On Tuesday I spent a very enjoyable four hours at Faringdon Community College, near Swindon. I spoke to the whole of Y7, in three big groups in the library, and they were all brilliant. Some great questions too! Thanks to Y7 and to Jean Hudson the librarian and Kathy Lemaire from the Oxford Children’s Book … More A great day at Faringdon Community College
I read the first Wendy Quill last year and LOVED it. Not just because the book is laugh-out-loud funny, but also because of the superb illustrations (done by Wendy Meddour’s supremely talented daughter Mina May). So when the second in the series was published, I begged for a copy to review – and I wasn’t … More Wendy Quill Tries to Grow a Pet – Review
Yesterday I took my eldest to an event at the Oxford Literary Festival. I was very much looking forward to it because it featured Sarah McIntyre and Philip Reeve. I’ve met Sarah at a handful of events over the years and she’s a wonderful person who always wears the most amazing outfits. I’d not met … More Seawigs at the Oxford Literary Festival!
The End. That’s what I’ve just written. OOH it feels good 🙂 I’ve been working on this particular story for a looong time, even though it’s quite a short book compared with my usual output! But it’s taken months and months to work out how to do it ‘right’, and thanks to some very clever … More My favourite words
Yesterday I met up with Lucy Coats, Susie Day and MG Harris – author friends who all live locally. Considering how much we authors like to chat and eat cake, you’d be surprised how rarely we manage to meet up. I think each of us has a certain amount of guilt about taking time away … More The importance of pudding and friends
Who Framed Klaris Cliff? is a debut novel from Nikki Sheehan. It deals with the curious phenomenon of imaginary friends from the point of view of Joseph, a self-confessed not-imaginative-at-all boy, who is being bothered by someone else’s imaginary friend! So far, so original! And another exciting aspect is that this world of the book … More Who Framed Klaris Cliff? – review
What a beautiful weekend! We spent Sunday at Hampton Court Palace (where I was RECOGNISED! A real celebrity moment 🙂 hello to the girl from Didcot who was walking alongside and spotted me!) and I couldn’t believe it was possible to walk around without a jumper on. I hope you had a good weekend and … More Sunshine and crocuses
I have had SUCH a good day 🙂 It’s days like this that make me a Very Happy Writer! Very early this morning, I set off to Didcot Girls’ School. I knew it would be a BRILLIANT visit from the moment I saw this: The wonderful librarian had done a really beautiful display of my … More Wonderful World Book Day!
I’m just back from a really really BRILLIANT visit to Burford School. Days like these are one reason why I love my job so much 🙂 I did a talk to 350 Y7 and Y8 students in the hall and felt like a proper rock star with my radio mike and screaming fans! And then … More Brilliant Burford!
It’s World Book Day on Thursday, hurray! And I, like many other authors, am visiting schools this week to enthuse kids about stories and books. I started my week this morning at Edward Feild School in Kidlington, where my Y1 class came up with some fantastic story ideas based on pictures of forests and woods. … More World Book Week starts here!
Jo Cotterill 