Friday 22 January 2010

Mr Vim and (The) Nurgler


John's last sketch (for the time being) of Mr Vim and (The) Nurgler - if you don't know why "The" is in brackets, and why Nurgler looks like that - then you've obviously not read Super Maxwell and the Burning Boys!

Tuesday 19 January 2010

Juggernaut, Kevin & Trevor

Super Maxwell and the Burning Boys will hit the road soon when I begin a series of signings and talks around the North East of England - and hopefully beyond. As part of this John Gallagher, the Burning Boys cover artist, has put together sketches of some of the key characters in the first two books. Here is the first one - more to come soon!

Thursday 14 January 2010

The shape of things to come

Work is going well on Isle of the Dead - the 3rd Super Maxwell book - the book will be split into five sections, which (subject to change!) will be:
One - Lost Boys
Two - The Wooden Kingdom
Three - 102
Four - The Isle of the Dead
Five - The Burning Boy
Does this give you clue to what happens in Book 3 ... Well, maybe - my son Nathan has already worked out a major link in Burning Boys between Titus Mamble and Trevor Smethurst which becomes very important in Isle of the Dead...

Monday 11 January 2010

Beth's beginning

Congratulations to Beth Garrigan, Newbottle Primary School, who won the "Beginnings" competition I ran with the Y5/6 class at Houghton le Spring Library. She has won a signed copy of Super Maxwell and the Burning Boys, which is on it's way to her now - snow and Post Office permitting. Her beginning, which is wonderfully imaginative and intriguing as all good beginnings to stories should be, follows below:

Suddenly there was a beautiful glittering array of parrots flying across the misty waterfall, which gleamed in the burning sun. It was paradise. Mermaids swam in the deep sparking ocean and flowers sprouted in the meadows where dew drops covered the tall trees of the valleys. I just lay there on the sandy beach looking into the mountains as the sunset on that magical day that changed Rose’s life.
Beth Garrigan

Thursday 7 January 2010

What planet is this?


And ... We're back.
After a lovely Christmas Super Maxwell and the Burning Boys will be getting into high gear over the next few weeks and months. The first event will be be signing copies of Burning Boys at Waterstones Sunderland on Saturday, February 6 from 12noon. But if you're not bothered about me scribbling all over your copy you can buy Super Maxwell and the Burning Boys from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com or Waterstones.
I signed the first ever copy to cover artist John Gallagher this morning - it is currently winging its way to Stockport even as we speak...