The Touring Author - Mother & Toddler Groups

I absolutely love visiting mother and toddler groups.

There's a certain village hall which hosts a toddler group that invites me regularly. It provides a warm, friendly environment for children to play safely, do creative activities and a nice cup of tea for the mums.

I'd love to go to this particular mother and toddler group weekly, but unfortunately I am missing one vital element- a toddler!

Writing children's books is a fantastic excuse to attend these social mornings. I'll set up a display of my Shape Land books, do a fun colouring/creative activity with the kids (I am an ex-nursery nurse) and then read my book on some comfortable cushions-bliss!

However, not all m&t groups have welcomed me! One group saw me as a sales woman just trying to get their money in exchange for Trevor Triangle (my book), they couldn't be further from the truth!

On this particular occasion I soon realised the morning wasn't going brilliantly, when the first thing said to me was, "If you've come to clean the toilet, you're late!"

Hands up, I replied, "I'm afraid that's not me, I'm here with my book".

I hoped this would produce a smile (as I was giving up my GMTV time), however, all I got was a big tut and an unenthusiastic guide to a table in the far corner of the room.

As the toilet had already been mentioned, I decided to go before the session started. Unfortunately the lock on the 'one and only' toilet didn't work, and I met some of the mums in rather embarrassing circumstances! I bet JK Rowling has never been caught with her M&S spotty pants around her ankles!

Moving on, I tried to mingle and chat amongst the ladies, even resorting to comments on the weather (they were hard work). Unfortunately they had their little groups and made comments like, "We've no money, so there's no point talking to us".

Feeling rather embarrassed and unwanted, I moved onto the children and started organising the colouring activity. Thank goodness for children! You can always guarantee that at least one child will sit with you for ages, colouring, sticking, cutting etc, and it makes the time fly by.

The worst part of the morning had to be my own story time!

I usually have a group of willing, eager children in a reading corner but this m&t group insisted on putting out chairs for every child and forcing them to give up toys in order to sit and listen.

This can be normal practice in a nursery environment, but not m&t groups.

Not surprisingly a few began to cry, but I was encouraged to read my story anyway. With howling children, gossiping mothers and the odd musical toy going off, I attempted to shout out the story line with great difficulty.

Finally the morning ended and I was able to escape to my car. I drove home and delved into a large piece of chocolate cake to cheer myself up, works every time!

This experience hasn't put me off visiting m&t groups, and I'm looking forward to visiting my favorite one when my second book is released this summer.

I'll make sure I go to the toilet before I get there though!

The Touring Author

I've heard many wonderful things about blogs, so I've decided to start my own!



I didn't have a clue what to write about at first, a diary? Food recipes? Tips on writing for children? The list could go on and on, so I've decided to write about a few interesting, true events which have happened to me whilst promoting my first Shape Land book.



I'm calling my blog 'The Touring Author' and I hope you all enjoy reading it.



Take care,
Love Helen xxx