Children in Read has been running for the past 6 years and raises money for BBC Children in Need by auctioning off signed and dedicated books donated by authors. This year, lot 563 is a signed and dedicated copy of The Great Fox Illusion, complete with a signed postcard and bookmark. Why not put in a bid for this great cause?
The Great Fox Illusion has been hanging out with some guy called Barack Obama as part of Peters and Walker Book Club, and you can win 5 copies for your school or library by clicking on the picture. The Book Club has plenty of teaching resources and videos for the books too – so fill your boots!
THE GREAT FOX ILLUSION is released in Italian as CACCIA ALLA GRANDE VOLPE. The publisher Rizzoli says:
“A tredici anni Flick Lions è un’esperta di illusionismo; del resto suo padre, scomparso in circostanze oscure, era un grande mago. Per questo decide di partecipare a una gara televisiva in cui il premio in palio è nientemeno che l’eredità della Grande Volpe, un celebre illusionista senza discepoli. Non le è difficile passare le selezioni e assicurarsi un posto nella competizione. L’antica villa in cui si svolge la sfida è tutto tranne che ordinaria, tra pareti mobili e un ascensore parlante, ma sono i misteri da risolvere e gli indizi da trovare a renderla davvero unica. Le due squadre di concorrenti si affrontano in una gara di astuzia e velocità: devono svelare per primi i trucchi che si celano dietro numeri grandiosi. Uno tra tutti? La sparizione della Statua della Libertà. Flick però non è lì tanto per vincere la competizione quanto per un segreto che cambierà per sempre il mondo della magia. E per trovarlo è disposta a tutto. Tra inganni e illusioni, Caccia alla Grande Volpe ci trascina in una gara senza esclusione di colpi, in cui s’intrecciano coraggio e vendetta, magia e avventura.”
In other news, The Great Fox Roadshow (me in my new trainers) will be appearing at the Appledore Book Festival and the Falmouth Book Festival over the next few weeks. The show will feature lasers, a live trip to Mars, my trumpet-playing cat jumping 23 buses in a speedboat, and a lot of exaggeration. Hope to see you there!
The Great Fox Illusion (De grote vossenjacht) has been released in Dutch as a hardback by De Fontein, and it has now also been recorded and released as an audiobook in English (available on CD or download), and in Dutch (available for download on storytel.com). In other news, the release date for Great Fox 2 (ssshhhhh – title and cover haven’t been revealed yet!) will be April 2023.
It was a real pleasure to be interviewed for the In The Reading Corner podcast series. You can listen to this HERE.
There is also an interview about The Great Fox Illusion on the ReadingZone website. Here are some of the answers but you can read the full interview by clicking HERE.
4. Can you tell us about your main character, Flick, and why you have given her a disability?
Disabilities have always played a big part in my family, and Flick embodies a lot of what I observe and admire in people who have disabilities. She works with what she has. Despite her limitations, she doesn’t hang about and she takes no prisoners. She is a very determined young lady!
5. Flick has a lot to battle through, including the way people respond to her disability. What would you like your readers to take from her experiences?
Readers with disabilities need to see themselves in books and enjoy their stories being told. Readers without disabilities need to learn about those that have them. I strongly believe everyone benefits from that interchange.
9. So, can you give us a glimpse into Book 2?
Flick and Charlie end the first book having stepped behind the curtain and into the world of magicians. They’ve put some noses out of joint in that process. In the second book, those rivalries increase, and Flick and Charlie find they have the attention of some very powerful enemies. They’re basically in a lot of trouble!
