A few months ago I joined forces with four fellow artists to explore the idea of making new artwork in response to historic locations around Yorkshire. This was a bold experiment for me but I couldn’t resist because Lorna Barrowclough, Hondartza Fraga, […]
My talented friend and former art school classmate, Maryann Cocca-Leffler, invited me to share a bit about my writing and illustrating process as part of the ‘Welcome to the Writing Process: An Author/Illustrator Blog Tour’ (thanks, Maryann!). We are also part of a vibrant online community of children’s book illustrators and I’ve been in awe […]
It’s been a week since I said goodbye to The Shadow Lantern and wished it well on its journey to the printer. The next time I see it, the pile of papers that made up the proof copy will have been transformed into a bound book […]
Last week children’s author and friend Lynne Rickards kindly ‘tagged’ me in her blog post called ‘The Next Big Thing’. I was one of five authors she mentioned – just as she had been mentioned along with four other writers in author Lari Don‘s blog the week before. Each tagged author answers some […]
My inspirational week started when I visited Villa Kivi overlooking lovely, frozen Töölönlahti Bay. This beautiful house is known as the Writer’s House and ever since it was built in 1890, it has been associated with literature. Famous Finnish writers and linguists lived and visited there until it fell into disrepair and the city of […]
Sometimes you arrive in a new place, knowing absolutely nothing about it, and you are guided, as if by magic, to where you want to be. One of the first things I hoped to see was a bookstore. But a chance visit to the tourist info office meant that I found a brochure about a […]
I learned just over two weeks ago that I had been selected for a Helsinki International Arts Programme residency and it felt slightly unreal. The Scottish Book Trust, who are administering the […]
It’s been October 2011 on this blog for far too long. Yes, it’s already five months since I posted after The Crimson Shard launch. Those months have been a whirlwind of travel, book promotion and planning the next project.
I’ve been from Bangkok to Boston and […]
I am on a short breather from work on my next children’s novel. This gives me a chance to stand back, tidy my workspace (and my brain).
I always find it fascinating to see how writers and artists work. Seeing […]
This blog has been sorely neglected. It’s growing weeds and spawning spiders, it’s been so long since I brushed it off.
Mea culpa. I have been deep into writing The Next Book, which I have mentioned before. But this time, unlike […]