Holly Weatherby and the Enchanted House

Wonderful! Simply wonderful and backed - where were these books when I was a kid?? You have an incrdible imagination along the lines of the likes of CS Lewis and R. Dahl! Superb and BACKED 100%

Liz
The Cheech Room

From the very beginning you had me with this story. I love this style. I love the quirkiness. I can just imagine how this would turn out as a movie, and the set would be really awesome. I love the idea of the pink and blue side to the house. I have only read one and a half chapters and can't wait to finish reading this book! The funny thing is, you know what first got me to read the book? The cover art.

Totally backed!

Kathryn Roberts
FATE

BACKED

I get very little from comments about my own book, nowadays. Some people like it, some don't. Some people are too frightened to leave genuine feedback, while others seek to enforce their own style upon me. I want to get to the Ed's Desk to get professional comment. I would rather spend 30 quid than do all this reading and backing. I have got everything I want out of Authonomy community already. So I am backing your book so that you can reach the Ed's desk and get professional feedback, instead of the platitudes and devious backings that account for 80% of backing you receive. Only 20% of comments are genuine, and will add value to your work.

Now, who am I not to back you? I am not godlike. Your work might be flatly written, unoriginal or even down right bad. It could be wonderful. But in my experience, only you can be honest with yourself about your writing... and that is what matters.

So, I am backing you so you can reach the Ed's desk.


There you are.

BACKED
Hope you reciprocate.

This rolled up on the home page and the pitch caught my eye. I flipped through it just for fun (for some reason I liked your chapter 5, particularly the dialogue at the end which seemed perfect for the character). You're not actively here currently so I suspect what is posted here is under revision, so I won't leave detailed crit -- but sometimes it's just nice to know that someone read and enjoyed. I did. Happy holidays to you.

Hey Mike! :) I think this is a charming delightful little story and I'm more than happy to put in on my shelf. I thought the opening was pretty good though maybe just in one or two places the pace slips up a little bit, but overall a very nice job indeed! :)

I can see why this won an award. It's imaginative with creative creatures. It's clever how Snitch can be upset easily, something kids with younger siblings will be able to relate to.

Mike,
This is a lovely children's book. I got caught from the very first sentence. You right well and the story is really catching. Wish you all the best. Shelved.
Nillan
Blue-eyed in Luhya-land (if you haven't read it yet, please check it out)

I think grade school children will really be taken by this book! I bet Junior High kids would enjoy it too.
Well done! Backing.

Camille
The Hobble Knobble Gobble Tree (a children's fantasy)

Hi Mike
This is an beautiful story. I started out planning to read three chapters but ended up reading them all. My eight year old would gobble this up. As I was reading it, it was playing out in my head like a movie. I really, really enjoyed it. Well done.
All the very best.
Leigh Fallon
The Carrier of the Mark

Holly Weatherby and the Enchanted House seems well targeted at the children's market in content, style and choice of language, so I'm sure it will do well; even I was enjoying Holly's life at the two-sided number 11, though don't let my fellow thriller writers know! The acid test is whether my grandchildren would like it and would I buy it for them - Yes; Backed!

Wow, Mister Mike. A wonderfully magical story. One of the best childrens books I've seen yet. This is one that will stay on my WL for a long time, so that I may return to it to read more (after shelving it, of course).
You are on your way, I think.
Best,
Leslie Tall Manning
"Knock'n on Wood"

Holly Weatherby and The Enchanted House is a sweet tale. Opening on the confused postman is a skilled stroke which points at the fantasy world to follow.

An address in the middle of a field fits perfectly with the themes of the book, with one foot in the real world and the other deep in quite another.

Enchanting.

This is great a really fun read. I am sure it would delight children. I really warmed to Holly and would love to read more. It is very well written and I hope you get published.

Hi Mike, this is brilliant. I don't know what it is exactly ,but I just felt so engaged with Holly, the postman, even the wretched stuffed toy - pony, and the little touches like Holly not understanding why her mother cried when she was happy, because she only cries when she's sad, just make this so real. Warm, realistic, funny and I'm sure spot on for your target market. I really hope you get this published soon. Shelved with pleasure.

The website is now acting up and I cannot read any book. I'll try to swing by later to comment what you have posted. Meanwhile, I am SHELVING this effort. If you get the chance when the website is working again, would love your comments on my book, but this is not a awap read agreement so it's NOT mandatory, NOT even your backing is required. Just read mine at your leisure and you DON'T even have to comment if you don't want to in the end. But you do now have my backing with a high TSR and that's what counts to get you moving up the food chain here. Good luck, mate. Cheers!

JC
The Obergemau File

This is really really clever. It's quirky and funny and smart and sassy but it also gently shows it's okay to have parents who don't talk to one another. The split house is a huge reality to a lot of children and I love the way you take a negative and turn it into, if not a positive, then an okay. Holly is great - believable and sympathetic. I'd happily follow her and Pony on a pile of adventures.
I've only read the first three chapters but it's plenty for me. I'm backing and would really be surprised if this is not picked up and published.
No nitpicks, no helpful crit I'm afraid - I reckon you've got it licked.
Jane
Walker

I absolutely love this. So full of energy and fun. I chuckled at the postman plotting revenge on the dog, but also thought it was clever how you used this character to introduce us to Holly, her house and her strange family set-up. This deserves to do very well. Clare (Second Lives)

Weird, but well-written and child friendly, with a light touch of humor.

Veeery silly. I'm sure its target market will adore it. Shelved.

[Holly Weatherby...]
What a story! For the first time I read till I reached the end... which wasn't the end at all. Great stuff!

My only crit is that I didn't get to read the real end...

Well done!

Backed,

Peter
(A Shadow In A Shady Country)

"the muddy blob tried to wake up the pencil"

curses, hands on fire, knee-bitten postmen .

a magic kids' book with enough sharpness and fun to entertain adults .

this is infectious fun and i hope it achieves immortal glory .

shelved, and go well with your writing .

freddie
("honour")

I can see why this was Book of the Year for you, Mike! This is an enjoyable, smooth, and delightful read! I always love discovering new reads and glad I came across this one. I agree with Andrew when he said this could be a future classic. On my shelf!

L. Anne Carrington, "The Cruiserweight"

Brilliant. A future classic for sure.

Andrew

What a delightful tale this is, Mike! Starting from the pink/blue house (with Holly visually the link between her parents, with her love of lilac), we have a very clever story with unexpected twists and turns. It starts off light and amusing, then gradually gets scarier, but Holly's such a feisty little thing that it's hard to imagine her being overcome in the end. Although she'll have to cope with that grumpy elf! And Uncle Monty sounds still in thrall to the glamourous witch.

Just a couple of nitpicks: ch. 5 has "pupil's" instead of "pupils". And in ch. 4 Uncle Monty says, "I asked if she would like to come and meet you" and recalls taking Tabitha to Holly's house. But in Chapter 7, he says he met Tabitha (it sounds like for the first time) when "she came up to me one day, when I was at the park with you".

I hope this reaches a wider audience.

Shelved.

Mike,

This is an absolutely delightful book. I couldn't stop reading, and later I'm going to have to read it again with my daughters. You have a charming story here. The beginning, with the postman's amazement at the pink/blue house, immediately sets up an enchanting story. Then, it truly takes off when Holly grabs that acorn.
This one is a pleasure to shelve.
Mark

Hi Mike,
This has been on my WL for a while, and I'm so glad I read it today! The story is completely charming. I had fun reading it. I think you definitely hit your target here. The chapter lengths are just right, Holly is a great character, and the descriptions and colors and just the fantasy of it all is lovely. On my shelf.

A very fun read!

Lockjaw

No. I'm not having it. Why is Holly Falling? Give her back her green arrow.

Mike

This is enchanting.
And your prose feels like it should be read out.

You have a wonderful accessible style and tell an attractive tale well suited to your target reader. Your writing is clear and strong and I honestly can’t nit-pick anything I don’t like in the first 3 chapters. Well deserving of the award and well deserving of my shelf. I’ll return to read more.

Thank you - super job!
David
Green Ore

Mike, I can see your fingers flying over the key board as you wrote this. So much fun. You must have spent half you time ginning to yourself. It feels like that kind of story. And believe me it's that kind of read. A delight to back. C.P

Great story Mike. You have a fantastic sense of the absurd and this story reminded me of Roald Dahl. Loved the house, loved the CD and the birthday presents.

Written brilliantly for the age group, so many kids and their parents will love this.

Shelved

John

I love this! You present the characters - the distance between the parents, the divided house with the child caught in the middle - in such a wonderfully unique way. I love the way Holly opens the two doors, standing in the middle. The way the parents don't see each other, nor the magical envelopes. The way you have presented the notion of adults simply blocking out the things we can't or won't deal with, through the child's perspective is very clever.

The adventure that follows is totally off the wall - creepy Uncle Monty, exploding, emotional bogie-like elves...Kids will love this. Its a great read - for children and grown-ups alike!

Shelved.

Rikki

I can see why this won Book of the Year, Mike. It's a delightful read.
Cheers, and shelved.
Simon

Hi Mike. I found your wonderful book and thought I'd comment. This is an intriguing story. The house that is one half pink and one half blue creates a visual and colorful dichotomy. This serves as a visual reference to the spell left by Tabitha on the parents--a motif for duality of the natural and unnatural world. I kept thinking how pink is usually represented by a girl and blue is for boys. Then there's the DVD, which is split in half. I see a pattern here. Good characterization and dialogue. Excellent hooks at chapter ends, which kept me reading on. I didn't mind too much the shift in POV between the postman in chapter one and Holly in chapter two, although you might get some criticism for that from editors. This book has a very nice feel about it and I will shelve it right away. Good luck.

Randy
(Buttermilk Moon)

Mike, I completely adore this, how is it not published? I can see why you won book of the year - such a magical read. Truly, truly love it. You have my backing :-)

Hi Mike,

I came around to have a peek because you've been kind enough to support a number of books at my suggestion. Once I started reading about Holly, I couldn't stop - did you somehow find a magical spell to keep your readers enthralled? If so, I want in! :)

Seriously, this is wonderful stuff that I know my own kidlets would enjoy.

Now it's my turn to do the shelving!

~Traci

This is such an original beginning. You tap into the world of Holly so very well, with her strange house and strange parents who don’t talk to each other. She of course is a completely normal little girl so your target reader will identify readily with her. Bill is great too, very matter of fact and accepting of Holly’s unusual request.

Overall, this has great flow, wonderful characterisation, convincing dialogue and a great hook at the end of Ch 2. I am so intrigued about what is going on here. It deserves to do well - I’m shelving.

This looks like it might be a good start to a YA mystery, just from the talk between the mailman and Billy, though I'd like to see some more action.

Couldn't but come here when I heard the rave reviews :)

I don't have kids of my own, but I'd be happy to buy this for my friends' children and even read it to them because it's such an easy tale to get into.

No additional comments other than to say I'm glad to shelve it.
Dania (The It! Refugee)

Hi Mike,

I got to 'Holly' at at last. Cutley was right, this is excellent children's fiction. It is no surprise you are a huge fan of Roald Dahl. It is also no surprise that this book has already won a prize. I love the idea of the divided house and the way Holly's parents are living apart together with Holly in the middle doing a balancing act between them. This seems ready for the shelf in any bookstore, so I am going to put it on mine.

P.S. I hope you enjoy Miracle Boy when you get round to it.

Regards

Mike

Just finished chapter 2. This is quirky and enchanting and I am loving it! I am off to read the rest.

All I can say is, My kids are going to love this.

How can children not be enchanted by this? You have captured my imagination never mind a younger reader with Holly and her strange house. You have a good premise, quaint characters, excellent imagery and a well written book, how can this mix not fail to delight. I would love to read this to my grandchildren. Happy to put it on my shelf. Margaret.
The Spirit of the Butterfly &
Candles in the Garden.

Mike,

Thank you for your support of Appetites, sorry for the delay. My reading list has got a bit out of control so I'm trying to get that under control.

Part of doing that is restricting my return comments guided by the extent of comments left on my work.

With that in mind I'm taking a quick look at Holly Weatherby and the Enchanted House.

Well I've read chapter one, and this is good children's fiction, the sort that will capture the attentions of young ones and hopefull convert them into life time readers. I can see why this won a prize.

I'm going to give this a quick spin on my shelf.

What an enchanting tale. I do hope Holly manages to break the spell, though the divided pink and blue house is rather fun. But she really must stop calling Snitch a bogie.

When will more be posted? You can't leave us in suspense.

Charles

A wonderful delight for all ages. Your opening chapter is brilliant and your descriptions would have people of all ages imaginations running wild. A great book. Shelved.

Bj

Well, what else can be said, other than...Stupendous! You have created a book that will bring children to read. Excellent.
See you in print,
Charity

Hi Mike, The outset captivated me, the divided house and Holly’s dilemma with her stubborn parents. The postman, the letter from Uncle Stevie, and the nanny each were given distracting power around this. Your writing is lively and the dialogue is snug in the story. It fell into the underworld so swiftly that the whole set-up changed and I guess that’s the point. Once her parents went to work, her arranged life fell into chaos. I got to Chapter 6 and had that longing of Holly’s for a return to the normal. I like Monty and his guilt that Holly could have better than her normal. You’ve got the pace, style and whackiness that would succeed with the young reader, I think. Shelved – Katherine (The Swan Bonnet)

Mike,

This is a great, fun read. I know kids will love this. Shelved.

Heidi

Holly Weatherby...

I can see why this won Children's Book of the Year. I'm not a kid any longer, but I can imagine how children would react to this one, and I want a copy so that I can read it aloud and see a child's delight. At times, I felt as though I were in a Salvador Dali painting. I think what especially speaks to me is the juxtaposition of the surreal with the ordinary. Bravo.

Shelved, of course

Cheers,
Sheryl (In All The Wrong Places)