It's been fabulous seeing monsters popping up all over Dublin! Or, as Dubliners seem to say, it's 'deadly'. It was deadly getting to see the huge display Dublin's oldest bookshop,
Hodges & Figgis (1768!), had made of the monsters I drew. Wow! (The
Dublin Writers Festival posters are a combination of drawings by
Niamh Sharkey,
Hervé Tullet and me.)
Photo by CBI Director Mags WalshAnd I had a great time taking monster making to schoolkids yesterday, starting at
Walkinstown Library.

The teachers at
St Damian's School were absolutely brilliant, the kids had been so well prepared for my visit. They had read my books, thought of questions and were absolutely pumped up with enthusiasm when I came in. A real model of how teachers can help kids get the most out of an author visit.

I couldn't believe it; by the time I came back to my home at St Patrick's Lodge that day, they school had ALREADY posted a write-up and photos on
their blog. I was absolutely astounded. St Damian's, you totally rock.

I couldn't help but laugh at what one kid said. He was asking about what writers and illustrators earn, and I replied that it could be anything from less than nothing (if they self-publish and have to print the books themselves) to a very modest advance like €2000 or even a rare €200,000. He nodded sagely when I gave this last figure and said, 'Ah. That's why you can afford that kind of hat'.
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