I had to write this book. In fact, other projects had to go on hold to let it past.

This was because certain scenes and characters just turned up and camped in my head and wouldn’t go away. When Miss Level said, “I’m sorry, I left my glasses on my other nose,” I knew I had to write more about this woman. I wanted to find out what Tiffany would do next. I wanted to see what the Nac Mac Feegle would try this time. I wanted to do the “dancing with bees” scene. And writing The Wee Free Men had been fun.

You can’t start on your next planned book when another one is bumping it gently but insistently against your brain.

This is it.

I’ve had a lot of mail (actually, mostly e-mail—we’re bringing up a generation that can type with its thumbs) about The Wee Free Men. Kids liked it. Adults wrote and asked if it was really a children’s book. The children didn’t. That struck me as … interesting. A lot of girls thanked me for writing about a real girl; a lot of boys (and some of their parents) asked if the Nac Mac Feegle really keep on swearing. (No, they don’t—their mixture of Old Scots and modern Glaswegian slang is pretty innocent when translated. Truly.)

I know there’s going to be at least one more book about these characters, because I know the title and some of the scenes. But it can wait … I hope.

TERRY PRATCHETT

About Terry Pratchett | About A Hat Full of Sky | How to Purchase