Book birthdays!!!!

Book birthdays are always nice.

If you've never heard of a book birthday - well, it's the day when your book officially comes out in the shops. And today is the book birthday of Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face and the Great Big Story Nickers! Written by me, and illustrated as ever by the fabulous and fantastic David Tazzyman, without whom...

I'm really proud of this book. I mean, I'm proud of all my books, and I'm certainly proud of the whole Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face series; but I'm feeling particularly proud and pleased with this one at the moment. I do honestly think I've written a very clever story.

The thing is... well, if you're a S&KF fan, you'll know that Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face know that they're in a story. And sometimes the story sort of intrudes upon itself, like in Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face and the Quest for the Magic Porcupine when Miss Butterworth takes a look at the library's copy of Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face and the Quest for the Magic Porcupine so that she can advise our heroes. Or in Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face and the Bees of Stupidity, when they get a note from the writer to tell them they're in the wrong place..

In Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face and the Great Big Story Nickers, those villainous badgers get hold of a copy of Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face and the Great Big Story Nickers and start mucking about with it. ​And this causes difficulties - not just for Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face, but for me, my editor Kathy, and our designer Karen. Because when characters in a story are making changes to that story - some of them quite big changes... Well, it gets complicated.

And as if that wasn't complicated enough, we held a competition. You know those competitions where the winner gets to be in a story? One of those. So there's a young chap called Alfred Kendon-Furtado who keeps popping up and adding to the complications.

But however complicated it gets, it's still an awful lot of fun. Why not get hold of a copy and see for yourself! And to get you in the mood, here's First Draft with the Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face theme song!

Of course, I'm not the only one having a book birthday today. A glance at my Twitter feed suggests that the first Thursday in May is a very popular publication day, and some of my other author friends have new books to celebrate. I know that the new Young Bond book, Heads You Die, by the fabulous & fun Steve Cole is out today, and School for Dads by the lovely Adam & Charlotte Guillain (and illustrated by Ada Grey) is also in the shops. 

But a special mention has to go to my very best author pal Jo Cotterill for her  gorgeous A Library of Lemons. This is a really, really lovely and moving book about grief, friendship, and the power of books. It made me cry, in a good way. Do get yourself a copy.

Jo and I are having a book launch party tomorrow in Oxford to celebrate our new books - any librarians, writers, booksellers, reviewers etc. reading this who would like an invitation, please leave a comment to that effect. And any other author friends with a book out today - do let me know!

UPDATE:
 Paula Harrison has some very shiny new books out today. And several lovely writers including Susie Day, Elen Caldecott and Sally Nicholls have a collaborative book out - 12 short stories by 12 great authors.

UPDATE 2:
Jonathan Meres is celebrating the publication of his TENTH 'World of Norm' book today!!!
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And UPDATE 3;
My lovely friend Cas Lester sees the latest of her Nixie the Bad Bad Fairy books in the shops today, too!