Thomas Taylor's Blog

I’m delighted to say that the third book in the ‘Mysteries of Eerie-on-Sea’ series — SHADOWGHAST — has been published!

When I started to plan ahead for this series, I knew I had to set one story at least in the theatre at the end of the pier. And bringing a famous stage magician and her troupe to town, to perform a forbidden magic trick at Halloween, was always going to spell trouble for Violet Parma and Herbert Lemon. Especially when that magician claims to know the secret of Herbie’s true identity.

With the series already translated into 20 languages, and now expanded to be FIVE BOOKS, the world of Eerie-on-Sea has reached more people than I could ever have imagined. I am delighted with the reception the books have had so far. Find out more about them here, and see the fabulously spooky book trailer the publisher Walker Books have produced. And if you do find yourself in the theatre in Eerie-on-Sea, as the great Caliastra calls for a volunteer in her terrifying ‘Ghastly Night’ show, just hope she doesn’t pick you!

The post SHADOWGHAST appeared first on Thomas Taylor -- Author / Illustrator.

It’s hard to believe it has now been a full year since Malamander was published! But I know it’s true, because Gargantis, the sequel, is emerging in storm and lightning into a bookshop near you, from the 7th of May, 2020 (and soon after in North America). I would like to thank everyone who has bought a copy of Malamander, spent time reviewing it, and been supportive of me in any way as I build the ‘Legends of Eerie-on-Sea’ series. I particularly want to thank my brilliant publisher, Walker Books, who have been truly superb on both sides of the Atlantic, and around the world. Just look at the trailer they have created for Gargantis! Publishing a book into a global pandemic where most bookshops aren’t even open is a challenge that Walker have risen to splendidly.

In Gargantis we return to Eerie-on-Sea, in the company of Herbert Lemon — Lost-and-Founder at the Grand Nautilus Hotel — and his best friend Violet Parma, to tackle a whole new adventure. A terrible storm has come to Eerie Bay, and is threatening to destroy the town. Has the monstrous Gargantis returned out of legend? It certainly seems that something sinister is afoot when a stranger in a deep hood  arrives at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, and begins stirring up trouble amongst the famously superstitious fishermen. Then Mrs Fossil finds an extraordinary object on the storm-churned beach — an antique glass bottle in the shape of a fish, that flickers inside with an eerie light. 

Soon everyone wants the bottle, including the stranger known only as Deep Hood, and the enraged fisherfolk of Eerie-on-Sea. So when bottle is entrusted to Herbie for safe keeping, our Lost-and-Founder finds himself the centre of some very unwanted, and increasingly monstrous attention. Violet persuades Herbie to open the bottle, catapulting herself, Herbie, and Erwin the Bookshop Cat, into a storm of events as they race to save the town. And maybe uncover a little more about Herbie’s mysterious origins along the way too.

Take a virtual visit to Eerie-on-Sea for more information, and some activities, and if you would like to buy a copy of the book (thank you!), please consider your local independent bookseller at this challenging time. If they are still trading, they will be delighted to hear from you. In fact, there is even a SPECIAL EDITION of Gargantis that is only available through Indy Booksellers, which contains an additional short story (that follows the events at the end of Gargantis) called ‘Mr Mollusc’s Sticky End’. I hope you enjoy it!  

The post GARGANTIS appeared first on Thomas Taylor -- Author / Illustrator.

I’ve always lived near the sea, and seaside towns have always featured in my life, but it was only a few years ago that I finally came to live in one. Being a hundred paces from the beach, all year round, allowed me to discover the strangeness of coastal life for myself. Because there’s a secret life to seaside towns that you don’t discover if you only go there in the summer and sit in the sun — a secret life of weird weather and mysterious tides that is packed with potential for adventure.

Beach combing is a real joy, and the best season for that is winter, when storms and wild seas stir up things that have lain buried and forgotten beneath the sand, and throw them onto the beach for a brief moment before burying them again. If you’re lucky, and patient, you can find these things before that happens. Where I live, on England’s south coast, I find sea glass gems, strange pieces of driftwood, even the bones of prehistoric creatures. And while it’s endlessly fascinating to discover what those things are in reality, it’s also interesting to wonder what they might be in a story.

Malamander is in many ways the culmination of an ongoing project to turn beachcoming into books. It’s a project I didn’t even know I was pursuing until I was joined on my lonely foreshore walks by a boy called Herbert Lemon, Lost-and-Founder at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, and his curious friend Violet Parma. And with them came Lady Kraken, Mrs Fossil, Dr Thalassi, and all the quirky residents of a mysterious town called Eerie-on-Sea. And behind us all, lurking in the mists, keeping pace with us in the shallows just beyond view, we were followed by a creature out of legend – the unctuous and creeping malamander itself.

Malamander will be published by Walker on the 2ndof May, 2019, and is the start of a series. I recommend Hive.co.uk, where you can order the book online but support your local independent bookseller at the same time. Obviously, if you have an indy bookshop near you, then go there first (lucky you!).  Malamander is also Waterstones Book of the Month for May, 2019. And if you’d like to know more, check out the website — with a book trailer and a brilliant interactive map — at www.eerie-on-sea.com.

The post Malamander appeared first on Thomas Taylor -- Author / Illustrator.

As I’m writing this, the last few monster-free days before Scarlett Hart is published are rolling by. I can almost hear the slithering, skittering sound of the gargoyles as they get ready to be released into the world, and the roar of Scarlett’s rocket plane as she prepares to go after them. It’s been a long time coming, but “Gothic Tintin” is almost here. According to a recent Kirkus review my illustrations convey “ghoulish cool with subtle aplomb”. I’ll take that.

Find out more on Marcus’s Website, or on the mini site www.scarletthart.com. As ever, if you buy a copy and would like it signed and drawn in, use the contact form above to get in touch and I’m sure we can sort something out.

And in the meantime, don’t forget to check under the bed at night, keep your silver bullets close at hand, and above all watch out for the Count!

The post Scarlett Hart appeared first on Thomas Taylor -- Author / Illustrator.

My first picture book, George and Sophie’s Museum Adventure, was published in 1999 by Orchard Books. I illustrated it too, and this led to further books with Orchard, such as Ludwig and the Chocolate Biscuit Tree, the story of a daft little badger who finds a chocolate digestive and decides to plant it like a seed. Don’t try this at home, kids.

This was followed by a series of stories about a noisy tiger called Clovis: The Loudest Roar, The Biggest Splash and The Noisiest Night. These were published by Oxford University Press in the UK and Arthur Levine in the US. For a time there was even a little Clovis toy.

From 2006, repetitive strain issues in my hands led me to drop the illustration side of picture book creation, and concentrate on writing instead. My first picture book in rhyme, Jack’s Tractor, was published by Hachette in 2009. It was brilliantly illustrated by the talented John Kelly, and was shorlisted for the Sheffield Children’s Book Award, 2010. Click here to see the amazing David Hasselhof reading the book on CBeebies in 2013.

Then I wrote a book for the very young called Little Mouse and the Big Cupcake. I’ll leave you to guess what it’s about. Illustrated by Jill Barton and published by Boxer Books, it is also available in the US.

My latest picture book is The Pets You Get — a crazy carnival of all the animals you’d never let your children keep at home. There’s even a dragon! It’s illustrated by the incomparable Adrian Reynolds, and was published by Andersen Press in September 2012. It won the Stockport Schools’ Book Award, 2013 (early years category) and also the Oldham Brilliant Books Award. Order it now and you’ll never look at guinea pigs in the same way again.

Early 2014 saw Too Many Tickles finally reach the shelves through Macmillan Books. Charmingly illustrated by Penny Dann, it was read on CBeebies by Lisa Riley in December 2014.

The post Picture Books appeared first on Thomas Taylor - Author.

As everyone, I’m saddened and shocked by the sudden loss of Alan Rickman. He was just so perfect as the villains we loved to hate — Hans Gruber! — but also as the wonderful, darkly seductive character of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films. Snape was always my favourite character, and Rickman portrayed him gloriously. Here’s a sketch of him in that role. And it’s especially shocking to lose such a great character actor hard on the heels of losing David Bowie. And now I want to draw Bowie too, in the guise of the artful Goblin King from Labyrinth.

And while I’m here, wow has it been that long since I updated my blog? A lot has happened since then, and, well, a lot hasn’t happened too, but there’ll be news to report now, so I should drop by this place again soon. Scarlett Hart, after long delays, is back on course, and it’s high time I shared more pictures from that. And I have another piece of exciting comic book news to report to, as soon as I can. So I’ll be here again soon, spring cleaning, fussing over the virtual coffee machine, and probably replacing that banner too. In the meantime, I hope everyone’s 2016 has started well, despite the awful news about Bowie and Rickman.

The post RIP Alan Rickman appeared first on Thomas Taylor -- Author / Illustrator.

I’m not a happy bunny when exposed to heights, especially when those heights involve an edge. Being 6 foot 3, I feel entitled to a parapet way above my centre of balance (at least nipple height, come on!), though I often don’t get it. From St Paul’s Cathedral to the Eiffel tower to a hot air balloon over the Alps, I’ve clung on and stared into the middle distance more than a few times. So naturally, as soon as I saw the Shard (London’s tallest skyscraper), I couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to lean over the edge and look down the side of that.

Dan and the Shard of Ice is the third adventure for my spook-busting psychic detective and his spectral sidekick, Si. Set almost entirely in the Shard itself, I had to do actual research for this book, starting with a visit to the ‘View From The Shard’ on levels 68 to 72. Tickets to this are not cheap, but there’s no denying the panoramic views over London are sensational. And weirdly not vertiginous, mostly because the viewing floors are encased in floor-to-ceiling glass. It was then that I realised I would need a LOT of explosions to make my book interesting. After all, how was Dan going to fall off the Shard otherwise (spoiler Alert!)? I wrote to the Shard asking the best and most spectacular way to achieve this, and they were very patient with me. I suspect I might be on an MI5  watch list now, but it’s fine, all thriller writers leave a suspicious trail behind them when they carry out research.

So what would happen if the Shard was taken over by a poltergeist? A poltergeist so powerful she can melt steel and control the weather? And what would happen to any teenage psychic detectives who showed up to try to defuse the situation? And how do you help a 400-hundred-year old super-powered ghost who is determined to steal a body so that she may live again? If you don’t want her to take yours, that is. Throw in a mystical bag lady, a celebrity spirit medium and a lot of lightning, and Dan will need every ounce of cool to deal with the Shard of Ice. Especially as the whole thing is being filmed for live TV.

Pitched at readers (especially reluctant ones) aged 10 — 14, The books in this series — Dan and the Dead, Dan and the Caverns of Bone, and Dan and the Shard of Ice — are short sharp illustrated reads published by Bloomsbury. They are also available as e-books. Dan and the Dead is now an audio book too, released by Oakhill, or as a download from Audible. If you are good enough to buy a copy of any of my Dan books, thank you and I hope you enjoy them. Don’t forget to consider reviewing them on Amazon, or elsewhere. And if you would like a copy signed and drawn in, use the contact form to get in touch and we can arrange something.

You can read a review of Dan and the Shard of Ice on Mr Ripley’s Enchanted Books.

“This is a fun, pacy read. …The gripping plot and wacky characters will appeal to weak and confident readers alike.” –  The School Librarian

“this ghostly urban fantasy is a great, fast read for 11+ readers.” –  Aquila

Find out more about the Shard here.

Ash Patel / youtube.com

The post Dan and the Shard of Ice appeared first on Thomas Taylor -- Author / Illustrator.

Here is the final and approved cover design for Dan and the Shard of Ice, the third adventure in a series about a boy who sees ghosts. It will be published by Bloomsbury in May, but I think it can already be, ahem, pre-ordered.

I’m pleased with the cover, and think it’s the strongest yet. It shows me improving my Photoshop technique, I think. I’m pretty pleased with the inside art too, and I’ll share some of that nearer the publication date, along with an extract. As for the writing, I can honestly say this book was the most fun I’ve had on Microsoft Word ever.

The post Dan and the Shard of Ice — cover reveal! appeared first on Thomas Taylor -- Author / Illustrator.

A year after the publication of Too Many Tickles (Macmillan), I am deeply saddened to report the death of Penny Dann, who illustrated it.

I only knew Penny from working with her on this book, though she and I were near neighbours on the south coast. After publication, it was Penny who suggested a tour of local independent bookshops, reading the book to children and their parents (the parents came into their own when the tickle actions began), and drawing scenes and characters from the book. Penny also produced take-home colouring and activity sheets, and the events were noisy (verging on the wild!) and fun-filled. The children especially adored watching Penny draw. To be honest, I’m still struggling to accept that we won’t ever do these events again.

Penny proved to be a genuinely lovely, warm and sparky person. She was also modest about her considerable talent, brushing off my insistence that she was the perfect person to illustrate Too Many Tickles, even though I meant it — she really was. As a former illustrator of picture books myself, now writing books for others to illustrate, it isn’t always easy to accept another person will do the work I used to do. But I was delighted when Penny was chosen — she brought colour and vibrancy to the book, and made it sing. Too Many Tickles is one of my best-selling books, and Penny is a large part of the reason for that.

The last I heard from her was a few weeks ago, when Lisa Riley read Tickles on CBeebies. Penny e-mailed to say she’d seen it, and was pleased — her pictures were obviously prominent on the screen. Although I had been kept informed by our editor, I didn’t know just how ill she was at the time, and she died not long after. I’m so very sorry that we’ll never work on a book together again. Rest in peace, Penny.

Read Penny’s obituary in the Bookseller here, and Julia Eccleshare’s obituary in the Guardian.

The post Penny Dann appeared first on Thomas Taylor -- Author / Illustrator.

Without in any way meaning too, I have just taken a six month break from blogging. Except, of course, I haven’t really, because I’ve been active all that time on Facebook, Twitter (a bit), and latterly Instagram. Micro-blogging, I think they call this (well, they would, wouldn’t they?). Anyway, whilst trying to blog every day seems terribly 2004 these days, I don’t want to let it go entirely. Maybe once a fortnight is the more twentyteenage thing to do. Or once a month…

The last half-a-year has been a time of ups and downs for me. I won’t bother with an exhaustive list, so I’ll just note that I have a new agent in Kirsty McLachlan at (David Godwin Associates); I have a novel out on submission (though no news yet); the third Dan book is complete and Illustrated (except for the cover), and I am now very much engaged with the art for my joint venture with Marcus Sedgwick – a comic book called Scarlett Hart and the Tentacles of Terror.

Scarlett Hart is a demanding project for me. Not only is it a mountain of sketching, it also involves elements of graphic design I’m not used to. Designing the layout of each page, distributing the action and dialogue evenly across the spread, and keeping the characterisation consistent is just the start of it. Then it has to be inked before being scanned into Photoshop for colouring.

I thought I knew how to use Photoshop. I didn’t. There are functions within functions, and a whole level of cogs and sprockets beyond that. With a project of this scale, even the simplest shortcut can save hours overall. I’ve had help with this, not least from illustrator John Kelly (thanks again, John!).

Scarlett hunts monsters in a steampunkish1920s world that’s somewhere between the New England of Lovecraft and the folklore of East Anglia. A third point on the compass is the drawing board of Hergé, but mostly as a guide for tone. All those hours of furtive pencilling also need to be fuelled by a constant stream of suitable mood music, but fortunately the internet is full of weird and wonderful stuff.

So there you are, I’ve written a blog post! Now I just need to keep it up. Except, I have drawing to do…

The post Blogging, Slogging and Scarlett Hart appeared first on Thomas Taylor -- Author / Illustrator.