I will have 2 new books published in mid 2013, which is very exciting! The first is Gordo and I am just doing the last few illustrations for this new adventure book – click here to find out more about it. The other book is The Day Joe Simmonds Disappeared, and I am about half way through this one - click here to find out more about it.
We moved house last summer and I had to leave behind my Creative Studio which was my base for creativity. It was a chalet in my garden where I could write, paint and illustrate my books. So, at the new house, I decided to build a new Creative Studio myself! Quite an undertaking and great fun! Here’s a video of it being built, with me playing the background guitar music (I wrote a couple of the tunes too!):
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Let me know what you think!
I’m continuing my schedule of Waterstone’s Signing Events. They are great fun! I really enjoy meeting fans of The Kingdom of Gems, and giving more people the opportunity to enjoy my books.
I was signing books in King’s Lynn Waterstone’s and met Dave Bartram signing copies of debut book, The Boys of Summer. He was the lead singer of a 1970’s band called Showaddywaddy.  You would have to be about my age to remember them, but they had ten top 10 hits in the UK – so they were mega-famous!
Meeting Dave Bartram in King’s Lynn Waterstone’s
Oh, and another piece of news… on Christmas Eve we got a couple of 8 months old kittens! They are brother and sister, Oscar and Maple (Oscar is the one with the white moustashe!) They are wonderful – very playful and great company. They race around the house, chasing after each other and having play-fights. They follow us wherever we go and pounce on anything that moves! Here are a couple of pictures:
Oscar and Maple. Oscar is the one with the white moustache!
On their favourite place – high up on the fridge where they can survey the world!
Best Wishes,
Jasper
Hello again,
Since my last blog I’ve been busy as usual! There have been more Waterstone’s Signing days and also some School Visits. I thoroughly enjoy both of these; I meet many interesting people and children as well as always selling lots of books. So they are great fun and help to get the word around about The Kingdom of Gems.
I am starting to appear at Literary Festivals, and I am giving a presentation at the Camberley Theatre on Sunday May 20th at 2.00Â pm. It is part of the Surrey Heath Literary Festival. I will have a display of my paintings as well as some of the characters in my books ~ as soft toys!! I will speak about being an author, show a couple of video clips, read from one of my books and answer questions. I’ll be signing books afterwards. Â Here are the details:
Sun May 20th at 2.00 pmÂ
Surrey Heath Literary Festival
Jasper Cooper is the author and illustrator of The Kingdom of Gems trilogy, a Children’s Fantasy Adventure Trilogy. Join him as he shares his knowledge.
The Camberley Theatre, Knoll Road, GU15 3SY
Tickets:  Adults ~ £5, Under 16 ~ £4Â
TO BOOK visit http://www.camberleytheatre.biz/events/event.htm?mode=3&pk_events=3397Â
It would be great to see you there if you can make it.
Now, here are a few photos from recent events:
In my wonderful local Waterstone's ~ Canterbury Rose Lane
A delighted customer in Waterstone's Dorchester.
Three happy sisters in Kettering Waterstone's!
Two happy sisters in Market Harborough Waterstone's!!
She's looking forward to the adventure of Candara's Gift!
To finish, here’s a list of my Events coming up:
Sun May 20th at 2.00 pmÂ
SURREY HEATH LITERARY FESTIVAL
The Camberley Theatre, Knoll Road, GU15 3SY
Tickets:  Adults ~ £5, Under 16 ~ £4Â
TO BOOK visit http://www.camberleytheatre.biz/events/event.htm?mode=3&pk_events=3397
WATERSTONE’S SIGNING EVENTSÂ
Sat May 12th 10-5 Waterstone’s Nuneaton
Sat May 19th 10-5 Waterstone’s King’s Lynn
Sat May 26th Waterstone’s Fareham
Sat June 2nd Waterstone’s Bournemouth Castlepoint (3rd Event)
Sat June 23rd Waterstone’s Dorking (2nd Event)
Sat June 30th Waterstone’s Bury St Edmunds
Sat July 7th Waterstone’s Staines
Sat July 14th Waterstone’s Chippenham
Sat July 28th Watertsone’s Redhill
Hoping to see you at one of these events…
Very Best Wishes,
Jasper
Hello Kingdom of Gems fans!
Since my last blog, I have enjoyed quite a few Waterstone’s Signing Event days and some wonderful school visits. In this way I am meeting people who are already enjoying The Kingdom of Gems as well as introducing the trilogy to new readers.
In between Waterstone’s Signings and school visits, I am working on a few exciting projects. One of these is a new book, which I am planning to publish soon… within a few months. It is a children’s thrilling adventure, this time not set in The Kingdom of Gems world, although there will, of course, be more books in the KOG series – The Glyifild Bell will be the next.
The new book is written and I am extremely pleased with it. Now all it needs is some artwork for inside the book and the cover. My son, Joseph, designs my covers and we have had a few chats to decide on the artwork I will need to do. Â I’ll let you know when I have a publishing date.
Now, here are a few photos:
This young reader has just bought the full trilogy in Waterstone's M. Harborough.
Signing books in Waterstone's Poole with a very keen reader!
Showing Joog the snowy owl at Lisle Marsden CoE Aided Primary School,Grimsby.
Me and an enthusiastic family of readers at Grimsby Waterstone's.
Here is a list of my Waterstone’s Signing Events coming up:
Sat Mar 24th      Redhill
Sat Mar 29th      BridportÂ
Sun April 1st      YeovilÂ
Mon April 2nd    DorchesterÂ
Tues April 3rd    Salisbury
Sat April 7th      Canterbury Rose LaneÂ
Wed April 11th    Coventry
Thurs April 12th  KetteringÂ
Fri April 13th     Market HarboroughÂ
Sat April 14th     Bedford
Sat June 2nd      Bournemouth Castlepoint
Sat June 23rd     DorkingÂ
Sat May 12th     Nuneaton
Sat Jun 2 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Bournemouth CastlepointÂ
Sat Jun 16th      Plymouth
Sat June 23rd     Dorking
It would be great to see you at one of these. If you have one of my books already you can always bring it to Waterstone’s to meet me and get it signed.
That’s all for the moment. Very Best Wishes!
Jasper
Hello KOG fans!
In the last few weeks I have visited some schools, been signing books at Waterstone’s in Market Harborough, Kettering, and Coventry and planning a new story for KOGworld! The new story happens of course in The Kingdom of Gems, but has a surprising Christmas flavour to it (I’m not telling you how!). I will put it on the KOGworld site on Christmas Eve so look out! It will be an excellent read for Christmas Day or Boxing Day.
I have created an exciting new addition to my Waterstone’s signings; when people buy the trilogy they also receive a free scroll, created and sealed with wax by me (I have the burn marks to prove it!) It is a letter from Princess Amalek and Prince Seph to Wizard Elzaphan, and it is linked to the Christmas Story.
Now for a few photos!
Visiting Copthill Independent Day School, Stamford
Happy customers at Waterstone's Kettering
More happy customers at Waterstone's Kettering
Visiting the library at King Henry VIII School, Coventry.
‘Jasper Cooper visited school to give a talk to a class of year  7 students in our Library.  They were delighted to meet an author.  The talk was about his children’s books and was both informative and engaging.  Students were taken through the process of becoming an author from the initial inspiration of ideas to publication.  Throughout his entertaining interactive talk with the use of video clips, Jasper involved the students and they listened attentively when he read an excerpt from one of his stories.  He carried out a question and answer session then completed his visit by signing a selection of his books which students could buy on the day.’
Kirsty Hill – Librarian at King Henry VIII School, Coventry.
That’s all for now. Here’s a list of my Waterstone’s Signing Events leading up to Christmas:
Hi there Kingdom of Gems fans!
It’s about time I posted an up-to-date blog for you… so here it is! I will be posting regularly now. My plan is to write a blog each week, so keep a look out.
The kingdom of Gems trilogy is gradually becoming better known.  To help this along, I have been busy doing Waterstone’s Signing Events around the country. They have been tremendously successful! Not only is it a good way to introduce the trilogy to new readers but it is a good way of meeting those who are already fans. Here I am in Waterstone’s Market Harborough – pictured here with a new young reader keen to begin the adventure!
On my Waterstone’s tour I have met many interesting people too! For example, a few weeks ago I met John Challis – he’s a main character, called Boycie, in Only Fools and Horses and The Green Green Grass. (If you don’t know Only Fools and Horses it is a major, very famous comedy series, so good that they keep replaying them over and over… ask your parents!) We were both signing our books in Waterstone’s Worcester on the same day.
Here are my next few signing events at Waterstone’s:
It would be great to see you if you are able to pop in!
Very best wishes,
Jasper
Today I am very pleased to announce that The Glass Prison (third book in The Kingdom of Gems trilogy) is officially released!
You can now buy it from most Waterstones around the country, or you can get your copy of The Glass prison online now by clicking here
Best Regards,
Jasper
Hello Kingdom of Gems Fans,
Today I have some great news!
The Glass Prison (the final book in The Kingdom of Gems trilogy), has been printed!
It just arrived back from the printers a couple of days ago. This means that you will be able to get your copy from this website on THIS Thursday (October 7th)!
This is very exciting for me and I know many of you have been waiting eagerly to get your hands on a copy. It is the product of a lot of work, very enjoyable work, and I’m so pleased you will be able to read it soon. I am thrilled with the finished book and I guarantee you will not be disappointed!
Until you have your own copy, here is a sneak peek at the cover:
I hope you like it! Please do leave your comments below, and be ready for this Thursday 7th October for the release of The Glass Prison!
Jasper
I have an exciting video for you today!
The great news is that The Silver Well has FINALLY been printed, and you can see a special “behind the scenes” video of the books arriving at my house for the first time.
But also in the video is an exciting announcement about exactly when the book will become available, and how you can get some very special bonuses. Make sure to watch the video below:
(IMPORTANT NOTE: In this video, I say the book will be released on Thursday 11th. However, the release had to be postponed until Friday 12th March at 6pm. See this page for the latest www.thekingdomofgems.com/books/TheSilverWell )
Today I have a special gift for you to celebrate the upcoming release of The Silver Well (the second book in the trilogy).
The Silver Well should hopefully be available in less than two weeks from now! I will let you know as soon as there is a fixed date.
In the mean time, I have a special new short story related to the Kingdom of Gems trilogy to get your taste buds going. This story is set many years before the events in Candara’s Gift and is called “The Awakening Of The Candara Gems”
You can download the story here (right click and choose “save as”)
It’s probably best to print out the story if you can, so you can read it properly.
Please do leave a comment below to let me know what you think!
Best Wishes,
Jasper
.
It IS true!
The Silver Well is only a few weeks away from being released.
I am incredibly excited about this, but I want to hear from all of you! Are you excited about the relase of the LONG AWAITED second book in The Kingdom of Gems trilogy? What are you looking forward to?
Please leave your comments below… I want to hear from you!
Jasper