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Tell us a little about your new book, The Tap-Dancing Pigeon of Covent Garden.

The Tap-Dancing Pigeon of Covent Garden is about a young pigeon and his experience of life amongst humans. He leaves home and flies to London to discover his passion and find a place he can call home. Interwoven with this, is the important message of the impact of human littering on our local wildlife.

What is the message you would like to leave with your readers?

I would like adults to read my book as more than just a story; it is an emotional rollercoaster of experiences in London that I believe everyone, and anyone can relate to.

When children read my book, I would like them to be left feeling as though they can go out and make the most of their lives, discover their passions and do whatever makes them happy. Also, for them to be aware that if rubbish is not recycled, it can be harmful to wildlife. My message to young children reading my book is to just go for it – the world is waiting for you! They all have a part to play in looking after our planet and our local wildlife.

What was your experience of writing The Tap-Dancing Pigeon of Covent Garden?

My writing process is very unique. I don’t like to follow any specific writing rules or think about the target audience or word count for a while. To begin, I just take a big sketchbook and write down all of my ideas, letting them flow out naturally and run free. Then, when I feel like I’ve got all of my thoughts on paper, I start editing.

Have you got any plans for future tales of Pigeon?

When I finally finished telling Pigeon’s story, I had more than 19000 words! I was given the invaluable advice to make the stories into individual picture books, so I divided them according to the nine chapters I had written. That means that I still have eight books to follow this one, so if you enjoy reading The Tap-Dancing Pigeon of Covent Garden, look out for my sequels!

How do you feel now that The Tap-Dancing Pigeon of Covent Garden has been published?

I have been writing about Pigeon for seven years now, and I’ve put a lot of time, energy and passion into his story. It was so exciting to see it come to life with Jon Davis’ beautiful illustrations and I’m so excited for it to be out there in the world!