The Scottish Book Worm

Match Wits gets a mention here, in the Book Worm section of Living.Scotsman.com (along with some other books on a similar theme).

And remember, hopefully it should get an even bigger mention in a certain national newspaper tomorrow (Sunday 1 June).

Fingers crossed.

Match Wits at Meet the Author

The video I recorded for Meet the Author is now up on their website here. Click the link to hear me speak about Match Wits with the Kids and discover why it's the book for you!

Shameless self-promotion

There was a time when I would have been embarrassed to talk at any great length about any of my books, but that was when writing was no more than a paying hobby.

Now it's my job, and shamelessly promoting myself and my work at any given opportunity goes with the territory - at least it does if I want writing to remain as my career. After all, everybody has to make a living.

So it was that this morning I recorded my first video. (Podcasts, videos... whatever next?) It is being produced by a company called Meet the Author who have done loads of these things before, but for me it was another first. When it's ready, I'll post a link to the video here, but for the time being, you can find out more about Meet the Author over at their own website.

Below, I have also added a press advertisement for Match Wits with the Kids that will be seen in various magazines over the next few weeks.

Don't forget, Match Wits with the Kids is available to buy from 5 June 2008.

You heard it here first!

If you've been intrigued by what's been posted on this blog about Match Wits with the Kids and want to know more, here's the perfect opportunity.

At the end of this post you will find a podcast of a conversation I had with Andrew Furlow of Icon Books, which was all about Match Wits.

So what are you waiting for? Click the play button below and all (or at least a lot more) will be revealed.



Match Wits with the Kids is published by Icon Books this June.

Who was your best teacher?

Was it your very first teacher when you first started school? Was it your last primary school teacher who made the biggest impression on you? Was it the Games teacher who coached the first 15 at secondary school, or that slightly hippy, trendy Classics teacher?

Or was it your dad?

It was for actor James Nesbitt, and you can find out why over at the TES website.

Obviously, unlike James Nesbitt, not everybody's mum or dad is going to be a teacher but Nesbitt's comments made me think. In fact, I would argue that everybody's mum and dad - or whoever it might be who nurtures them early on in life - is a teacher! They teach you to speak, by talking to you, they teach you what love is, by loving you, they show you how to brush your teeth, get dressed, tie your shoelaces... you get the idea.

And this is where I bring it all back to Match Wits with the Kids.

Match Wits is the ideal book to help parents continue to have an active and positive part to play in their child's education. Children succeed at school when parents and school work in partnership. A child doesn't only learn when lessons begin at 9 o'clock; they're learning all the time. However, what a child learns is up to you.

Children learn what they live

If a child lives with criticism,
He learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility,
He learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule,
He learns to be shy.

If a child lives with jealousy,
He learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance,
He learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement,
He learns confidence.

If a child lives with praise,
He learns to appreciate.

If a child lives with fairness,
He learns justice.

If a child lives with security,
He learns to have faith.

If a child lives with approval,
He learns to like himself.

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship,
He learns to find life in the world.

Another first!

Not only is Match Wits with the Kids my first educational book, or the first book I've written to have an index, it is also the first book I've written that has led to me recording a podcast!

Andrew Furlow of Icon Books conducted the interview/recording today, and will be paring down my garbled gabbling to hopefully something approximating an intelligible discourse on why you should buy this book!

I'll let you know more when the podcast has been edited and is available for download.

Match Wits is here!

Much excitement in the Green household today as my very first copies of Match Wits with the Kids arrived today, fresh from the printers on Friday.



And very pleased I am with it too! It's the first book I've written that actually has an index - four pages of it, to be precise - everything's in there from acids, via the Byzantine Empire and polygons, to zygote.

Click here to order yours now!