In Praise of Pencils

I always work with a pencil. Not just any pencil. A 2B pencil, sharpened to the finest point possible, with a one of those rubbers that fit on the top. I go through packets of those - bright purple, grreen, yellow and  blue - they're still easy to lose.

For me, the fixation started in my programming days. It was easier to manually debug code with a pencil and then when I started to write fiction, it was somehow more creative to edit a hard copy with a pencil or to write out pieces in long hand before typing.

Recently #2 son and I cleaned out the stationary boxes. There were two in his room crammed full of pens, pencils, textas, erasers, pencil sharpeners, liquid paper glue and all sorts of novelty stationery stuff. Pens with reindeer, Disney toys, ninja turtles and a crocodile. The goal was to dispose of most of them.

It is incredibly hard to get rid of stationery! One box remains but I think most of the other box made its way into my office.

We were surprised at how many different types of pencils we had and decided to google what sort of gradations of graphite they came in. How soft can a pencil be? How hard?

I discovered I am not alone in my fixation with pencils. Pencils even have their own blog thanks to Studio 502. Lots of interesting stuff there including all sorts of pencils to buy. I particularly like the Pencil Artist of the Week feature.

You can find Studio 502 (alias pencils.com) on Facebook and Pinterest . Check out their board on Pencil Crafts.

And just for the record, great things have been achieved in pencil, even outside the art world. John Steinbeck used as many as 60 cedar pencils every day. Roald Dahl used only pencils with yellow casing to write his books. He had 6 sharpened pencils ready at the beginning of each day and only when all 6 pencils became unusable did he resharpen them. Finally, Thomas Edison was so keen on working in pencil, he had his own especially made!

This Review Sold Me a Book

I don't often buy a book based solely on a review. For me, usually it's word or mouth or the recommendation of a friend, and then I might search out reviews before I buy.

But I still read lots of reviews (and write a few too!) and yesterday I read one on the Readings web site that had me adding the book to my shopping cart immediately.

Here is the full review by bookseller Deborah Crabtree for The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness and here is the extract that sealed my purchase!

Love and loss are central to The Crane Wife, as is art and greed and the power of story. There is a truth to Ness’s writing even amid the strangeness of the world he creates, and such artistry and sensitivity to his storytelling that I longed to stay in that world well after the novel ended and I will return to it again. This book will break hearts.

I want to read the book (desperately) and I want to write reviews like that (just as desperately!)

Books I Bagged at the South Coast Lifeline Book Fair

I finally made it to the South Coast Lifeline Book Fair and was amazed at what I found. Not only is it well organised, the variety of titles available surprised me. Of course I headed straight for the Young Adult and Pre-Teen sections.

I found lots of recent releases, merchandising related books, classic works and wonderful Australian titles by friends, colleagues and heroes. Many of the books were in as new condition. For our underfunded public school libraries, the Book Fair would be a good place to source additional titles. I saw many past CBCA and other award winners waiting for a second home.

So what did I buy?

A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove by James Malony -  A CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers in 1997. One I had always intended to read. (And now I have!)

Letters from the Inside by John Marsden - another one on my long term list.

The Starthorn Tree by Kate Forsyth - I've been reading all Kate's later work and the cover was too magical to resist.

Two iconic Australian works of fiction:
 People of the Book - Geraldine Brooks

That Deadman Dance - Kim Scott

And two non-fiction for future research and historical fiction ideas -

The Year China Discovered the World - Gaven Menzies (1421!)

The Viking World - James Graeme Campbell.

All for $31. It's win-win. Some wonderful books get a second wind and Lifeline raises much needed funds for its essential services.

So if you love books, try and make it to a Lifeline Book Fair. If you live in the Illawarra the next South Coast Book Fair is in October. Here is a list of other dates and locations.

The Next Big Thing

The Next Big Thing is a chain of book and author recommendations.Richard Harland tagged me on his blog and now it's my turn. Check out the books by the people I tagged at the end of this post
 

What is the [working] title of your next book?

Black Tengu, the eighth and final title in the Samurai Kids series.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

The first book in the series, White Crane, was published in 2008. I had written it as a stand-alone novel but my publisher, Walker Books Australia, felt it would make a good series. I had to go back through White Crane looking for something that I could use as the arc for a series. I found a throwaway comment that Sensei had once made a terrible mistake. I had originally only included this because I did not want the wise, eccentric teacher to be perfect but it was destined for greater things and grew to become the link that ran through the whole series and is finally resolved in this last book.

What genre does your book fall under?

The Samurai Kids series is historical fiction, set in the mid-17^th century when the golden age of the samurai was drawing to a close.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

I am not sure how to answer this. It might require clever costuming as the main character has one leg, another boy has one arm – each character has a difficulty to overcome although this is not always physical. I’m sure there is a film company and actors out there who could meet the challenge. Maybe it would be an anime film so perhaps I should choose voices...

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

In the harsh snow lands of Ezo, the Samurai Kids must find a way to help Sensei Kiyaga face the terrible secret from his past.

 Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

The series is published by Walker Books Australia and I am represented by Pippa Masson of Curtis Brown.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

It took longer to write this last book than any other in the series. The first draft took six months but there are many redrafts still ahead. I am found it a challenge to draft as I am not a plotter. I just write the stories my characterstell me. But in this book I had to follow the plotline I had spent seven prior books preparing. I did not find it easy but am happy with it.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

The Samurai Kids series is often compared by reviewers to John Flanagan’s Rangers Apprentice and Brotherband series. I find this a wonderful compliment and wouldn’t want to suggest anything else!

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I was thinking about what it would be like to be a samurai – as lovers of ancient history like me do! I knew that if you were born into a samurai family you had no choice but to serve. I began to wonder what it would be like for a boy (or a girl, there is one girl samurai in my books) who wasn’t very good at their lessons. And what if they weren’t very good because of something that wasn’t their fault. Like being born with one leg. That’s when my one-legged narrator, Niya, first spoke to me. “Give it a go,” he said. So I went down into my backyard, tucked up one leg and karate kicked. I found the beginning of my story. “My name is Niya Moto and I am the only one-legged samurai kid in Japan. Famous for falling flat on my face in the dirt.”

What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

I think this question is best answered in terms of the series. The group of characters is unusual, the time of swords and battles is exciting, there is a strong focus on a range of martial arts, the children travel across Japan, China, Korea and Cambodia and the Zen humour is quirky. In short, most readers tell me it’s very different to any other books they’ve read.

Here are the authors I'd like to introduce, and who you can follow next Wednesday, when they answer the same questions...

 George Ivanoff  http://georgeivanoff.com.au/

 Jodie Wells-Slowgrove http://www.ozkidswriter.com/writing-blog.html

 Sheryl Gwyther http://sherylgwyther.wordpress.com/

 

Claire Saxby http://letshavewords.blogspot.com.au/

Sharon McGuinness http://mrsmacsbookblog.edublogs.org

 

 

My Favourite Blog Posts - How Facebook Changed My Life by Cassandra Golds

I like Facebook but am often called upon to defend why. This post is from one of my favourite Australian authors, Cassandra Golds (who wrote one of my all time favourite books - The Three Loves of Persimmon), and explains it much better than I ever could.

I often do speaking sessions about social media for writers and I always include a slide with quotes from Cassandra's post on it.

Here are some of my favourite excerpts:

People say that Facebook is superficial. The truth is that everybody approaches Facebook in a different way. Part of the fascination lies in the differences...

Some people post links to reviews or to articles on subjects they find interesting: I love this! Many people, including myself, share music videos from YouTube. How delightful it can be to be reminded of a long-forgotten song, or to discover that a Facebook friend has similar musical taste!
Some write progress reports on the novel they are writing ...

You have only to say something a little fragile on Facebook, or even to be absent for a while, to attract well-wishes, warm support, queries about your welfare and even personal offers of help. I have found it an immensely supportive community. And if you share an achievement — the publication of a book, for example, or a good review, you are showered with encouragement and affirmation.

There is also a lot of talk about cats and other furry animals...

In short, I haven't had so much fun in years. And I have never felt less alone.

I don't necessarily like everything about Facebook. I don't want play games or participate in survey-type quizzes. But sometimes I change my mind. One of the things I didn't initially like was the posting of birthday greetings. It just didn't seem to have the same sincerity as a card or a phone call. But then a funny thing happened - I had a birthday!!! The list of birthday messages made me smile - and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them. I realised that not only was it a good idea - it mattered to me after all.

Tech Stuff for Writers - Postcron revisited

A friend read my post about Postcron and pointed out that Facebook allows you to schedule posts, so why would she use PostCron?

Two reasons - Facebook only allows scheduling for Pages. With Postcron, you can schedule posts for Pages and your timeline.

Better interface - If you have more than one Page, Facebook shows future scheduled posts separately on each page. With Postcron the information is all in one place, neatly organised under tabs.

Sandy Writes - The Detail is a Google

Source: jpellgen

I'm happy with my first paragraph. A bell tolls ominously over the snow. It sketches the setting with a light touch and it has the Samurai Kids feeling nervous and afraid. The reader knows something terrible is in the air.
But as I read through my words for the tenth time - and yes there will be many more readings. I revise like Tolkien. I read once that the reason it took him so long to write - was partly because his works were so long and detailed - but partly because every time he got a little bit further along, he went back to the start and revised all over again.

I do that too. It makes for slow going but it works for me. I am an almost non-existent plotter and although I may have a very firm idea, the middle parts of the story are usually quite bare when I begin. So I need to revise iteratively and continually to maintain continuity as the story develops organically.


Source: bthomso

As I am reading my first paragraph again, it occurs to me for the first time, that perhaps my Kids are too far way from the bell they are hearing. How far does the toll of a bell reach? Who can tell me that? I grew up in Camden about 2km as the crow flies from St John's church. We could often hear the bells.

But can I be further than 2 km away? Would sound travel a greater distance over the flatlands? Would snow absorb any sound? And what sort of bell was it anyway - in 17th century Japan?

So I type into Google: How far does a bell toll? One of the suggestions specifies time and place - the equivalent of pre-industrial early medieval Europe. It's a reasonable match. The link takes me to a forum. Some people comment from English villages about the bells they hear every day. Another takes a comment from Wikipedia about the bells of St Mary-le-bow and calculates the distance to the villages mentioned.

One person describes how flatlands amplify sound. Another tells the tale of a 12th century monastery resited because its bells were confused with those of another 2 km down a winding valley. Someone even explains the physics behind why an older bell rings louder over distance than today's bells.

Everything I needed to know was there. I figure given the landscape and the time of the bell I can safely set the distance between my kids and the castle anywhere from 2km to 4km. I don't need to be exact. I just need to be realistic.

Here is the link to the discussion on bells. Everything an armchair author needs to know! http://little-details.livejournal.com/1945635.html

Creativity Quote # 1 - Steve Jobs

Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things - Steve Jobs

Source: http://bornstoryteller.wordpress.com

Sandy Writes - In defence of the Thesaurus

Cartoon by Dave Walker. at We Blog Cartoons.

I'm always interested to read what other writers having to say about their writing process, I have a Pinterest Board for Writers On Writing where I have begun to pin my favourites. There's not a lot there at the moment so I'm looking for suggestions if you've got one to recommend.

Sometimes I find myself disagreeing, even with someone as talented as Stephen King. His books are wonderful and I learned so much from his On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, but when I he said: "Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule", I had to shake my head. It's not like that for me at all.

I understand where he's coming from. The thesaurus is often consulted to find a 'better word' for a variety of reasons - more unique, more formal, more literary - and invariably a word chosen on such basis will ruin any sentence it is placed in.

But there are exceptions. There are are different ways to use a thesaurus. I open the thesaurus when the word I have in my head doesn't feel right - it doesn't match the feeling I have in my heart. I am rarely looking for a replacement word - I am looking for a different word that may set me thinking in a different direction. A word may lead to an image, almost never to a direct insertion.

I particular like how the Visual Thesaurus works in this way. Sometimes the word I end up with is not a synonym by a long shot, but it is a word that feels like it fits or helps me to find a more fitting string of words. The Visual Thesaurus is an organic way to search for a word. As you step out along the nodes the correlation between word and meaning widens but the correlation between word and feel is not lessened.

Well, that's the way it works for me.

Sandy Writes - In Defence of Short sentences

When I began to write I immediately noticed a major difference between the style that came naturally to me and the works of fiction I loved to read. My sentences were usually quite short. I was appalled that I couldn't get this simple thing right. I tried hard to improve - to model my writing on the work of authors I admired. But it just wouldn't happen.

When my first book was accepted for publication I thought perhaps it didn't really matter. But some months later, when I took my own book from my library shelf to read, I was disappointed all over again. It didn't read like a real book. It was full of short sentences.

In time, I've grown comfortable with those short sentences. I can still build beautiful images or fast action. It's all about how I string them together and I love writing them.

One of the websites I like to visit is Maria Popova's Brain Pickings. Today I discovered in her review of Several Short Sentences About Writing, these words of wisdom from another short sentence defender:

You can say smart, interesting, complicated things using short sentences.
How long is a good idea?
Does it become less good if it’s expressed in two sentences instead of one?
[…]
Writing short sentences will help you write strong, balanced sentences of any length. Strong, lengthy sentences are really just strong, short sentences joined in various ways.

E.B White was also a defender of short sentences. Another Brain Pickings post on that here.

And a final comment from Several Short Sentences about Writing by Verilyn Klinkenborg: The only link between you and the reader is the sentence you’re making.

The length of the sentence really doesn't matter after all.

Tech Stuff for Writers - PostCron

This is the first in a series of posts where I'll share the tips, tricks, apps and software that I use to make my writing life on-line as efficient as possible. I want to enjoy my time on-line (and I do) but at the same time I don't want to waste manuscript writing time.

So welcome to PostCron. PostCron is a web application that allows you to schedule Facebook Posts. I find this useful because I often find things I want to post when I am researching or just checking my Google Reader feed but I don't want to interrupt my workflow to post them. I don't want to forget them either. I also want to post them when my friends and colleagues are most likely to be on-line.

So if I find something interesting on the web that I want to share on Facebook I immediately set up a PostCron entry. I keep the URL on my Favourites bar so the whole process takes a few minutes.

The URL for Postcron is postcron.com. I login with facebook which means some details look after themselves. I choose the free version. It has everything I need.

The post screen is set up very similar to a Facebook post. Nothing new to learn here! Text, pictures and links are entered the same way. The only difference is you have a choice of your Facebook Pages or your Profile Wall as the post destination. You can post to more than one destination concurrently. In this screen I have selected my Sandy Fussell Author Page.

After entering the text and attaching an image ot link, the post will be previewed.

 

 

 

Press Schedule to set a date and time to schedule the post. Set and forget.

Sometimes my screen seems to hang but I just press F5 to redisplay and everything is as it should be. You can schedule multiple posts to different pages and to your profile wall. The free version has a limit of ten posts pending. Pending post are stored in tabs based on posting destination. Select the tab to see the scheduling details.



 

 

If for some reason a post fails, you get an email message and can reschedule or post manually.

 

Too easy! If you found this useful leave me a comment and I'll share some more suggestions.

My Favourite Blog Posts - Words to make sense of myself and the wonderful world we live in... Walk A Book Blog - Michael Earp

I love words. I love them by themselves (how great is snizzle - a drizzle of snow) but I love them even more when they are strung together to create beautiful images, amazing action or gut-wrenching feelings. They transport me. They get in my eyes and my ears with a wonderful euphoria of drowning in someone else's vision. And often they make me wishful and wish I was the one who wrote them.

I am avid reader of blogs and collector of quotes. Imagine my excitement to find a blog post full of word images, drawn from many of my favourite books. It's one of my all time favourite blog posts. It lives on the Walk A-Books blog and you can find it here.

 

It's written by Michael Earp who blogs as The Little Elfman and you can find him here.

 

And now for a sample:

 

In a way I’m addicted to the way words have power over us.

She liked the word ineffable because it meant a feeling so big or vast that it could not be expressed in words. And yet, because it could not be expressed in words, people had invented a word to express it, and that made Liesl feel hopeful, somehow. – Liesl & Po, Lauren Oliver   <<<...read more...>>>

Book Stuff - My Brother Simple

It's not often I pick up a book for review and go straight from the blurb on the back to the first page and then spend the rest of the afternoon reading. It takes a strong hook to distract me from the work I really should be doing.

This is one of these books that reaches out to touch the reader in an almost physical way - it made me cry and I am still thinking about it a week later.

My Brother Simple by Marie-Aude Murail – Bloomsbury. Children, Young Adult. Paperback RRP $15.99

Isabelle was amazed when she saw the two brothers walk in. They were alike but the younger one looked older. He had brooding eyes fed by some internal fire, while the other one had eyes so clear they looked like windows open to the sky. You almost expected to see swallows flitting across them.

This is the story of two brothers, Kleber and Simple (whose real name is Barnaby). Simple has severe learning difficulties and their father, in the early stages of a new relationship, wants to put him in an institution. Kleber loves his brother and can’t bear to think of that. So even though he is still in the last year of high school, he takes Simple and the money his mother left them when she died, and moves out.

But finding somewhere to rent with a brother like Simple is not easy. People are nervous, distrustful, cruel and even frightened. When he finally finds a flat-share, nothing turns out as planned. In the beginning Simple was the problem but as time goes by, he is in turn, the solution to each flatmate’s problem.

Simple is quick to admit he is an i-di-ot but character is measured in different ways. His brain might be small but his heart is huge. He changes the lives of everyone he touches. In the end, it is through Simple that Kleber, who was willing to sacrifice so much, is rewarded with exactly what he always wanted.

This is a gentle story, poignant and filled with beautiful images. A coming of age tale with the most unlikely of heroes.

Booking with Berry PS

Family illness has seen me less able to get out and about lately. But that hasn't stopped wonderful experiences and opportunities finding me. Last year I was a speaker at the Illawarra Australian Literacy Educators Association Professional Development Day. Prior to the day of the event I was introduced by email to Jan Turbill, a past ALEA president and university researcher, and the author of a number of literacy texts.


Towards a Reading-Writing Classroom - Andrea Butler & Jan Turbill

Jan is an inspiring woman - a life-long literary educator and book lover. She was working at Berry Public School as a 'critical friend' - sharing her love of literature and teaching students to read and write critically. She established a book club to encourage reading - and their very first book - was Samurai Kids: White Crane. It was then decided that the same text could be used to demonstrate the characteristics of effective and engaging narrative. It was decided to focus the club's attention on the reading-writing connections and demonstrate how ‘children must read like a writer, in order to learn to write like a writer’.

 Jan told me: I could see wonderful opportunities to make explicit how you chose language to bring the characters to life - how the theme (or themes) are carried through the story and so on. Now these kids are avid readers but not necessarily writers and it is my belief and now experience that avid readers can be avid writers and learn many 'tools' for writing that they can use for all genres. So I suggested to the Principal and the teacher working with me  that I have a day in Term 4 where we think about White Crane from the perspective of the author - and they have a go at writing as you have (the term I use is 'text as mentor' and living in the shoes of the author').

She had a different approach to the literature circles I was familiar with. The school wanted to see its avid readers be similary excited about writing. Jan has a favourite quote which she shared with me, a quote which helped shape her approach:

‘The author becomes an unwitting collaborator [teacher]. … Bit by bit, one thing at a time, but enormous amounts of things over the passage of time, the learner learns, through reading like a writer, to write like a writer,’  (Frank smith)

She asked if I would like to speak to the Book Club, talk to them about the writing the book, listen to them read their written pieces and answer some questions. Would I ever! It was a lot of fun doing this over Skype. I thought it would also be a good ideas if I provided some formal feedback and I looked at each piece identifying what worked well and two things which could be improved.

Earlier this year I had the privilege of participating when Jan presented a session on her work at Berry PS at the National ALEA Conference in Sydney. It was inspiring to see such tangible results and to know I played a part in them. This year there is a new Book Club of would-be writers and I am looking forward to doing the whole process again!

Ssanne Gervay, AJ Betts and me - ALEA 2012

National Book Shop Day

I'm over a week behind with this post but it's never too late to celebrate National Bookshop Day. Last Saturday I was invited to Pages and Pages at Mosman to join other children's and YA authors in store.

And what a store! All the wonderful things I had heard were true. Almost like two shops in one - and one whole shop wholly dedicated to book for young readers. There is no brighter, more imaginative enticing world than a book store like this. I arrived early and left late, like the party guest who stays too long, I didn't want to go home. I wanted to keep talking books and making origami bookmarks and samurai with the enthusiastic kids who came in.

It was such a treat to browse the shelves. I miss that. I am often heard bemoaning the fact that I live in the third largest city in NSW and we don' have a bookstore. We have a University, an Art Gallery, a Performing Arts Centre and an Entertainment Centre. The only bookshop is in the Uni, too difficult to drop in to, with no parking nearby. It's certainly not as much fun book shopping on-line.

But on National Book Shop Day ... I arrived home to find an email telling me Dymocks was opening a store in Wollongong again.

What a day! What better way to celebrate bookshops!

Book Week 2012

My feet are tired. My voice is almost non-existent. But I've been smiling to myself all night. Book Week is the most wonderful time to be a children's author.

I spent my second day at Marrickville Library. I've never been to Marrickville before but the library is the place to go. Chelsea does a great job with the books and the local schools. I could have talked to her all day (so she was probably glad when the kids turned up and she could escape!).

One of my very first Book Week experience was a CBCA Schools lunch on a harbour ferry. I was lucky enough to sit with Shore librarian Margo Pickering and the libabry monitors. This year I got a chance to catch up again. The boys at Shore had been using White Crane in the classroom so the questions there were quite in depth.

Today I arrived early at Scots College to sit in the sun and watch the Book Parade - cats in hats, buzz lightyear, a zombie ninja and a Harry Potter or two. I couldn't find the librarian but Tin-tin turned up to rescue me (Hi James!)

You know you're in trouble when during question time, a Year 5 pulls your book from under his jacket, flips it open and says "Now, here on page 122 ..."

These kids make what I am doing lots of fun and they remind me that what I am doing is important - meeting a real author makes reading and writing more accessible. I feel spoiledby their enthusiasm for my stories. And that's before I even mention the chocolates...

First Day of Book Week

I love Book Week when schools turn their focus to celebrating books. Even in this National Year of Reading, Book Week remains a highlight, expecially for primary and younger readers. And their authors. Like me.

I spent the first day of Book Week at Moriah College in Bondi Junction. Wonderful school. Wonderful kids.

The day had an unusual start. Moriah College is a security-gated campus and the security guard wasn't quite sure what to make of an author toting a wooden practice sword. "Is it a weapon?" he asked. "It's a bokken. It's used for weapons practice but I use it as a prop for my talk," I explained. "I think we need to show this to the principal," he said.

Source: Moriah College Website

The great Japanese 17th century samurai Miyamoto Musashi wielded his bokken as a formidable weapon but in my hands it really is just a big stick. The principal had no concerns and the business of books began.

The kids laughed. I laughed. Great fun was had and excellent questions were raised. After I explained that Samurai Kids began as a stand-alone book and almost book-by-book evolved into a series, one boy asked: Wasn't that hard to do? When you write a series you need to have a problem at the start that isn't resolved until the end." Spot on! When a second book was mooted I had to search through White Crane looking for a thread I could weave through the subsequent books.

Luckily, I found one waiting for me! The teacher, Sensei Ki-Yaga is an ancient and eccentric, very wise man. A retired samurai warrior of once legendary fame. An almost magical figure - some people think he is a wizard. But I didn't want him to be too perfect so I told how the old women of the village muttered he might be Tengu - a samurai forced at night to assume the guise of a goblin mountain spirit until a terrible past misdeed was redeemed.

The greatest challenge in writing Samuari Kids has been taking this small thread and helping it grow and strengthen as it weaves through the books that followed. And I also had to answer the difficult question I had never intended to address - what could such a good man have once done that was so terrible. I think I have succeeded in pulling the thread tight. I get lots of emails asking me to reveal Sensei's secret.

Just before I left the college, the librarian (hello Chelsea) showed me a photo of one of the boys, listening to me talk. He looked enthralled. I felt thrilled to be able to connect like that, even more so when she said he was a student who was usually not interested in anything about books or reading.

Did I mention I love Book Week?

Out and About

Its been a busy last last three months. These are the places I went and the things I did:



Iam McLean and me

Maitland and Newcastle Teacher Librarians and educators (MANTLE) conference - I gave two presentations - one about fantasy and historical fiction and the other about social media - and its use in schools and libraries. I loved doing the research for the latter and found as I was making suggestions - there were many things I didn't get right myself! My references and resources are on my Mantle Pinterest Board. The conference was excellent, the food was wonderful and it was good to catch with illustrator extroadinaire Sarah Davis and Ian McLean, the very deserving winner of the 2012 John H Lee Memorial Award for “excellence in leadership in innovative and collaborative teaching practice through the integration of learning technologies”.

Sally Murphy and me

At SCBWI I did no work but learned a lot, caught up with heaps of writerly friends and had a very positive assessment of my YA work in progress by Jill Corcoran from the Herman Agency New York.

I visited five wonderful schools to talk about reading and writing in the National Year of Reading - Helensburgh Public School, Bellambi Public School, Thirroul Public School, Bulli Public School and West Wollongong Public School.

Suzanne Gervay, me and A J Betts

I was involved in a project at Berry Public School and the subsequent presentation at the Australian Literary Educators National  Conference in Sydney. More about that in a later post. I was lucky to sit on a few sessions and excited to hear Catherine Beavis frim Griffith University speak talk about gaming in literacy - a subject of great interest to me. Also at the Conference were Mem Fox, Jackie French, Libby Gleeson, Suzanne Gervay and A J Betts with a big smile on her face (see below - no doubt becuase the next fews days were to see the announcement of her receiving the Text Pubishing Prize for Zac and Mia!

The Ripple Effect

Still on the subject of ripples, here's a video.


There's a scientific explanation (of course) but I prefer the concept: The ripple effect is a term used to describe a situation where, like the ever expanding ripples across water when an object is dropped into it, an effect from an initial state can be followed outwards incrementally.

Drop a pebble in a still pond and watch the ripple travel out in an ever expanding ring The Ripple Effect is rooted in the belief that all we are all connected by our shared Humanity.

Nevada Young Readers Award

The best thing about writing for kids is feedback from young readers. Kids know how to make an author feel like they have written the most wonderful book in the world.

I love to hear that kids are enjoying my books so I am particulary thrilled to learn Samurai Kids: White Crane has been shortlisted for a kid's choice award in Nevada US. It is one of five titles nominated by children for the Nevada Young Readers Award  in 2013.