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I am a dad of two grown children, and a stepfather to three more. I started writing five years ago with books designed to appeal to the inner child in adults - very English humour. My daughter Louise, reminded me of the bedtime stories I told her, and suggested I write them down for others to enjoy. I haven't yet, but instead I wrote the Billy Books series.
Although the main characters - Billy, Ant and Max - are made up, Billy's dog, Jacko, is based on our much-loved family pet, who, with our second dog Malibu, caused havoc and mayhem to the delight of my children and consternation of me.
Prior to writing, I was a college lecturer, and later worked in the computer industry, at a time before smartphones and tablets, when computers were powered by steam, and stood as high as a bus.
I believe in, and strongly support the values based education program founded by Dr Neil Hawkes being introduced to schools in the UK and world-wide.
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
Billy Saves The Day: Billy Growing Up, Book 6, Self-Belief is a novel for children, grades 4-6, written by James Minter and illustrated by Helen Rushworth. It was only eight weeks until year 5 would be over, and Miss Tompkins had a plan for the class's year-end production. They would be performing a musical play called The Keymaster, which told the story of a teacher who could travel through time and visit different eras in history. Miss Tompkins handed out copies of the play to all her students and asked them to read the play for homework. The next day, they were to tell her which part they wanted. A number of people were interested in being the Keymaster, and she would hold auditions for that and any other popular roles. While Billy, Ant and Tom were riding their bikes home after school, Ant told them that he wanted to be the Keymaster. He thought he'd be the best actor for the role, but Tom wanted a chance at the part as well. Billy was not at all happy with the whole idea of the play. He didn't think he'd be any good at acting and singing up there on the stage. His Granddad, however, was convinced that Billy could do it, and he would be more than willing to help Billy rehearse.
James Minter's novel for children, Billy Saves The Day, follows the three friends, Billy, Ant and Tom, as they and their classmates prepare for their end-of-term production. I loved seeing how Miss Tompkins and the class progress from that first day of looking at the script and proceed through holding auditions, building the set, learning about stage directions and holding rehearsals. The reader gets a real feeling for the conflict Billy faces as he deliberates whether to try out for a part. Inside, he really wants to be the one who gets up there on the stage and performs, but he doesn’t think he’s good enough. Minter admirably addresses the fears and stage jitters any actor - no matter how seasoned and accomplished - feels when they're preparing to perform. The reader just can't help but get involved in Billy's dilemma and caught up in the excitement of putting on a play. Can Billy be a superhero and save the performance that so many worked so hard to put on? Billy Saves The Day is a marvelous story that shows kids how great things can happen if you believe in yourself and are willing to put in the necessary effort. It's most highly recommended.
