The Shadow Lantern Book Launch: Much Deserved Thanks!

Teresa Flavin is on the blog today telling us all about the launch of her latest book, The Shadow Lantern.

On the eve of May Day, with spring finally in the air in Glasgow, forty-five guests and I assembled in Waterstones Argyle Street to celebrate Templar’s publication of The Shadow Lantern, the final adventure in The Blackhope Enigma trilogy.

After a busy day preparing chocolate cakes and chilling down the beverages, it was wonderful to stand in front of a table heaped with copies of The Shadow Lantern, a vase of flowers and a cool lantern-style planter brought by a friend. I was flanked by ‘Watson’, the skeletal star of the new book trailer who attracted quite a lot of attention throughout the evening!

Having held my two previous launches at studio spaces, it was a pleasant change to have this one hosted by Waterstones and to be surrounded by shelves of books. My lovely agent, Kathryn Ross of Fraser Ross Associates Literary Agency, spoke first, saying lots of things that were so nice my face went crimson. By the time it was my turn to speak, I had to rely on the notes I’d made on an index card to remember all the people I wanted to thank. Besides Kathryn and Waterstones, I thanked Templar Publishing and Candlewick Press for their continuing support and enthusiasm for my books. I really am pleased to work with both these fantastic publishers.

I also thanked The Scottish Book Trust and Creative Scotland for awarding me a four-week writer’s residency in Finland last spring. I wrote much of The Shadow Lantern while living on Suomenlinna, a stunning and historic fortress island that is a World Heritage site. I was fortunate to meet a number of Finnish authors, illustrators, artists and publishing professionals who enriched the experience even further.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of promoting my books has been making video trailers (watch the trailer at the bottom of the post) and building new websites. I had a lot of friends and colleagues to thank for their expertise and help with filming, editing, sound engineering and website development. My final thanks went to my dear husband, who has encouraged and supported me throughout my writing journey.

It was great fun to read a particularly dramatic excerpt from The Shadow Lantern. Some years ago, the idea of reading my work aloud to an audience would have made me very nervous, but now it is one of the chief pleasures of doing events. I also love signing books; it gives me a chance to speak with everyone, especially young readers, and thank them for choosing my books.

We ended the evening stuffed with chocolate cake and fizzy drinks. When the last guests had left, I could do nothing but smile; the trilogy was happily finished and launched. At that moment my mind turned to the future – and the excitement of writing the next book.

Follow Teresa on twitter: @TeresaFlavin

Where My Job Takes Me... Iddesleigh

Saturday 10^th November saw me up bright and early and heading off down the A303 towards the deepest, darkest depths of North Devon. I was off to the launch of Clare and Michael Morpurgo's new poetry anthology, Where My Wellies Take Me, in the very village where the book is based: Iddesleigh. It was a particularly special occasion as Olivia Lomenech Gill, the artist responsible for the beautiful feel of the book, was also there – meaning that all three contributors were in attendance.

The event was held in the village hall – My inner book geek was thrilled to spot THE picture of Joey the horse sitting above the village clock – just as Mr Morpurgo had promised me all those years ago when I first picked up War Horse. The hall filled up quickly, with local villagers of all ages piling through the door. I'm not sure there was a single seat going spare!

Even though it wasn’t quite five-thirty, the hall began to quieten and the anticipation became almost tangible. After a quick democratic vote as to whether Michael should stick to ‘Devon time’ (I learnt later that this expectation of Devonian’s turning up for events at the precise time) or begin, it was voted that he should start… sure enough, as soon as Michael started to speak – the door creaked open and some more people joined us – it was 5:30pm. Michael, however, was unphased and kindly reassured them that they weren’t late before continuing.

We were then taken on the journey Olivia’s artwork undertook in the creation of the book. In order to ensure she captured the very essence of the village she was now talking to, Olivia spent a few weeks studying the landscape and getting to know the people. It was clear that they had had a huge impact on her, there were even some faces in the crowd that appear in Where My Wellies Take Me.

Michael and Clare then read together from Wellies, with Clare reading the narrative and Michael reciting poetry. It was evident, from their reading why this dynamic duo works. After a quick Q&A, it was time for tea and cakes! The food looked spectacular – there were even wellies on the table! The books were flying off the table (I really hope this wasn’t because Michael threatened to lock the doors until everyone had purchased a copy!) and everyone was eager to have their copy signed by all three contributors.

It really was a wonderful and unique event. Indeed, one only has to flick through the book to feel the influence the beautiful Devon village had on its pages; it felt very special to be there. 

Click here to find out more about the book

Where My Wellies Take Me Launch

Michael Morpurgo on door duty

Clare Morpurgo signing

Off to the Illustration Cupboard last night for the launch of Where My Wellies Take Me by Michael and Clare Morpurgo and an exhibition of the art work by Olivia Lomenech Gill.   Always exciting seeing a new exhibition and the paintings looked wonderful - framed by Olivia's husband Vincent.  By 5 o'clock the place was already filling up with more and more people trying to get in and have a look and say hello  - collectors, friends of Olivia's, friends of the Morpurgo's, friends of Templar - they were all there.

Spilling out onto the pavement

Lots of interest in Olivia's artwork and of course, the beautiful limited edition of Where My Wellies Take Me on sale through the Gallery.  Michael Morpurgo gave a lovely speech - perched on the staircase with his wife, Clare and Olivia alongside him.  He told of a fortunate meeting between them whilst at a small literary festival in Brittany which led to this collaboration.  He also spoke of Clare's idyllic childhood in Devon which was the inspiration for the anthology and the story of Pippa - the little girl who goes where her wellies take her.

The Artist, Olivia Lomench Gill

Swim the Fly Book Launch

The Covent Garden Hotel was the place to be last night at the Swim the Fly book launch. Well, it was the place to be if you could find it… After making a wild guess as to which exit I should take at the Leicester Square tube station, I stumbled out onto a busy street and promptly starting marching off in the wrong direction along said street. After a moment’s mental negotiation as to whether or not I would look like a tourist checking my phone for directions, I took the risk and eventually managed to navigate my way to the quiet little streets of Seven Dials and the fantastic venue that was the Blue Room at the Covent Garden Hotel.

Upon entry, all the guests were greeted with spectacular bright blue cocktails – I didn’t ask what was in them, my mother would probably be too shocked. They were deliciously sweet whatever they were! The room had been beautifully decked out with candles and copies of Swim the Fly stacked on the tables. By happy coincidence I had dressed in blue and managed to convince everyone that it was totally planned…

Swim the Fly galore!

After half an hour of blue drink sipping we were all ushered into the screening room where we were witness to Phil Perry’s unparalleled technical skills as she attempted at least 15 times to start the video player on her Mac. We still love her! When she finally managed to get it going there were plenty of laughs all round as we watched the hilarious book trailer starring the man of the night, Swim the Fly author Don Calame. I wonder if that really was a clamato and chocolate milk cocktail he drank or a clever film trick… After getting to know Don a bit more, I’m leaning towards the ‘it was’ end of the decision scale.



The guests were then treated to a wonderfully insightful interview with Don, led by the journalist and writer of teen hit Life, Interrupted, Damian Kelleher. It’s very true that there is a distinct imbalance between the volume of teen chick-lit and teen dude-lit available. What Swim the Fly offers is a genuine story of what happens to teen boys, what goes through their minds and the kind of situations they find themselves in due to out of control hairbrain schemes. The characters are so real and loveable despite all their flaws – maybe because of their flaws – and the protagonist, Matt, takes you through his boy-to-man journey with great honesty and candidness. The story has great sympathy for teen boys but also an irresistible insight for girls too – and what the heck it had this grown woman ROFLing for hours!

Damian Kelleher interviews Don Calame

The real treat of the evening was when Damian persuaded Don to give all us grown up kids a reading from Swim the Fly. The extract was a completely irreverent exchange between Matt, his Grandpa Arlo, his older brother Peter and his mum. As they drive to the funeral of a neighbour’s husband, Grandpa Arlo makes his plans to get lucky with the widow – much to Peter’s embarrassment and Matt’s interest. I’m not entirely sure where I stand trying to gather pick up tips from your grandfather… Don reads so well, playing all the characters much better than I imagined them in my head and he had us all sniggering like a bunch of year 10s.

Don reads from Swim the Fly

After the reading the guests all gathered back in the Blue Room, nibbling on mini burgers and clutching our copies of Swim the Fly to get them signed by Don – it’s for my nephew, honest! It was lovely to meet the author, although I’d probably scared him before we met with my numerous emails demanding blog posts for the Swim the Fly blog tour starting tomorrow. No wonder he ran away from me as soon as he could!

Just kidding!

A huge thanks to the Covent Garden Hotel and Phil Perry and her team at Templar for setting everything up and making it a really special evening for everyone. And of course a massive thanks to Don Calame for providing us with all the entertainment!

Left to right: Roy Butler (Muswell Hill Children's Bookshop), Wendy Cooling (Children's Book Consultant), Don Calame, Helen Boyle (Fiction Commissioning Editor, Templar) Joanne Cocadiz (Children's Buyer, Foyles Charing Cross Road), John Newman (Newman Bookshop)

Don’s UK tour continues at the Hay Festival and his UK blog tour starts tomorrow, 27th May. For more details click here.

Blogger: Leonora

A Roman Rescue Book Launch

Here at Templar we like nothing better than a good party and if there are togas involved all the better! Well, I should say we like nothing better than a good party except for a good book… ahem…

A Roman Rescue by Kelly Gerrard
and Emma Dodd

Last Thursday (20th Jan) the London Coliseum hosted a knees-up Roman style as we celebrated the launch of A Roman Rescue, a stroke of time-travelling comic book genius and the brainchild of popular children's illustrator Emma Dodd and gifted writer Kelly Gerrard. This talented duo first came up with the idea for A Roman Rescue whilst waiting to collect their children from the school gates. Initial hesitation ensued at the thought of venturing into the unknown of comic book creation but with the full support of Templar, Emma and Kelly soon clamped their teeth around the proverbial bullet and have come up with a whopper! Emma’s trademark chunky-lined illustrations have the characters spilling out of the pages and are a perfect partner for Kelly’s snappy and engaging dialogue.


And the party was no flop either!

Of course, togas and laurel wreathes were the obligatory dress code for the evening, although there were several differing opinions to be had on how to properly toga oneself… The do was held in the American Bar at the London Coliseum which boasts floor-to-ceiling wood panelling and antique mirrors that really lend the venue to its theatrical setting. And of course, what is a theatre without a performance?

Mixy's Roman rapping was a real treat!

The guests had a surprise gift waiting for them from Book A Poet rapper and poet Mixy who spends most of his time packing the heads of school children with rhythmical facts.
Especially for us, however, he had written both a fun rhyming verse and an educational rap, just to make sure our Roman facts were up to scratch… “Like me, kids,” he said, proffering his fun poem before switching to his serious notebook. “Now, learn something!” It was truly a memorable treat.

So, it looks like it might be time to come up with a new publishing formula for Templar: good book + good party = roaring success! How can we fail? Ok, so I might have over-simplified the process just a little… As a first escapade into comic book writing, however, A Roman Rescue certainly marks out Emma and Kelly as a flagship creative duo for Templar and we’re really excited about what the future holds for Charlie and his canine sidekick Bandit.

A Roman Rescue is available from 3rd March 2011. For more information click here.

Emma and Kelly's speech
Toga trouble...

The lovely display!

Emma and Kelly with their husbands
Emma and Kelly with Mixy

For more photos from the launch click here.