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 …
The #writeabookwithAl August 2017 version is about to kick off!
Are you writing a novel, for children or for adults? Or would you like to be writing one? Why not do it with me? Despite the fact that I thought …
COVER REVEAL: The Book Of Secrets (Ateban Cipher #1)
The day is finally here when I can reveal the cover for the first book in my new series! I have to say that from an author’s perspective, this never …
What publishers really want (in their own words)
As Valerie Khoo and I head rapidly towards 200 episodes of our So You Want To Be A Writer podcast, our backlist of fabulous – and by that I mean …
News and events update
The school holidays are underway, which means less headspace for writing but more time to get my house in order. As a work-at-home mum, I usually find the best way …