Mr Phigg

Today’s instalment is here.

Help celebrate the author’s birthday by listening to the next instalment here

This is day 6 of my lockdown project. A chapter a day for children of all ages who may be in need of a bedtime (or any time) story.

 The Night of the Round Stable is a magical-friend fantasy complete with hidden doorways, talking animals and ingenious technology.

At the heart of the story is the sparky relationship between a decidedly odd couple:

• Johanna Blake, 11, who packs a doubt-free moral compass, a vegetarian Joan of Arc, no prisoners taken… but with a heart in exactly the right place; and
• Mr Phigg, some ten times her age, a hard-working slacker with a silver key that can open any door – he seems to know it all, but can’t always be trusted to tie his own shoelaces.

It is never entirely clear who is looking after whom. The pair join forces to stop a factory farm being built – and find themselves up against not just cruelty and bureaucracy, but the most fearsome creatures in several dimensions and a would-be supervillain, who’s out to rule them all.

The lovely Ruth Holland drew the pictures.

Hear the next instalment here…

This is day 5 of my lockdown project. A chapter a day for children of all ages who may be in need of a bedtime (or any time) story.

The Night of the Round Stable is a magical-friend fantasy complete with hidden doorways, talking animals and ingenious technology.

At the heart of the story is the sparky relationship between a decidedly odd couple:

• Johanna Blake, 11, who packs a doubt-free moral compass, a vegetarian Joan of Arc, no prisoners taken… but with a heart in exactly the right place; and
• Mr Phigg, some ten times her age, a hard-working slacker with a silver key that can open any door – he seems to know it all, but can’t always be trusted to tie his own shoelaces.

It is never entirely clear who is looking after whom. The pair join forces to stop a factory farm being built – and find themselves up against not just cruelty and bureaucracy, but the most fearsome creatures in several dimensions and a would-be supervillain, who’s out to rule them all.

The lovely Ruth Holland drew the pictures.

And the next one…Chapter 4 is now available here.

Day 3 of the project and the moment you have been waiting for: enter the sheep.

Listen to chapter 3 here.

And here is Chapter 2.

In response to the current lockdown Mr Phigg has dipped his key in Silvo and returned to the fray.

For the duration, I’ll be posting a chapter a day of The Night of the Round Stable for anyone in need of a bedtime (or any time) story. Chapter 1 “A Fleeting Visit” is available here.

Check back in tomorrow…

I am currently taking stock and reworking the Mr Phigg stories before trying again to find a publisher for them. As part of that process, the original versions will no longer be available on Kindle or print-on-demand. So, patience, please, until they reappear, glorious butterflies bursting from their chrysalides….

A very easy competition with a chance to win a copy of the first Mr Phigg volume, The Night Of The Round Stable: just go here  http://www.feedaread.com/p/1366/

After a restorative hibernation Mr Phigg is stretching, yawning and re-entering the Greyworld with the spring…

Work has just begun on a third story about Johanna and Harry and him, tentatively entitled The Man Who Took The Magic Out Of Things.

Watch this space.