Katherine Rundell and Lauren St. John are all about adventure and they’ve both had plenty of them. Caring for wild cats, swimming in the rivers of the Amazon, learning martial arts: both have written best-selling books packed with exciting escapades and a crowd of eager, young readers rushed into the tent to hear them speak about it.
St. John was surrounded by animals growing up: cats, dogs, a giraffe, a monkey – definitely not your average household. These animals impacted her life, and inevitably made their way into her fiction; her much loved cat Felix became a pet for one of her fictional characters.
Rundell nodded enthusiastically: “animals have such distinctive personalities”. Photos shone on a screen as the speakers gave their talk, and the audience gasped as Rundell displayed the piranhas that ate her tour guide’s finger, certainly proving that point.
Rundell was keen to point out you don’t have to cross the world to find adventures; they can be found in the woods, the garden, the bedroom “if you just look for it”. She began a story about her time flying a plane and the dangerous landing it involved and asked who else would like to try it; plenty of arms flew up in the air, proving that the room was full of future explorers, who can immediately find it, wherever they look.
If you missed this you may enjoy event The Book Case: An Emily Lime Mystery, which takes place today at 2:30pm.