Three things

This is not a post about things coming in threes. I do not believe in that notion at all. Rather, this post is simply about three things that happened a week or so ago, which all represent positive steps along the twisty track that is my journey as a writer. And they are all “firsts”.

So, as they say on reality TV, in no particular order, here they are:

1.     For the first time ever, I have my own dedicated CREATIVE SPACE/STUDIO. Pete bought me a beautiful desk a few years back, but I have never had a space for it that was ALL mine; it was always housed in a multi-use space, one that I frequently had to move out of when family members came and went (as they tend to do these days). But I now have MY space, complete with what I like to call my “thinking board”. My creative juices have become a torrent!

2.     For the first time ever, I have signed with a literary agent – Pippa Masson from Curtis Brown. This, I believe, is an important career move, one that feels very right.

3.     For the first time ever – drum roll please – one of my books has WON an award. A SWIM IN THE SEA, illustrated by Meredith Thomas, won the Speech Pathology Book of the Year Awards for the 3–5 years category. Yee- ha! As an ex-literacy teacher, winning this award was extra-specially sweet.

Loving the day job

Is it just me or has time flipped into warp speed? The days zip by so fast that sometimes I'm left dizzy. Has it really been two months since my last blog post? Wow. Time to rectify the situation.

Photo courtesy of Claire Saxby

The last two months have been busy with the release of A SWIM IN THE SEA, which has had some gorgeous reviews and has turned up in some unexpected places and on some unexpected lists. But, in truth, what has been keeping me particularly busy is the DAY JOB.

Which is not all bad. Because I am one of those lucky people who actually loves her job. Working in publishing for the past ten years has been a wonderful journey for me – a profession I never even thought of until I was actually doing it. (Weird, I know.)

But I love it. And feel very privileged to not only have a second career (I was a primary school teacher for twenty-five years) but to be in a job where I get to work with a fabulous team of creatives – editors, designers, authors, illustrators – to make gorgeous BOOKS for children and young adults. How can you not love that?

Some things I love about my job making books:

1. Being a phantom – lurking in the background quietly guiding and encouraging my authors to create the very best story they possibly can.
2. Being a puzzler – pondering on where each piece of the story puzzle should go, which pieces need to go altogether, and which pieces need to be added to create the best result –  the complete and perfect story. 
3. Finding solutions and coming up with ideas – something that is so much fun when you work in a supportive and creative team! Many heads working to the same end results in many great ideas being hatched.
4. Typography and book design – thanks to all the designers I have had the privilege to work with, I have such a wonderful new respect and love for beautiful typography and clever design.
5. Holding a finished book and knowing every step of its journey. That is a very satisfying feeling. Only topped by witnessing the joy on the authors' and illustrators' faces when they get to hold their "babies" for the first time.

How luck am I?

Time to beach party

Well, the sun is shining, the weather is warming and the gorgeous blue sea is twinkling at me. And it is almost exactly the same sort of day when about ten years ago I was filled with a scrumptious child-like excitement as I headed down the cliff track to the beach to have my first swim for the season.

But as my bare feet hit the still coolish sand, a refrain started to play in my head:

I'm going for a swim in the sea, the sea, the big blue sea. 

The refrain persisted as I garnered up my courage, closed my eyes and plunged into the still coolish water.

I'm going for a swim in the sea, the sea, the big blue sea. 

It continued as I floated in the current (briefly - the water was actually rather freezing!).

I'm going for a swim in the sea, the sea, the big blue sea.

By the time I had plodded back up the track, showered and made some lunch, the refrain had become a poem - a poem that over the next few years would nudge up against a couple of other ideas and eventually morph into a story -  A SWIM IN THE SEA.

And this week, with the red and yellow flags standing sentinel on the beach, marking the beginning of the summer swimming season,  A SWIM IN THE SEA is now officially a book, illustrated by Meredith Thomas and published by Walker Books.

So I think it is time to PARTY! You can read about the launch here.

Beach party launch of A Swim in the Sea at Austinmer Public School.

And, as you can see, I am once again filled with a scrumptious child-like excitement as A SWIM IN THE SEA hits the shelves in bookshops around the country. Yip-ee!