How long have you been writing for children?

About four years. For most of that, I’ve been trying to get published. My first book came out in July this year. It’s a picture book called Puggle’s Problem. My second book, and the first in a new series, was released in September and it’s called Totally Twins: Musical Mayhem.

Can you tell us a little bit about your background and the kind of stories you write?

I grew up in the country, on the mid-north coast of NSW. We didn’t have much up there, but we did have loads of space, freedom to explore, and animals. On our farm we had riding horses, milking cows, chickens that gave us eggs, dogs, cats, rabbits. Just about every farm animal invented. On my father’s property up in the bush, we had wallabies, goannas and snakes galore, as well as the occasional dingo. Animals were everywhere.

Now, when I write for children, I draw on those memories and experiences of my childhood, building into my stories the animals I owned, loved or encountered as a child.

Luckily, I’ve found that most kids love animals. Everywhere I go, talking at schools and libraries about the stories I write, I always ask kids if they love animals. I’m always greeted with the overwhelming response, ‘YES!’.

There’s an old saying that you should never work with children and animals. Well, with my writing, I work with both and so far I’ve found the combination works well.

Not many people would have heard of puggles before. Can you explain a bit about them?

Until two years ago, I didn’t know what a puggle was! A puggle is a baby echidna. They hatch out of an egg, are about the size of a jellybean at the time and they’re completely spineless. They drink their mother’s iron-rich milk, then grow and grow until finally, over their plump, pink, hairless body, they begin to grow spines and start to look like the adult echidna we’re all familiar with. You can google the word ‘puggle’ to see photos of them. They’re the most extraordinary-looking little creatures!

I was fascinated by puggles and knew I had to write a book about one. Of course, I had to make the story relevant to children, so I decided my puggle wouldn’t be able to get his spines. Just like children strive to achieve developmental milestones, my puggle would strive to achieve his milestone of getting his spines. The story also teaches about patience and perseverance, key things that children need to learn. I designed Puggle’s Problem to work on two levels – to entertain and delight and educate children (and adults) about puggles and to send a message about patience and perseverance.

Your new series, Totally Twins, has just been released. Can you tell us a little about it?

Totally Twins is for girls aged 7 plus and is told in diary format by Persephone Pinchgut. Who is Persephone Pinchgut? Well, she’s 10 years old, very nearly 11. She’s a Gemini and she’s an identical twin. Life’s pretty fun for Persephone until DISASTER strikes in the form of a SCHOOL MUSICAL. Poor Persephone can’t sing and is terrified of performing in public. Of course, I make her face up to her fears in the book! Persephone finds solace in recording her innermost fears and desires in her first-ever TOP SECRET diary, which she has to keep away from her nosy twin, Portia. The series is warm and quirky with themes about family relationships, friends and fitting in.

Do you base any of your characters on people you know?

I often borrow aspects of people I know and use them in my stories. Sometimes it may be a name or part of their name. Sometimes, it’s aspects of their personality or culture. Sometimes, I even steal from my own history and will include pieces of me in the stories or characters I create. And then other things come entirely from my imagination.

How hard is it to write for children?

Like anything, writing for children is hard if you don’t know the rules. For a start, if you want to write for kids today, you need to know how they speak, how they spend their time, what their hobbies and interests are. I think you need to know a little bit about technology, too. It’s such a huge part of kids’ lives these days. You can’t just regurgitate lessons from your (ancient) past. You have to make the stories relevant to today. If you don’t have kids of your own to draw ideas and characters from, I’d suggest hanging out at the food court at malls or using your grandchildren or even your neighbour’s children as guinea pigs. The other point is, don’t write down to children or preach to them. They’re incredibly perceptive and smarter than you think! They will switch off in an instant if they think you’re trying to teach them a lesson.

What’s the first thing a writer should do if they want to write for children?

I’d say that’s a 3 step process: read lots of contemporary children’s novels, write as much as you can and join or form a writers’ group that specialises in writing for children where you can read your work out and gain feedback.

Are you a member of any writing organisations? Would you recommend others joining them?

It’s crucial to be a part of writing organisations such as the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA), the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) and your state Writers’ Centre. These organisations run courses, provide advice for writers and illustrators, and also offer amazing opportunities for networking. I can’t stress enough the value of networking in our small country. It’s amazing the opportunities that arise and the things you can learn by simply talking to people.

Does a children’s author need an agent? Do you have one?

In Australia, you don’t need an agent to become a successful children’s author. It’s often very difficult to secure an agent – more difficult than securing a publisher. I do have an agent and she is brilliant. While I deal with the creative aspects with my publishers, she deals with the financial and contractual aspects. She has her finger on the pulse of the children’s publishing industry and keeps me informed of what’s happening. I’m very lucky to have her. If you want to secure an agent, make sure you have something to take to them, some success under your belt or an absolutely brilliant manuscript that they can place with a publisher. Agents work hard for only a small percentage of your earnings. The lead time for you – and them – to start earning money from your books can be a long one, which is probably why few agents take on new authors.

Aleesah writes picture books and novels for children in the fantasy and contemporary fiction genres. She also reviews books for The Sun Herald. Aleesah’s stories have appeared in the black dog books Short & Scary anthology, The School Magazine and Little Ears. She has won numerous awards for her writing. In 2009, she was awarded an ASA mentorship and was runner-up in the CBCA (NSW) Frustrated Writers Program.  

To find out more about Aleesah, visit her website at: www.aleesahdarlison.com.

Next stop on Aleesah’s blog tour is the Read Plus Blogspot where Aleesah will talk about her new series for children called Totally Twins and about her experiences working with an illustrator. Check it out at: www.readplus.com.au.

We are very excited this week at the bookblog.

Tomorrow is the first in our series of author tours to bookblog.

Aleesah will be discussing her latest children book series, Totally Twins. Normally I am not a reader of children’s books  however I was intrigued and absorbed when I read the first in the Totally Twins series. Having been through a journey with my own children I’m sure these stories will appeal to your children.

Below is an excerpt of Aleesah’s introduction of the totally twins series, you can catch the full story at http://www.aleesahdarlison.com/junior_novels

 Totally Twins Series 

My first junior novel is part of an exciting new series that was launched by New Frontier Publishing in September 2010.

Totally Twins is a humorous series about identical twins, Persephone (she’s the sensible one) and Portia (she’s the messy one) Pinchgut.

Perse and Portia live with their wacky mum, Skye, who is a yoga teacher and laughter therapist. Though the girls look the same on the outside, they’re very different on the inside. This often leads to problems! 

The Totally Twins series is ideal for girls aged 9 plus and includes a cast of funny and unique characters. The books are written in diary format, and the twins’ adventures are recorded by Persephone.

The books feature black-and-white illustrations throughout. I’m very excited to be working with an incredibly talented illustrator, Serena Geddes, on this project. She has done an AMAZING job bringing the characters and the stories to life through her illustrations. I hope readers love the books as much as I do.

The first title in the series is called ‘Musical Mayhem’ and the second is called ‘Model Mania.

With many more titles planned, you’re bound to hear a lot more about Perse and Portia in coming months.

Please feel free to leave comments for Aleesah or ask any questions while she is on tour, she has a passion for writing that extends beyond children’s books and would be more than happy to discuss any aspect that you would like to explore.

Dave Hibbins Good Times bookblog & book reviews

10 Steps to Reach
YOUR Pinnacle

With special guest:
Allison Maslan, life and business strategist, and author of the #1 selling entrepreneurship book Blast Off!

Lynn Serafinn hosts this 2-part webinar exploring how to define and reach “success” in your own terms in all areas of your life, including business, health, romance and overall fulfillment.

Attendance is absolutely FR*EE!
You can listen to the call either via telephone or via webcast.

See great VIDEO and register
to attend at
http://tinyurl.com/YourPinnacle

If you cannot make the live events, sign up anyway! You can download the audio up to 7 days after the event.

Worth a listen – login and check it out – leave some feedback afterwards.

David Hibbins Bookblog & Book Review – Good Times

If you would like me to arrange a personal signed copy if you cant make it on the day – let me know via email. contact@bookblog.com.au

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to an evening function with Former Prime Minister Mr. John Howard at Bond University on the 19th of November 2010.

Mr.  Howard has been one of Australia’s most controversial prime ministers, leading the Liberal Party to victory over four elections and becoming the second-longest-serving PM in the nation’s history. He is the face of the modern Liberal Party, an economic radical and social conservative whose ideology has united many Australians and divided just as many others. But what people often forget is that long before he became Prime Minister, John Howard was an idealistic politician.

The release of his new book, Lazarus Rising, is one of the most anticipated publishing events of the year. It looks back over 30 years in politics, and at the changes Howard has seen both inside and outside the Government during that time. From his modest beginnings, to his steep ascent in Liberal Party ranks, and subsequent time in the wilderness during the Coalition’s opposition years, to a victory almost no one had predicted, and on to some of the most tumultuous years in Australia’s recent past, this is history seen through the eyes of the ultimate insider. Here, Howard tells how he responded on issues vital to Australia, such as gun control, East Timor and the relationship with Indonesia, the aftermath of 9/11, and the rising tide of asylum-seekers.

Lazarus Rising takes us through the life and motivations of John Howard, and through the forces which have changed and shaped both him and the country he led for 11 years.

The evening at Bond University presents Gold Coasters with a rare and exciting opportunity to hear Mr Howard speak about his life, buy his new book and have it personally signed.

Tickets for this remarkable event are only $45 and include drinks and hors d’oeuvres. They are available through www.stickytickets.com.au/4260.

David Hibbins booblog – book lover and word lover – good times

40 SOMETHING

Join twelve friends, most of them in their forties, married, divorced and single, as they sit around the dining table, reminiscing of times past and adventures about to begin. These dozen Australians share their dreams, fears and relationships with each other, their lives made all the more special by being able to relive their life miracles and adventures within a group rather resembling a close family.

40 Something is an extraordinary book because it opens us up to our own emotions, reminding us that we are the sole creators of our life, and letting us know that we can all reach out to create a family of our own choosing!

Despite their differences, all the friends in this group know that they have the love and respect of each other, whether they agree with decisions made or simply acknowledge that it is our differences that make us special.

Over the last few months in my day job a spent quite a bit of time in putting together a finance deal that would return all participants a good deal of money and fair treatment for all involved.

To my amazement though some of the people in the deal – whom I thought  I knew very well – changed the playing field at the last moment and increased the entry price beyond that which could provide all players some type of reasonable return, and therefore killing it off.

All through greed and avarice.

So why do we strive to do better in our lives? What makes me not as cut throat as the next person, what makes them more cut throat than me?

It also made me start to consider in more depth the concept of Karma. Whose Karma is it  if your action would effect other people negatively (who on a vengeful basis would deserve some of the consequences) compared to that Karma returning to you in the future. Is it their rightful Karma that you took a certain path ? 

Send me any comments that you like on the subject of Karma and or greed or avarice, its something in human nature that I am striving to understand.

Have a great week

David Hibbins – Bookblog – Book Reviews – Good Times  - Book Blog

It has been quite some time since my last post, thank you for all the emails asking when I would be back.

I am now updating the blog on at least a weekly basis so make sure you use your RSS Feeder to get updates as I’m sure that you will find my blogging interesting to catch up on each week

Where to from here

Finally the GFC has taken its toll on me personally, resisted it as long as I possibly could but it has affected my day job, so time to ramp up all the other areas in my life. I have recently worked through a process of establishing my personal goals for the rest of the year and some tentative goals beyond that. This was an uplifting experience that helped me to realise a couple of things

Decadence – I did not really understand how much money I have been spending on things that were seriously not that important, they had crept into my life but now have been extinguished.

Importance – it is easy to say there is nothing more important than your family, friends and health. I certainly subscribe to the premise that we need to lead balanced lives – but at the end of the day you are important to yourself and those around you that love you. Create many real friends, or few real friends, most importantly you need to have them. Love your family and take time for them.

Focus – find focus in your life, dabbling in too many things distracts you – unless of course your goal is to experience as any things as possible on the surface –then go for it – but if you really want to succeed at something then focus on it.

EBook

As my close followers will be aware I have been trading in the Foreign Exchange market mostly to research and experience what it was like. This has motivated me to write an EBook that shares those experiences. I had some really scary and challenging things to go through and found some real insights into my personality. I really recommend this EBook if you have an interest in the Forex Market or just want to find out why it changed my life. Email me at contact@bookblog.com.au and request your complimentary copy.

Sharing

Please continue to share your reading and writing experiences with me both on the website and on the emails I have enjoyed the emails received to date and thank you for your kind words, and also the valuable feedback which I will put to good use.

Updates

Over the next few weeks I will be updating you on the status of the Camino, sharing insights from my latest E Book – Motivation Masters, and also most importantly will be working on updating the new reviews. Please submit your reviews – it is important that we share the site for this purpose.

Note your book reviews or book blogs do not have to be professional thesis in length – just a couple of words about your favourite books is enough, and of course if you want to submit full reviews to the site all the better.

Good times and great things in our lives – Dave Hibbins – Book Blog – Book Reviews – Word Lover

Website

Thanks to the kind donation of time and resource from Dan at That Computer Guy – Dan has volunteered to prepare a specific site for Camino 4 Cancer along with the donation of hosting the site over next few months, thanks Dan for being part of the team, check him out at  http://thatcomputerguy.net.au/ 

The website itself is starting to come along and we hope to have it up and running in the next 3 weeks so that the online donations can start rolling in.

Cancer Council Endorsement

The cancer council responded within a matter of days in relation to our endeavour to complete the gruelling 1,247 kilometres trek across Spain and on to Portugal, we have submitted a formal proposal and await a further speedy response, thanks Melissa for your help – appreciate you keeping the red tape to minimal levels.

Celebrities

We have invited Christina Applegate, Olivia Newton John and Ronan Keating to becoming involved with the promotion of our event, you may be aware that these celebrities have had their own personal challenges in respect of this disease and have worked wonders in setting up foundations and research facilities to continue the fight – great effort guys don’t hold back. If anyone has any contact with any other profile people that would like to be involved in supporting the venture please put them in touch with me contact@bookblog.com.au 

Personal Stories/Guest Blogging

As a guest blogging initiative we would like as many people as possible to contribute their own personal battle victory or encounter with this disease. Your story may be of comfort to others or help challenge the community to make donations – you can remain anonymous or had a personal reference. Alternatively if you wish to submit an article in respect of cancer which you would like to share with the world please do not hesitate to do so and we will post it on the site to reach as many people as possible.

Training

Well……..Easter is always full of yummy chocolates and warm toasted, mouth watering, waist bulging hot cross buns. What can I say, I enjoyed it all! Now the toll has to be paid. I have started my new eating regime – I considered that if I was going to be raising funds for cancer it would be a good idea to alter my eating patterns and become more healthy in my outlook to food (red wine I so miss you already – I know I can still have a couple …but in moderation). I am now working out 3 times a week on the weights in the gym and 3 times a week pounding the pavement in my runners, phew reminds me I’m a little tired today.  Anyway starting statistics ….. mmm feel a little self conscious but anyway opening weight is 78 kilograms of good solid me…target 6 kilograms less than what I am – unless of course the muscle is heaver lol.

Planning

Started my first book in relation to the Camino – not much to say yet – but seems like a long way to go and man those blisters are scary.

Volunteers

Anybody who has time to be a volunteer to help with the venture, you are welcome. If you are a business I will endeavour to plug your business as much as possible.

There are many things to do – some can be as little as 5 minutes a day to promote our event – all shapes sizes and desires.

Thanks so far to the following people:

Dan – That Computer Guy

Therese

Selina

Pauline

I need somebody to design me a funky T Shirt for the Camino 4 Cancer which I can merchandise and also give more identity to where we are going – please contact me via contact@bookblog.com.au

That’s all for now – Good Times – Dave Hibbins – book blog – book reviews and fund raiser

Why? Aside from my commitments with the day job (have to pay the bills), my writing work, the degree I’m studying part time at university, charity work for murder victims, blogging, family commitments, holding up my side of the bookshop, Spanish classes and author events I just don’t have enough to do?!. The why is more than that, I am using this spiritual passage of growth to raise$ 12,700 for the Cancer Society (approx $ 1 per km) . Too many families, too many children, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters suffer from the effects of cancer. I want to help and this is the way that I have chosen.

When? I have booked my tickets and will arrive in France on 15th March next year and have reserved a little over 3 months to complete the journey.

I will be paying for all of my own out of pocket expenses so every dollar that I raise goes directly to Cancer research and does not become lost on the way. Working on an official endorsement etc by the Cancer Council to ensure that everyone has the assurance to donate etc

I will be blogging about my training, planning and fund raising over the next 350 days hoping to share the journey and the milestones.

If anybody has any experiences they want to share about fundraising, general lunacy or walking the Camino please comment here or seek me out on twitter @bookblog1.

You want to come and help – feel free to do so – happy to have thousands of walking companions. Otherwise please circulate the event to as many people as you possibly can so that we can start getting  those donations rolling in.

If this does not help, think about the following, and I mean really think about it. Yesterday I was listening to the radio on the way to the day job – a local station on the Gold Coast Sea Fm. They broadcast the plight of a family here on the Gold Coast – the father has a rare form of cancer which he started suffering from – I think about 8 years ago. Recently his son has also started suffering from the same disease. Incredibly sad and also it is seriously not right. Listening to the bravery of Dad on the radio talking as a matter of fact about his experiences to date and then imagining how I would feel to see my son about to suffer from same insidious affliction. It would tear me apart. These stories are repeated from town to town, city to city, state to state and from country to country. As a human race we have had combat with many types of nasties, some we have been successful at researching and defeating others we are still trying to find the right strategy. One thing is certain by pulling together we can defeat diseases; look at the successes we have already had in the past. It is possible.  Victory will take money and resources though. So help me, and by doing that, help us all fight the good fight. 

Good Times

David Hibbins bookblog – book review extraordinaire

This novel (Reunion) is set in Melbourne, Australia and is about the journey of four friends whose friendship has withstood the trials of life after university. Four friends are brought back together via a new foundation created by one of the friend’s husbands. Emotionally charged and packed full of elaborate plot, and more twists and turns than fighter pilot has in a dog fight. Essentially though, it is a story of relationships and the frailty of us humans that go to make up those connections. 

Parties: I’m not sure how everyone else feels but I have this problem of age, it seems each time I celebrate a birthday I am also reminded that this passing of time does not allow me to celebrate all night like a teenager, well at least when I try it takes me a day and a half to recover. Famous words – “I’m never going to do that again” seem to be popping out of my mouth all to regularly lately. Anyway Happy Birthday again to James and Katherine you are both wonderful people and hope that you  enjoy many more fantastic  times – just not at the Grand Hotel at 2:30 am in the morning (with me anyway).

I finished a couple more book reviews on the weekend – most importantly the review for Mr Rosenblum’s List. I read this book a couple of weeks ago while on holiday and it added that special ingredient to my time away that will be treasured. Natasha Solomon again I say – Great Work! Give me more.

Okay, thanks again for taking time to send me emails and comments about the blogging experience – I do have quite a few reviews to post from our contributors and will work this content management site out this week so that I can do same.

Good Times.

David Hibbins – bookblog – appreciating the written word