Whee!

My Mum and Dad recently travelled to New Zealand to watch (and celebrate) as the All Blacks won the World Cup (All Blacks: if you’re reading this, my Dad is your #1 Fan!!).

While in NZ, they went shopping for a terrific kids picture book called Roadworks, which they found at this great childrens bookshop: Next Page Please.
(You can also get the Maori version of Roadworks at Next Page Please).

Fergus LOVES reading Roadworks and I love reading it to him, not only because it’s fun to read, with lots of rumbly jumbly roadworksy words, and not only because when we read it, he gets so excited he has to jump off the couch and run around the room shouting out the words (NO ONE WANTS A CRASH!), but also because it reminds me that my books are actually real and actually out there, in bookshops like this one.

How cool is that!!!???

And what a lovely place to shop for books…. I want to visit!!!

Back in September I presented at a fundraiser to raise money for book vans and libraries for parts of Japan hit by the earthquake and tsunami. It was a fab day and heaps of fun, and we recently recieved photos of our money in action.

Naoko Torizuka of the Japanese Board on Books for Young People (JBBY) wrote thathe money raised helped to fund a mobile book van, as well as a wooden library for children in Rikuzentakata city, one of the most damaged areas.  YAY!

Thanks to Jenni Woodroffe of the International on Books for Young People for inviting me to be part of the event, and to the Hyogo Centre for hosting

Well, he arrived two weeks overdue and in a real rush, but we’re very pleased to welcome our newest addition.

He’s two weeks old today, so our household is still reeling from the shock and sleep-loss, but he’s (mostly) a delight and (generally) sleeps well, so we’re enjoying the bleariness of caring for toddler and newborn (mostly)

Thanks to everyone for your well-wishes and for putting up with my this-pregnancy-is-well-overdue moaning and groaning.

I still think having a baby is like creating a book, but I must admit, you do get more sleep when it’s a book…

He’s due Friday, but like Baby #1, he still shows no signs of realising it.

Still, I’m optimistically typing this in the hope that if I don’t post this now, I won’t be able to do it later (because I’ll be rushing around birthing and feeding and catching up on sleeping)(come on baby!!).

So, since I’m faffing around waiting, I’ve composed a 10-step process that demonstrates why having a baby is like publishing a book:

Cooking a baby is much the same as cooking a book.

1) It seems to take much longer than you realise or even sign on for.

2) The first bit is by far the hardest: you are struck with nausea, your energy flags, you’re sure there’s no way you’ll ever reach halfway, let alone the finish line.

3) Once you’ve thrashed your way through the first trimester, you spend the next month or so confused. Did I actually write a book? Where has it gone? I don’t feel that different. I don’t look that different.

4) Then you get your edits back and you realise your life really has changed. You can’t wear all the things you used to love. You can’t do all the things you used to do.  In fact, important parts of you don’t even look how they used to.

5) You get used to the new you. You get used to doing things a bit differently (like getting out of bed). You accept you are on a collision course and nothing you can do now will wildly change the outcome.

6) Nothing happens.

7) Nothing happens.

8 ) Nothing happens.

9) You think you might have an exciting email from your editor. You don’t. You think you might have an exciting package in the mail. You don’t. You think you might take a long, relaxing bath. You can’t.

10) Finally, almost unexpectedly, something happens. It happens so quickly and so strangely that you almost can’t believe that it actually has happened. The proof, however, is in the tiny bundle you hold in your hands. Unspeakable joy and unspeakably fatigue. And it is only now that the real work begins. (And strangely, with time, you forget how harrowing it all was and you start to play with the idea of doing it all again. Ye gad!)

But me? Right now?

I figure I’m up to Step 9, although I’m probably closer to Step 7.

Oh well. I figure I’ll get to Step 10 eventually and by then I’ll be wishing for Step 11: Can’t-I-just-read-the-paper-and-have-a-coffee-in-a-quiet-sunny-place.

Wish me luck!!!

xxx

I’m happy to say that this week I recieved a FAB email from a young reader (and talented writer), Dalton Whittle, including a review of The Filth Licker, and Dalton has kindly allowed me to reproduce his review here. THANKS DALTON!

But beware: If you haven’t read The Filth Licker yet, you might want to *stop reading right now* because Dalton’s review discusses lots of secrets and twists. Better to read the book first, then read the review

So…stop reading here if you don’t want to read some massive spoilers…

Have you stopped?

OK. Here goes:

Dear Cristy,

Hello it’s me, Dalton Whittle (I came to Hyogo Prefectural Centre, where you did a talk).

I just finished The Filth Licker and I loved it! As you said at your talk, you think your books get better and better each time you write one. The Filth Licker is definitely my favourite so far, and I eagerly await Monster Matsuri to come out.

I liked how in The Filth Licker, Alex is developed into a main character, and also how Alex has a Pearl from Okuda’s necklace which protected him from Yokai.

The sickle weasels are in my opinion the scariest monsters featured in your books so far, the picture of them showing that they took control of Cait (page 151 I think) was very scary! Also the picture on page 180, with the sickle weasels surrounding Miku was scary as well. These are my two favourite pictures in Takeshita Demons so far.

I liked how we suspected Cait was a shape shifter, but Alex turned out to be a fox. Twists like this really made the book enjoyable. It took me a while to realise that burning the nest with the oil was too easy (it was a decoy). When the sickle weasel spirits combined due to this I was very surprised, and even more when Miku stumbled upon an even bigger nest!

The Filth Licker himself was also a great character, I liked it how he was a feeble but helpful Yokai who turned out to be brave (and awesome) by saving Miku’s life. I found it funny how Alex slept through the entire ordeal!

Overall I loved the setting of school camp and the first chapters of the book are gripping and really make you want to read more.

The telling of scary stories around the fire was a good part of the story because Miku unintentionally contributed to the “hundred” stories and helped to create the demon sickle weasels.

The ending of the book was great and left me wanting to read more especially after the climactically cool battle scene. The preview of Monster Matsuri is very intriguing and really makes the reader want to read it.

Having read both of Takeshita Demons, to find that the second book was this good, I can’t wait to read the third! The Takeshita Demons series is excellent, gripping you with adventure and horror while teaching you about Yokai in the process.

Wonderful books!

Good luck with your coming child.

Thanks Cristy

Dalton Whittle

THANK YOU DALTON!!! What a great review and thanks so much for taking the time to write to me!!

Super-strength and super-speed are so passé. What you need are some Super Cool bits of Japanese demon anatomy.

Check these out:

1)     SKIN: Ushi oni (Cow demon)
牛鬼 (うしおに)

A nasty yokai who loves sinking ships and eating fishermen, the ushi-oni (also known as gyuuki) lives in the ocean.

He has many awesome body parts: claws like elephant tusks, muscles that never get tired, eyes that can see for miles…

But his Super Cool feature is his skin: when he’s swimming, his skin stretches out to form individual fins and flaps that help him to shoot through the water at top speed.

2)     STOMACH: Umi nyōbō (Wife of the sea)
海女房（うみにょうぼう）

A dedicated wife, the umi nyubou spends much of her time preparing pickled fish (for her children to eat) or gathering sea snake venom (to protect her family from attack by humans).

She has a Super Cool digestive system, with three stomachs: one for her, one for her husband, and one for her children.

She uses the stomachs like cupboards, storing different food for different people. How convenient!

3)     NOSE: Sagari (Hanging horse-head)
下がり (さがり)

Horse heads that hang upside-down like bats, sagari are said to be the ghosts of horses that died near trees.

They eat human blood, and can sense human auras using their Super Cool nose hairs.

These moustache-like tentacles can move independently and have also been known to shoot electricity like lightning.

4)     TAIL: Nobusuma (Flying squirrel)
野衾 (のぶすま)

A fire-breathing, clairvoyant squirrel, the nobusuma has sharp black teeth and spiky claws.

Able to fly, although it has no wings, the nobusuma can blow its body up like a helium balloon, but the power for lift-off comes from his Super Cool tail.

By slamming his tail onto the ground, the nobusuma can launch his body into the air. Newton’s Third Law of Motion in action!

5)     FINGERNAILS: Kokuri-babā (Hag of the Old Priest’s Quarters)
古庫裏婆 (こくりばばあ)

The kokuri-babā lives alone in an old temple and wears a white kimono made of hair.

She may look like a frail, old woman, but when she’s hungry, her Super Cool fingernails become as strong as pickaxes, allowing her to rip into old graves to find dead things to eat.

6)     TEETH: Gangi kozō (Zig-zag boy)
岸涯小僧 (がんぎこぞう)

Zig-zag boy is an amphibian yokai who lives in rivers, surviving on raw fish. He has no friends and no family, but he does have one redeeming feature: his Super Cool teeth.

Incredibly pointy and stronger than steel, Zig-zag boy’s teeth allow him to rip into raw fish, tearing them apart. If he loses a tooth, another will grow back right where he needs it.

7)     LUNGS: Dorotabou (Rice paddy zombie)
泥田坊 (どろたぼう)

The tortured ghost of a farmer who lost his land, the dorotabou rises from the mud to haunt his old fields.

Surviving on leaves, leeches and frogs, this mud-dwelling yokai has Super Cool lungs that allow him to breathe even when submerged in mud.

8)     EARS: Suiko (Water tiger)
水虎（すいこ）

A blood-sucking kappa with the fangs, claws and power of a tiger, the suiko lives in fast flowing rivers. He is an accomplished killer, but also has a softer side: the suiko likes to sunbathe, and he likes to chat.

His Super Cool ear is divided into three parts, allowing him to understand Bird Talk, Fish Talk and Human Talk as well as his native Yokai Talk.

Thanks to manga and yokai legend Shigeru Mizuki and his awesome reference Yōkai Daizukai for the inspiration.

They were all part of my busy last week, which was so packed with visits and adventure that today I have a head cold and am staying home to do chores instead of anything remotely exotic

But here is my week in three parts:

1) A thankyou letter and umi-bozu art!

This week at Dongara District High School, I also recieved a thankyou letter and some art…COOL!

I was also lucky enough to get several thankyou speeches from students, and that’s always a thrill.

An umi-bozu threatens a passing ship.

(BTW, I think you’re very brave to speak in front of all your friends and classmates) (I find it’s much harder to speak in front of people I know than total strangers).

So thank you for your thank yous! I loved them!!

2) A chance to try shodo!

Over the weekend I did a ‘meet the author’ session for a fundraiser for the International Board on Books for Young People at the Hyogo Centre as part of an afternoon of fabulous presentations, one of which was made by the ‘Kobe Girls’, Miki and Maiko.

It was great! I was able to try:

'tomo' or friend, painted by yours truly

- shodo calligraphy (harder than it looks!),

- sumi-e ink painting (impossible!), AND

- the girls had cooked up a storm of modan-yaki (like okonomiyaki but with more ingredients), gopan (rice bread) and macha pound cake (green tea flavoured cake) for everyone to enjoy. YUM!

3) A recipe for macha pound cake!

Here is Miki and Maiko’s recipe for macha pound cake:
おいしい！

Macha pound cake

90g sugar
90g butter
1 egg
90g flour
10g macha powder (check out your local Japanese food store for this)
1g baking power
30g azuki beans

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Melt the butter, mix in the the sugar, then the egg, then the flour, macha and baking powder.

Add the azuki and bake for 30 minutes. YUM!

For more on the fundraiser…

Miki and Maiko show a slide of a book van in action (thanks to Graham Blackwell for the photo)

For more on IBBY’s fundraising efforts for Japan, check out the IBBY website.

Read more about the project (in Japanese) at: http://www.ehonproject.org/iwate/

To read an article by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper go to: Picture books bring smiles to young earthquake victims

To donate funds to the IBBY-Japan 2011 project go to: IBBY Children in Crisis Fund

Please mark your donations IBBY-Japan Appeal

Hooray!

- I am off to Dongara for an authory visit…hooray! Really looking forward to meeting everyone and have some fun activities planned. (It’ll be a 3-day visit counting travel time, so THANKS to hubby and toddler for manning the deck while I’m away xxx)

- Am also looking forward to a Meet the Authors workshop at the Hyogo Centre on the weekend. It’s a fundraiser for book vans in Japan, so if you’re interested in Japan, writing or just a fun afternoon, come on down!

A fisherman farewells the Dragon King and his castle; by Yoshitoshi Tsukioka, 1886

Mer-monster!

For the last few months I’ve been beavering away at Takeshita Demons 4, tentatively titled Mer-monster. It’s mostly set underwater, in the palace of the Dragon King.

This is the book I worked on at the SCWBI Rottnest Retreat, huddled in my cabin with the heater raging after dark.

This is also the book I have been working on during Art Dates with the fabulous Shirley Marr, raging YA writer and author of Fury. Shirley and I have been meeting at TxtSHOTS, which comes totally recommended to anyone wanting great food, great coffee, great chilli hot chocolate,  and a great space in which to work all day (powerpoints included!).

I’ve also been working on this book after gym sessions, while Fergus is still in creche. And at lunchtimes, when Fergus is napping. And at home, on the days when my fab hubby has Fergus at the zoo or in the garden or deeply into Duplo (thank you!!).

And the prognosis?

I”m please to say that draft zero is nearly FINISHED!!!

The Dragon King, by DR Studios

I love the manuscript! There’s a couple of chapters to go and I can see the end in sight. And it’s all on track HOORAY!

Hooray (and thank goodness) for the good times!

The times when the writing won’t flow and the plot won’t work and I bite my nails and haunt the fridge and generally mope…

are nothing compared to

…the times when my fingers fly across the keyboard and the right words spring into my head and the hours pass without me noticing (I even laugh at my own jokes). These happy times are the drug of being a writer.

But what to do AFTER Mer-monster is finished?

How to begin again? There’s a long editorial process about to start on Mer-Monster, but already, I’m worried about what to do next.  If I leave it too long to start a new project, I’ll end up too scared to even begin.

Being a writer is very strange.

The Kumiko and the Dragon books, by Briony Stewart, are magical and charming and recommended for readers aged 7+. Meet Briony at this fundraiser and pick her brain for writing tips!

Writing tips, cultural gems and more…

Ever thought you could write a book, but don’t know where to start or how to get published?

If so, come along to the Hyogo Prefectural Government Cultural Centre‘s Meet the Authors workshop and learn the tricks of the trade from Briony Stewart and myself…

Proceeds to Japan Bibliotheraphy Appeal

All proceeds will go to help fund a fleet of minivans for the International Board on Books for Young People Japan Bibliotherapy Appeal. These vans deliver books to children affected by the earthquake and tsunami for a much needed therapy program.

Plus Japanese cultural presentations

Even better, Meet the Authors will be preceded by a Japanese cultural presentation at 3pm by two visiting university interns from Hyogo Prefecture. The workshop fee includes all sessions and I can totally recommend them: they’re fun and interesting and if you love Japan, you’ll feel right at home.

Saturday 24 September
3pm-6.oopm
Hyogo Cultural Centre
$20 per person

Be sure to reserve your place by calling (08) 9385 9002 or emailing hyogoprogram@iinet.net.au

Download the flyer here