Time Flies Like An Arrow - Fruit Flies Like Bananas: A Timely Update

Author in the Wild

For those who believe authors working from home maintain a lifestyle of bottomless coffees, frequent contemplative sojourns to the garden to bath in soft sunshine and commune with one’s muse and enjoy uninterrupted hours of serene creative satisfaction, think again.

Ridiculously full weekends mean my garden, like many of my manuscripts, is sorely in need of a hard prune-back. My muse is trapped in the untamed growth. There’s a saying Border collie owners like myself live by: silence is golden unless you own a border collie, then silence is stomach ulcer-forming. I have three – dogs – who knows how many ulcers. I have not experienced true serenity for nearly 20 years. My coffee mugs all have bottoms and I have to fill them myself.  That said it’s a short commute to work so I’m not complaining. In fact, I have had zero time to think in a straight line let alone whinge about the kinks. Here’s why.

February: lull before the perfect storm, thought I might actually get more stories written.

March: Storms. More storms. Floods. War. Dog trials. Lismore Recovery efforts. Picture book publication.

April: More Rain. Easter. Ongoing war 😥 Book Launches – gazillions of them, including MINE! More Dog trials. School visits. More dog trials.

May: what already?

Allow me to elaborate: I’ve been a bit behind on the review posting front but not on the reading front for the severe la Nina fronts brought such devastating floods to our SE QLD and southern coastal regions that we simply all had to rally to the recovery cause. The Kids’ Lit industry of which I’m humbly a proud part of rallied overnight. Firstly, through the Lismore Flood Recovery appeal to which I donated my picture books for auction.

Secondly, through copious book donations. Boxes upon boxes of children’s books found their way from my spare room all the way to Lismore to help germinate the beginnings of a new library. It’s not everything but hopefully something enough to keep hope burning. I would have loved to unpack many of those picture books in lengthy reviews but time was of the essence and community was calling.

When the puddles finally began to recede, I had time to focus on one particular picture book, you might have heard about it, This Is My Dad by me and Nicky Johnston. 

Megan and Dimity 

Released by EK Books mid-March, I launched Leo’s story in a bonza courtyard book party ably hosted by Where The Wild Things Are bookshop and the fabulous, Megan Daley. Book lore and love were heartily discussed (we could have expounded for days). Frisbees were made, and thrown (so chuffed they actually worked). Cupcakes were nibbled (mmm mmm mmm). Stories were shared and books found new homes (thanks to all who snaffled a copy). A resounding success in spite of Covid (take that pandemic). Launchy Best Bits Video to follow...

This Is My Dad continues to resonate, here and overseas for which I am grateful. It was an absolute delight to put together with Nicky and EK’s Anouska.

"Navigating life can be complicated and yet here is a beautiful book, delightfully presented, that offers recognition to those who single parent and all those small humans in single parent families. …"

"This picture book holds a beautifully balanced celebration of family, creativity and ingenuity. Whether it’s the cheerful, methodical way that Leo’s problem-solving comes to life, the funny and thoughtful artwork – or more than likely, the magical author/illustrator combo of both – This Is My Dad busts through typical family stereotypes and conventions in all of the best ways."

"...an excellent springboard for open and honest discussions when dealing with sensitive issues,..."

We had just enough time to clear the cake crumbs before loading up hound(s) and heart into the Kombi and heading west several times for various regional three sheep dog trials. This is an intriguing discipline / sport that my daughter began some six years ago and has just ‘retired’ from owing to teen commitments. Like actual aged retirees, a teenager’s lifestyle is an eye-watering ensemble of seemingly endless ‘things’ that never allow time for other ‘things’. This means, we were left holding the (dogs’) leads as it were. Lucky we love our dogs, and escapes in the Kombi and climbing learning curves so high, I’m getting nose-bleeds from them (I’m in rigorous training with the pup-star now). This kills the social but hey, it’s fun – despite the ulcer forming aspects and utter chaos of my days.

Dim and Sparrow, the super scamp

And so with a belly full of chocolate and ANZAC biscuits, I rolled into Term 2 and the first of my 2022 on-site school presentations for G.A.T.EWAYS Education. This term’s programs are all about Triumphs and Tragedies which sums up the first quarter of 2022 perfectly. Time may be shooting by as blindingly fast as one of Hawkeye’s (Clint Barton of the Avengers) arrows, (god love the Marvel movies), but thankfully I still have a full hand of bananas.

Exploring Emotions and Script Writing with Will

So while I pondered why we need fast arrows and fantasise about days of uninterrupted hours of serene creative satisfaction aka writing more, reading more and reviewing more again, let me leave you with this increasingly overused trope: May the 4^th be with you. In Life, Love and Stories!

There you are, all caught up. Wait, what – that’s past too?! Ay caramba, so slow I am!