If you’ve been listening to the So You Want To Be A Writer podcast, you’ll know that Val and I are both fans of musical theatre. She never misses an …
Writing for kids: How to create remarkable characters
When I asked Australian children’s author Tim Harris to write me a post for kids who love to write, there was no question of the topic: remarkable characters. Tim’s latest …
Cover reveal! Meet The Book Of Answers (Ateban Cipher #2)!
In a very big week for Ateban Cipher news, I’m thrilled to reveal the cover for THE BOOK OF ANSWERS (out in March 2018). Ta da! Isn’t it lovely? I …
NEWS: The Ateban Cipher is heading to the US!
I’m very, really, extremely excited to announce that Kane Miller, my wonderful US publisher for The Mapmaker Chronicles series, will also be taking The Ateban Cipher series to the US. At …
WIN: Signed poster The Book Of Secrets (Ateban Cipher #1)
Look what I got in the post this morning! Hachette Australia has sent me some of the bookshop posters for THE BOOK OF SECRETS (Ateban Cipher #1) and, frankly, they’re …
Teachers’ Notes: The Book Of Secrets
As an author, teachers’ notes are a surprisingly exciting thing. I love seeing what a specialist reader makes of my books and how they tie them to the various aspects …
Writing For Kids: Write What You Love
When I asked my friend Allison Rushby, author of many novels for children, YA and adults, to come up with a post full of writing tips for kids, I had …
Let me read you a story…
Anyone who knows me well, or even listens to my podcast regularly, will know that video and I are not friends. But publishers are persuasive people and so I found …
3 ways to make yourself write when you really don’t want to (but absolutely have to)
If you were part of my most recent #writeabookwithal challenge, you might be familiar with the name Ruth Devine. Ruth, aka R.E. Devine, faithfully checked in each day on Facebook …
Writing for kids: How to be more creative
When Jamie Reeves, the powerhouse behind Blonde Mom Blog, asked me to write a guest post helping parents to encourage kids to get off technology and be more creative, I …
How to make time for creative projects
I’m visiting the gorgeous Pip Lincolne from Meet Me At Mike’s today, sharing my 5 secrets of being creative when you have NO time. Whether you’re a writer or a …
How to host a book launch
As the dust settles from launch week for The Book Of Secrets (Ateban Cipher #1), I finally have time to reflect and share some of the highlights! On Saturday, I …
Writing For Kids: The 10 Keys To A Great Story
I’m over visiting Scarlet Paolicchi at Family Focus blog this week, talking about writing for kids, and the 10 keys to writing a great story. This post is based on …
The Book Of Secrets (Ateban Cipher #1) is out now!
When I was busy writing manuscripts in the middle of the night, dreaming of one day being a published author, I would try to imagine what it would be like …
Should I start a podcast?
I’m over visiting the wonderful Anne R. Allen today, guest posting all about podcasting. If you’re a writer and you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of the …
Some lessons I’ve learned from writing for kids
I’m over at The Creative Penn today, with a guest post about what writing for kids has taught me about writing. Joanna Penn is a New York Times bestselling author …
Update: #writeabookwithal, one month on
Well, here we are. The first day of spring. The start of a new season. The Book Of Secrets is out this month (go here for your invite to my …
WIN: Signed books plus money-can’t-buy Mapmaker cap
With just weeks to go before the release of The Book Of Secrets (Ateban Cipher #1) on 12 September, I’m pacing nervously getting excited. So excited, in fact, that I’m …
Writing for kids: How to write comics
One of the things I love most about all of the various things I do is meeting other writers. Through the podcast, the blog, social media and the Your Kid’s …
Simple Book Week ideas (from Australian authors)
Last year, in the grips of Book Week Fever, I wrote about my love/hate relationship with this most special time of the school calendar. In summary, as an author, I …