"Inspired by The Secret Garden" #TopTen Garden by Jane Yates #booktour

Jane Yates Top 10 Facts – Garden blog tour

1 – Jane first got into writing when she submitted a cartoon strip for publication at a local newspaper called Leys News. After finding encouragement from Sarah, the editor, Jane attended a short journalism course and embraced this new idea. The cartoon strip was about her (then) fat Spaniel dog called Mandy.

2 – Jane has Scottish ancestors, which influenced her decision into naming the central character of Garden – Aberdeen, in a nod towards them.

3 – Jane has three tattoos, including a large dragon on her back, which her son aptly named Midlife-Crisis.

4 – Jane is a firm believer in never becoming too old to try new things. She wrote a yearlong column for the Leys News entitled Life Begins at Fifty. For this, Jane tried a wide variety of activities: archery, indoor sky diving, sewing and writing a novel for National November Writing Month. Her first published novel Paradox Child was the result of this.

5 – Jane is also an artist, whose work has been featured in galleries as well as being bought by collectors. Some of Jane’s favourite artists are Vincent Van Gough, Picasso and Rembrandt. Jane also drew flower sketches for Garden, which in turn became the chapter headings in the book.

6 – Jane has three children, one of which, Emily, is a steampunk artist. It was Emily’s influence that steered Jane towards the increasing in popularity Steampunk genre. Jane recently co-hosted a Steampunk Tea Dance event in her hometown of Oxford for the release of Garden. There was dressing up in Victorian dress, Steampunk headgear as well as dance lessons, tea and cake.

7 – Jane is dyslexic, and a real advocate for supporting and believing in this to not stop children and teenagers following their dreams. There are two dyslexic characters in Garden for this very reason – it was important for Jane to show dyslexia in a more positive light. In fact, Peter has Numerosity – it has been recently defined as a sort of sixth sense. It is Jane’s understanding that very few books feature Numerosity, which highlights Garden’s unique vantage point.

8 – There are actually three mini stories within the story of Garden. Jane invented a device called the chapter machine, which not only tells stories and information, but records the stories of Aberdeen’s new found friend Maisy. A prince sets off to marry a princess, a tiger ponders the nature of humans and a poor father and daughter discover a magical ribbon. Did we mention flying fish, too?

9 – Jane is an accomplished academic. She has studied at various places and has qualifications in Archaeology and environmental science.

10 – Jane’s next book is called the Octopus Pirate, and is a steampunk time travel romp, influenced by the Fight Club film.

‘Garden is very charming with some lovely parallels …’ Sharon Sant – Author of The Sky Song trilogy

Inspired by the classic novel The Secret Garden, Jane Yates introduces us to a steampunk world of bio-domes, robots and mysteries. Eleven-year-old Aberdeen is so used to being by herself that all she has to fill her thoughts are stories of mighty dragons and grand castles. But Aberdeen’s world is soon thrown into disarray however; her parents murdered.

Having no choice, Aberdeen is sent to live with her uncle back on Earth where her fascination into her new surroundings begin to take hold. It isn’t long before Aberdeen befriends three other children – Maisy, Peter and Lenard.

Oh, and there’s Frank too, Peter’s robot dog, who completes this special circle of friendship.

Garden is a journey of self-discovery, of trials and friendship. With adventure boundless, Jane Yates follows up her acclaimed Paradox Child trilogy with a new tale for young fans of steampunk and science fiction.

Praise for Garden

‘Garden is very charming with some lovely parallels …’ – Sharon Sant – Author of The Sky Song trilogy

‘This is an absolutely lovely story with a really intriguing mystery …’ – Jaimie Admans – Author of Afterlife Academy

‘Garden made me smile from start to finish.’ – Dan Thompson – Author of Here Lies Love

‘Jane Yates has written a wonderful story of self-growth, courage and learning how to love.’ – Book Raiders Blog