It’s been a busy, and incredibly exciting, few weeks for me and my books.

On Friday, Arsenic for Tea was chosen as The Bookseller’s children’s book of the month for February 2015, in an incredible write-up that still has me glowing when I think about it. It’s out in just 67 days (I’m counting), and it can be pre-ordered from Waterstones, Amazon, Blackwell’s and Hive.

The Bookseller review of Arsenic for Tea, Friday 21st November 2014

In Murder Most Unladylike news, I finally got to share the thing I’ve been bubbling over about for quite a while: in 2016, Murder Most Unladylike will be published in French by Flammarion Jeunesse! The thought that I’ll be able to connect with French-speaking children through my story is just marvellous. My book will soon be fluent in more languages than I am!

I’m also honoured to have been longlisted for the Oxfordshire Book Award 2015. I went to primary school in Oxford, so this feels particularly special to me. And the kids of Oxfordshire have brilliant taste! I’m up against a list filled with my own favourite books and authors, and it’s a treat to be among them.

And finally, Murder Most Unladylike has been picked by the exceptional booksellers at Blackwell’s to be one of their children’s books of 2014. Which is quite brilliant! Thank you, Blackwell’s.

Murder Most Unladylike as one of Blackwell’s children’s books of 2014!

I’ve done a bit of blogging this month, which I haven’t had a chance to mention yet:

First, for Girls Heart Books, on the importance of NaNoWriMo (and why sometimes you need to grit your teeth and just keep writing).

Second, for YaYeahYeah, about my own personal ‘classics’ of children’s literature.

And third, for Author Allsorts, on my own experience of why we need diversity in children’s literature.

I’ve also been doing lots of free-range authoring!

Last Saturday I was lucky enough to be able to take part in the WriteIdea Festival. I went to the YA Quiz and then interviewed the amazing Tanya Byrne about YA, thriller writing and her own journey to publication. It was a brilliant day!

At QuizYA with fellow bloggers and authors. Photo by Bob Stuart.

Me with Tanya Byrne. Some exciting thoughts were clearly happening. Photo by Bob Stuart.

And on Wednesday, I joined fellow authors (and Carnegie nominees!) Susie Day, Sally Nicholls and Jo Cotterill to help launch Blackwell’s Oxford’s 2014 Giving Tree.

The Giving Tree 2014

This is a charity that I am utterly passionate about. For the past three years, Blackwell’s has partnered with The Children’s Society to give shoppers the chance to not only buy books for their own children this Christmas, but to buy a book for a disadvantaged child who would not otherwise receive one.

This matters. Children need books, not only to give them practical tools they can use to navigate adult life, but to give them the ability to imagine what that adult life could be. But around 1/4 of all UK children live in poverty, and the hard fact is that you can survive without books. Any parent, when asked to choose between making sure their child doesn’t starve or freeze, and giving them a book, is going to be practical. Books can only come second.

When libraries are closing up and down the country (and you know how I feel about that) it’s more and more up to individuals to step in and help out – so please, if you can, buy a book for a child who needs it this Christmas. You don’t even need to go into a Blackwell’s – you can buy online, via this handy page here.

I bought three!

I was delighted to be able to help out, and I want to keep on spreading the word – so please let all of your friends know as well!

Susie Day, bookseller Rebecca, me and Sally Nicholls with the Giving Tree

Look how happy giving to charity has made us!

And finally, I’m hijacking this post to have a proud auntie moment. My nephew (who lives halfway across the world, in Hawaii) recently had to pick a book to write a project about for his English class. And he chose Murder Most Unladylike!

Here he is presenting it to his class – look how cool he is! I suspect the football boot may be there to represent the Clue of the Shoe, and the book is obviously Hazel’s casebook. He got top marks, of course.

My nephew with Murder Most Unladylike.