Dianne Wolfer on Scout and the Rescue Dogs

MEET THE AUTHOR

The cover of a children's novel: Scout and the Rescue Dogs. The cover illustration shows Scout (a girl with red hair) and six dogs of various breeds. In the background is a blue truck.

Dianne Wolfer lives on the south coast of Western Australia, but she grew up in Melbourne, Bangkok and Albury. Dianne writes picture books, novels for children and teenagers, and nonfiction for all ages. Today we’re chatting to Dianne about her latest novel Scout and the Rescue Dogs, illustrated by Tony Flowers.

The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reading copy of Scout and the Rescue Dogs.

From the publisher:

The summer holidays have finally arrived and Scout can’t wait for her adventure in the big rig with Dad. They’re on a mission to deliver donations of dog food to animal rescue shelters right across the state. But Scout and her dad get more than they’ve bargained for. It’s bushfire season – and it’s not just the dogs who need rescuing …

You have a rescue dog yourself, can you tell us a bit about Harry?

I’m always happy to talk about our beautiful rescue boy. His personality inspired aspects of a previous book, The Dog with Seven Names, and now he has inspired another!

We saw Harry on the SAFE rescue site ten years ago. He was huddled in a corner with a plastic cone around his head looking very sad and lonely. Harry was found running in the street. He’d been badly treated and was a terrified, little fellow. He had many fear triggers. When we were driving to collect him, another dog attacked Harry, so when we first met him, he had a nasty gash across his neck. We brought him home and truckloads of love soon helped him settle and trust people again. He’s had a good life since then, being walked, and spoilt. This past winter he enjoyed a road trip to Broome where he swam at the beach every day. Our grown-up kids reckon Harry is the favourite child.

Is the character Scout based on anyone you know?

No, however aspects of myself, my friends and family have found their way into the story. Like Scout, I love dogs and animals and was distressed by the impacts of the 2019/2020 bushfires on wildlife and our forests.

I’d completed a read-through draft of the story when terrible fires broke out in many of the towns Scout visits. It happened around Christmas, the same time as my novel. I had to decide whether to change my settings or include the fires. My family was impacted by ‘Black Summer’, so I did the latter. Like Scout I experienced hellish orange skies and weeks of toxic air when I stayed with my mother in Albury. My sister evacuated her home in the Snowy Mountains. Before leaving she put out dozens of water trays for the birds and insects. My cousin’s husband and daughter fought huge, horrific walls of flames at Corryong, and the truck convoy taking hay to starving cattle was inspired by true events. I grew up near Scout’s Beechworth home and swam at Woolshed Falls and Lake Hume. My friends lived in Howlong and Burrumbuttock. The places in Scout’s story are all very familiar to me.

Have you been in a rig?

Not properly. I do a lot of country driving and was inspired by truckies during Covid, the unsung heroes who kept our country functioning. I’ve often parked beside big rigs and peered up into the cabins. Creating truck-driving characters was fun. Whenever I see a dog in a truck, I ask the driver if I can take a photo for my collection. There are some very cute truck dogs on the ‘Scout’ page of my website.

Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on next?

Books take a long time from idea to publication, so I usually have a few things on the go. In Feb 2024, a new edition of Granny Grommet and Me will be published (illustrated by Karen Blair). It’s been out of print for several years so I can’t wait for the grannies to surf again. I’m also looking forward to the publication of a picture book with my friend and fabulous illustrator, Frané Lessac. It’s about cattle mustering in northern Australia and was inspired by the lovely Brahman cattle I saw in the Kimberley. A longer project: this year I’ve been researching an inspirational Australian aviator who achieved many things in her short life, but I don’t want to say more until I finish a read-through draft. I’ve written about 12,500 words and so I’m getting closer … It’s due for release late 2024 or early 2025. And I’m also thrilled to have a set of haiku coming out in the 2024 poetry collection Right Way Down and Other Poems. 2024 looks like being an exciting year.

Do you have a tip for young writers who would like to write a story set in real life?

Real life inspires many of my stories. I often take a story spark from history or my life then use my imagination to weave a story around it. That can vary from surfing grannies in Albany (Granny Grommet and Me) to a wartime air raid (The Dog with Seven Names) or the only horse to return from WWI (The Last Light Horse). Or Scout!

My advice for writers is make time to write. Take lots of notes and get down a first draft, no matter how rough, without questioning yourself or overthinking it. Write the beginning and end, with dot point chapters in between, then join those dots. Once you have that first draft you can edit and rework it. Your characters might even take you in another direction. I do dozens and dozens of drafts. If you get stuck, put that story aside for a few weeks and work on another one. Don’t give up.

Scout and the Rescue Dogs is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.