I aim to write engaging, humorous and inclusive stories about real children having real adventures!
SKIT - A Marlie Starr & Tommy Bell Investigation
A full length novel for middle-grade readers
“With a start they realised the man was untying the dingy. He was coming ashore! Marlie and Tommy quickly found a tree to hide behind and hoped the little dog would stay quiet.”
It all started with a message in a bottle - a desperate plea for help - but how can a team of four kids unravel the clues to find the kidnapped man? And now they are dangerously close to being discovered! Tommy and Marlie know they would be in BIG trouble if Tommy’s mum knew what they’d done – sneaking out at night was bad enough, but coming face to face with a kidnapper on a deserted beach! His mum would go NUTS!!!
For Cam and Dawn Portelli, this is not just an adventure, this is their future - SKIT must succeed!
School Visits
Book me to speak at your primary school!
The sessions include a talk about what inspired me to write, the writing process and how the book came about. I also bring A3 prints of my original illustrations for the children to see. I’ve found these provide a visual focus that the children really enjoy.
A reading from the book follows, leaving a cliff hanger at the end of the first chapter.
Buy my book here!
Hey! I’m France Dot
So glad you could stop by.
Let me tell you a little about my stories.
I aim to write engaging, humorous, inclusive stories for children of all ages. I started some years ago with my first Marlie Starr and Tommy Bell Investigate book. Many of the books available for middle grade readers are in the magical/fantasy genre, whereas this series is about real children having real adventures. I hope you will find my characters relatable, brave, smart and funny.
I feel very strongly about equality and inclusivity and would love to see our world getting better at this. By weaving inclusive themes naturally into my stories, I hope I can help my readers come to see differences as normal.
My Vile the Virus short stories for younger children were written during the 2020 lockdown as a response to the Covid-19 media bombardment. Written from the evil Vile’s point of view, I hope to empower children with practical tools to help them feel safe. I would love your feedback on these and any of the free illustrated short stories in my blog.
Thanks for visiting me.
“I thought the stories were really exciting, I can’t wait to read the next one!”
— Annabel S
