Save Christmas! Matt Haig comes to Abingdon

Given that there are still 44 days to Christmas (that's almost one-eighth of a year!) you might be forgiven for doing a double-take if you'd peeked inside the main hall at Our Lady's Abingdon this afternoon. Christmas jumpers, reindeer antlers, santa hats, and 350 children shouting 'Merry Christmas' at a man standing at the front of the room clutching a microphone, trying desperately to increase the readings on a Christmas 'Barometer of Hope'...

...but it was "snow mistake". On Thursday, Nov 10, children children, teachers, librarians and parent helpers from seven schools welcomed bestselling author Matt Haig to Abingdon, to talk about his book 'The Girl Who Saved Christmas'.

The event was raucous, very Christmassy, and definitely full of hope.

The book is the follow-up to 'A Boy Called Christmas', one of the hits of 2015, and the true story of the boy who would grow up to grant children's wishes around the world. 

The girl in question is Amelia, who seeks out Father Christmas to grant her a wish, but discovers Christmas in danger of being cancelled. Father Christmas has more than impossible wishes to worry about, including upset elves, troublesome trolls and reindeer dropping out of the sky. What can be done?

Matt is a remarkable author, and given that he was in the middle of an awesomely ambitious round-UK tour, full of energy and enthusiasm, as he pitched half the audience against the other in a game of 'Elves v Trolls'.

Matt's Christmas books are illustrated by Chris Mould (no stranger to Abingdon) and even though Chris wasn't able to attend, there was plenty of video of him showing how the illustrations make the book come to life, and how the look and feel of the characters - including a certain Charles Dickens, Queen Victoria and Soot her cat.

Children came from Thomas Reade, Thameside, St Edmunds, Rush Common and Dunmore Primary Schools, and their were pupils from both OLA Juniors and Seniors.

It was a triumph of organisation and hard work by all the schools involved, particularly by the host school, OLA. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen.

Particularly thanks to OLA librarian Barbara Hickford and her team - every child attending received a special Christmas snowman cookie - and year 7 pupils met the schools on arrival and showed them to their seats.

Matt signed books for children - and also books for the shop, so if you wanted a beautiful signed copy for 44 days time, please do call in. But while Matt signed away, we were able to ask him a few questions about his writing life. Take it away Matt...

Five questions with...Matt Haig's Writing Life

1.    What are you working on at the moment? 

I'm working on two things. Another novel for grown-ups (my first since 'The Humans') about someone who is 400 years old, and I'm about to start on my third 'Christmas' book!

2.    What is the best writing tip you’ve ever been given? 

Write exactly the book you'd want to read. In the early days of my writing career, I guess I had a bit of 'stage fright', and tried to write something I thought other people might want to write.

3.    What’s the best thing and the worst thing about being a children’s writer?

The best thing is that writing for children is very 'freeing' for a writer. Children may have a smaller vocabularly, but they have a much broader, wider imagination, which means you can go anywhere and take them with you. The worst? Being asked your age at school events!

4.    Do you have a writer’s survival kit, eg a place, thing of snack essential before you can start work? 

I can pretty much write anywhere, I'm a 'sit on the sofa with a laptop' kind of guy. Snacks? Well, peanut butter toast provides fuel!

5.    What was your biggest breakthrough?

I think last year (2015), when I published 'Reasons to Stay Alive' and 'A Boy Called Christmas'. After writing for twelve years, last year was definitely the year I felt I'd made it.

(Book blogger and great friend of Mostly Books Annabookbel came along to help - and she wrote her own blog about the event - take a look here!)

A silver tongue and a monster imagination: Paula Harrison, Robyn Silver and The Midnight Chimes

Paula gets the 'rock star' treatment from the children!

A girl who is born on the stroke of midnight and inherits the power to see what no-one else can see – that the world is full of monsters! – is the gripping premise behind Paula Harrison’s latest book, ‘Robyn Silver the Midnight Chimes’.

Paula Harrison visited Dunmore School and Rush Common School in Abingdon to talk about her book and the inspiration behind it. 

Robyn Silver come from a large family and is well-known for being clumsy – but sometimes she isn’t just making a mess sweeping cobwebs, she is actually fighting monsters - but no-one else in her family can see.

When Robyn’s school moves to a big spooky house in the town, Robyn teams up with two other friends from school, Aiden and Nora, also born on the stroke of midnight and realises she is not alone in seeing all sorts of invisible creatures.

A horrifying 'Blug' was just one of many extremely
scary monsters hatched by the children!

They team together to learn fighting skills in secret, but the biggest threat comes not from an invisible monster, but from a monster who has learned to become visible.

Paula said her favourite part of writing the book was dreaming up the monsters and these are brilliantly brought to life by illustrator Renée Kurilla, who also did the compelling bold jacket.

Paula is a good friend of Mostly Books, having visited the shop for the launch of her mega-selling Rescue Princess series, and also involved in the Nosy Crow takeover of the shop back in 2013.

The children at both Abingdon schools enthusiastically joined in creating their own monsters, giving them everything from superpowers to stilettos and inventing mixed-up monsters that would give everyone a scare if they found one hiding under the bed.

The second in the Robyn Silver series is due next year and is perfect for young fantasy readers.

Paula Harrison is best known for the Rescue Princess series for younger readers, as well as the Red Moon Rising series (about an ordinary girl who discovers she has faerie powers) but said she had always wanted to write a book about monsters.

But where in Paula's brain do these monsters come from. We thought we'd better ask a few more questions...

Five questions with...Paula Harrison's Writing Life

1. What are you working on at the moment?
I am working on the next Robyn Silver story, a yet untitled, which will be out in June, and I am working on another series for younger readers which is based on the idea of the Prince and the Pauper where two girls look identical but are from very different backgrounds. They get involved in lots of mysteries.

2. What is the best writing tip you’ve ever been given?
Just do your own thing.

3. What is the best thing and the worst thing about being a children’s writer?
The best thing is you can make anything into a story. The worst thing is too many ideas and too little time.

4. Do you have a writer’s survival kit, eg a place, snack or other essential thing you need before you start work?
I have certain music I play that matches the mood of the characters and I play that beforehand. Then I sit down at 8.30 and work until lunch and then go for a walk and then work until the children return from school. I do tend to stride around the room trying to solve a problem, so it probably does not look very productive.

5. What was your biggest breakthrough?
Having my first rescue princess book picked up off the slush pile by Nosy Crow!

Thank you so much to Paula for travelling to Abingdon, and to both schools for making her so welcome. We've have some fantastic reviews already in the shop from children who've read 'The Midnight Chimes', so if you want to discover more about Paul and her other books, we'd love to see you!