Book signing this weekend

I'll be at the  Poppleton Centre this Saturday 10am - noon, inviting everyone to get Lost in a Book at the Autumn fair in aid of Poppleton Under Fives. Come along and flip through some books and see what takes your fancy, I'll be signing and personalising them too.

Get Lost in a Book on Etsy

Here's something new... I've now got 2 of my books listed in my shop on Etsy so why not pop along and see which books are there... Not see the one you want - try my website for the full range.

Story time - read me more...

So, a week ago I posted a sample of my book Doodle Mayhem on my blog, and plenty of you have been checking in to have a read... So what did you think?

If I get feedback from at least 10 people over the weekend I'll post the next sample of the story. So what are you waiting for, get commenting and you can find out what happens next for free!!

Tell me a story please

Chapter 1

Doink! Something bounced off Eric’s head. He looked up with a start.

“What’s the matter Eric?” asked Miss Roper.

“Nothing Miss,” said Eric, rubbing his head.

“What’s wrong with your head?”

“He’s got nits Miss,” said Miranda, and everyone laughed.

“No I haven’t. Someone threw something at me. I bet it was you.”

“Eric… Stop disturbing Miranda. Bring your book here and show me what you’ve written so far.” Eric could feel every eye in the class on him as he went to the front.

“What does this say?” said Miss Roper.

“Once upon a time, Miss,” muttered Eric.

“Once begins with an ‘O’,” said Miss Roper, writing one in with red ink.

Eric stared at the page as he went back to his desk. He knew he’d written an ‘O’. It was a big capital ‘O’, he remembered writing it. He remembered going over it again while he tried to think of something to write. He might even have drawn a face on the ‘O’. So where had it gone?

Something else hit Eric on the head. He looked around angrily, getting ready to throw something back.

“Once upon a time… what?” Eric looked up to see who was talking to him.

“What’s the matter Eric?” asked Miss Roper.

“Nothing Miss.”

“Well get on with your work then.”

Eric wished he could draw a picture instead of writing a story. He had all his best ideas when he was drawing. He never had any trouble thinking of what to draw. Right now he was simply itching to draw Miss Roper; did she have any idea how funny she looked when she pulled that face?

“You haven’t written anything in the last five minutes, I’ve been watching you, and stop doodling,” Miss Roper’s voice cut into his thoughts again.

“I’m thinking Miss.”

He turned his attention back to his work, just in time to see the red capital ‘O’ being ripped off the page in front of him. Eric rubbed his eyes and looked again.

“Oh so I’ve got your attention now have I?” said a little voice. Eric looked around to see if anyone else had heard, but the rest of the class was still hard at work.

As he looked down at the little man stood on the page in front of him, he looked very familiar. From his unruly spiky hair, to his trainers, with their over long laces, trailing untied behind; he looked just like one of Eric’s doodles.

 

“Ow…” something else hit Eric. It was red, he noticed, as it rolled across the desk and onto the floor.

See the full excerpt 

Buy the book

Available on kindle

What time is story time?

What time is story time?

It could be bedtime, the perfect end to the day, or in the middle of the afternoon when the wind is blowing and the rain is lashing down...  or on a hot sunny day, sat in the shade of a tree.

It could be when you should be doing some chores, but your child is following you about with a book, waving it in the air saying "read."

Anytime is story time, a little bit of escapism in the middle of a busy world, to open up a book and let the characters draw you in ,until you're there with them, sharing their adventures and disappearing into other worlds...

Books about monsters

My first book: The Monster Under The Bed never fails to get attention at fairs and book signings. most people say the title out  loud with a bit of a chuckle, and after that reactions are split.

Some people can't resist picking a copy up to flip through or even read the whole story, and others back away saying that they couldn't possibly buy a book about monsters, fearing terrified children and sleepless nights.

For some, no amount to reassurance that it's not a scary monster will change their minds, and yet when I did a book reading last week to under 5's many of the children homed in on the monster book first. They enjoyed the story, and pointed out the eyes of the monster peeping out from it's hiding place. They were excited, not scared by the idea of the monster, and when the identity of the monster was revealed on the last page they laughed, and went away happy, not in the least bit scared.

Monsters can take many forms, and even small children enjoy the suggestion of something scary as long a they feel safe and are left feeling that all was well in the end.

Books to encourage kids to read

I often hear that children are either too young for books, or they don't want to sit and listen to a story... but is that because books are being offered in the wrong way?

Put books in the hands of little ones - start with rag books and board books, but don't be afraid to put paperback picture books in the hands of little ones, don't make books into something that has to be held out of reach in case they get creased or ripped. A battered book is a loved book. You wouldn't try and keep a teddy bear out of reach in case it got damaged, so why keep books out of reach?

Let children choose a book that they want to read or look at, and share that book, read it and enjoy it together. Allow yourself to be distracted and talk about the pictures as you go along - just go with the flow and get lost in a book together.

Read me a story...

It's nice to know that my books can hold the attention of the under 5's even in a play barn with all those distractions... one little boy went off to play before the end of a story, but came back because he wanted to know what happened to all the sheep in Lucy's bedroom...

Author reading

I'm hoping to encourage lots of new readers to get Lost in a Book tomorrow at Creepy Crawlies in York by reading a selection of my books to anyone who cares to listen...

Come along and join me between 12 - 2pm and find out about the monster under Billy's bed, or what happens when Lucy can't sleep and starts counting sheep, and as for what Basil is making of the flappy thing...?