March 2013
March 2013
I had the privilege of being interviewed by David Chuka, another fantastic author on the Amazon.com Kindle Store. He asked me some wonderful questions and I enjoyed answering them so very much. The full interview has been published at David’s blog. His opening to the interview blew me away – ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a lady who is one of the most recognisable children’s book authors on the Amazon store. She has about 60 …yes, I didn’t make an error…60 published books on the Amazon store.’ It really made my day! Without further ado. . . .
Which of your books have you enjoyed writing the most?
I have written a few stories and poems about New Zealand beaches and New Zealand bush and wildlife. I am still trying to figure out how best to illustrate these as I don’t think my skills are good enough! :o) But my current favourite is definitely ‘Pixie Courage’.
What is the process from when you get an idea for a book to the point it gets published?
Actually the process is different with each project. It usually starts with an idea that I throw at my husband, Bevan. Laughter ensues if it works and the idea morphs into a story, or it doesn’t work and it gets written down in my ‘ideas notebook’ for another day. Writing can take a few days to a few weeks, remember these are just short stories, no longer than 32 pages long. Then my hubby edits, I get beta readers to critique the story, and I continue to work on it until we are all happy that the story works. I then hunt the net for inspiration for design ideas, take those ideas and create an illustrated character and the backdrop for the world of the story. From there it takes weeks for the story and illustrations to form into a book and with the help of my genius technical team (aka my hubby again) the book is formatted for publishing. Units are sent to anyone who wants pre-promo release copy for review. Once all the publishing issues are finalized like getting the book into the correct categories in the Kindle Store, then it is promoted and sold. Heaps of fun!
What was the last children’s book you read and what was it about?
The ‘Life-Size Guide to Insects and Other Land Invertebrates of New Zealand’. What a giggle! I’ve been exploring bugs and spiders and wetas and praying mantis and cicada with the kids. They give me the shivers, but my son is fascinated with all things creepy crawly and my daughter just squeals at the pictures of spiders and wetas. Actually we found a BIG weta on the footpath on our way home from school two days ago and the book came in real handy for learning all about that huge insect! [A weta is a large forest- and cave-dwelling insect unique to New Zealand – look it up, as they are quite impressive.]
Have your children inspired any of the characters you’ve written about?
My son Zachy gave me the name Majory for the Queen in ‘Pixie Courage’. I have no idea where he’d heard the name before but it worked so well. Kiara’s plush toy owl was the inspiration for my Petal the Owl series. Wanting to show Zachy, my son, all the amazing images of space from NASA’s websites was what lead to the ‘Rocket Boy Adventure Series’ and subsequently the ‘Rocket Boy My First Reader’ series. They come in really handy for inspiration. I think my next book might be about bugs and spiders and other creepy crawlies, just because they seem so interested in them at the moment!
What are your best memories from your childhood?
Reading the ‘Wizard of Oz’ with my father on the lounge-room couch. He’d always fall asleep and I’d have to nudge him awake because it was my fav book! He also taught me about the stars. After a scary nightmare he’d come into my room and settle me, teaching me about the stars. Now that I think about it, that may be where I got my love of space from – huh, you learn something new every day!
What do you love best about living in New Zealand?
Not the bugs! Hahaha. I love New Zealand. It will always be home, no matter where in the world we end up one day. New Zealand definitely has its own culture, its own style, its own humour as you can probably guess. But its people, its land, its beauty, its shores, its sense of importance in the world, and its ‘No8 Wire’ attitude – or kiwi ingenuity – these are the things that I love the most about our beautiful country.
Thank you David, and please do go and check out his books on Amazon, they are really funny to read!
I had the privilege of being interviewed by David Chuka, another fantastic author on the Amazon.com Kindle Store. He asked me some wonderful questions and I enjoyed answering them so very much. The full interview has been published at David’s blog. His opening to the interview blew me away – ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a lady who is one of the most recognisable children’s book authors on the Amazon store. She has about 60 …yes, I didn’t make an error…60 published books on the Amazon store.’ It really made my day! Without further ado. . . .
Which of your books have you enjoyed writing the most?
I have written a few stories and poems about New Zealand beaches and New Zealand bush and wildlife. I am still trying to figure out how best to illustrate these as I don’t think my skills are good enough! :o) But my current favourite is definitely ‘Pixie Courage’.
What is the process from when you get an idea for a book to the point it gets published?
Actually the process is different with each project. It usually starts with an idea that I throw at my husband, Bevan. Laughter ensues if it works and the idea morphs into a story, or it doesn’t work and it gets written down in my ‘ideas notebook’ for another day. Writing can take a few days to a few weeks, remember these are just short stories, no longer than 32 pages long. Then my hubby edits, I get beta readers to critique the story, and I continue to work on it until we are all happy that the story works. I then hunt the net for inspiration for design ideas, take those ideas and create an illustrated character and the backdrop for the world of the story. From there it takes weeks for the story and illustrations to form into a book and with the help of my genius technical team (aka my hubby again) the book is formatted for publishing. Units are sent to anyone who wants pre-promo release copy for review. Once all the publishing issues are finalized like getting the book into the correct categories in the Kindle Store, then it is promoted and sold. Heaps of fun!
What was the last children’s book you read and what was it about?
The ‘Life-Size Guide to Insects and Other Land Invertebrates of New Zealand’. What a giggle! I’ve been exploring bugs and spiders and wetas and praying mantis and cicada with the kids. They give me the shivers, but my son is fascinated with all things creepy crawly and my daughter just squeals at the pictures of spiders and wetas. Actually we found a BIG weta on the footpath on our way home from school two days ago and the book came in real handy for learning all about that huge insect! [A weta is a large forest- and cave-dwelling insect unique to New Zealand – look it up, as they are quite impressive.]
Have your children inspired any of the characters you’ve written about?
My son Zachy gave me the name Majory for the Queen in ‘Pixie Courage’. I have no idea where he’d heard the name before but it worked so well. Kiara’s plush toy owl was the inspiration for my Petal the Owl series. Wanting to show Zachy, my son, all the amazing images of space from NASA’s websites was what lead to the ‘Rocket Boy Adventure Series’ and subsequently the ‘Rocket Boy My First Reader’ series. They come in really handy for inspiration. I think my next book might be about bugs and spiders and other creepy crawlies, just because they seem so interested in them at the moment!
What are your best memories from your childhood?
Reading the ‘Wizard of Oz’ with my father on the lounge-room couch. He’d always fall asleep and I’d have to nudge him awake because it was my fav book! He also taught me about the stars. After a scary nightmare he’d come into my room and settle me, teaching me about the stars. Now that I think about it, that may be where I got my love of space from – huh, you learn something new every day!
What do you love best about living in New Zealand?
Not the bugs! Hahaha. I love New Zealand. It will always be home, no matter where in the world we end up one day. New Zealand definitely has its own culture, its own style, its own humour as you can probably guess. But its people, its land, its beauty, its shores, its sense of importance in the world, and its ‘No8 Wire’ attitude – or kiwi ingenuity – these are the things that I love the most about our beautiful country.
Thank you David, and please do go and check out his books on Amazon, they are really funny to read!
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