Tag Archives: Holidays

14 December: Hilda Offen

Author and illustrator Hilda Offen joins the Calendar!

Hilda Offen is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator with many books in print. She won the Smarties Gold Award for her picture book Nice Work, Little Wolf! and her book The Galloping Ghost was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Book Prize and the Portsmouth Children’s Book Award. Hilda’s books include the Rita the Rescuer series, Too Many Hats and Blue Balloons and Rabbit Ears, which was shortlisted for the 2015 CLPE Poetry Award.

Name three things on your Christmas list this year! I don’t really have a Christmas list – I just hope for lots of books!

Christmas is a time of family traditions – what are your best (or worst!) family traditions? Singing!

There are wonderful stories shared at Christmas time. What is your favourite story to read at Christmas? The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde.

If you could have Christmas dinner with anyone (alive today or person from history) who would it be? Jane Austen

Your lovely poems often feature nature and the world around us. If you could spend Christmas in any location in the world, where would it be? In Australia, somewhere in the rain forest.

As an illustrator, you draw amazing pictures to bring your stories to life. How do you get creative at Christmas time? We love having children’s’ parties and of course, decorating the Christmas tree!

Reader’s question from students at Warden Park Secondary Academy: where do you get your inspiration from? I get inspiration for poems from all over the place – when I’m walking around, sitting on trains, talking to people etc. Sometimes a phrase will come into my head and that will be the start of a poem.

Turkey or goose? Turkey.

Real or fake tree? Real.

Mince pies or Christmas pudding? Mince pies.

Stockings – end of the bed or over the fireplace? The end of the bed.

Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve? Christmas Eve.

Thank you for joining our festive Q & A! Merry Christmas!

Find out more about Hilda at www.troikabooks.com.

13 December: Paul Magrs

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Paul Magrs takes a break from science fiction to get festive!

Paul Magrs has published a number of YA novels; five original Doctor Who novels with BBC books, and over twenty original Doctor Who audiobooks / full cast dramas produced by Big Finish Productions and BBC Audio / Audiogo. The first in his epic Sci-Fi series Lost on Mars was published in May 2015 to critical acclaim and the sequel The Martian Girl was published in September.

Name three things on your Christmas list this year! There’s the new biography of the wonderful magical-realist writer Angela Carter by Edmund Gordon, and the new live album by Kate Bush, and the newly animated Doctor Who story, ‘Power of the Daleks’, reconstructed from the soundtrack of the lost episodes… lots of nice things to choose from! But I’ll be happy to get just one of them.

Paul Magr’s Christmas Illustration!

(We absolutely love your Christmas illustration – thank you!)

Christmas is a time of family traditions – what are your best (or worst!) family traditions? Hideous family tensions and fights about who should be visiting and spending time with each other!

There are wonderful stories shared at Christmas time. What is your favourite story to read at Christmas? I have lots. I have two whole shelves dedicated to Christmas books I have collected over the years. My favourite individual story is ‘A Christmas Memory’ by Truman Capote, which is a mostly-autobiographical tale about how, when he was quite small, he and his best friend, Sook the housekeeper, would make thirty-two Christmas cakes every year and send them to a great long list of people. It’s a really wonderful, heart-breaking story.

If you could have Christmas dinner with anyone (alive today or person from history) who would it be? My Big Nanna, who died just over fifteen years ago. She was a school cook and she made wonderful dinners. It would be great to spend one more Christmas with her. She would insist on everyone pulling crackers and wearing silly hats and playing games: the whole festive thing. One of my earliest Christmas memories is the entire family being crowded into her flat, and her getting me to dress up as Santa Claus when I was still a toddler, and walk into the living room dragging a huge bag of everyone’s presents.

Your fantastic science fiction novels are set on Mars. What would a Martian Christmas be like? The Martian settlers in my books took all their customs and rituals with them from Earth and kind of jumbled them up over time. On the prairie, in the Homesteads, they would have a grand barbecue and roast a lizard, perhaps, and all the neighbours would come to sing and dance. Ma would play her miniature harp. In the City Inside, they would try their best to have a kind of Victorian Christmas. Rich families would have something expensive and exotic for dinner, such as octopus. The robot furniture would leave everyone’s homes and wander the streets, carol-singing.

(Love the idea of carol-singing robot furniture!)

You’ve written for all the living Doctor Who’s! How do you think Doctor Who would celebrate Christmas? Whenever he felt like it! Everyday for a year in different times and places, perhaps. And then he’d get fed up with it for ages. Also, whenever he turns up, it’s usually just as something dreadful and cosmic is about to start happening. So if he arrived on your doorstep on Christmas Eve, it might well herald a disastrous invasion or a ghastly time incursion.

Reader’s question from the children at Inkpots Writers’ Hut: do you plan your writing? If so, how many plans do you write? I write quite intensive notes before setting off on a novel. I do this perhaps three or four times, beginning with a couple of lines, which then becomes a paragraph, which in turn becomes a whole page, which eventually becomes three pages. A synopsis longer than three pages is getting a bit long and over-complicated, in my experience. When it gets to three pages: start writing.

Turkey or goose? Turkey.

Real or fake tree? Real.

Mince pies or Christmas pudding? Pudding.

Stockings – end of the bed or over the fireplace? Fireplace.

Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve? Christmas!

Thank you for taking part! Have a Happy Christmas!

To find out more visit lifeonmagrs.blogspot.co.uk or www.fireflypress.com.Follow Paul on Twitter @paulmagrs

12 December: Sarah Govett

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YA Author Sarah Govett takes part today!

Sarah Govett read law at Trinity College, Oxford. After qualifying as a solicitor, she set up her own tutoring agency, Govett Tutors, which specialises in helping children from all backgrounds. She has also written for children’s television. She has two young children, and lives in London with her TV presenter, stand-up comedian husband, Spencer Brown. Her first novel The Territory was published in May 2015.

Name three things on your Christmas list this year! I don’t really have Christmas lists. I like surprises!

Christmas is a time of family traditions – what are your best (or worst!) family traditions? We’ve got two young children so my husband and I thought it’s about time we invented some traditions of our own – hence pyjama eve. Everyone gets a new pair of pyjamas that you unwrap just before bed on Christmas Eve. You’ve got to be smart (and snug) for Santa!

(This is such a great family tradition!)

There are wonderful stories shared at Christmas time. What is your favourite story to read at Christmas? Last year I re-read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to my elder daughter at Christmas time and it was really magical to re-experience it again through her eyes. The snow, the firs, the sacrifice, and the look of horror on her face – always winter and never Christmas?!

If you could have Christmas dinner with anyone (alive today or person from history) who would it be? I would normally choose a writer, but in our house Christmas is very much about food so I think I’d like to kidnap Nigel Slater. He’s brilliant with words as well as recipes and maybe he could teach me how to make a decent turkey gravy that doesn’t taste of aniseed (star anise – Jamie Oliver – why? Oh why?)

Your series The Territory is set in a dystopian future. How do you think we will celebrate Christmas in the year 2059? I hope we’ll all have matured as a society, have completely changed our attitude to the environment and mindless consumerism and be all Hygge around fir trees that we’ll replant the next day in our gardens. However, I fear we may be eating synthetic turkey grown in a vat and listening to the rain as winters become warmer and wetter.

The Territory deals with thought provoking issues such as the divide between rich and poor. Christmas can be a time when the gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged in society is amplified. If you could do just one thing to change this what would it be? I’d channel all the money spent on rubbish obligation presents – the sort of £5 novelties for your brother-in-law – and spend it on making sure that everyone is sheltered and fed.

Reader’s question from children at Inkpots Writers’ Hut: did you start off with writing a series in mind or did it evolve as you wrote? Good question. I actually knew that it would be a trilogy from the off. I knew that I wanted to explore life in The Territory in the first book, then wanted to set off to The Wetlands in the second before reaching some form of resolution in the third.

Turkey or goose? Turkey. I love turkey.

Real or fake tree? Real. It’s all about the smell.

Mince pies or Christmas pudding? Mince pies with actual meat in. Yes, I’m serious. My husband made some a few years back and they were delicious.

Stockings – end of the bed or over the fireplace? Pillow cases at the end of the bed. In case Santa wants to bring you a lolo ball.

Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve? Christmas Eve. At a candlelit mass. With children dressed as shepherds.

Thank you for joining in our festive Q & A and have a Happy Christmas!

Find out more about Sarah at www.sarahgovett.com and follow her on Twitter @sarahgovett.

11 December: Michelle Magorian

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It’s Day 11 and we’re talking to Michelle Magorian!

Michelle Magorian is one of our most respected children’s writers of historical family stories. Her first novel Goodnight Mister Tom won awards across the world and has been translated into eleven languages. Many of her books have been adapted for film, television and the stage. Michelle spends considerable time researching her books and enjoys this process, ensuring her writing is the best it can be. She has written for Barrington Stoke who produce accessible books for readers of all ages and abilities.

Name three things on your Christmas list this year! Gingerbread men, mince pies with Greek yoghurt and lebkuchen.

Christmas is a time of family traditions – what are your best (or worst!) family traditions? Decorating the Christmas tree (best).

There are wonderful stories shared at Christmas time. What is your favourite story to read at Christmas? We have so many Christmas stories from all over the world. We always have a lovely pop up version of a Nativity scene on a mantelpiece but the story which keeps recurring year after year is A Christmas Carol.

If you could have Christmas dinner with anyone (alive today or person from history) who would it be? My mother. She loved feeding people and had the kind of laugh that made other people laugh too! She died when I was in my twenties.

You have created some wonderful characters in your stories. If you could give a book to any of your characters for Christmas, who would it be and which book would you give them? Josie from Impossible! I would give her We didn’t mean to go to sea by Arthur Ransome

(I loved Josie – such a great character!)

Your latest novel ‘Impossible’ features London theatre in the 60s. If there was any play or production (in theatres now or from history) you could go and see during the festive season what would it be? Black Comedy by Peter Shaffer (1965) I saw it at the Old Vic when I was a drama student and it made me howl with laughter. It takes place in a blackout but the audience can see everyone stumbling around on stage.I think we need more laughter in our lives especially when it’s cold outside.

(Couldn’t agree more! Laughter is definitely the best medicine.)

Reader’s question from Harry, aged 10, Dartington Primary, Devon: I cried when Zach died in the Blitz in Goodnight Mr Tom. Did you ever feel like crying when you were writing the story? Yes. I had to go for long calming down walks between writing some of the scenes in the book. Harry, the area around Dartington appears in one of my books called Back Home!

Turkey or goose? Turkey

Real or fake tree? Real

Mince pies or Christmas pudding? Mince pies

Stockings – end of the bed or over the fireplace? End of the bed – Red pillowcases.

Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve? Both!

Thank you for participating in our festive Q & A! Have a Happy Christmas.

You can read my review of Impossible on the Bookshelf.

Find out more about Michelle at www.michellemagorian.com

10 December: Andy Seed

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Andy Seed is an author and humorist who writes books for children and adults (but not animals or aliens). He love funny things and most of his books are a bit giggly, as you’ll find out if you read them. He writes fiction, non-fiction and poetry! Andy is a keen sportsman, loves the countryside and lives in North Yorkshire. One of the things Andy most cares about is getting people reading more, especially children.

Name three things on your Christmas list this year! A new hat (you can never have too many hats), a big pile of books to read (and I mean BIG) and unfeasible amounts of cheese. I usually end up with brown socks.

Christmas is a time of family traditions – what are your best (or worst!) family traditions? Right, well, for a start we have a kind of German Christmas (my wife’s mum is from Germany) and that means pressies are given out on Christmas Eve. We always have a real Christmas tree with real CANDLES on it (fire hazard warning!) and that looks magical when all the lights are turned off. After Christmas dinner we also like to play noisy games including a brilliant silly one called Up Jenkins which is described in my new book. The worst Christmas tradition is that I usually end up doing a mountain of washing up…

There are wonderful stories shared at Christmas time. What is your favourite story to read at Christmas? My very favourite (and one of the most magical stories of all time) is The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde. If that doesn’t bring a tear to your eye you’re probably a robot. Or an alien. Or an alien robot.

(A wonderful story! No we’re not robots thankfully!)

If you could have Christmas dinner with anyone (alive today or person from history) who would it be? This is tricky, I mean there are 50 billion to choose from… Maybe the Queen (imagine how big her turkey is!), perhaps William Shakespeare (I could get a few writing tips) or Elvis (think how many times that selfie would be retweeted). But I’ll settle for my mum because she makes the best Christmas dinner in the solar system.

(Ahhhh, that’s nice!)

The Anti-boredom Christmas Book is full of facts (as well as silliness!). How did you go about finding out all the fabulous facts in the book? I read a lot. I mean I read loads and loads and LOADS! I use my local library all the time and I also buy lots of books on the subject I’m researching. I do use the internet as well but it’s full of things which look like facts but turn out to be wrong when you check them.

If you were bored at Christmas and had to choose ONE of the activities you suggest in the book, which would it be? OK, well the game Hummit on page 28 is a good giggle but it would have to be the joke quiz on page 121. I’d choose this because it’s fun but it’s also good to try and work out the answers: for example; which film is about telling the time in Narnia? (Answer: The Lion, the Watch and the Wardrobe).

Reader’s question from students at Warden Park Academy: you write lots of funny books! What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you? Right, well, you might not believe this but when I was a student (a long time ago) I actually slipped on a banana skin in a busy street in York. It’s true! To be slippery, the skin has to have the inside facing upwards. Very, very embarrassing…

Turkey or goose? Turkey. The family next door keep geese and mostly I try not to eat my neighbours.

Real or fake tree? Real!

Mince pies or Christmas pudding? Can I have them both? OK then, the pudding.

Stockings – end of the bed or over the fireplace? Bed – quicker to find them!

Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve? Christmas Eve every time. On New Year’s Eve I’m usually in the loo and miss the fireworks.

Thank for you joining in our festive fun! Merry Christmas!

Find out more about Andy Seed at www.andyseed.com and follow him on Twitter @andyseedauthor.