Dim's Write Stuff

It's the last month of winter. Almost four weeks since I had to dig out my gloves and wraps for the first time this year. They accompanied another 'first'. An experience I had been secretly yearning for, aspiring toward for years...my first SCWBI Conference . And, unlike a few other 'firsts', it exceeded all expectations. Much of what went down, who was there and what we got up to has been magnificently covered both on the official SCBWI Australian/NZ web and blog sites , and featured in several sensational personal accounts, not least of which is Tania McCartney's SCBWI Wrap Up post . Be you author, illustrator, industry professional or just interested passer-by with a fondness for Kids Lit, you're bound to unearth some awesome insights on your favourite artists, books and literary gems. Here are a few recollections and choice tip bits of my own, along with the mandatory blurred snapshot to seal the moment. Feeling like a kid allowed to go to her firs...

Okay, so I'm no longer on the Central Coast of Queensland and the fact that I don't even have central heating is a little hard to bare after spending a balmy week in Rockhampton but report I must for bulls and crocodiles have a right to be heard. It began with an invitation to present at this year's Central Coast Literary Festival in Rocky, Queensland. Sounded harmless enough; spend a week soaking up the CQ sunshine in between rabbiting on to a few hundred school students just days away from their mid-year break. Things started well with fair skies and some snappy local colour. No sign of crocs in the local watering hole. Several authors decided to risk taking a dip in spite of constant warnings against this. Understandably, they reside in Melbourne where crocs are susceptible to hail damage thus not prone to hanging out in motel swimming pools. Things took a turn for the worse as the fog rolled in from a nearby lagoon, Suddenly Meredith Costain's constant...

When the very charming children's author, Julie Fison asked me to participate in this blog hop, I graciously declined thinking I'd dodged a bullet, however shiny and enticing. I mean, I had to stand by my panna cottas as they set and grapple with my manuscripts, both of which require a fair bit of my concentration and focus. (Panna cottas are not as simple as making pies you understand.) So when the equally charming children's author, Samantha Wheeler asked me to participate in this blog hop with the beguiling urgency of a koala on the run from a theme park, I unwittingly forgot to parry. Sam loves to write about animals and adventure. Her first book Smooch and Rose is a story set against the continuing destruction of koala habitat. Her next book Spud and Charil is about friendship, horses and bats. See how Sam rolls here . So here I am, ready to leap into my own process - of writing. Could be messy. Hang on here we go... What am I working on at the moment...