About Me
I was born in Cardiff, South Wales and grew up in Tongwynlais, a village some five miles north of the capital.
Castell Coch (Red Castle) designed by William Burges for John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, the 3rd Marquis of Bute (1870s/80s) stands on a hill overlooking the village and I guess this fairy-tale castle was the inspiration for a number of my earliest experiments with storytelling and writing. My parents encouraged me in my love of books and reading has played a big part in my life. There’s no specific genre that I favour – I’ll read anything that (I consider) is well written!
As for the writing side of things – well, that was less of a constant initially, as I had no real focus for it. Most of my creative energies went into English essays. It wasn’t until I returned as a full-time (mature) Humanities student that I had the opportunity to both study, and participate in, Creative Writing. Most of my energies were directed towards poetry, although I did have some minor success with a short story competition. Over the following years I had poems accepted for publication in magazines, together with a critical article on the work of the Welsh writer, Menna Gallie. In 2014/2015, I was awarded both a runner-up prize and a highly commended place in Writers’ Forum magazine poetry competition.
It was only after I took early retirement from my job as Principal Lecturer/Director of the Wales Centre for Intergenerational Practice, at the University of Glamorgan (now the University of South Wales), that I returned to writing prose and began experimenting with writing for children. In 2014, Ben and the Spider Gate, was accepted for publication by Book Guild Publishing Ltd.
I am a member of the Society of Authors and the Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators (UK).
Ben and the Spider Gate
Ben loves chatting to his wise gran, playing computer games with his best friend Jess, and helping his dad to train his clever dog Scoot. Best of all though, he likes playing ball in the garden with Scoot. Then one hot summer day Ben meets Lox, the gate-keeper of the spider kingdom under the garden hedge. Lox desperately needs Ben’s help before the end of the autumn, but can Ben save the spider kingdom without leaving the garden and going into the deep, dark wood? The leaves are starting to fall, and Ben and Jess must take a brave decision if the spiders are to have a safe winter. Talking to Gran, Ben begins to suspect that she might know more about his quest than she’s admitting.
Ben and the Spider Gate is available at all good bookshops, or online at Amazon.
A heart-warming and magical tale which will really capture your child’s imagination. My son really enjoyed the book and very much identified with Ben and Lox. Each evening he wanted to hear the next instalment and was very captured by the story.
Maria Grachvogel
Ben threw the ball high in the air and Scoot jumped up after it and then chased it down the garden path. The sun was hot and after a while Scoot lay down in the shade of the garden shed and rested his head on his paws. Ben began to feel sleepy as well and his eyes started to close.
When he opened them again he thought he was still asleep and dreaming. He wasn’t a big boy anymore; he was a very little boy. He wasn’t much bigger than one of the daisies that were growing in the grass!
Ben and the Spider Prince
Lox, the gate-keeper of the spider kingdom under the hedge in Ben’s garden, asks Ben for help again. The Spider Wizard needs three special ingredients before the next full moon to make a magic potion to cure the Spider Prince, but can Ben find them in time? He meets some unusual creatures on his quest who are not all as scary as they first seem. Ben wants to tell his best friend Jess but she’d rather spend time with the new girl in school, so he asks his gran instead. They look for clues on the computer and in the library, but how much does Gran really know, and will she tell Ben a secret that will keep him safe from Spindra, the evil sister of the Spider Queen?
Available at all good bookshops, or signed copies direct from the author. Ebooks available.
Also online at Amazon.
The Spider Prince is a wonderful sequel full of adventure and magic. A story about loyalty and friendship that will totally capture your child’s heart.
Maria Grachvogel
Ben wanted to try out the magic rhyme so much but he knew he’d have to wait until Gran was ready to pass over the secret of how to use it. He went into the kitchen and pulled on his coat and his boots. His head was bursting with all the things his gran had told him. He just couldn’t wait for tomorrow!
Ben took a deep breath then said the rhyme and did the actions. He realised that the grass was now taller than him. He’d done it! He’d made the rhyme work.
Ben and the Spider Lake
In the summer holidays Ben, his family, his dog Scoot, and his best friend Jess, stay in a cottage near the Dark Mountains. Ben and Jess find out that there’s a lake inside the mountain called Spider Lake and they wonder if it’s the place that Ben’s Gran had told him about in the spring, when she gave him the power to make himself small so that he could help the Spider Wizard to save the Spider Prince. Scoot gets into trouble when he finds a way through a cave onto the path around the lake where Ben and Jess meet a white owl called Hiboo and a mysterious lady.
When Ben arrives home he finds out that the lane at the back of his garden is going to be dug up. He’s worried because he knows that the spiders who live under the lane will lose their home and could even be hurt. He has to find Lox, the guardian of the spider kingdom to tell him what’s going to happen. Ben and Jess try desperately to think of somewhere that the spiders could live but they only have four weeks before the workmen arrive. Can they find a safe home for the spiders in time? If they do, how will they move them? Is there anyone who could help? Maybe Gran has some ideas.
Available at all good bookshops, or signed copies direct from the author. Ebooks available.
Also online at Amazon.
The Spider Lake is a wonderful and enchanting adventure that continues the story of Ben and Jess. The quest to find their insect friends a new home tests their imagination and develops their friendship.
Maria Grachvogel
Ben walked into the cave very carefully. The floor was bumpy and there were pools of water everywhere. He shone his torch beam along the walls and he could see that there were lots of little passageways in the rock. He listened again and could hear Scoot barking.
Ben squeezed through the tunnel. When he stood up he couldn’t believe what he saw. Lots and lots of water. He knew right away that this was the lake. This was really Spider Lake! Scoot was standing on a big stone. He was barking at something in the grass. Ben ran towards him and caught hold of his collar. Lying in the grass was a white bird. Ben knew it was an owl. ‘Oh Scoot. What have you done?’
The Captain’s Favourite Treasure
Meet Tom. Tom is a cabin boy on the pirate ship The Puffin and loves it very much. When Captain Cutlass Crank goes ashore on Pirate Island, he tells Tom to look after his favourite treasure…but when he returns, the treasure is missing! Very angry, the captain says that Tom must find his treasure – or stay behind on Pirate Island for good.
Tom asks his parents, his parrot, Giggles, and the crew too, but none know what has happened to the treasure. Determined to find it, Tom takes a boat and rows to lots and lots of strange islands searching for the treasure. Can the fire tigers help him? What about the jigsaw people or the fish under the waves? Will Tom ever find the treasure?
Available as paperback from Troubador, Amazon, general bookstores or signed copies direct from the author. Ebook also available.
Join Tom on his adventure across the ocean as he searches for the captain’s favourite treasure. Can he find it before Captain Crank leaves him behind on Pirate Island?
With lively language, quirky illustrations and a surprise ending, The Captain’s Favourite Treasure is a picture book that young readers will enjoy time and time again.