Leo da Vinci Vs The Ice-cream Domination League
And here it is, the cover for my next book, a zany fun adventure for younger readers. In a world very much like ours, 10 year old Leo da Vinci is an inventor, artist, dreamer, and dedicated fighter against supervillains … And don’t I just love Jules Faber’s illustration? Outrageously...
Autumn
Keats said it, and said it best. Autumn is the ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’. I love the cool, dewy mornings. I love the way the hot air balloons arrive, happy in the calmer, cooler skies. I love the long, blue afternoons that fade into drowsy dusk. I love...
A New Series!
Leo da Vinci. Artist. Scientist. Inventor. Dreamer. Ten year old fighter against supervillains. As promised, it’s time to reveal some details of my new writing project. This is another departure from my writing for Young Adults, and I’m fairly and squarely writing for primary school readers this time with...
What Our Politicians Read On Holidays
It’s that time of the year again, when our elected representatives head off on holidays and newspapers are groping for copy. The result is the standard ‘What are our politicians’ holiday reads?’ where our pollies nominate the books they just haven’t had time to get to during the year. The...
Ask the Professor
Recently, I was cleaning out an old relative’s garage and I came across bundles of ancient magazines. One such stack was devoted to an obscure journal called The Australasian Sophist. Among articles about bush ballads, inland explorers and rough-hewn heroes of the past was a recurring column of surprising...
NaNoDoMo
The Centre for Youth Literature is helping out all you dedicated NaNoWriMoers out there. As part of this support program, I’m going to be ensconced in the grand dome of the State Library of Victoria this Saturday 22 November, doing my own writing (as a model!) and offering suggestions, strategies...
Laws of Magic Audiobooks!
At last – The Laws of Magic is now appearing as audiobooks! The fine people at Audible are turning the adventures of Aubrey, George, Caroline and Sophie into quality audio texts. The first to be released is Word of Honour and the books will be read by the very talented...
Strawberry Jam
With plenty of good, flavoursome strawberries available at this time of year, whipping up a batch of strawberry jam is fun thing to do. Not only for personal consumption (ahem) but a jar of hand-made jam is a lovely present in the festive season. I make a number of...
From the Work in Progress
Here’s a sneak peek at something I’m working on right now. Dad put both hands flat on the table in front of him and stared at them. ‘You need to shoot your own dog.’ ‘What? Where did that come from? Is this non sequitur week? ‘I can’t let you...
Let Them Catch You Reading
Lots of experts have advice to help your children read. I have one suggestion that I’m going to offer in ten different varieties, and it’s all to do with the power of modelling. Your children observe you and are shaped by what you do and say. It’s the power...