During the week of 24 May, Gareth Ward, an author, magician and steampunk enthusiast, paid Rutherford a visit, and met with keen readers from Yrs. 9 and 10.

He shared with us a brief description of his time in the army and talked about what gave him inspiration for his four books; The Traitor and the Thief, The Clockill and the Thief, Brasswitch and Bot and The Thaumagicians Revenge. All of which take place in a steampunk setting. Gareth Ward spoke about how he came up with his characters, and a bit more background around the setting of his books, where he grew up, in England. He also showed us some of his magic tricks and talked about his experience of being a magician.

He was able to answer questions, share his knowledge and give his audience some insight as to how a writer writes, and what it is like to be one.