Hey cHEwY gum gums!
My travel days are pretty much over, bar a school visit here or there in Sydney. But ‘book term’ is coming to an end and I’m thankful for some rest and a chance to get some writing done over the holidays. I’m working on the new version of Nothing’s Prefect, set in a primary school this time. So I’m poring over the high school edition of this story and seeing what parts can stay. The core of the story remains the same but Scott as a year 5 kid is making me change the story in all new directions, and most of them lead to funny stuff hehe.
Going back to Brisbane Writers Festival, I had a chance to hear Matthew Reilly’s opening address. I heard him speak back in 2007 when I was just starting out as a writer (and got Hovercar Racer signed). Just to see how far he’s come has been very encouraging. This guy is a legend when it comes to action thrillers and his latest book, the tourament seems to buck the trend (though I could be wrong when I get to read this book)
But his message of writing books because you love it remains a huge belief for me. Write what you love!
I also got to meet the crazy rich asian, Kevin Kwon. Okay, so I don’t know if he’s rich but he wrote the book that inspired the title of our panel and it was a great opportunity to explore asian stereotypes. After hearing Benjamin Law speak about this in Perth back in April, this was another insight into how writing about asians kinda reinforces the stereotypes but also breaks out of them as well. I know my asian jokes work because they’re slightly racist and wrong but also because it gets people to connect with the stereotypes and get them (hopefully) to break out of them.
But yeah, Crazy Rich Asians is my fave book of the year and Kevin’s writing a sequel so I’m double pumped.
I’m getting married at the end of this year, so the next few months of quietness will be a blessing for me. But I’ll still be churning out Nothing’s Prefect AND a book in a new boys series coming out next year (more on this later). Because I can’t stop writing and I may have 2 or more books coming out next year, hey? Who knows but fingers crossed you’ll be able to read Bookish quite soon!
O.W
