Category: authors

Posted in authors

Meet the author: Catherine Carvell

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

Catherine CarvellToday we are thrilled to have Catherine Carvell visiting us to talk about her brand new book Darcy Moon and the Deep-Fried Frogs. (If you live in WA you might have already had a peek inside Darcy Moon when it appeared in the West Australian lift out.)

Can you tell us something about where you live?

I live in a very small country called Singapore, which is a five-hour plane ride north of Perth.

Singapore is very close to the equator so it’s tropical and hot all year round. It doesn’t even cool down at night. Also, it rains every day and has super impressive thunderstorms.

My family and I live in a four-bedroom apartment in a high-rise apartment in the city. We don’t have our own garden, but we do have a big pool and a playground downstairs, which we share with all the other people in our apartment block.

The best things about living in Singapore include:

  • swimming every day
  • never, ever having to wear long sleeves and
  • a really excellent zoo where you can feed elephants, giraffes and rhinos!

Where do you get your ideas?

Wow! I get inspiration from all over. A memory or a dream or something I read in a book.

For example, I decided to write for children when I was reading a story to my daughter. We were both so happy curled up together and I realized something amazing. I was nearly forty years old and had travelled the world, but my most exciting adventures had all happened inside a children’s book.

Soon after that, I saw my son eat a snail.

We were both in the garden but I was too far away to stop him. It made me feel sick, but it also gave me a really good idea for a story.

So for me, inspiration is as simple as that.

I was inspired to become a children’s author because my daughter and I enjoyed reading a book together.

And Skippity Chips (which feature in Darcy Moon and the Deep-fried Frogs) were inspired when my baby ate a snail.

Darcy Moon (cover)

How did you come to be a writer?

I’ve always loved writing.  I wanted to be an author when I was seven years old, but as I grew older, I got busy with other things and stopped writing.

When I was all grown up, I still wanted to be an author, but kept it a secret until I had my own children. I wanted them to know it’s important to chase your dreams, no matter how old you are. So even though I was afraid I would be no good, I decided to follow my childhood dream.

Writing is my favourite thing in the world, and I enjoyed every minute of writing Darcy Moon and the Deep-fried Frogs. It was particularly fun getting to know my characters, especially Darcy’s parents. Every time they were in a scene, I would giggle and laugh out loud at my desk.

Having imaginary friends that make you smile is one of the best things about being an author.

Was it easy to get your first book published?

I was very lucky.

Fremantle Press was the first publisher I sent Darcy Moon and the Deep-fried Frogs to and they liked it.

When I got the email saying they wanted to publish it, I screamed and danced around like a lunatic.

Are you working on a new book now?

I’ve been working on another children’s book for over a year now. It’s the story of two friends who discover a strange and wounded creature trapped in the mangroves. I’m about halfway through and can’t wait to find out what happens to my two main characters.

I’m also working on a picture book and of course, there’s always the next Darcy Moon adventure. What animal will Darcy save next do you think?

Apart from that, I’m busy working on my new blog. Having a blog is heaps of fun. I get to write interesting articles about frog slime, endangered animals and how to recycle, as well as post fun stuff like frog jokes and u-tube clips. Check out the blog at darcymoonbooks.com, and leave a comment on your favourite post to let me know you dropped by.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

I enjoy reading, nature walks, reading, sunshine and reading.

Also, I want to grow my own potatoes. As soon as I get a garden, I will do it.

Is your writing influenced by any writers in particular?

As a writer, I often think of reading as a sort of research, a way of seeing how others have done it. I’ve learned something from every book I’ve ever read, but I particularly admire the work of Morris Gleitzman, Wendy Orr and David Almond. 

Did you have a favourite author when you were growing up?

I read a great deal when I was young, but a few stories stick in my mind even now.

I loved the Famous Five books by Enid Blyton as well as The Secret Garden and The Little Princess, both by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

I’m not sure why these books resonated with me so deeply, but I still remember the thrill I felt each night crawling under the covers to read a little bit more.

Darcy Moon and the Deep-Fried Frogs has an environmental theme. Is this because you are interested in environmental issues?

Yes! I’ve always been interested in nature, especially the slimy bits. When I was small, I used to love snails and earthworms and tadpoles. I also remember collecting dead flies from windowsills and peering at them through the school microscope. I was fascinated by their alien eyes and strange, hairy legs. I drew them in a sketchbook and labelled all their body parts.

As I grew older I completed a Bachelor of Science at the University of Western Australia. I even worked at Greenpeace for a while, raising money by running a stall at the Fremantle Markets.

Humans depend on the earth for food, fuel, medicine and other things we can’t live without. And yet we continue to take more from the earth than it is capable of replacing.

We catch fish faster than they can reproduce.

We cut down trees faster than they can re-grow.

We are not living sustainably, and if we don’t address these issues now the impact for the next few generations and beyond could be catastrophic.

Nature is much more than an unspoiled view. It is the finely balanced machine, the science and the magic, that keeps our planet alive.

And it’s up to all of us to make a change.

Do you have any advice for young writers?

Read, write, and enter competitions.

Also, don’t let life get in the way of your dreams.

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Visit Catherine Carvell’s website for more about her and her writing. And if you just can’t get enough Darcy Moon, make sure you check out the Darcy Moon Frog Blog.

Posted in authors, illustrator

Stephen Axelsen and The Nelly Gang

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

Stephen AxelsenToday we welcome Stephen Axelsen to the blog. Stephen is here as part of a blog tour to celebrate the launch of his new graphic novel The Nelly Gang — you can read a review of the book here. We asked him some questions about how he goes about creating a graphic novel.

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The Nelly Gang (cover)How is creating a graphic novel different from writing and illustrating a picture book?
The biggest difference is that a graphic novel has a lot more pictures in it than a regular picture book, so they take much, MUCH, longer to illustrate. The writing takes a bit longer too. The Nelly Gang took more than a year to make. Also in graphic novels the story is mostly told in speech balloons. These balloons have to be designed and positioned so that they are nice and clear and don’t interfere with the pictures.

Why did you choose to tell this story as a graphic novel rather than a picture book or otherwise?
The story would not fit into a picture book, unless it was a very, very thick one. (There are up to 25 pictures on some double pages.) The Nelly Gang could have been a novel, I suppose, but I love drawing the old costumes and wagons and things too much just to use words.

How did you go about creating The Nelly Gang?
The story plan was the first thing put down on paper, but the very, very first ideas were pictures in my head; vague images of things I wanted to draw. Then I wrote the first story plan or plot, after which I began the rough drawings. The drawings would suggest new story ideas, and while rewriting the story NEW picture ideas would pop up, so I’d change the story again. The writing and drawing kept changing each other in an endless loop until I nearly went mad (or maybe I did go mad) and it was time to STOP and call the story finished.

What sort of tools do you use?
I used a mixture of ‘traditional’ and ‘digital’ media, which means that I did the drawing outlines with old fashioned pen and ink on paper, then scanned these into my computer where I tidied things up, added the colour then the speech balloons and text.


The Nelly Gang is set in 1860. How did you go about researching for the book?
A lot of my research was done online, but I also travelled to old goldfields, visited Sovereign Hill at Ballarat (which was excellent for picture reference) and even had a paddle steamer ride at Echuca. I had to have a paddle steamer in the story because they are such wonderful things to draw!

Now that The Nelly Gang is out, are you working on something new?
I am working on two big books at once now – a picture book for an American publisher about Joe Dumpty, P.I. (Humpty Dumpty’s brother, who is a Private Investigator.)

AND the sequel to The Nelly Gang, called Nelly and the Dark Circus. As the title suggests it is set mostly in a circus, and Nelly is in it. So is her goat, Queen Victoria, of course. 

Do you have any tips for young graphic novelists?
The best thing to do is look at as many graphic novels as you can find, choose the ones you like best and copy bits of them. Very soon you will start having your own ideas and awaaaay you’ll go!

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You can find out more about Stephen Axelsen (and the books he has illustrated and written) when you visit his website. Check out the other stops on his blog tour for more news and information about The Nelly Gang and graphic novels:

Nelly Gang Logo

THE NELLY GANG Blog Tour Schedule

Saturday September 14th  — Launch at The Story Arts Festival, Woodlands of Marburg.  (Launched by Megan Daley)

Monday September 16th — Children’s Books Daily  

Review and Book Launch update + giveaway

Tuesday 17th September —  DeeScribe Writing

Review + five tips on graphic novel making 

Wednesday 18thSeptember — Kids Book Review

Review + giveaway

Thursday 19thSeptember — Sheryl Gwyther’s Blog

Writing and Illustrating Graphic Novels

Friday 20thSeptember — Soup Blog [You’re here!]

Review + interview

Saturday 21st September —  BuzzWords

The Value of History + review

Interview with Stephen Axelsen © 2013 Stephen Axelsen and Rebecca Newman https://soupblog.wordpress.com

Posted in authors, poetry, Soup Blog Poetry Festival

Visiting poet – Steven Herrick

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
Steven HerrickDo-wrong Ron
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Happy Friday!
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To make your Friday even happier, today we have Steven Herrick stopping by to talk about writing poetry and verse-novels for children. (He writes for young adults and adults, too.) If you visit his website, you’ll see that he loves soccer and in summer he plays on a soccer team called ‘The Marshmallows’ …  It doesn’t look too summery in the photo he sent us above!
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Here he is — performing his poem ‘Lost in the Mist’  (from his book Untangling Spaghetti).
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When did you first start writing poetry? 
I wrote my first poem when I was 18. It was called ‘Love is like a gobstopper’. I sent it to magazine and they published it and sent me $5!!!
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What sort of poetry do you like writing best of all? 
I like writing narrative poems for children and verse-novels for YA and children.
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What sort of poetry do you like reading? 
All types of poetry.
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Where can we find your poetry?
In the following poetry books for children:

… and seven verse novels for young adults.

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Do you prefer to write with a pen and paper or straight onto the computer? 
I used to write with pen and paper, but now it’s nearly always with a computer.
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Your number one tip for budding poets? 
Read lots of poetry. Find what you like and try to understand why you enjoy it.
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Steven’s Poetry Prescription

IF YOU’RE HAVING A FOOD DAY — lots of my poems are about food and family (see my book Untangling Spaghetti).

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Pookie Aleera is not my boyfriendUntangling Spaghetti
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Interview with Steven Herrick © 2013 Steven Herrick & Rebecca Newman https://soupblog.wordpress.com
Posted in authors

Writing a series of picture books – Tania McCartney

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

Riley and the jumpy kangaroo book cover

Tania McCartney
Tania McCartney

Today we have pressed the pause button on our Poetry Festival to take time out for a celebration! We are very happy to have Tania McCartney visiting as part of her Riley and the Jumpy Kangaroo Book Launch Blog Tour — A Very Jumpy Tour. This is the fifth book in the Riley series, so we asked Tania some questions about how she goes about writing picture books in a series.

This is the fifth book in your Riley the Little Aviator series. When you wrote the first book, did you plan to write a series or did Riley and the Sleeping Dragon enter the world as a standalone picture book?

I wrote Riley and the Sleeping Dragon while living in Beijing — and I never dreamed the book idea would become a series. As this book was just a little personal project of mine, I was surprised when the book did well in China and I was even more surprised when the book did well in Australia, when we returned home in 2009. These kinds of surprises are very nice!

Because it did so well, I wondered if another title might work. And it did! so I just kept going. So far Riley has visited Beijing, Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

Each book in the series is set in a different part of the world. How do you choose where to send Riley next?

I had originally planned for Riley to travel to Asian cities, but kids in Australia were desperate to have Riley visit their home town, so I quickly changed that concept to Australian cities. Sydney came first because it has the largest population, followed by Melbourne.

I wanted to send Riley to Canberra this year because it’s where I’m currently living, and the Riley books have a bit of a cult following here. I also wanted to help celebrate Canberra’s Centenary Year — 100 years old in 2013!

I choose the place depending on where we’ve visited as a family because all the photos used in the Riley books are taken by me. I have a lot of photos up my sleeve including Tasmania (we spent two weeks touring the island in 2010; it’s SUCH a cool place and I’m actually a Hobart girl), New Zealand, the west coast of the United States, and several Asian and European countries/cities.

I’d actually love to send Riley overseas again. I’ve even had thoughts of sending Riley to the North Pole. Shall have to rug up for that visit!

Is there anything different about each new title, or do you try to keep all the Riley books as much the same as possible (apart from the plot)?

It’s important to tie a book series together and this is usually done with the way the books look, and the same kind of plot structure/theme. I also think it’s important to add extra elements that make new books in a series feel fresh and exciting.

For the Riley series, I changed up the way I did each book — just so I could add that freshness.

In Riley and the Sleeping Dragon, the dragon isn’t seen in any of the photos … until right at the very end. This helps make the ending more of a surprise.

riley and the sleeping dragon (cover)

In Riley and the Dancing Lion, there are lions all through the book, but they’re never the one Riley is looking for. This makes kids wonder what the ‘right’ dragon will look like, and helps build suspense.

riley and the dancing lion

In Riley and the Curious Koala, the koala is hiding on the pages, sometimes in different forms, like a cloud or an umbrella. Kids LOVE to hunt for koalas in every photo (though he doesn’t appear on the page featuring Luna Park — so don’t break your eyes looking for him!).

"Riley and the Curious Koala (cover)"

In Riley and the Grumpy Wombat, the wombat isn’t revealed until the end, but I gave Riley a series of amazing ‘contraptions’ he can use to help find her (because the wombat travels underground and Riley would have found it hard to spot her while flying a plane!).

Riley and the Grumpy Wombat (cover)

In Riley and the Jumpy Kangaroo, I decided to change things up by adding colour to the photographs for the first time. As the story unfolds, more and more colour creeps into the images — and when you see the very last photograph over a double page spread, you’ll understand why!

Riley and the jumpy kangaroo book cover

Is there anything you need to keep in mind each time you start writing a new book in the Riley series?

Yes —Panda I need to make sure we include the animal from the last book! Each time Riley starts a new adventure, a little toy version of the critter from the previous book joins the entire crew. Eventually, Riley will have an entire zoo of creatures accompanying him. Kieron and I have joked about attaching a hot air balloon to Riley’s plane so all the creatures can sit in it.

I also need to ensure I keep the style and ‘voice’ of the book the same as the others. This is what ties it to a series. Sometimes this is difficult to do because as you grow as an author, your voice and style changes and (hopefully!) improves. I would actually love the opportunity to do the Riley books a little differently now but I can’t alter the look of an established series.

Have you decided in advance how many titles will be in the Riley series? How do you decide on the right number of books for a series?

I was hoping to release a Riley book every year, forever! But my work on other books has become so busy, Jumpy Roo took two years to produce. The next one may even be three years away. This is upsetting because I adore the books and I have kids asking for them all the time. I will try to make them more frequent!!

Where to next for Riley?

I’m thinking maybe Tassie or New Zealand. I’d love to visit Tassie again soon, so that may sway me. Or maybe I could ask the kids of Australia to nominate Riley’s next destination. Perhaps I’ll send him to the city where kids make the loudest noise!

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

The Jumpy Roo book launch is being held at Floriade this year! Anyone living in or visiting Canberra on 15 September is invited along, but RSVPs are essential if you want a goodie bag and balloon! You can find out more here.

You can also visit the Riley the Little Aviator website to see updates, learn more about the places Riley visits, and see behind-the-scenes work. There are also some fun activities for kids.

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If you’d like to learn more about Tania, visit her website, the Riley the Little Aviator website or check out some earlier Soup Blog posts featuring Tania here and here!

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Interview with Tania McCartney © 2013 Tania McCartney and Rebecca Newman https://soupblog.wordpress.com

This post is just one stop in the Riley and the Jumpy Kangaroo blog tour. For the full Blog Tour schedule, jump in your little red plane and head right here.

Posted in authors, illustrator

Meet James Foley

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

We are thrilled to welcome James Foley — our featured author-illustrator for May. You might remember our review of The Last Viking, which was the first book that James ever illustrated (written by Norman Jorgensen). Since then, James has also written and illustrated a picture book called In the Lion. Check out a cool book trailer for In the Lion:

Today we are talking to James about what it’s like to be an author and an illustrator.

James Foley photo
James Foley

Can you tell us something about where you live?

There are lots of picture books and comics in the bookshelves, and there are paintings hanging on most of the walls. I have some artwork made by Western Australian illustrators like Samantha Hughes, Karen Blair, Briony Stewart, Campbell Whyte and my favourite, Shaun Tan. And I have some original drawings by Batman comic artist Tim Sale!

Where do you get your ideas and inspiration?

I’m not sure. Sometimes it starts with a character that appears in my sketchbook. Then I try to come up with a story that they might feature in. Sometimes I start with a topic, like robots. Ideas come more easily when I am feeling relaxed — when I go for a walk, or when I am sitting quietly with a cup of tea. That makes me sound like a grandma …

Was it easy to get your first illustration contract? 

I first sent my artwork off to publishers in 2000, when I was 17 years old. I had just finished high school. I didn’t get a contract until 10 years later, in early 2010. I spent the 10 years practising my drawing mostly, and doing a bit of writing in there too. I met Norman Jorgensen in 2009 and we started working on The Last Viking together — from that point things started to move a lot more quickly and I got two illustration contracts in two years. Once you have your first book published, it’s easier to get another one. But sometimes getting that first contract takes a long time.

"The Last Viking (cover)"

Does the story influence your choice of materials for the artwork?

I’ve only published two books so far and I’ve used the same materials for both — pencil outlines and digital colour. I think the setting of the story is a big influence on the materials and textures I use … in The Last Viking I used stone, leather and parchment for borders and backgrounds. I used a lot of crumbly wall textures for In The Lion, because the walls of the lion enclosure took up most of the backgrounds. I’m doing a book about robots at the moment, so it will feature lots of metal and rust textures in it, but I’ll probably still draw things in pencil and put the colours in digitally.
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When you write and illustrate your own books, which comes first — the artwork or the story text? 
Good question. The story usually springs from an image that’s in my sketchbook or that’s in my head. Then I might do a bit of sketching of the main characters — not too much, just enough to give me a hint of what they might be like. Then I have to stop drawing and write. The story needs to come first! I’ve learned this the hard way … I’ve been working on a story since April last year, and I didn’t start with the words — I started with rough drawings for every page. The drawings might have looked cool and exciting, but the story was too complicated and wasn’t making enough sense. I had to forget about the drawings I’d done and go back to square one, figuring out who my characters were and what the story was. It’s changed the story completely, but I think it’s much better now.

When you are illustrating a book written by someone else, do you like to discuss the story and illustrations with them?

Yes, definitely. This doesn’t usually happen, but I’ve been lucky. Norman and I were able to work closely on The Last Viking and bounce ideas off each other before we submitted our first draft to Fremantle Press. We’re doing the same thing with the sequel. We’ve caught up three or four times over the last 9 months to talk about our ideas and make a few rough sketches of scenes. We’ve just put a dummy book together that has very scratchy drawings, rough text and the basic layout. Norm sat next to me in my studio and we pieced it together. It works because we have the same sense of humour and the same vision for the story. This wouldn’t work for all authors and illustrators, some of them would probably tear each other’s hair out.

What do you like to do when you are not writing or illustrating?

I like to watch movies, play video games, read books. I like cooking. I like walking the dog. I have a kayak that I like to paddle, which I haven’t done in ages …

Is your writing and/or illustrating influenced by another writer and/or illustrator in particular?

I’m not sure. I have some favourites and I suppose they influence me, whether it’s obvious to me or not — Shaun Tan, Graeme Base, Jan Ormerod, Maurice Sendak. I started writing a story the other day, set it aside, then came back to it and realised it the words were in a Maurice Sendak kind of style (just not as well written, obviously).

Did you have a favourite author or illustrator when you were growing up?

Graeme Base was my favourite. I loved The Eleventh Hour and Animalia, I would read those over and over and pore over the details in the pictures.

Are you working on something at the moment?

Yes, I’m working on a few projects this year — another book I’m writing and illustrating called Brobot; a sequel to The Last Viking that doesn’t have a title yet; and some black-and-white chapter book illustrations for some stories written by Jon Doust and Ken Spillman.

Do you have any advice for young writers and/or artists?

Do it lots, and do it because you love doing it. Don’t listen to anyone who says that it’s not good enough yet. Just keep doing it and loving it. Have fun with it. You’ll get better and better the more you do it and the longer you do it for. Read, read, read — read novels, read comics, read books about history and myths, read the newspaper. And look, look, look — go to art galleries, go to museums, watch movies. Write and draw about the things that interest you. Love doing it.

Find out more about James Foley and his books on his website, at The Last Viking blog and in this post from 2011 when we asked him 3 Quick Questions!
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© 1 May 2013 “Meet James Foley” text copyright Rebecca Newman and James Foley. https://soupblog.wordpress.com
Posted in authors

Return to Nim’s Island – interview with Wendy Orr

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
Wendy signing copies of The Nim Stories. Photo by Ryan Makepeace.
Wendy Orr signing copies of The Nim Stories. Photo by Ryan Makepeace.

Nim’s Island and Nim at Sea are definitely in our pile of favourite books. (Nim’s Island was featured in our first ever issue of Alphabet Soup!) You probably know that Nim’s Island was made into a movie starring Abigail Breslin, and now the second Nim book has also been made into a movie called Return to Nim’s Island — and it’s out in Australian cinemas this school holidays. We asked the author Wendy Orr if we could talk to her about what it’s like to have your book made into a film. And here she is!

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When did you first hear that Nim at Sea would be made into a movie, too?

Paula Mazur, the producer of the first Nim’s Island, wanted to do it as soon as she read the book when it was published in July 2007. However there were complications with the Hollywood studio and so three years ago she took it to an Australian company. They worked very hard to organise everything and in May 2012 we knew that it was going to be filmed. (Though I think everyone still had fingers crossed!) The filming started in August 2012.

There is a different Nim (Bindi Irwin) cast in this second movie. Were you allowed to choose the actors? Did it feel strange to see a different Nim?

It’s a lot like illustrators for the books I write — I’m not allowed to choose but if I suggest something the editor or producer is happy to think about it before making up their minds. They know a lot more than I do about the right illustrator or actor. I’ve been very lucky, with both illustrators and actors, and they’ve all felt very right for the parts. Of course, even though Abigail Breslin is a wonderful actor, by the time filming started [for the second Nim movie] she was 17, which is much too old to be Nim. But Bindi Irwin is absolutely perfect for the role — she loves animals and is used to handling them, and she’s incredibly strong and physically fit, just like Nim. That’s important to me, so I was delighted with the choice. It was also nice to hear that she’s always identified with Nim quite strongly and tells me the books have always been favourites.

I thought it would feel strange to watch different actors, but in fact it all seemed completely natural. And because no actor could ever be completely identical to the character I imagined, it’s actually made it easier to go back to the characters in my head as I work on the third book.

Do you ‘see’ the characters in your head while you write?

For me, writing a book is a combination of watching a movie in my head, and feeling it in my body — not exactly as if I’m living it, but the way you feel the action in a dream.

Did the movie make any big changes to the book? (without giving too much away for movie-goers-to-be!)

This movie had to make very big changes to the plot! The problem is that when I write a book, it doesn’t cost any more to print if my characters stow away on cruise ships than if they spend the whole book sitting in their bedrooms. But movies are different, and so the producer and directors have to decide how they can make a good movie, follow the story — and not spend more money than they have. So in this movie, Nim is very much the same character, just a bit older, and the feeling matches the book. Then they took two very important things from the plot: Nim making a human friend, and animal poachers threatening Selkie and other animals. But the story after that is quite different.

(It’s okay, Nim certainly doesn’t spend the whole movie in her bedroom!)

As the book’s author, did you have a role to play in the making of the movie?

I was a consultant, which means I read it at different stages and sometimes suggested some small changes. It was a bit like being an editor, which was a nice change for me. I also watched some of the filming, but that was just fun. I don’t know anything about filming, so the most useful thing I can do is stay out of the way.

You attended the premiere of Return to Nim’s Island at Australia Zoo. What was it like to be watching the movie of your own book?

The premiere of a movie is always incredibly exciting. It’s like getting the first copy of your new book, except with a huge party instead of a parcel in the mail. This one was exciting for all those reasons, but since I spent the whole day at the zoo first, with Bindi and Toby Wallace (Edmund), it was also really fun. I think these pictures will show why.

Wendy Orr with Toby and Bindi. Photo by Ryan Makepeace.
Wendy Orr with Toby and Bindi. Photo by Ryan Makepeace.
Wendy Orr with Bindi at the premiere of Return to Nim's Island. Photo by Ryan Makepeace.
Wendy Orr with Bindi at the premiere of Return to Nim’s Island. Photo by Ryan Makepeace.
At Australia Zoo for the movie's premiere. Photo by Ryan Makepeace.
At Australia Zoo for the movie’s premiere. Photo by Ryan Makepeace.

Watching the movie of my own book is very strange, and quite emotional, especially the first time. It’s almost like looking at a family video, because it’s very familiar but different to actually see it on the screen. I thought it was good; I could see the audience enjoying it; sometimes I was afraid about what was happening next, even though I knew; sometimes I was amazed at the beautiful images — but mostly I just felt happy.

Will there be more Nim books?

Yes! My publisher would be very cross if I said no, because they have given me a contract for another Nim book, which I think will come out next year. It doesn’t have a proper title yet.

At the top of this post we can see a photo of you signing copies of The Nim Stories. Is it a bindup of Nim’s Island and Nim at Sea or a different book again?

Yes. It’s got the new cover but the two books are just the same, with the same illustrations.

OK. I have to ask … Can the movie EVER be as good as the book?

No.

Or maybe yes …

A movie can never be as good as the movie you make in your head when you love a book so much that you feel you’re inside the story — when you read about ice and feel cold even though it’s hot where you are, and when you see and hear the characters as if they’re alive.

But on the other hand, a movie could be a better movie than the book is a good book. [At Alphabet Soup we know that Nim at Sea is a good book and we’re sure that Return to Nim’s Island will be a good movie. So we’re glad they won’t have to compete!]

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We’re looking forward to seeing Return to Nim’s Island these school holidays. In WA we haven’t started school holidays yet — so all you Nim fans on the east of Australia get to see the movie before us. Lucky you! (Will you write us a review?)

And for more about Wendy and her books (and Nim!) visit Wendy’s website and her blog. Happy holidays!

© April 2013 “Interview with Wendy Orr” – text copyright Rebecca Newman & Wendy Orr (https://soupblog.wordpress.com)
Posted in authors

Meet Tania McCartney

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
Tania McCartney
Tania McCartney

Tania McCartney writes children’s and adults’ books and was an ACT Ambassador for the National Year of Reading 2012. Her latest children’s book is Australian Story: An Illustrated Timeline.
Tania is our featured author in the autumn 2013 issue of Alphabet Soup magazine. We can only include part of the Q&A in the magazine, so we’re sharing the full version with you here.

Read on!
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Can you tell us about where you live?
I live in Canberra with my husband and two kids (Ella, 12 and Riley, 9) in a paper house at the base of a book mountain. That’s what it feels like, anyway! There is so much paper and so many books, I could open a bookstore or run an origami festival. I’ve lived in lots of different places through my life, and my little family unit and I have so far lived in Melbourne, Adelaide, Beijing and Canberra—so we do feel like wanderers. Canberra is fun—we have so many cool things to see and do here, and of course, my favourite place of all is the National Library of Australia on Lake Burley Griffin.

How did you come to be a writer?
It chose me. My favourite possession is my grade three English book with the doggy sticker on the front—filled to brimming with creative stories. I’ve always loved to write and had my first poem published in a Tasmanian newspaper when I was 8. Since then, I’ve never stopped writing but it wasn’t until I was about 38 that I took it up full time. I feel very chuffed to finally say that my full time job is an author. It took a long time to get there (which is really why you absolutely must stick with your dreams—they do happen).

Is writing a nonfiction book very different from writing fiction?
Writing nonfiction is a little different because you may have to do lots of research (Australian Story involved around 8 months of research) but you still have lots of creative licence when you write the words. I actually find nonfiction easier to write because the bones of your work—the structure—is already there, and you can just pad it out with your research finds and all the fun bits. With fiction, you need to create everything—and that can be both thrilling and scary. The great thing about fiction though, is that you have full use of your imagination—and that basically means you can do and create whatever you want. I love that about writing.

Australian Story cover

Was it easy to get your first book published?
My publishing journey has been kind of odd and very untraditional. I sent an adult novel to a publisher when I was about 20 and they liked it so much, they sent it to an ‘outside reader’ which is basically a good sign. Because I was still so new to writing, they thought I needed more time to develop my work, so I wasn’t offered a contract. I remember being devastated and although I kept writing, I didn’t submit to any other publishers for a very long time. Then in my late 20s, I had the opportunity to take 8 months off to write my first nonfiction book—You Name It. I sent it off to about 8 publishers and had TWO acceptances (I chose the first publisher—Hodder and Stoughton), which was a real thrill. So, having my first book published was not too hard. Since then I’ve been published by four other publishers, but each acceptance was after building a relationship with the publisher. I send manuscripts to publishers all the time and still receive as many rejection letters as everyone else! but I’ll never, ever give up.

Where do you find your ideas/inspiration?
From everyday life—those little moments you experience on any given day. I also find lots of inspiration in children, particularly my own—the things they say, the things they do. My other big inspirations are travel and photography. I created my Riley the Little Aviator books from a love of travel and I also use photographs in the series. I’m a very visual person, so beautiful pictures and photos inspire me to create stories. I LOVE picture books—yes, even as a grown up—and have thousands of them in my house.

Riley and the Grumpy Wombat (cover)

"Riley and the Curious Koala (cover)"

How do you do your research for a nonfiction book?
It really depends what the book is about. For Australian Story, I researched Australian history, so I scoured websites (mainly government and educational sites, because they are much more accurate) and read books and watched documentaries and talked to people. I also used Trove, which is the National Library’s online search engine for a mass of historical information. As I gathered the information, I kept it in a Word document on my computer. I collected as much info as I could, then when I was done, I began editing the information down into bite-size pieces. That’s the way I work best.

When you are working on a book like Australian Story, do you have to find your own photographs and images?
Most children’s books published by the National Library require the use of pictures from their very impressive image collection. I was tasked with wading through almost 130 000 online images—photos, maps, paintings, drawings, diagrams—in search of the perfect pictures to go with my text. It was a lot of work but I loved it! I found some really cool images—some really funny ones, too. Some of the illustrations in the book were done by the book’s designer, Peter Shaw. Of course, there are no existing photos of dinosaurs! so he added illustrations whenever we needed them. [Check out this earlier post for a peek inside some of the pages!]

Would you like to have lived in another point in history?
I would have loved to live between the 1920s and 1960s. Excluding the World Wars, I think this was a fascinating and creative period of time, when mankind made so many leaps and bounds across all areas—from film and culture to human rights. Ancient civilisations also fascinate me. How cool would it be to spend a day in Ancient Rome or Machu Pichu with the Incas or outback Australia with the Aborigines or Ancient Egypt … although I would have liked to take rose-petal milk baths and not have to build those pyramids!

What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I like to read. No—I LOVE to read. Being an ACT Ambassador for the National Year of Reading 2012 was a huge thrill as I’m passionate about books—and will seriously read wherever I can, whenever I can. I even read on the treadmill. I also love to travel, take photos of anything and everything, and bake delicious things with my children.

What was your favourite book as a child?
I really loved the Amelia Jane books by Enid Blyton but my favourite series of all time is the Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis.

Do you have any advice for young writers?
Write what you know and love. Just like reading, you need to focus on something that makes you smile—something you enjoy. Reading really, really, really helps you become a better writer. It expands your vocabulary and your understanding of word placement. It also helps you create really cool sentences. Writing what you see in your head rather than what you ‘hear’ or think you should write, is also vital. Write as though you were talking to a friend—use your own voice, invent your own words, don’t be afraid to be a little kooky. And when you’ve finished writing, be sure to re-draft. No one writes the perfect story first time. Write your story, let it sit awhile, then go back and make it even better. I think three or four drafts should do it.

Are you working on a book at the moment?
I’ve just finished writing my first junior fiction historical novel for New Frontier. It’s on Caroline Chisholm and I loved writing it, so I’d like to do more in that style. I’m also finishing up two more books for the National Library. One of them features the really beautiful botanical paintings from their image collection and the style of this book is unique and fun. I photographed my son and some other kids, and I’ve cut and pasted them into the pages of the book so they are adventuring through the paintings. It looks amazing! The second one is also a picture book about the evolution of the Aussie child. It’s being illustrated by one of my fave Aussie artists—Andrew Joyner, so that’s super exciting. I’m about half way through the next Riley book—about a jumpy kangaroo in Canberra (you can see her in my photo!)—and I’m spending the rest of the year working on my first junior fiction series—in fact, two series … one is a really kooky style of book showing kids how to act their age, and the other is for my very patient daughter, Ella, about a girl who loves animals. My Riley series is about my son Riley, so now it’s Ella’s turn!

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Find out more about Tania and her books on these websites:

www.tania.mccartney.com

www.rileyaviator.com

www.kids-bookreview.com

© February 2013 Text by Rebecca Newman (Alphabet Soup magazine) and Tania McCartney.
Posted in authors

Meet the author of the Dragonkeeper series (NSW)

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

Blood brothers (cover)If you love the Dragonkeeper series* and you live in NSW—here’s your chance to meet the author, Carole Wilkinson over afternoon tea!

Where: The Children’s Bookshop, 6 Hannah St, Beecroft NSW

When: Monday 11 February 2013 

Time: 4-30 to 5-30pm (Afternoon tea provided!)

Cost: FREE but bookings are essential!

 RSVP Essential: phone 9481 8811 or email staff@thechildrensbookshop.com.au

 * One of our Undercover Readers Club members reviewed Blood Brothers from the series. You can read the review here.

Posted in authors, info

What to Write About (Dee White)

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

Dee White (photo)Yesterday we announced the Alphabet Soup Creativity Award—for outstanding work published in Alphabet Soup magazine in 2012. Today we welcome Dee White to share some ideas for what to write about, and to tell us about the prize she has donated for the winner in the Most Outstanding Story category.

Over to Dee!

A House Can Tell A Story

There are so many potential stories hidden inside your home.

You just have to use your imagination and look for them.

  1. What if you opened a drawer and found a secret letter hidden there?
  2. What if something in your house came to life and started chasing you or wanted to be your friend?
  3. What if your house could talk and told you a story about the people who used to live there before you did?
  4. What if your house got blown away like Dorothy’s in The Wizard of Oz and you ended up somewhere completely different?
  5. What if there was a treasure chest hidden in your garden?
  6. What if there was a secret compartment in the wall of your bedroom and it led to another world?

One of my favourite things to do when I can’t think what to write about is to look around a room in my house and pick an object. It could be a wall, a door, a light switch, anything.

Next I imagine what it would be like to be that object sitting there day after day. I think about what that object can see and do and how it might feel. Then I write a piece about it.

It’s fun to do this with a writing friend and see if they can guess which object in the room you are writing about.

This excerpt is from Dee’s new e-book, 10 Top Writing Tips For Kids: What to Write About.

Dee is donating a free copy of this book and one hour’s mentoring (a manuscript appraisal) to the winner of the Most Outstanding Story category of the 2012 Alphabet Soup Creativity Award.

THE  MENTORING
Here’s how it works.

The winner will send a 500-word piece of writing to Dee. If it’s part of a longer story they’ll need to also send in a plot summary or information about what happens in the rest of the story. Dee will give tips on how to improve the piece of writing and the winner’s skills in general. She’ll also answer questions they might have about the piece or writing in general.

ABOUT 10 TOP WRITING TIPS FOR KIDS

10 Top Writing Tips for kids
10 Top Writing Tips For Kids by Dee White

Dee has written this series to encourage and inspire kids who love to write. 10 Top Writing Tips for Kids: What to Write About was released in November 2012.

Other books in the series coming in 2013 are:

  • 10 Top Writing Tips For Kids – Heroes and Villains
  • 10 Top Writing Tips For Kids – Want to Be a Writer?
  • 10 Top Writing Tips For Kids – Make Your Writing Sparkle

More about the 10 Top Writing Tips books can be found at http://10topwritingtips.wordpress.com

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ABOUT DEE

Letters to Leonardo (cover)
Letters to Leonardo (Dee’s Young Adult book)

 

Dee White has worked as an advertising copywriter and journalist, but wanted to be an author from the time she was seven. Her first book for young adults, Letters to Leonardo, took more than ten years to research and write. Dee’s other titles include Hope for Hanna, A Duel of Words and Harry’s Goldfield  Adventure.

Hope for Hanna (cover)Harry's Goldfield Adventure

A duel of words (cover)Dee is passionate about encouraging young readers and writers, and her blogs Writing Classes for Kids and DeeScribe Writing are full of career and writing tips for students and new and emerging writers.

She runs writing workshops for primary and secondary students across Australia with sessions focusing on story ideas, plotting and character development. She also runs them online at Writing Classes for Kids.

She is honoured to be providing the prize for the inaugural Alphabet Soup Creativity Award, and hopes that it will help encourage young writers.

For more information on the 2012 Alphabet Soup Creativity Award, visit the Award page (there’s a tab at the top of this blog).

Excerpt from 10 Top Writing Tips for Kids: What to Write About © Dee White 2012.