I was  a late starter when it came to reading.  At seven I was stumbling through basic sentences, bored out of my skull, desperate get out of the classroom into the sunlight outside.  As I didn’t read, I could barely write.

And then… everything changed.  I caught the reading bug.  It was an Enid Blyton, Secret Seven book that gave it to me.  From the day I lost myself in that adventure, I just couldn’t get enough books into me.

I have an early memory of being asked to write a single page story at school.  I wrote my page and just kept going – determined to turn it into a book.  Some twenty pages later I finally ran out of steam.   My teacher, astonished at the turnaround in her illiterate pupil, helped me to make a cover and staple it together.   It was called “Dracula’s Revenge”  and was my first foray into self-publishing.

More years later than I care to divulge, together with the wonderfully talented Margit, I have taken another dive into the publishing world – this time with Squarehead.  I wonder if he knows that he owes at least some of his existence to a rather bloodthirsty vampire?

We both hope that Squarehead and friends can help a few children discover an early love of books.  How wonderful would that be from a child who absolutely hated reading!