Let the books come to you - from Lost in a Book

January at Lost in a Book:

Time to read, time to write and time to get the paints out and make some mess...!

It's snowing at last! Yes that's right, I love the snow, though it does look a bit wet... no snowman today :(

Anyway, make sure you wipe your feet on the virtual doormat on your way into my online shop, we don't want the floor turning into a skating rink...!

So what's the big idea at Lost in a Book this week? Well since it's snowing, and it is ski season - A Face Full of Snow is my big promotion this week - it's in the shop window on my homepage, where you can read an excerpt, and at the top of my online bookshop 

So come on in and browse around - pop along and have a chat on my facebook page - I'll be happy to drop everything and rush a book into the post for you...

  

Anyone for skiing...?

It's January - I know, you've probably noticed... and what is there to do in January...? skiing! or the next best thing, reading about skiing. Find out how Eric got on on his skiing holiday, and how Iver No-Idea managed to gatecrash his holiday... in A Face Full of Snow

When fiction comes true... on the ski slope

I'm pleased to see that sales of A Face Full of Snow have picked up again, I don't know whether it's the winter Olympics that's spurred on the interest in skiing, or just the time of year - it is after all still the ski season out there, even  if it doesn't seem much like it in York as the sun burns its way through the last of the morning mist... I just hope Iver No-Idea and his dog HB don't escape and pop out of a mobile phone on a ski slope and disrupt someone's holiday, like they did Eric's. 

Of course the chances of them popping up on a phone on a ski slope are now quite high - when I first wrote the story, it was aimed at a printed book, but now that it's an ebook too it could very easily pop up on a mobile phone on a ski slope - strange how fiction can sometimes come true...

 So if you get A Face Full of Snow on your mobile - watch out that they stay in there, and don't jump out and course havoc...

New book finished and sales to report...

I may be a week later than everyone else, but I've got that just broken up feeling. And why am I feeling this way...? Well I've finally finished my latest book, and zapped it off to the printers! It's a great feeling to finally finish a project - next I'll get to see my proof copy in all its glory - now that will put a big smile on my face... :)

Meanwhile, other good news this week included another sale of A Face Full of Snow on kindle - well it is ski season, and with the winter Olympics ongoing, it's a very topical book to read. I think  the athletes all have better trained skis than Eric (or me for that matter...)

The Winter Olympics

Like many others I'm looking forward to watching the winter Olympics. I love to watch the skiing and snowboarding and marvel at the speed and skill, and the fact that their skis seem to be under control and not trying to make a break for freedom every time the carry them on their shoulders.

But like many other calamities, my early ski attempts did inspire a book - A Face Full of Snow will strike a cord with skiers everywhere whether they're taking to the slopes for the first time, or remember when they did... 

As Eric crashes his way down the ski slope, totally out of control, his only consolation is that Iver No-Idea isn't there to see.

Iver No-Idea and his dog HB are doodles. But they are no ordinary doodles – they're alive, and words and pictures come alive around them. Iver No-Idea has been learning to ski in a ski brochure. He's been practising for weeks and now he thinks he's an expert, and can't wait to tell Eric how it's done.

But when Iver No-Idea and HB are left behind, they find a way to gatecrash Eric's holiday. They arrive at just the wrong time, causing their own unique brand of trouble.

50 page paperback

Black and white line drawings

ISBN 978-0-9560232-3-0

Buy now form my online shop.

Also available on kindle

Read me a story...

Here's a short sample to whet your appetitie.
Read and enjoy...

A Face Full of Snow

Chapter 1

Whoosh! Splat!
Eric’s first attempt at skiing ended up with him flat on his back in the snow, like a stranded bug. He tried to get up, but his skis had other ideas, they felt like a pair of over sized planks strapped to his feet.
“I’m glad Iver wasn’t here to see that,” muttered Eric, sitting up.
“Who’s Iver?”
Eric looked up into a pair of green eyes, waggling about on stalks. They were growing out of a green hat, which was pulled over an explosion of orange hair.

“Hi, I’m Aline,” said the owner of the orange hair.
“Alien?” Eric sat up with a start, his skis clattering together in protest.
“No... Aline. Who’s Iver?”
“Oh just a friend of mine,” said Eric. He couldn’t tell a complete stranger the truth, even one who had an alien on her head.
“And is Iver a good skier?” persisted Aline.
“Well he likes to think he is,” said Eric. “If he was here he’d be telling me what to do all the time.”
“That might not be such a bad idea,” said Aline.
“You wouldn’t say that if you met him,” said Eric, thinking about Iver and HB left safely at home. Iver No-Idea and his dog HB were doodles.

But they were no ordinary doodles – they came to life, and words and pictures came to life around them, which was not always a good thing...

You can buy this book now for just £3.50

Have you got a reluctant reader?

What makes a child reluctant to read?

Maybe they just need to find the right book, the one that draws them in until they forget they're reading at all, and become part of the story.

Maybe they need a book which is set out for early readers, and I don't mean a set reading book, but a fun story, set out in chapters so that they can feel a sense of achievement when they finish a chapter, but still with pictures so that the text is broken up making the pages less daunting.

Try reading a page in turns - it's fun to share a book.

Before long they will have finished a book and be hungry for the next...

A Face Full of Snow is now of special offer just £3.50 and still postage free!! from my website.

As Eric crashes his way down the ski slope, totally out of control, his only consolation is that Iver No-Idea isn't there to see.

Iver No-Idea and his dog HB are doodles. But they are no ordinary doodles – they're alive, and words and pictures come alive around them. Iver No-Idea has been learning to ski in a ski brochure. He's been practising for weeks and now he thinks he's an expert, and can't wait to tell Eric how it's done.

But when Iver No-Idea and HB are left behind, they find a way to gatecrash Eric's holiday. They arrive at just the wrong time, causing their own unique brand of trouble.

50 page paperback

Black and white line drawings

ISBN 978-0-9560232-3-0