Secret Serendipity Seven with Swapna Haddow

Today I'm pleased to welcome Swapna Haddow onto the blog, to reveal seven secrets about her chapter book for younger readers, Dave Pigeon and herself. I loved Dave Pigeon! You can read my review here. I honestly can't wait for the next book in the series. 

• There is a comedy dog in every first chapter of every first draft of a story I have ever written who is always cut from final draft of the book. In Dave Pigeon, the dog’s name was ‘Dog’.

• Skipper, Dave Pigeon’s best friend, was not originally called ‘Skipper’. He had another name. It was Another.

• I don’t really plan my books, which is ironic because ‘Dave Pigeon: How to deal with Bad Cats and keep (most of) your Feathers’ is a book about plans. I tend to write and see where the characters take me.

• I’ve been afraid of pigeons since I was a child. When I was six, I was harassed at Trafalgar Square by an army of pigeons because I was eating a sandwich. Writing the book has been very therapeutic and now I’m quite fond of pigeons.

• I’ve been afraid of cats since I was a child. I was scratched by a cat when I was younger and never really got over it. Writing the book has not been therapeutic for this in the slightest and I may be more afraid of cats now than I ever was.

• I tend to write in bed, which is why it takes me a while to finish writing a story because I fall asleep A LOT.

• Despite all my sleeping, I have finished writing the second Dave Pigeon book! Yippee! In the next book Dave Pigeon and Skipper are lured away from their shed and they have to take on a very gruesome villain, one who has an incredibly sinister plan for our feathery friends. Find out what adventures are in store for Dave and Skipper in February 2017.

Published by Faber and Faber in April 2016

Summary

Join Dave Pigeon and his sidekick Skipper on their quest to defeat the most evil cat in town. There will be funny bits, scary bits and biscuity bits...

To find out more about Swapna Haddow:

Website / Twitter