An evening class in illustrating children's books

I chose four agents' names and sent off my package in turn to each one. They all rejected my text. By now, it was May 2007.

Somehow my picture book project got put on the back burner. I did nothing further with it until April 2008, when I chanced upon an evening class in Hammersmith: "Illustrating Children's Books". The teacher was the children's author and illustrator, Nicholas Allan.

Maybe this course would get me back on track with my book? And, even though I wasn't an artist, I could surely pick up some useful stuff about illustrated books? The first class of the term started the following evening, so I didn't have much time to enrol. Luckily there were two spaces left.

Everyone on the course - apart from two of us - were people who could draw. They wanted to learn how to apply their skills to illustrating children's books. I knew this class wasn't really for me but I stuck with it because it was fun. And I was learning a great deal about the whole subject of picture books. But, most importantly, Nicholas was a great teacher.

I even did the homework assignments - despite the fact they were pretty feeble compared with everyone else's more talented efforts.