news
Procrastinate – it’s good for you!
Procrastinate – it’s good for you! – click to read my latest blog for Author Allsorts. The theme was how to be healthy when you spend all day writing. Top tip – watch how much butter you put on your toast…
The Argh! to Zzzz of life after the book deal
My first guest blog for Author Allsorts, an A-Z of the terms every children’s writer needs to know… Author: Your new job title. Carries much weight at parties, very little with mortgage advisers. Bookshops: A bittersweet experience. On one hand, so many incredible books. On the other, so much competition. See also: Libraries. Children. Don’t […]
14 and a half minutes of fame
Our local paper carried a little article about me last week. Quite a few people got in touch to say congrats, all very exciting. A few days later I met the headteacher of my son’s new academy, and we got chatting about the fact I write children’s books. “I’ve been looking for a local children’s […]
Why do you want to be a writer?
Author – officially the 156th best job in the world! This was the verdict of a recent survey comparing 200 occupations – their physical demands, work environment, income, stress and outlook. The 155 jobs considered more relaxing, profitable and pleasant than writing books include: funeral director (116) pest control worker (95) sewage plant operator (87) […]
It’s official: Sons are bad for your health
So, the hot news in evolutionary biology is that women with sons die earlier than women with daughters. Nature, which I read all the time (when I’m not following links tweeted by @zooarchaeologis), reported that each son born shortens a woman’s life by 34 weeks. I have three boys, so that’s nearly TWO YEARS of […]
Say it with flour
There were Mother’s Day cards to collect at preschool pick-up. They’d asked every child to answer the question ‘I love my Mummy because…’ and stuck the answers to hand-painted pictures. I got a preview of other kids’ answers as my four-year-old’s keyworker flicked through the pile: I love my Mummy because… “She tickles me and […]
World Book Day costume for mischief makers!
I wrote a piece for Guardian Children’s Books for World Book Day on 7 March. Click here to read it on the Guardian website! Red Riding Hood and Cinderella are huddling at the bus stop. Horrid Henry is hanging around the school gates. The playground is packed with Gruffalos. It can only be World Book […]
Boy oh boy oh boy
Happy news: this week saw the publication of MOB Rule, a book that celebrates life as a mother of boys. Like the author, I’m besotted with my bunch. But I know that most passers-by are not thinking ‘lucky you’ as I stride past, towing three trainee men. I know this because so many have taken […]
A spoonful of salt helps the offal puree go down… and other retro parenting advice
I’ve been reading my parents’ parenting manuals recently. It’s astonishing how much has changed in 33 years. Many 1970s child development experts advised the exact opposite to their modern equivalents. Haven’t taught your child to read before s/he is three? You’ve missed your chance, bozo, is the message of Teach Your Baby to Read (Glenn […]
How not to get published
Telling writers how to get published is a boon industry. More than 4 million web pages offer advice on writing the all-important query letter. They’ve left out some important points though. Here are my own top tips, collated during my years as a commissioning editor. True stories, people. The opening gambit Do not start by […]
Battle of the adjectives
My lucky, lucky sisters are on grown up gap years, spending 2012 travelling the world. Great timing on their part, as they are several continents away just as my desperation for a babysitter peaks. Still, I get occasional updates to break up the domestic slog. ‘Just been hang gliding over Rio’. ‘Survived the parachute jump! […]
Making cutting-edge science accessible
Raintree’s Sci-Hi series is an excellent KS3/middle school resource. It tackles cutting-edge science using simple language, without shying away from challenging concepts such as ethics. It was great to delve into topics last studied during my degree, for my titles on cloning and stem cell research. Favourite fact: Antithrombin is a protein needed by patients […]
Setting an example
The moment I saw this Post-it Quote on my son’s nursery wall was the moment I realized he has no idea I work from home while he’s at nursery. Cue an explanation that I write books for children to read, and plenty of references to Mummy working on the computer. A few months on, I’m […]
When Will the Sun Go Out?
My first book for Pearson Bug Club: When Will the Sun Go Out? and other strange solar system science (Pearson, 2012). Great fun to write (the remit: ‘be as funny as possible’) and the insides look gorgeous. Favourite fact from the book: Anyone who spots a new asteroid is allowed to name it! First you […]
A Time Traveller’s Guide to the Future
I‘ll begin at the beginning, with my first 2012 title, A Time Traveller’s Guide to the Future (Collins). Publisher’s blurb: Take a closer look at the amazing changes the future may hold, including robopets, space tourism and locust burgers, as well as the wider impact of our future life on the climate and extinction of […]