I head up to Scotland this afternoon for a week-long Scottish Book Trust tour of schools in Inverclyde and Dunbartonshire.

You’ll be able to follow my progress here on my blog (I’ll have ‘net access in the evenings), on Twitter via @tommydonbavand and on my page at Facebook.

Look out Scotland – here I come!

Tommy

A fantastic day in Formby today – which saw me dashing around like a rocket-powered vampire!

I spent the morning at the City Learning Centre, working with year 8 pupils from Formby High School – then a quick drive over to Our Lady Of Compassion Primary School where I ran my Vampires vs Werewolves Game Show and signed a shed load of books!  Finally, I spent a very pleasant hour or so back at Pritchard’s Bookshop – the organisers of this afternoon’s fun and frolics.

Many thanks to Olwen for a wonderful morning, and Tony and his team for a fantastic afternoon!

Tommy

I had a fantastic time at the Aye Write Book Festival in Glasgow today.  Two sessions, each with 400+ kids in the audience, in the Mitchell Library Theatre…

I managed to piece together a rough picture of the audience from three separate shots so you could see what it looked like with a crowd…

And I got to meet up with my good pal, Barry Hutchison – author of the terrifyingly brilliant Invisible Fiends series…

A great time was had by all.  I hope they invite me back again next year!

Tommy

Hurrah!  My throat infection has finally gone – and I’ve got my voice back!

This means I can resume my scheduled school events – and it’s just as well, as I’ve got a busy month!  Yesterday, I had a wonderful time at Mostyn House School in Parkgate (where I performed my Vampires vs Werewolves Game Show in a very ornate setting – see above picture!), and today I received a fabulous welcome at Burnley Brow Community School in Chadderton!

Tomorrow I head up to Glasgow for the Aye Write Book Festival, then it’s back home for a quick visit to Formby High School and Our Lady of Compassion School (both on the same day, thanks to Pritchards Books in Formby!) – and then I set off on a week-long tour for the Scottish Book Trust!

Who said this writing lark was easy?

Tommy

Today is World Book Day!  Hurray!

And I’m not running any events!  Boo!

I was supposed to be at Coleshill Heath School yesterday, Alcott Hall School today and Starbank Primary School tomorrow – but I’ve had to postpone all three visits because I’ve got a throat infection.  Yes, yours truly is completely mute.  I can’t even whisper.  And my throat hurts.  A lot.

Thanks for the sympathy.

Still, I’ve got a couple of (silent) treats up my sleeve for today – the first being a pdf file of spooktacular Scream Street activities that you can download from the World Book Day website here: http://www.worldbookday.com/assets_cm/files/pdf/10webA1P_Vampire_Activity_Sheets.pdf

You should also find some fun Scream Street information in your school’s World Book Day pack.

Have a great day!

Tommy

It’s official – I’m losing my voice!

I spent this morning at Liverpool Central Library and afternoon at Toxteth Library, running my spooky Vampires vs Werewolves Game Show for visiting school groups – only to become quieter and squeakier during the day!  By the time I got home, I could barely talk (the family had a peaceful evening for once!)

Despite the croaking, it was a fantastic day (thanks to Tricia and Neil!) and wonderful to finally meet Jenni and Spider – a real Scream Street character (more on that soon…)

Thanks to everyone at Holy Trinity School in Ashton (and the visitors from St Peter’s) for making me feel so welcome today – despite my failing voice!  I think I’m coming down with a cold – but everyone’s enthusiasm for writing their stories made sure I had a smile on my face from the moment I arrived.

I’ve just got back from a fantastically fun Renaissance Learning symposium in Belfast – where I got to enjoy a talk by Theresa Breslin, author of the powerful Divided City.

My own presentation was a little more low key than usual – partly because I’m coming down with a cold and rapidly losing my voice, but also because there was no way I’d have got my box of Scream Street relics through the airport scanners without being hauled off to a side room for interrogation!  As a result, I took the audience through a creative writing workshop and showed them how to construct a story plan with their pupils.

Thanks to Christine and the team from Renaissance Learning, Anna from Scotia Books, Barrie from Barrington Stoke and everyone who came along for another enjoyable event!

Tommy

I’m back from two wonderful days performing for young readers as part of the brilliant Bounce Into Books festival!

I visited two schools in Beverley and enjoyed an anarchic afternoon at a Sheffield library (where my event was held up for a few minutes by the arrival of a Chinese dragon – not every day I get to say that!)

But, best of all, I was at the festival to talk about Zombie! – my first book for specialist publisher, Barrington Stoke.  I’m a big fan of the work they do, and I’ve now been lucky enough to write three novels for them – the aforementioned Zombie!, The Uniform (to be published in July) and Wolf (due out in 2011).

If you haven’t yet read a Barrington Stoke book – treat yourself to one soon and see for yourself just what exciting and valuable work they’re doing.

Tommy

Check out this video footage, captured live during my recent creative writing via Skype classes for Holmesdale Technology College…