Tag Archives: children’s books

Jun26

Competition time! Friends in Wales!

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This year’s Narberth Book fair is on Saturday 28th September and Sunday 29th, in the Queen’s Hall, Narberth.

Have you visited Narberth Book fair? I’ve had a stall, or shared one due to the demand, at the Narberth Book Fair, previously the Tenby Book Fair, for the past few years and it’s always a great day. The event is well run by the fabulous Judith Barrow and Thorne Moore, and we spend a lovely day catching up with other authors and chatting to the public about our books and our writing. All genres of writing are covered, so there’s a book for everyone.

As well as the stalls, there are workshops and two writing competitions, one for adults and one for children.

This year I’ve penned an entry for the flash fiction story…why not join in the fun?

Here’s the link to the Narberth Book Fair website, for all the information you need. https://www.narberthbookfair.co.uk/index.html

Look out for this logo on social media for updates and information.

I’m looking forward to seeing you in Narberth at the end of September. Happy reading!

 

May29

Lazzmatazz 2019 – Literature and Book Fayre – Meet the author – Colin R Parsons

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Welcome to my blog and an interview with another Welsh author. I’ve met and chatted to Colin at a couple of book fairs, so I’m delighted to have him on my blog today. Colin is from the Rhondda Valley in South Wales and writes books for children and teenagers in a number of genres including Science Fiction, Steampunk and Fantasy. Welcome, Colin…

How do you write? Is everything plotted, planned to perfection? Do you ever change tack as you go along or always stick to a pre-made plan?

I literally start with a sentence and go from there – no planning or destination in mind. I did exactly that recently and ended up with a 17k short story, which I’ve just delivered to my publisher along with another seven stories. It’s a bit unorthodox, but I can’t write any other way. Each to their own, I suppose.

Absolutely!  Do you have a writing ritual? Meditation, certain cup for your tea, writing trousers?

My computer screen or notepad must have something on it – a title, or sentence or even just a word. I can’t start anything with a blank piece of paper or white screen. It’s too daunting. Once I’ve got something then it evolves by itself.

So aside from writing, what makes you tick? Tell us 5 things about yourself we probably don’t know.

I’m partially colour-blind so that hinders me in some respect. Most people don’t know that about me. I need to walk so that I can set things in motion (literally and figuratively). I used to cut the heads off chocolate Easter bunnies and place them carefully back on, just to see the reaction on my kids faces when picked them up. I hate swimming. I sing the Thunderbirds theme in my head when I pass big trucks on motorways, with over eight wheels.

Brilliant! I might start doing the Thunderbirds one! Moving on, if you were stranded on a desert island with shelter, food and water, what 5 items would you want with you?

My specs. A lifetimes supply of notepads and pencils. An indestructible solar panel, to power my fridge. 50 years supply of chocolate and Liquorice toffee.

I’m guessing you’re going to smuggle something else into that fridge;-) On said island, what 5 books would you take and why?

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I am Legend by Richard Matherson. Airbourne by Kenneth Oppel. Lord of the Rings in one edition by J RR Tolkien. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Because I love them.

 

Great choices. Neil Gaiman’s book is a relatively new read for me and I loved it. Off the island now, which famous person would you like to have dinner with?­

That’s difficult. Maybe, Angie Sage author of the Magyk series.

 

She’d be great fun, agreed. Your current writing projects?

The Gamer, which is with a publisher as I speak.

Wintercode, which I worked on a while ago, but never finished.

A series of adult magical detective books called Killian Spooks Mysteries.

 

Exciting times! Thank you so much for chatting, Colin. Please list any other published work and links to find them and you…

Wizards’ Exile – (Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie due soon).

The Man with the Black Shoebox and Other Strange Stories (Thunderpoint Publishing out 2020)

Amaya’s Imagination (my first picture book) by Haus of Clare. (Amazon since March 2019)

You can find all Colin’s books via his author page here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Colin-R.-Parsons/e/B0034Q4XS2

and for our friends across the pond https://www.amazon.com/Colin-R.-Parsons/e/B0034Q4XS2

And on his website http://www.colinrparsons.com

 

If you’re in mid Wales, it would be lovely to meet you at the Literature and Book Fayre on 2nd June in Llandovery. Come along and check out a host of Welsh authors.

May20

Lazzmatazz 2019 – Literature and Book Fayre – Meet the author – Angela Fish

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Welcome to the first of my author interviews featuring authors taking part in the Literature and Book Fayre, part of the Lazzmatazz 2019 festival. I first met Angela last year when we both had a table at a book fair in the National Botanic Gardens of Wales. It was a really warm day, and we took turns minding each others tables so we could nip outside for a breath of air! She writes delightful children’s stories, beautifully illustrated, perfect as gifts for boys and girls.

Welcome Angela! Lovely to have you here. Let’s get started…

How do you write? Is everything plotted, planned to perfection? Do you ever change tack as

you go along or always stick to a pre-made plan?

I generally have a good idea/plan of the overall story, but things always change! With my WIP the characters just will not do what they’re told and keep challenging my plans for them!

It’s always exciting though, isn’t it? Do you have a writing ritual? Meditation, certain cup for your tea, writing trousers?

I’ve never been able to stick to a fixed time for writing, it’s when the mood takes me. I might go days without writing a word, and then suddenly I’ll have a few days where I can write up to ten hours a day. I used to love having my cat on my desk, but sadly she’s no longer with me and her son prefers the garden. Apart from that, the only ‘quirk’ I have is that I only write with a pencil, until it’s time to move on to the computer.

I love a pencil! So, aside from writing, what makes you tick? Tell us 5 things about yourself we probably don’t know.

Mad about cats – they always seem to know when there’s a vacancy at my place.

Left my blood on the portcullis of Castell Coch, Tongwynlais, when I was about five (lived in the village and often visited. Ran up the drawbridge too quickly, fell and bumped my head.)

Hate flying.

Love gardening and cooking.

Absolutely useless at drawing!

I too have a tendency to acquire cats…we have four at the moment! If you were stranded on a desert island with shelter, food and water, what 5 items would you want with you?

Sunscreen/specs/notebooks/pencils/cats

On said island, what 5 books would you take and why?

Almost impossible to pick just five (and I’d probably read them too quickly!) but if pushed:

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. Classic from my childhood

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos-Ruiz-Zafón. A book about books! Fabulous other-worldly mystery.

Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore. Her last novel. Wonderfully written and thought provoking.

Any of the poetry books of Seamus Heaney. Just love the way he handles words and the pictures he paints with them.

Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolien. What an imagination!

Great choices, though it is hard to pick just five. Off the island now, which famous person would you like to have dinner with?­

David Attenborough

I’m with you on that one. His eloquence and affinity with the natural world could be the beginning of saving our planet. What are your current writing projects?

I’ve almost completed the first draft of a novel that explores the nature/nurture question through the lives of two girls who have their sons on the same day. Over the course of the next twenty years, their lives follow different paths but intersect occasionally, as do the lives of the boys. The impact of their backgrounds and experiences shapes much of what they do and the decisions they make but how much of a part does fate/luck play?

I’m also about halfway with a novel for children, which uses myths and legends from around the world, and moves between the ‘real world’ and a magical one. Essentially, it’s about making friends, bullying, the transition from junior to senior school, and the relationship between the heroine and her grandmother, who supports her on her quest.  Oh, and of course, it has cats!

You’ve been busy! They both sound great. To finish, do share your published work.

Ben and the Spider Gate                    (Book Guild)

Ben and the Spider Prince                              “

Ben and the Spider Lake                                “

The Captain’s Favourite Treasure      (Matador)

 

Hard copies via my website: www.angela-fish.com

Ebooks via Troubador bookstore: https://www.troubador.co.uk/bookshop/

Thank you so much for joining me, Angela. Been lovely to chat and finding out more about you and your writing. See you in Llandovery on the 2nd!