Kevin was sorry to leave Wales, but he had eaten all the custard creams
in Crickhowell, and all the Welsh Cakes too. It was time to fly on to
his next appointment, across the Irish Sea to the Little Acorns Bookstore in Derry. Would there be Irish Cakes? Kevin was eager to find out.
When
he landed, he recognised a familiar face. But it wasn’t just a familiar
face - that would have been weird. No, the familiar face was attached
to a familiar body and some familiar arms and legs, and they all
belonged to Misty Twiglet, Bumbleford’s own Pop Sensation. She had
brought Cedric the Centaur with her, and also a pet pug, whose name was
Love Missile F1-11.
“But what are you doing here?” asked Kevin, confused.
“Oh
I buy ALL my books at Little Acorns Bookstore,” said Misty, mistily.
“I’ve just been recording a duet with famous Irish songstress Lána Bus
and I popped in on my way home to pick up the latest bestseller by Reeve
and McIntyre.”
“By who?” asked Kevin. But he wasn’t here to discuss Misty’s obscure literary tastes. “I’m here to interview bookseller Jenni Doherty,” he said importantly.
“She’s
been expecting you!” said Cedric the Centaur. “She’s just popped out to
hide all her biscuits for some reason, but she said you should have a
look around the shop while you wait for her. It’s not just books! There
are a load of Interesting Old Typewriters everywhere!”
Kevin went into the shop, where he spent a while carefully examining the typewriters.
They
were very interesting indeed, but none of them had keys big enough for
his hooves, so he sat down on a handy chair to wait. Unfortunately, it
broke under his weight. Fortunately it didn’t look valuable - it was a
very old chair, and people had scribbled their names all over it.
Kevin
tutted at their bad manners while he carefully hid the bits of the
chair behind a handy dump-bin. He had just finished when bookseller
Jenni Doherty came into welcome him to Little Acorns, and answer his
Important Questions…
Kevin: What is the best thing about being a bookseller?
Jenni:
Being a part of the local community, the camaraderie, the craic and
special connection to people of all ages & doing something I love!
Kevin: What’s one way you’ve tackled a problem that your bookshop has faced during the pandemic?
Jenni:
Despite being closed & only allowed to offer 'click & collect'
from 12 April (having been closed from 24 Dec), I have been using the
Bus Shelter directly outside my shop as a Book Bandit Speakeasy
Sanctuary for hand-delivery on-foot of customers orders.
Kevin: A Book Bandit Bus Shelter for hand-delivery-on-foot?
Jenni:
It really has made the experience for all involved more exciting as we
try not to look suspicious and more like Sherlock Holmes. Also
arranging to have cross-border book orders delivered to local convenient
stores for those restricted by movement (within 5 kilometers) or
isolating. Getting to know and respect more all the local delivery
drivers, couriers, postal staff and even the local taxi and bus drivers.
Plus other independent retailers in the same area as we've become our
own little gang of warriors of support to each other.
Kevin: What are three books you absolutely love hand-selling to customers?
Jenni: The Moon Spun Round: W B Yeats for Children; The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery and Matilda by Roald Dahl
Kevin: Who is your favourite children’s book illustrator?
Jenni: Oliver Jeffers and Tony Ross - having met both of them also.
Kevin: What is your favourite biscuit?
Jenni:
Has to be a Lotus Biscoff as I also enclose these as a little gift with
book orders online and for local collections during the various
lockdowns. Also included is either a coffee or cappuccino sachet.
Kevin: Hmmm. You wouldn’t happen to have any other biscuits at all? That you might have accidentally hidden?
Jenni: No. None at all. I absolutely have NOT buried a selection tin of teatime favourites in the back garden.
Kevin: Do you have a shop pet?
Jenni:
I do, but not of the living-breathing kind. I was gifted a life-size
cuddly toy Scooby Doo from a customer nearly 6 years ago and he has
become the shop's mascot & 'resident guard dog' and sits in the
children's book area. Children adore him (but are missing hugging him
since last Feb 2020). He dresses up as a cat for Hallowe'en, as a
reindeer at Christmas & wears the odd tie or hat on other occasions.
I also have three papier maché life-size penguins who also dress up!
Kevin: Thank you! What is the best way for people to buy books from you if they can’t visit the shop in person?
Jenni: Folks can purchase directly by email to littleacornsbookstore@yahoo.
Follow Kevin's tour at #
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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