sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

Featured Blogger Friday: Carmela Martino

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It is Friday again – which means it is also  Featured Blogger Friday. My visitor this week is  Carmela Martino, who has come to talk about herself, and the blog she is part of. www.TeachingAuthors.com. 
Welcome, Carmela.
 

Firstly, why do you blog?
After my first book was published, I kept hearing that authors needed to have a blog as part of their online presence—a website wasn’t enough anymore. But I didn’t want to be just another blogging author. In addition to being a writer, I also teach writing classes for both children and adults. While brainstorming with a couple of my published friends who are also writing teachers, we came up with the idea of a group blog that was not only about writing, but about teaching writing, too. That’s how our TeachingAuthors blog was born. There are six of us blogging together: April Halprin Wayland, Esther Hershenhorn, Jeanne Marie Grunwell Ford, JoAnn Early Macken, Mary Ann Rodman, and me.
What do you blog about?
We share our unique perspective as writing teachers who are also working writers, so we talk about both sides—writing and teaching. Our regular features include writing exercises (which we call “Writing Workouts”), teaching tips, author interviews, book reviews, and answers to readers’ “Ask the Teaching Authors” questions. We also try to comment on events going on in the world of children’s literature. For example, last week was Children’s Book Week here in the United States, so we blogged about that. And we share our own struggles to make our writing a priority.

Who is your target readership?
1)      Writers of all ages
2)      Those who teach young writers, whether in a classroom or homeschooling setting.
How often do you blog?
We have blog posts at least three times a week. With six TeachingAuthors blogging, that means I blog once every two weeks—my blogging day is Wednesday.
How much time do you devote to blogging?
It really varies, depending on the type of post I’m writing. I can spend 1-3 hours, or more, on a blog post. I also oversee the technical issues and overall layout of the blog, and I’m always tweaking things.  
Do you have a favourite blog post? 
That’s a tough question, because I love so many of my co-bloggers’ posts. We’ve had some lovely interviews with Guest Teaching Authors, too. However, I have to say I had great fun celebrating our first blogiversary in April:  http://www.teachingauthors.com/2010/04/our-first-blogiversary-earth-day-and.html So many readers posted comments congratulating us—it was a virtual party. 
What do you see as the benefits of blogging?
Many more than I expected! It’s been terrific to connect not only with our readers, but also with so many amazing bloggers in the Kidlitosphere. I love sharing information with my present and former students, and a blog is an excellent tool for that. And having a group blog is the best of both worlds—I can share the workload with my co-bloggers while learning from them, too. We recently had the opportunity to present together at a conference, which was not only great exposure for us and our blog, but wonderful fun!
What blogging platform do you use and why?
Google Blogger. When I was looking at other Kidlit blogs I liked, it seemed to be the most common platform.
Do you have a favourite blog to visit (other than your own)?
I have many that I love and I link to them on our site. Here’s a sampling:
Editor Cheryl Klein’s blog: http://chavelaque.blogspot.com/
The Irrepressible Writer: http://theirrepressiblewriter.com/
Alice Pope’s SCBWI Children’s Market Blog: http://scbwi.blogspot.com/
I.N.K.: Interesting Nonfiction for Kids: http://www.inkrethink.blogspot.com/
Bruce Black’s Wordswimmer blog: http://wordswimmer.blogspot.com/
Lastly, when you are not blogging, what else do you do?
Writing (or trying to write)—I’m currently juggling several projects, including a picture book biography and a young adult novel; teaching writing; reading; cooking. (And just about anything else I can think of to avoid housecleaning.)
Thanks for dropping in.
Thanks for the opportunity, Sally.
You can visit Carmela and her friends at the Teaching Authors blog. And drop by next Friday to learn about another featured blogger.

Featured Blogger Friday: Claire Saxby

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Hooray – it’s Friday, and time again for Featured Blogger Friday.

I am delighted today to welcome my good friend and fellow author and blogger, Claire Saxby. You can check out Claire’s blog in a moment, but first let’s hear more about her.

Firstly, why do you blog?

I set up my first blog when I went to Adelaide for a May Gibbs Fellowship in 2007. When I came back I decided to keep a blog going.
Why? I’m not completely sure. I guess it’s a way to increase my profile online although my posts are not always directly related to what I’m writing at the time.

What do you blog about?

I blog about things that are happening in my writing life and about events and publications. I also have blog visitors, to talk about what they are doing and how they do it. In between there are more random posts about whatever is occupying my head. Ideas come from all over the place and the blog gives me a place to note them, even when I’m not sure if or where they’ll lead.

Who is your target readership?

My website www.clairesaxby.com is directly about my writing for children and my blog also links directly to my books and appearances. The more random part of my blog is less tied to the ‘outcome’ end of my work and perhaps more to the thought processes that precede it. So I guess the target market is for those who are interested in what I’ve done, and those curious about what I might do next. If they can work it out from what I post, I’d be happy for them to tell me, because I don’t alway know!

How often do you blog?

It varies. At times it will be daily, and at other times it can stretch out to more than a week between posts. I do try to post as regularly as I can. I love taking photos and have just bought a new camera. These photos won’t necessarily lead to story ideas but they are part of my time out. I’m not saying they’re wonderful photos either but I do enjoy playing. I see poetry as being snapshots, and I see some photos (when I can do them well) as being another way of capturing a poetic moment.

How much time do you devote to blogging?

Again it varies. Sometimes all I’m posting is a date and time for an appearance, and at other times I will spend much longer. Preparing blog visits take longer because I will prepare questions and then format the blog entries more. I do schedule blogs ahead when I can, particularly if the scheduled date is a busy one in my off-blog world.

 Do you have a favourite blog post?

Of my own? I’m not sure. Although they do act a little as a diary. I
like to look back and see where I’ve been. Again, I like looking at the
photos because they transport me to other places and times.

 What do you see as the benefits of blogging?

I think the benefits of blogging are quite difficult to quantify. In
that way, they are just like any form of promotion. You put ‘it’
(whatever ‘it’ might be) and hope that it helps in some way to promote
your work. I recently was approached about a writing project purely
because someone had been casting around online and discovered my website
and blog. But I don’t attach any expectation to any promotional
exercise. I float it into the ether and what will be, will be.

 What blogging platform do you use and why?

I use Blogger. Why? Because that was the one I’d heard of when I decided
to start blogging! Others I know use other platforms. Some of them seem
more versatile but Blogger suits me at present. I have my own website so
I don’t need my blog to function as a website (which some blogging
platforms can do). Blogger is simple enough to use and I’m now familiar
with it.

 Do you have a favourite blog to visit (other than your own)?

I visit a range of blogs on a semi-regular basis. Some are the blogs of
friends or colleagues whose work I enjoy. Others are the work of editors
or agents or other industry professionals. Visiting other blogs
sometimes takes me further and further, connecting with creators and
others all over the world. It would be easy, informative and
entertaining to spend a great deal of time travelling the world via
blogs. I enjoy hearing about how others work. It’s also very affirming
to learn that others share many of the experiences that make writing
such a challenging journey – that you are not the only one to experience
frustration and disappointment!
 Lastly, when you are not blogging, what else do you do?

Ooh, that’s a biggie. Depends whether you consider blogging work or
pleasure. Networking or other. I think blogging is a bit of everything
really. I take photos for fun. I walk my neighbourhood with my dog,
letting my brain and eyes have a break from the computer. I plan what I
will do in my leisure like learning to draw, reconnecting with my sewing
machine, reading, crosswords. Oh, and Scrabble. I’ll play with anyone
who’ll let me!

Thanks for dropping in, Claire

You can check out Claire’s blog here.And drop back next Friday to see who my next Featured Blogger will be.

Two Sisters Tell: Part 2

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Yesterday author Belinda Murrell dropped by to answer some questions about her new book, and about her sister, Kate Forsyth, who is also an author. As promised, Belinda’s sister, Kate, is here today. I posed the same questions to her, to see how they differed from Belinda’s answers. See for yourself.

Welcome Kate Forsyth.

1. Can you tell us a bit about your new book?
The Wildkin’s Curse  is a book I’ve been wanting to write for a very long time. It’s the sequel to my first children’s book, ‘The Starthorn Tree’, and it was such a joy to return to the magical world of Estelliana, a place of magical beasts and frightening monsters, a place where a boy can talk to birds and a girl can whistle the wind … it’s the first pure fantasy I’ve written for a while and it was wonderful to be able to just let my imagination soar.

2. It’s pretty special to have two sisters having new books published on the same day. Were books a big part of your childhood and youth? Tell us about it.
We both learnt to read at a very early age, before we even went to school, and so we always loved reading. We used to write books too, all the time – I remember getting upset one day because Belinda was always trying to help me fix up my books and telling me what should happen next. I went crying to our grandmother who told me it was only because Belinda loved me and that she was trying to help. I don’t want her help! I said. I want to write my OWN stories. Nonnie must have had a word to Belinda because she stopped writing all over my books with her big red pen!

3. What’s it like having a sister who is also an author? Do you give each other feedback on works in progress? Help each other in other ways?
It’s wonderful having a sister to share in all the ups and downs of a writer’s life. I’ve actually dedicated The Wildkin’s Curse to Belinda because she’s sharing this amazing journey with me and has helped me in so many ways – sometimes just having someone to talk to can really help you see what you’re doing wrong. I was quite stuck at one point, at the end of the writing of ‘The Wildkin’s Curse’, and talked to Belinda about it. She made a suggestion which really helped, and sent me scrambling for a pen and paper. And I remember when she gave me her first novel manuscript to read, and I was a little apprehensive– what would I say if it wasn’t any good? But then I read it and was just flooded with joy and relief. It was brilliant! And I rang her straightaway and she came round with champagne and we talked about the book for hours, and since then it’s been a very easy, beautiful, natural thing to do – to trust each other and be able to talk things over, and sometimes help each other out by providing a sounding board – a listening ear that knows as much about the craft of writing as you do.
4. What’s the best thing about your sister’s new book?
It’s a really thrilling adventure set during the French Revolution – Belinda’s writing is so vivid, you can really see the glittering court and smell the rubbish in the streets, and you feel a real sense of danger during their escape from Paris. It’s brilliant!
5. What’s the best thing about your own book?
The Wildkin’s Curse is filled with magic and adventure and mystery and romance. There are so many twists and turns you are never sure what’s going to happen next. It’s the kind of book that will (hopefully) keep you up late at night, reading under your bedclothes with a torch!

6. Now, if I was in a bookstore and could only buy ONE book, should I buy yours or your sister’s? Why?
I have never been able to go to a bookstore and only buy one book! I always buy at least 5. I’d rather have only vegetable soup for dinner and spend my hard-earned coins on books. So I would suggest buying all of our books – only I’ve written 23 books & Belinda’s written 10 and walking out of a bookstore with 33 books may be just a little excessive. How about you buy two of each? Belinda’s ‘Locket of Dreams’ and ‘The Ruby Talisman’ and ‘The Starthorn Tree’ and The Wildkin’s Curse by me.
7. Okay, last question. What else should I know about you, your sister and/or your books?
It may interest you to know our great-great-great-great-great-grandmother, Charlotte Waring, published the first children’s book published in Australia. Called ‘A Mother’s Offering To Her Children by a Lady Long Resident in New South Wales’, it was published in 1841 and was an instant bestseller. First editions are now worth $50,000 (and, no, I don’t have one!)
Wow. THAT is an amazing fact. Shame no one saved a copy for a future great-great-great-great-great granddaughter (or two). 
Thanks so much for dropping by Kate. I have really enjoyed having you and Belinda here. 
You can buy The Wildkin’s Curse online and in any good bookstore.

Two Sisters Tell: Part 1

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I love having visitors here on my blog, but am especially excited about my next two visitors. See, Kate Forsyth and Belinda Murrell are not just authors – they are authors who are also sisters. And, on top of that, they both had a book released on May 1. What a celebration!

I thought I would invite them to be interviewed on my blog, and wondered would happen if I asked them both the same questions. Will their answers match – or will they contradict each other?

So, first up, here’s what Belinda had to say. Welcome, Belinda Murrell
 .

1.      Can you tell us a bit about your new book?
The Ruby Talisman is an exciting time slip adventure where my modern day heroine, Tilly, falls asleep wearing an old ruby pendant and is magically transported back in time to the glittering and opulent court of Queen Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XVI. Tilly wakes up in Versailles on July 14th, 1789, the day the peasants storm the Bastille, sparking violent uprisings against the aristocrats all over the country. Tilly sets off on a series of terrifying adventures throughout France to help her aristocratic ancestor Amelie-Mathilde escape the dangers and chaos of the French Revolution. Two girls – Tilly and Amelie, born more than two hundred years and a world apart, until the day the Ruby Talisman brings them together to fight side by side. It’s exciting stuff!
2.      It’s pretty special to have two sisters having new books published on the same day. Were books a big part of your childhood and youth? Tell us about it.
Our childhood was filled with stories and books, and we always had very rich imaginations (some would say over-active imaginations!). We were always voracious readers – devouring a wide range of books – fantasy, adventure, history, mysteries, folklore and animal tales. Our mum encouraged us to write stories, plays and poems which we ‘published’ with hand drawn illustrations. It was one of our favourite things to do – that is if we weren’t curled up somewhere reading a book, or playing some fantastic game based on whatever we were reading at the time!
3.      What’s it like having a sister who is also an author? Do you give each other feedback on works in progress? Help each other in other ways?
Kate and I love being authors, and it is a wonderful experience to share. It’s nice because now, we are often invited to literary festivals and functions together, and do spend a lot of time together. It’s nice to have someone to share the ups and downs with, because as a writer you spend so much time alone locked in your office inside your own head. Kate and I tend not to read each other’s manuscripts until they are finished – we find it’s better that way. Kate and I both have strong opinions on how things should be done, and there are already enough similarities between our work. We do help each other in so many other ways, whether talking through a sticky plot problem that is bothering us, helping to look after each other’s children or giving each other a stern talking-to, when we are doing too much, or getting stressed from juggling the many demands of motherhood, career, family and writing.
4.      What’s the best thing about your sister’s new book?
Kate’s writing is so vivid and real, that you find yourself completely transported to another world – a magical, fantastical world where all things are possible. Her characters are rich and funny and lovably flawed. Like me – Kate loves a great, exciting adventure!
5.      What’s the best thing about your own book?
I love the setting of The Ruby Talisman in eighteenth century France during the French Revolution. There is the contrast between the opulence of Queen Marie-Antoinette’s court at Versailles, with the starvation and misery of the peasants. The history of the revolution is fascinating with so many opportunities for danger and adventure, and I love my characters – modern day Tilly who is feisty and independent, with aristocratic Amelie, who is torn from her luxurious lifestyle and loses everything she knows and loves.
6.      Now, if I was in a bookstore and could only buy ONE book, should I buy yours or your sister’s? Why?
Oh  – that’s too hard!! Of course I want you to buy Kate’s book because she is such a brilliant and enthralling writer – but please buy my book too!
7.      Okay, last question. What else should I know about you, your sister and/or your books?
Both Kate and I would love a pet monkey. When we were growing up, our dad was a vet so we lived in a house filled with animals – dogs, cats, lambs, calves, ducks, piglets, horses, snakes, rats, possums even a baby wallaby who lived in a sack on the kitchen door. Consequently both our books are filled with many wonderful animal characters. But both of us particularly love monkeys – perhaps because they are so cheeky, mischievous and funny, and as children we would always ask our parents for a pet monkey. The answer, sadly was always no! In our latest books, we both (by total coincidence) have cheeky monkey characters – mine is a naughty, sulky pet called Mimi, while Kate has a fantastical monkey-like creature called an omen-imp who can talk, and change shape into other creatures. 
Thanks so much for visiting, Belinda. 
That was fun. Drop back tomorrow to see Belinda’s sister Kate answer the same questions – let’s see just how in synch these sisters are.
In the meantime, you can buy Belinda’s latest book, The Ruby Talisman, online or in any good bookstore.
sallymurphy.com.au