I should have read this book sooner. It’s BRILLIANT. I’ve had Lockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase (by Jonathan Stroud) on my shelf for a few months. I know quite well why I didn’t pick it up before. It’s hardback (and therefore not my preferred format for reading since I like paperbacks), it’s got a lot of … More Lockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase – review
I love reading kids’ stories. They don’t know the so-called ‘rules’ of storytelling: that each story should have a beginning, middle and end, that the hero/ine should face obstacles, that you ‘should’ use lots of descriptive language, that you should never start a sentence with ‘and’ or ‘but’. They just WRITE. On Monday I returned … More Writers of the future
Back in October last year, the author Lee Weatherly (have you read her ANGEL trilogy? It is AWESOME) asked me if I’d take some portrait photos of her. She had a new book due out and wasn’t happy with the photo she already had. I said I’d be delighted – any excuse to practise my … More My first commission as a photographer
So at the weekend, I ran a half-hour craft event at the Wychwood Festival – and here, as promised, are the instructions to make your very own shooting star wand, popup and 3D star cards. Just click on the picture to enlarge – and you can even print it off for your own use at … More Wychwood Crafty Makes
“You were so funny!” said a teenager* in some surprise. “You’re like a cross between Michael McIntyre and Miranda!” That was the BEST feedback of the weekend 😉 I love it when people think I’m funny. They don’t expect it. I don’t write funny books, and if you meet me in person, I don’t immediately … More My Wonderful Wychwood Experience!
I am VERY excited to be taking part in the Wychwood Festival this weekend 🙂 No, no, not as a musician – ha! – but as part of the Kids’ Literature Festival. I’ve got two events to do: one informal session on Saturday (tomorrow, eek!) in which I shall be teaching people how to make … More Wychwood Festival, here I come!
A few months before the publication of my book Looking at the Stars, I was asked one of those ‘which book is it similar to?’ questions. They’re always hard to answer, partly because you cling to the hope that your book is original – that no one has ever written anything quite like it before … More My Name Is Parvana – review
I used to write a lot of music. I have half a shelf of manuscript books and loose sheets, all covered with my scrawls. I wrote songs for school, arranged music of all kinds for orchestra, flute band and choirs. I wrote an entire score for my school’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream when … More I’ve written a song
I’m rubbish at plots, I really am. I simply cannot think of things to happen to people. I don’t know why this is my weak area, because I have plenty of imagination, but I just don’t have that stream of ‘then this happens, then this, then THAT could happen…’ Characters, yes. Atmosphere, pacing, rhythm – … More Miracles inside my mind…
Camden is the perfect location for this trilogy of stories by Hilary Freeman about three best friends. The Celeb Next Door (the other two are Stuck On Me and The Boy From France) is the story of Rosie , who is obsessed with her favourite band, Fieldstar. When she discovers that the band’s drummer, Rufus, has bought … More Camden Town Tales: The Celeb Next Door – review
Jo Cotterill 