Summer holidays are usually a good time for reading. What are you reading at the moment? 

On my bedside table I have two books on the go. One is an adult non-fiction book, but the other is Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper. It is the first book in The Dark Is Rising series - which is a fantastic adventure that was published the same year I was born! I've been doing a lot of re-reading books that I remember from my own childhood. Have you got a book that has stayed with you long after you stopped reading it? Do you have books that you read over and over again?

I'm also listening to a story by Lara Williamson called The Girl With a Space in her Heart. Do you know it? NB: Remember that I don't review books I've read here, but I usually do so on Goodreads, so have a look there for my reviews if you want to know what I've thought about a particular book.

I read for fun, but I also read because it helps with my own writing. I don't think I could be a children's author if I didn't read lots of other children's books by different people.

​At the moment I'm thinking a lot about the story I'm creating with the young carers. The theme is ESCAPISM and I'm starting to pull in the first threads of a strong idea based on everything we talked about and the things I learned from them. It's a very exciting part of the writing process - the first pull into something new and shiny that needs exploring. I haven't written anything for quite a long time and I'm excited about starting again, but I'm still letting things bubble in my mind like a very tasty stew first. 

Promise to keep you posted!

Regular readers of my blog, friends and colleagues will know that my first three books are all self-published. It has always been my long-term aim to become a hybrid author, which means that I'll have some work that I publish myself and some that a traditional publisher buys the rights for.

I've been striving for this for many years, having tried to get traditionally published long before I brought out Jarred Dreams in 2016. At last, as you can see from the picture, it is finally becoming real.

You can read the full article here: The Bookseller

And here: Firefly Press

The journey of Call Me Lion has been and continues to be a highly emotional one. The book is bigger than me, touching real lives. I can't wait for it to be published as I know it can do so much good work. 

You might, quite rightly, ask why I decided to write a book about Selective Mutism when I have no personal experience of it myself. To answer that very important question I made a very short video during my last dog walk before the summer holidays yesterday: 

Although I miss my agent Laura very much, I'm happy to continue her great work in securing my publishing deal with Firefly with my new agent Veronique. The DHA agency is a great one to be signed to, very straightforward and full of professional yet very approachable people. 

Firefly is the perfect publisher for Lion and I. Penny Thomas, who founded Firefly Press grew up in Harpenden (next door to Luton where the book is set), where I currently live and everyone I'm working with at Firefly are fully supportive of the book and what it means. 

Great things have happened already and will continue to happen with this book. It is something beyond me but I hope you will come along for the ride. Keep reading my blog for what happens next. 

Go Lion!

Cannot believe I left the tranquil surroundings and company of these wonderful fellow children's authors to rush home for the Euro Finals. 

I actually chose to swap the bliss of what you see in this photo for the pain of an England penalty shoot out. Why?

Moving on...

I'm bursting with some amazing news that I'm desperate to share with you but I'll have to hang on for just a little longer. Any day now. It's BIG so be ready!

It was amazing to be out and about doing real author things again and one of the children gave me a portrait she'd drawn of me whilst I was talking. Quite an accurate job, I'm sure you'd agree. They were so great and I'm looking forward to working with them. 

Next is a new connection in Norfolk, which is my home county (I grew up in Norwich). I've made links with Norfolk Young Carers who are kindly reaching out to see who else might be interested in getting involved. It's very exciting to be thinking about what is next and how my lovely book, Call Me Lion will be followed-up.

Watch out for future blog posts about how Who Cares? progresses over the coming months. I intend to keep you all posted here!

Spent an entire day last week applying for a job that looked absolutely perfect for me. Working part-time as a Writing Facilitator for The Ministry of Stories in London. For anyone that has applied for a job that they really want you'll understand the amount of work that goes into it. I knew that the competition would be fierce as jobs like these are as rare as hens teeth, but I thought with my background and experience that I stood a very good chance. 

It was not to be. Yesterday I received a standard email saying I'd not been selected for interview and due to the high number of applications they couldn't give feedback. I had a little cuddle with my cat, Bibs, and felt a bit sorry for myself. 

As my previous and wonderful agent, Laura West would say, 'Onwards!'.

For those of you interested in entering a short-story competition (open to KS1 and KS2 children only) the deadline for entries has been extended.

To find out more click here: Tenacity Competition 

I'm looking forward to reading the finalists. 

Good luck!