Breaking records in Torbay... during four fantastic school visits!

Another busy few weeks has been spent visiting even more fantastic primary schools in and around Torbay... it's been really great to spend so much time closer to home lately! Especially with my latest publication being in such huge demand locally... it's been a pleasure introducing "Bradley Baker and the Pyramids of Blood" to a new legion of enthused fans in Devon.

A rapturous welcome awaited me from lots of excited children at Brixham C of E Primary. My return visit followed a very successful author presentation at the school before the summer break and I was delighted to introduce the third Bradley Baker adventure to the enthused students, who snapped the new book up during another popular signing event. I also had the opportunity to work with the year 6 children and we enjoyed an interactive character development workshop in the classroom. A big thank you to the students teacher Jason Keenan for inviting me into his class to work with the children.

Below are just a few pictures taken of the posters produced and displayed by the children at Brixham... it was such a humbling experience to see these covering the doors and windows when I arrived at the school. Brilliant stuff!!!

 

 

Two more very successful presentations were held at Cockington Community Primary and St. Margaret's Academy in Torquay this week. Big thank you to literacy co-ordinators Sharon Carter and Catherine Wooldridge for inviting me to their schools. Again many enthused students were inspired by the Bradley Baker book presentations at both schools, with the events being showcased in the respective school halls. Signing sessions followed at each event and both produced record amounts of books sold at a single school event during this current academic year.

 

 

 

 

This week was topped with a visit to Kings Ash Academy in Paignton. Emma Prince arranged for me to present to the whole school and another 400 students were inspired by the Bradley Baker showcase. There were lots of volunteers from the audience, who took part in the show and unbeknown to me I actually picked three children from the same family to play some of the book's characters in the show... Bizzare!!!

 

 

Finally found some time between school visits to work on the plotlines and characters for the fourth book in the Bradley Baker series. I'm really excited about this latest adventure and can't wait to start writing the manuscript!

 

That's all for now, catch up soon with more updates about the new book and details of events before Christmas.... I've also got some exciting news to share about a literary project in Totnes during early 2013, so watch this space!

 

Regards DLJ 



The three C's ...Canada, Crealy and CU

The past few weeks have been dominated by three C's...

The first "C"... a visit to Canada Hill Primary School in Newton Abbot resulted in the biggest book signing event I have experienced to date at any school. Parents, teachers and children were queuing out of the door... it was a good job the rain held off! This followed a storytelling showcase to the students in the school hall and everyone was inspired when the event was over. I've never seen so many children enthused about the Bradley Baker series. What a fantastic time and special thanks to Claire Pearce for organising such a fabulous event. Before the book signing session I also spent some time with the Yr 5 & 6 children in the classroom where we worked on some character profiles... this resulted in some very imaginative creatures being created (pictures to follow).

The second "C"... refers to the CU (Children's University) where I attended Shiphay Learning Academy to accept my invitation to be the Vice Chancellor for Torbay. What an honour to be entrusted with the responsibility to be the ambassador for such a worthy cause.

 

Pic 1. Collecting my CU Passport at Shiphay Learning Academy

 

The third "C"... a fantastic day and evening at Crealy Adventure Park in Devon raising awareness for Families for Children Adoption Agency. The day began with a storytelling presentation in the animal barn at noon followed by a second showcase at 3pm. Both presentations went down a storm with the audience and there wasn't an empty chair in the arena. The showcases were followed by two busy book signing sessions, which helped to raise some funds for the charity. 

Here are a few pics from the event;

 

 

Pic 2. A great display of Bradley Baker books in the Crealy Gift Shop

 

Pic 3. Meeting some of the children in the VIP suite at Crealy Adventure Park... this was taken just after TV Star Caroline Quentin had pushed the button to set off the amazing firework display.

 

Pic 4. Jasper (aka Bradley Baker) getting ready to journey down the plughole during the first showcase... flashing green lights and smoke filled the stage!

 

 

Pic 5. Two more volunteers from the audience take on the roles of two main characters in the Bradley Baker books... Muzzy Chilcott and Sereny Ugbrooke. Here we see them discovering the sacred gold coin that magically transports the boy hero down the plughole!

 

 

I also took the opportunity to visit the pupils at Torbay School in Paignton. We had a fantastic time acting out some scenes from the Bradley Baker books and the boys really enjoyed the event. I'd like to thank Deputy Head Helen Prince for arranging my visit. Everyone agreed how much the children were inspired by my visit to the school and as I was leaving one little boy said, "When I'm older I want to be an author like you!" Priceless and well worth all the effort.

 

I'd like to finish this week's blogspot with some breaking news... I can reveal the cover for my next Bradley Baker book. The fourth in the series will be called "Bradley Baker and the Gullfather of New York"... more about the storyline over the next few months. The new book will be published during the Summer 2013. Here is the cover...

 

 



 

It has been a fantastic couple of weeks and I'll catch up with you again soon with more updates on the Amazing Adventures of Bradley Baker.

Best wishes DLJ