Hello world! It has been a VERY long time since I last blogged. But today, for whatever reason, I felt compelled to share a few thoughts on the writing of my latest picture book, The Echidna Near my Place, illustrated by the amazing Cate James. Story ideas can[…]

Hello world! As both a writer and a teacher my go-to for inspiration and information has always been my favourite books. The writer in me habitually “reads like a writer” – examining and analysing authors’ decisions and choices, identifying the structural bones, the narrative drive, the character arcs,[…]

Hello world! About this time last year, I declared 2019 as THE YEAR OF PUTTING WRITING FIRST. You can read about it here, but basically I made the decision to scale back on my editing and mentoring business, say “no, sorry” to new clients, and put writing (and[…]

Hello world! As most of you would know, I left my job at Walker Books Australia about two and a half years ago. (I know! It has been that long.) My reasons for leaving a job that I really liked were many and complex, but they boiled down[…]

Hello world! I have had a bit of a hiatus from blogging over the past several months. Mainly because I have been ridiculously busy, but also because I felt that I didn’t have anything new to say – and I always vowed to blog from the heart and[…]

Hello world! Wow. What a wonderfully exciting month March was. Missing finally made it out into the wild and I have been spinning like a whirligig ever since. The month kicked off with a fun launch and much love and support from colleagues, friends and relatives. Then I[…]

Hello world! In thirty-one days Missing will be released into the wild. I am both inordinately excited and ridiculously anxious about this. Missing will be my sixteenth trade publication and my sixth novel for children and young adults. You’d think I’d be over the nerves by now, wouldn’t[…]