Andrew Lane, author of the Young Sherlock Holmes series, Doctor Who audio adventures  and the Lost Worlds series, entertained Year 8 Books and Beyond winners and Accelerated Readers with his presentation of Sherlock through the ages.  Andrew, who has written many books using classical fiction as inspiration, explained that readers love to see their favourite characters reimagined in new situations, but a Sherlock My Little Pony may be taking it too far.

Andrew also presented a Creative Writing workshop for specially selected Year 8 and 9 students on how to structure a story, utilise setting, and develop characters.  He explained the pros and cons of being a professional writer; you can wake up whenever you want, but you may only earn 7.5% of the sale price for any book you get published.  Andrew reminded students that if writing is something you love, then your passion will be the driving force, not the pay cheque!  Despite this, Andrew reassured the students that he wouldn’t want to be anything other than a writer.

Andrew’s visit left students and staff alike inspired to write something new, maybe even writing a new Sherlock Holmes story with a twist of their own?