Alom Shaha

Hope it all gets better soon. Take care

Just checking - are these guinea pigs?

Have said this before in other forms, but will reiterate it here: if you're doing long-form writing of any sort, reading the words aloud into a microphone is a completely unparalleled cheat code. It's free, easy, and so effective it feels like it shouldn't be allowed. I do it in a few stages...

Sorry to hear this, mate

Tell me about them!

“Have just a fortnight”?

This is also incredibly useful for finding clunky dialogue!

Ha!

Thank you!

this is like

the thesis statement of our times

Thanks for the link. Will have a read

Thank you. Have not heard anything positive about them yet!

Huntley dead, and the world is slightly less shit.

Don’t make a hero of his killer though. He’s already on a whole life sentence for three murders, including a five-month pregnant mother who he also raped.

Remember the victims of these foul men.

I‘m planning cupcake decorating!

I thoroughly second this! I grew up in a pretty deprived area and authors were miraculous gods to me (I was a bit of a reader as a child!). I can’t imagine how amazing it would have been to meet one and perhaps talk to them. Definitely bring the books!

All the best birthday parties when I was a kid were the ones at someone’s house with no more than six of us. Pass the parcel, musical chairs, bit of music, small buffet and a birthday cake, finish at 6pm latest. Perfect for a shy introverted kid like me.

Thank you, that’s very useful to know

Misread this as 'pet rabbi' and spent a disorienting couple of seconds trying to parse out what you could mean

We had this rule that you can invite the number of friends equivalent to your years. Four kids for a fourth birthday, and so on. They always were brilliant. No tears and tantrums, no overwhelms and no mountain of presents.

Back in the day (I’m talking 1960s), birthday parties involved having 6-8 school friends round to your house for jam or banana sandwiches, biscuits and home made birthday cake. Games like Pass the parcel and Oranges and lemons. Simpler times!!

Wow. That‘s a bit scary…

Sounds amazing

Thank you, that’s incredibly useful to know

They can be territorial. A friend had one, went on holiday leaving the neighbour to come round to feed it. She ended up having to post the lettuce and carrots through the letterbox as the rabbit so viciously attacked her when she came round!

Birthday parties weren’t really a thing we did in my neighbourhood / primary school. Tremendous pressure on parents now which I wish we could all push back on for the sake of those parents for whom it’s a massive financial burden.

But you should at least take your books to show them. Not (just) because it gives you authority, or sales, but for their sake. It gives the kids a connection to a published author of real books. It makes that seem attainable, something of their world. And you can always suggest the library 🤗

Thank you - that’s excellent advice. I’m doing a reading from “How to Find a Rainbow” but will take copies of my other books as well (and leave them for the school)

Post promoted by listening to “The One and Only Ivan” which I loved reading and am listening to to remind myself if it’s as good as I remember before reading with children. An odd audiobook in that I don’t love the voice but do love the writing.

That might work for me - got loads of old shoes which I never wear but somehow can’t seem to throw away… ;)

Planning a “making“ birthday party for my eldest’s 9th. Incredibly grateful to her for actually wanting something like this because it means we don’t have to fork out hundreds for a trampoline park which seems to be all the rage at her school. Also, I’m loving trying to come up with the activities