by Allison Tait | Aug 21, 2023 | Books, Life, News
CBCA Book Week might officially last just one week, but the reality is that author life gets very busy for many weeks around the official dates (19-25 August this year).
So today might be Official Day One, but for me Book Week kicked off last Monday with a series of ‘Writing Fantasy Stories’ workshops in Sydney, and then continued up the coast to Newcastle and Port Macquarie on an ‘author road trip’ with the wonderful Jacqueline Harvey.
We had such a great time, we’re already making plans to do it again next year in a different region!






This week, I’m closer to home, sharing my new author talk ‘Write What You Know (And Create Something New)’, along with workshops about finding your writing superpower and the 10 keys to writing a great story with kids along the south coast.
It made my heart sing today when one student told me how much she loves my books, and another was beside herself to meet a ‘real, live author’.
Long live Book Week!
Reach out via my Speaking page if you’d like me to visit your school either for Book Week 2024, or any other time of year you’d like me to chat reading and writing with your students.
On the subject of speaking, in case you missed it, I’ve also got a couple of special events later this week.
So You Want To Be A Children’s Author?: Free workshop for adult writers
Event blurb
You’d love to write stories for kids, but you’re not sure where to begin. Or perhaps you’ve made a start, but you’re wondering what to do next?
To celebrate the launch of her brand-new middle-grade novel The first summer of Callie McGee, Allison Tait – internationally published bestselling author, co-host of the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast, and teacher at the Australian Writer’s Centre – is sharing her insider secrets and practical tips on writing for children.
She’ll look at the top 10 questions you need to ask yourself in order to write a great book for kids – as well as answering any burning questions you might have.
24 August, 2pm-3.30pm, Nowra Library, 10 Berry Street, Nowra.
All details and bookings here.
A. L. Tait Book Launch: THE FIRST SUMMER OF CALLIE McGEE
Event blurb
Join local children’s author Allison Tait at Gerringong Library for a book launch celebration and talk about The First Summer of Callie McGee – a mystery about growing up, figuring things out and solving the puzzle of who you are, from the author of the bestselling middle-grade adventure series The Mapmaker Chronicles.
A fun event for middle-grade kids, families, lovers of children’s books, teachers, local friends and supporters of all ages – everyone welcome.
This is a free event, bookings essential. Books available for signing and purchase on the day.
The winners of the Beach Art Competition will be announced and prizes awarded at the launch.
All details and bookings here.
Are you new here? Welcome to my blog! I’m Allison Tait, aka A.L. Tait, and I’m the author of middle-grade fantasy adventure series, The Mapmaker Chronicles, The Ateban Cipher, and the Maven & Reeve Mysteries, as well as my new contemporary middle-grade novel ‘The First Summer of Callie McGee’. You can find out more about me here, and more about my books here.
If you’re looking for book recommendations for young readers, join the Your Kid’s Next Read Facebook community, and tune in to the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast!
by Allison Tait | Aug 3, 2023 | Advice for Writers, Reading, Writing, Your Kid's Next Read
My new book, The First Summer of Callie McGee, is out now in bookshops everywhere – and I’m at home in that strange netherworld that is post-launch day.
Pre-publication day, the anticipation builds and builds, like those epic summer thunderstorms that press the very air down on you for hours before they finally burst into a light- and sound-show followed by furious drenching rain.
Unfortunately, publication day brings less of the light and sound and fury, and more the sound of boxes of books being opened in bookshops across the country and the slight rusting of pages as the books are placed upon the shelves.
The day after is just… business as usual. Except that I’m typing with my fingers crossed, hoping that readers will love Callie as much as I do.
The inside story of Callie McGee
In the headline, I’ve promised you the inside story on the book, but I think the best way to get that is to listen to me talk about it.
I’m the special guest on a veritable bonanza of podcasts this week, and each of them will bring you a slightly different perspective on this story and how it came about.
So You Want To Be A Writer
For a deep dive into the process of writing the book, from that first glimmer of inspiration to working through the complexity of creating the procedure of the mystery element, don’t miss my conversation with Valerie Khoo on So You Want To Be A Writer.
It was so nice to be back chatting to Val about all things writing and publishing. I spent seven years as co-host of this podcast, so sliding back into this space is like coming home.
But it’s a home where your Mum does not hold back on asking the hard questions, and I can always count on Val to keep asking ‘why?’ until I manage to articulate some part of my writing process that seems impossible to explain.
So we talk about the writing, we talk about wading into uncertainty and the memories of being 12, and we talk about re-drafting manuscript themes downwards. But we also talk about the very real challenges of establishing and maintaining a longterm author career.
You know you can count on us to be honest and get to the very crux of this stuff, so it’s worth a listen.
Find it here, or where you get your podcasts.
Words and Nerds
The thing I love about chatting with author and podcaster Dani Vee on the Words and Nerds podcast is knowing that the conversation will ramble its way into unexpected places and interesting revelations. And so it proved yet again.
We talked about The First Summer of Callie McGee, solving the puzzle of who we are and writing books outside our comfort zones.
But we also talk about publicity for authors from a journalist’s perspective, and how to find different ways to draw attention to your book – by thinking outside the box of your book, guest posting on blogs, making connections, getting your byline in the article, understanding the importance of booksellers and hand selling and the awesomeness of librarians.
If you’re a children’s author or would like to be one day, don’t miss this one!
Find it here, or where you get your podcasts.
KidLit Classics
If you haven’t discovered this podcast gem, you’re in for a treat! Hosted by author Samantha-Ellen Bound, KidLit Classics podcast invites contemporary children’s authors to discuss one book from their own childhood that made them a writer today.
I had the most wonderful time chatting to Samantha-Ellen about Callie’s Castle by Ruth Park. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while or listening to my various podcasts over the years, you’ll have heard this book come up before, but here we take a long, hard look at the beginning of my turret fixation.
To discuss the book, I had to read the book again and remain in awe of Park’s ability to create broad brushstrokes of a world, emotions and characters with a few fine details.
And yes, our characters share a name, but I swear this revealed itself to me only when Samantha-Ellen asked me to choose a book for this podcast episode. Until that moment, I hadn’t thought about Callie and her castle for years – but deep down in the part of the brain where fond memory lives, there she was.
I hope she’d like Callie McGee.
Find the episode here, or where you get your podcasts.
And an opportunity to ask your own questions
Writer’s Bookclub Podcast
Author Michelle Barraclough’s Writers’ Bookclub Podcast has its own special twist on the author interview format – you get to ask the questions!
Michelle has chosen The First Summer of Callie McGee as her first middle-grade book to explore and dissect, and you can play along by reading the book and then posting any questions you might have for me about any aspect of writing the book to the group Facebook page before 15th August. (See How It Works here)
Michelle and I have a date later this month to interview an episode for the podcast where she asks me all your questions.
All the details on how to join in here.
Are you new here? Welcome to my blog! I’m Allison Tait, aka A.L. Tait, and I’m the author of middle-grade series, The Mapmaker Chronicles, The Ateban Cipher, and the Maven & Reeve Mysteries, and my latest novel ‘The First Summer of Callie McGee’. You can find out more about me here, and more about my books here.
If you’re looking for book recommendations for young readers, join the Your Kid’s Next Read Facebook community, and tune in to the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast!
by Allison Tait | Jul 14, 2023 | Advice for Writers, Writing
It is a truth universally acknowledged that writing a book is one thing – promoting that book is quite another..
But thinking outside the box about book publicity can give an author more avenues to promote their book, and is also very satisfying. All too often new authors worry about what’s not happening with their book, so taking control of what you can do really helps.
Nobody knows this better than Dani Vee, whose first picture book My EXTRAordinary Mum was published in 2022, and whose second book My EPIC Dad! Takes Us Camping (book one in a six-part series) is out now.
With many strings to her bow, including podcaster and commissioning editor, Dani was better placed than most debut authors to understand the nuts-and-bolts of book promotion – but even she found herself having to think outside the ‘publicity’ box to maximise her efforts.
Fortunately, she’s dropped by to share her experiences in this guest post.
Thinking outside the ‘publicity’ box as a newbie writer!
By Dani Vee
The excitement of signing my first book deal lasted about 10 seconds before the terror hit.
What if it didn’t sell and no-one ever signed me again?
Ten seconds. The exact amount of time we allow ourselves to celebrate!
Leaving nothing to chance, I created a juggernaut of a spreadsheet of all the bloggers, reviewers, podcasters and book people I could contact.
I planned book shop visits, a book launch, social media posts and contacted local newspapers and magazines.
But I also watched others, and what I noticed was that the most successful people were creating content outside their books. They were creating a story around their story.
My picture book My EXTRAordinary Mum had been written from my own experiences of motherhood – and I realised that created an opportunity I hadn’t yet tapped into.
Creating stories around your book
I started writing articles about identity after motherhood, the expectations of motherhood and who you’re ‘supposed’ to be, the challenges of single motherhood, feminism, and even what it was like having a Gwyneth Paltrow LAT (Living Apart Together) relationship.
In other words, I wrote about the ideas, thoughts and feelings that were behind my picture book. When it comes to publicity, you have to work to your strengths and show an authentic and vulnerable self. I think the more Instagram posts we like and the more filters we use, the more authenticity we crave – and it seemed to work.
Those articles were published by Mamamia, MamaMag, local newspapers and magazines and other media outlets interested in stories about motherhood, women and feminism.
Even though the articles were not directly about the book, they were topical. And they all featured my byline and my bio at the end – a bio that related directly to my book and led interested readers to my website to find out more.
How to find your story
You can do this too – all you need to do is to find an angle.
We know what your book is about, but what is it really about? What’s the story around the story?
What inspired it?
What is it about you and your experiences that resonate, inspire or interest others?
Sit down and brainstorm a list of the things that drove you to write the book, as well as a list of the themes and ideas that developed as you wrote it.
Once you have those lists, think about how they might crossover into articles or blog post – and which publications and bloggers might be interested in running them.
You’re not always going to get it right when it comes to publicity and promoting your book, but thinking about different ways of presenting your work is probably a good start!
Dani Vee is the podcast host of Words and Nerds, and author of picture books My EXTRAordinary Mum and the My EPIC Dad! series. She also works in publicity and acquisitions at Larrikin House, judges books for crime awards and may just have a crime novel in her somewhere one day. She is currently working on her first junior fiction novel. Find out more.
Are you new here? Welcome to my blog! I’m Allison Tait, aka A.L. Tait, and I’m the author of middle-grade series, The Mapmaker Chronicles, The Ateban Cipher, and the Maven & Reeve Mysteries.
My new middle-grade novel THE FIRST SUMMER OF CALLIE McGEE is out on 1 August. You can find out more about me here, and more about my books here.
by Allison Tait | Oct 17, 2022 | Reading, Your Kid's Next Read
Spooky stories for kids are having a bit of a moment with a cluster of new titles featuring ghosts and other eerie characters hitting the shelves in recent years.
So, with Halloween on the horizon, I asked Allison Rushby – the third musketeer in the Your Kid’s Next Read community – to create a list of releases (new and favourites) for kids who love spooky stories.
Allison is the perfect curator for a list like this, being not only a big fan of stories both spooky and scary (see this earlier list she created for more options for middle-grade readers) but an author of junior fiction and middle-grade novels that hit that perfect sweet spot between spooky and safe.
For younger readers, try her latest book Miss Penny and The Midnight Kittens, while middle-grade readers will love The Ghost Locket and The Mulberry Tree.
More spooky stories for middle-grade readers
This selection of spooky stories is mostly aimed at kids 8-12. Click the link to find out more about each book or to purchase from Booktopia*

Honour Among Ghosts by Sean Williams

Her Perilous Mansion by Sean Williams
Gus and the Starlight by Victoria Carless
The Goodbye Year by Emily Gale
A Girl Called Corpse by Reece Carter
Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega
A Ghost in my Suitcase by Gabrielle Wang
Ting Ting the Ghosthunter by Gabrielle Wang
Prometheus High (series) by Stuart Wilson
The Haunting of Aveline Jones (series) by Phil Hickes, illustrated by Keith Robinson
The Ghost Locket by Allison Rushby
Miss Penny Dreadful and the Midnight Kittens by Allison Rushby
The Mulberry Tree by Allison Rushby
Are you new here? Welcome to my blog! I’m Allison Tait, aka A.L. Tait, and I’m the author of middle-grade series, The Mapmaker Chronicles, The Ateban Cipher, and the Maven & Reeve Mysteries. You can find out more about me here, and more about my books here.
If you’re looking for book recommendations for young readers, join the Your Kid’s Next Read Facebook community, and tune in to the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast!
*This post contains affiliate links. Go here for more details.
by Allison Tait | Mar 3, 2021 | Advice for Writers, The Business of Writing, Writing
One of the surprising side-effects of becoming a published author is that you find yourself being interviewed. In fact, sometimes you find yourself being interviewed a lot.
And yes, it’s a surprise, even for someone who is used to being on the other side of questions as an interviewer.
I remember when my first children’s novel, The Mapmaker Chronicles: Race To The End Of The World, was first published that there seemed to be an inordinate number of Q&As to fill out (yes, these count as interviews), radio spots to do, and other bits and pieces to endure.
I say endure, because I quickly realised that I am someone who likes asking questions a lot more than I like answering them.
But, having interviewed people for 20+ years, I was in a better position than many debut authors who are suddenly confronted with having to answer questions about themselves and their book for the first time in their lives.
And for many, it doesn’t get any easier as their careers progress.
Both sides of the interview table
I’ve been threatening to write this post for years, and in fact covered some information about how to be interviewed in So You Want To Be A Writer, the book.
But a recent Facebook post by an author friend, a friend who has been published multiple times and been interviewed MANY times, finally galvanised me into action.
My friend was nervous about being interviewed by a national newspaper and desperate for tips on how to get through it without ‘saying the wrong thing’.
So here are my tips, garnered from many years as a freelance journalist, many years as a podcast host and, now, many years of being interviewed for blogs, websites, newspapers, radio and television.
How to be interviewed: my top 5 tips for authors
1. Do some research
Who’s interviewing you? For which blog, website, publication, podcast, station or channel? Who reads this blog, website, publication or listens to/watches this podcast, station or channel?
The audience matters. Your interviewer will tailor their questions to that audience’s interests and you should have them in mind when you provide your answers.
2. Think about the why
If you consider WHY you’re being interviewed, you’ll be able to put together at least a basic outline of the KINDS of questions your interviewer is going to ask you.
That way you can be ready with some answers.
Why are you being interviewed?
Is it because you have a new novel out? Chances are your interviewer will want to know what the book is about (make sure your elevator pitch is strong), they’ll want to investigate any themes in the book (know your hook and be able to expand on it) and where people can find out more and buy it (be ready with your website details!).
Or is it because it’s Book Week and you’re a local author? This is a bigger picture interview, so you’ll need to know the Book Week dates, why it’s important in schools and any other angle you can brain storm. One tip: don’t forget to mention the title of your latest book because your interviewer may not!
Why leads to who, what, where and when
When I’m preparing to interview someone for the So You Want To Be A Writer podcast, I’ve always got my journalism training in the back of my mind.
In every article I’ve ever written, I’ve looked at covering the Who, What, Where, and When in the first few questions, leaving the Why until I get towards the end.
As the person being interviewed, you start with the why, but remember that your interviewer will always need to cover those other basic details. So have them at your fingertips.
3. Know what you want to say
This is the most important thing to remember. The interviewer is ready to do their job, getting the story they need to fill whatever bit of space has been allocated to it.
You need to be ready to do your job.
Your job is to get your message across, even as you provide entertainment and information to fill that bit of space.
How do you make sure you do your job?
Create a cheat sheet and write everything down.
Write down the five top things that you want the audience to take away from your interview.
Write that short, pithy statement that says exactly what your book is about.
Write down your answers to the most common questions authors are asked (see tip 5 below).
Most interviews these days are done via phone, Zoom, Skype or even email, so you can keep your cheat sheet handy and no-one will ever know.
And you will be amazed at how easy it is to work in all of the things that you want to say, no matter what questions you are asked.
If in doubt, watch a politician on television. They do it every day.
4. Assume your interviewer knows nothing about you
One thing you will very quickly realise is that most interviewers have not read your book. Many may not have even read the media release.
In radio, for instance, where air time needs to be filled and every day is super busy, a producer will read the media release, Google a bit, and then create a list of questions for the presenter to follow (as a side note, many presenters do not follow the questions).
So there are two things to consider here.
First, make sure your website is up to date.
Otherwise, you may find yourself being asked random questions about irrelevant bits of your bio (cue another side note: as an interviewer, I implore you to please ensure you have a lovely, concise, relevant bio prominently placed at the top of your ‘about’ page. Think of me reading it out loud on the So You Want To Be A Writer podcast, and save your love of cats for further down the page.)
Second, be prepared to fill in the information yourself. Don’t answer questions with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’, expand to include as much information as you can.
“How are you today?”
Great thanks, just finishing editing my the second book in my new series, The Wolf’s Howl, due out in August this year.
“What is your new novel about?”
“The Fire Star is a middle-grade mystery story set in an ‘almost history’ world, about Reeve, a squire, and Maven, a maid, who meet for the very first time on their first day at Rennart Castle. When a valuable jewel known as The Fire Star goes missing, they are the first suspects because they are the last in the door, so they must band together to find it.”
“Where do books fit in to kids’ lives in this day and age?”
“There are so many calls on kids’ times these days, not just social media and phones, which are often cited as reasons kids don’t read as much, but homework, organised activities, the list goes on. Unfortunately, that’s showing up in the reading and writing results in NAPLAN. The key to getting kids reading is to find books that they will love. I write epic adventure stories, like The Mapmaker Chronicles, because they’re the kinds of stories my own boys love to read.”
You get the picture?
Be ready for the interview to go on tangents you don’t expect, but look for ways to bring those questions back to you and your books.
And keep your answers as short as possible.
5. Be prepared to answer the same question over and over in multiple interviews
If you read a lot of author Q&As, or listen or watch authors being interviewed, you’ll start to pick up on the questions that authors are asked over and over again.
“Where do you get your ideas?”
“How long does it take you to write a book?”
“Who inspires you as an author?”
“Who’s your favourite author?”
“What’s your favourite book ever?”
“What are your top three tips for writers?”
Etcetera.
My suggestion is that you prepare an answer for these questions.
Even if you don’t have a favourite author (seriously, who has just one?), prepare an answer that covers that.
Think about tips for other writers (and please, please, please, try to go beyond ‘read widely’ – yes, it’s essential, the number one thing that all aspiring authors should do, but it’s also the most common answer to that question).
Consider the one book you’d take to a desert island and the five other authors you’d invite to a dinner party.
You may think you’ll never be asked these questions, but I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that maybe, just maybe, you will be, and if you’re put on the spot you will suddenly find you can’t remember a single book you’ve ever read or an author whose work you enjoyed.
Bonus tip: try to enjoy yourself
Being interviewed is a privilege. It’s an opportunity for you to share your work with someone else’s audience.
Most interviewers are not ‘out to get you’. They are simply working writers or broadcasters or podcasters, just like you, trying to get a few quotes to bring a story together or to fill three minutes of a three-hour radio shift.
So be yourself. The best possible version of yourself.
Always remember that you’re talking to an audience (I say this because some interviewers are so good they can make you forget it’s not just the two of you having a chat)
Do the best possible job you can.
Good luck!
Are you new here? Welcome to my blog! I’m Allison Tait and you can find out more about me here and more about my online writing courses here.
Want to know more about promoting your book, building your author profile, or how to manage author publicity? Join Write With Allison Tait, my online writing community.
Every month you’ll be able to join a live on Zoom Q&A with me to ask all your burning questions! More details here.