splish splash

This one’s for Hester Johnson-Cadwell, who got two goldfish for Christmas and named them Vern and Lettuce. When I told them about this, they thought it was splendid, and made me draw them as fish.

If I can’t live underwater with those two, I’m going to move into a converted Martello Tower. I read about it on BoingBoing here and they look very fine. You can see some more photos and writeup over at Inhabit magazine and in The Guardian here: how to Napoleon-proof your home.

Some British writers are blogging about books that shaped their careers: Candy Gourlay chose seven books here, and got a lovely blog comment from Geraldine McCaughrean, who wrote one of her picks, The White Darkness (also one of my favourite books, which I mention in this earlier blog post). In her comment, Geraldine mentions that she’s planning to start up a blog, which sounds very exciting. Two nights ago, I finished reading one of her early books for adults, Fires’ Astonishment, and am still feeling rather astonished.
Writer Keren David listed ten books here, and isn’t afraid to include Harry Potter and Twilight. (Here was my Twilight experience, in rough comics form.)