Scrumpy

I began writing magazine fiction and have sold thousands of stories all over the world, but when my daughters were born and I started reading to them, I was reminded just how wonderful children's books are, and decided to try writing them myself. They are the most fun of all and I have had over eighty books published from picture books up to novels for up to age 12. Some of them deal with issues I have faced with my own children such as a pet dying - Scrumpy (Andersen) or an over-adventurous hamster - Hammy (Orchard), others cover issues common to many children, such as being scared of monsters - Nothing Can Frighten a Bear (Nosy Crow), being different - Delightfully Different Dilly (Quarto 2021) and being small - Billy and the Balloons (Salariya) and Off to Market! (Frances Lincoln -a runner-up in the Dundee Picture Book Award and based on my journey on an over-crowded minibus in Uganda filled with villagers, furniture and animals! I have also written a couple of interactive picture books where the reader has to be a hero and pull faces, shout, stamp and twist and turn the book to help save a child from impending disaster - Chase Those Witches!(Salariya) and Save The Day for Ada May (Willow Tree Books.) The latter has won two Awards and been short-listed for a third. Of course there is always room for books which are just pure fun, whether they're rhyming - Mix Up Monday (Maverick) coming in 2021 or non-rhyming - When Betsy Came To Babysit (Tamarind, read on the Cbeebies Bedtime Hour). I have recently moved into writing Non-Fiction picture books - Trailblazer (Maverick) is the story of Lily Parr and her battle to play Woman's Football in the early 20th Century. As well as my picture books I have written a lot of Early Reader texts - fun stories that help young readers develop their reading skills - for Franklin Watts and Maverick Books as well as Junior Fiction for Egmont.