The Next Big Thing

So I’ve been tagged for the Next Big Thing, a new blog ‘thing’ where an author writes about their current work or next book. I plan to do a bit of both, half about a book which is ‘on the way’ and one which has just ‘come out.’
I was tagged by two lovely authors, Sue Whiting and Sue Lawson, but because I opened Sue Lawson’s email first, I accepted her offer and apologised to Sue W. Both are wonderful women and incredible writers.

I’m a passionate writer of children’s books, particularly picture books and if they happen to be about an animal and sometimes have a bit of history thrown in, then I’m even happier. I would love children to read or have a book read to them every day, there’s nothing better than that shared experience – no matter how old you are.

Here are the questions and my answers

1) What is the working title of your next book?

Little Dog and the Christmas Wish

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

Remembering Christmas’s from long ago and how it used to be.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

Picture Book for all ages

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

A younger version of Cody Smit Mcphee (who is now about 13)
and a clever little dog, of a particular breed.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

On Christmas Eve, in another time a boy and a dog learn the meaning of belonging.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

CURRENT BOOK – Hey Baby!

Hey Baby!, launched last month at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and also
at the Ivanhoe Library was published by Black Dog Books an Imprint of Walker Books Australia

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

Not long at all, but the crafting, searching and making sure each word had the right to be there, was the challenge.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

It sounds silly, but I’ve found this question difficult to answer. Hey Baby! is a love letter from a mother to her baby and although I’ve hunted,  I can’t find anything exactly like it. (I’m sure they are out there.)

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Remembering what it felt like to hold my brand new daughter in my arms. I thought I would never feel that way again but when my son came along, I did.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

Hey Baby! is a book for all ages – for mothers, fathers and grandparents to read to their babies, for babies to hear the gentle tones of their parents’ and grandparents’ voices, for young children to watch the different baby animals appearing on each page, guessing their names and for adults of all ages – aunties, uncles, friends and neighbours to remember what it felt like to hold a new baby in their arms – even if it wasn’t their own.