Illustrator, Sarah Davis and I would like to invite all Sydneysiders to a STICKY celebration for the release of our new book: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Where: Sticky – CANDYMAKERS 10 The Rocks Centre, Kendall Lane, The Rocks NSW 2000 When: Saturday 6th June at 2.30pm
This book is packed full of magic, music, candymakers, greedy kings, wicked guards, and sugary sweets galore! It is the second book in New Frontier's Music Box series, which aims to introduce children to famous pieces of classical music. It comes with a bonus CD with the story read by Antonia Kidman!
Watch real candy being made! Taste some of Sticky’s delicious sweets! Hear Sarah and I read the story and watch Sarah draw! Come dressed as a fairy, a greedy king, or a yummy sweet! (optional)
In my new picture book Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Marcus and Mary are the finest candymakers in all the land. To help make this part of the story authentic, I spent a number of sugary, calorie-rich hours at STICKY ( http://www.sticky.com.au/ ) in The Rocks. All in the name of research, of course!
If you haven't ever seen rock candy being made, it's certainly worth a visit. If you can't make it in person, catch a glimpse of the action in this YouTube clip. These guys are awesome!
For me, picture books are one of the most difficult genres to write in. It looks dead easy - heck, how hard can 600 words for 4 and 5 year olds be? In my opinion: very.
One of the things I discovered after a number of years of bashing my head against the proverbial brick wall, writing dozens of flat, uninspiring picture books texts, is that I can't write picture books on demand. My picture book texts generally come to me unbidden and usually in response to something I have witnessed or experienced that has stirred me emotionally. I've also discovered that I need to leave that initial flash of inspiration to simmer in my brain for quite sometime: until the rhythms of the language and the voice of the piece, toll bell-like in my mind; until, in fact, the text is almost fully formed and begging to be written. Then, only then, can I can risk putting words down on paper.
So when the publisher at New Frontier rang and asked me if I'd like to write a picture book text for their new Music Box series, I felt very uneasy - so much so, that I nearly refused. You can't write picture books on demand, I told myself. Don't try. You'll regret it, you fool.
But the concept behind the series was intriguing: writing picture book stories inspired by great pieces of classical music and I was sorely tempted. Then when I was given The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from the Nutcracker Ballet as my inspiration piece - a piece of music I swirled to in my ballet slippers in front of my wardrobe mirror for most of my childhood - I was more or less hooked.
So I agreed to have a think about it and at least to have a try. But heck - was I nervous, definitely out of my comfort zone!
Then thanks to cyberspace, with a couple of mouse clicks, I was able to find U-tube clips of the ballet and within minutes I was six again, spinning (recklessly) in twirling pirouettes around the lounge room and bending into deep (and clumsy/painful) pliés, and gradually an idea started to form. Ah - here's to the magic of music and the power of our childhood memories! Several brisk walks around the neighbourhood, a bit of research into the story of the ballet, a visit to Sticky (candymakers in The Rocks, Sydney) and I was ready. Ready to start, anyway, and happy that I had a story to tell ...
Here is a link to one of the many Sugar Plum Fairy U-tube clips. Enjoy.
Yay! Look what I got today. An advance copy of my latest picture book, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Gorgeous illustrations by the talented Sarah Davis and a CD with the story narrated by Antonia Kidman.
Interested in a Freaky interview? I have been interviewed by Sally Murphy - author and reviewer - about the writing of Freaky and also about writing for series in general. Thanks, Sally!
Many years ago, when I first started out trying to write stories for publication, I wrote a story called The Baker and the Bunyip. It was, at the time, the "best" story I had written. I loved it and was very keen to see it get published.
In my enthusiasm to find a publisher, I rang the editor at an established trade publishing house and very cheekily asked: "Do you have an aversion to stories with talking bunyips?"
The editor laughed (thankfully!) and said, "Well, actually, yes. Talking bunyips aren't really my thing. But send it in anyway as, after all, it is all in the telling."
Well, obviously, my "telling" at the time wasn't quite up to scratch as the manuscript was quickly rejected and returned. But that bit of advice - it's all in the telling - stuck. It is the one truth that informs all my writing to this day.
No matter how wonderful your story idea, how exciting your plot, how quirky your characters - it all comes down to the telling. To voice and style. To the way your words flow into sentences and weave their magic on your readers. It is all in the telling.
Now ten years on, the editor I spoke to is a very well-respected publisher.
The Baker and the Bunyip was reworked and became The Baker and the Bush Beastie. I sold it to Macmillan Education in 2005. (Seems it's okay for bush beasties rather than bunyips to talk!)
And I am now an editor who very frequently utters the words: "Well, it's all in the telling, really ..."
Illustrator, Sarah Davis and I would like to invite all Sydneysiders to a STICKY celebration for the release of our new book: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
An advance copy of my latest picture book, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Gorgeous illustrations by the talented Sarah Davis and a CD with the story narrated by Antonia Kidman.