I'd like to say a very big THANK YOU to Paul Gibson-Barton and all the amazing students and staff at Welton St Mary's Academy for the wonderful welcome they gave me when I visited them last week!
It was a total pleasure to talk to Years 4, 5 and 6 about reading and books. This is a school where they've been reading my books for a long time now, so it was wonderful to see that a lot of them had already read Varjak Paw, or Phoenix, or even Tyger!
There were lots of fantastic questions, although we didn't quite have enough time to answer all of them! So if anyone from WSM would like to ask me another question, or to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a comment below!
It was also wonderful to do a workshop with Year 4, who'd just been reading Varjak Paw, and to see some of the work they'd been doing with it. They had created these amazing story maps, and were able to tell the story themselves by using them!
And finally, it was a total pleasure to sign books for everyone who'd ordered a book. HAPPY READING to everyone at WSM – and thank you again for a fantastic visit!
Can you make a sequel to The outlaw varjack paw
ReplyDeleteI love your books
ReplyDeleteMy favourite part in Varjak Paw was when Varjak saved the vanishing cats at the end. I love reading your books SFSAID😀
ReplyDeleteDear sf said. How do you get a book published? I have written a book myself. Also what happened to Elder Paw after the black cats attacked him in the garden?Thank you from Joshua
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get the idea for the character of Holly?
ReplyDeleteHow did you get the idea of the two black cats😀
ReplyDeleteHow did you get the idea of Jasmine by Imogen?
ReplyDeleteWho is your favourite character from varjak paw. How did you get the inspiration to be a author. What is you favourite book so far.
ReplyDeleteWhat is your next book going to be about. Hugo
ReplyDeleteHi Sf Said thank you for coming to our school I really enjoyed it. My favourite character from varjak paw is cludge the dog.
ReplyDeleteFrom Mia
Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments and questions! It was a total pleasure visiting your school - I really enjoyed meeting you all. I'll do my best to answer some of your questions here...
ReplyDeleteCan you make a sequel to The outlaw varjak paw?
Thank you! I am planning to write a third book about Varjak one day - you can read a bit about my idea for it by clicking the link to this blog post. In the meantime, if you would like to read a sequel to The Outlaw Varjak Paw, I would be absolutely honoured and delighted if you wrote one yourself!
How old were you when you wrote your first book?
I was 30 when I started writing Varjak Paw, and 35 when I finished it. But I was always writing stories, even when I was at school. I don't think you need to be any age to be a writer - you can do it right now! And here are some writing tips that you might find helpful: http://www.sfsaid.com/2017/01/three-steps-to-writing.html
How do you get a book published?
First of all, have a look at the writing tips I linked to above. Then write the story YOU most want to read yourself, and do everything you can to make it as good as book you'd paid money to read! Then start showing it to other people, and seeing what they say - their reactions can help you to make it even better. Finally, when it's as good as you can make it, you could start sending it to some publishers - though you should be prepared to be patient, as in my case, I did get a LOT of rejections before I finally got my first book published!
Where did you get the idea for the character of Holly?
How did you get the idea of the two black cats?
How did you get the idea of Jasmine?
I don't think any of those characters were in the first draft of Varjak Paw! They developed as I worked on the book, draft after draft, trying to make the book better and more interesting each time. The black cats actually came right at the end, in the fifth and final year of writing! You can see some of my drafts in this resource I made for the British Library.
Who is your favourite character from varjak paw. How did you get the inspiration to be a author. What is you favourite book so far?
I like all the characters in Varjak Paw! The books I loved when I was young inspired me to write my own books - I loved them so much, I wanted to write something that was even half as good one day. And finally my favourite book so far is TYGER - I'm pretty sure it's the best thing I've written yet.
What is your next book going to be about?
I've only been working on it for a year so far, so it's still early days! TYGER took me 9 years in the end. I hope this one won't take as long as that - but it takes as long as it takes to make a book as good as you can make it, and it's always worth it in the end!
Thanks again for your wonderful messages! Happy reading, and happy writing!
SF Said
If you could choose one of your books to be a movie,which one would it be?(: 🤔🤔🤔
ReplyDeleteThank you for coming to the school. Will you make a movie of Varjak Paw?
ReplyDeleteWhy dint the contessa ever come out of her room and also can you make another book call varjack and ram and Holly
ReplyDeleteWhat inspired to write books ?
ReplyDeleteFrom Chi
Hello where do you write your books? I love reading them. Harvey
ReplyDeleteAre you working on a book at the momont
ReplyDeleteWhat's your fave thing about being an author? What is your fave thing in Varjak Paw? Tilly
ReplyDeleteI think that you’re an inspiring and amazing author.
ReplyDeleteWhere did your ideas for the book Tyger come from?
Grace B
My favourite book is outlaw Varjak paw
ReplyDeleteWhat is your favourite book
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your book, who is your favourite character in varjak paw, from ruby
ReplyDeleteHow long did it take for you to write your first book?
ReplyDeleteThank you for coming to our school! From Edith
ReplyDeleteWhat's your fave thing about Varjak Paw? What is your fave thing about being an author? Tilly😄
ReplyDeleteOne of the good things is that you cant stop reading!
ReplyDeleteCould you make a book where pancakes try to take over the world but a boy called Ollie try’s to stop them with his friends Alfie and Leighton and Olivia go in the pancake world and stop them
ReplyDeleteHi it’s Alfie I think the saddest part was when Varjak had to leave elder paw to fight the black cats
ReplyDeleteThe pancake book idea was from Ollie
ReplyDeleteSup
How old were you when you made and finished the outlaw Varjak paw
ReplyDeleteThank you for telling us about your journey to becoming an author. How did you get the idea of Jalal and his seven way?
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get your book ideas from?
ReplyDeleteLucas
How old were you when you read your first ever book and what was it called?
ReplyDeleteDear SF Said,
ReplyDeleteMe and my family are reading your amazing book Varjak Paw every night. We all take it in turns to read and everyone loves the book so far. I have also read the book at school with my class.
I would love to know who is you're favourite character in Varjak Paw. :):)
Thank you
George N
how did you get the inspiration to write the book called tyger
ReplyDeleteWhat is your next book going to be called
ReplyDelete