Lucy has been in Wells for a couple of nights on a school trip, so Lynsey and I made the most of having a bit of time to ourselves. On Thursday we drove up to Holkham and pottered around for a bit, visiting the gorgeous pine forests and the endless beach. Holkham really is endless when the tide is out, I remember thinking that as a kid when you'd literally have to walk a mile or so from the dunes to the sea. It is beautiful there, though. After that we drove to Cromer to get some fish and chips from Mary Jane's, the best F&C place on the coast, then went back into town and watched Watchmen. I have to say I really, really loved it, very faithful to the graphic novel and stunningly shot. The next couple of days we spent chilling out, which is always nice!

Lucy's back now and we all went to see Monsters Vs Aliens at the weekend. OMG, the 3D is incredible! Gone are the days when you have a pair of rubbish paper glasses and are forced to watch the film in shades of lurid red and green and don't really know what's going on. This new 3D system uses clear, slightly tinted glasses so you get to watch the film in full colour (it's only a tad darker than it would be without the glasses), and it really does look like it's spilling out of the screen. I was so impressed, and judging by the 'ooo's and 'aaaah's coming from the packed cinema everybody else was too. It was a funny film, not amazing, but the 3D made it unmissable. There are so many films being made with the same system, including Tintin, Avatar and Pixar's new one, Up. It really is a new dawn in filmmaking!

Kung Fu again last night and I ache all over! You'd have thought that after five weeks I'd be used to it, but evidently not. I bought 'My Fitness Coach' for the Wii the other week and used it for the first time yesterday - I couldn't even finish the section where you're supposed to measure your heartbeat by doing star jumps! But the diet has definitely started now (well, apart from the chili I cooked last night and the doughnut I had for pudding...) so wish me luck!

I do, I really do. I love being away, too, but there's something so nice about getting back home, crashing down on the sofa, and knowing you don't have anything to do for a couple of weeks except play Silent Hill 5 and maybe do a bit of writing too. Heaven!

It's been a great few weeks, though, and I have visited loads of fantastic schools. I started off with the Loreto College in St Albans, which was a terrifying prospect because it's an all-girl school - and Furnace is very much a boy book! But they all seemed to enjoy the talk, even if some of them were a bit grossed out by the Wheezer (pictured above)! Thanks to all the staff and pupils for making me feel so welcome, especially Jan the librarian, and to those of you who came up afterwards to talk about your writing: good luck with it!

After St Albans came a mini-tour of Edinburgh and Motherwell. It's so wonderful when I get the chance to go up to Scotland, and I wish I could do it more often (and I wish I had time to visit all my relatives when I was up this time, but alas it was a whirlwind trip). The schools were all fantastic, and everybody was so enthusiastic. The first talk was in the Wester Hailes Education Centre, which was an amazing place because they had a leisure centre in the middle of their school, complete with a proper leisure pool! I had a super audience, and a great host in the form of Anne the librarian (who was the craziest librarian I have ever met, and I mean that in a nice way)!

Next up was Portobello School, which was a smaller group but no less exciting. It was a little unusual as the chairs were laid out in a circle, with me in the middle, which meant by half way through the talk I was feeling a little sea sick from spinning around. It was great fun, though, and thanks to Margaret for arranging the visit!

That afternoon was the Royal High, which was also wonderful although the school library was like a Furnace (I don't think it was a deliberate attempt to recreate the conditions of the book...). Combined with the fact that it was the last period before hometime, I think people were struggling to stay awake, but everybody stuck in there valiantly until the end and seemed to enjoy the talk. It was filmed, too, so I'll try and post a version on the site soon! After the talk I did an interview for Teen Titles, which was great - a big thanks to Max and Lucy (I think!) for asking the great questions! Once we'd finished Evelyn very kindly drove me back into Edinburgh, and gave me a tour of some of the sights, including Fettes College (which I thought was a palace!!!) and Morningside, which is where J. K. Rowling has a house. We cruised around for a bit but we didn't see her! After that all the tea I'd drunk that day caught up with me, so I had to cut the tour short and dash back to the hotel, but thanks so much Evelyn for showing me the sights of Edinburgh!

The following day I was in Motherwell. The first school was Caldervale High, which was fantastic because their teachers had read Snot out in class before I arrived. All the kids and staff were suitably grossed out by it, and there were loads of questions after the talk about why I came up with such a disgusting story! In the afternoon (after a lovely lunch in the staff room) I was whizzed over to Braidburst where I faced a much larger crowd in the school hall. Everyone was brill, especially the three boys who stayed behind to talk to me afterwards and have their photos taken! Thanks so much to all the staff and pupils in both schools for making it so much fun! And thanks too to Alison for driving me around Motherwell all day.

Anyway, that's a brief summary of my lightning tour of Scotland, it was super! But it is wonderful to be home. I should be starting a new book, but I might just have a quick go on Silent Hill first...

Happy World Book Day everybody! And it's a doubly exciting day for me as this is the official launch date for Furnace: Lockdown. Whoop!

To celebrate, I have three signed copies of the book, plus some exclusive Furnace wallets, keyring torches, and tattoos to give away. All you have to do is send me an email letting me know you want them! The first three people to write win, simple!

Found a great review of Lockdown in the Financial Times last weekend. It's so weird to see my book reviewed in such a prestigious business paper!

Furnace: Lockdown
By James Lovegrove

Alex Sawyer is no angel but he doesn't deserve to get sent for life to the hellish juvenile prison that is Furnace. It's a subterranean borstal carved out of the bowels of the earth, presided over by brutal black-garbed guards and gasmask-wearing creatures known as "wheezers" that are like something out of one of Clive Barker's worst nightmares.

Alexander Gordon Smith employs tight, gutsy language to tell Alex's story, as his hero is framed for murder, gains allies and enemies inside Furnace, and finally, inevitably, plans an audacious jailbreak. This is a punch-between-the-eyes kind of read, punishing in every sense, Gothic in its horrors, darkly claustrophobic.

It should be noted, however, that Furnace: Lockdown ends on a cliffhanger. Two projected sequels - subtitled Solitary and Death Sentence - will, one assumes, resolve unanswered questions and bring closure. Readers may find the wait between volumes a long stretch.

It's not too long to wait between each one, only three months! As a huge Clive Barker fan, I'm so honoured to have been compared to him! So cool!

I've just got back from my first ever Furnace school event, at the City of London School. I am absolutely shattered, but it was a fantastic day! I had to be up at 5.30 to catch the train, and arrived at the school feeling a bit like a zombie. Once I was in my first class, though, and started talking to the pupils, it went brilliantly. Thanks to all the staff and boys at the CLS for making me feel so welcome, and for asking some wonderful questions! And thanks too to Tim and David for looking after me.

And the biggest thanks go to the two pupils who shouted 'Gordon is the Best' down the corridor at me as I was leaving!

The wonderful Alison at Future Radio asked me to be a guest on her show today, which was brilliant. I'm always terrified of going on live radio (what if I swear accidentally, or say something ridiculous?!) but I swallowed my nerves and the whole thing went really well. It's a great station, and well worth listening to if you're in the Norwich area (or online. I'll try and get a recording of it up here soon! Thanks Alison!

This show really kicked off the Furnace tour, though, as it's a busy month from here on in. Bring it on!

Popped out to Dad's today for a belated birthday Sunday lunch. Sophie cooked an incredible meal, as always, with the best trifle in the world for pudding (seriously, it is the BEST trifle in the world, absolutely delicious). We spent most of the afternoon looking at pictures of me as a baby, which was a little embarrassing but very sweet (even though most of them seemed to be me naked as a baby, I mean come on Mum and Dad, could you not afford to buy me some trousers?!). After that Lucy whipped everybody on Motor Storm, then we set off to visit the arcades and play on the 2p machines - but they were closed! It was a lovely day, though.

Today was another casting up at UEA, which was great. We had some brilliant actors turn up, and we're definitely going to use some of them in the film. I'll post more information here, and on the Fear Driven Films blog as well, soon.

Of course the most important birthday in the month of February is obviously mine, although I was a bit nervous about it this year because I turned 30! It's a huge milestone, but to be honest I've been looking forward to it because I was a bit bored of being in my twenties. I feel like I've been a twenty-something for AGES!

I've had a lovely day, mainly just chilling out. Lynsey came over in the day and I unwrapped some pressies, including an awesome game for the PS3 which had all the old games I played as a kid on my Megadrive (including Streets of Rage and Golden Axe, soooooo cool)! Then after school we all went round to Mum's for some macaroni cheese. Home-made macaroni cheese, of course, with bits of bacon in. Heaven! Mum had made a huge cake, and Lynsey and Lucy also made me 30 little cupcakes, so I guess the diet will start tomorrow...

After that we all came back to mine and watched War of the Worlds. Then, after everybody had gone, I watched Grand Designs and went to bed. Rock and Roll!

I got some more brilliant pressies, though. Lucy bought me this awesome Dalek Sek voice changing mask, which is horrible but in a really cool way. Jamie got me the new Silent Hill game, which I have been looking forward to for so long. I got some beautiful artwork from Dad and Sophie, and quite possibly the coolest fountain pen in the world from mum. It's red and gold, but the red looks like an ocean of blood, prefect for writing horror books!

Thank you everyone for making my birthday so special!

I was delighted to see another fantastic review for Furnace today, this time by the lovely Liz on her My Favourite Books blog. Thanks so much for your kind words, and I'm sorry I burnt your Sunday Lunch...

Here are my thoughts: Buy Furnace: Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith right now - put it on order on Amazon, nag your parents, nag your partner, and just buy it! It is that much of a roller coaster of a read full of action, a wronged hero (who in turn is not entirely innocent but he is likable), it is well told, it has engaging characters, an incredible and awful situation, a hellish location, complete with gang fights, lockdowns, a diabolic jail, a warden dug up from the bowels of hell, and an escape plan to rival The Shawshank Redemption.

There is so much that is brilliant about Furnace. The author, Alexander Gordon Smith, has clearly got a very devious and twisted little mind which he uses to great effect, messing up his main character's life. Alex is one of the bullies at school, he also breaks into houses when the owners are out, so he's pretty much a nasty piece of work, not entirely someone you would want to read about. But here, lies the genius of the author - Alex's character has more redeeming qualities than you would give him credit for and once you realise how much trouble he's in, you forget about the fact that he's not entirely the nicest kid on the block and you get behind him. Alex's voice is fresh and strong - there is no swagger, there is no posturing - he is just a kid who made a few stupid choices and because of that, he gets sent to the Furnace.

The Furnace as the setting is excellent. There is plenty of friction - imagine it: thousands of boys of various ages, thrown together in a crevice deep beneath the earth, forgotten by the world above, unable to tell anyone of the horrors of what happens in the Furnace. No one has ever escaped - ever. There are jumpers, kids who prefer suicide to living in the Furnace. Others join the two dominant gangs in an attempt to be safe and be part of a family again. Others just take one day at a time, hoping that they don't get taken at night to who knows where.

The background to the harsh treatment of young offenders stems from the Summer of Slaughter when groups of children roamed the streets, killing scores of people. New stricter laws were brought in to combat youth crime - if you act a hooligan, you will pay for it. There is no nanny-state - you get tossed in the Furnace, with no recourse, no chance to get bail - you get sent there, forever.

It is harsh reality for Alex to deal with - but he chums up with his cell-mate and learns the ropes of how the Furnace works. He toes the line, but his mind is at work on a way to escape. He does not give up, no matter what he faces. With a handful of friends he plots and plans, all the while being witness to the horrors of the Furnace.

It is a book for slightly older readers (12+) - not necessarily for bad language or difficult language, but probably for the nightmare situation the characters find themselves in. The Furnace is someone's worst nightmare come true. There are remnants of The Running Man, Shawshank Redemption and Resident Evil (those bloody dogs!) and an imagination worthy of Frank Miller, Mike Mignola and Guilermo Del Toro. In other words, Furnace: Lockdown will make an excellent movie - it has elements of the movies I've just mentioned, but more importantly, it is its very own creation and a shocking non-stop ride that will leave you wanting more. Reading for boys (and adventurous girls) does not get better than this! I think Mr. Smith should get a Batman badge for excellence, creating both an interesting main character and protagonists (baddies) with enough menace to give you the hibbie jibbies just reading about them on the page and a storyline that keeps you pinned to the pages... to the extent where your Sunday lunch ends up being a bit crispy as you accidentally forgot about it in the oven, as you were reading...

It's definitely birthday season! Happy birthday Mum!

I can't believe it: Jamie turns 13 today. 13?! He's a teenager!!! And acting a bit like one now too... But he's still as sweet as ever. Happy Birthday, little bro, have a great one!!!

So it's only a matter of days now before Furnace is officially launched and this is where the nerves really start to set in. I lie awake at night thinking: oh no, what if nobody buys it, or what if they buy it and hate it, or what if somebody spots a massive plot hole that we all missed, or what if it is just rubbish?! Argh!

Which is why it was such a huge relief yesterday, when I was browsing Google in search of anything Furnace related, that I discovered some very positive early reviews! They all seem to be from Australia, as the book is being released there on the 5th March too. The first is from a lovely reviewer called Tez Miller (her site is full of great reviews and is well worth a look)! It goes as follows:

There's no leniency for child offenders in Lockdown, the explosive first novel in Alexander Gordon Smith's new series.

The infamous Summer of Slaughter, in which rioting kids killed 69 people, sparked new laws, and the consequences of disobeying them are extreme. Alex Sawyer knows he deserves punishment for thievery, but not for murdering his best friend. He's been framed, though no one believes him, and he's incarcerated for life in Furnace Penitentiary.

Alex isn't the only innocent prisoner in this genuinely frightening setting, and it's no surprise he's not the only one who wants out. Together, he and his newfound friends and foes begin hatching a plan to escape... unless they get killed first, which is likelier than one might assume.

The author has created an astounding and outstanding novel. Alexander Gordon Smith has one sick imagination, but it makes for riveting reading, combining realistic and relatable protags with the scariest, creepiest antags I've ever read. The blood watches are tense, eerie and utterly unforgettable.

To explain more would be spoilers, but this futuristic horror YA series is set to be an absolute cracker. The only real problem is that this first book ends in a cliffhanger, and Book 2 isn't due out until October. (Even later in North America, you poor dears.)

I love this book so much. Start pre-ordering now, and get excited. Reading doesn't get much better than this.

My favourite bit is about my 'sick imagination', which is true! Thanks so much for the great review, Tez, and for putting my mind at rest! And thanks too to these other reviewers for saying such great things:

'I am thoroughly impressed with this novel and would particularly recommend it to those who are fans of action and adventure and are thrill-seekers. I am not a thrill-seeker myself but I certainly loved it and recommend it...This book makes your heart-race, your blood pound and your hands clammy all in one sitting!'
Nicole, 15

'I thought this book was an amazing, creative piece of work. Rarely have I come across a book that manages to build such an oppressive and intimidating atmosphere.'
Robert, 23

'Alexander Gordon Smith's Furnace is a brilliantly written book. It plays on our fear of being incarcerated for a crime that we have not committed. With many unforeseen twists and turns throughout the story, it will have you gripping the edge of your seat.'
Danielle, 18

Yesterday Lynsey, Lucy, Jamie and I had our first kung fu lesson, which was brilliant! Lynsey and I are huge fans of kung fu movies, and a couple of weeks ago, after watching Kung Fu Panda (yes, I know Kung Fu Panda isn't considered a classic in the field, but it is great fun...) we all decided we'd love to have lessons.

After much perusal online we discovered a great school in Norwich, the Hung Sing School, which teaches a style known as Choy Li Fut. We booked our first class, and turned up rather anxiously yesterday evening to be met by our new Sifu, Neil. He was a lovely guy, and a very good teacher, especially considering that none of us knew anything about kung fu (apart from the fact that a panda can be picked as the dragon warrior if he truly believes he can). Actually there were more than a few resemblances between Jack Black's roly poly panda and my rather graceless movements on the mats, but hopefully that will improve over time (along with my fitness, I should say, as it's incredibly good exercise)!

So we're aiming to go back every Monday, now, slowly becoming mega kung fu masters. Haaaaiiiiii ya!

A lovely friend of mine, and fellow Faber author, Alex Milway is organising a children's book festival in Crystal Palace in April. He has pulled together a fantastic lineup of writers and artists (including yours truly), and the whole thing looks brilliant! Find out more at the official blog, and be sure to book your tickets soon! Well done to Alex for doing such an amazing job, especially as he is also writing a number of new books. I don't know how he does it!

It's been a really busy week getting things ready for the launch of Furnace next month. One of the things Faber wanted to do was put together a trailer for the book, and as we're making a film later in the year I thought Jen and I might as well give it a shot.

The first thing we needed was some props. I managed to find a great mask that looked like a wheezer, and a gas mask which I trimmed down to fit then stitched on. It didn't look like much sitting on a table in the middle of the day, but when I put in on, blacked out the eyes, wore an old slicker and charged down a corridor in the middle of the night it was terrifying!

Jamie volunteered to be the poor soul caught breaking into a house, and I have to say he played the burglar so well that I began to get suspicious... We filmed it at Jen's house, as she had a perfect long, dark corridor, and we must have shot a dozen or so takes. It was at that point that I began to regret buying an airtight mask and clamping a non-operational gas mask on the top, as I could barely breath! After half an hour or so I was staggering around like a drunk, hyperventilating and making some very real wheezing splutters!

It was definitely worth it, though, as when Jen had finished the edit the trailer looked fantastic. It's short, but it's very scary, and the fiery Furnace logo looks brill. I just want to say a huge THANKS to Jen for putting so much work into it! Check it out on the homepage, and at my new YouTube channel.

I'd also like to say thanks to Norwich HEART (and Jen again) for letting us take some author photos at the Norwich Guildhall, which is an incredible old building which used to be a jail. Jen and I spent an hour or so down in the cellars taking some shots, although we had to leave after a while because we both became convinced that the place was haunted! With all those cells, and all that history, I wouldn't be surprised... Well worth popping in if you're passing by, though!

Just a quickie: Lynsey and Lucy had free tickets to go and see Bolt yesterday, it was hilarious! Well worth watching, even if just for the hamster!

OMG! Emily from Faber sent me an email on Friday saying that there was something interesting in the post, and she wasn't lying! I was so excited that my Friday night's sleep was plagued with anxiety dreams - including one where I took Furnace out of the envelope and it had the blurb for somebody else's book on the back!

However, Saturday morning came and after a lovely midmorning fry-up with friends I returned home to see a book-sized envelope lying beneath the letterbox! As with both Inventors books I could barely control my hyperventilations as I ripped it open and there it was in all its stunning glory, FURNACE: LOCKDOWN. Yay!

It is so exciting to see the finished book. It looks incredible, with a striking cover that is sure to send chills up a few spines. Thanks to everybody at Faber for putting so much hard work into it, and all the other people who have helped bring the book to life. I'm so grateful to you all!

It should be in the shops very soon, with an official launch date of March 5th. Of course I'll let you all know as soon as it's out there. I've also had a sneak peek at the website, which will be launched in February complete with an Escape from Furnace game that looks AMAZING!

Anyway, I'm off to stare at it for a while longer. But it's great to know that the books are ready.

The incarceration is about to begin...

It's been all quiet on the blogging front again recently, sorry about that. Don't blame me, blame this movie that we are making! I knew film producers didn't exactly have dull, uneventful lives, but I had no idea quite how much work went into organising a movie shoot - and we're still six months away! It's all one great big juggling act, with money, people, props, sets, locations and a million other things all up in the air at once, and it takes so much concentration to keep them all going that you forget about your real life! I do love it, though.

I've spent the last week designing logos, and we've gone for the gruesome one above. I've also built a website, which IS NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED as it has a number of (fake!) severed limbs and the like. But anybody over 15 years of age is welcome to pay it a visit!

Fear Driven Films.

The rest of this week will be devoted to Furnace, especially the edit of book number two, Solitary. The lovely new publicity person at Faber, Laura, has been sending me lots of requests for interviews and things, which is wonderful, and there are a few school visits and festivals lined up too. I can't wait!

And right now I'm off to buy a World War II gas mask and leather overcoat from Ebay so that we can do some photo shoots and video with the terrifying Wheezers...