Diary Page
May 2010
I have cut down on school visits this year, because my round-the-world travelling bonanza (four months) last year felt like enough time away from my home and my writer's notebook is crammed with experiences and story ideas that I want to make a start on. So it was a special pleasure to visit Greensward Academy in Hockley, Essex and find so many students and teachers with a real interest in books and writing. A big hello to everyone I met there, and a big thank you for making me so welcome.
My latest project has been revising and launching 'Not Dressed Like that You Don't' as a new edition. I wrote it about twenty years ago - hard to believe that in those days, very few people had a personal computer and almost nobody had a mobile phone! My main character, Jenny, definitely needed to be brought into the 21st century, and it was good fun getting to know Jenny and her mother again as I rewrote their diary entries. I didn't need to change their characters though - the things and landscapes around us might change as the years unroll, but people are still driven by the same hopes and dreams as fears as they have been for centuries. Take a look at the New Books page - I hope you like the new cover as much as I do.
Football is the BIG news in my house this weekend. My husband and children are big supporters of Fulham, who made it through to the final of the UEFA Europa League on 29th April. My husband was there, and came back with very little voice and a huge, soppy grin. He and my son-in-law will be making their plans to get to the final in Germany. I'm not a football fan, but the general air of joy around here at the moment is infectious!