May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust Days 22, 23, 24, 25, 26

Sometimes finishing a story is not quite as straightforward as you hope it will be.  My goal to have the draft completed by Tuesday didn't eventuate.  Not because I wasn't putting in 14 hour writing days but because this story just has a lot more threads that needed pulling together.  So what I thought would be 56,000 words at most has turned into 62,500 - many of which will be trimmed!  I must admit I'm feeling a little exhausted and strangely overwhelmed - perhaps it's just the thought that my month here is almost over.  The draft needs much polishing and re-working to bring it to its best, but that's the process of being a writer.  I enjoy having the opportunity to step back from it - read through from beginning to end (aloud and with all the silly voices) to see what works and what doesn't.  To think about the plot flaws and ask myself - does that make sense?  How can this be better?  Would Alice-Miranda do that?  Is Jacinta being true to herself?  Etc etc...

Of course this means that I haven't started my new Clementine adventure yet and that needs to be underway asap.  It will get done.

This week I worked with the Norwood, Payneham and St Peter's Library visiting East Adelaide Public School.  The children were great fun and I enjoyed meeting them very much.  Sue Nosworthy from the Trust looked after me well.  I can't wait to spend time with her again - she's terrific fun as is her husband Ian.

Mary Wilson had me up to her beautiful home for dinner on Wednesday evening.  We had my favourite; rack of lamb, roast vegetables and cauliflower cheese.  I asked if she'd been reading the 'My Favourites' section on my website!  On the way home Mary took me to the top of Kensington Road where there is a lookout over the city.  It was a blustery evening and a little chilly but well worth the walk.  What a spectacular view.

It feels strange to be getting ready to leave the Burrow.  It's a perfect place to write and has all the creature comforts of home - including a hair dryer!  I know when I was getting ready to come down I wished I had asked some silly questions about whether or not there was an iron and ironing board and hairdryer and of course a printer.  If you are coming soon I can tell you that the printer is a Canon MP250 and the ink cartridges will cost about $75 if you get colour.  There's also an external keyboard that you can hook up to your laptop.  I brought my own from home but it would have been a good thing to know and save on the luggage.

Adelaide is a terrific place and I am looking forward to being back again soon.  I've had the opportunity to meet some teachers from other schools in the area and I'm already plotting a tour next year.  It's a great city and the area where I've been staying in Norwood is absolutely gorgeous.  There is a real vibrancy. 

Last night I had the pleasure of meeting up with fellow Sydney children's author Aleesah Darlison for dinner.  She's been down here working in schools and pre-schools and today she visited the Glenelg Library where I was last Friday.  It was lovely to see her and take a break from what has been a pretty intense week and yesterday an extremely intense day.

So, tomorrow I have my final bookshop event at Mostly Books in Mitcham at 11am - it's National Bookshop Day and I'm excited to be there to take part in the celebrations. 

The photographs I've included here are courtesy of Mary; the top one is Ian, myself and Elizabeth Hutchins; next is Mary Wilson, myself and Elizabeth Hutchens, the third is with teachers from Norwood Public School and last of all is Jacquie Holdich and me outside Dillon's at Norwood.

With a day and a bit to go it's good to reflect on what has been achieved while I've been here.

• Written 40,000 words and completed the draft of Alice-Miranda In Japan
• Visited Griffin Press to see how books are made (and saw my own being printed :)
• Events with Norwood, East Marden and East Adelaide Public Schools on behalf of the Norwood, Payneham, St Peter's Library
• Event with Glenelg Library
• 3 bookshop events with another tomorrow

I've also managed to have a few days off to see some of the sights of this wonderful city and surrounds.  So in all, I think it's been a very successful Creative Time Residency.

May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust Creative Time Fellowship Days 19, 20 and 21

If you were to read this post and this post only, you might come to the conclusion that I'm having a complete holiday - that is not true at all.  But I did have a day off to visit the beautiful Barossa Valley.  We awoke to torrential rain on Friday morning and a bleak forecast of 13 degrees and showers.  It didn't matter though - this was the only day we could get to the Barossa and we were going regardless of the weather.

We picked up my mother in law Joan and sister Sarah up and headed into Norwood to what is one of the best cafes I've been to in a long time.  It's called Argo and has delicious coffee and fantastic food.  We then set off for the Barossa with intermittent showers along the way.

I never expected it to be so pretty.  Rolling green hills and miles and miles of vineyards.  I think I had anticipated rougher countryside more like the Hunter Valley or Margaret River.  The Barossa is by far one of the most picturesque wine growing regions in the country.

We drove straight to Tanunda which is a gorgeous little town with one of the loveliest entrance points I've seen.  The road is bordered by two high stone walls and an archway celebrating the town and its fame as wine country.  We stopped at the tourist information which also happens to house the local library.  Never one to miss an opportunity I had a browse through the shelves then spoke to the librarian.  She said that Alice-Miranda and Clementine Rose were both part of the collection but as the facilities were small, they had boxes of series that rotated around the different branches.  She suggested that if we had time we should pop into Nuriootpa and meet Julie Bailey the coordinator of Library events and Community engagement. We then paid a visit to a beautiful little bookshop called The Raven's Parlour where I met Colleen, who was very keen to do some events with me next time I came to the Barossa.


We then headed for our first vineyard, Langmeil, which had a delicious selection of reds and whites and a fantastic vintner Jonathon who was incredibly knowledgeable.  We enjoyed the tasting and ordered some wines which will be shipped home.

We decided to drive to Seppeltsfield and have a look at the area including the Seppelt family crypt which dominates the side of a hill on the way into the vineyard.

The rows of palm trees are an impressive addition to the landscape and must have been planted many years ago to have matured to such a magnificent stage.

Maggie Beer's Pheasant Farm was high on our list of must sees - she's an Australian icon and we love her pheasant farm pate among other things.  The kitchen was serving mushroom soup which, on a chilly day was just perfect for lunch.  We also ordered a pate basket and had a leisurely stay, followed by a walk around the farm where Sarah and I witnessed some interesting animal behaviour!  Let's just say that the ducks we thought were doing a dance weren't.

We headed back toward Nuriootpa and found the library where I stopped in and met the lovely Julie and some of the other staff.  I can feel a 2014 Barossa book tour coming on!

Our final stop for the day was St Hallett winery where we sampled some more delicious wines and my mother in law Joan came up with the quote of the day.  She wanted to try one of the white wines she'd already sampled and said, 'I want that fluffy one.'  The young girl serving us laughed and said that she'd never heard that word used to describe any of their wines.  Of course we asked her if it was a technical term - Joan said that she meant light - 'you know a lovely light luncheon wine for little old ladies'.  We didn't know it before but we do now and it's one she's not going to live down for a long time!

The heavens really opened up as soon as got back into the car and we decided that we'd head back to the city and have a rest before dinner with James and Chrissy Williams and Rebecca Bird from Pegi Williams Bookshop.  I have so enjoyed getting to know the three of them (and James and Chrissy's gorgeous little boys) while I've been here and we made a date to go for dinner.

We went to a gorgeous spot on the river called Jolly's Boathouse.  It was loads of fun; great wine and great company and the food wasn't bad either.  Joan kept us entertained with her fluffy wine tales and it was terrific hearing more about James and Chrissy's business and life in Adelaide. Ian and James share a love of all things cricket.  I am looking forward to going to a match at the newly rebuilt Adelaide oval with James sometime in the future.

Saturday morning was similarly wet and miserable.  I did some writing first thing then headed over to Pegi Williams Bookshop in Walkerville to sign a pile of books for James for their upcoming catalogues.  I signed my very first Alice-Miranda diaries and the new Alice-Miranda Shines Bright, both of which will be out 1 September.  As well, I signed all of the other books in the series plus any Clementine Rose books they had too.  James had told one of his best customers, Stella and her dad that I would be in the shop so they stopped by and we had a lovely chat about Alice-Miranda and Stella's school and netball.  What a gorgeous girl.  I love meeting the readers and she was so a sweetie.  Ian and I then had a sneak peek at the plans for James and Chrissy's new shop which will be built just around the corner within the next 12 months.  Exciting times ahead for them and I can't wait to come back to Adelaide and work with them again soon.

I had a signing at Collins Edwardstown at 1pm so we picked up Joan and Sarah and headed down there.  I had to go to the ladies before we went to the shop.  I was in the toilet stall when I looked up only to see myself smiling back - not a mirror (that would be truly horrible) but a poster advertising the event.  Never seen myself on the back of a toilet door before and have to say it was a slightly strange and unnerving experience!  The staff had done a wonderful job of promoting the signing (not only in the loos!) and the shop looked amazing too with balloons, a lovely display and even a spot where the children could sit while I did a reading.  We were there about half an hour early and I was so thrilled to find that there was already one little girl, books in hand ready to say hello.  In the end we had a lovely crowd and it was great to meet everyone including some of the mums who follow my FB fan page and their daughters.

We had a late lunch back in Norwood and had a quiet afternoon.  Dinner consisted of wine, with pate from Maggie Beer.  I think we've eaten far too much the past couple of days!

On Sunday morning the family were heading home.  We had a lovely breakfast at another local gem of a spot over in Dulwich - where the houses are just as beautiful as Norwood - before they left for the airport.  I spent the next half hour doing some housework and getting myself organised for a full day of writing.  So far I've managed 2700 words and am hoping to double it before I go to bed tonight.  You see, it's getting close to the end and the action is really heating up - and I tend to write faster at this point too.  My goal is to have the draft finished by tomorrow night and spend Tuesday tidying it up before sending it to Chris (who will no doubt be pleased to read this!).  Then I have to make a very quick start on the next Clementine adventure - but it's been brewing for a few weeks now so I'm looking forward to leaping straight in. 

 

May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust Creative Time Fellowship Days 15 and 16

This week I've had the pleasure of visiting East Marden Primary School where I spoke with two groups of students and today I visited Glenelg Library to speak to over 80 girls from two of the local Catholic Schools.  Both events were lots of fun and I really enjoyed meeting the children and their teachers.  Lots of great drama - the mass auditions for the roles of Mr Sparks and Clementine Rose received plenty of giggles from the kids and teachers.  I also had the pleasure of meeting Janeen Brian, one of Australia's best loved children's authors.  She came along to my event at Glenelg and afterwards we had a chat over coffee.  Sue Nosworthy from the Trust came along too.  It was great to meet another of the dedicated members of the group and I am looking forward to seeing her again next week.  The Glenelg librarian, Tracey Glover is also the president of the SA Branch of the Children's Book Council and it was wonderful to meet her too. 


I've still managed to do a few thousand words on the book and I've enjoyed a couple of lovely dinners with Ian and his mother.  We went to a beautiful restaurant called Red Ochre on the river and tonight, on Sue's recommendation, we tried Paul's which is a local fish and chip restaurant in Norwood.  The whiting fillets were every bit as good as Sue said they would be.
A lovely highlight of today was meeting a young student who is currently doing a project on Alice-Miranda and me as the author.  She had no idea that she was coming to see me at the library and it was the most wonderful surprise (for me as much as for her!).

May Gibbs Children's Literature Creative Time Fellowship Days 12, 13, 14

Friday was a great writing day.  I needed to make good progress and I did.  For whatever reason, a whole lot of threads started to unravel, characters came into focus and I can see where I want to take things.  Heading up to 40,000 words with about 16,000 to go - so the end is in sight.

Eight hours of solid writing was followed by a visit to Pegi Williams Bookshop in Walkerville.  The lovely Rebecca Bird came to pick me up and we headed to the store to do an interview for their website.  James Williams was on the camera and Rebecca asked the questions.  Afterwards we went out to dinner in Norwood with James's lovely wife Chrissy and their two gorgeous little boys Jonah and Tobias.

After dinner I got back to the apartment and Ian and his mother arrived shortly afterwards, having flown in from Sydney for the week.  Joan is staying at a nice little apartment a few streets away.  I couldn't believe when she hobbled in, having strained her knee getting off the plane.  Fortunately things have improved over the weekend.  Probably helped by sampling a couple of the very tasty wines at some of the local vineyards :).

On Saturday morning we headed out for breakfast and then back to the apartment for some work.  At 1pm I had a signing at Dillon's Bookshop in Norwood.  I was thrilled to see a group of children already milling about when we arrived and the children kept coming for over an hour.  At one stage I looked up and the queue snaked up the road to the Nordburger shop on the other side of the mall.  The children were so lovely and there were quite a few 'number 1' fans among them.  It would be lovely to be doing more school visits while I'm here but it's about balancing the writing and work for the Trust.  I can certainly foresee a trip back to Adelaide next year and a very big school tour.

 

We finished up around 2.15pm.  The staff at Dillon's were wonderful - so well organised.  I loved the balloons and the colouring competition which I had the pleasure of judging.  It was great to see Abbey and her little brother and their gorgeous rabbit Boston too.

 

After the signing we decided to spend a couple of hours in Hahndorf.  It's not far up the mountain and is such a pretty place.  A lot like Berrima in the hills.  There are plenty of quaint cottages and crafty shops as well as the obligatory lolly shops.

We had afternoon tea and took a stroll.  Joan managed a reasonable distance too.






On Sunday morning I was keen to write and capitalise on Friday's progress.  But I was also hoping to explore as we currently have a hire car.  So we took off to McLaren Vale at midday.  Ian had booked a table at a lovely small winery called Coreole.  They served delicious platters to share for lunch with kangaroo, chicken salad, some stunning cheeses and sour dough bread.  My diet went out the window!

We then decided to make the most of the lovely weather and drive on to Victor Harbour, another 40 minutes further to the coast.  It is a gorgeous place and we were so lucky to get there just before a huge storm blew across the peninsular.  We saw a baby whale frolicking off The Bluff and watched a steel grey sky engulf the coastline.

I would love to have a holiday in Victor Harbour - and take a proper walk to Granite Island.  It's absolutely beautiful and I'm sure a favoured holiday destination with Adelaide locals.

You can just see the little whale coming up in the picture below.

 



May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust Creative Time Fellowship Days 8, 9, 10 and 11

The first two days of the week were head down, tail up working on the book.  I managed 3600 words on Monday and Tuesday did a complete read through with changes, adding another 1500 words.  Still, not as many as I would have liked.

I've been getting out each day, making sure that I walk to The Parade in Norwood, grab a coffee and speak to people - even if it is just at the checkout in Coles.  Complete author isolation would drive me batty; I need people to energise me.

On Tuesday afternoon I walked to the bakery on the corner and on the way back I decided to have a closer look at the sculpture in the middle of the very large median strip in Osmond Terrace.  It's a series of circles and inside there are stories.  Although I suspect to the passing motorists I may have looked a little strange as my head followed the great big loops, the stories are wonderful and tell snippets of Norwood's history from local residents.  One tells of a well to do couple who stayed at a local hotel.  The wife was devastated to find her jewellery gone one evening and reported it to the owner.  A chamber maid was accused of the theft and sent off in disgrace.  Some time later the owner discovered a magpie's nest with a an outstanding collection of jewels.

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of talking to two groups of students from Norwood Public School at the beautiful old Norwood Library.  Mary Wilson came to collect me from the apartment.  The sky was finally a dazzling blue and the warmth after quite a few chilly days was heavenly.

The children and teachers were a most enthusiastic and appreciative audience and I loved sharing stories with them, answering questions and doing some drama.  Cutest question of the day was, 'do you play any sports?'

'Yes, I love to play golf,' was my response.

'Wow, you're the first girl I've ever met who can play golf.'

I didn't realise I was so unusual.

There were some great actors among the classes and they really got stuck into the group audition process.

Mary and I then headed back to drop off the bulky gear at the apartment. 

Before I go any further I have to say that Mary Wilson is an extraordinary woman.  She's one of those people who exude warmth and kindness - and wisdom.  I have loved spending time with her and look forward to a few more visits before I head home.  I wish I could have met her husband Ian too - he really sounds like the most extraordinary man and I'm sure they must have made an indomitable team.

As it happened, when we arrived at the apartment, another of the committee members, Jacquie Holdich telephoned to check on some arrangements for next week.  On the spur of the moment we organised to meet her in Norwood and have a bite of lunch in the sun.  It was great getting to know more about Jacqui's career and her recent travels.  Mary and I then headed off down The Terrace to the corner where I was meeting Eliza, one of my former Abbotsleigh colleagues in the Development Office.  It was great to see her too and hear about her new life in Adelaide.

Today I've struggled a little bit.  I had to finish off an edit for my US publisher and so had my head back in Alice-Miranda At Sea yesterday afternoon and evening and then again first thing this morning.  I have found it hard to get into the rhythm of things.  I was also cross with myself for being a bit of a cranky pants yesterday.  I know I'm missing Ian terribly and can't wait for him to arrive tomorrow night.  This afternoon I received the most beautiful email from a reader, Violette - who certainly cheered my day.  I've inserted an extract below:

I love the Alice-Miranda series!!!!! I also love your blog, it's so interesting to read. I had an idea for a blog post...I don't know if you'll like it but here it is anyway! 

Alice-Miranda is such an inspirational character, and is many people's, including myself's, role model. Lot's of your readers try to be like her.  For other characters in other books, or TV shows, or things like that, there are usually posts on line with tips on how to be like them. For example, I love CeCe from the show Shake It Up, and there are lots of posts on the internet on how to be like her, dress like her etc.. You could do one for Alice-Miranda!!!  I don't know if you'll like that, you definitely don't have to, it was just an idea, but if you did do it, some of the tips could be like "Always introduce yourself, be kind......." and so on.

It was very timely.  Kids have told me that often when they find themselves in a bind, they will ask, 'what would Alice-Miranda do?'  I need to take their advice.  I know I've got the passion, but Alice-Miranda could teach me a thing or two about grace.

This afternoon one of my former Abbotsleigh colleagues, Jane came and picked me up and we went and had coffee in the city.  It was wonderful to see her and catch up on all the news.

Tomorrow I need to make serious headway on the book.  The threads are all there - it's just a matter of pulling gently and seeing how they unravel.  I would have loved to be finishing the last few thousand words but that's a little way off yet - not too far, I can almost see it.

May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust Creative Time Fellowship Days 5, 6, 7

I waved Ian off in a cab on Sunday afternoon - he headed home to Sydney for the week and will be back next Friday night.  I wish he was staying.  We had lunch in Glenelg and talked through plot issues and character developments and I'm feeling so much better about getting on with it.

The past three days have been fantastic.  On Friday morning Ian arrived, followed closely by Clive Jackson, the Random House rep for South Australia who picked us up for the day.  We headed into the Art Gallery of South Australia for the launch of a wonderful new book, Affairs of the Art by Katrina Strickland.  It's about the management of artist's estates and their legacies. Katrina spent a significant amount of time with the widows of many of Australia's most famous artists, pulling together her research for the book.  We met her briefly after the talk and she's absolutely delightful.  Having read several chapters now too, I can highly recommend it as a very interesting and insightful read.

We then drove to Pegi Williams bookshop in Walkerville, another stunning suburb.  Pegi Williams is a fantastic Australian success story.  The shop is in a gorgeous heritage building and it was fabulous to meet owner James and the lovely Rebecca, sales consultant and avid reader.  Both of them certainly know children's books and have a dedicated following around the country.  I'm looking forward to heading back there next Friday evening to make a short video for their website.

Then we were off to Griffin Press for what had to be one of the most exciting afternoons I can recall in a very long time.  We were going to see the process of how books are actually made - so that instead of saying 'well, I see the page proofs and then it goes back and it's a bit like magic - it returns to me as a book' I can tell children what really goes on - from how the orders are organised, covers are created, to the way the offset printing works, to how the pages are collated, bound, cut, trimmed and packaged.  As an author I have wanted to see the process for a while now - but to arrive and find out that they were printing Alice-Miranda Shines Bright while we were there was AMAZING!  Not only that, there were reprints of Alice-Miranda At School happening too - so we got to see the covers being created and two Clemmie books were being reprinted on the smaller run digital machines.




I felt like Charlie in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory - and I'm pretty sure Clive and Ian felt the same way.  You couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces.  Adrian, the factory manager was a gem.  He explained the entire process and Dani and Ian, who both take care of front of house goings on, explained exactly how the files arrive and what happens prior to and following the printing process.

Their generosity was incredible and I loved every minute.  We went to the plate room and they were apologising that there was no Alice-Miranda or Clementine being pressed at the time.  However, when I looked at what was coming through, it was a reprint of Stories for 8 Year Olds - and my short story, Gruesome Grandads and Nasty Nans was there in the corner.  I couldn't believe it - and I don't think they could either.

The paper store is incredible with 4 months worth of giant paper rolls piled high like a pre-publication forest.  I was impressed with Griffin's dedication to recycling and the use of recyclable materials.

Adrian has been with the company for a long time - three decades I think.  He was obviously very proud of his work and team and I suspect it was a bit of a thrill for him to be able to show us exactly how it all happens.  I know it was a huge thrill for me and an afternoon I will never forget.

On Saturday morning we met Mary Wilson, who along with her husband Ian was responsible for setting up the May Gibb's Children's Literature Trust.  Mary kindly came and picked us up.  Then we drove over to get Elizabeth Hutchins before heading to Mary's magnificent home for a delicious morning tea.  Sadly, Mary's husband Ian passed away recently.  He sounds like a wonderful man and his work both for the Trust and in the community as a member of parliament have left an important legacy.

Mary's home is one of those places that ooze family and history.  Her own grandmother was born in a timber house that sits adjacent to the main house.

Morning tea consisted of home made scones and cake - and was absolutely delicious.  I hope to spend more time with Mary and Elizabeth during the visit. 

Mary then drove us to Rundle Mall where I had a book signing at Dymocks.  That was great fun too and I met some very enthusiastic Alice-Miranda fans.  We also met Linda from Dymocks who was a fabulous host and Jo, Clive's wife, who also works in the store.

Rundle Mall is currently undergoing a substantial renovation so we're not seeing it at its best.  Suffice to say it reminds me a little of Pitt Street Mall with the usual array of shops.  The weather was very chilly on Saturday with snow falling on Mt Lofty - which we learned is a none too frequent occurrence.  Ian and I returned to the Burrow and decided to walk to Norwood and find a cosy place for a late lunch.  On the way down the street I was surprised to see this giant sign on the window in Dillon's Bookshop advertising my upcoming Saturday signing.

Sunday dawned just as drearily as Saturday and we decided to take the tram to Glenelg.  Wow - the weather was wild and woolly down there - but I can imagine that on a clear day it is absolutely beautiful.  We found the marina with lots of shops and restaurants and enjoyed another late lunch before Ian had to head back to Sydney and I had to reacquaint myself with the book.

All up, my first week in Adelaide has been great.  The ladies from the Trust Committee are so kind - Alle brought me some delicious soup early in the week and Mary stopped by on Saturday evening with Osso Bucco, Minestrone and a bottle of red - from the family's own vines.  I can't thank them all enough for making me feel at home.

I'm looking forward to a very productive week ahead.  The goals are lofty with at least another 25,000 words of Alice-Miranda In Japan to write (hopefully by the end of the week).  I don't mind if the weather stays chilly - it's wonderful for writing.

PS I have a lot more photos from the visit to Griffin Press and will post them as soon as I'm allowed.