As an author I spend most of my working time sat on my own with my laptop or my notebook writing. Sometimes I'm working on very short stories for young readers and at other times I'm working on something bigger... right now I'm doing a mixture of both. As well as writing I love going out and about to visit schools and libraries so that I can tell stories and get people excited about books, reading and writing.
Last week I visited my first school of 2017 - Heygreen Primary School in Liverpool. I was made to feel really welcome and had a wonderful time sharing stories and talking about what I do. Working together with Key Stage 2 we came up with some great story ideas... I hope you have fun finishing them off.
Click here to see a picture of the day on Twitter...
This week I will be visiting Holy Trinity C E Primary School in Bury so here's a HUGE HELLO to everyone there... See you all soon.
Monday, 30 January 2017
Wednesday, 11 January 2017
Granny At The Park - Reading Champions
I've been busy working on some very short stories with Franklin Watts recently to encourage and help very young children with their independent reading. The first of these is Granny At The Park, illustrated by Jan Smith. I've only seen the rough inside artwork so far but have just spotted the colour cover on Amazon so thought I'd share it here with you. It's fun and a bit challenging working on very short stories (there's only six words on each page) and they need really lively artwork to bring them to life. I think that Jan Smith has done a wonderful job of showing Granny having fun at the park as she causes more and more embarrassment for her Grandson.
If you want to find out more about the illustrator, Jan Smith you can visit her website here.
Right now I'm busy working on more ideas...
Tuesday, 10 January 2017
A Late Happy New Year
It's hard to believe we are already ten days into 2017. Christmas really seemed to fly by this year and I've been busy writing since then. At the moment I'm working on lots of little story ideas for young readers but will soon be getting back to my big book.
Before Christmas we had a couple of days in London, though we didn't have a lot of time to look round as our time was taken up with other things... We set of early in the morning and I drove us down to Watford to go on the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio tour. If you've never been before it's well worth a visit... make sure you give yourself plenty of time though as there is lots to see. Going at Christmas, the Hogwarts Great Hall (and Hogwarts itself) all had a Christmas theme which made it that bit more special.
The Hall had Christmas decorations and even Christmas cakes on the tables...
After spending a few hours at the Warner Bros. Studio we were back in the car and heading down towards our hotel in London. We arrived just in time to grab a bite to eat before it was time to go to bed... we had to be up early the next morning.
After a delicious cooked breakfast we headed down to the underground and caught a tube train into the centre of London. We just had enough time to call into the British Museum to take a look at the ancient Egyptian artifacts - mummies, statues and lots more.
It would be easy to spend the whole day in the museum as there's much to see but we didn't have a lot of time... we had to get to the Palace Theatre in time for the first part of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child.
The story is in two parts; with each play being just over 2 and a half hours long - with short interval half way through and then a couple of hours gap in between the two so you have time to go out and get something to eat. Harry Potter And The Cursed Child is set after the films so Harry is grown up... and that's all I'm going to tell you (I don't want to spoil it).
We didn't really know what to expect from the plays but I can tell you that they were excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed them. I would certainly recommend them to anyone. The acting was excellent and the effect were brilliant.
Between the two plays we had time to grab a burger and have a little wander round to stretch our legs... it was great to see London all decorated for Christmas.
We had a lovely Christmas and hope you did too... it's back to work now and I'm on with the writing. Looking forward to a really good year with lots of writing and lots of school visits.
If you would like me to come and visit you school or library - please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Before Christmas we had a couple of days in London, though we didn't have a lot of time to look round as our time was taken up with other things... We set of early in the morning and I drove us down to Watford to go on the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio tour. If you've never been before it's well worth a visit... make sure you give yourself plenty of time though as there is lots to see. Going at Christmas, the Hogwarts Great Hall (and Hogwarts itself) all had a Christmas theme which made it that bit more special.
After a delicious cooked breakfast we headed down to the underground and caught a tube train into the centre of London. We just had enough time to call into the British Museum to take a look at the ancient Egyptian artifacts - mummies, statues and lots more. It would be easy to spend the whole day in the museum as there's much to see but we didn't have a lot of time... we had to get to the Palace Theatre in time for the first part of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child.
The story is in two parts; with each play being just over 2 and a half hours long - with short interval half way through and then a couple of hours gap in between the two so you have time to go out and get something to eat. Harry Potter And The Cursed Child is set after the films so Harry is grown up... and that's all I'm going to tell you (I don't want to spoil it).
Between the two plays we had time to grab a burger and have a little wander round to stretch our legs... it was great to see London all decorated for Christmas.
If you would like me to come and visit you school or library - please don't hesitate to get in touch.
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