School Visits

I can trace the birth of the idea for BattleBooks back 29 years. I was ten years old and attending the local primary school. The school had a book club, and every so often we received a small catalogue that we took home and picked out a book we would like to buy. The order slip, and money, would be handed back to the school. Then, after what seemed like almost a lifetime, the book would arrive at school and be handed out in class. To this day I can remember rushing home and lying on my stomach in the front room of our small three bedroom house as I devoured the opening pages of The Warlock Of FireTop Mountain. I can still remember thinking that the book was simply the most amazing book I had ever read, and that I would never need to read another book again. I loved that book, I read it from cover-to-cover. In fact, that exact same copy is sitting just inches away from me now, on my desk, as I write.

For those who have not read The Warlock Of FireTop Mountain, it is Interactive Fiction. The reader reads one section and is then presented with a choice as to which way to proceed. You make a choice and then progress onto the next section of the story.

Well, as it turned out, The Warlock Of FireTop Mountain was not the only book I was ever to read. In fact, in the intervening 29 years I have read quite a few other books. But none have ever managed to re-create that sense of shear excitement and wonder. So when the idea for BattleBooks formed, “The Warlock Of FireTop Mountain for battles.” I knew that I was onto a winner. After all, I was writing the book that the ten-year me wanted to read next…

Book Me For A School Visit

I love school visits. It’s great to hear adults say they like my books, but just one, “cool,” from a young reader makes it all worthwhile.

I present two types of school visits:

Primary School (year 5 and 6): This is an interactive visit. It engages the children teaching them about reading, writing and gives them a knowledge of the battle of Hastings. It also avoids leaving the kids to watch passively, aiming to spark a passion for history and books.

High School (year 7): This is an information based visit. The visit’s aim is to inspire the pupils to read, write and re-consider the importance of history. It avoids forcing the pupils to accept adult authority at face value and encourages them to question and investigate.

Please note that for all school visits I will provide posters, pre-visit information and take-aways for the pupils. I also ask that school allow me to be accompanied by a local independent bookshop, who can sell books during the visit.