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.

Loch Ness film wins monster approval

I wrote this piece about the film The Water Horse for the Times just before Christmas, ahead of its release in the States. I'm a sucker for a feelgood U-rated movie, and this one looks the part, as many of the US reviews made clear. I snaffled some of the quotes from You Tube and the internet - but the story had a real interest in Britain, where Alex Etel, the young lad in the film, had just starred in a BBC version of Cranford. Which is why a supposedly 'Scottish' story made the national edition.

Click here to link to the Times: Monster hit

The film has its British premiere this Saturday in Edinburgh, so you'll be reading more about it soon, here and elsewhere. The show is in aid of the Maggie's Centres which provide care and counselling for cancer sufferers in Scotland. Find out more here: Maggie's Centres