20.11.25
Had an amazing morning at South Borough Primary school, Kent. October 2025. Addressing 180 pupils. Reading a chapter from my book 1. Getting across the message behind my story of kindness and friendship. Engaging with them and making it fun. The children were an absolute delight. At the end I had children running up to me to ask questions. One pupil said to me “Roy, I don’t want to go to break.” This melted my heart. What a magical experience. Thank you South Borough Primary school. I will never forget the time I had with you.
20.11.25
Looking forward to Otford Christmas Fayre, Kent. 22.11.25. Where I will be selling signed copies of book 1. Also to create awareness in my ongoing project, children’s wellbeing.
23.11.25
An extremely disappointing day at Otford, Fayre. Of course the weather didn’t help. To sell book 1, for £5, signed, just weeks before Christmas and to only sell five. Didn’t even cover the cost of the pitch. The most disappointing thing was the lack of interest. Even with the weather, there were lots of families with young children. They looked and walked by. Reading books doesn’t seem to be something that’s high on their activity list. Also, I had two display boards telling my story and what I am trying to do. There was very little interest. But I must keep believing.
27.11.25
Book 2. Isabelle Moving On Following my submission to some literary agents I have had some welcome and constructive feedback. Firstly to consider changing it from a Chapter Book to a Middle Grade Book, which would be better suited to the age range of 8-12. The biggest impact of this would be the word count. It would have to increase from 10,000 to 30,000-40,000 words. Secondly to consider the title of the book. I fully except this advice and I am now in the process of re-modelling Book 2. The title I have change to is - A Challenge Beyond.
27.11.25
Today I have registered my interest in becoming a volunteer for the charity Winston’s Wish, having watch their piece on BBC breakfast last week. Up until then, I was not aware this charity existed. The charity supports young children and young adults for the loss of a parent. What a great idea. This is something that is very close to my heart. I lost my dad when I was eleven. Strangely enough, chapter 2 of my book 2 contains a magical fictional story based on how my loss affected me. The magic within the story though, also sends a positive message which I hope, is intended to give comfort to those who have experienced a loss at a young age. The plan, from the start of my project, through my books was highlight various traumatic and difficult subjects to create awareness on the enormous impact they can have.
Had a great time yesterday at the Faversham Literary Festival to see the delightful Dame Kelly Holmes.
A truly inspirational speaker. She has motivated me further to persevere.