Book at Bedtime? Robot Audiobooks Out Now!

Hi folks,

I hope all is well with you and yours.

I'm currently in self-imposed lockdown in my shed and not allowed out until I've finished my new book! When it's done, this will be the fourth story in the series about twins Jake and Jess and their accident-prone robot. I've had a lot of fun writing these and it's been great to hear that readers are enjoying them too!

I'm very happy to announce that the first two stories are now available as audiobooks, read by the brilliant Peter Kenny. 

It's great hearing someone else read the story – almost like listening to someone else's book! I found myself laughing out loud, which to be honest, feels a bit weird when it's your own stuff – but with someone else reading it … well, I decided it was OK. Anyway, if you're looking for a bedtime story or something to raise a smile on a wet Wednesday afternoon, why not have a listen?

Both audiobooks should be available via your local library. Alternatively you can download from Audible, here:

MY BABYSITTER IS A ROBOT

IS MY TEACHER A ROBOT?

Oh, and while we're on the subject … the next instalment of robot mayhem – A ROBOT ATE MY GRANDMA! should be out over the summer. Watch this space!

Look after yourselves …
All the best
Dave

ROBOTS! EVERYWHERE! "Is My Teacher a Robot?" paperback and "My Babysitter is a Robot" AUDIOBOOK - OUT NOW!

Hi folks,

You know how you can sit around for ages waiting for a robot to arrive and then suddenly two show up at once? No wait … that's buses! (Does that joke still work in these days of service cuts? Let's not go there.)

Anyway, I am very happy to announce that the next book in the series, that started with My Babysitter is a Robot last year, is now available.

  
IS MY TEACHER A ROBOT? is illustrated by the very talented Catalina Echeverri who is currently working on the pages for the third installment, due out in August.

Lots of stories start with an idle WHAT IF? For example, what if you woke up one day and could understand what animals were saying? (Feed me, probably!) Or maybe, what if you turned up at school to discover that your teacher had been replaced by a robot. Would that be good or bad? The answers are all here!

I promised you two robots and I'm a man of my word …

I've always been a big fan of audiobooks. From the days when I would sit in my bedroom making Airfix models while listening to James Herriot's vet books on cassette and getting gently high on the fumes of Polystyrene Cement and White Spirit (as a result Herriot has always been the Hendrix of the literary world for me!) to long car journeys with my own kids listening to Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Men. 

Therefore, I was delighted to be invited to narrate the audiobook for WAITING FOR GONZO a few years ago, but even more chuffed to discover that Peter Kenny would be reading the first two robot stories. My Babysitter is a Robot audiobook is available now and had me laughing out loud (I'm probably not supposed to say that, but hey …) So if you need something to keep the nippers quiet on the motorway up to see Grandma …

That's it. No more robots until the summer, unless you happen to see me at an event somewhere, in which case please do come and say hello.

As always, thanks for your support and for taking the time to read this rambling nonsense.

Take care of yourselves
Dave

Gonzo shortlisted for German Children's Literature Award!

Photo: Thanks to "a tempo" – Das Lebensmagazin

I don’t normally shout about this kind of stuff, but I’m really chuffed about this one and wanted to share the news! The German edition of Waiting for Gonzo, Warten auf Gonzo, has been nominated for this year’s Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in the Young Adult category. Gonzo is one of six books on the shortlist announced at the Leipzig Book Fair last week (see photo!).

The Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis/German Children’s Literature Award is the most prestigious award for children’s and young adult literature in Germany, so it’s a real honour to be included. The results will be announced on October 13, 2017 during the Frankfurt Book Fair, with the Federal Minister Manuela Schwesig presenting awards to the winners in each of the five categories.

Waiting for Gonzo was the second book I had published in the UK. I was warned that second books are notoriously difficult to write, and Gonzo duly proved the rule! It is also the book of which I’m most proud, partly because of the blood, sweat and tears shed in order to get it right! I’m always extra pleased when readers tell me they enjoyed it, and despite the many drafts, long hours, and sleepless nights, in the end I had a lot of fun with Gonzo.

In 2013 I was lucky enough to fulfil one of my dreams when I was invited to the BBC studios in Bath to narrate the audiobook. Somehow, I then ended up going into a different ‘studio’ with one of my old bandmates to record a full soundtrack album to accompany the book—ten tracks of original songs by four of Oz’s favourite bands. Which, of course, needed music videos to go with them. Lots more work, but again, good fun.

There are lots of different language editions of Waiting for Gonzo out now, and I’d like to thank my publishers across the world for introducing Oz and the gang to so many new readers. But of all the editions, I have to say that my German publisher, Verlag Freies Geistesleben produced an exceptionally beautiful one. 

The cover, featuring Meg in her Dr. Marten boots, captures the mood of the book perfectly. The typography and page layout is wonderfully subtle and gives the whole edition a lovely feel. There’s even a QR code on the jacket linking to the aforementioned soundtrack. Superb stuff. Sadly, my sub O-level German isn’t anywhere near good enough for me to read this edition (though I am trying to learn in preparation for my trip to Frankfurt!). But I’d like to take the opportunity to thank Anne Brauner for translating this and the German edition of 15 Days without a Head. Judging by the nomination, I’d say she did a pretty good job!

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P.S. Should you wish to, you can find out more about the Waiting for Gonzo soundtrack here.

"Waiting for Gonzo" — The Music Videos! Part Two: Sunglasses.

When I was making up fictional bands for Oz – the narrator of Waiting for Gonzo – I was simply having fun, trying to build a fully three-dimensional character. I never imagined that one of those imaginary songs by a band that didn't exist would be released as a single …

If you like the song, you can download it here and help raise money for Bliss – the charity that provides care and support for premature babies and their families. The track costs 79p on iTunes, but you can download it from most online music sites. (Prices may vary, but all proceeds go to Bliss.)

Click here, to find out more about how and why Cyclops Dog and the rest of Oz's favourite bands were brought to life.

Waiting for Gonzo is out now in the United States and Canada, published by Flux.

A UK edition (published by Oxford University Press) and audiobook are also available.

To read the story in Italian or Polish, please click on the links for San Paolo, Italy and YA! Poland. A German edition will be coming out in November.

"Waiting for Gonzo" — The Music Videos! Part One: Cigarette UFO.

I know, I know … How do you start by writing a book, then end up making a soundtrack album and accompanying music videos? Well, you know how you get an idea and think "that'll be fun, shouldn't take too long"? Then thirty-six hours later you find yourself up at 3am clutching a torch and a fishing rod while attempting to animate a tin-foil alien spaceship? 
No? 
Just me then. 
OK, well … if you've ever wondered what a writer does on his weekends off, here is the result of one of mine. I hope you enjoy it.

You can DOWNLOAD the full Waiting for Gonzo soundtrack album (including Cigarette UFO)
HERE for FREE!

To find out how (and perhaps, more importantly, why) we ended up writing and recording an album of imaginary songs by bands that don't exist, just so you could listen to Oz's favourite music, I attempt an explanation here.

If you enjoyed the video you may want to check back here on Wednesday …

Waiting for Gonzo—the book that started all of this—is out now in the US and Canada, published by Flux.

A UK edition (published by Oxford University Press) and audiobook are also available.

To read the story in Italian or Polish, please click on the links for San Paolo, Italy and YA! Poland. A German edition will be coming out in November.

Download the "Waiting for Gonzo" Soundtrack — for FREE!

To celebrate the publication of Waiting for Gonzo in the United States and Canada, I'm posting a FREE download link for the soundtrack album that goes with the book.

"What's that?" you say. "A book with a soundtrack? Did I miss something?" 

The following video may help to explain …

So … now you can read the book AND hear the music playing in Oz's world as he makes his way through the story.

Ten original songs by some of Oz's favourite bands, including Dead Frank's Supersonic Milkfloat, Cyclops Dog, Cigarette UFO and Prayer for Halo—yours to download for FREE. Includes printable CD artwork with full lyrics booklet. 

DOWNLOAD HERE Did I mention it was FREE?

By the way, I'll be posting a couple more Waiting for Gonzo extras next week, so watch this space …

Waiting for Gonzo, is available now in the US and Canada, published by Flux.

A UK edition (published by Oxford University Press) and audiobook are also available. To read the story in Italian or Polish, please click on the links for San Paolo, Italy and YA! Poland. A German edition will be coming out in November.

Waiting for Gonzo AUDIOBOOK – Out Now!

Hot on the heels of Waiting for Gonzo coming out in paperback in March – and the soundtrack album a few weeks later – I'm delighted to announce that the Waiting for Gonzo BBC Audiobook is now available for download on the AudioGO website. (The CD version will follow in a few months.) 

Getting into character in the studio …

Producer Lyndsey Melling, safe on the other side of the glass!

Thanks to everyone at the studio for making me so welcome,  and to Sarah Manson for setting this particular Wheel of Destiny in motion.