April 2010

When my publisher asked me to come up with a new character-based series (see here) I would never have believed that less than three weeks later I would be back in their office showing a dummy book of new story featuring a new character just as they had requested. In fact, Nat has turned out to be such a strong character that other stories featuring him have been suggesting themselves to me so I have the makings of not just a new book, but a whole new series.

Nat the Cat’s path to publication takes on some unexpected turns, however: For various reasons he passes through the hands of two publishers and ends up on the back burner while I work on a new idea for a book called Six Little Chicks. While pitching this to my old friend and editor Sue Buswell (who now works for Random House), I pull out my Nat the Cat dummy for her feedback on it. I have learnt from past experience that I can never really know who is going to like which (if any) of my ideas; now all the love, care and time I’ve invested in Nat comes down to this moment.

I watch Sue’s face closely as she reads the dummy and within minutes, from the look in her eyes and the little smirks which pass across her lips, I can tell that she ‘get’s’ Nat. This is not to say that the idea is perfectly formed yet but that Sue sees the same potential in Nat as I see and I’m confident that she can help me realise that potential. Hooray! After many twists and turns along the path Nat has finally found his home.