about Big and Clever

Big And Clever is my first novel for young adults.

Working on and off, the book took about two years to complete, from first draft to final revising and editing.

My inspiration for the story came from a lot of different sources. My experiences of school as a pupil, a teacher and as a parent were important. In terms of the subject matter, I was influenced by things I've read, things I've seen on TV and incidents I've witnessed during thirty years of going to football matches.

I've heard people say that a lot of writing is autobiographical, and that is true to a certain extent. There's a bit of me in all the central characters in Big And Clever.

I don't see Big And Clever as just a book about football hooliganism. Hopefully it's also about the basic human need to belong, to feel included, and the things that people will do to make this happen. I was also trying to write about the experience of being a teenager, the idea of it being a time of transformation, and the pressure that teenagers feel to develop an identity, something to make them stand out from the crowd.

I've never been a fan of fancy, flowery writing, so I try to keep my style as simple and straightforward as possible. Meat and two veg fiction.

Big and Clever - the story

Tom's whole life is straight out of Crap Towns. Mum has died, Dad's a waster and school is tough. Tom and Raks are bottom of the pecking order at their new school in the rundown town of Letchford, where everyone seems to belong to some kind of group based on dress-code and interests. Now Tom and Raks are starting to get pushed around and Tom has had enough. Life seems a long way away from paper rounds and nights in with his girlfriend Zoe.

Then the two friends gravitate towards 'ASBO boy' Ryan, a cynical and insolent boy whose reputation goes before him. Ryan's life revolves around going to watch League Two strugglers Letchford Town Football Club. If Tom and Raks want to make firm friends with the intelligent and intriguing outsider, Letchford Town is going to have to become part of their lives too.

Raks has only ever been to a handful of football matches and Tom hasn't been since primary school days when his Dad used to take him, but it isn't long before they are meeting Ryan on a Saturday and making their way to the Southlands Stadium. Their first match on the terraces turns out to be a lot more than Tom and Raks were expecting. It is matters away from the pitch that seem to be the focus of Ryan and his friends' attention. When it kicks off outside the ground with the Castleton fans, Tom and Raks are ready and up for it. Before they know it they are at the heart of the trouble and end up running away from the Police.

Tom is hooked and can't wait for the next home game and as the matches come thick and fast the two friends find a new focus. Now everyone at school notices them. Tom and Raks have an identity, a group of friends, they have power. Suddenly Tom isn't looking back to the good old days with Zoe and trying to support his Dad through his depression, he's skipping school to go down the Shakespeare's Head to drink with hardened legends of the terrace. Life is exciting and has purpose - but inevitably, at what cost?

Often funny, occasionally touching and always true to life, BIG AND CLEVER is an exhilarating Young Adult novel. Dan Tunstall's debut is a page-turner to get anyone into reading.

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about Big Brother

Big Brother is a short novel for teenagers, and it's the first one I've done with Edinburgh-based publishers Barrington Stoke. Available as an e-book in 2010, it will be appearing in traditional form in 2011.

Working to a shorter word-count presented me with a different set of challenges. I had to rein in my natural tendency to waffle! The editorial process was different this time round too. Barrington Stoke trial the manuscript with groups of kids, and some interesting changes came about through this.

The plot of Big Brother revolves around the age-old theme of sibling rivalry. Ricky has lived his whole life in the shadow of his successful older brother Sam who is held up by his parents as an example of all the things Ricky should be but isn't. As the story unfolds though, it becomes clear that not everything is exactly as it seems, and maybe Ricky's not getting quite the raw deal he thought he was.

Big Brother - the story

Sam's brother. That's all Ricky has ever been. At least it feels that way. Ricky's fifteen, and he's the black sheep of the family. Six months away from his GCSE's and he's in trouble for truancy again. The school were onto his mum and dad last night, and they're threatening to send the Educational Welfare Officer round. Mum and Dad are mortified. They're into keeping up appearances, big-time. And this just won't do.

It's tense at breakfast this morning. What Mum and Dad want to know, is why can't Ricky be more like Sam? Sam's brilliant. Mr Reliable. Top in everything at school. Sailed through University. And now he's back home and starting a cracking new job. Twenty two years old and he's got the world at his feet. What Sam makes of it all, Ricky isn't too sure. He's just sitting there. He's not gloating, but he's not speaking up for Ricky either.

There's nothing Ricky can say. He heads to school, does his best to be enthusiastic, but it's pointless. He's fighting a losing battle. Sam's perfect. Ricky's never going to be able to measure up, so why bother? He sticks it out until dinnertime, but the prospect of an afternoon of Geography isn't doing anything for him. Pretty soon he's in town, mooching around, completely unaware that his entire outlook on life is about to be changed.