Phoenix paperback finally available!

I'm thrilled to announce that the paperback of my new book Phoenix is now available!  I'd really appreciate it if you could spread this news, any way you can...

You should be able to find the Phoenix paperback in your local bookshop; if they don't have it in stock, please order it from them.  Or you can click here to go to my publisher's page, where the big red 'Buy Now' button will give you lots of options of how & where to buy it, with links to Foyles, Waterstones, Blackwells, Amazon etc, as well as independent bookshops via Hive.

Phoenix is a story about a human boy who has the power of a star, and an alien girl who is the most brilliant warrior in the galaxy.  I think it's my best book so far, and if you've enjoyed Varjak Paw, I hope you'll enjoy it too.  It's fully and beautifully illustrated by Dave McKean, who also did the illustrations in Varjak Paw.  Here's his amazing book trailer for Phoenix!

School Visits: St George's Primary School

I'd like to say a big thank you to Louise Jones and everyone at St. George's Primary School, who I had the great pleasure of visiting this month!

It was wonderful to do creative writing workshops with the Year 4 classes who are currently studying Varjak Paw.  I heard some truly fantastic ideas for stories; there was so much creativity out there, and so much brilliant storytelling!

It was then great to talk to Years 6 & 5 as well about books and writing, and to sign books for everyone.  We didn't have quite enough time to answer all the questions that everyone had, so if anyone would like to ask another question, or to leave a comment about the visit or the books, this is the place to do it!

School Visits: St. John's Catholic Primary School

I'd like to say a very big thanks to Ashley Booth and all the fantastic readers I met at St. John's Catholic Primary School last week.  I had the pleasure of talking to Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 about writing, and I was incredibly impressed to see such enthusiasm and passion for reading and books!

It was an honour to sign copies of Varjak Paw and Phoenix at the end.  But one thing I didn't get to do was show the Phoenix book trailer, made by the brilliant Dave McKean – so here it is!

It was great to hear so many terrific questions during the visit, so if anyone from St. John's would like to ask me any more questions, or to share any thoughts about the visit or about books, just leave me a comment below!