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Official website for the author of fantastical adventures for the young and young at heart!

Pick up the Independent Booksellers’ August Book of the Month Spirit Warriors now!

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A flying visit to London this morning with @literacy_trust for Bloomberg's bring your kids to work day. I ran workshops resulting in (some really creative) group collaborative stories, giving the kids an early opportunity to get to know each other better. Also got to sign copies of both The Boy to Beat the Gods and Spirit Warriors for them, kindly gifted by the trust.

Happy first book birthday to my creepy, epic, twisty little fantasy adventure blending folklore with histories worth celebrating. We did alright @usborne_books

This summer I've had great fun as author in residence for Nottinghamshire Libraries with @inspireculturenotts The musical theme is: OFFBEAT, linking with the Summer Reading Challenge.

Link in my bio. Please share.

I was on BBC Breakfast this morning following the cross-party Education Committee report's recommendations, such as to fund a library in every secondary school and a guarantee for every child to be enrolled in a public library from birth.

Had fun on the @bbcmanchester afternoon show yesterday, chattiing books but also doing the Top Manc quiz. I got 4 out of 5 questions correct. I incorrectly guessed the River Clyde was longer than the River Trent, so can never show my face in my hometown again...

It's the questions.

JUNE. I was fortunate to already be in my hometown Nottingham, around family, when I very suddenly lost one of the people I love the most in this world. If you've read Spirit Warriors you'll see it's dedicated to four people: my grandparents. Justin would have been 92 this year, and was my last living grandparent. It's a really harsh end to an incredible era. He departed on the anniversary of the Windrush arrival. If you were at the Manchester launch for The Boy to Beat the Gods a couple of years ago you'll have gotten a tiny glimpse into just what a character he was.

Great to see Treasure Rush: Curse of the Golden Coin in the books spotlight of yesterday's issue of @_thebookseller! Thank you @emma.layfield for sending these images to me. Swipe right for early author-drawn sketches of our two leads, Zac and Remy ➡️