Yesterday I visited a group of thirty 4th years in St. Columba’s High School in Gourock. As it was the start of Book Week Scotland this was a perfect time to talk about books and writing. My journey there was eventful as my train got stopped due to an accident affecting the line, with no news on when they would be up and running again. I had to jump off and get a taxi down and just made it in time! I had a very interesting conversation with the taxi driver about books, writing, dyslexia and art, so that actually helped to calm my nerves.

At the event I delivered a presentation about my writing journey, what’s involved in getting published and the inspiration behind ideas. I then asked the pupils to write a short flash fiction story, using some of the images of headlines I had posted up to inspire them.

One of the pupils, James Patterson (what an appropriate writer name!), let me read his very imaginative story – I’ve posted a photo of that below. A couple of the girls great stories too. It was brilliant to see everyone’s enthusiasm and I enjoyed talking to them all. If any of you are reading this, I hope you gave the 3 letter word story challenge a go!

At the weekend I was in Winchester for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference which was brilliant. It was great getting to meet creative people and talk about writing. I also attended some really informative workshops, and it reminded me of the magic you can feel when you are involved in creating books. (and of course the hard work involved!).

A highlight was taking part in the mass book launch party on the Saturday night in the Winchester Discovery Centre (the library). All of the participants book covers’ were emulated on the big cake, which looked and tasted amazing! There was a sea/pirate theme, so I decided to dress as an alternative pirate. This is a photo of me below in my pirate gear, on stage with my book. RRrrr. I loved Winchester too and hope to return one day soon!