I needed to make several research trips to the UK while writing my medieval crime series, The Janna Mysteries, so that I could walk in my character’s footsteps and see what she would have seen (and also try to visualise some of it from the ruins of castles and abbeys.) I walked for miles, armed…
And what a star-studded event it was, with the zany Oliver Phommenvanh as host along with the wonderful library staff who contributed so much to the success of the event. Antonette had the audience playing dress ups and adding appropriate sounds to her Demi Chat mystery; Mark Thommason illustrated perspective with pieces of string (now…
Tuesday 10th July at 10 a.m. at Warringah Mall Library on the Northern Beaches, Sydney – please drop in to the library for morning tea with Oliver Phommavanh, Toni Brisland, Mark Thommason and me, talking about our books and answering questions about reading, researching and writing! I’ll be talking about Ghost Boy, Wally the Water…
In Praise of Teachers: One of the regrets of my life is my lack of appreciation of the teachers who (as it turned out) have moulded my journey through life. By the time I came to an awareness of their influence, it was too late to repay that debt of gratitude. And so I dedicate…
Love the new graphics on my blog site! Thank you Jason (and cube web solutions!) A great get together of children’s authors this week over dinner at a local Thai restaurant, but with the sad task of saying farewell to the very gifted and innovative Karen Robertson (of Treasure Kai fame), who is going back…
Great to read Tony Abbott’s spirited endorsement of books and reading in his article ‘Books shape ideals, dreams’ in today’s (Wed) Australian, page 12. It’s encouraging to know that the Leader of the Opposition believes that ‘the book symbolises our aspirations to learn, to teach and to understand. I salute the book, without which a…
This article has now been published in Write4Children, the journal of the University of Winchester, see link: www.write4children.org and click on Vol 3 Issue 2. I spent some time in Winchester while researching and writing The Janna Mysteries, and I loved my visits there, walking in Janna’s footsteps. In those times (1140s) the royal treasury…
Today I’m talking to the Society of Women Writers (Sydney) about my experience with publishing The Janna Mysteries online with CreateSpace in the USA – a LOT of information to cram in! Bottom line: so far as the Janna Mysteries are concerned, most of my book sales (on amazon) come from paperbacks rather than e-books,…
Today I joined an engineer and a rep from NPWS to meet with architectural students at UNSW to see their brilliant (computer) presentations on a variety of sites connected with the fort at Middle Harbour which is undergoing renovations. Through a variety of programmes, the students presented detailed plans of the sites as they are, along…
Yesterday I met with the wonderful penguin protectors along with reps from NPWS and the Manly Environment Centre to talk about the book I’ve been commissioned to write on Manly’s fairy penguin colony. I am so impressed by the knowledge and care for the penguins shown by everyone associated with this project. And I am…