Paperbacks and ebooks - which do you prefer?

As an author, I am interested in what format people favour for their reading. Is it ebook  on your e-reader? Is it paperback, for that physical experience? Do you like hardcover, as opposed to paperback?

As a voracious reader I don't really mind paperback or hardcover but I find ebooks rather tedious. So it's a last resort for me, if I can't get hold of the 'real thing.' But you may feel differently! I love the smell of a book, the feel of the pages, the weight of it in my hands. And I am always borrowing books form my local library to take with me when I have to sit in a waiting room. Each night I read in bed. It's wonderful to dive into other worlds just before you sleep.

Lots of people take an e-reader away with them on holiday, as they can carry many books on a small device. There are benefits there, definitely!

In the lead-up to Christmas I sold lots of my books at local events. It was great to get out and meet readers, as well as parents and grandparents who buy books for their families. As I currently have a broad range of genres - children's, teen and adult, fiction and non-fiction, it's wonderful to be able to offer people what they are looking for and sometimes I get to hear their thoughts on a particular book of mine they have read and enjoyed. click here for info about my books

My fantasy novel Rebel (book 1 of the FLIGHT trilogy) was released in August. I absolutely LOVE the cover! You can buy your own copy here:

REBEL - paperbook and ebook

'A young rebel is called to lead - with a broken wing and absolutely no idea what he is doing.'

Remote School Visits

During covid in 2020 I managed to get involved with a couple of schools for workshop and appearances. Through the magic of the internet I was able to speak to students at Brisbane Grammar and a lovely public school in NSW for the Books in Homes program. It's not the same as being there, of course. And I can't sign their copies of my books, but it's great to hear what they're interested in, the books they read and see their drawings.

New Books for 2021

I have signed contracts for two more novels and I am hoping they come out this year! 

Elkwood  is Urban Science Fiction for teens, (kinda Buffy/Legally Blonde/Big Bang theory) about a girl, Charlotte, who goes from fashion queen to dying superhero with a strange ability to manipulate spacetime, just a fraction! She used to worry incessantly about her clothes, makeup, what her so-called friends thought of her, now she finds herself worried about whether she will live long enough and have the strength to save her father from the mysterious and dangerous organisation called Elkwood. Her friends are now a bunch of geeks, who are the only true friends she has and try to help her understand what is happening to her body. Charlotte finds herself falling in love with a boy who has secrets of his own.

Secrets of the Water Meadow  is for younger readers, age 7+ and is about two sisters who live on an island in Norway. The younger sister, Freya, befriends a creature of the deep fjord, a mermaid of sorts, called a 'havfrue', whom legend says drags small children down into the fjord to live with them. Freya's elder sister Lisbet has a terrible secret she won't tell anyone. Freya confides in her new friend, whom she calls Lorelei, who seems to listen and understand, even though she can't actually speak. When Lisbet runs away and her uncle almost drowns trying to find her, will Lorelei help the humans, because of her friendship with Freya?

Well, that's it for now. At the moment I am working on book two of the FLIGHT trilogy. It's called Runaway. The first book is about Reeve, but this book is about Sye, a girl of dark secrets who must travel to the frozen north to find the Ice Dragons to help save a friend of hers. She is an apprentice blacksmith, so I am having lots of fun researching that!

Have an excellent 2021! I hope you got LOTS of books for Christmas!

Kitchen gardens, pear pies and drawing - what Covid 19 did for me

As a childrens' author I am constantly thinking of cool ideas to write about. Sometimes there's a bit of a traffic jam in my head as all the ideas start shouting at once! That's when I have to get organised.

I used to write everything in notebooks. Then I filled 18 of them and couldn't remember where I wrote things! So I switched to a totally different system - index cards. whatever idea that comes to me is jotted down, whether its a story idea, a character, a scene or random stuff i don't know where to put. If I can't sleep  because an idea is buzzing inside my skull I reach for a pen and a card, which are next to my bed. Then the next day I file them with similar ideas. So far its working really well! If I have ideas about the book I am currently writing, the cards help  me keep important bits of information close by, where I can access them, rather that hunting through all those notebooks!

So, being a bit organised helps me keep all these exciting little tidbits handy for when I want to use them. Try it!

So, living through Covid 19 has been interesting hasn't it? Some families have unfortunately suffered from a parent losing their job. Other families have had to adjust to working from home, with all the distractions and jobs to do! PLUS kids being home schooled! What it unique is that every country int he world has been experiencing this together, AT THE SAME TIME. Never have we all been so closely connected by experiences.

Lots of new music and films and books have already begun to emerge from this interesting period. I have gone back to serious drawing, which I used to love so much! I completed the eagle drawing, then a horse and now I am working on a tabby cat. (somewhat ambitious I think, because it's a lot harder than I thought!).

We live on a beautiful 100 acre farm in Tasmania, where there is always lots to do! In a few months we will have lambs popping out, so things will get VERY BUSY! (see my other blog about the farm https://crumbletonmanor.blogspot.com/ )

During isolation we home schooled our daughter, so that took up lots of writing time. I also had a very productive kitchen garden (not a garden in the kitchen, silly, a garden FOR the kitchen!) and was cooking, bottling and chopping all sorts of yummy stuff. I cooked pies, bottled pears and tomatoes, made jam and all sorts of things. It was all very exciting, but there was little time to work on book 2 of my FLIGHT trilogy. Remember book 1 - Rebel?

buy Rebel on smashwords

Isolation made things very difficult for my publisher too, Shooting Star Press. Consequently Rebel is only an ebook at the moment. Print version will be available soon. We've all had to change how we do things,  haven't we? Except Harry, of course. He just does what he pleases most of the time, which generally involves sleeping. I bought him a harness and we go for walks outside now. He is a little scared of the sheep! But quite happy to sniff noses with Polly and Flossie, our border collies. Sometimes he 'helps' me in the kitchen. 

apple pies!

Harry 'helping'

Harry and Flossie pear picking

some produce from my kitchen garden

Harry on a day trip to our bottom 50 acres to pick rosehips

As we all start to get back to the 'new normal' I find myself quite keen to get moving with new projects. So I am working on the tabby portrait, AND book 2 (called Runaway) AND planting out vegetable seedlings in my garden AND planning what flowers I want for spring. Phew! Covid 19 has made me very busy.