17/12/2021 0 Comments Moving to bloggerFor more news, views, stories, photographs and more, please find me on blogger.
Here is the link to the Writer's Room which I started on this website. It has now moved to blogger.
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12/10/2021 0 Comments Free for a limited time onlyDilly Dally Sally is available to download for free on Amazon until Saturday 16 October. Take a break, enjoy nature and get lost in the magic of a duckling's life along the canal in East London. It's reality with a dash of fiction and rhyme. I was fond of this photograph and thought about using it as the cover. There are so many cute images of baby animals and I love them all. It's hard to pick a favourite. It's lovely that I can share my story and photographs with you for free. Get your copy and have a dilly dally day. These links will take you to Dilly Dally Sally on Amazon: 14/9/2021 0 Comments Lily & Rose: A short storyThis summer I had the opportunity to write a short story for Write On! Extra. I wanted to reflect on nature, rest, recharging, creativity and friendship.
The story began with characters bickering and goes into a dream like stream of consciousness. The fun part about doing this piece was experimenting with humour, ambiguity and metaphor. The three photographs that I included play with the story and how it was shaped. I'm posting an Instagram highlights which might add another dimension to a reading of it. You can find the story here on the Write On! Extra Thoughtful Tuesdays page for September which was on Rest + Recharge. Write On! Extra is the online sister to the Write On! quarterly magazine published by Pen to Print. 30/6/2021 0 Comments Ducklings in the NewsDucklings are so cute. I can't count the number of times I have wanted to take a duckling home with me. I have read about people hatching ducklings from an egg they bought from the supermarket. The idea does tickle me and I have thought about trying it. However, the practicality and reality of looking after a duckling in a small apartment in London has meant that dream will be for another day in the future when I have a house, pond or farm! Hundreds of ducklings have been abandoned in Ireland. A TikTok trend led to children and teenagers buying them from street sellers, some of which may have been kidnapped from their families. Once the amount of work necessary to look after them became clear, many ducklings were abandoned and rescued by charities. Enjoy nature in its natural habitat. Royal Parks is also running a campaign to Keep Wildlife Wild. They suggest that 'By not feeding or touching wildlife, visitors can help protect their natural way of life, and in turn experience a deeper connection with nature.' For more information - you can check out these articles:
30/6/2021 0 Comments Dilly Dally Sally UpdateThe Dilly Dally Sally journey continues beyond the ducklings falling asleep ...
I'm working on a sequel. There will be more animals, nature, the canal, East London and of course dilly dallying. In other exciting news, the book reached:
I never expected the number of downloads and all the support that I have had from family, friends, new friends and fans. Everyone has been so amazing. The paperback will be out soon so make sure you follow me on social media and / or on Amazon so you'll know when it's available. Or send me a message on the contact page and I'll make sure you are kept up-to-date. Have a dilly dally day! In Dilly Dally Sally, the cygnet's Mum has a fishing hook in its foot. Several years ago, one of the swans in Limehouse Basin was in distress from a fishing hook in her foot. Thankfully a volunteer from the Swan Sanctuary removed it. The swan had three eggs and there was concern she might not return to them after the hook was removed. She went for a swim and eventually did settle back on the nest. Two cygnets were born and these are the ones that you see in the book. I have also recently seen the London Wildlife Protection save abandoned ducklings which would not have survived the night. If you do see any wild birds that need help, please contact these brilliant charities as they can help. Also, if there is a wildlife charity that you wish to donate to, I have witnessed them in action. I would recommend them as they are making a difference and saving animals. Their websites are here: www.theswansanctuary.org.uk/ www.londonwildlifeprotection.org/ For all those that had to dilly dally, I'm extending the promotion so that you can download Dilly Dally Sally. It will be available for free until 17 May 2021 to read on the Amazon Kindle app.
No more dilly dallying though because I can't extend it again. I'm excited to be able to offer the electronic copy of my children's book Dilly Dally Sally for free. This offer is for a limited time. The last day of this promotion is 15 May 2021, 11.59pm PDT.
Here is the link to take you directly to the book - Dilly Dally Sally. Also, please leave a review on Amazon, Twitter or Instagram to share your thoughts. I'd love to hear from any kids too. It helps to know what you like or don't like for the other books I'll be releasing. Dilly Dally Sally is a fun story with photographs of East London's canals and animals. You'll need the Amazon Kindle app which is also free and available on Google Play and the Apple app store. You can view the book on your phone, tablet and certain Kindle devices. Or check it out on your desktop through a browser using Amazon cloud. The paperback version will be out soon. Follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more Dilly Dally Sally news and other promotions. An East London story.Dilly Dally Sally is a picture book inspired by the real wildlife of East London. It features photographs of ducklings, swans and geese from Regent's Canal and Limehouse Basin.
The story is about a duckling who likes to dally. One day when she is distracted, she becomes separated from her family and needs to find her way home. It is more than just an entertaining story with a few rhymes or a collection of adorable photographs of wildlife. It is an educational reader about life skills and survival. A few years ago, I was walking along Regent's Canal to Victoria Park, I noticed a duckling which dallied and she was separated from her mother and siblings. The duckling swam incredibly fast to catch up with them. I took photographs and videos of these ducklings. My fascination with ducklings grew and I wanted to develop a creative project that captured my love for them. After I finished writing Dilly Dally Sally, I realised that I wasn't just writing about a lost duckling. It was about how I was feeling lost and struggling to find my way. Just like Sally, I have dilly dallied and sometimes wish that I hadn't. The consequences of procrastination may be trivial or result in larger challenges. It is like coming home when I arrive at a solution, though often I am still trying to make my way back and hope that I will reach there soon. The story of Dilly Dally Sally is set in the borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is an area which is a mixture of poverty and gentrification like many parts of London and Great Britain today. East London has a colourful history. Dickens included Limehouse in his fiction and his godfather's sailmaking business was at 12 Church Row (Newell Street). The child poverty rate in Tower Hamlets is the highest of all the London boroughs. 57% of children live in households in poverty. The typical London borough is estimated at 38%. Dickens highlighted child poverty in his fiction more than 200 years ago. The problems persist today. UNICEF estimates that globally 356 million children live in extreme poverty. Education is often considered a driver of social mobility. My vision is to create affordable, educational and entertaining books for children that can help all children develop some of the important skills for the world they are growing up in. You can also check out kid's activities here. I hope you enjoy reading Dilly Dally Sally as much as I have enjoyed creating it. A sample of pages can be viewed here. Dilly Dally Sally is available as an electronic book on Amazon and will be in paperback soon. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram to find out when there will be free books and promotional offers. 17/3/2021 0 Comments March 17th, 2021If you Keeping Children Safe As a child, I remember the panic I felt when I thought I was lost. My parents were in an aisle of the store and I would always eventually find them. Children love running around and exploring. Like ducklings, they stray from parents and carers. A few years ago, a friend's 7 year old son was lost for a couple of hours when he was at the park with his grandfather. He told his mother later when he was safely at home that he had been very scared. As an adult, we hope that a good samaritan will help in this situation. However, children should also feel empowered and equipped with knowledge about what sort of things they might do if they are ever lost. In my book Dilly Dally Sally, you can explore the idea of danger for ducklings. When Sally sees the heron, she knows that it is time to swim away quickly. This moment in the story can lead to conversations with children about what are some things they need to be careful of, such as getting lost, talking to strangers or the types of people they might approach such as a policeman, shop owner or another parent with a young child. Whilst we want children to have fun, they do need to become more aware of the world that we live in and what to do if they find themselves on their own. It is important for children to become independent and develop the skills for dealing with difficult situations. At the same time, we want to find a balance between teaching them versus managing fears about what is out there. Every parent will decide when is the best time to begin these conversations and how they want to approach the issues. As a child, after I told my parents I thought that I might not be able to find them, we talked about what to do next time. I felt such relief and every time afterwards whenever I thought I was lost, I could hear their words of advice in my head. It had such a calming effect. As an adult, I still love running around and exploring. I still occasionally get lost. Actually getting lost as an adult can be enjoyable when you have the time and the weather is fine. Enjoy nature, stop to stare at something wonderful today and become lost in the moment. If you have any thoughts or questions about this post, I can be found on social media or lost somewhere in London. |
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