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 | Jun 3, 2021 | News, podcast, Your Kid's Next Read
It’s always easy to tell when I’m super-busy – I stop blogging. So I’m thrilled to be back in a small window of peace for a quick news update.
Festivals: dates for your diary
•All going well, I’m heading to Queensland next week for the Capricorn Coast Writers’ Festival (11-13 June) and I can’t wait to hit Yeppoon in June.
I’ve got a very busy program, including a two-hour workshop called ‘So You Want To Be A Children’s Author?‘ (see what I did there?), a panel discussing Crafting Stories for Children with Dr Anita Heiss and Kat Apel, moderated by Nicky Way (good luck with the wrangling, Nicky!), and a one-hour workshop for kids called ‘Unlocking the Story Code: The 10 keys to writing a great story‘.
•Writers Unleashed (21 August) has announced it’s program for 2021, and I’m excited to be part of a great line-up. I’ll be sharing the secrets of Getting The Words Written – a one-hour presentation on how to make time to write.
Stand by for more dates soon!
Podcasts
•The Your Kid’s Next Read podcast is proving to be a hit! Megan and I were chuffed to see it in Apple’s Top Books podcasts several times in its first few weeks, and there’s a new episode out right now!

You’ll find the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or on our website here.
•There are now 400+ episodes of So You Want To Be A Writer podcast and Valerie and I love the fact that we continue to get five star reviews even after all this time! Particularly when they’re as creative as this one on Apple podcass:

Reviews and ratings really help with a podcast’s visibility, so if you’re enjoying either of mine, please consider leaving one!
Sisters In Crime Davitt Awards Longlist
It was a real thrill this week to see THE FIRE STAR (A Maven & Reeve Mystery) on the longlist for the Children’s Crime Novel section of the 2021 Sisters In Crime Davitt Awards, in a very strong field.
You’ll find the full longlist here.
Signed books
One of the reasons I’ve been quiet lately is that I’ve been decluttering my house. Even those words are exhausting, aren’t they? In my case, that means culling bookshelves, and I’ve discovered a couple of boxes of the US editions of THE MAPMAKER CHRONICLES and THE ATEBAN CIPHER novels.
If you live in Australia and would like to purchase a signed copy of The Mapmaker Chronicles #1, #2 and/or #3, or The Book of Secrets and/or The Book Of Answers, for $10 each (plus postage), drop me an email via the form on this website and we can work out the details.
Note, the covers of The Ateban Cipher novels are different to the Australian editions – you can see them here.
Offer available until they’re gone.
Are you new here? Welcome to my blog! I’m Allison Tait, aka A.L. Tait, and I’m the author of two epic middle-grade adventure series, The Mapmaker Chronicles and The Ateban Cipher, and a new ‘almost history’ detective series called the Maven & Reeve Mysteries (you’ll find book #1 THE FIRE STAR here).
You can find out more about me here, and more about my books here.
by Allison Tait | May 14, 2021 | News, podcast, Your Kid's Next Read
I have a new podcast!
The Your Kid’s Next Read podcast, co-hosted with Megan Daley of Children’s Books Daily, launched this week and, as with so many things I do, has quickly fallen into the ‘why didn’t I do this sooner?’ category.
Regular readers will know that Megan and I founded the Your Kid’s Next Read Facebook community about three years ago, and quickly brought in the third member of our admin team, author Allison Rushby. The group has grown from strength to strength and now boast 17,000+ members all interested in one thing: finding the next great book for a young reader in their lives.
And now, the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast
Megan and I are bringing the group to life with a weekly half-hour (or thereabouts) podcast, in which we talk about the new books we have, what’s on the To Be Read pile, regular questions and requests that bubble up in the group, quick tips about lots of different aspects of kids and reading and writing.
This is the official description:
Author Allison Tait and teacher-librarian-author Megan Daley, co-founders of the Your Kid’s Next Read community, talk books and reading for children of all ages. From board books and picture books, to junior fiction, middle-grade novels and YA blockbusters, they’ll help you find the perfect next book for the young readers in your life. Plus, practical tips on getting (and keeping) kids reading and writing, a whole lot of fun and … YKNR book question bingo.
Here we are, chatting at the launch:
We have five episodes ready for you to binge, and a lot more to come, so subscribe on your fave podcasting platform so you don’t miss a thing!
Find us on the website here.
On Apple here.
And on Spotify here.
If you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or review if the platform allows! It really helps us to spread the word.
Hope you love it!
PS: If you’re a writer, don’t miss my other podcast So You Want To Be A Writer
Are you new here? Welcome to my blog! I’m Allison Tait, aka A.L. Tait, and I’m the author of two epic middle-grade adventure series, The Mapmaker Chronicles and The Ateban Cipher, and a new ‘almost history’ detective series called the Maven & Reeve Mysteries (you’ll find book #1 THE FIRE STAR here).
You can find out more about me here, and more about my books here.
by Allison Tait | May 6, 2021 | News, podcast
This week, Valerie Khoo and I recorded the 400th episode of the So You Want To Be A Writer podcast and sent it out into the ether.
It’s a big milestone for a project that began a few years ago with the following exchange*:
Val: ‘Maybe we should make a podcast for people who want to be writers?’
Al: ‘Do you reckon anyone would listen?”
Val: ‘Not sure, but it might be fun.’
Al: ‘Okay, let’s give it a crack. What will we call it?’
Val: ‘Er, so you want to be a writer?’
Al: ‘Straightforward. I like it.’
Val: ‘Great, I’ve designed some cover artwork, let’s start right now.’
Since then the podcast has spawned a book, live events and an incredibly loyal listener community, and Val and I feel blessed that we decided to give it a go. It’s a labour of love, but one that has afforded us so many lessons and brilliant experiences along the way.
So thanks for listening, thanks for being part of it, and here’s to the next big milestone!
*May not be word-for-word accurate, but more or less the gist
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.
Subscribe to So You Want To Be A Writer podcast for more amazing writing advice.
Or check out So You Want To Be A Writer (the book), where my co-author Valerie Khoo and I have distilled the best tips from hundreds of author and industry expert interviews. Find out more and buy it here.
by Allison Tait | Dec 17, 2020 | Advice for Writers, podcast, Writing
If you follow this blog regularly, you’ll know that one of my favourite things about doing the So You Want To Be A Writer podcast, beyond getting to chat to my co-host Valerie Khoo every week, is the author interviews that we feature each week.
There’s a lot to be said for picking the brains of brilliant authors in our podcast interviews.
I thought it only fair, then, to bring you a list of ten of my favourite podcast interviews for 2020. This was a tough list to make because it’s been a great year for author interviews on So You Want To Be A Writer, but I’ve done my best. Click the episode number link to find the interview transcribed, as well as a link for you to have a listen to the whole thing.
It’s also worth noting that this list comprises only authors interviewed by me. I also have ten favourite interviews conducted by Valerie, but I thought I’d leave that list to her.
Top 10 favourite author interviews for So You Want To Be A Writer podcast 2020
I loved Kate’s beautiful picture book Anzac Girl: The War Diaries of Alice Ross-King’ and really enjoyed the discussion around the process of bringing this incredibly personal perspective on history to publication.
I think our listeners fell in love with Clare right around the time she opened up her DMs to anyone who needed help. Super charming, witty and engaging.
Art, mystery and taking a chance – Katherine’s story has it all!
Having met Imbi at a blogging conference 10+ years ago, I’ve been following her journey to publication for a long time and it gave me such pleasure to discuss her debut novel with her!
In an unusual set of circumstances, Gus and I spoke over video link and, being an illustrator as well as an author, he kept holding up visuals to reinforce his points. I’m only sorry that the podcast listeners couldn’t see them because his notebooks are a joy to behold.
Music writer and biographer Jeff Apter took us inside a meeting with Aretha Franklin… and a lovely reference to The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough.
Adrian writes funny, madcap chapter books for kids – and our interview went along much the same lines. Listeners in our recent podcast survey voted this episode one of their favourites.
For the highs and lows of author life delivered with a huge dollop of charm, don’t miss this one.
If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to write a book with Tom Keneally, this one is for you.
If you’re struggling to get inside the head of your character, Lian’s journey of creating a mystery-solving chicken will have plenty of clues for you!
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.
Subscribe to So You Want To Be A Writer podcast for more amazing writing advice.
Or check out So You Want To Be A Writer (the book), where my co-author Valerie Khoo and I have distilled the best tips from hundreds of author and industry expert interviews. Find out more and buy it here.