Launch events & a new review
Author: Barry | Filed under: Events, Invisible Fiends, PressWell, despite the mild panic demonstrated in my last video blog, I’m happy to report that the launch events for Mr Mumbles went brilliantly. There were four events – two around the Glasgow area, and another two in and around Edinburgh.
On Tuesday I visited St Bernard’s Primary in Glasgow, where I spoke to the Primary 6 & 7 classes. Because it was my first event I was a bit nervous, but I hope I managed to cover it up by rambling on about squirrels for a bit, then talking about the world’s largest poo.
After St Bernard’s it was over to St Michael’s in Moodiesburn, North Lanarkshire. This was a big event, with just under 200 pupils from two schools piling into the hall to listen to me. I was feeling a bit more relaxed about it by this point, having survived the first event. The kids were asking such great questions I really didn’t want the event to end, but end it did – after half an hour or more of book signing!
Once I’d finished at St Bernard’s I was whisked off to Edinburgh, where I checked in to the amazing Tigerlily hotel. That night I met my editor, Nick, for the first time, which was great. We discovered a shared appreciation for He-Man, and I found out that Nick used to read a website I created back in 2000/2001. Small world, and all that.
The next day was just as jam-packed, kicking off with a 3 school event at the Scottish Book Trust. The audience were really charged up and into the event, and as a result it was probably the most successful event of the lot. You can see some photos from the event if you click here.
Finally, after a quick lunch (well, a chocolate brownie and a cuppa in the Scottish Storytelling Centre), I rushed over to Whitburn Academy, the first secondary school I’ve ever visited. Although I had been told, I hadn’t properly realised that I was going to be talking to older kids, so I had to hurriedly adapt my ‘talk’ so it better suited the age group. It seemed to work well, as the pupils seemed to really enjoy the event, and you literally would not have been able to hear a pin drop in the audience when I was reading an extract of the book to them.
On Monday night I was dreading doing the events. By Wednesday afternoon I was wishing I could do more. It’s a fantastic buzz getting out there and talking to potential readers, and I’m not sure whether they or I will have enjoyed it more. Roll on the UK-wide tour (more details to be revealed soon!)
To finish this post, here’s a review I was sent by journalist Jayne Howarth. It appeared in this week’s Birmingham Post, and Jayne was good enough to scan it and email it over. Cheers, Jayne!
Click the image to make it bigger. Otherwise it might be tricky to read…






