16 May 2012 No Comments
Tomorrow morning I fly out to Adelaide to attend the Children’s Book Council of Australia National Conference. I’m really excited to be attending a conference as it has been way too many years since my last. And I’m more excited that one of the keynote speakers is Eoin Colfer, of Artemis Fowl fame. Can’t wait [...]
by in Children's books, Travel Tags: children's authors, Conferences
08 May 2012 No Comments
We have just returned from a whirlwind tour of China, from Beijing in the north to Shanghai in the south, and everywhere in between. Highlights were the amazing Terracotta Warriors, the legendary Great Wall, the spectacular Reed Flute Caves (the Chinese certainly know how to use coloured lights and effects), the Three Gorges Dam (an [...]
by in Adventures, Non-fiction, Travel Tags: amazing, creativity, e-readers, imagination, inspiration, Pictures
03 Apr 2012 No Comments
Yesterday I was privileged to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (based on the novel These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach). A group of retirees, who for a variety of reasons, can no longer afford to live in England, seeks a new life in India, at the Marigold Hotel where they believe they will live in luxury. This isn’t quite [...]
by in Adventures, Movies, Reading Tags: amazing, books and writing, children's fiction, imagination, memories
30 Mar 2012 No Comments
The National Year of Reading 2012 was launched in Canberra on 14 February and in an effort to turn Australia into a nation of readers its three goals are: For all Australians to understand the benefits of reading as a life skill and a catalyst for wellbeing. To promote a reading culture in every home. [...]
by in Ebooks, Reading Tags: books and writing, e-books, reading, time to read
16 Mar 2012 No Comments
I have just finished reading The Ghost by Robert Harris. Some of you probably saw the movie The Ghost Writer (starring Pierce Brosnan and Ewan McGregor); I unfortunately missed it. What a great story, full of intrigue and suspense. But of course it’s not truth, it’s fiction, and the writer was at liberty to embellish and exaggerate what [...]
by in Fiction, Ghost writing Tags: Authors, imagination, inspiration
05 Mar 2012 No Comments
I have long held a view on self-publishing. Today I read yet another piece about the poor quality of self-published books and I really feel I need to say something about the topic. My first children’s book The Lighthouse Secret was published by a commercial educational publisher who successfully sold the Quick Reads series (each book sold around [...]
by in Agents, Ebooks, Publishers Tags: Authors, e-books, self-publishing, writers' groups
28 Feb 2012 No Comments
What do you do when your book is out of print? Well, I could have tried to get it republished I suppose but since e-books are becoming all the rage now, why not turn it into one? So that’s what I’ve done. My collection of short stories for adults, entitled Tangled Tales, is now up [...]
by in Short stories Tags: creativity, crime, e-books, family, mystery
23 Feb 2012 No Comments
Today my first graphic novel arrived in the mail. I ordered it on-line, a tad concerned I wouldn’t enjoy it, but wanting and needing to read one. However, I have been completely blown away. Recently we saw HUGO at the movies, the wonderful story of Hugo Cabret who lived in a railway station. I so enjoyed the [...]
by in Children's books, Graphic novels Tags: Graphics, Pictures, Text
21 Feb 2012 No Comments
Don’t you just LOVE a whodunit? I’m an addict of Midsomer Murders (especially the written version by Caroline Graham), Poirot and Lewis and I just love losing myself in a good detective story. Last year I spent a few weeks in Greece, one of my favourite countries, and so when I saw The Athenian Murders, which is [...]
by in Adventures, Mystery, Reading, Whodunit Tags: imagination, inspiration, mystery, reading
09 Feb 2012 No Comments
On Thursdays I tutor at the local U3A but not in writing as you might think; I tutor in scrapbooking. Scrapbooking is another passion of mine and one I don’t spend near enough time doing … because I love writing so much. But what does scrapbooking have to do with writing? Well, in scrapbooking our writing is [...]
by in Writing Tags: creativity, family, imagination, memories