Episodes

  • Lit Up With Green Flame: Story Ideas: Places
    Sep 6 2025

    This week, we'll look at another writing activity. You can use this yourself, or it can be used as a classroom activity.


    This week's episode also includes the first chapter of my first book, 'Jack Reusen and the Fey Flame'. It's a chapter where setting is very important, and it should help show how strange and unusual places can help kick-start a story.


    As noted in the podcast, there are a few useful links to go along with this week's episode that you'll find below:


    Classroom Resources

    You can get the classroom resources for this week's activity by clicking below:

    Classroom printout (Black and White PDF) (best for quick photocopy)

    Classroom printout (Colour PDF)

    Classroom printout (Canva digital edition) (for digital users)

    Classroom presentation (Canva web link)

    Classroom presentation (PowerPoint download)


    Story Sharing (Celebrating Stories)

    Here's the link to share stories that you'd ike to have read on the podcast (Google form for this week's activity)


    Read more of 'Jack Reusen and the Fey Flame'

    Finally, here's a link to a list of Kindle editions in your country, so you can grab your copy of 'Jack Reusen and the Fey Flame' and read on from the sample chapter in this week's episode.

    Thank You

    Thanks for listening in to this week's episode, and I hope you and your class enjoyed the writing activity. I look forward to seeing your stories.


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    18 mins
  • Lit Up With Green Flame: Reading Fiction is Reading Minds
    Aug 20 2025

    Imagine I told you that there's an activity that increases a child's empathy, whilst enriching their job prospects and life satisfaction, and that this same activity can even positively influence their earnings later in life. Most parents would want to sign them up straight away.


    Listen in to this week's Lit Up With Green Flame to learn more about this incredible activity and to see how it can also help you improve your writing.


    The Linktree (hub of all things Green Flame)


    "The Link between Childhood Reading Skills and Adult Outcomes: Analysis of a Cohort of British Children", Crawford & Cribb, The Institute for Fiscal Studies, April 2015


    Dodell-Feder & Tamir 2018, you can find a link to this paper here


    This Times article takes a closer look at story-driven therapy techniques. You can read that piece here.


    You can also click this link for details about my free author talks and writing workshops, as well as contact details

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    15 mins
  • Lit Up With Green Flame: Magical Realism Writing Activity
    Aug 4 2025

    In this week's 'Lit Up With Green Flame', we turn our attention to writing, with a writing activity with a twist.

    'Magical Realism' is an unusual cousin to fantasy and other fantastical fiction. It's just different enough to offer a writing challenge whilst offering a familiar magical component.

    Listen in to hear more about Magical Realism, and to follow along with a magical realism writing activity.

    (Worksheets and other teacher resources can be found on the website using the linktree in the profile)

    #literacy #literaryresources #teachers #writing #literacymatters

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    18 mins
  • Lit Up With Green Flame: The Power of Reading
    Jul 27 2025

    Reading for 20 minutes a day is often linked to better academic results, but is there more to the story than test scores? And how big a deal is book ownership when it comes to childhood literacy?

    This week’s Lit Up with Green Flame Books discussion dives into the power of reading and why access to books really matters. We’ll start tonight with a focus on “What Reading can do for you”: a post about the power of reading and why it’s not all about test scores.

    However, the discussion will continue throughout the week so please click on the links in the linktree in the profile to share your own thoughts on the power of reading and what reading can do for children.

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    15 mins
  • Lit Up With Green Flame Books, coming soon!
    Jul 17 2025

    Lit Up With Green Flame Books, coming soon! Join the chat to look at why reading and writing make a difference to more than just grades.


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    1 min
  • A New Direction
    Jul 16 2025

    Lit Up is a new direction for Green Flame Books. It's set to grow into a podcast filled with literacy chat, as well as opportunities for kids (and teachers) to share their own stories)
    We'll explore why storytelling matters, using real-life data and experiences to see the huge impact that good stories can have.
    We'll also be taking some time to discuss the stories that matter to you.
    Whether you're a reader, a writer, a teacher, or simply someone who loves a good tale, I'd love for you to be part of that conversation.
    Please subscribe to this podcast, and follow the links in the linktree to join the community.

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    1 min