Trash Author Andy Mulligan: Guest Post and Giveaway

Trash by Andy Mulligan

In an unnamed Third World country, in the not-so-distant future, three “dumpsite boys” make a living picking through the mountains of garbage on the outskirts of a large city.

One unlucky-lucky day, Raphael finds something very special and very mysterious. So mysterious that he decides to keep it, even when the city police offer a handsome reward for its return. That decision brings with it terrifying consequences, and soon the dumpsite boys must use all of their cunning and courage to stay ahead of their pursuers. It’s up to Raphael, Gardo, and Rat—boys who have no education, no parents, no homes, and no money—to solve the mystery and right a terrible wrong.

Andy Mulligan has written a powerful story about unthinkable poverty—and the kind of hope and determination that can transcend it. With twists and turns, unrelenting action, and deep, raw emotion, Trash is a heart-pounding, breath-holding novel.

We are excited to have the author of Trash, Andy Mulligan, guest blog for us today.  An added bonus:  We are part of the Trash Scavenger Hunt!

1) Read the #Trash question from Random House Kids Twitter page

2) Post your answer in the comment section here on Bookroom Reviews

3) We will draw one person’s name tomorrow to win a copy of  Andy’s wonderful book Trash!

Andy Mulligan will be appearing all week at www.RandomBuzzers.com, and will be chatting with Buzzers, so get your questions ready. Also, you can download a chapter sampler and get a great idea of what to look forward to when you get your copy of Trash. There are also fun activities and a link to the forum chat, where you can find out each day what the new Scavenger Hunt question is, so be sure to check in each day this week.  He is appearing at TeenReads and The Library Lounge Lizard tomorrow.

OH NO, IT’S THE WRITING ROOM:

By Andy Mulligan

Hello Book Room Reviewers… I should not be writing this – I should be getting on with serious work. Or is a blog serious work? I feel guilty because I should be doing the edits for something else,  so I am back in the writing room, trying to stay focused.

Is a blog gossip? I know that it’s as enjoyable as gossip…and I’m grateful to my host as TRASH is being taken out of boxes and put on the US shelves!

My writing room, in case you’re interested, is a bit like a cell, and that has to be the best space to write in. The only distraction is a glass of water. It’s three metres by three metres and it has one wardrobe, with nothing in it. The Venetian blinds are down, but if I open them I look onto concrete walls. I can hear the steady rush of Manila traffic rising from below, and that’s like white-noise, soft and constant.

There isn’t a picture on the wall, and there are just two sockets. One plugs in my laptop, and one plugs in the fan. If I get too hot I can put on the air-con, but that sounds like a steel-mill, so I try to do without it.

I enter the writing room at about ten in the morning, and try to stay there til about six. I let myself out for lunch, and the occasional cup of coffee – but I try to do between six or eight hours. I can’t remember who told me to seek a room without a view, but they were dead right – if a bit miserable. Anyone reading this who writes will know how easy it is to get distracted. ‘I’ll just check my email!’ ‘I’ll just text the laundry-man!’ Then bigger distractions loom: ‘I’ll  just check the air-fare to Bali and see if there’s a spa offering discounts…’

Close the door, and write – that’s what I say. And if it’s not going well, then write the rubbish out of your system, until it comes good. The pipes are bound to be a bit silted and soiled, so you have to let them run for a while to get the sediment out. Then, after some time, clean water emerges.

Do you wait for inspiration? I don’t.

I sit down and write, because to get to the end of a day and have a few doodles is really depressing. I would much rather have 3,000 words of garbage. And then I can take them up to my favourite bar, which is a twenty minute de-compressing walk through the Manila mad-streets, and order a cool glass of wine, and look through what I’ve done. OK it’s not the most social working day, and I couldn’t sustain it for more than a few weeks at a time. But it does get the job done.

So now, I am finished with this blog – and thanks for reading it…I’d better get back to the edits.

About the Author

Andy Mulligan was brought up in South London. He worked as a theater director for ten years before travels in Asia prompted him to retrain as a teacher. He has taught English and drama in Britain, India, Brazil, and the Philippines. He now divides his time between London and Manila.