YABBA Dabba Doo and a cuddly KOALA

The past week and a half has been a little on the surreal side.  Although my time at Abbotsleigh officially came to an end on Wednesday 31 October up until last Friday there were hand over and finishing up days (except on Thursday when Dot and I hit the road to Newcastle for two library and one bookstore events).  My farewells were extraordinary; particularly the High Tea for the whole Junior School and a large group of senior girls who came over as well.  There were lots of little girls dressed as Alice-Miranda and Clementine Rose and I felt quite overwhelmed by the speeches, cards and emails that I had from the girls.

This week is my first real experience of being a full time writer and speaker.  Yesterday we visited Parramatta East and Parramatta West Public Schools, where the kids were fantastic.  We had such a warm welcome - and I was really impressed with the staff too.  Today I spent time at the KOALA awards (Kids' Own Australian Literature Awards).  I've never been before and it was great to catch up with friends and meet lots of keen readers.  Alice-Miranda At School received an Honour Book award (runner up) in the Younger Readers Category, along with Andy Griffiths' Just Macbeth.  The winner was Tashi and the Golem by Anna Fienberg and Kim Gamble.  Last week, to my great surprise and delight Alice-Miranda At School won the YABBA (Young Australian's Best Book Awards) in the same category in Victoria. 

It's incredibly rewarding and humbling to know that children are reading Alice-Miranda's adventures.  Chris Morphew took out the YABBA and KOALA for his book The Phoenix Files: Arrival and summed up what perhaps a lot of us were thinking - 'but there are real writers here'.  It's hard not to feel like a fraud in this business.  I think because we spend so much time admiring others' work, it doesn't quite seem real to be talked about in the same sentence as many of your idols.

So the rest of the week holds more school visits and a lot of editing and re-writing for Alice-Miranda In Paris.  It still feels a little (ok, a lot) strange not to be going to work every day in the more conventional sense.  And I haven't yet really tasted the freedom that I hope this new path offers.  But I'm sure that it will come.  One thing's for sure, I don't plan to waste a minute.

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.

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Clementine Rose - my first ever book trailer!

This week the lovely team from Random House Australia sent me the book trailer for Clementine Rose.  I LOVE it - the music, which I know Sarana and the team spent ages selecting, is simply perfect and the trailer is adorable.  I love that Lavender does loops jumping on Clemmie's bed too and if you don't see if the first time, have a look at the portrait on the top of the stairs and what happens to Aunt Violet's glasses.

Clementine Rose and the Surprise Visitor has debuted this week in the Random House Australia top ten YA and Children's books at number six - a huge thrill and particularly when Alice-Miranda Shows the Way is in there at number four.  To have both my girls in the one list is amazing.

I also had a beautiful email from a woman who has just named her baby girl, Clementine Rose (before the series was launched, so just a lovely coincidence).  To top things off there was a great review for the first Clementine Rose book in Magpies magazine (which I'm always a little afraid of  as they can be tough!).

Anyway, this post has to be short and sweet as I've been a bit under the weather recently and am way behind on a deadline for Alice-Miranda In Paris.  Hope you enjoy the trailer!

Two releases in one day and two months to go!

Today marks the release of two books for me.  In Australia, Clementine Rose and the Surprise Visitor is officially in stores.  I'm really excited about Clemmie's launch into the world and I hope that little girls love her as much as I adore writing her stories.  She's quirky and funny and has a tea cup pig - what's not to like a about a pet pig called Lavender!  I'm thrilled too that Clementine is on the Get Reading Program - which is a promotion that happens throughout September, encouraging Australians to do just that, and get reading.  It's wonderful to have that level of promotion, particularly for a new series.
In the UK, Alice-Miranda On Holiday is officially out today too (although today, means Friday 31 August).  I'm excited that the series is getting a foothold in the market there and Random House UK will release two more books simultaneously in February.  It's hard to know how things will go when you are across the other side of the world, but I will certainly tour the UK again sometime next year as I think being there and being able to talk to your potential audiences is so important.

I've got two months until I finish up at Abbotsleigh as Director of Development.  Yesterday we ran a new event for our parents and friends; a corporate sports lunch in the city at The Establishment.  I was really anxious about this one, but it was fantastic.  We were so fortunate to have Rebecca Wilson as the MC (she is wonderful - and was a brilliant MC) and Ellyse Perry, Rod Kafer, Jason Ball and Laurie Daley on the panel.  They were all engaging and professional and the feedback has been amazing.  Not to mention a whole table of Olympians including Dan Noonan from the men's rowing four who brought along his bronze medal too!  I know I'll miss the community of the school - there are so many things I love about being there, but Alice-Miranda and Clemmie need me and so, I am really looking forward to being able to give them my full attention.

Get Reading 2012

Yesterday the Get Reading Program was launched for 2012.  I am thrilled that the first book in my new series, Clementine Rose and the Surprise Visitor is featured on the list of '50 Books You Can't Put Down'.  It's a real honour to have been selected and I hope this will see Clemmie get into the hands of lots of readers - the book is officially in Australian stores as of next Saturday 1 September.  There are 49 other fabulous books on the list - and I'm pinching myself to be among such amazing company.  I've included some information about the program from the Get Reading website as well as the text from Clemmie's page.  You can click through to read the entire catalogue as well.

Get Reading!, formerly known as Books Alive, is Australia’s largest annual celebration of books and reading, which encourages all Australians to pick up a book, put up their feet and get reading!
50 Books You Can’t Put Down Get Reading! is primarily a month-long, nationwide campaign focused on inspiring more Australians to discover or rediscover the pleasure of reading. Central to this campaign is the FREE 50 Books You Can’t Put Down Guide which includes 50 of the year’s top reads. During the month of September hundreds of thousands of the FREE guide are distributed nationally via bookstores, libraries, events, and festivals located around the country.
 

Clementine Rose and the Surprise Visitor

Jacqueline Harvey

 

Clementine Rose lives in Penberthy Floss in a large,

ramshackle house with her mother, Lady Clarissa, butler

Digby Pertwhistle and a very sweet little teacup pig called

Lavender. When her scary Aunt Violet arrives unexpectedly,

the household is thrown into disarray. What is it that Aunt

Violet really wants and what is she carrying in her mysterious

black bag? If you loved Enid Blyton when you were growing

up, your little girl will love Clementine Rose.

Recommended for children age 5+

News!

After much soul searching and endless discussions with Ian, a few weeks ago I decided that I would resign from my full time job as Director of Development at Abbotsleigh School for Girls in Sydney.  I know that there are many things I will miss - mostly the people and the stimulation of doing such a broad range of tasks, but the time is now to try my hand at writing and speaking full time.  I'm excited about the future and a little nervous too - it's impossible to know how things will go.  I do know though, that while I was on tour, I realised that I missed working with children in the classroom.  I think I was born to be a teacher and a writer and I need to work in a way that caters for both.  I am not leaving until the end of October so the school can find the right person to replace me, but come 1 November I'm looking forward to being able to say 'yes' to opportunities that come my way.  I'll also be looking for speaking and teaching opportunities so if you'd like to talk to me about that, please email!

This past week we had our Literary Festival at Abbotsleigh with so many talented Australian authors and illustrators.  Sally Murphy, Hazel Edwards, Kate Forsyth, Gabrielle Wang, Morris Gleitzman, John Marsden, Colin Thompson, Anthony Eaton, Aleesah Darlison, Tobhy Riddle, Ursula Dubosarsky, Sarah Davis, Aaron Blabey, Geoffrey McSkimming, John Larkin, Chris Morphew and Barry Heard to name a few - sorry if I've left anyone off! 

It's fantastic to have so many like minded people in the one place and my only regret was that I didn't have a lot of time to sit and chat, being part of the organising committee and conducting sessions, while also keeping up my other job.  I did have the pleasure of collecting Barry Heard and Anthony Eaton from the airport on Wednesday evening.  Anthony was flying in an hour after Barry, so Barry and I sat and had a cuppa while we waited for the flight.  Barry Heard is without doubt an extraordinary man.  I must confess that I didn't know much about him until then - a Vietnam veteran who had written a couple of books was about all I had learned.  That was underselling him something shocking.  He's a survivor, a dad, a husband, a mate and an incredible story teller who has a quiet passion for history.  I wanted Anthony's flight to be late so I could keep talking to Barry (sorry Anthony) - and I was upset that I couldn't see him speak on Thursday as I had my own sessions to do.  I will be buying every one of his books and reading them in a quiet place, with plenty of tissues on hand.  He made such an impact on our girls at school that several of them told me afterwards that he was 'amazing'; 'I just wanted to give him a hug'; 'he was incredible' and so on.  I can believe that's exactly how they felt.  I am so pleased that I had the opportunity to meet him - and I do hope that our paths will again cross in the future.