Dave Cousins's Blog, page 12

NACOA Children of Alcoholics Week

15 Days Without a Head  is a work of fiction, but many young people live with problems similar to those faced by Laurence and Jay in the story. In fact, there are an estimated one million children affected by parental alcohol problems in the UK.
Children of Alcoholics Week aims to raise awareness of the problems faced by alcohol-dependent parents, and let children and adults know there is support and advice available.
The campaign is led by the National Association for Children of Alcoholics who provide a Free Confidential Telephone Helpline 0800 358 3456, plus advice for children, parents and teachers on their website, or you can email helpline@nacoa.org.uk
Here's a short video from NACOA explaining some of the important work they do.

The single, A Change is Gonna Come was specially recorded by Maria McAteer, Bjorn Dahlberg and the Stanford Quartet for Children of Alcoholics Week in February 2011. The video below was produced by Sean Caveille. You can download the single here from iTunes, and help support NACOA.

Please visit the  Children of Alcoholics Week website , to find out more.
Thanks.

National Libraries Day – Why are libraries so important?

Saturday 4th February is National Libraries Day in the UK. A day to show support and solidarity for our public library service – a day to visit your local library and take out some books. It doesn’t matter if you’re no longer a member or have lost your card. Go down and rejoin – it’s free! Take the family and friends and see what your local library has to offer, you could well be pleasantly surprised.

There are over two hundred events being held at libraries across the country. Click here to find out what's happening near you.

In the last twelve months my local library opening hours have been reduced. It's a trend affecting branches across the country. In addition many libraries have been closed and many more are under threat. So what? You might say. In the current times of austerity, everyone is feeling the pinch. Funding is being taken from the police service, hospitals and schools. Why are libraries so important?

Is a fair question. Voices for the Library provide some answers here.

But I thought I’d ask my fellow authors at the Edge, what libraries mean to them. Click here to read what they said.
For further information, please visit the following:

Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
Voices for the Library
Alan Gibbons' Campaign for the Book
The Bookseller Fight for Libraries Facebook page
The Reading Agency

You can tweet your support using the #NLD12 hashtag.

See you down the library!
Cheers, Dave.

15 Days Without a Head in bookshops now!

I'm not sure I'll ever get lose the thrill of seeing my book in a bookshop. More than any other part of the process, finding a copy on the shelves makes it finally feel real. 
I was delighted to walk into my local branch of Waterstones and find 15 Days Without a Head at number six in the Kids' Chart!

And number ten in the store paperback chart!

Huge thanks to the staff at Waterstones and to everyone who has been in to buy a copy.
During my recent schools tour, I spent a day with Nigel French from Cole's Books in Bicester. After a great morning with students from years 7 and 8 at The Cooper School, we managed to find time to grab half an hour to browse his fantastic bookshop.

I was extremely chuffed to find myself next to Phil Earle on the display. Cole's are selling signed copies of 15 Days Without a Head through their website, with free postage and packing to UK addresses. (see the link in the sidebar)
It was also a pleasant surprise to walk into my local Empire cinema to find 15 Days postcards on the racks, next to Sky Hawk (a superb book by fellow OUP author, Gill Lewis)

But possibly the best thing about the past few weeks has been going into schools and having the opportunity to meet students, and talk to them about books, writing and wanting to be an astronaut! The response to 15 Days Without a Head has been fantastic. So a big thanks to the staff and students at The Broxbourne School*, St Gregory the Great and King Alfred's Academy in Oxford, The Cooper School in Bicester and Bruern Abbey, Oxfordshire – for their time, enthusiasm and cake!*

Blog Tour #10: 15 Days Without a Head – On Location.

After fifteen days on the road, the blog bus doesn't smell quite as sweet as it did when we started. It's been a great trip though, stopping off at some of the best book blog sites on the internet and meeting some fantastic folk in the process. 
Appropriately enough, our final stop brings us all the way back home to Hardacre. We've parked the bus in Parkview Parade, under the shadow of The Heights, and are taking Cicely on a tour of some of the locations used in 15 Days Without a Head. Why not click over to Cicely Loves Books and join us.

Blog Tour #9: A Day in the Life of an Author – Photo Story!

Join me for a day in my life as an author, at Heaven, Hell & Purgatory – today's stop on the 15 Days Without a Head Blog Tour.