The Asian Review of Books loves Maggie and Methuselah!

November 15, 2021 at 4:23 pm | Posted in Book reviews | Leave a comment
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A big thank you to Melanie Ho, book reviewer for the Asian Review of Books, for her lovely review of my new chapter book for pre-teens, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah! Publisher Pete Spurrier at Blacksmith Books, artist Charly Cheung and I were soooo happy to read it!

Here’s the reviewer’s conclusion:

“Books set in Hong Kong can sometimes have a doe-eyedness about them, where the authors over-explain any inclusion of Hong Kong history, culture and traditions or where the characters and descriptions end up reading as tired and clichéd. This is happily not the case with Brennan and Cheung, whose knowledge, experience and sense of Hong Kong allow them to skillfully integrate history, customs and geography in a fun tale with rich illustrations. A good, old-fashioned adventure awaits.“

You can read the complete review HERE! And if you haven’t bought your own copy yet, you can purchase it at your favourite bookshop, or from anywhere in the world online by clicking this link!

Oh what a lovely launch!

October 26, 2021 at 12:17 am | Posted in Book launches | Leave a comment
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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 :)!

  • Pete begins the Quiz with a tricky question!
  • It was fun for me to listen in!
  • Urgh!!! Pete throws a bat at a young fan when she answers a question correctly!

Then illustrator Charly Cheung taught the fans how to draw an African Grey Parrot, just like Methuselah!

  • Charly teaches the kids how to draw Methuselah, the African Grey Parrot!
  • A busy drawing class!
  • A young artist…
  • And another…
  • And some more!
  • And the youngest artist of all!
  • Charly presents the artist with the best drawing with an original Charly Cheung print!
  • Charly and some young fans…

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!

  • It was great to be able to say hello to our fans while Charly signed their books!
  • Lining up to get books signed…
  • Saying hello to my lovely fans, including my young friend Lauren (front centre)
  • A fun book signing…

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!

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 comment
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Government House, Hong Kong, drawing by Charly Cheung in 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!

Meet Trevor, a maths-obsessed stay-at-home Dad!

October 20, 2021 at 2:16 pm | Posted in new books | Leave a comment
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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!

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 comment
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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 comment
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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!

At last I get to hold my new book!

September 18, 2021 at 9:24 pm | Posted in new books | 1 Comment
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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!

A fun video clip from my new book!

September 4, 2021 at 7:19 pm | Posted in Animation, Video | Leave a comment
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Picture from new video clip

Just ask Mum or Dad to click here so you can see a fun new video clip featuring my new book, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah! Huge thanks to creator Charly Cheung (who also just happens to be the fabulous illustrator of the book) for the images and Lenny To for the sound!

Isn’t it fun? And if you haven’t bought your own copy yet, you can get it at this link or at any good bookshop!

A sneak peek inside my new book!

August 7, 2021 at 9:09 pm | Posted in new books | Leave a comment
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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 comment
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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!

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