5 Things you should never say to an author at a book signing...

1.  My child is too young for books. It doesn’t matter what age your child is, they are definitely not too young for books! Babies can enjoy books right from the start, and what a lovely activity it is to share, to cuddle up with a book and a baby on your knee, sowing the seeds of a love of books that’ll stay with them always.

2.  Are you the author? – who me? The one sat behind the local author book signing sign... yes, I get it all the time – I put signs on my table, but people still seem surprised that I am actually the author.

3.  How long does it take to write a book? Well we could be there all day with that question - a book isn’t like a production line item, it could have been born in a rush of inspiration that came tumbling out faster than I could type, or it could have been an idea that lurked around in the recesses of my mind, stubbornly refusing to arrange itself into a story... And then of course there are the illustrations, not just to be drawn and painted, but scanned in, and then technology gets involved, and anything could happen... 

4.  I don’t read books. Never tell an author you don’t read books – they’ll see it as a challenge... I believe there’s a book out there for everyone, maybe you just had a bad introduction to books, were made to read books you didn’t enjoy... But there are so many books out there, that there must be something you’ll enjoy. What sort of film do you enjoy? Finding a book on the same theme as a film you enjoy is a good place to start, and once you’ve found one, you’ll be able to find other books of that genre, and before you know it you’re a book lover.

5.  My child doesn’t like books. If your child doesn’t like books, could it be that they see you not liking books? Go to a library of bookshop together and choose a book each. If you’re choosing a book for a very young child, then you have a lot of influence, so choose one you like too – if you enjoy reading the story you’re more likely to get that across to your child, and before you know it you’re both enjoying books.