Blog Of Author Alan Dapré

Far from perfect grammar

My Grammar School inconveniently forgot to teach me grammar. Fact. We had a few lessons about verbs…

It’s good to write badly. Baldly, in my case.

Back in the noisy days of  typewriters I was indebted to a strip of white tape that I placed on the paper to strike out mistakes. This was replaced in time by liquid paper. Nowadays the computer Delete key is…

So says Lumos. A chary dedicated to getting children out of institutions. Further to my earlier blog about Lumos – the charity chaired by J.K. Rowling – I thought I’d share more about what it is trying to do.

‘Across the globe 8 million children are…

Looking for quality picture ebooks for kids at a great price?

I’ve decided to offer two of my picture ebooks at a great discount – permanently. Why? I want to…

12 dodgy ways to get a publishing deal.

12 – Be famous – worked for Whoopi Goldberg, Julie Andrew, Madonna, etc.

11 – Play for Chelsea -…

Writing for Children - helpful ideas by Alan Dapre

I’ve had over 50 books traditionally published in a range of genres. A few are plays for teenagers…

'Mummy, don't do the voices' - the perils of reading aloud...

Peppa Pig’s school roof needs repairing. Again. And poor Daddy Pig ends up having to buy his chair back at a fundraising fete.

That was the gist of our daughter’s latest bedtime story. I’ve read “Peppa Pig’s Daddy Is Made To Look A Right Nugget Again” or…

Pesky apostrophes. Writer‘s Block affects one person but we all know WB affects all writers at some point so maybe Writers‘ Block is more accurate.

So how to cope with it? Easy. Never pick up a pen again and become a hermit atop a wind turbine. Hmm, that…

Merry Christmas. My kids picture ebook is free 19, 20, 21 Dec 2013

It’s the time of year for sharing – and I’d like to share Wiggle Jiggle Free. Eggy Leggy is on…

Merry Christmas. My picture ebook is FREE on 19-21 December 2013 - Wiggle Jiggle x

A wee Christmas gift for all you Kindle owners, or anyone with Kindle software on a Mac or PC. It’s…

Further to my blog about Lumos – the charity chaired by J.K. Rowling – I thought I’d share more about what it is trying to do.

‘Across the globe 8 million children are living in institutions that deny them individual love and care. More than 90% are not…

Lumos - a charity dedicated to getting children out of institutions :)

This is my most personal blog to date – and the most important.

I have an agenda here. I was in the…

Thanks George Osborne. I don’t see myself as a particularly political animal. I tend to vote for policies not parties. I’m fairly liberal-minded – well, I was until Nick Clegg made it a dirty word. All parties have their (few) successes and their complete…

eBooks for sale by J R Hartley, I mean Alan Dapré

Do you remember that advert where an old man rings round bookshops until he smiles – puts on his…

Captcha? - Captcharrgghhhh!

It’s bad enough not remembering a password and having to drag it out of the back of my memory. Even…

Sciatica. Sciatica. Makes me very static. Argh!