Just a quick post to say I'm smiling today after visiting Amazon and finding a lovely new review from someone experienced in dementia care. Take a look: 
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1500464880
It makes it all worthwhile :)

So, after attending the Nosy Crow masterclass, I came home with a list of recommended books for children aged 9+. This was brilliant not just for me, but also for my 10 year old daughter, who gets through books as fast as I can find them for her.
One of the books was The Secret Hen House Theatre by Helen Peters. Helen did a talk at the Nosy Crow masterclass on what inspired her to write and how the writing process works for her. I bought her book, read it, loved it, passed it on to my daughter, who declared it 'brilliant', and then I sent a message to Helen via twitter to say how much we both enjoyed it. I was particularly struck by the first chapter, which set the scene for the rest of the book through a very skilful use of action and dialogue and minimal description.
Nosy Crow then asked if I would like to write a blog post for them, with my daughter. I did and you can read it here: 
http://nosycrow.com/blog/reading-the-secret-hen-house-theatre
I'm off to Chicago on Monday for a 2 week work trip, so writing will have to take a back seat for a while. I'm planning to keep a journal while I'm out there...

A lovely review from Anne Cater: "Mr. Nobody is a sensitively told account of how Alzheimer's Disease can affect a whole family. The strain on relationships, on friendships are plain to see, and Natalie Gordon has taken Katie's voice and given the view of a small child who sees things as they are…Mr. Nobody is a great read, and although aimed at the children and young adult market, I really enjoyed reading it."
To read the full review, visit Anne's Blog: http://randomthingsthroughmyletterbox.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/mr-nobody-by-natalie-gordon.html

It's been a brilliant couple of weeks…last week I heard from a book critic whose partner picked up a copy of Mr. Nobody as part of the extreme reading challenge (see earlier post). She writes for the TLS, The Guardian and The Observer and wrote to tell me she loved the book and would be happy to endorse it for me. What were the chances of a book critic based in London picking up a copy of Mr. Nobody off a Cumbrian peak?!

Tonight, an independent book blogger alerted me to her fantastic review of Mr. Nobody on her blog. Bex Hughes says: I've not come across many novels which deal with Alzheimers as a subject, and I think that to do it this well and especially for children is an absolutely fantastic accomplishment.

To see the full review, take a look at her blog: http://anarmchairbythesea.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/mr-nobody-by-natalie-gordon.html

I was so excited by the news article on Mr. Nobody in the Gazette (see earlier August post) that I missed the book review! This image is clearly too small to read, so here's the link: http://m.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/11402726.BOOK_REVIEW__Mr_Nobody_by_Natalie_Gordon/