Monday June 24th 2024

Dear Diary,

I can’t deny that today’s school visit was a real uphill struggle… but only because St James’ C of E Primary in Malvern is built on an extreme incline! Once I’d finally caught my breath and acclimatised to the altitude (after lugging my heavy author kit up the ridiculously steep driveway), I was greeted by many excited children, all keen to get their first glimpse of ‘a real-life author’. It really made me smile! There’s no denying that my rotating giant book prop had many of the younger children enthralled during my assembly. And there were so many questions that I could have stayed there all night answering them! I love running workshops for KS2, and today’s interactive activity session was yet another treat. It still tickles me seeing how many pupils replicate my style of narration in their stories – by breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to the reader – and how many of them feature the yellow and black warning tape on their book covers, or put a twist on my pen name for their own stories. The staff were wonderfully hospitable again today. One of the dinner ladies even kindly offered me a roast dinner! And the pupils joined in whole-heartedly, were attentive throughout my visit, and made me laugh out loud at some of their hilarious stories. Especially the two boys who joined forces and created a riotous tale about an awesome auntie (that I sadly didn’t seem to get a photo of). If they end up collaborating on a children’s book in the future, then I’ll certainly be first in the queue to buy a copy. In fact, there were so many incredible stories created today that I’m wondering why I came home with so few photos.