Aftermath

Posted on March 18, 2014

My book is out in the big wide world. Look! It is! Really! I’ve seen it.

          Next to ‘The Book Thief’ no less. What an accolade.

I haven’t seen it everywhere, mind. Which makes me want to slip copies into random places and see what happens. Like the coffee shop in the House of Lords, on the table at the G8 Summit, into the pocket of one of Madonna’s children, or to Barak Obama (who grew up without a dad so he’d get it). But I’ve refrained. Mainly because I can’t get near any of those people or places, not out of any sense of decorum.

Last week, was World Book Day so I visited Campsbourne School to meet and talk to both of the Year 4 classes and met lovely authors, Helen Piercy and Conrad Mason while I was there. It was great fun: no one did any school work and all the teachers and students were dressed up. One boy had a particularly interesting costume. ‘He’s dressed as a carrier bag,’ his friend told me. And sure enough, he had a carrier bag around his middle. I felt perfectly comfortable after meeting him to talk about my weird life and about story writing. I was a bit scared that Thing 1 and Thing 2 would chase me around the classroom and the deadly-looking doctor would try to cut out my liver but I got out of there alive.

I had a family party to celebrate my book coming out, and that was SOOO NICE. The sun even shone. And I have a date for Radio 4! Thursday 27th March at 4pm – listen to the 4 o’clock show. I’ll be on it! HOW COOL IS THAT?

This week, I’m working on my next book. This means I have hundreds of pieces of paper all around me with scribbles on them as I decide what’s going to happen, and to whom, and where, and why. Maybe if I just glue them all together, no one will notice and I’ll just go ta daaaaaaahh! My new book! And then go on holiday for a few months to somewhere warm.

It’s HEEEEERRRRRRRRRRE!

Posted on March 4, 2014 Updated on March 4, 2014

Oh me, oh my. Finally, finally, this week has finally arrived. And it’s arrived with a bang, a wallop, a whoop and an eek.

A bang because the week started with a trip to the BBC to record ‘Inheritance Books’ for the 4 o’Clock Show on Radio 4, and that was GREAT. I loved it. Despite being so nervous I nearly squeezed the tops of my fingers off (that was my strategy for keeping calm and focusing while I did the recording. My poor fingers.) I was tickled by the whole buzz of being in there and now I want to be a radio presenter or permanent studio guest (hint hint BBC) and am now thinking of devious ways of making that come true…

A wallop because it’s WORLD BOOK DAY  on Thursday, so this week is all about books books books. If you somehow missed that, you need a wallop around the head with a big book to WAKE UP. THWACK.

That’s better. Now wash your face and go and buy a book. Preferably mine.

Where was I? Oh, yes.

A whoop because Dream on, Amber made it into National Geographic  Kids magazine NGK0414whatsup.v5 which might not seem very whoopy to you, but it is to me. It’s whoop whoop whoop whoop whoop whoop whoop WHOOP, if you must know. ESPECIALLY because it’s National Geographic Magazine because I LOVE that mag and I’m a world traveller and explorer so it’s made me so happy to feature in it.

And an eek because there are three Polish painters, all called Martin (actually it’s more like Marzchzkyjzynn, which can’t pronounce so they make it easy for me) making chaos in my house – the furniture from three rooms is in the middle of the dining room, covered with dust sheets; it smells of paint and silicone sealer. I can’t even get a glass of water and I really don’t need this right now when I have all my family coming on Sunday to eat and drink and some are even sleeping here from America and Italy. I’m breathing deeply and trying not to freak out.

It’s not working.

So yes – on THURSDAY, THIS THURSDAY, THIS VERY ONE Dream on, Amber is being published, but all those lovely people who pre-ordered it have received it already through the post. And they’re not the only ones: a group of very cool readers from the LOVE READING website have written reviews, which you can read here and I thank them for their lovely comments. Even the one who said my book was boring because at least she said it in a nice way. Getting reviews from real readers makes me so happy (hint hint).  Yes, that means you.

It’s WORLD BOOK WEEK! How cool is that?