sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

Poetry Friday: Pool Bugs and Busy bees

by

It’s Autumn here, and the rosemary hedge in my front yard is looking, smelling and sounding divine.

Sounding?  Yup! My hedge is humming with the happy song of hundreds of bees, who love the rosemary as much  as I do, it seems.  It’s a lovely sound.

And with so many flowers to choose from, it’s a bit like a bee buffet, bees bustling from flower to flower, as if they want to sample every one.

 

 

Bee Buffet

 

I can’t decide

where to sit

from table

to table

I buzz and flit.

(Sally Murphy, 2022)

 

I went looking for another poem to go with this one, from my archive.  I was surprised that this seems to be my only other poem with a bee-reference, although I’ve written several about flies, spiders and ants.

 

Pool Bugs

 

The pool is for people

So why do dragonflies

Dip and dive

At the edges

From dawn until dusk?

 

The pool is for people

So why do bees

Buzz and bustle

Near the steps

Busily bumbling?

 

The pool is for people

So why do wasps

Whizz and whir

Scaring little kids

As they wildly wing?

 

The pool is for people

So why don’t the bugs

Just buzz off now?

 

(Sally Murphy, 2014)

 

Not that I necessarily want the bugs to vanish – but it actually makes me sad when I find a bee in my pool, because they often drown. Unless I get there first with my net to rescue them, of course.

I do love autumn and the signs of life that re-emerge after the harsh summer heat. Something else I love is Poetry Friday, where I get to buzz around and see what my fellow poets have bene up to this week. You can hum along, by checking out the roundup, this week hosted by Ruth. 

Poetry Friday: Hounds and Birds

by

Yesterday I had a visiting hound for a few hours. Sos is a big, gentle greyhound, and spent much of the visit sleeping on my loungeroom floor while I worked nearby. At one point, though, a noise made me look up and I laughed to see Sos  running in his sleep. His legs twitched back and forth, his tail straightened and I swear he was smiling.

Sos  was here while his owner was off working, so I’m convinced he was dreaming of  going home and having his daily walk. When Is napped this photo a little while later, I knew I had to caption it,  with a poem.

Dreams of home, dinner

and morning walks play through mind

of a sleeping hound.

(poem and photo copyright Sally Murphy, 2021)

It was only later that I realised I was writing to the same theme as last week’s post where I wrote about echidna’s dream. Perhaps I am slightly obsessed with sleep at the moment?

Something else I am obsessed with is getting poetry out into the world and into the hearts and hands of readers. So I am delighted that today’s Poetry Friday host, Kathryn Apel, has a brand new book out this week: The Bird in the Herd.

When I saw the title of this book, the rhyme just wouldn’t let me go, and I wanted to play with it. This is for you, Kat:

Have you heard

about the Bird in the Herd?

The Bird in the Herd

is good I’ve heard!

So spread the word

about the bird

the bird in the herd

now that you’ve heard.

And, as I played with birds and herds and words, I also started singing, because it reminded me of this song. If you haven’t heard it for a while, you are welcome for the ear worm I am about to give you:

Congratulations Kat for your new book baby!

You can head over to Kat’s blog to learn more about The Bird in the Herd, and to see the Poetry Friday roundup  Muster.  Have a wonderful Friday!

Readalong Post #12: 10 Things You Can Do With Roses are Blue

by

Welcome back to my Readalong.  (If you’ve just dropped in for the first time, I have been running a Readalong here for  the past three weeks, reading (or rereading) and talking about my previous three verse novels, in anticipation of the release of my brand new one, Worse Things, this Friday (only two more sleeps!).

Today, before I move on from Roses are Blue, I wanted to share ten simple things you can do while reading it, after reading it, or possibly even if you haven’t read it.  These are not teaching notes – you can find those here or here.  These are ways any reader can explore the book in fun or interesting ways – though if you are a teacher, you could adapt them for classroom use. So, here they are.

    1. Read it. I’ve said this for the previous two books, as well as eleventy million times to the teachers I train at university, the kids I talk to in schools and at festivals, in fact anyone who will listen – the best thing you can do with a book is read it, just for its own sake. Follow up activities can be wonderful, but sometimes a reader just wants to read a book, or to have it read to them. Roses are Blue is perfect to read on your own, or aloud to someone else.
    2. Blue roses? They’re not a thing are they? In fact, breeding a blue rose is a life goal for some flower enthusiasts.  Use a search engine, to see if you can learn more about why blue roses are rare, and who is trying to cultivate them.
    3. Speaking of blue roses – why not make one of your own. This video shows you how to make a lovely red rose. Use blue paper and you’ll have a blue one!

4. Make a Mothers Day Card. Roses are Blue is a story about mothers and daughters, and is set in the lead up to Mothers Day. Coincidentally, it’s Mothers Day next week – so now is a perfect time to make a card. Maybe a bunch of blue roses too!

5. Examine the cover. Unlike Pearl Verses the World and Toppling, Roses are Blue has only had one cover design, so instead of posting about the different covers, I made the one it has into a digital jigsaw. See if you can beat my time of 3 and a half minutes. You’ll find it here.

6. Compare it. If you have read another of my verse novels, take a few moments to decide which you like best – and why. And I have a giveaway. If you post on Instagram, Twitter or my Facebook page with a photo of one of my books, and a line or two saying why it’s your favourite, I will post a signed bookmark to the first 10 people. Tag your post #readwithsally and send me a message so I can arrange to post it.

7. Paint something. Amber loves painting – and so did her mum. Grab a sheet of paper and some paints – or pencils or crayons or textas – and just create something.

8. Share it. If you loved Roses are Blue, lend it to someone – or, if you borrowed it from a library, encourage your friend to borrow it when you return it.

9. Write a roses are red poem. The original poem – and song  – was roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you’ but for years and years people have had fun writing silly versions of this poem, or writing similarly serious ones. Here’s my attempt:

  • Roses are red
  • Violets are Blue
  • Actually they’re purple
  • But nothing rhymes with purple.

I’m sure you can do something better!

  1. Read it again! If you love a book, you can read it twice. Or three times. Or a zillion times. And lots of books get better on the rereading, because you notice thing you didn’t notice the first time.

Thanks so much for reading along with me. I hope you’ll drop in Friday – and beyond – as I celebrate the release of Worse Things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Readalong Post #11: The Story Behind Roses are Blue

by

As with both Pearl Verses the World and Toppling, I’d like to share a bit about the process behind the writing of Roses are Blue. While the first two came out within a year of each other, Roses are Blue came four years after Toppling – which seemed an age at the time. Little did I know that it would six years after Roses came out before my next verse novel would be published. Now THAT has seemed an interminable age.

Back to Roses are Blue – the four year gap is representative of the struggle to write my third verse novel.  The first two were really successful – winning awards and critical acclaim, and selling well, which was amazing, but also did lead to some (mostly self-imposed) pressure to keep producing work of that quality. Additionally, I had found writing and talking about such difficult topics emotionally draining, and I was really keen that my next verse novel would be lighter and, dare I say it, fluffier. So I tried to write a verse novel from a cat’s perspective (literally fluffier). I really liked that story (and still do), but my publisher didn’t, and it is languishing in my metaphorical bottom drawer.

But I was still determined to keep writing verse novels, and was keen, because the mothers in my novels are often key figures, to write a story about mothers and daughters.  The daughter character, who later revealed her name to be Amber, started talking to me very quickly – wanting me to write all about her different mum. But when I started writing I had no idea just what it was about her mum that would be different. When I realised what it would be – that Mum is not just different from other mums, but that, as the result of a terrible accident, she is really different than she was a year ago – I knew I had a story. But what I didn’t know as whether I could tell it. I had been looking for a lighter topic and had, somehow, found myself writing one that was anything but light.

But  I listened to Amber and I wrote the story and thought that, although it was sad, it was an important story. But my publisher was not keen – because it was too sad. This surprised me – I was, after all, known for writing sad stories. My previous two sad stories had won awards.  I was not impressed. But they were right (publishers usually are!). The story I had written was lacking the most important ingredient  – hope. I knew in my heart that there was hope for Amber (and her mum) at the end of the story – but somehow it was not there on the page.  Those who read that first manuscript were left unsatisfied.

It took a lot of rewriting to find a way to put that hope there for the reader – and Amber – to find. One of the threads that was strengthened to give that hope was the story of Leroy,  a minor character initially, who because more important in subsequent drafts, and who, I think, helps to demonstrate why Amber has some of the feelings she does.

The story went back and forth a bit before it was finally accepted but eventually  I got it right and it was accepted and then published. One of the bonuses of this delay was that, by the time it was accepted, the up and coming illustrator Gabriel Evans  (pictured with left) was available, and given the task of bringing Amber and her world to life, which he did so beautifully.

Roses are Blue was published in 2014, and is still in print. Little did I know then that it would be SIX years till my next verse novel was released – but now, that six years is just days away from being up. I’m excited!

 

 

 

Read Along With Me – Coming Soon!

by

Have you ever been super excited about something? Counting down the days or the sleeps until a birthday, or Christmas, or a special holiday?    If you have then you’ll understand what I’m feeling at the moment, as I count down the days (and the sleeps) until my new book Worse Things comes out on  May 1.

Let’s pause for a moment and gaze admiringly at the amazing cover, created by illustrator Sarah Davis and the amazing team at Walker Books Australia.

Worse Things is my fourth verse novel, and so as I thought about fun ways to prepare for, and celebrate, its release, I wondered if I could also somehow celebrate the first three. See, it’s been 11 years since the Pearl Verses the Worldfirst one,  Pearl Verses the World was released, 10 years since Toppling and six years since Roses are Blue. So you might not have even been alive when the first one was published and, if you were and you have read it, it might have been quite some time ago.

So, here’s my plan. In the weeks leading up to Worse Things’ release, I’m going to have a read-along of the other three – one each week. What’s a read-along I hear you ask? It’s when lots of people (well, I’m crossing my fingers there’ll be lots) read the same book at the same time and talk about it.

How will we talk about it? I’ll be posting each day here on my blog, and answering questions here; I’ll also be running a Facebook live each week on my author page and again  you can drop in and ask questions – live. But that’s driven by me. I’m also asking you to talk about the book – through chatting on my social media or, in any other way, including your own Instagram, other social media, or blog. I’ll share more ideas in the lead up.

So, how can you get involved?

  1. Grab a copy of one or more of the books. You might already own a copy, and, if you’re in Australia, there’s a good chance your school library of local library will have a copy. If you’d like to buy copies, pop into your local bookshop, or they are available online. American readers, if you’d prefer there are US editions of  Pearl Verses the World and Toppling, and UK readers, although the titles are different, Pearl and John and Dom are the same books inside.
  2. Follow my page on Facebook. This is not my personal page where I post what I had for breakfast, but my author page where I share stuff about my books, my writing, and other reading related stuff. You can also follow me on Instagram or on Twitter.
  3. If you are a teacher with a class who reads one of my books during this time, I have a few slots available for Skype sessions and, in Perth, a few slots for class visits, to chat directly about one of the books. Contact me to discuss.
  4. If you have a blog or podcast and would like to chat about one of the books, or run some other cool related thing, again, let me know.
  5. Get ready to hashtag. The hashtag for the whole event will be #readwithsally. To talk about one specific book, you can also use these: Pearl Verses the World #pearlvworld,  Toppling #toppling , Roses are Blue #blueroses and  Worse Things #worsethings.
  6. If all of this is too much, I’d love if you’d just cheer me (and my books) on from the sidelines, even if quietly. Launching a new book is exciting but it’s also a tiny bit terrifying, so every little bit of goodwill helps!

Thanks for reading this far and thanks in advance for celebrating with me and whatever way you can. Drop back soon to see what else I have planned. In the meantime, I’d love you to comment and tell me about a time when you were counting down the days till something exciting.

Release Day: Bushfire

by

It’s release day for My Australian Story: Bushfire  today. As always, I am delighted to have a new book out in the world. This time, however, my excitement is tempered somewhat by events happening in Tasmania. 

Bushfire, while fictional, is set amidst the very real events of  the Black Saturday fires which ravaged Victoria in 2009. Sad then, that on the day the book is released, another bushfire tragedy is unfolding in Tasmania. This time, fortunately, the impact in terms of human life is not as severe, but it is still heartbreaking to see the natural heritage of Tasmania’s ancient forest being destroyed, and to consider the impact on the wildlife, both in the immediate and long term.

So, while I raise a toast to my new book, I am also thinking  this week about the people, animals and gorgeous forests of Tasmania.

Happy Bookday Bushfire.

My Australian Story : Bushfire - Sally Murphy

 

sallymurphy.com.au