I’m excited to be included on the writers’ panel at this upcoming event. It’s all about the storytelling, inspiration and the power of mythology. I’ll be talking about ‘Why Myths Matter’ – and hope to see some of you there!
It’s always so exciting to see what others think of my books. Thank you to Bookread2day for the lovely review!
Magic Animal Cafe Sebastian the Fancy Fox By Stella Tarakson
Illustrated By Fabiana Attanasio
Paperback published by Sweet Cherry Publishing 23rd February 2023 🍒
The 4th Book in the Magic Animal Cafe Series
When their classmates Felicity visits tact café and fiddles with the magical old phone, Ellie and Blake panic that their secret is under threat. Before they can find out if Felicity can understand animals too, a new face shows up at the door.
New to the park, Sebastianand his fox friends are causing quite a stir, scaring squirrels and chasing mice. When Felicity’s dog Princess gets so frightened that she runs away, Ellie and Blake must use their ability to truly understand Sebastian and bring princess home.
MY REVIEW
A property developer who wanted to by the building Ellie’s grandfather used to live in, but Ellie’s mum refused to sell it to him, as her mum…
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Magic Animal Cafe Robbie the Rebel Squirrel by Stella Tarakson
Illustrations by Fabiana Attanasio
Paperback published by Sweet Cherry Publishing 8th September 2022
The 3rd book in the Magic Animal Cafe Series
Along with her best friend Blake, Ellie is desperately searching for answers about what happened to her great-grandfather years ago. But when they get caught up in the middle of an animal war in the local park, they have more pressing things to think about. Robbie the red squirrel and his clan are clashing with the bigger, meaner grey squirrels. As Robbie bravely stands up to the Greys, Ellie and Blake do their best to stop the squirrels from fighting and bring peace to the park.
MY REVIEW
There are 3 books in Magic Animal Cafe series. Book 1) Herriot the Caretaker, Book 2) Shazza the Homesick Cockatoo And now Book 3) Robbie the Rebel Squirrel.
Ellie’s mum…
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Writing for kids is one of the most enjoyable things I’ve ever done. I love being transported to a simpler, brighter place where adult problems fade into the background and you see the world through the eyes of a child again. I’ve taken a bit of a break from fiction while writing educational books and mini-documentaries (which is also hugely enjoyable). But now I’m back!
After writing my Greek mythology inspired Hopeless Heroes series, I wasn’t quite sure where to go next. More myths-type stories, most likely. Meanwhile, Sweet Cherry Publishing were coming up with ideas of their own. When they asked me to write a series about a magical cat cafe, I jumped at the chance! It was something new for me, so I did what I always do when a new opportunity comes along – throw myself in head first and hope I land on my feet!
And this is what I’ve got to show for it so far 🙂
Doesn’t the cover of book 1 of the Magic Animal Café look great! There are many illustrations throughout and it’s amazing seeing my words brought to life by a talented illustrator.
It’s quite a different experience fleshing out and realising someone else’s vision. There’s a lot more back and forth with the editors as we build up the series, and I’m enjoying the team work aspect of it. While they set the foundations, I had the privilege of coming up with the details and storylines. The stories combine my life-long love of animals (who else but an animal lover would call a mouse Herriot?) with my interest in old phones (I have an antique phone collection) and my delight in creating quirky characters. I’ve just signed off on book 5 – and there are another 5 to go!
And best of all, I’m finally a cartoon! Here’s the picture of me they created for the inside cover 🙂 Quite a good likeness, I think.
I just received the most amazing email from a teacher at Chellaston Junior School in Derby, England. Her Year 3 class have been reading Here Comes Hercules, book 1 in my Hopeless Heroes series.
The books revolve around Greek mythology, and are often used in UK schools as part of their studies of Ancient Greece – which delights me no end! But now I’ve got even more to be excited about.
They were reading the book in class, and the teacher stopped the story at the part where Leo held the magic time-travelling vase and threatened to smash it if Hercules didn’t appear. The children had to decide what happened next. The class talked about it and came up with a few ideas. The children then wrote the next part. What a great idea for a writing activity!
The teacher was kind enough to send me some of the stories. I must say, I was blown away! What talented students! I had so much fun reading their stories. I’d say there are some future writers in there, and I’m honoured to think that I may have inspired them in some way 🙂 You can read them in the slideshow below. Thank you so much to the teacher and students of Chellaston Junior School!
Whenever Hercules and his family had to self-isolate – for instance due to a bad outbreak of Stymphalian bird flu – they would happily pass the time baking honey cakes. These dense, moist, syrupy cakes are perfect for keeping the lockdown blues away!
You probably already have most of the ingredients in your pantry, saving you from yet another treacherous journey to the supermarket. These days, that can feel as daunting as making your way through the Gorgon’s garden, without so much as a face mask to protect yourself from her stony glare.
I hope you have fun making Hercules’ favourite snack, the perfect thing to much on while sitting at home with a good book (or ten)!
Ingredients:
Cake
250 g butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup semolina
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Syrup
2 ½ cups sugar
3 cups water
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
Method:
- Place syrup ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to the boil.
- Boil over medium heat for 20 minutes, then take the syrup off the stove and allow it to cool.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until soft and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in well.
- Stir in the vanilla essence.
- Add the semolina, self-raising flour and coconut, and fold in along with the milk.
- Spread the thick batter into a medium-sized buttered slab cake tin.
- Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 45-50 minutes, until the cake is golden brown.
- Take the cake out of the oven and immediately poor the cooled syrup over the hot cake. Allow the syrup to soak in.
- When the cake has cooled, cut it into squares or diamond shapes for serving.
- Keep out of reach of Greek heroes, big and small, or you won’t have any left for yourself!
I’m delighted to be involved with Dare to Write?, an online platform for writers. It was created by a professor at Bath Spa University in collaboration with Paper Nations UK, and is supported by the Arts Council of England.
Developed with the the help of hundreds of authors, it invites young people to begin a journey of writing. The programme revolves around a series of eight prompts – and you can explore them all here.
A few authors have written responses to these prompts, and they’re stored on the Dare to Write library. Here’s my response to the challenge Just Write!
In my response, I encourage young people to just write, without worrying about what others will think of their story. In other words, expect the first draft to be ordinary. Writing is meant to be fun, and aiming for perfection right from the start is what causes most aspiring writers to stall, backtrack, and eventually give up. Let the words flow without fear – and then go back and improve it later, once you’ve actually got something that you can work with.
This is something that even professional authors sometimes need to be reminded of – including myself! Writing can be daunting, but focusing on enjoyment rather than worrying about people’s reactions can be all it takes to make those words start to flow.
I’ve never been to Portugal or Taiwan – but in a weird kind of way, part of me is there now. I was delighted to learn that my Hopeless Heroes books have been published in other languages! My time travelling main character, Tim Baker, is now being read in more countries around the world. My wonderful publishers, Sweet Cherry Publishing, have told me it’ll be out in Romanian soon. I’ve got my fingers crossed that a Greek publisher will take them up one day. It’d be so cool if the stories that originated in Greece end up back there, via the UK and Australia!
The Taiwanese version is being serialised in a bilingual magazine, with all new illustrations. As much as I love Nick Roberts’ gorgeous drawings, it’s fun seeing another artist’s take on Tim and his adventures.
The Portuguese version looks identical to the English version, except for the language of course. Ola!
If only I could grab onto Tim’s magical vase and travel through time and space. I know where I’d like to go! If you could go anywhere, anywhen – where would you go?
I’m honoured to have my Hopeless Heroes series included in the ‘Our Mythical Childhood’ project, created by an international team of scholars who examine the reception of Classical Antiquity in children’s literature. It was wonderful to meet Liz Hale in person and learn more about their work, and I’m very excited to be a part of it!
Last week I had the pleasure to meet Stella Tarakson, the author of the delightful Hopeless Heroes series. They’re chapter books for primary school kids, and feature the adventures of a boy called Tim, who accidentally invokes the hero Heracles, when he breaks his mother’s favourite vase. Mayhem and mischief ensue–Heracles is strong but needs direction, and Hera and Hermes are continually meddling. (The first few books are written up in the Our Mythical Childhood survey …)
Tarakson is from Sydney, Australia. Her parents emigrated from Greece, and she talked with me about how the Greek myths resonated for her as a child, and now as a storyteller. It was fascinating to hear her thoughts, and to think about the different ways that Greek myth travels around the world–to the Southern Hemisphere and back again. Tarakson’s books are published by a British publisher, though I like to think a…
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Woo hoo! I received the most exciting email from my publisher, Sweet Cherry Publishing.
Book 1 of Hopeless Heroes (Here Comes Hercules) has been nominated for the Fantastic Book Awards! It’s wonderful to know that children are enjoying my quirky, time-travelling twist on Greek mythology.
The Fantastic Book Awards is an annual book event organised by the Lancashire School Library Service. Developed in partnership with schools, it’s designed to encourage kids to read for fun. Children aged 9-11 (years 5-6) are challenged throughout the year to select the story books they like the best.
It’s a great way for kids to meet, discuss and share their bookish views in a relaxed way. Activities can be run as a book club or for a whole class, and can inspire both able and reluctant readers.
This year’s nomination list is pretty amazing – I’ve got my reading plan all sorted!
Good luck to all the nominees – including me 🙂
Stella Tarakson 