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life of a children's author

That should really be the new title because so much has been happening lately. My book has been advertised on lots of writing sites and is available globally. I know right!! I did my first school tour a couple of weeks ago on Roald Dahl Day at Globe Academy. See this is the thing about me, give me a room of hundreds of kids to teach dance too and it's a breeze, but a room with that many kids talking about my book. Oh dear. I got an email the night before the visit asking me to come, which was great but what the hell was I going to wear? My mum said NO CONVERSE. I barely own any other foot wear for goodness sake. I wanted to look smart but still me, so I ended up wearing a colourful printed dress, black blazer and brogues. I assumed it would be a class visit but I got there and they told me it was the school assembly. I almost died. Luckily it went well. The teachers were all dressed as characters of Roald Dahls - I liked the Oompa Loompa costumes best. I got to tell them about my book and what they should do to become a writer. You know that look kids give you, the one where you don't know if there listening really hard or hearing birds chirping in their heads? Well I had some of that but the teachers loved me and I've been invited back to do a class visit! Yay! The best part was having kids come up to me and say they want to read Emily Knight. Damn straight.

On Saturday is my Launch Party. Really it's the AFTER launch but I can't wait to actually celebrate this book. It's been non-stop for almost a year so the party should be a laugh. Mum persuaded me to have actual food there not just cupcakes. To be honest, I wasn't on it. I didn't want to give a reading and people are snacking on fried chicken but I agreed to snacks so going to run around tomorrow and buy everything. Please London, just hold that rain in yeah?

Emily Knight has got some really great reviews!!!!! Super happy. I was told by one reader that I created an excitement in the book that only JK Rowling had done. Oh yeah, check me out. That really made me smile. I just can't wait till the book is paying for itself and all the big marketing plans I have, I can start putting into motion. I was even watching JK on the news the other day and I thought 'Why aren't I on the bloody news?' Did you not know patience wasn't my strong point? I want to have the amazing fans that Harry Potter had - that is my dream for Emily Knight. I also had an interview with Brit Writers. Their CEO said he finds me inspirational! Read my interview here!  http://www.britwriters.com/news/an-interview-with-abiola-bello-author-of-emily-knight-i-am.html

My facebook fanpage jumped from 157 likes to 1,430 likes over the summer! And apparently my most popular countries is England, Bangladesh, India, Turkey and Brazil. Crazy! I'm aiming for 10,000 likes by December.

I really do love my job. Some of the kids I teach dance too I just think are so talented and they don't even know it. I visited my old class as there performing at my launch and one of the kids said I looked like a pop star! loooool super random.

MYSELF came 3rd at Serious About Street Dance Champs. Not gonna lie, I wasn't happy. No one enters a comp to not win and we had to stand on stage as they announced 2nd and 1st place. I was smiling but cussing at the same time. To be honest, I just wanted my £20 entry fee back. Our set looked very very good and because I'm nice I shared it with you all at the bottom of blog! I'm just over this dance scene, dancers really really annoy me and sometimes I just stare at people and think where are you going with this? It seemed to be such an effort to say well done when we placed yet idiots were asking me 'how do you feel coming third?' Seriously? Piss off! It's weird because I used to love this scene now I only do a show if its worth doing, as rude as it may sound but it's true. Most shows don't even give you a changing room let alone pictures and footage of your performance. It's all a joke really.

Why was I sitting on the bus on the way to work, minding my own business when I feel this breath on my neck and this guy who actually looks like my really hot friend but the cheap version, thrusts his phone in my face and says “Put your number there.” Why did the loser think I was going to say “Yeah baby sure.” I politely said no then added as he wouldn't leave me alone that my boyfriend wouldn't be too happy and he said, “I didn't ask his permission!” Err what? I didn't even know what to say. He went back to his convo on the phone advising whoever that all girls were hoes!!! Then before he got off, he asked again for number and I said no. THEN he got to the stairs and started shouting “YO!” My name obviously isn't yo, and I ignored him as he kept saying it, becoming less confident as I continued to ignore him until the arsehole said “Excuse me,” I looked up and he said, “Sorry I shouldn't of spoken to you like that.” Get a clue.

Had a great night out at Vogues Fashion Night Out. Apparently this happens every year - who knew. Got nail art done for free at River Island and then saw Delilah at Topshop performing live. She is AMAZING. My phone died as I went to record her. Typical.

How hot is Justin Beiber right now? I think I've got a bit of Beiber fever.

Oh and if you've read Emily Knight then leave me a GOOD review on Amazon. If you haven't read it - what's your problem eh?



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