Anna Brooke - Monster Bogey - Author Interview (Q&A) - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

Thank you for joining us once again. It's time to get messy and have a little sing-song with another one of our debut authors, Anna Brooke. Anna is the author of MONSTER BOGEY published by Chicken House this Jan 2023. The book is fantastically illustrated by Owen Lindsay and, as it states on the cover, just pick it up and come and have a laugh. To find out more, you just need to read on my little MONSTERS. 

How much slime should we expect to encounter in this book? Do we need to be wearing a hazmat suit before encountering this story?

Gooliemaloolie! There is so much slime in this book – almost on every page. Yes, I highly recommend wearing a hazmat suit. Or a diving suit. Or a rain suit. Or even just a few plastic bags. Anything you can to protect your clothes.

Can you tell us what the willy-willy-woo-woos are? 

The willy-willy-woo-woos are those uncomfortable feelings you get when you’re scared - like the ‘creeps’ or the ‘jitters’ or (the word most closely related to them) the ‘willies’.

How would you describe your debut book as a quick song?

Ooh. Good question. Either as a ballad (a very cheesy one) about adventure, friendship and accepting people as they are. Or it could be a proper upbeat number about nose-picking called Snot Ball Disco - which is precisely one of the two songs I wrote for it (with French composer Xavier Bussy)! 

The other song, called A-Chooooo! (also co-composed with pianist Sebastien Joly), is a silly Strauss-inspired aria about sneezing. 

I’m a huge fan of musicals, and for a while I sang in an electropop group, so right from the start I knew I wanted Monster Bogey to have a musical element. You can listen to the songs via QR codes and links in the book, or via all the usual streaming platforms.

Or here:

Snot Ball Disco, performed by Lucy Longlegs the cabaret-singing spider (featuring Honkerty Village’s Weird hedgehog): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulYFcLlq_S8 

A-Chooooo!, sung by Mum, an opera singer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk3yeGJvE-w 

Here are some of the lyrics:

Snot ball disco

Step in to the light

Greenie greenie

Forget all your strife

Snot ball disco

When you pick your friends

Greenie greenie

Love never ends

When you’re feeling down at the end of the day

Just Pick It

Just Pick It

Just Pick It

Yeah!

If you’re feeling shy and can’t think what to say

Just Pick It

Just Pick It

Just Pick It

Yeah!

And A-chooooo!:

Have you ever had a tickle in your nose? 

It gets you from your head down to your toes

Then there’s nothing left to do

But let out a sneezy, snotty, sloppy, sticky 

A-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Don’t try to hold it in

It’ll make you feel so grim

Your eyes will pop with nasal slop!

If you keep it all inside

It’ll come out your behind

And who wants snot around their bot?

Just let rip – go for the goo

It’s the only thing to do.

Just let rip – it’s a breeze

It’s the only way to sneeze.

From Yorkshire to Paris, has this journey influenced any part of the book? 

Yes, definitely. The obvious part is baddy Willamina’s French ancestry. She’s the descendent of French king William the ‘Conkerer’! And she spews French-sounding insults without knowing what they mean – like, ‘ferry pour Calais’ (Ferry to Calais) and ‘saucisson sec’ (cured sausage). 

The other part is the book’s humour, which I think is very much linked to my years growing up in Yorkshire and Birmingham (where I lived until I was ten). People in both regions love a good play on words and have a great sense of humour. I like to think I absorbed some of that and put it into the book. 

Would you recommend tea drinking, Yorkshire pudding flinging, or baguette jousting as a way of limbering up to read Monster Bogey?

Like most Parisians, I always begin a good reading session with un petit peu of baguette jousting. And occasionally croissant chucking. And on special occasions discus throwing with camembert along the Champs Elysées. But I’d recommend any of the above. Or you could just pick your nozzle!

This book sounds wonderful, do you think laughter plays an important role in children's books? 

They say laughter is the best medicine and I think it’s especially true when it comes to reading.  Laughter releases endorphins in your brain, which makes you feel good, which makes reading a positive experience. And what could be better for keeping kids hooked on books than that? 

That’s not to say that children shouldn’t be exposed to all sorts of books. They should. But I think laughter can be a precious tool for attracting kids of any age to reading – especially reluctant readers. If they’ve had a good experience with one book, they’re more likely to want to replicate it by trying another story, and then another, and so on. 

How would you like readers to feel once they have finished reading the story? 

I’d love them to feel as though they’ve been on a wild, funny and mischievous adventure.

My dream comment would be, ‘This made me happy and laugh a lot’. 

I’d also hope that by the end—through Bogey’s character and what happens to him—readers will feel more empathy towards people who are different.

And maybe, just maybe, some people will feel that my book is a refreshing antidote to Covid. During the pandemic, millions of kids must have been told off (more than usual) for picking their noses. And for good reason. But perhaps reading Monster Bogey will—on some level—offer a naughty sense of release, after all that pent-up stress and unchannelled picking energy!

What type of books do you like to read? 

Oh gosh! All sorts. I don’t really have a ‘type’ but here’s a list of some of my favourites books, from childhood through to adulthood:

• Alanna by Tamora Pierce
• The Silver Chair by C.S Lewis
• The Lockwood & Co series by Johnathan Stroud
• The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brian
• Anything by Oscar Wilde, but particularly The Canterville Ghost
• The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly 
• The Monk by Matthew Lewis. In fact, this is probably my all-time favourite.

The illustrations in the book look amazing. At which point of the publication process did you get to see these and how do you think they support the story process? 

By the time I saw Owen Lindsay’s brilliant cover and illustrations, the book was approaching final copy-edit stage. But I was so overwhelmed with some of his pictures, that I actually tweaked a few lines of the text to make it match his drawings. For instance, in the revolving fireplace scene, Owen put a bowler hat on a werewolf carving, and it looked so good I had to write it into the story.

In terms of story process, the illustrations didn’t really support the writing of Monster Bogey per se (aside from the above), because they came at the end. But for the sequel, Monster Stink (due out on August 3^rd 2023), Owen’s style has been very much at the forefront of my mind. I now see Frank, Tiffany and Bogey (the main characters) as the people he has drawn. And I wrote certain scenes thinking about how Owen might portray them. There are some seriously sticky bits in Monster Stink, I’m telling you! And Owen has come up trumps!

What three things would your characters get up to if you let them loose in Paris?

I think Frank and Bogey would head straight to the top of the Eiffel Tower, where Bogey would do an aerial choreography with Paris’ pigeons.

Tiffany would take the slugs to Parc de la Villette, a modern park in the north-east of the city where there are regular circus shows.

Mum would hit the Garnier Opera House and reminisce about when she sang there. And Dad would go straight to the Cinémathèque film museum.

What was the scariest book you read as a child?

I’d have to say, the B.F.G. by Roald Dahl. I was genuinely terrified by the non-friendly giants and what they’d do to Sophie if she got caught.

Anna Brooke

Anna’s writing career started in journalism as a film critic for Time Out Paris and the author of seven travel guidebooks for Frommer’s. She has written for multiple publications, including the Financial Times, The Times and The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, where she was the long-standing Paris expert. Her debut novel, Frank ‘n’ Bogey, was a SCBWI Undiscovered Voices winner and longlisted for the Bath Children’s Novel Award. When not writing, she has been an actress, a cabaret singer and an electro-pop artist, performing on stage and composing songs for films and commercials. Raised in Birmingham and Yorkshire, she now lives in Paris with her French-Canadian husband and son. Author Website: https://www.annabrookewriter.com

Gemma Fowler - City of Rust - (Q&A Interview) - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books #33

 

Here we have a winning combination; a great book cover, and a fantastic story. This was one of the most original stories of 2021 (published by Chicken House books) and we loved it. It was really great to be able to ask some questions about the book as well as find out more about the author behind it. If you are ready for Astronaut wee and Cornish pasties predicting the future then you must read this enjoyable interview with Gemma Fowler. In the meantime, enjoy and we'll see you back for the next interview very soon. You can buy HERE. 

1. City of Rust is a very intriguing title. How would you best describe the book to potential new readers? 

City of Rust is a nail-biting sci-fi mystery adventure, set in a city built entirely out of junk called Boxville. There’s drone racing, bio robotic animals, Sphereships, mechanical bounty hunters, and terrifying junker clans ruling the skies. Phew! 

2. What would you like readers to understand from this book; is there an important message behind the story you would like readers to pick up on?

Apart from having a load of fun reading it, I’d love readers to understand that the book is inspired by the rubbish problem we have on Earth. I really struggle with the fact we have (nearly) driverless cars now, but still struggle to recycle our waste. It’s nuts!

3. I love the book cover for City of Rust. What do you think and how does it illustrate the story inside? 

Oh I love the cover! It’s by Karl James Mountford, who’s a bit of a legend anyway, but I think he really knocked it out of the park with this one! 

A lot of people think the book has a steampunk vibe after looking at the cover (I think it’s the rusty colours). It does have a few steampunky traits, but it’s really not that kind of world at all. Blade Runner meets Wall E meets Star Wars! 

4. Are there any movies you think might have influenced the book and would we pick up on any of these references through the story?

STAR WARS. STAR WARS. STAR WARS. 

5. When did you get the first idea for this book and has the journey taken you to any unexpected places? 

I read an article about the space debris problem (there are 180 million pieces of space waste in orbit around the Earth right now and counting), did a big groan about the state of humanity, and then an image of a space junkyard popped into my head that was too cool to ignore! 

6. Have you had any personal conversations with the characters in the book?

I wouldn’t say I have conversations with them, they sort of talk at me and I write it down. It doesn’t feel like it comes from me at all. Which sounds crazy but it’s just the way it works! 

Now the book is written it’s like having a group of friends that you miss hanging out with, I find myself thinking ‘Atti would love this’ or ‘If Railey were here she’d have fixed that already’, things like that.

7. Can you tell us about any writing projects you are working on at the moment? 

City of Rust has been selected for the Summer Reading Challenge this year, which has a Gadgeteers theme, so I’m working on updating my website with some bits and bobs to go with that over the summer.

I’m currently working on a new book that features a Cornish pasty that can predict the future. That’s all I will say for now! Ha.

8. What question were you hoping to be asked and why? 

Ok. I’m a weird fact machine (I bore people with my facts on a daily basis), so here are some Gross but True facts I learned whilst researching City of Rust- 

• There are hundreds of weebergs, made of frozen astronaut wee flying above our heads in orbit right now. Gross!

•  Gecko’s will drop, and then eat, their own tails if there isn’t enough food around (don’t worry, Atti doesn’t do this in the book). Ew!

• The reason the residents of Boxville live on sugary snacks and drinks (Floss and Pop), is that sugar, in its purest form, doesn’t grow bacteria, and can still be eaten years and sometimes decades, after its best before date. Blugh.

Dan Smith - Nisha's War - Book Review Blog Tour 2022 - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

 

Welcome everybody to a jolly blog tour for Dan Smith's latest book Nisha's War. To find out more about this fantastic book please check out my review below. On Twitter we have a fantastic giveaway; a copy of the book, bar of chocolate and a £10 book voucher to spend on more great books. Please see our pinned tweet on Twitter @Enchantedbooks. Ends 18.02.22 UK Only.

Publisher: Chicken House (3 Feb. 2022)

Book Illustrator: Matthew Land and Cover design by Steve Wells 

Age Range: 9+ (Only a guide)

Paperback: 368 Pages - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎978-1912626755

What makes a good story? Well, for me a good story starts from the very first page by creating a really interesting and intriguing narrative. In Dan Smith's latest book, Nisha's War, the story starts on a grey, Spring evening. Mother and daughter, hardly more than skin and bone, are weary and tired as they depart from the train. The author describes them as travellers from another time and place. By this point, I was hooked and really looking forward to reading more.

The story has so much depth; focusing on the past and the future. There are so many themes that it is a real marvel and a treat. Essentially, this is a historical English ghost story with the main characters fleeing from the WARTIME invasion of Singapore in 1942. Snippets of the character's experiences are shared by Nisha (a young girl) from her diary. However, the story also transports itself to a remote area in the North of England where a brilliantly haunting tale is introduced. There's a puzzle to solve and the introduction of a mysterious weeping tree.

The story is really written with heart and soul; pulling on different character emotions and feelings. Complex topics such as loneliness, grief, guilt, and being a refugee are all tackled creating an interesting discussion. It's a book that feels very relevant today such as coping with many changes that are beyond our control. The story is fantastically well written as it develops different backdrops that submerge you into really creative worlds. 

This has to be the best book that Dan has written to date. It's a story that will give you hope but also a chill to the heart. There is action and adventure in an abundance but also a classic dollop of mystery, and heartwarming friendship. Overall, it is a brilliant, thought-provoking story - it made me think that perhaps it is time for me to find some new friends.

Synopsis: Malaya, 1942. Nisha’s home is destroyed by war and she and her mother, Amma, flee to her father’s ancestral house in England, perched on a cliff top on the cold Northern coast.

When Amma falls gravely ill, Nisha is left to face her formidable grandmother alone. Grandmother's rules are countless, and her Anglo-Indian granddaughter is even forbidden from climbing the old weeping tree.

But when a ghost child beckons Nisha to sit under its boughs, and promises her Amma’s life in return for three truths, its pull proves irresistible ...

Guest Post by By Emma Read - The Pen is Mightier than the Sword (or – What’s the Deal with Children’s Writing Competitions?)

By Emma Read 

It may seem anathema to some to consider writing a competitive sport, but as someone who was a committed comp-addict (and now handles the FOMO by reading and judging comps), I’m here to share some insights from both sides of that gleaming, shiny trophy.

Why enter?

Why indeed? The 2018 Bath Children’s Novel Award received 791 entries, from all over the globe. It’s not the best odds.

Then again, someone has to win –right?

For me, it was never about coming first. It was the hope of listing – gaining something useful to add to my somewhat thin query letter (smashing that mask-making competition at the library, age five, wasn’t cutting it). If your goal is making the longlist, or even getting a notable mention, the odds are vastly improved, especially if you’ve got a well-polished manuscript.

But still – odds are you will fail ... and that’s also a really good reason to enter.

Wait ... what?

I have failed to list in plenty of competitions and it hurts. Especially when you’ve done the homework, determined that your work is precisely what the judges are looking for, polished your manuscript to a high shine, and still the answer is a resounding NO. It’s the same sort of no you get when your dream agent doesn’t make a full request, or when you don’t sell on submission, or when your book isn’t on the tables in Waterstones, or listed in any of the annual awards. This is the writer’s life and for me, it helped to get used to it right from the start.

Failing in competitions is practice. Practice at moving on, practice at failing again.

Being a competition enthusiast comes with other benefits too (more fun than being rejected, I promise), especially if you have a supportive writing group to share the fun with. 

(Top Tip: find a supportive writing group!)

Entering comps for us was a team sport. We carried each other come victory or defeat and boosted one another on to the next. Success for an individual felt like a success for the team and there were plenty of vicarious celebrations.

Competitions also provide meaningful deadlines, reasons to improve and sometimes even feedback. And perhaps, most importantly for me, it was a push to get my work ‘out there’. To get over my squeamishness at the thought of someone else reading my words. To normalise the fear of being judged. 

On the other hand...

Being hooked on competitions can have its downsides – the most obvious being the cost. Most (but not all) competitions come with a serious entry fee, which pays for the prizes, admin, and the colossal number of hours required to read/judge/provide feedback on the entries (791 is feeling like a REALLY BIG number now!) Multiple fees across the year can quickly add up and even the cheapest entry requirements can prohibit writers from entering. (If this sounds familiar, do look out for sponsored entries for low-income writers, which many of the competitions offer).

It’s also important to remember that a competition listing, or even a win, doesn’t guarantee success. Whilst many on a longlist go on to find agents and subsequent publishing deals, many don’t – even winners. It’s a rollercoaster, just like the rest of publishing.

But forewarned is forearmed (with that mighty pen), so if you’re still keen ...  

Sign me up!

In no particular order, here are some of the competitions available to writers of children’s literature:

• The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction competition. Open October 10^th 2019 closes May 4^th 2020 https://www.chickenhousebooks.com/submissions/#about
• Bath Children’s Novel Award closes for the 2019 comp November 17^th. Bath Novel Award (inc. YA) opens December 2^nd 2019 https://bathnovelaward.co.uk/
• WriteMentor Children’s Novel Award. Opens December 1st, 2019 to January 31st, 2020 
• https://write-mentor.com/writementor-childrens-novel-award-2/   
• https://thecaledonianovelaward.com/ Opens Spring 2020
• http://www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk/2019-exeter-novel-prize.html    closes January 1^st 2020
• https://www.grindstoneliterary.com/competitions closed until 2020
• https://mslexia.co.uk/competitions/ Adult/YA comp and Children’s 
• http://writersfestival.co.uk/competitions re-launching in 2020 
• https://www.retreatwest.co.uk/the-retreat-west-novel-prize/ YA inc. next year.

Twitter pitch contests: #revpit #Pitmad #DVpit #Pitdark #queryswap #querykombat #tellAMH #PitchCB

So if you do decide to enter, have fun, learn what you can and understand that any judging of creative art is subjective. 

Good Luck! 

Emma is the author of Milton the Mighty (Chicken House) and the upcoming sequel, Milton the Megastar. Under its working title, Milton was shortlisted for the Bath Children’s Novel Award and Emma has had success in a number of other writing competitions, including flash fiction and Twitter pitching.

She is now a reader and longlist judge for the Bath Novel and Bath Children’s Novel Awards, and for the WriteMentor Children’s Novel Award. She is also a mentor and tutor for WriteMentor https://write-mentor.com/ 

   

https://www.emmareadauthor.com/

https://twitter.com/emmydee73

https://www.instagram.com/ediereadie/

https://www.facebook.com/emmareadauthor

Interview with Marie Basting - #PrincessBMX Blog Tour - (Chicken House Books)

Welcome to Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books. Today, we are celebrating the debut publication of Marie Basting's book, Princess BMX. The book was published on the 1st August 2019 by Chicken House Books and has been superbly illustrated by Flavia Sorrentino. You should check out the website link for more examples of amazing artwork and design.  

The book is a perfect fairytale adventure for the summer that will entertain younger readers or possibly the inner princess within you. This week, the author will be zipping by on her BMX bike showing off her tricks and riding the air on some of the best children's blogs around. Please see the blog tour banner at the bottom of this page for more information.

Marie has kindly answered some questions to give us a thought-provoking insight into the book. Hopefully, it will also give you a taste of what you might find amongst the pages of this brilliant story. So, without further delay, here is the interview with Marie. I hope you enjoy this post and follow the other posts as part of this tour. 


How would you describe Princess BMX to potential readers? 
Princess BMX is a funny, upside-down fairy tale adventure that brings the princess story bang up to date. It’s upside-down for a number of reasons. Firstly, it features a fairy tale character who finds everything changes when she comes to our world – she’s been brought up surrounded by dragons and unicorns and yet she finds magic in the urban chaos of Camden and BMX. The other characters are a bit upside down too, playing with reader expectations and challenging the tropes of the fairy tale.

What fun and games does Avariella get up to in this book? 
Avariella, or Ava as her new friends call her, spends a lot of time hanging around the skate-park in Camden, BMX being a natural progression from her extreme sack racing back home. Through BMX, she finds the freedom and acceptance she’s been seeking, but her radical sporting adventures are not without consequence triggering a whole host of magical fun and games. 

What is the Bubblegum Bazaar? 
The Bubble Gum Bazaar is whatever the reader wants it to be. We know it’s a fete in the far reaches of Biscotti, and that it’s significant enough for the royal family to put their best togs on, but much of the detail is left to the imagination. It’s important to me not to talk down to or spoon-feed young readers, to leave gaps for them to fill. It’s their imaginations that complete the story. 

Do you use humour in this book? What effect do you think laughter has on the reader? 
I’ve been told by my dog, who can be quite mean about my writing if I don’t feed her sufficient biscuits, that Princess BMX is a very funny book. I’m hoping readers agree and my fluffy critic hasn’t just had one gravy bone too many. Humorous books are increasingly important. Thanks to the mess adults have made of things, kids have far too much to worry about. Laughter provides a release, allowing them to focus on the now. Funny books are sometimes looked down on but they can help nurture a lifelong love of reading, and what’s wrong with having a little fun? 

If you could choose one BMX bike, what would it be and why? 
I’m rubbish on a BMX so probably one with magical powers that would stop me being such a wussy knickers and help me attack the berm with the same ferocity as Ethan, Ava’s first proper friend. And, NO, he is not her boyfriend!!! 

The book cover and interior illustrations are by one of my favourite illustrators, Flavia Sorrentino. How do they complement the story? 
I adore Flavia’s illustrations. She captures Ava’s adventurous and rebellious nature so well, reinforcing her unconventionality. Flavia’s illustrations allow readers to pause and really consider the characters and the magical world I’ve created while also adding an extra element of excitement and awe to the key action scenes.

When writing books for children, what do you think they look for in a good story? What do you think they will like the most about your book? 
There are so many different genres within children’s fiction, it’s difficult to generalise, but I think the one constant is the desire for a character they can connect with. Princess Ava may come from a different world but she wants the same things any child does – friendship, acceptance and for grown-ups to stop moaning at her. She’s also funny and kind and brave, so while the humour is likely to be the first thing to draw the reader in, I think it’s Ava’s spirit they’ll love the most.

How hard was it to get your first book published? 
On the surface, it wasn’t that hard at all. I pitched the book more by accident before it was ready to submit and feel extremely lucky that Chicken House wanted to publish it. You have to remember, though, it took me until I reached my forties to actually shake off the self-doubt and believe someone like me could become a writer. Believing in myself and rising above the expectations set by others was the hardest bit of my writing journey. 

You're hosting a literary dinner party, which authors/illustrators would you invite and why? 
I’d invite all the fantastic writers and illustrators who have supported me on the way: SCBWI friends, my MA cohort and the lovely middle-grade debut authors I’ve connected with more recently. They are my real literary heroes and they’re probably much more likely to turn-up than Neil Gaiman or Jack Kerouac.

Marie Basting is the author of Princess BMX, a true story which provides conclusive proof that magic is real and bikes are the new broomstick. OK, that is a big fat lie, but Marie mostly speaks the truth particularly on Tuesdays when she teaches synchronised swimming to mermaids and helps out at a shelter for homeless goblins.

Princess BMX is Marie’s debut novel. But she plans to write lots more as soon as she has finished watching Adventure Time. Marie loves Adventure Time because, like Princess BMX, it is a kind of modern fairy tale, and Marie wants to show children that magic is everywhere even if it is sometimes hard to find. That sounds corny but trust me it is not as corny as Marie’s feet. 

Twitter: @riewriting
Website: mariebasting.com

(Blog Tour Banner)

Anna Day - The Fandom - UK Blog Tour 2018 (Book Extract + Book Covers) Chicken House Books

(Chicken House - UK Book Cover)

Hello Everybody! Welcome to Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books and the Anna Day with The Fandom UK blog tour. To celebrate the publication of this book, which was published by Chicken House Books (4th Jan, 2018), Anna Day is taking us on an internet travelling experience. We accompany here through the week visiting some fantastic bloggers and websites. This should really give you a comprehensive insight into this brilliant book and the author. Please check out all the #jointhefandom stops, which are shown in the right-hand corner of my blog, to join this amazing journey. 

This is a brilliant Young Adult (YA) read. To find out more then read my book review Here. My post, as part of this tour, is to share an extract of the book, so there is a little taster for you to sample at the bottom of this post. 

I thought I would also add a little bit of fun and some interaction to this post by sharing some of the book cover examples from around the world. I have installed a poll so that you can vote for your personal favourite in the top right-hand corner of the blog.

German Book Cover 

It's fantastic to see the different translations from around the world for the same book. All four book covers are so different that you might actually think you were looking at a different book.

Italian Book Cover - I think that this is my least favourite book cover. It doesn't engage me as a male reader, even though it's a fantastic book which will appeal to and engage all readers. That's my opinion anyway. 

This is the US Book Cover which is very eye-catching. I love the butterfly. 

Which one do you like?  If YOU fancy voting at the top of the blog then why not do so. It's very easy - you just need one click. I am very interested to hear your thoughts and to see which cover you vote for. 

Here is the book extract for you to read. A little taster to the Start of The Fandom.

Portugal Book Cover - New one for today!



About Anna Day

Anna grew up and still lives in the North East of England. She was raised by a guitar-obsessed father and a mother with amazing cooking skills, and she still loves all things music and food related. She studied Psychology at university and worked for several years as an Assistant Psychologist. She then gained a doctorate in Clinical Psychology in 2009 and has since worked as a Clinical Psychologist with people with disabilities. She has always loved creative writing; even as a little girl she would staple pieces of paper together and write stories for her parents to read. However, she only started writing seriously a few years ago and was noticed by the Chicken House team when she was shortlisted for the Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition in 2015. Her greatest love is her children -- a little girl and a little boy, who provide her with constant entertainment and inspiration. You can find her on twitter: @annadayauthor