Oh what a week that was! And a fun event up ahead!!
February 12, 2023 at 7:31 pm | Posted in Events, Hong Kong events | Leave a commentTags: Bookazine Princes Building, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Rhonda Rabbit
Well, I’m officially EXHAUSTED but so HAPPY! I’ve had the most wonderful week visiting schools in Hong Kong, and am absolutely overwhelmed with the warm welcome back, and the amazing book orders! In fact, there were so many book orders to pack that I haven’t had a moment to post about my visits…and now I’m in Taiwan to visit three more schools!
I’ll be posting as soon as possible with some great photos of each visit. But in the meantime, here’s a fun event you can come along to, just before I fly back to France! I’ll be reading from The Tale of Rhonda Rabbit, then my friend Suzanne Younan, who writes the fabulous Green Dragon series, will be launching her latest book, and then we’ll BOTH be teaching you how to make some pop-up animal puppets … which can be rabbits or dragons or monkeys or a bit of them all! How very confusing!
And Harry Harrison will be there too to say hello! He might even have a fabulous colouring-in sheet for you to take home!
I look forward to seeing you there!
Oh what a lovely launch!
October 26, 2021 at 12:17 am | Posted in Book launches | Leave a commentTags: Blacksmith Books, Bookazine Princes Building, Books about Hong Kong history, Books about Hong Kong history for kids, Charly Cheung, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
Thank you so much to Arti and Shonee Mirchandani and the team at Bookazine Landmark Princes Building for hosting the launch of my new chapter book The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah on Saturday! It was a fabulous event, and even though I couldn’t be there in person, I was there by Zoom for the whole launch and didn’t miss a moment!
Here are some slideshows of the event, from photos contributed by artist Charly Cheung and her friends, as well as my lovely daughters in Melbourne (who joined my zoom presentation) (you can see their faces on some of the pictures)!
First my publisher Pete Spurrier from Blacksmith Books started off by welcoming the lovely crowd which included some of my very dear old Hong Kong friends, as well as some fabulous young fans!
The launch begins, as Pete Spurrier introduces my new book! 
The dream team! Publisher Pete Spurrier at Blacksmith Books, illustrator Charly Cheung, and me! 
The kids had the chance to enter through our creepy secret tunnel – just like the tunnels in my book! 
The cobwebs, spiders and bats on the secret tunnel were pretty creepy! 
A lovely display of my books – including my Chinese Calendar Tales!! 
Pete, Charly, me on the screen, and my friends Shonee and Arti Mirchandani from Bookazine! 
An absorbed young fan…
Then I gave a talk by Zoom about the fascinating history behind the REAL Hong Kong mystery which inspired by story!
My presentation begins! 
Introducing the remarkable Sir Paul Chater, creator of the valuable Chater Collection which so famously went missing! 
Introducing the main characters in my story! 
A brief summary of the events preceding Chapter 6! (You can see my lovely daughters Annabel (second from top) and Bea (at the bottom) at the side of the picture. 
From Chapter 6: the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong in December 1941 
The chapter continues as Maggie and Edmund decide to search for the missing Chater paintings… 
Some of my lovely listeners! Thanks so much for coming along!
Publisher Pete Spurrier then ran a fun quiz, where he asked the kids tricky questions about my presentation! The kids who got the right answers won some creepy spiders, snakes and bats worthy of the tunnels in my story…as well as upcoming Halloween of course :)!
Then illustrator Charly Cheung taught the fans how to draw an African Grey Parrot, just like Methuselah!
Finally, everyone lined up to have their books signed! I’d already signed a book plate for my lovely readers, and Charly added her signature, while the kids had a chance to chat with me at the same time!
Thank you so much to Charly and Pete for all the wonderful work they put into the launch, with some fantastic decorations and special effects! And a HUGE thank you also to Arti and Shonee Mirchandani at Bookazine, for their fabulous hosting of the event!
And if you’d like to buy your copy of the book, signed by both me and Charly, I believe that there are still some signed copies available at Bookazine Princes Building! Or you can purchase your own (unsigned) copy by clicking HERE!
FINAL REMINDER: Mwa ha ha! Do you love DARK MYSTERIOUS TUNNELS??
October 22, 2021 at 4:57 pm | Posted in Book launches | Leave a commentTags: Bookazine Princes Building, Chapter books for pre-teens, PRE-TEEN EVENTS, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
MWA HA HA! If you’re a fan of dark, mysterious tunnels (not to mention hidden treasure), then the launch of my new book The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah is the perfect event for you! Come and join us tomorrow at 3pm at Bookazine Princes Building for the most exciting pre-teen event in town! Click here to register right away!
And don’t forget to bring a torch…and that clipboard :)!
See you there!
Listen to my interview with Noreen Mir at RTHK3 about my new book and the launch this Saturday!
October 21, 2021 at 10:32 pm | Posted in Radio interviews | Leave a commentTags: Bookazine Princes Building, Charly Cheung, Noreen Mir, RTHK3, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
A big THANK YOU to the lovely Noreen Mir at RTHK3, who interviewed me yesterday about my new book The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah and the exciting book launch coming up at 3pm this Saturday at Bookazine, Princes Building! You can register on this link.
Just click HERE at 48:40 on the slide to hear all about:
- my inspiration for the book
- some of the fascinating true HK history behind it, including the World War II tunnels still lying beneath Hong Kong
- why Government House in Hong Kong is an important setting in the story 🙂
- how I first met our fabulous artist Charly Cheung on a plane 🙂
- what it was like to write a chapter book for the first time after all my rhyming verse in the Chinese Calendar Tales!
Just 4 days to go till the most mysterious, exciting book launch for pre-teens in town!!
October 19, 2021 at 5:30 pm | Posted in Book launches | Leave a commentTags: Blacksmith Books, Bookazine Princes Building, Books for preteens, Charly Cheung, Hong Kong history for kids, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah, The Mystery of the Missing Chater Collection, World War 2 in Hong Kong
There are just FOUR more days to go until the most EXCITING, MYSTERIOUS book launch for pre-teens in Hong Kong!!
Learn about the HIDDEN TREASURE still waiting to be found in Hong Kong! Find out all about all the MYSTERIOUS TUNNELS still lying underneath the city! WIN some creepy prizes in our QUIZ! LEARN HOW TO DRAW a very funny, loveable PARROT with award winning artist Charly Cheung! WIN an original signed Charly Cheung drawing! TAKE HOME some fabulous activities! Get your book SIGNED! I can’t wait to see you there!
NB: Make sure you register for the event by clicking HERE !
NB: And make sure you bring a CLIPBOARD for the drawing lesson!
YAY! You are invited to the Official Launch of The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah!
October 14, 2021 at 9:52 pm | Posted in Book launches | Leave a commentTags: Bookazine Princes Building, Books about Chinese history for kids, Charly Cheung, Hong Kong history, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
Sound the trumpets! Beat the drums! And above all, get ready to have FUN! This is your official invitation to the Official Launch of my exciting new chapter book for pre-teens, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah (A Mystery in Hong Kong)!
If you love mysteries about missing treasure, adventures in dark tunnels, and above all, crazy rhyme-loving African Grey parrots, you’ll just LOVE hearing all about my new story at 3pm on Saturday, 23rd October, at Bookazine, 3rd Floor Princes Building!
I’ll be Zooming in to read you a fun chapter, and to fill you in on all the fascinating, fabulous Hong Kong World War II history behind the story!
PLUS you can learn how to draw that crazy rhyme-loving African Grey Parrot (a.k.a. Methuselah) from brilliant artist Charly Cheung (but only if you remember to bring a clipboard so you can draw on it!)
PLUS you can win some fun prizes in our QUIZ and Drawing Competition!
PLUS you’ll be going home with a tricky Maze and some Colouring-In to complete, and a great bookmark! Not to mention a signed book if you wish :)!
So make sure to save the date in your diary, and we’ll see you there!
Thank you Bookazine for a fabulous Hong Kong event!
January 21, 2020 at 2:42 pm | Posted in Book signings, Bookazine Princes Building, Chinese New Year, Hong Kong events, Room to Read | Leave a commentTags: Bookazine Princes Building, Boxed Set of Chinese Calendar Tales, Centricity Hong Kong, Room to Read, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Run Run Rat
A big THANK YOU to Bookazine for hosting a fabulous event last Saturday to celebrate the upcoming Year of the Rat – and our wonderful city of Hong Kong – at the beautiful Centricity in Central! A huge bunch of kids, mums and dads came along to hear three fantastic Hong Kong story readings from three fabulous Hong Kong authors, and take part in some fun Chinese New Year activities! They even got to meet Geronimo Stilton!
![IMG_1007[1]](https://sarahbrennanblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/img_10071.jpg)
Of course we had to celebrate the 12th Birthday of The Tale of Run Run Rat, the very first of the Chinese Calendar Tales, which even outsold Harry Potter for 6 weeks in Hong Kong when it was released in 2008! Here I am, above, reading the story to the audience. We had a lot of fun following Run Run from his humble Chinese village all around China to the Olympics Marathon in Beijing!
Then everyone trooped into the activity room to make my rather tricky Rat Mask – I was SO impressed with all the masks the kids made, with a little bit of help from their parents! I think the mums and dads especially had a lot of fun! I’ll be posting details shortly, so you can make the mask too!
After that, Karen Jane Ho and Jessamy Woolley gave two fabulously entertaining story readings – and trips around Hong Kong’s special places – with their beautiful books Emi Takes Hong Kong and Billy the Cavalier and Friends. And then everyone made some gorgeous Chinese New Year decorations…and played Hong Kong Bingo!
Thank you again to Arti and Shonee Mirchandani of Bookazine, their events manager Clemence Robine, and of course Mrs Mirchandani with her steadfast support! Here we are below:
And thank you to all the lovely fans who came up to say hello and get their books signed afterwards!
And last but not least, thank you to my dear friend Jennie Orchard, of my favourite children’s literacy charity Room to Read, who came along to support us all. Here we are below with my beautiful Boxed Set of Chinese Calendar Tales.
We all had a wonderful afternoon!
It’s the International Day of the Girl!
October 20, 2019 at 5:10 pm | Posted in Being an Author, Bookazine Princes Building, Bookshop event, girls' education | Leave a commentTags: Agatha Christie, Amelia Earhart, Bookazine Princes Building, Frida Kahlo, Marie Curie
Today is such a special day, because we celebrate all the girls in the world! Especially the girls who dream about doing something great with their lives!
And today I took part in a truly wonderful event at Bookazine Princes Building, organised by sisters Arti and Shonee Mirchandani, owners and directors of Bookazine and Far East Media Limited, and their lovely events organiser Clemence Robine, who are themselves great women who have done great things for booklovers in Hong Kong! Not to mention for local authors such as myself!
Three inspiring Hong Kong ladies and I spoke to a lovely crowd of girls (and their brothers, mums and dads!) all about some great women of the past! You can see me above, dressed up as Agatha Christie, the most successful crime writer in the world! Did you know that her books are the best selling books in history, except for the Bible and the works of William Shakespeare? I was very proud to tell the audience a bit about her life and how she became a writer.
The lady above is Janice Lao, an environmental scientist and economist who is working to save our beautiful planet by making sure that bad chemicals are kept out of our water and our air. She talked all about the great scientist and Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie, who discovered radium which led to the creation of X-ray machines and other life-saving medical devices, amongst many other useful modern day tools.
And we also heard wonderful Hong Kong artist and author of a very special new children’s book called Koki’s Voice, Riya Chandiramani, talking about life and works of the extraordinary Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, and airline pilot Ruth Murrell who flew in specially to talk about Amelia Earhart, the first woman aviator to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a plane!
We all learned so much, and we all had such fun! Thanks to Bookazine for a brilliant event, and for sharing these photos with me!
Meet some me and some Famous Big Girls this Sunday at Bookazine Princes Building!
October 16, 2019 at 6:48 am | Posted in Bookshop event, girls' education, Hong Kong events, Room to Read | Leave a commentTags: Agatha Christie, Amelia Earhart, Bookazine Princes Building, Frida Kahlo, International Day of the Girl, Marie Curie, Room to Read
For everyone who loves GIRLS WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE – and that means all of us, everywhere, young and old, girl or boy, mum or dad, family or friend – this Sunday is a very special day!
Yes, it’s the International Day of the Girl and fabulous Hong Kong bookstore Bookazine is celebrating with a fantastic FREE event from 10am to 12noon at their Princes Building Store!
And there will be some very famous ladies represented there! No less than Amelia Earhart, Agatha Christie, Marie Curie and Frida Kahlo, each of whom have made huge contributions to the worlds of aviation, writing, science and the arts respectively!
And yes, you’ll see me all dressed up as Agatha Christie, one of my favourite mystery authors of all time, as I tell you a little about her life and work! (You’ll also see three other real life inspirational Hong Kong women colleagues, all leaders in their fields!)
I can’t wait to see you there! But remember to email the link here to RSVP to reserve your place!
And if you want to support girls’ education and literacy to give them the very best start in life, just click on this link to find out more about international charity Room to Read, for whom I am a very proud Writer Ambassador!
Which little pig is coming to market?
November 14, 2018 at 4:27 pm | Posted in Bookazine Festival Walk, Bookazine Princes Building, Buying my books, Christmas Fairs | Leave a commentTags: Bookazine Princes Building, Conrad Christmas Fair, Harry Harrison, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Ping Pong Pig, The Year of the Pig
There’s a tasty little pig coming to a market near you any day now! Yes, it’s Ping Pong Pig, in her very own special story for next Chinese New Year, about her amazing adventures in the Forbidden City in Beijing! You can see her, with the cunning Minister of Most Important Things, in the picture above – the Tale has been illustrated by the wonderful Harry Harrison yet again and you’re going to just love the whole book! The Tale of Ping Pong Pig will be available online soon here, as well as in Bookazine shops in Hong Kong and at the Conrad Christmas Fair by next week! So make sure you add that tasty little porker to your Christmas list!
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