Meet Trevor, a maths-obsessed stay-at-home Dad!
October 20, 2021 at 2:16 pm | Posted in new books | Leave a commentTags: Books about Hong Kong history for kids, Charly Cheung, Hong Kong history, Natural History Museum South Kensington, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah, True Hong Kong mysteries
Trevor is Dad to Maggie, one of the three heroes of my new book The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah! He met Maggie’s mum, Ursula, back when he was working as an animal conservator at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London. He’s shy, he’s kind, and he loves his daughter Maggie to distraction! But he also loves MATHS PROBLEMS! In fact, his ambition is to solve the world’s greatest maths problems, which is one reason why he loves being a stay-at-home Dad, especially when Maggie is at school and he can work on his computer!
If you click on the link here you can see a fun animation by our fabulous artist Charly Cheung of Trevor busily taking notes back at the museum! Isn’t it fun?!
You can find out more about Trevor and the rest of the characters in my book THIS SATURDAY at the official launch! Make sure you register on this link, and REMEMBER TO BRING A CLIPBOARD!
Thanks Kids4Kids for a great virtual event!
October 7, 2021 at 7:50 pm | Posted in new books | Leave a commentTags: Government House, Hong Kong history for kids, Hong Kong mysteries, Kids4Kids, Sir Paul Chater, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah, The Mystery of the Missing Chater Collection
Huge thanks to the fabulous team at Kids4Kids (pictured above) who invited me to and hosted me at our event together this morning! A whole gang of young Kids4Kids members joined us via Zoom for a funny and informative introduction to my exciting new chapter book for kids, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah (A Hong Kong Mystery). We talked all about the fascinating Hong Kong WWII history behind the story, and especially the mystery of the missing Chater Collection! But I think what excited the kids most was the fact that there are still tunnels all over Hong Kong, from, Kennedy Town to Chai Wan to Repulse Bay, guarding their WWII secrets! There’s even one behind the Kids4Kids headquarters in Wanchai! Now the kids are busy completing a questionnaire about the history, and the person who gets the most questions right…and writes the best description of the place where they think the paintings are hidden…will win a free copy of my book! Best of luck kids! And thanks for joining the session this morning!
A REAL Hong Kong mystery for you to solve!
September 30, 2021 at 3:43 pm | Posted in new books | 1 CommentTags: Hong Kong history, Hong Kong mysteries, Sir Paul Chater, The Chater collection, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
Introducing Sir Paul Catchick Chater, whose missing paintings are at the heart of the mystery in my new book The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah ! Sir Paul was a VERY important man in Hong Kong, but apart from Chater Road in Central and Catchick Street in Kennedy Town, most Hong Kongers today know nothing about him! Born in Calcutta to Armenian parents, he was orphaned at the age of just 7, and came to Hong Kong to be near his sister when he was 18. But he was clever, and very good at business, and by the time he died he was so well-loved and important to Hong Kong that he was called the “father of Hong Kong”! Here’s a small list of just some of the things he did:
- he founded Dairy Farm (which owns Wellcome, Mannings and Marketplace) with a Scottish partner
- he founded Hong Kong Electric, one of the first electric companies in the world!
- at night, he could be seen in a sampan, measuring the depth of the coastline, which resulted in Hong Kong’s very first land reclamation, where Statue Square, the old Legco Building, Princes Building and the Mandarin Hotel stand today! As well as Chater Road of course…
- he built the fabulous Marble Hall as his family home, on Conduit Road. Here’s a picture:
So why is he so important to my new book?
Well, he also collected VERY valuable paintings and etchings of China’s early contact with Europeans, the most valuable of which went missing during World War II, and have have never been found since ! Today they would be worth at least 30 million Hong Kong dollars or 3 million pounds sterling! They must be somewhere in Hong Kong – but where?
You’ll have to read my new book to find out how they disappeared and where they might be now! Maybe you’ll be the one to find them!
And if you want to find out more about the fabulous Sir Paul Chater, just click here!
At last I get to hold my new book!
September 18, 2021 at 9:24 pm | Posted in new books | 1 CommentTags: Blacksmith Books, Books about Hong Kong for kids, Books about Hong Kong history for kids, Charly Cheung, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
I’m so excited to hold my new book – at last! It’s taken weeks for it to arrive here in France!! It’s so hard not being in Hong Kong right now to celebrate with illustrator Charly Cheung and publisher Pete Spurrier at Blacksmith Books – not to mention all of you, my lovely fans! But as soon as those l-o-o-o-o-ng HK quarantine rules disappear, I’ll be back to see you all in a flash! And in the meantime, wait up for some more funny animations by Charly to introduce you to the characters in my book in the coming weeks! And if you want to join Maggie and Methuselah on their exciting Hong Kong adventure, you can buy your own copy at Hong Kong bookstores or by clicking here!
Remember to bring a torch!
August 28, 2021 at 6:13 pm | Posted in new books | Leave a commentTags: Blacksmith Books, Books about Hong Kong history for kids, Books for pre-teens, Mystery in Hong Kong, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
A big THANK YOU to Charly Cheung who created this fabulous poster for my new book! Isn’t it fun! And so are all her 80+ fantastic illustrations inside the book! The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah is out in bookstores now – and available all over the internet too! You can buy your own copy here!
A sneak peek inside my new book!
August 7, 2021 at 9:09 pm | Posted in new books | Leave a commentTags: Blacksmith Books, Charly Cheung, Hong Kong history, Hong Kong stories for pre-teens, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah, WWII history of Hong Kong
Here’s a sneak peek inside my funny new adventure book for 8 to 12 year olds! You can see a really bo-o-o-oring reception at Government House in Hong Kong, which Maggie’s mum insists she attend. It’s also where the exciting action starts! And it’s just one of over 80 fun illustrations by award-winning artist Charly Cheung which you can enjoy in my new book! Just ask a grown up to click here to purchase your very own copy!
HOORAY!!!! The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah has finally arrived!
August 5, 2021 at 4:43 pm | Posted in Hong Kong, new books | Leave a commentTags: Blacksmith Books, Charly Cheung, Government House Hong Kong, Hong Kong history, Hong Kong WWII history, Missing Chater Collection, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
After months of waiting…my new book is finally available!! It’s been a marathon for all of us: me, my wonderful publisher Pete Spurrier at Blacksmiths Books (top left) and our fantastic award-winning illustrator Charly Cheung (with Pete, top right). HUGE thanks to all the lovely parents and kids who pre-ordered the book for their patience. By now, the book should be in your hands! We hope you love it as much as we do!
Here’s a bit from the blurb:
Maggie loves hanging out with her best friends Methuselah (her talkative African Grey parrot) and Edmund (the richest boy in Hong Kong), but she loathes attending boring parties with her high-flying mum and dad! Little does she know that a Family Fun Day at Government House will trigger a thrilling adventure involving one of Hong Kong’s greatest mysteries: what happened to the immensely valuable Chater Collection, which was hidden on the eve of the Japanese invasion in World War Two? A funny, exciting story for pre-teens set in one of the world’s most exotic cities, where cultures meet and risks are for the taking!
For readers aged 8 to 12 who love mystery, history and adventure! With 80+ illustrations.
So if you’d like to purchase your own copy, just click here, or visit your favourite Hong Kong bookstore! And keep visiting this blog as I tell you more about the story and the fascinating Hong Kong history behind it!
At last! The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah is at the printers!
June 30, 2021 at 10:22 pm | Posted in Book launches, new books | Leave a commentTags: Blacksmith Books, Books about Hong Kong for kids, Charly Cheung, Chater paintings, Hong Kong mysteries, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
HOORAY!! At last my exciting, funny new chapter book for pre-teens has gone off to the printers! It’s looking just fabulous, thanks to our incredibly talented illustrator Charly Cheung, who has drawn more than 100 illustrations!!
It’s all about two adventurous kids living in Hong Kong: expat Maggie Magill and her best friend Edmund Ma, Maggie’s very funny African Grey parrot Methuselah, and a fabulous Hong Kong mystery which is real and has never been solved! Not to mention some spooky World War II tunnels, some very valuable treasure and an exciting helicopter rescue!
The publisher Pete Spurrier at Blacksmith Books tells me that it will take just two weeks to get printed – so all you lovely parents and kids who have been so patient with us over the last few months will get their copies by mid-July! At last!!
We’re planning a fabulous Hong Kong launch, so watch this space and I’ll let you have all the details as soon as possible!
And if you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, you can pre-order it now by clicking this link!
Hello from France!
November 3, 2020 at 8:15 pm | Posted in new books | Leave a commentTags: Blacksmith Books, Dordogne, new books
Hello my lovely fans and friends! I’ve been a little quiet for a while…because my French husband and I have just moved to our lovely house in a little village in the Dordogne in south west France, and we’ve been soooo busy! Here is a picture of it, taken just after we arrived, when the weather was still hot! Now, it’s getting chilly and all the trees are changing colour – it’s very beautiful!
Our little village has a wonderful old church with a bell tower. The bells chime the hour, every hour, and also do a very noisy but pretty carillon at 7am, noon and 7pm! Here are some pictures of our village:
But fear not! I shall still be visiting all my old haunts in Hong Kong, China, the rest of Asia and Australia with my books, whether in person or by Zoom! And I can’t wait to see you all again soon!
Even more exciting, I’ve got a new book in the pipeline! It’s my very first chapter book for kids aged 8 to 12 and it will be published by Blacksmith Books early next year. You’re going to love it! So keep visiting this blog for some sneak previews! And if you want to make sure you don’t miss out on any news, just click the Subscribe button on this page!
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