Welcome Claire Saxby!

Claire Saxby is talking about her new picture book, Sheep, Goat and the Creaking Gate. The first question I asked her reflects the problems with googling titles... I happened upon a site that miss-punctuated the title!

Welcome, Claire!
1. The Sheep Goat and the Creaking Gate is a fascinating title. It asks questions immediately; what is a sheep goat? Or is there a comma missing? And is the creaking gate literal, or does it imply something that needs help (oil)? Are any of these questions intentional, or are they serendipitous?

A. There is a comma! The creaking gate was an image that stuck in my head.
Every now and then I wrestle with what I actually meant psychologically, but it eludes me. Certainly nothing intentional. So I'll settle for...it's a device to help draw in the audience. They 'creak' for me every time I mention the word. On the surface level, which is where most children will access the story, it's a sheep who's ignoring what she has for what she wants, and a goat who is temporarily led astray. I toyed with using names for each character (not the gate) but liked the generic names better.

2. Goats and sheep don't star in as many stories as one would expect, given their intelligence and humour (goats) and their iconic Aussie status (sheep). Do you have any idea why this is?

A. No idea at all! I think sheep and goats deserve their place in our literature along with the cuter, cuddlier animals. I do have a fondness for sheep, despite having worked closely with them on a farm. They are funny to watch, generally fairly content with their lot, and I have to say, quite cuddly! (lambs and sheep, not rams...they're not cuddly at all). I have written about sheep before (sort of) in my book 'Runaround Rowdy' although the focus there was on the sheep dogs they worked with. I did want to stay away from stereotypical images of either animal, despite the lighthearted nature of the story, and Judith's cartoon-y illustrations help to keep the story light and funny.

3. Did you have any resistance from editors who wanted you to make this about a more "popular" (fictionally speaking) animal?

A. Not at all. This story has had three lives. One in School Magazine, one online and now here in picture book form. Perhaps the editors all belong to the sheep and goat appreciation society and were secretly cheering the opportunity to give both animals their turn in the sun (and moon and stars).

4. Do you read your texts aloud to "test" them or do you have sufficient "ear" in your mind?

A. Yes, I do read my texts aloud, but also listen to them in my mind (is that possible?). I also test them with a couple of readers. I ask them to point out bits that don't make sense but also to read them aloud. Then I can see how the text operates in the hands/voice of a first-time reader.

5. Is the story based on fact in any degree?

A. I have seen sheep poke their head through a fence to reach something that obviously takes their fancy. This even when they have their own food supply. I've help disentangle them from said fence.Goats are more known for finding things of interest beyond their own fences. I've been slowed down on a few country roads and had to report runaway goats. And I've certainly met my share of creaking gates. But this sheep, this goat and this gate? Never met them before. Pure products of imagination.

Here's a complete list of Claire's stops on her blog tour.

Here is a complete list of the dates so you can join Claire on her blog tour:Monday 17August 2009 Dee White: http://tips4youngwriters.wordpress.com/Tuesday 18 August 2009 Rebecca Newman: http://www.soupblog.wordpress.com/Wednesday 19 August 2009 Mabel Kaplan: http://belka37.blogspot.com/Thursday 20 August 2009 Sandy Fussell: http://www.sandyfussell.blogspot.com/Friday 21 August 2009 Dale Harcombe: http://orangedale.livejournal.com/Saturday 22 August 2009Sally Murphy: http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com/Sunday 23 August 2009 Robyn Opie: http://robynopie.blogspot.com/Monday 24 August 2009Sally Odgers: http://spinningearls.blogspot.com/

Welcome Sandy Fussell!

Today I'm delighted to welcome Sandy Fussell to Spinning Pearls. I've known Sandy for years, so it was fun to find out how she goes about researching her Samurai Kids series. To follow the rest of Sandy's tour, check out the venues at the end of her post.

The Hour of the Rat – Researching Samurai Kids

Time to confess. I’ve never been to China where Monkey Fist (Book 4) and Shaolin Tiger (Book 3) are set. Nor have I been to Japan where White Crane (Book 1) and Owl Ninja (Book 2) take place. I’ve never studied a martial art or touched a samurai sword. But I desperately want to do all of those things one day and a good friend even suggested I started writing, just so I could.

Where does the world of Monkey Fist and the Samurai Kids come from? It’s inside my head, imaginings drawn from hundreds of hours of careful, detailed research and even more hours of playing around with all things samurai, ninja and Zen. My imagination is the ultimate time travel machine. It can take me across the ocean as easily as it takes me back four hundred years to feudal Japan and imperial China.

In my mind, I always go to Japan first. When I get there it’s the mid 17th century and Japan has a historical relationship with China (always shaky) and Korea (even shakier after the Japanese invade). So I go to these places too. In Monkey Fist I journey to the Forbidden City, deep in the heart of Beijing, accompanied by the mysterious Chinese ninja.

I spent hours poring over maps and diagrams. Looking at photographs of artefacts. Sometimes I sat in my cotton kimono, listening to shakuhachi flute music. I was fortunate to interview the Australian Shakuhachi flute master Riley Lee (the interview is on the Samurai Kids website).

Just like Sensei, I have a gong I’ve been known to bang in the middle of the night, to find just the right onomatopoeia for its sound. I discovered Sensei’s wisdoms in the many Zen, Tao and Confucian texts I read. Some I found in my own sense of humour. (“Sensei sounds just like you,” my eldest son said, accusingly.) I went to sword fighting classes. I learned how swords are made, how to imagine the moves and choreograph a sword fight. I also learned I should never be allowed anywhere near a real sword. Luckily I wouldn’t do too much damage with my wooden bokken.

The best research tip I ever received came from Felicity Pulman, author of the wonderful Janna Mysteries. “Never overlook the value of pictures in non-fiction books meant for children,” she told a roomful of aspiring historical fiction writers, including me. It’s wonderful advice. Adult non-fiction often assumes we can work it out from the words. But children’s books often contain wonderful artistic impressions that kick-start the imagination. Japanese castle layouts. Battle scenes. Samurai heroes and ninja villains.

My constant companion for the writing of Samurai Kids still is Miyamoto Musashi’s The Book of Five Rings. The legendary samurai swordsman wrote it after he grew weary of fighting and retired to live the last years of his life alone in a cave. Every time I read it, and I read it over and over again, a fuse is lit in my imagination. I am transported into the world of samurai honour and swordsmanship principles. I am on 17th century north-east Asia time. When I finish writing for the night, it’s not one am. It’s the Hour of the Rat drawing to a close….

Follow the tour:

Sat Aug 1 Dee White http://tips4youngwriters.wordpress.com/
Sun Aug 2 Dale Harcombe http://www.livejournal.com/users/orangedale
Mon Aug 3 here! http://www.letshavewords.blogspot.com/
Tues Aug 4 Sally Odgers http://spinningpearls.blogspot.com/
Wed Aug 5 Mabel Kaplan http://belka37.blogspot.com/
Thurs Aug 6 Sally Murphy http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com/
Fri Aug 7 Robyn Opie http://robynopie.blogspot.com/
Sat Aug 8 Rebecca Newman www.soupblog.wordpress.com
Sun Aug 9 Susan Stephenson http://thebookchook.blogspot.com/
Mon Aug 10 Jefferey E Doherty http://wordsandpictures.blogspot.com/

(Giving our kids) A REASON TO WRITE

In April 2009 I had an email from a high school teacher, asking if I could suggest a source for one of my books. The book in question was a handbook for teachers, outlining writing workshops to use with schoolchildren. I suggested some bookshops, but no one seemed to have stock. Having had no luck sourcing copies from the publisher, I decided to write a completely new book on the same subject.

"Just a small book," I assured myself. "One about 6-7000 words, like your picture book writing workshop."

Blithely, I set to work.

43,000 words and many mini interviews later, the first draft of Reason to Write was done. Now came the hard part, deciding on a title. I found that using the short version Reason to Write, gave people the wrong impression. Almost everyone thought this was a book for adult writers who wanted to be published. No, no, been there, done that. Then they thought it was a handbook for children to use. No, no, haven't done that yet, but probably will. What is it then?

It's a handbook for adults who want to help children with their writing. Got it? Yes, they had it, but I couldn't explain that to potential customers, could I? Reluctantly, I decided the book needed a subtitle.

Many were suggested and considered. A handbook for parents. Yes, but it's also for teachers. A handbook for teachers. Yes, but it's for parents too. A handbook for teachers and parents. Too long.

Children's writing. Yes, but it sounds as if it might be for adults who want to write for children.

Child writers. Yes, but that sounds like a study of children who are writers.

Helping children write. Yes, but that could be about actual writing lessons.

The more subtitles I considered, the more I realised no subtitle of a reasonable length could explain the book's content and purpose. Finally, I hit on the idea of a subtitle that came first. How would that look?

Oddly, it looked OK. That's why the book is called (Giving our kids) A REASON TO WRITE.

Phew! Now the title was out of the way, I had to think about publishing... and that's another story. Tune in tomorrow! And, if you want to see, preview or buy the book itself as a PDF or paperback, follow the link. Reason to Write

Letters to Leonardo

Today I'm happy to welcome Dee White's novel, Letters to Leonardo, to Spinning Pearls. I asked Dee some curly questions...

1. Imagine you're pitching Letters to Leonardo to the following readers, and give a high concept (25 words or fewer) for each pitch.

A boy who's heavily into computers and aircraft.

15yo Matt surfs the internet for info on his ‘dead’ mum. Copes with his discoveries by writing letters to early aircraft inventor, Leonardo da Vinci.

(phew, just made it with that one – 25 words)

A woman in her 40s who wants to be a writer.

Letters to Leonardo uses dual narrative to add story layers and suspense. Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings symbolise the turmoil going on in Matt Hudson’s life.

A girl who enjoys TV soaps.

Action, drama and a hunky main character with a secret make Letters to Leonardo essential reading.

2. Can you remember when you first became a fan of Leonardo da Vinci? (In my case it was a story called "The Boy Who Set the Birds Free" in a school reader, and also some of Leonardo's drawings in an encyclopaedia.)

I can’t remember exactly when I was first drawn to Leonardo da Vinci, but I remember looking at the Mona Lisa when I was in my teens and speculating about what secret she was hiding. Don’t you think she looks as if she knows something that nobody else does? I’ve always been inspired by the detail and the depth of emotion you can see in the people Leonardo painted – like he ‘really’ knew them.

3. How do you suppose an eccentric gay Italian genius would respond to letters from a 21st Century Australian boy?

Leonardo da Vinci was always searching for knowledge and truth – was always open to new things so I think he would have been intrigued with Matt’s letters – and fascinated to find out more. He is quoted as saying, “The desire to know is natural to all good people”.

When you look at some of the things Leonardo designed like tanks, flying machines etc, he was way ahead of his time. So I think that when Matt told him about our 21st Century world, he would have nodded his head, stroked his beard and said, “Hmmm! Just what I expected!”

4. What made you pick Leonardo as your character's unwitting aura?

Matt’s character was in my head before I started writing. Leonardo seemed the logical aura choice for an artistic, sensitive boy who could see layers in things - and deeper meanings. They had other things in common too; like being removed from their mothers when young and having strong, overprotective fathers.

5. Tell us about your next project.

I’m putting the finishing touches on a new YA novel, Cleopatra’s Cat. It’s about a girl with three obsessions – the ancient Egyptian queen, cats and getting her brother off drugs.

Thanks for having me, Sally – and for making me think ‘outside the picture’.

The tour kicks off at Sally Murphy's blog http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com tomorrow, then on to Sally O's blog where I had to answer some very tricky questions:-)

Anyway, here's the complete itinerary

24th June 2009 http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com
Dee and Matt (the main character) talk about promoting Letters to Leonardo online.

25th June 2009 http://spinningpearls.blogspot.com
Author interview - some very curly questions

26th June 2009 http://thebookchook.blogspot.com
How art has been used in Letters to Leonardo - with some teaching activities included.

27th June 2009 http://belka37.blogspot.com
The research process involved in writing Letters to Leonardo

28th June 2009 http://weloveya.wordpress.com
Guest blogger – talking with Vanessa Barneveld – interactive discussion about dreams and writing

29th June 2009 http://www.livejournal.com/users/orangedale
An author interview on the writing process - covering things like inspiration and perspective

30th June 2009 http://www.letshavewords.blogspot.com
Use of mentors in YA fiction, and Leonardo da Vinci’s involvement in the book

1st July 2009 Cyber launch http://deescribewriting.wordpress.com including cross to Robyn Opie’s blog http://robynopie.blogspot.com – hurdles overcome on the way to publication.

2nd July 2009 http://persnicketysnark.blogspot.com
How the author’s life paralleled Matt’s – her growing obsession with Leonardo da Vinci

3rd July 2009 http://bjcullen.blogspot.com
Working with a publisher and the editing process

4th July 2009 http://sandyfussell.blogspot.com
Interview with the elusive Matt Hudson at Sandy Fussell's blog. Sandy is the author of the Samurai Kids series

5th July 2009 http://teacherswritinghelper.wordpress.com
Class writing activities based on Letters to Leonardo - themes in the book

6th July 2009 http://tips4youngwriters.wordpress.com
Tips 4 young writers on how Letters to Leonardo was written - how the author turned fact into fiction

7th July 2009 http://www.JenniferBrownYA.com
An overseas stop before heading home - USA blogger Jennifer Brown talks to Dee about bipolar themes in the story and the affect on teenagers of having a family member with a mental illness.

The Goanna Island Mystery Tour

Today I'm happy to welcome Dale Harcombe to Spinning Pearls as she stops by on her Goanna Island Mystery Blog Tour. Read on after my interview with Dale to see the other stops on the tour.

1. Hi, Dale! Seeing Goanna Island on your book reminded me of an old favourite - Dolphin Island by Arthur C Clarke. Dolphin Island was based on the real life Lizard Island. Is Goanna Island based on a real place?

Dale: I have to admit I have not read Dolphin Island. Is it shaped like a dolphin or because there are dolphins there? I didn’t know there was a Lizard Island. To the best of my knowledge there is not such place as Goanna Island. Imagination called it into being after seeing two other small islands at varying times that evoked a response in me. One was in Sydney Harbour. The other up near Fingal Bay. But in The Goanna Island Mystery the editor chose to move it away from the NSW coast to place it near The Great Australian Bite. Not sure why unless she knows something I don’t know.

2. If someone blindfolded you and whisked you off to Goanna Island and ripped off the blindfold, what would you expect to see first?

Dale: Scrub everywhere. Spindly dull grey-green scrub and little black crabs that look like spiders scuttling for cover back towards the black rocks. Behind that I'd see the dilapidated house flaking green paint.

3. What comes first when you're writing - character, setting or plot or theme?

Dale: Nearly always charcter. The rest gets worked out or just appears as I go along and discover more about the character and where the story is leading. With The Goanna Island Mystery that was not the case as it started with the setting and a character that arrived at about the same time. As a child I loved mystery books so that’s probably how the mystery got in the act.

4. Did you consider other titles for this book, and if so, what?

Dale: It actually started life as The Pirate Ghost. I suspect the editor decided to take ghost out of the title because some schools get a bit peculiar about such things. The editor asked for other suggestions from me. After tossing around several, it became The Goanna Island Mystery.
I mostly find titles a bit of a problem. A manuscript I’m working on at present is untitled and probably will reman so till something leaps out of the text. Even with poems, which I also write, the title is invariably last.

5. Any funny stories about the genesis of Goanna Island?

Dale: Don’t know that it’s al that funny but the goanna idea wasn’t originally part of the story. The name refers not so much to inhabitants of the island but to the shape of it. It was a later addition to the story because I was looking for something else to call it other than The Pirate Ghost, so I hit on that idea of having the island in a goanna shape. I decided I liked that idea and so then wrote the goanna shape into the text.
It became The Goanna Island Mystery. This doesn’t give away as much of the plot in the title.
The last short chapter was also a late addition as, even though the manuscript had already been accepted for publication, I wasn't completely happy with the ending. This ending the editor and I both agreed was more satisfying.

Thanks for stopping by, Dale, and all the best with The Goanna Island Mystery.

Catch up with Dale at her earlier stops...

Monday 25th Dee White at http://tips4youngwriters.wordpress.com

Tuesday 26th Sally Murphy at http://aussiereviews.blogspot.com/

Wednesday 27th Mabel Kaplan at http://belka37.blogspot.com

Thursday 28th Claire Saxby at www.letshavewords.blogspot.com

Friday 29th Sandy Fussell at www.sandyfussell.blogspot.com

If you want to buy copies of The Goanna Island Mystery they are $9.95 from Blake Education http://www.blake.com.au/Aussie-Aussie-Aussie-Set-2-The-Goanna-Island-p/9781921255199.htm

Foods and Fats and Heart Disease

It must be a coincidence... but here I am, filling in time between finishing a job and starting a meal when I hear a piece saying heart disease is now a major killer of Australian women. At the same time, 'cos of course I'm multitasking as usual, I see a piece on the internet about feeding the family for under $10.00 a meal.
This sounds good, but I checked the recipes and found most of them are unacceptably high in fat and salt.

Please - remember that buying cheaper (fattier) mince and sausages is false economy. You're better off with a can of no-added-salt tuna.

Exciting new author

I do the occasional editing job for an e-book/POD publisher and I'm quite excited about the ms I have just edited. The author, Donaya Haymond, was born in Thailand to Thai and American parents, lived in China for a while, and seems peculiarly well-suited to write a novel of two people with secrets who come together in a Halloween Romance. Donaya first wrote this novel five years ago, when she was thirteen. She is currently at work on the last book in the series.

I can't say much about the storyline, since the book isn't yet available, but I can say I loved it. It's not a children's book, but adults who love children's books are likely to enjoy it for the depiction of two affectionate families and two groups of friends coming to terms with... but that's two secrets, for now.

When Halloween Romance is released, I'll be able to tell you more, but for now, I can take a leaf out of those weird lists one gets in libraries. "If you love Pamela Dean's Tam Lin, Diana Wynne Jones' Deep Secret, the gothic romances of Barbara Michaels, Madeleine L'Engle's YA family stories and Sally Rogers-Davidson's Polymer, then you'll enjoy Halloween Romance as well."