YALC feels like it should always be written with its very own exclamation mark. It’s fun and it’s a little bit mad. We’re sitting eating huge bowls of pasta after Day One and we’re putting these first impressions down to share: Olympia is HUGE. You half expect to see that they’ve fitted in an … Continue reading
We have a caravan! We actually bought it a few months ago but haven’t had the chance to use it yet – but next week we are off – my husband, our daughters, the dog and me – five go off in a caravan! It’s quite an old caravan, not old enough to be cool, … Continue reading
When I first started writing, I had no idea what being an author in this day and age actually meant. I thought I could hide away in a writing shed at the bottom of my garden (not that I have one!) and create exciting fantastical stories. Every so often I would emerge into the real … Continue reading
I have been very busy lately working on a story project for an environmental education charity. Children from two primary schools wrote stories which I have been illustrating with my felted figures. This month, the felties have been filmed with stop-start animation to create a digital resource for schools and families. I am very … Continue reading
I’ve just come to the end of writing a long series (6 books) under my pen name Joss Stirling. All of these stories from Finding Sky to the last part Summer Shadows are told from the point of view of the six different heroines. I’m sometimes asked if I have a favourite. I guess that … Continue reading
Kids love to laugh. Everyone knows that. So, how hard can it be to bash out a book that makes kids’ giggle? As an author of funny (I hope) books for under 12s I’ve lost count of the number of people who’ve told me they have a formula for writing a bestselling children’s book. It usually goes … Continue reading
I love getting letters from readers in the post. Real letters are far more fun than emails. I love opening the envelopes, unfolding the letter inside, holding the exact piece of paper that a little while ago the sender was writing on. There’s something quite magical about letters. This week I answered three letters from … Continue reading
Summer holidays are here! Today, you are going to do something amazing. You’re going to write a story. Here’s how. This is an exercise I do in workshops sometimes, and I love it. It’s great for ghost stories and mysteries, but you can apply it to whatever genre you feel like. So first … pick … Continue reading
When I write, I find it impossible to listen to music because I find it too distracting. I have to write in complete silence. And yet, music plays an important role in my new young adult novel, Caramel Hearts. The main character, Liv Bloom, is obsessed with Johnny Cash, and his music is referred to at … Continue reading
Ever since I can remember, I’ve been imagining disasters. I’ll hear a creak of a floorboard in the middle of the night and imagine that a team of highly trained burglars are currently sifting through my belongings. Or I’ll look at the glass wall in the London Aquarium and imagine the crack tracing its way … Continue reading
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