When Monster & Chips first came out, my publisher ran a competition inviting people to send in their ideas for monstrous food. I still get the occasional email about it, although the competition finished a long time ago. It doesn’t matter, as I love to hear from readers and to see what they come up with.
Here’s Amos (aged 9), who read the whole of Monster & Chips in two days, with a bowl of granola and worms! Yum – I hope he (or a monstrous friend) enjoyed it.
I had a lovely parcel from my publisher Bloomsbury today: book proofs!
These are a test print run so that the publisher gets an idea of what the book might look like when it’s printed. The cover and illustrations aren’t completed, but it’s a chance to check for mistakes in the text amongst other things. Copies are sent to reviewers and potential buyers so they can get an advance look. Marketing is everything!
Bloomsbury also sent me a genuine McBudge Fudge bar, made in the Dundoodle Chocolate Factory! Fabulous – it made my day.
To St. Paul’s cathedral for the very touching memorial service for Paddington creator Michael Bond.
BBC article here.
Video from (unfortunately) the vile Daily Mail:
Proofreading! Last chance to tweak the wording for the first Dundoodle Mystery.
I’m so bad at taking photos. All the latest HD tech cannot help when you’re the type of person who always has your finger over the lens. So I’m not much good when it comes to reporting on events. Here’s a couple of recent ones:
Book buddies Gary Northfield and Alex Milway had a joint party at the fab Tales on Moon Lane children’s bookshop for their latest books, Julius Zebra: Entangled with the Egyptians and Pigsticks & Harold Lost in Time, respectively. These gents are such great writers and put on a hilarious show. If the photos are blurry, it’s because I’m laughing as much as anything else. Baked goods were included (always welcome).
And Laura Ellen Anderson had a magnificent party for her new series Amelia Fang. It was held in the crypt of St Pancras’ Church and everyone was suitably dressed in a Halloweeny style. The first book is already doing marvellously, thanks in part to being selected as Waterstones’ Book of the Month for October. Congrats, Lil!
Every now and again I get sent a monster design using the activity sheets I created for Monster & Chips – you can find them here.
This brilliant monster is Buddy, created by Jesse Becerra. Buddy’s super-cool, with his tentacles and multiple eyeballs, and also has great taste in pizza. Thanks, Jesse!
It’s still a bit early to talk about this, but my new fiction series (illustrated by Claire Powell) has made an appearance in Bloomsbury Children’s Books online catalogue for the first half of next year.
[Click on the image for a slightly more readable version of the catalogue.]
I’ll be posting more information when I can (and as usual, the book will have its own page on my website) but for now, I’m keeping my fingers/toes/other bits crossed for October’s Frankfurt Book Fair, where I’m hoping some foreign publishers will be interested in buying rights.
ETA: One Blackfriars is a new residential tower on the south side of Blackfriars Bridge. It’s unfinished but will be about fifty stories tall when complete. Apartments will cost from £1-23 million. The views along the Thames are worth quite a bit in their own right.
Last night I went to the launch for Katherina Mannolessou‘s Look for Ladybird in Plant City at Gosh! Comics in London.
It’s a gorgeous-looking book. Above is author Katherina giving a speech with editor Kate Davies (left) of Frances Lincoln Children’s Books.
Molly Jamieson and Emily Talbot from United Agents, with authors Smriti Prasadam-Halls and Sarah McIntyre.
An interior of the book (click for a bigger version) – so much work! It’s amazing. Congrats, Katerina!
It’s the publication day for Boyband of the Apocalypse by Tom Nicoll! It was my pleasure to do the illustrations, with fabulous design help from Sophie Bransby of Stripes. The whole project was a lot of fun to work on.
Here’s the blurb:
When Sam agrees to take his little sister, Lexie, to see the world’s most popular boy band, Apocalips, he expects it to be bad. But he doesn’t expect to get locked in a cupboard, to overhear the band plotting to destroy the world and to witness them disintegrate one of their own members. When no one believes him but his best friend, Milo, Sam is left with no option but to take part in a contest to join the band to try and save the world from Armageddon. To do this Sam will have to become someone he’s never been before. With help from Milo and Lexi, he’ll have to overcome the Four Horsewomen of the Apocalypse, pop Svengali Nigel Cruul, a dodgy haircut, and his complete inability to sing or dance. Still, it’s not the end of the world. Not yet anyway.
And here’s one of the interior illustrations (and my favourite): Apocalips on stage!
All the information for BOTA is here. Go buy and make Tom a happy man!
Back from a few days of refreshing seaside sun. I love Southwold!
So many different textures and tones to be seen. The coastal landscape is quite stunning.
It always helps when you’ve got decent weather, of course. Fortunately, it was a beautiful week and the town wasn’t busy, as it was the just before the summer season starts in earnest.
Back to work! I had some nice news whilst I was away – hopefully I will be able to share it soon.
