A pair of golden retrievers feature in MINTY: Romulus and Remus. Although not retrievers, my dogs, Bonnie and Clyde, provided the inspiration for the characters. By the way, Bonnie is on the left and Clyde is on the right.

 

 

 

What's not to love? The gorgeous Clyde, aka Remus.

 

 

 

This wee cutie is called Mr Bo (short for Mr Bojangles). Like Bonnie and Clyde, he was a rescue pet and quite a character. He was eccentric, very loving and the original one-cat fluff factory. Can you tell where he was when this picture was taken? I'll give you a clue: think water, think bubbles - think relaxing! It was Mr Bo I had in mind as I created the character of Octavius in MINTY. 

To be continued.

Welcome to my website!

Hi! I'm Christina Banach, author of Minty. Thanks for dropping by my website. Please take a look around. Here you'll find news and information about me and my books. If you have any questions do get in touch through my contact page. Thank you for visiting and happy reading! 

 

AUTHOR IN RESIDENCE

I was the 2017-2018 Scottish Book Trust Author in Residence at Knightsridge Primary School, Livingston. Many thanks to the SBT for for affording me the opportunity to share my love of writing and reading with such an inspiring school.

 

REVIEW FROM THE BOOK TRUST

"This is a thought provoking debut novel about love, loss and the importance of family…A compelling and ultimately heart-warming story."

 

Please click on the link below to read the whole critique: 

http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books/view/34314


REVIEW FROM THE SCOTTISH BOOK TRUST

"Through Minty's eyes we see how family and friends are affected by bereavement. It deals with loss, love, friendship and over all, hope, resilience and strength of character. It's a haunting, eerie and beautiful read that will resonate with you for days after you read it. "


TEEN'S BOOK OF THE MONTH

I'm very grateful to the Scottish Book Trust for featuring Minty as their Teen's Book of the Month. 

 http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/blog/2014/parents/11/teens-book-of-the-month-minty 

 

OTHER REVIEWS

Below are extracts of some other reviews (to read more please check out my News and Reviews page):

 

"What an amazing story! I could not put this book down!"

 

"This is one of those gems that works for young adults and also the not so young...I read it in a single sitting - something I do not ordinarily do - except for a brief pause to compose myself before the final chapter, such was the intensity of emotion the book engenders. You must read this book..."

 

"Christina's stunning style of writing succeeded in bringing tears of joy and sadness to my eyes. For a first book being this good, it makes me wonder what is yet to come."

 

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL

I was thrilled to be part of the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2015 SCBWI panel event - How To Survive Being Published. It was a real privilege to have been invited. Thank you! 

 

Plot & Structure Event

Thank you to everyone who came to my plot and structure workshop in Edinburgh. I hope you had as much fun as I did. Thanks to Sheila Averbuch for this great write up of the day. 

 

PINTEREST 

I've created a mood board for MINTY over on Pinterest. Click here to take a look:

www.pinterest.com/cbanachauthor

 

 

 

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