Out and About.

June has been and gone already! Time is flying by at lightening speed maybe because we have been so busy with work and a London trip- more of that later…

Much of my time has been devoted to promoting “White is the Moon”; this has included a very nerve-wracking telephone/radio interview. A school visit and a book shop signing.

Let me tell you about the school visit first. I was invited to attend a Literary Festival at The Excel Academy in Stoke-on-Trent. Of course I enlisted the help of my husband Tony, a retired advanced skills teacher. We had five one hour sessions with year seven pupils, each session involved an introduction to my books and then a workshop where the children tried their hand at writing and illustrating. In the short time allocated they produced some interesting adaptations inspired by “White is the Moon”. The children were well behaved, imaginative and co-operative. We had some very interesting questions about publishing and illustrating; all in all an enjoyable day. You can see some of the work they produced below. I have to confess by the end of the day I was exhausted!



The shop signing was by invitation of the beautiful and historic Nantwich Bookshop.
This event coincided with a school festival in the town centre so the place was buzzing with visitors. The shop gave me a window display and a table inside where I displayed my books, old and new. They very kindly plied me with cups of tea and toasted teacakes! Like many bookshops nowadays they sell food and drinks, pre-loved and new books and host many events. The day was a success and we sold lots of books and I met many customers, children and book lovers. I hope to return before Christmas; by that time my latest venture should be published. This time an illustrated gift book by a famous writer, more of that soon...



June wasn’t all work, as I mentioned earlier we had a London visit, which was a mixture of cat sitting and sight seeing. We also saw many friends, family members and spent some very special time with our two grandchildren. We did lots of walking as the weather was kind and visited two very different houses.

One was a National Trust property in Chelsea, former home of historian Thomas Carlyle and his wife Jane. I especially enjoyed reading some extracts from Jane’s letters where she writes about the trials of house keeping and hiring servants. The house is still very much a home and has many personal effects. The artist Helen Allingham was a frequent visitor and painted the rooms and their contents some of which are displayed on the walls. She also painted a portrait of Thomas, which you can see, here-




After our visit to the house we spent some time in the lovely enclosed garden and planned our next visit.



The next house was very different, much less a home, more of a place to entertain and impress. Chiswick House is a magnificent neo-Palladian villa. The gardens at Chiswick are said to have been the inspiration for the gardens in New York's Central Park. Our time was limited and the sky began to grow dark, conscious of our long walk home along the river we had to cut our visit short.



We also had a trip to the theatre to see Les Miserables, something I have wanted to do for ages. It was a spectacular performance, Probably the best musical ever!

The next chapter.

I should start this post by saying how deeply touched I was by all your lovely messages of support and kind comments following the death of our beloved dog.
I had not prepared myself for the feeling of loss and desolation his departure has caused. Those of you who have formed a bond with a pet will know how different life is without them.

Enough, or we shall all be in tears!

There is much to celebrate, Easter brought family visits made extra special this year by the addition of our darling grand-daughter Edie Rose.

Spring has sprung here in Cheshire and the garden is bursting with life and colour.



My journey into the world of hand made books continues, this time Secret Belgian Binding was the subject of our latest workshop with Alan Fitch from The Farthing Press. Alan also runs courses from his bindery in Powys with accommodation provided, a lovely way to combine a holiday with learning.



Last but not least, my book samples for “White is the Moon” finally arrived. I was so anxious about them but I am happy to say that they have surpassed my expectations. This is a title that I originally illustrated when our boys were little. It was published by Blackie and Son Ltd in the UK and by Macmillan in the USA. Gradually it went out of print and we decided to publish it ourselves as an Acornmoon Books edition. This may prove to be foolhardy given the lack of bookshops and the increased demand for e-books but we are being cautiously optimistic. I have been busy making an on-line shop, which you can see in my sidebar.

In addition to my latest book, I have found a few boxes of older out of print titles. All of these are in an unread, untouched condition. Some have become collectable and can be seen on other book sites for a vast array of prices, I am pleased to say that I have kept to their original price and can offer some real bargains until my stocks run out.

If anyone is interested in these children’s picture books or babies board books I am happy to sign them and add a dedication. You can see what is on offer by following this link. All of the books will be posted from the UK by Royal Airmail, and I am happy to post to any far-flung corner of the globe!

National Storytelling Week.

This week is National Storytelling Week here in the UK. To celebrate my book “Down the Lane” has been made one of the featured stories of the week within StoriesAlive. This is a free to download app, which enables you to try out several free stories for children. If you and your children like this way of reading and sharing you can choose to subscribe. I am told that “Down the Lane” will be available free for the month of February.



I wrote and illustrated this book many years ago. Happy Cat Books first published it as a hardback and a paperback here in the UK and I have plans to add it to my Acornmoon book list. Speaking of which, the files for “White is the Moon” have just gone off to the printers so we should be able to offer both print and digital forms of the book in the next couple of months.



The weather here in Cheshire has been very wet and windy but not nearly as bad as other parts of the country. Today has been bright and breezy; I decided to see if I could find any celandines in flower. My February illustration in “Down the Lane” features these delightful shiny yellow wild flowers with blackbirds and a sleeping dormouse. There are blackbirds a plenty in the fields and here in my garden, no flowers yet on the celandines but plenty of glossy green leaves. I also found a beautiful skeleton leaf, which has survived the winter intact.



I have spent the long winter evenings finishing my crochet baby blanket. The photograph makes it look very out of shape; I don’t think it was so out of kilter in reality. By the way, I found out how to make these crochet squares on Little Tin Bird.



My hyacinth finally flowered and its perfume is a welcome reminder of spring days to come.



Ted has been feeling the cold and has taken to wearing his coat on long wet and windy walks. Now he is getting older (fourteen this July) he enjoys finding a sunny spot, preferably with a view. Isn’t it strange the way Jack Russell’s like a window seat. I wonder what tales he would tell?

Counting the days.

I have been doing a lot of counting recently, brought about the recent celebration of my 60th birthday. There, I have owned up to being in my sixties. If I say it often enough the fact may actually sink in.

I have been counting my blessings, of which there are many. Counting the many places on my “to visit” list with the aid of my Senior Railcard, a third off discounts, hooray!

Counting the days to the arrival of a very special baby in the spring…..

and counting the days till the publication of Acornmoon’s first title- “White is the Moon”.



The advance title information has been prepared here and the publication date set for 24th April 2014.

Apart from that, my time has been taken by caring for an elderly family member who had a very nasty fall. We are all counting ourselves very lucky to have had excellent care from our wonderful NHS.