On the 6th May, my best bookworld buddy Jo Cotterill and I held a joint launch party to celebrate our new publications. I was celebrating the launch of Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face and the Great Big Story Nickers, the fifth in what's proving to be an increasingly ridiculous series. In this one, the badgers get hold of a copy of, er, Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face and the Great Big Story Nickers. Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face have to foil the furry fiends, as per usual; but it's difficult to foil someone who keeps changing the story as it's happening to you! Things are confused even further by the arrival of someone called Alfred Kendon-Furtado, who has won a competition to appear in the story... |
Jo, meanwhile, was launching her fabulous A Library of Lemons, which is not at all silly and is in fact incredibly moving and heartwarming. In fact - confession time - it made me cry. More than once. Actually, it made me cry even before the story started, because on the dedication page Jo says some rather lovely things about a group of her friends, and I was extremely touched that she included me. ANYWAY: read A Library of Lemons. You'll love it. And, of course, read the Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face books too. |
Meanwhile the fabulous Cake Addiction Oxford made us some fantastic lemon meringue cupcakes, and some gorgeous badgery salted caramel cupcakes, and... and now I think I'm just going to show you some photos with helpful explanatory captions where necessary.
Alfred Kendon-Furtado!!! Yes, Alfred is a real person! We really did run a competition to find someone to be a character in the new book, and Alfred won! It was lovely to meet him. Everyone at the party thought he was great, and I think Karen the designer would have taken him home if she could. | My old school-friend Robert 'Leggy' Legge, who I haven't seen in about 25 years. Robert was the guy who first convinced me I could learn the guitar... and write poetry... and write songs... and in fact, if it wasn't for him it's quite possible that I would never have become a professional writer. |