come in and I'm glad to say it's a really good one - and made even better because it's from Julia Eccleshare who is probably the most distinguished  children's book reviewer in the UK. It is on the Lovereading4kids site -
http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/book/9781781123096/On-the-Edge-by-Nigel-Hinton.html

On the Edge

Nigel Hinton

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This title is in stock

Lovereading4kids Price: £5.24

 

RRP: £6.99 Saving £1.75 (25%)Julia Eccleshare's comment:

 

Interest Age Teen, Reading Age 8+ Brilliantly told, this is a deeply moving story and scarily credible contemporary story. Dillon and Robbie’s dad has been banned from contacting them so, when he rings up out of the blue and say he’s on his way over to pick them up, Dillon is immediately suspicious. But Robbie is keen to go and Dad says Mum’s agreed to the plan. But Dad is out of control and soon Dillon and Robbie find themselves in the middle of a very dangerous situation. Nigel Hinton captures the love and fear the two boys feel for their dangerous Dad in this thrilling adventure.

ON THE EDGE

I'm really pleased to be able to announce the publication of a new book today. It's published by my favourite publisher, Barrington Stoke - run by the keenest and friendliest people I've met in that world.

The book is one that I care about very much and which I hope will find a big readership. It's a fast moving and suspenseful story with some tough themes at its heart. 15 year old Dillon and his young brother, Robbie, haven't seen their dad since he came out of the army and was violent towards them and their mum. But now he has turned up out of the blue saying that he's just been to see their mum at work and that she's given him permission to take them off for a few days' holiday. Robbie is thrilled but Dillon isn't quite so sure. Dad is persuasive, though, and they set off - but is this 'holiday' really what it seems.....?

The title I used when I was writing the book was OUR FATHER. Then later I called it MISSING IN ACTION. Finally, in conjunction with the people at Barrington Stoke, we agreed on the final title - ON THE EDGE. And here's the striking cover:

 

   

PARTNERS IN CRIME

 

 

PARTNERS IN CRIME is now 10 years old so it is particularly pleasing and surprising that it has just been shortlisted for a prize. It is in the Quick Reads category of the Coventry Inspiration Book Award. The award is for books which will get readers hooked on reading. The Coventry awards are unique in the country in that they have something for all ages, including adults and involve the whole family and the whole community.  

I guess that I always write in the hope that the book will hook young readers and make them readers for life, but this is especially true for the books I write for Barrington Stoke who specialise in producing books for young people who aren’t naturally drawn to reading.  

The Coventry award is decided in a novel way, as in January 2014 they hold weekly eliminations of the shortlist "Big Brother" style until only the winners are left standing. Fingers crossed that PARTNERS IN CRIME will be one of those.

Although PARTNERS IN CRIME does work with ‘reluctant’ readers, I recently saw how its appeal goes right across the spectrum. The book is being used by Folkestone Academy as part of their English course for all their Year 8 students. They invited me down to talk to the whole year group and I did four sessions in which I talked about writing in general and then PARTNERS IN CRIME in particular. I was very gratified to see and hear the students’ enthusiasm for the book – their questions and comments showed how much they had enjoyed and been engaged by the story as part of their course and teachers reported that many of them had borrowed the books to re-read at home. 

The students asked many interesting and wide-ranging questions in each of the sessions but one question that came up in all four sessions was who was who on the cover. It’s a credit to the cover designer that when I turned the question back on them and asked them to say which character was which they unfailingly identified Marco, Perry and Toddie.

If you've read and enjoyed the book, you can vote and comment on the Coventry Inspiration site :  http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/2000735/fancy_a_quickie/2008/partners_in_crime

THE HEART OF THE VALLEY

After years of being unavailable in the UK and the US, THE HEART OF THE VALLEY can now be downloaded on Kindle. It is my only book for adults - though I hope young people could read it with pleasure in the same way as I hope that many of my books for teenagers such as TIME BOMB and WALK THE WILD ROAD could be enjoyed by adults.

I'm currently reading THE HEART OF THE VALLEY aloud to my elderly sister who is in hospital and I find myself wondering how on earth I wrote it - it seems to know so much more than I do! I remember that it took me over two years to write it and that much of that time was spent simply looking. Really looking. At trees, at birds, at clouds, at hedgerows, at tracks in the grass, at shadows as the sun moved. At everything in the valley where I lived. And in many ways I realised that I was seeing for the first time. Really seeing. At the same time I was reading works by people who had looked as intensely as I was doing - Wordsworth, Thoreau, John Stewart Collis. I was also intrigued by the similarities I was finding in mystical books and the latest scientific speculations about the sub-atomic world.

I suppose somehow all those things came together and, in the mysterious crucible of the imagination created something that surprises even me.

 

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heart-Valley-ebook/dp/B00B28K27A/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361359192&sr=1-10