This week I was lucky enough to attend Walker's young fiction preview evening in Hoxton. I headed straight over after putting the shop shutter down. And I was lucky enough to arrive just in time to hear the first author being interviewed by Anna James (author of Pages & co)
Having read Malamander it was wonderful to hear how Thomas Taylor had come to write this brilliant adventure. He spoke of how he'd explored various genres and age ranges before finding his voice for this middle-grade fiction. Having a large exuberant dog he has found himself walking on his nearby beach several times a day. And gradually a fascination with the flotsam and jetsam one finds as a beachcomber and a sea mist or two and he had the start of a story world as you'll be able to appreciate once you've read this wonderful adventure...
Thomas' 5 word synopsis of Malamander was - 'Eerie Sea-Side Beach-Combing Mechanical Mystery'
We were lucky enough to have a visit from Thomas the following morning- so we popped the kettle on, got a plate of cakes from @jadeboulangerie and asked him if he'd mind signing copies of his book for us. We also talked him through our competition and asked him to decide where Herbie Lemon's Lost & Founder hat had been misplaced but not to tell a soul. Thomas wrote the answer and placed it in an envelope which he sealed.....