YA Books
THE CALYPSO CHRONICLES
"Have you ever wondered what it would be like to escape the madness of your parental clutches and run away to boarding school? Well I never did! My rentals decided for me. Why I couldn't go to an ordinary school near where we live in LA instead of the posher than thou St. Augustine's School for Ladies near Windsor in England is anyone's guess. Of course I was the instant school misfit. Honestly anything that marks you out as normal in America seemed to have me branded a freak by the posh Sloanes at my school most of whom seem to be descended from royalty if not royal themselves. After three years of being the school freak, I decided, enough was enough so...I pulled HRH himself - yes, the prince of England... and that was when my real troubles started...." Calypso
For Calypso's interactive website, games, blog, list of characters, top tips etc go to www.calypsochronicles.com
Pulling Princes 2004
(Bloomsbury USA, Piccadilly UK)
"....Verdict: Funny exposé of It-girlschool life." - Elle Girl UK
"A right royal read!" - Cosmo Girl UK
"Briget Jones for the early teen set." - Washington Post USA"
"Outrageously funny and a serious contender for the teen chick-lit throne."
- Claudia Mody, The Bookseller
"Fab & funny!"Mizz Magazine
"Frothy and fast paced. . . .Not far behind the giddy, ultra-glitzy fun lurks a generous spirit. Bring on the sequel." - Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
"A fresh and sassy new voice for teenage fiction. Adult author Tyne O'Connell (described as 'Bridget Jones on speed' by the Guardian) takes a hilarious look at the upmarket world of teenage angst in a boarding school culture. "Very funny, very different and totally hip," says Piccadilly MD Brenda Gardner. - Publishing News, STARRED CHOICE
"Why you'll love it: It's a bizarre love triangle between a spunky girl, her fake boyfriend and the Prince of England. Who can resist that?" - Twist
"...an entertaining look at boarding school life and its array of midnight dashes, make-over parties, and creative punishments. Charming and spunky Calypso has a delightful sense of humor that endears her to the reader: a glossary of fencing terms and Britishisms makes this romp accessible to American teens." - Heather Acerro, VOYA
"Calypso is the adorably funny "Queen of Doomsday Prophecies," a classic teenage-drama queen underdog in this endearing and energetic expose of English boarding school life, the first in a witty YA series by Brit chick-lit goddess O'Connell. Fitting in seems an impossible dream for the charmingly out-of-step wallflower, no matter how she tries to mask her American accent, bond with other misfits, appease her snobby roommate, and avoid mean Honey O'Hare and her rich it-girl clique. But Calypso is determined to reinvent herself by winning peer-approval the best way she knows how: nabbing an enviable older boyfriend. Or at least pretending that her Hollywood mom's gay personal assistant is her dashing suitor. Hilarity ensues, with Calypso's "Operation Cool" getting her into hot water. When an actual prince enters the picture, the stakes are raised, and jealousy rears its ugly head. Scenarios -- particularly the fencing scenes-- are inventive, fresh, and fun. In particular, the relatable teen voice here is sharp, honest, and seriously entertaining, making this an enjoyable read, and crowning O'Connell as the latest British teen queen."
- Kirkus Reviews
"Calypso Kelly has always wanted to fit in with the popular, posh girls at her British Boarding School, but her non-Brit ways, and the fact that she's an American student from LA with not-so-much money, keeps her from doing just that. But this term, Calypso plans on changing that by pretending that her Mother's gay personal assistant, Jay, is her boyfriend. What she didn't expect is that the small white lie would work, and that she would be turned into Miss Popularity overnight. But then everything goes awry, for her photo is snapped, and she appears on the cover of every British tabloid kissing Prince Freddie, England's most eligible royal. Now Calypso is forced to try to change this total calamity into a winning situation, in order to save her reputation, and possible relationship with Freddie.
"Teen fiction has been one of my favorite genres for years, and I must admit that Tyne O'Connell's addition to the genre with PULLING PRINCES, is definitely a worthy contribution. PULLING PRINCES is on the level of Meg Cabot's THE PRINCESS DIARIES, and Kate Brian's THE PRINCESS AND THE PAUPER. Her effort is filled with hilarious situations between the main protagonist - Calypso - and the many snotty, rich, and at times, downright vicious girls she attends school with. Female readers will greatly enjoy this new addition to the teen fiction genre, and will find themselves craving for more Calypso when the book is done."- Erika Sorocco
"This is a fun book to read." - bookreviews.com
"A hilarious read." -Travel for Kids
"[The] start of a fun new series. . .Pulling Princes has plenty of humor and plot. Fans of the Gossip Girls and A-List series will enjoy this one." - teenreads.com
"This is every bit the effervescent chick-lit fantasy the plot suggests. . .[a] rich and gossipy treat."- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"The story is jam-packed with posh toffs, true friends, late-night sneak outs for vodka drinking, silly fads, English slang, and plenty of boarding-school antics. Budding Anglophiles can add 'pulling fit boys' to their lexicon, and will soak up the flood of upper-class British culture in this book. The story is milder than Louise Rennison's stories about Georgia Nicolson but similar in tone and style; fans of Cecily von Ziegesar's 'Gossip Girl' series and Zoey Dean's 'A-List' series should enjoy it." - School Library Journal December
"bright and breezy"-Pittsburgh Post Gazette
"[A]n entertaining, light read" -Des Moines Register
Tyne O'Connell's 'Pulling Princes' is included on the prestigious ALA's Best Lists 2005
Stealing Princes 2005
(Bloomsbury USA, Piccadilly UK)
Welcome back to St. Augustine's-the exclusive, all-girls English boarding school where Daddy's plastic and Mummy's contacts rule, though the pedigree of the text messages you receive on your mobile phone is the only Who's Who list that really counts.
"A fresh and sassy new voice for teenage fiction, this is a hilarious look at the world of 'upmarket' teenage angst in boarding school culture and an expose of what it's like to be ordinary in an extraordinary world." Publishing News
"Stealing Princes by Tyne O'Connell continues the excitement begun withPulling Princes, which PW called a "frothy and fast paced [English] boarding school novel in which the genre's stalwart traditions are glamorized and brought up to date with all mod cons." Here, L.A. native Calypso worries that her new roomie, "Lady Portia," may have designs on her bonnie Prince Freddie." Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information." Publishers Weekly
"Give this to fans of Princess Mia and Georgia Nicholson." Booklist review
Dueling Princes 2006
(Bloomsbury USA, Piccadilly UK)
News Flash: Yes the blog mill is true. I Calypso Kelly have finally pulled the distressingly fit, Prince Freddie! And now he's mine, all mine. Even my vile uniform and viler new roommate, the not so Honorable Honey O’Hare, can’t seem to bring me down. This is the year that I am determined to win a place on the National Sabre Team. Which is why the last thing I need is the added madness of my LA parents running about like a mid-life crisis on hormones and causing all sorts of unwanted mayhem.
Can a modern girl have her prince, win her sabre bouts, and persuade her parents to start acting like adults? You can order all my embarrassing escapades from Amazon » in the USA or Amazon » in the UK.
"O'Connell's Calypso Chronicles blend appealing components of such popular series as Gossip Girls and The Princess Diaries. In this installment, Calypso is at the top of her game." Booklist on Dueling Princes.
'Fluffy and Fun' - VOYA
Dumping Princes 2007
(Bloomsbury USA, Piccadilly UK)
No one dumps a girl from St. Augustine's!
Dating Prince Freddie is bliss as far as Calypso Kelly is concerned. So when her friends at the posh St. Augustine’s School for girls decide to chuck their boyfriends and concentrate on their studies, Calypso is horrified! But not nearly as horrified as when Freds dumps her…setting into motion a chain of events that leads to a school-wide plan for a royal Counter Dump. With her first international fencing competition coming up in Italy, and a captivating new boy showering her with attention, can Calypso pull it together and win her prince back? And even if she does, will she have the heart to dump him? All may be fair in love and war…unless, of course, you’re in love with a prince…
"Fresh and sassy...a hilarious look at "upmarket" boarding school culture." - Starred Choice, Publishing News.
True Love, The Sphinx and Other Unsolvable Riddles
(Bloomsbury USA, PICCADILLY UK) 2007
"This flirty, fun romcom, told from four distinctive points of view, reads
like an old-time comedy of errors. O’Connell describes Egypt with such vitality and richness that it shines as a separate character. This novel is a trip worth taking.."
– School Library Journal
How to be an Author
An interview with Miss Tyne O'Connell - by Calypso Kelly
Calypso: Miss O'Connell, Kirkus Review has declared you, the Brit Lit Goddess! When did you first realise that you wanted to be a "lit goddess?"
Miss O'Connell: You mean an author?
Calypso: Erm okay well an author then Miss O'Connell?
Miss O'Connell: I first knew I had to become an author when I read Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford (around age 7)and realised that I could earn a living writing about my own experience. Also, my teacher in fifth class said "Miss O'Connell, you WILL be an author!" She was quite fearsome. I didn't want to cross her.
Calypso: What advice would you give aspirant writers?
Miss O'Connell: Read, read, read and read and then write, write, write and write. Enter competitions. Check the acknowledgements in the back of your fave books for the name of the author's agent. Google them, get their address and write a a short to the point letter laying down your idea for the book you want to write and ask them if they'd be prepared to see a partial.
Calypso: I mean I know it is hard work being an author but is it possible to be an author and still have time for pulling fit boys?
Miss O'Connell: Pulling Fit boys (and shopping and partying) are all vital pastimes for aspirant writers. The important thing is to stay objective. Everything a writer experiences becomes grist for her writer's mill.
Calypso: What other experiences do you think are important for writers?
Miss O'Connell: Think of a writer's life as an artist's palette. Travel, relationships, friends, and new shoes - all these bring colour and life to your writing. You must make your characters real and your friends and family your characters. Or, as they say in writer's paradise, "nothing is sacred, everything is sacred." Oh, and always be as nice as you possibly can. You never know when you're in the company of someone who might hold the key to your future.
Calypso: Do you believe the pen is mightier than the sword?
Miss O'Connell: Absolutely darling, the laptop is far mightier than the sabre. You can bring one man to his knees with a sword but you can bring down a kingdom with the written word.
Calypso: Describe a typical writing day for Tyne O'Connell?
Miss O'Connell: OMGA - Must I? It's awfully unglamorous, darling.
Calypso: It would be so cool if you would erm, it's sort of something people are tres, tres interested in. I mean, that is to say, I am interested.
Miss O'Connell: Well prepare yourself to be horrified darling and don't say I didn't warn you. I wake up and after half an hour of untangling myself from my duvet and watching the news on the plasma tv over my fireplace, I head straight for the espresso machine (still in jim-jammery) and brew four shots which I take to my desk or my bed. I usually respond to emails and then get embroiled in my latest book. After eight hours of this carry on I collapse. I take a bath, change, throw my entire wardrobe on my bed and compose an outfit around my favourite heels and jewels. Then I go back to work until my dinner date for the evening and on to a nightclub where I misbehave, come home, wonder who deposited my wardrobe on my bed. Write a bit more, snuggle up to my laptop and grab some sleep. And I mean GRAB!
Calypso: Do you write everyday?
Miss O'Connell: Darling, you can't make a living from writing if you don't - though on a Sunday I rarely do more than a few hours at the keyboard.
Calypso: Who are your favourite authors.
Miss O'Connell: Nancy Mitford and Jane Austin, Dorothy Parker, Edith Sitwell, Meg Cabbot. And I adore, Shakespeare, Ernest Hemmingway, Eveyln Waugh, Thackeray, Henry James, William Burroughs and loads of other boy writers too but I refuse point blank to read books written by boys after the 1970's because I just think its sooo tragic that most books are bought by women and written by men. Reading books written by women darling, that's my campaign.
Calypso: You have travelled loads and lived in all sorts of magnifique locations like Cairo and France. Do you write when you are abroad?
Miss O'Connell: Darling, a writer is always on duty. Have laptop - will travel. Even if I'm ill I will take my laptop to bed to write a few sulky paragraphs of prose. Many a morning I wake up with my keypad impressed on my cheek. The motto of the author is, I write, therefore I live.
Calypso: What formal study do you recommend for aspirant authors?
Miss O'Connell: Life! Every event in life has the arc of a good story. From the morning commuter disaster, every disappointing email and text, even the struggle with pretentious shop staff who refuse to accept you are a size None-Of-Your-Business. Life is all about arcs, and plot lines are based on life-arcs. Treasure every drama darling, every slight, every letdown, every break-up, every trauma because one day these will be the keys to your success!
Calypso: How did you first get published?
Miss O'Connell: I wrote, I submitted to agents, I was rejected, I wrote some more, was rejected again and then I wrote another book and an editor took me to the Three Greyhounds in Soho (historical literary hangout) and told me she'd like to publish my work. The rest, as they say, was "hard graft".
Calypso: Is much of your work autobiographical?
Miss O'Connell: Darling, that is the definition of fiction. All a writer has to draw on is herself. Any writer who says otherwise is a bounder and a liar and meaner than mean.
Calypso: Has it been difficult being a mother and a writer?
Miss O'Connell: I'm sure it's been the most awful strain on my children - they did run away to boarding school and then disappear down the rabbit hole of the KR after all. I suspect if living with me was pure bliss they'd still be living at home. No writers are the most ghastly people, always wrapped up in the dramas of their characters. Real life only holds appeal when it's got the potential for a good story.
Calypso: Is it hard to be published?
Miss O'Connell: Writing is like architecture - building something out of nothing. You have a dream and then you have to convince your agent to convince an editor that it's worth building your dream into a reality. It takes a lot of commited people to create a book worhty for the shelves of bookstores.
Calypso: Do you think writing is a charming career choice for a girl?
Miss O'Connell: Yes.