One of the most exciting days of my writing life was when River of Ink Genesis won the Hampshire Book Award in 2017!

Well I hope you all had a wonderful summer full of great adventures, loads of laughter and hopefully the chance to read a lot of good books! Like me, many of you are now beginning a new school year. For some this might mean starting at a new school or joining a new class. Change […]

So as we set off into the summer holidays, I’m thrilled to be able to let you know that there is a brand new book out in the wild put together to help all writers whether they be  young or old, new or more experienced. It’s designed to help everyone solve all their writing dilemmas. […]

What an honour it was for me to take part in the celebration event for the Pupil Library Assistant Awards of 2023! Every year, pupil library assistants are nominated for this prestigious prize…and an event is held in London to showcase the work of all the fabulous finalists. Authors are given a very special role and […]

So here’s an unusual book recommendation! It’s for a picture book! Books of all lengths and all sorts can be full of wonderful messages and so it is always good to try new things…or go back to old things…and see what magic you may have missed. This book is packed with symbols and secrets and […]

Here in the UK it’s Half Term Holidays for many pupils and students. And in the US I know that some schools have broken up now for the summer. So…maybe you are off school right now and wondering what to do. Maybe you are in the mood for an adventure. Maybe you’d like to search […]

People often ask me where I get my ideas from. The exciting truth is that much of what I write isn’t made up…but inspired by real history and real places.When I was a little girl, I lived in Brighton and I was fascinated by the beautiful Royal Pavilion in the centre of the city. A […]

It’s ‘Shakespeare Week’ here in the UK and I know that in lots of schools around the country students, teachers and librarians are taking time to celebrate the wonderful work of one of the most famous writers on the planet. But did you know that Shakespeare may also have been a secret breaker?! There are […]

In my last Blog Post I talked about Time…and the clocks springing forward. It’s odd really. We are now in what is called British Summer Time here in the UK…but all around us we are seeing the signs of Spring.Have you noticed them? Blossom? New flowers? Birds nesting? You might not have had a chance to […]

Very soon the clocks in the UK are going to spring forward. We will lose an hour. It will disappear! I wonder where it will go…and what we would have done with that hour if we had been able to keep it? I have always been fascinated by time. I once even wrote an adaptation […]