Return of the Green Dog

Every now and then articles appear in the newspaper that are out of the ordinary. I like these little stories. They break us out of our traditional ways of thinking. Strange things do happen in the world. Stories like these can also be used as inspiration for a novel and they can change the way we think and see.

Nottingham England

Bob Smythe’s white terrier jumped into a bucket of green vegetable dye last week then vanished.

Smythe said police refused to believe him when he reported the missing green dog until the terrier turned up at the police station covered with the dye.

Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge

This morning all the ambassadors for the Vic Premier’s Reading Challenge, and I am one of them, were invited to the Great Hall in the National Gallery for a special presentation. The schools whose students read the most books were given a special certificate by the Premier. It was great to see so many enthusiastic readers! Well done to all who participated in the challenge and keep up the good reading!!

A Few Illustrations from A Ghost in My Suitcase

A Ghost in My Suitcase

It is a nice change from writing to be doing the illustrations for A Ghost in My Suitcase. These black and white pencil and ink drawings will be dotted throughout the text as in a previous novel of mine, The Pearl of Tiger Bay. The first illustration is Celeste’s business card. The second is of Bao Mansion, a haunted mansion in the Isle of Clouds, the third is a hu lantern, a special lantern that can guide you to the entrance to the underworld and the last illustration is one of the bridges in the Isle of Clouds.

Interview

Who were/are your writing inspirations
1. I’m inspired by Chinese philosophers like Laozi and Zhuangzi. I like to use some of their thoughts in my books. They talk about peace and harmony and going with the flow.

Where do your ideas come from for your books?
2. I write from my personal experiences because I’ve had lots adventures both really exciting ones and sad ones. An idea for a book might come from a dream as in The Garden of Empress Cassia a picture I see in my mind’s eye as in The Hidden Monastery, or a memory as in The Pearl of Tiger Bay. The rest comes from my imagination and what I observe around me.

What does your writing process involve?
3. The whole process of writing a novel from the time I have an idea until the time it is in the bookshop takes two or three years. Sometimes it can take longer than that if I come to a deadend and have to put the idea away for a while. Starting the novel is always the slowest part for me because I’m still getting to know the characters especially the main character. The main character is always a part of me. I do a lot of experimenting in the early stages and make many drafts for the first few chapters. When I write a new chapter, I like to go to a cafe with my notebook and sit in a corner drinking a chai latte. Later I come home and put the words onto my laptop.

What are some of your favourite words to use in your writing?
4. I don’t have any favorite words, but often, while I’m reading a novel, I’ll see a word that I haven’t used in my own writing before, then I will make a note of it and try and use it the next day. This is a great way to expand your vocabulary.

Who or what kind of books do you enjoy reading?
5. I enjoy all kinds of books - dramas, thrillers, detective novels, some science fiction, non-fiction.  But my favourite books are those written in a similar genre to mine - those set in the real world but have magical or supernatural elements to them.

Where’s your favourite place to read?
6. I love reading in bed, but unfortunately tend to fall asleep too soon. I’ve recently bought an ipod and listen to audiobooks. Now I read three times as many books as I did before because I listen to my ipod while I’m eating breakfast or taking my dog Saffy for a walk or sitting in the car driving somewhere. It’s great!

Who are some of your favourite book characters and why?
7. I have many favorite characters. One of them is Lyra from Northern Lights by Philip Pullman because she’s very brave. I like all the main characters from my own books too because I get to know them so well as if they are real people. And they always turn out just the way I want them to be, of course. They might start out being timid or fearful or sad, but they will always triumph in the end and become brave and contented souls who have gone on a long long journey.

What issues does your latest book deal with?
8. My latest book, The Lion Drummer, deals with breaking of tradition and aiming high. If you really want something, with determination and hard work, you are almost there.

What are you working on at the moment?
9. I’m working on four projects at the moment. A ghost story called A Ghost in my Suitcase which will be out in February 2009, a Young Adult novel called Little Paradise which will come out in 2010 and a picture story book about the origins of the Chinese zodiac. I’m trying to write an Aussie Nibble but it’s not going too smoothly so I might have to either scrap the idea or put it away for a while.

What’s your advice for budding young writers?
10. The only way to get better at anything and this doesn’t just apply to writing, is to practice very hard and very often. If you want more practical hints about writing, go to my website and click onto the page, Tips For Young Writers.

Interviewed by Natasha Boyd, Book Bonding Essendon

Dreaming Awake

It was very strange but for about a year while I was writing the first draft of my new young adult novel Little Paradise, I did not remember having one dream. As soon as I sent the manuscript off to my publishers though, that very night I began to dream again, and have done so every night since. If dreams are our unconscious thoughts rising to the surface, sorting the muddle in our heads while we sleep, then I think that my unconscious and my imagination were so busy during the day while I was writing, that there was nothing left to dream about when I went to bed. It was as if I used up all my dreaming energy while awake. Because Little Paradise is inspired by my mother’s story and the people in her life, it is very close to my heart. I found writing it both emotionally and creatively draining as some episodes were harrowing indeed and I had to decide whether to include them or not. Even though it is written as a work of fiction, much of it does come from real life and I felt like a robber stealing someone else’s life and exposing it - especially as my mother is still alive and well and I love her dearly. Writing is all about choice - what to leave in, what to leave out. Usually, the more difficult the path, the better the story. I never try and take the easy path and with this one it was a struggle all the way. I did find writing Little Paradise extremely therapeutic though, as I went deep inside my unconscious asking questions all the way. I am now doing a rewrite. There is still a lot of work to be done before it is published in 2010, and one more major moral decision to make, but at least I am dreaming in sleep…

Illustrations

Now that i’ve basically finished A Ghost in My Suitcase, I’m doing the small black and white pencil illustrations that will be inserted into the text. There will be about two illustrations per chapter and each one takes about half an hour to complete although that also depends on how complicated they are, or if I need to do any research. Even though I trained as an artist before I became an author, I certainly like writing now more than I like to draw. I guess because I don’t draw enough, I get frustrated with myself sometimes. As with everything, practice makes perfect.

Talks and Writing

It was great visiting schools for Book Week. I always enjoy meeting my readers and all the students did some wonderful writing and drawing during the sessions.

My new novel, A Ghost in My Suitcase is progressing well. I sent the second draft to my publishers on Monday which was a big improvement on the first draft. Actually, it’s not really the second draft more like the 50th, but my publishers have only seen two, as I try and make the story the best it can possibly be before I let them have a look at it. It’s about a girl called Isabelle LaClaire who learns that she has the inherited the family’s ghostcatching powers.

The Strange, the Weird and the Improbable

Every now and then articles appear in the newspaper that are out of extra ordinary. I like these little stories. They break us out of our traditional ways of thinking. Strange things do happen in the world. Stories like these can also be used as inspiration for a novel but more importantly, they can change the way we think and see.

A Diamond From Out of the Blue Moscow. A Soviet woman geologist shot a diamond out of the sky on a Siberian hunting trip. The stone, weighing almost 100 miligrams, was in a partridge she shot.

The Strange, the Weird and the Improbable

A Stowaway’s Short Trip

A thirteen year old boy wanted to see Iceland so he stowed away on a fishing trawler. Seventeen hours later the trawler moved to the next dock for repairs. The boy went home.