Hi there!
Thanks for stopping by!
My name is Jamie (it’s true).
I’m an author/illustrator and the creator of the best-selling Frostheart series, published by Puffin Books. Frostheart was one of the biggest selling debuts of 2020, and has been translated into many languages around the world, was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award and Lancashire Fantastic Book Awards in 2020, got a starred review from Kirkus,and had the rare privelage of being the Waterstone’s Book of the Month twice in a row, if you can believe such a thing. Frostheart was my first foray into writing fiction (and hopefully not my last!).
Look! I’m aboard the deck of the Frostheart!
I’ve also had the pleasure of illustrating books for some incredible authors including Danny Wallace (our Hamish series was shortlisted for the Laugh Out Loud Awards), Enid Blyton, Philip Ardagh, Phil Earle, Timothy Knapman, Guy Bass, Barry Hutchison and Georgia Pritchett (the Wilf the Mighty Worrier series was also shortlisted for the Laugh Out Loud award!) I started my career working with the fantasic Phoenix Comic on my comedy-adventure series Cogg and Sprokit.
The first book I ever professionally illustrated was Atomic! Vile’s Vengeance by Guy Bass (published by Scholastic), way back in 2012. Ahhh...how time flies. It was super fun to work on, with whole comicbook sections dispersed amongst the text!
My clients include: Puffin Books, Viking Books, Simon & Schuster, Nosy Crow, The National Trust, Hachette Children’s Book, Hodder, David Fickling Books, Quercus, Little Brown, Scholastic, Harper Collins, Macmillan, Piccadilly Press, Derwent Pencils.
I studied illustration (BA Hons) at the Arts Institute at Bournemouth and graduated in 2008, going on to win a High Commendation in the Macmillan Children's Book Award.
Like most authors and illustrators, I’ve loved telling stories and drawing pictures since I was old enough to hold a crayon. I often practiced my craft on the walls of my house, and whilst my parents were very supportive of my artistic ambitions, they were not too thrilled with my chosed medium in this case. I once drew a whole 100 page comic based on Star Wars when I was eight, and wrote a massive fantasy epic when I was twelve (which basically ripped off the entire plot of Final Fantasy VII).
Here’s some quick yet vitally important facts you may not know about me:
I am half English, half Venezuelan.
My Spanish is rudimentry at best (much to my eternal shame). Yes, that is the ding of Duo Lingo you can hear in the background.
I have 140 pens, and only three of them work.
I have five sketchbooks which are so nice I’m too intimidated to draw one thing in them.
My hair grows at a super human speed.
My ‘beard’ does not.
I am a prolific sleep-walker and sleep-talker. Once, when I was asleep, I managed to pull myself up into a spooky attic without using a ladder.
I hate butter.
I love peanut butter.
I love playing video games.
I always have to watch the credits in full once I finish a game. I don’t know, it’s a thing.
I live in North London, UK, and it’s very nice, although I’m pretty sure my home is haunted.
I hope you enjoy looking through my website!
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