England, 1605. 12-year-old Tom must save his father from hanging. He falls in with a mysterious stranger - the Falcon - who promises to help him in exchange for his service. But on the long journey to London, Tom discovers the Falcon's true mission - and a plot to blow up Parliament with barrels of black powder. Tom faces a terrible decision: secure his father's release, or stop the assassination of the king ...

 

Ally Sherrick was born in Epsom, Surrey. When she was growing up she wanted to be an Egyptologist and dig up mummies - the type wrapped in bandages, not the living breathing ones! At school her favourte subjects were reading, creative writing and history. After spending many years writing magazine articles, press releases and publications for a living, she took an MA in Writing for Children from the University of Winchester and fell in love with reading children's books all over again. She is thrilled that Chicken House publishers will publish her first historical adventure, 'Black Powder'. She is now working on a second story for them - also historical. Her favourite children's book authors are David Almond, Sonya Hartnett, Sally Gardner, Berlie Doherty and Meg Rosoff. Her favourite story of all time is 'Jane Eyre'.