Drum roll please … a sneak peek at the Young David Book apps! Now coming out on 24 April (with free download of book 1 for first 7 days). If you click on the videos you can see a filmed version of a child interacting with The Hairy Beast and the other vid is of me being interviewed intercut with a reading illustrator Amy Barnes and I did at a school. Do share!http://artistecard.com/YoungDavidBooks#!/videos/40544
Grumpy King launch
Really good turn-out for the launch of David and the Grumpy King, the 5th book in the Young David Series by yours truly and illustrator Amy Barnes. Books are available at Christian bookshops and independent bookshops in the UK or worldwide from our online bookshop Amy and I have also been working with Brief Lives Digital Entertainment company to produce interactive apps! They will be available for download on 10 April – so watch this space!
And in other news, yours truly is Author of the Week at Sarum College Bookshop, Salisbury. So if you’re in the Salisbury area pop in to this fabulous bookshop and check out Grumpy King and other titles. Alternatively, here they are online.
Grumpy King book launch
The long-awaited 5th book in the Young David Series, David and the Grumpy King, is finally here! Come and hear yours truly and illustrator Amy Barnes read from and talk about this brilliant new episode in the life of Young David as he gets on the wrong side of the mad King Saul. Coffee, tea, juice, cakes, colouring-in and storytelling. Suitable for children 3 – 7 or anyone who wants a bit of fun!
Venue: Heaton Baptist Church, Newcastle upon Tyne
Date: Sunday 23 March
Time: 12.30 – 1.30pm
David and the Lonely Prince off to printer!
I’m delighted that Book 4 in the Young David series – David and the Lonely Prince – is heading to the printers! It will be available from late June, but you can pre-order your copy now at the Crafty Publishing shop or pop in to your local bookshop and ask them to order it for you. Once again it has been a delight working with the talented and extremely humble Amy Barnes. Well done Amy on another beautiful book!
In this latest book in the series, Young David is invited to a sleepover at King Saul’s palace. But will David and the king’s son ever become friends? Prepare yourself for high diving sheep, giant spiral staircases and a right royal game of hide ‘n seek.
Busyness and art exhibitions
Has anyone missed me? Sorry I’ve been away for a while. Nothing personal, you understand, I’ve just been so busy. Busy finishing the first draft of the screenplay for a feature film called The Choice, finishing a spell of social media promotions for another publishing company, busy not finishing my historical novel The Judas Curse (but making good progress with it), busy editing and publishing a fabulous crime novel by Tony Glover called Cars Just Want to be Rust, busy teaching a new crop of students at Northumbria and Newcastle Universities, busy helping to lead an Alpha Course at Heaton Baptist Church, busy ferrying my daughter back and forth to her gymnastics lessons, busy vising my mum who hasn’t been too well, busy starting to sort out my study but not finishing it (and now I’m working surrounded by boxes), and, most excitingly, busy preparing for the launch of the Young David Books Art Exhibition this Friday! Oh, and by the way, you and your friends are cordially invited – if you live in (or are visiting) the North East of England.
The exhibition will be of Amy Barnes’ original watercolours for the three books in the Young David Picturebook series so far: David and the Hairy Beast, David and the Kingmaker and David and the Giant as well as the work in progress on our next book, David and the Lonely Prince. Amy and I will be there to sign copies and talk about the books and there will be free cheese ‘n wine. Yes that’s right – free!
So if you have plans, cancel them, or risk missing the art exhibition of the year! (Well if I’m not going to talk it up, who will?)
Where? The Holy Biscuit, Newcastle upon Tyne
When? Friday 9 November
Time? 7 – 8.30pm
Cost? FREE!!!!!!!!!!!
The exhibition will run 12 – 25 November, 11 – 4pm daily.
Book launch of David and the Giant a juicy success
On Saturday 4th August an enthusiastic group of Young David fans crammed into CLC Bookshop in Newcastle to hear the latest story in the picture book series. They enjoyed colouring-in and juice ‘n’ biscuits along with the story. Illustrator Amy Barnes and I are so happy that there is a growing following for our little hero. For more on the books and a list of the bookshops that stock them visit www.craftypublishing.com. If there isn’t a bookshop near you you can order directly from the Crafty Publishing e-shop.
