New book announced

New book available soon:

See the cover first here

Belle is an ex racehorse, but she doesn't know what that means. She was born to race, so what now…?

Maybe she's a jumper, a dressage horse or an explorer… she still has the instinct to race whenever she gets the chance; but maybe just horsing around could be fun too.

New book

Well I've done it, my 8th book is newly published!!

I picked my books up from the printers on Monday 1st August, so they are available now, but I'm planning a proper launch in September, and already have 2 book signings lined up. 

I'll post launch info here nearer the time... 

 

 

#LostinaBook 

Children love boxes, because when you have a box you can play anything...

Coming soon 

New from Lost in a Book: 

 

Being printed right now ready for an August 1st publication:

I'm sure this book will strike a cord with many people, we all know that we can buy a child the most expensive toy only to find them playing happily with the box... because if you have a box, it can be anything you want it to be...

See what Ollie's imagination can come up with once he has an empty box to play with... 

#LostinaBook

The magic of reading aloud...

What could be better on a dark and dingy Monday in February, than to get lost in a book...? Well, one thing maybe - to get lost in a book with a someone...

There's something very special about sharing a book with a child, entering a magical world together and making it yours.

Everyone interprets a book in their own way, and it becomes part of them - think of your favourite book from childhood - reading that book again will take you back to that moment in your life in the same way as a piece of music of a smell, and you'll feel like you're in that moment again. So isn't it a magical thing to share that moment, and become part of that memory.   

Well I really couldn't have predicted what happened next...

 Well I really couldn't have predicted what happened next...

In the middle of my promotion for A Face Full of Snow... sheep started selling...!

That's right, so I ended up doing some emergency sheep knitting, to ship off to Devon. Then another order came in, but don't panic, this one was for a knitting pattern for someone to knit their own sheep... phew...

Anyway the upshot is, I'm getting a little flock of sheep knitted up to avert more sheep emergencies, whilst really hoping that a few more people will buy patterns...

So what is it about sheep that people can't resist...?

...and should I really be doing another book about sheep...?

Or maybe I should just keep knitting... 

 

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...

  

Getting kids reading

I'm on a mission to get books into little hands - because the best way to give children a love of reading is to give them books from an early age.

I often get parents of 2 and 3 year olds saying that their child is too young for books, while another family will happily buy one for a baby under a year old - so what is the secret of these young book lovers?

It's simple, their parents have read to them from being tiny babies. It doesn't matter at that age whether they understand all that is being read to them, they enjoy the closeness of a being held and hearing the sound of your voice.

Choose a book with colour pictures for your baby to look at as you read, and by the time they graduate to stories without pictures their imagination will have learnt to paint the pictures in their heads as they read.

Many picture books are written on two levels - they need to entertain a small child as well as their parent, so choose a book that you can enjoy too... 

But I'm Not Sleepy - still my bestseller - it seems everyone has a Lucy who just doesn't want to go to sleep. But few will admit that they were just the same at that age...

Christmas fair - Book singing - York

New date added:

York's Guild Hall - this Saturday 8th November I'll be at a Christmas fair in the heart of York, signing books and encouraging everyone to get Lost in a Book this Christmas. What could be better than snuggling up on a winters evening with a book...?

Getting children into reading is one of the best things you can do for their future. Sewing the seeds of a love of books - so why not start up a new tradition and give them books this Christmas.

Christmas fairs, book signings and sunny days in Yorkshire

The Santa hat was on on Saturday for the first Christmas fair of the season - I even had a mince pie to get me in the spirit...

What a beautiful start to the day - parking by the river...

Nov 1st and not a cloud in the sky in Wetherby

I've got quite a full table 

Still no sheepdog to keep those sheep in order, but there is something new coming soon...

Monsters in kids' book...

My very first book bares the title The Monster Under The Bed, and is rarely passed by at book signings without some comment...

Everyone it seems has some sort of monster under their bed, be it noisy plumbing or just a shadow that becomes something more with the addition of a little imagination...  but my point is that it brings a smile of recognition to most adult faces, even if they ultimately don't buy the book, for fear of setting up a fear of monsters in their children, or fueling one that is already there..

But surely the fact that they smile as they remember their particular monster, shows that children actually enjoy the idea of monsters, as long as they feel safe throughout. A story about a monster can be quite exciting, and of course we're talking about children's stories here, so we know it's all going to OK in the end. So let's not deny the next generation their fare share of exciting books, with monsters to overcome...

And on that note, my next book has a definite monster theme too... no apologies - kids love it!

Books, book signings and sheep...?

Here's a little excerpt from my home page, where you'll find a little bit of cyberspace which is dedicated to books - good old fashioned print on paper books that you can hold and read with no worries about batteries running out... but you will need a light to read by as it gets dark...

  

There's also a bit of a sheep theme running around this month, as woolly escapees from my bestseller But I'm Not Sleepy vie for attention among the books...

For a limited time I am offering my sheep knitting pattern absolutely free... 

Free knitting pattern now you can knit your own sheep, or knit a flock and then you can really count sheep...

 

My little bookshop in cyberspace is always open. It's a book signing that's always there waiting for you. There's even some first editions and a special short print run...

So have a rummage in the bookshop - there's my new true cat story: Outnumbered by Cats for adults. There are picture books to share and read aloud, and the Doodle series to read aloud or to encourage early readers to discover the joy of reading alone.  

Priceless: being told that a copy of The Monster Under The Bed has been read until it's shabby - it's been a loved book, just like a favourite teddy.  

For the rest of my ramblings pop along to my website. 

Little Bookshop with big ideas...

The mission: to reach out across the internet to book lovers everywhere and share my love of books.

The conundrum: my bookshop is tucked away in a virtual back alley - the sort of shop that people seek out, if only they know it's there in the first place...

  

There's no coffee shop: but with a bit of imagination you can put the kettle on and make the drink of your choice, curl up in your favourite chair and read the blurbs...

So have a rummage, read the blurbs and find a new friend.

...choose a book, shop in the online shop and I'll tuck the book of your choice into comfy envelope and post it out to you.

A little bookshop with big ideas

I have an online bookshop... it's tucked away down a back alley where no one can find it.

So what is the mission...?

Well to open up that back alley of course, or at the very least, to put spot lights around the entrance and make everyone who passes want to know what's down there...

So here's the plan...

I'm running a special promotion:

When? This Friday 18th July 2014

Why? because I can - I love being my own boss.

What? I'm calling it 'Make me an offer Friday'

What the...? On Friday There'll be one book up for grabs, and I invite everyone to make an offer on that book, and the best offer gets the book.

The details...? The details will be on this page in the coming days, so watch this space...

Terms and conditions - lets keep it simple. There will be one book only, up for grabs on this offer. The highest offer gets the book, by the end of Friday 18th July 2014 Uk time, and my decision is final.

The secret to a bestseller is to write a great book and then don't keep it a secret

The secret to a bestseller is to write a great book and then make sure you don't keep it a secret...

So today I'm shouting about my #1 bestseller But I'm Not Sleepy

It's my bestseller at almost every book signing - why?
It seems that everyone has a Lucy...

They say don't judge a book by its cover - well news flash - the cover is the first bit people see, so that's what makes them pick it up or walk on by...

The title strikes a cord - who hasn't heard those words...? And who hasn't jumped up and down on the bed instead of going to sleep in...? Most parents moan that their kids do it - a few admit that they used to too...

 Then they open the book and see the bright colour pictures,  not knowing that they started out from my kitchen table...

 First came the book, then came the sheep...
These little characters made their debut at Christmas fairs and were an instant hit, appealing to all ages.

 Soon there was a little flock of them - don't ask me to count them zzzzzzzz

So why should you buy my book?
Because it's one of those bedtime stories that you can share again and again and build those special memories with your child that last a lifetime...

Monsters in kids books

Everyone loves a monster book right...?
The thrill of possible danger, while knowing deep down that the monster is trapped in the book, and all we have to do is slam the book shut and they're trapped there... till next time.

So why do so many parents shy away from a monster book, just from the mere mention of a monster in the title?

Picture books tackle all sorts of issues in a caring way, and no one is setting out to produce a book to give children nightmares, children enjoy the excitement of monsters in a story, and for many it can help them to overcome their fears.

In The Monster Under The Bed, now in it's 2nd edition there's a new twist on the traditional monster theme...

"Mum……Mum…..There's a monster under my bed."

Billy sits up in the dark, he can hear something moving around in his bedroom. When his mum puts the light on there's no monster to be seen. But when Mum goes back downstairs the noises start again...

Outnumbered by Cats - tell me the story

Outnumbered by Cats

by 

Anne M Stephenson

Lost in a Book

I met my cat on facebook

I met my cat on facebook – a true cat of the twenty first century. There she was, looking fearlessly back at me from her side of the computer screen.

“So do we want her?” my son Mike asked, hand poised ready to click the mouse and put in a request for this tabby and white kitten.

When the kitten topic had raised its head recently, I’d shocked everyone by saying I’d like to get a female kitten and let her have a litter, of which we’d keep one kitten. Not surprisingly Mike had quickly found a suitable kitten, probably before I had a chance to change my mind, and here she was...  ironic that a mouse was about to change the life of a cat forever. It was one of those pivotal moments in life, I looked at this little stranger, and knew that with a simple yes now, she could become part of our lives, our futures forever entwined, and change our lives as every new arrival does – what I didn’t know was how much she was going to change our lives...

Click – and the request was sent. 

Read the true story of how that decision filled our house and hearts with kittens... written from the kitten diaries I kept along the way - diaries that have chewed edges and paw prints...

Grab a copy now - still at launch price - and postage free

Buy now

Back from my holiday - so what's next?

Just back from a wonderful Birthday weekend away with my family at Center Parcs. We went swimming every day, we were even joined in the outdoor pool by a duck... I cycled round on a quad bicycle contraption with my daughter, and generally had a lot of fun...  and now I'm feeling refreshed and ready to go again.

So what's next? Well there's a notice up on the outer ring road reminding me I've got a book signing coming up very soon, at Long Marston near York on 4th May at the Spring craft fair - there'll be books, there'll be sheep... and that's just on my table. They'll also be birds of prey and a bouncy castle...

Struggling with my promotions hat... which seems to have shrunk...!

Struggling with my promotions hat... which seems to have shrunk...!

It's been two weeks now since I zapped my files off to the printers, and since then I've been trying to be creative in a different direction, namely I've been blogging and putting posts on facebook and generally trying to squeeze my head back into my promotional hat... but it doesn't quite fit, much like a pair of jeans freshly washed - and shrunk!

This is the time when a mainstream author would have a backup team (who presumably all wear their promotions hats every day, and are comfortable in them...). But as a self publisher I feel a bit on my own - even my cats seem to have deserted me in favour of cat baskets and beds about the house.

My mind is now getting distracted by thoughts of designing a new promotions hat... one that will not shrink while I'm busy wearing my author hat or editing hat. It needs to be a design that will inspire out-of-the-box thinking, possibly something flamboyant, but without being big and flappy, it's quite gusty outside today...

Maybe I should take inspiration from Aline's hat in A Face Full of Snow - the one that Eric thought was a alien on her head... It has eyes on stalks, and looks as if it could see round corners to search out new ideas...

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