Author banging on about books... again :)

The best way to encourage your child to read is to read to them from an early age.

Picture books are a great start to reading, and are often aimed at multiple age groups, so have a look around, you'll probably be surprised how much you enjoy them too, and if you enjoy them, that is going to come across as you read them aloud.

The cat lovers among you will find lots to chuckle at in Basil and the Flappy Thing - I wonder if your cat calls you the Feed-Mes and leads you a merry dance with the cat flap... 

There's even a book for adults hidden among the kids books - see if you can find it. Its a true story about how I became Outnumbered by Cats - there's a few more truths in there than there probably should be... but hey - everyone has found themselves hissing back at their cat at some point right...?

Writing a picture book in a sketchbook... what could be more natural?

Creating a book - I'm busy painting characters for my next book, and they're coming along very nicely. They've finally made the jump from my imagination, onto the page - yes an actual paper page...! It's a picture book and I'm drawing and writing it in a sketchbook, it seems the characters are happier to jump into a sketchbook than onto a computer screen, and who can blame them...

Trying to Focus on a wet Thursday in Feb...

OK time to focus - no not go and drive a Focus - focus on books! But what to do first...?

Create a book - I'm busy painting characters for my next book, and they're coming along very nicely. They're still just hanging around deciding what to do though...

Sell a book well hopefully you can help me with that - go on, buy a book... you know you want to! I'll even sign it for you - it'll be just like meeting at a book signing... except that we won't meet, and we won't have to go out in the cold - well, I will, obviously, I'll need to post the book. But I don't mind, honestly!

Get Lost in a Book - I could very easily go and light the fire early and curl up with a book that someone else has written - all the work is already done, all I'd have to do is to start reading, and allow myself to slip into the imaginary world that's already been created... hmmm sounds good... but no, I shall go and create something new!

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.