Category: interviews

Posted in authors, interviews

HM Waugh on The Surface Trials

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
The cover of The Surface Trials by HM Waugh
HM Waugh cuddling a small black 'oodle' dog

Teams of kids on an alien planet competing to get into Starquest Academy, three clues and only three days to find their way to the finish line. Today we’re chatting with HM Waugh about her latest book: The Surface Trials. HM Waugh is a children’s author, educator and environmental scientist with a long-term love of wild places and outdoor adventures. She has handled dragons for a job, and dreams of one day blasting into space. Her books mix humour, danger and friendship with a dash of science and imagination.

From the publisher:

An epic page-turner full of twists you won’t see coming, set on an alien planet where, under the watch of a galaxy-wide TV audience, Ammy Antares and her fellow competitors must complete a challenging quest to gain entry into an elite interplanetary academy. Welcome to the Surface Trials.

In your novel, squads are groups of children competing and the groupings are assigned. If you were in The Surface Trials, what talent/knowledge/skills would you bring to your squad?

I love the idea of a squad, because when I’m in an escape room there’s no way I’m getting out without other people’s ideas and points of view.

I think I’d offer my squad some halfway decent analysis of clues to try and break codes – I love pulling things apart searching for hints and patterns … Sometimes I’m even successful! I have a vast array of potentially unhelpful facts about science, gardening, and my favourite fantasy and sci-fi books. I can read maps and building plans like a pro, thanks to an early love of architecture and an ongoing commitment to epic fantasy novels. And I think I’d be pretty good at navigation and survival. I ought to be, since I teach that stuff as part of my job. Plus, every time I’ve become lost in the wilderness, I’ve made it out again!

I am also very good at eating chocolate …

The squads face some pretty hairy scenarios. How do you go about writing a scary scene for your characters? How do you let go of those ideas at night so you can sleep?

Hairy, huh? I think I know exactly what scene you’re referencing there! Scary scenes are so much fun to write! They’re important for making a story exciting, and they give my characters a chance to work out how awesome they are – which is kind of the purpose of a story, I think. For me, making words on a page capture a reader is the result of lots of little things added together.

First, I need scary subject matter. I like to get inspired by freaky science, weird facts, mind-blowing history and mouldering industrial ruins. I make sure the stakes are high – failure has to mean something bad, so the reader is on the edge of their seat. To have this work, I need to connect the reader to the characters before I launch into a big scary scene. I want the reader to see the characters as real people, people they care about. People they don’t want eaten alive by a newly-hatched alien.

Next I need rising tension – that ever-increasing sense of impending doom. This is what keeps a reader hooked to the page. I keep raising the tension throughout my books, but every big scene is a tension peak. Increasing tension in a scary scene is about shorter, sharper sentences. It’s about concentrating on what the characters would be noticing in that moment – they’re not going to be giving a monologue on the colour of the sunset if they’re being chased by a ravenous monster. They’ll be more concerned about where their friends are, where they can hide, and how hot the monster’s breath is on the backs of their legs. I also often add in little elements of humour, right smack bang in the middle of the scariness. Honestly, I don’t want my readers terrified! Plus, that dash of a laugh makes the rest of the scene seem even scarier.

Finally, to make it feel real I inject real emotions. I may not have been in any of the exact situations I put my characters in, but I think of the times I’ve been terrified and I try to write those emotions onto the page.

How do I sleep at night afterwards? Blissfully. Once a scene is written down, my mind knows it doesn’t have to keep thinking about it. It’s time to start dreaming about what my characters might face next! But if I’m partway through writing a scary scene? Yeah, that can sometimes mean a bit of a sleepless night, but that also gives me lots of great ideas about what could happen when I continue writing the next day.

The storytelling offers multiple points of view in this book; we hear from several of the squad members. Why did you decide to tell the story this way, rather than choosing to tell the story through the eyes of one character only?

Choosing points of view (POVs) is always difficult. Two of my main characters, Deneb and Ammy, are both drafted into the same squad but they’re very different people. So I felt we needed to hear from both of them. For instance, how Ammy sees herself is not always how others perceive her, and I wanted some of that vulnerability and self-doubt to show. Deneb’s POV provides this.

And, of course, I have a disguised character. Nobody in the Surface Trials knows which contestant is actually Rian Amalthea, the uber-famous and mega-rich heir to two massive space Dynasties. He could literally be anyone. I didn’t even know at first! Having Rian’s POV deepens that mystery. Where is he? Which squad is he in? Who could he be?

Do you have a tip for young writers who would like to write their own page-turner?

First off, rising tension is your friend. It works (like I’ve talked about already) with scary scenes. It also works across an entire story. Rising tension keeps the reader hooked. So … keep ratcheting it up. The stakes need to keep getting higher, the mystery more mysterious, the dangers more dangerous. But beware! Too much continuously rising tension weirdly means it stops being tense. The reader gets used to it, and it loses its impact. To avoid this, I drop the tension slightly after each peak scene so the reader can sigh in relief, before I crank it back up and they realise things are actually worse than ever! <evil laughter>

Secondly, experiment with ending your chapters on mini-cliffhangers. I like to picture all the kids out there (my own included) who have been told they can read to the end of the chapter and then it’s lights out. My aim is to have them still reading many chapters later because they just have to know what happens next. I hope they’re so deep in the book they don’t even realise they’ve read past the chapter end. If this is you, feel free to tell your responsible adult that it’s not your fault, the author (me!) did it on purpose 😊.

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

I have three things I’m working on at the moment, and I’m in love with each of them for very different reasons. None are contracted to be published. Yet!

The Surface Trials is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.

AWESOME EXTRAS

Read sample pages inside the book!

Download the Teachers’ Notes (see button under the book cover)

Visit HM Waugh’s website for more about her and her books

The cover of The Surface Trials by HM Waugh
Posted in authors, interviews

Julia Lawrinson on Trapped!

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
The cover of a verse novel for children: Trapped! by Julia Lawrinson
A photo of author Julia Lawrinson

A sudden rain deluge, a flooded gold mine, and a father trapped underground. Today we’re excited to be talking to Julia Lawrinson about her latest book: Trapped! The Entombed Miner of Bonnie Vale. Julia is an award-winning author of more than a dozen books for children and young adults. Her books are often about friendship, family … and the occasional Jack Russell. Trapped! is her first verse novel.

The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reading copy of Trapped!

From the publisher:

In 1907, the mining town of Bonnie Vale experiences a sudden deluge of rain that floods a gold mine while miners are still at work down the shaft.

Joe’s dad is one of them. And it soon becomes clear that he’s the only one who hasn’t made it back out yet. Where is he? Why didn’t he escape with the others? And more importantly, how will they rescue him?

You’ve written many novels for children and teenagers. Can you talk a bit about the experience of writing a verse novel for the first time?

I started off writing the story of Trapped! in regular prose. I went between the main character of Joe and the rescue of his father from the mine. As the story went on, I got bogged down in the details of the rescue – partly because it was all so interesting. So then I tried to work out what the main story was: what was essential, rather than just fascinating. Before I knew it, I had all these short sentences.

It was different to writing prose because I read a lot of it aloud as I wrote, to make sure it sounded like a song or a poem.

How did you first come to hear of the entombed miner?

I was in Coolgardie for Children’s Book Week, and I went into the Coolgardie Museum. It had a whole room dedicated to the story, written out on these long panels. Everyone who was there was captivated by the story, moving from panel to panel, learning about this Italian miner who was trapped underground for nine days.

Then I read on one panel that the miner had five children, and the oldest was 12. My imagination was sparked, and then I found out everything I could about the event, which made headlines around the world.

The tale is inspired by a true story from 1907. How/where did you find information for the story?

I used a combination of newspaper articles, a brilliant and very detailed book called The Entombed Miner by Tom Austen, and the State Library Western Australian collection, where I got accounts of what school life was like in 1907. I also bought The Temple Reader, which was a book used in schools with short stories, poems, and excerpts from ancient history texts and the Bible. I love doing research – it’s my favourite part of writing!

Modesto (also known as Charlie) is trapped underground for days on end, in the dark. If you were trapped underground, what do you think you would do to keep yourself calm and to pass the long hours on your own?

I would sing every song I could remember and talk to my imaginary friends.

Do you have a tip for young writers who would like to write stories based on true events?

First, find a strong story – there are so many out there! Then find a strong character and put them in the middle of the action. Once you have those two things, you’ll be able to work out what historical detail you need to flesh out your story.

Trapped! is out now. Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.

The cover of a verse novel for children: Trapped! by Julia Lawrinson

AWESOME EXTRAS:

Take a look inside the book

Download the Teachers’ Notes for Trapped!

Visit Julia Lawrinson’s website for more about her and her books

Posted in authors, interviews

Rachel Jackson on Escape from Marigold Manor

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
The cover of a children's book: Escape from Marigold Manor by Rachel Jackson.
A head and shoulders photo of Rachel Jackson.

Rachel Jackson draws on her extensive experience as an intelligence specialist to create twisty branching plotlines. She’s also a sucker for good puzzles and bad jokes – subject matter that she shares generously with her readers in the Solve It Your Way series published by Riveted Press. Today we’re chatting to Rachel about her latest book in the series: Escape from Marigold Manor.

The publisher provided a review copy of Escape From Marigold Manor.

From the publisher:

You are the greatest detective in the land and you’re facing your biggest mystery yet. It turns out there is more than one way to leave Marigold Manor … You’ll find thirty-two unique endings in Escape from Marigold Manor. Each mystery requires you to complete a series of interviews and brainteasers in order to identify the culprit. The challenges include puzzles that you must crack in order to unlock safes, read secret messages and locate hidden clues. The casefiles at the back of the book will help you keep track of which cases you’ve sold, and which cases still await you in the mansion. Can you solve them all?

Escape from Marigold Manor has 32 mysteries in one book, with the reader’s choices affecting the path each mystery takes. As the writer, is it tricky to keep track of all those story paths?

I always joke that my brain is all over the place, and the Solve It Your Way books are just a reflection of my brain! Truth is, when I’m writing an interactive fiction like this, I use a spreadsheet to create a visual chart of the book’s structure. If you’ve ever done mind-mapping – with the ideas in little bubbles and lines branching out from there to more idea bubbles – it’s a lot like that.

The tricky part can be finding the right puzzle for a specific part of the story. This is particularly true in the case of Escape from Marigold Manor – where there are puzzles inside of puzzles as you navigate crime scenes and suspects.

When you read interactive stories like these, are you the kind of reader who picks a path and forges on – or do you keep a finger bookmarking the various pathways so you can try a different path if you don’t like the outcome of your first choice?

Oh, finger bookmarking – definitely! And I would run out of fingers. In fact, this is the exact reason that Escape from Marigold Manor has a checklist at the back with page numbers so you can reinsert yourself into the story at key junctions, without having to start all over again. Now, fingers are free for tearing out hair, biting fingernails or otherwise immersing yourself in the dastardly world of Marigold Manor.

In real life you have experience solving mysteries, and in Escape from Marigold Manor, the reader is the detective. When there’s a mystery to be solved, what makes a great detective?

Firstly, kindness. Because the whole point of trying to solve the mystery is that you want to help someone – the victim, their family, the community and even the offender.

Once you’re knee deep in clues and suspects you need to have enough attention to detail to gather all the information surrounding the mystery, but then you need to be able to decide which information is actually useful. If you find yourself faced with a mystery (say, your pencil is gone), start by asking small questions that you can answer (such as – when did you see it last? Two days ago, on your bookshelf!). This will lead you to bigger questions that you can’t answer – yet! (Who had access to my bookshelf in the last two days?). That knowledge gap is where you need to focus your investigation. You might want to interview suspects (your little brother?) to identify motive (he was looking for a pencil last week!) and opportunity (but he was camping with Dad the whole time, so he couldn’t have taken the pencil). Keep asking questions and chasing up new leads. Even the ones that don’t seem important at first (mum did the shopping yesterday), might turn out to be the key to solving the mystery! (Mum borrowed your pencil to write the shopping list.)

Do you have a tip for young writers who want to write a mystery story of their own?

Do it! Honestly, it’s so much fun. The key to a good mystery, in my opinion, is that more than one character should have good reason to have committed the crime. So, make your characters really interesting, with shades of good and bad. That way, whoever your villain turns out to be, it will make sense to the reader!

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

The most wonderful thing about the Solve It Your Way Series is that I get to build these puzzle-filled interactive storylines in a brand new setting each time. First was a swashbuckling pirate adventure in Escape from Cuttlefish Cove, then came the detective who-dunnit in Escape from Marigold Manor. Up next – dragons! Oodles of dragons for the reader to collect and interact with. Sleep with one eye open – Escape from Firestone Fortress is coming!

Escape from Marigold Manor is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.

The cover of a children's book: Escape from Marigold Manor by Rachel Jackson.
Posted in authors, interviews

Kitty Black on Rise of the Witch

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
The cover of a children's fantasy novel: Rise of the Witch by Kitty Black.
A head and shoulders photo of Kitty Black.

Funny, scary, a dash of magic – Rise of the Witch is the first book in the new Everglade series by Kitty Black, with illustrations by Rebecca Crane. Kitty is already the author of numerous picture books and today we’re chatting about the creation of her first novel.

The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reading copy of Rise of the Witch.

From the publisher:

Everglade loves to hate witches. And as the daughter of the last witch, Wren Westerly is the most hated person in town. She can only imagine what would happen if the townspeople found out she can actually see magic … even if she has no idea how to use it.

Rise of the Witch is funny, and a bit scary in parts, with a large dash of magic. Often authors say they set out to write the sort of book they always wanted to read when they were growing up, what were your go-to books as a young reader?

Ha! This was exactly my motivation! My favourite book as a young child was The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton, and once I was older, I was basically obsessed with all of Terry Pratchett’s books. I also remember being thrillingly frightened by Emily Rodda’s Rowan of Rin and learning sections off by heart. Fantasy/Adventure has always been my favourite genre, and if it’s funny or a little bit scary (or both!) then so much the better.

What makes the perfect villain?

I love a villain with a backstory. I think there has to be some scariness initially, but then as you get to know the character you learn more about their motivations. The perfect villain might be one where their behaviour becomes the tiniest bit understandable – but, of course, they take it to a terrifying extreme. I also love a hidden villain (spoilers!).

This is book one of a series. Did you plot out the entire series before you began writing book 1? Or will you tackle each book as you get to it?

I had no idea what I was doing when I started writing Book 1. I was 50,000 words into the first book when I realised that there was no way that everything I wanted to happen was going to happen in a single book. Thus, a series was born! I know the major plot points for each book, but I like to keep some room for creativity and surprises (for both myself, and the reader!).

Do you have a tip for young writers who would like to write stories set in a magical world?

Magical worlds are so much fun! I have two tips. The first is to chuck whatever you love into your magical world, and that way you’ll love your story. I have a soft spot for big, beautiful trees, and I’ve always wanted to be able to talk to animals, so both of those feature in Everglade. My second tip is to make sure that whatever magic you use in your world has a cost associated with it – whether that’s physical, emotional, or in unforeseen consequences.

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

At the moment I’m deep into working on the second Everglade book, and I cannot wait for everyone to read it. I can’t say more, or I’ll give away all my secrets!

Rise of the Witch is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.

EXTRAS

Visit the Kitty Black’s website for more about her and her books.

Visit Rebecca Crane’s website for more about her and her art.

The cover of a children's fantasy novel: Rise of the Witch by Kitty Black.
Posted in authors, illustrator, interviews

Renée Treml on The Thylacine and the Time Machine

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
A children's book: The Thylacine and the Time Machine by Renée Treml.
René Treml standing in an art studio holding a book for children.

Renée Treml is an award-winning writer and illustrator based in Fremantle, WA. She has written and illustrated several picture books including the award-winning Once I Heard a Little Wombat, and Wombat Big, Puggle Small, which was read on ABC’s Play School. Renée is also the creator of the hilarious graphic novels featuring Sherlock Bones and Ollie and Bea. Today we’re thrilled to be chatting with Renée about her latest graphic novel: The Thylacine and the Time Machine.

From the publisher:

Buckle up! The time-machine awaits! Join twelve-year-old Violet, her dog Tassie and her new friend Thyla – the ghost of the last Tasmanian tiger – on a wild ride to learn all about the legendary, elusive and extinct thylacines. Packed full of fascinating facts about the terrible past and (potentially) exciting future of the Tassie tiger.

What brought you to create a graphic novel about the de-extinction of the thylacine?

I am fascinated by the idea that scientists can bring an animal that no longer exists back to life. It’s like science-fiction except in real life!

Do you have a favourite thylacine fact?

Is it okay if I include a few? Thylacines are fascinating (and very misunderstood) creatures.

Until about 4,000 years ago, thylacines roamed all of Australia … so calling them a ‘Tasmanian tiger’ is a bit limiting. Plus, they are a marsupial, and we humans are more closely related to tigers than thylacines are.

European colonists on Tasmania believed the thylacines were killing their sheep, so they hunted the thylacine to extinction. It turns out bad farming practices, wild dogs, and other humans (thieves!) were to blame. Now we know that thylacines hunted alone and were not big or strong enough to take down an adult sheep.

How do you approach the first draft of a graphic novel? (Do you write the text as prose or a playscript?)

For this graphic novel, I first wrote a summary of what would happen in each chapter, then I drafted the story as a script. My next step was to create the sketches that would accompany the words.

What is the editing process like for a graphic novel? Is the artwork edited as well as the text?

For a graphic novel, we edit both the text and the artwork – and the process is very intertwined (and sometimes messy!) because the words influence the pictures, and the pictures influence the words. We edited The Thylacine and the Time Machine at several stages. Our goal was to catch any major problems in the scripting or sketching stages because that’s when it’s easiest to make changes. We saved the nit-picky grammar and punctuation edits until the very end because I often change and edit the text while I’m drawing.

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

I am working on my first collaborative graphic novel mystery series with author Nova Weetman titled Mystery Beach. (Aside note: it is so much fun to co-write with another person!) We were inspired by our beloved childhood series Trixie Belden, Girl Detective, and our stories are set in current-day Australia. The first book will be out in 2026.

The Thylacine and the Time Machine is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.

AWESOME EXTRAS

Take a sneak peek inside the book

Download the Teachers’ Notes from the publisher’s site (look for the grey button)

Visit Renée Treml’s website for more about her and her books

A children's book: The Thylacine and the Time Machine by Renée Treml.
Posted in authors, illustrator, interviews

Tull Suwannakit on Higher Ground

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
Tull Suwannakit holds up a copy of Higher Ground

Tull Suwannakit is an award-winning illustrator and author with a background in animation and fine art. When Tull is not writing and illustrating, he runs art classes and workshops for children and adults at his art school in Melbourne. Today we’re excited to hear from Tull about his latest book: Higher Ground.

The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reading copy of Higher Ground.

From the publisher:

After a great flood, a grandmother, her two grandchildren and their pet rabbit must learn to survive living on their rooftop garden, relying on scarce resources and limited space. Days turn into weeks, and weeks into months, but through life lessons and words of wisdom, hope emerges.

Higher Ground is illustrated with watercolour, graphite powder, gouache and acrylic paints. Can you tell us a bit about your approach to illustrating the book?

After I am happy with how the storyboard looks, I transfer each rough sketch onto a final piece of watercolour paper. Multiple layers of transparent sepia-toned washes are applied to give the illustration a base tint of light and dark. Additional mediums are used in order for me to capture a particular mood and tone of each scene. For instance, soluble graphite powder helps with muting down the scene, and giving it a dystopian feel. For dynamic scenes, I will add in a thick application of gouache and acrylic paints.  In contrast, luscious and lively scenes are injected with a dab of bright coloured pigments using a combination of watercolour, gouache and/ or ink. 

A double page spread: pages from inside Higher Ground by Tull Suwannakit.
From Higher Ground by Tull Suwannakit.

Higher Ground is a dystopian tale, with a small family – Grandma and her two grandchildren –  isolated following a natural disaster. Thanks to Grandma’s wise, calm guidance, the characters maintain hope and a focus on doing what they can do to survive and thrive in this new challenging environment. The book in our hands becomes a sort of stand-in for Grandma when we come to the end of the story – we can hold onto her instructions for survival skills, food preserving and preparation, and seasonal information. Is the Grandma character based on someone in your life – did you have someone who hands on life skills, family recipes and other knowledge?

Although the time spent with my grandma was brief, her teachings left an everlasting imprint on me. I learned a thing or two from her about how to go about preserving fruits and vegetables, and how to take care of the garden. Growing up and living away from home at the young age of nine to attend boarding school, I learned early on valuable life lessons and skills from the wonderful people that I met along the way. I learned to cook for myself and others, I mastered a handful of essential skills and gained many words of wisdom, all of which manifested into the character of Grandma in Higher Ground. 

The main characters aren’t named. Was there a reason you decided not to share their names with readers?

This has always been my debate right from the start – whether or not they should be given names. In the end, by not giving the characters names, I think it allows readers to be a part of the journey in a more immersive and  empathetic way. 

The younger sister sketches and take notes about their everyday activities. Were you also a diary or journal-keeper when you were growing up?

I was more of a visual oriented child, and expressed much of my feelings through pictures. So, when I first moved from Thailand to Singapore, there were huge cultural and language barriers. I found journaling, through simple writing to accompany my pictures, helped me understand and connect with myself and the world around me.  This practice continues to this day. 

Can you tell us a bit about what’s next for you?

I have just wrapped up an anthology of Australian Poems, which I did the illustrations for.  It is a collaboration with The National Library of Australia with Libby Hathorn and Jude Fell and will be out later in 2025.

Higher Ground is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library!

AWESOME EXTRAS

Download activities and Teachers’ Notes for Higher Ground

Visit Tull Suwannakit’s website for more about him and his books

The cover of Higher Ground, a children's hardback book.
Posted in authors, interviews

Melissa Garside on Lexie Moon and the Word Burgling Bungle

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
A photo of Melissa Garside and a dog
The book cover of Lexie Moon and the Word Burgling Bungle by Melissa Garside and illustrated by Lauren Mullinder

Melissa Garside lives south of Sydney with her family, their hilarious golden retriever and some entertaining free-ranging chooks. When she’s not writing or teaching, she enjoys getting her hands dirty in the garden, immersing herself in nature and using her family as guinea pigs for her recipe-free kitchen experiments. Today we’re chatting to Melissa about her debut junior fiction novel: Lexie Moon and the Word Burgling Bungle, illustrated by Lauren Mullinder.

The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reading copy of Lexie Moon and the Word Burgling Bungle.

From the publisher:

Lexie Moon built her latest invention, The Vocabuliser, to help people learn to say tricky words, like spaghetti and Worcestershire. But the device is stolen by infamous gadget thief, Gizmo Lightfinger, who sees other people’s inventions as his ticket to glory. With Grandad’s help, Lexie devises a plan to catch the gadget thief and get her invention back.

Lexie Moon is an enthusiastic inventor – did you try your hand at inventing gadgets when you were growing up?

I didn’t think of myself as an inventor as a child – although I did do a fair bit of inventing in the kitchen, coming up with many recipe-free, experimental dishes, and I’ve always played with different forms of design, including drawing fantastical house and garden plans. Dad was an electronics technician which meant that I was surrounded by a lot of gadgets, components and parts, and spent many hours in places like Sparky’s Electronics. Among my ‘toys’ were empty photographic film canisters and an egg-beater drill. I also used to imagine that the printed circuit boards Dad used were city streets and the various components were skyscrapers and vehicles.

I wanted Lexie Moon to be an inventor partly because I needed a way for the villain to steal people’s words, and also because I really love books that have things that are slightly outrageous or impossible. I think most of Lexie’s inventions are both!

Lexie is a courageous kid who isn’t afraid to race into danger. Are you like this yourself?

No way! I wish I was more like Lexie. To her, it’s more important to do the right thing than worry about being scared, and once she decides what she needs to do, almost nothing can stop her. I’d like to think that I would always do the brave thing, and there have been one or two occasions in which I’ve had to face a snake or spider, but to be honest I’m usually much more of the scream-if-I-see-a-mouse sort of person.

If Lexie’s Vocabuliser could help you pronounce a particular tricky word, which word would you choose?

Well, these days I teach English to migrants from around the world. I must say I probably find the Vietnamese pronunciation the trickiest of all, so I would quite like The Vocabuliser to help me say some tricky Vietnamese words. If we’re talking about English words, I would like some help with words I read in books but don’t know how to say properly. Words like isthmus (a narrow strip of land), interlocutor (someone you talk to) and sphygmomanometer (a blood pressure machine)! That last one really is a tongue-twister!

Lexie Moon and the Word Burgling Bungle has lots of twists as the reader hurtles through the story! Do you have a tip for young writers who would like to add some extra excitement to their storytelling?

The advice that I’ve been given is that to make your story extra exciting, you need to put your character in danger or put them in a very tricky situation. Once you’ve done that, you can make your story even more exciting, by making the danger even more dangerous or making the tricky situation even trickier.

I recommend thinking about the situation that your character is in and brainstorming all the different ways things can go wrong. Choose one or two things from that list and make them happen in your story. Then your character’s job is to find a way out of the tricky situation and get everything back to normal. That part of writing can be a lot of fun!

Can you tell us a bit about your next Work/s-in-Progress?   

I’m very excited to be able to tell you that the next book in the Lexie Moon series, Lexie Moon and the Space Day Disaster, is planned for publication in August this year! I really enjoyed writing it and I can’t wait to share it with everyone.

If all goes well, I have a few ideas for other Lexie Moon titles. I’m also currently working on a portal adventure story and have lots of ideas for other books.

Lexie Moon and the Word Burgling Bungle is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.

AWESOME EXTRAS

Design your own gadget and try Melissa’s Lexie Moon wordsearch

Listen to Melissa read the first chapter of Lexie Moon and the Word Burgling Bungle on the Your Kids Next Read Podcast [it starts at 02:49 on the slider]

Visit Melissa Garside’s website to find out more about her and her books

Visit Lauren Mullinder’s website to find out more about her and her art and design work

The book cover of Lexie Moon and the Word Burgling Bungle by Melissa Garside and illustrated by Lauren Mullinder
Posted in authors, interviews

Deb Fitzpatrick on Tawny Trouble

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
A photo of Deb Fitzpatrick and a stack of books
The cover of Tawny Trouble by Deb Fitzpatrick.

Deb Fitzpatrick writes for adults, young adults and children. She loves using stories from real life in her novels and regularly teaches creative writing to people of all ages. Deb loves bushwalking with her family. When she can, she sneaks away to a shack in the karri forest of the south-west of Western Australia. Today we’re thrilled to be chatting to Deb about her latest book: Tawny Trouble. 

The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reading copy of Tawny Trouble.

From the publisher:

When Tessa’s family accidentally hit a Tawny Frogmouth while driving through the bush at night, they feel terrible. But the tawny is alive and needs their help. What Tessa doesn’t know is where that help will lead … Deb Fitzpatrick’s new novel is perfect for nature-loving readers who have a soft spot for animals.

How did a Tawny Frogmouth end up as the focus of your new book?

My family goes to the Nannup Music Festival every year and on the midnight drive home through the forest we always dodge Tawny Frogmouths, which feed on moths and insects attracted to the lights of cars. One year we came horribly close to hitting a tawny and it made me think: WHAT IF?? That question — what if? — is often the catalyst for my writing.

What’s your favourite Tawny Frogmouth fact?

I can’t just share one wonderful Tawny Frogmouth fact! I beg your indulgence, Alphabet Soup readers!

The most important fact we need to know about Tawny Frogmouths is that while they are nocturnal and as such are often confused for owls, they’re not owls. They’re closer to the nightjar.

Tawny Frogmouth feathers are soft, allowing for stealthy, silent flight. And their mottled grey, brown and black colouring helps them mimic tree branches — this is why Tawny Frogmouths are often referred to as the ‘masters of camouflage’.

You’re the author of many books. What do you find to be the hardest part of writing a book for you? (from the spark of the idea through to the book heading off to the printer?)

The spark of the idea is probably the easiest part for me, and the most exciting, and I think that’s true for a lot of writers. Reaching the end of a first draft is a huge relief, because for me the hardest part of writing any novel is getting through THE MIDDLE. Novel-writing is a sort of long-distance event; keeping positive, focused and confident in your abilities during that long middle phase can make or break the project. To maintain the sporting metaphor, that middle phase is about your creative stamina, your mental fitness, your willingness to go all the way. You really have to back yourself and your project, and it helps enormously to have the support of others during this time. I share my works-in-progress with another published children’s writer, and she sends me her work. We offer each other detailed editorial feedback including suggestions for improvement, observations on what’s working, and a solid dose of encouragement. I find this exchange really keeps me on track and lifts my motivation when I’m flagging.

Do you have a tip for young writers who’d also like to write adventure stories?

I would suggest incorporating a topic you’re fascinated by and want to know more about (I love native animals, for example, and love to write about them). Do some research (I had to do quite a bit to write Tawny Trouble as I didn’t know a lot about these beautiful birds) and weave a few facts into the story here and there. Before you know it, you’re engaging your readers while completely immersing yourself in research and writing — and it works because it’s something you care about.

Can you tell us a bit about what’s next for you?

I’m currently writing a novel for middle readers set on Penguin Island off the WA coast. It’s about 11-year-old Mitch, who gets caught up in an environmental adventure with the island’s Little Penguin population. Little Penguins are the only penguins that are native to Australia, and they’re the smallest of the 18 species of penguin in the world. This book is for readers who love nature and adventure, and perfect for fans of Kelpie Chaos and Tawny Trouble!

Tawny Trouble is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.

AWESOME EXTRAS

Read the first chapter of Tawny Trouble

Download Deb’s nature tracker printable

Download the Teachers’ Notes for Tawny Trouble

Visit Deb Fitzpatrick’s website for more about her and her books

The cover of Tawny Trouble by Deb Fitzpatrick.
Posted in authors, interviews

Angie Cui on My Mum is a Bird

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
The cover of a children's picture book: My Mum is a Bird.
Angie Cui

Angie Cui was born in Harbin, China and now lives in Melbourne with her husband and two children, whom she calls the ‘ABC Family’ – four people, three cultures – Australian, Bangladeshi and Chinese (her kids are Australian-born, and her husband is originally from Bangladesh). She loves the rich culture of her family’s languages and enjoys using them to tell stories. Today we’re chatting to Angie about her debut picture book: My Mum is a Bird, illustrated by Evie Barrow.

The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reading copy of My Mum is a Bird.

From the publisher:

Today is Parents’ and Carers’ Day at school. I don’t want to bring anyone, but my mum is coming anyway. She is a bird.

The mum in this picture book is clearly a bit different – she is a bird, while the main character (and everyone else!) is human. When you decided to show their differences this way, what made you choose a bird?

When I first started writing this story about four years ago, I wasn’t sure where it would go. In my original draft, Mum was a phoenix in a human body, but feedback from editors and writing friends pointed out that it felt too mature and a little too scary for younger readers. I didn’t want to create something that was too serious, sad, or frightening, so I decided to use the bird as a metaphor. I wanted to show difference in a fun, fantastical way – something playful and positive. Birds seemed perfect for that. They’re loud, colourful, free-spirited, and a bit out of place in a human world. They also have wings and can fly, symbolising freedom and adventure. A bird mum could soar, sing, swoop, and flap – this energy felt right for the message I wanted to convey about embracing who you are, even when it makes you stand out.

The illustrations highlight the themes in the book – like diversity, acceptance, the importance of a welcoming community, and perspective. Did you work closely with the illustrator, Evie Barrow, or did you each work separately on the text and illustrations?

A little behind-the-scenes story: I pitched the story idea at the Kidlit VIC Conference in 2022. After my publisher offered me a book deal, they asked if I had a preferred illustrator. Evie was my top choice! Surprisingly, my publisher had already reached out to her to check her availability. So, we ended up choosing Evie almost by coincidence!

In traditional publishing, authors and illustrators don’t typically work directly, which is quite common with picture books. I personally don’t like to give many illustration notes unless the publisher asks me if there’s anything I’d like included or changed. I certainly didn’t want to stifle Evie’s creativity, as I believed she would bring her own unique vision to the story. From the moment I saw her early sketches, I knew the book was in great hands. Her work brings so much warmth, humour, and gentle quirkiness to the pages – exactly the tone I had planned. She captured the heart of the story beautifully, balancing the child’s mix of awkwardness, love, and growing confidence, along with the bird mum’s joyfully unapologetic presence. Her illustrations do a lot of the storytelling, especially the emotional moments (my favourite).

In a way, I made the skeleton, and Evie gave it a soul. Together, we created a book!

How do you take one of your picture books from the first idea to the final draft, ready for an illustrator?

Each story is different, so my process can vary, but I often start with a strange image or a question that makes me stop and think: “What if … ?” For My Mum is a Bird, the idea was inspired by a close friend’s experience – she’s always felt different from her family. This made me wonder: What if a child had a mum who was different from all the other mums?

From there, I write lots of drafts, exploring different structures, voices, and points of view. As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t sure where the story would go initially, so I experimented with various versions until I found one that felt right. I didn’t want to write something too didactic, but rather a story that was easy to read and emotionally engaging.

A picture book tells a story in just a small number of pages. Do you have a tip for young writers?

Absolutely! Tip one: start small but stay curious. A picture book doesn’t need a complicated plot – it just needs an idea. Write down your thoughts, your emotions, and what’s important to you. You can even write about how you feel today, something you’ve experienced, or even just something or someone you noticed. As you get more comfortable with writing, let your imagination run wild!

Tip two: Patience is the key! Don’t worry if things seem messy or don’t make sense at first. Think of it as planting a small seed and nurturing it until it grows into something bigger over time.

Also, keep in mind, though, that writing picture books can be challenging. You’re basically trying to tell a complete story in 500 words and make it feel like a movie! The last draft I handed to my publisher was about 800 words, and I had to trim it down to 500. It might sound easy, but it was tough as a first-time author. However, during the editing process, I realised that a lot of the story could be conveyed through illustrations, and that’s the magic of picture books.

So, tip three – when you write a picture book, think about how the illustrator will bring your words to life. Picture books are a team effort, and the art plays just as big a role as the words.

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

I have two more picture books coming out this year and next. They cover completely different themes than My Mum is a Bird. I’m also working on other projects across different genres – one junior fiction book, one middle-grade novel, and two adult novels (I’m trying to keep myself busy! Haha).

My Mum is a Bird is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.

AWESOME EXTRAS

Take a peek inside My Mum is a Bird

Download the Teachers’ Notes

Visit the author’s website for more about her and her books

Visit the illustrator’s website for more about her and her work

The cover of a children's picture book: My Mum is a Bird.

Posted in authors, interviews

Sandi Parsons on Salty

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
A photo of Sandi Parsos surrounded by books.
A children's book: Salty by Sandi Parsons.

Sandi Parsons is an avid reader, writer and storyteller. She lives in Western Australia with some problem puppies and many teetering stacks of books. Today we’re chatting to Sandi about her latest book: Salty.

The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reading copy of Salty.

From the publisher:

Dara longs to have a best friend, someone she can hang out with. But it seems like Josh, her new assignment partner, will land her in popularity purgatory.
At least their assignment topic is perfect — Ned Kelly’s death mask. Now, Dara can drop words like ‘pseudomedicine’ and ‘phrenological analysis’ into casual conversation.
When ‘Ned’s head’ is stolen, Josh is convinced the culprit is their new art teacher, Ms Isoba.
As Josh hunts for clues to prove his theory, he discovers that Ms Isoba isn’t the only person with a secret.
​What’s Dara hiding?

Dara is a collector of interesting words – how did you choose which words to include as Dara’s words-of-the-day to include in Salty?

I researched lots of words before I settled on a handful I wanted to include. As a dog lover, groke (the way a dog stares at you, hoping you will share your food) was always going to be in the story. With my starter words in hand, I started writing Salty. In my second draft, if I felt a chapter needed a “word” that wasn’t in my word stash, I’d hunt about to see if I could find a word that would fit. That’s how I found chork (the sound shoes make when they are wet). Occasionally, my hunt wouldn’t reveal a suitable word, but would give me different word to use somewhere else in Salty. 

Do you have a favourite word? Is it one of Dara’s words?

Originally, my favourite word, scurryfunge, (to rush about tidying up on the moments before a guest arrives) didn’t find a place in Salty. When I did a structural edit, some interactions between Dara, Melody and Justine changed places, and scurryfunge slotted into place like it was always meant to go there. 

I’m also quite fond of snollygoster (a corrupt politician, or person who is in public service for their own benefit.) It’s a word that rolls off the tongue easily, but there wasn’t a logical place to include it.

How did Ned Kelly and his death mask end up in your story?

The original idea for Salty was a question. Why would a criminal need to hide in a school? After brainstorming some scenarios, the most likely answer was that students could be ‘camouflage” for someone casing a museum. Teachers on excursion have an excuse to take more photos than they need. I included Ned Kelly, because I wanted the thief to steal something uniquely Australian. The death mask was something I could picture Dara getting enthusiastic about, while Josh would turn his nose up at it.

Dara lives with cystic fibrosis. Are her day-to-day experiences at school similar to your own school experiences growing up?

I experienced way more problems with my digestive system than I did with my lungs when I was Dara’s age. So, to some extent, Dara’s experiences do mirror mine. No one with CF ever wants to have someone waiting for them in the bathroom! I wanted to go to friends houses and play after school, but I had to go home to do my afternoon treatments. This meant I was excluded from some friendship groups. 

When I was six, my enzymes came in foil packets. They took ages to open, and there was no way to take them discreetly. Everyone would stare. I was ten when the foil packets were replaced with bottles. I would quickly pop them in my mouth hoping no one would notice (they always did). When I was older I turned it into a party trick. If you draw attention to something, you give it less importance. (Dara isn’t that confident yet!)

Everyone with CF has a story to tell about people staring when you cough. Some people have very loud looks! Others will make nasty comments.

What’s the hardest part about writing a mystery?

I wanted to make it clear to the reader from the beginning that Ms Isoba was not what she seemed. (Just like Count Olaf in A Series of Unfortunate Events.) So, my focus was on making Ms Isoba seem like she had fooled everyone while the reader knew she was … probably … guilty. It was tricky!

Salty is out now! You can buy copies online or ask for it at your local library.

Visit Sandi Parsons at her website to find out more about her and her books.

The cover of a children's book: Salty by Sandi Parsons. The cover is predominantly yellow and features the title of the book as if it was a word on a chain (necklace) and underneath is the illustration of two children. A boy on the left holds a magnifying glass up to his eye, the girl on the right has clips in her blonde hair and she is holding up a dictionary. Just next to the children is a ned-kelly type helmet and what looks like scrabble tiles on a table that spell out Salty