Hello everyone,
Welcome to the belated May round-up that I’m counting as June’s too… Yup, I missed a month in the monthly mini-blog! I’m already late, so without further ado, onwards:
Latest book progress
Last month I sent my editor the latest draft of my next book, while wiping the sweat from my brow. Afterwards I celebrated by doing a few of my favourite things. I admit that the first of these was sleeping. After that there was some cake. What about you - do you treat yourself when you’ve finished a big project? How do you like to celebrate? Now the sleeping and cake eating is done, I’m playing around with a few fun ideas and secret side projects and having a great time while I wait for news on this one.
Shakespeare Week winning entries
I wrote a poem for Shakespeare Week to help inspire children across the country who were coming up with their own creative responses to ‘Still my beating mind’. Now the winning entries have been chosen and you can see them in the online exhibition. I loved reading/listening to/admiring them and was thrilled to see that my poem had helped inspire a few! A massive well done to every single person who took part.
Recent recommended reads
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown - this book (that says it’s for 7-10 year olds) is such a pure and beautiful tale. You’ll love Roz the Robot - who wouldn’t love a wild robot with such a pure heart?
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - I’m listening to this one as an audiobook and it’s superb in this format: Chiwetel Ejiofor is an incredible narrator. Reference to the stone statue of a fawn and a lamp post have already put me in mind of Narnia and taken me to the magical ‘betwixt’ world of who I am now and my childhood memories/imaginings, while the story describes the strange place that Piranesi inhabits.
Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey - I became obsessed with the sci fi series The Expanse recently, to find that the TV series only takes the story so far… so now I have to read all the books to find out what happens, starting with this one! (P.S. Camina Drummer can be my bosmang forever).
BONUS BOOKS: The Ghouls of Howlfair and Molly Thompson and the Crypt of the Blue Moon by Nick Tomlinson - my husband and I love these brilliant books, so we’ve started reading them to our kid at bedtime and he’s been loving them too. There’s nothing quite like a fun, spooky tale with the lights dimmed…
What have you been reading? I’d love to know! Take care and see you again in July for another edition of the mini-blog.
