I'm a pedigree Shippo Pom-Pom dog. A dog, yes, but that doesn't mean I can't be the Palace Wizard, does it? I have a pointed hat, a cloak and a spell book. And a brain - more than can be said for the King's Advisor.

When a ghost starts haunting the castle the King needs a new Royal Wizard pronto - but dogs are not invited to apply. Hah! That won't stop me! Read this splendid book and see exactly how clever a clever dog can be...

Perfect for newly confident readers.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE PORTSMOUTH SHORTER BOOK AWARD

Another extraordinary adventure for the three brothers, Joe, Laurie and Theo. The boys are very surprised when they find a brand new garden gnome in the garden of theempty house next door. It's an odd gnome with very knobbly knees.

Laurie thinks he sees a face in the window of the empty house. Then, when they go into the village he sees the little man again - this time selling garden gnomes. Gnomes with twisted faces, funny ears and knobbly knees . . . What is going on? Why does the man only give the gnomes to RICH people to put inside their homes? And why is a garden gnome trying to get into their house?

Molly wants to be a princess but how can she be when she lives on an old farm and spends all her days feeding the goats, scratching the pigs and dusting down the moody donkey?

Molly has long, long hair, a perfect nose, a tiny waist, everything a perfect princess should have - except she isn't one and she doesn't have a prince.

When the castle advertises a grand ball and a competition to find a Perfect Princess, Molly enters it. There are tasks to complete but Molly isn't daunted. If she can cheat, then she will. If she needs to use her quick brain, she does.

But is Prince Percy Percival the man of her dreams? Find out in this funny, touching story.

A great read for 6 - 8 year olds.

Another weird adventure for Joe, Laurie and Theo (and Clinky Monkey too). Will the boys ever find the boy who has disappeared in the

Big Black Box ?

What's a stray dog doing in the garden and are those real diamonds he's got round his neck?

Not many stray dogs roam the streets wearing diamond collars... but Clinky Monkey does. How is Clinky Monkey connected to the kidnapped boy, Timothy Potts-Smythe? Why does the ransom note stink so badly? And who is hiding in the Zoo? Read the book to find out!

Trevor the Toad is in love with Princess Petunia, but warty toads don't marry princesses - unless there's a bit of magic involved...

Review by Nicolette Jones from The Sunday Times:

"The Toad Prince is a witty take on The Frog Prince, in which the princess can't resist a suitor who eats worms and flies."

Polly is packed off - with her talking bird, Morris - to stay with some aunts she's never met at 'The Shrubbery'. Polly's uncles have gone missing so when she finds them, turned to privet bushes in the garden, she knows the strange gardener, Gertie Gargoyle, has something to do with it.

'Sometimes a book comes along that brings a smile to your face and keeps you turning the pages to see what happens next. This is such a book.' Bruce Morris, The Dominion.

A perfect read for 7 - 10 year olds.

I've always loved ghost stories and I was thrilled to be asked to write a scary story. I once stayed in a haunted house beside a haunted river - I really do think the river was haunted. It was so spooky and dark and melancholy. I've never seen a river like it. I didn't want to have anyone drown in it, so the river just forms the backdrop to the story.

Extract:

When I was little, my friends and I used to visit an old house which had a real bear pit in the garden. No bears had been in there for many years of course. We used to dare each other to push open the iron gate and go in. Nobody dared to. If you stood there listening for long enough, you could hear the ghost bears grizzling and growling, pacing back and forth, desperate to escape...

Extract:

It took me ages and ages to write Copper. I simply couldn't get the plot to work out. I should have worked the storyline out before I'd started writing the book, of course, but I never can manage to do that. I wanted to set my story in the snow and to have lots of mysteries and secrets and surprising twists. The story just grew and grew. I had no idea I was going to write about dragons or wood and rock people. That's why writing is such fun - you never know what might happen.

I did the pen and ink illustrations inside. Ralick is actually my eldest son's cuddly toy.

Extract:

Amethyst is a blue-violet precious stone... and the name of a very special girl sent on a very special mission. Meet up with Copper again in this second story set in the Marble Mountains.

This is the third book featuring characters from the two other Marble Mountains books, Copper and Amethyst.  

Crystal is a prisoner in a grim, grey city. She hates everything about the place she lives.  She wants to escape, but how can she when the town is heavily guarded, surrounded by a high wall and there's a night curfew? Even in her own home she is spied on by a strange slug-like creature.

When Crystal glimpses someone looking up at her through the depths of dirty Lop Lake, she is amazed but strangely hopeful . . .  Is this the help she's been waiting for?

Reuben’s exciting adventures began in THE CURSE OF THE TOADS. Now he is on the run. When Reuben visits the eccentric Lord and Lady Marley, he stumbles upon a dark secret. Something is hidden in the ruined chapel. Something so shocking and disturbing, it that will change his life forever…

An historical mystery/thriller. Reuben is kidnapped and forced to work with a quack doctor and his toads. Curses!

SHORTLISTED for the Calderdale Book Award 2007

The greatest love story ever, retold in simple words with all the slower scenes missed out.

Joe goes to stay with his uncle and cousin. Late at night there is a terrible scream! Who or what is it? Jose and his dog Bingo, along with cousin Molly make a magical, mysterious discovery... but others want it kept secret at any cost!

Well some very special dogs do... and bake cakes too!

I got the idea for this book from a photograph in a magazine of some stone dogs decorating a high wall which surrounded a castle. It is about a girl called Bella who turns into a dog and joins the ten stone dogs to find treasure. Together they are the WEATHERSTONE ELEVEN!

Out of print

- out of print - second hand copies only from amazon marketplace

My son Laurie was the inspiration for this book. He loved collecting animals when he was small. He actually wanted to be a dog when he grew up.

Out of print.