LISTEN TO ME READ THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE WHAT ON EARTH INSTITUTE OF WONDER 

It’s an actual book. And it’s actually out. Just like the jasmine.

The What On Earth Institute of Wonder comes out 31 August. I’m excited and nervous all at once…..

One elephant, one kakapo, one unlicensed teenage driver, one boy waiting for the world to end and a twelve-year-old girl with a very special gift.

Sal has always had an affinity with animals – especially the lost kind. But when two rare and endangered creatures appear out of nowhere, life takes a detour into strange and uncharted territory.

Join Sal, Bartholomew and Roy on a mind-boggling expedition into the secrets of the Animal Kingdom with only an invisible map of the human heart to guide them. (Unless, of course, you count the talking parrot.) What on Earth could possibly go wrong…?

Ah….I’ll let you in on a secret. A lot!

I’m so excited and nervous that The What on Earth Institute of Wonder is coming out on the 31st of August.  If you adore animals and don’t mind a laugh, I reckon you’re going to love it. Well I hope you are. And there’s plenty of that in there too. Hope.

Stay tuned over the coming months for some sneak peaks and stories behind the story…

Recently, I was sitting at my desk in a bit of a funk. I was having problems with a story.

Big problems.

I couldn’t seem to get it to work no matter what I tried. I hated everything I was writing.  Maybe I don’t have any more stories, I worried. Fear curled up in the pit of my stomach like a sleeping snake.  So I just kept on writing  – anything! – trying not to disturb it.

Then one morning, early, while I was writing, writing, there was a scratchy kind of tapping noise at my office door.

I got up and opened it. And watched in disbelief  as a strange bird walked in, climbed up onto my desk and plonked itself next to my keyboard.

I had never seen a bird like it.

It was as big as a duck with owlish eyes and mossy green feathers.  And I don’t mean to be rude, but it was quite fat.

‘Well, since you seem to be all out of stories,’ said the strange bird, ‘how about you write one of mine?’

It can talk?

‘You better believe it,’ replied the bird. ‘And have I got a story for you.’

‘You do?’

‘I do.’

Well, I had to admit, I was intrigued. For a writer, that’s a good sign. So I inched towards my chair, trying not to go too close to the fat feathered creature, and sat down.

‘Ahem,’ I sorted of coughed, my hands hovering over the keyboard. ‘So..um.. what’s your name?’

‘Hector,’ said the bird, ‘And I am a kakapo. That’s K – A  – K – A – P – O.’

Glorious photo of a Kakapo by Mike Bodie

Elephants and pianos keep appearing in my work. 

There are pianos and elephants at The Grandest Hotel on Earth. And the new book I’m writing has them too!

Elephants are the most majestic creatures. They fill me with awe and wonder. When I came across Paul Barton and his piano playing for elephants, I was captivated. I have watched his clips on YouTube many times over.

I particularly love this one.

Peter the elephant’s love of music is undeniable. The music delights him. He has to move his body and he has to woop and holler. (His mate seems to be having a pretty good time too!) I think Peter feels exactly the same things I feel when I listen to music that I like. 

Take a look and see if you can relate to how Peter the Elephant feels when he listens to music. 

You know it’s been too long between posts when you can’t remember how to log in to your own website. Which could be good for security. Say if someone dangled me by my feet over a cliff and yelled “tell me the password to your website or it’s all over baby!” I could honestly reply “Well I’d genuinely love to help you but I can’t remember.” Might get me out of that sticky situation.

I’m beyond excited about my new book Vincent and The Grandest Hotel on Earth coming out on 2 July! You won’t believe this place. It really is wilder than the African savanna, more fantastical that Disneyland and more magical than Shangri-La. Can I just say pocket dogs and sloths…and wait till you hear about the rooms….

Stop the presses! (Do we still have presses these days?)

Today I witnessed an event that will surely go down in history.

Today I spotted the first ever book week Dr Boogaloo!

I had restrain myself from popping balloons and throwing children up into the air and screaming ‘Yippee! A book week Boogaloo! It’s a book week Dr Boogaloo!!!!’

The book week Dr Boogaloo -otherwise known as Beau! – had on a shiny silver suit and round glasses (which unfortunately don’t appear in the picture so you’ll just have to take my word for that). He looked  like a brand new pencil. Just like Dr Boogaloo!

Here’s Beau and me…

..and here’s another friend I made at lunch.

Beau you made me one very happy author today!!

And can I say your classmates were awesome too.(I’d mention them all by name but I forgot to get their parent’s permission. You know who you are guys!!) We even invented a new drink – SPROKE! (Sorry kids! I’ve already trademarked it. First in best dressed, you know how these things go. Got to be quick!  Insert winking emoji because I can’t work out how to yet…)

What a great day! Thanks to CBCA Lunch with the Stars. The roast chicken was tops!

Boy oh boy. It’s been a while. Forgive me for not posting but I’ve been out and about with Dr Boogaloo and The Girl Who Lost Her Laughter. And so much has happened, I’m not sure where to start!

Perhaps we’ll go back to Russ The Story Bus. Now THAT was fun. Russ the Story Bus is part of the SWF Festival of Moving Stories. It’s a big bus that travels round the countryside visiting schools and giving out brand new free books. I got to go cherry picking in Young – where I also ate too many prunes! Very NOT wise when you have long bus trips ahead. Sorry Mr Cheeseman. Mr Cheeseman was my driver! Luckily for me, Mr Cheeseman did not mind a prune himself so we made good company.

Mr Cheeseman likes BIG things.

He’s a very happy fellow and taking his picture with REALLY BIG things  makes him even happier. Note to self – only ever go on long road trips with very jolly people. So much fun!

Here’s Mr Cheeseman with a GIGANTIC tennis racquet in Barellan. Barellan is a tiny town where Aussie champion tennis player Evonne Goolagong grew up. (We made a special detour just to visit the gigantic racquet and we were very nearly late to school!)

And here’s a gigantic dog we saw in Yass! That’s a normal size dog next to him. You can just see the top of his head. I think Mr Cheeseman was too scared to stand next to this dog. Which was very sensible!

We also visited a gigantic guitar which made Mr Cheeseman as happy as a banjo player.

I love road trips. There’s something relaxing about being in transit. Going somewhere feels good.

And as well as seeking out GIGANTIC things, we did squeeze in a few school visits. The kids were so smart. It always blows me away how creative and clever kids are. We listened to different pieces of music and came up with ideas for stories and characters. Music is great for getting your magical thinking all fired up. Lots of writers use music to kickstart their imagination. If you get stuck with your creative writing you should try it.

Shoutout to Hay Public School, St Mary’s Primary School,  Cootamundra Public School, Young Public School, Young North Public School and Yass Public School. Thanks for having us! We had the best time!

Next week I’m hitting the road on Russ the Story Bus!

From Monday 23 October – Friday 27 October I’ll be at Library’s in Western Sydney doing author talks and workshops. You can find out exactly where I’ll be on my Events Page.

Then the week beginning 6 November we’re taking a long road trip out to Hay, Cootamundra, Young and Yass.

You can find out more about the SWF Children’s Festival of Moving Stories here.

Or here!

Apparently I’ll be getting my own headset microphone. I’m guessing that means I need to brush up on my dance moves?

I’m wishing I had the moves like these kids! There’s nothing quite like dancing in the dust….

If you’d like me to visit your school or festival, head on over to my contact page and drop me a line!