Starting a new young writer's group

I began teaching a new group of middle graders at New City library yesterday. This is something I've been doing twice a year for the last three or four years. Six kids, the oldest a seventh grade boy.

We started inventing characters, which comes very easily to some and is clearly like pulling teeth for others. One little girl thought, and thought, and thought -- and after five minutes started to write furiously. She came up with a typical superhero ---- except that it's a second grade girl with superpowers!

I taught a workshop for younger kids on 'story-making' today - basically a writer's workshop for nine year olds. Did you know that magic unicorns can sink a pirate ship if the crew is drinking rum and doesn't notice?

Bogbrush rushes in -----

When I said "my new books", of course I meant "my new book".

This is not because the plural form is a mystery to me, but editing this blog is.

Sorry.

You can read Bogbrush here --- http://www.kidscanpress.com/Assets/StaticPageDownloads/AdvanceReadingCopies/BogbrushTheBarbarian_2086_eARC.pdf

Okay, I don't want you to read the whole darn thing. I want you to buy it from the usual suspects!

Greetings!

I decided it was time to start a new blog. I'd essentially abandoned my previous attempt at a blog, which was all about my excellent Emmaline and Rubberbones books. I'll tell you more about those later.

But now I'm here to talk about Bogbrush the Barbarian, my new books from Kids Can Press.

It's a hugely silly affair, with a giant, dimwitted barbarian blundering dangerously through a series of near-disasters that constitute his great quest to pull an axe out of a stone, which will prove that he's the true king of Scrofula.

Which, of course, he isn't.

More to come!