.
Katie Dale loves nothing more than creating characters – both on page and onstage.She studied English literature at Sheffield University and spent a year at the University of North Carolina. In 2008 she won the SCBWI Undiscovered Voices competition.
Thank you, Luna for having me on your blog as part of THE NEVER-ENDING BIRTHDAY Blog Tour!
Here’s a bit about the book:
Twins Max and Anni have had the worst birthday ever. Max has missed a vital goal in the football Cup Final and Anni has fallen out with her best friend. Feeling thoroughly miserable, Max and Anni sneak downstairs at midnight and light the candles on their untouched birthday cake and, as they blow them out, they make a wish . . . to redo the day!
When they wake up, their wish has come true! And this time Max and Anni aren’t going to mess things up. But little do they realize that they are going to have to relive their birthday again . . . and again . . . and again.
I wanted to write this book because I’m a huge fan of films like Groundhog Day and Sliding Doors and stories about time travel and its consequences. I’m sure everyone has had moments – or even days! – they’d like to do-over (I certainly have!), but would it help? Is it possible to have the “perfect” day? What unforeseen consequences might ensue even the slightest changes you make to your behaviour?
I also wanted to explore how different people would approach and deal with having their day repeated in different ways. As the repeated days are caused by a birthday wish, my protagonists became twins! But 13 year old twins Max and Anni could not be more different. Fun-loving Max sees re-living his birthday as an excuse to bunk off (he’s already done the lessons once – why would he sit through them again?) and thinks nothing of using his prior knowledge of events to his advantage, cheating on tests, claiming to be psychic, and hoping to win a penalty shoot-out by knowing which way the goalie’s going to jump…
Shy, conscientious Anni, on the other hand, sees it as an opportunity to rectify all her mistakes, to get better grades, and avoid getting into trouble or arguments – but finally realises her repeated days also give her an opportunity to be braver – even brave enough to be herself – safe in the knowledge she can re-do the day again if it turns out badly…or so she hopes.
And boy, does it turn out badly! Not to give too much away, but the twins get a whole lot more than they bargained for, as they uncover secrets about their family and friends, encounter life and death situations, and work together to try to work out just WHY their day keeps on repeating – and how to stop it.
Competition Time!
For a chance to win your very own sparkly copy of THE NEVER-ENDING BIRTHDAY simply answer the following question:
If you could re-do any day of your life, which day would it be, and why?
Email your answers to katiedaleauthor@hotmail.com
Luna's Little Library 