75th Anniversary of VE Day

Today is the 75th anniversary of VE Day, and many people have entered into the spirit of the occasion by decorating the outside of their houses with bunting and flags.

In this time of lockdown, isolation and uncertainty, they brought a smile to my face as I walked the streets in my neighbourhood for my daily exercise. One woman had even dressed as a land girl with dungarees and a head scarf!

Quest to 'Chase the Rainbows'

In these weird, weird times, children in lockdown across the UK have been drawing rainbows on their pavements or in their windows to spread joy and positivity; they lift the spirit as you 'Chase the Rainbows'!

Here's a sample of ones I've seen so far:

 

How many rainbows have you spotted whilst you've been out?

Happy World Book Day!

Now in its 23^rd year, World Book Day’s aim is to give each child and young person a book of their own so they can develop a love of reading.

All across the land millions of book tokens will be distributed by the charity to exchange for one of ten exclusive, new and completely free books. Schools that participate have resource packs full of ideas and activities for the day, and children are encouraged to dress up as a favourite book character. See how many Harry Potters or Katniss Everdeens you spot walking to their schools today!

Happy World Book Day!

WriteOnCon kidlit writing conference – 21st-23rd February 2020

This weekend, I’m attending a kidlit writing conference, and the beauty of it is that I don’t even need to leave the comfort of my own home! WriteOnCon is an annual online conference split over an event-packed three days. There are a mix of blog posts, Q&A sessions, workshops, discussions and pitch events all geared towards kidlit writers (anyone can attend, though, as a lot of advice will be universal). There’s still time to register, and there are different tiers of attendance, depending on your requirements. This year, I’ve gone for Extended Admission, which gives me access to the full material for a month after the conference has ended – plenty of time to catch up on events I may have missed during the conference itself (there are only so many hours in the weekend, after all!)

The forums are up and running, and you can polish your Twitter pitches, queries and the first 500 words of your manuscript with the aid of fellow writers. There’s even a ‘Supers’ district where agents, editors and professional writers might drop by to give feedback. I’ve earmarked several events in the schedule I definitely want to attend, and I’ve also thrown my hat into the ring for feedback on my query in one of the live pitching events.

It’s going to be a helpful (but intense!) weekend – hope to ‘see’ you there!

How many books did I read in 2019?

Bude Library

Happy New Year, and Happy New Decade!

You know what this means? Yup, it's time for my annual round-up.

I didn't read as many books in 2019 as in previous years, but once again I've concentrated on clearing my TBR pile. Several books in this pile were huge door stoppers - which easily count as three books each, right?! I also added a new library to my collection - Bude Library in Cornwall.

So, how many books did I read in 2019? I read 1 library book, did 4 beta reads, read 36 e-books, and 39 physical books, bringing my total to a respectable 80. I'm hoping I'll hit the dizzying heights of triple figures this coming year.

How about you? How many books did you read in 2019?

Merry Christmas 2019! #NoRoomAtTheInn

MERRY CHRISTMAS

and a

HAPPY NEW YEAR

to all my readers!

Quest to visit Tintagel Castle

Towards the end of this summer, I had the great delight of going to Cornwall on holiday. I wasn't staying that far from Tintagel Castle, so I made it a quest one day to visit the picturesque site associated with the legendary King Arthur.