This is it! 2016! We have finally made it to the Year of Dave Pigeon. I have exciting news to kick of January: I have joined the Girls Heart Books family and will be blogging over there with the rest of the fabulous team. My first post will be up in February so watch this space (and that space)…
Happy Holidays from The Haddows
See you all in the New Year for what promises to be an exciting year full of adventure, laughs and many, many pigeons Merry Christmas from Swapna, James, Phoenix and Gary the Hamster
Meet Sheena Dempsey
I think it’s time you met the brilliant illustrator behind Dave Pigeon. I met Sheena on a rainy day at Faber HQ. As I sat on the couch in the reception area, eyeballing absolutely everyone who was buzzed through the door, in walked an Irish leggy beaut, slightly drenched, with a look in her eye that said ‘we-clearly-watch-the-same-You-Tube-videos-of-brutish-cats’. I can’t …
King’s CROWNing Authors with ME!
Here I am, chatting on King’s CROWNing Authors back in February. Read the interview here.
One pigeon step for Dave, one giant leap for me (seriously struggling with these bird titles, all suggestions welcome)
If you can believe it, Dave Pigeon is now at the copyedit stage. We did it! I have to be honest the last six months haven’t been plain sailing. Back in January, following on from my editor’s notes, I felt quite lost with the book. I produced a draft I hated. I felt trapped between what I thought …
Dave Pigeon: one year on
I’m knee-deep in a second round of edits for Dave Pigeon and here’s where I’m at: Since the last time I’d heard from my editor there had been a lot of thinking. A LOT. Everything I had changed from the original version I wanted to undo whilst still keeping the new plot I had developed, all the while …
Watch the birdie
Yesterday my editor sent me a sample of work from a potential illustrator for Dave Pigeon. This is beyond exciting. Dave Pigeon will be an illustrated book and it’s so important the right illustrator is chosen because the pictures do as much telling of the story as the words. It got me thinking about the importance of illustrations and illustrators …
Happy World Book Day 2015
After a furious three hours of sewing we have one Roly Poly Bird (from ‘The Twits’ by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake) to celebrate World Book Day. Thanks to a brilliant template and a lot of old t-shirts. You can find some brilliant costume and fundraising ideas from Book Aid International who work hard to get books …
Up with the lark
I’m up early this morning and freaking myself out. A few days ago I sent off the first redraft of Dave Pigeon to my editor and it just occurred to me that a few days ago I sent off the first redraft of Dave Pigeon to my editor. Yikes! So what to do in the mean time as my nails …
The idea egg hatches
I’m not sure if you’d heard but next year my book ‘Dave Pigeon’ will be out. That’s right! My book! Out! Next year! Every time I say that I’m filled with what I can only describe as Christmas Day excitement, followed quite soon after by a sucker punch of dread as I question whether I can really do this. This …