Copyright Infringer!

I've been incredibly busy getting my Christmas cards ready. One of the things I like to do to relax is wander through the internet in the evening. I'll choose any random topic, like a colour or chocolate animals, & see where my searches take me. It's amazing what you can find &, most of the time, I learn or see something new.

A couple of nights ago I searched for one of my book titles, called Mess Monsters. Last time I did this I found some photos of a mural that some children had painted based on another one of my books, this time Snow Bear. It was all very sweet and flattering & it gave me a nice fuzzy feeling.

Unfortunately this recent search wasn't so enjoyable. Someone has decided to sell an e-book version of Mess Monsters (without my or the publisher's permission) & was advertising it on YouTube. Apart from the fact that this is illegal & very cheeky, it was so badly done! I think this has annoyed me almost as much.

He's stretched the pictures from the original square page:

To this - so it fits tablets:

How amazingly lazy is that!

I've emailed him twice - though still haven't received a reply. I wonder why? And I've also reported him to YouTube & asked them to remove the video. Hopefully that will be the end of it.

On a more positive note: my Christmas cards are almost done. I'll be sending them to the printers at the end of the week & putting pictures of them on this web site at the same time.

Cute, dark and Graphic Christmas Cards

I know that I've been going on about Christmas cards a lot recently, but they are nearly done now. There will be twenty designs in all & they fall into three groups - cute, dark & graphic. I suppose the image above gave that bit away?

Some of the cute cards will be in the Snow Bear style & the graphic ones will be crisp, simple designs that will look stylish on the mantlepiece. The dark cards are where I've had fun & turned Christmas cards into something a bit different. They're hard to describe & you'll either love them or hate them. I'll be posting all of the Christmas card designs on this web site next month so you can see for yourself.

Christmas Cards on the Brain!

All I am working on are my Christmas cards now. I must finish them soon, get them to the printers & sell them otherwise Christmas will have come & gone.

I've become strangely nervous about the whole thing. I'm used to sending children's book ideas & pictures to publishers but not to selling directly. It will be a new experience watching people buy them (or walk past) - hopefully the former. The closest I've had is friends phoning me up from bookshops whispering I'm watching someone buying your book. Whatever happens, I'm bound to learn something from it.

Kittens on a Sofa Christmas Card Idea

Getting very close to sending my Christmas cards to the printer. I'm now frantically drawing, revising & reviewing them in time for the end of October deadline & am in a mild panic about the whole thing.

The picture above will give you a clue to one of them as it gave me the idea. Think kittens on a sofa with Christmas hats on. I love kittens!

The Book of Bedtime Stories

This book was published by Walker Books today for the very first time. One of the prize-winning stories was by my sister, Kate Wilson, & chosen by Michael Rosen, no less. Couldn't be happier for her. I think the book looks great. Huge congratulations to her & look forward to my signed copy. Hint! Hint!

Clicking on the picture will take you to the Amazon page.