Rob Lloyd Jones's Blog

I’ve been all over the place over the past few months, visiting schools and researching my next book. I’ve had so much fun, met loads of interesting and lovely people, and talked to students from London to Kathmandu all with just the same passion for books and story telling. It’s been such an inspiring and uplifting few months.  

I’ve been lucky to visit schools in the south of France (Monaco, Nice and Cannes), and several lovely schools in Malta (organised by the excellent Merlin Library bookshop, who also arranged for me to appear on daytime TV in Malta – see pic below), as well as the British School of Kathmandu in Nepal (obvs), and several schools around the UK. 

The Nepal trip was also, partly, to research Jake Atlas 3 and the next book that I might write. It is my new favourite country; I just loved the place. I hiked half way to Everest, saw 8,000m mountains and met lovely lovely people. I’ve never felt so lucky as I did on that trip; just a magical place. A few photos below from some of these events – (and you can find out more about my school visits on the Events page of this site, if you wanna). 

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The past six months has been a bit manic, and I’ve let these updates slip. People have asked what I’ve been working on, so here are a few answers:

Jake Atlas 2 came out in March – Jake Atlas and the Hunt for the Feathered God. I’m so happy with it; it’s exactly the story I wanted to tell when I first thought up the characters. Hope you enjoy it too. Here’s the cover, along with the cool bookmarks Walker Books made for me to hand out at events.

I’ve been touring the country and beyond (more on this in the following update…) talking about the story and its inspiration. These books have been such fun to write, it really doesn’t feel like work at all.

Jake Atlas 3 – The Quest for the Crystal Mountain – is written! Or at least the first draft is, and I’m really pleased with it. Fingers crossed Walker Books like it too, although I’m sure my editor Mara will have plenty of thoughts to help make it better.  This one is all set in the Himalayas, my favourite part of the world. It’s not out until March 2019 I’m afraid, and there’s no cover to show just yet…

Beyond that I’ve been working on two new stories – researching them a bit and mulling them over. Picking a new project to work on is a big deal. This story will become your obsession for six months or a year, and will be the reason you tear out some hairs, miss out on things and upset a few people you love. You wanna be sure it’s worth all that by picking the best story to tell. I’m almost decided, but I’ll keep the details to myself for now…

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Events, events events! It’s been a crazy few months travelling the UK and overseas to talk about Jake Atlas and history, as well as my non fiction and picture books for children. My voice is almost gone. But it was worth it – highlights include a wonderful day at the British School of Barcelona (where I saw Lionel Messi dropping his child at school!), and an incredible five days touring South Korea giving talks in five different international schools. To meet such enthusiastic and engaged readers is one of the greatest pleasures of writing, whether at home or abroad.

A few comments from teachers here, and pics from the trip below.

Rob was incredibly engaging, audaciously funny, and a great deal of fun. Students and teachers alike were leaning forward, hanging on each word.

Travis Peterson, Associate Principal Korea International School

Rob’s visit received overwhelmingly positive reviews and was a great way to kick off our annual Book Week. 

Linda Choo,Cheongna Dalton School

Rob Lloyd Jones was a big hit with all of our students.  His humour, openness and enthusiasm helped him connect with all.  Highly recommended!

Tim Gardes, Seoul International School

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I’ve recently returned from a fantastic tour of China, talking about books and story-telling at international schools in Shanghai and Beijing. It was my first visit to China, and it won’t be my last.  Both cities were amazing! Between school visits I managed to get out to the countryside to hike part of the Great Wall, where I was also secretly researching a new project…

I was so impressed with the students at the schools I visited, and their enthusiasm for story telling. They came up with some fairly crazy ideas in the story telling workshops. Below are a few pictures from the events. The lovely librarian at Harrow School in Beijing also sent me this kind quote, which makes me very happy:

‘Rob was brilliant, both staff and students had nothing but good things to say about him and his presentation. He talked about how he became a writer in a very amusing way and his inspiration for his latest book. He was super accommodating and very flexible.’

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I’ve been touring the country with the new Jake Atlas Treasure Hunt Event, and having such a great time at various schools. So far the tour has seen me in London, Essex, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Manchester, Bolton, Preston, Norwich and Newcastle. We’ve been talking about lost tombs and Ancient Egypt, and coming up with some fantastic treasure hunting tales tales in storytelling workshops. If you’d like to know more about the event, just go here.

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Here’s a blog I wrote on the brilliant Toppsta site, about how I came to write the first Jake Atlas book. It’s about Ancient Egypt, treasure hunts and gold. Hope you enjoy!

https://toppsta.com/blog/view/Rob-Lloyd-Jones-and-the-Tomb-of-the-Emerald-Snake

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Very close to the launch date for Jake Atlas and the Tomb of the Emerald Snake. Walker Books have just sent me heaps of these cool bookmarks, to hand out at school events. Can’t wait!

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Young readers have begun reviewing Jake Atlas on the brilliant Lovereading4Kids site. So far they’ve all been fans!

You can read some of them here. “Talk about a page turner!” Happy with that!

http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/book/13734/Jake-Atlas-and-the-Tomb-of-the-Emerald-Snake-by-Rob-Lloyd-Jones.html

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So excited to receive an early copy of Jake Atlas and the Tomb of the Emerald Snake. Check out the fancy gold letters! Walker Books have done such a great job of the design. Here’s the front and back cover. Hope you enjoy!

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THE CASE OF THE OUTRAGEOUS ART THEFT

Wild Boy was raised as a monster, and condemned to life in a travelling freak show. Watching people from the shadows, he developed an extraordinary power of observation and detection.

Wild Boy notices the things that others miss. But can you put the pieces together and solve a fiendish crime?

Take a look at this Wild Boy case file, which includes a newspaper report of a particularly mysterious crime, and the clues that Wild Boy noticed when he and Clarissa arrived at the scene. Can you work out what really happened, describe and identify the thief, and even locate the stolen painting?

For a chance to win a copy of Wild Boy, signed by the author, all you have to do is email marketing@walker.co.uk with your prime suspect in the subject line, by the 30th April 2013.

Closing date 30/04/2013. Open to residents of UK and ROI only. Subject to full Prize Draw Terms and Conditions

Intrigued? Find out more about Wild Boy’s first adventure here.