It’s way too long since I updated my blog, but I absolutely have to do it today, because my new book Fledgewitch is here! This is the second Dragons of Hallow book (and the follow-up to Spellhound, which came out last year) and I adore this cover by Martina Heiduczek.

Yes, there are dragons in this book. And witches. And a horned glob called Snort – that’s him you can see on the cover, peeping out from underneath Brim’s knitting. There’s also a rather gloomy paperknife, who was once a sword …

Book launches

If you’re in Tasmania, we’ll be launching Fledgewitch in three different locations during the April school holidays. The Hobart launch is at 10.30 am on Saturday April 13th at the State Library of Tasmania. You can register here (or you can just turn up on the day).

The George Town launch is at 10.30 am on Friday April 26th at the George Town Library. Register here (or just turn up). There will be a writing workshop for kids aged 8-12 years at 12.30 pm that same day, and you do need to register for that.

The Launceston launch is at 10.30 am on Saturday April 27th at the Launceston Library. Register here or just turn up.

Shortlist

I was very excited to see Spellhound on the shortlist for the Aurealis Award, even if they got the name of the book wrong. 🤣

The Ghost Book by Remy Lai is the only other one I’ve read, and it’s absolutely wonderful.

5 Writers 5 Minutes

Way back in 2020, in the middle of all the lockdowns, author Deborah Abela emailed me and three other children’s authors to see if we wanted to set up an online critique group, for feedback and support. We’ve been meeting once a month ever since, and it’s honestly one of the best things in my life.

As well as Deb, there’s Tristan Bancks, Sarah Armstrong and Zanni Louise, and you couldn’t find a kinder, more supportive bunch of writers.

Last year we started a podcast called 5 Writers 5 Minutes, where we try to talk about the craft of writing in 5 minute episodes. (They usually stretch a bit longer.) We’re getting great feedback from teachers, emerging writers, kids and pretty much everyone else who listens to it.

This week we’re talking about ‘Sparking the Action’, aka the inciting incident that sends your character hurtling into the story. You can find this and all other episodes here.

Good intentions

This is a big year for me, with two books coming out, and I’ve promised myself that I’m going to update this blog once a month. I’m also intending to set up a newsletter on substack, so I’ll let you know about that when it happens.

Meanwhile, happy reading!