Celebrating Rock Cake Day and the Great Readers in Our Lives!

In our house, January 16th is Rock Cake Day!

My nan would have been ninety-four today, and each year we mark her birthday by baking a batch of Rock Cakes, using the closely guarded secret recipe (don't even ask!) she developed and passed on to us.

At this point some of you may be thinking—“Hang on a minute! I thought this blog was about books and writing and stuff? Why’s this bloke babbling on about buns?” 

Let me explain …

Apart from her legendary baking skills, my Nan was also a great reader. (She is the only person I have ever met who managed to read the entire works of Charles Dickens—twice!) Her love of books started when she caught whooping cough as a child and had to spend long periods of time in hospital. Her dad was a big reader and, worried that his daughter might be missing out, took books in for her. When she got home, my nan still wasn’t strong enough to play outside, but found plenty of adventure and excitement in the stories she'd discovered.

Her first job, aged 16, was as a seamstress with a small firm in Birmingham in the 1930s. Keen that her workforce of young, sometimes poorly-educated, girls should find further enrichment, the owner started a tradition of reading aloud during the lunch break. My nan told me how they worked their way through the Old and New Testament of the Bible, before moving onto Dickens and Shakespeare—a bit different to Radio One blasting away in the staff canteen!

As I little kid, I remember Nan as always having a book on the go. It made me think that there might be something in this reading business—so I copied her, and started carrying A Bear Called Paddington around with me! I’ll admit that to begin with I didn’t open it that often, but after a while I gave it a go—and of course, I was hooked.

As I got older, I began recommending what I was reading to her. I’m not sure how much she actually enjoyed The Three Investigators series, but she read them, and we talked about how great they were. In turn, she lent me The Wind in the Willows and Watership Down (the first book to make me cry, sitting up in bed at 2am, sobbing by torchlight!) But the greatest passion we shared was Robert Westall. We were on a mission to collect and read his entire works. Sadly, my Nan died before we could complete the quest, but we did a pretty good job. I am now keeper of the collection—still guarded by the pig bookends she used to keep them in place.

Readers need each other—just as much as writers need readers, and readers need writers! I suspect that human beings have an innate need to share the things we like. (Have a quick look at Facebook or Twitter if you don't believe me.) We see a fantastic film, hear a great record or read a brilliant book, but it’s as though the process isn’t complete until we can tell somebody about it—and stories are meant for sharing.  

So, to all the great readers I have known and talked books with—but especially my nan—Happy Rock Cake Day! And if there is one special person who first introduced you to this wonderful world of books, why not give them a call—find out what they're reading, or meet up and share stories over a brew and a rock cake! You know it makes sense.

15 Days included on the 2013 CILIP Carnegie Medal Longlist

Another piece of good news today: 15 Days Without a Head has been nominated for the 2013 CILIP Carnegie Medal! 

Ever since I saw the words "Carnegie Medal" on the cover of Robert Westall's The Machine-Gunners, this award has held a special place in my dreams, though I never entertained the idea that one day I might actually find myself nominated!

Awarded annually by CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, the CILIP Carnegie Medal is awarded by children's librarians for an outstanding book for children and young people, while the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal is awarded by children's librarians for an outstanding book in terms of illustration for children and young people.

CILIP also run, in conjunction with both the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals, a hugely successful Shadowing Scheme engaging thousands of children and young people in reading the books on the shortlist every year. Karen Robinson, Chair of the Judging Panel for 2013 and Youth Libraries Group Chair elect, said: "This fantastic longlist - the largest ever - represents the high quality of children's publishing that we have here in the UK and is a testament to the enthusiasm of children's librarians across the country. In these difficult times it is really heartening that more CILIP librarians than ever can still find the time to nominate. Judges have a hard task in front of them to read and assess all these exceptional books by our specific awards criteria but their dedication and enthusiasm is second to none and we are all looking forward to the challenge!"  (from the Carnegie Greenaway website)

Read the full Carnegie and Kate Greenaway nominations list here. 

Summer Reading Challenge

The summer months have always been a great time for reading. What could be better than a few hours in the sun (or shade!) with a mug of tea and a good book? 



An important part of getting ready to go on holiday as a teenager was choosing the books to take with me. Looking back now, the details I remember are often linked to the books I was reading: having my copy of The Two Towers stolen on a ferry or spooking myself with Robert Westall's The Scarecrows in a rainy, wind-blasted cottage in the Lake District. My copy of Hemingway's To Have and Have Not still bears the greasy stains of Ambre Solaire and the odd grain of Dorset sand stuck between the pages. Over the past two days I've been scanning the blue summer sky for aircraft trails while reading Elizabeth Wein's Codename Verity.

I'm a little too old to join in the Reading Agency's Summer Reading Challenge to read six books before the schools go back in September, but thought I'd have a go anyway. Here are my six summer reads (plus the one I've already started!)

Leave me a comment and tell me which books you'll be relaxing with this summer.

Blog Tour #8: Dave's Dozen Wondrous Reads!

For today's stop on the 15 Days Without a Head Blog Tour, I'll be visiting Wondrous Reads to talk about my top twelve books of all time … so far!

6 Days Without a Book! Countdown to Publication #10: What every writer needs – an anarchic ginger cat for company.

15 Days Without a Head will be in bookshops in 6 days time. By way of celebration, I will be publishing a new post here every day, leading up to publication on January 5th. The idea is to provide a few bonus items, such as you'd expect to find on the extras disc of a DVD – except these will be available before the main feature of course. 

One of the biggest adjustments I had to make when becoming a full-time writer, was dealing with the solitude. Going from a busy design studio to being alone all day in an attic, took a little bit of getting used to. Once the words start to flow, my surroundings tend to fade, but it’s the start of the day when I feel it most, when I climb the ladder and find myself saying good morning to an empty room. There is also the fact that these days, every tea round seems to be my turn.


For some reason I’ve always associated cats with writers, though I’m sure there are just as many, if not more, who own dogs. Maybe it was the scene at the end of Betty Blue, when Zorg sits down to write and the cat appears to keep him company, that made me think our feline friends would make such good writing companions. I read somewhere that Jan Mark’s house was full of cats, whom she conversed with daily, further adding to her legend as a wonderful eccentric, as well as a superb and prolific writer. My all time literary hero, Robert Westall, had many cats and wrote about them frequently, with the kind of depth and understanding that only comes from years of sharing your life with the creatures.


Then there is Albert – the anarchic ginger cat I mention at the back of 15 Days Without a Head.

He is Kato to my Inspector Clouseau – you can never be sure when, and from where, he will leap out next.

Can that rat really do kung-fu?

A Maine Coon, Ragdoll cross-breed, Albert looks like a small lion, with an eighties soft-rock haircut. He’s the most intelligent cat I’ve ever known. Access to the attic where I work each day is achieved by means of a loft ladder. While all our previous cats have sat at the bottom mewing up at me, Albert learnt to climb the ladder. More impressively, he has also worked out how to get into the attic when the ladder is up. There’s a bookcase nearby which would get him part of the way, but after that … I can’t quite explain how he does it. A bit of feline sorcery I suspect.

Off to patrol the roof.

When I first started hanging around the house all day, it took him a while to adjust to my new routine, but these days he is often at the top of the ladder waiting when I ascend to start the day. At least now I’m talking to a cat rather than an empty room. While I check my email and schedule for the day, Albert does his rounds on the roof. The downside of this, is that I have to leave the skylight open until he returns, which on a December morning can be a little draughty. He comes in cold, damp and dirty, and retires to his spot – inside a box of old video tapes. I talk to him more often than is probably healthy, and I haven’t got a clue what he’s saying in reply, but as writing companions go, he’s OK – rubbish at making tea though.

So, it's my turn again is it then?

Entries for the draw to win a signed copy of 15 Days Without a Head must be received by midnight tonight (30 Dec 2011). Click here for details.

Tomorrow: I'll announce the winner!