If you ever wondered why the Black Heart tour is going to the UK from 2nd to 13th of March 2009 and the USA in April 2009. Check out where most of our pins are in the Tempest Twins map.
See http://www.tempesttwins.co.uk/ourcrew/where/where.html

Sunday 7th December 2008 at 19:15 on Radio 4 is Go4It
This episode has "Kirsten O'Brien learns about tales of ghostly hauntings at Ham House in London, said to be haunted by both man and beast, and gets a lesson in writing a horror story from Vampirates author Justin Somper."

For Justin's comments please see his blog on http://www.vampirates.co.uk/vip-page/blog/bloggo4it/. Just a note the year 6 children is the fourth picture down are from St Richard's With St Andrew's school in Ham.

Radio 4 is found on DAB Digital Radio, digital tv, online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/ and press listen live.
Also 198 LW across the UK and for FM See http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/waystolisten/analogue/
In some countries close to the UK (such as Ireland, France, Denmark, Belgium and Holland) it is possible to receive Radio 4 on 198 kHz long wave (Although Canada and the US may be a little far away).
The schedule is found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/schedule/2008/12/07/day/

On a lighter note, some of you know I have moved, so how about this one.
The Last Saskatchewan Pirate - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHAl1tWvvPA

If you thought pirates were just based in history books and folk law and it was glamours like disney, my be these news articles of recent pirate activity will show you the real world. Actually I guess life as a pirate has not really changed. There have always been war ships after them.
See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7734733.stm and http://indepth.news.sky.com/InDepth/topic/Somali%20Pirates.

According to Justin Somper on the official website "Firstly, I don't have a whole lot of say in the jacket look - as those of you who read this blog regularly will know. Secondly, the fact that the books are getting rejacketed is in no way a thumbs down for the marvelous Bob Lea or his work. All popular book sequences get freshened up from time to time. When BLACK HEART comes out in 2009, it will have been a full four years since DEMONS first swam into view. So I think everyone felt it was a good time to run with something a bit different."

According to the official website there were "a few tweaks to the manuscript of BLACK HEART before it went off to production". That was on Thursday see http://www.vampirates.co.uk/vip-page/blog/blogskytvand/

According to the official website "Justin will be embarking on a two-week tour from the 2nd to 13th of March 2009."
See www.vampirates.co.uk/stop-press/stop-press-black-heart-uk-tour for more details

According to the www.telegraph.co.uk on friday 7th November 2008. 'Authors and MPs must be vetted before they can visit schools. Children's authors and politicians who visit schools regularly will have to be registered with England's comprehensive new vetting authority, raising fears such visits would decline because of the bureaucracy and cost.

Justin Somper, the author of the popular Vampirates series, said he would be happy to register with the ISA but added: "It would be very sad if schools were put off having authors coming in. Teachers have so many forms to fill in so I hope one more wouldn't push them over the edge."'

The US cover design for Black Heart has been released and "Justin on a whistle-stop five-city tour of the USA to launch Black Heart (alongside the paperback edition of Blood Captain) in April 2009."
See www.vampirates.co.uk/stop-press/stop-press-usa-tour for more details.

Some of you may know that I recently moved. Well we have been looking at schools for my young pirates. We have now picked on and signed the older one up.
He looked on you tube to discover more about them and found this for Talk Like A Pirate Day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qtX2qy4wug