Hey hey!

I can’t believe how quickly my 2 weeks has flown in the Burrow. I’m almost halfway through the last draft of Nothing’s Prefect and it’s taken a new lease of life, my main character has respawn with new ammo and weapons (to use a gaming term).

Yesterday, I went to the Thai Literary Banquet in Norwood, delicious Thai food and a chance for me to chat to other members and supporters of the May Gibbs Trust. I also met some SCBWI and echkidna writers, the latter is a bunch of kids writers that regularly meet up.

There were also some other SA authors that I’ve met at other festivals including Rosanna Hawke and Greg Holfiend.

Today I did some talks at Norwood Library for the fabulous kids at Norwood PS. It’s always nice to have a responsive audience, and you always give a lot more when they’re having fun. I went to visit their own school library, named after May Gibbs herself. I was well supported by local and long-time children books legend Elizabeth Hutchins.

So now I’ll spend the rest of my week, trying to get as much done of my final draft of Nothing’s Prefect. I’ve got the scenes all jumbled up, cutting scenes that don’t make sense and trying to get some tension earlier in the story. I know the ending zings, it’s just the start that needs work, I got to have a hook!

O.W

Hello cHEwY gum gums

I’m here in Adelaide for the first half of my May Gibbs Fellowship. I have 2 weeks to write, write and write. And I’ll be using my time wisely for sure! Living in the burrow has done wonders for my writing already. Just to be away from the hussle of Sydney and just be a writer has been refreshing. I normally work from home anyway but not this extent.

I haven’t branched too far from Norwood’s shops and cafes. It’s kinda like Paddington in Sydney, a very nice quiet suburb that comes alive at night with its trendy bars and restaurants. Today I went to write in their cosy library. If there’s one word to describe this place, it’s cosy. I love my burrow, I spend the first 2 hours of each morning at my desk that you see, writing and planning…

It was supposed to be dedicated to Bookish, my sixth book. But I’ve got unfinished business with Nothing’s Prefect. I gave the manuscript to my agent. He calls me up, saying he’s read the first half. And he’s struggling to connect with the characters. Man, I stumbled hard, but as much as it hurt, I pushed my disappointment aside and took me his suggestions. They say that people’s advice should just be listened, not swallowed up. But I took his points, and charged myself up for another draft. So I asked Penguin for an extension, and thank God they said yes

So here we are, 3 extra weeks to nut out another draft. I began work as soon as I got off the phone with my agent. Yesterday, he calls me up again, saying that he’s read the second half-which zooms along nicely. So it’s made feel a little better, knowing that it’s just the first half that needs to zing now. I’ve gotten deeper into my main character, Scott. I wrote the story, wanting to believe in him. Now I do and I’ll convince the reader that they need to read his story.

These two weeks will be a blessing because I should walk out of here, with a solid, final draft of Nothing’s Prefect. I’m glad that I’ve been given this generous time to delve into my own world, without many distractions and few commitments, speaking of which, I have my first bookstore visit in Adelaide this Saturday.

And I’m going to the Asian Champion League match tonight, Adelaide United versus some other team…why? Because I can hehe.

O.W

Hey ya!

So I’ve just finished my final draft of Nothing’s Prefect, it’s in my agent’s hands before I send it to Penguin. It’s always a nervewhacking time when your manuscript is read by someone else…and I do like my conversations with my agent, even if it’s things that I don’t wanna hear hahaha, but it’s for my own good…

Especially when you see that it’s just part of the process…I had my book launch for Punchlines on the weekend at Childrens Bookshop in Beecroft. Paul McDonald has always been a champion for me, helping my first book get out there through his word. And he does have a lot of clout in the industry, he knows his books inside out.

So I couldn’t imagine a better place to have my fans and friends come out. My editor Heather and illustrator Evi were there to fly the flag for Penguin. A combo of high school pals, writing friends and teacher-librarians all together, it was cHEwY!

I’m off to Adelaide next month for the first half of my May Gibbs Creative Fellowship, so be prepared for lots of blogging entries as I write book number 6! Yep, that’s right.

O.W

Hey everyone

So much has happened since my last post. It’s school holidays now, so I’m working on my final draft for Nothing’s Prefect, book number five. It’s shaping up nicely and I can’t wait for Penguin to have a look into it.

Punchlines came out last month, it’s a thrill to see another cHEwY creation out on the bookshelf. It was featured in the Big Dubs catalog too!

I was chuffed to be back at my old school, Lansvale for my launch. My principal and friend said a few kind words and we even had a joke competition too! Very funny stuff.

I went to the CBCA AAA event last week. Sue Whitling gave Con-nerd a glowing recommendation, saying that it’s funny, relate-able and layered. While I didn’t make the notables or shortlist, I always see awards as a bonus. As Sonya Hartnett said in an author event last week, when you win an award, it’s not because it’s the best book, mainly because it’s the book at the right time…unless it’s a kids choice award hehe

But congrats to all the shortlisted books, I always try to read them when they come out.

School holidays means that I can relax at home and write. But I do have some holiday workshops to break up the norm. I did a talk and 2 workshops at Sutherland Library. Awesome kids, I love guys who are keen to write and talk in my workshops, makes the hour fly by!

I also went to the Westwords launch, where kids get to foster their writing skills in Western Sydney. It’s something that I wish I had when I was a kid. It’s cool to see writing in Western Sydney taken seriously. There are so many untold stories out there, and I can’t wait to read them

O.W

Hey ya!

I’m waiting at Gold Coast airport, ready to go home after a successful and fun Somerset festival. My last talk was in the marquee out the back, and if it was going to be hot and steamy, I was going to take off my shirt! I put that on Twitter and attracted some attention…well just to see if I was going to get in trouble haha…

But it was okay haha, I had a cool breeze as I had a loose last talk, it was fun and full of random choas!

After a relaxing arvo in the pool, we all went to the literary dinner. Here we are looking very nice and formal haha

The winner of the novella comp was announced…man those teen writers are just so good!!!! I mean, they are gifted and gonna go far if they keep it up. Mmmm, it gave me an idea for a story actually, about teen writers, more on that later haha

Sandy Mackinnon kept us entertained with his adventures in Europe, the accents were so funny and spot on. Classic stuff!

Neways, Somerset was paradise and I was blessed to come along…next stop is the Punchlines launch and Children Book Festival in Melbourne!

O.W

Hello there!

I’m listening to Rosanna Hawke speak, gaining some insights of her writing. It’s been a highlight to hear so many new authors (for me). I just did Slam the Mic, a poetry slam comp with co-MC GhostBoy. He is someone who’s influenced the way I do my talks, taking wacky to a new level. He’s just as random as I am!

He drove the event, and got me to perform on the piano (I can’t play) and do some other random stuff hehe. Good jokes and excellent poetry!

Yesterday, I did a talk in the great hall and it was crazy. I did some improv that was borderline wrong but extremely funny hehe. As one kid puts it, not much about books but lots about comedy. And that’s what I do best, creating choas to inspire choas on the page.

I was part of an interesting panel yesterday with Tristan Bancks, Karen Brooks and Lili Wilkinson about digital storytelling. Tristan has developed a new program called Storyboard that combines visuals and text, among other things. It’ll be free and out in April (I’ll send a link from his website soon).

I also learnt a lot from the YA writers panel, finding the voice, a strong bunch of authors including James Roy and Cath Crowley, when I hear them speak, I feel so UP (underpowered hehe), YA is something beyond me, I respect it and love the books but I could never dive deep enough to touch YA stuff.

Not long to go before the last talk in the marquee. Then it’s a relaxing arvo and dinner, more photos and goss soon!

O.W

Hey ya!

I’ve been having a blast at the Somerset Literary Festival. I really love getting to know authors, and there’s heaps of them here

Some of them I’ve met before like Leigh Hobbs and others are new, like Felice Arena, who I saw today. He’s cool and engertic, after all this time in the book business!

It’s a thrill to be among keen readers and writers today. I had a steamy talk in marquee 2, sweating like crazy, cracking jokes.

Then I went over to sign anything, books, bags and hats. Somebody even asked me to sign their shoe, weird!

I was joined by other authors like Deb Abela, here’s her latest book, Ghost Club *shameless plug* at the tables. Best part of the festival, signing away!

I’m listening to Karen Brooks right now, she’s a real inspiration and I love how she honestly reveals her writing life to her crowd.

Another cool thing was the writing wall, where a blog is hosted up on a projected screen for all to see. Anybody can contribute, and I was chuffed to see many nice things said about me

Tonight is the launch, more photos and news soon!

O.W

Hello!

Last week, I went to the first CBCA Northern Sydney Sub-branch meeting at St Keirens in Manly Vale. Our guest speaker was Wendy Blaxland, co vice president and author extraordinaire. She’s written over 100 books across a variety of genres, so I was keen to hear her speak about writing for a living.

Wendy Blaxland shared some valuable advice, which I’m passing on to all writers out there. Also, check out her fab website too.

-Have the courage to say you’re a writer. And write!

-Have an overall strategy, where would you like to be in ten years time?

-Be aware of the industry, being published could be a stroke of luck, depending on what the publisher wants.

-Have the courage to submit your work! And write some more!

-Be prepared to work hard. Writing is a lifelong apprenticeship.

-Set up routines and have mini goals.

-Be aware of the industry, grants, competitions, awards, publishers’ submission windows and pitching sessions (Allen and Unwin have Pitch in Fridays and Penguin have the first week of the month). I suggest you hunt down every publisher’s submissions page and see what they’re looking for.

-Have the courage to do some heart writing. That’s writing that doesn’t earn any money but you want to do. If you want to write a play or poem for enjoyment, then go for it. Don’t be boxed in.

I love Wendy’s theme of courage in her talk. Writing never stops feeling scary, you’ll always be vulnerable. But you can push on and take heart that many writers like Wendy still find pleasure in writing. Now that’s something to aim for in the long run!

I also have my second appearance in an anthology, Introducing Wendy is featured in Things a Map won’t show you. I’m thrilled to be part of a book that has Sonya Hartnett, James Roy and Ursula Dubosarsky, among many others

O.W

Hey hey!

The kids and parents were out in force for PWF’s family day. I love how it’s in the mix of the adult sessions too, so there were plenty of writers and fans around. I had my workshop in the morning, it was a great funny workshop where kids came up with amusing things like teddy bears with guns, you know, normal stuff hehe.

I was thrilled to see Cristy Burne speak, we go way back. Her book, Takeshita Demons won the Diverse Voices award, something that Thai-riffic! was nominated for. So I’m happy that her books have taken off too.

The talk in the arvo was a hoot, a packed tent of kids and adults were laughing at various things…some jokes for the little kids, some jokes for the mums and dads, it was a nice mix lol. One kid asked me who was going to win the Labor leadership, I said it didn’t make a difference…there you go, the only time my talks have ever gone political!

Both Con-nerd and Thai-riffic! sold out after the talk, so thanks to my MC who said that every book sold means another toy in my collection…FACT! I finished off the day with watching the 14th Tale, a wonderful one person play about an African immigrant, it’s funny and touching.

Of course, I couldn’t leave the festival without stalking Alice Pung lol, it was great to see her there

Neways, I loved Perth and can’t wait to come back

O.W

Yo Yo

I just had my first day at the Perth’s Writers Festival, the schools day before the official opening hehe. It was cool to slip into David Levithan’s session in the morning to hear him talk about editing The Hunger Games for Scholastic, as well as reading his own work including the latest, A Lover’s Dictionary. I’ve been a huge fan since his collaborations with Rachel Cohen so it was a thrill to finally meet him as an author (I saw him at the Sydney’s Writer Festival back in 2008 as an aspiring writer hehe)

My talk was the final session of the day so I also got to see James Roy and Sally Murphy do their thing. I was a little rusty for my first talk of the year but I soon dusted off the old cobwebs when I heard the laughter. It was another free for all session where crazy stuff happened, too crazy to say here lol

The weather is actually Summer here (unlike in Sydney) so I’m happy to enjoy the sunburn I mean sunshine hehe. Thank Goodness the tents were air conditioned so we were comfy inside. I couldn’t finish this post without another shameless plug for my books and also Alice Pung’s while I’m at it

O.W