www.alexatewkesbury.com

Lots of updates plus more Conversations With My Dog

Thu, 02 May 2013 15:08:26 +0100

Busy first four months to the year! In between proofing, editing and performing with Moonstone Theatre Company, I've now written four new children's books for CWR! There are two more in the Topz Secret Stories series and two Topz Christmas specials - one each for Christmas 2013 and 2014.

Seem to have been locked to my computer through the worst of the winter, but when I came up for air yesterday, I had a very productive meeting with Nigel from Moonstone Theatre Company. Lots of bookings coming up, including (and we're very excited about this one!) an interactive performance in the 1805 rooms at the Theatre Royal in Bath! Nigel and I are also starting to develop a new play. It's an idea we've been talking about for a few months, but the basis of the plot has now begun to crystallise, so we'll see where it takes us. Very much looking forward to working on that and developing it for performance. One element of the play will be an exploration of autism, and my son, John, an autistic actor, will feature in one of the roles. He is currently studying Performing Arts at Exeter College. SO excited about this!

Big editing job on now and, as usual the deadline is bearing down so must keep at it. Meantime, if you fancy something light, have a look at my new blog on Wordpress - Conversations With My Dog. You'll find it at www.dottydingle.wordpress.com

Enjoy the sunshine and long may it last! x

New blog: Conversations With My Dog

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:00:45 +0100

With new blogs springing up left, right and centre, and all stations in between, I thought perhaps it was time to join the general mix and add my own. I shall walk with my dog, talk with my dog and consult him on issues of life, the universe and everything (he's very clever and loves a good chinwag - as well as a good tail wag) - and, as time allows, I shall share our more meaningful conversations. We hope you enjoy them.

You'll find Episode One here:

www.dottydingle.wordpress.com

(I'm afraid you'll need to do the copy and pastey thing as I seem unable to do the direct linky thing ...)

Pantomime Pandemonium!

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 18:23:22 +0000

I was excited yesterday! The sun shone and the sky was blue. The birds in the garden looked ... well ... chirpy (so to speak) instead of hungry and cold. Ha ha! I thought. Finally, it's spring!

Today, however, Rumble the dog and I have endured more of those soggy, grey, rain-sodden walks we've grown so accustomed to. Nice to have a bit of normality back in your life ...

Anyway, as a bit of pre-spring cheer, here's an excerpt from one of my new Topz Secret Stories releases. This one is Pantomime Pandemonium. The cover image isn't up on the book page yet but will be shortly, along with One Too Many For Benny. Meantime, you can buy both books on-line - just click on the links for any of the other Topz books and you'll get to the right page at cwr.org. Also available on Amazon and other on-line book outlets, as well as from Christian bookshops.

Hope you like!

As Kevin unlocked the front door, he could hear the phone ringing. Of course no one answered. Mike and his mum were at work.

Kevin ran through the hallway into the kitchen. He half expected whoever was calling to ring off before he'd had a chance to pick up the phone. They didn’t.

It was his mum.

‘Kevin, where have you been? I’ve been ringing and ringing.’

‘I’ve been out, haven’t I?’ Kevin answered moodily. ‘If I had a mobile, you’d be able to get hold of me, no problem.’

His mum sighed impatiently at the other end of the phone. ‘I am not talking about that now. You broke your phone. Save up some money and you can buy yourself a new one. Anyway listen, would you? I need you to go round to Grandad’s.’

‘What?’ Kevin frowned. ‘Why?’

‘If you’ll only listen, I’ll tell you!’ his mum snapped. ‘I arranged for the hairdresser to call in today and cut his hair for him. I told him she was coming. I wrote it down and everything. Left him a note so he’d see it every time he went into the kitchen to remind him. It was for one o’clock. Anyway, I’ve just had a call from the hairdresser to say that she’s tried and tried, but there’s no answer from Grandad’s flat. She had a quick peek in at the window, too, but she says she can’t see any sign of anyone. I’ve rung lots of times, but he’s not answering. I don’t know where Grandad is, Kevin.’ Her voice trembled slightly. She sounded as though she might cry. ‘I can’t get away from work. Not right now. I need you to go round to his flat for me and see if he’s all right.’

Kevin was determined not to panic. ‘Why wouldn’t he be all right, Mum? Grandad’s always all right. He’s probably just dropped off to sleep and didn’t hear there was someone at the door. You know what he’s like.’

‘Go round there please, Kevin, now,’ was all his mum said.

‘I’m going, Mum,’ Kevin muttered. ‘All I’m saying is, he’ll be all right.’

‘The spare keys to the flat are in the kitchen drawer. The one next to the fridge. And, Kevin – ring me when you get there.’

Kevin put the phone down, grabbed the keys, and was back outside in seconds. He was hungry when he’d got home. Lunchtime had just about been and gone and he hadn’t had a thing to eat. But as he shot out through the front door on his way to Billings Road, food was the last thing on his mind.

He marched along the pavement quickly. Before long he’d broken into a run. He kept having to dodge round people in front of him who were moving too slowly. They were taking up space on the pavement, just ambling along. Why were they in his way? Where were they all going? Kevin had somewhere vital he needed to be, and fast, and everyone around him seemed to be wasting time! More than once he had to leap into the road to avoid getting stuck behind slow-moving pedestrians.

‘He’s all right … Grandad’s all right …’ He kept saying it to himself. Over and over again as his feet pounded along. If he said it enough times, maybe he’d even make himself believe it. He had to keep calm. If Grandad had fallen over again, or if he was ill in bed and couldn’t get up, Kevin would need to be able to help him. He’d need to be able to think clearly what was the best thing to do. How could he help anyone if he was upset?

At last he saw the sign for Billings Road. Turning the corner, already breathless, Kevin forced himself into a final sprint.

He had the keys to the main door of the building, and to the front door of Grandad’s flat. But he thought he’d just try buzzing first. As he pressed the button and waited, what he wanted more than anything – more than absolutely anything - was for his grandad to answer: ‘Who is it?’ ‘It’s me, Kevin.’ ‘Kevin! What are you doing here? Come on in and I’ll put the kettle on.’

That was what Kevin longed for. It’s the conversation he was desperate to have. Grandad’s voice would sound scratchy. It always did through the intercom. But it would mean his grandad was there. Safe. Everything would feel normal again.

Kevin stood very still, waiting. No answer came at all.

NEW SHORT FILM JUST RELEASED!

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 11:29:33 +0000

Apologies for lack of posts since the New Year. Been flat out writing and continue to be so until Easter - two new Topz Secret Stories on the go for CWR, plus something special due for release next Christmas. And I've also just finished the screenplay to an animation pilot. More details of these projects to come. Exciting!

Numbers 3 & 4 in the Topz Secret Stories have also just been released. One Too Many For Benny and Pantomime Pandemonium are now available to buy from Christian book stores or online via www.cwr.org.uk, Amazon, or any other on-line book seller outlets. Do please grab copies!

NOW, one freezing day last December, I was up at 5 o'clock in the morning with actor, Kevin Over, and writers/directors/producers - brothers Christopher and James Norton of MonkeyDribble Films. We clambered up the craggy tors of Dartmoor and wandered along picturesque stretches of South Devon coastline whilst filming MonkeyDribble's lastest short film, Mum. It was screened at the Red Carpet Film Festival in Basingstoke last weekend and has just been released on-line. The Nortons have put it together so beautifully.

Please have a look here:

https://vimeo.com/60078269

Happy New Year!

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 12:49:46 +0000

Wishing all my readers a happy, healthy and peaceful new year filled with lots of good things. New year, new day - new books to write, starting today ... in the next few minutes in fact. I have a story plan, but will the story go to plan? So often they seem to wander off in their own sweet way! Let's see what happens ...

Have a wonderful 2013. xx

SNEAKY EXCERPT FROM BRAND NEW TOPZ SECRET STORY!

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 17:45:37 +0000

I'll be getting up to date with lots of news shortly (new writing/filming/Moonstone Theatre) but, with two new Topz Secret Stories (CWR) due for release early in the new year, I thought I'd quickly post an excerpt from the opening of one of them, One Too Many For Benny - just to whet your 'books-I-really-must-read-in-2013' appetite. Hope you like!

From the moment Ashley Bicton could hold a crayon, she was a scribbler.

She scribbled on everything. Not the things she wasn’t meant to scribble on, like walls and library books and the wooden headboard on her bed. But on used envelopes. On scraps of paper. On old magazines put out for recycling.

Ashley got through countless colouring books, too. She didn’t fill in the pictures beautifully with her crayons. She was still trying to learn not to go over the drawing outlines. And sometimes her trees were orange and her skies were green with purple clouds. But what did it matter? Her mother would still smile proudly as she flicked through the finished pages.

‘Would you believe it?’ she’d say. ‘Proper little artist you are, aren’t you, Ashley? Isn’t she, Rob?’ she’d add to Ashley’s dad. ‘She’s a proper little artist is our daughter.’

Ashley loved storybooks, too. Her mum and dad both sat down and read to her every day. Her favourite story was The Three Little Pigs read to her by her dad, Rob. Ashley would growl like the wolf. She’d huff and she’d puff as she blew down the little pigs’ houses made of straw and sticks. Then she’d start giggling and chuckling as she watched her dad being the wolf trying to blow down the house of bricks. Rob’s cheeks would grow redder and redder, and he’d get more and more breathless.

Finally he’d say, ‘Go on, Ashley, you have a go.’

Then Ashley would be the wolf again, puffing and blowing and grunting. But nothing could shift that sturdy old house of bricks.

Ashley quickly knew the words to the story so well that she didn’t need it to be read to her. She could easily tell it to herself, following the pictures in the book. But she didn’t want to. The fun of the tale was hearing her dad wheezing like the wolf and squealing like the scared little piggies. For Ashley, that was the best part.

Then one particular evening, everything changed.

Ashley bounced into her bed the way she usually did. Her skin felt fresh and clean from her bath. Her mouth was all minty with toothpaste.

Rob perched down next to her and asked quietly, ‘What’s it to be, then?’

‘Three Little Pigs, Daddy!’ Ashley squealed, sounding a bit like a little pig herself.

But as Rob started reading, Ashley thought her dad’s voice sounded different from normal. He kept pausing and swallowing. He didn’t seem to be enjoying the story as much as usual. Ashley fidgeted and giggled and peered into her dad’s face. But before the wolf had even begun to blow down that first house, the one made of straw, her dad just stopped.

‘Come on, Daddy,’ Ashley said, giving Rob’s sleeve a little tug.

Finally, Rob sniffed and murmured, ‘Actually, Ashley, erm … I’ve got a bit of a headache. I’m not sure I can carry on with this right now.’

That’s when Ashley noticed that Rob’s eyes were glistening. The little girl frowned.

‘Are you crying, Daddy?’ she asked.

Rob didn’t answer.

‘Have you hurt yourself?’ Ashley went on. ‘I cry when I hurt myself, don’t I? Have you hurt yourself, Daddy?’

Rob shook his head. ‘No, darling, I’m fine. Just a bit sleepy, that’s all. It’s all right for you, isn’t?’ he smiled, reaching out and tickling Ashley’s tummy so that she chuckled. ‘Look at you. All tucked up and ready for a good night’s sleep. We’ll do the story tomorrow instead.’

But they didn’t.

They never read that particular story together ever again, because the very next day, Ashley’s dad moved out of their house. Ashley had to say goodbye to him.

Not forever. Not for more than a few days the first time, because Rob called in again at the weekend to take his daughter out. He called for Ashley every weekend for a long while afterwards, too.

What Ashley had to say goodbye to forever was their old way of life.

‘Your mum thinks it’s better this way,’ Rob tried to explain. ‘Better if you and she have your house together and I have my own place. And as soon as I’m sorted out, you can come and stay. Every weekend if you want. You’re my little girl. My special little girl and I love you and I’m so proud of you. When it comes to blowing down houses, you could certainly give that old wolf a run for his money!’

Latest ...

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 18:41:06 +0000

Busy time – but that’s all good! On the writing front, another Pens book (number 20) finished and safely with CWR for editing. I’ll shortly be planning and writing a fourth Pens ‘Special’ as well. I’ll put up some details a bit nearer the launch time. I’ve also been commissioned by CWR for two more Topz Secret Stories, which is very exciting! Books 3 & 4 which I wrote several months ago (One Too Many For Benny & Pantomime Pandemonium) will be released in the early part of next year - and now it’s time to start doing the plotting for books 5 & 6! And I’m just beginning work on a screenplay for a pilot of an animation series that my brother, animator Julian Tewkesbury (www.juliantewkesbury.com), is creating. So all in all, I shall be pounding away at the keyboard for the next few months!

Our theatre company, Moonstone (www.moonstonetheatrecompany.co.uk) is keeping me extremely busy, too! We’re being booked for anything and everything from murder mystery events in hotels and restaurants, to mini-pantomimes for Christmas at the Model Village in Torquay, to a strolling Nativity at Pentillie Castle in Cornwall, to themed dramatised readings wherever we’re asked to go! We’re also appearing for three nights in early March 2013 at the Cygnet Theatre in Exeter with an extended version of our play, Carter Davies: Secret Agent, that we performed last July for the Exeter Festival! (Oh yes, that’s something else that needs some more writing! Fortunately I can share that with my Moonstone co-writer, Nigel Howells!)

Getting much more involved in Exeter just now. I did a solo spot at the BikeShed Theatre last Sunday. Through November, they have been offering performers the opportunity to try out material/shows in development, so I thought I’d grasp the nettle (so to speak!) and perform the beginnings of a show I’ve been writing called ‘Change’. Totally inspired by the Edinburgh Festival this summer, it’s a mix of narrative and spoken-word poetry. It was completely terrifying, but an absolutely wonderful experience at the same time! Such a supportive audience, and a real privilege to perform alongside some really talented, clever people!

Finally, if you’re feeling Christmassy (or you’re not, but you’d like to be), here’s the link to a trailer for a gorgeous animation that Chris Norton from CWR has made of the Pens Christmas Special book:

https://vimeo.com/52933658

The complete short film is downloadable from CWR’s website here:

http://www.cwr.org.uk/store/p-1504-pens-christmas-animationbrdownloadable-video-file.aspx

Getting Creative

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 15:51:25 +0100

Link to my article published today on The Crafty Writer Facebook page. With lots of thanks to Fiona Veitch Smith.

http://www.thecraftywriter.com/2012/10/26/writing-for-children-getting-ideas/

Guess what ...?

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 17:33:05 +0100

I won a Twitter competition! Delighted to have received a signed copy of actor Andy Nyman’s new book – The Golden Rules Of Acting. It’s a brilliant! Full of fantastic advice. So thank you so much Andy Nyman and Nick Hern Books! It's ages since I won anything ... and I think the last time it might have been quite a large cuddly bear ...

Had an incredible time at the Edinburgh Festival! Sandwiched between two 14-hour coach journeys (which were actually incredibly relaxing!), we were able to enjoy the Festival’s delights for four wonderful days. Came home feel empowered and inspired! New writing/performing ideas simmering now, so do keep checking back for updates!

On the Topz Secret Stories front, I’ve just been through all the editing queries on book 3, which is now back with CWR for checking and then on to layout. I’ve also completed the re-writes of book 4 and that, too, is now with CWR for their editors to peruse!

The 19^th Pens book is now under way as well. It’s all planned out and I’ve made a start on the writing. Hope to have got a good way into it before we disappear off again in a couple of days to Norwich (where my daughter’s beginning at university next month), and then on to the Yorkshire Dales (my ever-favourite escape!).

As for Moonstone Theatre Company, Nigel and I have a dramatised reading evening coming up in September in Somerset, which we’re both really looking forward to – he gets to wear a frock coat and I shall be in Victorian dress. Lovely! October and November are looking very busy for Moonstone, too. Do have a look at the website if you want to see what we’re up to! www.moonstonetheatrecompany.co.uk

The last 1000 words ...

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 19:00:31 +0100

My goodness! Is it really the end of July already?! This year’s flying! Our Moonstone Theatre Company performances at the Exeter Festival of Theatre earlier this month went really well. ‘Such fun!’ (for those of you familiar with Miranda Hart!). The BikeShed Theatre is a great venue – small and intimate, and completely original. It was so exciting linking up with other theatre companies, too, and seeing and hearing about their shows. Soon, Nigel and I will be developing our festival show into a longer piece which, all being well, we plan to tour round the county possibly over this winter. In the autumn, we’ll also be working on devising and writing a more serious piece for Moonstone.

I had a meeting with my animator brother, Julian (www.juliantewkesbury.com), yesterday, and am shortly starting to work with him on the pilot script for an animated TV series. Lots to think about there and looking forward to making a start in the early autumn.

Some wonderfully interesting editing and proof reading has come my way recently, keeping me very busy. And the latest Topz Secret Stories news is that book 3 is now with the lovely editors at CWR, and I’m currently on to the last 1000 words or so of the first draft of book 4. It’ll be finished by the end of the week - which is perfect timing, because my son, daughter and I are then off on a jaunt to Edinburgh to take in the delights of the Festival for a few days! First time there! Can’t wait!

If you’re heading off somewhere too, happy holidays!

Great review of one of my latest books!

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 14:23:33 +0100

Lovely review of one of the first two books in my new series for CWR - Topz Secret Stories - has appeared on The Good Book Stall site:

Dixons and the Wolf

- Topz Secret Stories

by Alexa Tewkesbury

Another great book from the Topz stories range; though this time they are secret stories from the rival gang, The Dixons. I think one of the things I love most about this series is that in many ways they don't pull their punches – oh don't get me wrong – that’s not to say they are too gritty or inappropriate for the age range of 7-11 but rather that they are totally appropriate for that age range. They deal with issues and concerns in a meaningful and heartfelt way, they are books most kids are going to be able to empathise with.
This one addresses the issue of a split family home, of feeling abandoned and all the emotions that brings up. It deals with projection of those feelings on others and it deals with the need to love and be loved, and it also deals with taking care of animals.
The interactions between the rival groups, the inclusion of how prayer and talking to God can and should be natural and everyday, just flow so well throughout this book. The story of Rick, Sarah, and the dogs Gruff and Jack/Wolf works so very well and is a great book to help develop an understanding of why perhaps some people act the way they do.

Review by Melanie Carroll (20/06/12)

http://www.thegoodbookstall.org.uk/section/61/children-christian-storiesage-4-11/

Thank you so much!

Currently in the process of putting the final touches to book 3, as well as writing book 4 in the series. Hope you'll go and buy your copies of the first two - Dixons and the Wolf and Dixons' Den - if you haven't got hold of them already. The link's on the book page. You'll also find them on Amazon and other major book-selling sites.

Two new PENS almost out!

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:32:01 +0100

Nigel and me performing as Moonstone Theatre Company with a dramatised reading of A Midsummer Night's Dream recently - in the open air, and it didn't rain! Miraculous given the bucket-fulls that have been pouring down!

Yes! As the title to this update gives away very nicely, another two books in the Pens series are almost here! You can pre-order 'Belonging to God' and 'Help' from the CWR site (click on the 'to buy' link for any of the Pens books showing on my book page) and they'll also be out in the shops very soon. You'll find the Pens characters off on some very whacky adventures and as usual Mike Henson's illustrations are magnificent!

The third Topz Secret Stories book is now finished and tucked away ready for a re-write in the next few weeks, and I'm already launching into the fourth one in the series. I have a plan, but whether or not the characters stick to it once I'm under way remains to be seen! They do have a habit of wandering off in unexpected directions!

AND Moonstone Theatre Company's performance as part of Ignite Exeter Festival is now within sight - 2, 3 and 4 July at 3pm at the BikeShed Theatre in Exeter. 'Carter Davies - Secret Agent' is a short play that Nigel and I have written specially for the occasion. Here's what it's all about:

Multi-award-winning movie The Artist was a stunning throwback to the era of silent films, before special effects were even a twinkle in a director’s eye.

Now, Moonstone Theatre Company offers you the chance to relive the GOLDEN AGE OF RADIO! In days gone by when radio was king of the living room, special agents like Dick Barton and Paul Temple ruled the airwaves. With the live broadcast of one episode of a period thriller, Moonstone’s very own secret agent, Carter Davies, will transport you back to a time of tantalising adventure serials, when cliffhanger endings left audiences gasping, desperate to tune in next time. You’ll marvel at the exploits of the derring-do hero as he grapples with an evil villain and saves a damsel in distress, all accompanied by sound effects produced before your very eyes!

Of course, with any live broadcast, there’s always an element of risk – especially when the actors refuse to leave their hostilities outside the studio. So, will it all go to plan …?

Moonstone Theatre Company’s on (and off) mic performance offers a nostalgic glimpse of a world in black-and-white, when the BBC’s Home Service and Light Programme were the pinnacle of great home entertainment.

It's been great fun rehearsing - lots of silly voices and plenty of nonsense to keep our audiences entertained (we hope!).

So, with another autobiography to edit, as usual very busy - which, as usual is fabulous.

ANOTHER NEW PENS ANIMATION OUT NOW!

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:21:56 +0100

Flat out at the moment, hence lack of recent News posts! Plenty of editing and proofing on the go, plus rehearsals with Moonstone Theatre Company for the Exeter Festival (it's getting very close - not that I'm scared or anything!!). A few other things happening with Moonstone as well. Lots of murder mystery event bookings coming in for a little later in the year, and we've also been asked to perform a dramatised (and very much shortened) reading of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Still working on the script, but thankfully Shakespeare's kindly taken care of most of it.

There's a new Pens animation out and available on the CWR website to download. It's based on my Pens Starting School Special book, and I had such fun doing the voiceovers. There are a couple on there that aren't mine, but I think you'll be able to hear which ones! For more details, here's the link to find it at the CWR shop:

http://www.cwr.org.uk/store/p-1368-pens-starting-school-animationbrdownloadable-video-file.aspx

PLEASE do have a look. Chris Norton from CWR has made it look just gorgeous.

As for Dixons book 3, I think next week will see me reach the final chapter! I now know where I'm going, I just still haven't quite worked out how I'm going to get there ...

Writing and rehearsing

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:19:09 +0100

Just finished going through the editorial comments for Pens 17 & 18, and now pushing on with writing the third book in my new series, Topz Secret Stories.

Also, I'm now well into rehearsals with Moonstone Theatre Company for the Exeter Festival of Theatre. It's getting closer! We've pretty much finished developing the script - Carter Davies: Secret Agent - the visual presentation of one episode of an old 1940s' style radio thriller of the Dick Barton/Paul Temple type. But the conflict isn't only in the radio drama - there's a lot going on between the radio actors, too! Nigel and Mary are great fun to work with. The above is a rehearsal photo for you. We thought we'd have a practice outside and grab a little bit of sunshine. If you're around Exeter on the 2, 3 & 4 July at 3pm, you'll be able to catch our performance at The BikeShed Theatre. Hope to see you there!

I DIVIDE MUSIC VIDEO RELEASED!!

Fri, 11 May 2012 14:22:21 +0100

Remember I mentioned I'd filmed a music video with Exeter band I DIVIDE a couple of months ago? Well, it was released yesterday. Daniel Broadley's (www.danielbroadleyfilms.com) done an absolutely amazing job! (OK, so I look older than I want to but, hey, I am older so what can you do!!) I DIVIDE are an upcoming band and this latest song is just brilliant. Do keep an eye out for them in the future. You can find them on Facebook and they're doing a national tour in July.

Here's the link for the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7MfHVvKAPI

Hope you like! x

Tales of London

Wed, 02 May 2012 18:42:27 +0100

Got back from London and interview on Premier and hit the ground running! Hence I see I’ve not updated my News for a fortnight!

The day in London was brilliant. I went with my son and daughter, who sat with me in Premier’s studio in Pimlico while I talked about the new Topz Secret Stories series (incidentally, the first two new books have been out for almost a fortnight now – have you got your copies yet??), what inspired the books and what I hope children will get from reading them.

Interview done, we hit the city (so to speak), heading first for the Sherlock Holmes Museum in Baker Street, then getting back on the Tube and visiting North Gower Street where we found Speedy’s take-away café and the front door used as 221B Baker Street in Steven Moffat’s crazy wonderful Sherlock for the BBC. I know, but we’re big fans and we were tourists, so why not?

There was just time for a quick flit to Covent Garden, and then it was back to Paddington Station where we met disabled musician and performer, John Kelly, from Graeae Theatre Company and had the most amazing and inspiring 90 minutes talking about theatre, inclusivity, Reasons To Be Cheerful (the Graeae produced musical he has just been touring with) and setting up our own inclusive projects in South Devon. It was such a brilliant chat and both my son (also John) and I now feel thoroughly motivated and empowered to try and get something started down here. As I’ll be performing in the Ignite Exeter Festival of Theatre with Moonstone Theatre Company in a couple of months’ time, I’m hoping that will enable us to make some useful and creative contacts to help us on our way. Fantastic end to a fantastic day. Thank you so much to John Kelly and to Emma, who is an administrator with Graeae, really lovely, and very kindly arranged the whole thing!

So, back from London and straight back to it! Proof reading, working on the script for Carter Davies, Moonstone’s festival offering, responding to editorial queries on the two latest Pens books and launching into the next book in the Topz Secret Stories series! Oh yes, and I also had a text from the film maker (Daniel Broadley), who I worked with on the I Divide band’s music video, asking me to do another one. So last week I shot down to Plymouth on the train to work with a band from Newport called The Boy Royals. Do look them up. The song that will accompany the video is great. I didn’t have as much to do in this one as I did with I Divide, but it was good to see Dan and Alex again, and to be given another opportunity.

As I say, I hit the ground running, so apologies for belated News update. Happy month of May to you. More soon … and now I’m off out with the dog …

ON THE RADIO TOMORROW!

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:53:38 +0100

So, lovely News-readers, my new series, Topz Secret Stories¸ launches tomorrow, 19 April, with the first two books – Dixons’ Den and Dixons And The Wolf! Please do grab copies for any 7-11-year-olds in your lives – and if you happen to be 7-11 years old right now and reading this, then go and pester an adult to get them for you (although perhaps not one of your teachers!). The cover pictures are now on the Books page here, together with link to buy direct from CWR, so you’ll get very speedy service because they're lovely like you!

To mark the launch, I’m doing an interview on Premier Radio in London tomorrow (19^th) at around 11.20am. (If you’re reading this because you’ve just been listening to the programme, HELLO!) Off from Devon on the 6.20am train. Sounds horribly early to me, but I can’t wait! Neither can John and Lydia (son & daughter), especially as I’ve just heard that, later in the day, we are almost definitely going to have a meeting and chat with John Kelly, musician/performer who has just been touring with the fabulous Graeae Theatre Company!

Meanwhile, I’ve started story-planning for the next Dixons book, and am also working away on Moonstone Theatre Company’s script for the Exeter Festival. So much excitement. No wonder I can’t sleep at night …!

And if you'd like to follow me on Twitter, please do. The more the merrier! There's a button on my Home page. x

MOONSTONE MAKES THE HEADLINES!

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:48:19 +0100

Newly launched Moonstone Theatre Company (in which I'm very happy to be an actor/writer) makes its debut this weekend! And we've made the headlines, too! Here's the link to see what the papers are saying:

http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/Coming-theatrical-performance/story-15791596-detail/story.html

Nigel and I are now also working away at devising Moonstone's performance for the Ignite Exeter Festival of Theatre on 2, 3 and 4 July at 3pm at the BikeShed Theatre, Exeter. It's called CARTER DAVIES: SECRET AGENT, and is the visual presentation of one episode of a radio show (of the 1940s Dick Barton/Paul Temple-type adventure serial!) complete with derring-do hero, damsel in distress and utterly contemptible villain. There'll be a cliffhanger of an ending to the episode - and there'll also be plenty of trouble off-mic as the radio play actors have their own irreconcilable differences! Should be lots of fun - and I'm looking forward to wearing a gorgeous 1940s dress! (Shallow, I know, but c'mon, it's the 40s!!)

Plus, with only a week to go until the launch of the first two books in my new series for CWR, Topz Secret Stories, I'm now beginning plotting for the next two. Oh yes, and Pens book 18 is due in with the editors on Monday! Better get back to it.

New book excerpt

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:52:03 +0100

With the countdown to the launch of my new book series well under way (launch day being 19 April!), I thought I'd post another short extract to give you an extra little taster. Here's something from DIXONS' DEN. My clever site designer, Andy Ashdown, will be updating the book page with the cover to this and the second book in the series launching on the same day (DIXONS AND THE WOLF) very soon, so please keep checking back! Enjoy reading and have a very happy Easter (with plenty of chocolate) ... xx

It was early, not quite 9 o’clock in the morning. The park should still be fairly quiet. Even in the short time Saf had been living in Holly Hill, she’d noticed that the play areas didn’t start to fill up with other children and dads and mums and babies till later. There would be people walking to work, of course, but she didn’t mind that. They were just passing through. It was when the little groups started to arrive to play that she didn’t like it so much. She somehow felt as though she was being watched: why is that girl out here on her own? Hasn’t she got any friends? Where’s her family?

Saf climbed onto her bike at the park gates. As she started to pedal along her usual route on the path, she was disappointed to see a few boys in the distance. They were playing football on the grass, well away from her, but it still felt like an intrusion. When she drew level with them, she thought she recognised them vaguely from Sunday Club. Some of the boys from that Topz Gang. She didn’t want to stare, though, in case they saw her looking.

Leaving them behind, she rounded the bend in the path where it ran along beside the skateboard area. She was pushing down harder on the pedals to speed up, when a sudden jolt almost knocked her sideways.

‘Not again,’ she moaned. The chain had come off. It seemed to happen nearly every time she went out at the moment. ‘Stupid bike.’

As Saf lent the bike against the railings beside her and bent down to fix it, a shadow fell across her.

Three shadows.

She squinted upwards. The sun was full in her eyes and at first she could only make out the three boys’ outlines. They were bunched in around her.

She must have been right about the footballers, Saf thought. Topz - and they’d recognised her, too.

But it wasn’t Topz. As Saf slowly made out the faces staring down at her, she realised she’d never seen them before. There was nothing friendly about them, either.

Just the opposite.

This was Dixons.

FIRST SIGHT OF MY NEW BOOK SERIES!

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:55:50 +0100

Just had my first sight of the first two books in my new series for 7-11-year-olds! How exciting! I’d seen the page layouts already but most of the illustrations were missing so it’s fabulous to see the finished result. The covers look great and hopefully will give more than enough reason to any 7-11-year-olds out there to open the books and start reading! I’ll make sure they’re added to the book page as soon as possible so that you can have a peek at them, too.

The new series is called TOPZ SECRET STORIES and features the Topz Gang from the TOPZ SECRET DIARIES, but the focus this time is on the rival gang, Dixons. The books actually launch on 19 April, so not long now! You can pre-order them from CWR already (click on the ‘to buy’ link for the Topz Secret Diaries on the book page then scroll down till you find them) to be the first to get your hands on them!

Wow! New Pens Easter animation, music video for I DIVIDE, now a new book series almost out – AND sunshine! What more could a girl ask for?!

PENS animation released!

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:57:56 +0000

Just in time for Easter (because that's what it's about!), the very first Pens animation is now available to download! I recorded the voiceovers for this one and another two to be released later in the year while I was in Eastbourne at the Children's Ministry Conference last month. Lots of thanks to Chris Norton for getting those little Pens moving! You can see a very short trailer here http://www.cwr.org.uk/store/p-1307-pens-easter-animationbrdownloadable-video-file.aspx

Hope you enjoy, and please do get a copy if you're able to for your little people this Easter. So much healthier than chocolate!!

I DIVIDE music video shoot ROCKED!

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:41:36 +0000

Busy day yesterday making a start on story planning for Pens book 18, so I didn’t have a chance to write about Saturday’s music video shoot for Exeter band I DIVIDE. It was amazing fun! Filmmakers Daniel Broadley and Alex Thornton were brilliant to work with. So meticulous about everything, and very helpful and clear with their instructions. The tiny details they added into some of the scenes were just beautiful. I can’t wait to see the final edit.

Actor Tony Smith was my counterpart and he was fantastic to film with, too. He really put me at my ease and gave me plenty to respond to. There was a lot to cram into one day. Tony and I were there for almost twelve hours but when our scenes were finished, Dan and Alex packed up to go and film the sequences they needed with the band. I’m assuming they got to bed at some point, but who knows?!

The scenes Tony and I filmed do tell a sad little story, but wow, we both went home that night feeling incredibly elated. What a fabulous experience! The video should be out within the next month as the band are going on tour in May and want it to have been well promoted before then. As soon as I have a YouTube link, I’ll post it here!

Filming for band I DIVIDE!

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:21:02 +0000

If you've had a moment to read my last news item, you'll maybe remember that I mentioned an intriguing Facebook chat I'd had. All confirmed now so - I'm going to be filming a music video for Exeter band I DIVIDE this Saturday! Not doing anything Lady Gaga-esque, I hasten to add. I'll be acting while the fabulous song plays over. Do please have a listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNNEBiTD6GM

You can also watch one of their previous videos here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aquIje0kisg

So excited! I've never done anything like this before - let alone been asked to do anything like this before. Thanks so much to Josh Wreford for such a great offer! I'm liking 2012!

Now to practical matters ... What on earth am I going to wear ...?

Onward and upward

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:54:40 +0000

Pens book 17 all finished! I’m a bit ahead of deadline which is good as it means I can put it away for a couple of weeks before revisiting it for its re-write. Next week I’ll make a start on planning Pens book 18! Those little Pens just go from adventure to adventure!

The rest of this week I’m back to editing the memoirs of one man’s incredibly full life. I’m wishing I’d done as he did and recorded events as they happened. Not that I’ve travelled the world the way he has (but, hey, there’s still time) but there have been the wonderful highs along with the extraordinary lows, and it would be interesting to have a record of it all.

And speaking of interesting, I had an intriguing Facebook chat yesterday. As soon as something’s confirmed, I’ll fill in the details here. Let’s just say, it’s not every day you get an offer like that – especially at my age!!

More good news: new venture Moonstone Theatre Company now has a murder mystery event booking – Sunday 3 June at Kent’s Cavern in Torquay, if you’re going to be in the vicinity and fancy trying your hand at super-sleuthing. We’re all very excited and preparing to be our murderous best! Maureen and James are marketing away and we have some more very promising leads to explore.

Finally for now, with the first two books in my NEW SERIES FOR 7-11-YEAR-OLDS launching next month (19 April – wahoo!), I thought I’d post another excerpt here shortly. I posted the openings of each one a while ago, but they’re still in the News list to read if you missed them.

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL!

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:01:22 +0000

And there are many! I’ve had a fantastic few days being able to soak up other people’s extreme talents and energy, beginning with a trip to Truro to see Graeae Theatre Company’s touring show, REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL. It is the most pounding, driving, scintillating, inspiring performance, woven around the music of Ian Dury and the Blockheads and set in the Thatcher government era. A brilliantly inclusive theatre company, Graeae take disability and show that, ‘You’re a person, I’m a person. So what’s the problem?’ It was a completely fabulous show and kept my and my son and daughter’s spirits soaring, even driving home through the darkening night and murky fog across Bodmin Moor. Do have a look at www.graeae.org and click the Reasons To Be Cheerful link.

Also had the opportunity to see PLAYING WITH SNAILS at the Bike Shed Theatre in Exeter. Written by Peter Kesterton, winner of the International Playwriting competition 2011, the play boasts a truly compelling script, imbued with some bizarre and shocking twists and turns. The Bike Shed Theatre is a wonderful performance venue. Small and intimate – it seats about 60 – and I think it’s all the better for that. See their upcoming programme at www.bikeshedtheatre.co.uk.

Finally, a trip to see THE ARTIST last night, following its supreme success at the Oscars. Wow! It’s all been said, I guess, so just – WOW!

Anyway, feeling duly inspired by all these oozingly (is that a word?) creative people and projects, I’m writing away with renewed vigour! Having just completed two proof reads, interspersed with more work on Pens 17, tomorrow I shall be trying to get to grips with a tricky bit of plotting on Nigel’s and my radio project. I like a challenge!

I also have a poem bubbling away in the background. When it finally makes its way through to my computer keyboard, I’ll post it here.

More soon …

All about Henry

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:09:08 +0000

Working away on writing the 17th Pens book. I know – 17! Can’t believe there have been so many. Number 18 is also commissioned and so, recently, thanks to lovely CWR, are numbers 19 and 20! And those don’t include the specials. Do have a look at my book page if you haven’t come across Pens before. CWR’s designers have made them look so inviting and colourful for very little kiddies! This current 17th epic will feature newcomer to the original clutch of Pens (is ‘clutch’ the right word?), Henry Highlighter. He’s certainly a mischievous little scribbler and had his first outing in the ‘Starting School’ Pens special. Really enjoying writing him.

And in other news … Meeting with Nigel (new writing partner) on Friday to further develop our radio project idea. Nigel’s come up with a fantastic opening, so I’m really excited! We’ll also be getting to grips with more devising for our performance for the Exeter Festival of Theatre 2012, where we’ll be performing in the summer. I mentioned a while ago about a new theatre project. Well, the Moonstone Theatre Company is now officially launched! This is a performance and role-play venture, and three of us Moonstones (there are six of us in all) will be performing at the Exeter Festival as a part of the Moonstone Theatre Company’s projects. It’ll be a great showcase for our newly formed team. Another aspect of our work will be as murder mystery event providers. We’re already chasing some hot leads and hope to be entertaining audiences very soon with a few juicy murders to solve whilst enjoying their evening meal out. Please do have a look at the website:

www.moonstonetheatrecompany.co.uk

Meanwhile back to the adventures of Henry Highlighter …

Exeter Festival of Theatre 2012!

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:08:01 +0000

Wow! My new writing partner - writer/actor Nigel Howells - his wife, actor Mary Howells, and I are now booked to perform at the Exeter Festival of Theatre 2012 (25 June - 7 July)! Nigel and I are currently developing the script for a lively three-hander which we'll be showcasing on 2, 3 and 4 July at 3pm. I'll post more details nearer the time, including venue. So exciting! What a great kick-off to a new partnership! Lots of interesting theatre and stand-up will be performed throughout the city of Exeter during that fortnight. Well worth a look - http://www.exeterfringe.org.uk/

Meanwhile, our plotting for the radio series proposal is also under way ... a bit of murder and mystery ...

Take a look at my updated book page!

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:29:59 +0000

My book page has now been updated to include all the new titles! Do have a look and see if there’s anything there you fancy for any children in your life – or indeed in anyone else’s. The Pens series are great fun for reading with 3-6-year-olds. And if you are a child, Topz should suit you perfectly if you’re around 7-11 years old. The latest Topz Diaries, ‘Boys Only’ and ‘Just For Girls’, are full of quizzes to do and lists to make, and Topz tips on things like becoming an author or a screenplay writer, or even creating your own magazine! Have fun browsing.

I’ve just received some fabulous new writing commissions from CWR, which should keep me gratefully busy for much of 2012. I’ll try and make sure the book page is kept more up to date with the new releases as they appear.

As mentioned in previous news, tomorrow I’m meeting with a potential new writing partner to explore the possibility of a series for radio. We’re both very excited about it and hope the ideas will flow thick and fast – although, if they do, they’ll probably be the only things flowing thick and fast in this freezing weather!

Eastbourne in the snow!

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:45:40 +0000

Just returned from a great weekend in Eastbourne at the Children's Ministry Conference. Thanks to Lynette and David from CWR for all their lovely hospitality, and to Chris for recording the Pens voiceovers! Yes, I can now reveal (trumpet fanfare, please ... ok, maybe not) that the voiceovers I've been mentioning here are for animated versions of the three Pens Special books - Starting School, At Christmas and Easter. The Easter episode will be available first, a little later this month, and you'll be able to download it from CWR's website.

I took the train to Eastbourne (which from Devon was a 5-6-hour trip), went straight to the hotel, and within minutes was ensconced in a room and nattering away into a microphone in a range of incredibly silly voices for a couple of hours. Thoroughly enjoyed it, too, and can't wait to see the voices coming out of the Pens cute little mouths!

Thanks, too, to all the people who braved the icy winds to come to my seminar on story-telling! You joined in brilliantly, and as for the group at the end who gave us their rendition of the story of Noah and the ark - what can I say? Fantastic!

A very snowy journey home, but so pretty. And now, here I am back at my desk. Proof reading this week, and am also giving some thought to a few new projects on the horizon ... including a brand new theatre venture for 2012! Details soon ...

Story-telling in Eastbourne

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:33:08 +0000

Phew! Just about got all the frantic stuff done ready to get the train for Eastbourne tomorrow morning - leading a seminar at the Children's Ministry Conference over the weekend, in case you missed previous news.

So, yes, the Arctic weather forecast was uncannily accurate and now we're all shivering in a semi-frozen state - if not fully frozen. Don't suppose it'll be any warmer on the Eastbourne sea front. I might not bother with the bucket and spade this year.

Been practising for voiceover recording tomorrow like a mad thing. What the neighbours must make of my endless prattling, I dread to think!

Back home to Devon on Sunday evening. Busy next week with two tight proof reading deadlines, plus a meeting with a potential new writing partner for a potential new project. Exciting times!

Busy day

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:17:38 +0000

I think this will be one of those weeks when I feel I'm completely on top of things, only to discover by Friday that they're actually completely on top of me!

Off to Eastbourne on Friday for a weekend at the Children's Ministry Conference, with lovely Lynette and David from CWR. Giving my seminar on story-telling on Saturday, so putting the final touches to that today. Also have editing queries to go through on the latest Pens epic (number 16, to be released with number 15 a little later this year - numbers 13 and 14 must be out soon, too). Plus, I have some sample pages of a new project to finish preparing so that I can take them with me at the end of the week. Oh yes, and I need to practise my scripts for the animations I'm recording voiceovers for in Eastbourne. If I can get all that done today, that will be very cool!

Speaking of cool, I do so hope the Arctic weather forecast is wrong.

Oh well. Keep warm and carry on ...

Almost forgot - I'm on Twitter now, if you fancy following my tweets! I'm finding it all strangely addictive! Anyway, a button will appear on the site shortly so that you can follow me with the ease of a click! Look forward to seeing you there.

On Premier soon-ish!

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:45:13 +0000

Premier Radio have kindly invited me in for a chat on Woman To Woman to coincide with the launch of my new TOPZ SECRET STORIES series this spring. Probably won't be till March/April, but I'm excited so I thought I'd post! When I know exact time and date, I'll let you know here.

Meantime, back to editing memoirs. I've just been reading all about the Northern Lights in there, as seen from Norway back in the 1980s - which is really quite weird as they've just been watched in northern parts of the UK.

Freelance editor mode!

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:13:52 +0000

Editing today. The fascinating memoirs of a man who must have travelled the world several times over, whilst keeping completely up-to-date with current affairs! I'm learning all the history and geography I seem to have missed over the years.

Time's ticking away to the Children's Ministry Conference in Eastbourne (3-5 February), where I'm presenting a seminar on storytelling for the under fives. I shall be fine-tuning my notes over the coming week. Do come along to the conference. It really is packed full of great resources.

Whilst there, I shall also be recording some animation voiceovers. More details when I know I can give more details! All very exciting, though!

ANOTHER NEW BOOK PREVIEW!

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:05:44 +0000

With spring approaching (she said, hopefully - well, there are lots of bulbs sprouting anyway), I thought I'd post a preview of the second of two books in my new series, TOPZ SECRET STORIES, to be launched by CWR in the springy season this year. I've seen the proofs now. Very exciting! Can't wait to see the illustrations! The book's called DIXONS AND THE WOLF, and this is how it begins ...

Rick stared down at the envelope in his hands. It had dropped through the letterbox a short while before, landing on the pale blue carpet in the hall. The stamp was a bit crooked and his dad’s handwriting was on the front. Rick knew what was inside, too. A birthday card.

The card’s arrival didn’t make him happy. The fact that it was his birthday was making him miserable. Exactly a year ago today, Rick’s dad had moved away. A long way away.

That was the moment Rick decided he wouldn’t ‘do’ birthdays any more …

Something thudded against his bedroom door.

‘Can we see your card?’ a little voice whined from the other side.

‘I haven’t opened it,’ Rick snapped. ‘Go away.’

‘But we just want to see it.’ Rick’s sister, Alesha, banged her shoulder into the door again. Harder this time. Her twin, Naomi, did the same. They were four years old – much younger than Rick but even more stubborn.

‘I said, go away!’ Rick shouted. ‘I haven’t opened the stupid card and I’m not opening it either. Now, for the last time, leave me alone!’

‘Naomi! Alesha!’ Their mum called up the stairs. She sounded cross. Tired. ‘Come down here now. If he’s going to be like that, it’s best just to come away.’

‘But why?’ moaned Alesha.

‘Because I say so! Get down here and I’ll put a DVD on for you.’

Rick heard the two pairs of feet thump moodily down the stairs. He slumped onto his bed. He kept turning the envelope over and over in his hands.

Suddenly, with a flick of his wrist, he threw it. It flew across the room and disappeared behind the chest of drawers in the corner.

Rick flopped backwards onto his duvet. His head bounced on the pillow and he glared at the ceiling.

It wasn’t just that his twin sisters were annoying. Rick could deal with that. He spent a lot of time out of the house with his mates in the Dixons Gang anyway. What really got to him was that the girls had spoiled everything. At least that’s how it seemed.

Before Naomi and Alesha were born, his parents were together. All right, so his mum and dad didn’t always seem like the best of friends, but they still did family stuff with Rick. They went for walks. They went ice-skating. As soon as Rick was old enough, his dad took him to watch the football on Saturday afternoons. Then they’d have a kickabout with a ball together afterwards. Rick had loved those times. They were special. He always thought his dad had loved them, too.

Clearly he hadn’t. Otherwise he wouldn’t have moved away.

Thud.

Unbelievable. The girls were back. It was probably Alesha who was first to sneak up the stairs once more to Rick’s bedroom. But Naomi was bound to be there as well. Where Alesha went, Naomi had to follow.

‘Have you opened your card yet?’

Rick heard Alesha’s sing-song voice again and rolled his eyes. He’d had enough. He couldn’t stay in the house. It was time to get out. He threw his door open, pushed past the twins and leapt down the stairs.

‘Rick, where’s your birthday card?’ he heard Naomi wail as he headed for the front door.

‘I’m going out, Mum!’ he yelled over his shoulder. The girls didn’t have time to catch up with him. By the time they’d reached the door, he’d already slammed it shut after him.

New children's books commissioned!

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:35:46 +0000

In the spring, CWR will be launching the first two books in my new series for 7 – 11-year-olds, Topz Secret Stories. Last month, I posted the opening of one of them (Dixons’ Den) here. Do keep an eye out for a preview of the second book – you’ll find it here shortly.

Now CWR have kindly commissioned two more Topz Secret Stories books for release early next year! Very excited! I’ll be plotting in earnest soon …

LAST POEM IN THE POST-A-POEM CHALLENGE!

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:51:52 +0000

Here it is - the last of the four poems for December's post-a-poem challenge! In case you missed the start, in November, I challenged myself to write a poem every week in December and post them here. And I've done it! Hopefully this bodes well for the New Year's resolutions I've not yet made. (New Year's resolution: must make New Year's resolutions.)

Thank you so much for reading. Have you enjoyed? I've certainly enjoyed writing them, and think I may do a few more. If I do, you'll find them exclusively here.

So here's poem number four. Those who know me know my passion for the Yorkshire Dales, so how better to express it than in a poem ...

DALE HEART

I stand above the vast sweep of dale,

Breathless from the climb

Yet here

I can breathe.

Green-grey hills rising, titanic.

As massive waves build and heave

And grow vast ocean scapes,

So here these wild flanks -

Scree-scarred

Barn-scattered,

Traversed in lines by

The dry-stone-waller’s arduous craft -

Surge skyward.

Exhaling the mysteries of centuries.

Their hefty bulk gashed

By the glimmer and glint and gush

Of waters,

Falling, tumbling, flowing, rushing

Running.

Living.

Eternal.

As I stand,

This land of

Essence untamed -

Majestic, magnificent -

Speaks to the loneliest fragments

Innermost of me

From the depths of its

Dale heart.

HAVE A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR. SEE YOU BACK HERE SOON! XXXX

Poem on the go ...

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:48:58 +0000

Do hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and are still enjoying the Christmassy aftermath. We went to North Devon to spend the day with my mum and had a brisk walk by the sea at lovely Combe Martin - in a blustery wind with a smattering of rain, but who cares at Christmas! I'm back working on the fifteenth Pens book now, which will see the little chaps from Pens' town heading off into whole new realms!

In case you're kindly visiting to check on the LAST poem of post-a-poem challenge month, it's a work in progress and will appear here shortly - tomorrow at the latest.

And by the way - wasn't the Christmas Dr Who brilliant??!

POEM NO. THREE - better late than never ...

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:34:21 +0000

Here it is - poem number three of my post-a-poem challenge. Couple of days late, sorry - blame it on the time of year. I was trying to resist a Christmassy theme, but have succumbed, as you'll see! Hope your Christmas lists are getting nicely ticked off now. Enjoy reading ...

CHRISTMAS ‘TO DO’ LIST

To choose

To buy

To spend

To make;

To plan

To cook

To decorate;

To fetch

To write

To sing

To fret;

To rush

To moan:

‘Not ready yet!’

To catch

the post,

To clean

To sweep;

To wrap

To hide

To wait

To sleep;

To eat

To drink

Unwrap

To sigh;

To wish

To give

To jollify;

To stop

To think

To laugh

To cry -

To remember Who

And remember Why.

THANKS TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO VISITS ME HERE. YOU'RE VERY WELCOME ANY TIME. MAY YOUR CHRISTMAS BE MERRY AND YOUR NEW YEAR BRIGHT.

LOTS OF LOVE XXX

Aaah! Snowed under ... but not with snow

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:32:04 +0000

Oh, no! It's Wednesday already and I haven't finished poem number three of my post-a-poem challenge! Only excuse is busy-ness of work and when you add Christmas preparations on top, well ... If you've kindly been following my poetry trials, though, please don't despair. There will be a NEW POEM here this week, so do check back soon (if you have time, as no doubt you are snowed under with Christmassy getting-ready stuff, too) ...

Sneak a peek at the new TOPZ SECRET STORIES!

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:01:44 +0000

With my new series of books set to launch next spring (and needing to feel a bit spring-like today as it's very December-ish out there), I thought I'd post the opening of DIXONS' DEN, the first in the TOPZ SECRET STORIES series. Hope you enjoy and want to read more. When I know launch dates, I'll post them here, too.

DIXONS’ DEN

One

The room was empty.

There was nothing left at all.

The last thing to go was Saf’s chest of drawers. It was her favourite piece of furniture in her bedroom; wooden and chunky. Saf’s dad had painted it bright green with a daisy chain pattern curling its way across the front of each drawer. None of her friends had anything like it in their rooms. What Saf loved best was that it had been her mum’s chest of drawers when she was a girl.

Now it stood in the back of the removal lorry parked outside the front gate. Jammed in with everything else. The beds, chairs, sofa, table, cooker, fridge, TV - not to mention all the boxes and boxes of clothes and books and toys and bits and pieces it felt as if they’d been packing up for weeks. What was it Saf’s mum used to say when they’d overloaded the car for their camping holidays? ‘Everything but the kitchen sink …’

Saf sat on her bedroom floor under the window. Exactly where the chest of drawers had stood five minutes earlier. The room looked so big without anything in it. Even the ceiling seemed much further away. And everything echoed. When a removal man put his head round the door, his voice rang around the bare walls:

‘Nothing left in here, then?’

Saf didn’t answer. It was obvious, wasn’t it?

‘You excited about moving to your new place?’ the man went on, cheerfully.

She pressed her lips more tightly together and shook her head.

‘Sure you are,’ smiled the man. ‘Bet you’ll love it once you get settled in.’

But Saf knew she wouldn’t love it. She’d known from the moment her dad had announced they were leaving. Holly Hill was miles away. Nearly three hours in the car. It was a town, with row after row of houses and tall blocks of flats. The tallest things Saf was used to living near were the trees in the woods on the edge of her village. There was even an apple tree in their garden. Nothing like that was growing in the garden of their new house. Not in Holly Hill.

It was all Auntie Becky’s fault.

Auntie Becky was Saf’s mum’s older sister. ‘Bex has always been bossy,’ Saf remembered her mum saying with a smile more than once.

‘Pete, if you find it too hard managing with the two kids on your own, you can always move to Holly Hill to be near us,’ Auntie Becky had said to Saf’s dad. ‘Then we can lend a hand. Anyway, we’d love it.’

That’s what had started her dad thinking. That’s why he’d found a new job as a maths teacher at the secondary school near Holly Hill. That’s why this summer, the holidays weren’t about long, light days and reading books and playing with friends. They were about moving house.

That’s why Saf was sitting in an empty bedroom.

‘Why does Dad need help “managing” anyway?’ she had complained to her younger brother, Stephen. ‘It’s not as if we’re naughty or anything. “Be good for your dad”, that’s what Mum said, and we are. We help, don’t we, Stevie? I even taught you to tie your shoelaces. Why do we have to go just because Auntie Becky says so?’

Stevie didn’t seem to mind. ‘My room’s going to be bigger there, Saf,’ he answered happily. ‘And Daddy says I can have racing car wallpaper.’

He’ll never understand, Saf thought.

But then Stevie was only six, so how could he?

As the rooms in the house were cleared, one by one, the tinny roar of the old hoover filled the air.

‘Time to get a new one of these, too,’ Pete remarked as he did the last bits of cleaning as quickly as he could.

‘Lots of dust, Daddy!’ Saf heard Stevie squeal excitedly. ‘Saf, come and see! There’s so much dust!’

Pete clattered the hoover down by her bedroom door. ‘Do the carpet in here, would you, please, Saf?’ he said. Then, without waiting for an answer, he shot off to see what else still needed doing. They were leaving. All he wanted now was to get out of there as soon as possible.

Saf didn’t hoover. Instead, she slipped downstairs, through the kitchen, and out of the back door into the garden. The grass was newly cut. Her dad had whisked over it with the lawnmower yesterday evening. She sat down under the apple tree, her back against the trunk that leaned just slightly towards the hedge. The branches over her head were full of baby apples. Small, green; almost rock hard. Saf cast her eyes over them. She’d seen them from their very beginning. The pink-tipped buds had started to appear in early April. By the first days of May, they were fully open, and the tree was covered in frothy blossom.

‘Why doesn’t the blossom smell of apples?’ Stevie had asked. He and Saf had watched the flowers come and go.

But their mum hadn’t seen any of it this year. Not the blossom; not the early apples. And now Saf wouldn’t even get to taste one ripe apple from this year’s crop.

Suddenly, she felt tears stinging in her eyes. Was she crying? She hadn’t cried for weeks. Months.

Four months and three days.

That last time, she’d cried so much, she thought her tears would run out.

‘Saf!’ Pete’s voice reached her through her open bedroom window. He sounded annoyed. ‘Saf, where are you? I asked you to hoover in here.’

‘I’ll do it, Daddy,’ she heard Stevie offer, eagerly.

‘Go on, then, just for a minute,’ Pete answered. ‘Saf, where have you got to now?’

Saf rubbed her fists into her eyes. ‘Don’t you cry,’ she whispered to herself. ‘Angry people don’t cry.’

A moment later, her dad was standing beside her. ‘Saffron, I could really do with your help this morning, you know.’

Saf didn’t answer. She couldn’t. She was still trying to swallow down the lump in her throat.

‘Why must you be so difficult about this?’ Pete went on. ‘I’m only trying to do what’s best for us. I know it all seems like a huge wrench at the moment, but you’ll feel better once we’ve left here and got settled in. And you’ll have your cousin practically on your doorstep. Auntie Becky says Rhianna can’t wait till you’re living there. Oh, come on, Saf,’ and Pete gave her a nudge with his elbow. ‘Give us a smile, eh?’

But Saf didn’t smile. Just at that moment it felt as though she’d never be able to smile again.

‘Daddy!’ Stevie called from upstairs. ‘Daddy, I can’t get the hoover to switch on.’

Saf scrambled to her feet. ‘Leave it, Stevie, I’ll do it,’ she shouted, brushing past her dad as she ran inside.

SECOND POEM

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:00:42 +0000

Week two of the post-a-poem challenge. I wasn't intending to write a poem for Christmas, but two things happened recently which inspired this very prosey one. Hope you like:

POINTS OF VIEW

‘I hate Christmas.’

On the step with my parcel

The delivery man frowns.

Dark hair damp with rain

Eyes hard,

Disapproving, accusing:

‘It’s all spend, spend, spend

this time of year.

I don’t know how people do it.

Tell me. How do they do it?’

‘Happy Christmas!’

Outside the supermarket with her stash of Big Issues

The woman beams.

Hair tucked into a scarf

Eyes shining,

Excited, delighted:

‘Not many more to sell

then back to my children.

It’s been good today.

Listen. Enjoy your Christmas.’

The man tramps back

To his van.

‘It’s all nonsense, if you ask me.

Spend, spend, spend –

How do they do it?’

The woman gathers her scarf

Tighter to her head.

‘Take care now.

I’ll pray for you.’

And my heart lifts …

FIRST POEM!

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:01:14 +0000

Here it is. My first poem for post-a-poem challenge month. Hope you like. Please read aloud with passion!

RED

I want to be RED –

As a warning light

A danger sign

A burning coal

A gash of lipstick daubed

On the thin mouth of a pale face.

RED –

As a sizzling sports car

A fiery ruby

The ‘S’ on Superman’s broad, blue chest

An evening sky’s glory streaked

Across a darkening horizon.

RED –

As a robin’s breast

Or a Valentine rose.

As passion and rage,

And zeal and rapture -

Even the ripped flesh of an open wound.

RED that screams:

‘I will not speak

With a dull, drab voice to be

Shouted down or overruled

Or pacified or misconstrued!

‘I am RED –

Colour of the blood

That throbs in your veins

That swells your heart,

That pulses and streams

And flows and teems

And fills your being with

Life and living and

The utter REDness of being ALIVE!’

Not a broken blue heart,

Or a see-through tear,

A grey-white regret,

Or a purple-bruised fear.

Let me be RED …

POST-A-POEM CHALLENGE!

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:59:32 +0000

Post-a-Poem month starts tomorrow! A poem is forming ... It's wonderful what happens when I'm out walking our dog. I'll post it here on 7 December - then a new one each week (14th, 21st, 28th) for the rest of the month. As a starter-offer, here's one I put on the site ages ago having watched the most fantastic episode of Dr Who - yes, the one everyone seems to know - Stephen Moffat's Blink. But in case you don't know, it features the Weeping Angels who are aliens in the form of living statues. If anyone is looking at them, they turn to stone so are frozen, but without eyes on them, they can move and become deadly. In Blink, the Doctor tricks them into being frozen forever. It's brilliant! Do watch if you get the chance.

Anyway, to kick-start Post-a-Poem month, here's the poem I wrote in response to that story:

LAMENT OF A WEEPING ANGEL

Must I stand like this for all existence,

Breath frozen, heart's beat suspended,

Tears stopped at the edge of falling?

Entombed by this ring of startled eyes,

All life locked out,

Yet within the remnants of my living form -

I remember.

One blink, then

Vibrant energy left hanging uselessly

From displacement of some sad other being -

I would suck it in, grasping, hungry,

Feel it pulse warm beneath my dry, stone skin, only -

No more.

He came. He found me.

He knew that pulse, that stolen life beat,

He knew it was not mine.

Now, seeping silence, suffocating stillness,

Stone within stone.

Stone cold.

Must I stand like this forever -

Lord of Time ...?

Updates and a Challenge ...

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:06:45 +0000

First frost of the season yesterday morning in Devon. Not bad for late November.

On the home front, we seem to have had everything from burst pipes to a leaky roof over the last twelve months. Hopefully we’re now all watertight again before the worst of the winter weather sets in.

Lots of projects on the go. I’ve recently completed the first two of another six Pens books to be released next year. I’ll be starting to write the next couple shortly.

I’ve also just finished the first two books in a new series for 7-11-year-olds. They’re set in Holly Hill where the Topz Gang (of the Topz Secret Diaries) live, and feature the bad guys who live there, the Dixons Gang. Quite excited about these as they’re very different from the Diaries, so really hope they go down well when they’re launched next Spring.

Plenty of editing going on, too, including a wonderful book of poetry, plus the second thriller from Stephen Davison - another intriguing, and amazingly gory, investigation for DCI Terence Varcy. I loved it! I was fortunate enough to edit Stephen’s first book, KILL&CURE, which is fantastic, and continues to sell really well. Do hope this follow-up is even more successful for him.

I’ve been invited back to the Children’s Ministry Conference in Eastbourne over the first weekend of next February to give another seminar on story-telling with young children. I thoroughly enjoyed myself last time, so look forward very much to the return visit.

I shall also be doing some animation voiceovers in the next couple of months. Should be great fun. I’ll post more details nearer the release time.

NOW, I thought it was time for a challenge … Having enjoyed the poetry I’ve been editing so much, I thought I’d try writing some myself. Please do check back here in December. I shall attempt to post A NEW POEM in this section every week through the month. As it’s nearly December already, I’d better get started …

Summer Days

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:18:24 +0100

Been a sad few months, one way and another, culminating in the loss of my father who I miss very much.

The year’s been very busy, though, with more Pens daily devotionals being released, including a Christmas special which is just out and will hopefully find its way into a few Christmas stockings this year. I’ve also written a Pens Easter special recently, which will be out in time for spring next year, with the aim of introducing the difficult concepts surrounding the first Easter to very young children.

I know it’s far too early to mention Christmas, but as I already have (!), CWR have also re-released one of my Christmas books for 3-6-year-olds, What’s Christmas?, now in a mini-book, soft cover version. Very good for small hands and featuring a gorgeous polar bear. The illustrations are beautiful (not mine, sadly, as I’m not that clever - even my stick men don’t look like stick men!).

The very last two Topz Diaries were launched last April. Unlike the other eight books in the series, these two are a bit different as they’re for readers to fill in themselves – favourite/least favourite thing lists, word searches, quizzes, as well as ideas for creating their own novel, screenplay or magazine. There’s one just for boys (cunningly titled Boys Only) and one just for girls (yes, you guessed it, Just for Girls). Great fun anywhere, but very good for long car journeys off on holiday, I should imagine, especially if you get bored with counting Eddie Stobart lorries (not that my son ever does!).

With the Topz Diaries all complete, I’ve now just started work on a new series of books for 7-11-year-olds, again to be published by CWR. Not diaries this time, but more in an adventure story mode, and still covering issues children might find themselves or their friends facing at some point. The first two will be out next spring. I’ve just finished chapter 1, book 1, so a long way to go, but all very exciting! I’ll post more details here nearer the time – perhaps even a sample chapter …

My book page will be updated shortly, so you’ll be able to see all the new titles there.

Have had plenty of editing to do as well, including a book about Daphne du Maurier (The Official Guide to Daphne du Maurier in Cornwall by Martin Harris, Creative Media Publishing), which I found so interesting to work on as I knew very little about her. Also a short (well, shortish) story by Rod Cleasby called The Beautiful Mind. This is a clever, humorous and insightful exploration of creation which Rod plans to publish on Kindle shortly.

Finally, if you happen to pick up a copy of Christian Marketplace magazine for August, there’s an interview with me in there talking about the writing of Pens – which, incidentally, I’m also about to do some more of, as CWR have very kindly commissioned a few more books.

Lots to do. Plenty to keep my mind occupied – which can only be a good thing. Enjoy the summer days.

New Pens for March!!

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 12:26:40 +0000

Just had my first sight of the three new Pens books (numbers 7, 8 & 9) to be released later this month. They look fabulous! I just LOVE CWR's illustrations. So clever and colourful. Thank you, Mike! The Pens special book, Starting School, is also available now and, thanks again to the design, looks gorgeous. It tells the story of Squiggle and Splodge's first day at school and will hopefully help to inspire confidence for that big next step. Hope you enjoy!

Currently working away on writing another three Pens. Think I'd rather like to live in Pens' world. Maybe I'd make a good biro ...

World Book Night

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 11:03:05 +0000

World Book Day tomorrow - Thursday 3 March. World Book Night this Saturday 5 March. Tim Collins has organised a veritable literary extravaganza in Newton Abbot for Saturday's event, with different things happening from 10am to 6pm around the clock tower. Although adults are the focus of World Book Night, Tim thought it would be good to include children as a follow-up to World Book Day, so there's going to be collage-making and face-painting among other things, plus he's hoping that lots of people will participate in a readathon. I plan to be there reading some Roald Dahl, whose Revolting Rhymes are just genius. The weather's looking dry so it should be great fun and definitely something different for a Saturday. Oh yes, and for the grown-ups, there's a free book giveaway. Come along and enjoy being a bookworm.

Children's Ministry at Eastbourne

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 18:57:05 +0000

What a fantastic time I had at the Children's Ministry Conference in Eastbourne this month. Thanks so much to Lynette and David from CWR for their amazing hospitality, to Clem Jackson for the interview over coffee, to Bob Hartman for his invaluable advice, and to everyone who attended my storytelling seminar. You joined in magnificently, waving your arms and making noises in all the right places! Do hope it offered you something useful for when you're next faced with a bunch of fidgety five-year-olds all in the mood for a really good tale.

Busy writing Pens books 10, 11 and 12 ... and looking forward very much to Spring.

New year, new projects

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 12:44:23 +0000

Happy New Year, and I hope your Christmas was merry despite the freezing temperatures. At our house we were asking ourselves, 'Does the snow make it feel more Christmassy?' To which we answered ourselves, 'No, we're just really cold actually ...'

Plenty to keep my brain warm, though. Recently finished writing a Pens Christmas Special book for CWR which will be out for Christmas 2011, and am now in the planning stages for another three books in the Pens series (numbers 10,11 and 12) for release later in the year. Numbers 7, 8 and 9 should also be out shortly.

The last two Topz Diaries will be launched in late spring as well. These are completely different from the rest of the series, but should provide a lot of fun. Having written ten Topz books in all, I feel quite sad that they will be the final two. (Think some gentle violin music should begin playing at this point ...)

Currently I'm just coming to the end of copy editing the next edition (March/April) of Sorted men's magazine, as well as editing some memoirs - under way, but many pages still to go! Just before Christmas, I also edited a self-help book, which was very inspirational and quite an eye-opener.

Then, on 5 February, I'm speaking at the Children's Ministry Conference in Eastbourne on story-telling for the under fives. There will be plenty of practical demonstration and I'll be aiming to give lots of tips on how to keep those small people interested in whatever story you're telling.

Finally, congratulations to Charlotte Fielder who has just been awarded an MBE! I was fortunate enough to edit her book, Shared Experiences, which explores issues surrounding upper limb deficiency. I'm so pleased for her as she has such a passion for life and for helping others.

ALL GO!

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:57:21 +0100

So much news … here goes (you might want to sit down and munch your way through a large box of chocolates while you read … in fact, I think I’ll join you …):

The two new Topz Diaries, Dave’s Dizzy Doodles and Gruff and Saucy’s Topzy Turvy Tales, are now out and available from a bookshop near you or direct from CWR (www.cwr.org.uk)! You’ll be able to buy them via this site shortly, and they’re also on Amazon. I especially enjoyed writing Gruff and Saucy. For those of you not familiar with Topz, these are Gruff the dog and Saucy the cat – Gruff the dog bears more than a passing character resemblance to my dog, Barney, who has the oddest ways, but is very dearly loved in our house. I’ll be working on two more ‘special’ diaries later in the year.

My new project with CWR has also finally launched! Very exciting. PENS! No, I’m not getting into the stationery market. These are daily devotional books (30 days in each one) for parents and carers to read with young children (3 – 6-year-olds) featuring the Pens characters. I love the illustrations (they have very clever designers at CWR), and each day includes either a serialised Bible reading, or a short story about one or more Pens – Denzil the Pencil, Gloria Glitter-pen, Waxy Max, Charlotte Chalk, Philippa Feltpen, Marco Marker, Squiggle and Splodge (the Scribble twins), and Sharpy the dog (who’s actually a pencil sharpener – well, there has to be a dog, doesn’t there?). There are three books out already (I’ll get the images onto the website very shortly) and another three currently with CWR being designed – and I’ve now begun work on the next four. Busy, busy, busy, but I love it!

In my last news item, I mentioned a theatre-in-education company I was hoping to launch. Well, Scratchtheatre is now up and running, with the original idea expanded to tackle lots of different projects in addition to schools work.

At the end of March, we ran an all-day theatre workshop at a junior school in North Devon – here’s what one of the teachers wrote:

A first visit by this group to our school which proved to be
extremely successful.

Groups of children worked with both adults. They engaged the
children immediately, and the children were very responsive to the
tasks asked of them.

Very good interaction between everyone involved.

Such a lot was achieved in such a short space of time. An amazing
experience by two brilliant adults who really gave the children
something different during the school day.

Wow! How kind is that! Thank you so much!

Anyway, spurred on by this reception, we went on to rehearse a comedy performance which is available to book as an entertainment in your own home - THEATRE-IN-THE-LOUNGE. Bookings have started to come in very quickly, and we’ve already performed in a private garden for an 80^th birthday party, and in a really lovely coffee house as a special evening event. And I’ve just taken bookings for a performance in a private house as the entertainment for a summer party and, believe it or not, for Christmas!

In the midst of this, my son John’s been working away at his performances on his drama course, and my daughter Lydia’s been fighting her way through her AS exams – all done now, thank goodness, and John’s next performance, The Lion King, is on at college next week.

As I say, loads of news … have you finished those chocolates yet …?