Charlie Archbold has been a teacher in Australia, the UK, and Indonesia, which has given her a trove of experiences to infuse into her stories. Charlie’s books often explore themes of curiosity, community, and justice. Today we’re chatting to Charlie about the second book in her adventure series: The Sugarcane Kids and the Empty Cage.
The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reading copy of The Sugarcane Kids and the Empty Cage.
From the publisher:
Gloria the talkative eclectus parrot is missing from the animal sanctuary, and Anna the massive ‘not an anaconda’ Australian scrub python has vanished from her enclosure at the library. Have they escaped? Or were they stolen? Andy, Eli, Harvey and the twins, Bernie and Fletch, along with Eli’s trusty sausage dog Washington, have their eyes on a prime suspect. Can the Sugarcane Kids follow the clues to discover what is going on?
The Sugarcane Kids are good at solving mysteries. When you’re starting a new mystery book, do you work out the whole plot (including the end/solving the mystery) before you begin the first draft? Or do you prefer not to plan – and to solve the mystery alongside your characters instead?
I always start with an idea of the feeling and themes I would like my readers to take away. I especially like to round off or echo the beginning and end so the story has a symmetry. How I get there though is a bit of a journey. I unravel the mystery with the characters. The balancing out of the story then becomes my focus in later drafts. It is really fun not knowing how a choice you make as a writer will affect the story. One thing leads to another and that is the best bit.
Your series is set in Queensland – is there a particular reason you’ve chosen Queensland?
Queensland is a special place to me, especially the far north. I spent time working there when I was in my twenties and then twenty years later. It is always the place I choose to visit. It is a magical place. Full of ancient rainforest and turquoise sea. I also set my books there because it is a regional non-urban area. Many books are set in cities but I like to set my books in unusual places.
At the centre of this mystery is Gloria the eclectus parrot. Have you seen an eclectus parrot in the wild?
I have been lucky to see both a male and female in the wild. They are so gorgeous, cheeky and clever. I have also met some close up in wildlife parks. My aunt had a pet parrot for years called Bird. He really made an impression on me.
Do you have a tip for young writers who want to try writing a mystery story?
Start with a problem or situation that needs to be solved. I suggest dropping your characters straight into the problem. Decide how you want it to end. Is the mystery solved or left undone? I like my mysteries to be solved. If you are a plotting person you can then plot and write. If you are not a plotter, jump on in and see where the story leads you but be prepared to rewrite it.
Can you tell us a bit about your next writing project?
I have a new Sugarcane Kids mystery coming out in 2025, which I am extremely excited about, The Sugarcane Kids and the Mystery at Angel Bay. This time the characters are heading out onto the Great Barrier Reef to find out what has happened to Jerry, a massive Queensland Groper fish.
The Sugarcane Kids and the Empty Cage is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.
AWESOME EXTRAS
Read Chapter 1 (look for a ‘Preview this book’ link under the photo of the cover)
Amy Freund‘s debut picture book is Amigo the Capybara, illustrated by Kooky Chooky. Today we’re thrilled to be chatting with Amy about capybaras, writing in rhyme, and how she came to write the book.
The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reading copy of Amigo the Capybara.
From the publisher:
Amigo the capybara loves to party! But his neighbour, Mila the chinchilla, definitely does not. Will Amigo’s biggest performance yet be enough to win Mila over?
A capybara is an unusual creature; how did a capybara come to feature as your main character?
It all started a few years ago when I was playing a game and a capybara was one of the characters. I thought they were so cute and funny! But nobody I spoke to really knew what they were, until about a year ago when suddenly capybaras blew up on social media for being friends with all kinds of strange and unusual creatures. That was when I started to think about Amigo’s story and what a day in the life of an extroverted capybara would be like.
Are you more like Amigo the capybara (who likes a noisy party), or Mila the Chinchilla (who prefers a quiet siesta)?
I am definitely more of an Amigo. I LOVE fiestas, noise and having my house full of people! But, my fiancé is definitely a Mila, so I’m sure he wishes I was less like Amigo sometimes!
Kooky Chooky’s illustrations are bright and humorous. Did you work with the illustrator during the book’s creation, or did you work independently on the text and illustrations?
Amy Lee’s (Kooky Chooky’s) Illustrations are amazing! She did such a fantastic job bringing Amigo and Mila to life. I actually worked independently from Amy, as I wrote Amigo’s story almost a year before it was picked up by the publisher. But I was very lucky that the publisher found Amy, and she used the story and her imagination to come up with all the illustrations.
Do you have a tip for young writers who would like to try writing in rhyme?
Rhyme can be very tricky to write, I still find it difficult! My best advice would be to choose the simplest and easiest words to rhyme with in your sentences. Think words with one or two syllables. For example, we might decide to write a story about a puppy wearing a hat. ‘Hat’ is one syllable – nice and easy. So, the first sentence of our book might say something like: ‘Roman is a puppy who loves silly hats’. I would then start listing words that rhyme with ‘hats’: cats, pats, mats, rats. Out of this list, I think ‘cats’ makes the most sense, because dogs and cats are always at odds! So, I would then write the second sentence, making sure I use the word ‘cats’ as the rhyming word: ‘But they’re always stolen by naughty cats!’ What else could happen with puppies in silly hats and thieving, naughty cats?! If you keep the rhyme simple, the story will write itself!
Another important part of a good rhyme is, of course, getting the rhythm right. This can be really hard, but if you read your rhyme out loud and clap per syllable, you will be able to hear where your sentences are too long/too fast, and can fix them up.
Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on next?
I’m going to write a sequel to Amigo the Capybara. This time, I think Mila and Amigo should have a fun adventure, like go on a trip to Brazil, or even have a sleepover. I think their different personalities will make for lots of funny stories, as they are so opposite, anything can happen!
Amigo the Capybara is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.
Ashleigh Barton writes picture books and junior fiction series for children. Before writing full time, she pursued her love of books (children’s books especially) by working in some of Australia’s biggest publishing houses. Today we’re chatting to Ashleigh about the first two books in her new Freddie Spector, Fact Collector series, illustrated by Peter Cheong.
From the publisher:
Fast-paced and humorous, this series is all about an everyday eight-year-old boy whose love of facts and extraordinary imagination come together with unexpected and hilarious results.
Go for Gold: Freddie is obsessed with facts about sport. It’s all he talks about: weird sports, Olympic sports, extreme sports, athletes and sporting history. And, when the medals for the school sports carnival go missing and the carnival is about to be cancelled, Freddie realises it’s up to him to solve the mystery and save the day.
Space Cadet: Freddie is obsessed with facts about space. It’s all he talks about: stars, planets, galaxies, astronauts, space travel – and, of course UFOs and extraterrestrials. And, after noticing some very suspicious goings-on, Freddie realises it’s up to him to discover the answer to a burning question: could aliens have landed in his neighbourhood?
You must have a large collection of facts to keep Freddie going in the series! What’s the most startling fact you’ve unearthed so far?
Yes, I did so much research to collect Freddie’s facts! I actually spent more time researching than writing. My goal was to find facts that were as interesting, fun or as unusual as possible – things you probably wouldn’t be learning at school. The most startling facts for me would probably the effects space has on the human body. For example, you grow taller since there’s no gravity compressing your spine, you experience muscle and bone mass loss, and your vision can change. It did not make me want to go to space!
The first two books in the series are sports-themed (Go for Gold) and space-themed (Space Cadet). Do you have a favourite sport you like to take part in … or to watch at a sports carnival or the Olympics?
Well, funnily enough I’m not much of a sporty person at all. I did play a lot of different sports growing up – netball, basketball, software, tennis, touch football, soccer and swimming – but was pretty average at all of them. I based Freddie’s dread of the sports carnival on my own experience as a child.
Peter Cheong illustrates the Freddie Spector series and we love his humorous black-and-white illustrations. Did you discuss your characters with Peter during the book’s production?
I love Peter’s work too! And no – we didn’t work together at all. Peter completely did his own thing and brought the characters to life based on reading the story. I think he did an incredible job and I really love the way he’s portrayed Freddie and the other characters.
Do you have a tip for kids who’d like to write their own mystery?
My tip for kids who’d like to write their own mystery would be to think about ways to keep the reader guessing. If the reader is trying to figure out what happened, they’re going to want to keep reading the story. Think about clues and twists and red herrings (clues that are intentionally misleading), you can include along the way.
What’s next for you and your writing?
At the moment, I’m working on some books that I haven’t shown anyone yet, but next year I’ve got a new middle grade novel and a picture book I’m super excited about. The novel, which will be published in May, is called How to Sail to Somewhere and the official tagline is: “A story of lost and found, of friendship, family, hope and the power of the ocean, for middle-grade readers who love a mystery.” The picture book will be out a bit later in the year and is called Hedgehog Echidna. Another very talented illustrator is currently working on the illustrations, but I’m not sure how much more I can say about that one yet!
The first two books in the Freddie Spector, Fact Collector series are out now! Ask for them at your favourite bookshop or local library.
Cassy Polimeni writes books for children and young adults. She has worked as a bookseller, travel writer, magazine editor, TV book reviewer and airport chauffeur. Today we’re chatting to Cassy about Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra – the first in a fun four-book junior fiction series, illustrated by Hykie Breeze.
The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reader copy ofElla and the Amazing Frog Orchestra.
From the publisher:
Eight-year-old Ella hates her new house. She wants to be back in her old house with her best friend Viv next door … until one day Ella discovers a secret pond in her neighbours’ backyard with an orchestra of frogs! At her new school Ella meets Mai and learns about their class frog bog project. But when Ella finds out that the neighbours’ secret pond is under threat Ella and Mai must come up with a plan to save the frogs – before it’s too late!
Did you ever have to move house when you were growing up?
I lived in the same house my whole childhood, but some of my closest friends at school over the years were ‘the new kid’. I think any new experience – starting school, a new after-school activity or joining a new social group – can feel a bit like moving house because you’re thrown into a new world with new faces and new rules and you might miss the comfort of familiar things. That got me thinking about what might make it easier for Ella and I decided it would be nature — and frogs! – and that connecting with this part of her new environment would help her feel more at home. I did love reading up my favourite tree when I was a kid, just like Ella does in the book. Seeing that childhood memory brought to life with Hykie Breeze’s sweet illustration was a highlight!
What’s your favourite frog?
That’s too hard – with over 7500 species to choose from I need at least a Top 10! I have been fascinated with glass frogs lately — they’re see-through, so you can see their internal organs. Very cool and slightly gross. I’m also fascinated by a tree frog that was discovered in Western Australia recently who was bright blue because of a genetic quirk (tree frogs are usually green).
There are lots of different kinds of frog calls (a frog orchestra!) in the book. Are they based on frogs you can hear where you live or did you research frog calls before you started the writing?
Both! When I had the idea for a frog orchestra I listened to lots of frog recordings (The Frog ID app is great for this) and tried to work out how to put the sounds into words (onomatopoeia) as well as which calls reminded me of which instruments in an orchestra. I didn’t include frog species names because I wanted people from all around Australia (and hopefully the world) to imagine these frogs might live near them.
Is there something you wish everyone knew about frogs?
One of my favourite frog facts is that frogs are an ‘indicator species’ (like bees and coral), which means they can tell us how healthy the environment is. Because of their extremely sensitive skin, frogs are the first to react and respond to changes in their environment, which makes them a bit like an alarm if something is wrong. They are canaries in the coal mine of climate change. Their sensitive skin also means it’s very important not to touch them if you can help it. Anything on your skin – even soap or sunscreen – could be harmful to them. It’s best to admire them from a distance, but if you ever need to pick up a frog for any reason you should use rinsed/dampened rubber gloves.
Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on next?
The next book in the series, Ella and the Sleepover Safari, will be out early 2025 so I’m excited to be able to start sharing that very soon. It’s about what happens when Ella’s old friend Viv and new friend Mai meet for the first time at her birthday party – a sleepover at the zoo! The girls don’t get along at first but when an animal escapes they need to figure out if they can work together. I’m also working on Books 3 and 4 in the Ella and the Frogs series as well as a narrative non-fiction picture book all about science and wonder with CSIRO Publishing.
Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.
Carla Fitzgerald is a children’s author, a recovered lawyer and mum of three. Carla has written three humorous books for children – one picture book and two novels. Despite numerous attempts, she has not yet broken a world record. Today we’re pleased to be chatting to Carla about her latest book: How to Break a World Record and Survive Grade Five.
The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reader copy ofHow to Break a World Record and Survive Grade Five.
From the publisher:
Sam is a kind and thoughtful eleven-year-old, but he thinks he’s not that great at anything. His sister, Ava, is a soccer star and his best friend, Vihaan, is an award-winning artist. The one thing Sam is good at is knowing all about the extraordinary feats in the Big Book of Records. When Sam is set a class project about a moment he’s proud of, he can’t think of anything and takes inspiration from his favourite book. He knows he’ll be proud of himself if he can break a world record! But breaking a world record isn’t easy …
This is the second book in your ‘Survive Grade Five’ series. Why did you choose Grade Five as the focus for the series?
I love writing characters who are in Grade Five because I find kids of this age are funny, smart and interesting. And importantly, they’re often starting to think more about the world and their place in it, which is perfect for storytelling.
Each chapter shares a world record from the Big Book of Records. Do you have a personal favourite World Record?
My favourite record is ‘Most scoops on an ice-cream cone’ (125 scoops). You may notice that this record forms an important part of the novel! I actually tried to make a giant ice-cream as ‘research’ but I only made it to about 15 scoops. It was fun eating it though.
If you were visiting Sam’s class and had to nominate something you are proud of, what would you say?
That is such a good question – it’s really got me thinking! I am proud that I pushed myself to finish my first manuscript and now I have a career that I love. I’m also proud of my spaghetti bolognese, which is the only thing all my kids will eat.
Could you share one tip for young writers who would like to write realistic fiction?
Include small details from life in your stories – this will make your story feel real to the reader. Does your Dad fidget with his ear while watching TV? Give that characteristic to one of your characters! Does your local corner shop smell like feet? Perhaps a setting in your story could smell that way.
Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on next?
I’m writing another ‘survive grade five’ at the moment. We haven’t got a title but here is a big hint: ‘How to win a <insert major sporting event> and Survive Grade Five.’
How to Break a World Record and Survive Grade Five is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.
Kylie Howarth is an award-winning, internationally published children’s author-illustrator from Western Australia. Kylie has swum with whale sharks, manta rays and humpback whales in Ningaloo, piranha and pink dolphins in the Amazon, braved scuba diving with lionfish in Egypt, marine iguanas and hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos Islands and encountered great white sharks in South Africa! Today Kylie is visiting to talk about her latest book, the first in her graphic novel series, Kev and Trev: Snot Funny Sea Stories!
The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reader copy of Snot Funny Sea Stories.
From the publisher:
Join Kev and Trev’s epic deep-sea adventure – full of kraken laughs and comic commocean! Dodge flying coconut cannonballs, outrun ghost pirates, escape big sharks, pig sharks, and a punch-throwing pelican, all while hunting for mysterious merpugs and the missing emergency boat snacks! Water you waiting for? Jump on board Kev and Trev’s popcorn powered houseboat … and cross-your-claws it doesn’t sink!
You have published picture books and junior fiction novels and this is your first graphic novel. What brought you to create the Kev and Trev series?
I once made rhyming mini-books for my kids which I’d pop in their school lunchboxes. The kids loved these short, funny stories and often shared them with their friends and teachers. This inspired me to create a graphic novel series, that included lots of short funny stories written by the characters, Kev and Trev.
What tools do you prefer to use to create your graphic novels?
I use sketch books and a pencil for my initial ideas and story planning. I then use a program called Procreate (on my iPad) to illustrate my books. I also use anything from seaweed to broccoli dipped in paint and pressed on paper, to create interesting textures for my illustrations.
Your characters Kev and Trev write and illustrate their own rhyming short stories inside the book. Do you have a tip for kids wanting to experiment with rhyme?
Keeping a consistent rhythm and beat for each line of rhyming text really helps the story flow for your reader. To hear if your rhythm is working, try clapping along as you read your story out loud.
How does your editor feel about being turned into a squid? 😆
Ha ha! Kev and Trev’s editor is a grumpy squid named Mr Happy. Luckily my editor is never grumpy. She is also my publisher so identifies more with the lovely character of Tess the pug-lisher.
The book is stuffed full of puns and hilarious play-on-words conversations. What’s your favourite pun from Snot Funny Sea Stories?
I love the mixed-up book titles like THE BUFFALO (instead of The Gruffalo) and POSSUM TRAGIC (instead of Possum Magic.)
What’s next for Kylie Howarth?
I’m now working on the second graphic novel in this series – Kev and Trev: Snot Scary Jungle Stories.
Kev and Trev: Snot Funny Sea Stories is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.
AWESOME EXTRAS:
See a short video of Kylie designing a character in the book [Instagram]
Mark Greenwood is a history hunter! He enjoys searching for lost explorers and glittering treasure, delving into baffling mysteries and investigating famous cold cases. His many award-winning books examining history and multicultural themes have been honoured internationally. Today Mark chats to us about his new History Hunter series, exploring unsolved mysteries. The first two books in the series – The Vanishing and The Dragon’s Treasure – were released in July 2024.
The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with reading copies of these books.
From the publisher:
The Vanishing:In 1978, a young pilot vanishes during a routine flight over a notorious stretch of water. His radio transmission to airport control is one of the most bizarre ever recorded. What did Frederick Valentich encounter? Where did he disappear to?
The Dragon’s Treasure: On a summer morning in 1931, four children on a remote beach make a remarkable discovery. But this is only one of many astonishing finds in the same area: silver coins, hidden chests, mysterious stones, strange objects and an unidentified skeleton. Why is it all there? Where has it come from? Can the truth be found?
Join the History Hunter to unravel these marvellous mysteries.
You’re an avid history hunter, but how did you come to hear about these two unsolved mysteries from 1931 and 1978? (Do you overhear conversations, or frequently look through old newspaper articles to uncover anything interesting?)
I’m drawn to real-life mysteries to search for the truth. The spark to write could be a character, a place, an event, a photograph that teases my imagination, an object or relic, or a tall tale recalled. Sometimes, I wonder if we come across stories by chance – or if stories find us. A curious, questioning mind kick-starts the research process and once history hunters get going, there is no stopping the search for truth.
The Dragon’s Treasure invites readers on an adventure back in time. The premise reads like the plot of a fictional novel – a fabled shipwreck, seven chests of treasure, a mysterious skeleton and 68 desperate castaways abandoned on a bleak coast. But sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
There are many mysteries out there, waiting to be discovered – secrets and hauntings, unexplained occurrences, lost treasure. There are mysteries that solve the disappearance of something or someone. There are mysteries that remain unsolved. Not to mention strange objects, legendary creatures, ghostly ships, freaky phenomena and cryptic codes. For history hunters, a mystery is anything inexplicable, unknown or puzzling. That is what drew me to the story of The Vanishing …
Do you have an opinion about what really happened to the pilot who vanished?
The Vanishing kicks the History Hunter series off with THE question – are we alone in the universe? The disappearance of pilot Frederick Valentich is Australia’s greatest aviation mystery. In 1978, he was on a routine flight over the Bass Straight when he reported an encounter with a UFO. His extraordinary voice transmission with Melbourne flight control was recorded in full. His last words were: ‘It’s not an aircraft …’ Neither Valentich nor his plane were ever found. What on earth (or not of this earth) happened? After years of research, I have formed my own opinion about what happened to Frederick Valentich. I conducted a thorough investigation, and The Vanishing provides evidence and enough information for readers to draw their own informed conclusions.
Has anything strange or mysterious ever happened to you?
Yes – quite a few strange things have happened to me. I’ve learnt to embracethe mysterious, accept it and use the experiences creatively. These private episodes are random and rare, but always welcome.
Your books contain a variety of artefacts and primary source materials, like photographs, newspaper articles, investigation reports and more. How do you gather and store all that information and research for your writing?
I’m a history mystery detective. I collect information, clues and evidence. I keep files on the people in each story, newspaper accounts, photographs, research documents, maps and books about the subject that are valuable sources of knowledge. These are the tools that help me brush away the layers of time so my readers can walk undetected in the past.
Can you tell us a little about what you’re working on next?
I’m thrilled to be working on the next two books in the HISTORY HUNTER series. Each case file invites readers to delve into the unexplained and investigate extraordinary historical mysteries.
Case File No. 3 is the story of a legendary jewel that has crossed oceans and continents, passing from thieves to commoners, kings, and queens. The sinister forces that lurk beneath its indigo surface are said to have origins in an ancient curse.
The fourth book in the History Hunter series is set in the Great Depression – when a hero was needed to lift the spirits of a nation. The call was answered by an underdog with unflinching courage, a tall poppy who refused to be defeated, a battler who defied the odds, and an icon whose glorious life sparked one of Australia’s greatest unresolved mysteries.
The truth is out there …
The Vanishing and The Dragon’s Treasure are out now! Ask for them at your favourite bookshop or local library.
Cheryl Leavy is from the Kooma and Nguri Nations in western and central Queensland. She is an award-winning poet and writer who loves to tell stories that celebrate First Nations culture, history and Country. We’re thrilled to be chatting to Cheryl about her first picture book – Yanga Mother – illustrated by Christopher Bassi.
The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a copy of Yanga Mother.
From the publisher:
Yanga Mother is a poetic celebration of First Nations languages. This powerful bilingual story honours connection to Country and the unbreakable bonds of never-ending motherly love. From award-winning writer Cheryl Leavy comes this beautiful picture book in Kooma and English about a grey kangaroo and her joey, and the unbreakable bonds of family.
Sometimes the author and illustrator of a book discuss the project during its creation, sometimes they work separately on the words (author) and artwork (illustrator). How did you work with Christopher Bassi while he was illustrating Yanga Mother?
On the surface, Yanga is a story about the love between Mother and child. It helps us to reflect on how our Mother is always with us in our hearts, even when she seems far away. It’s something a lot of readers will be able to relate to and lays the groundwork for empathy for the Stolen Generations.
Once the story was written, I thought carefully about how to illustrate it. I chose dhugundu, the grey kangaroo, because they are wonderful mothers and siblings. You can read more about how they love and protect each other in the notes for older readers.
I got started on the book itself by working out what words would go on each page (the pagination) and made notes for the illustrations for each of the phrases that make up the story. I set it out in a table, using a process I made up as I was going along. I wasn’t really sure how to make a book and what people in the publishing industry did. I just I wanted to be able to set out my ideas clearly and simply, and to make sure the visual storytelling reflected Kooma cultural values.
I spent a lot of time considering how I wanted the book to look. I studied many of my favourite children’s books, looking at the illustrations carefully to understand what made each of them so wonderful. One of those books was Aboriginal Tales, published in 1972 by Golden Press, which my mother had recently given me. The illustrations have lots of rich yellows and this made me wonder which colours are best to use in children’s books. I searched the internet and found a piece of research that said yellow was a colour that children prefer in children’s books.
Artist Christopher Bassi was then the obvious choice for the illustrator. He is a famous artist who uses yellow as the main colour in his work. I have loved Chris’s artwork for a long time and we have developed a close friendship. I was so happy when he agreed to illustrate and design Yanga Mother.
From Yanga Mother by Cheryl Leavy & Christopher Bassi (UQP)
We worked together very closely, talking through my suggested illustrations and exploring Chris’s vision for the book. We spent many happy hours together in Chris’s studio in West End, talking about each illustration, pouring over children’s books we each loved, thinking deeply about how we could honour the story and bringing our very best efforts to each illustration. We are both very proud of the final product and are looking forward to a new project together.
On each page, the poetic text of Yanga Mother appears in Kooma first with the English translation below it. When writers translate their work, it’s not always a word-for-word project. How did you go about choosing the words for your translation?
Most of the translation is almost exact. There are some examples where there is a tricky translation, where I have generally followed the patterns provided by the Kooma language. Take for example the concept of everywhen, which is an English word used to describe part of the Aboriginal philosophy of time. I wanted to translate this term from English to Kooma, but there is not a Kooma word recorded anywhere. I already know that “murra murra” means many hands and “gurragurra” means everything. So wandhandja-wandhandja would be everywhen.
Because I am a poet, I sometimes like to use the Kooma language more creatively. The term “yilungga yabangga”, which means everywhere, is a good example. It literally translates as here and there. It is a more playful way of saying everywhere and suits both the genre of a picture book and Yanga’s story. I settled on this choice when I was working with a linguist (language expert) who, like an editor, reviewed drafts towards the end of the project.
Another example of a translation that is not exact is “ngali wadjanbangali”. It literally means we two are going, or on the go. The closest translation that fits with both what I wanted to say and a clear English meaning is, “we two are always together.”
The book was inspired by your grandmother’s experiences in the 1930s; she was part of the Stolen Generations, when Aboriginal people were often prevented from speaking their own languages. Did you grow up speaking Kooma, or was it something you learned later in life?
When my grandmother grew up on the Barambah Mission, she was punished if she spoke in Kooma. Like many Aboriginal people, this meant she spoke it less and less. I grew up speaking a little Kooma and other Aboriginal language words, but was not able to speak in sentences. There are not many learning resources for the Kooma language so learning it has been very difficult. I hope to be able to change that.
Do you have a tip for young writers who’d like to write their first poem?
If you’d like to write poetry, the best way to start is by reading poetry, lots of it. Carry a pen and paper around with you always. Leave a note pad beside your bed. Write down ideas you have and read over them. This will get you thinking and writing down your thoughts. A poem often starts to take form in this way.
It is great to start a poem with inspiration that wells from within you, but you can also sit down with the intent of writing a poem. You can try using what writers call “prompts”. For example, you might sit down with the idea of writing a poem about your mum. This is often the kind of thing you will do if you join a writing club – read poetry, write down and share your ideas, write from prompts and then keep working on your poems until you feel they are finished. I have poems I have been working on for years!
Can you tell us a bit about your next project?
The book I am working on right now is another picture book called, For You Country. It teaches the water cycle from a First Nations perspective. I am also working on a third children’s book titled Mugirri and Samson. It shares what a nyimanj (native ant) called Backbone learns about himself and his community after he comes across the first-ever yarraman (horse) on his Country.
Yanga Mother is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookstore or local library.
Shirley Marr is an award-winning author and first generation Chinese-Australian living in sunny Perth. Shirley describes herself as having a Western Mind and an Eastern Heart and writes in the middle where both collide. She bases her stories on her own personal experiences of migration and growing up in Australia. Today we’re chatting to Shirley about her novel Countdown to Yesterday.
From the publisher:
James wishes he could go back in time. Back to when his mum and dad were together, when he had one home, when his family laughed and climbed hills and went to the movies. After meeting the enigmatic Yan, a girl who looks at the world differently, James discovers time travel might not be impossible after all. But if James can live forever in one of his six favourite memories, which one will he choose?
Can you tell us how you choose a title for your books?
Sometimes the title is the very first thing that I come with, but with Countdown to Yesterday, the quest to find the perfect title was a very long and drawn-out process that ended up involving my literary agent, my Australian, UK and US editors! I guess trying to find something clever, that also summed up all the big ideas in the book, was quite tricky. My working title was Tin Foil Tin Machine and other suggestions (among many more) included The Yesterday Machine, My Life in Six Memories, See You Yesterday, If We Go Back, Ground Control to Major Tom and My Favourite Yesterdays. I am interested in what the readers think of these alternatives!
If someone turned up with a time machine and offered to send you back in time … would you decide to go?
I don’t think I would try and go back to change anything, even the very worst of my memories, in case it changes the life I am living today. Right now, I am a full-time author who gets to write every single day and I feel I’m living my best life. Even though it took a long and hard time for me to get to this position. If I had a chance though, to be part of the audience at the very last Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars concert, I would definitely say yes! I would just watch very enthusiastically and be very careful not to do anything to affect history.
What’s your favourite cake in the Women’s Weekly Birthday Cake Book? (Have you ever had it for your birthday cake?)
That is the hardest question because I love them all. I’d have to say that like James in my book, I think the rocket cake is the best. I have never had it for my birthday, but I am hoping someone will bake it for my birthday next year.
Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on next?
I am hoping that I can go back to Christmas Island either this year or the next. I grew up there as a child before arriving to Perth on the mainland and I would love to write an authentic and unique middle grade about the jungles, the basalt cliffs and the unique birdlife. I think the way that the red crabs migrate down to the beaches each year is a beautiful analogy for human migration.
Could you suggest a word prompt for young writers wanting to start a new story?
How about the word TIME?
Countdown to Yesterday is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.
Deborah Abela is an award-winning author and trained as a teacher before becoming writer/producer of a national children’s TV show. She has since written 30 internationally published and awarded books, including the Max Remy series, her climate change trilogy – Grimsdon, New City and Final Storm – and The Stupendously Spectacular Spelling Bee. The Book of Wondrous Possibilities is about the power of books to save us when we feel lost. Today we’re thrilled to host Deborah to talk about her latest book: The Kindness Project.
Her teacher, Ms Skye, thinks kids can change the world with a Kindness Project. Nicolette wants to but how can she when Layla treats her like she’s invisible and DJ picks on everything she says? Leaf thinks Nicolette can be a superhero. So maybe if they work together they just might do it …
You’ve written 25 novels – what led you to write this one as a verse novel?
I’ve LOVED verse novels for so long. They’re like a regular novel, but instead of chapters there are verses. This means they have to get to the point very quickly, so they’re often real page-turners. I also LOVED playing with the look of the words on the page, so if something is
BIG
I wanted the word to look big. Same if a character felt scared or lonely. That was fun.
Did you need to learn any new skills before you started writing a novel in verse?
The big skill was learning how to tell a big story with not so many words. That meant I had to concentrate really hard on finding the exact word for everything that happened.
How did you feel about group projects when you were at school?
That depended on who was in my group. If I was with my friends, it was fun, but sometimes I had to be in a group with people I didn’t know, and that was hard, but if we were excited about the project, it worked out really well! So when Ms Skye puts Nicolette into a group with kids who don’t like her, I totally understand why she’s nervous.
Do you have a writing tip for kids who would like to try their hand at writing a verse novel?
Think about a something that has happened to you that made you feel happy or nervous or excited. eg auditioning for a play, getting your first pet, the soccer grand final. Tell that story, including how you felt, but only writing a few words per line. Include only the really important parts of that story. When you’re happy, look at the verse and see which words you can make look like their meaning. Here’s an example from pages 16 and 17. in The Kindness Project.
[Pages 16 & 17 from The Kindness Project]
What’s next for Deborah Abela?
I am working on two junior fiction ideas and a middle grade novel, but I have a new picture book coming out in February 2025 called No More Room in the Bed. It’s about a dark and stormy night and a bed that becomes full of frightened creatures who all want to squeeze in beside Dad. Until it all becomes too much!
The Kindness Project is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or your local library.
alphabetsoup.net.au 