November11
Today I’m joining in a blog tour run by the Queensland Writers Centre (the finest writers centre in the universe). Below is a quick Q&A.
Where do your words come from?
I wish I knew so I could go looking for more when I run out! When my writing is going well and I’m writing something I’m passionate about, the words flow like music. I’ve never played the piano, but I feel as though I’m hitting notes rather than letters and making song rather than prose.
Where did you grow up and where do you live now?
I grew up in Sydney, in a suburb north of the bridge called St Ives. When I was a kid it was the kind of place you could catch tadpoles in the gutter and practice smoking in the bush using finger-length strips of rolled-up bark. Now I live in Bardon, in Brisbane’s inner west. I love hills and trees, and Bardon’s got lots of both.
What’s the first sentence/line of your latest work?
It all began when I started asking people, “What’s the funniest thing your child has ever said?” Most people had an answer (or a hundred); some even had journals and scrapbooks to show me, lovingly recording their children’s endearing, crazy and sometimes downright indecent sayings.
[From The World According to Kids, published 1 November 2009 by HarperCollins Publishers Australia]
What piece of writing do you wish you had written?
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. Knowing that she had moved from journalism and non-fiction to write this glowing gem of a book was enormously encouraging to me as I was starting to explore different forms of writing. I’m still enormously envious though!
What are you currently working towards?
I’m researching my next book, which is called Parenting with Soul. It’s for parents – mostly mothers but dads too – who have no time to be spiritual but still have a yearning for more peace, stillness, joy, delight in their lives. I think of it as a divine nappy bag, packed with everything you need to sustain you through those days of dirty nappies, endless washing and the school lunch production line. I’m pitching for a tone of spirituality with attitude, something that is zesty, fun and provocative.
Complete this sentence: the future of the book is …
Unthinkable, big, exciting. We’re getting some glimmers of the possibilities of digital publishing, and the way different media can be shaken and stirred together to convey a message in new ways. I’m excited by the notion that micro-publishing will be big (though always small!). My other ‘day job’ is as publisher at Red Hill Publishing, and we’re actively seeking speciality and niche titles that might not get a look-in with the major book publishers but that have a real place in the market.
This post is part of the Queensland Writers Centre blog tour, happening October to December 2009. To follow the tour, visit Queensland Writers Centre’s blog The Empty Page http://www.qwc.asn.au/Resources/TheEmptyPageBlog.aspx
Anyone got some more questions? Bring it on, I’m on a roll now!