sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

Of Fridays – and Inspiration

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Last Friday I got up veeerrrry early in the morning, and drove ‘home’ to Corrigin (I divide my time between there and here, in the Southwest, because school for the Murphlets and work for me are here, and work for my beloved is there). Anyway, I digress. My journey this time had little to do with my beloved, though I was lucky enough to have coffee with him as soon as I arrived and before I got down to the business of the day – lunch. And what a lunch!
Dining Divas was organised by a committee of local amazing women, for local amazing women, and featured three amazing women (one almost local and two less local) as speakers. As part of Corrigin’s centenary year festivities the lunch was a celebration of friendship, fine food and fun, and with 150 women in attendance, there was lots of noise and laughter. But there was also a really inspirational program of speakers.
Caroline Robinson, from Narembeen (just down the road)  was the 2011 Rural Woman of the Year and a perfect opening speaker, not only sharing her own experiences but also reminding us of the importance of supporting and seeking out the support of other women.  Estelle Blackburn,currently from Canberra,  spoke about her experiences helping John Button and  Darryl Beamish  overturn their wrongful convictions – inspiring us with her determination to right an injustice. The final speaker for the day was Una Glennon, who travelled from Perth her husband Dennis and shared her journey through grief, and beyond. 
I was lucky enough to be the MC for the day – a new experience for me – and one which terrified me beforehand. It was a real honour to be able to introduce each of these women, and to get to talk to them personally as well. It was also wonderful to catch up with friends and to meet new ones as well.
It was an exhausting day but I came home inspired. I want to be hard working like Caroline, a fighter like Estelle and strong and dignified like Una. 
This Friday I’m at home, alone, which is as it should be, as Friday is my writing day. And I have written this morning, sending off revisions on my next verse novel to my editor. But even home alone I manage to get inspired. Today it’s because a beautiful teacher,  Miss Doran, sent me this link.  Thank you Miss Doran and Year 3/4 . Sometimes writing can be lonely, or frustrating, or draining, or all of these things at once. Sometimes writing about hard topics makes me sad.   But when I hear that a class of students has read and enjoyed my book , and maybe even benefitted from it I am inspired to keep writing. 
And so I do.
What inspires you?

Happy Book Day John and Dom

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One of the fun things  about having a foreign edition of a book released is that you get to celebrate its release all over again
Today, I’m celebrating the release of John and Dom, published by Walker UK. 

If you’re an Aussie fan you might be a little puzzled right now, because here in Australia the same book has both a different cover and a different title. That’s right, John and Dom is the UK version of Toppling.
The reason for the change of cover and title is to bring it into line with the UK version of Pearl (which in Australia, was of course called Pearl Verses the World). 
Anyway, regardless of what it’s called (a rose by any other name etc) I am really happy that John and Dom is now available for sale in the UK. If you are in the UK you can buy it here or in a good bookstore near you. 
What’s it about?  So glad you asked. John and Dom is about a boy named John who is obsessed with domino toppling, and his best friend Dom (yes, his name is a little bit like domino), who is in danger of toppling himself, when he’s diagnosed with cancer. Using the verse novel format and a smattering of humour, the book deals with what it’s like to try and support a friend through a really hard time.
In Australia, Toppling has been really well received by young readers and by adults, too. It has won awards including The WA Premier’s Book Award (children’s book category), the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards (children’s book category), and  the Junior Judges Award (Younger Readers Category) .
Here’s hoping that John and Dom is just as well received in England and the UK.


Thank You!

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Wow! It’s been such a crazy few days that I haven’t had time to stop by my own bog and post my exciting news. But I’m here now, so please accept a glass of cyber champagne from my virtual butler, help yourself to the cyber nibblies and celebrate with me.
Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
“Why?” I hear you ask. Well, on Friday night I attended the Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards at the State Library of WA, where, to my honour and delight, Toppling was awarded the gong in the Children’s Book category.

Winning any award is always exciting, but winning  in  my home state felt especially lovely. My darling husband was able to accompany me and lots of friends, old and new, were there in the audience. The awards were presented by the Minister for Culture and the Arts, John Day.
I was overwhelmed on the night by the cheers from around the room when my name was announced, and have continued to be overwhelmed by the messages of support on Facebook, Twitter and by email from family, friends and even strangers. I am truly feeling the love and feeling blessed.

In all the excitement, I forgot to ask by beloved to use the camera I had in my handbag to take some photos, so this photo was taken the next day.

Again, my sincere thanks for all the messages of support – and of course, thanks to the State Government and the State Library, who coordinated the awards. But  special huge thanks must go to illustrator Rhian Nest James, and to the team at Walker Books who made the book so beautiful, and the hugest thanks go to my family – my children, my beloved husband, and my extended family, too. Love you all.

For the formal announcement and a list of all the winners, see here.

Why Write in Verse: My Thoughts on the Verse Novel

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Tomorrow I am off to the Mundaring Arts Centre and then on to the KSP Writers Centre to present two workshops to young writers. As a result, I have spent the last hour or so thinking about what I might be asked about my choice to use the verse novel form. 
I must admit that I didn’t so much choose the form as it chose me. From the time I read my firs tverse novel (It was Jinx, by Margaret Wild), I had been fascinated with the form, and knew that eventually I would try my hand at writing one. However, Pearl Verses the World (my first verse novel) came like a bolt from the blue, insisting it be written, and be written in verse. There was no conscious decision to try to write a verse novel – rather a story came to me, as a series of poems, and I sat down and wrote it down. Along the way I did a lot of thinking  about what would happen to this very insistent character, but there was never any question that her story would be told in verse. And I think it works.
My second verse novel, Toppling, was similar. This time there was a wee bit more intention. I’d finished writing Pearl, and when the idea for a story about a boy who topples dominoes came, I hoped that it was story which would lend itself to the verse form. Fortunately for me, it did.
It is a form I love to read, and a form I love to write, and I hope I shall write many more verse novels. However, I won’t write exclusively in verse form, simply because it is not a form which lends itself to every story. 
For me, a story will work well in verse if:
1.     1.    It is a character-driven story, rather than plot-driven. Yes, of course a verse noel needs a plot, too, but it is the characters of Pearl and John which drive my own verse novels. For this reason both are told in first person, a voice which works well for verse noels.
2.     2.    It is high on emotion. The verse form is wonderful for exploring emotions in a way which  takes the reader close into the emotional vortex of the character. It is also excellent in allowing the reader to imagine the emotion for themselves rather than needing to be told how the character feels.
3.     3.    Setting can be simply defined. For me (and remember every writer is different) I cannot imagine being able to write detailed descriptions of setting in the verse form. My poetry is about emotion, and so the feel of Pearl’s home, or John’s school is far more important than its physicality.
4.       4.  The plot is not overly complicated. Lack of complication does not mean lack of depth. What  I do mean is that the story in a verse novel tends to be fairly linear – with subplots kept to a minimum or forming  part of the main plot. Both Pearl and Toppling have subplots – the friendship between Pearl and Mitchell, for example, and the uncovering of Ky’s story in Toppling, but these happen against the backdrop of the main plotline.
5.     5.    Lastly, the key consideration when choosing to write a verse novel is whether the story can be better told any other way. If a story can be told in prose, it probably should be. Why? Because the verse novel is hard to write and hard to sell. I confess to having unsuccessfully tried to rewrite one of my prose novels as a verse novel following the success of Pearl – and failing. The story needed to be told in prose, because it could be. Could Pearl’s story – or John and Dom’s –  have been told in prose? I don’t think so. But that of Garth (the hero of the unsuccessful attempt) needed a level of dialogue and of description which the verse novel couldn’t lend.   I’ve since worked on that story back in its prose form – which is where it started out. But two other stories have been written since Toppling which began their lives as verse novels – and will stay that way. Hopefully one day they’ll even be published.
If you are interested in the verse novel form, you might like to see what some other verse novel enthusiasts have to say, at the following blog posts:

A Story – and a Thankyou

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A couple of years ago I had a pretty disheartening experience. I had an hour to kill whilst I waited for my beloved to finish an appointment, so I walked along a busy Perth street, browsing in shops and enjoying myself. There were three bookshops in the street, so I thought I’d check and see if any were stocking my books. Pearl Verses the World had been out for several months, had great reviews, and had recently won the Indie Children’s Book Award. Snowy’s Christmas had been out only a few weeks, and Christmas was approaching. So, in spite of rarely having seen my books in bookshops, I was fairly optimistic of finding one or both displayed in at least one of the three stores.
I entered the first store – whilst I won’t name it, it was part of one of the big book chains in Australia. No sign of either book (or any of my others), no friendly staff looking like they wanted to serve me, so I left, feeling only slightly dispirited, and headed to store number two, across the road.
This store was, like the first, one of the big chains, and, like the first had neither of my books, nor any staff who seemed to want to meet my eye and chat with me. 
By this time I was feeling a bit low. But a block down the road was another bookstore. And this one, I was certain,  would stock my book because it was an independent bookshop and part of the buying group that sponsored the award Pearl Verses the World had won.  More than that, Pearl was in their new Summer reading guide. I was onto a sure thing.
Into the store I went, sure that my spirits would be revived. Huh. That confidence was soon diminished. No sign of Pearl, or of Snowy. Perhaps, I thought, they’d sold out of Pearl. 
I went to the counter. The owner was there, and although I hesitated to even ask, I did. “I’m just wondering if you have ever stocked my book, Pearl….”
I was cut off. A look of disdain was coupled with the terse reply “We can’t stock every book, you know.” It seemed this lady was accustomed to authors asking after thieir books and had her response prepared.
Shaking in my shoes, I nonetheless  held my ground and stayed polite. ‘I realise that. It’s just that it’s recently won the Indie Children’s Book  Award and –“
Again, I was cut off. “We only stock books we’ve heard of.”
Maybe the lady was having a bad day. Maybe I looked too cocky, or wasn’t dressed like an author, or something. I don’t know. But that response drew me close to tears. Determined not to show it though, I thanked her for her time, and told her that it was handy as an author to know which bookstores to send people to when they asked after my books. Then I left.
I got over that day, but ever since I have hated the thought of telling bookshops that I visit that I am an author. My ego is not high, and to be treated as though I need bringing down a peg or two is pretty damned upsetting.
But the reason I’m telling this story is to share the wonderful experience I had yesterday. I’ve  recently relocated to the South West of Western Australia. Although I have visited local bookstores as a customer, I have hesitated  to introduce myself for fear of rejection. But yesterday was a sunny morning, and I had an hour to spare while I waited for one of my sons. So, when I visited a bookstore to buy a book I wanted, I swallowed my pride and introduced myself to the girl serving me (Jacqui), and asked after my books. I already knew that Pearl Verses the World was in stock – and has been every time I’ve visited – so perhaps this made me a little braver. I asked about Toppling, my newest book.  Not only was Jacqui  very helpful, but the manager overheard our conversation and joined in. He was not only willing to stock the book, but knew of  Toppling’s recent shortlisting in the CBCA Awards, and was really congratulatory. He also offered to ring me when stock came in so that I could come in and sign it.
So, Jarrod and your staff at Angus & Robertson Bunbury, if you happen to be reading this (and even if you’re not) thank you from the bottom of my heart. You warmed my heart, and helped restore some of that confidence lost two years ago.  And to all the other wodnerful bookstores and bookstore staff who have neocuraged me, stcoked my books, or taken the time to chat over the years, thank you. 

Five Cool Things About Being Shortlisted

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On Friday I was delighted when the school library officer at my dayjob showed me her newly-arrived copy of Toppling.  Yes, of course I’ve seen my book-baby before, and love it – but this is the first copy I’ve seen with the gorgeous bronze sticker which says it is a shortlisted book in the CBCA Children’s Book of the Year Awards.  I was so excited I had to snap a photo just to prove it was real and to show my family, my friends, complete strangers – and you.

Pretty, isn’t it?  Being shortlisted is pretty cool, and if you are here reading this blog there’s a pretty good chance you ‘get’ why I’m so excited about it. But I have to admit, some people seem a bit surprised that I’m so thrilled ‘just’ to be shortlisted. After all, I haven’t won anything – just been put on a list with five other books. So, here goes – five cool things about being shortlisted.
1.  Validation.  Making it to the shortlist says to me that people – judges, in fact, who are passionate about children’s books – like MY book. It’s not just me and my mum.

2.  Exposure. As an author, I am well aware of the name to make a name for myself. It sells books in stores, and manuscripts to publishers. Being on a shortlist means more people get to know my name – and my books.
3.  Sales. Being on a shortlist, especially this one, translates directly into sales. Because Children’s Bookweek and the CBCA Awards are well established and respected, schools tend to buy, display, read and discuss shortlisted books. And bookstores tend to stock them, knowing that they will sell.
4.  Kids reading my book. Because of number three above, more kids will have the opportunity to read my book which is, after all, why I wrote it in the first place. Nothing makes me happier than to think of a child reading one of my books. 
5. Stickers! Okay, so maybe I should have outgrown having stickers on my work back in primary school – but I didn’t. When I see a copy of one of my books with  a pretty sticker on it, I have to touch it (and photograph it, squeee about it, smile a  lot…)
So, yes, I’m pretty excited about my book baby being on that list. Thanks Chris for showing me the sticker!