Pirate Perring!

No. That is not me doing an impression of Dr Brunswick from the fabulous Alex and the Wigpowder Treasure though I know it could seem that it was. It’s a happy coincidence though. I’d completely forgotten about buying the pirate fancy dress kit (and trying it on and being photographed in it) and only stumbled upon it yesterday, which, was about the same time as I thought I’d mention the book on here. Lucky, huh?

Alex and the Wigpowder Treasure by Adrienne Kress is brilliant. It’s fun, sad, exciting, intelligent and so, so readable. It also features an Extremely Ginormous Octopus, hidden treasure, pirates, evil old ladies and… I’ll stop there. Don’t want to spoil it for you. But what more could you want? I doubt there are many children out there who won’t enjoy it. Check it out!

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I’d also like to say a BIG HELLO to Meg and Sam of Tunbridge Wells.
Right. I think I shall go for a walk now.

See!

This is the colour I was on about! You just don’t get that when it’s not autumn.

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You know, being a writer is a brilliant job for a heck of a lot of reasons, some more obvious than others. I was reminded of one of the less obvious ones the other day – and that is how friendly and helpful people can be.

You see, part of the story I’d been planning to write is sort of set in an antiques shop. I’d read a few books on antiques but decided that I should really go and have a look at one. So I did. I hopped in to my car and I drove to a big one.

And this is where I feel guilty. I walked in and was greeted by the very friendly owner, asking how she could help.

I came clean and told her that I was only there to waste her time. I explained who I was and why I was there and told her I only wanted to be nosy.

And you know what? She didn’t mind that I wasn’t there to buy anything. She happily gave up half an hour to help me, answering lots of my questions and doing pretty much all she could to help. She even gave me a copy of their trade paper (I gave her a signed copy of my book in return).

So yes, being a writer a great for many reasons. One of them is definitely that it gives me the opportunity to meet people. Because, you know, most people are really nice.
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ADDED – Ooh, almost forgot to mention that the super new Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook website is up and running. It looks excellent.

All Quiet on the North Western Front

Yup, not much to report really, which is why I’ve not posted for a few days. I’ve been tired and a wee bit under the weather recently so I’ve been taking things easy. Before I start on the next project that is…

I went for a walk the other day (I like walking you see, and I’m a bit of a closet birder) and I had a thought; I don’t think that anything can be bluer than a bright autumn sky. Not azure like the ones you get in summer or icy like in winter. Just blue. A brilliant blue.

Or is it just me?