I came to writing through reading. I don't know if there's any other way, but that's certainly how it worked for me. So if I come to your school, I'll be talking about reading as well as writing. Reading to me is a huge pleasure - and it's also the pathway to practically everything. A book can take you anywhere - other worlds, other times, other minds! 

My newest book, Emily's Surprising Voyage, will be published by Walker in August 2010. For newly confident readers, it's set on, and inspired by, Mr Brunel's fantastic ship, the ss Great Britain, which is in Bristol Harbour. (For more information about the ship, click here.) I'm very much looking forward to going into schools to tell children about the book, and help them to imagine the kinds of things that might happen in the dark heart of that wonderful ship...

My last book was about Alfred the Great - and his daughter Fleda, and a mysterious magic lady called Cerys, and lots of others besides. It's called Warrior King, and there's a recent, and very lovely review of it just here.