I know, I know, it’s a TERRIBLE pun. Er. Is it a pun, if you just add another letter to make it silly? Hmm.
Anyway. It’s been TOO LONG since I blogged, sorry about that. It’s not as though I haven’t had events and things to write about! But, you know, Christmas, and stuff and…well, here I am!
Writing-wise, it’s been all systems go on my new novel for 9-12s JELLY, which is due out in June with the lovely peeps at Piccadilly Press (who published Lemons and Strawberries). I finished the first draft in November, got the comments from my editor in early December, and spent January writing the second draft. Much to my GREAT relief, my editor really likes the second draft, so that’s fab because I really like it too! I promise to tell you all about it VERY SOON.
Last week I did a couple of events at the lovely Bishops Stortford College Festival of Literature (which is not easy to say!) The organiser, Rosie, is brilliant, and I spoke to Y5 and 6 in the morning and Y4s (from four different schools!) in the afternoon. All the kids were fantastic and I had a really wonderful time. I even got to say hello again to the awesome human that is Laura Bates, founder of the groundbreaking Everyday Sexism Project. We’d met in Edinburgh 2016 so it was really nice to see her again. My only sorrow was that her event clashed with mine so I couldn’t go and watch it!
It’s half term this week so I’m pausing to draw breath before ten events over three weeks as World Book Day arrives!
OH! and I have two more books out! The third and fourth in my HOPEWELL HIGH series (short snappy reads particularly suitable for teens with dyslexia or other reading issues) were published on 8th February. EAT CAKE AND RUN is about Hani, a talented runner who’s lost the love for her sport but can’t bear to admit it, so she secretly binges on chocolate and cake and then makes herself sick because she doesn’t know what else to do. Until her friends find out… LIKE AND SHARE is a book I am REALLY proud of because I think it tackles one of THE most important issues teenage girls face at the moment. Daisy has fallen for a boy online, someone she’s never met. He’s interested in her, a good listener…and so when he asks her to send him some photos, she does…only THEN he uploads them to a public site and suddenly everyone in the world can see Daisy in her underwear…and then the police get involved…
Sexting and sending inappropriate photos is SUCH a big issue at the moment, and I know personally of two young girls who got into serious trouble over photos they sent quite innocently. So if you’re a secondary school librarian, I do hope you can find space on your shelves for my new books! 🙂
Jo Cotterill 