Anyone else finding that the current situation has left them doing things that they might not, ahem, have attempted under more ordinary circumstances?

Urm, just me then?! PS Let’s not mention the badly painted garage door, that was a BAD idea.

Putting the garage door to one side (is that possible? Asking for a friend), I managed to drag my teenage son in on my latest idea.

He was delighted. Honest.

My latest idea started when a friend pointed me in the direction of I Can Animate.

And then it grew, after a discussion with some lovely writerly friends - about the weird predicament of having our books coming out, when fabulous bricks & mortar shops have been forced to close their doors to physical customers…

Hmm, what’s an author to do I hear you ask?

You did ask… didn’t you?! I’m dearly hoping so, ‘cause I’m about to tell you.

I grabbed my crochet hook, some yarn, Rikin’s illustration of the excitable Alfonso from our picture book This Book Has Alpacas and Bears, plus my less than excitable son clutching the iPad loaded with the aforementioned animation app.

And here’s the result… because I thought Rikin’s amazing Alfonso deserved a bit of a ‘yippee’ as he gets ready to bound into bookshops on the 4th June.

What do you think?

*runs away & hides*

This Book Has Alpacas and Bears bounds onto the shelves in June. If you fancy it, you can pre-order from your super lovely indie bookshops (LOTS are still taking orders & delivering, give them a try). Some options are: