New book "Drone Boy" for sale at special launch price

I'm very excited that my latest children's ebook, Drone Boy, will be out within 24 hours. Aimed at readers aged 10 to 12, it's the story of Timothy Green, a very bored and boring boy. His world is turned upside down when he, with his friend Ollie, discovers the fascinating world of drones and what they can do.

I like to think this is the most lively, fun book I've written. It'll be available on Amazon at the special launch price of $0.99. (UPDATE: I see they've added a little, so it's actually $1.14...)

Onwards and upwards!

The Haunted House giveaway has moved

The original title of today's post was going to be "The Haunted House has moved" - which conjures up great mental images, right?

But no, I'm not talking about spooky dwellings going walkabout. Rather, I wanted to tell you that to claim your free copy of The Haunted House, a fun story for 9 to 11-year-olds, go here

In exchange, you'll be asked for your email address, so I can send you an occasional newsletter telling you about new releases and special offers.

The Haunted House is about Kate, whose mother has bought a new house. Kate thinks it's a crazy thing to do. Everyone knows the house is haunted! But when Kate and her friend Kameela begin exploring the place, they discover a few secrets. Perhaps the house isn't as creepy as it seems.

The give-away is available in a number of formats, so you don't need a Kindle to read it. Hope you enjoy it!

Droning On

I've been doing a little research about drones for my latest story. Did you know the following?

•  Drones are a type of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)
• The sophisticated ones are controlled by very intimidating GCSs (Ground Control Systems)
• In Helsinki, as I write this, a pilot (ha!) project is delivering fast food to residents
• Recently, CNN reported that the first kidney transplant was done using a kidney delivered by drone.

Call me one-track minded, but I can't wait for a drone to deliver a pizza and a paperback to my door.

In the meanwhile, I'm writing about what a couple of small boys might do if they stumble across a drone. Fun and chaos would ensue, I reckon.

More later...

The dinos look different

It used to be called simply Jo and Bruno - now, it's Jo & Bruno & The Dinosaurs. My story for middle-graders is a funny adventure starring two cousins who have to protect baby dinosaurs from horrible thieves.
The cover is new, too. The old one was very skilfully done, but I wondered if a new cover would help attract more attention. We'll see, I guess!
Here's hoping that readers aged 9 to 11 like this quick read. $2.50 on Amazon UK and Amazon US. Smashwords sells it in a variety of formats, including PDF and text-only.

So many formats

I'm excited to be able to offer the Best Friends Forever books in PDF, .mobi, and even text-only formats, thanks to Smashwords. Find them here. Full URL is https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/CathyWattStories.

The series consists of four separate stories:

1. Louise and Melinda: They're new friends who try hard to stay out of trouble. But that's a struggle when people all around them need their help with extraordinary situations! Like Aunt Tabitha. She's such a drama queen... AND a terrible cook. Can the girls help her host a dinner party when it's being filmed for TV?
2. The Fabulous Witch Next Door: Ruby would love to have a friend, so she's excited when a new neighbour, Wendy, moves in. Wendy's a grown-up with special powers. It's not long before she tells Ruby that she could learn how to be a witch! But Ruby's always messing up her spells. Can she learn how to make her parents stop arguing? And what about magicking a friend her own age?
3. Megan & Janelle: Megan is very, very quiet. TOO quiet, really. But all that changes when an old lady called Joan comes into her life, and introduces her to a new friend, Janelle. Together they fight bullies, have fun... and help Joan to save the world.
4. Jo & Bruno: Joanna is horrified when she has to spend the holidays with her cousin Bruno. He used to be such a brat! But it turns out that he's quite nice, underneath his sulkiness. It's not easy for him, keeping an enormous secret - his parents are involved in hatching dinosaurs. He and Joanna need to keep quiet about the dinos, while saving them from greedy thieves.

The first Noel

Noel Streatfeild was a wonderful children's writer, most famous for her Shoes series - especially Ballet Shoes.

Remember the movie You've Got Mail, when Meg Ryan, playing book shop owner Kathleen, answers a customer's query about Streatfeild? She spells out her surname, which was the first time I was conscious that the "-field" part was actually "-feild".
 
 Here are 7 fascinating facts about this author:

- her first name was actually Mary; Noel was her second name
- she was expelled from her first school
- she made munitions during the First World War
- Ballet Shoes was an instant best-seller when it was published in 1936
- it's probably the first book that depicts children as self-reliant
- her editor suggested Ruth Gervis as the illustrator, not knowing that Ruth was Noel's sister
- she also wrote romance novels under the name Susan Scarlett

Although her books are less popular than they were, they still do well.

Much of the above was gleaned here and here, where you can find out more about Noel Streatfeild.

David, David, David

I'd heard so much about David Walliams's books for children that I bought one, even though I'm old and haggard and not part of his target audience. It was Billionaire Boy, and both my husband and I loved it.


His third book, it tells the story of Joe Spud, who is rich as anything - but doesn't have a single friend. It's everything a children's book should be: lively, naughty, and crackling with energy.

Walliams is so talented it's nauseating. He writes! He acts! He swims (and thus raises millions for charity)! He's often on Twitter, frequently photographed with his adorable dogs Bertie and Ernie. His latest book is called Fing, and it's clearly a big hit with kids already. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy.

Blogging about Blyton

The other day, the British TV quiz programme Pointless included a question about Enid Blyton. I wondered what happened to this best-selling author from the past, and a quick Google revealed a few interesting facts.

For instance, the first Famous Five book was published in 1942. That was the middle of World War Two! I wonder how many children's books were sold from 1939 to 1945?

And one publisher decided that the language in some of the books needed updating, so descriptions like "lashings of pop" (lots of soda) were changed in one version. I think I agree with others who maintain that it's a better idea to stick to the original versions, rather. After all, parents can always chat to their kids about how language evolves over the years. You can read more about this on The Guardian's website here.

Have a look at the boarding school series set at St Clare's for sale at Amazon. They've got wonderful new covers, reminiscent of Jacqueline Wilson's works.

Although not as wildly popular as before, Enid Blyton's books continue to sell well. There’s even talk of movies being made of some favourites.

All hail Roald Dahl

If you also love Roald Dahl's children's books, have a look at his official website.
It's packed full of delights, from facts and figures to book-based lesson plans for teachers. The shop alone will make you salivate. My personal favorite is the Build Your Own Chocolate Factory paperback, comprising press-out-and-build factory bits. Wonderful!

Free book

Starting from tomorrow (Saturday the 19th), and lasting until Monday, the latest in the Best Friends Forever series, called Jo and Bruno, is available as a FREE ebook on Amazon! It's a story about Jo, a girl who is sent by her parents to stay with her cousin Bruno and his family for a few weeks. Jo is not happy about this, because Bruno is a brat - but he's changed since she last saw him, and has an exciting secret about dinosaurs to share with her.