CRAWLERS

by

Sam Enthoven

A preview extract, with exclusive art by Malcolm Harrison

words (c) Sam Enthoven / visuals (c) Malcolm Harrison 2010. All rights reserved.

Click here for previous parts: 1 , 2 , 3

Part 4

Free. More than three centuries had passed while I had been held captive in this pit. In the early days Steadman’s predecessors had kept me here with spiked chains and armed guards. Behind those guards had stood more guards, their weapons trained on the first in case I did what I do.

Now, in Mr Steadman’s time, I heard an echoing hiss and a whine of machinery. As the lid of my pit drew back I allowed myself a moment of triumph. From that first, blazing night when they caught me I had known this day would come. The reason was simple: they had not killed me. Even in 1666 the Corporation of London had recognized my . . . gifts.

-Final sneak peek coming Fri 12th March at 12 noon GMT-

It turns out that the mass break out of authors from the cave last week had been carefully stage-managed by the monsters. They were waiting for us everywhere we went. Despite scattering across the country, racing from school to school in an effort to escape, it was all to no avail. They were way ahead of us.

The sixth form students at Abbeyfield School in Chippenham had been wrestling with this dragon for ages before I arrived. The reason everyone is smiling and happy in this photo is because the dragon had just eaten the librarian and we were all feeling very relieved to no longer be on the menu for lunch!

My round of schools included: The Licensed Victualler’s School in Ascot (now there’s a school I wish I’d gone to as a boy!), Abbeyfield School in Chippenham, Wheatley Park School in Oxford, St Bartholomew’s School in Newbury (whose students hijacked me and locked me in a room for an extra two hours after school so I could help them finish off some of their stories!  Really!  It was like the monster abduction all over again!) and Magdalen College in Brackley.   I had a great week, but am somewhat frustrated to find that despite my best efforts to escape, I’m back here in the cave again at the end of it.

CRAWLERS

by

Sam Enthoven

A preview extract, with exclusive art by Malcolm Harrison

words (c) Sam Enthoven / visuals (c) Malcolm Harrison 2010. All rights reserved.

Click here for previous parts: 1 , 2

Part 3

Mr Miller shrieked – a short, high note, his voice driven to that pitch by absolute terror.

The shriek stopped.

Then I spoke through his mouth.

‘I . . . like this one, Steadman.’ The words were husky and thick at first as I worked the unfamiliar vocal cords. ‘He’s young. Healthy. Much better than the sickly things you usually bring me.’

‘A treat for you, my Queen,’ said Steadman. ‘And he’s just the first of many. As of now, you no longer have to make do with those dregs I can steal from the streets without anyone noticing. As of this moment, you can take anyone you want.’ He paused, then said: ‘You are free.’

-Click here for Part 4-

CRAWLERS

by

Sam Enthoven

A preview extract, with exclusive art by Malcolm Harrison

words (c) Sam Enthoven / visuals (c) Malcolm Harrison 2010. All rights reserved.

Click here for Part 1

Part 2

Miller fell silent.

‘I . . . hate you,’ Steadman began.

‘I’ve never had the chance to say this to one of you before, but I’ve hated people like you my whole life. Ever since school, where my existence was made a misery by a smug, self-satisfied waster just like you, I have quietly dedicated my life to finding ways to revenge myself on your kind. Something unpleasant is about to happen to you. But you can comfort yourself with two things. First, it will be over far more quickly than you deserve, and second, you’re in a very privileged position. You, Mr Miller, are about to serve the Queen.’

I took my cue.

‘Gah!’ cried Miller into the darkness when I first touched him. ‘What’s that?’

‘What’s what?’ Steadman asked, amused.

‘There’s something . . . crawling. Like a spider. It’s going up my legs. Now it’s on my back! I can’t . . . Oh! Oh, God! GET IT OFF ME!’

-Click here for Part 3-

I’ve just finished, this very morning, my small A5 sketchbook. Looking back, I started it in November 2009. That’s just over 4 months. Hmm, not very impressive. I thought I filled them more quickly than that. But then again I do have several sketchbooks on the go at any one time. There’s my everyday, carry-it-whenever-I-can A5, my sit-down-in-front-of-the-TV A4 and my sensible no-point-in-messing-around-here A3, which I use at my drawing board.

There’s no real order to them, other than the A3 sketchbooks which I allocate for each book I’m illustrating. And then there are the square sketchbooks (small, meduim and large), that I can’t resist buying and play around with for a couple of weeks before they dissapear under a pile of – well, usually books. I have way too many of those in my studio. Come to think of it, a lot of them are probably neglected and half finished sketchbooks.

But I digress. Back to my recently finished A5. Well, I’m always a little reluctant to say goodbye to the sketchbook I have on the go. It’s the closest I get to a diary, and it carries my most recent thoughts around with me. When I start a new one I sometimes like to carry a few of the more interesting drawings over, copying them again on the first few pages. It helps to give me a footing, somewhere to start.

Here’s a page I quite like. I’d been thinking about a story with a wolf and a sheep. I say a story, not even that, I just liked the idea of this unlikely couple. So I started to draw them. Scribbles really. But sometimes I feel I have something. So I decided to paint them.

I’m still not sure where they will go, if anywhere, but I’ve grown quite fond of them. I think I’ll start drawing them first in my new A5. Perhaps by the time I’ve finished this one – sometime in June, I guess – I may have found a place for them. A story, a poster, or just a few more pages in a half finished sketchbook..only time will tell.

CRAWLERS

by

Sam Enthoven

A preview extract, with exclusive art by Malcolm Harrison

words (c) Sam Enthoven / visuals (c) Malcolm Harrison 2010. All rights reserved.

Part 1

LONDON. The financial district, aka the City. Deep underground. 6:16pm

In the dark pit that had been my prison for almost three hundred and fifty years, Steadman’s latest victim was regaining consciousness.

‘Mr Miller?’ said Steadman’s voice from the pit’s wall-mounted speakers. ‘Mr Miller? Can you hear me?’

There was a groan. ‘Wh . . . what?’ The voice was that of a young man, not much more than a teenager. ‘Where am I? What . . . what happened?’

‘I imagine,’ said Steadman, ‘that the last thing you remember is lunch at my club. You spent most of the meal boasting about some trivial few million you made on the money markets this morning. For my part, I allowed you to imagine that the Corporation might be interested in you for a purpose other than your present one – and drugged your wine.’ He sighed. ‘Shocking way to treat a fine Margaux, I know. But then, so was wasting it on you.’

‘Mr Steadman,’ said his victim, trying for reason, ‘Lionel, I don’t—’

‘Kindly shut up and let me tell you what you’re doing there.’

-Click here for Part 2-

It’s been a big week of school events for all of us, I think. I’m looking forward to posting a few reflections on things that I’ve been storing up for a while, but in the meantime I wanted to share with you all one of the highlights of my week.
In the library at Walthamstow Academy today some of the Year 8 and 9 students found out that I used to be a songwriter, so they challenged me to come up with a song about biscuits on the spot.
I think I passed their test – just. Here is as much as I can remember of my efforts:

I just woke up from a very bad dream.
I was walking up the aisle with a custard cream.
Everyone was smiling and I tried to look festive,
But it’s hard when you really love a chocolate digestive.
The custard cream took off its veil. Should I kiss it? Could I risk it?
Spend the rest of my days with a stale, old biscuit?
I couldn’t face it. Had to go back to my true love, so pretty,
So I admitted, ‘Sorry, darling, I’m in love with Miss McVitie.’

I have an announcement to make!

Followers of TBM might remember Jethro’s Ace of Hearts, the story I posted here episodically together with some glorious artwork by our own David Melling.

Well: during the next week (starting Mon 8th March) I am going to serialize the opening scene of my new book, Crawlers.

The official launch date for the book isn’t until April. But right here, for free, every day for (as I’m currently planning-!) five days straight, you can get a special, early taste of what the book is like.

As an online-only bonus my words will be accompanied by some extraordinary images graciously provided for the purpose by digital artist Malcolm Harrison. Here’s an extra piece he sent me to give you an idea of what he can do.

I’m very excited. HEE HEE HEE HEE! Um, ’scuse me. ;D

Til Monday then,

Sam

Anyone who IS anyone will of course know what that is. The verbal representation of the Blue Peter theme tune. A tune that has been in my head quite a lot this week. I’m not going to go on about it but I had a Pretty Good Day on Wednesday. Yes – ANOTHER Pretty Good Day. If you’d like to see why, go here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00r96jb/Blue_Peter_03_03_2010/ and have a look.

The green jacket has received almost more plaudits than its wearer!

And this was followed by a really fantastic visit to Elson Junior School in Gosport, Hampshire – and I really could not have picked a better stop off for celebrating World Book Day and all the stuff that’s gone on in the past fortnight. If you ever get an invite here, boys – say YES!

Diddle-ip-ip-diddle-diddle-ip-ip-doo…

As a special treat for World Book Day, here’s a clip from the forthcoming audio book version of Zombie! – my first book for Barrington Stoke.

I was delighted when top audio producers, Oakhill Publishing, gave me the opportunity to read my own book – and I had a fantastic time in the studio with Douglas making the recording.

So, get your ears around this exclusive clip, featuring the first appearance of Jake the zombie…

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The full audio book will be available to buy in April.

Tommy