A few days ago I saw a new hashtag that was trending among writers on Twitter – #PicturesMeanBusiness. It is a new campaign to encourage us to take more notice of book illustrators and cover designers, the people who take our stories and weave them together with paint and art and produce beautiful pictures to clotheContinue reading “Pictures Mean Business”
Author Archives: sarahtoddtaylor
The Story Place
This week there has been a lot of love for libraries on Twitter and Facebook, fuelled by National Libraries Day and by the threat that public funding cuts pose to libraries across the UK. When I was a child, the library was the place that I loved the most, after home. We couldn’t afford manyContinue reading “The Story Place”
Say Yes More
Well Happy New Year (yes, I know I’m late). Well here we are in 2015. This time last year I was nervously waiting for the outcome of the Firefly Press prize. A year later here I am, with a book on the shelf with my name on the spine, a first draft of another readyContinue reading “Say Yes More”
Books for Advent 3 – The Church Mice at Christmas
One of my absolute favourite Christmas books this week. Graham Oakley’s wonderful Church Mice books have been a well-loved part of childhood since their first outing in 1972. Published in 1980, The Church Mice at Christmas is the seventh title in the series and sees Arthur, Humphrey and rest of the canny church mice tryingContinue reading “Books for Advent 3 – The Church Mice at Christmas”
Books for Advent 2 – Bear Stays Up
This week I’m cheating a little and recommending two picture books for you – both involving Bears who want to see Santa. Bear Stays Up by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman is a charming tale of a bear whose friends are determined not to let him sleep through Christmas. The animals are beautifully rendered, withContinue reading “Books for Advent 2 – Bear Stays Up”
Books for Advent 1 – The Christmas Mystery
Jostein Gaarder’s wonderful The Christmas Mystery is an advent calendar in book form. The best way to read it is to open one of its 24 short chapters each day, beginning on December 1st and let the adventure unfold gradually, rather than racing through it in one sitting. I can’t find my copy at theContinue reading “Books for Advent 1 – The Christmas Mystery”
Worse before it gets better.
Ah, the joy of editing. Today I have been working on my 12+ novel. It’s a complex beast and keeping an eye on all the various threads in it is always rather a challenge, but this morning I spotted one of those unwanted beasts – the plot hole. Missed by me over all five draftsContinue reading “Worse before it gets better.”
Nano Cheering!
Anyone out there doing Nanowrimo this year? If you are, then I’m cheering you all the way to that 50k victory. If you’ve never heard of Nanowrimo, it’s a fun project for writers in the dark days of November. Nanowrimo is short for National Novel Writing Month. You pledge to write, during the 30 daysContinue reading “Nano Cheering!”
Launch Day!
Last Wednesday I had one of the best days of my life – the official launch of Arthur and Me at Waterstones’ Aberystwyth. There was cake, squash and lots of books and I got to meet the fabulous Wendy Meddour, who is a fellow Dragonfly. Wendy was at the same school as me and has written aContinue reading “Launch Day!”
Moving the books around.
Tonight I spent a very happy couple of hours in a bookshop. After hours. There is something rather special about being in a bookshop when it’s closed that I can’t quite put my finger on. This evening I was there for a poetry reading (Katherine Stansfield’s excellent Playing House, out today), so there was wineContinue reading “Moving the books around.”
Sarah Todd Taylor 