The winners of the Diverse Book Awards 2023 have been announced, with one winner from each of the four categories announced: Picture book, Children... Dilly, in sharp contrast to Gerry, is a very good mother to Beauty. She is constantly kind and supportive of her and does her best to make her safe and happy.

Cookie gets the chance to go on her favourite TV show, Brainbusters. It's only a chance though - she'll have to win the school science competition first. It shouldn't be too hard . . . all she has to do is keep her head down, and not get too over-excited. Unfortunately that's not Cookie's strong point ... I sent this draft to six additional beta readers. Though I knew the novel was okay, I’d made many changes, and I wanted to get confirmation that it was really done. And I got it! The comments were more subjective, with only minor suggestions. Entertainment Below Their Age: Although she is very intelligent, Beauty's favourite TV show is Sam and Lily in the Rabbit Hutch, which is for very young children. Her mother Dilly also likes it. Mama Bear: Over the course of the story, Dilly develops the courage to stand up to Gerry and defend Beauty from his verbal and emotional abuse. As she puts it: "I've never been able to stand up for myself very well but I can stand up for my little girl."The third draft ended up being around 98K words. My faithful CP offered to read it again, and she suggested I cut down 10K words, which seemed daunting to me. As you can tell, I’m an underwriter, so I’ve never had to cut down so many words. Fourth Draft – Cutting the Fat – June to Aug 2020 All recipes were explained well with easily accessible ingredients and I enjoyed all the author's personal comments that preceded her recipes. If I was 9 yrs old ( and who's to say I'm not..?) I'd want Cookie to be my very best friend. FACT. Funny, clever and a proper drama queen, I love her!' - Dawn French Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Gerry is not an especially attractive man, described as squat, balding and pudgy. Dilly is much younger than him and is described as very beautiful; Gerry also tends to get her to wear revealing clothes and flashy jewellery to emphasize this more. Dilly even thinks that the main reason Gerry asked her out for drinks rather than firing her was because she was wearing a low-cut top when she had to report to him.

Considering the last book I read by Jacqueline Wilson ( Lily Alone) was merely lukewarm, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this particular offering. Despite the dark themes of bullying and spousal/child abuse (Beauty's father is both emotionally and psychologically abusive), this story is full of warm fuzzies. And I'm not just talking about the rabbits. For my first novel, I just wrote what I thought it needed until I finished. Afterward, I learned about the three-act structure, character arcs, and scene structures, which I applied to my WIP during revision. Doing this after the fact meant a lot of revisions and rewrites. There are some wonderful color photos that made my mouth water, as I’m sure they will yours. I believe there was one for each recipe, are at the least, most of the recipes. I was glad to see that. Cookbooks with no photos are a pet peeve of mine. I used this draft to enhance my descriptions, incorporate the setting more, make the voices of the characters more distinctive, and fix grammar mistakes. I also read it aloud. Final word count: approx. 89K. At home Beauty's life is as far from normal. Her mum loves her to bits and has never got cross with her but with her dad it's another story. Beauty and her mum live in fear of what's going to happen and if he gets cross you want to be as far away as possible.

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Bratty Half-Pint: Skye and her Girl Posse are cruel, snobby and manipulative; Skye is particular is an Attention Whore who loves to show off and hates it when other kids - especially Beauty - are in the spotlight. At first it’s all funny posters, free gum, and pie-in-the-sky ideas for how to make the school a better place. But before long, the campaign goes negative—with mean rumors and put-downs and even sabotage at play. Will this lifelong friendship survive the first week of fourth grade? The idea for this novel sparked out of a dream. It was a small moment between a man and a woman that stayed with me after I woke up. The dream inspired a scene which I wrote right away. Author Anna Kemp introduces The Hollow Hills, the sequel to her dark magical tale, Into Goblyn Wood.

This book is for… both those who seek the easy but enchanting and those in the mood for some extravaganza. This is the third Jacqueline Wilson book I’ve read aloud to my daughter. Though I enjoyed the other two more ( The Butterfly Club and Little Stars), this one had the same superb writing. Something about Wilson’s style makes reading aloud her prose very easy. I guess it’s voice. Her smooth sentences create clear images that convey simply her characters’ view. Those views are often poignant and fun. And then there's the "Brownies & Blondies" - where you an make the classic fudgy brownies and also branch out to turtle, marshmallow peanut butter and expresso carmel. Important Haircut: Towards the end of the novel, Beauty gets her long hair cut short. Previously, she’d never been allowed to cut her hair, so it’s a sign of her breaking free from Gerry's control and becoming more of her own person. Everyone agrees that it suits her much better and she gains a much needed confidence boost. The book was age-banded (as "9+") by the publisher, despite Wilson's opposition to the practice. [1] [2] Plot [ edit ]With 68 different recipes from different generations, this cookbook brings together the best of both old and modern cookie recipes.” Another popular brand is America’s Test Kitchen. ATK produces two well-known public TV cooking series, Cook’s Country and America’s Test Kitchen. The brand also publishes its recipes in magazines and cookbooks. Sarah Kieffer Her economics degree from Cambridge facilitates her keen interest in current affairs, and other interviewees range from Tony Blair to Prince William. Konnie has presented a number of podcasts, including the Penguin Podcast for Penguin Books, Switch Off for BBC Sounds and Thinking Out Loud for Acast. It is never stated if Skye and her accomplices get any comeuppance, but it is hinted that Rhona intends to end her friendship with them. Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Rhona, to a certain extent. When Beauty casually mentions that she would love to have a pet rabbit Rhona gets her one for her birthday, thinking it would be a perfect gift. She's right, but she has no idea that Gerry has forbidden Beauty from having pets and is secretly furious. After all the guests leave, Gerry lets the rabbit out of its hutch and it is killed, which finally results in Dilly breaking up with him and leaving with Beauty. Beauty doesn't blame Rhona and even avoids telling her the details so as not to upset her, knowing she was just trying to be a good friend.