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It’s 25th January, a special day here in Scotland, when we celebrate our national bard’s birthday and I was invited to read my Tartan Witch and the Highland Escapade to the Primary 2s at Annanhill Primary School. I was delighted to hear the ensemble reciting The Crocodile which is their Scots Language poem for this year. They were very good!

It was lovely being in among such an engaged audience. As I read the story there was much discussion and observation. The children were particularly knowledgable about Highland Games which was heartening.

After the story was read we went on to discuss the map at the back with its key and the witches’ journey. At the Q and A afterwards the children asked really pertinent questions.

I’m hoping they enjoyed the story as their next task was to write a book review for Tartan Witch and the Highland Escapade. Fingers crossed! ✍🏻

Well! What can I say? The year 2020, which I thought was going to be a perfect year (20/20 vision and all that!) was the worst ever! So many with COVID-19, so many deaths, it puts the situation of selling almost no books into perspective!
I just had no idea when I set about publishing my latest book, Tartan Witch and the Highland Escape, that the year would pan out the way it did. In July I had an attempt at a virtual launch but that, although I enjoyed the experience, proved futile as far as promoting and selling went. Oh how I miss being able to visit schools to read my stories.

The one positive thing about the lockdown and restrictions was that, after five years thinking about it, I finished my children’s novel, Virtual Darkness. I am ashamed to say that this would probably not have been completed otherwise….a truly shameful admission! My problem now is to try to get this published.
The story is about a young lad who is at quite a low edge. Whilst taking out his two young siblings on Hallowe’en night, he loses them. And so a journey of discovery begins. It’s told with humour, holds important messages and is aimed at the 8-12 age group, mind you adult friends who have read it enjoyed it so who knows!

In lockdown once more I am now trying to edit and redraft yet another story so who knows….maybe another novel! Who’da thunk it?

It has been sooooo busy lately I really have had little time to update here.

There’s been reading at schools, attending Christmas Fairs and book fairs, promoting LiterEight’s new book and now…..there’s been the publication of my latest book, The Prickle Picker!! This book is beautifully illustrated once more by Maggie Bolton and I’m so delighted that she like drawing animals!! This is a story of imagination and trickery!

School visits have been great and now next task is to write notes for In The Dark as a school book study! Watch this space!

I’ve also been helping my friend, Mrs Claus, at Dumfries House!

It may seem as if I’m not doing much in the writing sphere but, in my defence, I’m doing lots of thinking! I have decided to produce Work Mats for my children’s novel, In The Dark. This means that teachers can use this book in a book study situation and have all the relevant follow up activities, for most curricular areas, to hand. Watch this space! Then, there’s the new book, The Prickle Picker, which is in the process of being illustrated. I have decided to have a go at creating the front cover myself so we’ll see how this goes. I have the idea, I have sketched it out…I just need the confidence to put paint on the brushes! Once more, watch this space! It’s all very exciting.

The sun has been relentless here in Prestwick! I’m having to water the garden every night and I’m blaming the unusual heat for my lack of writing. My writing juices have all dried up! I may not be writing as such but I’m thinking and tweaking some docs that have been resting, inert for YEARS! I’m also preparing the next book’s illustrations. Maggie Bolton is drawing rough sketches just now. As no one knows what the ‘Prickle Picker’ actually looks like, I’ve asked some local schoolchildren to draw that they think it might look like. I intend to use 3 of these in thought bubbles in the book and hopefully Maggie will take features from them to create her illustration of the creature. I’m hoping the book will be available in September so…..fingers crossed.

I’ve been selling books at the Hospice Family Fun Day and at Holmston Primary School’s Summer Fair. It’s so rewarding when previous customers return for more books and I met a couple of such young readers at these events.

It’s Independent Book Shop Week this week and I’m delighted to be reading ‘How the Pirates Turned the Tide’ at the Book Nook in Stewarton tomorrow.
Jane McCarry, aka ‘Isa’ in Still Game, was happy to pose with Witch Hitch at the Hospice event!