WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH PEARLIE
‘Meet Pearlie’ (book 1) and ‘Pearlie’s Pet Rescue‘ (book 2) have already been published and are available in the bookshops.
I have just finished the final edits for book 3 ‘Pearlie the Spy‘ and am now working on the fourth and final book which is called ‘Pearlie’s Ghost‘. I do love ghost stories.
As yet a cover hasn’t been designed for it. But it will come soon. One of the joys of being an author is seeing the cover of a book for the first time.
NEW AWARDS
In other news, I was very pleased to learn that ‘The Wishbird’ has been named a Notable book in the 2014 Children’s Book Council of the Year Awards Younger Readers Category, and has also been shortlisted for the Crystal Kite Award.
UPCOMING ASIAN FESTIVAL
At the end of May I’m off to Singapore to attend the AFCC (Asian Festival of Children’s Content). The panels I’ll be speaking on are:
Writing About Different Cultures,
An Appetite for Series: Feeding off the Readers Hunger,
The Vast Spread of the Sea: Asian Diaspora Writers and their Works,
I will also have my own session talking about:
Using Asian Myth, Magic, and Imagination in Children’s Fiction
Other Australian children’s authors and illustrators attending are: Jen Storer, Frane Lessac, Mark Greenwood and Cristy Burne.
One of the joys of being an author is attending literature festivals such as this one. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet my readers, introduce my books to new readers and to connect with other authors and illustrators from around the world.
I am very much looking forward to this.
LIFE AFTER PEARLIE
As I come to the end of writing the Pearlie books, I am now thinking about my next project or rather projects.
I have three books that I would like to work on.
One is a picture book, that I also hope to illustrate, if I have the time.
The other two are novels.
Novel 1 is inspired by a painting I did last year of a girl riding a tiger. I see it set in the jungles of Sri Lanka.
Novel 2 is one that I am co-writing with another author, but I can’t reveal who that is just yet. We are very excited about this story, letting it unfold through letters.
I am loving this process, using snail mail not email.
Everyday when I open the letter box and peek inside, I am hoping there is a letter from the other character in the story.
It takes me back to the time when I was a young girl, when the postman rode a red bicycle and blew a whistle. He had a round, smiley face with a small brown moustache.
I remember one time he delivered a special parcel that had come all the way from South Africa. My best friend, Hilary Briggs went to live there with her family.
What was in the parcel?
The most beautiful shiny penknife I ever saw. It had a silver blade with a tartan patterned handle. It also came with a leather sheath so I could wear it on my belt.
I never saw Hilary again, but her gift was one treasure I will never forget.
Writing for children is remembering the treasures, connecting to that precious child that lies in all of us. It is remembering the good things and the bad, making them come alive.
