• Member Login
Telephone: 07591 380434 | Email: info@fcbg.org.uk
The Federation of Children's Book Groups
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • National Executive
    • Our History
    • Our Founder
    • The Jean Russell Gift
    • Support Us
  • What We Do
      • What we do on a national level
      • Introduction
      • Children’s Book Award
      • Conference
      • Past Conferences
      • National Non-Fiction November
      • National Share-A-Story Month
      • National Share a Story Month 2022
      • What we do at a local level
      • Introduction
      • Setting up a local Children’s Book Group
      • What local groups do
      • Find a group
  • Children’s Book Award
      • About CBA
      • CBA Home
      • Children’s Book Award 2022
      • About The Award
      • Previous Winners
      • 2020 Award
      • Winners
      • Shortlist
      • 2019 Award
      • Winners
      • CBA Top Ten 2019
      • Award Ceremony
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Newsletters
    • Resources Hub
    • Booklists
    • Press releases
    • Reading / Literacy Organisations
  • Membership
    • About
    • Member Login
  • Contact
  • Menu Menu

My Passion for Point Horror

January 15, 2021/0 Comments/by FCBG blog

Guest Post by Cynthia Murphy

If I could travel back in time and speak to ten-year-old me, I’d tell her about how twenty-six years in the future, our love of Point Horror would kickstart a young adult writing career.

She would ask me what took so long.

I have a wonderfully clear memory of being in Year 6 and writing what would now be called fanfic of ‘The Cheerleader’ by Caroline B Cooney. I was obsessed. I found my appetite for reading early in life and, once I had exhausted my local library of all the Judy Blume and Sweet Valley High books on their shelves, I discovered Point Horror. I wish I could remember the first one I read, or how I came across them, but once I got my teeth into the collection, I made it a mission to collect every single one. I’d save up for them, ask for them as gifts and swap them with classmates who had the same predilection as me. I just couldn’t get enough.

They ignited a love of being scared. There’s nothing better, when the world gets too much, than to lose yourself in the life of someone who is having a way worse time than you are. In fact, with the way the world is at the moment (yes, 2020, I’m talking to you) I can see why YA horror is making a resurgence – it’s escapism at its finest. Point Horror meant I could open the pages of a book and walk beside ghosts and vampires, be on the run from a killer or stalked through a dark gymnasium. I could find dead bodies, receive threatening notes, suspect friends and love interests…and then hide the book when it all got a bit too much. Often face down under the bed, because that way the monsters couldn’t get out.

Fast forward to 2019. My writing bestie sent me a surprise in the post, a baseball tee with, coincidentally, the cover of ‘The Cheerleader’ printed on it. I’d been in a writing slump and in with the package was a note to say it was to help me get my writing mojo back. I started looking at recent YA with interest. There had been a couple of successful horror novels but, as a genre, it had been dominated by sparkly vampires and then gone slightly stale. But what if I could revive it? What if I could replicate my beloved Point Horror books in a twenty-first century way? It seemed a little silly and maybe too big of a task, but that almost made it achievable – it was more of a dream than a plan. I had an idea and by November 2019 I had written it, had nine offers from literary agents and signed with the wonderful Stephanie Thwaites at Curtis Brown. We sold the manuscript in January 2020 and I was thrilled to have found a home at Scholastic.

The home of Point Horror.

It’s all been a bit of a dream since. My love letter to teen thrills, Last One to Die, is being touted as ‘Point Horror for the social media generation’. I did what I jokingly set out to do, helped along by a lot of love, patience and very talented people.

Oh, and one magic t-shirt.

Last One to Die, Cynthia Murphy’s debut YA novel, is published in January 2021 by Scholastic

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://fcbg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/LastOnetoDie-cover-667x1024-1.jpg 1024 667 FCBG blog https://fcbg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/newlogo.png FCBG blog2021-01-15 05:30:552021-11-17 10:30:37My Passion for Point Horror
0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search The Blog

Latest Blog Posts

  • The Turtles Return by Saviour PirottaAugust 14, 2022 - 6:00 am
  • Dual Q&A with Simon Philip and Nathan ReedAugust 12, 2022 - 6:15 am
  • Ten Healthy Ways to Reward your Brilliant Brain by Nicola MorganAugust 10, 2022 - 6:00 am
  • The Last Monster by Dan WalkerAugust 6, 2022 - 6:00 am
  • Greek Heroes, Top Ten Myths and Legends by Marcia WilliamsAugust 4, 2022 - 12:51 pm
  • Interview with Ruta SepetysAugust 3, 2022 - 11:29 am
  • The Inflatables by Jess Hitchman and Beth GarrodAugust 2, 2022 - 6:00 am
  • Librarian ListAugust 1, 2022 - 12:48 pm
  • For Newcomers and For Welcomers by Katherine ApplegateJuly 30, 2022 - 6:00 am
  • Magic and Dead Good Detectives by Jenny McLachlanJuly 29, 2022 - 6:00 am
  • All’s Well That Ends Well by Roy PeacheyJuly 27, 2022 - 6:00 am
  • How an ‘anti-librarian’ inspired me to write for the anti-readerJuly 25, 2022 - 6:00 am
  • The Inspiration that Sparked My Own Lightning by Lauren WolkJuly 24, 2022 - 10:37 am
  • The Girl Who Noticed EverythingJuly 22, 2022 - 8:00 am
  • FCBG Asks- Alex Falase-KoyaJuly 21, 2022 - 7:45 am
  • Inspiring all kids to love STEMJuly 17, 2022 - 8:11 am
  • No Sleep for Bear by Duncan BeedieJuly 15, 2022 - 5:49 pm
  • How vampires give a teen coming-of-age tale added biteJuly 14, 2022 - 1:19 pm

© Copyright – The Federation of Children’s Book Groups
Registered Charity no. 268289
Registered address: Federation of Children’s Book Groups, Wakananai Firs Road, Mardy, Abergavenny, NP7 6NA

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
Stick Boy – Blog TourQ & A with S.A. Patrick
Scroll to top