A competition and a composition - John Dougherty

First, the competition! I'm no good at getting people excited about competitions - I tend to sound like an over-heated 1970s Radio 1 DJ - but I suppose I ought to make the effort, so here goes...

Thanks to those lovely people at Random House Children's Books, you can win one of 10 prizes of 2 books each, and you can even have them signed by the author - me! - if you'd like. The two books are:

Zeus on the Loose
When Alex makes a cardboard Temple of Zeus in school, he doesn't expect the god himself to turn up, pinch his mum's nightie, and try to re-run the Trojan War in the school playground...

"Whether you're a Greek god or a mere mortal, you should read these wonderful books. They're hilarious!" - Andy Stanton, author of Mr Gum. 

 Zeus on the Rescue is also available, and Zeus Sorts it Out - in which Zeus meets the bullying Eric Lees, and decides it's either twelve labours or a good old-fashioned smiting - will be published on August 4th.




Bansi O'Hara and the Bloodline Prophecy
Bansi O'Hara is about to discover two very important facts. Firstly, she has faerie blood running through her veins. Secondly, the faeries want it back...

"A fantastic fantasy - I would challenge anyone not to enjoy this fabulous book" - Anorak magazine

"Skilfully balances real thrills and chills with wonderful knockabout humour" - John Newman in Publishing News

The sequel, Bansi O'Hara and the Edges of Hallowe'en, will be published on September 1st.

So, what do you have to do to win? Well, I'd like you to think about Zeus on the Loose, and see if you can come up with a title for an imaginary book about another god - Greek or otherwise. Post it in the comments to this post by July 20th to be in with a chance of winning!

Points will be given for:

• amusingness (potentially but not necessarily including use of rhyme)
• originality
• inventiveness

and at the whim of the judge (me!).

You can enter as many times as you like, but there'll be only one prize per entrant unless you can give me a jolly good reason for bending that particular rule. The winners will be announced in the comments section on or shortly after July 20th. Good luck!

And now, the composition. I'm a late addition to the star-studded line-up at the festival, and here's a little something I've thrown together - written in a bit of a hurry, and recorded live in a single take in my kitchen, using my laptop camera and mic. I hope you enjoy it!




Thanks for listening. My name's John Dougherty. Goodnight!