Christopher Russell

A message for Aye

You read Scarper Jack and the Bloodstained Room three times in a row?! Wow! You must know it better than I do. I'm thrilled you enjoyed it so much. Don't give up on your plan to be a writer when you grow up. There's nothing to stop you. You could even start now!

And hello to Dillon, who also enjoyed Scarper Jack. We don't have plans for a sequel at the moment because we've been concentrating on our sheep stories. Have any of you read The Quest of the Warrior Sheep? I'd love to hear what you think of it.

To Niamh, Robert and Mum

We used to love bedtime stories with our girls when they were younger so we're very pleased that you enjoyed reading The Quest of the Warrior Sheep together. Hope you enjoy The Warrior Sheep Go West as much next year.

Sheep news for Zoe

In answer to Zoe and others who have asked about the next adventures of the Warrior Sheep, The Warrior Sheep Go West will be available in 2011. That seems a long way away, but we hope you'll enjoy it when it is finally published.

To the pupils at All Saints' School, Marple

Thank you to all of the pupils at All Saints' C of E Primary School, Marple, Stockport, who voted Scarper Jack and the Bloodstained Room as their favourite book. I'm honoured and absolutely delighted. I hope you had a great time at the Book Awards celebration, I'm sorry I couldn't be there with you.

A message for Erin

This is a special hello and thank you to Erin who sent us our first message about The Quest of the Warrior Sheep! Erin, we are thrilled that you found it hilarious, that's just what we want to hear. But now we have to disappoint you: the next Warrior sheep story, The Warrior Sheep Go West, won't be available until 2011. We hope you'll enjoy it just as much when it is finally published.

How wonderful to be described as a 'fantastic writer'. Thank you to the person - you didn't give a name - who sent me that message last week. I'm sorry to have to tell you there are no plans for another Brind book just yet. Maybe in the future but in the meantime see if you enjoy The Warrior Sheep.

A message for Virage Rapolu

It's special to be on someone's Top Ten list and I'm very pleased to be on yours. Thank you for telling me. If you would like to write me a letter, please address it to my publisher in the USA: Greenwillow Books, 10 East 53rd Street, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10022.

And... Hello to Jane Harding

It's great to know your pupils are enjoying Through the Dragon's Eye and I'm sorry I can't help you locate the software. I hope you and your pupils enjoy the Quest of the Warrior Sheep too.

This is for the reader who asks if I'm going to write more stories about Brind and Aurelie. I'm very glad you enjoyed them so much but at the moment I'm afraid I don't have plans to write any more.
However, I do have a new book coming out this year. It's quite different but maybe you will enjoy it as well. It's called THE QUEST OF THE WARRIOR SHEEP and should be available from the end of March. It will be followed next year by THE WARRIOR SHEEP GO WEST.

To Poppy Rose

It would be great to have a star-studded film version of Through The Dragon's Eye. One day, maybe!

To Chris Drylie and his mom

I'm so glad you both enjoyed Dogboy. I never think of my books as children's books, they're just stories I hope will please everyone and anyone.
Here are some brief notes to help you get that project in on time. I grew up on the Isle of Wight. Lucky me. I played in the fields and on the beaches and learned to swim in the sea. We had dogs, but not mastiffs, and I sometimes helped on my grandparents' farm. I liked going to school and enjoyed most subjects except woodwork. I still can't put a shelf up straight. I played football (English) and cricket and still support Portsmouth Football Club (they need all the supporters they can get right now). My family moved from the Isle of Wight when I was sixteen and I was horribly homesick for months. I didn't want to go to university so I got a job in London and found I loved big city life too. Hope this helps. Good luck.

A message for Emma and her friends

It's hard to say why I became a writer but I enjoyed making up stories when I was very young. I never stopped and I still enjoy it.
And wow... a question I've never been asked before. Have I ever murdered anyone? The answer is NO. That would be a terrible thing to do.

Congratulations, Yasmin!

Congratulations on getting a gold medal at the Elstree and Borehamwood Speech and Drama Festival and good luck for the Watford Festival. I'm delighted that you've chosen to read extracts from my books. In reply to your first question, none of my characters are actually based on real people but when inventing characters I suddenly remember aspects of all sorts of people I've met and put them together. And as for your request, I can't reply directly via this website but if, with the permission of your parents, you would care to leave an email address in the comments box (don't worry, nobody else will be able to see it), I will answer you directly.

To Jennifer, FL, USA

So glad you and your children enjoyed the Dogboy books. We don't have Mastiffs - our house isn't nearly big enough! But I do like dogs. The inspiration for Dogboy was the fact that Mastiffs were actually used as weapons, from Roman times onwards, which seemed an interesting way to put an innocent boy into a war situation.

To Ian and Jenny

Thank you for your message. Do leave your email address and I'll get back to you.

To Don Craig

Thank you for your kind words about my radio plays. You're right, I haven't written one for more than two decades. Thank you too for the invitation to meet with a group of radio enthusiasts in London. I'm afraid I will have to decline but wish you well and happy listening.

To teachers

This message is for the teacher who wonders if I do school visits. The answer is yes, I am happy to do so, time allowing. Please leave an email address so that I can contact you!

Not just for children

How exciting to know that parents are enjoying DOGBOY as much as their children. Thanks to the reader in the USA (you didn't leave your name) who wrote to tell me that.

To MICHELLE

Thanks for your very kind words about Through the Dragon's Eye. It's really nice to know that so many people fondly remember Look and Read.

To BETH and ELLA

Sorry, I've been busy working on my next book. I'm very glad you enjoyed reading Plague Sorcerer. Perhaps your teacher or your mums or dads could give you some model making ideas. I'm just a writer!

A fellow writer

Thank you Marie-Louise for such a super review on Amazon. I really enjoy writing mystery stories so it's great to hear that a fellow writer liked Scarper Jack. Come back soon for news of what I'm working on now!

School reports

Payton Fenner in Kansas City and Dalton Weleski, I'm delighted you enjoyed Dogboy and Hunted and have chosen to write school projects on them. Good luck!

Thank you...

...to Ros, it's great to hear that Through the Dragon's Eye still excites children after all these years!
...and to Jane Russmasson, I'm glad you've enjoyed my books, hope you like Scarper Jack too.

What's in a name?

In answer to your question, E Brind, I did know that some people have Brind as a family name but chose it for my hero just because I liked the sound of it. I do hope you enjoy the book, I'd love to hear what you think of it.

I've been asked where the story Brind and the Dogs of War is set.

Well, I imagined Brind's home, Dowe Manor, to be in Sussex, in the South of England. When Brind and the dogs are taken to Northern France with the English army, they travel through what is now called Normandy. The Battle of Crecy, in which I imagined Brind and the dogs being forced to fight, was a very real event in the year 1346. The next Brind book, Plague Sorcerer, is set entirely in Sussex, and describes how another real event, the Black Death, swept across England in 1348.

This note is for Gavin in France.

I'm really pleased you think Brind and the Dogs of War is "cool". Thank you for writing. Did you read it in English or French, I wonder? It would be great to hear from more of you who have read it in French or Italian. Though I can't promise to reply in either of those beautiful languages. It would be good to hear from readers in the USA too. I know you're out there. For the next novel I've moved forward in history to Victorian London. That's the great thing about history stories. You can be who you like, where you like, when you like. It will be published early next year. So watch out for Scarper Jack. He's no ordinary chimney sweep.

To Bob Rankin, who road tests books before buying them for his nieces and nephews.

Thanks for your kind words, Bob. I agree that a good read is a good read no matter how young or how old you are. And whilst not wanting to sound big headed, it's been great that so many adults have enjoyed both Brind books.

When were you born?

I don't know who asked that, you didn't leave your name. But the answer is: Nineteen hundred and fast asleep when Big Ben was a wristwatch. OK, the real answer is 1947.

Where do you get your ideas from?

Hardest question for any writer. Thinking, reading, watching, listening. More thinking.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a writer when they grow up?

Don't wait until you grow up.

What would you be if you weren't a writer?

A postman, or possibly a gardener. Something in the open air.