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Today I have been sitting on a fast boat in the middle of Falmouth Bay in deepest Cornwall, terrified out of my wits by huge waves, moaning with fear, and wishing very much that I could murder the person who got me into this sea-nightmare of speed and spray and sheer gut-churning panic . I’d never do it for real, of course—I’m far too much of a law-abiding citizen, but it got me musing on my very first paper murder. Back I go in time, to another sea, another bay, in Donegal on a dark and stormy January morning…. (At least it wasn’t night, or I’d have to commit self-murder for using dreadful clichés.)

What do I do to prepare for this premeditated crime? First I put on my writer’s hat. Very important, that hat. It’s protection, get-out clause and freedom-from-prison all in one invisible piece of headwear. I sit down. Flex fingers. Close eyes. Engage brain. This is the fatal weapon. But it’s the first time I’ve done this violence thing. I’m nervous. Will I have the courage? She’s such a nice girl, Magret from Hootcat Hill. She’s had a horrid life—cruel father, family all dead apart from the boring old cousins. And now I have to kill her just when it’s all looking rosier. Is that fair? Is it honourable? I pause on the keyboard…. But then my tapping fingers are taken over by the film scene unfolding frame by frame in my head. The dragon rises inexorably behind the innocent girl in the moonlight, talons stretching to spear her through the torso. My heart is beating overtime, and my fingers are flying, creating the pitter-patter of the red blood drops on the still black water. She’s dead. I’ve killed her, and it feels horribly satisfying.

Oh dear. I’ve committed my first deliberate murder with violence, and I’m going to get away with it.

Magret wasn’t meant to die in the first draft. It was all a bit unexpected, really. But then she got into my head, talking to me, and I saw that her death was inevitable if the plot was going to move forward. I’d already killed her brother, right at the beginning. Somehow, that didn’t seem so bad, he brought it on himself really, by meddling with forces best left unmeddled with. I suppose I killed the rest of her family too, in a few brief written asides. But Magret Bickerspike was different. I knew her, heard her voice, felt sorry for her, liked her.

And now she’s dead.

I’ll kill more people in other books and get away with it. But she’s my first true premeditated paper murder—the one I’ll always remember. Sorry, Magret. R.I.P.

PS: For those who are interested, I currently intend my next paper murder to be a gruesome and horrific drowning. I’m plotting it in my head already. I think it will involve unleashing death by ancient marine monster on any person who makes me go out to sea on a rough day again. Satisfying, but legal. Ahh! The power of the pen!

Meerkats Don’t Fly
By Mark Miller
Illustrated by Cathy Butterfield
Good Turn Publishing
ISBN: 9780979439308
Copyright 2007
Hardcover
Ages 4-8

Reviewed by Mayra Calvani

Meerkats Don't Fly is an adorable picture book! The story is sweet, humorous and engaging and the illustrations, done in color pencils, are beautiful.

Little Meerkat Benny is obsessed with the idea of flying, possibly because the first thing he saw from his hole in the ground after he was born was a bird in the sky. The other meerkats constantly remind him that ha can't fly, that it's against the nature of meekats to do so. But Benny has a dream, and none or nobody can get that dream out of his mind. He's going to find a way to fly, no matter what it takes. He comes up with various ideas that don't work, some even dangerous, but he must follow his dream. At the end, he comes up with an ingenious idea... but will it work and will he be able to run free from the dangerous eagle?

This is a story that both teaches and entertains. The dialogue is smart and funny, the story suspenseful as we wonder what will happen with the dangerous eagle, and the illustrations are cute and evoking. This is a winner that will be enjoyed by all young children ages 4--8.

*Originally published on Armchair Interviews

Meet the Meerkat by Darrin Lunde, illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne. Charlesbridge. 2007

When I am clicking though the television channels ("Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on") I confess I will screech to a halt to watch Meerkat Manor which is why I wanted to take a look at this new book. The meerkat facts are explained in a question-answer format.

Little Meerkat,
what do you eat?

I eat insects, spiders, and scorpians.
I smell them with my nose.
Then I dig them up with my feet.
what do you eat?