Dim's Write Stuff

Family. Always there. Usually supportive. Supremely significant. And, forever changing. A shift in family dynamics may be as inconsequential as a new goldfish or as disturbing as moving house. It might be easily accepted and temporary in nature like a visiting relative or as permanently disruptive as a new addition to the family. Double that turmoil when not one new sibling but two appear and you've got twice the potential for trouble. Imagine the confusion and disorder a young child might feel, how these emotions might galvnize into feelings of displacement, resentment and pure fury when faced with a pair of cute but persistent attention hoggers.  Now pretend you are a young pigeon with the whole world before you, keen to keep on exploring its wonders and your capabilities only to have your dreams curtailed by two very small, very noisy, extremely annoying baby brothers. This is what our favourite feathered friend, Pippa encounters following the arrival of Pepi and Penn, her new...

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 actuall...

As pedestrian as it may sound, I love picture books. The reasons are sometimes obscure and indefinable but so plentiful that the urge to enjoy them, share them and create them drives my writing goals more feverishly than any other. I know I’m not alone in that regard. The genesis of any story, that almost intangible spark that propels a life and personality and purpose into existence, that compels a fictional character to share their experiences, joys and pain with strangers, is what story telling is really all about for me. It’s like sharing your marriage proposal with strangers: everyone’s is different, unique and oddly alluring even if you don’t know the couple! And I am delighted to have another one to share – a backstory that is, not a wedding proposal (I wish). In just a handful of weeks, my latest picture book, This Is My Dad , will grace bookshop shelves and online stores across the planet. This is the sort of quiet joy that buoys an author’s spirits. Why? Because it is be...

A book launch! I hear you exclaim. Where? When? What? Um, well, I regret to inform that you have missed that particular book party boat - the official book launching IRL event hoo-ha for Oswald Messweather took place in April. But wait! The good ship YouTube is still floating mine and Ozzie's boat and YOU can enjoy just about every riveting moment of the day right there, right now! Hurrah!  Brian Falkner with Dim and Ozzie Dimity Powell​ … seems to have the ability to touch on subjects that in other hands would seem worthy or didactic, and to make them heartbreakingly real and emotional, in a way that is accessible to both children and adults. It is beautifully illustrated by Siobhan McVey​. Brian Falkner,  children’s author, interview With very little professional help (the hubster filmed it all on his phone, phew!), a lot of excellent support by Yvonne Mes and the crew at The Mad Hatters Bookshop in Manly (thanks Laura and Isabel!) a brilliant creative cast of on-set extr...

Pippa pigeon has certainly been clocking up her flying hours the last month or so. In case you haven't been able to keep up with her feathered fiascoes, here's a pictorial collage from the first couple of Book Launches for Pippa's self-titled story, PIPPA ! Enjoy.  If you want to meet the real Pippa and her amazing chaperon, aka me, Dimity Powell, please do not ignore your urge to get in touch . We'd both love the chance to visit your school, library, care centre, bookshop or event. Assurance Pledge: Pippa is 100% house-trained and exemplary in confined spaces with small humans. If you can't be bothered scrolling through these book launch happy snaps, check out the mini-movie below for a few of our best moments. (Photo credits to all and sundry who attended, Maria Parenti-Baldey, and George Ivanoff ) Pippa Book Launches August 2019 Riverbend Books hosts Pippa's Brisbane launch August 2019 The peerless Samantha Wheeler donning he...

Do you know what makes Pippa such a clever cooookie? She can predict the future. She's an omen pigeon. Pippa's predicting fair skies and good times next Saturday afternoon at Riverbend Books and Cafe . Flutter on by and join us as we launch her self-titled book, Pippa ! #comeflywithme

CONGRATULATIONS! Delighted to announce our winners are: Anna Malta, QLD Kate Justelius-Wright, NSW Each of you have won a copy of the outstanding graphic middle grade novel, Pie In The Sky by Remy Lai.  Thank you to everyone who entered. Honestly your creative culinary suggestions (and recipes!) made our tummies rumble and our hearts melt. It was so hard to choose just two winners - a bit like me trying to decide which dessert to have - impossible! For those who missed out, please fear not; you can get a terrific taste of this book from my review of Pie In The Sky or if you are lucky enough to reside in Queensland, why not go to the Pie in the Sky book launch , 21 June at Where The Wild Things Are Bookshop, Brisbane from 5.30 pm. It's sure to be a sumptuous experience !

Pie in the Sky is the deliciously addictive debut novel by Brisbane author, Remy Lai. It's a story of fraternal love, grief, loss, realising your dreams, cultural adjustment, and more happily, cake! I absolutely adored sinking into this absorbing middle grade tale which is told in heart-tugging prose and entertaining line illustrations (also by Remy). It's an immensely satisfying read sure to spark laughs (and the odd tear or two) in readers aged 8 - 12 although I'm betting adults will get as much out of it. Judge for yourself from my review . Thanks to the sweet people of Walker Books Australia and to celebrate it's imminent Australian release this month, Dim's Write Stuff has not one but two copies of Pie in the Sky to giveaway! To enter, simply tell me in 25 words or less what your favourite food is to cook with your family? Email your answer along with your name and postal address to dimity . The two responses we like best will each win a copy...

Fellow Speed Launchers, Kelly Hibbert, Aleesah Darlinson and Christina Booth As part of the recent spectacle that was the SCBWI Sydney 2019 Conference , I was fortunate enough to be part of a crackerjack collection of creatives involved in what was billed as ' a celebration of books' at The Children's Bookshop in Beecroft but quickly became known as 'a speed launch event'. What is a speed launch? Quite simply, it's less a than handful of minutes which said author has at her disposal to extol the many wonders of her latest picture book publication, wax lyrical about its glorious marriage of art and words, regale listeners with the story behind the story, and tease them into loving the characters so much you have them begging for a signed copy before you've even paused for breath. Phew! It's no mean feat delivering all that in three short minutes. Yes, that's the average amount of time allowed to effectively pitch your wares despite it taki...