So pleased to see my interview with Elisabeth Storrs of the Historical Novels Society of Australia in the latest issue of the Historical Novels Review, in which I talk about the ‘tyranny of distance’ when it came to living in Australia while researching and writing this medieval crime series (originally published as the Janna Mysteries.)…
… it’s hard to keep count! I spent a lovely morning yesterday with students from Mackillop Catholic College Warnervale up at the Quarantine Station as we followed in the footsteps of the characters in my novel Ghost Boy while at the same time students learned something of the history of the QS, and its dark…
I’m looking forward to talking at the English Teachers’ Association Annual Conference ‘To unpathed waters and undreamed shores’ next month on the topic of ‘Inspiring Students to Tell Their Stories’ – which will involve looking at where to find ideas for stories, and also the ‘building blocks’ of story telling. And my challenge to you is:…
Last week I joined fund-raiser Natasha Cannon and her team to raise funds for the Children’s Cancer Institute as part of the ‘Dare the Boss’ campaign, and we had a really spooky evening at the QS in Manly. We were joined by film-maker Bianca Biasi and her team who are involved in recreating my novel…
After writing Ghost Boy which has a flash back to an outbreak of smallpox at the Quarantine Station in Manly in 1881, I’ve always wanted to stay overnight at the QS to see if I was able to witness any ghostly sightings. There is a definite atmosphere there, and guides are convinced the site is…
It was such a pleasure to meet secondary teachers/librarians from the Diocese of Broken Bay at St Leo’s in Wahroonga earlier this week, and my thanks to Bronwyn Sandeman for inviting me along as guest speaker. I gave the group various writing tips for students while talking about how they inspired some of my own…
Such a happy day yesterday at ‘Hogwart’s Castle’ – the wonderful St Patrick’s seminary turned Hotel School at North Head in Manly which really is a ‘castle’, and many thanks to Belinda Murrell and CBCA north for organising lunch with authors, illustrators, teachers, librarians and a HUGE bunch of very excited students. It’s such a great…
My thanks to Mackillop Catholic College Warnervale for hosting my author visit yesterday, and to Bronwyn Sandeman for inviting me – and to all the staff for making me so welcome. It was lovely to meet so many students, to have the opportunity to talk about books and the craft of writing, and have the…
I so enjoyed my visit to Oatley West P/S on Wednesday. The teacher/librarians made me most welcome and the students were a delight: asking lots of questions and really getting into water dragons, little penguins, ghosts and other topics covered in my books. And I’m hoping they’ll produce some terrific stories after looking at all…
Although I’m not writing anything at present, this last month has been really busy with writing-related activities, especially with CBCA Book Week coming up in August. Amongst other things I prepared and presented a workshop at this month’s Society of Women Writers NSW meeting on using settings not only to set the scene but also…