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
I have written a guest blog for fellow writer Gabrielle Wang, who has asked a number of writers to write about where they write and how they write. So if you want to see a photo of my very messy desk, go to Gabrielle’s blog. While you are their you can see how other writers … Continued
This is an interview I did recently with author Carole Wilkinson. Me: So…you’re writing a new book. CW: Yep. Me: Going well is it? CW: Not especially. Me: Another historical novel? CW: Yes. Set in ancient China again. Me: So, you’ll be seeking out lots of information about the time when the book is set. … Continued
I’m grumpy. Most of the time I like being a writer, but sometimes it isn’t much fun. I’m having one of the “not fun” times at the moment. I’ve been stuck in my writing for weeks. Just can’t seem to get it right. It makes me very cranky, ask my husband, ask some of my … Continued
I have discovered that my YA novel Sugar Sugar has been selected for this year’s White Ravens Catalogue. What is the White Ravens Catalogue?, I hear you ask. Well, there is an institution called the International Youth Library (IYL), a collection of books housed in the Blutenburg Castle in Munich, Germany. Each hear the IYL selects a list … Continued
Guest blogging seems to be all the rage at the moment. I haven’t had time to do anything on my own blog, but I did do a guest spot on Gillian Polack’s Blog for Women’s History Month. It’s about how Sharon Penman inspired me to become a historical novelist. I sent it off to Gillian … Continued
So I’ve started writing a new novel. It’s a Dragonkeeper novel. But it doesn’t follow on from Dragon Moon. It’s set about 400 years later. This is my fifth Dragonkeeper book. I suppose I thought it might be a bit easier, fifth time round. It isn’t. I spent about two months last year working out … Continued
I have received my copies of the book I have written about the World War I Battle of Fromelles. It is part of the black dog books non-fiction series called The Drum and the book is titled Fromelles: Australia’s Bloodiest Day at War. It is about the first battle that Australians took part in on … Continued