Some things get easier the more you do it. Writing novels isn’t one of them. Not for me anyway. However…somehow it gets done. Dragonkeeper 4 is finished. It has a title. And the most gorgeous cover. It is called Blood Brothers. I’ll get one last look at it in the new year before it goes … Continued
So what does a writer do when they have a tight deadline and a book due by Christmas? They take the afternoon off and make Christmas puddings, of course! Lili and I make puddings every year. It’s fun. I do the weighing, Lili likes to do the mixing…with her hands. It’s very gooey. Unfortunately, while … Continued
Last Saturday was Moving Planet day, an international day of action in support of renewable energy. Events were held in 175 countries. Here in Melbourne people got together to make a human sign of someone riding a bike. I am sitting near the knee. The event was coordinated by 350.org a group dedicated to spreading … Continued
Most of the time a writer just sits in a room and doesn’t talk to anyone, but there are certain times of the year when that all changes. Like now. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve spoken to hundreds of people. First it was Childrens Book Week, then Melbourne Writers Festival and Ballarat Writers … Continued
For those who were at my Melbourne Writers Festival Walking with Dragons session this morning. Here is a link to the map of dragon locations. A plan of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and where to find the dragons is here.
Lili doesn’t live far away. If I want to talk to her, I could nip over to her place in 10 minutes. She could call me on the phone if she wants to speak to me. But when we are working, we tend to communicate using Skype. Not by face to face video, just typing. … Continued
I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I’ve finished the zero draft* of my book. There’s still a lot of work to do, but the worst is over. I think of this early complete draft as being like a pencil sketch for a painting. Now, I know what the story is … Continued
If there’s one thing I love it’s a pop-up dragon book. I have a small collection of about four of them. My daughter Lili just bought me another one for my birthday. It’s called Dragons and Monsters and it definitely contains the best pop-up dragons I’ve ever seen. The paper engineering is done by Robert … Continued
Last week I received an envelope full of letters from students who had read my book Dragonkeeper. This wasn’t unusual in itself. From time to time, I get letters from kids who have read the book as a class, or whose teacher has read it to them. This collection of letters was different, because it … Continued
I went to the Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs Exhibition at the Melbourne Museum last week. I always love to see artifacts up close. Tutankhamun is from the 18th Dynasty of ancient Egypt, the same as Prince Ramose, the main character from my Ramose books. In fact, Ramose was Tutankhamun’s great-great-great-great uncle. Even … Continued