I was lucky enough to do a reading of a story I had written for children at the Aberdeen Booked! festival.

Of course I was nervous, who isn’t, but once I started I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Reading aloud is one of my favourite  things to do. The joy of sharing a story is such a treat.

Anyway, at the end a lady spoke to me and told me she had enjoyed my story and was herself re-reading Anne of Green Gables.

Now I know my writing and I know I have a long, long way to go but to even have ‘Anne with an e’ mentioned in the same conversation as my story – well – I’m still happily living off the buzz!

For my birthday I was given this beautiful book by a lovely friend. Picking out stories I am amazed at how dark some of them actually are – even Cupid has a bad name.

I’m constantly told the stories I write are too ‘nice’ and I did wonder if I should channel some of the darkness of HCA into my stories but then I realised I’d it’s probably just not my thing.

The funny coincidence is, when I started this blog and my ‘Cup of Tea’ books section, I knew I wanted to include the story of The Teapot.

I think it fits very well with this blog. It does make me remember that the stories we write for children are so often read by adults.

‘One is one thing and then becomes quite another.’

‘It is a blessing to forget oneself in others.’

(Hans Christian Andersen, ‘The Teapot’)

Great to see the bees back in the garden on a bumper year for the Rhododendrons.