Centenary

Today marks the centenary of the Armenian genocide and I still haven't written that book. The one with the horrible stories linked together by a forceful sense of survival, hope and legacy.
Every two years or so I go back to it, I rewrite it in my head, change the angle, add a new structure, plan on more research. But it's still nothing more than notes.
I have, however, written another book. One with a forceful hero full stop. He lives in the land of Sassoon and has survived to this day through many Armenian legends. His name is David, Disaster David and he is exactly what it says on the tin. I would love, today of all days, to share with you his charming but catastrophic antics, but I can't just yet. All going well, you will hear from David very soon.
What I can share, however, is a piece of story from a while ago. A story of joyful voyages, curiosity and, yes, hope too. The story of a little boy called Manoug in the French original, not Alexander or Gabriel as in the first US edition and the Brazilian one. Manoug is no conqueror, no angel. He is just a child, which is what his name means in Armenian.

Manoug had been traveling for almost a year now. He traveled to many new countries, and in each new place, he thought he discovered the Land of Happiness.
But each time the songbird would tell him, "It's true and it's not true."
More and more, the little traveler thought about Grandpa.
He began to wonder if the Land of Happiness really existed.
And how important it was to find it.

I leave you to decide that for yourselves...
(In Search of Happiness, translated by Rebecca Frazer, illustrated by Eric Puybaret, Auzou Publishing 2013)
(NB: in this second US edition, Manoug has been renamed Kalim; I'm giving him his birth-cert name just for this occasion)

Bilingual book signing!

If you happen to be in my neck of the French woods on Saturday 4th April between 10am-12noon and 3pm-5pm, why not pop into the one and only bookshop of the little town of Excideuil in the Dordogne?
I will be signing my books in both languages and, sure, it'll be fun!
If you need more convincing, note that said bookshop is called De la Pomme à la Plume, that is Apples and Quills, because yes, they sell books, but also fruit, wine and all manner of fine foods...
Check out the shop window!

Cahir

The things you spot when you look up from your ice-cream!

I was in Cahir last week, enjoying the (intermittent) lovely Irish spring and eating ice-cream by the massive castle and generally putting my feet up when suddenly...
Two groups of ladies from Our Lady of Mercy's 4th and 5th classes descended upon me. So there was nothing for it, but to have a proper session, and by "session" I mean the full works: authorial chat, collective reading, deliriously creative writing and cat-related Q&A-ing.
From Glitzy Girl (whose secret weapon is a sparkle cannon) to PopCorn Man (who is evil!), via the mysterious Burping Bubble Gum (who lives in a kettle), we had some pretty crazy moments. Not to mention all the brilliant acting out. Oh, and the murder of black rabbits that somehow involved a chainsaw and the Tooth Fairy.
Thanks to all the ladies who came along and made it such fun, and that includes Ann and Ann Marie, librarians extraordinaire who looked after me so well!

Mountains to Sea Ahoy!

This week sees the beginning of the fabulous Mountains to Sea festival in Dun Laoghaire, with, as always, an impressive line-up of writers, illustrators, storytellers, workshops and what-have-yous... and that's "only" the family and school programme!
This year, I will be doing a reading for pre-schoolers in the equally fabulous venue of the new LexIcon library. Dinos, dinos, and more dinos are on the menu, so please do join us for this free and hopefully very loud event.
Just follow the roars!

Thursday 19th March 11am-11.30am Free!

LexIcon At Eleven – Storytime Dinosaur Tales with Juliette Saumande
*If you are a preschool or group, please pre-book your children at the booking office)
Eleven o'clock means story time in the LexIcon children's library during the festival. A host of local authors will be on hand to share tales with the youngest readers. Babies and toddlers welcome. Drop in and join the fun.
Juliette Saumande is a writer and translator of children's books with over thirty picture books published in her native France. In English, she is the author of a novel, Chop-Chop, Mad Cap!, several picture books and an app, SOS Dinos in Distress. 

Happy World Book Day!

 
This week, myself and co-conspirator Sadie Cramer invaded Dubray Galway Branch with our antics and it was jolly good fun, if we say so ourselves. We chatted character development, writer-illustrator collaboration, creative process, Ribena-shampooed oldies, mad cats, scruffy cats, fat cats and rude cats with a total of 97 children over the course of the day.
I have to say their artistic knowledge and abilities were pretty impressive, and I was amazed at the variety of styles and approaches that one common brief produced. From cute fluffy kittens, to psychedelic felines via zombie-type cats,  these kids gave Scrum, our hitherto portrait-less puss, a lot more than the 9 lives the proverb would have entitled him to.
So let's hear it for the 1st/2nd class from St. Nicholas Parochial School (plus one junior that the snow blew in!), the 3rd class lads from St Patrick's School (because who doesn't love a farting cat?) and the 3rd class from Scoil Iognaid (keep up the art, team!).

Music to write to

Most people, I would imagine, like to work to music. Obviously, there are exceptions (such as Kevin Crossley-Holland who once told me he couldn't listen to a piece of music without giving it his full attention). 

Certainly, I can't stand the silence while I'm typing away or racking my brain for a new best-seller idea. But I can't listen to just anything. Lyrics in a language I know will invariably distract me. So that rules out French music in general (including this awesome kids radio) and a fair bit of English-language tunes. That said, if the music is really atmospheric, I can have it play in the background and just feel comforted by it, rather than distracted. 

The best kind, however, is from soundtracks (from film, TV series or anime) and dramatic music: that is, music that is full of happenings and begs to tell a story (as in the Greek work "drama": action). Those I find fantastically uplifting and energising. They might even give you a mini-workout as you bounce along the songs on your office chair...

So, in no particular order, my current favourite musics to write to:

Music from the anime Fairy Tail (which I can't recommend highly enough) such as this compilation.

Music from Doctor Who (ditto); 2 hours of excitement in musical form.

Nearly anything by Philip Glass, but especially his Heroes symphony.

Music from Grey's Anatomy, for a more relaxed approach. (And also for Get Set Go's  highly relatable Sleep, because, you know, I need my sleep, I need it right now.)

And then, there's always Bollywood. Now don't watch the videos, those can be really distracting.

Winning dinos

Just last week, my one and only book app (so far!), SOS Dinos in Distress, illustrated by Claire Chavenaud and developed by Audois&Alleuil, won the first Prix du Livre Numérique Jeunesse (Digital Children's Book award), run by the public librairies of the city of Grenoble in France. Needless to say we are all chuffed!

If you haven't come across this crazy detective story involving dinosaurs and Rubik's cubes (among other things), here's a little taste of it.

As well as getting a Starred Review from Kirkus, SOS Dinos in Distress has been really well received in other e-places.
"Fun, engaging, and a wonderful story." BestAppsForKids "highly recommends" the silly antics of Thaddeus Getsit-Wright in their splendid review over here. 

Meanwhile, GeeksWithJuniors concludes that "SOS Dinos in Distress is a beautifully illustrated storybook, complete with playful interactive features and sound effects on every page. Starring a prideful young detective on an imaginative dinosaur hunt, the story is every bit hilarious and engaging."

Enough to make one blush, frankly!