​Today is a very special day. It’s officially 7th Feb 2019. This date always had a rather magical ring to it and this is because it is my BOOK BIRTHDAY!!!!
That means that Asha And The Spirit Bird is officially published today. You can now buy it in any bookshop or online. A very exciting moment in my journey to publication – and one which I have loved. I’ll be sharing more news about today’s events a little bit later but for the moment, I’m going to share the photo of Asha And The Spirit Bird with its own special spot on the shelf in my local Waterstones.
And look! It’s got one of those special notes with a quick summary of the story (and it says it’s brilliant!) Hope you all agree with that comment. It totally made my day so huge thanks to the lovely bookseller who wrote that!

On 23rd Jan I went up to London to take part in a really fun breakfast party. Chickenhouse   had got together all their debuts and other authors with new books to share in 2019. We   stuffed a lot of pastries and washed them down with hot tea  -  yum!  The wonderful team made sure we all met some of the lovely bookish guests and I got to chat to the organisers  of The Imagine Festival - where I'll be doing  an event on 24th Feb - can't wait!
And then I did some book signing at Foyles on Charingcross Road!  It was the first time I'd thought about my author signature - so here's the moment I decided what it should be.   Hope you like!
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​I’m getting excited again! I’ve spent all day writing my second book and I’ve just finished a first draft and am feeling quite pleased!
And then I had a message from my lovely friend at Widcombe Juniors to say that lots of copies of Asha And The Spirit Bird had arrived from Mr Bs in Bath – getting ready for my author visit on Monday! I can’t wait. It’s going to be so lovely to meet year 5s and I’m just practising my signature now – getting ready to do my very first signings!!!!
See you on Monday!

​Sunday’s are usually the sort of days that you just kick back and chill out. Well this Sunday just gone 13th got me so fired up and totally excited. The reason? I was featured in The Observer in the review section by the lovely Kitty Empire.
What a day! My  husband kindly went out to get the paper and brought it to me while I was still in PJs. Quite honestly the day went soooo well with this amazing start. 

​The first pre-view copies of Asha And The Spirit Bird have just landed and I’m so happy that people are as excited as I am about Asha’s story. It’s a funny feeling when suddenly something that you’ve been working on for some time is out in the big wide world all by itself.
I was super excited when I had a tweet yesterday from Sophie Bee. She’s been given a few copies to share with her class by Times Educational Supplement. I hope they enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Would love them to drop by my page and let me know what they think.

​Yesterday I had the most wonderful surprise when I switched on the radio and tuned in to BBC Radio Somerset. Vicki Clarke’s morning show was about to air and she flagged up the fact that I was going to be on!
It was, I must admit, a bit of a nerve wracking moment just before I heard myself, but the other surprise was that I think I did ok!
Vicki is a true professional and managed to coax my writing story out of me in a really natural seamless way, so thank you so much for that! You can still catch up and listen to the show if you missed it. It's available on the fantastic BBC iplayer - let me know what you think!
I madly contacted family and friends so they could share in my excitement at being broadcast. Even my sister all the way in Singapore managed to tune in.
It was a real pleasure to asked to do the interview and I’m so pleased to be able to let people know that Asha And The Spirit Bird is a step closer to reaching its readers.
A huge thank you to Vicki and BBC Radio Somerset.

​An interview with Vicki Clarke at BBC Radio Somerset!

With the publication day for AATSB drawing ever closer, it was so exciting to be invited to BBC Somerset to talk about my book.
I really had to pinch myself as I stood at the platform of our village station watching the orange glow of sunrise filter through the trees, I was actually going to be on the radio! 
It was another exciting episode in the run up to the publication. Taunton isn’t too far from Bath and I loved the train ride through the Somerset Levels. West Country grey skies reflected silver in the abundance of water and wading birds dipped their beaks in, taking a long drink.
Once there, Vicki Clarke whisked me away and before I had time to get any nerves I was halfway through chatting.
It was very relaxed and the whole team at BBC Somerset were amazing. I was so please to hear that a few of the presenters had already pre-ordered their copies! One of the producers told me that her daughter loved Indian myths, which got me all excited again when I thought about her reading Asha’s story.
The programme will be aired at some point around Christmas – what a fab early present! Keep your eyes open for news of the broadcast date.

​Preview copies take flight
 
About a week ago the lovely Jazz Bartlett at Chickenhouse said that she was preparing a package…it contained some spicy chai, a letter from me and a fresh copy of Asha And The Spirit Bird wrapped in gold ribbon. It sounded so lovely and I couldn’t quite believe that the time had come to share my debut properly.
Things seem to be hotting up and I’ve had word that the first of these pre-publication copies have landed!
I was going to have a quiet Sunday but I haven’t been able to resist having a nosy into twitter – some very kind recipients have posted photos of my book in all its glory. I can’t wait for them to dive in and be my first readers. Watch this space for further news!

​PRINTING DAY ARRIVES! 

On Tuesday 4th Dec, the most exciting thing happened. It was the day I have been eagerly anticipating, the day my debut novel, Asha And The Spirit Bird, was due to be printed. 
Chicken House being the amazing publishers they are, invited me along to watch the process. It was incredible. A little like being in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, but here it was all about the books. You could smell the ink as you walked onto the printing floor and the thought that in a few moments it would be my words on the machines, filled me with such delight.
There was a point where the long reels of paper made a sort of bridge over my head and whizzed their way at top speed to their next stop, like a printing roller coaster!
Christmas definitely came early for me when I was presented with my finished novel literally hot off the printing press. I couldn’t have hoped for a more stunning shiny cover. Seeing my name in print with the most perfect of colour combinations was a dream come true!
Huge thanks to the team at CPI books, especially to Kevin who looked after us wonderfully during the day.
You can share in my excitement by watching this short film
Hope you enjoy!