Rummaging around my little bookshop and this little chap jumped out at me...

Rummaging around my little bookshop and this little chap jumped out at me...

 

  

"Hey - I'm Iver No-Idea - I know weird name right? I blame Eric... Anyway you can find out how I got my name and where I came from in Doodle Mayhem - but if you want to keep cool in the heatwave why not find a cool spot and read about how I gatecrashed a skiing holiday, because what better time to imagine yourself in the snow?"

February at Lost in a Book

February at Lost in a Book

20th Feb

Do you remember that first book that grabbed you when you were just on the edge of confident reading? The book that took you over the edge into forgetting that you even reading, it just felt like you were magically transported to somewhere else and meeting new friends...

I remember it well, and hope to write books that will do the same thing for new readers who are dipping their toes into new worlds between the pages of a book, because if you dip your toes in enough books, you're going to find that one book that will drag you in and hold a little bit of you there for all time...

#Lostinabook #lovereading #halfterm

.............................................................. 

15th Feb

Half Term is creeping up, so here's the plan - I've got Doodle Mayhem on special offer at £3.50 and still postage free - so get the kids reading this half term...

 

First in the Doodle series

Eric would rather doodle than write a story, but when the words start to disappear off the page in front of him, and his doodle starts talking to him, he thinks he must be dreaming.

Eric's doodle has come to life, and he's getting bored; he jumps into Miranda's story, where he gets attacked by a rubber, then he's blown off his feet when Natasha sneezes. Miss Roper is getting angrier by the second. How will Eric ever finish his story, when his doodle just wants to have fun, and create havoc?

Step into a world where drawings come alive, meet Eric's doodles Iver No-Idea and his dog HB as they cause their own brand of trouble.

46 page paperback

Black & white line drawings

ISBN 978-0-9560232-4-7

Lost in a Book

#LostinaBook #amwriting 

Doodle Mayhem - the story of an imagination running wild , and a world where words and pictures come alive... #LostinaBook

Doodle Mayhem - The story of an imagination running wild - imagine yourself sat in a classroom trying to think of a story to write, but all you want to do is draw...

Then you think you must be dreaming when your doodle starts talking to you. You try to ignore him, but that's a bit hard to do when he's ripping what few words you have written off the page, and throwing them at you...  

#LostinaBook

Are your characters taking over...?

You shouldn't let characters in a book take charge and do their own thing... well why not? was my first thought when I read that advice... and the doodle series was born.

Have you ever sat down to write one story, but ended up writing another? Well that's what happened to me with Doodle Mayhem.

I can't even remember what I thought I was going to write about, but once I'd set the scene with Eric in class doodling, with no idea what he was writing about either, the cogs started turning; and once Eric's doodle started to speak he took on a life of his own and there was no going back.

If anyone else starts hearing voices in their heads it is probably cause for concern, but for a writer I believe it's essential to be able to hear the voices of your characters, and allow them to become real... 

Meet Iver No-Idea and his dog HB 

But to hear the conversation you'll need to read the book... 

Doodle Mayhem is set out in chapters with black and white drawings and is ideal for new or reluctant readers, or just someone who enjoys a fun read... 

Doodle Mayhem - a clear case of writer's block?

Doodle Mayhem:

Inspiration... it can sometimes pop up in the form of a daydream, and the trick is to catch that daydream, and craft it into words on a page...

Meet Iver No-Idea - the proof that Eric had a good imagination, even though he couldn't think of anything to write. Maybe this was a clear case of writer's block, where the words wouldn't come, but when Eric started to doodle he unwittingly created a character who then took on a life of his own.

 Iver No-Idea (and you'll have to read the book to find out how he got his name) is a mischievous character with nothing on his mind except play...

The letters on the page are the only thing he has to play with, so he starts to knock them around with his foot, and even pick them up to throw at Eric to get his attention.

Eric attempts to keep Iver No-Idea a secret, but his teacher, Miss Roper, is on to him...



Intrigued...  why not read a free except of Doodle Mayhem on my website.

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