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
Month: October 2016
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