Lovely, lovely readers!
One of the nicest things about being an author is getting letters from readers. Even when they’re writing to tell me about mistakes in the books, it still means that someone is reading all those words I spent ages hidden away writing. It’s fab. What’s even better, though, is when someone loves one of your characters so much, they dress up as the character for an event, like World Book Day. Funnily enough, this usually happens to me with Maisie Hitchins – I think because of her gorgeous red hair, and purple dress, and I’m giving all the credit to the fab Marion Lindsay who illustrated the books. There’ve been quite a few wonderful kittens, and a fantastic Reindeer Girl costume made by an amazing talented grandma. But a few weeks ago I was sent a photo of the first Emmie costume! Emmie is the main character in Return to the Secret Garden, an orphan evacuee in the Second World War. And here she is – played by Isabel. She’s in her secret garden, and can you see she even has her gas mask case? A huge thank you to everyone who dresses up and is kind enough to send me the photos – you’re all amazing!