I’ve just got back from a hectic three-day trip to London where I dashed around from one part of the city to the next, cramming in as many meetings as I could. I spoke at a Web 2.0 seminar on how to motivate young readers by getting them to create video book trailers, discussed marketing plans for the coming books in the Scream Street series with my publishers, talked about my next series of books (details of which must remain secret for the moment), enjoyed a conference call regarding something very exciting (which must also be kept secret!), and I still managed a couple of hours in which to do this…
This is me recording the audio book version of Zombie!, my first title for utterly brilliant publishers, Barrington Stoke. When I heard there was going to be an audio version, I made a sample recording and sent it to the producer hoping I’d be in with the chance to read the book myself – and it paid off. Of course, that did mean I sat in a tiny booth making gurgling zombie noises and screams for an afternoon!
Big thanks to Douglas, the recording engineer, for making everything as enjoyable and easy as possible (and for taking the picture!) I’ve arranged to feature an excerpt from the recording on my website – so watch out for that soon.
Hello to all my readers on the other side of the world! I hope you’re ready for some fiendish fun – for THREE new Scream Street titles are published in Australia and New Zealand by Walker Books Australia today!
Scream Street 5: Skull of the Skeleton, Scream Street 6: Claw of the Werewolf and Scream Street 7: Invasion of the Normals are available NOW in the southern hemisphere!
It’s taken me a while to get to as I’ve been swamped by deadlines recently, but I’ve finally managed to sit down and read And Another Thing… – the sixth installment of Douglas Adams’sHitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy series, written by Eoin Colfer.
Now, I suspected I might enjoy the book as I’m a huge fan of Adams’s work AND a huge fan of Eoin Colfer. But what I wasn’t quite expecting was the scale to which the Hitchhiker’s galaxy would spring back to life as though Douglas himself was wielding the pen. That’s not to say you can’t feel Eoin’s touch – you can, and it makes for a wonderful new sheen to the characters we know and love so well. Many fans thought it unwise to continue the series but, to me, it just all felt so, well… right.
I don’t want to give anything away – but if you’ve ever enjoyed an afternoon in the company of Arthur, Ford, Trillian and the stupendously shallow Zaphod Beeblebrox – then you’re in for a real treat with this book. Plus, we are introduced to a fantastic new character (among others) in the lumpy shape of caring Vogon, Constant Mown.
If you’ve never read a Hitchhiker’s book before – you’ll love And Another Thing… And, if you’re a dedicated H2G2 fan – it’s just like visiting old friends.
I was delighted to receive this picture today – it’s of a boy named Luke who was caught secretly reading my book, Zombie!, in a school science lesson! Well, I suppose decomposing corpses and the things that live in them are a kind of biology experiment…
I’ll be visiting Luke’s school in January, so I’ll be able to congratulate him in person, then!
Are you thinking of booking me for an author visit in 2010? Download my new Author Events eBook, which tells you everything you need to know – from organising the day to how to get my books for your pupils on sale or return, with free delivery!
Those of you in the UK may have seen the recent TV ads for Flips – the new way to read books right on your Nintendo DS… Now, I’m all in favour of encouraging kids to read in any form – but I’m particularly excited about Flips because one of the available series is Too Ghoul For School – in which four of the eight books were written by me (under the creepy pen name, B. Strange)!
My four Too Ghoul For School books in the collection are: Terror In Cubicle Four, Silent But Deadly, School Spooks Day and Attack Of The Zombie Nits.
So, treat your DS to a little creepy action this Christmas with Flips!
Residents in the village of Westbury-sub-Mendip in Somerset were so distraught at losing their library and ‘phone box in quick succession, that they bought the latter from BT for £1, and turned it into the former.
Yes, that’s a ‘phone box library right there – with 100 books waiting to be borrowed (so long as you drop a book off in return, that is). A triumph for local people power over the current trend of library closures.
So, Borders in the UK has finally gone into administration.
I’ve been horrified to watch this train wreck happen over the last week or so – especially the uncertainty of the past few days. As an author, Borders has always been ‘my store’; incredibly supportive of my books and supremely welcoming whenever I’ve come in store to run events. It’s almost been like having a nationwide chain of caring, book-loving independents wherever you go.
I can quite honestly say I haven’t met an unhelpful, unfriendly bookseller in any of the branches. Everyone at Borders knows their stuff, and does their best to get people reading what’s right for them as well as try to get them into something new. Trust me – that doesn’t happen with every chain, or even every bookshop.
I’ve made some good friends in branches across the north east and north west (Gateshead, Silverlink and Stockton to name but three), and I’d like to wish them – and everyone at every branch – the very best for the future.
