Losing It

Lady M

I know I have a rather odd expression on my face in these pictures and look as if I may have lost my mind. In fact, whenever I do school events, I tend to 'lose it' in a different way. I feel desperately nervous and worried about author visits in advance. I try to tell myself it's a sort of stage fright - a necessary surge of adrenaline to ensure that I can deliver a good 'performance'.

Handa's Surprise - or... er, Handa's Asleep?

But once I'm actually there - face-to-face with two Year 5 classes crammed into one classroom, all dressed as book characters, or three classes in a lecture theatre, all channelling their inner superhero - I focus on the children, forget about the other adults who are there and lose myself in the moment, along with some of my usual inhibitions and reserve.

I think this is probably a good thing for a children's author to do once in a while.

This time around, I had a cold - so I also lost my voice. It's slowly returning and I've progressed from croaky to husky. Think along the lines of Rod Stewart's Losing You: http://youtu.be/u-kWj_kXzVg or It’s a Heartache: http://youtu.be/Dfw_ID95hPw

Flash Fiction for World Book Day