Children's Author
Hello all! I’ve been filming some short pieces about myths, legends and fairy tales and how to write them. It was so much fun, I thought I’d share some of my thoughts here. This week, I’m looking at how to set your story in motion. As my example, I’ve taken a classic quest story – The…
An epic YA love story is unfolding in our garden. It is the story of blackbirds. The lady blackbird, we’ve decided is the heroine of the story. Focussed and determined, she’s built a nest in the roof of our derelict shed. She’s happy to live there quietly, but she will defend…
Today is national Tell a Fairy Tale Day. Yes, it was a surprise to me too. But here’s a chance for me to talk about my favourite fairytales retellings. Sophie Anderson is the current queen of fairytales and I loved her latest book, The Castle of Tangled Magic. It’s magical, mysterious, and I love the…
I love Welsh legends. They’re full of larger than life characters, unexpected flashes of humour and half the time they don’t even try to make sense. So when, last March, I was offered the chance to write a whole book of them for the Scholastic Classics series, I leaped at them with the enthusiasm of…
It’s Libraries Week! Along with lots of other authors this week, I’ve made a short video to give you a look at my bookshelves and the books that have inspired me. Do take a look. If you go to the hashtag #ExpressYourShelf on twitter you’ll be able to find lots more. What are you reading…
The evolution of stories has always fascinated me. Long before anything was written down, stories were told in groups, around fires at night. Nobody knows who started it or why, but stories were very much a community effort. Each new storyteller would put something of themselves into the tale. Bits were added and taken away.…
Well, I have had an exciting weekend. On Friday evening, Storm Hound was announced as the winner of the Welsh Books Council Tir na n’Og award in English language category. I am so happy about this. I’ve been following the Tir na n-Og for ages and I’m always slightly in awe of the authors who…
It is hot. It is slightly less hot today but after a week of absorbing heat – that’s what it felt like, anyway – I am radiating so much warmth I could hire myself out as a radiator. Thank goodness I can escape to somewhere colder in my head. The cats were so miserable that…
We’ve come to the last episode of Write Where You Are. I’ve had a lot of fun creating this series and I hope you’ve had fun watching. Today, we’re stepping outdoors into the garden where I am joined by the fantastic Lexi Rees, author of the Relic Hunters series. Here is the challenge sheet for…
It’s day four of Write Where You Are. We were becoming a lot more proficient with the filming by this episode. It was a blisteringly hot day and I couldn’t bear to change out of my sundress. Rather than stick to a single room for this episode, I wanted to do something different and talk…
