Superhero Strawberry
An unlikely candidate for a superhero but this seemingly innocuous plant thwarts various nefarious plots, in particular one to take over the drones used by the armed forces. A story aimed at 10 to 13 year olds.
“It looked like they’d just executed the perfect crime. Being light but agile, the three gymnasts-cum-felons had been able to actually swing along the tops of the frames of the paintings in the gallery. They swung from painting to painting, like apes swinging from tree to tree, without setting off the alarms fixed behind each painting that went off if anyone tried to pull them off the wall. They then formed a triangle around the small sculpture that was the target of their robbery, each of them hanging gracefully from the frame of three different paintings…”
Books
Crazy Ideas (to stimulate creative writing)
Published by Claire Publications in 2006 and illustrated by John Welding, this book contains seven chapters packed with short, snappy ideas to inspire creative writing. It’s intended to appeal to reluctant writers, using themes such as “Silly Superheroes” and “Excuses for not doing homework”.
Crazy Ideas was included in the “2006 Guide to Literacy Resources” joint-published by the National Literacy Association and the NUT. I am currently working on an extended sequel to Crazy Ideas, which provides “an idea a week” for creative writing entitled Reluctant Writers Resource.
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Every Phoneme Covered (Teacher’s edition)
This resource published by Hopscotch Educational Publishing incorporates a simple guide to the teaching of phonics accompanied by three texts of varying length that focus on a particular phoneme, from a sentence to a story in length, for each of the 43 phonemes. It can therefore provide an inexpensive support to any scheme used by a school making the teaching of phonics more stimulating, enjoyable and realistic.
The Gobulins and the Globulins
The narrator, who is only ever referred to as ‘William’s nephew’, though not by human lips, inherits a cottage in the ‘remotest remote part of Wales’ and soon makes two very surprising discoveries. Instead of selling the cottage, as he had been thinking of doing, he soon realises that his discoveries make it urgent that he defend his land from being compulsorily purchased to build a road across it. This doesn’t prove at all easy as he comes up against Geraint Evans, who holds all the power in the area and who is prepared to use every means at his disposal, including a gang of thugs, to get his own way. Fortunately, along with a brave solicitor called Judith who agrees to help him, ‘William’s nephew’ is helped by some very unusual supporters.
(Buy the paperback £5.40 or Buy the Kindle £2.25
Escape from Schoolditz: Four teachers make a bid for freedom!
As the Head teacher locked Toni and her colleagues into the staffroom for the night, Toni wondered about all her friends at college who hadn’t gone into teaching. Were they still enjoying life in the outside world? Did they have the chance to bring up their own families? Toni had realised long ago that it would be impossible for her to combine parenthood with the imprisonment of teaching. “Your students are your family now!” the Head teacher had declared when she’d once dared to complain.
Like all mere teachers Toni and her three colleagues are locked in their staffroom at night, until either the Head teacher or the Deputy Head releases them in the morning. Inspired by the escape attempts of Colditz the four teachers attempt to get away and lead a normal life. Unfortunately the Deputy Head is becoming increasingly suspicious that something is going on…
A story for adults and children… oh and even teachers.
Buy the paperback £5.00 or Buy the Kindle £2.25
Bongo the Armadillo: Volume One
Surprising things happen to Bongo the Armadillo, usually while he is sitting in his garden having his cup of tea. “Hmm,” he usually ponders as he looks inside his teapot to see if he’s made enough tea. “That didn’t happen yesterday.” Indeed, it didn’t, read on as he’s visited by a frog who has been turned into a prince, an alien looking for the nearest McDonald’s and a wizard who has accidentally turned a city into jelly. Soon after he’ll be visited by the Queen, someone who is two people at once and then some uninspired sky. After that some very unusual things happen…
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Buy the paperback £4.00 or Buy the Kindle £2.99
Bongo the Armadillo: Volume Two
In this second volume surprising things continue happening to Bongo the Armadillo, usually as before while he is sitting in his garden having his cup of tea. “Hmm,” he ponders several times more as he looks inside his teapot to see if he’s made enough tea. “That didn’t happen yesterday.” Indeed, it didn’t, read on as this time he’s visited by two flags with the wrong national spirit inside them, the British Army and all the snails in the world. Soon after he’ll be visited by a squirrel-shaped elephant, himself five minutes ahead (or behind) in time and the three brass monkeys, who are concerned about the number of senses they portray. After that some very unusual things happen…
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(Buy the paperback £4.00 or Buy the Kindle) £2.99
Bongo the Armadillo: Volume Three
In this third volume surprising things continue happening to Bongo the Armadillo, usually as before while he is sitting in his garden having his cup of tea. “Hmm,” he ponders several times more as he looks inside his teapot to see if he’s made enough tea. “That didn’t happen yesterday.” Indeed, it didn’t, read on as this time his garden gnome comes to life, he’s visited by the mayor of Huddersfield as Huddersfield is behaving strangely and one of his rose bushes starts sneezing. Soon after he’ll be visited by an alligator that wants to become vegetarian and later Bongo’s garden will turn into an articulated lorry. After that some very unusual things happen…
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(Buy the paperback £4.00 or Buy the Kindle) £2.99
Time for Tutankhamun!
Three years ago I was lucky enough to visit BSE (The British School of Egypt) and in particular to meet the wonderful pupils, teachers and parents at the school. Whilst I was there BSE kindly arranged for me to visit the pyramids at Giza – in the photo – and Cairo museum that houses most of the items that were found in Tutankhamun’s tomb. It was unusually quiet at the museum and I had the rare opportunity to stare into the face of King Tut on my own for a short while. Like so many before me I became entranced by his story and the remarkable story of the final discovery of his tomb such an incredibly long time after his death. ‘Sixteenth step’ describes the thoughts of six characters, real and imagined, in the story that spans so many millennia. It’s available from Amazon in book form (£5.00 in the UK) for free download for Kindle through Kindle unlimited or for £3.50 (in the UK). For mature readers.
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(Buy the paperback £5.00 or Buy the hardcover £9.99 or Buy the Kindle £3.50
Spy by Accident
He doesn’t know it but Simon’s mum Mary is a spy. “A bit like 007, except that her code name was 012A, which wasn’t as catchy and her work was definitely not glamourous. Just very dangerous.” Normally Mary keeps Simon and her husband Andrew safely unaware of her precarious profession. One day everything goes completely wrong and Simon unwittingly becomes the target of several spy networks, while Andrew arrives home with revolvers sticking into his back. With everything working against her Mary has to try to save her husband and her son.
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Buy the Kindle £2.50
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Buy the paperback £4.50