Animal magic

"One boy wrote 'I do enjoy your books. Please try and write a few more before you die.' Another topped that. He said, 'I do like your books. When you die, please say hi to Roald Dahl for me'."

An interview with the children's author Dick King-Smith, whose book, The Water Horse, has been successfully adapted for the big screen. King-Smith only began writing when he retired from primary school teaching at 60, but he has written over 100 books since and in the process has become rich and famous.

You can find this insipring tale in the Sunday Herald, Animal magic

You can link to more about The Water Horse from here: Monster hit

January more or less marked the end of my first 12 month's freelancing, and in many ways was my most successful month so far. I had work in the The Times, national and Scottish editions, the Irish Times, the Washington Post, the Sunday Herald and Scotland on Sunday. But no bugger paid me.