Poppy Inkwell's Blog

A Filipino and a European are taking a ride inside an elevator.

The elevator opens and another Filipino enters, asking, "Bababa ba?"(Is it going down?)

The other Filipino replies, "Bababa."(Yes, it's going down.)

The European looks confused and asks both of them: "Are you guys speaking a real language?"

Q. What’s your name and how old are you?

A. I’m Alana Oakley. Friends are always saying I’m 12 going onto 24. But that’s because my mum is a bit of a danger magnet. Trouble finds her wherever she goes. It’s not really her fault – her two friends, Ling Ling and Katriona are the ones with all the crazy ideas. Dad passed away three years ago leaving me pretty much in charge... I mean, would you trust a person who got caught ‘liberating’ cage-bound chickens with your annual tax return? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Q. Do you have a best friend?

A. Well, I’ve got three super close friends and we’re all in the same class at high school. I’ve known Sofia FOR-E-VER. We’ve even got photos of us together in nappies! She’s the most superstitious person I know. We once spent an entire lunch time looking for the four-leaf clover she dropped ... on the football field! Maddie helped me through a tough time after my dad died. Her dad had died too and we hooked up at the local community radio station. She is A-MAZING on the violin. Khalilah is a new friend with a lot of spunk. She stood up against these bullies on the train when we were on our way to school on the first day. We’re not allowed to tell you what happened though otherwise her dad would never let her take the train again. I guess that’s fair enough; it can’t be easy moving to a new country from overseas.

Q. Do you have a pet?

A. Shhh! Not so loud. My mum is nuts about animals and we used to take in all sorts of strays but it was a disaster! The cats ran away. The guinea pig had a heart attack. Our goat called Guts, died after eating a football. Grandma reckons the fish committed suicide. Don’t get me started on what happened to my hamster, Choo Choo...

Q. What do you like to do when you hang out?

A. Well we all love music. I play guitar. Khalilah plays flute. Maddie plays violin, like I said, and Sofia is pretty hot on the drums. We’re thinking of putting a band together, one day... Three of us are on the school football team too. Khalilah said she might try out for goalie, which, between you and me, would be AWESOME. Sofia’s strategy of holding out one of her lucky talismans with her eyes closed DOES NOT stop goals.

Q. What are you looking forward to this year?

A. It’s our first year at high school so we’re super hyped about that – new teachers, new subjects, and new friends. And Gibson High is an ‘alternative’ school so Sofia gets to keep her cool, purple dreads. We have visiting lecturers from industry come and teach us too, and we even run our own bakery – just don’t bother eating when Miller’s on duty (bleargh!) or if you do, don’t go to the clinic to see the school nurse. Last time I looked she had some poor sod wrapped up in bandages like a mummy after they complained of a sore knee! Talk about overkill! But one thing I am definitely, absolutely NOT looking forward to this year is my birthday. Why not? Let’s just say I’ve got the Fire Department on speed dial...

Oops, gotta go. Grandma’s brought over her specialty – fried SPAM – and I can hear Ling Ling and Katriona talking Mum into getting a tattoo...

Passenger to Stewardess:

Hallo Miss, just want to ask you ah, who and where is this Kevin Khoo ah? He seem to be a very busy man. Everyone is looking for him…

Stewardess:

?? Sorry, Kevin Khoo?? I'm not sure what you mean Sir...

Passenger:

You know Kevin Khoo la… Even the Captain is always looking for him…
Kevin Khoo please be seated for take off….
Kevin Khoo please return to your station…
Kevin Khoo please disarm all doors…..
Kevin Khoo please be seated for landing…
Aiyo! He’s so busy la…
Why you all never help him one??

“There was once a strange, small man. He decided three important details about his life:
1. He would part his hair from the opposite side to everyone else.
2. He would make himself a small, strange mustache.
3. He would one day rule the world.

...Yes, the Fuhrer decided that he would rule the world with words.”

― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

Words ARE incredibly powerful. Not just on the world stage, I-have-a-dream-kind of way, but on the simpler and more profound level of the words we use with our friends, lovers, children, parents, colleagues and even strangers. Try and keep a tally of how many times your words are positive. Kind. Empowering. The results could surprise you.

Challenge yourself to use your words to make a difference: Pay a compliment to a stranger. Be the first to say sorry. Create a new mantra for something challenging.

A better world is one word away...

You always remember where you were for certain Big Events, like, when the Berlin Wall first crumbled (Nara, Japan), or when the Twin Towers fell (Brunei Darussalam). I was in the car, on my way to a town called Miri in East Malaysia, when The-Email-That-Changed-My-Life came through on my phone. The email went something like this...

Hi Poppy,

I think Sean Doyle has let you know that I would be in contact.

We are interested in your two Alana books and I was wondering if you would have a time that I could give you a call later this week for a chat?

Perhaps if you could suggest some suitable times, I will give you a call and we can take it from there.

Kind regards


Big Sky Publishing

I instantly went into freefall. And one thought chased another, and then another, around my head. Published.Alana.Book.Author.Me.Published.Author.Book.Me.Alana.Published.Book...FINALLY!

And before long I was fantasising about Fame-and-Fortune and talking on the phone to Hugh Jackman, and saying, “Sorry Hughie, I can’t make lunch today coz I’m hanging out with my girlfriends in Brunei...”

That’s what happens when you have an overactive imagination...

(And Hugh, I was just kidding. Call me...)

I am no stranger to controversy. I have worked on publicity for the Sydney avant-garde performance artists, The Post Arrivalists, whose claim to fame, among other things, was to serve canapés for canines, to Sydney’s artistic elite at the Art Gallery opening of the 1993 Biennale. I also organised a fundraiser for the radio station I DJ’d for, 2RSR Koori Radio, in an S&M nightclub, long before Shades of Grey turned bondage bourgeois. It was an event I invited my father – a deeply Catholic, Filipino high school teacher from suburbia – to, without any thought of ‘consequences’.

My ‘coming of age’, as it were, was a mish mosh of being brought up in liberal, Australia, and exploring everything that value system represented, yet intensely Asian, in that I wanted my parents to share what I was going through. Family is a big thing in Asia. It’s a HUGE part of who I am. So I never thought twice about including them in whatever I was into at the time. It never occurred to me that it might shock their sensibilities.

My unique perspective has had a profound effect on my writing.

When I left Australia twenty years ago, it was because I was curious about Islam. Even then, there was a lot of scare-mongering and finger-pointing and I was curious. Was any of it true? My own experience with Islam and Muslims, living and working in Brunei, proved the rumours unfounded, or at the very least, misinterpreted or over-simplified. And yet, repatriating twenty years on, the same things are being said. Sadly, I can’t help but feel that Australia hasn’t moved on. It’s time for the dialogue to change. Islam isn’t the enemy. Fear and ignorance is. How can you build peace on negativity and exclusionism?

Teenagers have enough to deal with without the added burden of being told that a huge part of their identity is something to be feared or unwanted, much less ‘uncool’. That’s just not fair. That’s one of the reasons why I chose a mix of nationalities as my main characters but placed them within the context of a comedy/mystery.

I’d like to think of my writing as quintessentially Australian – there’s a lot of irreverent humour – but it’s very Asian too. You don’t need to be familiar with Singlish to understand it’s funny. I believe the time is right for books that take this approach. Just as Michael Morpurgo’s books and his themes of war can now be appreciated by a younger audience, I also feel it’s timely to publish a story with Muslims, Indigenous Australians, Eurasians and second-generation immigrants as the main protagonists of light-hearted comedy. Children with a multicultural background of this generation need to see themselves represented equally, not just as the means to communicate a serious cultural or political issue.

There’s a perverse joy in challenging the way people think. Time will tell whether my literary effort sparks a shift in the dialogue. I certainly hope so.

Passion is the key. Whether you’re a teacher, architect, or landscape gardener, you need to be passionate and committed because passion is what feeds self-belief and positive thinking.

A passion for the environment, ‘girl power’ and children’s literacy is what motivated me five years ago to begin the Alana Oakley series for ‘tweens’. And passion is what has kept me writing three books on.

I wanted to write something reflective of modern Australia, something representative of our diversity. I also wanted to focus on more serious issues, but made a conscious decision to do it in a non-serious way. That’s why I use absurd humour that is over the top ridiculous. Humour transcends so many barriers. By using the power of positivity, I hope to get the message across in a non-threatening way.

The book’s characters represent the kind of ‘heroes’ I wish I’d had while growing up – heroes that have to deal with wacky school teachers and loveable but completely irresponsible adults, while solving the series’ first mystery.

I’ve always been drawn to people from all walks of life. When I was 18 I lived in Japan for a year as a Rotary Exchange Scholarship Student. While studying at the University of Sydney, I worked as a DJ at 2RSR Koori Radio. When I graduated, I did a six month stint in Brunei because I was curious to learn more about Islam.

Six months in Brunei turned into 20 years! I've drawn on these diverse cultures to create characters and situations I hope readers can learn from.

If there’s one thing I’ve discovered from working and living with people from different countries, is the commonality of the human experience. I hope the books help readers appreciate the important things that bring us all together; things like a love of food, family and friendship, and a mutual respect for that which sets us apart. But most importantly, I hope they laugh a lot while doing it.