Hello! Welcome to the first newsletter of 2012. January 2012 is a special month for me – it is exactly 30 years since my first book, How Green You Are! was published. I’m very pleased to celebrate it with you! I hope you’ll enjoy reading about my new publications and events, hearing about your letters and entering the competition to win signed books for your school.

I’m pleased to tell you that there’s a brand new book just out! Wild Cat is set in Wales. Caitlin’s father is a wildlife photographer, and he has gone to China with her mother to try to film a rare tiger before it becomes extinct. But while they are away, Caitlin does some exploring of her own. She and Leo are desperate to find out whether the wild cat is still alive in the mountains near their home. There’s lots more about Wild Cat here.

Click here to order Wild Cat from Amazon UK.

Wild Cat is my third book to be published by Collins BigCat series. The other two are Nightmare: Two Ghostly Tales and The Three Princes.

Would you like to win some signed copies of Wild Cat for your school? See the competition box below!

I have been writing a play for adults called Thin Air. It’s set in the Derbyshire hills, and is about a ghostly plane from before the First World War. Time and again it circles the moors; time and again it seems to crash. Why? Cotton Grass Theatre, directed by Joyce Branagh, will be touring it throughout England in February and March, with a cast of five. See the tour details to the left of this page and on the plays page for further information.

Cotton Grass Theatre recently toured Street Child. They are planning to tour it again soon – so watch this space for details!

E-books: Also new for adults is the digital version of my novel The Vinegar Jar. It was first published by Hamish Hamilton in the UK and by St Martin’s Press in the US, and was a Penguin paperback. The e-book version is published by Billyworks. The Vinegar Jar tells the story of a young woman trapped in a loveless marriage, who falls in love through the power of storytelling with a neighbour, Paedric. Together they create an imaginary child. It is a fable about madness and creativity.

Click here to order The Vinegar Jar Kindle edition from Amazon UK.

The Vinegar Jar joins Requiem, which was my first adult novel, as an e-book, and also Dear Nobody, Treason and The Snow Queen.

The Snow Queen is now anthologised in a lovely collection of fairy/folk tales retellings called Magic Beans, published by David Fickling. It is of course my retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s beautiful story. I love that story, and first reworked it as a BBC Radio 4 play. I’m so happy that my story retelling is available again in the wonderful Magic Beans anthology, and as an e-book.

Click here to order The Snow Queen Kindle edition from Amazon UK. Click here to order Magic Beans hardback from Amazon UK.

I’ve also had poems published in The Poetry Box, which is edited by Mechtilde Hesse and aimed at the German market. There is a feature on my ideas about writing with music in James Carter’s marvellously inspiring Just Imagine.

Click here to order The Poetry Box from Amazon DE. Click here to order Just Imagine from Amazon UK.

Another of my articles appears in the November 2011 issue of Teach Primary, giving ideas for how to encourage children to write their own books. You might be interested in having a look. Click on the images to read larger versions.

A further article appeared in the December issue of Carousel. It was entitled ‘Do I believe in Fairy Tales’, and you can read the whole article here. Click on the image to read a larger version.

I am currently Derbyshire’s Reading Champion. Sadly, my two year term comes to an end on February 29th. (See the events column to the left of this page.) I’ve really enjoyed meeting writers and readers of all ages throughout the county, and have been really impressed by the quality of the creative writing that I have seen in schools. Derbyshire Council is rightly very proud of the fact that they haven’t closed any of their libraries – that’s a fantastic achievement in the current climate. I have loved working for them in the Reading Champion role, and have had great support from Julie Potton, the Children’s Service Manager.

Thank you to everyone who has written to me since my beautiful new website was launched in October 2011. Most of the letters were about Street Child, which continues to be my most popular book in the UK, but Chepping View Primary in Buckinghamshire have been comparing Jeannie of White Peak Farm, Children of Winter and Street Child in a seven week study, with fantastic results. I’ve also had lovely letters from Stonelow School in Sheffield, and letters and a very welcoming visit to Bamford School in Derbyshire. St Peter’s Smithill’s Dean Primary School sent wonderful, beautifully written letters about Street Child. I loved Lauren Shield’s letter: “When I was reading Street Child my tummy bubbled with excitement and made me want to read more,” she wrote.

Charlton Kings Junior School in Cheltenham came to see me at the Cheltenham Literature Festival and presented me with some great letters.

This time, my favourite letters of all came from St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School in Workington, Cumbria. The letters (about Street Child) were terrific, but even better was a book of newspaper reports that the class had written. I loved every single one of them. Here’s the one that I enjoyed the most!

Jim Jarvis is a 7 year old boy escaped from the workhouse last night please contact the police so they can pull him to the workhouse and punish him suitably because of what he did. Jim Jarvis is a street boy and does not know where his sisters are it is believed that he has gone on the run to look for them. He will be found and brought back to the workhouse and have a punishment local counseller Aliyah Fulton “Jim Needs to find a job or he will be returned to the workhouse” another local counsellor Katie Watson “Jim should be sent back to the workhouse because he has a roof over his head.” Local store owner Mia Mahonney said: “Jim should be sent to the workhouse because he is stealing from my store.” Things with the search are going ok. So far police are finding clues to help them everyday. If you see Jim Jarvis contact the police who need to put him where he belongs. Jim Jarvis must be found.

Thank you Tyler. I’ll be sending you a copy of my new book, Wild Cat!

That’s it for this time. If you’d like to be kept up to date with what I’m doing and join my mailing list, enter your email address in my web wizard’s box on this page.

Bye for now