Oozing with talent from every pore, and a pair of creative geniuses who do something that you seldom see in the world of children's publishing or illustration - paying their awesome success forward by helping others with an awesome creative blog and sizzling set of tutorials.

What more can you say about Robin and Lorenzo Etherington, long-time contributors to the mighty Phoenix Comic (which we've already covered in our #Booky100Keepers list), and creators of many books that are almost set up in a mini-shrine on our shelves.

Lorenzo's truly fantastic "How to Think when you Draw" and Robin's utterly brilliant "How to think when you Write" are books that we both find ourselves dragging off the shelves on a regular basis, to pore over, dip into and consume nuggets of glorious golden advice from.

We're not just addicted to their tutorial books though. I really love the back-burner-bubbling "Stranski" stuff, something that feels like a long-term obsession for the guys that hasn't quite been worked up into a finished story / graphic novel, but feels like something the world needs - a glorious fusion of film noir, adventure, gangster movie and kick-ass lion-tailed ladies ready to take on the world.

They've taxed our brains with the awesome "Von Doogan" series, they've twisted the afterworld inside out in "Long Gone Don" and have made us giggle like goons with "Monkey Nuts". They've made a success out of going down the crowdfunded / self-published route for a lot of their books (including restoring Monkey Nuts to the original large graphic novel format it so richly deserves).

We were fortunate enough to meet the guys and were delighted that they knew who we were, and actually thanked us for all our support over the years. They really are the bees knees, borne out by the fact that every single thing we've reviewed of theirs has hit the "Book of the Week" slot. Pretty nice going, guys!

Original review and article links:

ReadItDaddy's Book of the Week - Week Ending 7th February 2020: "How to Think When you Write" by Robin Etherington and Lorenzo Etherington (Kickstarter / Self Published)

Fantastic comic creating fun with The Etherington Brothers - The Story Museum, Oxford

ReadItDaddy's Second Book of the Week - Week Ending 15th April 2016 - "Von Doogan and the Great Air Race" by Lorenzo Etherington (David Fickling Books)

Long Gone Don Book 1 by Lorenzo and Robin Etherington (David Fickling Books)

The Phoenix Presents "Von Doogan and the Curse of the Golden Monkey" by Lawrence (Lorenzo) Etherington (David Fickling Books)

ReadItDaddy's Second Book of the Week - Week Ending 2nd August 2019: "How to Think when you Draw Volume 2" by The Etherington Brothers (Self Published)

ReadItDaddy's Comic of the Week - Week Ending 23rd February 2018 - "Monkey Nuts (Volume 1 and 2)" by Robin and Lorenzo Etherington (Lulu Self Publishing Platform)

ReadItDaddy's Picture / Comic Book of the Week - Week Ending 6th January 2017 - "Long Gone Don Book 2" by The Etherington Brothers (David Fickling Books)

ReadItDaddy's Second Book of the Week - Week Ending 19th August 2016 - "The Deluxe Collection - Volumes 1 and 2" by Lorenzo Etherington (Lulu Self Publishing)

ReadItDaddy's Book(s) of the Week - Week Ending 24th August 2018: "How to Think when you Draw" and "Deluxe Collection Volume III" by Lorenzo Etherington (Lulu / Self Published)

ReadItDaddy's Picture Book of the Week - Week Ending 28th July 2017 - "The Art of Stranski" by Lorenzo Etherington (Kickstarter / Self Published)

We've been huge fans of The Etherington Brothers since first discovering their work in the fabulous Phoenix Comic - and so far Lorenzo has put together some truly stunning tutorial collections under the "How to Think when you Draw" umbrella.

But this time it's the turn of his brilliantly funny brother Robin - the 'writing' half of the team - to pour his wisdom into a fantastic tome that will give writers a huge shot in the arm in terms of skills, and a huge boost to their confidence as they start to write up some of the exercises contained in this book.

As the boys have been running their own tutorials free over at https://theetheringtonbrothers.blogspot.com for some time now, it's great to see Robin's writing tutorials finally getting a solid roundup like this, in a gorgeously presented hardcover edition which recently launched successfully on Kickstarter.

We've been hoovering these books up whenever they're released (always worth following the guys over on twitter @theetheringtonbrothers to see what they're cooking up next!)

I'm interested in both sides of the coin, both illustration and writing - but writing is where I struggle the most, and for would-be authors it's sometimes quite daunting considering all the variables and structural elements of a piece of writing, even if you've got past the real first hurdle - getting some subject inspiration.

Robin helpfully delves into the intricaties of character and plot, but builds on these with fantastic weapons to add to your arsenal such as working in back stories, figuring out sensible naming conventions for your characters (or non-sensible ones that will still work beautifully).

At each point there are exercises to try yourself - and so far I've been working through this book with a journal, noting down and attempting each exercise in turn, and seeing a light at the end of the tunnel with my own writing efforts.

What I like best about Robin's approach is that it's less preachy, less draconian about writing 'conventions' and in most cases though Robin pays due homage to 'the roolz' he does dispense with them when they're a bit too limiting, and shows you how to do the same - and get away with it!

My favourite exercises - the ones I found the most helpful - were the character-based ones, where you'll learn how to really get under your character's skin and work out what makes them tick - and how to avoid those pitfalls like making your characters too much like you (or not enough if you're self-referencing) and how to avoid getting sued by including folk in your stories that might not want to be in there!

It's brilliant this, like a reference bible for writers at any level, regardless of the genre or subject you want to write about. Having direct access to the contents of Robin's creative brain in this way can only be a good thing (particularly if you've ever seen any of the workshops or shows he and his brother produce - they're gold dust, just like this book!)

Sum this book up in a sentence: A stupendous book filled with amazing insights, tips and tricks to give your writing a real shot in the arm, or to get you started on the right foot when it comes to dreaming up stories, characters and plots.

"How to Think When You Write" by Robin Etherington is out now, self published (self purchased - not provided for review)