How To Kidnap A Character (and other things)

I’m going to tell you about a deep, dark secret of writing. Kidnapping. Don’t panic, I don’t mean REAL kidnapping. I mean this famous nugget of writing advice: ‘Good writers borrow, great writers steal.’ What it means is that good writers will copy something, but great writers are like magpies and they steal all kinds … Continue reading →

The Future Belongs To You

All week people have been saying, ‘Er, Julie, can you see into the future?’ As storms and floods battered Britain people tweeted, emailed and FaceBooked me to say – OMG, this is just like your books! Honestly, I’m not a modern-day Nostradamus. But it’s freaked me out watching the news night after night, feeling as if I’m looking … Continue reading →

Make or break?!

Hey guys, so who made New Year’s Resolutions? And, er, who’s broken them already? Don’t worry, you’re not alone – just 8% of us manage to keep them! ‘I’ll NEVER eat chocolate again,’ we lie to ourselves. “I’ll swim EVERY day.’ Oh, yeah? But say, ‘I’ll swim once a week and read a chapter of … Continue reading →

000,000,000DLES of EARTHS by Julie Bertagna

Hi, I’m Julie and I’m a time traveller. No, really, that’s my job – travelling through space and time in my imagination and writing those stories for you. Sometimes, when you watch the news, it’s hard to believe that wonderful things are happening too. But they are… Scientists are making thrilling discoveries about our universe. … Continue reading →

Young Hearts Run Free!

What’s your favourite place to read and write? Do you have a cosy corner? A special writing den? Do you like to snuggle up on the sofa or hibernate in bed as winter draws in? I’ll read just about anywhere and I’ve had all sorts of writing dens – my favourite den was a cupboard … Continue reading →

SPIDER-HEROES!

I don’t know about you but there’s one thing about autumn that totally freaks me. I love the blazing colours of the trees, leaves crackling underfoot, frosty mornings with spiderwebs draped like fine lace across the hedges… and that’s the thing. SPIDERS! Monster ones that race out of secret spidey-hidey-holes in my house and scare … Continue reading →