To be honest, I can’t quite remember the moment where I thought: “I know what the world needs – a Victorian Gothic murder mystery featuring deception, palaeontology,  postmortem photography, feminism, blasting powder and mendacity-munching plant life.”

Oh well, too late to change my mind now. The Lie Tree is published!

To celebrate this, I headed north for a brief but enthusiastic three-day tour, under the wing of Macmillan’s Andy Belshaw.

Day One of the tour was organised by Booka Bookshop, in Oswestry.

Purveyors of delicious lemon and elderflower cake. Also books.

Our first visit was to Moreton Hall School, where I babbled about changelings in front of a hundred and fifty students, before signing copies of Cuckoo Song and The Lie Tree.

Later that evening I attended a friendly, relaxed meeting of the teen book club (and others) at Booka Bookshop.

Day Two was arranged by Urmston Bookshop, and began with a visit to Manchester High School for Girls. Although I didn’t discover this until later, MHSG was actually the school attended by the famous suffragettes Christabel, Sylvia and Adela Pankhurst!

Sylvia Pankhurst aged about eighteen

I was rather pleased to find that I’d been promoting a feminist YA book at the Pankhursts’ old school. During election season, no less…

Next we moved on to Altrincham Girls’ Grammar School, where I gave two talks to Y8 students in the school library.

Some of the lovely book sculptures on display in Altrincham Grammar’s library

Back to Urmston Bookshop for serious literary discussions. Otherwise known as eating cake, and posing in the cardboard cutout of a previous visitor, astronaut Chris Hadfield.

The final day was organised by Ebb & Flo Bookshop in Chorley. Our first stop was Bolton School Girls’ Division.

Here I am with Diane Gunning of Ebb & Flo in front of Bolton School, which as you can see is splendidly crenellated and Hogwarts-like. (Apparently the library is tucked in one of the towers, and there are mysterious upper rooms…)

Ell & Flo had prepared us a rather nice picnic, which we gobbled en route to our last stop, Albany Academy. There I gave a talk to a packed hall, followed by a short recorded interview. One student approached me and suggested a particularly eerie idea for a story… which I really hope he writes so that I can find out what happens.

Many thanks to all the schools for having me, and Andy Belshaw for looking after me throughout the tour. A big thank you also to Booka Bookshop, Urmston Bookshop and Ebb & Flo Bookshop for all their hard work, and for the goodie bags of presents!

Behold, my tour swag