READER'S COMMENTS

I've been asking people if I can reproduce their emails - here are a few who have said yes. Thanks to everyone who writes to me - I do read them all and I do try to reply to them all. If you do email me and I don't reply, it's either because I didn't get to it in time and it got stranded behind loads of newer ones (send it again - or I may dig it up years later), or I never received it - it does happen. Aplogioes to everyone who doesn't get a reply - I do my best.

Since I strated doing this I've been getting some realy interesting emails from all sorts of people. Thanks to everyone who writes to me! As a point of confidence, I always ask people if they are OK with me posting their stuff and nothing goes up without your permission.

My email address is melvin.burgess@ntlworld.com.

You can also contact me on Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/melvinburgess

Melvin

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Hi Melvin, As you can see from my email address I'm a student at Trinity College. At the moment I'm in the process of writing an English Research essay based on none other than, you guessed it, you! If you could answer one or two questions for me that would be absolutely brilliant because I'd love to add it into my essay and put my lecturer in a good mood!

To be honest with you I have to admit I have been a little narrowminded. I feel i should apologise to you because i feel like I've judged you before i even got a chance to read your books. Which now, of course, i have! One word: amazing. I was hooked right from the beginning. I've been walking around college with my nose stuck in your books and have even been known to hide them under my desk during lectures. but lets keep that between ourselves! They are addictive. I really enjoyed them and found myself quite upset when i realised I had come to the end! Personally, I've never been the most academic of souls. Maths did my head in all the way through primary school. And I'm still struggling with them over a decade later in college (I'm training to be a primary teacher!) But when it came to english, aahhh i could work all night on an essay for days on end and be utterly blissful! But thats going off the point now. isn't it? What I'm trying to say is, I'm in my final year now. I worked doubly hard to get here and now I find myself writing my last english essay. It's due next Wednesday (the 9th of April) and I want to make it amazing ~ go out with a bang! Really impress the lecturer and, of course, myself!

I know your very busy and I promise I won't be your sworn enemy if you don't have the time to answer these questions, but I'd really appreciate it if you could.

1. In your book 'Junk' you are acclaimed for understanding but not condoning drug abuse. I for one know i felt no inclination or longing to go and stab myself with a needle of heroin after reading it! However, do you feel it is suitable for readers as young as 12 and thirteen? Put yourself in my position, in front of a class full of children with ages ranging from 11 to 13. Would it be appropriate for me, as an educator, to have this book on the shelves of our classroom library?

2. Your book 'Lady' got a lot of publicity for its frank exploration of the sexual behaviour of a teenage girl. Do you, personally, approve of or condone sexual promiscuity among teenagers in an age where sexual diseases are rampant? And was it your aim to subconsciously carry a message of approval in your book?

Thanks again for your time, I really appreciate it. Kind regards,

 

Hi Aoife,

A convert! How fantastic, I'm delighted. I hope your degree goes well - I guess you're coming up for the hideious finals., eh? I was in Dublin last weekend, and visited Trinity to see the book of Kells. It just bowls me over every time.

In answer to your questions ... first, most of my books from Junk and after are really for people who have their full set of hormoes present and correct. People who are about twelve are still on the road so to speak, and although they can often understand all the language and issues perfectly well, I feel quite a bit of it goes over their heads. Of course they can still get a lot out of it, but without the full impact. But that's not really what you're asking me, is it? You're asking about the moral effect of such a book, or if it might lead them into drug taking. The answer is, I don't feel that it would lead them into drugs, and I don't think it would or could in any way corrupt them.

The real issue of you standing in front of a class is not the kids, but the parents, or perhaps the management of your school. The issue for me isn't kids as young as twelve, who in general have the books in school they need, but kids aged fourteen and above, who rarely do. People of that age who read are very, very baddly catered for in schools. If you see the kind of thing they read in their own time and compare it, you'll see what I mean. As far as sex is concerned, I think it's a wonderful and healthy thing and definately to be encouraged. If people want to be promiscuous, that's up to them. But they need to know that there is a huge, often unseen, emotional weight attached to sex - you get so close to the other person (Needless to say!). You can hurt yourself baddly if you're unwise about that side of it - boys as well as girls. In that sense, I don't think it's a good idea to get into it when you;re too young. Poeple who do are usualy doing it for other reasons than sex, I think. Late teens or early twenties is soon enough for most of us.

Lady wasn't realy abotu sdex - it was about what is important and what isn't important, and also about the ethics of being bad. Everyone is being trained how to be good from the word dot - well all know that one. But being good is easy. The fact is, most ethical decisions are about being bad. If you decide to only have sex with the person you get marrie dto, that's being good. All the res tof it is about how bad, how often, with who? .. and so on. Good luck, Melvin PS - can I post your email on my website?

 

Thank you so much for your reply! It's true, i have to admit, I am a complete convert now! I had to give a presentation about you in my English Lecture and hopefully those who were present are all converts too after it. I had most definitely "judged a book by its cover" when i came across 'Junk' and 'Doing it' but i have to say i enjoyed every single one of your books. 'Sara's Face' was my favourite.

Thank you for answering my questions and i look forward to reading more of your books. You really opened my eyes in relation to literature for teens. Here's a bit of my essay that I wrote ~ I'm not the best of writers but I enjoyed every minute of my essay and would have no problem in writing it all over again!!

p.s. I have no problem with you using my emails ~ but could you make me anonymous? Thank you!

My essay:

"Tits and minge are actually very important things to me in a girlfriend. In fact, they're about the most important things I want in a girl. I dream about them. I think about them. I spend a lot of my spare time looking at them on my computer screen – tits and arses and minge til it comes out of my ears."

Doing it, by Melvin Burgess. (p. 150)

Would you approve of the youth of today internalising this reading material? Controversial content like this is a running theme in the work of Melvin Burgess. Although I have never taken much notice of this author; I had heard whispers of the areas he has covered in his conflict-ridden books. The scandalous nature of his diverse subject matter has most definitely preceded him and categorically defined him as an author.

When I went to find some of his books I found myself highly discomfited and, dare I say it; embarrassed? I was fully aware of how utterly absurd this was. However, that didn't stop me from discreetly turning the book upside down when I proceeded in handing it to the shop assistant to pay for it. I couldn't wait to flee from the shop before anyone discovered what lurked between the seedy pages of his notorious novels. And consequently labelled me a "pervert" in the process!

Burgess' books were extremely difficult to find. Most shops didn't stock them at all and those that did decided to opt for the less controversial variety. I had decided to look at four of Burgess' novels; Junk, Sara's Face, Lady: My Life As A Bitch and Doing it.

I must admit, in hindsight, I was quite narrow-minded when I came to picking up the first book 'Junk'. I found myself becoming more and more opposed to the subject matter in most of Burgess' books. I had read the remarks the critics had made and resolved myself to make a stand against such demoralising and corrupting ways of persuading the youth of today to "turn to the dark side". When I had come to the end of 'Junk' I found myself shocked. An interesting feeling had come over me; gratification. I had enjoyed the book! I didn't come away from 'Junk' feeling the overpowering urge to stab myself with a syringe of heroin. On the contrary, I found myself completely appalled and revolted by the lives these addicts created for themselves; prostitution, deception, addiction, theft, betrayal.

When 'Junk' was released in 1996, it was met with a tirade of criticism. The author later admits

"… it was fun. I enjoyed the publicity and the attention, which authors usually feel they don't get enough of, and I enjoy arguing my corner." (Burgess)

But what was it that had outraged and disturbed the general public and media so much so that they felt the need to do a great deal of

"…soul-searching about the loss of innocence, children growing up too quickly, and the dangers of sensationalists such as myself exploiting childish curiosity." (Burgess)

I certainly didn't find myself reeling with repugnance and resentment at the sheer cheek of Burgess for even thinking of dealing with the sinister subject of drug abuse among young teens. We hear about more traumatising tales at six o' clock in the evening on sky news! 'Junk' was, in fact, a fascinating read. The multi-first person narratives allow the reader to delve into the psyche of the characters and form our own impartial, introspective opinions.

We all know what its like to be a teenager. Being stuck between childhood and adulthood, yet isolated from both, predominantly the latter. Burgess avidly avoids patronising and belittling his audience. There is an unspoken understanding that passes between the author and reader saying "Yes I know its horrible being a teenager. Parents do make wrong decisions. You do too. But it's all part of growing up and one day you'll understand this and probably be a better person for it."

Burgess' critics have acknowledged this trait and rejoiced in his honesty. One such critic is Elizabeth O'Reilly who discusses an article in The Guardian where Burgess vividly remembers his own adolescence and identifies with teenagers, but also appreciates how unpleasant most of us are during this stage of our lives:

"Looking back at myself, I'd have to say I was a pain. I was rude…I had a rampaging ego… What about you? You were a teenager once. Can you remember what it was like? Admit it. You were a twat, too." (Burgess, The Guardian, 27th May 2006)

O' Reilly summed up Burgess' flair in one remark; "Burgess' skill is to understand without condoning…" That is simply what he does. He is not disgusted by the selfishness that Gemma portrays or the horrific heartache she causes her parents. He does not judge her or dictate to us that we must love our parents unconditionally and treat them with respect every minute of every day. We should. But the truth is; we don't. For the most part, teenagers do not appreciate their parents. They don't see the continuous support and love that they give them, because in some cases, especially Tar's, it isn't there in the first place. The world is a troubling place. As much as we want to believe in fairy tales and happy endings, the realities we are faced with in today's world are a far cry from sleeping beauty being awoken by prince charming. It is more likely that she would be mugged and assaulted first.

With a very different outlook, I picked up 'Sara's Face'. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. From the moment I picked up the book; I was hooked. The main character Sara is obsessed with fame and suffers from a disorder known as body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). BDD is a mental disorder where an individual is excessively concerned and preoccupied with an imagined or minor defect in their appearance. The plot of this story is completely strange and bizarre. However, Burgess has a mesmerising way of capturing the reader's imagination and making the impossible seem bizarely possible. The words suck you in and bring you on a strange and sinister roller coaster ride through Sara's warped perception of fantasy and reality.

The descriptions are strange and disturbing. One image that has stayed with me is the moment when Dr. Kaye has removed Sara's face;

"Only half an hour before, Sara's face had been plucked up from the front of her head and laid neatly on the bloodied front of Heat's… Kaye had stitched it on to the tip of his nose." (Sara's Face by Melvin Burgess, p. 228)

This thrilling climax is distressingly worrying. As insane and impossible as it seems that someone could find themselves in such a vulnerable position where their face could be stolen without consent, this dilemma of cosmetic surgery and a desire to change our looks is not an uncommon issue, especially among teenagers. The rising epidemic of plastic surgery is reaching boiling point. Somehow injecting poisin into the skin on your face is not as alarming anymore as it really should be. It seems that a little poison between brunch and collecting the kids from school is accepted as a "social norm" as common aa brushing your teeth.

Clothes and shoes go in and out of fashion; why not bodies, noses, eyes and ears? Burgess has acknowledged this dilemma and taken a stand against it. Teenagers are exposed to this need to be societies idea of "perfection". It is everywhere; in magazines, on the television, in newspapers. Burgess acknowledges this common worry and thus re-evaluates the way in which teenage fiction is written. He deals with the real issues that teenagers want to be hearing about and discussing.

**There's a little bit of it! Hope I have convinced others to pick up some of your books!!

 

Dear Melvin Burgess,

You are my all time favourite author. i thrive on the text upon your book's my all time favourite book is bloodsong to me it is one of the greatest books of the 20th century i am contempt on your next book.

i wish to know is there any chance of a third book after bloodtide and bloodsong. i have one idea for the next in the series called blood-generation about the gods Odin, Loki, Allah, Jesus and finally Sigurd following the lives of the nibblins and others alike. i gain this idea from bloodsong on how Sigurd thinks to himself on how the gods live. this book will be the chance for you to express how you see the god's while you were writing bloodsong. i myself wish to hear how you see the god's. If not the book write to me and inform me on how you imagine the god's...

Yours Joshua M Wigg (age 16)

Hi Joshua - sorry to take so long getting back to you - I was so busy in october and now I'm just catching up.

Glad you liked the Bloods so much - they're my favorites of my books, as it happens. Not sure about following ALL the gods, though - I based Bloodtide and Bloddsong on pagan and christian mythology, and I think you need to stick to something specific. If you try and do everything at once, you come a cropper.

There is more of the story to tell. As you may know, the books are loosely based in the icelandic Volsunga story, and that saga does go on to tell what hapened to the Nibberlins. Not sure if I'm gong to try and tell it though - I think it looses some of its strength once the Volsons are all dead.

Can I post your email on my website? Thanks, Melvin

i am more than happy to let you use my e-mail on your website, i think the loss of the volsons can be an improvement they could feel the guilt of Sigurd's death on their hands and how you can use that in your stories i don't know. i have signed copies of junk,bloodsong and i wish for a signed copy of bloodtide. other books by you i have read are doing it, burning issy and tiger tiger. i have had troubles with my girlfriend and we are together now. i had a tag with her name on as a present so i gave it her yestarday when we got back together i said to her when we got back together "i guess that tag was my little jenny wren." i look forward to the next saga as i can not think what to expect please publish the story. i wish to read it so much. as i have already said you are my favourite aurther.

yours Josh Wigg (age 16)

 

Hello, I'm an English teacher from Slovenia and it's the first time I've conntacted a writer. So, hi, melvin. You're a fantastic writer! Respect!

A couple of days ago I came across your novel 'Smack' in the library. I loved it!!! I liked the style, the topic, the attitude, and the characters are amazing! And most of all I think you brought the addiction and what it does to a person closer to the reader. It feels like, ok, I've seen it, I've read about it, i've heard it ... but I've got a much better idea about it now that I've read the book as I had before.

I love reading and I don't often come across novels that make me think for days. 'Junk' is something rare! And it made me type in your name in the google and find information about you. That's a first for me. I teach teenagers from the age of 10 to 14 in the capital of Slovenia. Of course there are drugs around but among the kids I teach I don't think there's anything more powerful that hash or ecstasy. Still, you never know. But I wanted to say that I agree that teenagers should read this book. It's better to know about drugs than to be tempted out of ignorance.

I also wanted to ask you who your favourite authors are and which novels made you say, 'waw!'

And once again, WELL DONE!

Anka

 

Hi Anka - Well, thanks you so much - what a nice email! I'm delighted you got so much out of it. I supose you knew I was actualy in Slovenia the week before you wrote to me .. can't be coincidence ...? Hope the situation with your kids stays the same - hash and ecstacy aren't such bad things, comparatively speaking - I belive ecstacy is offically safer than asprin! Amazing, really.

Thanks for writing to me.

Can I post your email on my website? Melvin

 

Hello! I always feel awkward when I write emails/letters to people I've never met. That's just a warning, I suppose, for the tense sentance structure that may be found with in.

I read 'Doing It' the summer before I started my freshman year. It was the first book about sex I'd ever read, and man, I was shocked. Like, I had to put the book down and leave for a while. Then I realized I had to keep reading. I was hooked. I think I read it twice before I took it back to the library. A few weeks later I went to camp and met one of my best friends. We kept in touch, and one day she told me she was reading the greatest book ever, and that I would totally love it. It was about sex.

"I read a book about sexonce," I said. "It was called 'Doing It' and I loved it." "Oh my goodness! That's the book I'm reading!"

We talked about it every now and then, but I largely forgot about it until my birthday a few weeks ago, when she asked for my address. I realized she was sending me a gift, and wondered if it might be the book. It wasn't, and I was dissapointed, but I wasn't really expecting it. The point is, it got me thinking about your book again.

That day also happened to be the last day I had to get a required reading book for school, so, while in Hastings, I decided to search for Doing It. They didn't have it. I was upset. But I did find Smack, and read it in one day. That is a really incredible book, as well, though I still think Doing It is better.

I've gone back to the library and looked for Doing It countless times, by the way, and I can't ever find it. I'm not sure if someone decided to keep it, or if maybe the library decided it was too controversial. But I'd like you to know that Doing It is on my Christmas Wishlist. So is Lady, because it sounds killer interesting.

I hope you write more, because you're right, there aren't enough books for people my age. The closest I can think of are Sarah Dessen books, but those are a bit more preachy. Actually, a lot more preachy. I like the way you write. The end.

Hi Hannah - well, that's a very lovely email. You know, I get more people writing to me about Smack than Doing It, so it's a real pleasure ot hear that Doing It is getting through to people. Sex - well, it's quite a thing, isn't it? I wanted to writ esomehting that described that it was funny and rude, andpossibly even filthy and hilarious, as well as the thing you do when you fall in love and have to be all responsible about. I'm really hapy that you found it and that it meant a lot to you.

Thanks so much much for writing to me about it - it means alot when people let me know the book got through. Amazing coincidence, you and your freind both finding it.

I don't know Sarah Dessen but I'll lok out for her from now on.

Best wishes, melvin PS - Can I post your email on my website?

Hey, my names Kate.

I met you once at a booking signing at Canon Slade School, and remember being more than fond of you for making our school librarians scowl at your hilarious choice of language for the event. Clearly they need to get out more xD

Anyway, to the point. Junk is my favourite book, always has been, probably always will be, and last night I decided to have the sleeping pattern of a nocturnal hamster and stay up to write this. Reading it through again, it's pretty shite, but thought you might like to read it if you found the time. It's about Junk, obviously, and is entitled Hero-in. As you are a writer, and a bloody good one at that, you will probably see through the fact it isn't really about the physical drug, but injecting a glimmer of something amazing into you, but are overwhelmed by the effects of it all around you. I'll stop blabbering now :)

Hero-in

I watch as the marker steers past zero
And breathe as the pump pulls from full
Can you feel That intense syringe of hero
A kaleidescope of feeling thats far from dull
High's defined by the raising of mentality
And yet this depth is so far from reality
I've gone so far now, cannot you see
This chemical's bound to the bones inside of me
My breath is so rapid and my voice is spun
The weight on my shoulders is lifted, no more a tonne
And yet you're still blind to the way I live my life
Can't you see i'm the body, you're the knife?
This highs expiry date is approaching fast
I turn to more just to make it last
I bleed, I scream and scratch
Yet my weak and frail body's finally met its match.

An email back would be great, but I know you're probably really busy, so thanks anyway for taking the time to read.

Kate, an entertained reader and school librarian hater.

Hi Kate -
thanks so much for sending me this - it's great! - not shite at all. Late nite stuff is always fun. Only bit I didn;t get was the body/knife image, but the rhythm and the rhymes are fantastic. Glad you liked my choCie of language. what on earth did they expect? but I'm afraid it always goes above my head when they don'tl ike it - I only notice people loking happy, right up until they ask me to leave ...

Can I post your email on my website?
Best, Melvin

Hey again,

yeah, I was a bit unsure about the body and knife image, but I came to the conclusion that it was about Tars father, and how he'd led Tar to run away to Bristol, so in some way it was his fault that Tar ended up in the situation he ended up in, I think I metaphorically used Tar as the "body" and the knife was supposed to mean the heroin filled syringe and Tars father almost injecting it into Tar himself because Heroin or a real knife, Tars father is killing him either way. I might re-write that bit, depending on how artistically minded I feel tonight :) It's good to find someone else who finds their inspiration when the majority of the country are slobbering all over themselves and snoring.

Yeah, that is one of the things I admire you for, your ability to ignore peoples criticism and just write and say what you want to, if only every writer took that approach to their talent. Every writer? Why not every person? Maybe the freedom of speech right would actually come into practice! I laughed when I read that, I guess they expected some born and bred snob from the Shakespeare lookalike weekly magazine, or some escapee from a mental asylum who actually thought he was Shakespeare. I have to say, the colour of our librarians face was approaching the shade of red where I expected her to either ask you to leave, or give a robotic bleep everytime you said a word which went past toddler-friendly language xD Yeah, course you can put it on the site.

Best Wishes, Kate.

Interesting email from a librarian whose school I visited recently. I never do talks on Doing It unless specifically requested - it does happen from time to time - but the book was on sale.

The thing that always surtprises me is how rarely this happens. I think this is the first time in several years ...

I bleive the inccident was handled with no loss of blood!

 

Hi Melvin,

Just to let you know that 'even in this day and age' I have had one really horrible parent of a boy who bought 'Doing It' and 'Junk'. Seems that he was 'forced' into coming to the session and 'made' to buy the books! She had no problem with 'Junk' but took exception to 'Doing It' big time. He wasn't allowed to read it, but she did, how surprising.

The truly amazing thing is that anything to do with sex is still so much worse than drugs!?

Guess there had to be one. Cheers

 

Dear Mr. Burgess, I have never sent an email like before.... I wanted to explain to you the overwhelming excitement I am experiencing right now! Back in 1999 I watched a film on television that has stayed with me for 8 years, I have searched for this film countless times, and I have often wondered if it was based on a book. I cannot tell you how frequently over the years I have Googled what I remember of the film in hopes that somehow I could locate it. I still clearly remember the day I watched it, I was hooked on it immediately, unfortunately for me I was extremely ill and had been watching from the comfort of my couch, until just before it ended - I have not seen the last five or ten minutes and have always wanted to know how it all ended.

Today has been a fantastic day because I finally found a website that contained information on the film, I found your name and Googled you, which brought me to a website that provided your email address. I am now leaving my home headed to a bookstore in hopes of purchasing your book (Smack) and although I am sure there are differences between the film and your novel, I know I won't be disappointed.

If you know how I may purchase the film I would appreciate if you could forward the details to me. If not I just thought that I should share some of the joy I have and will be experiencing by finding a perfect stranger on the internet.

IA wish you a beautiful day!

Miss Sara McNamara

HI Sam - well, what a nice email! All those years and you never found the book! I only hope it's noit going to be a disapointment, going back there after so long ... I always felt that the BBC film wasn't quite hard hitting enough, myself, but I'm delighted you enjoyed it so much.

Can you let me know which website you found the information about the film on? People are always asking me about the film and I never can tell them very much - the BBC never released it and people can only hope to pick it up when they broadcast it, as they still do from time to time, I believe.

The book, by the way, is called junk here in the UK and Smack in the states.

Many thanks for writing ot me - Melvin Burgess. PS - can I post your email on my website?

 

Question from a fan from Chesire, who wrote to me on MrSpace ..

I'm a massive fan and have read nearly all of your books in the past few months. Bloodtide and Bloodsong are a favourite.

Just one question:- Saras Face Book Fact of Fiction? Found this book really interesting as have just finished it. Confused as to whether a real story, if it is where could i read about it? Let me know. Thanks for keeping my bus rides to work enjoyable.

Kay from Cheshire :-)

 

A bit of writing from a reader here - I think you can see, she has some real talent here ...

hiya melvin (is it ok to call you that?)

i'm 14 and contemplated becoming an author so i started writing a book about teenagers running with issues like drugs and love called High Tide and i was kind of surprised when started reading junk and it sounded a LOT like the book i had started!!!! i guess that's the downfall of the industry though, isn't it? anyway however much i didnt want to like it (because it you had thought of it first)- i loved it! i dont think i could ever have written such a deep novel so i'm very glad that you DID think of it first! my most memorable moments of the book (and certainly the most disturbing) were when lily was injecting heroin into the veins between her breasts and when rob and tar bust into their friends' flat to find them dead then proceeded to take their drugs and leave them there. i have also read sara's face which i really enjoyed!

if you have time here's what i started writing:

Life's a beach. That's what Destiny told me. You can either stay on the sand following sad little rules, paddle in the sea for a bit or jump in at the deep end, out of sight, having loads of fun. Destiny said that only special people like us could throw ourselves in at the deep end and stay afloat. We're the 'Strong Swimmers'

The problem is, most people are scared of the water; scared that it will suck them in and they'll drown, die a sad death. They don't realise that the water refreshes your soul, breathes replenishing life into you. The water is the ocean of free spirits. Destiny loved that idea, calling us the 'Ocean of Free Spirits'. I was well chuffed that I had thought of it.

Then those who paddle. The water washes over them and they feel a tiny bit if the magic but they're not like us. It doesn't fill their soul to the brim with everlasting energy; their eyes don't turn into fireworks; their bones don't grow stronger.

Words can't describe the deep end. It's like your first kiss, a fireworks display and a roller coaster ride all crammed into one. We actually live life. To the fullest. People on the sand ignore each other; the Strong Swimmers embrace each other whenever we pass another by. It's unreal. Sex, drugs, parties, jail cells, dreams, fast cars, music, friends- life has never been so simple. Love life and it'll love you back. Let life pass away and it'll let you slip through it's fateful hands.

I don't know why people cling on to life so much if they're not really living. I'm only 15 and I've already experienced more life than they possibly ever will. We're the only slice of the big cake of life with cream and two cherries on top. And if you don't like cream or cherries, then we've got any topping you like. I'm kind of going off the topic but that's OK, right? Life's unpredictable.

You're probably thinking 'hey, why's a teenage hippy girl lecturing me on her philosophies on life?'. Why should you care, eh? Well, we always need new recruits... Just joking! I'm just giving you a taste of what it's like on the Strong Swimmer's side. Then you can choose what end of the beach you want to be in. Make your choice- a strong Swimmer, a Cautious Paddler or a Cowardly Sand Beetle? Maybe I'm biased, but so what? So is everyone else.

Some people throw themselves in at the deep end and get caught under the waves. We, the Strong Swimmers, try to give them swimming lessons but they either don't want them because they're too proud or some just weren't meant to be. Some make it back to shore, some are lost in the crush. You sometimes get tired staying afloat, so that's why we all help each other.

The Ocean of Free Spirits has a different form for each individual. Some, like me, it's running away from home, some it's drugs, some it's just a never-ending party- but the basic form is freedom. What a delicious feeling that nothing or no one owns you and you realise that you own the world. Sticking to the beach theme, the world is your oyster. An oyster filled with all your favourite things.

We don't hurt anyone, we're the joy riders in life's big Cadillac car. Fun, fun fun! So fun, fun, funny! Drifting off the subject... OK, maybe I've exaggerated a bit but it's pretty fun being us. All we do is party! Life is a beach, an oyster, a big party... Life is whatever you want it to be! Life is for living. So when are you gonna take the plunge and start living?

obviously it's a different style to you're writing, but the storyline was too similar so i had to abandon that project. but don't worry because i don't hold a writer's grudge as i enjoyed junk soooo much and i'm glad i got to read it!!!!! i was wondering if you're writing anything at the moment? also, any tips on becoming an author? thank you for being an inspiration and reading this. pleeeease keep writing Demi xxx

Hi Demi - well, sure is a coincidence - your destiny sound sjust like Lily. Well, I wish you well with it. The great thing about writing is, when you've done abook, its something no one else will ever do or could ever do - unique. So I'd v certianly encourage you to finsih your bgokk. The chracter of Lily/Destiny isn;t my possession by any means - I can think of similar characters in ficiotn before I got there myself - who knows, maybe you can add something to it? Tips to be a writer? Keep reading, keep writing .. and don;t give up. If you keep at it you'll get there in the end. Writers need a thick skin - don;t let anyone grind you down. goo dl;uck - Melvin. PS Can I post your email on my website?

I Just want to say brilliant book. Not just the writing style but that it all true. All these things happen all the time in so many cities around the world- and I also write from past experiences(Many). Some people may say good book but if you can relate to it, its scary. Walter Wunderlich

Hi Waler - so glad you approve. Guess you must have bene there in some way yourself, which makes it even nicer to hear. Can I post your email? Best, Melvin

Dear Melvin Burgess,

Im a teenager of 17 and just finished your book Bloodsong. I thought it was the most amazing book i have read in a long time, possibly ever. The entire story retains such a sense of originality from start to finish. I read your book Bloodtide a few years ago and but thought Bloodsong was a even greater achievement. Sigurd and Bryony are so perfect for eachother and yet through events beyond their control they are so destroyed by their own love. At every turn some new horror appears to tear them apart. I was so glad though when Sigurd got his soul back from the wren and he didnt die a clone but then they still could not be together. Sigurd is a bit like a tragic hero; he is a good-hearted man but has a fatal flaw which leads to his downfall. This is even more original however because his flaw is the inabillity to betray which is normally a positive trait. A bit like Macbeth only better.

I was wondering if you as the author meant for the book to have a happy ending where Sigurd and Bryony live together in Heaven/Hel? I tried to explain the plot to my girlfriend but completely lost her. But god i loved your book! Another question I have for you is why your books are so tragic and sad? This is only my humble opinion but you don't seem to follow the usual thread of apprehension and relief that most stories do.

Could you please write back to me and answer my questions??? Please Please?? you are probably very busy but i would really love a response!!

Yours Sincerely Jake Volson

 

Hi jake -

Sorry to take so long in getting back to you - I'm slow but I got there in the end!

I very much appreciated your mail - great to find someone who likes those books so much, since they are my favorite ones - of mine anyway. A lot of people didn't like Bloodsong as much as Bloodtide, so it's nice to hear from you from that point of view as well. In answer to your questions - well, the stories are based on the icelandic Volsunga saga, so it was always going to be an unhappy ending for Sigurd and Bryony. Our pagan ancestors believed that the future was as fixed as the past, and that since you couldn't change the way of anything, all you could do was face it as bravely as you could, and I think Sigurd and Bryony both did that.

As for the sad at the end - I find happy endings just a bit too predictable. I like not to know how something is going to pan out, so realy, some of the book sshould end happy and som esad. But for some reason - I don;t know why - I seem to end up giving my characters a hard time. I suppose it depends why you read. If you read for that feel-good auality, I guess mine aren;t the ones. But you like your feeling sot be pulled around - mine ar the ones for you! tahnks so much for writing to me.

May I put your email up on my website?

Best wishes, Melvin

 

I have just begun my 5th year at secondary school and I have to select a book to do a personal study on. I would quite like to do Billy Elliot, but my teacher has said that you are one of her least favourite authors and that your work is more of an Intermediate 2 level than a Higher level! However, she slightly redeemed herself by saying that she did not know enough about Billy Elliot to pass comment! I just thought I would tell you how my teacher feels and how I disagree with her!!

I think it is fantastic that fans of your work can e-mail you!! It helps to understand a story more if you can correspond with the author too. Anyway, thank you for allowing me to e-mail you!

Rebekah Wright

 

Oh dear - least favorite author! That's a bit dire, isn't it? Wonder what I did - I expect it was Doing It. Well, it's interesting to know there are some people out there who are so down in me!

Tell you what though - there's an email from someone in the USA who had exactly the same attitude and then read one of my other books and changed her mind. Try showing your teacher this - maybe it will open youmind and show her mind! But even if she doesn't convert, thank you so much for writing to me and letting me know that I was your first choise - I'm, very flattered and grateful. May I print your email on my website? Best, Melvin ..

The email I sent rebeka is th eone from Anne Keller, just below ...

Hi Melvin,

I'm a 24 yr old from NYC and I just started getting into reading your work. I wanted to contact you and let you know the fiction you write is very real to me and I can relate to many of the characters and story lines. What got me hooked was "Smack." (i guess thats ironic). Anyway just wanted to say hello. let me know when they make "Smack" into a movie. Also, feel free to keep me updated on any up coming projects, releases or even book signings, things like that.

Thanks -ben garcia nyc.

Hi Ben, thanks for writing, it's much appreciated. I gues the thing about Smack is, it's based on real people, which is one reason why maybe you;ve come across those characters in life. I don;t tend to do email notyifications, but you can often find stuff on my website - see below. As for Smack into a movie, unfortunatley I let the BBC make a show based on the book years ago. They made a poor job of it, really - I don;t supose it'll get over to the US. Best, Melvin. PS - can I post your email on my website, please?

 

Dear Mr. Burgess,

I am a teen librarian in the US. I read a lot of teen lit, and I mean a lot. Check out my site - www.randomreads - .net if you don't believe me.

Anyway, Sara's Face was the first book I have ever read by you. I started reading Doing It a long time ago and was pretty disgusted. I mean I don't get offended by anything in literature, but the beginning was pretty graphic and such which I know is really how teen boys think. I guess there is that line in teen literature where sex is talked about but in such a way that doesn't cross the line. I have even read you wrote it for shock value. Anyway, ever since then I have been sort of put off by your books. I am on a comittee in Michigan where we select an award winner for the Michigan Thumbs Up Award and had to read Sara's Face. Honestly, I would have read it anyway because it sounded really good.

Well, to say it was bloody brilliant would be an understatement. Heat and Sara are two of the most complex characters I have ever come across. I loved loved loved this book. I can't stop thinking about it and in my book (pun intended) this is what are extraordinary books in my opinion. Sure I read good teen books that are well written but easily forgettable.

I am sorry that I misjudged you based on one book which I never even finished reading. I hate people who form opinions based on books that they have only partially read and here I did the same thing. I apologize. If your other books are even half as well written and intriguing as Sara's Face then I am in for some splendid reading.

This book was awesome. Did I already say that. Suspense, complex characters, romance, etc. It had it all. It was eerily fantastic is one way to sum it up.

Anyway, I will be reading all your previous works. I think you are very very talented and will be pushing all your stuff on my teens in the library. Thanks for listening.

Anne Keller

Dear Anne Keller -

Well, what can I say? Thank you so much for writing to me. What they say about one sinner is true - I'm really delightd that you enjoyed Sara's Face so much and, who knows, maybe you'll give some of the other ones a go. It was a hard book to write - I to re-write the whole thing almost, after the first few drafts - but I hope it was worth it in the end.

The whole thing about body image is facinating. The way that thinnness and ill health appear to have become the ideals of beauty, and the way that, although we must live in the age of more beautiful people than ever before, so many girls and women feel ugly and unatractive just amazes me. And the search not for eturnal youth, but the appearence of it ... all interesting stuff.

I got the idea of face transplants from an old french movie called Eyes without a Face, and there was no looking back. Thank's so much for letting me know how much you enjoyed it. As for Doing It .. well, it is true, I must confess, that I enjoy it when my books make a fuss, and I do think shock value can be a good thing, but only when there is something worth making a fuss about. That book did have a purpose. I believe that people are very down on teenage boys in particular, and male sexuality in general. The thing I love so much about books is when you open one up and think to yourself - "this is mine, this is about me!" and it seems almost impossible for teenage boys to get that from a book, because society in general disaprooves of their sexual culture so often, so much. So I wanted to do a book in which boys would recognise themselves, and which would show them - if not all my readers! - that you can have a filthy sense of humour among yourselves without it meaning that you're either sexist or disrepectful to your girlfriend or female friends in general.

I know not everyone finds smut funny, which is of course up to them - but I suppose I think teenage boys get disaprooved of far too much, and have to keep far too much of themselves private for fear of disaproval. I know some people find it hard to imagine, but i found the boys in that book charming - despite the crudeness. I think we need to find the charm in lads that age much more. I don't know how it is in the US, but over here the press is always full of horror stories about teenage boys. People are scared if they see them gathered on a street corner - they seem to think that they're stupid, clumbsy, dangerous and disrespectful. I just don't think we understand them enough, and that we need to find the charm inside the rudeness, maybe.

There, I've gone off on a rant, but it is something that is important to me. Having said that .. maybe it was a mistake putting that chapter right at the start of the book!

Thanks once agian for writing to me. May I have your permisison to put your email up on my wwebsite?

Best wishes, Melvin

 

 

hello! My namne is Amalia. And under if you have inspiration from your life in yours books you have wrotte. I under way you written about drug, abuse and like substance like that? Your books is very good.

Dear amalia

HI Amalia - thank you for writing to me. In answer to your question, some of the books I have written have come from things I have seen, people I have known and places I have lived in, but so far, none of them have been about my own life.

Best wishes, Melvin PS - can I put your emial on my website?

 

HEllo

My name is Stacey. I absolutely loves your book they really capture the heart and souls of REAL!!! teenagers Doing it was one of my Faveorite books because it shows you anything can happen

What i would really like to see is a girls version of doing it! Now that would be very cool lol

Hope you write another book soon Stacey

HI Stacey - thanks for writing. Glad you liked Doing It. It was a hard book>to write for me, but I'm very proud of it, because it's kind of stuff people don't like to talk about teenagers doing.

A girl version? I know, I know, that would be so great. Only thing is - I'm a boy. I love writing for girls and about girls, but to do real live girl sexual culture - I'm not sure.

Best of luck, Melvin. PS - Can I post your email on my website?

 

Couple of readers here want to see Bloodtide and Bloodsong made into movies So do I!

Hi, Recently i was given a copy of your book bloodsong,i saw that it was a sequel so i got myself Bloodtide to read first. What i started to realise quite quickly after starting the first book was how good the story would translate into a film,the imagary your writing creates is quite brilliant in my opinion. The second book would do well as a film too i think although the similarity to lord of the rings would have to be quite closely monitored,any mention of a special ring in any film plot in say the next ten years is going to throw up all kinds of comparisons to Peter Jacksons trilogy,fairly or not. Anyway,i just wondered wether you had anything in the pipeline concerning film adaptations or not? I will be passing my copies on to my partners younger brother,he is of the target age the books are aimed for and i am not,i will be interested to see what he makes of them. Like i say,i enjoyed both books immenseley even though i am older than the target age they were aimed at.

All the best. G.

Hi Graham - thanks for the vote of confidence - it'd be very happy indeed for the Bloods to made into a film or two. Trouble is, it'd have to be a big budget thing. People express interest from time to time but so far, no one's been able to raise the necessary readies. There's some Americans expressed a bit of interest recently - we'll see how that goes. As for the ring - well, Tolkien got the idea of the ring from the Volsunga in the first place, so I can fairly say - this came first! Thanks for reading the book. I have to say, the Bloods in particular get read by people of all ages. Hope your brother enjoys them as much as you did. Can I post your email on my website?

Melvin

Yeah,sure post away.

Tolkien may well have ripped off the ring idea but unfortunately putting in now,after the lord of the rings is so successful i rekon you will be explaining it away for the rest of your days! It would be like being in a one hit wonder band, groundhog day type scenario,nightmare! Yeah,i totally agree that the films would have to be big budget to do the story and scenery justice. Good luck with it, i hope the americans see sense,dont for godsake let them water it down for the masses though like they allways do,i really hate it when they take a good story and spoon feed it to you! God i hate hollywood! What they did to the Hitchikers guide to the galaxy made me feel ill,it was awful!

You should insist that Peter Jackson directs it,see what they say!

Cheers.G

hi

PLEASE MAKE BLOODTIDE INTO A MOVIE! I beg of you to consider making Bloodtide into a movie and im sure that this is not the first email you have recieved about this topic. I read the book a few years ago when i was 13/14 and i loved the graffic imagery and the detailed instie into the characters emotions and i think you could turn it into an epic of a movie, im now 16 and iv started to appreciate books more,for instance i Reread junk recently and i loved it as i am also growing up in Bristol and i could realate to the story as i have seen what heroin does to people around me. Iv just finished reading Bloodtide for the second time and i would love to see a movie of it, i could easily see directors like Zack Snyder,Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez making a master piece of that brilliant book, thank you for your time.

Your Sincerly. Jamie W.

Hi Jamie - well, there's nothing I'd like better than to see Bloodtide and Bloodsong made into movies, but it'snot up to me - the someoine else has to do it, adn so far, no one's been able to find the money, although several people have sniffed around. I was certainly thinking very visually when I wrote those books. But you never know - just at the moment an American production company is thinking about adapting Bloodtide for the Sci-fi channel - watch this space!

Melvin - PS Can I post your email on my website?

 

Here's some correspondence from a reader who wrote snail mail to me - and was very patient! I'm bad at letters - it took me shamefully ages to get back toher! Sorry, Sophie, and thanks for beign so patient.

Hi Sophie - well, it's not often I write a letter and get a response like that - you made my day, too. Yes, it took me ages to get back to you, I feel bad about it but I'm hopeless with letters - I'm getting so used to email, I guess. Glad you liked Doing It - you're right about the ending. I found the ending very hard with that book. I guess it's the kind of story that doesn't end - you just stop writing what the characters are up to. Clockwork Ornage, it's a little masterpiece. No relation! But it's nice you like the same books I do. Glad to hear you've got a little more room - it's ncie to have some private space, eh? Thanks for writing to me and beign so patient about me wriitng back. And good luck with everything! Can I post your email on my website, please? Best, Melvin

Hello, I'm Sophie Meehan (36 bulfin rd, Ireland?)-I wrote you a letter last year and you wrote BACK.......AH!

I couldn't belieeeeeeeeve it! You're so great for writing back to your fans, weely weely weely it meant sooooo much. I didn't have an e-mail adress when I got it but now I have so I thought I say thanks.

Here's my response. I got home from school and wondered why my aunty was writing to me at my dad's adress, cos she's my mam's sister and the writing on the envelope looked like hers. So I sat down on my bed and ripped the top off and dropped it like a hot snot when I saw your name......I never thought you'd write back.........I mean, I understand....cos I'm crap at replying too but...I'd pretty much given up the hope of you writing back, I know you're probably busy. So anyway-I squeeeealed and called my brother upstairs, I couldn't belieeeeeeeve it I was soooooooooo HAPPY! I read it again and again and showed my brother and Dad and I was SHAKING! God, i'm a real geek-but I didn't give a shit, oh wow I was soooo happy! I rang my friend even, and brought in to school the next day to show off *ahem* I mean...SHARE. I wrote you a letter right after I got yours but I decided not to bother you again-it was mostly gushy cries of ecstasy.The letter's still in my locker but somewhat crappised by my schoolbag. But really, it was so great. Ever time I feel poohy I can just have a look at my SPECIAL letter from very SPECIAL you and then I feel all SPECIAL =). Thank you.

Since I wrote that letter; I've moved out of my Mam's room, I'm in my brother's room now he's in New-Zealand, I miss him, but now I can blare The Clash and stay up writing and reading and not have narky little noises from the corner. Aaaaand, I think I was in first year, I'm in second year now, it's oookay. Oh and I read Doing It--another great one, especially the Ben-Ally relationship, how do you make up relationships sooooo complex and yet so believable? My favourite line--(yes I can remember) - "He stroked her head and let her cry". Great book, but the ending was a bit......neat. The last book I read was A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, what is it with Burgesses-they all rokkkk! So that's the third book that has shockied my parents.....poor sods, and I care too....yuk.

Anyway, just thought I'd let you know juuuust how much that meant, you wrote....to...me? =D You're wonderful Melvin, keep writing Xxx Sophie

Hi Sophie - wow, your english teacher is really out of touch with modern teenage fiction. You should get her to read Kevin Brooks, he'll make her scream. gald to have cheered up your day again. Hoep you enjoy your new room and that your dad doesn;t boil over when he sees your brothers tongue piercing! Best, Melvin

 

Yay! You wrote back again! It's just made me a ickle bit happier cos I've had a pretty crappy day I forgot my lunch and I have a sore throat then I borrowed money and bought lozenges but then one of the lozenges broke and stuck in my throat and made it sorer! And then? Maths YIKH! Loooooong day and verrrry boooooring. But getting home to tea, an empty house and an email from yer favourite writer make everything that snipsy bit betta. =) Yeah Doing It was a no-ending story but then, so was junk and loose ends can be good sometimes. I suppose with Junk it had to be fairly loose cos you don't just stop being addicted to heroin like that. Much to the dislike of my English teacher to whom I tried to explain when we were talking about novels "Well that sounds like a cheerful little book!" "NO I'm not the SLIGHTEST bit interested in reading about heroin addicts!" "Well sophie did they get off them in the end?" amid squirmy squirm blush and "kiiiiind of" from me....yaaaar! Ah but it was funny watching her face contort as she asked around the class hearing stories about wizard families whose uncles shoot thier dads and teenage pregnancies etc. etc. Teen books these days! I'm still waiting for Clockwork Orange back from a friend who promised me she'd keep it in the bubble wrap--I just the other day got Doing It back from last year and the staaaate of it!!

Tis nice to have private space yes but I hope my brother moves out when he comes back from NZ cos I am NOT giving up his room. Well he probably will since he has a motorbike now and knows how to cook beans and also, apparently, has a tongue piercing. Dad'll love that!

Don't feel bad about taking ages to write back (I know how you feel-I still have about 20 very dissapointed German penpals around somewhere....) you're absolved. Yeah sure you can post my email on your website-I'd be happy!

Boi boi, Sophie Xx

P.S HAPPY PADDY'S DAY!!!

 

Dear Melvin Burgess, To be quite honnest i wasn't going to write to you because i didn't really know what to say... What do you say to your favourite author? I guess just that i really like your novels and have read almost all of them!! So keep writing!! I saw your live space it's cool!! I'm just creating mine so i'll add you when i'm done if that's ok?

Oh i've just realised that i haven't introduced myself...there's not much to say, i'm just your regular teenage girl i suppose.I started reading your books when i was 12 i think and now i'm 18 and still enjoying what's new! I read sarah's face- it was really good!! I was born in Scotland and grew up there and now i live in france (its been 6 years now). you probably get messages all the time from fans but i still wanted to thank you for your books they got me through some hard times!!

Thanks again!! Adèle Sawers

HI adele - Well, you've travelled a bit, then - very nice to live in both france and scotland, you're the lucky one! Thanks for writing to me about the books, especialy your comments about Sara's Face - it's nice to hear that the new one is going down well. Nice to hear my work's helped through some hard times, too - not too hard, I hope. Thanks for writing and letting me know! Can I post your email on my website, please?

Best wishes, Melvin

 

before i go on about what a cool guy i think you are i just want say that the school you visited on the 24 of jan was called st wilfrids not winifreds as your diary says... lol well i'm the lad who was sat on the front row wiping your spit of my knees. (only jokin) who was bein sarcastic about the days of the week in terms of mythology... well i've started reading doing it and i love it, i find it hard to read non fiction books but this book has been a very good one to start on, so after i've read that i'll read junk. thanks for signing my billy ellliot book, i also love that story as well!! thanks for visiting my school.

jack c :]

l

St Wilfrids! That's completley weird, I was reading Winifrid the whole time - even noticed how odd the spelling of winifred was ... must be more dislexic than I thought. Glad to hear you got a free shower that day. I'm sure you weren't joking. Don't worry, though, I have nothing all that contagious ...

Glad you liked the book, I think it's my best one, although not everyone agrees. You should try Bloodtide if you liked it. Junk's the most popular though. I had a good day at your school - nice library, the staff seemed to like you guys which is iomportant. You go to some schools and you can almost taste the dislike. Anyway, thanks for writing.

Best, Melvin

Hi, I read two of your books and I loved them both. I read Giant and An Angel for May. I like your style. It is very unique. I am glad I found you at my local library. I find your work very strong. I am quite inspired by what you write. I am not a teenager. I'm 35 years old and I live in Montréal, Québec. I was interested in reading pre-adolescent litterature because I would very much like to write myself. I started writing for 6 years old and I think I am ready to send it to a publisher. I am writing to you because I would like a suggestion. What do you suggest to a young writer ? I feel I never work hard enough to obtain what I want from writing. I feel I am never satisfied with my writing. Is it normal ?

I will continue reading your books because I think they are real litterature.

Thank you for reading my letter, merci Mélanie Robert

Hi Melanie, Many thanks for your kind words - it's realy nice to hear from someone from Quebec, I don;t get many letters from there .. although, oddly, I had another one just the other week. The books you mention are interesting - not the ones people usually pick on, so it's particularly nice to hear from someone who like sthem.

As for advice - all I can say is, never give up. In the end, it's the ones who never stop writing who get there in the end, rather than the ones who work the hardest or appear to hav the most talent. Writing is like palying an instrument or learning a language - it's practice that counts. No practise, no success, never mind how talented you are. As for that feeling that no matter ho hard you work you never get what you want ... I don't know how normal it is, everyone feels different - but I do know it's pretty common to feel that way. Gerorge Orwell - I don't know if you know him but he;s one of my big heros - said that he never felt as though he worked hard enough, even when he was writing novels, plus essays, plus journalism as well as editing a magazine all at the same time. Maybe you're just driven. For myself, I think it's possible to take it too seriously. It isn't life, after all, and you have to accept what ever comes along...

Best wishes, Melvin Burgess.

 

hi, my name is Suleyman, i'm Turkish but i live in Montreal,Quebec. I just want to ask you a fewquestions about your book Junk. I don't like to read books, but this one,was awesome. I do drugs, and when i finished the book, i was in chock. I just want to know Gemma was real person and if Nico was you.Because at the end of the book, she survived and not Nico. I even cried at the end. Sorry to bother you with allthose questions, i'm just curious

Thank you for your time.

Suleyman

Bye

Hi Suleyman, Nice to hear from a turkish person - and all the way from Quebec, too. Thanks for writing.

In answer to your question, Gemma was based on a real person - so was Nico, and Lily and Rob and Sally - five friends who got in deeper than they knew how to cope with. I wasn't one of them. I've done a lot things in my life, and some of them have caused me a lot of toruble, but I've managed to avoid both needles and heroin.

Gemma did escape in real life - she's got a good job now and is doing realy well now; Nico, well, he did really well for a well and then it all went wrong. He ended up on alcohol - in a bad way these days I believe. Well, there you go - drugs are fun but they're also a risk, some more than others. As I say, I manged to avoid needles and heroin - they're both complete bastards, they take so much more than they give. Hope you're OK! What sort of drugs do you do? Can I post your email on my website? I can change the name and so on if you like. But don't worry, I won't post anything without your permission. Have a look if you like on the readers page on my website, and see what other people have written..

Thanks Suleyman, and good luck,

Im very glad that you answered me, im suprised. And yes you can put my mail on your website with my name and all. But goddamn, i never thought that you will answer me. I got your mail now because i'm at school and i have no internet at home.

As i said before, i really find your book amazing. I read it in french , and it was so nice. But what i realized at the end, its.. Gemma.. shes very in love with nico , but not Nico anymore. Sincerely, i read this book for a homework. So i took this book and i read it. For the first time i read a book around 1 2 hours.And i saw some critics about your book, and i think they're stupid. To answer your question, i smoke weed, and i pop pills, i tried 2 times to sniff some coke. I'm still smoking, i don't pop pills anymore because i was always puking. My french teacher's always asking me if i want to be a writter, but im not interested. I do rap, i rhyme a lot. I like it. You know , im only 16 years old. When i finish school, i roll up a joint, and i puff it. And when i get home, i rhyme. And you probably wonder why do i smoke? Bleh , not because i wanted to be 'cool' or wtv. Because the pressure is too much so....But i never gave up, no matter what.I tried to stop smoking for 3 months, with no success.Anywayz, i wanna read again one of your books, just advise me one and ill be very glad.

Thank you Suleyman

hit me back

HI Suleyman, Nice to hear from you. Why shouldn't I answer you? I don't get so many that it takes all day and it's nice to hear from people. Anyway, it's only polite to say hi if someone's taken the toruble to write and tell me they like my stuff.

Yeah, you're right about Gemma, she's in love with Tar - Nico - but he's lost. Shame of it was, he was on his way to finding himself before she came aloing and followed him to Bristol ...

Sorry about asking you what you took, it isn't any of my business really - I was just worried you weren't doing any of the dangerous things, although I don' thtink I realy know my way around that sort of stuff any more. I used to think hash was pretty safe, except for the tobacco people smoke with it, which realy is additive and damages your health. I don't smoke everyday but I still have to have a few ciggies when I'm stressed, even though I don't even like the little swines any more! But even hash is so much stronger these days, it does some people's head's in. E's seem abou the least dodgy ones now - but what do I know? Anyway, good luck. Keep rhyming! I think rhymes are just fabulous.

Melvin

 

Hi, I would like to tell you how much I enjoyed reading Sarah's Face. It is the best book I have ever read. I have to be honest my mum bought it me for my birthday and I took one look and thought I will never enjoy that book!!!!!!!!!!! I was sooooooooooo wrong it is amazing and slightly disturbing. So thank you very much for making me realising that I maybe will like things even if I think I wont. Also is it a true story.?

Thank you for your time,

from Antonia

Hi Antonia - well, thanks so much. I'm realy yhappy you got so much out of it. One thing I'm curious about .. what was it that put you off it in the first place? Thanks for writing.

Best wishes, melvin

Hi, The only thing that put me off the book was thepictureon the front!!!! I should know better than to judge a book by its cover!!! Yes you can post the email on the website I would be honoured.

Thank you Antonia.

Hello Melvin!

I'm a 20 year old American who loves your books. I read Smack when I was... hmmmm... 14? And I still read it to this day. I find myself looking for your books and hoping there is a new one in stores! I have an odd attachment to the books Smack and Doing It and actually find myself sad when I reach the end of them, even though I've read both of them a number of times. No matter what age I reach I will always read your books. They feel so real. I agree with the girls' email that's posted on the website, you should definately look into getting Smack/Junk AND Doing It made into a screen play, teenager or not, I know a lot of people that would enjoy it. I wish there were more authors like you or you could write 100 more books so I could forever be entertained..Keep on writing. Seriously. Never, ever stop.

--Mandy

Hi Mandy - Sorry to be so long in getting back to you - I had a very nasty dose of flu that month - then xmas, new year, then I had a lot of publcity to do - I'm just back at me desk this week, really. Delighted to hear you like the books - and still reading them despite your advanced years! There's a couple more coming out this year in the US - keep an eye on the website and I'll post the dates up when I get them. Bloodtide and Bloodsong are very diffent from Smack and Doing It - Sara's Face a bit more like them. Well, it helps to do different things, I guess. Haven't run out of ideas yet, so I won't be stopping very soon.

Thanks for writing - Best wishes, and happy new year - Melvin

Oh yes, all my advanced years!! Feel free to post whatever you want. I have a myspace too, but I guess most people do.. so I'll check your's out. Thanks for replying! It's neat to hear from one of my favorite authors. -Mandy

 

 

Hi Melvin, I don't know if this is the right address to contact you, i hope it is! I'm a bit of a book nerd, and I've recently been reading your book bloodtide, I was given it years ago but just never got round to reading it. I think its an amazing book, really powerful and well written- id be really interested to know your reason for writing it? what was your inspiration? how did you come up with the story?? Its quite disturbing at parts, really violent, and thats what made me interested. I came to a talk you did at a library with my school a couple of years ago, but i'd never really read your stuff before so i wasn't that keen to ask you anything! we might be doing reviews in english lessons soon on novels we've enjoyed, so it'd be great to get a bit of background on bloodtide- like why you wrote it etc. Anyway, if you've got a spare minute i'd be really grateful if you wrote a quick email back!

Thanks a lot

Rebecca

Hi rebecca - Yes, this is the right address. Sorry to have taken so long - I've been getting really behind. Reasons for writing Bloodtide? I read the Volsunga saga when I was a kid, couldn't have been more than 10 or more, and I loved the story ever since. When I became a writer, I knew I had to have a go at re-telling it for a modern audience. I know it's violent in parts, but all old stories are. In fact, a lot of the modern ones are too. I guess it's just such a great story, I couldn't leave it alone ..

Best wishes, Melvin Burgess

Hi, thanks for the reply Ive finished the book now, it was great. though i wanted to know what siggy would do next! And yes thats fine for you to post the email on your website. Thanks again, and good luck with everything!

Becca

Here's a letter from a reader whose email I missed - that is, I answered it but never got round to posting it. It happens! Apologies to Laura and very many thanks to her for her thoughtful letter.

Dear Melvin,

Having just read about your visit to Lowton High School i found it almost impossible not to write to you. I think what that school did was utterly ridiculous, and have lost what would have been a great opportunity for the students at the school.

If im not mistaken, aren't school trying to educate students on drugs and the dangers of drugs? Surely they could see, being english teachers also, that this book highlights what they should be teaching? I feel that 'Junk' lets readers make up their own minds on drugs, it doesn't encourage it at all though i can see why some teachers may feel it does, simply because they can't be bothered to read it! If they looked past the title of the book they would see that along with the style and audience it is directed at it is better at discouraging teenagers from taking drugs then teachers are.

I sincerely hope and doubt that something like this would put you off visiting other schools, Im currently in year 10 at Gordano school, Portishead (near Bristol) where, if im not mistaken 'Junk' is set, im currently reading 'Junk' in my english lessons for the 7th time! I know many people at my school who would benefit so much from your books but have the common attitude of many people my age and claim to not read. I think what Lowton High School missed out on so many other schools could have gained from the same experience.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your many of your books and will continue to do so, keep up the good work! Yours sincerely Laura Lindsay

 

Here's an interesting case going on in the US, from a teacher who wants to remain anonymous. Hopefully I'll hear more. It may be of interest to other US teacher with similar problems.

Mr. Burgess, I am the librarian for a small, rural high school in Virginia (USA). Our school has just received a parental book challenge concerning "Smack". Thank you for providing such a wealth of information concerning yourself on your website. I will support your work to the best of my ability.

Many thanks, - I hope you're able to fend them off. It might be worth pointing out in the eight years since Smack was published (as Junk here in the UK) I've had no emails attacking the book and hundreds from people who have found the book useful in their personal struggles against addiction, or to help them understand friends and relatives who are going through the same kind of thing. Let me know how it goes.

Melvin

Hi Mr Burgess,

I dont know if you remember my email. And i am sorry for emailing you again. I just wanted to tell you that your book "Junk" was my inspiration to start writing my own book. I have not always been interested in English. It was all down to my English teacher in year 8. I now have an A and a B in my English GCSE. I am studying English Language as an A Level, and i am really enjoying it. Anyway, I love all your books, and your style of writing is so amazing. My book, is about 4 friends. I have called it SLAK, named after the 4 characters in my book. I have based them on people i know, did you do this for any of your books? If you have time, it would make me smile if you could reply.

Thank-you.

Hi Gemma - sorry not to get back - I've had the flu. I;ve been ill in bed for a week - yuk! Really horirble ...

I'm delighted to hear that ytou write yourself, and that you did so well in your gcses. well done you! I did really baddly at mine .. I was away with the fairies half the time. And of course, hugely lazy ... As it happens, the characters in Junk are based on real people .. Gemma , Tar, lily, rob and Sally are all base don real people, who I knew in Bristol. Good luck with your work - and a happy christmas! Melvin

 

Hi!

I wrote to you while ago, my names Kitty, and i just wanted to say, my M.E relapsed badly a while ago, for some of it i couldnt read, but when i could your books totally got me through! I read , Sarahs Face, Baby and Fly Pie, Doing It, Bloodtide and Bloodsong, and there are really totally amazing! Its so nice to get into a book thats not Disney like!

xxx Kitty xxx

Hiya Kitty,

yes I remember. Crikey, that sounds grim - not even being able to read! I had flu over christmas - a very-pale illness beside yours but it was really vile, and I couldn't read either. Mind you, I didn't care - I was just lying in bed, steaming away like a nicee piece of cod on the cooker. What did you do, watch films? Listen to audio books - or are you just so out of it you don't care?

But I'm delighted that my books helped your through. Disney they're not! And thanks so much for telling me about it ...

Best wishes - hope you have a fabulous 2007 - Melvin

 

A correspondence here with an American reader who's going through some difficult problems with someone else, and doing his best to help. Well done, Ben - I realy hope it all works out.

I just ended my addiction of reading “smack”. Ha I have never touched H in my life, but I have a girlfriend who has done quite the rounds with it. And is stumbling in trying to come off Oc. (oxy cotin). But however, I just wanted to let you know. I feel as if just reading that book gave me an insight feeling into how my life is right now.

In a way I feel a whole lot like tar, in the beginning. I am glad I definitely read this, and I must say I am no clean child. But knowing where I am and where I want to be in my life is great to hear after something like that.

I just wanted to let you know, you have a way with words that make you feel the situation, and honestly realize what the hell is going on with yourself. No matter if you use don’t use, have used other drugs… etc.

I hope to hear a response to you, but if I don’t I understand. If I do maybe you can give me a suggestion on how to help my girl out. She is really struggling and wants to be done with it. God bless

Hi Ben, wow that sounds hard, for both of you. Hope you make it through, it's so often that relationships don't survive this sort of thing. Often, the hardest time is when someone gets finally clean.

As for your girlfriend, well, if she realy wants to come off, that's the first step. It takes a long time before someone wants to come off body and soul -and you do have to want to come off body and soul before you can. I don;t know what this oxy is like - I know people are trying it - hopefuly it doens't have the awful withdrawal symptoms of methadone. I don't know if I can offer any real advise, except to say that those who realy want to, do come off - and the more things you have in your life around you, the better the chnaces are of making it. Good luck to you both!

Melvin

Thanks for the reply Melvin. I definitely appreciate your advice. I understand its going to be rough and often times it doesn’t work out. But I really hope it does, and I am going to try my hardest to see that it does.

Yeah she has told me she wants to but she feels the need to have to be on something. She has been prescribed anti-anxiety pills and medications for 5 years now. And Oxy Cotin is just one of the many things that can fill her satisfaction. I myself find it not the great haha. I don’t personally like it. But I have watched many people ruin there life off of it. Here in Utah this guy the other day robbed like 10 pharmacies at gunpoint for oxy. Its insane Melvin.

As to the more things in your life. My girl was saying something about that exact thing last night. It sounds like she has it figured out and wants to change. It just getting to those steps and making it final. I know coming off any drug can be hard. I mean It took me awhile to be mentally able to stop smoking pot for awhile, and shit that’s nothing compared to H. SO I can see where she is coming from. You have my permission to post my email for sure dude. Do you know of any out-patient therapy sessions that are helpful in the u.s.? or any general help I can look to for her? IF you do that would be absolutely awesome.

And I am having her read smack. She is almost done with it and by the time she finishes I hope she will have learned a great deal. I know I did.

 

Hi Melvin

I am doing an English PGCE at xxxr at the moment, and we have to do a collage of a children's lit book.

Unlike most people on my course, I think "Doing It" is a brilliant book to get disaffected teenage boys into reading, so I have chosen your book for my montage to illustrate the complexity of the issues that are within it. I was disappointed that the book was presented to us as if it were a load of shagging stories and a vague storyline about a boy whose mates were doing it but he wasn't. Having read "Junk", I knew there must be more to it than that, and was pleased to be proved right after reading it. If you would like a photo of my collage I will be happy to send it to you. Any suggestions would also be gratefully received as I am still in the planning stage.

Rest assured that your book will be recommended to the next generation in my classes (although perhaps with parental consent!). Kind regards Kathrine Bacon

Hi Katherine - well, well, there you go - I thought people had cottoned on about that book by now. I wonder if they've read the thing at all?

Just had an email from a woman who got chucked out of her coffee morning for> discussing Junk with her daughter ..(see letter below) maybe things are getting worse out there!

I did Doing It exactly becaue I felt that boys weren't getting a fair crack of the whip - it's sad that people still think that if it's rude it> must be cheap - can't see the boys for the wood, so to speak ...

I'd love to see your collage. I could perhaps put it up on my web - that'd be nice.

Thanks for geting in touch.

Best, Melvin

(I should add I just had another email from someone at the same university, complaining about the same thing. Is it time to NAME AND SHAME?)

 

Here's a fantastic letter from Shelly, who has been dismissed from her coffee circle for discussing my bok with her child. Those of you who live in SW14 need to move at once, before they get you, too ...

Melvin,

I am a 36 year old mother of two young kids studying for a MA in children's literature. I was really shocked that you were dismissed from Lowther school. Reading Junk allowed me to reconnect with my own youth and the issues surrounding young people. My eight year old daughter wanted to know what the book was all about so we discussed it. She wanted honest answers. I admitted discussing your book with my daughter to other mothers. I could not believe the response I got. The coffee morning mafia have finally dismissed me...I can't thank you enough!!

Adults are very frightened that young people reading your material will amount to a loss of innocence. However, I think it is a case of catharsis, not mimesis, but what the hell do I know!

Shelley

My god - expelled from the coffee morning! I'm truly amazed. What sort of a coffee morning is that? I can only say you obviously din;t belong there, but it's their loss. Do you know if any of them had read the book? I usually find the answer is no, but I'm intrigued by people who've read it and still think it's poisonous ... strange. I never meet these people - they're like unicorns to me, I only ever get to hear about them ... Thanks for letting me know about it. Can I put your letter up on the web site? It's a real beauty, I;d love to headline it ... Thanks so much for making me smile!

Melvin

I studied classics at university and some ancient literature is x-rated...nothing could shock me!! My problem is that I come from a lower working class background and say what I think. The middle classes in the posh part of London where I live just don't get me! I forgot to say that mothers around (SW14) here do not and would not read your material...no offence! Go and find some poetry by Cattullus before Augustan censorship - it is outrageously rude...makes you look tame!

Shelly

Reminds me of someone actualy giving a name to the technique in Doing It of having someone talk to his own penis, taken from something Roman - maybe the very stuff you were refering to. I shall certianly go out and get some Cattullus - it souinds great. Maybe I can pick up a few tips, so to speak. Melvin

Dear Mr Burgess,

I literally just finished reading Bloodsong. It is the most amazing book I have ever read, I thought Bloodtide was brilliant and Bloodsong is WOW! I felt like I was there in the story I love all of your books and I am trying to get them all, last week my mum brought me four of your books and I read them all in a week I just could not put them down! Bloodsong is just indescribable I have never read anything as good as that. I read Sara's face last week and I have not been able to get it out of my head it was truly brilliant! I think I might have to go and read it again now! :) Your books are so unique, they don't stereotype teenagers which is makes a really nice change.Please please keep writting for ages and ages! I really want to be a writer and I hope that I can be half as good as you are. Your books have made a real impact on my life. Thank you for reading this

Abi aged 15 xx

Hi Abi - well, that's high praise indeed. Bloodtide and Bloodsong are my favorities of my books - I read the story of the Volsungs when I was young and it's stayed with me always, I always wanted to do it in some form or other, so it's real pleasure to hear that you enjoyed it so much. Thanks.

Good luck with your own writing. Sure you can be as good as me, why not? And do';t try to be as good as me - try to be better! Why not?

Thanks again, Melvin

 

I had a trip to Portugal with the British Council last week -had a great time, enjoying Lisbon and Porto, enjoying the lovely Portuguese food, drinking the wine and meeting some interesting people. Also, giving some talks at schools, where I was most impresed by both students and teachers.

Here's a letter from one student, writing to me before I left ...

Dear Mr. Melvin Burgess,

You are coming to my school, St.Julian’s, next week. However you're only being interviewed by the IB students. My teacher has sent you an e-mail previously, and she has told you how disappointed we, Year 9s are that we will not be able to attend this interview as we are "too young". I have read a book of yours, ‘Junk/Smack’, and found it truly remarkable. I loved the way you explained the 'journey' the teenagers went through by including details, yet not too many. It is definitely the best book I have ever read. I obviously take into consideration that teachers believe it is not for our age as it talks about drugs and a lot more. Nevertheless, I'm getting a short letter from my mother to assure them they are all right with me reading these books, and will try to allow me and some friends to converse to you as well. Thank you for coming to our school, and I hope your books continue as extraordinary as the rest.

Yours Sincerely, Mariana Carvalho. P.S. I'm currently about to read 'Lady: My Life as a Bitch'

Dear Melvin

Firstly I would just like to say "thank you". A few months ago a friend gave me a copy of The Baby and Fly Pie. It wasn't until I went camping with my daughter and partner that I remembered the book. I have always encouraged my daughter (8 years old) to read but have never found the time myself. Anyway, I packed the book and started to read it in the car and found that I could not put it down, I needed to know what happened. Usually I am the one in the family who insists that we "do something" but to their amazement I wanted to sit and read the book to the end pausing only to explain what was happening. It was fantastic. Great ending, breath book. I have since read Junk and The ghost behind the wall and starting to read The earth giant.

I noticed on your website that there is a stage version of The baby and fly pie. Could you give me any information regarding how I could get a copy. Hope to hear from you soon and thank you for your time.

Many thanks Rachael Morton Riley

Hi rachel,

Well, many thanks for your very warm letter - I'm so glad you liked Baby so well. It's an old one, but one of my favorites of my books. And you liked the ending! That's great - I got into some trouble because of that. The thing was, the book cam eout of stories about the Death Squads in Bolivia, where they shoot street kids, and I felt it was one of those situations, like world war one, where you just can;t have a happy ending - it's an insult to al the people who have and will lose their lives. So I'm particularly glad you like dthe ending ...

As for the play, yes, they did an excellent job. I don't know if the script is available - I know it was for a while. I'll make enquries with the writer, but you might want to sniff around at the Royal exchange, who did the production. http://www.royalexchange.co.uk/new/home.asp

Had a quick look myself, couldn't see anything. I know they were offering it ... I'll get in touch with Lavinia, anyway. Thanks so much for writing - much appreciated. Can I post your email on my site?

Thanks, Melvin Burgess

 

Dear Mr Burgess I have just finished 'junk' and have read 'bloodtide,bloodsong and lady:my life as a bitch' and i have to say 'junk' really touched me. I felt so sorry for Gemma having to become a prostitute and on Tar in letting her do it and the pain all the characters went through and it has really changed my mind about teenagers stuck on drugs and how helpless they are! I've never tried drugs and after reading junk i won't be! You really show how they ruin lives so blatantly and destroy a person. Did you have to meet actual junkies to do the book and other heroin addicts? Why did you pick the dandelion as there are much prettier wild flowers does it have a special meaning? and is there anywhere these poor kids can actually go to get help? I couldn't imagine being in that situation but you portray a horrendous journey that many teenagers go through and if more schools read junk i'm sure it would warn them all off drugs forever it certainly did me! I just have to say I love Lady my life as a bitch as well I picked it up from the library just for a quick read and i loved it! it was soo funny as i know so many girls who are like sandra who are a bit slutty and have no regard to anyone else it would be nice if they all turned into dogs as well! Also I loved bloodsong and bloodtide as i love mythology especially greek and i love how you intertwine it to a story! I'm trying to write a book as i've just finished school and have 3 wonderful months off and need something to occupy me or i will go mad! I have bits of stories and desriptions all in the back of my wardrobe and I get little ideas but I read through them and they seem really stupid like typical teenager writing. Anyway i'm going to bug my librarians to order all your books as I want to read them all and i'll be ebaying the junk series as i haven't seen it and im sure its very good! Good luck with all your writing!

lots of love from Louisa aged 16 xxxxxx

HI louisa - first of sll, sorry to ahve taken so long to answer your email. It came just before i went away for a long holiday and I have to admit it got stacked up under a load of other emails - I got it this morning becaue I'm going through looking for missed bits and pieces! Such a lovely letter as well ...

I'm delighted you enjoyed Junk so much, and thanks so much for telling me .. In answer to your question, I did know some junkies. My brother had a drugs problem and I lived in Bristol for a number of years. I picked the dandilion because, well, aactually it is a very pretty flower indeed - the most yellow of all wildflowers, and in it's season it appears in such glorious profession. And yet it's regarded as such a common weed that people hardly ever take the time to look closely at it. You look at a verge or a field full of dandlions next spring, and you'll what I mean.

There are charities that give good drugs advice. There are some charities named on my website, on the first page a bit of the way down under the heading, drtug's adviuce. As for actualy places to go for help, there are such places, although of course far to few of them. I think they're organised locally. And you liked Lady as well! - that's grat. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I realy like that one ... Thanks again, Melvin.

Dear Mr Burgess of course you can post my email on your website i'm very happy you want to put it on your website! I recently saw a field full of dandelions and it took my breath away I immediately thought of junk and realised maybe that was why you chose the dandelion and I wasn't far off! I must say though the people who don't like lady are mad I adored it I love the way you keep writing regardless of what the snobby people who want every book sugar coated for teenagers but you say how it really is! I'm so sorry that your brother had a drugs problem thats so sad! You've inspired me for my english AS coursework we have to write a short story and I am thinking of doing it on a drugs realated story but from the point of view of a girl. I really wish people would make your book more widespread to help with drugs as today I heard this girl who is 16 and had a baby a few months back asking another girl for weed but she has a nice family life but I can understand her need to get away from it all but if someone promoted your book more I think it would help teens like her to realise life worth living for you really made me see that so thank you!

love from louisa xxxxxxxxxxx

Hello,

My name is Keiara P. Smack was the first book I have ever read by you and the ending literally brought me to tears I read the book in the same day I bought it and that was only one day it was a great book. I know this sounds crazy but will you please make up or tell me that tar and Gemma got back together.I can't live with out knowing it's been a whole two weeks and that's all I can think about is what happens next. This the only book that's really made me have real emotion and cry. You are an amazing author lease tell me what happens next even if there wasn't meant to be an ending It would really mean a lot. Thank you.

Hi Keiara, Sorry I've taken so long in writing back - I've been away on holiday and only got back yesterday. Gosh, the book really got to you? I hope you haven't been spending too many sleepless nights over it. Your request is a very difficult one for me to deal with, because the book is based on real people. The whole point was to keep it as true to life as I could, so it goes very much against the grain to to go against what really happened. It's becaue the book is authentic, that gives it much of it's strength.

Gemma is very much based on a girl I knew in Bristol at that time. Tar is a bit more of an invention - he's based partly on own brother, who had a heroin problem, and partly on Gemma's real-life boyfriend. Unfrotunately, it happened between them just as I wrote it - they never did get together again. The thing is, relationships based on drugs often happen like that - once the drug is taken away, the relationship falls to pieces, because it was based on drugs, and not, in the end, on real love. Exactly the same thing happened to Lily and Rob in real life too - once they got clean, their relationship just stopped dead in it's tracks.

I can tell you that Gema went on to have a good life, although Tar, poor lad fell on hard times. He met someone he loved very much and they had children and lived togehter a long time, but his old problems caught up with him - addiction; not to heroin, but to alcohol, and at the moment, he's in a bad way. Sorry! I wish I could make you happy, but the book is about real things and although real life can be just fantastic, in this case, it has it's bad side ... Sorry to disapoint you - Melvin

 

Mr Burgess, The other day I was looking around Borders when the cover for “Sara’s Face” caught my attention. . .it’s such a crazy picture! Hah. Bit creepy but really captivating. So yes, I bought it and read it - it was fabulous. I really felt a connection to Sara’s character. I have self loathing problems, and the mentality of someone with an eating disorder, and it’s an utterly crappy thing to suffer from to be honest, but it was amazing to read about something that had a serious substantial flavour of what it’s really like. So thank you for that.

Furthermore, I went on to buy “Junk” and “Bloodtide” - I finished “junk” in three hours - I’m a fast reader =] - and will begin “Bloodtide” as soon as possible. “Junk” was such a breath of fresh air to read. I loved it because of the many different points of view you included. The way you showed that just because you’re in a squat or taking drugs doesn’t mean you don’t want to, or can’t eventually, help yourself and turn your life around. I adored your Lily character, she was divine to read about; I demand to play her should this ever go to stage! - unless it’s already on stage at which I shall dream of playing her instead! Hah. She really was an intricate piece of work; very tragic too, leaving home at twelve - I think that’s correct - and becoming who she was. Though it was clear she lived in fantasy to perhaps hide the reality from herself.

You have fast become one of my favourite authors and I intend to go out and buy many more of your works. The way you weave your words is in a very real, unguilded way. . .and I respect the way you do not sugar-coat some of the issues you address in your literacy. Your books have inspired my muse to start me writing more of my original works too, which I thank you for. Adoring your manipulation of the English language,

Natasha O’Neill x

Hi Natasha, Always lovely to hear that my work has got someone trying it themselves. Writing - it's the best thing! My favorite bit is whenm you;ve got it all down and are gong through it, polishing it up and makign it just right ...

Many thanks for your kind words about sara's face. I find the hwole thing about beauity in this day and age facinating - so many people feel ugly, so many people feel inadequate, and yet from outside they seem to be gorgeous and clever and on top of things. Why is that? There must be something wrong with society that we can't hardley see ...

Anyway, I'm glad you're writing and reading and thinking. From your letter you come across as someone worth knowing,that's all I can say. Hope you get on with Blodtide as well as with Junk and Sara's Face. Best wishes and good luck, Melvin

Melvin, Thank you for the response. And just to let you know, I’m very much in the thicket of planning my writing at the moment, and just bursting with ideas. . .so I can not wait to have it all ready to begin writing properly.

Also for my Birthday I received “Lady” and “Doing it”; I haven’t yet read “Doing It” but “Lady” was interesting, to say the least! Very raw and course and brusque, but utterly wonderful. It was sort of strange to see the main character flip from Sandy to Lady, one minute wanting family the next not ect. But it really showed us how Sandy was becoming more lost, the fact that her visits became more sporadic towards the end of the book. This made me wonder if it was her choice to consume herself as Lady at the end or it was coercion from her canine alter ego, as it were.

Anyway, as soon as “Doing It” arrives I shall read it; I’m very intrigued by the amount of ripples it caused in the media, as well as, “Burning Issy” -- I do like it when things cause controversy in this world and make people sit up and use their brain functions for once.

Oh yes, and society is one of the most crushing and powerful forces in the world, media and majority nearly always on it’s side; be thin, be curvy, be tall, be short, wear red, don’t talk too loud, don’t laugh so raucously, blah, blah, blah. Ridiculous pressures.

Anyway - I didn’t mean to nearly write an essay type of response - of course these can go on your site. Good Luck with your Muse, Inspirations and Talent,

Natasha x

Well, all I can say about society is - just pick the bits you like whenever you can and deal with the rest as gracefully as you can, and if you can;t just laugh. It isn't a package, after all, but we can't pick and choose as much as we'd like.

Good luck with your own writing! and keep laughing. Melvin

 

Dear Mr Burgess, When i first read Junk i was about nine and i took so much comfort from knowing that people had seen what i'd seen and experienced what i felt i would unquestionably later experience,and even now just knowing that it exists makes me feel better about myself

. p.s.i always loved dandelions

 

dear Lima -

That's a very touching email. Thank you so much for letting me know how you feel. It's a bit of cliche to say it make sit all worthwhile, but honestly, it really does. Will you tell me - have you managed to avoid experinecing those things yourself so far ...?

I agree about dandlions. People overlook them because they're so common, but I think they're the most beautiful of all our wildflowers. So yellow! Even more yellow than daffodils.

 

Best wishes, Melvin.

Melvin, Thank you for the response. And just to let you know, I’m very much in the thicket of planning my writing at the moment, and just bursting with ideas. . .so I can not wait to have it all ready to begin writing properly. Also for my Birthday I received “Lady” and “Doing it”; I haven’t yet read “Doing It” but “Lady” was interesting, to say the least! Very raw and course and brusque, but utterly wonderful. It was sort of strange to see the main character flip from Sandy to Lady, one minute wanting family the next not ect. But it really showed us how Sandy was becoming more lost, the fact that her visits became more sporadic towards the end of the book. This made me wonder if it was her choice to consume herself as Lady at the end or it was coercion from her canine alter ego, as it were =P Anyway, as soon as “Doing It” arrives I shall read it; I’m very intrigued by the amount of ripples it caused in the media, as well as, “Burning Issy” -- I do like it when things cause controversy in this world and make people sit up and use their brain functions for once. Oh yes, and society is one of the most crushing and powerful forces in the world, media and majority nearly always on it’s side; be thin, be curvy, be tall, be short, wear red, don’t talk too loud, don’t laugh so raucously, blah, blah, blah. Ridiculous pressures. =] Anyway - I didn’t mean to nearly write an essay type of response =/ - of course these can go on your site. Good Luck with your Muse, Inspirations and Talent, Natasha x -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Melvin Burgess" To: "-xTasha O'Neill" Subject: Re: Fan Mail =] Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2006 08:00:39 +0100 Hi Natasha, Always lovely to hear that my work has got someone trying it themselves. Writing - it's the best thing! My favorite bit is whenm you;ve got it all down and are gong through it, polishing it up and makign it just right ... Many thanks for your kind words about sara's face. I find the hwole thing about beauity in this day and age facinating - so many people feel ugly, so many people feel inadequate, and yet from outside they seem to be gorgeous adn clever and on top of things. Whyt is that? There must be something wrong with society that we can;t hardely see ... Anyway, I;'m glad you're writing and reading and thinking. From your letter you come across as someone worth knowing,that's all I can say. Hope you get oin with Blodtide as well as with Junk and Sara's Face. Best wishes and good luck, Melvi.

 

Dear Melvin,so far i believe i've avoided experiences where the dangers vastly out-weigh the benefits,but at the same time i don't think i'll ever lead a completely normal life,i don't think i really want to.And of course you can post my email.

... and by the way, Lima, on an entirely different, writerly note - that's a very beautiful sentance you composed there.

Thank you,i'm glad you liked it,it took me fifteen minutes to get right,and it's a very big compliment. p.s.I don't mean to pry,but are you mourning Syd Barrett too?

Yes, I'm mourning Syd Barrett. He wrote the Bicycle Song .. you know, I've got a bike you can ride it if you like ... a real one off. Such a shame what happened to him. Too much acid, they say, although I think he must have been on that road anyway, to some degree. I just love the simplicity of his songs.

Glad to hear you're doing well. Not normal and safge sounds pretty good - and a few risks besides! Do you write? You have a great sense of rhythm in your prose. Melvin

 

Hello, I' ve read your books "Junk", "Doing it", "Billy Elliot" and "Verdammt nah dran" (I'm sorry but I don't know the English title because I'm German). Well, I only want to thank you for writing those fantastic books... Those books especially "Junk" helped me to tolerate people...I don't have any prejudices now because after reading your books it's easier for me to understand some problems.

Well, I hope you can understand what I mean although my English isn't good. So the last thing I want to say is, that I hope you will write a lot of books in the future!

Hi karina - Grat to hear from you, I don't get so many letters from germany. I certainly understand what you mean - your English is actually very good, your meaning comes across beautifully. I'm specialy pleased to learn that you got so much from the books.

Best wishes, Melvin Burgess

xxx Karina (15) from germany

Hi thank you so much for answering my email. I'm not sure what "post your email mean". But if it mean that you want to put the email on your homepage or somewhere else it's ok...you can certainly put it there.

By the way, I've presented "Junk" in my class and the other students sayed that they think you are a very good writer because you say erverything how it is...maybe that is interessting for you...

xxx Karina

 

Dear Mr. Burgess,

My name is Zoe Hallam and I am 15 years old

Recently, I've been studying you novel, "Kite" and I found it an extremely interesting subject. I was just wondering if red kites are a subject close to your heart? You seem to know a lot about them and the way you portray Teresa is very passionate. Are you an ornithologist? Or was it a genuinely random decision?

Please reply, as this question has been bothering me! Many thanks, Zoe

HI Zoe -

Well, I was very keen on al things to do with nature whern I was younger - still am, actually. Kites were fabulous things since at the time there were only a tiny handful left, living in a secret place in mid-wales. They were on thevery edge of extinction for years and years, and they wer ein my mind like fabulous animals, like uinicorms or griffons. I couldn't imagine actualy seing one ....

So I'm not an ornithologist .. just a bit of nature lover.

Best wishes, Melvin

 

Here's a nice letter from my old english teacher, Stella Stafford. Mrs Stafford was one of the very first people to like my stories, and she showed me a huge enthusiasm for them at a time when I was feeling very low about being good at anything. It was after her lessons that I first started to want to be a writer, and for that I'll always be grateful to her. Overall, school wasn't something I enjoyed very much, but there were one or two peole who helped me on my way. Top of that list is Mrs Stafford, as I shall always think of her - a marvellous teacher, who performed the marvellous trick of pulling me out of a hole and making me feel good about myself. Magic!

Dear Melvin,

What a coincidence! I just happened to be listening to the radio last night when who should be being interviewed but your good self ! I had already read a very complimentary review of your latest book on Saturday so was a little familiar with the theme. However, it was somewhat unnerving suddenly to hear one being directly spoken to through the medium of radio (Hi, Stella!) in the middle of a programme!

Thank you so much for the acknowledgement and flattering words. Most gratifying.

I'm so pleased that you're doing so well.I'm most envious of your imaginative powers and your ability to manipulate language so confidently and successfully.

Although I retired from Maiden Erlegh nearly 5 years ago I still go in on a regular basis to do supply(in fact I'm going in after I've finished this. I think I'll soon be the oldest practising teacher in the country!)

Again, many, many congratulations on your continued success and I hope "Sara's Face" brings you even more accolades. With sincere good wishes, Stella Stafford

Hi Stella!

How nice to hear from you. Well, you know, it's always a pleasure to give thanks where it's due, and you'll be pleased to hear that I often mention your name when people are asking me how I became a wroter and that sort of thing. I usualy contrast it with another teacher I had at my prvious school - I only went to Maiden Erliegh in Year 8 - 2nd year then, wasn't it - and the previous place had been a real beast of a Secondary Modern.

So - still teaching after all these years. And still inspiring would be writers, I'm sure. I can still remember how much you lik dmy stories. I can even remember one of them - somethign about a horse who had his eye out with the whip and ended his days in misery. See, I liked unhappy endings even then.

How's things with you? All well, I hope. Thanks for you good wishes for Sara's Face - let me know where to send it and I'll post you a copy. Oh - and can I post your email on my web site? I'm sure peole will be ever so curious to read it! Very best wishes - and very many thanks yet again - Melvinx

Dear Melvin, Thanks for such a prompt response. Of course you may use my message if you feel it's appropriate and it could help you.

I was telling a year 8 class this p.m. about my uncanny listening experience last night re your interview...but it says a lot about today's new generation in that they didn't believe a word!! So trying to expand my reputation by proxy failed dismally.Such cynicism!

Kind regards, Stella

HI Stella - well, you'll be able to tell the Year 8's to look on my website and they'll see your letter! What can I say? Keep up the good work! You really made a difference to this child at least.

Oh, by the way ... I didn't get all that many qualifications at Maiden Erligh, but I'm getting an honary doctorate tomorrow, from Bolton Uni. Strange old life. I always suspected if I sat on my arse long enough, someone would give me a qualifiaction after all

Best wishes, Melvin

Dear Melvin.

I know i'm very young to have read Junk(12) but i do have reading/mental age of 16! I have M.E and that mean i have irregular sleep patterns. So i was up at about half one and turned on the t.v and Junk came on the screen. I watched it all and it was amazing. I loved it. I must have been 11 then, but i did understand everything prefectly. My mum has nothing against me reading/ watching stuff like that. I only discoverd it was a book two or three months later. I turned over every book shelf in my library to find it. And when i did. Oh my godness. It rocks!! I'm sorry i can't put it into more describing words. It was totally amazing. I know you didn't like the tv series much. But i thought that was good too. But the book. I rented it nearly 7 times before the told me to buy my own. Which of course i did!! If you were to reply to me. Then i wouldn't get the reply as i can only send emals. I can't recive. But if you printed it up on your Readers Comments, then i could see. (not trying to black mail you, sorry if i sounded a bit pushy!) You can print it up if u want tho, that wud be cool! I was wondering, can i get hold of a copy of Junk the tv version? Because i was half asleep at the time i watched it! Also, did people ever say bad things to you because you were writing about such a dark subject?

xxxxxxxxx I have to be ur biggest fan!xxxx Kitty

Hi Kitty - well, it's very nice to hear from you - of course I'm always delighted