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Schoolgirl thrilled to scoop global prize for debut novel
August 29, 2012, Wednesday
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A 14-year-old international school student has won the international Beryl Bainbridge Award for First Time Author with her thriller about kids caught up in a revenge campaign manipulated by psychopaths. She talks to Li Anlan.
Fourteen-year-old Daphne Fong has written a thriller about a mysterious box that curses a 13-year-old computer nerd Zack who, together with his sister and friends, must try to break the spell.
The book, "Revenge of the Thirteen," is Fong's debut novel and received the Beryl Bainbridge Award for First Time Author, which was named for the prizes' founding patron, English author Beryl Bainbridge (1932-2010). It was also a runner-up in the children's book category of People's Book Prize.
The prize, which aims to encourage new authors, was first awarded in 2010 and is based on worldwide online votes for submissions by publishers for each quarter. The categories are fiction, nonfiction and children's books. It also includes a Special Achievement Award.
Fong, a Hong Kong-born student at Concordia International School Shanghai, flew to London in May to accept the Beryl Bainbridge Award for First Time Author at Stationers Hall.
Started at age 10
Fong started to write "Revenge of the Thirteen" at the age of 10 and finished a year later. In 2011, it was published by Local Legend Publishing in the UK.
Daphne has enjoyed writing since she was very young. When she was nine, her article "Hopes and Dreams of 2011" was published in Shanghai Daily.
"When I was four and half, I really decided that I would like to write, so I would write short stories," Fong says.
Energized by her love of writing and her family's support, Fong decided to write her first novel.
"I had also written two to three-page stories for my cousins to read, and the whole family is really supportive of my writing, so I want to check out and see if I can write a full-length novel," Fong says.
"Revenge of the Thirteen" is a story full of imagination. The synopsis from the People's Book Prize website reads: "When Earl Ramirez seeks revenge upon the Vasquez household, Zach, Zoey, Tom and Samantha are thrown headfirst into a world where there are no limits in time or wild fantasy: a world where their every move is being manipulated by two vicious psychopaths. Day by day, it gets harder to survive, and now it's time for the real test. There's no turning back."
It's pretty dark and the young writer has been steeped for years in the "Harry Potter" series, which she calls her favorite.
Her book has four main characters, all children, the eldest being 13-year-old twins, Zack and Zoey. Brainy Zack is a bit of a computer nerd. Zoey is "really girly and really materialistic," her creator says. Zack is cursed by the box so the four have to go through a series of quests to stop him from turning into an evil power.
Fong says she got the idea from a box on her desk, a box she had never examined before. When she did, she was inspired and began to build characters. Her book cover shows a young boy staring at a magical box.
Working on a full-length book takes a lot of work, especially for a 10-year-old who wasn't used to staying focused for a very long time, like a whole year. Sometimes she would stop for a few weeks, and then continue writing.
"You have to go over it many times to fix all the little mistakes, it's definitely a difficult process," Fong says.
"I like working on long-term projects now because you don't quite know where your goal will be or when you meet your goal, but you know that it would be good if you work hard."
Now Fong has finished her second book, a romance, but the title has not been decided. She has started to work on a sequel to "Revenge of the Thirteen."
Her suggestions to aspiring young authors is be prepared, be patient and don't give up.
"When you are sending the book out to be published, you should be prepared to face rejections," Fong says. "It's not their fault, because publishers have different taste."
Speaking her future, Fong says that although no one can be too sure about what they will do, she definitely wants to continue writing, either as a hobby or as a profession. She also would like to follow in her the footsteps of her businessman father. She says business sounds fun.
Fong enjoys dancing and playing the piano. She has been doing Latin dance for five years and is at level Gold Bar One. She reads a lot of fiction.
"A thousand different people can read a story and have a thousand different images in their head," Fong explains. "It's really up to the reader and that's what I like about fiction."
Her novel "Revenge of the Thirteen" can also be ordered on Amazon.com.
A regular Amazon reviewer, Nigel in London, writes: "This is a beautifully written, creative and witty debut children's novel, unbelievably written at the age of 12 ... The story moves at fast pace through alternate and imaginary worlds and will excite all young readers. Daphne has a brilliant future so catch her now!"
Fourteen-year-old Daphne Fong has written a thriller about a mysterious box that curses a 13-year-old computer nerd Zack who, together with his sister and friends, must try to break the spell.
The book, "Revenge of the Thirteen," is Fong's debut novel and received the Beryl Bainbridge Award for First Time Author, which was named for the prizes' founding patron, English author Beryl Bainbridge (1932-2010). It was also a runner-up in the children's book category of People's Book Prize.
The prize, which aims to encourage new authors, was first awarded in 2010 and is based on worldwide online votes for submissions by publishers for each quarter. The categories are fiction, nonfiction and children's books. It also includes a Special Achievement Award.
Fong, a Hong Kong-born student at Concordia International School Shanghai, flew to London in May to accept the Beryl Bainbridge Award for First Time Author at Stationers Hall.
Started at age 10
Fong started to write "Revenge of the Thirteen" at the age of 10 and finished a year later. In 2011, it was published by Local Legend Publishing in the UK.
Daphne has enjoyed writing since she was very young. When she was nine, her article "Hopes and Dreams of 2011" was published in Shanghai Daily.
"When I was four and half, I really decided that I would like to write, so I would write short stories," Fong says.
Energized by her love of writing and her family's support, Fong decided to write her first novel.
"I had also written two to three-page stories for my cousins to read, and the whole family is really supportive of my writing, so I want to check out and see if I can write a full-length novel," Fong says.
"Revenge of the Thirteen" is a story full of imagination. The synopsis from the People's Book Prize website reads: "When Earl Ramirez seeks revenge upon the Vasquez household, Zach, Zoey, Tom and Samantha are thrown headfirst into a world where there are no limits in time or wild fantasy: a world where their every move is being manipulated by two vicious psychopaths. Day by day, it gets harder to survive, and now it's time for the real test. There's no turning back."
It's pretty dark and the young writer has been steeped for years in the "Harry Potter" series, which she calls her favorite.
Her book has four main characters, all children, the eldest being 13-year-old twins, Zack and Zoey. Brainy Zack is a bit of a computer nerd. Zoey is "really girly and really materialistic," her creator says. Zack is cursed by the box so the four have to go through a series of quests to stop him from turning into an evil power.
Fong says she got the idea from a box on her desk, a box she had never examined before. When she did, she was inspired and began to build characters. Her book cover shows a young boy staring at a magical box.
Working on a full-length book takes a lot of work, especially for a 10-year-old who wasn't used to staying focused for a very long time, like a whole year. Sometimes she would stop for a few weeks, and then continue writing.
"You have to go over it many times to fix all the little mistakes, it's definitely a difficult process," Fong says.
"I like working on long-term projects now because you don't quite know where your goal will be or when you meet your goal, but you know that it would be good if you work hard."
Now Fong has finished her second book, a romance, but the title has not been decided. She has started to work on a sequel to "Revenge of the Thirteen."
Her suggestions to aspiring young authors is be prepared, be patient and don't give up.
"When you are sending the book out to be published, you should be prepared to face rejections," Fong says. "It's not their fault, because publishers have different taste."
Speaking her future, Fong says that although no one can be too sure about what they will do, she definitely wants to continue writing, either as a hobby or as a profession. She also would like to follow in her the footsteps of her businessman father. She says business sounds fun.
Fong enjoys dancing and playing the piano. She has been doing Latin dance for five years and is at level Gold Bar One. She reads a lot of fiction.
"A thousand different people can read a story and have a thousand different images in their head," Fong explains. "It's really up to the reader and that's what I like about fiction."
Her novel "Revenge of the Thirteen" can also be ordered on Amazon.com.
A regular Amazon reviewer, Nigel in London, writes: "This is a beautifully written, creative and witty debut children's novel, unbelievably written at the age of 12 ... The story moves at fast pace through alternate and imaginary worlds and will excite all young readers. Daphne has a brilliant future so catch her now!"
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