December is a lovely month. I’ve been to schools and acted out the story of Jesus being born, our tree is decorated and in our back room, presents are wrapped and cards written. We have our carol concert still to come at the school where I teach. The children are working hard learning songs and speaking their lines clearly. At the … Continue reading
Part of being a writer is meeting people and listening to their stories to add ideas to your own story. I’ve spent time researching an idea I have for a book set in America in the 1930s. The internet has been invaluable for articles, audio records and photographs. But so have people who were alive then, like Sylvia who … Continue reading
I was in Manchester recently for the Denzell Garden’s Book Festival. It’s a great event with a lovely family atmosphere and story telling, face painting, competitions and amazing food wagons to entertain – as well as the writers. While I was in Manchester I went to the Lowry Art Gallery and came across the instillation I used … Continue reading
I had a wonderful trip to Lee-on-the Solent on the English south coast, near Portsmouth last week and went to the Hovercraft Museum there. Hovercrafts were a British invention and used to cross water, especially across the English Channel and to get to the Isla of Wight. They ‘floated’ on a cushion of air and were driven by very … Continue reading
I LOVE August! Not only is it school holidays but my birthday is at the beginning of the month. When we went to buy my birthday present, we saw some statues of pigs that were rather fun. My family were here and we went on to Waddeston Manor which is a huge old house near … Continue reading
I spent a week in Sheffield recently. It is a great city with amazing coffee shops that sell awesomely yummily scrumptious cakes. In Netheredge (a part of Sheffield) we discovered an open market with a prize winning pie stall called Cossack Cuisine. It was full of brilliant pies. These two men run the stall. At some stage, they might turn up in … Continue reading
Happy June! The old fashioned fire engine on the top photograph drove past me when I was in Sheffield recently. I’m on the look out for interesting old things as I’m working on an idea for a book set in the 1930s. At the moment I am photographing things, visiting art galleries and museums and writing paragraphs. … Continue reading
I went to Bekonscot Model Village recently. The little boy I took was fascinated by the constant buzz of trains; but I loved the idea of so many buildings, each with the potential of interesting things happening inside them. Visiting schools is always interesting because I meet so many fascinating people. SilverDell Bookshop in Kirkham, then Urmston Bookshop in Manchester were brilliant hosts who … Continue reading
April 2nd was a great day. The Milkshake Detectives was published. I celebrated by going out for a meal with my family, eating cake and drinking Winter Pimms. I love how TMD looks inside. It’s got film scripts, letters, lists, posters, texts and other types of writing. I’m speaking at Northampton University later in the … Continue reading
March has been such an exciting month! I visited lots of schools and spent time with some fabulous children making up stories and talking about what it’s like being a writer. Equally exciting is that Us Minus Mum has not only been long listed for the Carnegie Medal but has now been short listed for the UKLiteracy Association … Continue reading
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