About the Author
Simon Hall
Simon Hall has always written. His writing career started in the 1990’s when he was singer-songwriter for a folk rock band called Kambium. He toured the South-East of England for about 8 years with them, gathering a loyal following.
His career changed tack a little after that when he started a tree surgery business in the woods and hills of leafy Surrey, still writing all the time.
His stories reflect his love of nature, and in particular the natural landscape of the UK, where his adventures are set, nestled amongst sweeping moors and valleys.
The Illustrators
David Charlesworth
David has been working with Simon since his last two books. His drawings are full of life and charm. He began drawing before he was three years old, started painting with oils when eight and completed his first commission when only twelve!Born in 1954, he is one of the few professional artists of his years with over 50 years continuous experience producing and selling paintings and illustrations for customers at home and abroad.
David started in the art and design industry before the introduction of computers and scanners. In those days graphic designers had to be able to draw and paint to get into the trade. This was also a time when artwork was created by hand with pencils, pens, brushes, airbrush and rulers. www.davidcharlesworthart.com | www.notions.co.uk
Cameron Bennett
Cameron Bennett is an American expat artist and illustrator who has created work for newspapers, magazines and several children's books. Crossing Time On The Blueberry Line is his second U.K. effort. He has also painted huge murals in two Surrey schools and lives with his family in beautiful West Sussex.
The Railway Children Charity
David Maidment OBE
Founder Ambassador, The Railway Children Charity
Simon has decided to donate part of his earnings from the book sales to the Railway Children charity and I am extremely grateful to him. The charity, which I started in 1995, supports street children in India and East Africa and runaway children in the UK, making early contact with them as they arrive at the railway and bus stations of the big cities and protects them. In the short term it feeds and houses the children until we can find a longer term solution to their problems. Over the past twenty-five years it has helped well over 300,000 children and now supports between 20, 000 and 30,000 each year. The charity is supported by many people in our railway system including some on the heritage lines such as the ones described by Simon in his stories, and one of the charity’s ambassadors is David Charlesworth who has painted some of the illustrations in his books.
