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Here's what The Winnipeg Free Press said about Dry Season.

Junior Apprentice, eh? Makes me wonder where they found these guys. Precocious teenagers who want nothing more than to be 'in business'. I thought teenagers were supposed to want to smoke fags and get drunk. But no, apparently not, and we're treated to the surreal sight of kidz dressed as city bankers � oh, and the other one with the bohemian look � trying to behave like adults. Strange, too, that the girls (apart from little Kirsty) all look as if they might be 17/18 or older, but the boys l...

Having both a son and a daughter, I'm lucky enough to see the best (and worst) of both worlds. I think it's fair to say that my daughter isn't exctly a 'girly' girl. She's not into ponies and pink and all that vomitous stuff; she's more interested in Doctor Who, Skullduggery Pleasant and The Spook's Apprentice. But, you know, she like clothes 'n' hair stuff and looking nice. She's a girl. But boys? Well, they're an entirely different species. My son is exactly what you'd expect. He likes...

Well, the run's done. And there was me thinking my eight year old would walk most of the course! She ran and ran and ran � five miles with barely a pause other than to have a shlurp of water. Children have a habit of surprising you like that. What impressed me most, though, was not that she found it easy but that she found it tough and yet she kept on going. She never gave up, and I'm very proud of her because that shows a lot of strength. So well done to Anisha, and to all the other...

That's it, then. There's no escaping it now. I've signed the form, got the t-shirt, raised a few pounds, so now I'm going to have to do it. Run.

Yep, run.

It's the 28th Children's Cancer Run on Sunday 9th, and I'm doing it with my daughter who will pep me along the five mile cross-country slog, er � run.

I'm not sure I'm designed for running. I mean, I like to try to keep fit, but � running? My brother and his wife, now they are runners.

They run all over the place. They've done marathons 'n'...

You're gonna say 'get him out of our midst' aren't you? 'What's he doing in our midst?'. Well, it's my midst too. Anyway, I thought the few people who stumble across my blog might be interested to see this. A great article and a great review. Hey, it's a cool pic, too dontcha think?

Well, I know that Dry Season was published in February, but it seems it's never to late for a launch event, and I think it's fair to say that last night was a success. Caipirinhas were mixed, wine was opened, samba was played, and all things Brazilian added to the atmosphere. Oh, and those nerves didn't get the better of me in the end. Between them, Penny Smith from University of Northumbria and Claire Malcolm from New Writing North helped the discusion proceed with an easy quality, and...

I know, I know, but this is still all new to me � I had another review and thought I'd post it here in case anyone is interested. Just click on it if you want to read it. It's a good one, otherwise I might not have been so keen to publicize it but � well, there you go. And if I don't blow my trumpet, then who will?  Oh, and there's a proud spot for Dry Season in Waterstones in Morpeth. They even said it's going to be in the window next month, so that's fantastic � it's great that...

My wife has been in her element these past few days. The book launch is imminent and while I am feeling quietly nervous about my first time centre stage, my wife has found the perfect opportunity to be on the phone organising stuff. And there's nothing she likes better than being on the phone � apart from organising stuff, of course. Anyway, everybody is now invited, so hopefully there'll be a few people there, rather than just us rattling about in Gallery North, and I'm gonna try to start...

Authors are always looking for fresh ways to promote their work. It can be tough to get noticed. Anyway, there seems to be a trend towards creating book trailers � much like film trailers � to give the potential reader a taster of what the book might be about. I don't think anyone really knows how beneficial they are but � hey, it can't hurt.

Can it?

I've seen a few videos of varying quality and, if nothing else, they can be fun to watch. Some, of course, are very professional. Others, as you c...