Something different - an exciting writing challenge working with theatre-in-education specialist Therase Neve of Blue Whale Theatre.
Therase recently engaged me to write lyrics for a song for one of her early years shows, 'Staying healthy with Sailor Sam.'  Blue Whale Theatre was established by actor and theatre in education specialist Therase Neve, to provide exciting and engaging dramatic experiences for children in Early Years and Primary schools. Therase has written and developed six shows - four early years, and two specialist plays, 'A Bright Light in the Darkness’, telling the story of Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy, and 'Mary - A Story of Courage', the story of Saint Mary MacKillop.
Therase is proud to be touring these shows to schools both here and in New Zealand with her very talented cast!

Sam loves to eat 5 fruit and veg a day, and exercises every day to keep both mind and body happy and healthy! Children help Sailor Sam recognise ‘good foods’ from ‘not so good foods’ , learn about sun safety and dental hygiene, and join in with our jolly song to climb the riggings, scrub the decks, and hoist the flags on this fun interactive, sailing adventure!

I also had fun creating Blue Whale Theatre's website videos via my 'real job' with Thaumaturgy Post Production.
Thanks Therase for this wonderful opportunity.
The tune will be stuck in my head for a long time!

Since discovering the Creative Kids Tales Festival in 2018, I couldn't wait to attend this year. The theme was INVEST, and organiser Georgie Donaghey did an amazing job lining up our speakers, Jacqueline Harvey, Deb Abela, illustrators favourite Emma Quay and keynote speaker Jackie French AM.  As expected, as soon as I lined up at the registration desk, the excitement was palpable. Friends greeted friends, new members were quickly embraced and conversations flew about manuscript assessment nerves.
 
Georgie kicked off the proceedings with a welcome before handing over to Jackie French for her presentation, 'How to begin the journey, how to keep going, and how to be an overnight success in a decade, (subtitled, 'or what the publishers probably won't tell you').  An immediate hush fell on the room as Jackie started with a surprising analogy - we are all cows. She described the process of getting published, starting with writers producing 'hopefully superior' milk, then passing it over to the editors, illustrators and publishers to turn it into a gourmet cheese. Her point on impressing people with your book cover in just seven seconds, really hit home to me. I hadn't really thought about it, but yes, when I'm browsing I choose firstly by the cover, then the blurb and if still curious, a quick flick inside to see whether the style of writing is appealing will have me putting it back on the shelf or in my shopping basket in approximately seven seconds. Scary. Jackie went on to talk about being ruthless in your editing, using imagery sparingly and finished on an inspiring and (for me) tear inducing speech about how we - just simple authors and illustrators like us, can shape the future for our kids.  Luckily it was then time for the British remedy for all things emotional  - a cup of tea :)

Whilst others browsed the book stall, I headed to a manuscript assessment with Sue Whiting. I had seen Sue speak at last years festival, and sought out her books in the months afterwards. I had also attended one of her picture book courses in Newcastle, but this was the first time I had really had an opportunity to speak with her directly. Sue, true to the word impressed upon me by everyone who has met her, was absolutely lovely. She took me through my manuscript explaining what worked and what didn't, and was even kind enough to allow me to accost her later that day for clarification on something I hadn't quite taken in at the time in all the excitement. Overall, I was on a high walking away with my pencil comments from the  'not sure why's and 'less is more's' to 'A compelling start. Congratulations!'

Taking a quiet moment to let this sink in, and realising that now I had better get down and do the work of writing more chapters, I went back to catch the end of Emma Quay's presentation,' Giving Voice, Then Keeping Quiet: the art of making children's picture books.. and letting them go.' 
Emma, like me, grew up in the U.K, and in a brief online chat on the CKT facebook page, I was delighted to learn that she had actually studied Graphic Design in my home town at Newcastle upon Tyne Polytechnic.  Emma's work is featured globally and includes a collection held in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Emma showed us some of her illustrations from her new book 'My Sunbeam Baby', and talked about her passion for creation. She highlighted the importance of accepting that not everyone will like your work, before sharing some hilarious reviews for her award winning picture book, 'Rudie Nudie', including 'The illustrations are lousy because they lacked effort and detail. There was very little colour and the lines don't contain it.' and '… Rudie Nudie is an ok book, give it a go but don't expect much because it's boring, with average illustrations and story.'

Our final speaker of the day Deborah Abela, lifted our spirits with her amusing and inspiring talk titled,
'Hard, painful, brilliant and intoxicating: why, how, and what you need to invest in to be a successful writer.' quoting George Orwell (see final image), and reminding me of the statement made by author's agent Brian Cook, on a panel discussion I once produced,along the lines of  'Writers are cursed. They' re driven….once you're driven like that there's nothing else you can do -you have to write.'
 
Deb went on to share her main ingredients of story: character, setting and problems, explaining that it is our job to make it hard for our characters to get what they truly want, immerse yourself in your setting (another validation for my picture pin board!), and identify the thing that drives the story forward - what makes the reader want to turn the page? She also shared her drafting process and gave us some
recommended reading: 'The Mindful Writer' by Dinty W Moore and 'On Writing' by Stephen King.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed watching Deb's video where she shares her journey researching her new book,
'Teresa A New Australian', which tells the story of a young girl and her family who survive the bombing of Malta during WW2, before migrating to Australia to start a new life.

During her talk, Deb had shared the ups and downs, citing her disappointment that her 'Ghost Club' books hadn't done as well as she had hoped. I later contacted Deb to let her know that my daughter had chosen Ghost club as her book of choice for her school task to redesign a cover for her favourite book. So it wasn't a flop by any means Deb!

After a much needed second cuppa with some of Georgie's cake, we launched into the publishers panel and Pitch Ya Book session.  This was a fascinating insight into the decisions made and the do's and don'ts, with some good laughs and an opportunity to have questions answered. Desperately hoping to have my name pulled out of the pitching hat,(which it sadly didn't)  I watched on as several brave and nervous authors rose to pitch their book to the assembled panel.

The room cheered as author Serge Smagarinsky won a request to submit his manuscript for consideration by Omnibus (Scholastic).

And that was the high we finished on. The day had flown, a wealth of information imparted, and we went home with hopes, dreams….and a lot of work to do.
 
Thanks go to Georgie Donaghey and her family, Susan Hili our critique group manager, speakers, and publishers for yet another highlight event for the future of children's literature.
 

The start of 2019 has been uplifting and affirming.  Most of my writing time was dedicated to preparing three manuscripts. I polished and polished and polished the first two chapters of a novel to be assessed by Sue Whiting, author, editor and everything books, at the Creative Kids Tales festival in April, and two picture book texts to be assessed by Cristina Pase, commissioning editor at Windy Hollow Books, at KidLit Vic in May.
 
I started February attending a book launch at The Children's Bookshop in Beecroft. It was boiling hot in the packed room, and my view was obscured by a Giant Koala (how did you survive in that hot costume?!) but it was so inspiring chatting to the authors afterwards.
 
I then attended a SCBWI masterclass with Diane Evans and Allison Paterson of Big Sky Publishing at the wonderful State Library of New South Wales. Of the many topics covered, those of particular interest to me (in relation to my work-in-progress novel) were 'weaving history, powerful messages and important events into entertaining and informative novels', and 'can you link your work to the national curriculum?', which I had never really explored. I also got the pleasure of finally meeting my year long critique partner David, who travelled from Adelaide!

March brought two family birthdays - a growing-up -too-fast 8 and a special 13 - number two teenager in the house! It also brought an exciting opportunity to visit Angophora House Education Learning Hub, a fantastic new initiative set up right here on the Central Coast, by Jacqui Barton, former education manager at Harper Collins. I was thrilled to meet Yvette Poshoglian, best known for  'Ella and Olivia',  and Tania McCartney, prolific author, illustrator and podcaster, with her gorgeous new picture book 'Mamie' , about the creator of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, May Gibbs.
The afternoon was presented by one of my favourite amazing ladies, Susanne Gervay OAM, (is there anywhere Susanne isn't? I think she must own a time-turner), and the wonderful Jacqui herself. The enthusiasm of everyone in the room was clear and some wonderful connections were made. 
 
One of those connections was Alison, manager of Bookface . Alison was very happy to let me do a photoshoot in her store at Erina. It was great fun, and the resulting images are displayed throughout the site. Thanks Alison, my talented friend Lee Hanly ,and my wonderful photographer Tanya Stokes!
 
The end of March brought a wonderful surprise and a confirmation to myself that all the passion and hours put in are paying off. I received news that I had been long-listed in the Greenleaf Blossoms Competition! Sadly I didn't make the shortlist (congratulations to those who did!), but it proved I'm on the right track and with more work, more self-learning and more skill, my goals are realistic.
 
This weekend brings my second Creative Kids Tales Festival, where I've been given the opportunity by organiser and author Georgie Donaghey, to speak briefly on the benefits of joining a critique group. The theme is INVEST - something I've consciously worked towards over the last three years. I'll be taking my snazzy business cards, designed by the awesome Max Hamilton, who I met this time last year at the inaugural CKT festival.

It's going to be an amazing day  - stay tuned for how it went