The story is told through the alternate viewpoints of Nathaniel and Bartimaeus, but it’s the witty and sarcastic djinn who really steals the show. Fantasy is usually best known for its plot – and there is an abundance of plot in this trilogy – but it was the character that really drew me into this world and story.

Last summer I wandered into Antipodes, a cute bookstore in Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula. They had a lovely collection of books, but what caught my eye were the several large-format hard cover editions of classics, such as Brothers Grimm fairytales, Edgar Allan Poe and Sherlock Holmes stories, and Pride & Prejudice.

These are the types of books that made me fall in love with reading, and made me want to be a writer. If I could ever write a book that made someone feel the way I felt when I read these – the sense of wonder and mystery and adventure – that would be something indeed.

Firstly, welcome! I’m so excited to have finally gotten this project off the ground, and to be able to share my thoughts and ideas on books, reading and writing.

This isn’t a travel blog, but I do want to share two amazing places that I visited recently… A bookshop in Venice, and a bookshop in Paris.