Advice from top author at Sibford

Steve Cole with pupils from The Warriner, Sibford School, Hook Norton Primary, Sibford Gower Endowed Primary and Great Rollright Primary

Steve Cole talked to the nine-year-olds about his latest book, Young Bond: Strike Lightning.

Published in paperback by Penguin Random House, this is Steve’s third book in the Young Bond series.

His other books include the hugely successful Astrosaurs young fiction series, several Doctor Who novels and the Secret Agent Mummy series.

Sibford pupil Joe Harper, aged nine, with author Steve Cole

In the week that BBC Radio 2 launched its annual short story competition, 500 Words, for children aged five to 13, Steve encouraged pupils to experiment with their own writing.

He said: “Take inspiration from stuff you enjoy because that enthusiasm will then come across in your writing.

“Take a character you know and imagine they are like you.

“Set up first impressions that are then proved wrong.

“Think about introducing something that looks wonderful but turns out to have a darker side.

“Who knows where it might take it you? Often we accomplish things as adults because we started doing things as a child.”