The next Captain Sillyvoice book is on its way soon. Just to give you a taste of what’s to come, let me introduce Captain Scaryscar.

And a quick reminder that 3 copies of the first book in this series,  Captain Sillyvoice and his Pirate Band, are being given away in the Goodreads Giveaway. The closing date for entries is 12 February 2014.

Something very exciting has happened today - my book, Captain Sillyvoice and his Pirate Band, has been reviewed by a top children' picture book blogger. Do take a look!

Here is the link: http://readitdaddy.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/indie-pen-dance-wednesday-part-2.html

Check out this Goodreads Book Giveaway for Captain Sillyvoice and his Pirate Band. Goodreads is great site for anyone who loves reading (adult and children's books), so it is worth taking a peek anyway!

I have the opportunity to update the cover of my book, My Crazy Purple Pen (originally released in 2012).To help me decide on the new cover,  I put out a Facebook post featuring the original cover together with  6 alternative options.  I also sought feedback from other friends and family. Thank you to everyone who gave me their feedback. 

It has to be said that there was no clear front runner, but it does seem that the addition of the stars and ink spots is preferable to the characters. The designs without any additional features were least popular. The addition of the purple/pink border was preferred by quite a few of you but I am concerned that this colour scheme may make the book less appealing to boys. The cover with the blue border creates a more gender neutral design overall and is very eye-catching but perhaps too much so!

So, I have made a decision. The new cover can be seen below and should be available within the next few days.

Drifting

An old man sits
Dribbling; without shame.
His mind broken.
Thoughts drifting to memories cherished.
An onlooker stares; feels pity
The man smiles, happy just to be. 

An empty crisp packet,
Once pristine; now discarded, 
Dances on the breeze.
A hedge; a thorny web
Quivers, waiting to ensnare
This unsightly prey.

A lone cloud drifts.
Soundless; without purpose it seems.
A mistress to the whims of the wind.
A shape and form in constant flux,
Yet to the eye, a picture of
contented stability.

A corked bottle; messenger
Tossed to sea.
Left to Poseidon's mercy.
Bobbing; swirling; rushing.
Pulled inexorably to land.
It's ending uncertain.

In the sun's warmth a flower
unfurls; its petals inviting.
The wind comes to call.
Pollen dust wafts.
Destination somewhere; anywhere
By chance some will spark new life.

An iron gate held shut
By snow; an overnight drift
A collective of flakes.
The melt begins at pace
releasing the grass, yet
At the gate some flakes resist.

Balloons; helium pumped.
Released with excitement,
Watched with wonder.
A mass of colour set free,
Rising without limits.
An adventure lies ahead.

I have today stumbled across some fabulous and thought provoking quotes from some terrific writers. They are definitely worth sharing. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

First up - a great insight into the mind of the brilliant Terry Pratchett:
“Writing, for me, is a little like wood carving. You find the lump of tree (the big central theme that gets you started), and you start cutting the shape that you think you want it to be. But you find, if you do it right, that the wood has a grain of its own (characters develop and present new insights, concentrated thinking about the story opens new avenues). If you’re sensible, you work with the grain and, if you come across a knot hole, you incorporate that into the design. This is not the same as ‘making it up as you go along’; it’s a very careful process of control.”
Terry Pratchett, in back matter for A Hat Full of Sky.

The author of the very funny Pippi Longstocking stories (which I enjoyed reading with my daughter recently and highly recommend) is quoted as having said:
“I don’t want to write for adults. I want to write for readers who can perform miracles. Only children perform miracles when they read.”
Astrid Lindgren

Next, we move onto another of my favourite authors, Roald Dahl. Not only was he a brilliant storyteller but his poetry is genius too. If you haven’t read his book of revolting rhymes for children, described as a collection of nursery tales with bite, then I suggest you do so!

Roald Dahl on his early career, when he wrote novels for adults:
“I’m probably more pleased with my children’s books than with my adult short stories. Children’s books are harder to write. It’s tougher to keep a child interested because a child doesn’t have the concentration of an adult. The child knows the television is in the next room. It’s tough to hold a child, but it’s a lovely thing to try to do.”

And a few more that I particularly like...

 “There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories.”
Ursula K. LeGuin

“Thou shalt not” is soon forgotten, but ‘Once upon a time’ lasts forever.”
Philip Pullman, 1996 Carnegie Medal acceptance speech.

“The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.”
Linus Pauling.

"Picture books are for everybody at any age, not books to be left behind as we grow older. The best ones leave a tantalising gap between the pictures and the words, a gap that is filled by the reader’s imagination, adding so much to the excitement of reading a book."
Anthony Browne, UK Children’s Laureate, 2009-2011.

"I think books for children should be wild and adventurous. They should offer you something you can escape into, something you don't get later on--it might be the only chance. It's the only time that children can develop their imagination and it's so porous it's vital to fill it with extraordinary things, not mundane, boring things."
Emma Chichester Clark, as quoted for the 2003 Magic Pencil Exhibition.

“The destiny of the world is determined less by the battles that are lost and won than by the stories it loves and believes in.”
Harold Goddard, The Meaning of Shakespeare.

“It is as easy to dream up a book as it is hard to write one.”
Balzac.

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
G. K. Chesterton

If anyone has come across other great quotes on writing, particularly for children, then I would love to hear from you. Please do feel free to post on my website or on Facebook.