Summer Highlights: Leeds West Indian Carnival 50th Anniversary Project
As summer highlights go, this one is right up there. In the spring I had the honour of being asked to create an illustrated map for [...]
Summer Highlights: Spring Fling in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
I know it’s September and we’re almost at the Autumn Equinox, but technically it is still summer. I’m holding onto that thought until 21:02 this Friday, [...]
Holiday Greetings!
I'm giving thanks for the many wonderful days this past year - and reflecting on the ones that weren't so good. Despite enjoying the fond [...]
50 Word Spooky Story Winners!
I had an inspiring visit with Year 7 at St John Fisher Catholic High School in Harrogate last month and I set them a [...]
Gallery of Pupil Art!
Earlier this autumn I had the pleasure of visiting Belmont Grosvenor School in Harrogate and working with the pupils on creating stories and illustrations. Here's [...]
Inspiration Monday: Taking a Breath
I haven't been near this blog since last month because life has been incredibly busy (in a good way). The last time I checked in [...]
Jet Black Heart News!
This is a pretty cool surprise: JET BLACK HEART has been shortlisted for the 2016 Coventry Inspiration Book Award in the 11-16 'Rapid Reads' [...]
Illustration Wednesday – The A-Z of Children’s Books with Fig Taylor
I don't know whether the last week of August affects you the way it does me. I get excited in anticipation of the annual September [...]
Inspiration Monday – East Street Arts Open Studios 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2qk0I_J2T4 Participating in an Open Studios event can be a bit nerve-wracking. You clean all the paint-covered coffee cups, sweep up bits of paper stuck [...]
Inspiration Monday! A Great Day Out.
This fantastic poster greeted me when I arrived at Allerton High School yesterday. The excellent team of students who organised my day of speaking and [...]
Inspiration Monday: Exploring Huddersfield!
I was delighted to be invited to speak to Year 6 at South Crosland CE Junior School recently, especially because Huddersfield Literature Festival awarded my [...]
Announcing a New Partnership with Book Events for Schools!
All my recent books in a tidy row! I am very excited to announce that I am working with the excellent Book [...]
World Book Day 2015
My scrumptious thank you gift from the pupils! This is one of the biggest weeks in the UK school calendar! Tomorrow, March 5, [...]
January Inspiration!
This month has been excellent for art and writing inspiration. I kicked it off a couple of weeks ago when I spent a week at [...]
Buy Local and Support Your Indie Bookseller!
I think this cool poster from Totally Locally says it all. When you venture out to make seasonal purchases, I hope you'll support the retailers in your [...]
Spooky Halloween Reads: The Shadow Lantern and Jet Black Heart
I've been loving having two spooky books published recently! The Shadow Lantern, the final story in The Blackhope Enigma trilogy, is out in the USA [...]
Art Exhibition at Fountains Hall
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 [...]
JET BLACK HEART is here!
Last week I had a busy and fabulous week touring around Scotland, culminating in the launch of my new teen book, Jet Black Heart, from [...]
Welcome to the Writing Process: An Author/Illustrator Blog Tour
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 [...]
Maze and labyrinth hunting!
If you know my stories in the Blackhope Enigma trilogy, you know that I have a thing about mazes and labyrinths. Because I live in [...]
