Beat the corona blues: writing tips and lesson plan

Dear readers

I hope you are well during this strange time. With so many of us in lockdown, I am posting regular videos with writing tips. I would like to encourage you to write the story that has always been in your heart! You can see the first three videos here:

EPISODE 1: THE 3 KEY PRACTICES;

EPISODE 2: CHARACTER;

EPISODE 3: PLOT.

For readers, parents, guardians and school teachers, I also wanted to share below the detailed Foxcraft lesson plan created by Scholastic. It includes lots of activities and exercises linked to the Foxcraft series and, in particular, Foxcraft 3: The Mage. Please feel free to use it and share it!

Stray strong and healthy, keep reading, keep writing!

Xx Inbali

Foxcraft website

Scholastic are designing an interactive Foxcraft website.

Details to follow soon.

Limited edition Foxcraft prints – available now!

Limited edition Foxcraft prints (featuring books to show scale)

I am super-excited to let you know that my illustrations of the first two foxcrafts – karakking and slimmering – are now available to buy as limited edition Giclée prints. The prints have been produced to the highest possible standard and are mounted in either cream or light blue. They have been individually signed and numbered by me 🙂

           “Karakking” in cream                                             “Karakking” in light blue
             “Slimmering” in cream                                          “Slimmering” in light blue

The prints are 10″ x 10″ (25.4 cm x 25.4 cm) frame size with a 6″ x 6″ (15.4cm x 15.4cm) aperture.

Karakking: Imitating the call of other creatures. The technique allows the fox to “throw” his or her voice, so it appears to come from elsewhere. Used to attract prey or confuse attackers.

Slimmering: Stilling the breath and the mind to create the illusion of invisibility. Used to avoid detection.

Each print costs £30/$40/€34 plus postage. Depending on your location, value added tax may be added – if you send me a message with your address and preferred currency I will be able to confirm the price.

If you would like to order a print, please message me through the contact form at the top of the Contact page of this website.

Run fast, be safe, live free!

xx Inbali

The Mage is here!

Hello readers,

The Mage – the third book of the Foxcraft series – hits US bookstores TODAY! I’m so excited to share this story with you. Since I first started plotting out Isla’s quest, I knew it would lead her through three distinct environments: the Graylands, the Wildlands and the Snowlands. The Snowlands is unlike anywhere that Isla has been before – a vast, hostile wilderness of bubbling geysers and razors of ice.

Oh, and wolves. Did I mention the wolves?

A blizzard was rising over the Snowlands…

A shriek and my head whipped around, heart lurching against my ribs. Was it only the wind, or something else?

Someone else?

Can Isla cross the Snowlands and survive the warring wolf packs who live there? Will she finally find answers to the riddles that have dogged her since that fateful twilight when her family disappeared? Where is Siffrin? Who is the Black Fox? What is the putrid yellow fog that is rising from the Deep Forest? What is the gloaming, and how is it linked to the most dangerous foxcraft of all?

Where is Pirie…?

Read on, brave foxes. Your quest is almost done.

Run fast, be safe, live free!

Xx Inbali

Foxcraft – recent news

Hello readers!

I wanted to update you on some exciting news. Foxcraft: Книга 2. Дикая магия is now out in Russian with Azbooka, translated by Tatyana Golubeva (http://azbooka.ru/book/26907.shtml). I’ve heard from wonderful Russian readers about Foxcraft. Книга 1. Зачарованные and seen some amazing fan art in Foxcraft communities. Thank you so much for the support. I really hope you enjoy the continuation of Isla’s adventures 

Foxcraft, Tome 2 : Les anciens is also out in French with Wiz, Albin Michel, translated by Nathalie Serval (http://www.albin-michel.fr/ouvrages/foxcraft-tome-2-9782226392381). When I finished the draft book, I went to France in order to relax and celebrate. I spent a magical week in the Languedoc region, taking in the landscape and reading about the dramatic local history. I’m thrilled that Isla is continuing her French adventure. Vivre les renards!

Excitingly, the series has just debuted in beautiful Brazil! Foxcraft 1: A Magia da Raposa is out now in Brazilian Portuguese with Rocco Jovens Leitores, translated by Debora Isidoro (http://www.rocco.com.br/livro/?cod=2850). It is making me think a lot about Brazil, and the phenomenal trip I took there some years ago – one that led me through the Pantanal wetlands, the Amazon Rainforest, the magnificent Iguassu Falls and cultural, diverse, energetic Rio. I saw crab-eating foxes in Brazil – not a variety you can see in the UK! Perhaps one day I will return. Dreams are the beginning…

Stay safe, foxes.

Xx Inbali

Greetings for malinta

Happy malinta!

Malinta is here, when day and night are of equal length. It is a time of magic for foxes. For humans too! This malinta is the vernal equinox, the beginning of the ancient Babylonian calendar, marking the count down to Passover and Easter in the Jewish and Christian faiths, and numerous other events, beliefs and traditions across the globe.

Among these beliefs is that, in the northern hemisphere, the vernal equinox marks the start of spring. Bulbs quiver to life beneath thawing soil. Songbirds trill to welcome the earlier mornings. Butterflies unfurl their delicate wings.

Whether you are touched by warmth or shivering against the cold, I hope that this equinox – this malinta – brings you the magic of a new season, a new sun.

Xx Inbali

Happy New Year, readers!

I hope your 2017 got off to a wonderful start. I always feel reflective as one year ends and another begins. Added to that, 2017 is a milestone for me, as it will be 10 years this summer since my first book was published. That book was The Tygrine Cat, a feline fantasy set against a backdrop of thousands of years of war between two rival tribes of cats. More recently, I’ve had adventures with foxes. Foxcraft 2: The Elders is out now in English and German and is set for release in other territories over the next year or two. I absolutely love the covers of these books!

Foxcraft: The Elders (US edition)

german-cover-iserles_foxcraft-ii_02a

Foxcraft: Das Geheimnis Der Altesten (German edition)

Foxcraft: The Elders (UK edition)

I have so much that I want to write this year! I am also keen to commit more time to drawing. I’m excited when I think about the ideas bouncing around my head, but I’m a little scared too. Good scared, I think. Writing isn’t always easy, but it’s truly rewarding.

Here’s wishing you all a year full of laughter, adventures, good health and love. And tons of creativity too! If you’ve been wondering whether to start a new chapter – be it a story or something else – make this the year!

Xx Inbali

Foxcraft in Japan – and the anatomy of a book jacket!

フォックスクラフト アイラと憑かれし者たち

The Japanese edition includes a striking new cover and unique illustrations drawn by a local artist. I think it’s really beautiful – I hope you agree ☺

As I don’t read Japanese, my publishers helpfully sent me a copy of the full book jacket with notes explaining what everything means. It’s a fascinating insight into the anatomy of a book jacket so they’ve kindly allowed me to reprint it here.

The anatomy of a book jacket

The book is available through Say-zan-sha (http://www.sayzansha.com/jp/books/978-4-86389-350-4.html), online via Amazon.jp and at all good Japanese bookshops!

Foxcraft #2: The Elders – cover reveal!

Hello readers!

Here it is, the absolutely stunning cover for The Elders, the second installment of the Foxcraft series. It was revealed on Scholastic’s On Our Minds blog this week, together with my illustrations for three new crafts: shana-sharm, pashanada and *shivers* pleaching.

The alluring cover conjures up the magic and mystery of the Wildlands. When I was thinking through the series – before I’d written a single word – I already knew that each book would take place in a new location. Red foxes are incredibly adaptable. These stunning, inquisitive animals can be found as far south as Australia and as north as the Arctic Circle.

To find out more about Foxcraft: The Elders, take a look at the blog, which includes a short interview with me. I can’t wait for the book to come out in the fall, I really hope you like it!

Happy reading,

x Inbali

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