Kevin was sad to be leaving Scotland, where he had met some lovely
booksellers and some lovely biscuits - but he was looking forward to
meeting some English booksellers next, and trying their biscuits.
A quick fly over Hadrian’s Wall brought him to Stockton-on-Tees, where he landed outside DRAKE The Bookshop.
There
were some café tables on the pavement outside the shop, but although
they were very nice café tables, they hadn’t been designed to take the
weight of a whole flying pony, especially not one as roly poly as
Kevin...
Oh no! Luckily Margot
the bookshop beagle was on hand to help him clear up the mess, and as
soon as the tables were upright again she took Kevin inside to meet
bookseller Melanie Greenwood.
Kevin: What is the best thing about being a bookseller?
Melanie:
It's definitely the excitement on a customer's face when they come in
to tell you how much they loved the book you put in their hands -
perhaps something they would never normally have chosen, and when this
is a young reader it's a double bonus as you can literally see their
reading horizons getting wider and wider! It's also a real treat to be
part of a young reader's journey, where 2-3 years ago their parents
would come in to pick out picture books for them and now here they are
picking their own first chapter books - it's such a pleasure to watch
that reading habit grow.
Kevin: What’s one way you’ve tackled a problem that your bookshop has faced during the pandemic?
Melanie: Lockdown Pharmacy Bear
was a great promo tool (and equally great for book lovers) that allowed
us to get books into people's hands. People told the bear what ailed
them and bear found the perfect book which was then delivered across the
north east. Beautifully wrapped and hand delivered, possibly the best
type of book!
Kevin: What are three books you absolutely love hand-selling to customers?
Melanie: Leonard & Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession; The Great Chocoplot by Chris Callaghan; Inside the Villains by Clotilde Perrin. [Click on links to buy the books from Drake!]
Kevin: Who is your favourite children’s book illustrator? (Other than Reeve & McIntyre…)
Melanie: John Klassen.
Kevin: What is your favourite biscuit?
Melanie: Custard Cream!
Kevin: YESSSSS! Those are the BEST biscuits! Do you have a shop pet?
Melanie: Margot the Bookshop Beagle.
Margot: Woof!
Kevin: What is the best way for people to buy books from you if they can’t visit the shop in person?
Melanie: Phone us on 01642 909 970.
This September Scholastic will be publishing my new novel set in the world of Mortal Engines . Here’s the cover, created (like all the others in the series) by Ian McQue . The rule I set for myself when I was writing this one was that it shouldn’t feature any of the people or places from previous Mortal Engines books. So Thunder Cit y takes place just over a century before the original book, when the town-eat-town world of Traction Cities is slightly less ruthless than it will become later, and none of the characters from the original quartet has even been born yet. (I suppose Mr Shrike must be bimbling about somewhere, but he’s still just yer basic implacable killing machine at this point so there’s not much point in paying him a visit). So hopefully this new take will be accessible to people who’ve never read Mortal Engines , and hopefully people who have read it will enjoy an adventure set in the same world. My pen and ink drawing of the Traction City of Thorbury, after...
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