Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Christchurch Kids Blog, competitions, guest post, Japanese demons, Japanese mythology, Japanese superstitions, Mer-monster, Takeshita Demons on July 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Want to discover some new Japanese demons and monsters?
Want to hear about some spooky Japanese superstitions and proverbs?
Want to win a copy of Takeshita Demons?
All this month I’m blogging as a Star Author for the Christchurch Kids Blog…
I’ll cover all the above topics and more, so head on over and join in the fun.
And in more exciting news…
I’m working on Takeshita Demons 4 – working title: MER-MONSTER!!! It’s going really well and I’m excited! Woo hoo!
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged announcement, Babe, competitions, diversity, Frances Lincoln, Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Childrens Book Award, Helen Limon, multiculturalism, Om Shanti, Seven Stories, Tom Avery, Too Much Trouble on June 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This year’s Diverse Voices award was presented last night at Seven Stories, the UK’s national centre for children’s books…
and…
It was won by Helen Limon for Om Shanti, Babe, a story about growing up, family and friendships that the judges described as ‘Fabulous . . . laugh-out-loud funny’.
The closing date for the next award is 31st December 2012. For entry forms contact Helena McConnell
Want to enter in 2012? This is what the judges are looking for…
The judges looked for a strong story that an 8 to 12-year-old would want to read rather than a worthy book that overtly explores social issues. The decision to give the Award to Om Shanti, Babe was unanimous. The panel said: “The story is authentic, the narrative voice rock solid throughout, and it’s laugh-out-loud funny.”
More on Om Shanti, Babe
Om Shanti, Babe is the tale of teenage Cassia, who is forced to drop her preconceived ideas when she joins her mother on a business trip to south India, takes in fair trade and environmental issues alongside Cassia’s struggles to accept her mother’s new Indian partner, her spiky tussles with fashion-mad friend-to-be Priyanka and her crushes on pop star Jonny Gold, and Dev, a boy she meets on a train.
More on the Diverse Voices award
The Award, now in its third year, was founded jointly by Frances Lincoln Limited and Seven Stories, the national centre for children’s books, in memory of Frances Lincoln (1945-2001) to encourage and promote diversity in children’s fiction. The prize of £1,500 plus the option for Janetta Otter-Barry at Frances Lincoln Children’s Books to publish the novel is awarded to the best manuscript for eight to 12-year-olds that celebrates diversity in the widest possible sense.
Ongoing success for the award…
To date Janetta has commissioned or published six books by writers who have entered the award: the Takeshita Demons trilogy by Cristy Burne, winner of the inaugural award, Too Much Trouble by Tom Avery, the 2010 winner, and A Hen in the Wardrobe and Chess and Chapattis, the first two titles in the Cinnamon Grove series by Wendy Meddour, who entered the 2009 award.
Paying tribute to the success of the Award, Janetta said:
”The exceptional quality of the winners of the first two awards is a real measure of the success of our Diverse Voices joint venture with Seven Stories. I am proud that the Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award is achieving exactly what it set out to do – to discover and encourage new writers of exciting, culturally diverse fiction.”
More about the shortlist
By coincidence, both the winner and the second-placed author in this international award are from Newcastleupon-Tyne (the judges are not given any details about the writers until they have made their decision).
Karon Alderman, who teaches literacy skills to adults, received the Highly Commended award for For Keeps, the tale of a young asylum seeker and her family.
Australian author Michelle Richardson received a Special Mention (an award which the judges can choose to give to a manuscript that shows great potential but is not ready for publication) for Tek, about a young girl from the Aboriginal Australian Murrinh-Patha community who can communicate with the ngepan, the spirits of the dead.
Meet Helen Limon…
The winning author, Helen Limon, lives in rural Northumberland with her partner, a painter. Her daughter, who is studying tailoring in London, had an influence on the character of Priyanka with her passion for fashion. Helen spent her childhood mostly abroad until she was 10, including four years in Penang, Malaysia, where she learned about life in England from second-hand children’s books.
“Until we came back to England, in the 1970s, I thought most British kids were a cross between The Family from One End Street and Enid Blyton’s Famous Five.”
After spending her early adulthood travelling in Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, Helen arrived in the North-East as a student at Newcastle University. She started writing in 2000 when she set up a children’s literacy project in a neglected allotment behind a Metro station in Newcastle. The project turned into a publishing venture for local authors and illustrators, Zed Said. Helen has just finished a PhD in creative writing at Newcastle University.
But where do you get your ideas?
The inspiration for Om Shanti, Babe came from encounters with local people on a 2009 visit to Kerala.
She said: “Talking to the mothers about their lives and their ambitions for their families, and listening to what the children said they wanted, inspired the story and made me conscious of the social and environmental themes that are woven into the book.
“My characters are not the sort of children that get written about much and I lived most of my life not in England, so I do sort of know what it is like to be different inside your head even if you look like everyone else on the outside.”
From left to right, Helen Limon (2011 winner) Tom Avery (2010 winner – Too Much Trouble was released on the night) and Karon Alderman (2011 runner up)
And a Too Much Trouble party to boot!
The presentation at Seven Stories also celebrated the publication of Tom Avery’s contemporary Oliver Twist story, Too Much Trouble, winner of last year’s Award.
Presenting the Award, John Nicoll, Managing Director of Frances Lincoln, said:
“I’m delighted, once again, that the judges have found such a worthy winner, whose writing both entertains, and helps the young reader to understand the ever more complex society in which they are growing up. Truly this seems like a worthwhile project and one of which Frances would have been proud.”
Accepting the Award, Helen Limon said:
“I am thrilled to have won this award. Om Shanti, Babe was inspired by the families I met in India and the very positive response to the book is a tribute to them. Growing up, making friends and forming loving families across cultures is what my story and Diverse Voices is all about.”
Kate Edwards, chief executive of Seven Stories, added:
“Last year’s Diverse Voices Award winner Too Much Trouble, deserves to be a big hit. It’s a great story that brings the plight of many young victims of crime and exploitation to the fore. I’m delighted that 2011’s winning manuscript is another page-turning adventure, this time set in India. Seven Stories is committed to this prize and our work to promote new storytelling and to celebrate and recognise different cultures and experiences. The strength of our partnership with Frances Lincoln Children’s Books and the enthusiasm of the judges have, once again, made the Award a great success.”
The winner of the Award is chosen by an independent panel of judges. The distinguished panel of judges includes:
The Shortlist
The judges discussed a short list of four titles, without knowing anything about the authors. The range of material
impressed them. The decision to give the Award to the winner was unanimous.
The Winner: Om Shanti, Babe by Helen Limon
Synopsis: Cassia joins her mother, who runs a fair trade craft shop, on a buying trip to India, a country that she
mostly knows from her Bollywood dance routines. Troubled by a friendship gone sour at home, and feeling out of
place in a new culture that challenges her assumptions, she reacts badly to her mother’s relationship with an Indian
colleague. As Cassia sheds some of her preconceived ideas, she finds friends where she least expects to and starts to
realise her dream to follow her mother into business.
Highly Commended: For Keeps by Karon Alderman
Synopsis: Benedicta (Ben), her mother and younger sister are asylum seekers from Cameroon. While their
uncertain future and hand-to-mouth existence cast a shadow over Ben’s friendships and fun times at school glee
club and on church outings, she has decided that Newcastle is her home. With her friend Becky, she resolves to
help a bullied schoolfriend, Jaz.
Special Mention: Tek by Michelle Richardson
Synopsis: Tek accompanies her cold and distant father, an expert on Australian Aboriginal culture, to a desert
army base where her gift for communicating with the ngepan (spirits of the dead) surfaces just when it is most
inconvenient. (Michelle lives in Australia. She did not attend the ceremony.)
Enter the 2012 award!
The closing date for the next award is 31st December 2012. For entry forms contact Helena McConnell
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged competitions, getting published, Perth Writers Festival, resources, writing on March 4, 2011 | 6 Comments »
I am EXHAUSTED and I didn’t present a thing today!
Instead I attended the Perth Writers Festival’s day-long workshop, the A-Z of Getting Published, and it was great! There were 200 people there and the entire session was MCed by Angela Meyer of Literary Minded, who kept things cool, calm and interesting all day long, despite Perth’s heat, the bright lights and the long hours.
‘D’ is for Don’t Give Up
The lineup was terrific, with info on how to get published, trends in publishing, how to get an agent, how to work with an editor, how to choose a publishing house, etc, etc. (See below for my fave moments from each presenter).
Many people may have come away from the day depressed by the reality of how hard it is to get published.
To these folk I say: don’t give up! All this doom and gloom is just part of the process of testing how badly you want to be a writer. The weak will fall by the roadside but the passionate will drag themselves from their knees and keep writing.
The publishing secret they didn’t reveal: Writing competitions!
I think one huge (and encouraging) thing was missed during the day: Writing competitions! Entering legit competitions is a great way to get your work under the noses of publishers and out of the slushpile.
There are heaps of great competitions out there, but also some less reputable ones that charge huge fees and offer little in return. The big rule is: do your research before you enter!
Some great writing competitions that are well worth the price of entering (or free to enter), spring immediately to mind (but there are a gazillion more and many are genre-specific…just Google):
)But back to the A-Z of getting published…..
Favourite moments from the day.
Meredith Curnow, publisher from Random House:
“Some people have voice. Some people can long-jump. We all have things we wish we were good at.”
Mandy Brett, senior editor with Text Publishing:
“You have to ‘hear’ what is wrong with your work. Like music, you can develop your ear. You need to know what good writing sounds like.”
Clive Newman, foreign rights manager at Fremantle Press:
Fremantle Press don’t mind taking risks: they picked up Elizabeth Jolley after she had been rejected 57 times; they published Craig Silvey after his manuscript had languished on the desk of an unnamed major publishing house for two years; they took time to edit and trim A.B. Facey’s A Fortunate Life and gave it a life when noone else would.
John Harman, writer:
“Which is more important, plot or character? That’s like asking Cathy Freeman, which is your most important leg?”
Lyn Tranter, agent with Australian Literary Management:
Agents are worth their weight in gold: L M Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables, apparently sold her copyright to this work for a pittance and spent the rest of her life trying to get it back. So book contracts were complicated even back then! As Lyn said: “What she needed was an agent.”
Terri-ann White from UWA publishing
Terri-ann gave an interesting breakdown of where the money goes when a consumer buys a book: 10% to the author; 20-27.5% to the book distributor; 40% to the book seller and the rest to the publisher (0ut of which comes expenses including printing, design, editing, etc). The average number of copies sold when it comes to Australian fiction is 919. A good seller sells around 3000 copies.
Amanda Curtin, freelance book editor and writer
Amanda recommended authors create a style guide for their work, listing the correct spelling of character names, a family tree and chronology. This, Amanda said, not only helps you write your book, it also helps the editor who will be assigned to edit your work once it is accepted.
Emma Morris, publicist with Scribe
Emma’s message: Do any interview that comes your way. Forget your nerves and talk about your passion: the book. And embrace social media: Twitter, blogging, FaceBook.
Any other tips?
Do you have tips to share from today’s session or from your own publishing journey? I’d love to hear what you think!
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged competitions, diversity, Frances Lincoln, writing on January 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
THIS PRESS RELEASE WENT OUT THIS WEEK: HAVE YOU READ IT YET?
What are you waiting for???
REMINDER OF DEAD LINE - it is not too late to enter…..
The closing date for the current Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Award is Friday 25th February 2011.
“Gather your courage and just do it: this award is the break you’ve been looking for.
Anyone with a secret manuscript in their bottom drawer or a story brewing in their head should enter the Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Childrens Book Award. It’s free to enter, you can enter by email, and if you make the shortlist, your writing life will never be the same.”
From Cristy Burne, winner of the inaugural award with Takeshita Demons (selected for Children’s Book Week, Booked Up and January 2011 Blue Peter Book Club title)
“Hello all you budding writers,
Just a year ago I was in your shoes, attempting feverishly to finish that manuscript ready for the big deadline. The good news is that you still have time. You still have time to tweak that bit of dialogue, tidy up that plot twist and sharpen that characterisation.
Diverse Voices gives you the opportunity to meet some wonderful people, have your manuscript read by a host of excellent critics and possibly work with the great team at Frances Lincoln to publish your book. So don’t give-up, don’t stop now, don’t falter at the final hurdle.
All the very best, hopefully meet you one day!”
From Tom Avery, winner of the 2010 award with Too Much Trouble (publication: June 2011)
Frances Lincoln Limited, the award-winning publisher, and Seven Stories, the Centre for Children’s Books, are delighted with the success to date of the Diverse Voices Award, set up in memory of Frances Lincoln (1945-2001) to encourage and promote diversity in children’s fiction. The prize of £1,500 plus the option for Janetta Otter-Barry at Frances Lincoln Children’s Books to publish the novel is awarded to the best manuscript for 8-to-12-year-olds that celebrates diversity in the widest possible sense.
“The exceptional quality of the winners of the first two awards is a real measure of the success of our Diverse Voices joint venture with Seven Stories.
And by the time the third winner is announced in June 2011 I will have commissioned or published six books by writers who entered the award: the Takeshita Demons trilogy by Cristy Burne, winner of the inaugural award, Too Much Trouble by Tom Avery, the 2010 winner, and A Hen in the Wardrobe and Chess and Chapattis, the first two titles in the Cinnamon Grove series by Wendy Meddour, who entered the 2009 award.
I am proud that the Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Award is achieving exactly what it set out to do – to discover and encourage new writers of exciting, culturally diverse fiction.”
From Janetta Otter-Barry at Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
For full details about the award and to download an entry form go to
www.sevenstories.org.uk
Alternatively, contact the Award Co-ordinator, Helena McConnell by email diversevoices@sevenstories.org.uk or helena@sevenstories.org.uk
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged bad habits, competitions, editing on November 2, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Over the next month, Takeshita Demons is being featured in editing and writing workshops held by Seven Stories in the UK, as part of promotions for the 2011 Diverse Voices childrens book award (which you should enter if you are an as-yet unpublished childrens author)(It’s INTERNATIONAL and FREE TO ENTER and you can ENTER BY EMAIL!)(Go! Go! Go!)
EDIT
ING TAKESHITA DEMONS
As part of these workshops I was asked to think about what changes occured as a result of the editing process for Takeshita Demons:
The big ones, of course, were my editor’s request for another chapter (can you guess which one?), and the request by my First Draft Reading Team (=my parents and husband) for a more comprehensive and satisfying conclusion to the plot (I have a horrible tendency to rush my first draft finales).
But I’m also surprised by what a HUGE difference the little changes make. I’ve discovered my three worst writing habits, and am curbing them thanks to extensive use of the DELETE key.
These habits are:
1) TERRIBLE HABIT #1
AT ALL. It is not useful at all to add this phrase to every sentence. Nothing at all is gained. It just takes up extra space that could be used to do something more interesting. There is no reason at all to include it.
2) TERRIBLE HABIT #2
A BIT. I get a bit worried when this phrase crops up. It’s a bit of a waste to include it. I used it when I was trying to build a bit of tension, but it doesn’t add anything. It’s a bit superfluous.
3) TERRIBLE HABIT #3
PRETTY. It’s pretty annoying to see my first drafts are covered in this word. I use it pretty much every time I want to sound cool, but it’s pretty easy to see that it doesn’t do much to earn its place in the sentence. Now I’m pretty hardcore about deleting it every time it crops up.
TAKE A BREAK FROM TERRIBLE HABITS
Argh. It hurts me just to read those sentences now. But it’s been extremely useful to have someone wave the red flag over these TERRIBLE HABITS. If I get annoyed with them, imagine the effect on my readers!
OTHER EDITING THOUGHTS
It is very useful to have someone with skills, experience, knowledge and passion look through your work and make suggestions.
My Takeshita Demons editor also picked up on some grammatical/spelling errors I’ve been repeating for years and (hopefully) I repeat them no longer. (Keep in mind that I also work as an editor, so having simple errors highlighted was both embarassing and useful.)
Also, I was surprised by how much discussion went into small things (the flavour of pizza that the Takeshitas might have in their freezer), but was also very happy to realise that most of the book was working for most people. What a relief!
Takeshita Demons: The Filth Licker proofs will be out in a few months (request a copy from Frances Lincoln Childrens Publishing) and I’m almost finished the first draft of Takeshita Demons: Monster Matsuri, so editing time is rolling around for me again. This time, I’ll be armed with more weapons than ever before!
Anyone have any TERRIBLE writing habits they’d like to share?
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged announcement, competitions, cover, Filth Licker, win on October 16, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Takeshita Demons – The Filth Licker is part of the Book Cover Wars at the fabulous Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books. Head over there, check out the covers, and vote for your chance to win a signed copy of Charlie Higson’s The Enemy. You can vote and win wherever you live: awesome!
Round one books are:
Book One: Cristy Burne – Takeshita Demons: The Filth Licker (June 2011)
Book Two: Tom Percival – Tobias and the Spooky Ghost Book (Sept 2010)
Book Three: Steve Feasey – Changeling: Zombie Dawn (2011)
Book Four: Adam Jay Epstein & Andrew Jacobson – The Familiars (Sept 2010)
To win, all you need to do is:
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged competitions, Frances Lincoln, multiculturalism on May 27, 2010 | 8 Comments »
Takeshita Demons was the winner of the inaugural Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award for diversity in children’s fiction.
And this year’s award shortlist is nearly due to be released! Woo hoo! Good luck everyone!
Did you enter this year?
If no, you totally should enter next year, especially if you tick any of these boxes:
Here’s some tips if you’re thinking of entering
The Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award is for a manuscript that celebrates cultural diversity in the widest possible sense, either in terms of its story or in terms of the ethnic and cultural origins of its author.
The prize will be awarded to the best work of unpublished fiction for 8–to-12-year-olds by a writer, aged 16 years or over, who has not previously published a novel for children.
The work must be written in English and it must be a minimum of 10,000 words and a maximum of 30,000 words.
The winner of the Award is chosen by an independent panel of judges. The distinguished panel of judges includes:
Trevor Phillips – Chair of The Equality and Human Rights Commission
Jake Hope – Children’s Librarian for Lancashire Libraries and a freelance consultant
Geraldine Brennan – Journalist and former Books Editor at the TES
Mary Briggs – Co-Founder of Seven Stories, the Centre for Children’s Books
Janetta Otter-Barry – Janetta Otter-Barry Books at Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
More on Frances Lincoln and the Diverse Voices award
The Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award was created in memory of Frances Lincoln (1945 – 2001) , the founder of London-based publishing house Frances Lincoln Limited. Frances Lincoln died, aged 55, in February 2001.
Frances was described by Julia Eccleshare in the TES as “the publisher best known for pioneering multicultural books for children.” Michael Rosen, the Children’s Laureate, commented that,” Publishing has lost a brave and innovative person who has left behind her, much too soon, a thriving legacy.”
Frances’ husband, John Nicoll, now runs the company. Frances Lincoln publish well over 100 new books a year, and have nearly 1000 in print. Their turnover is around £7 million per annum and they employ about 40 people.
The award is held in conjunction with Seven Stories, the Centre for Children’s Books, an innovative cultural centre for children’s literature and funded in part by Arts and Business.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged baby, competitions, writing on March 16, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Good night.
I’m absolutely exhausted…
Way too many weeks spent living in three houses (almost down to two), buying a car (almost bought), wrestling a dog (gone to my parents’), juggling a baby (now asleep), trying to strip paint (stripped) and paint paint (one coat down), trying to eat healthy (does fruit bread count?) and stay sane (how many tins of peas can I fit up my nose?)…the usual.
But, just cause I’m falling over in my chair, doesn’t mean the world’s not full of great news!
1) I got my first royalties, somehow. They seem to be fees from photocopying (?!), and I don’t pretend to understand how or why, I just nod and get excited.
2) Keren David, author of the awesome WHEN I WAS JOE, has some great news at her blog.
3) TAKESHITA DEMONS is 9/10th of the way to being finalised. WOO HOO!
4) There are HEAPS of great opportunities for young writers and free competitions for unpublished writers (and published writers!). I encourage All Of You Out There to write for me (since I haven’t written at all this week!), and enter heaps of competitions… Most of them can be entered by email, many of them are free. What’s not to like?
Go gettem! (And I will go to bed).
More writing competitions to enter:
You are:
- An unpublished fiction writer aged 16+: Enter your novel and synopsis (by email) in the FREE Read More competition
- Aged 7-12 with a great bedtime story idea: Try the Book at Bedtime competition, also free to enter (and probably helps if you live in the UK, although the rules don’t state you have to)
- Aged 8-16 and a UK resident: Enter the free microfiction competition at 247.com
- A nature lover aged 18+: Check out this awesome opportunity for nature writers from the BBC
- Aged 5-25 and living in the UK or Northern Ireland: WICKED! You can enter this free competition with any kind of writing you like: poems, theatre, you name it. And there are 20 prizes in each age category, so get writing!
- An emerging writer of natural history, nature and place and probably living in Australia: The Watermark Fellowship is awarded this year and could see you resident at Varuna House in the Blue Mountains.
- A childrens or YA writer or illustrator either unpublished or with just one publishing credit: CYA Later Alligator has a competition for you, and all entries get specific feedback.
Let me know if you win!!!
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged competitions, Frances Lincoln, resolutions, writing on December 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Fergus ponders his New Year Resolutions: learn to eat, learn to crawl, learn to walk. What a year!
What’s my #1 Recommendation for your #1 Writing Resolution?
I’m going to cheat here: my #1 recommendation for your #1 writing resolution is half-way down this post, so skip straight there if you’re keen.
It’s all in the words
My #2 recommendation: kick any non-specific resolutions out the door: they doom you to failure.
Example?
My big writing goal this year is very clear:
- In 2010 I will finish the next two books in the Takeshita Demons series.
…which is a truckload more motivating than…
- “In 2010 I will write more.”
“More” is all so vague. It leaves me with a consistent uneasiness, a wondering about whether this week’s writing was “more” or “less” than last week’s. So I’m never happy with myself, which is blerch. Instead, I have a very specific goal, which is more motivating, and ultimately, more rewarding.
So what’s my #1 Recommendation for your #1 Writing Resolution?
If you’re an unpublished writer of children’s books, your #1 writing resolution this year should be to enter the Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices book award.
WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE?? So, dust off that old manuscript or get your head down writing a new one (15,000 to 35,000 words). Entries are due around February each year.
Not a children’s writer?
Give it a shot anyway…you could find a new voice! Or…check out these writing competitions instead:
Here’s to 2010! Twenty-ten. Two-oh-ten. Year of Grabbing Opportunities. May it be a good one!!
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged baby, competitions, dogs on November 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
This week we’re settling in to our new digs…
We’re housesitting a two-bedroom place near heaps of parks and shops and guess what?
The house comes with a great dog too! Roo is a 2-year-old Kelpie and has been around babies heaps. He’s very generous with his patience when Fergus is wailing and also very interested in Fergus’ smells and toys. Roo has loads of dog toys ripped apart about the place, but so far hasn’t touched any of Fergus’ toys. Instead he quietly sniffs and then settles on his mat (or at my feet when I’m feeding Fergus).
We’re going to keep a constant eye on them while they’re together, but so far it looks to be a great friendship in the making. Fergus loves Roo and is learning already to pat him “nicely” (instead of yank out a fistful of hair!).
Roo’s an inside dog, and lots of people have told us we should shut him outside now that there’s a baby in the house. Turns out that’s not the accepted logic when it comes to introducing babies to dogs…
Roo as a pup...awwwww
Introducing Roo to Fergus
I googled “dog” and “new baby” and found lots of nice tips, mostly:
1) Plan early and bring your baby home to a well-trained dog
Roo walks well on a lead, responds to basic commands, has been around babies before: we’re well ahead on this one, so “tick”!
2) Don’t stop loving your dog when the baby arrives
The dog will associate the baby with bad things. Instead, love your dog a little big extra when the baby is around. He’ll learn to love the baby too. We’re now working on developing this positive relationship, so “semi-tick”.
3) Don’t leave dog and baby alone, ever, even if everything is going A-OK
I put Fergus in his cot and then left the room so see what Roo would do. As soon as I was gone, Roo stood up and approached the cot, sniffing gently, then he left the room and went to Fergus’ play gym, sniffing the edges of that too. He didn’t do anything aggressive, but he did show extra interest when he thought I wasn’t looking. We love Roo already, but we’re planning to be ever-vigilent just the same. So “tick” on this one too.
And the writing?
Still haven’t done any writing :-/ But I did find some more cool writing competitions, including:
- a songwriting competition where you can win a Gibson Guitar
- a travel writing competition (300-700 words) where UK residents can win a trip to Istanbul
- a free-to-enter journalism competition for Canadians wanting to cover the Winter Olympics
- a song-lyric and short story competition for New Zealanders (with a special section for young writers aged 15-24)
- a series of writing competitions for Muslim writers (including sections for young writers from age 8)
- a script competition for scientists and technologists or artists exploring science and technology
And of course, don’t forget to get your entry ready for the 2010 Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices children’s book award. It’s free to enter, anyone around the world can enter, and you can win 1500 pounds plus a publishing deal. Go gettem!
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