When I was at school, a long, long time ago, one of my favourite subjects was History. But for me, the older the history the better – the World Wars and the Russian Revolution, the agricultural and industrial revolutions, these were all very well, but what I really wanted to study was the dawn of… Read More
Yesterday was the Wolves and Apples event in Leicester, a one-day series of workshops and talks run by Leicestershire-based Mantle Arts concentrating on children’s writing – picture books, middle-grade, YA. The event was targeted at “emerging writers”, which is a great term – I hate calling people “aspiring writers” because if you write, you’re a… Read More
The Royal Rabbits of London, by Santa Montefiore and Simon Sebag Montefiore, illustrated by Kate Hindley, is the story of Shylo, a small, timid, rabbit, the runt of his litter, who rises above his limitations to save the Queen from a fate worse than death: being photographed in her nightie. Shylo’s quick-witted and has more bravery… Read More
The Railway Mice of Countesthorpe by Sharon E Laker is an old-fashioned tale of mice and their adventures in the Leicestershire village of Countesthorpe. This book appealed to me for several reasons. First, I’ve always loved animal stories for children, from The Wind in the Willows through Mrs Frisby all the way to Redwall and Watership… Read More
The excitement is over – the beast has been released. I’ve done my short promotional tour of Scotland (and Newcastle), and now there’s nothing left to do. Except stop looking at the Amazon rankings, because that way lies madness! So far it’s safe to say that The Beast on the Broch hasn’t set the world… Read More
Last year I went to the UK MG Extravaganza in Nottingham as a civilian – my first novel had only just been published, and I wanted to go along and see how the pros did events like this. This year, with the event being held in Newcastle, I asked if I could come again –… Read More
Fir for Luck, by Barbara Henderson, is a tale of the Highland Clearances, based on the true story of the township of Ceannabeinne in Sutherland. The Highland Clearances were a dark time in the history of Scotland, when the landowners acted with high-handed callousness in evicting tenants who had worked the land – some of… Read More
I’m delighted to welcome Barbara Henderson to my blog today as part of the Fir for Luck blog tour. Fir for Luck is a tale of the Highland Clearances, that darkest of times in Scottish history; it’s an atmospheric and thrilling debut novel from an exciting new talent in children’s fiction. My review will be up… Read More
It’s UKYACX tomorrow, September 17th, in Newcastle – I’ll be there along with loads of brilliant children’s and YA authors to talk about my books The Wreck of the Argyll and The Beast on the Broch. As part of the UKYACX blog tour, Fiona from Independent Book Reviews has posted an interview with me.
Jinks & O’Hare Funfair Repair is another madcap adventure from the dream team of Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre. What’s more fun than a funfair? A funfair in space, populated by weird aliens and stuffed with bizarre rides! When things start to go wrong, and even ace alien repairmen Jinks and O’Hare can’t keep up,… Read More