How Do You Find Your Winter Bliss?

While my friends in the Northern Hemisphere are currently enjoying the warmth of fresh air, balmy sea breezes and delightful summer evenings, we down south in Canberra, Australia are in the midst of hunkering down for a long cold winter around cosy fires, snuggled in plush blankets and sipping hot chocolate to keep the chills at bay.

What do you like to do this time of year, whether it’s Winter or Summer in you part of the world. Below are 5 ways I am enjoying the delights of this wintery season. I invite you to join me in experiencing Winter in my world, then visit the other #gr8tlogs at the end of this post for more inspiration and smiles.

Seeing Through my Camera Lens.

As we stack the piles of timber and gather kindling to prepare for another freezing season, the last thing I expected to see so early in May, (7th May actually!) was a snow fall that was so thick our entire valley became a white-out of a winter wonderland. I had spent the day at the National Dinosaur Museum reading from my chapter book ‘Fossil Frenzy,’ to an enthusiastic audience, when on return to our little valley the snow was gently floating in a silent stillness that enticed smiles from all the family. Snow ball fights and lots of laughter ensued as we played in sheer delight.

I was invited to do book readings at the National Dinosaur Museum, two months in a row. This was May 7th.

A month earlier, 8th April at the National Dinosaur Museum.

Reading

As the outside temperature plummets and gusty wind billows through the trees, there’s nothing like lounging back in a comfy chair in the middle of the afternoon reading a good book, while brilliant sunlight streams through our double-glazed windows keeping me warm.

My genre of choice, is as always middle grade fiction, as it’s what I like to write, I like to read and keep up with the latest that has been published. During May, I had the opportunity to attend the book launches of two middle grade fiction books, both by two of my favourite local authors.

‘Pearly and Pig and the Lost City of Mu Savan,’ by the incredibly talented Sue Whiting, was the first book launch. As I had missed the launch of the first book in the series, ‘Pearly and Pig and the Great Hairy Beast,’ I bought a copy of both books and enjoyed many an afternoon devouring these two fun adventures.

Pearly is an adventurologist in training and with her best friend Pig by her side she manages to become entangled in quite the adventure in both books. Perfect for readers 8 -12 who love adventure and the chance to travel around the world, these books will take them deep into the depths of the ice cold snow in Antarctica and in contrast to the sticky heat in the jungle travelling down the mighty Mekong River in Laos and Thailand. Having lived in Thailand for two years twenty something years ago, I enjoyed the familiarity of the jungle scenery and the mischievousness of the monkeys. Both books in the series are light easy reads, fun for all the family.

The second book launch was for one of my dear friends, an equally talented author, Cate Whittle. I am in the midst of reading her novel now, and I admit I find it hard to put down. ‘Starberries and Kee,’ is set in a ‘Solar Punk’ world as Cate herself describes it. A future of hope for the upcoming generations where the world has changed for the better. With Fossil Fuels no longer in use, the people rely on solar and wind energy, living in self sustainable communities. They grow their own crops, reuse, recycle and come together to share a life of contentment. This is a wonderful story for readers 8 -14, as it illustrates that if we all slowly begin to make changes in our lives now, we can still have a prosperous tomorrow despite climate change and the devastation man has done to the world today. We all need to learn to live in harmony with nature and the world will be such a better place to live.

Sue Whiting and I at the book launch of Pearly and Pig and the Lost City of Mu Savan.

Cate Whittle and I at the book launch for Starberries and Kee.

Watching

In the evenings I enjoy taking a hot cup of tea, (my tea of choice in the evenings is a chamomile and spearmint) upstairs to our big TV, snuggling under a fluffy blanket while relaxing with my feet up and watching the latest movie or series releases usually on Netflix or Amazon. ‘Ticket to Paradise,’ with George Clooney and Julia Roberts was a lot of fun. Knowing this was filmed in the middle of the pandemic, it tickled my heart to watch the way they transformed parts of Queensland to make it look like they were actually in Bali where the film was set. It’s a light-hearted fun movie that everyone can enjoy..

Somehow I managed to stumble across a great movie on Amazon titled ‘A Walk in the Woods,’ with Robert Redford and Nick Nolte. Have you ever seen it? Based on the novel by Bill Bryson, the two old men plan to try to walk the entire distance of the Appalachian Trail. Filled with lots of hysterical one-liners it’s a joyous journey of discovery and friendship. This is a must watch if you love hiking yourself and love being out in nature like I do.

The series I just finished was season 16 of Heartland. I had been wondering if Netflix would ever show another season here in Australia. When it dropped onto our screens a couple of weeks ago, I must admit I couldn’t help myself but binge watch it. I love everything about this series, the scenery is spectacular, the horses are fabulous and after so many seasons the characters are all so familiar and endearing.

From a writer’s perspective, I just finished watching (or doing) a two week course on Rewriting Fiction. It was incredibly insightful, inspirational and motivational. If you ever struggle with copy or structural editing this course will clarify and enlighten you, making the process that much more doable. Thanks so much to the amazing Jen Storer for putting this course together.

Loving

As winter knocks at our door, we do still experience the occasional warmth of sunny Autumn days that invite you to head outside to walk and explore. I’m loving the opportunity this is giving me to walk further as it’s not too hot. I definitely cope better in cooler climates when it comes to walking in nature, climbing hills and exploring the mountains around us. Being diagnosed with Parkinson’s nearly 18 months ago, has seen me embark on a fitness routine that now has me walking on average 5km (3 miles) most mornings. Living on top of a hill, there is nowhere flat to walk around here, so I have embraced the challenge and enjoy setting my pace to continually improve my personal best. I am now down to walking the loop through our nature reserve and back up the hill in just under an hour. I did it in 50 mins the other day, but I don’t think I will be repeating that any time soon, I was wrecked when I made it home. Luckily my family is encouraging too, and I take the opportunity to head out for walks with my family in the National Parks that are close by. I love walking the trails, listening to the wildlife, spotting the odd kangaroo and reaching peaks where I can see forever.

The climb up Mt Taylor is a massive effort, but the views are worth every last out of breath step.

The path up the hill takes you passed many beautiful gum trees.

Anticipating

From a writing perspective I am anticipating the end of my latest Adamson Adventure. I had originally planned to finish the first draft by the end of April, but I had forgotten about the family commitments that would make that an impossible task. Now May has come and gone and I’m not much further to reaching my goal. I’m now setting a more realistic goal of having the draft finished by the end of July. I hope giving myself two months to complete the story will make it a more realistic possibility. Then it will be time for editing during the rewrite phase. I had anticipated that this book would be complete and ready for release by Christmas, but I fear it may be more likely sometime early in the New Year. The working title has changed frequently, but I think I have finally settled on the right one. You’ll just have to be kept in suspense a little longer.

Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you have stayed warm with a nice hot beverage of choice while reading this. How do you prefer to survive the long cold winter months? Many friends here tend to plan holiday escapes further north. What might be on your reading or to watch list to help keep those winter chills at bay? If, like my friends on the other side of the world you are experiencing hotter days than me, how do you plan to spend your Summer?

Below are my friends suggestions to help you with a few ideas.

Julie Gorges

Rosie Russel

What Makes A Successful School Visit?

I have been doing author school visits off an on for almost ten years now. Each time I do one, I learn something new that helps improve how smoothly they run.

School visits have been fairly scarce over the last couple of years due to Covid-19 restrictions, but just last month, I had the pleasure of finally being back in a school for a half day visit. This had been much anticipated as it had been postponed several times. The original year 3 cohort that I had been invited to speak with are now in year 5. Sadly I didn’t get to have a session with them, however I was delighted to have a visit with several of them during their recess break. It was lovely to chat with theses kids not only about one of my books but all three in the Adamson series and why they enjoyed them so much. One of the young girls was quite articulate and explained that she believed they were so good because the plots were full of twists and turns and they had great character development. I thought that was great insight and high praise from an 11 year old reader.

So what have I learned that helps make school visits successful?

Plenty of Planning and Preparation.

As a former teacher I have always made sure I take the time to plan the lesson. But not all children’s authors have a teaching background. That makes it all the more important to carefully plan your day. Kids naturally can’t sit still for too long, which makes it even more important to be as engaging as you possibly can. If you do your prep, the more likely the session will run smoothly for you, the kids and the teachers.

Send a poster announcing your upcoming visit so that the kids will get excited. Send in a pre-order form with your website listed so that kids and their parents can view your books beforehand and make an informed decision.

If you are planning on a slide-show presentation, forward it via email or google docs to the teacher so that they have it on file on their computer. Also, make sure you have a thumb drive back-up just in case. I have also been known to have a printed copy just in case the techy stuff goes wrong on the day.

Author School visit St Claire of Assisi

Author visit St Claire of Assisi

Organisation and liaison with the school and teacher.

Keep an open correspondence with both the organising teacher and if possible the school administration officer. Ask the teacher what they might be hoping to gain out of the visit? Is there something they would like you to discuss that fits into the current curriculum guidelines that they are working on?

This recent visit was with a Year 2 cohort who are studying Indonesian, so the teacher was reading Secrets Hidden Below with them. I was able to give them more in-depth information on Bali along with photos I took during my last visit to Indonesia in 2019. I naturally incorporated some Bahasa Indonesia language learning as well.

At a visit to a school last year where I was asked to do sessions which each year level, K through 6, I was asked to incorporate writing activities that fitted in with core curriculum literacy skills. I was able to incorporate all my books instead of focussing on just one.

My biggest takeaway from this most recent experience was the importance of the admin officer, particularly if you plan to send a book order form in before the visit. It was this wonderful lady that suggested I add my bank transfer details to my order form so that parents could transfer electronically their payment directly to my account rather than the school and myself on the day needing to handle cash. This worked brilliantly as I then had an idea of the number of books I would need to take along with me on the day. Added to this, this amazing woman went above and beyond expectations and sent me a spreadsheet with children’s names. whether they paid via bank transfer or cash and which books they ordered. This meant I could pre-sign copies of my books and easily have them ready to hand out on the day.

Variation in activities during the session.

As mentioned earlier, variation is key to a successful school visit. Never plan to just talk for an hour or just read your book and leave it at that. Kids and teachers expect more, especially when they are paying you for your time. You are there to entertain, enlighten and engage. While activity sheets are always useful, I find kids get so much more out of a session if you get them moving. Games are fantastic for ice-breakers, those moments when kids begin to get restless or fidget in the middle and are a fabulous way to wrap up at thee end.

For this recent visit with the Indonesian classes I found a couple of Indonesian games to teach and play with them. Then added a Heads and Tails game near the end. It’s like true and false but sit with hands on heads if they think the answer is true, or stand up and put their hands on their tales if they think the answer is false. Kids have a lot of fun with this one, and you and the teacher can see who has been truly listening.

When I have done visits with Fossil Frenzy, I have also added a couple of dinosaur songs for the kids to learn and sing-a-long. Doesn’t matter if you can’t hold a tune, I certainly can’t, just be brave a go with the flow.

Author Visit Chapman PS, engage kids through movement and games

Author visit Chapman PS engage through movement and games

Make sure you allow time for Q & A somewhere towards the end, kids will ask the most incredible questions. Sometimes about your books, sometimes about you, be prepared for anything but remember you don’t have to answer everything, especially when someone asks the inevitable ‘How old are you?’

Lastly, remember to relax and have fun. Kids are always fascinated to have an author come and visit their school, they will be so excited to meet you.

Have you ever done author school visits?

Was there something you learned from your experience that I haven’t mentioned but others would find helpful?

Is there anything you still want to know that you didn’t find here?

Ask me any questions or leave a comment below. I would be happy to answer.

Researching Facts for Fiction.

I love writing middle grade fiction for readers aged 7 -12 years. There is so much potential to grip them with an adventurous story, but writing for this age group means a wide range in reading ability, not to mention their desire to read. That’s why in my Adamson Adventures series along with a great story full of tension and humour, I always like to include lots of factual information. Some readers enjoy fiction for all the fantasy and world building it entails, but others enjoy learning through reading factual texts. By combining the two, I hope to help bridge the gap between these different types of readers and encourage a love of reading in them all.

If you have read any of the three books in the Adamson Adventures series so far, you will know how extensive my research is. I take my readers on a journey from Bali, to the south coast of NSW and far out west in arid Queensland. Once I have a concept for a story, along with an idea of a location, I want to be able to write about the setting using all five senses, I need to experience that particular place myself. Photos, books and google searches can only help to a certain degree. There is nothing like immersing yourself in the scents, sights, sounds, tastes and feelings of the surroundings.

Pademelon are cute little marsupials that belong to the wallaby and kangaroo family. They are found all over Tasmania.

Far South region of Tasmania heading towards Cockle Creek and South West National Park Wilderness area.

That’s why in order to write book four, (title to be confirmed), I recently embarked on a trip to Tasmania. I always knew this story would be set in Tasmania, so to begin my research for the ideal setting I started googling possible best locations around the island. I also knew it had to be in the wilderness and accessible via campsites and walking tracks. Once I decided on the location, my next step was to go down there and experience it for myself. I spotted platypus, pademelons, a Tassie devil and a lyre bird all in the wild. Although the last two were too quick and elusive to catch on film. I inhaled Huon pine, gentle mist and rainforest ferns. I listened to thundering waterfalls and rolling rivers while leaf litter squelched underfoot. I tasted fresh powdery snow as it swirled in the air and landed on my nose, and welcomed log fires and warming hot chocolate. I hugged trees, patted bright green mosses and marvelled at four different types of leaf patterns in ferns that mingled in the same location. I was amazed by the splendour and magnificence of tall trees and the simple majestic wonder of the wilderness. I came home inspired and refreshed to start writing again.

For those non-Australian readers who have no idea where Tasmania is, it’s a relatively small island at the bottom of mainland Australia, that is included as one of our states. Tasmania is the southern most tip of our country and the place from where scientists embark on research trips to the Antarctic. New Zealand and Argentina are the only two countries closer to the Antarctic.

Map of Australia showing the states including Tasmania.

Map of Tasmania, showing Devonport in the top middle, Hobart down south and Cockle Creek near the southern tip.

Hubby and I spent six months living in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, back in 1986, soon after we were married. On weekends we managed to travel around to see a few places, but as you can imagine, when you are busy working in a place, you don’t have the time to explore as much as you might like.

After all these years, I was very excited to return this July, now that all our states have reopened after two years of lockdowns. We decided not to fly and rent a car on arrival because I knew I wanted to explore roads and areas off the beaten track. Therefore, the best option for us, was to drive to Melbourne and take the ship across overnight. That way, we could take our old four wheel drive car and have no restrictions as to where we went. I was pleasantly surprised that we had calm seas on both the departure and return trips. Bass Strait is known for wild weather, so I counted us very lucky, perhaps it was even a good omen.

On disembarking at Devonport, (6;30 am ), we drove straight down the middle of the island to reach Hobart by mid-afternoon. I had booked accommodation there for five days to give us plenty of time to explore the far south region. Out first full day trip was a drive through the Huon Valley, to the beachside township of Southport along with the campgrounds and wilderness walks around Cockle Creek. Imagine my delighted surprise as I read information maps to find Bennett’s Point, Adamsons Peak and Adamsons Falls! Regrettably I didn’t walk in to see these as I am not an experienced bushwalker of that calibre. The tracks are overgrown, and extremely difficult to navigate, plus they would take far too many hours to traverse than I could manage. I had to be realistic. However, I did get a good feel for the area a couple of days later when we returned to do the walks around the thermal pool at Hastings Caves, as well as the Airwalk and the Swinging Bridges walk that take you over the fast flowing Huon River. The views of the forest wilderness were spectacular.

Detailed map of the Southern Wilderness area of Tasmania with Adamson’s Peak and Adamson’s Falls circled. Bennett’s Point is highlighted in orange.

Looking across Recherche Bay to Bennett’s Pont.

Swinging Bridges walk across the Huon River, Hastings Caves and Thermal Pool.

To my delight, after a couple of hours walking, we returned to the carpark to discover a Tasmanian Devil and a Lyrebird in the wild. Sadly they were both too quick to disappear into the thick foliage to capture on film. I did manage to buy a couple of cute cuddly toy Tasmanian Devils and Tigers for the grandkids. There are many stories about the now extinct Tasmanian Tiger, and I did purchase a number of books about them. Could they still be elusively hiding out there in the wilderness somewhere?

We were lucky to see a Tasmanian Devil in the wild, if only for a fleeting moment.

Tasmanian Tigers are believed to be extinct. The last one died in captivity at a zoo in Hobart in 1936.

Surprisingly, I also watched a platypus playing in the river outside her den one afternoon. I had booked a cosy little Bed and Breakfast for the night, and on booking the owner has assured us that if we were there by 3:30 pm, we would be able to see the platypus at play. I didn’t believe the platypus would be there, but as we were served afternoon tea by the river bank, sure enough, the platypus arrived right on cue.

Our hosts also believed it would be a good night for seeing the Aurora Australis and suggested a great spot for viewing. Unfortunately as we waited, we watched the rain come across the valley and set in, spoiling any hopes of us catching a glimpse of this amazing phenomenon. I was so close to ticking this one off my bucket list, perhaps I’ll have to head to the northern hemisphere and see the Aurora Borealis instead.

Platypus in the river at Geeveston.

Aurora Australia courtesy of Wallpaper Flare

After my exploration down south was complete, we continued to discover more of the beauty of the Tasmanian wilderness through walks in Mt Fields Nation Park and Cradle Mountain. My initial plan on the day we headed to Mt Fields, was to just do the walks to the waterfalls, but hubby had other ideas. We drove up to the end of the road at the top of the mountain where we embarked on the most fabulous walk around Lake Dobson. The change in vegetation and diversity in plant life at the top compared to the rainforest and waterfalls further below was incredible. I took so many photos for my research and was inspired with lots of ideas.

Horseshoe Falls, Mt Fields National Park.

We hadn’t planned on a visit to Cradle Mountain as we had been there all those years ago, but I was so glad we did. This time we managed the 6.5 Km ( 4 miles) around Dove Lake. It was 2 !/2 hours of enchanted rainforest, squeezing around overhanging rocks, stepping over thick vines, massive tree roots and stone stairs that climbed up a hill and back down the other side. The park ranger informed me it wasn’t called Heartbreak Hill for nothing! All the while the rain drizzled off and on, causing the track to become quite slippery in places, but it was so worth it for the striking views of the lake and the rugged mountains that occasionally peaked out from behind fog or misty clouds. On checking the weather forecast for the next few days, we learned that snow was predicted. I was so glad we decided to stay, we were rewarded with a winter wonderland of fresh powdered snow that blanketed the resort and the mountains as far as the eye could see. Naturally, I had to head out for another walk in the fresh snow before too many footsteps turned the tracks to ice and mush.

Snowfall at Cradle Mountain.

I feel like my writing has slowed somewhat over the last two years, covid and lockdowns have not been conducive to my imagination. But this research trip was the prescription I needed. I have returned home inspired, motivated and keen to put pen to paper. Hopefully the next great Adamson Adventure will flow from my hands and be ready for publication sometime next year.

Do you do research to help you write your fiction books?

How do you do your research for your fiction books?

A Few Favourite Quotes to Live by in the New Year

As a writer, I have always found this first quote to be particularly apt.

With the New Year, comes new beginnings, new prospects and new hope. We begin a new chapter in our lives each year as the page turns from 31st December to 1st January. It is up to us to write our own story, with adventure, laughter, and love. We are the hero in our own journey as we face challenges head-on to overcome them. We can choose to be positive and resilient, determined and fearless but always remembering that all heroes make mistakes or fail in their first few attempts. A new year is a chance to try again and never give up.

I recently saw a cartoon/meme, I can’t remember the complete quote, but the gist of it was, if you want flowers tomorrow, plant seeds today. In other words, do the work now to plan for the future. This resonated with me quite a lot, our future happiness and contentment comes from within ourselves. If you hope to grow or change in anyway, it is up to you to make the effort. That lead me to this next new year quote.

It is up to you to make the year and years ahead to be the best you can make them. My inspirational word for this year is ‘Balance,’ in my life, my writing, my family and my health. I bring to the new year a balanced attitude that will help me make time for all of these things in a relaxed, stress free manner. I am learning not to put pressure on myself to be everything to everyone, to slow down and take my time, which also means less social media, less writing workshops that have been consuming too much of my time and focussing on what is most important to me without suffering FOMO.

Which brings me to my final quote, and possibly the most important one. It summarises all of my thoughts and wishes for you all this new year.

Lastly, I watched a video the other day about the band ‘The Monkees,’ they were a TV show and a group I loved to watch over and over again in my youth, their music was such fun. When I listen to their songs today, I still have a feeling of warmth, a smile on my face and I can’t stop singing along. At the end of the program Peter Tork made a comment that resonated with me. I would like to leave you with this thought - ‘You are the hero of your own journey, so make it a good one.’

If you found theses quotes helpful, I would like to invite you to explore a few more from fellow writers listed below.

What New Year quotes resonates most with you and why?

Julie Gorges

Rebecca Lyndsey

Rosie Russell

Cat Michael

James Milson

Carmela Dutra

Spring Into The Season

As I drive around our beautiful little valley in the countryside just outside of Canberra, the wattle is in bloom everywhere and cute little lambs are beginning to appear in the paddocks. Our eldest grandson delights in pointing out every wattle he spots. It is a glorious reminder that Spring has sprung and we should take the time to smell the proverbial roses while basking in the sunshine and hint of warmth that this new season brings.

At 3 !/2 years, my grandson is learning the names of not only the wattle trees, but also pine trees, cherry blossoms, (although he calls them cherry blossom wattles at the moment), photinia with their white flowers and red tipped leaves, and the various varieties of gum trees on our property. Our neighbour’s hedge of callistemon (commonly referred to as bottle brush) is ready to burst in an abundance of reds and pinks any day. We may be still in lockdown, but at least we can enjoy the magnificent outdoors in the fresh country air. Fingers crossed we will slowly be able to emerge from our isolation cocoons somewhere around mid-October, and spread our wings and fly like brightly coloured butterflies. it is a perfect time to enjoy all the beauty that Spring has to offer,

As the Spring evenings begin to rise above freezing, hubby and I are also enjoying more dinners outside by our fireball as we watch the magnificent sunsets on the distant Brindabella Ranges. The sky’s colourful palette never ceases to amaze me. Spring and Autumn are my favourite seasons to light our fireball, not too cold when the temperature plummets in Winter and before the Summer heatwaves bring essential fire bans.

As much as I am quite content to savour the delights of Spring from home, we are looking forward to the day when we are permitted to go a little further afield. Living in the border bubble between NSW and ACT, we have been avoiding entering Canberra whenever possible. This is usually the season when Floriade is in full bloom and friends and family visit us to stroll through the tulips. Due to covid, Floriade was cancelled for the second year in a row, however I believe like last year, pots of tulips have been planted in locations around the suburbs for locals to enjoy. If you live in Canberra, why not enjoy a blissful Spring day strolling through your suburb or along the foreshore and see if you can find any elusive tulips sprouting colour in pots for you to enjoy. Prefer a bike ride? Take the kids for a ride around the lake, it’s always great fun in the sun.

Floriade 2020

2020 Floriade when the tulips were spread around the Canberra foreshore.

Living in the surrounds of the ‘Bush Capital,’ (and Canberra is called that for good reason) also allows us plenty of access to wonderful bushwalks in National Parks. A picnic and walk in Tidbinbilla Nature reserve is fabulous at this time of year. See if you can find a mob of kangaroos or wallabies, maybe if you are lucky, you will see a platypus in the river or even a koala nibbling on a few gum leaves high above in the trees. Just be careful, snake season is upon us, they will be coming out of hibernation. If you do see a snake, don’t panic, stop and wait for it to pass, the snake is probably just as frightened of you. My friends and family in the Shire on the southern edge of Sydney can always take advantage of bushwalks in the Royal National Park too, a fabulous area I always loved to visit when I grew up.

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve

Lake Burley-Griffin, Canberra

We are hoping before Spring ends and the crowds start to flock to the beaches, that we will be able to take a drive to the coast for a lunch date with fish and chips at out favourite takeaway in Batemans Bay, The Boat Shed. The fish is always mouth wateringly fresh and the view of the Clyde River where it greets the bay is spectacular.

Batemans Bay

With restrictions still in place, it makes it hard to enjoy the Spring weather, but with a little thought there is plenty you can still do not far from your doorstep.

How will you spend your Spring days and evenings?

What is your favourite way to enjoy the new season? Please share in the comments below.

If you enjoyed these suggestions, but are still looking for more ideas to fill your Spring days, please read these other #Gr8tblogs from my author friends in our blog hop ‘Making The Most Out of the New Season.’

Fall Favourites Rebecca Lyndsey

3 Harmful Habits to Cast Aside in the New Season Julie Schooler

A Fall Self-Care Bucket List to Make the Most Out of Autumn Julie Gorges

Happy Autumn, Pumpkin Spice, and Everything Nice about Fall! Jim Milson

What’s Not To Love - Six Things To Make You Fall for Fall. Cat Michaels

Jumping Into Fall 2021 With Big News at Books by Rose. Rosie Russell

What’s On Your Fall Bucket list? Auden Johnson

When Life Gives You Lemons....

Have you heard of that saying?

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade..

What does it mean to you?

I interpret it as, when circumstances change or don’t work out as planned, look for the positive things in life that happen instead.

This is one of those times. This post isn’t quite the one I had planned. I had so much happening this month that I was looking forward to sharing with you, but then life sent a curve ball or is that a bunch of lemons fallen from the tree, and plunged us back into lockdown. All my exciting upcoming events were suddenly cancelled. I am keeping my fingers crossed that when we reach the other side of this, everything will be rescheduled, but it’s not looking good for school visits.

So what are the positives that have arisen this month?

I did manage one school visit before lockdown. It was a fabulous day, full of exuberance and enthusiasm from year 6 students first thing in the morning right down to Kinders at the end of the day and all year levels in between. The school had asked me to run writing workshops instead of an author talk and book reading. At first I was unsure how I would tackle this, given each group numbered 80 plus students sitting on the floor in the school hall. So I mixed things up with a bit of inspiration, a dash of motivation and a sprinkling of humour. I had kids moving and laughing with a fun activity and they all left with fabulous ideas, plans and strategies to start writing great stories. I even received this roarsome testimonial from one of the teachers.

We had great pleasure having Sandra Bennett in our classrooms. The students thoroughly enjoyed meeting a local award-winning author and her authentic approach led students to ask all sorts of questions about the writing process and her experience as a writer. We have school visits from sporting heroes so why not writing heroes? Sandra Bennett gave our students a dinosaur writing challenge in which they eagerly participated. It was affirming for us as teachers of writing to have an author validate our practices and who knows, she may have even inspired a future great author in our very own classrooms.

Libby Emerson – Chapman Primary School

Author visit and writing workshop.

Fun learning activities that engaged and inspired.

So what lemonade have I made during lockdown?

It gave me time to make my video of reading my story ‘Jack and the Seven Giants,’ for the launch of this year’s Anthology Angel’s Once Upon A Whoops! Fractured Fairy Tales and Ridiculous Rhymes. The anthology is released on 1st September. You can watch all the fabulous authors reading parts of their stories on Anthology Angels Youtube Story Time The link for mine is below. I find making a video terribly time consuming. I am way too self-conscious and make so many stuff-ups! I needed a good cup of tea to relax before I was finished. The anthology is now available through Amazon and all proceeds from the sale of the book go towards the incredible Life’s Little Treasures Foundation who support families in their time of need when their babies are born too early. Update: Thanks to the incredible support of so many wonderful people, the book has already become a number 1 Amazon Best Seller on it’s first day of release.

This month I was also accepted to have the honour of becoming an Ambassador for Australia Reads. Promoting a love of reading in children has always been a passion of mine, so to be able to be included as an ambassador is unbelievably special to me. We were asked to give a quote about reading which you can see below, and yes, make another dreaded video. This one was a little easier as it only lasted 60 seconds, still took me over an hour to get it right. Just as well I have plenty of time on my hands. You will be able to see the video on my author Facebook page once Australia Reads have posted it later in September.

By now you know the lemon that life gave me when my publisher of the Adamson Adventures closed before book 3 Fossil Frenzy could be published. You also know I stepped up and made my own lemonade by successfully publishing the book myself and it has seen the best results yet. What you probably don’t know, is that I had trouble finding a national distributor. Lockdown gave me the proverbial kick I needed to pursue this. I finally contacted the distributor who had the contract for the first two books. My emails had not been getting through but disappearing into the ether somewhere. A phone call made all the difference. They were most apologetic and have agreed to promote and distribute Fossil Frenzy. I am so grateful that this dino-mite adventure will now be able to reach so many more readers around Australia.

Fossil Frenzy the Adamson Adventures 3

The Adamson Adventures, books 1, 2 & 3.

I have so much more exciting things in the works, but for now, they will stay my little secret as I hope they still come to fruition. In the meantime, I am still writing and submitting, who knows, maybe one day I will have another elusive contract. The Adamson Adventures book 4 is in the works too. Life’s lemons dumped a full bag on me here. I spent a whole day looking for my notes I had made for this book, but came up empty handed. The lemonade - I started researching, plotting and planning all over again, maybe I will solve all the plot holes and come up with an even better story.

So what about you? Are you back in lockdown too?

What lemonade have you been making? Please let me know in the comments below.

Contemplation or Procrastination

Do you feel you are taking too long contemplating your next project? Or is it a case of procrastination?

Let’s consider the difference between the two. I believe it may be a fine line.

Contemplation - is the action of looking thoughtfully at something for a long time.

Procrastination - is the act of delaying or postponing something.

The trick is not taking too long on contemplation so that it doesn’t turn into procrastination. While you are spending all that time thinking about your next project, are you actually putting it off? Creativity takes time, it doesn’t answer to a clock, you can’t schedule when you get a good idea, but you can over plan. There comes a point where you need to do the work.

We all need time to contemplate, a chance to brainstorm sparkly new ideas and think about where they might lead. Plot developments and structure don’t happen overnight, they need to marinate in our brain for a while to see if they are worth pursuing. It’s when we start avoiding the writing/editing by doing everything else, housework, ironing, scrolling the socials, that this contemplation becomes procrastination.

I feel like I’ve been at a bit of a crossroads lately, struggling with where to turn next. I have always been proud of being able to multi-task and have several projects on the go at once, but is that contemplating the possibilities or simple procrastination, avoiding making decisions?

Since my last project was completed, I keep playing with lots of sparkly new ideas but not making any headway. I wonder if it’s because I am so comfortable with my Adamson characters that I am not ready to let them go and move onto something new? Zac, Clare and Luke have become like my own children. I know them so well, yet like any parent, I am pleasantly surprised when they do or say something unexpected. I’m not sure I am ready to let them fly out the door forever.

In recent weeks, Fossil Frenzy, has won Finalist in the International Book Awards 2021, Children’s Fiction Category. I feel honoured and proud to have received this amazing recognition for my third Adamson Adventure, so should I continue the series? Or call it the end and start a fresh new adventure? I have the basic plot rummaging in my head, but not put pen to paper as I can’t make that final decision. It could easily be book 4, or should I change things up, develop a set of new characters for a brand new adventure? This option would free me up to submit to publishers, continuing the Adamson Adventures would mean continuing on my own.

With the opportunity to do more online writing courses through Zoom since covid, I also think I am procrastinating through learning overload. There is an old saying, that the more you learn, the more you realise, the less you know. That may be my problem, I am beginning to doubt whether anything I write is good enough. My inner critic has raised her stubborn head.

I’ve also been working on a couple of picture book manuscripts. I gave draft 7 or 8 ( or is that 12?) of one of them to my critique group and sent it to a few writer friends for review. I still couldn’t reach a decision whether it was good enough, so paid for a manuscript assessment. One of my friends said I was ‘overthinking it.’ She was right, and the manuscript assessment was probably the best decision I have made in months, it gave me the kick up the pants I needed to move forward and begin to submit the picture book to two publishers, one more to go.

Then there is the picture book I have planned to self-publish for a few years. I have all the illustrations complete and promised the illustrator that I would publish it this year. So what is holding me back? I adore the illustrations, but that inner critic of mine isn’t so sure that the text is perfect and ready to go out into the world. Penelope the Playful Platypus is a beautiful story and I even have it listed as ‘coming soon’ on my Books page. Perhaps it’s time to stop the procrastination, move forward, do the work and see this project to completion.

Maybe it’s a case of too many sparkly ideas. Perhaps it’s time to concentrate on one project at a time. Change routines, stop social scrolling and enrolling in writing masterclasses. Stop agreeing to do things for fear of missing out. Set goals and forge ahead.

How about you? Are you stuck in procrastination? Do you have too many sparkly ideas rummaging in your head? How do you solve the problem?

A Couple of Curious Creatures Part 2

We stared at the Megaraptor standing on the other side of our fire. It smelled the smoke-filled air then took several slow steps towards the fire.

‘So much for the fire keeping us safe,’ Clare whispered. ‘He looks curious.’ It started sniffing at the ground where we had been sitting and eating. Clare had dropped a ham and cheese sandwich, the Megaraptor was quick to snaffle it up. It sniffed at the remains of my apple. To my surprise , it gobbled it up too. Then it moved onto the chocolate Luke had dropped. - an extract from Fossil Frenzy the Adamson Adventures 3.

Did the Megaraptor eat Luke’s chocolate? What happened next? You’ll have to read Fossil Frenzy if you want to find out.

Every good story needs a good antagonist, or villain. In Fossil Frenzy it is the Megaraptors that roamed Australia during the late Cretaceous period. The most famous one is a raptor named ‘Banjo.’ He is an Australovenator Wintonensis. I first encountered this fellow during a visit to the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum in Winton, Queensland. A replica of him stands out the front of the museum. I became fascinated with this dinosaur, he was a raptor bigger than the usual ones you see in the movies. I knew kids would find him interesting too. When I did my research for the story, only the remains of one of these fossils had been found,. However, I have it on good authority, (a dinosaur expert aged 10 at a recent school visit) that they have now found the remains of a second one.

Banjo- Australoventator Wintonensis found outside the Age of Dinosaurs Museum, Winton.

Banjo stood about two metres tall, had sharp claws and was a very fast carnivore. He was found in a dried up river bed or billabong alongside a massive sauropod. This specimen the palaeontologists named Matilda. Diamantinasaurus Matildae was a large herbivorous dinosaur that was also around during the late Cretaceous period. So far only two of these sauropods have been found in the Winton area. However the museum is also a working science laboratory with many fossils still to be cleaned and pieced together, much like a giant jig-saw puzzle. They may find more of both of these dinosaurs yet.

Matilda - Diamantinasarus Matildae, found in the Winton, Queensland region.

When I have told the kids at school visits the reason for the naming of these two dinosaurs, they are amazed. A herbivore named Matilda and a carnivore named Banjo found beside an old billabong as if they came from the famous poem, Waltzing Matilda, by well known Australian poet, Banjo Patterson, who by the way, happened to have lived in the Winton area for some time. Pretty awesome don’t you think?

During school visits we have also looked at the full size footprint of an Australovenator Wintonenis and compared it with the size of a human footprint. The kids take amazing guesses at how many human feet can fit inside the fossil. How many do you think?

Footprint of an Australovenator Wintonensis drawn to scale.

How many of your feet would fit inside Banjo’s footprint?

Inside the pages of Fossil Frenzy you will also find an armoured plated Ankylosaur and a Qantassaurus named after our national airline that had its beginnings in the Winton/Longreach area. but I am not going into any details of these two curious creatures here, you will need to research those yourself. Not too many spoilers here.

Qantassaurus information at the Daintree Discovery Centre

A replica of Qantassaurus from the Daintree Discovery Centre.

Fossil Frenzy is a thrilling and fun time-traveling adventure from the drought-stricken outback of present day, to the rainforests of millions of years ago when dinosaurs roamed Gwandana. It is a fiction story filled with plenty of facts for the avid reader to digest. It bridges the gap between those readers who only read non-fiction and leads them into reading fiction with adventure and knowledge. It also encourages fiction readers to learn a little along the way. It is suitable for readers aged 7 -12 years and anyone who loves a dino adventure.

Me standing with a copy of Fossil Frenzy in front of a dinosaur fossil at the National Dinosaur Museum.

Are you fascinated by dinosaurs?

Which dinosaur is your favourite?

Please leave a comment below.

How To Do A Cover Reveal With Impact.

Last week I revealed the cover for the next book in my children’s chapter book series, the Adamson Adventures. I knew this cover would excite future readers, but how was I going to share it with a wide audience?

The Adamson Adventures, books 1,2,3. Suitable for children aged 7 -12 years.

I did my research first. Googled how to do a cover reveal? I couldn’t find anything much that was helpful. The key words took me to cover reveals of other books, but didn’t show if they had been successful or gained much interest.

So I put on my thinking cap, and this is what I discovered worked.

I chose three quotes from my book and added photos on Canva. To this I also added the date on which I would reveal the cover.

Fossil Frenzy, The Adamson Adventures 3. Chapter book for children aged 7 -12 years.

I pre-scheduled each image to post at the same time each morning. Adding a comment to count down the days.

Fossil Frenzy, The Adamson Adventures 3. Chapter book for children aged 7 -12 years.

I shared these three images, three consecutive days and shared them as widely on social media as I could.

Fossil Frenzy, the Adamson Adventures 3. Chapter book for children aged 7 - 12 years.

This built interest and intrigue for my story and the book’s cover. I had plenty of engagement and curiosity.

Finally I produced a video to reveal the cover using the Publishing Tools on my Facebook Author page. For those not sure how to do this, it’s really quite simple. Go to your Manage Page and click on Publishing tools. Scroll down and click Creator Studio. Then click Create Post. Select Multimedia , Create Slideshow. It’s easy to follow the prompts from there. You can choose the time frame for each slide and music to go along with it. Once complete, you can schedule the date and time you wish your video to go live.

Once my video was live on my author page, I also shared it to my personal page and as many groups as i felt were suitable.

The result was the cover reveal reached nearly 2,000 people and had 114 engagements on my author page alone. Add to this all the comments and likes within the various groups and I had the most engagement with a post than I have ever had before. A huge range of people have now seen my cover and know that Fossil Frenzy is coming soon.

I did a follow-up post the next day to thank everyone for all the amazing support and wonderful comments. I am so grateful to my brilliant cover designer Nikki Matthews, https://www.facebook.com/nikkijanedesign/. Nikki has produced the covers for all three books in the series. I adore her work.

Fossil Frenzy, the Adamson Adventures 3

Fossil Frenzy, The Adamson Adventures 3. Chapter book for children aged 7 - 12 years.

A Lighthouse in Time, the Adamson Adventures 2

A Lighthouse in Time, The Adamson Adventures 2. Chapter book for children aged 7 - 12 years.

Secrets Hidden Below, the Adamson Adventures 1

Secrets Hidden Below, The Adamson Adventures 1. Chapter book for children aged 7 - 12 years.

Whether this translates into readers, only time will tell, but I can say that it did produce a lot of excitement and therefore had a huge impact. It is the best cover reveal I have ever done, and would certainly do it again.

I don’t have a release date yet, but Fossil Frenzy, The Adamson Adventures 3, will be available in time for Christmas 2020. Follow my Facebook page for updates.

Have you ever done a cover reveal?

How did you go about it?

Was it successful?

I am curious to learn your thoughts. Please leave a comment below.

Did you find this post helpful? If so, you might also like to read a few of my previous posts.

https://sandrabennettauthor.com/blog/2020/5/4/tips-on-preparing-a-perfect-pitch

https://sandrabennettauthor.com/blog/2020/6/1/how-will-you-choose-to-be-published

https://sandrabennettauthor.com/blog/2020/6/29/selfindie-or-traditional-publishing-the-pros-and-cons

December Dreaming - 5 Ways Looking Back Can Help You Look Forward

Not only is 2019 coming to a close, but so we find ourselves at the end of another decade. It’s a time to reflect on what we have achieved and consider where we want to head in the next ten years. With this in mind, My #Gr8Blogs writerly pals and I are diving deep into a special year-end blog hop, December Dreamin.’
Was 2019 a crazy roller coaster ride for you? Smooth sailing? Full of milestone events? It’s been a huge year for me creatively, I have learnt so much.

Join me as ’I remember the happy moments as well as lessons learned from challenges this past year in “My Ups, Downs, and In Betweens on the 2019 Writing Road.” Check out my personal reveals, then visit the other #Gr8Blogs linked at the end of the post for more shared recollections. We hope you'll be inspired to dive into special December Dreams of your own!

It has been an incredible year for me, I have had much writing success and travelled quite a bit due to John’s work. Along the road there have also been disappointments that natural come with submitting work to competitions and publishers. Rejections are a normal part of this writing life. We have to accept them, and move on. I like to focus on the positive aspects of life, so together let’s take a look at what I have learned this year.

Be Brave

I don’t know about you, it’s amazing how many times I ask myself, am I good enough? It doesn’t matter how far down this writing road I come, I still question whether my writing is worthy, will kids want to read my stories? That impostor syndrome seems to like to stay tucked nice and comfy in my mind.

This year was my year to be brave and send my writing out to more possibilities. By being brave to submit my work to competitions and enter a writing proposal, I had successes that I never thought possible before.

The competition was to write a scary story suitable for readers aged 8-12 years, but not too spooky that it would frighten them. I had written a spooky story once before and had it published in an adult anthology, could I write a story to fit these guideline? I had the spark of an idea, it was a combination of something my Dad used to say to us when we went on holidays and a memory of an experience I had in Scotland back in 2010. Put the two thoughts together and I arrived with my story, ‘The Dead Centre of Town.’ Once written I was brave enough to hit the send button and submit it to ‘Share Your Story.’ A couple of months later, I heard the good news, I had won a place in the Share Your Story Spooktacular Stories - Thrilling Tales for Brave Kids.

Around the same time I found the request from Library For All for proposals to write a story for their new ‘Disaster’ series. They were looking for stories to be made into graphic novels for young and struggling readers in remote and rural regions of Papua New Guinea. The topics included, cyclones, bushfires, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The story had to be fiction but also had to include ways to teach how to survive these disasters in this region along with characters that were relateable to the indigenous reader. As I was travelling back and forth to PNG, I did my research and came up with an idea. My proposal was accepted, then the difficult task of completing the story in 1,500 words began. My initial story was completed at 2,000 words, a little longer than it should have been. I was asked to reduce it to 1,200, which I found quite difficult. It takes bravery to cut your words to fit a story under specific guidelines into such a tight word limit. However, I was brave enough to make the cuts, the story is better for it and ‘Cyclone Kayla’ will be released in PNG and Australia sometime soon when the graphic illustrations are completed, (not by me).

It is being brave enough to put my work out there, that I now have four self-published books, two traditionally published books and six stories in four anthologies. That’s a lot of stories being read by kids around Australia and overseas. With a bit of luck, there’s still plenty more to come.

I have entered other competitions this year without success, but that’s okay, I am still learning and still trying.

My takeaway from this - If you aren’t brave and willing to give something a go, you will never know the wonderful opportunities that are possible. Looking ahead, I will be entering more competitions and searching for further opportunities as we head into 2020 and beyond. What do you need to do to be braver next year?

Be Consistent

If you want to achieve anything, you need to be consistent, show up and do the work.

I have been extremely busy since August with the book launch of ‘A Lighthouse in Time’ the Adamson Adventures 2, and then the two anthologies, ‘Spooktacular Stories’ and the “CKT Story Collection 2.’ While all the events have been a lot of fun, they would not have been possible without the hard work first. It is consistency writing nearly every day that helps me reach my goals. That and being consistent meeting wonderful supportive author friends at the National Library of Australia nearly every Wednesday. Their support helps keep me on track, determined more than ever to show up at my desk and keep creating.

Even among the chaos and fun of book launches, school visits and author events, I still look forward to the time most days when I am consistently writing. Good habits form when you do them all the time, the brain is more creative and I am generally more satisfied. It is because of this habit forming that I can say the first draft of ‘Fossil Frenzy’ the Adamson Adventures 3, is now complete. The editing process will begin shortly after Christmas. I can’t wait to share it with you hopefully come August 2020.

The next chapter book may be drafted, but I am now in the middle of a Junior Fiction course, that is all about consistency. Showing up daily to write a quota of words, no matter how small, means each day you are one step closer to reaching your goal. Every word written today, is one more word than you had yesterday. This is a brand new story that has me all excited as it is something I have never tried writing before, the ideas and possibilities are endless, I can see the spark of a new series forming.

My takeaway from this - no matter what your goal is, show up, be consistent and you will keep moving forward. Looking ahead, I can’t wait to write and meet new characters and stories in 2020 and beyond. Are you consistent with your endeavours or a bit haphazard in your plans and goals?

Leave Your Comfort Zone Behind

Being brave this year, also meant having the courage to step outside my comfort zone and leave it behind. I am a typical Cancer, happiest when left to hide away in my little cosy shell not taking risks and putting myself out there to be judged.

This was my year to challenge that comfy couch. It all began when I agreed to attend the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) National Conference. Although I was only an attendee not a speaker, I did have the opportunity to be at a book signing table with other CBCA (ACT) members. This lead to my being invited to speak at this years ‘Romancing the Stars’ CBCA (ACT) event a month later. While I am accustomed to speaking in front of groups of kids, (as a former teacher, I have no issues there,) speaking to an audience of adults is another prospect entirely. With butterflies in my stomach, I walked to the front, holding my notes in my shaking hand. But once I started telling my story, something strange happened, I began to relax and forgot all about my notes. I can almost go so far as saying, I enjoyed myself.

After that experience, I accepted the opportunity to speak at the Canberra Writer’s Festival. My nerves were not too bad that day, my audience was both parents and children. As part of the advertising for that festival, we were asked to create a video for social media. That really was way out of my comfort zone. I am practising to improve on this, and who knows, you may see more videos from me next year.

My takeaway - Unless you are prepared to leave your comfort zone behind, you never know what you can do. Looking ahead, stay tuned for appearances and more videos, even if they are somewhat embarrassing. What will you do to leave your comfort zone behind?

Show Gratitude

I am thankful every day for the connections and friendships I have made in recent years being part of the community of children’s writers in the ACT and online in writing groups such as Share Your Story and the Duck Pond. It is through knowing and connecting in a positive way that has lead me on to opportunities and opened up possibilities. I am so grateful to be included along with Jacqueline de Rose-Ahern and Kerry Malone in founding the Story Creators Community which we hope will continue to grow in 2020 as we foster and mentor other creative people towards their goals. I know that without the support of these amazing people both on and offline I would not be as far in my writing career as I am today. I still have a long way to go, however I am mindful and grateful to everyone that shares my creative spirit.

Another note worthy of mention is my gratitude to Speech Pathology Australia for recognising the value in ‘Secrets Hidden Below,’ the Adamson Adventures 1, and shortlisting it in their Book of the Year Awards. I am honoured to have one of my stories not only considered but deemed worthy of such an important industry award.

My takeaway - Find your tribe and be grateful for them. Whether you are a children’s author like me, an illustrator, an adult fiction writer, musician or whatever your creative pursuit, there is a group out there for you, and they will help you move forward just by being there to share your wins and commiserate your losses. There is strength in sharing and connecting with like-minded friends. Looking ahead I will continue to be grateful for my tribe every day and never take them for granted. Who are you most grateful for?

Allow yourself Time For Family and Friends.

Life can get pretty busy with events, engagements and social occasions, it is hard to fit everything in. You have to learn to say no, sorry I can’t do that, (because it’s not possible to do everything for everyone). When all is said and done family come first. Relationships with those closest to you must be nurtured. I find myself in the awkward predicament where my husband is working overseas in a position that makes planning or scheduling time together quite hard. Most of my events need to be booked months in advance, his timetable changes daily. So I try to be flexible and take my laptop and fly around Australia to meet him in whatever city he happens to be in. July, he phoned me from Indonesia to say he had a four day weekend in Jakatarta, could I meet him? I met him in Bali instead. We had four beautiful relaxing days and I managed a bit of book marketing while I was there. I then agreed to fly on to Jakarta with him, then Singapore and back to Port Moresby. A four day long weekend turned into two weeks away. This was only possible because I can be flexible with my time and laptop, however, I did need to return home after that as August and September were fully booked with book launches and school visits. Hubby is home for the next four weeks over Christmas and New Year, so I will not be writing or spending much time on social media. This next four weeks is all important family time. We don’t get to spend enough time together so must cherish the time we do have.

My takeaway - Make time for yourself, your friends and most of all your loved ones. Time is precious and time with family is the most precious of all. Looking forward I will continue to do my best to maintain a healthy balance between my writerly life and my family. How do you manage to fit it all in?

Before you go , some of my writing friends are remembering seasonal family traditions in their December Dreaming. Why not stop by their blogs and see their recollections too. To get you started, here’s the link to one of my past memories, then visit my other #Gr8tblog friends too.

I wish you all the best for the Christmas and holiday season, no matter how you chose to celebrate.

Tis The Season for Holiday Traditions

Cat Michaels

Rebecca Lyndsey

Julie Gorges

Rosie Russell

Julie Schooler

James Milson