This year has been a most interesting one so far. I’m currently the Writer in Residence for Dún Laoghaire and I have a wonderful office in the library there overlooking the sea. This is a picture of me and my niece at an exhibition at the library. As part of the residency I’ve been running … Continue reading
This post should have some kind of health warning as there are some ridiculously adorable photos of a puppy in it that could melt your heart. We’re just over a month into the New Year, and I’m a week into owning new puppy! Meet Didi! Here she is on her first day at home. Didi … Continue reading
You have probably read countless blog posts about how an author gets inspiration. As an author, you probably get asked ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’, on an almost daily basis. I don’t want to bore you with a blog post about inspiration and ideas, but I thought I’d just share a little about … Continue reading
I have a writing space. And I’m quite fascinated by other writers writing spaces. I don’t always write in my writing space, but I do always use it for editing. It’s a place to retreat to away from the rest of the house and the rest of the world. Although I can hear the neighbours come … Continue reading
This week along with many (many) other people, I blubbed, sniffed, and leaked my way through the film version of A Monster Calls. The film is adapted from the book by Patrick Ness (he also did the screenplay) which was inspired by an original idea by another Carnegie Medal winner, Sioban Dowd. Sioban didn’t live long enough to … Continue reading
It’s done! I have finished the edits and spent hours proof reading. Luckily it snowed last week so I didn’t feel too bad about staying inside. I didn’t find many mistakes but my eyesight is a bit dodgy so it’s probably just as well my publishers are checking too! The design team has done an … Continue reading
Happy 2017! This post is for anyone who’s made a New Year’s resolution to be more creative, or to write more – which feels easy to do at the start of the year but can be tricky as time rolls on. You can get a bit stuck sometimes. I’ve written here before about ways of … Continue reading
Where does your inspiration come from? This is the most popular question I get asked when I visit schools. Actually that’s not true. The most popular question is this: Where did you get your night vision goggles and grappling hooks from? Just to explain, I turn up at schools dressed as a cat burglar. Please don’t think I’m … Continue reading
Books and travel are my two favourite things in the world, and so, seeing as it’s Christmas Eve, I thought I’d take a look at some traditions from around the globe on this day. Iceland is definitely my favourite – how about you? Austria: The tree is decorated and lit for the first time on … Continue reading
When I was in school, I was a certified theatre geek. I learned to tap dance for 42nd Street, tango for Evita and belt out a solo in On The Town. I was in every show that would cast me , and when I couldn’t get a part, I was backstage doing hair and makeup or … Continue reading
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