Jacqueline Harvey: October 2012

A Bookish Adventure

I started this blog to document an extended trip to the US and UK in 2012, introducing children to my Alice-Miranda series. It's hard to believe that it's just on four years since we launched the first Alice-Miranda title - and now there are nine books out in Australia with another five still to come. When I first came up with the idea of this precocious seven and a quarter year old, I had no clue that she would take me on such an amazing journey, not only in Australia but also across the world. I visited 37 schools while we were away in 2012 and gave over 80 talks - it was fantastic. In 2013 I've been on lots of new adventures in the UK - visiting schools from London to Southampton, Lancashire, Scotland, Newcastle and back to London again. After that I headed off to meet readers in Singapore. In Australia I've been to Melbourne, Perth, Albany, Alice Springs and Brisbane. There's a new series too - about a gorgeous little girl called Clementine Rose. She and Alice-Miranda don't know each other yet, but they will soon.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

London and Singapore here we come!

It's hard to believe that in just a couple of weeks I will officially be a full time author (no longer trying to juggle two full time jobs and spending every weekend and leave period on my writing). To say that I'm excited would be an understatement, tempered with some trepidation and a healthy dose of fear. But now is the time. I'm not getting any younger and I don't want to die wondering if I can make this a proper success. And if I don't get out and do some excercise, I won't fit into any of my clothes! So I'll be dusting off the golf clubs and getting back on course as soon as possible.

From now until the end of the year I'll be doing lots of writing - to catch up, as well as some touring in and around Sydney, Newcastle and the Central Coast. I'll post details on the website as soon as the events are confirmed.

Part of the fun is planning new adventures. January will see the launch of the second Clementine Rose book, Clementine Rose and the Pet Day Disaster, so I'll be out and about during the school holidays, visiting bookshops and libraries, in and around Sydney.

In February we'll be heading back to London to launch the third and fourth Alice-Miranda books, and in the process hoping to catch up with some of the fantastic people we met there this year. We're also planning a visit to Singapore on the way home - I've never been there before but I know Alice-Miranda has a few readers in that part of the world so I'm hoping to visit some schools and work with bookshops too.

March will see lots of travel in Australia to lauch Alice-Miranda In Paris. And after that who knows? The US in October is the aim. One thing's for sure. I don't plan to waste a minute.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Talking about Alice-Miranda

Over the past year or so I've made several videos with the Random House team, which have generally been used to share the Alice-Miranda love through the marketing department with the various book buyers. I hadn't see any of them but recently they were loaded to You Tube. If you're interested to know more about the series, how I came to write the books or what they're about, take a look.