I remember them making me read aloud. I wanted to curl up and die. Now, I am so grateful to them. Because of that basic training, I can read my books and speak children and adults alike. In the village I now live in, we have a small circle.
Writing can be a lonely business.
It's nice to meet other writers, published or not, and exchange ideas, hopes and dreams. Yes, David Higham Associates. Children are less constrained. With children's books, there is so much more freedom to spread your wings and imagine. Children, are much more capable of walking beyond the obvious, more emotionally dynamic maybe.