Hello!

Read anything good lately?

Book News . . .

This month I received the lovely news that Dirt is a finalist in the Wishing Shelf Awards! What I especially like about this particular book prize is that the children's book submissions are partly judged by kids in UK primary and secondary schools. It's so heartening to know that kids have enjoyed reading Dirt!

Since my last update, I’ve also been featured on Author Interviews, which is a website that very much does what it says on the tin! I really enjoyed the conversation, which included some thought-provoking questions on writing processes and themes – you can check it out here.

I’ll be doing more talking in a month’s time, at theTunbridge Wells Literary Festival, where I’m taking part in a panel discussion about ‘New Narrative Forms’, which is right up my street! We’ll be debating the question: “How can we invent and adapt narrative forms to capture and express our thoughts, concerns and responses to the world we live in today?” If you’re in the area, do come along – Saturday 2^nd May at 4pm.

Reading recommendations

This month, I thoroughly enjoyed reading a book given to me by my 10-year-old niece: In The Shadow of the Wolf Queen by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. It’s a grand adventure story set in a world of magic, with a fantastic forest-dwelling heroine called Ysolda. The plot is driven by changes in the natural world and the book is subtly full of positive environmental ideas. I’m looking forward to reading the other two in the trilogy.

For adults, I’d like to recommend a new anthology from my publisher, Habitat Press. It’s a lovely collection of inspiring flash fictions called The Last Plastic Fork and Other Green Epiphanies – and features in its bonus material a short story I’ve written called Guitar, a mini-prequel to Dirt. You may remember I offered Guitar as a Christmas freebie – if you didn’t download it then and you’d like to read it, drop me an email and I’ll send it over!

Lazy green wins #21

Put a lid on it! When you’re boiling water in a saucepan, cooking peas, simmering soup – any kind of liquid-based cooking – putting a lid on the pan reduces energy usage by about 50%.

The lid catches all the heat that’s otherwise completely wasted and also means your veggies will come to the boil quicker! So quick; so simple; saves money, time and energy.

Do you have any kitchen-based eco-tips? Hit reply if you have an easy green habit to share!

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Until next time, Happy reading! Laura