Dim's Write Stuff

Ironically, Circus School was one of the first picture book texts I ever penned. It originated as an assignment for a writing course I was undertaking several years ago and features Elise the Elephant who is about to fulfil her dream of performing in the circus. She embarks on her first day of circus school bursting with excitement but in spite of her Coach Caroline’s enthusiastic encouragement, soon realises she is not exactly cut out for life in the circus. Or is she? In a delightful twist of reality, Elise is one elephant who can’t wait to join the circus. This bouncy story of self-discovery and tenacity for pre-schoolers features oodles of fun word play and exuberant onomatopoeia. I just love how Beatriz Mello's illustrations bring Elsie and her circus school chums to bouncy, spinning, teetering life.You simply must discover their antics. This digital story was also featured in Virgin Australia’s inflight kids’ entertainment program in February 2017 as part of...

It's funny coz well you know, some days, it's true. Proud to be part of this creation, delivering stories in accessible, educational ways that enhance reading experiences and compliment books. For the love of story. Have You Seen My Spots? - available to download today

The single most important thing in cultivating a love of reading in children is to engage them in the story. How this is done, through which ever medium, is almost inconsequential for the key to full engagement, I believe, will always lie within the story itself. Kindergo Avartar excited about being in my Pet Island blog post If the heart of the story is strong and purposeful, if it reads true and speaks directly to the age group it is written for, then it will be a winner no matter how it is relayed. Forever mindful of this, I have been adapting a few picture book stories, written over the last decade or so, as creative content for the Kindergo app found at Kindergo Kids . Kindergo Avatar brought to life with AR Kindergo Kids is a safe, curated digital storytelling platform that delivers enhanced reading experiences for 2 - 5 year-olds. They provide quality, immersive, entertaining stories grouped on a variety of themed islands. These archipelagos of creative content o...

Original artwork by Ken Best You've seen my last post telling you all about Story City , the exciting new FREE APP that takes you, the reader, to the very heart of the story, and allows you to quite literally smell the roses, or tread the pavement or in some harrowing cases, stave off mutant zombie cockroaches...well of course you have. Well, wait...there's more. Story City is based on choose-your-own adventure style storytelling that has been re-imagined specifically for the digital age. Not only are the stories compelling, entertaining and informative with something for all ages to enthuse and drool over, they also encourage exercise, curiosity and discovery. Families can do the adventures together, as can tourists or those less familiar with the public spaces they reside in. Tim Baker An eclectic collaboration of local artists, musicians, voice-over talent and writers produce these amazing adventures and now you have the chance to MEET THE LEGENDS in perso...

Accredited artwork of Ken Best No, not Christmas...well yes that is a nigh as it gets, too. But I'm talking about D-Day. In the most incredibly nutty fun - Story City way. Here's what you have to do to be able to smell the roses, join the adventure and become the hero (or villain) of your dreams. Jump on to Story City . Download the FREE Story City app to your smart phone or tablet device. Use the list or map section to browse through the stories until you find the one you’re most excited about. (I'm excited about my story, The Chapel of Unlove set on the Gold Coast in Sanctuary Cove but you can choose from stories in Brisbane , Adelaide and the Gold Coast .) Remember you must be in that location to activate that story. Select your story according to preferred genre, author, location: there are stories ranging in genres from fantasy, urban mystery, sci fi, comedy and historical romance to name but a few.  Start listening / reading your story and choosin...

Some months ago, in a flurry of over-sharing and passing on information to those within the Lit Industry, I happened upon an exciting opportunity. After duly sharing it with all and sundry, the tiny soul named, Do It who perches on my left shoulder and is in constant opposition with the joker on my right shoulder called, Don't Do It , suggested I 'give it a go', too. So very much along the same line of thinking as the awe-inspiring, Dee White (you can read about her quests to expand her writing prowess, here ), I submitted a proposal to become one of three Gold Coast writers to join the Story City team . Story City is an exciting interactive online storytelling experience that allows the reader to become fully immersed into the story. Like the perennially popular choose your own adventure style of books, where the reader makes the decisions and picks the paths the story takes, Story City users are in complete control of their destiny and thus, the story's outco...