I had a wonderful day at Oxford Bookfeast. It was lovely to meet children from North Kidlington Primary, East Oxford Primary and Culham Parochial Primary, to talk all about salamanders, supercars and sleuths - based around the latest Adventure Island mystery, The Mystery of the Black Salamander. (a big wave to all of you!)
We had great fun coming up with new supercars inspired by the amazing animal kingdom - like the Suzuki Seagull (can go on land, fly and dive under water and uses any kind of fuel), the Landrover Crayfish (has tough armour, and pincers on the front to move things out of the way), the Gecko (drives up vertical walls and across ceilings), the Cheetah (fast), the Piranha (underwater attack) and the Chameleon (camouflage).
I was really impressed with the imaginative ideas. And with the dramatic skills when we reenacted a scene from the book
We also came up with some of the silliest car names ever! What do you think of these?
And a special mention to Miranda, who gave me a copy of her incredibly amazing and brilliant story called The Mystery of Benjamin Terrorbithic, complete with illustrations. Well done, Miranda, I have really enjoyed reading it.
We had great fun coming up with new supercars inspired by the amazing animal kingdom - like the Suzuki Seagull (can go on land, fly and dive under water and uses any kind of fuel), the Landrover Crayfish (has tough armour, and pincers on the front to move things out of the way), the Gecko (drives up vertical walls and across ceilings), the Cheetah (fast), the Piranha (underwater attack) and the Chameleon (camouflage).
I was really impressed with the imaginative ideas. And with the dramatic skills when we reenacted a scene from the book
We also came up with some of the silliest car names ever! What do you think of these?
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| Who wouldn't want to drive the Lamborghini Mushroom, the Bugatti Tomato or the Porsche Chubb? |
I also had some questions sent in from Dry Sandford Primary School, who weren't able to be there. Thank you all for sending in your quesitons. Here are my answers.
Q: Are you going to write another in the series. If so, what is is called. (Ben).
A: Hello Ben. There are two more Adventure Island books to come. The next one is called The Mystery of the Secret Room and one after that The Mystery of the Phantom Lights. After that, I will be starting a different series.
Q. How many boys have you got? (Leah)
Hello Leah. I have two boys. They are 17 and 14 now, but when they were bit younger they were my inspiration for Scott and Jack - although they are not exactly the same!
Q: Where do you get the ideas for your books? (Connor and several others)
Hello Connor! The ideas come from all different places. Sometimes it starts with a conversation I hear, or it might be a story I hear on the radio or see in the paper or on telly. Sometimes I start with an idea for a clue and sometimes the crime comes first.
Q: Have you every been to any of the places in your books?
Yes, I have been to Cornwall lots of times. Although I've not been to Castle Key, except in my head, because it's a fictional island.
Q: Have you ever been diving like on the cover of the Mystery of the Smugglers's Wreck (Alicia).
Hello Alicia. I have only ever been diving in a swimming pool - for practise. I have also been snorkelling lots of times. To find out all the information about diving, I interviewed a friend of mine who is a very good diver.
To everyone who asked if I could make them a character in one of the books, thank you for asking and I would love to, but I'm afraid I have already written the last of the Adventure Island books! I ran a competition last year, and the prize was to be a character (the winner was Rosie, who is in The Mystery of the Phantom Lights). Watch this space, because you never know, I might be able to run a similar competition for a new book one day and then you could enter!
I'm sorry if I haven't replied to you by name - some people didn't put their names on their questions so I couldn't!
