Wednesday 28 November 2018

Barcelona and Back

Hello to everyone at Bracken Leas Primary School - I'm really looking forward to meeting you all tomorrow to share stories, talk about writing and to answer all of your questions.

On Friday I will be visiting Croughton Elementary School and next week I will be a little closer to home visiting The Grange Primary School in Shrewsbury... so here's a huge HELLO to all of you. It's going to be a busy and fun few days - I can't wait.

The picture above is of The Sagrada Familia, in Barcelona... Since my last diary entry I made a short visit to Barcelona where, as well as getting to see the magnificent basilica, I had the privilege of speaking to teachers and publishers about writing for Fiction Express - which provides a really exciting platform where, not only can children can read new books as they are being written by the author, but they can also chat to the author on an online forum and choose what happens next in the story. 

So far I have written three books for Fiction Express and am looking forward to writing my next one in April...


Monday 12 November 2018

The Year Is Whizzing By...

I can't believe that it has been so long since I last wrote in my diary. This year really is flying by. Over the last few months I have been very busy writing stories and visiting schools and I don't seem to have had a free minute to come and leave a message here.

Before I tell you what I have been working on let me say a huge hello to all of my friends and Brookhurst Primary School in Bromborough - I had a great time with you all and am already looking forward to coming to work with you all. And another huge hello to my friends at Venerable Edward Morgan Primary... it was great seeing you too and I will see you all again very soon.

Tomorrow I will be spending driving to Bury to spend the day at Hollins Grundy Primary School and later in the week I will be travelling much, much further - but I will tell you about that later in the week. 

This year I have been busy working on some more little stories for Franklin Watts for part of the Reading Champions series. At the top of the page you can see the cover of King Midas illustrated by Sonya Abby Soekarno (that book will be out next year), and to the left you can see the cover for The Blitz Baby illustrated by Nicolas Hitori De (also out next year). The artwork for these two books has been done by illustrators that I have never worked with before and who both have very different styles - but each one suits each particular story... I think they look great. 

I have also been lucky to work with the brilliant Ben Scruton again. Ben illustrated my Disastrous Dentist book and now he has illustrated Run Melina Run! a story set in ancient Greece. This book comes out next month.

As well as these three titles - I have written a book set in Chester which involves time travel back to the days when Chester was a Roman Fort. I have juts been putting the finishing touches to the story of Icarus and Daedalus and a story about Rama and the Demon King. More about these later.

That's all for now but I will be back writing in my diary very soon...
Happy reading...