May was the start of the colder weather, but also the launch of Masher, my new mid-grade fiction!
Published by Penguin Random House.
I wrote the first draft of this novel when I was the 2019 Otago University Creative New Zealand College of Education Children’s Writer in Residence (phew what a mouthful!) It was in my last month there and like paper mache, sometimes good things take a while to form, dry out and become something. The book itself took a month to write but of course then comes the 2nd draft, the submission process, the 3rd draft, the editing, the design work, the printing and then finally your book is out in the world.
I’m very proud of Masher and the team who helped create it.
What would you do if you accidentally created a barking-mad glove puppet, with sharp teeth, a fierce attitude and an unpredictable mouth?
A boy and a fast-talking terrier glove puppet form a hilarious double act in this warm and funny illustrated novel for readers eight years and older.
‘Twelve-year-old Freddie Foxworthy just wants to do arts and crafts. He finds them a lot easier to deal with than his peers, and far more rewarding. His latest project is to create the perfect glove puppet from papier-mache. But when ashes from his metalhead neighbour’s deceased bull terrier get into the mix, he finds he has accidentally made a growling puppet with an unpredictable mouth!
Freddie has an overload of mysteries to solve – who is to blame for the late Masher’s death? Was Masher responsible for the disappearance of a neighbourhood cat? And, most of all, is Masher actually for real? Surely Freddie couldn’t be causing all this chaos himself?
Masher is acclaimed author, illustrator and arts-and-crafts guru Fifi Colston’s warm and funny novel about animal companions, imaginary friends, perceived enemies, and finding your happy place.
No dogs or papier-mache were harmed in the making of this book.’