Hi all! Just a few things today. I’ve been posting chapters every Tuesday on my Patreon of a new short story. I’m sharing chapter 1 in this newsletter (below), and you can subscribe here to read more if you’d like. Chapters 4 of 13 are now up.

In other news, I’m super excited to share that my hopeful climate anthology Future Hopes is now available for preorder in the US with Candlewick Press! I love what they’ve done with the cover, while still maintaining the gorgeous artwork by David Litchfield. This is going to be hardback, which I’m very excited for. It’s also coming out in Japan, which is a dream come true!! I can’t wait to get that edition.

In an uplifting anthology of climate fiction, solution-focused and inspiringshort stories by authors including Eli Brown, Louie Stowell, and Neal and Brendan Shusterman offer hope in the fight to save planet Earth.

In the face of climate change, this collection of compelling stories offers a road map for a future where our planet can thrive, rooted in real-world science and technology. Optimism shines as ingenious characters imagine ways to make a healthier planet, from the realistic to the fantastic, and get down to making them happen. From skyscraper farms to a bug-eating school competition, from guerrilla gardening to a rebellion against augmented reality, these wide-ranging and thought-provoking stories will leave readers feeling empowered in the fight to address the climate crisis. After each story, anthologist Wren James shares some ways that readers can make its ideas a reality. Award-winning author and zoologist Nicola Davies lends her insight and encouragement to the foreword, while comprehensive back matter includes practical advice for living more sustainably at home, discussion questions, a glossary, resources for further learning, and information about the contributors.

The Heartstopper Forever movie also came out this week! I was lucky enough to get to go to the premiere in Leicester Square to support Alice, which was an incredible experience.

The Victors is also making it’s way out into the world with aplomb! It’s had some amazing press reviews:

“This witty, stylishly drawn enemies-to-friends YA graphic novel elegantly subverts the “chosen one” trope, asking pointed questions about what happens after the final battle.” – The Guardian

“Full of kindness, humour and beauty” – The Irish Independent

“The master of plot twists and turns, always keeping the reader hooked, while also being incredibly funny too. Highly, highly recommended.” – The i Paper

“A playful, clever take on familiar fantasy tropes, with student elections, social media and awkward moments as much a part of daily life as the aftermath of a huge magical war. The mix of the visual and verbal lends itself to establishing this part-magic, part-mundane world quickly; the more nuanced, emotional aspects of the fast-paced plot are well supported with the images. A rewarding read for both classics nerds and graphic novel fans.” – The Irish Times

“Sharply realised and page-turning. A uniquely compelling and richly illustrated story about identity, fandom and found family. Highly recommended.” – School Reading List

If that’s not convincing, I don’t know what is! Get your copy in the UK here (it’s out in Australia on 31st August):

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Waterstones | Foyles

I’ve been leaving signed copies filled with sticker sheets and art prints in various bookshops around London and the Midlands, so take a peek inside if you’re browsing to see if there’s anything fun. I’m also going to be doing panels at YALC, Thoughtbubble and Once Upon a Tyne this autumn if you want to grab some goodies in person!

In personal news, my partner Luca moved in with me! We’ve been having such a good time cooking our way through the Dishoom cookbook and going on long hikes in the countryside. 🙂

The Goblin and the Raven – Chapter 1

Norris was tucking into a nice moist crust of bread when Raffles swooped down onto his stall table and cawed at him. Her mouth was full, so it was a rather pitiful caw. More of a ‘www’ than a true raven call.

With a sigh, the goblin lowered the crust back into the saucer of milk where it had been marinating. It had been just the correct level of saturated to pick up in one piece. Now he’d probably need to use a spoon. It was white bread too. A luxury in this day and age.

“What’s up, darling?” he asked the raven, scratching down her wings. Raffles blinked at him, white eyelid flicking vertically over her eye.

She dropped the contents of her beak into his open palm. It was shiny – which was no surprise, since everything that Raffles brought for him glistened and glowed and shimmered a heavenly shimmer. Most of her ‘treasures’ were usually milk bottle lids or horseshoe nails, however. Worthless, for the most part, to anyone except Raffles and Norris.

This, however. This most definitely was not worthless.

Raffles had brought him a bejewelled, embellished, bedecked, engraved tiara. He promptly stopped grieving his misspent bread crust. Dinner could wait.

“Where did you get this?!”

Scrambling for his spectacles, Norris inspected the detailing of the gold metal. There were six rubies. Seven emeralds. Three and a half sapphires. A Lily of the Valley motif that rivalled the finest handicrafts in the Royal Palace Museum.

While he mainly dealt in hubcaps and haberdashery, his untrained eye placed the tiara at early Thirteenth century, maybe even late Twelfth century. It was a treasure of unrivalled beauty.

“Raffles,” Norris breathed out. The tips of his long ears were wriggling in such excitement that it knocked his eye-glasses right off his nose. “Was this – did you find this at an archaeological dig site?”

Raffles fluffed up her feathers and let out the bird equivalent of a snort. No.

“Washed up on the river bank?”

Another, slightly more disdainful snort.

He wrinkled his nose. “The rubbish dump?”

No again. His excitement was fading fast now. With ice filling his green veins, he asked, “You didn’t steal it off a human noble, did you?”

Raffles strutted up and down the length of the table, cooing proudly.

Norris groaned. This was the problem with ravens. They understood every word you said. They were generous to a fault. Affectionate, even. And yet, they didn’t have any good, plain common sense.

“We don’t steal from nobles,” he said, for what must be the thirtieth time in the years since he’d realised that the black-and-white speckled fledging hiding under his caravan wasn’t going to leave any time soon. “They always come looking.”

Raffles just tilted her head, awaiting the snack that she always received when she brought him something to sell on his stall. Norris could never resist that expression. Her big dark eyes; the shimmery gloss of her feathers. People who complained about puppy dog eyes had clearly never seen a begging corvid.

He dug into his tabletop terrarium and chucked her a wiggling worm, which she swallowed whole, before settling down in the crook of his shoulder for a contented nap.

Norris sighed, tickling her chest feathers gently. A penny or a key would have been much more useful. He hadn’t sold anything in a fortnight now.

But even if he couldn’t sell the tiara, she had brought him a whole heel of stale bread yesterday. Nothing to be scoffed at by a goblin who hadn’t eaten in three days. She deserved all the worms in the world. Even if she didn’t understand social customs very well.

The tiara laid on his stall table, glimmering in the sunlight in a way that exuded warmth and good peace. Based on the fact that he could no longer smell the odours of the nearby fishmonger, he rather suspected that it was charmed with some sort of Environmental Enrichment spell. Which was even more annoying, because those charms cost an arm and a leg. The owner of this bauble could probably afford to send a dozen guards out hunting for the person who’d stolen it.

There was no chance in hell he could add a priceless tiara to his stall. It would possibly draw a bit of attention between the iron pickaxe, length of rusty chain and flowerpot.

Norris was a consummate coward, so he did what he always did when there was a problem he didn’t know how to deal with: he ignored it. The tiara was shoved deep under his desk, into the gap between the floorboards where he kept his cash box (current status: empty).

Luckily, most of the other merchants were still setting up their stalls for this month’s fairy night market, so it didn’t look like anyone had noticed his latest acquisition. He could feel his heart pounding. Desperately, he tried to force his ears up into a calm, tall position. They disobligingly laid flat against his scalp in fear. This was not turning into the quiet, relaxing evening he’d hoped for.

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Upcoming Events

NEWCASTLE//27th September – Once Upon A Tyne fantasy book festival – Sunday day tickets

LONDON//31 Oct – 1st Nov – YALC – day tickets

HARROGATE//14-15TH Nov – ThoughtBubble Comic Festival – day tickets