Tuesday, February 17, 2009


ABOUT GRIFFEN'S HEART
a young adult novel with real heart appeal by Tina Shaw.
Longacre Press RRP: $19.99
http://www.longacre.co.nz/

When asked about her new novel and where the idea came from this is what Tina Shaw had to say:

Ideas for fiction can come from all sorts of places, and not necessarily end up where you expect them to.
About Griffen's Heart started life as a short story for adults. It was inspired by the true story of a young man with a bad heart who saved a young woman from being attacked. He heard her cries for help and without thinking about himself, rushed in to help her, scaring the attacker off. The young man beat off the offender but sadly had a heart attack and died during the incident.
I was quite disturbed by this story, and the young man’s selflessness and bravery stuck in my mind so I wrote several versions. None of them seemed to work properly, or to do him justice. Then I heard another story about a teenage girl who had been violent towards her father. The case was eventually resolved out of court, but these two stories came together in my mind and melded into being a young adult novel.

Although About Griffen's Heart is quite different now from my original idea, I like to think that the original inspiration is captured in this novel.

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