Tag Archives: Little Tiger Press

The Time Tider Cover Reveal!

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Hello hello hello!

Today, I am so excited to share the cover for my new book, The Time Tider, which is coming from Little Tiger Press (and me, obvs) in February, 2023. The absolutely incredible Vashti Hardy, an author whose work (and whose general existence) I absolutely love, was kind enough to do the official reveal this morning over on Twitter…

…and here it is!

I’ve got to thank so many people, principally the entire Little Tiger team responsible for bringing this gorgeous cover to life. Designer Sophie Bransby has brought her creative magic to all my UK/Ireland covers, and this one is (I think) her best yet. Illustrator Abigail Dela Cruz (I still can’t quite believe someone so talented has done the artwork for something I wrote) has brought Mara Denbor, my protagonist, so perfectly to life that I’m blown away every time I see her. Everything about this cover is exactly what I hoped it would be, and I’m helpless with gratitude over here.

The Time Tider has been in my head for a long time. Astute and long-time readers of this very blog might remember, or know, that its actual title is ‘Clockwatching…’, and I gave it that name back in 2012 because, at that time, I was working on a story which I was calling Tider, about a girl named Maraika Denbor and her father, who lived a very unusual life for very unusual reasons, and that there were characters in the story known as Clockwatchers – about whom I’ll say no more, for now. But I hope that anecdote shows how long I’ve been dreaming of this story, planning it and trying to write it. The Time Tider was one of the first ideas I ever had, over twenty years ago; it was the idea that sparked my brain into proper ‘I can be an author’ gear, and the idea that really filled me with the desire, and the need, to write. I’ve been trying to write it ever since, and I’m so glad to say I’ve finally succeeded.

And to whet your appetite, here’s the blurb:

Mara and her dad have lived in their van for as long as she can remember. Whatever her father does to scrape a living has kept them constantly moving and Mara has never questioned it. That is until she uncovers a collection of notes addressed to ‘The Tider’, an individual responsible for harvesting lost time from people whose lives were cut short.

But before Mara can question her father, he is taken by a dangerous group who want to use his power for evil. With the very fabric of time and space at stake, it’s down to Mara and her new friend Jan to find him before it’s too late…

The Time Tider hits shelves on February 2nd, 2023, and if you like the cut of its jib, please do consider pre-ordering it through your favourite bookshop, or through some of these handy links:

Waterstones: https://bit.ly/3UqXmDw

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3fSBMIW

UK Bookshops: https://bit.ly/3NRWmWA

Hive: http://bit.ly/3fRTFI1

Halfway Up the Stairs: Click Here

Thank you for all the support you’ve shown to my previous books – and I hope you’ll enjoy The Time Tider!

Skyborn Is Published!

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Today is June 10th, 2021. For many, that won’t mean much. But for me?

Today’s the day my third – third! – novel publishes with Little Tiger Press. *shocked and amazed emoji face*

Skyborn is released into the world today. It’s available wherever you get your books (ideally, a bookshop… a real one, in a proper building, with tax-paying staff and proper toilet breaks and all that stuff… but no judgement if you choose otherwise) and I very much hope this book reaches an audience, that it’s read and enjoyed and that it brings a sparkle of magic and wonder to the world.

Skyborn cover, designed by Sophie Bransby and drawn by Sara Mulvanny, published by Little Tiger Press, 2021

Skyborn is a prequel to my first book, The Eye of the North, and tells the story of Thing (who you might remember from The Eye of the North) during his earlier life, before we get a chance to meet him in Eye. If you’ve read Eye you’ll know that, in that book, we follow Thing – a mysterious character with no proper name, and fragmented recollections of his family – as he travels to Greenland in the company of the brave Emmeline in order to try to save the world. Skyborn takes the reader back to those fragmented recollections, fleshing them out into the full-bodied story of Thing’s childhood in a circus and his discovery of a deeply-buried secret from his mother’s past which threatens his own future, and that of everyone he loves…

As Skyborn is a prequel to The Eye of the North, please don’t feel you have to have read the earlier book in order to read Skyborn. In fact, they work better the other way around! It’s great to finish one book and have the sequel ready to go.

All my books have been fun to write, and I’ve loved the creation of all of them in different ways, but Skyborn has been such a wonderful journey. It’s a book I never thought I’d write, a story that I discovered as I put it together, one that draws on the deep loves of my childhood in the same way as everything else I’ve ever written but which had the added benefit of being about a character I’d already created, and one that I already loved. Its circus setting comes straight from the circuses I found so magical as a child; the walled city with its long-held secrets is excavated from the stories and movies I adored growing up; the characters – particularly Crake, who I love so dearly – have threads of my own beloved people in them. All these shining flecks of the story were taken from my own strange story-cauldron where I keep all the ideas I get in the hope they’ll germinate into something wondrous. I think, in Skyborn, they truly have.

This is a book I’m proud of. Thank you, so much, for all the support you’ve given me since I began this writing dream almost a full decade ago. I’m (incredibly) on my fourth book – my third full-length novel – and I have no intention of stopping just yet. I hope you’ll stick with me as I figure out where to go next.

Now. Roll Up, Roll Up – you’ve got a front-row seat! The performance is about to begin, and The Skyborn Boy is ready to fly… Alley-oop!

Five Cool Facts About SKYBORN

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My new book, Skyborn, is coming from Little Tiger Press in just over three weeks – on June 10th, to be precise! So, I decided to make a short video: Five Cool Facts About Skyborn, to introduce you to the book and its story world, and to give you a flavour of what it’s about. I hope you enjoy!

And don’t forget: if you pre-order your copy of SKYBORN from Halfway Up the Stairs Bookshop in Wicklow or from the Rocketship Bookshop in the UK, you’ll receive a signed and personalised bookplate to stick into the book, thereby transforming it (ta-daaaah!) into a signed copy. But, of course, you can pre-order SKYBORN just the same as you can pre-order or order any book: by calling into, or phoning, or emailing, or using carrier pigeons, or in any other way contacting your favourite bookshop or bookstore and asking them to organise getting a copy of the book to you. Booksellers are magicians, people. They can find literally anything. Try it!

Anyway. Without further ado, here are FIVE COOL FACTS ABOUT SKYBORN!

Roll Up, Roll Up… It’s SKYBORN!

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The wonderful Gavin Hetherington (of How To Train Your Gavin fame) revealed the cover of my new book, SKYBORN, earlier today over on Twitter. I’m immensely grateful to him, and to the team at Little Tiger Press, for organising such a stylish and exciting unveiling!

For anyone who missed it, here it is… *drumroll*

The cover was designed by Sophie Bransby and drawn by Sara Mulvanny, and here’s what you can expect in its pages:

It’s rare, my friends, to come across a talent so incandescent as the one you’re about to see. You think you’ve seen performers in the air? You think you’ve seen artists on the trapeze? Prepare yourselves for skill beyond compare. Without further ado, I present to you the young man known only as… The Skyborn Boy!

The circus has seen better days, but for Bastjan it’s home. He will do anything he can to save it, even if it means participating in a death-defying new act. But when that fails to draw in the crowds, the ringmaster makes a deal with a mysterious man by the name of Dr Bauer.

In exchange for his help, Bauer wants a box that belonged to Bastjan’s mother and came from her birthplace – the faraway island of Melita. Bastjan is desperate to keep his only memento of his mother out of Bauer’s hands. And as he uncovers more about the strange objects contained within, he realizes it’s not only the circus that’s in terrible danger…

This book is coming from Little Tiger Press on June 10th, 2021, and if you’d care to pre-order it, I’m partnering with The Rocketship Bookshop in the UK and Halfway Up the Stairs bookshop in Ireland (click the shop name for a link to their website) to manage pre-orders (hopefully, we’ll have a little personalised touch to send with copies ordered through these bookshops). Other pre-order links are HERE and HERE, but of course you can also pre-order through your favourite local bookshop via phone or email, if they’re able to send books through the post/mail or offer a click and collect service (they’d be very glad of the business). Pre-orders are so welcome for new books, particularly during these sad bookshop-less days, so it would make my year if you’d pre-order your copy. I hope you’ll enjoy reading the story of Bastjan, his friends Alice, Wares, and Crake, and their perilous quest to save not only their circus, but also a mysterious young girl with incredible powers, from certain doom…

Thanks so much to Sara Mulvanny, to Sophie Bransby, to my editor Ella Whiddett and my former editor Katie Jennings, to my agent Polly Nolan at PaperCuts Literary Agency and Consultancy, and to everyone at Little Tiger Press (especially Charlie Morris) for their help in bringing this book to the world. Alley-oop! Off we go!

The Star-Spun Web Goes on Tour

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February is drawing to a close now, and I wanted to mark this very special month by writing about the wonderful week I spent in the UK, touring around with copies of my new book. I got to visit some incredible bookshops, meet some energetic, committed and passionate booksellers and – most importantly – talk to hundreds of brilliant children across six schools. I have to begin by thanking my amazing publisher, Stripes Books, and my Publicist Beyond Compare, Leilah Skelton (as well as Stripes’ Brand Director Lauren Ace, whose heroic driving skills made Day 1 happen!) – without them and their support, none of the amazing memories I made would have been possible.

The tour brought us to Oswestry in Shropshire, where we got to visit the incredible Booka Bookshop…

The wonderful display in Oswestry’s Booka Bookshop which greeted me when I came through the door! Thanks so much to Carrie, Tim and team. (Image credit: Sinéad O’Hart)

…and from there we visited Woodside Primary School, where I got to meet some incredible storyfinders (particularly one young man named Thomas, whose books are going to be on shelves in years to come!) Then, we journeyed to Ripon, in North Yorkshire, where I got the chance to revisit the lovely Little Ripon Bookshop. It’s not so little now, having expanded into the premises next door, but it’s still as charming and welcoming as ever. I have to thank Gill, Simon, Phoebe and all their team for taking such care of Leilah and me, and for helping us to get around to the local schools which hosted us on the tour. I was also amazed to meet the superbly talented (and very bouncy) James Nicol, author of The Apprentice Witch  and its sequels, who came all the way over to Ripon just to see me! Thanks so much, James – and I can’t wait to read A Witch Come True.

The Little Ripon Bookshop’s front window was a sight to behold – look at its glory! There were tentacles… and I felt like a proper author with my name in glittery blocks. (Image credit: Leilah Skelton)

I had the huge privilege of speaking to students in Ripon Grammar School, Burton Leonard Primary School, and Bishop Monkton Primary School… (Image credit below: Leilah Skelton)

…and then it was off to York, briefly, where Leilah and I started our long journey to London. I got the chance to see that beautiful city in the bright daylight the following morning as we made our way to Sevenoaks in Kent, where we were the guests of Fleur, Olivia, Nick, Diane and the crew at Sevenoaks Bookshop. What a beautiful place – and what a beautiful town!

Me outside Sevenoaks Bookshop, with their gorgeous window display featuring my books. A massive thanks to the whole team for making me feel so at home! Image credit: Leilah Skelton

We visited the bright and brilliant kids of Sevenoaks Primary School and Cage Green Primary School, where I think I got the best question of the whole tour: ‘Are your hands squishy?’ I was also asked to do a pirate impression, which I hope I managed to pull off adequately…

…and then it was away to Oxford, city of my dreams.

When in Oxford, one simply must pose in front of The Eagle and Child, in order to soak up some of those Tolkien/Lewis vibes… Image credit: Leilah Skelton

We finished the tour in the beautiful surrounds of Blackwell’s Westgate, Oxford, where I was treated like literary royalty – and got to meet some friends old and new, which was a thoroughly overwhelming experience. A massive thanks needs to be said to authors Gabriel Dylan, Struan Murray and Julie Pike, who all came to say hello and share some writing mojo as well as get their books signed – it was such a joy to meet them all. And The Star-Spun Web  was Blackwell’s Children’s Book of the Month for February, so they laid on a fine spread…

Trying not to look too pleased with myself beneath the tree at Blackwell’s Westgate – HUGE thanks to Jack, both Charlies, and all the team (and my sincere apologies again for misnaming one of the Charlies as ‘Chris’!) Image credit: Leilah Skelton

From there it was time to make my way to Heathrow and home – but this Tour will stay with me forever. I’m grateful beyond words to everyone who made it possible – my publisher and publicists, the booksellers who went out of their way to accommodate me, the teachers and librarians who welcomed us with open arms, everyone who came to meet me at my bookshop signings, and most especially the children, whose bright and sparkling enthusiasm filled me to the brim. Thank you all!

In the Tiger’s EYE!

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This past Christmas, the baby got a lot of books as presents. I mean – a lot. This was a good thing, because my husband and I (obviously) love books, and we love reading to the baby, and it was great to see what stories our friends and family wanted to share with our beloved little person.

One book in particular soon marked itself out as a firm favourite, and it has retained that coveted status over the past few months. It is the marvellous I Love You More and More, by Nicky Benson, with amazing illustrations by Jonny Lambert.

One day, as I read this book with my child, I looked at the publisher’s details. Hmm, I thought. Little Tiger Press. I hadn’t heard of them before, but the book had given us so much joy and was so beautifully produced that, in a quiet moment, I looked up Little Tiger’s website. To my delight, I found that they also published Middle Grade and YA books under their Stripes imprint, and I spent some time checking out their backlist.

Wouldn’t it be brilliant, I thought, if I could one day get a book deal with a great little press like this.

Well. Fast forward a bit.

The Eye of the North had been out on submission with UK publishers for quite some time, and I had long given up hope it would find a home. It’s hard, dealing with rejection behind the scenes; I completely understand it’s part of the job, and that every single person whose book is on a shelf knows what it feels like, but that doesn’t make going through it any easier. Plus, I kept reminding myself that I had a deal to publish not one but (gasp!) two books in North America, and that was head-spinny enough for me. I won’t get to see The Eye of the North on Irish shelves, I told myself. But there’ll be time for that with future books.

And then.

And then.

It was a day, much like any other. My husband happened to be working from home. The baby was doing the usual stuff babies do, most of which is loud and/or dangerous. And, in the middle of it all, there was a telephone call for me.

(I don’t like the telephone, I should say at this point. It makes me anxious. But that’s a story for another day.)

I took the phone from my husband. It was my agent, Polly, who said: ‘are you ready for some good news?’

I think I responded with ‘Um?’

‘You have a UK book deal!’ she said, in delight.

To my absolute joy, the deal wasn’t just any old deal – it was an offer to publish from Stripes, the aforementioned imprint of Little Tiger Press, who look after the MG side of things. I was dumbfounded. My mind went straight back to the baby’s favourite book, and how much we all loved it, and how I’d joked with myself that they’d be a great home for me.

And now – I can announce! I’m so full of joy! – they are the UK/Irish/Commonwealth home for my debut novel, The Eye of the North!

I’ll keep you all up to date with things like cover reveals, release dates and any other news, but until then I hope you’ll all join me in shouting a huge RAWWWR of Tiger-y joy. I’m delighted to be joining the Stripes family and I can’t wait to take the next step into this new, uncharted and utterly thrilling territory. Thank you to everyone at Little Tiger/Stripes for their enthusiasm and faith in me and my book.

And now I’m off! Book 2 won’t write itself, you know. *wipes brow*