Yearly Archives: 2017
Hello world! The other morning I woke early – well before the sun – but I didn’t mind one bit because my sleepy half-awake brain was filled with wild imaginings of my current WiP. My main character, let’s call her C.H., was chatting away merrily; I had never heard her[…]
Hello world! I have a confession to make. Sometimes (perhaps even often) when I hear of another author’s amazing success, an ugly green-eyed monster rises within me. Sad fact. (But I don’t think I’m alone here.) Take the new “sensation” Nevermoor, by Jessica Townsend. I only became aware of this “sensation” a month[…]
Hello world! “The backstory is the character’s DNA.” This quote from book coach and author Jennie Nash is one of my faves. I find it inordinately insightful and helpful when developing characters and thinking about how to handle backstory. It is simple, but genius. It just makes so much sense![…]
Hello world! Sorry I’ve been quiet lately. I’ve been taking it a bit easy as I recover and heal after some major surgery. (FYI – all good: prognosis and progress excellent.) I’d known about the impending surgery for some months prior – but it had to wait until after[…]
Hello world! It’s been a while since I last blogged. But I have a VERY good reason. August for Aussie authors is BOOK MONTH, and this is what my August looked like: visited 12 schools gave 45 presentations spoke to over 3500 kids presented at 2 night-time public library events presented at[…]
Hello world! When I was working at Walker I had a very long daily train commute. The upside of this was that it provided me with many wonderful opportunities to people watch. Three girls in particular intrigued me. They went to Newtown Performing Arts High and got on the train at[…]
Hello world! The other week I had a phone call from author and friend, Claire Saxby. She asked what I was doing. “Tearing my hair out!” was my exasperated reply, before explaining that I was working on a new picture book text and had spent the past couple of[…]
Hello world! This writing caper sure is a rollercoaster ride. Dizzying ups, such as the buzz of creating a new story, getting some positive feedback, an acceptance, a good review, an invite to speak at a festival or a gorgeous letter from a fan; followed by screaming, white-knuckled downs, such as a[…]
Hello world! I am a sucker for a good old inspirational quote. I think that’s why I like Twitter – those short snippets of inspiration that slide through my feed make me smile and nod. They reaffirm. They motivate. And, well, inspire! This week I thought I would[…]
Hello world! It is no secret that I first fell in love with children’s literature when I was a young primary school teacher – and my first children’s lit crush was for picture books. Now many years on, with my children grown and me no longer teaching, I[…]
