The Eagles

Last night we drove to Manchester again for another concert - this time with Lorraine to see The Eagles. It's quite a few years since we last saw the Eagles, and then it was at an open air stadium on a hot summer's day - the atmosphere was brilliant and we were right at the front. This time we saw them at the MEN Arena in Manchester and we were sat to one side of the stage. The group played for about 3 hours - performing some of the old favourites and quite a few of their new tracks too... They are always louder and rockier on stage than they are on record - and they were fantastic.

Today I'm packing my bags to go down to Oxfordshire to spend a week with some other writers - I'll post more about that when I get chance.

Bye for now....

Eric Bloodaxe

Over the next few weeks I've got quite a few little books being published - the first of these is a Viking tale about Eric Bloodaxe (The last Viking King of Jorvik - or York as it's now known). The story is only about 300 words long but I'm quite fond of it... not only because I enjoyed writing it but also because it's been illustrated by Ross Collins.

For this book I was asked to write a historical story about a famous viking, so I chose Eric Bloodaxe. Not only because he has a great Viking name but also because he was the last Viking king and the exact circumstances surrounding his death are a little bit vague... this was good for me as it meant I could put my imagination to work. I also had to keep in mind that book was going to be for quite young readers so I couldn't fill it with gruesome battles - though there is a battle in the story.

The book is all about a young boy, whose father - the village blacksmith - is asked to make a special helmet for King Eric, and what happens when he - ah, but I can't tell you anything else. That would spoil the story.

A Thundering Night

After spending the morning putting the finishing touches to my latest book, Rachel and I drove to Garstang to visit the wonderful Corner Bookshop in the afternoon - this time so that I could sign a pile of books that people had bought following our school visits the week before - Thank you very much to Mary for asking me to come in and do that.

We drove back home in time to make tea and then headed down to Manchester to see the excellent James Talyor in concert at the MEN Arena. We saw James in Blackpool a year or so ago, when he did his One Man Show tour, but this time he was accompanied by his full band. James performed for about two and a half hours and it was fantastic...

It was still very warm when we drove home at about ten past 11 so we put the top down on the car to try and keep cool. It helped - but not a lot.

Later in the night there was a huge thunderstorm which seemed to go on for ages so I didn't get a lot of sleep.

Rachel's Artwork

It's been a very busy week so far... On Monday morning I was busy working on a book and in the evening we all went to the Blackpool Sixth Form College where Rachel, and all the other upper sixth form students, were showing their artwork in an exhibition. The exhibition was set up in the new building - which looks great - and lots of people were invited to come along and take a look, including family and friends, and people involved with the college and with art galleries. We get used to seeing Rachel's artwork in the house but it's great having the chance to see it on display.

Over the last year or so Rachel's been busy creating artwork using a variety of techniques and materials . I really like these wax eggs...

You can see more of Rachel's artwork by visiting her blog (there's a link to it on the right of the page) and you can also find out a bit more about how she has created some of her artwork.

Picture Books and Starfish on the Beach

I've been busy catching up on some writing this week, as there's a short story (about 6000 words that needs finishing - and then another one starting), but today I took a little break from that to try and finish off a picture book story that I've been working on for quite a while.

Unfortunately, I didn't get the picture book finished but I did get quite a lot of it done. I just need to put the finishing touches to it now before I can send it off. Some parts I'm really happy with and other parts... not so happy. I think I'll have to put it away for a good few days and then take a fresh look at it later. This often helps.

This evening we went for another walk on the beach (lots of starfish around today so we had to watch where we were walking) - and did a bit more paddling. Off to bed now. Goodnight...

Hello Hannah

Over the past few weeks I’ve been out and about visiting schools and libraries to talk about books and share stories. I’ve had a great time and have met some wonderful people, but it’s nice to have a bit of time now where I can stay at home and get some writing done and catch up with a few other things.

On Saturday I received a lovely letter from Hannah – HELLO HANNAH and thank you for the excellent picture of Crank and Al. I hope you enjoy reading The Tin Man.

On Sunday I helped my brother and Sue tidy his loft (lots of fun there) then had a little walk along the beach. Sunday was Father's Day and I received a fantastic present from Lorraine and our girls - tickets to see Fleetwood Mac in November... I can hardly wait.

The Corner Bookshop

Tomorrow I'm off to Garstang - only about half an hour away - to visit a few schools as part of The Independent Booksellers Week.

There's a big Robo-runners display in one of the shop windows - which is great.

In the morning I'm joining up with Mary from the Corner Bookshop and we'll be visiting three schools in the area - St Thomas's CE Primary School in Garstang, John Cross CE Primary School in Bilsborrow and then Garstang Community Primary School (I hope I've got that right) in the afternoon.

Here's a big hello to everyone at the schools in Garstang and Bilsborrow - I'll see you soon.

Now I'm off to bed... Goodnight.

Catching Up...

Last week I visited St Mark’s CE Primary School in Scarisbrick, Lancashire for part of their big book week that had been organised by their wonderful librarian Debbie – thank you for inviting me in and for looking after me during the day...

There were lots of exciting book activities during the week – including a visit from John Malam – the author of lots of great non-fiction books (Hi there John) – and the chance to see a book that had been written in braille and hear it being read out loud.

I visited the school on Thursday and had a great time talking about books and sharing lots of stories. At lunchtime there was a delicious buffet and at the end of the day I got the chance to meet everyone again and sign a few books for the keen readers. It was great. On Friday evening Lorraine, Deanna and I drove up to the North East of England to visit Lorraine’s mum for the weekend – and on Saturday we drove up past the Angel of The North and spent a few hours at the Metrocentre (a huge shopping centre near Gateshead).

This week is Independent Booksellers week and on Monday I drove over to Yorkshire with Laura to visit the Saltaire Bookshop and talk to everyone from year three at Saltaire Primary School. A big thanks to everyone for coming and making it such a fun morning and thanks to David and Yvonne for inviting me in.

After stopping for some lunch we arrived home late in the afternoon but I just had time to put some carpet tiles down in the shed and put my desk together. The shed is already starting to look a little bit less like a shed and more like an office.

On Thursday I'm off to Garstang (only half an hours drive) to spend the day at some primary schools with the wonderful people from the Corner Bookshop in Garstang.