Last Saturday was a definite highlight of my life as a children’s author so far – I got to read my debut picture book Sarah’s Shadow to literally hundreds of children on Zoom as a bedtime story!

The event was Beavers In Burrows 2021 – a virtual festival of sorts, organised by Hertfordshire Beavers but accessible to all Beavers divisions across the UK and beyond. There were kids from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales tuning in – and even Belgium, apparently!

It was an action-packed itinerary with lots of fun events for the children to take part in throughout the weekend, such as exercises, a drawing class and a campfire singalong. My role was to read to the kids after the campfire, which was an honour to do as I knew there were up to a thousand kids watching and listening to me at once. Will I ever perform to an audience of that size again? It sure exceeds the crowds my band used to attract when I was in my early twenties! 😂

Thanks to Stuart Leacy, the organiser who invited me to take part, and all the parents who bought the book before and afterwards. It was a real pleasure to be involved and I especially enjoyed seeing the photos of the Beavers who watched me on their tablets in their makeshift dens and tents! If any parents give me permission, I’ll post some photos here. Stuart has said that he’d like to work with me again in the future, so I really hope to return for another Beavers event soon!