Dim's Write Stuff

In a wild fit of self-indulgent promotional puffiness, I'm sharing this recent 'Meet The Author' feature courtesy of Jackie Hosking, founder of the ace Kids' Lit e-zine, PIO . If you don't already subscribe to this online publication, consider it. It's a regular veritable smorgasbord of publishing insights and opps, competitions and conferences, industry event notification and workshops and courses info to keep you on the right career trajectory. Not to mention opportunities to meet fellow creatives, like ME! So what are you waiting for. Grab a cuppa and have a chat with me ... and Pippa, of course! Hi Dimity! Thanks for sharing your creative journey with us today. Are you an author, an illustrator or both? Both - I wish! As an author, I only paint with words but I adore the alchemy of combining words with pictures. Please tell us about the book that you would like to talk about today? Pippa and the Troublesome Twins is the next thrilling episode in young Pi...

I've been a tad quiet on the reviewing front of late - choking on that old chestnut of life. So the irony of participating in a panel of motivated and moving Kids' Lit advocators and creators is not lost on this little black duck. Despite possibly having  the lowest of social media engagement of this astounding panel line up, Ken, chief taco maker from the equally astounding podcast, Reading With a Chance of Tacos , still found reason to invite me along. And I'm glad I did! Chatting alongside the incorrigible Rory H. Mather , the savvy Vikki Conley and the social media phenomenon that is kids' book author, Scott Stuart was not only illuminating and insightful but a bagful of fun besides. Tackling social media, creating (and maintaining) a meaningful presence while actually getting on with the business of writing are just some of the tasty morsels we ruminate over in this episode: How To Build a Community through Social Media . For me, it's all about a bunch of Es:...

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...

I am Australia born. And bred. My accent is a batter of Queensland Aussie twang and transatlantic drawl (thanks to time spent residing in Europe and riding the high waves of superyacht crewing). I have the colouring of a Mauri and have been mistaken for a woman of Mauritian or Pacific Islander descent. I have the perverse wit of the Irish and the dark hair of a Romany Scots. Frugal as crazy rich Asian and just as superstitious, I am all of these things and none of them. I identify most strongly as a citizen of the world or perhaps, that is how I wish to be perceived. Maybe this is why I resisted so fiercely to answering the frequent question of my youth, 'But where do you come from originally?'  In truth I have no recollection of a former life prior to being born. All that backstory is filled in as ones future narrative unfolds. Why then should it have been a subject of such scrutiny when I was too young to understand the reasons behind their interrogations? I understand better...

It’s been a funny old year – understatement of the century – for creators notwithstanding. Many authors and illustrators have had to learn to adapt, to tuck and roll with the constricting challenges presented by a world in lockdown. Online presentations and virtual connections are the new axioms which have sustained many of us, me included, however they are not for everyone. And with Book Week just around the corner and a relaxing of Covid restrictions (for some states of Australia), the traditional school visit is something to look forward to…or is it? For many, especially those at the beginning of their careers, a school presentation can be a thing of infinite stress and anxiety. You want to connect with your audience; it’s why you’re writing kids’ books after all, I hope! But you’ve never left your secluded writerly tower let alone stood in front of a hall of wriggly six year-olds and delivered a rock star quality, life-altering presentation to them. How the heck do you do it?? Gr...

Me, trying to adapt to the swings and roundabouts of life There's a lot of useful information and enlightening blogs percolating about the writers-verse about the importance of self-help, patience, and mental plasticity in this whirlpool of changing times. When physical security - our health - is compromised, then it follows our mental well being may be affected. Stress (including eustress, aka good stress) keeps us on our toes, one leap ahead in the scramble to live another day. But it needs some adjusting to, just like change. To say that this pandemic affliction has been good for me (as an author) is a slight distortion of reality and not meant to sound flippant or disrespectful . How can such universal pain be a good thing? But to say that I have learnt much and benefited by the confinements and challenges thrown up in all our faces, is no exaggeration.  In this article published in Weekend Notes on line zine by Belladonna, I and several other well-know children's authors ...

Last time I checked, the world is still spinning. It's just some days, it feels like everything is a little off centre, topsy-turvy even. Life can be like that; like an out-of-control fun park ride that threatens to make you a bit sick. But it can also be the opportunity to make the most out of a new experience. It just depends on how you look at it, doesn't it? In recent times, we've all been forced to look at things a bit differently, including we authors. For the time being, we are not able to reach out and share with you all in person via school visits and festivals but of course that doesn't mean we want to stop sharing! So, like many of my clever colleagues, I have made a few life changes and adaptations in an effort to remain accessible and available for you. I've revamped my YouTube channel which was already chock-a-block full of book launches, book trailers , behind-the-scene sneek peeks , author-life shares and more. Here, take a look... ...

As many busy creatives will tell you, finding time to write is precious enough without having to carve out extra hours to secure those all important school visits or Book Week bookings . Those same creatives, aka children's authors and illustrators, will continue to explain that it is often engagements at writing festivals, conferences and schools that form the bulk of our income. Enter the speakers' agencies, those associations devoted to finding their expansive lists of authors and illustrators the most lucrative, exciting and perfectly matched events as possible. Agencies work on our behalf as well as that of the schools and institutions that enlist them to find exactly the right author or illustrator for their literary event. I rely on those agencies I am listed with to not only find but also secure these bookings for me, without them I'd really need an extra Girl Friday to cope. That's why I'm all a flutter with delight to be signed up with one of t...

This author has been fortunate to be involved with the biennial  StoryArts festival in Ipswich for a number of years now, as a panel host, session reporter, delegate and fan of Kids' Lit. This year, however I had the joy of presenting to the school children, who each festival, are bused in from around SE Queensland to enjoy a host of story and drawing orientated sessions performed by a stellar lineup of children's authors and illustrators from around Australia. The school and family programs make up the bulk of the Festival operating out of Marburg near Ipswich, which concludes with a brief Adults' program, this year running in Brisbane. Lucky primary school children and their families are still enjoying events (I was only able to do one day) but my memories of the marvellous location at Woodlands of Marburg , lingering over lattes with industry mates and presenting in one of the haunted rooms of the magnificent Woodlands mansion remain sharp and colourful.  T...