Written by Andy Donaldson⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
| ||||||||||||
Andy has also kindly answered a few questions for my feature Interview with the Author.
The blurb:
- A comical twist on the perennial children's favourite, the 'superhero'
- Humorous and well-paced - will keep children engaged and entertained.
- Ideal for children age 9 and over, and their parents - who may well be reading it.
'Is there anyone there?' he tentatively enquired at the shadows. There was no response. Must have been a cat he thought. His pulse calmed and he wiped the sweat from his brow. The young thief turned away from the alley and the road and once more urged his feet to move on. 'What are you doing little boy?'commanded a booming voice from the alleyway.
Sidney Rain is an ordinary man with an ordinary job in an ordinary town. Except for the fact that sometimes at night he dresses up as a superhero and heads out living his fantasy. But he's putting on weight, about to lose his job and he's generally not feeling particularly super at all.
Stanley Rain is Sidney's 12 year old son. He's an ordinary boy with ordinary friends at an ordinary school. But that school is being taken over by a local entrepreneur and is changing for the worst. And Stanley is not going to let that happen without a fight.
When a mysterious theft takes place, Stanley and his friends will need to turn detective to help save their school. And after being fired at work by his new boss, Sidney will need his friends to help save his soul.
Set in the fictional town of Shigbeth, and told in the third person, Rain Town is a humorous, action and adventure story, which I think will definitely appeal to primary school-aged children and above.
As the story begins, we meet Sidney Rain, an over-weight, middle-aged, single father. For some time now, Sidney has been wandering the streets of Shigbeth during the hours of darkness, wearing dark clothing, a cloak, belt and wellington boots. His disguise is completed with a mask, designed to be the face of a bird. At night, Sidney becomes the crime-fighting superhero ‘The Raven’.
The Raven has confronted a teenager who has just stolen sweets and chocolate from a shop. The teen runs, having disparaged Sidney in his costume. Sidney fails to catch him, and limps home to the house he shares with his twelve-year-old son, Stanley. Nowadays, crime-fighting is not something Sidney can do alone.
The next day Sidney is made redundant from work and for a time, his world spirals out of control. It is only when his best friend Terry Funk appears at his door with a similar story that Sidney pulls himself together and decides to involve Terry in his nocturnal crime-fighting activities. However, before he is ready to explain himself to Terry, Sidney makes another friend, Bobby Bathurst and decides to involve Bobby too. Together they form the Shigbeth Justice League.
Stanley Rain attends Shigbeth Middle School, which is shortly to be turned into an academy. It is due to be renamed Greenstock Academy in honour of school’s new benefactor, Nigel Greenstock, when it reopens after the summer holidays. There will be a new uniform and new school motto. The school premises will be used for business events, the first, a wedding fair and fashion show, is being set up, as the students learn about the impending changes.
Stanley and his friends, Chloe Scott and Billy Bathurst don’t like the proposed changes, believing them not to be in the best interests of the school. Chloe wants to fight the changes, and starts a petition. The trio learn that they will be making a film about community matters, using the schools new computers and tablets. Chloe wants to make this about the academy, and eventually gets the boys onside.
A major theft from the school, and an overheard conversation lead Sidney, Chloe and Billy on a dangerous mission to reveal the identity of the thief. The superheroes of the Shigbeth Justice League are on the same trail, thanks to a tip-off from Calvin, a homeless man.
Will the school friends find themselves in more trouble than they can handle? Will the Shigbeth Justice League be able to help? The answer to these questions and more is found in this well-written and entertaining tale.
The main characters are interesting and realistically drawn. I particularly enjoyed reading about Billy Bathurst. He is a child of great imagination, believing himself to be some sort of spy with all of his homemade spy equipment. He is gutsy as well, putting himself in danger to collect evidence to give to the police. I also liked Chloe, who is a strong female character, and seemingly older than her years.
Of the secondary characters, I liked Chloe’s vampish mother, Miss Scott, who has developed her own method for sizing up any gentleman callers! Half the neighbourhood seem to know all about her tricks, including her own daughter! But my favourite has to be Mr Webster, the asthmatic PE teacher, with his no-holds barred approach to teaching the boys rugby. I had a laugh-out-loud moment at the 'do whatever it takes to stop your opponent' directive involving a shotgun!
I think this story would make a great film adaptation, thanks in part to the particular eccentricities of some of the characters. There is a fair bit of the comedy in the writing too. Some of the best bits concern the hapless Sidney Rain, who is also prone to malapropisms.
This is a wonderful and funny children's adventure story which will appeal to both boys and girls alike, and one which will find its way into my daughter's class reading box.
| Author Bio – Andy Donaldson |
|---|
 Andy Donaldson is a Secondary school teacher, who, tired of telling stories to children in his classroom for over twenty years, finally decided to write a book of his own. Rain Town is his debut children's book. He lives in Warwickshire. |
| Social Media Links – | |
| @AndyRainTown | |
| Andy Donaldson | |
| Goodreads | Andy Donaldson |
Thank you Andy, for taking the time to join me today, and answer a few questions. I look forward to reading the prequel to Rain Town when it's finished, and I hope you find time to write that dark story for adults, as it sounds intriguing.
Q1. What inspired you to write Rain Town and is this part of a series?
When my kids were growing up, I would often read to them at bedtime. However, often we couldn't find books that really made us laugh and connected to our ordinary, everyday lives. I also wanted them to think about friendships and family; but again a little bit closer to home and relevant. Therefore, I decided to write a book for them. There is a prequel to Rain Town but that needs finishing off. I also have a good idea of a story for the third in the series too.
Q2. Who is your favourite character in Rain Town and why?
As an adult, I love Sidney Rain. He's a lovable character who has his heart very much in the right place. His relationship with Bobby Bathurst is particularly nice as although they compete with each other, they are very alike. The arguing between them is in some ways a recognition of this.
Q3. Was this the first story you had published?
I had a book published about 20 years ago. It was a novel for adults and I think you would struggle to find a copy around today. It was very miserable and dark with no humour in it whatsoever.
Q4. Do you have another story planned or in progress? When can we expect to see that?
I would love to finish the prequel to Rain Town. I'm primarily a teacher and so although this has been largely written already it is not something that you would see until 2020 at the earliest. I'm too busy at school.
Q5. Who is your favourite author?
Too many to choose from. In terms of adult novels, I adore Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks; probably because I am a history teacher who is really fascinated by the Battle of the Somme and the First World War. I also love The Road by Cormac McCarthy; he is a writer whose work is always dark but beautiful at the same time. For children's books there have always been Roald Dahl and Tolkien. The Mr Gum series by Andy Stanton is brilliant, mad and funny and my kids and I really enjoyed it. We still talk about characters and jokes from it now, several years after reading the whole series.
Q6. Which writers have influenced you?
See above. It's important also to note that it isn't always writers of books that influence, particularly if your book is comedic. Influences can come from television writers too. For example, it may not be obvious but there are elements of Only Fools and Horses by John Sullivan in Rain Town and I do think that the humour of comedians such as Reeves and Mortimer and the likes of Will Ferrell do transfer to the silliness that children appreciate.
Q7. What do you like to do when you’re not planning or writing your next book?
I have always loved sport and the highlight of my week is going to watch my two children play football on Sundays. I also love American Football and my big ambition is to go to the USA and watch the Washington Redskins play. I also listen to a lot of music and being a teacher I always have lots to do, even during the holidays.
Q8. What do you like most about being an author?
I just like people saying that they enjoyed something that I wrote. That's just really nice to hear. Hearing somebody laugh when they are reading something that you have written is fabulous.
Q9.Do you have a specific routine for writing? Is there a special place or particular tool you use?
I write scenes and eventually connect them together in a story. I don't start at the beginning. In that way it is all a bit jumbled up at first but I think it makes each chapter more striking. You've got to do what you feel when you feel like doing it. If you aren't into what it is that you are writing about then it just won't be any good. I also like to act out the scenes and the dialogue to see if it works effectively, a little bit like a screenplay I suppose.
Q10. Why did you choose to write for children?
To give my kids something funny and more engaging when I read to them at bedtime. Additionally, as a history teacher I have been telling stories for a long time now in my career. In that way it seems a natural progression to come up with one of your own to entertain them.
Q11. Are you interested in writing for any other audiences?
I have a couple of ideas for older audiences. One of them I could sit down and write now if I had the time. It is quite a dark story though, so is completely different from Rain Town.
Q12. What advice do you have for other children’s book authors?
Have a word with a publisher like Troubadour. I got plenty of rejections from the mainstream publishers, which can be disheartening but completely normal. However, if you are willing to persevere and want your book in print, the staff there are wonderfully supportive.
Thanks for the wonderfully kind review Deborah. My daughter loves Mr Webster the PE teacher too and sometimes makes me read that chapter to her before bedtime as it makes her giggle uncontrollably. Best wishes to all, Andy x
ReplyDelete