Top Ten Tips for Checking Hotel Review Sites

 

Online holiday reviews, should you read them?

When you plan a fabulous getaway either with your family, lover, friend or even alone it's tempting, many would say sensible, to read the reviews of people that have gone before. But how to make sense of reviews of the same hotel that range from "it was appalling I would rather sleep under a railway arch, 1 star" to "amazing stay it was incredible in every respect, totally recommend, 5 stars!" ?

Here are my top ten tips on breaking down reviews, and making sense of them.

• Check where the reviewer is from. With a global reach the internet has reviewers from all over the world. Pay more attention to reviewers from your own country as they will usually have similar expectations to you. Americans for example may mark down a hotel with no free ice machine, while the average Brit doesn't expect free ice as standard so may not mention it.

• See if the reviewer has left lots of reviews or just this one. This is particularly relevant if the review is terrible as people are fast to complain but not so quick to praise. On TripAdvisor for example you can look back over other reviews from the same person. If they review a lot and the reviews vary, then it's safe to assume they are probably fairly honest and balanced.

• Check who was in the reviewers party. Reviews for families will vary a lot from reviews for romantic getaways or adventure type holidays. Complaints of noise can be  relative and might be due to guests at the time of the visit and thus not an ongoing issue. Moans about a busy kids club on a romantic weekend might translate into the perfect child minding plan for a family with 3 young children.

• Pay more attention if all of the reviews are similar. If everyone mention food poisoning and under cooked chicken over several months then it would raise alarm bells. Constant mentions of dirty rooms etc likewise. While one bad review among a lot of good ones probably just shows the hotel has a bad cleaner or a busy week.

• Read the review not just the stars! Amazingly some people post a glowing review but only give 1 or 2 stars for the experience. I'm never sure if they are just holding back for the really fantastic hotels  (for example they may feel a 3 star hotel never deserves more than a 3 star review) , if they clicked the wrong button, or just have no clue how star ratings work! Likewise I've seen 5 star reviews that made the hotel sound awful!

• Think about what you expect in a hotel. I like a clean room, a TV,wifi,  a fridge and a balcony. If reviews moaned about a tatty reception area I wouldn't be that fussed. If they said their TV was broken, the wifi didn't work in any of the rooms and the balcony had been unsafe I would be more interested!

• Check the date on reviews. It is really easy to read reviews that are years old and be fooled into thinking the hotel is excellent or terrible based on very out of date information. Sort the reviews by date if you can and read the most recent ones. I have been caught out this way - turning up to discover the 'free' wifi was no longer free and the hot tub was no longer working - sad times.

• Try and check more than one review site. TripAdvisor is a large site but there are others such as Oyster, Holiday Watchdog, and Travel Republic. Also google the hotel name to see if any bloggers have visited and written bigger reviews with extra pictures. Ask on social media too. 

• Read plenty of reviews before you book, and avoid reading any more afterwards! Once you have booked, unless you are prepared to change or cancel your booking, don't torture yourself by reading more reviews.

• When you get home be sure to add your own review. good, bad or in between all reviews are useful to the traveller. Be honest, try to be balanced, include facts and examples not just personal opinions, although a summing up of how you did or did not like the holiday can be useful. I always review the places I visit as I know how helpful reviews can be. On TripAdvisor it's not just the hotels you can review but the local attractions and restaurants too - you could even review those that are local to you at home.

Do you write reviews online? Do you read them? I'd love to hear your experiences (good and bad) of using online review sites.

This post is (bizarrely) not sponsored ;-)

My Family and Other Animals - Ellie

This week we are hearing from Adam, and his new acquisition, Ellie...So Adam, tell us who Ellie is and why she arrived in your home, and of course, how that is working out...

When we got a puppy this year, people thought we were mad. Three boys (one a toddler), 3 jobs, a busy household and illness; all the signs were there that we shouldn’t be doing this. We ourselves had agreed that we wouldn’t get a dog until our youngest was five years old and a taller. But we did it anyway.

Why?

Well a couple of things. Firstly was the aforementioned illness. Every few years, I suffer from re-occurring bouts of depression and 2016 was a particularly bad year for me. I think my wife and I thought some kind of therapy dog would be good for me. Even though I struggled to get out of bed and doing ANYTHING was a challenge, was I really up to looking after a dog, training her, feeding her,  walking her etc? It would certainly give me something to concentrate on other than how I was feeling (but then again shouldn’t the kids already do that)?

I’d always wanted an English Springer Spaniel after spending time with an ex’s 15 yrs earlier and when a puppy became available from a breeder living in the road behind us, it seemed like fate. Duly collected, my kids of course fell in love immediately before the novelty wore off after a few days and it all fell back to me.

So how has it gone in the five months since?

Honestly, we didn’t realise how hard it would be raising a puppy. And expensive (between 1-2k a year). They’re like toddlers but with added teeth (used for exploring everything) and have boundless energy. She’s stripped all the wallpaper off in the back room, chewed through the skirting boards and chomped through a live wire amongst other things. Training is nowhere as easy as the books make it out to be, my middle child won’t have anything to do with her (although he’s mellowing - and you often catch him stroking and talking to Ellie when he thinks nobody is looking), my smallest loves her but you have to be careful, and my wife slightly resents her taking up so much of my time (although she’s mellowing and you often catch her stroking and talking to Ellie when she thinks nobody is looking).

Oh and did I mention the lakes of wee?  Every time she sees you, or you stroke her or something really exciting happens, she does an excited wee. She can’t help it, just pray she’s not sitting on you when she does it. I’m reliably told she’ll grow out of it.

In short, if we knew all this before hand we probably wouldn’t have got a dog right now. All our reasons for waiting were well founded.

But is it all hardship and bad news? Certainly not. She’s a part of the family now and it wouldn’t be the same without her.

She’s certainly helped both my mental and physical health. My depression is virtually gone (for now), all that dog walking has increased my stamina, forced me to get out into the fresh air every day and basically re-examine my priorities.  For the first time in a long time I’m beginning to see my weight drop. And the dog training? Well it’s actually training me to be more patient with both the dog AND my children. And this is a big secret. I’M USING THE PUPPY TRAINING TECHNIQUES ON MY KIDS...AND IT’S WORKING. Sorry guys.

Lastly, Ellie’s a big cuddler and there’s nothing better than an oversize dog jumping on your lap for a cuddle and an affirmation each day. She needs it as much as I do.  She brightens my day, every day and a happier me is making for a happier family. That can only be a good thing.

You can follow Ellie on instagram here

Big thanks to sharing your story - and I'm glad that despite the teeth (oh God, the teeth!) you have stuck with it - it does indeed get easier - no really....well OK a bit. Fizz is nearly one year old now! I can look back and barely recall the horror of wet puddles in the hall, and she no longer bites everything in sight!

My Family and other animals with Amy from Arty Apple

Today's guest post about animals in the family is from Amy at Arty Apple.
 

In 2014 we were on a family weekend away on the Northumberland coast surrounded by dog walkers and beautiful beaches so I randomly decided it would be a great idea for us to get a dog! The kids were aged 4 and 2 and I'm sure where some Mums experience a bit of broodiness for a third child, I was experiencing broodiness for a dog. So, I embarked on my usual journey of Googling everything and badgering my husband to agree with me until he can no longer put up with it and just lets me do what I want. Sound a familiar approach to anyone? Ha! A Hungarian Vizsla was our breed of choice. I'd always wanted a big dog, not sure why but if anyone had asked me previously what I would have had I'd have said a German Shepherd, a Pointer or a Bloodhound, I just love big dogs. Hungarian Vizslas scored really well on the family dog front being described as gentle, loyal and obedient. We have a winner!

OK. Now let me just stop here to say the idea of getting a puppy to raise with the kids was very romanticised at this point. My husband works from home so doggy day care was never going to be an issue but my oh my did I not realise how much hard work was involved in getting through the puppy stage and especially with one who is massive compared to lots of other dogs but is still just a badly behaved puppy.

Talk about tear your hair out. Going out and about with a big disobedient puppy is NOT for the faint of heart. In fact by day 4 of being the proud owner of a Hungarian Vizsla puppy I was filled with deep regret. What on earth had I done? I'd ruined our perfect family. The kids were camped out on the sofa, afraid to climb down in case the crazy puppy scratched, jumped or put their entire hand in his mouth. The idillic view I had of the kids embracing a new puppy could not have been further from the truth. They were petrified, especially our 2 year old daughter. The words the breeder should never have uttered was that if it didn't work out, we could take him back. It was like a green light for giving up and by day 4 I was telling the hubby to take him back and we genuinely were about to load the car when the door bell rang. Our friend from the next street and fellow dog owner was stood there asking how it was going. Terrible, was of course the answer and he's going back! Thankfully a pep talk and a 'you've made your bed you need to lie in it' speech later and we were determined to get on with it and power through the puppy stage. We always think back to that Sunday morning when we were so close to taking him back and had our friend not turned up, we really would have.

Fast forward 2 years and he is firmly part of our family. The kids adore him and none of us could imagine life without him or in fact, family life without a dog. In fact when my son was born I started a personalised baby gift business called Arty apple. My shop only stocked children's gifts until Yogi came along and made me realise they're part of the family too so I introduced Pets Corner with Personalised Vizsla Blankets. I’m sure you'll agree, Yogi makes a very handsome model. I'm hoping to add more breed specific blankets soon!

The main benefit to having a dog is how much it gets you all out and about. We love walks in the countryside and on the beach and even when I hated him (I feel bad saying that as I love him to bits now but this was all true at the time!) Yogi was an energetic puppy who needed a good walk every day and that was the start of my own personal fitness and weight loss journey. I have walked miles with Yogi in every type of weather there possibly is. The good thing is our two kids are now excellent walkers. They've got great calves!

Family dog walks are great and keep everyone fit and healthy. I do however enjoy the walks when the kids are at school and me and the hubby can pick up the pace, these are definitely the more fat burning walks and living at the top of a hill from the city (Starbucks cup of tea stop) reached via farmers fields does make for a tough uphill walk back. The combination of fresh air, beautiful views, muddy puddles, actual uninterrupted conversations and a brisk walk make for a great combo of healthy body and mind. If you'd like to read more about my fitness journey please take a look at my new blog called Mutha Fitness.

Thanks very much to Naomi for allowing me to share our story and thanks to everyone for reading my story.

Amy's website is Arty apple
She is also on the following social media channels…
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Gorgeous photos Amy - they put mine to shame! and a lovely story, I'm so glad your neighbour saved the day, I'm well aware of those early awful days, Fizz even managed to break a tooth biting into my jeans she was such a monster! Thank you for sharing your story.

What is the cost of a dog in the first year?

I've seen a lot of websites showing the average costs of getting a dog, but they are all a bit vague "You could spend this, you might spend that, you could buy this, you might buy that" so I thought I'd look at what Fizz has cost us in her first year.

First things first, Fizz is a border terrier. She was bought from a Kennel Club breeder, she has a good pedigree, we met her in her house with her mum where she was born and grew up, and she was microchipped (according to law) when we collected her. She was 9 weeks old.

Like most puppies she had been regularly wormed by the breeder before we got her, but she had not yet started her vaccinations against common puppy diseases.

Price of pedigree pup = £700

Our first few costs were the preparations for a pup in the house.

2 x stairgates = £23 each

1 x dog cage = £55

1 x dog bed £10

Multiple dog toys = £15

Collar, leads, harness, dog coat = £40

Dog insurance = £132 per year

Fizz arrived with food from the breeder but she rapidly taught us that she didn't like kibble, so we switched her to Butchers puppy food cans. (She's a tripe hound)

Canned dog food = 60p per day (£219 per year)

Dog Treats = £3 per month (£36 per year)

Poop Bags = £1 month (£12 per year)

Dog bowls, cleaning products, puppy wee pads, dog blanket = £50

She had a check up with our vet when she arrived and was started on her puppy vaccinations.

Vet visit and vaccination course = £79

During her first few months she managed to break a tooth while leaping and biting! We did not take her to the vet, but took the 'wait and see' approach. The milk tooth eventually fell out and was replaced. Win! Cost? £0

Unfortunately she also decided to rip out a claw while playing....much blood and whimpering ensured a trip to the vet at the cost of....

Claw removal and pain relief = £50 (under our insurance policy excess)


Time passed and nothing untoward happened until....Fizz escaped from an open door while she was in season! Although she was found unharmed very quickly, she had been out and about for over an hour, so we decided she should have the dog version of the 'morning after' pill. This is an injection to prevent pregnancy and is almost 100% effective. Sadly it is not cheap.

Anti-pregnancy injection = £130 (didn't claim on the insurance, not sure if 'owner stupidity' is covered)


Oh how could I forget, Fizz also got a urine infection (initially we thought her housetraining had failed big time!) and an eye infection.

Urine test, vet appointment, Antibiotics = £90 (policy excess is £99 obviously)

And of course she continues to need worm and parasite prevention each month

parasite treatments = £10 per month (£120 per year)

At 10 months we had Fizz spayed, cheaper than more escapes! Fizz was sold to us on a non breeding contract (which means none of her offspring, pedigree or not could be registered with the Kennel Club) and we are not breeders (have you any idea of the costs of that!) so we were happy to have her 'done'

Spaying = £216

And so here we are, Fizz is almost a year old, and we have managed to spend the amazing total of

£2000

and they say kids are expensive...

You may be wondering why we didn't claim on the dog insurance, well the truth is that there is a minimum we have to pay before we can claim and to keep the cost down we set that fairly high, and some things, spaying, routine vaccinations etc are not covered anyway.

You may also be wondering why we bother at all! Well she's worth it, making us laugh every day, snuggling with us every evening and generally being a loved member of the family.

Do you have a dog? Have you ever dared look at how much it's costing you??

Wordy Wednesday's author interview with Dave Hutchinson

Today's Wordy Wednesday is a little chat with Dave Hutchinson, author of several novels about..well Let's ask Dave to tell us more; what are your latest books about Dave?
Since about 2015 I’ve been working on a series of near-future thrillers set about eighty years from now when the European Union has collapsed.Sounds horribly close to reality...

What about you Dave? Tell us something about yourself.
I was born in Sheffield in 1960 and did American Studies at the University of Nottingham, and I now live in London. I’ve been writing since I was about sixteen, pretty much exclusively science fiction, with some odds and ends of fantasy. I’ve published six collections of short stories and four novels and I’ve edited a couple of anthologies.

Do you have another job or are you a full time author?
I worked as a journalist on Fleet Street for about twenty-five years, but I was made redundant in 2010 and I’m now writing full-time, although if anyone wants to put any copy-editing work my way as well, I wouldn’t turn it down.

When did you start writing?
I usually date that to my mother buying me a typewriter on my sixteenth birthday, but I’d been scribbling stuff in notebooks for a few years before that.

What 3 things are guaranteed to make you smile?
These days it’s tough to raise a smile about anything, but cats will always make me smile. Really awful puns. The company of close friends.

Do you have any pets?
Yes, we have a cat, who is very sweet and gentle but possibly the dimmest cat ever to walk the face of the earth. Our previous cats, who were all Persians, were Machiavellis in comparison. He mostly neither helps nor hinders the writing process, unless he decides he needs to be chased around for a while.

Photo credit Cecilia Weightman

Who is your favourite author?
This is always a tough one to answer. I’m not sure I can point to a single author and say, “They’re my favourite.” I’m very fond of espionage fiction – Len Deighton and John le Carre have been big influences. There’s a fabulous American writer named Alan Furst, who has been a huge influence. And then there’s the guv’nor, Raymond Chandler. In terms of science fiction, the British writer Keith Roberts had a seismic effect on me when I was just setting out with my own stuff; his work fundamentally changed the way I wrote and the things I wrote about. As a benchmark, a bar to clear, I hope one day I manage to write something half as good as Chris Priest’s The Prestige, which I still think is a monumental work.

Which book(s) are you reading at the moment?
For the second year in a row, I’m one of the judges of the Crime Writers’ Association’s John Creasey Debut Dagger Award, for first-time crime writers. So I’m slowly climbing a tottering pile of debut crime novels. Ooh how exciting! Good luck, I can't imagine how hard it is to judge writing.

Where do you do most of your writing?
At the moment, in our spare bedroom, but in the past I’ve done a lot of writing in libraries, and if I may be allowed to bang a drum for a second, libraries are a massive resource, not just for borrowing books, and we lose them at our peril.

Tell us about the character that you've written that you like the most - no spoilers!
I’m very fond of Rudi, the central character of the Europe books. He’s an Estonian chef who works in a restaurant in Krakow. He’s basically quiet and unassuming and doesn’t want any trouble, but the world gets upended around him and he finds himself fighting unseen forces. And he never gives up, even when he doesn’t understand what’s going on. He just keeps plodding along, head down, shoulders against the wind. I like that about him. He’s basically the little voice in my head, and it’s been quite a surprise to discover that other people like him too.

What is your favourite biscuit?
Dark chocolate Kit-Kat. Food of the Gods.

Tea or Coffee?
Tea and coffee.

In the film of your life who would play you?
Haha! I have no idea; whoever it is it’ll have to be somebody that looks really tired all the time.

If you could genetically cross an animal and a vegetable, what would you pick and why?
Oooh, that’s a good one. It would have to be something utterly ridiculous, like a honey badger and a pumpkin or a rhinoceros and an onion. So you would cry while being trampled? nice

You can stalk Dave via his blog Which can be found here 

The most recent of the Europe books is Europe in Winter, which is here: Europe in Winter by Dave Hutchinson

Thanks to Dave for answering my ridiculous questions - go and investigate his books, and why not check your library too? Maybe nag them to get a few extra copies! 

My Family and other animals - our story

Once upon a time a family bought a dog. They didn't plan to have children so a dog seemed a nice way to have that patter of tiny feet. The dog in question was a border terrier named Diesel. He settled into the home as puppies do and soon was the darling baby of the family.

He was happy to lounge about the house or spend all day in the countryside. Flexible with his exercise he was the perfect house pet. Equally up for a cuddle or a run in the garden, or just a snooze in front of the TV. And so time passed.

Then the family decided to have a child after all. But what about the darling baby dog? Wouldn't he resent a mewling squealing baby? Wouldn't he feel annoyed at being banished from some rooms, and from furniture? The family thought about this a lot. And when the mummy was 4 months pregnant, and just starting to get a little bump, they decided to buy a puppy, something to keep Diesel busy when the baby came.

And so Jeep arrived. A small bundle of excited nipping, widdling fun. A border terrier like Diesel, she spent the next month or so annoying him until he loathed her. They had to be kept apart for fear he would hurt the new tiny pup. But just as the family was starting to think they would never get on...they became best buddies, well maybe not that, but he tolerated her and she adored him.

So this story is about me and my dogs obviously. When DD was born both dogs seemed fairly relaxed about the whole thing, a few sniffs at the new baby and then they carried on as before. We had stair gates, playpens and dog cages so that everyone was kept safe. The dogs grew to love and protect DD.

When DD was almost in her teens both dogs got ill, Jeep first with a brain tumor and she left us in 2011 and then later Diesel left us in 2013, he had became old and forgetful and had other health issues. After losing them both we waited 3 years, 3 long quiet and mud-free years, before deciding to get another dog.

We first looked at rescue, since DD was grown up, but were told that there were no dogs suitable for us (I know - we were rather surprised too) and so we located a puppy, a border terrier of course, and now we have Fizz the queen of the house!

I found that having a puppy with a baby was no worse than having a puppy with a teen. Puppies are hard work, they need time, patience, and cleaning up after - they also need training! but it's lovely to have a dog in the house again.

See more about Fizz in this post, after she'd been here a week, and here after 6 months.

The Guardians of Oz - DVD Review

What happened after Dorothy went back to Kansas with Toto? How did the Tin man, Lion and Scarecrow get on with being rulers of Oz? Was Eveline the Wicked Witch of the West really gone for good?

This cartoon introduces us to a small flying monkey, one of the very flock that scared us in the original movie, though this little fellow is far from scary. In a land of magic, it's no surprise that witches don't always stay 'melted' and when Eveline commands her flying monkeys to search for her hidden magic, trapped safely inside a broom, things get complicated.

I really enjoyed this film, although it's obviously aimed at kids. There is a fair bit of fighting, dungeons and chases, which may or may not be to your taste (I know some small boys are over keen to emulate movies!) but the plot is the usual good vs evil one, with the added problem that one of the flying monkeys is questioning the whole 'follow orders even if they are bad', thing....

There are nods to other movies throughout and I enjoyed spotting them, of course my favourite was this nod to Deadpool as a search was underway...

Though this little reminder of Monty Python and the Holy Grail made me snigger too..."is it behind the rabbit?"

Harry Potter was evoked in the flying broom chases, and even King Kong got a look in - I'm sure there are lots more - I'll leave you to spot them all.

It's a fun family movie, made all the better for the total lack of musical numbers (in my opinion) and while it might help to have seen the original Wizard of Oz, it's not essential.

The Guardians of Oz is out on DVD from 13^th February.

See the trailer here

Disclosure : I was sent a copy of the DVD for the purposes of this review

Wordy Wednesday's author interview with Non Pratt

Hello Wordy Wednesday fans! A treat for you all today as I interview Non Pratt, fabulous fun person, author of books my teen adores and general all round nice person.

First I asked Non to introduce herself, for the benefit of those who don't know her work (do catch up though!)

So Non, who do you write for? What do you write about?
I write books for teen-minded humans. My novels Trouble, Remix and Truth or Dare (coming out June 1st) and novella Unboxed, all have a contemporary setting and tend to involve quite a lot of friendship drama and a little bit of sexytimes because these are the things I was most interested in as a teenager… and as a thirty-something adult.

Do you have another job or are you a full time author? If you do something else (international spy?)
I am one of those rare beasts: a full-time author. My job before this was as an editor in children’s publishing, so I’m pretty much a one-profession pony. No international spying for me.

When did you start writing? 
I’ve been writing since I was fourteen – about a lot of the things I’m still writing about now. When I started, there weren’t that many books catering to teen interests and I was desperate to read about teenagers that were a bit like me (but doing cooler, edgier stuff, like hanging out in the park, drinking, getting into fights and having sex). My first novel was about a group of people who really liked the rain – called The Rain Gods – and I finished it in the middle of the night in a flood of tears when I was about nineteen.

What 3 things are guaranteed to make you smile? 
A grown cat chasing its tail in an empty bath tub. Anyone paying me a compliment on my hair. (nice hair, Non) Walking On Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves.

Do you have any pets? 
We used to have two cats – Remy and Fenix. Fenix was my cat and he would come and sprawl over the paper on my desk and purr at me. He died earlier this year, but Remy seems to have been observing the Fenix’s behaviour and now comes to see me at 2pm every day to trip over stuff on my desk and try and climb on the back of my office chair while I type. It is not helpful, but it is sweet.

Who is your favourite author? Do they influence your writing or are they a total break from the sort of thing you write? 
My favourite author is Patrick Ness. We actually have the same editor at Walker (in fact, my love of his books is the reason I submitted my novel to Walker in the first place). His books are very different to (and much better than) mine, but I recently realised that I’d never tried writing into the first person present tense until after I read The Knife of Never Letting Go – and that was the first time I found my voice as a writer. So, Patrick’s been pretty bloody influential as it turns out!

Which book(s) are you reading at the moment? 
I’ve got my sticky little mitts on The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, which comes out in April in the UK. It’s about Starr, who is witness to a police officer shooting her friend. The book was inspire by the Black Lives Matter movement and you’ll hear a lot of people saying why this book is so important (it is) and timely (it is), but despite tackling some very serious and under-addressed questions, it’s written in such a deft manner that one moment you’ll be gasping in horror at the truth of what it must be like to constantly have to watch out for others’ dangerous prejudices and careless microaggressions, and the next you’ll be grinning at some of Starr’s wryly observant one-liners and the A++ flirting that goes on. This is a book that is rich and varied and worthy of the hype you’ve been hearing.

Where do you do most of your writing? 
Staring out of the window on a long train journey, or sitting in my office at home. I have my grandad’s old desk where I plot stuff out or hand-write when I get a bit stuffed up and at right-angles to that I have a sit/stand desk where I type stuff up on my PC.

Tell us about the character that you've written that you like the most - no spoilers! 
My favourite character is still Neville from Trouble. He’s a cantankerous old bastard and he’s brilliant.

What is your favourite biscuit? 
McVites plain chocolate digestive. Eaten at least three in a row, all dunked in hot tea.

Tea or Coffee? 
Tea. (Preferably accompanied by some chocolate digestives…)

In the film of your life who would play you? 
Bex Taylor-Klaus who plays Audrey in the Scream Netflix series could play a Young Non. She’s basically my style icon (in character and out) and I think she’s fab. No idea who could play me as Old Non. Alison Janney? Just because Alison Janney is amazing? We look and sound nothing alike though!

Who wouldn't want to be this cool?

If you could genetically cross an animal and a vegetable, what would you pick and why? 
I like the idea of a potato and a sloth...could you get a lazier creature? (my soul mate) I would cross a snake with an aubergine. Aubergines have the loveliest skin – imagine that on a snake.

This is Non Pratt’s Hive Page Go buy books!

You can also follow Non on twitter.

Thanks so much for taking part Non! 

I can confirm that (gay) teen girls love her books, and I know that DD will be keen to read the new one, Truth or Dare