Thanks to everyone at Chatterbooks in Gateshead for a wonderful welcome yesterday – and especially to Issy and Kieran for making me these superbly spooky masks!

They’re just the thing to wear in the garden and scare the neighbours this summer…

Thanks to everyone at North Ormesby Primary School for another two great days, this time working with years 3 and 4 on a speaking and listening project as part of my role as RIF Ambassador to the school. We looked at traditional fairy tales, added sound effects and actions – and then made up our own silly stories, one word at a time.

Can’t wait for the forthcoming RIF day…!

Tommy

Straight after the Trapped By Monsters event in Abingdon on Saturday, I donned my pyjamas and dashed off to a cub and beaver camp in Northampton to take part in the Giant Sleepover.

I’d been asked to read a spooky story to the assembled campers before they settled down for the night and helped raise money for some great causes.  But I wanted to go one better, and so I wrote an exclusive Scream Street short story called Sweet Screams.

After meeting up with some of my fellow ready-for-bedders (and being interviewed by ITN!), I stepped out into the evening sunshine to run some gruesome games, and then read the terrifying tale to what we learned was the biggest sleepover on the planet that night!

Sleepers at other events around the country were treated to the story on video and – for those of you who couldn’t make it to your local lie-in – here’s what they saw…

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Now, if you will excuse me, I’m off for 40 winks…

Tommy

Well, I suppose it had to happen…

Tired of keeping us locked in dark, depressing caves and watching us struggle to understand the unfamiliar Monstrese letters on our bone keyboards as we write for this blog, the monsters went one step further.  We were blindfolded and taken to a theatre in leafy Abingdon where we were forced to compete in a series of humiliating games for their amusement – with the loser destined to be eaten when the spectacle was over!

The first thing we noticed as our blindfolds came off and our elbows were untied was that Barry Hutchison and Mark Robson hadn’t survived the journey.  One of our monster jailers – Pigsnotter, a squidgy purple beast with three and a half noses – had become peckish en route to Abingdon and had snacked on them.  Mark and Baz are expected to return once they have passed through Pigsnotter’s complex and disgusting digestive system.

So, just six authors remained – Andy Briggs, Ali Sparkes, David Melling, Tommy Donbavand, Sam Enthoven and Joe Craig – but which of us would end up served with garnish to the king monster, topped with low salt, reduced sugar tomato ketchup?

David Melling immediately tried to suck up to the king monster by painting a portrait of him while the rest of us were thrown to the front of the stage to begin competing for our lives.

Joe Craig, who had drawn on a new beard with a Sharpie for the occasion, took the role of host and began (under monster orders) to introduce a series of soul-smashing activities that saw, among other things, Ali Sparkes reveal what goes on in her imagination, Tommy Donbavand transformed into a cuddle beast, and Sam Enthoven attempt the frankly unlikely task of impersonating a break-dancing frog.  Even Andy Briggs’ improvised scenario about trying to stop a robot made from cheese by throwing bananas at it (which some consider to be his best work to date) couldn’t lift the authors’ collective spirit.

With the audience baying for blood and – I’m sorry to say – actually laughing at our plight, Joe added up the points at the end of each round as the king monster’s dinnertime crept closer and closer.  But who lost?  Which of the six remaining authors scored the lowest and was served on a slime-covered platter?  Unbelievably, (and Joe’s scoring system was unbelievable), we ended up with minus one point each – and the audience was instructed to decide which of us would become a monster’s meal.  We sat, trembling, as they voted – eventually choosing…

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… Joe Craig!  Yes, after what was clearly an attempt to save his own skin by cheating with the scores, the audience decided that the Jimmy Coates author was the one they wanted fed to the most royal of all monsters.  If you can bear to watch – here’s video footage of Joe’s final moments…

But, what of the rest of us?  Were we granted our freedom and allowed back to our homes and families?  No such luck.  Our only reward was a nibble on a Trapped By Monsters cupcake, then we were bundled into rough hessian sacks and carted back here to the cave.

We must thank Mark from Mostly Books in Abingdon – he gallantly, at great risk, provided copies of our books for the audience to purchase and remember us by – but if we ever find out that he was working in league with our captors to actually arrange the event – he’ll be on the very next monster menu himself.

Will the monsters ever try something as diabolical as this ever again or are we now saved from being the king’s playthings?  The only way to find out is to keep reading Trapped By Monsters.

An utterly brilliant day at St John Bosco Arts College in Liverpool today – even if no-one remembered to tell me in advance that it was an all girls school!

I ran a couple of creative writing workshops (from which came some wonderful story ideas – including one tale set entirely inside a bowl of ice cream!), followed by the Vampires vs Werewolves Game Show!

Special thanks to Sophie and all the staff for arranging the day!

Tommy

Along with five other captured authors, I will be competing for my life in Abingdon this weekend.  Sam Enthoven gives the details…

Are you, reading this, anywhere near Abingdon, England on this coming Saturday June 20th? Then click here for all the details!

Thanks to everyone at Water Primary School in Rossendale for a very warm welcome yesterday!  I had a great time working with classes 2 and 3 as we created story plans – followed by a wonderful reaction to my Vampires Vs Werewolves Game Show!

I look forward to visiting again very soon!

Tommy

Congratulations to fellow Walker author, Anthony Browne, on becoming the new children’s laureate.  I’m looking forward to seeing how he continues the wonderful work of Michael Rosen.

For more information on the role of the children’s laureate, visit the website here: http://www.childrenslaureate.org.uk

As the publication of Scream Street in the USA looms ever closer – I’ve remade my trailer for the series, especially for our friends across the pond…

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As part of the challenge I’ve given myself to write an entire book on my NEO writing tool, I set off into the local woods today in order to find some peace and quiet.  I found it, too – if you don’t count the millions of insects buzzing around me!

For those who don’t know about the challenge – I’m so impressed with the NEO as a potential tool for professional writers that I’m attempting to write the entire manuscript for The Uniform (to be published by Barrington Stoke in 2010) on it.

You can learn more about my NEO challenge here.