by Natalie Dan
Pen to Print’s flagship competition is The Book Challenge. Since 2014 Pen to Print through The Book Challenge competition have been supporting new writers in completing their first novels with free mentoring support from professional writers. In partnership with New Generation Publishing we assist in the publication of these novels for you to enjoy.
Fifteen-year-old Selina is sick of battling for her place in the world on account of her dwarfism. She has found her happy looking after her three-year-old nephew, Nate. Becoming his world is more important than school, more pressing than the threat overhanging their village.
Meanwhile, her brother lives on a roof, protesting lamely about the destruction of their village for nuclear waste. He feverishly makes plasticine figures with his son’s toys and shows a brutal lack of empathy when Nate’s family decide to move away.
As her family fragments, Selina battles again. Better to squash some toes than become the absent Thank-you-card aunt.
I am indebted to Pen to Print and my mentor Jacqueline. This book would have been yet another unfinished project without them. I would like to thank Gillian and the RGA (www.rgauk.org) for their advice and support. I hope my characters bear scrutiny.
This book is for my son, my awakening. I promise to be more Selina-like.
