Welcome to my site!

It ust worked out that way but all three places I visited in the same week had names starting with A and they were all A* visits!

I began the week close to home and was delighted to be back in Aberlady Primary school, this time to visit the Primary 4/5 and 5/6 classes I had missed out in my previous visit in the autumn, when I spoke to the younger and older chidlren.

There are some good pictures and a write up of my visit on the school blog

“We love Linda’s books, about Hamish McHaggis and other characters. We felt inspired to go off and write for ourselves. Thank you again, Linda.”

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The following day I was off to Aberfeldy to the Breadalbane community High school and Library which is a beautiful new purpose built complex for all the community as it is a sports centre, primary school, high school and library with easy access only moments walk from the middle of town.

I was speaking to the top of the primary school P6/7 and in the afternoon I was with S1 classes, speaking about writing and my teen novels. They were great events and the questions just kept on coming.

Driving back I found myself in a winter wonderland at one point where freezing fog was settling down over snow-clad pine trees and mountains which was so beautiful but unfortunately there was nowhere I could stop to take a photo!

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The next day I was off to Alloa to Sunnyside Primary school as part of their book week when they also had visits from other authors, Lari Don and John Fardell as well as performance poet John Hegley.

In the morning I had fun reading to the nursery classes, and then with Primary 1 and 2 we shared Hamish McHaggis stories and in the afternoon it was the turn ofP3.

Ialso visited the nursery afternoon group reading

What Colour is Love?

Quite a bit of travelling but a great A * week!

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Tuesday 8th March  and I was on my way to Perth to visit S1 classes in Perth Academy. As I was waiting to begin a boy from another class was sitting in the library and watched me putting up a display of my books.

“Don’t you get bored just sitting writing? he asked me.

I thought this was a very reasonable question especially if you have yet to discover the excitement of creating your own world in a story.

So what did I answer?

I told him that for me writing my books is like when you are watching an exciting film and you feel like you are one of the characters, scared one moment and desperate to find out what is going to happen the next.  Because when I write I can see the story playing out in my head, almost like watching it as a film,

Quite often I am not quite sure what is going to happen next.   But if iI know my characters well enough they take over and the story rushes on, so I have no time to get bored.

ON the following day I was back with little ones again, at Coaltown of Balgonie Primary School  telling stories of Hamish McHaggis who delighted the children by popping in to say hello!

There were lots of questions and the children waited very patiently and came out to speak to me as I signed the books they had bought.

March has been busy month for me with school visits, some of which I have already mentioned in my posts about World Book day and World Book Night, but that first week of March I also  paid a visit to Turriff

a lovely town in north Aberdeenshire.

I was speaking in Turriff Academy on the Friday morning,

about my teenage books Spider and Dead Boy Talking.

It was an interesting morning with lots of great questions. Here are some of the comments about my visit –