Not just one new book ... but also a second, published on the same day, 11th June! You might be able to guess what the second one is from the photo!!!

There will be more pictures and a chance to comment over at the other place - come and see me there - it is free, and a much nicer platform.

Cheapest place to get the hedgehog book from, as I write, is Bloomsbury! I was really quite apprehensive about writing ANOTHER book about hedgehogs - this is my 4th. I was worried about plagiarising myself and boring my readers. But - I took a wild punt with the start of the book, I ran at it rather than being very well planned - and wrote it very much as I speak. Sent the first few pages to the editor, expecting her to tell me to calm down, but she wrote straight back and said YES!! So - I am really excited to find out what you all think of it!

Here is the opening salvo:

"If there is one animal in the British Isles that you could count on most people identifying, it would be the

hedgehog. Famously prickly, in appearance if not character, the hedgehog has forgone the insulating fur of most other mammals, and evolved defensive prickles. If you have ever met a hedgehog and paid close

attention, you will know how sharp those prickles can be, even though they are just modified hair."

Maybe don't tell anyone at Bloomsbury I am sharing this before the book is out!!

Sometimes I have people shouting at me because I use these platforms to share the paid work I am doing - and this often comes from a misunderstanding as to how much authors get paid!!! These books will end up paying me well under the minimum wage to complete ... so there has to be a reason why I do it ... and that is ...

Each of the books I have written (I am currently writing my 12th) has at its heart a campaigning message - a plea from me to the reader to fight for nature. Now, I could choose to stand on a soapbox and get all loud with a megaphone, but I would much rather lure you in with the suggestion that the fight begins not with anger, but with love.

I spend hours on these books, writing and editing - the teams at Bloomsbury and Graffeg make sure that I am getting the facts as correct as possible, that any generalisations are clarified. I then get to help with the design (I did not supply bat photographs, that takes a real expert - nor did I do the amazing illustrations in the hedgehog book). My aim is to make them accessible, factual, and seductive! I want my readers to fall in love with hedgehogs and with bats - and then to spread the word, far and wide.

I should mention a little more about the bat book - this is the 4th in the series I have written for Graffeg - the others being Hedgehogs (what a surprise), Beavers, and Water Voles. It looks stunning. And the photos by Daniel Hargreaves are remarkable. Currently the cheapest place to get it is on Amazon - but you can get it straight from publishers too - and they do sometimes offer deals ...

Biggest problem I have with the bat book is that I finished writing it over a year ago and have forgotten lots of the details ... so will need to read it again before the BIG DAY!!

And that is the official launch, by coincidence, on 11th June! I will be celebrating in the amazing Caper Books in Oxford, so if you live close by, book a place - free, but numbers limited (as is the wine!)

Please read the books - borrow them from a friend of the library - if you are buying them, go local when you can ... and then maybe we can all begin to fight a little more, from a foundation of love.