sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

It’s a Bookday!

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Happy Bookday to you, Happy Bookday to you, Happy Bookday dear Pearl! Happy…

Oh, hello there. So glad you dropped by. Don’t mind my offkey singing. I’m pretty excited, you see, because today is the Bookday of the US edition of my children’s verse novel, Pearl Verses the World.
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might have already heard a bit about this book, because the Australian edition was released in 2009, and the UK edition (renamed Pearl,  and with a different cover) was released in 2010. But now, for the first time, Pearl Verses the World has been released in the United States by the awesome Candlewick Press. And, to make it even more exciting, it’s coming out in hardcover. Hooray!
If you’re not a regular to this blog, let me tell you just a little bit about the book. The publisher’s blurb:
Pearl likes to write poems, but despite the insistence of her teacher, Ms. Bruff, Pearl’s poems don’t rhyme, and neither does she. She wishes she could grow gills so she could stay underwater in swim class without drowning. And she hasn’t a clue why perfect Prudence bumps her desk and sends her pencils flying. Pearl thinks there’s no nicer sound than the bell at the end of the day, even though back at home, Granny, always a crucial part of their family of three, sometimes doesn’t recognize Pearl, and Mom is tired from providing constant care. In a lyrical novel told with clear-eyed sympathy, humor, and heart, Sally Murphy follows a girl who holds fast to her individuality even as she learns to let go– and in daring to share her voice, discovers that maybe she’s not a group of one after all.
At school, Pearl is a group of one, and at home her beloved granny is fading. A poignant gem of a tale about independence, grief, and finding your place.
You can also view a brief trailer for the book here (yes, that’s my voice on the trailer – except for the voice of Pearl, played by Murphlet 6) .

Want more? There are some excellent reviews online for the book, including a starred review at Kirkus (huzzah!) and some lovely reviews at Goodreads, which you can see here. Oh, and if you’re a teacher or librarian, Candlewick has released a teacher’s guide.
Pearl Verses the World is now available from good brick and mortar bookstores, or online from Amazon. And if you do come across Pearl in a bookstore or library, I’d love to hear about it!

I’m Back

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I have a confession to  make. Over the past six months I have struggled to write. I have some excuses – a time consuming day job, a relocation, growing kids, living apart from my beloved during the week – the list goes on. But in spite of all this, I’ve managed to still watch TV, play games, go for walks – lots of things that are ostensibly less important to me than writing. It’s as if the busyness has become an excuse for my not writing rather than a reason, in a strange case of writers’ block which has no simple explanation.

The good news – and perhaps the reason I’m prepared to admit this now – is that I’m writing again. Last week I finished up at my day-job, determined to find the time to write I so desperately missed. And having made that decision I realised I had to make sure right from the outset that I actually write. In fact, before I’d even worked my last day, the impulse to write started to return. New ideas, new snippets, even whole poems and one (rough) first draft of a picture book. And on Monday, my first official day sans-dayjob, I sat down and wrote. I dd the same yesterday and plan to do it again tomorrow.

On day one I didn’t know what I would write, but that didn’t stop me. I closed my Internet browser, and my email, opened a blank document and started writing. 800 words later I had a story of sorts forming from a kind of free-writing exercise. I saved and printed this rough story-thing, then went on with the rest of my day. But the character and his story stayed with me and by Tuesday when I sat down again, I had a new scene to write, taking that story in a whole new direction.  And by today, another new scene. Pete – my new character – seems determined that I tease out his story, and I am content to just write it and see where it takes me. If nothing else, this is the story that has brought me back to my desk.  

I’m delighted to be back in the crazy and crazed world of the writer.

What Warms Belinda Murrell’s Heart

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It’s still pretty cold here in Australia, but my heart is warm. One reason for this is my wonderful writing friends who are always so willing to share. Today I’m delighted to welcome Belinda Murrell who has dropped in to tell us what it is that warms her heart. Welcome Belinda.

What Warms Belinda Murrell’s Heart
There are three things that warm my heart most of all, and that is my family, travelling and books. So when you can combine all three – now that really warms my heart! For many years I was a freelance travel writer, indulging my passion for exploring and writing travel articles. When my children came along, I was determined to keep enjoying my itchy feet, dragging my kids on fun adventures around the world. 
This included a two year stint of travelling throughout Europe and all around Australia, when my children were aged six, eight and ten. 
During this time, we home schooled the kids, which of course included lots of reading and sharing books. Here are some of our favourites:
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
This is one of my best children’s book memories. The Thief Lord, set in the enchanted city of Venice, is the story of two orphan runaway boys, Prospero and Bo, who find friendship and protection with a gang of street urchins, living in an abandoned cinema. The children are supported by Scipio, the Thief Lord, a mysterious and charming teenage boy who purports to be an elusive master thief. My whole family read the book before we visited Venice, then we planned a treasure hunt exploring the canals, palazzos, bridges and alleyways of the city searching for many of the book’s key scenes and settings – from the Piazza San Marco, the Duomo and the Ponte di Rialto, to Sculo san Rocco, and the cobbled Campo Santa Margherita guarded by a dragon. The Thief Lord brought the city of Venice alive for all of us so we could almost imagine the winged lions growling, and the mermaids dragging themselves up from the canals at midnight to drink from the fountains.
Heidi by Johanna Spyri.
Where else would you read this classic book but in the Alps? We spent three weeks living in an old timber house in the Swiss village of Klosters. Outside the snowflakes would float down all night, the church bells would ring out through the valley, and we would gather inside around the fire drinking hot chocolate, eating apfel strudel and reading books. Everyone had to take turns reading Heidi out loud. Despite the age of this book (it was published in 1880), my children loved this story of Heidi’s simple life growing up with the goats and her crotchety grandfather, high in the Swiss alps. Our Swiss adventures included visiting the winter cow barns down in the village to buy fresh milk, having snowball battles, tobogganing in the back garden, skiing over the snow-covered meadows past the tiny alp huts and jingling through the countryside in a horse-drawn sleigh. It was a time of simple pleasures surrounded by incredible beauty – a place where cold is fun!!
The Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling
During our travels, we had a Harry Potter read-a-thon where everyone in the family had to read the whole series of seven Harry Potter books from start to finish, one after the other. We had long, intense discussions about the characters and the story. There were arguments if someone was reading too slowly and holding everyone up, or if someone let something slip ‘oh, no, I can’t believe Harry did that!’. There were tears when favourite characters died  and shouts of excitement when it looked like Harry, Hermione and Ron might be winning. My children wore velvet cloaks, shouting out Latin spells and having lively magic battles, with twigs for wands, or ‘flying’ on homemade Quidditch brooms. As part of our pilgrimage, we visited Alnwick Castle near the Scottish border, which was the grand setting for Hogwarts School in the movies and imagined our favourite characters flying around the turrets and battlements. Our epic HP readathon was a truly enchanting experience.
The Locket of Dreams by Belinda Murrell

Of course I couldn’t be away for two years without writing. One of the books I worked on during our travels was The Locket of Dreams, the first in my time slip series, set partially in Australia, and partly in 1850s Scotland. This book was inspired by a story my grandmother told me about how her own grandmother was sent to Australia as an orphan during the mid-nineteenth century. As a family we explored the wild, west coast of Scotland, the tumbledown castles of my Mackenzie ancestors and the crofts and villages of the Black Isle – researching settings, dialect, myth, fairy tales, historical detail and the Mackenzie clan.  It was so exciting to travel back to our roots and see where my family had come from so many years ago, then use these experiences as the inspiration for a children’s book of my own.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
As a lover of all things Bronte, I dragged my family to celebrate my birthday at Haworth in West Yorkshire. For me it was an inspiring experience to visit the Parsonage where the Brontes lived for most of their lives, to see the furniture they used, clothes they wore, and miniature books they wrote as children. Theirs was a tragic story – their mother Maria died of cancer when Anne was a baby, two sisters, Maria and Elizabeth died at 11 and 12, then Branwell, Emily and Anne died within a few months of each other in their late twenties, leaving just Charlotte and her father Patrick. Yet in their short lives, in this lonely, isolated village – Charlotte, Emily and Anne wrote such amazing books.  We wandered down the narrow cobbled streets of the village, scrambled over the stiles to the misty, blustery moors, and explored the crowded graveyard. My birthday pilgrimage to Haworth was completed with a celebration lunch at the Black Bull pub where Branwell misspent much of his time and talents. A hearty meal of roast beef, Yorkshire puds and two kinds of potato in front of a roaring log fire – now that warms the coldest of English springs.  
So now we are all back home, living in Sydney and firmly entrenched into the usual routine of careers, school, sport and homework. But every now and then, we pore over the photos and talk about the many amazing experiences, memories, adventures and books we shared as a family on our travels. 
 
Thanks heaps for dropping in Belinda. You can visit Belinda online at www.belindamurrell.com.au

What Warms Chris Bongers’ Heart?

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For a brief moment today I was warm. the sun peeked out for a few glorious hours and I took myself off for a walk to, and along, the beach. And yep, as I trecked back up the steep stairs from the beach I very vreifly considered  whipping off my jacket and getting down to just two layers – but didn’t.

 Now the sun has set and the chill is back. The heater is blaring and my snuggy rug is on my lap. And now my heart is warm, too, becuase he delightful Chris Bongers has dropped in to share with  us what it is that warms her heart. Over to you Chris.

What warms my heart
 
I’ve just come back from a winter getaway that will keep my cockerels glowing for months.
For a whole week’s R&R, our fam bam went cold turkey on technology at Lord Howe Island. 
No mobile phone coverage, no internet, no television or radio, no DVDs and no vehicular transport.
We spent our days exploring on shanks’ ponies and bicycles, criss-crossing an island that measures 12 kilometres by 2.7, snorkeling in wetsuits, swimming with Galapagos sharks, and then returning to our lodge to be force-fed like geese every four hours.  
We did unearth a couple of old-fashioned social networking sites – the local coffee shop and the Pine Trees Lodge dining room – where we all chatted IRL (in real life) just like in the old days.
In the evenings, we played cards and Bananagrams, and shamelessly hogged the pool table, convinced that our only serious rivals, the Japanese honeymooners, had better things to do with their time.
After dinner, we read in front of the fire until my snoring disturbed the other guests and the fam bam quietly trundled me off to bed.
It was a glorious week, topped off by a kids-only daily ritual. Each day they’d launch themselves off the jetty into turquoise waters that barely reached 20 degrees. The first time they did it, they almost landed on a 2-metre sting ray, which terrified them so much, they spent the rest of the week trying to do it again.
That’s why I love writing for kids. They’re not afraid to have a good time.
Thanks Christine! 
You can visit Chris online at http://christinebongers.wordpress.com/
Her latest book is Henry Hoey Hobson  .
 

What Warms Angela Sunde’s Heart?

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The temperature here in Southwest WA has struggled to top 10 degrees Celcius the past few days, so I must confess to a little envy of today’s guest, with her balmy 19 degrees! However, even that is cold – especially by Queensland standards. There are a LOT of Aussies looking for warmth at the moment. But enough whinging about the weather – Angela Sunde  has dropped in to tell us what it is that warms her heart (hey, she even has SUN in her name, so she’s sure to bring some warmth). Over to you Angela.

What Warms Angela Sunde’s Heart
Although I live up on the Gold Coast, Queensland, where the daytime temperature has been mostly 19-20 Celcius, this has felt like a cold winter for us. Overnight has crept down to 4 C, and with no curtains in the living areas and no central heating it can take hours after we wake up for the old electric heaters to warm the house. So at around ten in the morning the normal thing to do is open WIDE all the windows to let in the warmer outside air.
So here I am rugged up in my woolies with the windows open WIDE, thinking about what warms my heart when the rest of me is chilly…
What warms my heart…

A phone call to say the wobbly tooth has fallen out.
Drawings on the fridge.
A little child moving to the groove.
Tears when I leave.
Love infused leek and potato soup.
A morning snuggle.
The secret hand shake.
Sun through my study window. 
Dew drops on a spider’s web.
Comfortable shoes.
A girls’ lunch.
Celebrating a friend’s success.
Brainstorming crazy ideas together.
Childhood lollies.
An op shop find.
Cat prints on the car bonnet.
A whiskered smile.
Good news
A new baby.
The waft of sausages from the BBQ.
An entrusted first draft.
A yet to read book.
Holiday photos.
Family board games in front of the fire.
A teenager laughing.
Custard on a cold night.
Fresh sheets.
Bed socks.

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A shared experience.
Angela Sunde

Angela’s latest book is Pond Magic:

What Warms Anita Bell’s Heart

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As the cold snap continues here in Australia (or at least many parts of the country), I am loving this series of heart-warming posts from my friends. Today I’m really thrilled to welcome Anita Bell who has gone the extra mile with her post, writing in rhyme to tell of her ‘interesting’ travels of late. Welcome Anita.

My Heartwarming Week from Hell
By Oz Author, AA Bell 

The day that Sally called me, just to ask to play my part                        
In joining in her blog for friends, to say what warmed my heart,            
I was stuck in Sydney Qantas lounge, no thanks to ash from Chile         
While that grumpy Mount Pew-hey-you, spewed its guts up willy nilly.
I was stuck in crowds of thousands, singing songs of luck and woe,
While we bedded down on luggage, with our bodies head to toe,
With smelly socks and dirty frocks, and coughing from the flu,
And an airport filled with tourists; ninety nine for every loo.  
And then I made the dumb mistake of eating spicy food,
Which made my face swell twice its size; I really looked a dude!
I coughed and sneezed for three days hence, I sadly grew so pale,
And then I caught the flu myself; my whole week was a fail.
But airport staff were fabulous, they really did their job
And tourists from all languages were one big friendly mob
I made it down to Melbourne with a hundred brand new friends,
And a firm belief the loos have less for ladies than for mens.
Bad news didn’t end there, but I also must confess,
My thriller won a huge award; for excellence no less
(For both fantasy and sci-fi, and its name is Diamond Eyes,
about a girl who can see history; it’s for older girls and guys.)
Then three days on, there came the time it was to fly me home
So off to Melbourne airport in a taxi I did roam.
We ran the lights, we crashed the car and ran clear out of fuel
I walked the last mile in the rain, (past a cops-n-robber duel!)
I made it though, no time to spare. I bolted to the gate,
Where the hostess made a call to tell me fin’ly of my fate;
No plane for me at all that day.
The ash was back to play.
No refunds, no deferrals, and no way to make amends
I spun to find the nearest loo, and my next one hundred friends.
Browse Inside the multi-award winning Diamond Eyes here:
See the Book Trailers & Original Theme Song, which have gone viral here:
sallymurphy.com.au