we publish great childrens books...

the hairy plug monster goes to town
written by Leighroy Marsh - author/songwriter 

©  2009  hpm media ltd - childrens books

another book to add to our collection

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hope you like this.... not all  the story posted! 
but hey just to give you an idea!

                                                                                         

“We’ve ran out of biscuits

and chocolate éclairs!”

Dad called up to Maya

From the foot of the stairs

 “Get your coat and your hat

And we’ll walk into town

We can do all the shopping

While mum’s not around”

Maya looked at her toys

At the foot of the bed

“Can I bring a friend

Maybe dolly or Ted?”

“Yes” replied Dad

As he stood in the hall

“If you like, grab your bag

And you can  - bring them all”

So she picked up her bag

That was hung from her bed

Then  In went the dolly

And  in went her Ted

She went to the bathroom

And yelled in the plug

“Would you like to go shopping

With me? - Glug, Glug Glug”

The hairy plug monster

Popped out of the tap

Wearing  stripy pyjamas

And an old swimming cap

He hopped in the bag

And they went down the stairs

To pop to the shops

For more chocolate éclairs

Down into Town

Strolled Maya and Dad

With the hairy plug monster

                                                           

All snug in the bag

          

they arrived at the bakers

The one in the square

And Maya sat down

On old wooden chair

Dad said to the baker

I’d like one pot of tea

And some blackberry muffins

For Maya and me

But,

The hairy plug monster

Had climbed on the shelf

And whilst no-one was looking

He was helping himself

First went the biscuits

And then went the cakes

And then went the flapjacks

That had all just been baked

All that was left

were the chocolate Éclairs

2 blackberry muffins

And Some marshmallow squares

The was two sausage rolls

And a pie that was hot

before anyone noticed

He ate the whole lot

The hairy plug monster

Had left them with nothing

Not even a cake

Or blackberry muffin.....




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The Hairy Plug Monster available to buy


order your copy on line....

http://www.hairyplugmonster.com/purchase.html 


or Waterstones, 


thats it and have a great evening from all of us here 


at HPM 

Posted by Kul Cuthbert

10 years ago, all we had to do was publish a book ...

WEDNESDAY, 8 JUNE 2011

            by Leighroy Marsh

10 years ago, all we had to do was publish a book ...

It seems that to be an independent children’s author and publisher in today’s market – it’s not enough just to write good stories. That has proven to be the easy bit. 


When we published The Hairy Plug Monster 18 months ago, we naively thought that it wouldn’t be long before the whole world knows who we are along with commercial endorsements right across the board from branded doughnuts to Theme Park rides….
Imagine that! “Dare you ride The Plug Monster?”
Anyway as this blog has detailed in full – that really hasn’t been the case. Ten years ago we may have stood a chance, but not today.
10 years ago, all we had to do was publish a book or better still get someone else to publish it and live off the earnings. Now the game has changed completely. Just having a book isn’t enough – it now needs to be digitalised and produced in formats that can be delivered to a variety of gadgets. 
Because I don't have the luxury that newly crowned children's Laurette - Julia Donaldson has by not allowing her books to be sold in this format, I have reassessed my outlook and decided that e-books really are a major part of the future and as a publisher and author it would be a wasted opportunity not to at least have a go.  
Not being a total “geek” myself, I have had a few problems getting to grips with the software, slowly overcoming it with a few choice swear words and long periods of self doubt........
It seems to be working.
In one way it seems a 'no brainer' as we are already producing PDF’s to send to the printers for the first edition print run. So, by default we have an e-book in it’s most basic form. 
 I'm content to just produce a PDF, because it is a bit static and not very engaging but it has served as a good starting point.  
In the current version of the pdf HPM I have hidden lots of small treats for enquiring minds to look for:
strange noises, music, theme tunes, speeches by MAYA and the posh and articulate Hairy Plug Monster etc, and in one secret area there is even a narrated version of the unpublished The Hairy Plug Monster goes to town.
At the last count there were over 30 hidden ‘hotspots’ in the PDF. 
Although it is an original thought for us, everyone else has been doing it for some time, so even at this early stage in E-volution, we are still in the caves.
The publishing software I am using has already been superseded by an even better one, that allows e-publication in several formats and apparently lets you integrate animation, movies and other tasty bit of software to make the e-book a full 360 interactive experience. (well that’s what it says on the tin).
If you get a chance, have a look at Alice on the iPad - which seems to have set the standard that we all must follow.
Already it is possible to submit the Italian text into The HPM and with some help we can even do the Farsi version that we have had for ages. Now that offering direct translations is a real possibility, I will be calling favours in from all over the World to get translations in as many languages as possible and putting them up on www.hpmmedialtd.com .
One of the challenges at the moment is getting the HPM into a format that is supported by Amazon and Waterstones - The E-pub format isn’t picture book friendly and although there is a way to do it, it involves getting someone else in and paying them far too much money. 
Obviously an e-book wont be the same as having a real children's picture book to snuggle up and read to your kids, but it seems that within a few years the iPad, Tablet and Smart Phone are going to become part of the furniture in most households.
It is also true that you can download a book for less than it would cost to park your car in town... (well where I live anyway), and it seems inevitable that this market is only going to grow bigger each year, and while other people may have more technologically savvy ebooks, 
HPM Media have brilliant stories.

be involved 

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          Posted by Kul Cuthbert

Mini Chocolate Eclairs - from HPM MEDIA - childrens books

Hairy Plug Monster sponsors mini chocolate eclairs

this post given by:  Leighroy Marsh | Author/Songwriter

http://www.hairyplugmonster.com
"If there is one thing that the HPM craves more 
than anything else it's: Mini Chocolate Eclairs


Since meeting Maya, his
days of eating "bubble bath 
sandwiches" are long gone - 
and as "shop - o - late" 
eclairs are just not tasty 
enough, I had to ask my 
sister Karon for a recipe that 
will satiate his enormous appetite.                                                               



110g Plain flour
175ml water
½ tsp salt
75g butter
3 eggs beaten


150 mls whipped cream
100gms Couverture Chocolate melted
(yeh, I didn't know what it was either, so I "wikied" it)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couverture_chocolate　


To make choux pastry:
Preheat oven to 180° c
Boil water and butter, add flour and salt and mix to a smooth paste, until the paste leaves the sides of the pan and allow the flour to cook out.


Transfer to a clean cool bowl and let the mixture cool.


When it is cool, start to beat in the eggs one at a time until you have a smooth dropping consistency, that is pipeable.


Fit a large plain piping nozzle to a piping bag and pipe in lines about 4 cm long onto a greased baking tray. 
Bake for 30 -35 minutes until the éclairs are golden brown take them out and allow to cool
To assemble:
Place a thin piping nozzle into a piping bag and pierce a hole in the bottom of the éclairs.


Pipe in the whipped cream and top them with the chocolate
How easy is that?


FOR MORE UPDATES VISIT :


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buy on line at :  
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Posted by Kul Cuthbert

SUCCESSFUL VISIT TO A LOCAL SCHOOL

Leighroy had another successful visit to a local school…

the followng text taken from his blogspot... 

Having seemingly fallen out of love with the local schools (after all it has been quite a while since the launch of the HPM), I was delighted to have a call from Sue Edwards, the nursery teacher at Arden Primary School - who asked if I would like to return and read to her class,  naturally i jumped at the chance especially as it meant I could spend the day there and perform to all age groups and get some feedback on 

‘Be Careful Ethel’.

The whole day was fantastic as class after class welcomed me back like a long lost friend, 

(so I must have made quite an impression on my previous visit). 
I performed 7 readings throughout the day selecting my material 
depending on the class, unsurprisingly the younger children wanted 
to hear about the adventures of The Hairy Plug Monster, while the more 
mature pupils demanded that I scared the ‘bejeezus’ out of them with 
Golden Arm, One Legged Steve and There’s Something Wrong with Granddad... naturally I obliged.

I almost blushed with pride when one of the teaches proudly 
showed me her video that she made of The Hairy Plug Monster 
with narration and everything, and said that it was a firm favorite 
with herself and all the class.

Be Careful Ethel went down a storm, so it looks like we may 
have another winner on our hands.  As they say on the telly 
“Lets go to Work”. 

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http://www.hairyplugmonster.com

http://www.becarefulethel.com


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order a signed copy of our books through our site :
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and coming soon ebooks published - watch this space....
we are a friendly team and look forward to your comments...


have a nice day.


Posted by Kul Cuthbert

FROM THE ILLUSTRATOR | KIM EAGLE

from the illustrator | KIM EAGLE

Kim Eagle

Something you didn't know about me - 

Working with the publishers HPM Media Ltd and the very talented writer 

Leighroy Marsh, produced the illustrations for the great book 

'Be Careful Ethel'

visit  http://www.hpmmedialtd.com

be the first and order a signed copy  - you won't be disappointed…

another book soon to be published

'THE POP BELLIED COOK AND THE THREE LEGGED DOG'

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Posted by Kul Cuthbert

blog update - CHILDRENS BOOKS - GOLDEN ARM

This is one of my favorites  also many kids who have attended one of leigh's story times at schools and libraries -  not all the tale here  but worth a read 

from Leighroy Marsh -   Author/Songwriter 

GOLDEN ARM

This is a tale that my Grandad told me, 

As I sat as a child on his old bony knee

It isn’t a tale full of joy or of charm,

But a tale full of woe and a stolen gold arm

You should stop reading now if you easily spook

You should stand up and choose a more friendlier book

You should stop reading now if you don’t like to JUMP

Because this is a tale that will make your heart thump

Its starts long ago with poor Montague Law

Who was missing an arm, when he returned from the war

He lost it at battle, defending the king

Along with his bracelet, his wristwatch and ring

The king was quite grateful, and pulled out his sword

Pointed at Monty – and made him a Lord

Lord Montague Law, the Brave and the bold

I’ll reward you again with an arm made of gold.

And so he returned to his wife and his farm,

With a chestful of medals and a solid gold arm

Where he kept it on show in a special glass box

Next to his trousers, his jumpers and socks

The years soon passed by, and Lord Monty took ill

And despite all the potions and lotions and pills

Old Montague knew that his time had arrived

So he called from his bed for his beautiful bride

The angels are calling, I don’t have much time 

And so I am leaving you all that is mine

You can have all that belongs to the farm

As long as you bury me with my gold arm.

Lord Montague’s wife said she’d do what she’s told

And bury her husband along with his gold

But deep down she knew what she could do instead

And instead of the arm,  She would bury some bread....

NOT ALL THE TALE!!!

out soon as an ebook... WITH MANY MORE TALES TO MAKE YOU JUMP 

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and most of all have a nice day

Posted by Kul Cuthbert

WHAT THE KIDS THOUGHT OF OUR NEW BOOK

update blog:  from Leighroy Marsh   |    Author/Songwriter

Early reports from the frontline suggest that Be Careful Ethel is going to be just as popular as The HPM - if not more so

Having been the only book on the shelf for so long, The Hairy Plug Monster has now had to make room for the new kid in town.

We received the first 'mock up' of Be Careful Ethel this week and it looks superb. We came up with the idea of the promotional clip to boost awareness and have already had a very positive response.

I gave the copy of Be Careful Ethel to Maya-Rose's teacher to test drive on her class, without saying who wrote it and came back with the following:-

Erin: "very good, I liked the King and Queen"

Archie: "Fantastic"

Luke: " Liked that the story rhymed"

Maddy: "I really liked it, I liked the 'dont panic' bits

Louie: " Liked the cheesy teddy bear bit

Rowan: " I liked the cheesy teddy bear bit too!"

Ankita: "I want to buy the book right now"

Harry: "I laughed at the cheese teddy bear bit"


Miss Steyert " The children really enjoyed Be Careful Ethel and laughed throughout. Especially when Maurice spread cheese on his teddy bears. The children joined in with the 'dont panic" bits -

Thoroughly entertaining.


So in a nutshell it looks like its going to be as well liked as the Hairy Plug Monster, but could you do me a favour when it does come out -even though I enjoy being told how much you like my stories,

don't tell me - just tell everyone else….


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Posted by Kul Cuthbert