I’m looking to start reviewing children’s picture books, partly for fun and partly for market research. I’d like to know what kind of things people go for in picture books so I can talk about them in my reviews. For my own books, I wanted to create something that was exciting and lively. Too many… Continue reading What do you look for in a Children’s Book?
The day has finally arrived! My children’s book, The Water Dragons: Too Heavy to Fly, is now out in the world at long last. When Silver sees a soaring buzzard he decides to learn how to fly. Together with his sister, Pearl, they make a pair of wings. But flying isn’t as easy as it… Continue reading The Water Dragons is Available to Buy!
I have to admit, I wasn’t a girly girl. I used to play with my brother’s toys, climb trees, and dreamed about being a warrior princess. But as adults, tradition and society often influence our roles in life, what we should and shouldn’t do based on our gender. Modern life is blurring the gender differences… Continue reading Boy Vs Girl Fictional Gender Roles for Characters.
There’s a famous writing saying that gets banded around the internet: It means that sometimes, no matter how much you love a scene, a character, or some other element, sometimes it has to be brutally cut from the book if it doesn’t have a purpose. I spent a long time (quite a few days) designing… Continue reading My Biggest Compromise with The Water Dragons
People ask me what the moral is in my book. My Aunt works in a library and often does readings for children. She told me she likes it when a kid’s book has a moral, and she can explain it to the children after reading the book. I read a piece of writing advice from… Continue reading Is it Ok to have Morals in Children’s Books?
As a child I remember holding one of my brother’s Warhammer books and studying the image. It was so full of life, so much on the page, and every time I looked I saw something different. Every soldier was unique with his own stance and facial expression. I was inspired by great artwork from a… Continue reading Creating the Artwork for The Water Dragons
Where did the ideas come from? For the characters, I wanted creatures that were flexible in what they could do (to give me a good scope for plot ideas.) I knew I wanted a natural setting and I did research into wildlife native to the UK. I researched kids programs and characters and decided to… Continue reading How I Designed my Children’s Characters
I’ll be honest here. I was approached by someone wanting some illustrations for a kid’s book. The project didn’t go ahead in the end, but I had become enthused about creating some illustrations. I have a creative degree which I’m not currently using in my career. The two main things I want to do in… Continue reading Why I Decided to Write for Children.
