It’s always a bit nerve-racking to meet an author whose work you like. Much like seeing a favourite book translated on to the big screen, the reality doesn’t always live up to the expectations you have in your head.

Brighton’s own Adam Stower, thankfully, was just as cheerful and witty in life as his charming and cheeky children’s stories and illustrations are on the page.

With a reading of one of my daughter’s favourites – the popular Troll And The Oliver – Stower’s dry sense of humour came across brilliantly as he tried to hush a somewhat boisterous crowd of little ones, with a mutter under of his breath of “It’s like trying to herd cats”.

And, while obviously an informal event, a little more structure certainly might have helped to calm the calls of “Has the show started yet?” by a particularly inquisitive four-year-old (to which Stower responded “Yes. And I can tell you’re impressed.”

With fun and lively drawing demonstrations and a sneak peek of his new work Grumbug, however, Stower will have certainly gained some new fans, while making sure his current fanbase weren’t disappointed.

Three stars