Hi all! If you are in the UK, well, wow, what a beautiful spring we are having! If you haven’t already, now is a great time for saying a fond farewell to anything you’ve loved, but that isn’t for you anymore, or to things that you want to take a break from. That leaves the path … Continue reading
I will proudly stand up in a room full of people and say ‘I am a slow reader!’ and frankly I don’t think there is anything wrong with that! Continue reading
Sometimes the ordinary can look … strange. You know what you’re looking at – of course you do! Or do you? Take a look at these photos. They’re of ripples and reflections of stones … or are they? Do you maybe see something else? Why not have a go at describing what else those pictures … Continue reading
A very quick post from me as I’m hurriedly packing a suitcase and getting ready to go off on World Book Day school visits for the rest of the week. I was thinking about space and nature and the impact ‘wild’ spaces have had on my imagination and writing ideas – the most important and … 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
I’m so delighted to be joining the team on GirlsHeartBooks, it’s been one of my very favourite blogs for the last year or so and I’m looking forward to contributing over the next few months. So unless you were living under a rock last year you can’t have helped but notice that 2016 was … Continue reading
I have been thinking about comfort lately. Close to home, my big sister Tina has been poorly – she has pneumonia and has been in hospital over Christmas this year (do send her some love if you have a moment). I have been thinking about people who are feeling poorly, or lonely, or who have … Continue reading
“♫ ♪ We wish you a merry Christmas We wish you a merry Christmas We wish you a merry Christmas And a Happy New Year. ♫ ♪” I adore this time of year. It was my birthday yesterday (Christmas Eve), it’s Christmas Day today, and it’s my anniversary on New Year’s Eve. So, as … Continue reading
Where do you get your ideas? When asked this question, I often tell kids in schools that I get my ideas from other books. Not in a direct copycat way. Often in a fairly indirect and circuitous root. Witness the fact that one of the inspirations for Chloe’s Secret Princess Club is…Jennings They don’t look … Continue reading
This is a blog in two parts. Part One – Hiding Sometimes, particularly when the evenings are getting dark and the politics of the world are getting darker, I have to find a place to hide. I don’t mean literally hide. I think my husband might want to know where I am eventually. Or my … Continue reading
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