1862 and all that...

As Time Trap fans will know, all the action takes place in 1862 - that's more than 150 years ago!

Now I've discovered a page on Wikipedia where you can read all about the amazing historical events and personalities of that incredible year - although, of course, no one thought of it as incredible until Time Trap came along!

The Elephant Man

Did you know 1862 was remarkable for the following...

Last horse drawn mail coach runs from Carlisle to Hawick, Scotland

Criminal law amended to make robbery with violence punishable by flogging

Charles Dodgson ('Lewis Carroll') takes Alice Liddell and her sisters on a rowing trip on The Isis from Folly Bridge, Oxford, to Godstow on which he tells the story that becomes Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Joseph Merrick, "The Elephant Man" is born on August 5

To read more amazing facts about 1862 click here

Happy reading :-)

Best letter ever!

I wanted to share with you what is probably the most touching letter I have ever received in my life.

It's from my old primary school in Essex which I left many, many full moons ago.

Uphall was a wonderful school in my day and it still is, boasting a "good" Ofsted rating. I am so proud of the place.

Some time ago I visited the school and left a copy of Time Trap with the teacher in my old classroom.

Then a few months later I received a fantastic letter from the teacher telling me how much the children had enjoyed the book.

Here's an extract...

"The children found the story exciting and thought provoking. It is an adventure story which kept them enthralled from beginning to end. The story deals with relationships with friendship and love, and these themes were also interesting aspects of the story for my class. 

"Time Trap is compelling reading. My class enjoyed it and were exciting about meeting the author."

As we say in Essex, I was chuffed to bits!

Happy reading :-)

Thank You British Museum!

Me and the book in the British Museum!
So proud to have it stocked there.

Wow! More than 113 copies of Time Trap have been sold through the British Museum in London since it started stocking the book a year ago in its shop.

I am so proud and chuffed about this. It is such a prestigious place to have the book on sale.

I can't help thinking of kids from all over the world reading my book. That's worth another Wow!

And if you bought the book at the Museum I would be really delighted to receive your feedback, good, bad or ugly! Just use the email form down the right hand side of this website.

And, don't forget, if you want your own copy there's a link to my online shop top right.

Happy reading :-)

Life on the streets in Victorian London.

If you've read Time Trap you will know how tough life was for homeless kids in Victorian London. It was a brutal, pitiless existence where kids survived on their wits or starved.

I was Googling the topic this week and found this heart-rending article of what life was like for those kids back then. It's from an interesting website called VictorianWeb.org

Here is quote used in an article on the site by Dr Jacqueline Banerjee:

"half-savage children, street arabs, street urchins, mudlarks, and guttersnipes — filthy, ragged, lying, cursing, and hungry, roaming singly or in packs like young wolves, snatching stealing, stone-throwing, destructive, brutish, and cruel when not merely hopeless and lost."

Kids are so lucky today; in fact, we all are!

Happy reading :-)

Buy Time Trap online!

Just click this picture to buy Time Trap!

I am thrilled to announce that Time Trap can now be ordered online.

My publishers, Fast Print Publishing, will print you a copy and ship it too.

With just a few clicks your very own copy of Time Trap will be winging its way towards you within seconds.

Happy reading :-)

Great review for Time Trap

Time Trap has received a glowing review on the Self Publishers' Showcase.

This is a platform which is really highly valued by self-published authors like yours truly.

Here's a snippet from the review:

Richard Smith has in Time Trap, a very polished debut novel. The research undertaken is evident throughout; the fog-laden city of London, the characters found therein and the localised speech patterns used. Although targeted for the 10-12 year old range, or Middle-Grade, the book does show appeal for older readers – though in fairness, as one would expect, it does feel slightly ‘lite’ from that perspective. Todd in particular though shows good growth as a character, and the action scenes successfully conjure in the mind images of crime and life on the streets of London in 1862.

What a fantastic write up! You can read the whole review here

And don't forget you can read more reviews through the link on the menu.

Happy reading!