A Visit to Colwyn Bay

 I'm delighted to have been asked to visit St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Colwyn Bay next week - just before Christmas. A huge HELLO to you all. I can't wait to meet everyone and to have the honour of opening your new library. While I'm in school I'll be sharing lots of stories and poems, as well as answering all your questions... it'll be lots of fun.

One question that I always get asked is, "what is your newest book?"

The answer to that will be easy - "The Boy Who Wanted More Cheese" and it is published on Thursday next week - December 22nd. 

See you all soon. 

Sharing My Thoughts - Lawley Primary School

Here's a HUGE HELLO to everyone at Lawley Primary School in Telford. I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone on Tuesday and I can't wait to spend some time working with year 4 who I know are reading The Thought Snatcher - one of the books that I have written for Fiction Express. 

I'll be very interested to hear what you think of the book and the characters in it, and what you might have done differently. It will also be interesting to find out what you think could happen next with Ellie and Tim. 

See you all soon...  

Back to School

Next week I'll be getting out from behind my desk, packing my bags of books and setting off to spend the day with everyone at Excalibur Primary School, and Hensingham Primary. 

Whilst there I'll be sharing lots of stories and rhymes, talking about writing and being a writer, and answering any and every question thrown my way. 

I'm particularly looking forward to introducing everyone to my latest series of books - Global Heroes... something that I haven't had chance to do yet. The first two books, Bushfire Rescue, and Waves of Waste, are out now. Books 3 and 4 - Rising River Escape, and Arctic Adventure come out on the 10th November. 

You can buy them from amazon or borrow them from your local library...

See you all soon...

New Books

This week I've been incredibly busy. I've been working on some new young reader stories for one of my publishers, editing some that I had written earlier, and proof reading a couple that had been sent to me with finished artwork.. It's always good to see the finished artwork as it can really bring a story to life - it's also interesting, and sometimes surprising, to see the different styles that illustrators have.

During the week, I managed to coomplete the second draft of a larger, non-fiction book about dinosaurs that I have been working on for a while. It has involved a lot of reasearch but it's been fun and interesting. I've also been busy retelling some traditional Chinese stories. 

For a while, it didn't look as though I was going to get everything finished in time, but Friday afternoon is here and I'm completely up to date with everything. I've even managed to submit some ideas for more early reader books - so this weekend will be spent with fingers crossed, hoping that my editor and others like some of the ideas.

It's always exciting to see a new book when it's been published. Nothing beats the look, feel and smell of a new book. This week, the postman arrived with copies of 5 new titles that have been published (or are about to be published) by Franklin Watts. They all look great, but I'm specially proud of the two Global Heroes books - Bushfire Rescue and Waves of Waste. Click here to visit the Global Heroes page on my website to find out more about them.

The other three books, The Poor Boy and the Cat, The Glass Mountain, and The Trapped Tiger, are retellings of traditional stories from around the world - from Iceland, Poland, and Korea. There are a few more tales from around the world due out in the next month or so too.

On Tuesday evening I had the pleasure of chatting with some keen readers from around the world, thanks to Fiction Express, about a book that I wrote with them earlier this year - Camp Silverlake. A huge hello to everyone that joined the online video chat from Malaysia, Spain, Kenya, Britain, and South America... it was greeat to meet you all. 

Next week I'll be starting work on a new, bigger book which hopefully will be of interest to one of my publishers. I'm sure I'll be working on other things too... 

Elworth Hall Primary School

Hello to everyone at Elworth Hall Primary School.  I can't wait to meet you all next Monday and to hear about the great books that you've been reading.

I've been busy working on some new books during the week but on Sunday, Vicky and I went to Swallow Falls - some beautiful waterfalls in Wales, not far from where we live.

This week I'll be busy working on some more new stories... they are actually very old Chinese stories that I'm rewriting for young readers. One of them has lots of dragons in in it, and another is about an elephant. 

See you soon...

The Global Heroes Are Here

 As well as working on lots of little books during the past year, I've been busy working on a new series called Global Heroes. You can find out more about them HERE on my website. The first two in the series have just been published - and I think you'll agree, they look GREAT! The illustrations have been done by the excellent Alex Patterson and he's done a great job bringing the characters and settings to life. 

The heroes are a group of children - each with specialist skills - that go on missions around the world to help tackle environmental disasters and problems. The first book, Bushfire Rescue, is set in Australia where a wild bushfire has swept across the countryside. The Global Heroes mission is to help rescue wild animals that have been affected by the fire - but they also have to keep their wits about them as a group of villains, known only as Evilooters, have been seen in the area. What are the Evilooters up to and have they got anything to do with the fire? 

In book 2, Waves of Waste, the heroes are sent to Brazil to find out why mountains of plastic waste are being washed up on the beaches. As well as action filled adventure stories, the books are full of fascinating facts and will be great for children who have an interest in science and the environment - especially in connection with current global issues like Global Warming, and Animals in Danger. Two more books in the series will be coming out in November. 

Each book is a story on its own and they can be read in any order.

What we did in the Summer Holidays

Today is the first day of the new school year for lots of people - good luck to everyone starting in a new class or in a new school - teachers and pupils (it can be an exciting, scary, and challenging time for both). 

As an author that visits lots of schools, this time of the year always feels like the start of a New Year for me too. It's always hard to believe how quickly the summer holidays fly by. I've been very busy writing, and Vicky has been busy working in the library, but we've still managed to squeeze in a few fun things along the way. I've got lots of book news to tell you about, but I thought I'd tell you a little bit about what else we've been getting up to - Polly too (here she is drinking rainwater from the top of our garden storage box).

As a writer, I work from home most of the time... this can be great as it means you don't have to travel to work each day. The bad thing is that home can end up feeling a bit like being at work - so it's great to get away from time to time.

Over the summer we've done quite a bit of walking - visiting new places and some of our favourite places, Mwnt, a small cove on the Ceredigion coast (the sunny beach at the top of the page). It's definitely one of our favourite places and a great place to see dolphins, seals and other wildlife. 

As well as being a break from work, and good exercise, going out walking helps to fuel your imagination. It's much easier to create settings and interesting places if you have actually been away from your screens to see and feel things in real life.   

As well as walking, we've done quite a bit of kayaking too - it's lots of fun and gives you a whole new way of looking at things. On Saturday we were sat bobbing about on the sea, watching dolphins jumping and playing close by. Sadly, we didn't manage to get any photographs of them, but we will try to get some next time. Sometimes you can spend your time trying to get a photograph and end up missing what is actually happening. 

Most of the places we've visited over the summer have been here in Wales - but we did venture over the boarder to spend a couple of days in Howarth in Yorkshire - stopping off for a walk near Hebden Bridge on the way. 

That's all for now... I'll be back soon to tell you about some new books that are due to be published on Friday. It's very exciting.

More Books On Their Way

Right now I'm busy researching and writing about dinosaurs - as well as working on some other little books. 

Schools have finished for summer so I won't be doing school visits for a while - though I am looking forward to getting back on the road in September. Hopefully I'll get chance to get out from behind my desk over the next few weeks - we will certainly be spending a day or two dolphin watching along the coast of Wales. When we do I'll post some pictures here in my diary for you to see. 

Right now I thought I'd share some of the wonderful book covers of the little stories that I have been working on recently. These are retellings of tales from around the world, published by Franklin Watts. Look out for them appearing in you local library over the next few months. These books aren't quite finished yet as the illustrators are still busy working on the artwork - but I think you'll agree, the covers look great. Not only are the stories from around the world, but the wonderful illustrators that have worked on them are from different places around the world too.

The Fire Spirit is an old Korean story (originally called The Great Stone Fire Eater) and it's been illustrated by Gaby Verdooren, an illustrator from Brooklyn, New York.  The Fisherman and the Genie is a tale that was included in the 1001 Arabian Nights and has been illustrated by two sisters from Georgia, Tika and Tata Bobokhidze. I've always wanted to write a story with a genie in and writing this one has given me an idea for another. 

The Boy who Wanted More Cheese is a story from the Netherlands and it has been wonderfully illustrated by Richard Watson who comes from North Lincolnshire in England. Richard also illustrated my Little Turtle and the Coyote story.  

The final book cover for now is The Glass Mountain. This is an old Polish tale that has been illustrated by Kiki Kita. Kiki is a Japanese and Asian American illustrator that grew up in Dallas, Texas, but now lives in Brooklyn, New York. 

(Hmm! I wonder if she knows Gaby Verdooren?)

Coyote Tales from North America

I'm busy doing lots of writing at the moment - lots of little books and a couple of bigger books too. 

It's great seeing a new book come together with the covers and internal illustrations. Here are two of the latest little books that I've done. Little Turtle and the Coyote (illustrated by Richard Watson, a British artist), and Crafty Coyote and the Fox (illustrated by Simone Fumagalli, an Italian artist). As you an see, both illustrators have very different styles - but I love what both of them have done.  

These are both retellings of old North American tales in which 'Coyote' is a trickster - though his tricks don't always prove to be beneficial for him. 

It's always interesting retelling old stories and trying to make them your own in some small way, whilst still keeping the basic story and meaning as it was. 

These two books will be published by Watts in October, along with a few other tales from around the world. I'll be adding them to my website soon, along with some fun activities to link to them.

Rhyl Library Visit

 

I've just finished writing the fourth book in my Global Heroes Series which, at the moment, is called Rising River Escape. The story is set in Madagascar and the young heroes are sent in to rescue animals that have been left stranded by rising water levels following a tropical cyclone. I can't really say any more about the book right now but I can tell you that it's full of action and adventure - and the artwork is being done by the wonderful Alex Patterson. It's great to see how the series of books are coming together and I can't wait to share them with everyone soon.

Right now I'm working on a bigger, mystery adventure book that is full of creepy goings on.

Tomorrow I will be visiting Rhyl Library where I'll be talking to keen readers from Ysgol Emmanuel and Christ The Word Catholic School. I can't wait to meet everyone.

Hello Burghill Community Academy

I've had a busy couple of weeks writing - working on some retellings of old folk tales from around the world (Native American and Icelandic). I've also been working on the 4th Global Heroes book which is set in Madagascar (more about that soon). 

Tomorrow I'm getting out from behind my desk to spend the day with everyone at Burghill Community Academy in Burghill, Hereford. I'll have to be up early in the morning to make sure I get there on time - so it'll be early to bed tonight. 

See you all soon...

 

Denbighshire Libraries and Writing

Over the past few months I've been busy working on some new books. They won't be published until later this year but I thought that you might like to have a sneaky look at the covers.

The first one to be published this year is this little non-fiction book about Lizards. I love the picture of the Komodo Dragon on the cover which has been done by Bruno Robert - an illustrator that lives and works in Normandy, France. 

I have also done a retelling of the popular fairy tale, 'The Elves and the Shoemaker', which will be published later this year - but I am most excited about a series of books called Global Heroes. The covers, and the artwork inside, has been done by a brilliant British illustrator called Alex Patterson. Alex has illustrated lots of great books including Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree books. I'm delighted that he's illustrating The Global Heroes - they aren't finished yet as I'm still writing them and Alex is still illustrating them, - but here's a couple of the covers.   

These books will be coming out later in the year but I will tell you more about them soon.

After a couple of years of not being able to visit schools and libraries like normal, it's exciting to be returning to libraries in Denbighshire this month. 

Here's a HUGE HELLO to everyone in years 3 and 4 from Ysgol Bryn Collen and Ysgol Gwernant - see you soon at Llangollen Library. Everyone in years 4 and 6 from Christ the Word School in Rhyl - visiting Rhyl Library. Everyone at Ysgol Caer Drewyn and Ysgol Carrog - visiting Corwen Library ... and finally everyone who will be coming along to Rhuddlan Library. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone.   

Our Lady and St Anselm's

Next week I will be visiting Our Lady and St Anselm's RC Primary School in Whitworth, Rochdale - and I can't wait. 

A huge HELLO to you all - I'm really excited about coming to meet everyone. 

I've never been to your school before but just before Christmas we went for a walk very close to your school. 

Perhaps you will recognise where it was from the pictures that I've included here. 

I love visiting schools to share stories, talk about what I do and to meet lots of keen and eager readers and writers. 

Over the last couple of years I have done a few virtual visits - talking to readers in Spain, Greece, Scotland, England, Brazil and a few other countries in South America. It was great doing that but nothing beats actually visiting a school in person. I just hope I can remember what I do...

See you all very soon.