* Meg Harper's homepage
* Children's Author

fur was shortlisted for the Highland Children's Book Awards 2007.

fur was chosen as a book of the month for September 2006 by the Shetland Times and was longlisted for the Manchester Book Award, and the Leicester Book Award

* Piper (published October 2007)

* My Mum... series

* Other Meg Harper Books (published by Lion)

Grace loves the sea. Even her dreams are full of the scents and sounds of the ocean, especially on her birthday each year, when she dreams of beautiful gifts of shells or coral left by her bedside. But dark shadows are troubling the peaceful waters of Grace's life. Why did her mother leave all those years ago? What is happening to Grace's body? And now that she's started seeing Nik, will she be able to keep her problem to herself? You can purchase fur and Piper through Amazon

Meg writes... Fur is a new departure for me – it’s a romance, a mystery and a fantasy all mixed into one. It’s being promoted as a book about first love and body image which it is but it’s also about overcoming terrible hurt, forgiveness and reconciliation. That sounds a bit heavy but it isn’t: I’ve tried to make it that the mystery in the story is a real page turner. It’s hard to say why I wrote this one without giving the story away but it sprang from a moment of real anger about the way so many of us feel forced to change the way we look because of the expectations of other people. It seems particularly bad for women. It’s not just worries about being overweight – it’s all the dyeing and plucking and nipping and tucking, all very costly in time and money, and sometimes absolutely disastrous. I’m not suggesting we should all wear sacks and no make-up but I am very concerned that girls and women don’t seem to have the confidence to accept their bodies as they are. And the hurt and the forgiveness? Well, this is a theme I know I will keep coming back to because it seems so relevant to today’s world. We live in such a blame culture – if we have an accident, it has to be avenged by suing! Family feuds fester on because no one will admit they were in the wrong. To apologise seems to be seen as a weakness. And so we live in an increasingly aggressive world. If we cannot forgive within our own families, what hope is there in the world at large? I’m thrilled that this book is being published. You may not laugh as much as with some of my other books but I hope you will be gripped and moved. I was, writing it! * Reviews of fur. Why not tell Meg what you think of her book?