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Good news! If you have an avid short(ish) reader in the house, I have a signed copy of my middle grade novel Shot, Boom, Score! to give away. 10th person who emails me will win.

Here’s what the book is about:

“Toby, if you get twenty wickets and ten tries before the end of the year, Mum and I’ll buy you a new GameBox V3.’

Can you believe it? One minute I’m in trouble for double-bouncing my sister and the next Dad is telling me I’ve got the new GameBox V3! And it’s not even Christmas. Shot!

Toby thinks this will be easy — after all, he gets Player of the Day all the time. But he hasn’t reckoned on Malcolm McGarvy. McGarvy is one of the biggest kids in the school and he’s got a huge scar which he got in a shark attack — he wears one of the teeth around his neck. You know McGarvy is near because you get goosebumps up your arms. And he’s going to make sure Toby doesn’t get that GameBox V3…

A hilarious story about a boy who is promised a Gamebox V3 by his dad if he scores 20 wickets in cricket and 10 tries in rugby, but is foiled at every turn by the class bully.

shot boom score

During our life-changing journey that became the bestselling book Bowling Through India, it was somewhat ironic the Black Craps (as our five man cricket side was known) should end up playing cricket in a cemetery in Varanasi, otherwise known as the City of Life. The tombstones were used as stumps and a Catholic caretaker tried his best to keep games to a minimum – until we turned up. Thanks to The VC and photographer Brendon O’Hagan for providing this slideshow of our unforgettable match.

I’m happy to say that two of my travel books are now available to read on your Kindle. UK on a G-string is a tale about door-to-door-busking (I only had one song) around the Motherland and trying to make enough money for a flight home. The US version is called One Man, 23 Beers and a Crazy Bet. Next on my bucket list was an attempt to play golf around the U.S with whoever featured on the front page of the newspaper. In Search of Swingers was the result: a terrifying, yet liberating, glorious failure, full of crazy characters and surprisingly, very little golf. For more info on these titles head to my website. Enjoy!

Bowling Through India - for free

For the next five days you can grab my travel memoir ‘Bowling Through India’ for NOTHING from Amazon. Don’t panic if you’re not into sport. Here are one reader’s comments: ‘Fantastic story of friendship male bonding and cricket. Far from your typical travel book you learn as much about the ways group of men treat each other as you will about India. Highly recommended.’

So get to it – and enjoy!

Life's what gets in the way when you're busy making other plans

It’s been a busy time and I’ve been slack with the blog. Still, here we are, finally. I’ve been having a lot of fun doing school talks all over Auckland. The kids are brilliantly funny and ask memorable questions. Some schools, like Mt Eden, even send you hand drawn covers of your book (pictured.) Thank you! Otherwise, I have been head down bum up working on a new novel which I’ve been told is too scary for adults, but just right for kids. Also, my first travel book ‘UK on a G-String’ will soon be available on Kindle. Will keep you in the loop. Happy weekend wherever you are.

The Dog That Ate The Bathroom

The idea for this e-book started out as a joke. My daughter (Sophie) and I were bored, so decided to think up ridiculous things. Once finished, she took the story to school and her class loved it, as did the teacher who passed it on to other classes. A few tweaks later we had a story. A few beers later I had an illustrator. And now you have the finished product.

8 kids questions that always have the same answer

‘Can I play on your phone? 

Can I play a video game? 

Can I hit the cat?

Can I see if the remote bounces?

Can I see if my sister bounces?

Can I watch TV?

Can I play on your old phone?

Can I go on the computer?’

If you have a bored 6-9 year old in the house can I put in a cheeky plug for the newly released FIREBOYS COLLECTION e-book. It’s been described as an exciting, easy-to-read series starring three unlikely characters. There’s Red (the competitive one), Leo (the serious one) and Spark (the loveable idiot.) The stories have strong plots and quirky characters. When I was a kid I found this length of story (about 10,000 words) cool to read because they’re easy to understand and a good introduction to longer stories. Plus it feels great when you actually finish a WHOLE BOOK. (Just click on the cover to be taken to the Amazon page.)

Or, just let the kids use your phone. But don’t get the high score on Temple run, they really hate that.