After a quiet week at home, catching up on all the missed episodes of Coronation Street and trying to get the jet-lag out of our system, Kath and I are packing our cases for the next round of school visits.

We’re off to the sunny North-East! Ovingham Middle School tomorrow (Mon), and then over towards the coast to visit Monkseaton Middle School and Alnwick the Dukes Middle School.  These are first-time visits and my seven-foot-tall Mokee Joe monster is going to enjoy wreaking havoc amongst the unsuspecting pupils. They will also be the first pupils to hear me talk about my new book ‘Scabbajack’. I have a little surprise in store for them, guaranteed to make their hair stand on end and send a shiver down their spines…all the way into their boots!

Our American experience already seems a long way off. Was it all a dream? Kath and I so enjoyed our time there. But the good news is that we’ve already been booked to return next year and for twice as long…BRILLIANT!

OK…now back to the suitcase…did I pack my swimmers? I’m told that the sea is very warm on the NE coast at this time of year!

Werewolf boy takes revenge at NES

I suppose ‘Payback Time’ had to come sooner or later! I’ve caused so many nightmares in Kuwait, but now it was my turn to be the victim.

There I was innocently signing books at the New English School (NES), when out of nowhere a horrific howl sounded behind me. I turned and saw my worst nightmare… a werewolf…a boy werewolf…staring right into my eyes!  Was this Kuwait’s answer to the Moonwailer? I did the only thing I could think of to protect myself….I screamed for mercy and ran away!

The werwolf boy disappeared, but has since been seen lurking around the corridors of NES, hunting for food. Rumour has it that the beast has already taken one victim – a boy by the name of AbdulWahab; he has mysteriously disappeared and has not been seen for some time!

I can’t believe the trouble I’m causing in Kuwait!

First the weather turned bad…dark skies, thunder and lightning and heavy rain. Then the power went off in our hotel last night. Everyone had to sit in the dark and sip orange juice waiting for the staff to sort out the problem. Of course, I knew exactly what the problem was – my spooky characters were moving into position ready to cause nightmares. Dawn Demons were hiding themselves in dark corners and under beds, the Bonebreaker was preparing himself to strike at unsuspecting victims and the Moonwailer was lurking under the crescent moon, wailing his mourneful song!

The NES students are even afraid to go to the Marina Mall, convinced that they will fall asleep and find themselves alone and locked in when everyone else has gone home. But will they be alone…or will they be stalked by the Phantom of the Marina Mall? This is a story they are going to work on, surely giving them even more nightmares!

And so you see, everyone is afraid in Kuwait…and all thanks to me! I’m so sorry for causing all this trouble. I think I will have to go into hiding myself, before lots of angry parents come looking for me!

I’m so sorry! It always happens! Wherever I go with my scary books the spooky weather seems to follow me! I can’t believe that the skies went dark and it actually rained today on Kuwait’s day of leisure. Kath and I watched in amazement as hoards of people ran from the beach and huddled together to keep warm; strange winds whipped up and drove them to shelter.

In many ways it was just like being back in the UK and it prevented Kath and I from feeling homesick.

We took refuge in the French Cafe in the Marina Mall and warmed ourselves with yet another cappaccino. And then we were spotted by a group of girl fans from BSK. They were a little shy and sent their parents over with a piece of paper for me to sign. Don’t be afraid…if you see us out and about…come and say ‘Hello’ or give us a wave.

The comments on the Blog keep coming in. We love to hear from you, even though it seems most of you are now having nightmares. Keep in touch and watch this space…NES tomorrow…they’d better watch out!

BSK School: Looking out for the Bonebreaker

Another ‘Bonebreaking’ performance in front of a fantastic audience at BSK!

A packed theatre of older students from Years 6, 7 and 8 showed their energy and talents during a two hour performance. Acting skills were very evident, as was the enthusiasm and sense of humour of the audience. A group of Year 11′s joined in for a time, but unfortunately they were overcome with fear and had to make a quiet exit!

A huge ‘thank you’ to everyone at BSK from Kath and myself for making us feel so much at home. All of the students without exception have been a delight to meet and sign books for. Tomorrow is the turn of the older students to attend a book signing…I wonder how many of them will dare to get hold of the books and read them at night without taking time to look under the bed!

BEWARE all you BSK students…the nightmares are about to begin!!!

What an amazing start to our Kuwait tour!

Kath and I have been overwhelmed by the response of the amazing students at the Kuwait English School (KES) and the British School of Kuwait (BSK). Both schools gave us a fantastic welcome and the students went ‘crazy’ during the Bonebreaker presentation. They joined with great energy and enthusiasm and all of the students who acted on the stage with me showed immense talent with no ‘stage nerves’ whatsoever.

The book signings at KES are now complete and my right hand is worn out! But I really don’t mind. It was a real pleasure to chat to the students as I signed their books, and everyone of them proved extremely friendly and polite. It makes an author very proud to have so many friends who love their books and become big fans.

Oh well…I’m off with Kath now to the Marina Mall for a nice cappuccino and maybe one of those lovely cakes they have at the French cafe. I will rest my right hand as much as possible ready to sign more books at BSK tomorrow…and maybe later, have a swim in the hotel pool.  Oh dear…it’s a tough life being an author!

I would like to report a sensational start to my return visit to sunny Kuwait!

Whilst most Brits were lazing in their beds this Sunday morning, I was working hard entertaining around 360 year 3 and year 4 students at the wonderful Kuwait English School (KES). Having said that…it was an easy performance! The young audience sat for over an hour and a half and were extremely attentive. They joined in brilliantly and helped me bring the brutally entertaining Bonebreaker story to life. By the end of the presentation their imaginations were in over-drive and they seemed desperate to get hold of the Bonebreaker Trilogy. Tomorrow should be an eventful day – they will no doubt want to tell me about all of their nightmares, and then I shall be peforming again for their older brothers and sisters in years 5 and 6, many of these students already big Mokee Joe fans!

A big thank you to Anne Gurnett and all of her staff and pupils for getting our tour off to a brilliant start. Can’t wait to get back to KES tomorrow!  And finally, a special  thank you to young Lauren who wasted no time in commenting on my previous blog. It seems she and her sisters can’t wait to read the books!

Kath and I finally made it to Kuwait City and arrived in the early hours of this morning (Friday). We’ve checked into a nice hotel overlooking the marina and the sea. Lots of nice shops in nearby malls to keep Kath happy! Tomorrow, the Bonebreaker launches his attack on unsuspecting Kuwaiti students, beginning with a big audience at the Kuwaiti English School (KES) at around 12.30pm. It will probably be the first Viking attack in Kuwaiti history! Watch this space for results!

Icelandic volcano causes flight cancelations across the world.

I can’t believe I’m home again – and not in Kuwait entertaining all my fans with my Bonebreaker presentation.

Like thousands of other people, Kath and I are victims of the dreaded volcanic dust. However, schools in Kuwait have their own problems – what with staff being marooned here in the UK and the students being very upset at having to lose some of their lessons ( I don’t think! )

Oh well…c’est la vie! I will remain at home, continue writing my fourth Mokee Joe book and spend time trying to think up more scary ideas to terrify my readers with.

I’m just wondering if I could write a story about a volcano…

The Easter Term has been memorable to say the least! I’ve visited so many schools, met so many fans, talked to so many enthusiastic teachers and recently had the honour of meeting some truly great authors. Phew!

I’ve really enjoyed working with schools in my home town of Rotherham (thank you to Inspire Rotherham), but I’ve also been priviliged to re-visit Elleray School in the wonderful Lake District, great schools in Kent and Surrey, and during World Book Week I drove just over 1000 miles re-visiting Kelly College in Devon and Queen’s College Junior School in Somerset.

Today, just to round things off in fantastic fashion, a little school in Rotherham, called Wath Victoria, produced a new batch of amazing fans. They are truly hooked on my books and I felt proud to be among them. This was followed by a visit to Bramley Grange School (it’s at the end of my Mum’s road) and I did something unusual there – I ran a ‘Master Class Writers’ Workshop’ for two classes of Year 5′s. They were so fired up when I left and dead keen to work on their own stories during the Easter break. How brilliant is that! I can’t wait to read them!

A BIG ‘thank you’ to all the schools this term for making my life (and Mrs Mokee Joe’s) such a wonderful one.

I wonder if you can guess what I’ll be doing during the Easter hols???

Watch this blog for the answer.

Bye for now and sleep tight…but don’t forget to look under the bed!