sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

A Cover Reveal: Queen Narelle is coming

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Can you hear the trumpets sounding?

Da da da daaaaaaa.

Can you hear the drums drumming?

Bom bom bom bom bom bom bom bom

Can you hear the people cheering?

Hurrah hurrah hurrah hurrah hurrah

(You can’t? Well you’ll just have to imagine then!)

Please rise and welcome…

Queen Narelle!

Who is Queen Narelle? Well, as well as being the title of my upcoming verse novel, she is also a rather delightful, clever, and very regal cat. And today she is here because it is cover reveal day!

And, rather than keeping you (and Queen Narelle) waiting, here it is:

Isn’t it lovely? Simon O’Carrigan has done a beautiful job of bringing my little cat to life. And the design team at Walker Books have then worked some extra magic to make the cover simply scrumptious.

You do have to wait a little longer to find out what’s inside that cover – release date is June 3 – but I look forward to sharing Narelle’s story, as well as that of her human, Maddie, with readers of all ages.

It’s extra fitting that I am revealing the cover today, because Queen Narelle is a verse novel, and, of course,  today is Poetry Friday.  So, to top off the celebration, I thought I’d share a couple of cat poems. One of my own –  Marmalade and Marmaduke – published in the School Magazine and then brought to life with a reading by Geoffrey McSkimming, and artwork by Matt Ottley.

 

and another, a favourite from my childhood, by Eleanor Farjeon

Cats Sleep Anywhere

Cats sleep anywhere,
Any table, any chair
Top of piano, window-ledge,
In the middle, on the edge,
Open drawer, empty shoe,
Anybody’s lap will do!
Fitted in a cardboard box,
In the cupboard, with your frocks-
Anywhere! They don’t care!
Cats sleep anywhere.

by Eleanor Farjeon

I do love cat poems – and, while my dog George is less impressed, I cannot wait to share Queen Narelle with you, in paperback and in ebook format   in June.

Want more poems? Come with me – I am off to pounce on the delights of Poetry Friday, with the Roundup hosted by Jan at Bookseed Studio.

Cover Reveal: Bushfire

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I am always super excited to see the cover of a new book, but even more excited to get to share that cover with the rest of the world. So, with the release of next book-baby getting scarily close, it is with great delight that I reveal the cover of My Australian Story: Bushfire:

I hope you’ll agree it is a stunning cover. I love it: I feel that it manages to capture the sheer ferocity and frightening reality of the fire.

Bushfire, part of the My Australian Story imprint from Scholastic, is a fictional story but is set amidst the very real, terrible fires of  February 2009.  It was an honour to be asked to write about these events for the series, and I hope I’ve done them justice.

Bushfire is due for release on February 1, 2019, and is available for preorder from Booktopia and other good bookstores.

Cover Reveal: Looking Up

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What a great start to the year! I am loving 2017. Yesterday it was the release of Something Fishy. Today, it’s the discovery that my forthcoming junior novel, Looking Up, is on the Fremantle Press website.

 

So I figured it was a time to do a cover reveal here on the site. So, drumroll please [ba bump ba bump ba bump ba bump ba bump), here, ladies and gentlemen is the beautiful cover of Looking Up:

 

looking-up

The cover artwork is amazing, isn’t it. The illustrator, Aska, is so very talented!

Every new book is special to me, but there is something super lovely about being published by Fremantle Press. I have been submitting to them ever since I started writing for children. And, finally, I sent them the right book at the right time. Hooray!

Looking Up will be released in April this year. I can’t wait!

Cover Reveal: Sage Cookson’s Sweet Escape

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It’s Monday and I’m excited because I can finally reveal something that’s been in the works for a couple of years. A series! My very first series! Coming in July this year, with books 2 and 3 also being released this year.

So (drumroll please), here is the cover for book one:

Cover Sage Cookson 1

Sage Cookson is an ordinary Aussie girl. Her parents just happen to be television chefs, and Sage gets to travel with them as they seek out the best food from around Australia and around the world. It seems, though, that along with the fun of travel, comes plenty of adventure – and sometimes that adventure can get out of hand.

In Sage Cookson’s Sweet Escape, Sage and her parents find themselves lost in the bush after a chocolatier sees them as too much competition for his own culinary skills.

Published by New Frontier Publishing, Sweet Escape will be available from all good bookstores. Sage will also have her own website.

I’ll keep you informed about Sage and her adventures – and will reveal the cover of book two very soon. In the meantime, have a great week!

sallymurphy.com.au