In honour of a day honouring poetry ...

 It's New Zealand Poetry Day today!! All sorts of things were planned but we are in Level 4 Lockdown (the strongest type of lockdown) so things have gone online. In honour of a day honouring poetry I thought I'd share some of my own poetry online, too. 

The first poem, Fancy, is one for children. I wrote this years ago when some friends were visiting one bright sunny day and their youngest was getting a bit close to the lavender bush which had a few bees hovering around it. This poem appears in A Treasury of New Zealand Poems for Children (ed. Paula Green, Random House, 2014).

Fancy

Don’t pick the flowers

the bees might follow you home

the cows will come for the buttercups

forget themselves

and eat your grass

leaving little half moons in the mud

that remind you

of Milky Way nights

and cream and honey on your porridge in the morning

The second poem, The Meaning of Life, is for grown ups. It appeared on Paula Green's NZ Poetry Shelf blog June 21st this year (which you can check out here). 

The Meaning of Life

I am not here

I am here

I am not here to ask why I am here

I am here to find answers

I am not here for you

I am here for me

I am not here to demand meaning

or faith

in anything except myself

I am here the only thing I can be sure of

and here I am not so sure

When I am no longer here

the Earth may show as little

or as much care

as if

I was never here

And last but not least, here are some New Zealand writers for young people (including moi) reading some poems they love in celebration of this wonderful art form, on Paula Green's Poetry Box (A New Zealand poetry page for children) with some great poetry writing challenges for children included. Click here.

 

Well that took an unexpected turn ...

Hi there ('waves') - long time no see. Between having not a lot to say and many things to do I have not blogged for a long time but I suddenly find myself stuck in a motel room in the deep south (Invercargill) in level four lockdown, in limbo while I wait for the right time this evening to head to the airport and catch a plane home to Auckland. So I thought I'd write a post and fill you in on my latest adventures ...

A week ago I was setting off on a ten day odyssey. First down to Wellington for one night to attend the New Zealand Childrens and Young Adults Book Awards (NZCYA) in my role as NZSA representative on the Book Awards Trust. What a lovely warm, positive event it was, full of collegiality, community and joy. It was fantastic to see all the different groups that love and support children's and young adult literature come together to celebrate the cream of the book crop. I returned home the next day, packing and repacking so I could leave early the next morning with my SO/Personal Patron of the Arts to drive down to Hamilton. I visited Southwell School and had a fun morning talking creative writing with some of their Year 7s. We got the chance to visit Hamilton Gardens in the afternoon once the rain had shifted and if you are ever in that part of New Zealand I encourage you to check out this fabulous free treat. It's like the tardis in there with something new and unexpected around every corner. And you don't have to be a gardener to appreciate what this place has to offer.

On Saturday I shared a morning event with fellow writer Karen McMillan, talking about our books, creative writing for children, ideas and imagination. In the afternoon I ran a workshop on writing Fiction for Children for 26 participants

and then it was back in the car to return home. 

The following morning I flew to Invercargill to start a Storylines Tour of schools in Southland with a crew of 3 other authors (Sue Copsey, Kate De Goldi and Pauline Smith), and a mum and dad to take care of us, driver Peter and expert wrangler Rosemary. Our school visits on Monday and Tuesday went really well. The schools were welcoming, and the students were engaged and beautifully behaved. We visited bigger schools in town and smaller schools in more rural areas. At my first visit on Tuesday morning I spoke to 296 students ranging from new entrants to year 8, and my last visit of the day was a shared chat with the entire school (six students) at Glenham. 

(My fellow author Sue Copsey is not checking social media but is taking a photo of the students as we take a closer look at one of the illustrations in The Were-Nana).

(The gang's all here [almost] - Me, Sue, Rosemary Tisdall, Pauline Smith and Kate De Goldi at the last supper on Tuesday night, with Peter Mercer taking the photo).

It already felt like we were making an impact. And then in the afternoon there was a reported case of covid in the community in Auckland. At dinner we received the alert - level 4 lockdown across the country. Flights home were hastily rearranged as we shared our last meal together, our tour ended prematurely, just as we were hitting our stride. 

It would be fair to say I'm feeling pretty disappointed we can't see this through. These things are months in the planning with the four authors carefully scheduled across 31 schools and several thousand students. Driving times and talk times are carefully calculated and there are also the logistics of flights and accommodation for everyone involved.  These things can't be helped and I'm glad we got through two full days and met some wonderful children. I hope we made a difference. I certainly feel like the children have changed me...

So now I'm sitting in a motel room waiting for midday to turn into late afternoon taking the slow road with packing my suitcase. It is a weird time. I have everything crossed that this quick, hard response means the virus doesn't get the chance to get too far. I know these things get worse before they get better but swift, decisive action has been taken and I will be doing my part. Stay safe people, do all the things (mask, scan, distancing, hand washing and get tested if you feel unwell) and see you on the other side soon. I have other things to tell you ... 

The message writers most need to hear (and a competition) ...

My new picture book BatKiwi had a lovely soft launch yesterday at St Helier's Community Library, thanks to the generous invitation and fab skills of librarian Pip Blake, the support of Abby Haverkamp from publisher Scholastic NZ and Peter from Paper Plus Booksellers, and an appreciative wonderful audience of children and their grown ups who braved some pretty atrocious weather to come out and share a love of books and reading.

 

It is always a thrill to see people, especially new readers, warming to a story and wanting to have it for themselves, to take it home and re-read it.  And it was just the loveliest to have one young girl come up to me afterwards and tell me that she loved my story and that I must keep doing what I'm doing. This is the message writers most need to hear sometimes. It's easy to get caught up in the continuing drive to stay published, and sell books, and be reviewed and be shortlisted but the bottom line is we want most of all for our books to be read by the people we wrote them for. For them to love our stories and discover all the things we put in there especially for them. This is why I became a writer. Because I remember so, so well the way I felt reading my favourite books when I was their age. The magic and wonder when I realised what words were capable of and how they could affect me. And the thrill of working out all the threads, and meanings and layers and easter eggs an author had laced their story with, as if I was the first one to know, to realise, to work it out. That is the power of words. So when the going gets tough it is wonderful to be reminded what makes this job so important and so rewarding and why it is worth perservering with. And I'd like to say thank you to that young girl (Caitlin) from the bottom of my heart.

And I have a copy of BatKiwi, and a copy of the Te Reo edition, Ko PekaKiwi to give away. Tell me who your favourite superhero is, and what it is you like/admire most about them, either in the comments here, or on the facebook or twitter posting of this blogpost, and I will pick my favourite answer. Please let me know which version of the book you would like. Competition closes 25th July at 5pm and I will aim to announce the winner that evening. 

A Hero is Born ...

Today!!! It's today!!! Our new picture book Batkiwi is out today!! This book was a lot of fun to write and Isobel Joy Te Aho-White's illustrations capture it all perfectly. Many thanks to Scholastic NZ for doing a Te Reo translation and for making both books such lovely products.

It has everything - action, pathos, humour, heroism and happiness. If you don't believe me you can check out this super duper review on Radio Kidnappers by ace reviewer Lou from Wardini Books.

I had it in my mind for a long time that I wanted to write a story about a kiwi. Its New Zealand's national bird, with so many qualities that reflect New Zealand's own culture and uniqueness. However my mind is a disobedient, feckless thing that generally ignores my wishes and does whatever it feels like. Cue several years of no decent kiwi-centered story coming to mind. Of course once the word batkiwi popped into my head I thought things would change, but cue another few years of no decent kiwi-centered story coming to mind. I guess things were percolating in my subconscious after all though because eventually an idea began to take shape and as is usually the case once the heart of the story turned up the body of it quickly followed. It took a while to tweak it all into place. I've talked about it before, but it always bears repeating - patience is a necessary quality for a writer. I work best when I allow the story to develop organically and let the mental engineering take it's time to create a fully functioning story, so here we are. 

Lots of other native fauna insisted I include them in the story and it makes me very happy to see New Zealand's own natural environment reflected in the book. I will be reading the book at St Helier's Community Library on July 17th at 10am and there will be books available for purchase and signing if you are in that neck of the woods. I will also be doing a giveaway of a signed copy soon on this blog, so keep an eye out.

I hope young readers take heart from the book and the layers of ideas get discovered anew everytime the book is opened. Fly high little Batkiwi - with love, from one of your creators xxx

And the winner is ...

Tarantara!! The competition has closed and I have selected a winner. Clare Scott will receive a signed copy of My Elephant is Blue. It would be very cool to have the book in Te Reo! You weren't the only one to suggest this but you got in first with this most excellent idea. 

The book is launched, and has bravely gone forth into the world. It's a scary time for an author - I've talked about the book, reviewers have talked about the book (you can see some at Poetry Box here, at My Best Friends Are Books here and at What Book Next here) and now it's over to the readers and the book buyers. While our little book meet the moment and be embraced? 

Soon I'll be talking a bit more about my next book, Batkiwi (Scholastic NZ), illustrated by Izzy Joy Te Aho-White. This book is out July 1st and is a bit of a love letter to our native fauna and flora. I've always wanted to write a kiwi story and I'm thrilled Scholastic are publishing this. The illustrations are lush and beautiful and cute as anything. 

Being a writer is quite the roller coaster ride both in terms of the ups and downs of the faith you have in your own writing and the feast and famine of being published. I've had more than twenty years of this wild ride and I have not yet found any means of flattening the journey out. Right now I am in the unusual position of having three books out this year and it is quite the whirlwind with a touch of overwhelm. When you send things out you never know how it's going to go. One book was delayed from 2020 to this year, and I just wasn't expecting things to be so swift with the other two so here we are. And I'm so proud of all of them. I love writing picture books - there is so much poetry and refining and crafting involved - a balancing act to find the right ratios of word play, meaning and story, knowing all the while that ultimately illustrations will share the job of telling. I feel sad when picture books are dismissed or trivialised - I put so much into them and I know the illustrators do too. It is all too easy to forget that picture books contribute mightily to kick starting the career of a reader. That's where my love of reading began ...

I've had a bunch of questions running round my head recently ... and I am thinking about these as the basis of some future blog discussions. If you want to hear more about any of these let me know.

1) Is it problematic for children's writers to have adult opinions on social media? Is there a line that shouldn't be crossed?  

2) Are twitter book pitching opportunities evolving in to a less functional creature? (sub question - is writer twitter good or bad for us?) 

3) Do we influence boys' reading choices right from the get-go in unconscious ways? (Are we part of the problem?)

And if you have any questions you want me to add to the list please comment below.

 

Win a copy of My Elephant is Blue ...

I was meaning to write this blog post and then found myself reading an essay by Rebecca Chace about her poet mother Jean Valentine, and then writing a poem in response instead. Go figure. 

Sorry I have been so absent. It has been a busy old time. I have had lots of things to write and do and organise although sadly, (for me) not so much creative writing of my own stories. I have a general policy of saying yes to things. Book adjacent events are an unpredictable thing so I know there will be plenty of quiet times down the track to balance out the busy times happening right now. If people are keen to have me visit their school or take part in a library event, or talk at length about writing/reading/books, I am IN! And sometimes all the invites come at once. This is how it goes and I am here for it. But when I am invited to do things, it's not just about doing the event. It also means preparing what I am going to say and sometimes creating material (handouts, powerpoints, exercises) to go with it. I take all these events very seriously. I want to do a good job. So I have been beavering away on lots of book adjacent things. And the occasional accidental poem. 

My latest picture book My Elephant is Blue is now out. Before it was even printed this wee story was wooing publishers overseas and it will be coming out in Germany, Italy, and China, and Spanish language rights have also just been sold. I have not had a book this translated before and it is très exciting. Fly little elephant, fly! 

Some lovely reviews have been coming in too (you can read one here or here ), and this Sunday we are officially launching the book at Time Out Bookshop in Mount Eden. Look at the lovely shop window they have created (swoon).

If you read this before Sunday and you want to come along - please DO! Here is the invite

And because I still have a bunch of book adjacent things to do I am going to run away and leave you with a competition to win a copy of My Elephant is Blue. To win a copy tell me in the comments (here on the blog, or on this post on facebook, or on twitter) which language you think the book should be translated into and I will pick my favourite answer. Entries close June 4th. 

Writers don't 'weekend' like other people do

I've just come off a week of teaching creative writing to young people. It makes for a busy time and I usually feel pretty shattered by the end of it all - it's just the nature of the job. I told my SO I was going to take it easy over the weekend to let myself recharge and decompress. When I told him this morning that I was thinking I might start making a few lists about jobs I need to get done this month because I don't have so many gigs as I do in the following months, he just looked at me and said 'I thought you were taking the weekend off.'

Creative people don't have weekends like other people have weekends. Inspiration doesn't sign off on Saturday and Sunday and I don't go in to an office from Monday to Friday. Maybe it's actually my head that's my office and, as it happens, I am there all the time, 24/7. It is hard to switch off. I mean, look at me! I should be reading or bingeing something on Netflix but instead I am writing my blog. Especially cos it's a bit overdue.

So maybe this is a good opportunity to remind ourselves about self care.

1) If you write fulltime, days off don't have to happen only on Saturdays and Sundays.

2) I have to admit, because I don't want to miss any inspirational ideas I don't mind if I leave the inspiration switched on. Sometimes it goes into sleep mode but I never switch it off completely. I have found it's worth the constant low drain on my energy to leave it this way.

3) Sometimes a rest just means no socialising. Large events with many people give me a people hangover. I only need a break from interacting. If I refuse your social request, it's not you, it's my current inability to people - normal transmission will be restored shortly.

4) I think the biggest problem for me is the guilt I feel if I'm not doing anything writing related. Because I don't work 9-5, Monday to Friday, I don't have a regular reliable income. Hence the need to keep creating and networking and promoting so that I do make the most of any opportunities that are lurking. And they can be lurking anywhere, anytime. Folk with regular jobs don't necessarily feel guilty about downtime. They know how to kick back on weekends and holidays. I have no idea how this is done. I guess if nothing else, acknowledging this is the case can be helpful. And don't feel guilty if you have your 'break' on a weekday (see 1).

5) While I fully endorse getting fresh air and exercise I have discovered my brain does not switch off from writing during these activities either. They are important but do not represent a break from work. And you should still do them.

6) Weirdly, a writer's retreat is the most restful thing I can think of (oh dear, there is no hope for me).

So ultimately there are no great recommendations for self care here - but maybe just an acknowledgement of the challenge our chosen profession presents. We do not weekend like other workers weekend. And perhaps one of the best things you can do is let your loved ones know that this is the case. Remember too - it is not unproductive to rest. Your work will suffer if you never step away from it. You need full batteries and and well stocked brains for tip top functioning. However you define self care, make sure you do it regularly.