I managed to get away from my desk last night to spend some time in the company of some fellow writers at the monthly gathering of the Phoenix Writers' Circle. Marvelous! What a friendly, witty, clever, inspiring literary bunch they are. Not only did we indulge in three hours of intensive critique and book chat, but I now have at least four volunteers to read and feedback on my new novel. Thanks guys! Can't tell you how much I will value your comments. And John, if by some chance you read this, GO AND WRITE your quirky biography of William Cobbett - it's just brilliant!

The freaky mutant pumpkin!

Hmm. Slow progress... Maybe I WILL have my book written before either of these reach completion.

Sore throat and cough almost completely gone, thank goodness. Finished a 1 min animation in one day so I must be feeling better. Less than 24hrs until school's out for summer and just realised I should have been making the most of empty museums and shopping centres before the lunacy of holiday time. Probably too late to do the trip to the beach I was planning back at Easter. Hmm. I guess the six week countdown to back to school and the launch of Scarlett Dedd starts now... 100... 99... 98...

My work is going to be on the cover of a mag for the first time! Okay, so you'll find it in the motor nerd section but, hey, it's the COVER! Details of what, where and when to follow shortly...

What an interesting day! Did the school run with my nieces but arrived early so I could be impressed by their freaky pumpkin. Are they supposed to grow that big? Beginning to wonder if it's a mutated seed that fell from space... that will become a pod... and absorb one of my nieces and turn her into an alien monster... no, that's already happened! Only kidding!
Returned home to get on with my novel and ended up writing an hilarious scene between my two brand new star characters. They lied 58 times! In one scene! It's going to be a bit like counting all the f-words in a Quentin Tarrantino film. Count the fibs!
I have a bit of a cold today, which is fine in the winter when you can tuck yourself up in a warm bed and drink hot lemon, but a nightmare when the sun is shining and it's 27° in the shade! I can't tell if I have a fever or not, but I feel pretty rotten... or perhaps I'm not sick, just about to be absorbed by the giant pod and turned in…

Had an awesome day at Woking High School yesterday. Thanks to everyone for making me feel so welcome, especially Miss Watson. One of the most creative days I've ever spent in a school - students with loads of energy and fizzing with ideas. I particularly liked Ben's demon (very useful for my current book!) and chatting to him about games and other important stuff. I also loved Harris' devil story - totally terrifying and it gave me nightmares! Thanks to the girls I spoke to at lunch and afternoon break for giving me feedback on my new plot ideas - always brilliant to chat to my readers (have you started your own 'Stitch & Bitch' group yet?). I even had the opportunity to discuss comic books, superheros and pyromania with an expert (fire fighter) over fish'n'chips at lunch time - how cool is that?! I'm looking forward to my return visit in September when 'Scarlett Dedd' is published. Yay Woking! Have a great summer and see you soon.

I've decided to start recording the progress of some of the other events happening around my book-writing efforts this summer. The first is doing its best to stifle my creativity completely - the noisy building site next door. I'm not sure what their schedule is, but I do find myself wondering what will be completed first, my manuscript or the houses? The second is a delicious anticipation - my peach tree. It has been a delight every year since I planted it and presents me with about twenty to thirty ripe, juicy peaches, without fail, just in time for my birthday at the end of every summer. Yummy! I love watching the furry little rabbit paw fruit grown into green golf balls then fatten into luscious, rosy little bottoms! So here are the first pictures of the series...

I've been trying to ignore the rumble of the digger on the building site next door. Even when I shoved my ipod earphones in and turned up the volume I could still feel it through the floor! The result was that I've been listening to 'drown-out the digger' rock tracks (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chilli Peppers...) all day and it's had a curious effect on my writing. I might experiment with a bit of mellow jazz tomoz. Mahler on Wednesday? R&B on Thursday?

My day of drawing yesterday was super-dooper-productive. I gave my new heroine a sizzling style make-over inspired by a unique LA celeb I've long admired (a secret for now). Her BFF has a funky new wardrobe too and it's given the book a whole new glamorous twist. It's taken a while to get to know my characters but, from past experience, it's really important that I draw them profusely before setting them off on their adventure. I have already half-filled my new sketchbook and am going to tackle the 'dangerous' characters today. Ooo, scary!

Awesome day at Hounsdown School in Southampton yesterday with Sam from Headline. What a terrific school and a brilliant Festival. Hope it becomes a regular event. Thanks so much to everyone for making us welcome, especially our lovely chauffeurs to and from the station (and the quiche was SO yummy!). Contributing to the 'Diary Room - What is your favourite book?' video was probably the hardest thing I've ever done at an event, but I think I managed something coherent! Not sure as I was so tired by the end if the day that it's all a bit of a blur!
The train journey, there and back, gave me a great chance to chat with Sam (Eades) about her inspired plans for 'Scarlett Dedd' publicity (which she is handling) and to natter about the 'Deathly Hallows Trailer', how cool Neil Gaiman is and other very serious subjects!!