Moon Launch!

Aldo Moon and the Ghost at Gravewood Hall was published on 1 February. It’s been a busy week, so I’ve only got round to mentioning it now. I’ve been head down writing the final chapter of my latest Fiction Express story, the similarly titled ‘The Ghost of Grimstone Grange’. (I just know I will get those two titles mixed up in interviews!) Anyway, I’m so happy that Aldo is finally out there in the world. He’s been living inside my head for ever such a long time. His character long predates this story. Originally he was a detective living in the modern day. Then the publisher suggested setting his story in Victorian times. It was surprisingly easy to make this change, and I think that’s because there is something timeless about him. I think he would have thrived in any era – more like Doctor Who than Sherlock Holmes. But instead of travelling through time like the Doctor, he feels its passage like a current in a river. He can sense impending events as disturbances in the current or, as Aldo would put it, ripples in the ether. I’m looking forward to seeing how he fares, now that he’s left the sanctuary of my brain. Actually, I know he’ll be okay. It’s me I’m concerned about. I’m going to be interviewed about the book on Wednesday, and then I’ll be talking to a group of 35 kids about it at the Imagine Children’s Festival on Saturday. I hope I can do the book, and Aldo, justice!