hey it's another competition!! Win a print copy of The Half Life of Ryan Davis or The House That Went to Sea

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, by now you will be aware that the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup on Sunday night. YAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!! And if you are hiding under a rock you probably aren't reading this so I will assume I am talking to the informed. It was torture to watch the final. Finally France played like finalists - much respect to them. However you cannot dismiss the All Blacks response. They played defense as if their lives depended on it. Despite injuries, quality All Blacks kept rocking up to take their compatriots places. If I found qualities in Piri Weepu that I would like to emulate, after Sunday I think the whole New Zealand team showed the kind of determination and commitment that get results. It was not their best game but they had played a tournament's worth of cup winning rugby. Mentally we all played that final, our hearts pounding in our chests.

I read this post with great interest. It's interesting to compare it to this. Why do we do what we do? I must confess sometimes the desire to be published can be overwhelming. Perhaps not to the extent that it was for Ms Whipple. But I respect her advice. Step back. Write the stories you want to write. Take your time. Ok, maybe I can't do the last thing on that list. I don't think my impatience will ever be cured. Everything is still too slow. I don't want to take my time. I will always want things to happen now. But as months and years have passed, things I never thought would happen have happened. I guess the treatment for impatience is never giving up on anything because the things that are only now coming to fruition make up for those things I'm working on now that just aren't happening fast enough.

I am giving away a print copy of The Half Life of Ryan Davis and one of The House That Went to Sea, and I will post them anywhere in the world. All correct answers to the following question will be eligible for the draw. Please advise which book you would prefer.

Question - why is Halloween extra special in our household?
(update - I will accept incorrect answers to this question if they are very creative and make me laugh)

And for those people who would like to see how our eldest is doing here is a photo taken last week

A lot we can learn from Weepu...

Watched an interview with All Black Piri Weepu on TV last night. There is a lot an author can learn from Piri. He had some dreadful blows to his rugby career; being dropped by Coach Graham Henry before the 2007 World Cup and then breaking his leg in horrible fashion during a game last year. Both could have been career ending if he'd let them. They weren't the only things interfering with his position in the All Blacks but Weepu hung in there. He learnt from his mistakes. He wanted to come back. He got match fit. He demonstrated he deserved inclusion in the team. And look at him now! He's a bit of a star. And he's handling it well. Life is what happens while we're making other plans, so John Lennon sang. We have to deal with what life hands us and make the most of it. Weepu obviously had the raw talent that made him a contender for the best rugby team in the world. But he purposefully did what he needed to do as well and kept faith in himself. Go the All Blacks - good luck for the game tomorrow night.

My head and heart dropped a little when I read this in the NZSA's newsletter yesterday

The Society of Authors has unofficially learnt that "He meomoça he ohorere / While you are sleeping / Bevor es bei Euch hell wird” is the slogan under which New Zealand will present itself as 2012 Frankfurt Book Fair’s Guest of Honour. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage, which is dedicated to preserving the national heritage of Aotearoa, views the country’s selection as the Guest of Honour for the Frankfurt Book Fair as a unique opportunity to present the cultural diversity of New Zealand. The announcement was made at a media conference in Germany, as part of this year's Frankfurt Book Fair. “New Zealand’s role as Guest of Honour in 2012 is an unprecedented high point for our writers, publishers and artists. The opportunity to share our creativity and unique perspective with Germany and Europe at the Frankfurt Book Fair is a once in a life-time opportunity and we are excited to bring our voice to you next year,” says Tanea Heke, Project Leader.


This is such a wonderful opportunity for New Zealand. As we sit, small and discrete, way down here at the southern end of the Pacific it is hard to grab the attention of Europe all the way across the other side of the globe (unless its about rugby). Here is our chance to show what we are made of to the Olde Worlde. I hoped one of my books might make it in to the catalogue but I missed out. I would love to be a part of this opportunity. When I saw the slogan I thought of my as-yet-unpublished picture book manuscript While You Are Sleeping which has done the editorial dance several times but been unable to jump the final hurdle into publication. It is out on submission at the moment. If only ...

"... While you are sleeping…

Rain may fall, and winds may blow,

Clouds come and go,

And the stars get their chance to shine ..."

I am glad they know what they're doing

Yesterday Head of Pear Jam Books, Jill Marshall, suggested a 'class trip' to the printers to watch our books become paperbacks. This was a rare opportunity. Not too many books are printed in New Zealand. And it was exciting and fascinating to tour around the facility and see how it all happens. It is a complex and technical business, overseen by perfectionists with an eye for detail - as it should be. They print large sheets on both sides with multiple pages to be cut and bound in correct sequential order. If you have a flair for geometry and origami this is the career for you. Of course the upshot of all this is that The Half Life of Ryan Davis will be available in print form by next weekend. Pear Jam Books will be at Armageddon in Auckland selling books. Come check it (and us) out next weekend October 28th to 31st!

I have also been testing gingerbread recipes and doing some experimenting for another book. I think I have come up with a winning formula and I have sent the resulting recipe off to the publisher.

Tonight the Rugby World Cup's Bronze final (playing off for third and fourth place) between Wales and Australia is being played down the road at Eden Park. There is a general consensus that Wales was robbed last weekend, losing to France who will be playing the final against the All Blacks on Sunday. Although I have hidden in bed with the covers over me for the other games (honestly, last Sunday you could have cut through the tension with a knife and served it up on a plate), I am watching the last two games. Funny thing is as I have hidden in bed over the last few weeks I have heard the cheering down at Eden Park (it's maybe just over a kilometre away?). Between the cheering and the noises from my other family members watching the game in the living room, I have had a fair idea of how things are going anyway. Tonight I want Wales to win as they have consistently punched above their weight. It will be an interesting contest either way. I won't talk about Sunday in case I jinx it but I am making French Toast for dinner :)