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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

I am so thrilled to see Wrong Tracks has been reviewed in the Daily Telegraph. My first book review in a national!

Reposted by Susan Brownrigg

Emma Finlayson-Palmer @finlaysonpalmer.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Next #ukteenchat will be Tues 4th Feb 8-9pm GMT with the brilliant Kel Menton, author of A Fix of Light. We'll be on X for that one and also back on BlueSky for some chats throughout the year depending on guest preference. Hope to see you over there 🙂 #YA #kidlit #writerslife

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

It is! Wow! How cool! We can have hot tea together somewhere close by!

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Emma Finlayson-Palmer @finlaysonpalmer.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

6, Could you tell us a little bit about Time Tunnellers, please? @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social #ukteenchat

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Emma Finlayson-Palmer @finlaysonpalmer.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

5, Do you have any tips for writing stories with an authentic historical feeling and setting to them? @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social #ukteenchat

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Emma Finlayson-Palmer @finlaysonpalmer.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

4, As you write historical fiction, do you have a favourite time period to write about? @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social #ukteenchat

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Emma Finlayson-Palmer @finlaysonpalmer.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

1, Could you tell us a little bit about your new book, Wrong Tracks, please? @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social #ukteenchat

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

If I can save others the pain, my job here is done 😇

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Thank you again for asking me back! I love chatting to you and the other #ukteenchat fans! Glad we coped with the new platform and hopefully I didn't miss any questions this time 😂

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

I did end up with a nice new laptop that I AM VERY CAREFUL WITH 🙃 #ukteenchat

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

I went to see the end of the London to Brighton run in 2023 and had a blast - and I'm working my way round motoring museums - there's one in your neck of the woods on my list! #ukteenchat

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

There really is! I am having so much fun writing this book, the murder bit is the tricky bit! I am too nice to kill characters! #Ukteenchat

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Five books in and I still want all the tips! Write what you are passionate about. Do it your own way (I have to edit as I go, despite all the advice saying not to). Have fun with it! Make friends with other writers (like on #UKteenchat) Don't throw your laptop down stairs - they don't bounce.

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

I am working on an upper MG murder mystery set in 1904 inspired by early motorcars and a race from Lancashire to Yorkshire inspired by real life motorists and early automobile history. I am having a lot of fun researching! I hope it finds a home! #ukteenchat #WrongTracks

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

It was, but sometimes infuriating! Why did the steamer take so long to get to Liverpool? 😂 But it did mean I had to sometimes add in more drama. #ukteenchat #WrongTracks

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

I do like to visit places in my books with my notebook, but mainly I'm sat on the settee (TV on) with my laptop. I have hypermobility syndrome so I find it really comfy - but it is really bad for my posture! I like to have decaf tea and a biscuit at hand, the tea usually goes cold! #ukteenchat

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

I think it is really important to pay things forward and showcase other author's amazing books, and Time Tunnellers is another chance for me to share northern history - I've done canals, glass, Blackpool and more! #ukteenchat

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

I am a pantster - so having a real-life timeline with the events of the Rainhill Trials was both really helpful for plotting and constraining! And there were some days when nothing happened! I am trying to plan a bit more with my WIP - villains often reveal themselves to me late on! #ukteenchat

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Actual facts about him where tricky to find, until he became a media sensation in his old age! I especially enjoyed using a little bit of Wigan dialect! #ukteenchat

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Sure! We are a group of historical children's book authors who produce weekly (term time) videos, blog articles and free resources for schools and home educators. We love having guest authors too! We have a website timetunnellers.com and a youtube channel. It is great working together #ukteenchat

timetunnellers.com

Time Tunnellers

Digging for the stories in history

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

I actually wrote the entire book in third person to begin with, but Edward's voice was so strong I decided to be brave and take the plunge and switch to first. His character was clear to me from early on, he is small for his age and exaggerates and makes up stuff to compensate #ukteenchat

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

It is like being on a tightrope! You don't want the language to be too stilted but I didn't use contractions to make the dialogue sound more late 1820s. Try and remember what is strange or cool to us, may have been ordinary to the characters and what was incredible to them, normal now. #ukteenchat

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

But I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night terrified I've made a big obvious mistake 😂 #ukteenchat

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

I like learning about a new time period each time I start a new story! Even though I have to double check lots of things, like did they have toothbrushes in 1830 and so on! I love the mid 1930s when my Gracie Fairshaw mystery books are set too. #ukteenchat #WrongTracks

media.tenor.com

a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush dancing together on a purple background

ALT: a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush dancing together on a purple background

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

I did! I'm not usually comfortable out at sea, but I loved every minute aboard Waverley! #ukteenchat

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

It gives you a structure, but you do have to still use your imagination and make sure the story's needs come first, as my wonderful editor Kathy Webb reminded me! #ukteenchat #WrongTracks

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

This is the Waverley engine! Prudence, the other main character, would have loved it! #WrongTracks #ukteenchat

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

And there is a brilliant Entwistle Family History Association that were very generous in sharing the information they had on him #ukteenchat #WrongTracks

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

So much! I am not a science expert! I had to learn all about steam, how the engines worked, and get my head round a very confusing timeline. Rocket also had to get from Newcastle to Liverpool - and that took some puzzling over, but the steamer scene gave me an excuse to go on one! #ukteenchat

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

I think that's the fun part for a writer, filling in the gaps in history - and it is brilliant having a cheeky character like Edward in the middle of all this incredible history #WrongTracks #ukteenchat

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Most of the drama in #WrongTracks is based on things that went wrong during the trials too! A lot of it you couldn't make up! #ukteenchat

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

A real life lad from Wigan, like me, called Edward Entwistle. In his old age he claimed as a boy he drove Rocket on the opening day of the Liverpool & Manchester. I liked that there were questions about the veracity of his story - meaning he might be an unreliable narrator #ukteenchat #WrongTracks

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

I think you can see how excited I was to see the Rocket replica running @locomotionshd.bsky.social in Shildon It is a brilliant museum and I got to see the real Rocket, that is the star of my book, there too! #UKteenchat #WrongTracks

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Susan Brownrigg @susanbrownrigg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

It did! I was really fortunate to receive @societyofauthors.bsky.social foundation grant which meant I could crisscross the country to follow in my characters footsteps and travel on steam trains, including a Rocket replica and I had two footplate experiences! It was amazing #ukteenchat

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