Organised by Le Courrier Australian, the French-Australian Excellence Awards recognise French and/or Australian citizens whose remarkable talents, collaboration, entrepreneurial spirit, innovation and dedication have significantly enriched the Franco-Australian community throughout the year.
From emerging talents and accomplished entrepreneurs to public figures, the Awards celebrate outstanding contributions by individuals and organisations to French-Australian relations and society across Australia. Importantly, the competition is participatory: anyone can nominate a candidate.
Nominees are then voted on by the Public and a Jury, giving the wider community an opportunity to help recognise those making a meaningful contribution.
I’ll also be attending the Awards dinner in St Kilda in Melbourne on November 4, whatever the outcome–and looking forward to meeting other nominees and sharing in the celebration of the French-Australian contribution to this country.
My latest post on Writer Unboxed is about how to handle the writing of secrets within a novel. Here’s a short extract:
A secret in fiction, as in life, doesnāt have to be a bombshell like the revelation of a State secret, the identity of a ruthless killer, or the true nature of a historical event. It can be a quieter but no less important secret, like the reason why a character no longer speaks to their best friend, or why theyāve quit their job, or why they behave badly in certain situations.
But how do you know, as a writer, if youāve got it right? How many secrets are too much, or not enough? Thereās the temptation to over-egg the plot pudding and mix in too many big soap-opera-style secrets around your characters. Thereās also the fear of concentrating on just one major secret throughout the story but then letting readers down by fluffing the reveal. Trying to find a middle ground is not easy. You want the reader to feel intrigued, to want to keep turning the pages, even to gasp in surprise. But you also donāt want to ājump the sharkā and stretch credulity to such an extent that it snaps.
You can read the whole thing here. Hope you enjoy! And do feel free to join in the conversation on the WU site.
You might have read about how Bayeux Tapestry fever is high in the UK at the moment, with crowds waiting for up to four hours in line at the British Museum to catch a glimpse of the famous embroidered artwork depicting the story of the Norman Conquest of Britain in 1066. It’s the first time (I think) that it’s been moved from its home in Bayeux, and it’s stimulated a lot of renewed interest in the whole Norman/Anglo-Saxon confrontation.
That made me think again about an article, Wicked Sheriff and Outlaw Lord, I wrote quite some time ago, when I was researching the background for the third volume in my Lay Lines/Forest of Dreams historical fantasy trilogy (which is still in print) Incidentally that volume, The Stone of Oakenfast, was only published as part of the Forest of Dreams omnibus, not separately, unlike the first two volumes, The Knight by the Pool and The Lady of the Flowers.
Anyway, I thought this was a good time to republish my piece, which tells the story of the Norman Conquest and its effect on England through the personal histories of two lesser-known players, the Norman sheriff Urse d’Abitot and the outlawed Anglo-Saxon lord, Edric the Wild.
Below is a short extract; you can read the full piece on my (free) Substack page here.
Wicked Sheriff and Outlaw Lord
The legend of Robin Hood is the quintessential English myth. In it, we find all the elements that make up the Englishāas opposed to the Celtic Britishācharacter in the ancient land that the Celts called Logres. Combining ancient magical and symbolic aspects with the trauma of the Norman Conquest, Robin Hoodās legend still has many reverberations in modern England. It could be said, for instance, that the vicious class conflict which characterises English social life had its origins in the almost total destruction of the native English-speaking Anglo-Saxon aristocracy and its almost complete replacement by French-speaking Norman nobles. This produced a vast gulf of misunderstanding between the two peoples which became, in effect, class-based, for āordinary peopleā tended to be native English, whilst āthe upper crustā traced its origins to foreign despoilers!
As well as preserving the memory of the hideous physical and moral destruction wrought on Anglo-Saxon culture by the Conquest, the legend of the greenwood lord Robin Hood and his merry men is a perfect distillation of that light, lively and melancholy English spirit which had its most gifted and brilliant expression in the work of William Shakespeare. The slanting, ambiguous, mischievous light of the greenwood and its magic is more powerful, in the end, than the shadow of the castle stronghold in the stories of Robin Hood: an ancient light, that predates the Normans, the Anglo-Saxons, and even the Celts, and symbolises the enduring nature of the land.
Itās always a hard one, conquest. The attempt to brutally suppress a vanquished culture and replace it wholesale usually leads to it haunting the landscape, and the cultural psyche, in a way that eventually takes its toll on the confidence and identity of the conquerors themselves. Itās been the same story all over the world, including in Australia. In England, it happened to the Normans.
In the year of Our Lord, 1066, thousands of men came ashore at Pevensey under Duke William of Normandyās lion flag. Attired for battle, Williamās warhosts were attracted by the prospect of more loot and plunder than their Norse ancestors could ever have dreamt was possible, and also by the joy of teaching their arrogant Anglo-Saxon rivals a lesson they wouldnāt forget in a hurry. Lots of men there, twitching with excitement, the thrill of the hunt and of the fabulous rewards promised to them: landless sons, and illegitimate sons; adventurers and pirates and those who followed along just to see what would happen. Like the wolf in the fable, however, they must have a good reason for gobbling up their prey. And so they had it, not one, indeed, but several. Political reason: hadnāt Harold pledged support to Williamās right of kingship in England, before Edward the Confessor had died? Religious reason: the Pope had given his blessing to the invasion, because the English Church was going its own way far too often. Cultural reason: the Norse thirst for gold and blood, only thinned a little by la douce France, was rising high. No doubt many of the French breathed a sigh of relief when the Norman army was gone. Personal reason: Duke William, driven by his illegitimacy, driven to conquer England and make it his own, though always his heart stayed in his green Norman fields. That gathering of men, that roundup of reasons, was to have a far-reaching effect. Those warriors twitching to be gone to battle werenāt to know it: but this was to be the last conquest of England, because it was the most traumatic. And in its trauma would be born the greatest of the English legends: that of the outlaw Robin Hood, and his arch-enemy, the wicked Sheriff. Generations and generations into the future, the affrontement of Saxon and Norman would become metamorphosed into the age-old conflict of freedom and tyranny, of nature and authority, of summer and winter, of wild magic and castle law. And men who were once opponents would become reconciled within it. For the terrible crucible of history distils some potent brews, and the tale of the wicked sheriff and the outlaw lord was one of the most potent of all. And it is fascinating to peer into that crucible of time and watch the ingredients of legend being cooked up before your very eyes…
My friend, fellow creator and New England resident Beattie Alvarez is outrageously talented, with many strings to her bow. A published writer, illustrator, editor, book designer, and toymaker, Beattie also owns and runs one of Armidaleās favourite shops, Granny Fiās Toy Cupboard, which also has a nationwide clientele. Iāve had the joy and privilege of working with Beattie on many projects, including many books for the acclaimed Armidale-based small publishing house we are both associated with, Christmas Press, and also with the New England Writersā Centre, for which Beattie previously worked as program manager for several years. With grace, humour, and an impressive creative energy, Beattie manages to wear many different hats and make them all look like they were always meant to be, and recently I caught up with her to chat about her many creative and business achievements, and ask how she does it.
I guess that is in fact the first question, Beattie! How do you do it? How do you manage to combine so many skills and roles so well?
Well, Iām not sure that I do! However, thereās this person in my life that I call āPast Beattieā. She is awesome! When Iām running around like a headless chook, I often find that Past Beattie has already done a lot of the prep work for me. She is far more organised and business minded than I am!
How did it all begin? I know you come from a creative family and were creative even as a kid, but did anything or anyone in particular inspire you to take on the wide variety of things you do, or did it develop over time?
As with everything else in my life, I fell into everything by accident! The writing started when my favourite TV show was cancelledā¦ without a proper ending. So I wrote my own! To date, my very first story has over 250k reads on Fan Fiction. The rest of it, is really because of my mum, Fiona McDonald. She had the opportunity, but not the time, to open a toy shop ā which is something sheād always wanted. I managed it from the beginning and eventually took over officially in 2017. I grew up surrounded by stories, artists and a house full of handmade toys, and despite swearing Iād never become an artist because I wanted to make money when I grew up (Iām still waiting for both the money and the growing up), I seem to have become one!
You are a keen reader as well as a writer. Tell us about some of the books that youāve loved and been inspired by. And what about art? How did you get into illustration?
Oh dear! How long have we got? There are so many books that Iāve loved and been inspired by for so many different reasons! I will start this by saying that almost all of the books are for children and young adults. Why would I read about grown up stuff when I could have an adventure without the worry of paying electricity bills? I always have a full handbag thanks to Jill Barklemās In the High Hills (part of the Brambly Hedge series) which taught me to always have āthe essential gearā. Iām just going to list some of my favourites, most of which involve the type of magic that movie makers forget about ā cosiness, great descriptions of food and imagination. The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Nancy Drew, The Babysitters Club (yes, yes, I know!), a lot of Enid Blyton ā from The Enchanted Wood to Malory Towers with a good dose of Noddy thrown in, classics like A Little Princess, Coral Island (one of Grandadās favourites!), and the Railway Children. Narnia, how could I forget Narnia! Although, I will admit that it was the old BBC tv series that first got me into the land of Narnia. If you havenāt watched it, you should! Harry Potter, how could I own a magical toy shop AND be a writer without having had Harry as a big part of my life? And then we have some lesser known ones like The Changeover by Margaret Mahy, Tajore Arkle and Somewhere Around the Corner, both by Jackie French, A Place for Me which was Robert Westallās last book and one of only a couple of books on my list that doesnāt have magic in it. We could even add in the Sweet Valley High series (again, I know how bad they are!), but I read them until they fell apart! All of these books have shaped who I am and what I do. Iām actually feeling a bit guilty and sorry for other favourite books of mine that havenāt made the list!
Youāve written several books, including four jointly created under the pen-name of Phoebe McArthur with your mother, artist and author Fiona McDonald, while your book as sole author, Escape from Sherwood, was illustrated by your husband, artist David Allan. Whatās it like, collaborating with family on a book? What challenges and pleasures were there?
Now, this is what we do best! We are a family that works, creates and imagines together. And I love it! Mum and I have always tossed our writing back and forth between us to make a story as good as it can possibly be. Sometimes she writes the initial ideas and sometimes I do and then we edit each otherās work. Itās gotten to the point that weāll be going through a manuscript and we wonāt know who wrote what! So thatās why we started writing together under a nom-de-plume. Plus, thereās never enough room on a book cover for both of our names!
I actually met David through Mum (they were friends first), so it is easy for all of us to work together. When we were doing Escape from Sherwood together, it was quite simple ā I said what Iād like illustrated and he either did it or gave me an option that would work better. We often share ideas and work together even if we arenāt officially working on the same project. David and I are working on a book at the moment, an idea of his that heās been thinking about for years. Iām trying to turn those ideas into a middle grade novel. I write a chapter, send it to him, he tells me what heād like added or removed, and we go back and forth until Iāve written the next chapter! Working with them both is an absolute joy!
You are the principal book designer for Christmas Press. Can you tell us a bit about how you started and what you learned along the way? What is your favourite part of book designingāand your least favourite?š
Haha, how did I start? Well! As usual, I fell into it by accident! It was my first big job as an editor ā Once Upon a Christmas published by Christmas Press and David was illustrating. We had young children at that point and time got away from us. Back then, I knew how to these things on a computer: open a word document to write and edit, open the internet and turn on music to have something to work to. And thatās just about it. However, he was on a deadline, the book was going to the printer Very Soon. So while he illustrated, he was giving me instructions on how to use InDesign. And I mean very detailed instructions like: move the mouse to file and left click, no not right click, left click and move the mouse down to place. Now click that and choose the image and click okay, left click!
It was a struggle! Eventually, I got the hang of it and once I did, I realised how much fun I was having! When the finished book arrived and was so pretty and shiny, I couldnāt wait to do the next one!
I find doing the initial layout quite therapeutic and amazingly, the work is now almost automatic! Gone are the days of trying to remember the steps, I do them without thinking. Then we get to the fun part of designing it! Working out which fonts, what size, how to make the motifs work well. Sometimes things work and sometimes they donāt! The bit I like least would be when I get sent a document and the author hasnāt got a good grasp on how computers work. It is tedious to go through line by line and remove all the manual indents. Even when I do a global change, I still have to check each line.
Your beautiful handmade toys, especially the dragons, are a big hit with people of all ages, not just in the shop, but at the conventions and festivals around Australia that you participate in. How did you start on that particular creative track? And what is your favourite part of toy-making?
Iāve already talked about how we started the shop, but the actual toy making was a bit of a surprise. Mum was making dragons and we sold out on our opening day! She then told me to take ordersā¦ but I took a few too many and had to dust off my high school sewing skills very, very quickly to fill them all. Eventually, I had enough knowledge to start designing my own patterns andā¦ once again bit off more than I could chew, so I graduated from Dragon Apprentice to Head Dragon Hatcher and David became the apprentice. He has also completed his apprenticeship and is now sometimes known as Mr Mandrake.
The first event we did was Supanova back in 2015. I did NOT have high hopes for it, however, when Mum and I found ourselves madly sewing in the hotel room after the first night, I realised that I was wrong! We sold out at that event and just about sold out every one since then. In the last few years weāve started branching out into Medieval fairs and similar shows because we suddenly worked out that they LOVED dragons back in those times!
Other than selling the toys, my favourite part of it is seeing people falling in love with something that weāve made. Our toys arenāt just toys, theyāre art that weāve created and selling art ā which we all know is ridiculously hard ā is a fabulous feeling!
Granny Fiās is a very special shop, and has many dedicated clients, supporters and followers, both in person and online. Tells us about how it started, and what itās like, running a busy small business, as a creative person?
Granny Fiās Toy Cupboard has changed a lot since we started. It has evolved from a simple toy shop into one that specialises in fantasy and fandoms. We have things in the shop that shouldnāt go together, but somehow do, from fairy gardening to pop-culture to original art, books and of course, the handmade toys.
I love what I do, but itās not without its difficulties. Money, of course, is the hardest thing. Not having done any business degrees or any degrees at all, I often find myself floundering or sometimes drowning in paperwork that I donāt understand, but have to make it work anyway. The events and online are the easy part, itās the day-after-day of sitting in a shop in a very quiet town, that gets me down. However, Iām off to renew my lease on the shop today, so I guess Iām a glutton for punishment!
You have a great social media presence. What is your vision for it, and what do you think is the best strategy for not just collecting likes, but also encouraging people to seek out your products?
Our social media (mainly Facebook, but also Instagram) is my happy place! The community that has grown around our page is an amazingly supportive one and I think of all the followers as my friends! Theyāre there for me when I have a good day ā or a bad one. They boost me up when weāve not had a sale in three days and I can talk to them about anything, movies that Iāve seen and liked (or hated), the state of the roads and the weather, anything! Except politics. We donāt use naughty words like politics or adult in the shop!
I donāt have any particular vision for our social media. Apparently weāre allowed to āmonetizeā our account now, but I not have any clue how to do that, nor do I really want to!
I have learnt a few things though which help with algorithms and reach.
If I put a link, price or the words āwebsiteā or āsaleāĀ into a post, then it doesnāt get seen by anyone until I edit it a few hours later to say āhey guys, help me boost this!ā. I get around that by using terms like āitās for S on the W nowā and adding the link in as an edit later.
A couple of days of big reach means that itāll be a lower reach for a few days after that, so I try to time things that I think will have a bigger reach than others and not put anything that I want to have a big reach immediately after a big post.
People love stories! Iām a storyteller at heart and I donāt like boring posts that say ābuy this, I made itā. All of our social media, toys on the website, etc are FULL of stories.
We get followers BECAUSE of the stories! There are some people that have become invested in the shop and my family because of what and how I post things. It is wonderful!
You go to a lot of fabulous events around the country to sell your toys and books. Can you tell us a bit about them, and what are your favourite aspects of participatingāas well as the challenges?
Weāve touched on this already, but Iāll add in a bit more here.
One reason that we do so many events is simply cash flow. We can make more in a two day event than we sometimes do the rest of the month in the shop. Itās not just about that though. The events we go to are like entering a different world! All the costumes and cosplay, conversations that you never thought youād overhear, the love and happiness that exudes from the attendees. Almost everyone is happy and they want to be there!
The hardest part is having enough toys already made to make the event financially worth it! There are only so many hours in the day in which I can sew and Iāve asked really nicely, but the powers that be, still wonāt extend it to be a 36 hour day. They also havenāt turned the heat down in Queensland, despite my very polite requests!
Living and working as a creative and small businessperson in a regional town has its share of both pleasures and challenges, some of which are similar to those in the city but others quite different. What, for you, are the advantages and disadvantages of being regionally based? And if you had a magic wand, what would you change in terms of improving and/or highlighting the situation?
Oh boy! Settle in, this could take a while!
I hate bringing everything back to money, but itās on the forefront of my mind at the moment ā constantly actually.
To stay in business we need to make sales. Itās as simple as that. Or is it? To make the sales we need the stock, to be able to buy the stock or fabric or dragon fluff we need the money! But the money has been spent on rent, insurance, utilities and those boring things. So we need to make more to make more to make moreā¦ and it goes on and on. Now, most business people would run away screaming if they saw our sales figures vs outgoings. Iāve been tempted myself! But, as people keep telling me, theyāve never seen a business like ours. So I stay and I try. I try the same things and different things, I take on more work or new ideas to try to work out what will bring people down to the Mall (a pedestrian mall in Armidale where our shop is) and once we have them in the Mall, how to get them into the shop!
Regional areas like Armidale are beautiful, relaxing and quiet. Sometimes too quiet! When tourists come to town, we do well, itās changing the mindset of the locals thatās hard. Locals tend to have their routines, their standard way of shopping and Armidale has a reputation of not having anything that they want. When we can get them into the town and away from the shopping centre or the ease of online shopping, then they discover that there IS stuff in town. There are shops and different things to buy and explore.
Instead of a magic wand (because I do sell those and they donāt seem to work for me) could I have another tornado instead? And could it hit the big shopping centre in the middle of the night when thereās no one there to get hurt? No, not really, but I think one of the problems that the town has is that weāre not a big enough population to be able to support three different shopping districts. Weāre too spread out for any of them to fully thrive, so removing one would force things back into the centre of town. Also, if they could remove timed parking from around the CBD, that would be great!
As a last note ā thank you for inviting me to be part of this! These questions (and trying to think of answers) have reminded me of books that I need to reread, toys that I want to make, and given me new ideas on how to help my business!
If youāre visiting Armidale, make sure to visit Granny Fiās Toy Cupboard! And if you canāt make it there, visit Granny Fiās website to browse and order dragons, dolls, bears, books and original art, no matter where you are in Australia.
I caught up with Richard not long after the bookās launch by publisher High Country Books.
Richard during his time at Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School.
1.First of all, Richard, congratulations on the publication ofMoon on a Spoon! Can you tell us a bit about how it came about?
Thank you for the generous intro Sophie! To be honest, it was when Michael and I were driving up to Queensland a couple of years ago, and, inevitably, talking about The Makers Shed and the local artisanal products we stock, particularly while we were expanding the range of books on offer. We decided a cookbook would be a good addition to the collection at High Country Books, the little bookshop within our gallery. Racking our brains thinking of whose book we could stock, we hit on the idea of publishing our own! I had a large collection of recipes and some amusing anecdotes from years in the kitchen, and Michael can put a good book togetherā¦ so Moon On A Spoon was born as the second publication of our imprint!
2. What was the process of writing it like? Were there any particular challengesāor pleasures?
Iām not a natural writer, so Michael was on my case regularly, reminding me to, āJust add a little more.ā It was interesting revisiting my other lifeā¦ so many memories, some fond and some Iād rather not revisit. Only the fun ones went into the bookā¦ we didnāt want a tragedy!
3. How did you choose the recipes you include in the book?
There were a few must-haves in my collection. All the recipes we included have been made so often, theyāre like old friends. An old Air Force mate, when she heard about the book, asked if the Chicken and Yoghurt Pie was in? Of COURSE! I couldnāt leave that out!!! A couple of the recipes were requested over the year by Gourmet Traveller magazine for their Fare Exchange section, so those were included. In the end, I treated the process like composing a menu (a really big one)ā¦ that was always a favourite part of my work. Combining tastes, textures and eye appeal while ensuring a variety of dishes for everyone no matter their dietary requirements.
Richard on a field trip to a Hawkesbury oyster farm
4. You have had such a richly varied professional life and the stories you tell about it are very engaging. But is there anything else, in terms of cooking/food experiences that you would have liked to do but didnāt get around to?
I would have liked to work overseas for an extended period. Unfortunately I never had the courage or connections to do it. Instead, I simply savoured the tastes of the countries and cultures Iāve visited. I remember places by the food I ate there! Otherwise, looking back, Iām satisfied with my career in food. From occasionally cooking for masses in tents on stoves that ran on jet fuel, to busy cafes, to exquisite French fare, to teaching, with forays into food styling and foraging in between (and sometimes concurrently), gotta be happy with that unique journey.
5. A cheeky question, this oneāis it always you who cooks at home or do you and Michael share it?
Itās normally me doing the cooking. To be honest, thatās mostly because I hate washing up! Michael is a good cook though and rustles up a satisfying meal when he has time. Heās actually concocting a Mexican feast right now, to give me space to write this!
Richard Moon, silversmith
6. What do you hope readers will get from your book?
Well firstly, I hope they get a bit of a laugh at the more amusing anecdotes that Iāve shared in the book. Then Iād like to think that they enjoy cooking the dishes that I selected (Iāve had a few folks tell me theyāre loving them). Ultimately though, my wish is that anyone considering a change of career in midlife, may be emboldened to do so! The metamorphosis will probably not be instantā¦ it took me six years of study and practice before silversmithing became my full-time career. But with courage and tenacity, life can take a whole new direction! And Iām so grateful.
I made a little video today, around the inspirations–places, things, people–of my most recent Sophie Beaumont novel, In The Paris Fashion (Ultimo Press 2025). It was a really nice thing to make and I hope you might enjoy it!
Iāve always been in awe of the extraordinary, multi-faceted talent of my lovely friend and fellow creator Lorena Carrington, with whom Iāve been lucky enough to collaborate on several works, including picture books (Satin and The Giant) two collections (French Fairy Tales and Magical Tales from French Camelot) and three productions in our joint Pardalote Press imprint (two books, Birdās Eye View and Secrets of the Good-Fairy House and Wayfarer, a pack of myriorama storytelling cards). As well, in 2024 I was proud to have been involved in publishing Lorenaās first junior fiction title, Leaf Letters. And now, Iām thrilled to see Lorenaās new book, A Puzzling Pursuit (Penguin), which was officially released last week. A fabulous combination of mystery, puzzles and travel, the book features ten baffling cases around an overarching mystery, accompanied by a hundred illustrated puzzles to help you crack the cases, all within a breakneck race around Australia. Itās a fabulous book and a fabulous concept and I caught up with Lorena to find out more about it.
1.First of all, Lorena, congratulations on the publication ofA Puzzling Pursuit! Can you tell us a bit about how it all came about?
Thank you! Like so many of my books and projects, I fell into working on this book from a bit of a sideways angle. It all started with Leaf Letters actually! I had heard that cryptic crossword writer Liam Runnalls had moved to town, and messaged him to ask if heād like a copy of the book. I had name-checked him and David Astle in it very briefly. We caught up for coffee a couple times, and then he asked me to proofread (proof-solve?!) the puzzles in his book Birdle (https://www.penguin.com.au/books/birdle-9781761350429). That put me in contact with the delightful Ashwin Khurana at Penguin, and Iām afraid I harassed him until he suggested an Australian themed murder mystery puzzle book. I put together a proposal for them early last year, then spent six months frantically attempting to āwalk the talkā of all I had promised!
2. I know that you are a dedicated crossword and puzzle fan, not just as a reader/completer (if thatās a word! ) but also as a creator of them. What first drew you to them?
Iāve always loved puzzles, especially book related ones. As a kid I was obsessed with Graeme Baseās The Eleventh Hour (https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-eleventh-hour-a-curious-mystery-9780140541489), so much so that Iād start seeing little hidden mice in real life. And also Masquerade by Kit Williams. I also loved Rolf Heimanās Maze books. As a adult, I fell in love with cryptic crosswords, and of course joined the Wordle craze along with everyone else in 2020. Itās still the first thing I do every morning – I currently have a 1223 day streak to uphold!
3.Did you have the whole concept for the book in mind from the beginningāthe structure, characters, places etc?
This is the book that taught me Iām a plotter at heart. Everything had to be laid out carefully before I began. I wasnāt just plotting a (fictional) murder. I also had to plan out a realistic road trip that covered every single state and territory, create ten themed cases within that trip, and try and pack in as many Australian motifs and icons as I could. I created a very strict scaffolding for the whole book to fit in. Essentially one whole narrative, containing ten cases, each of which contain ten puzzles. They all had to flow together but also stand-alone. I was very grateful for all that planning work when it came to writing the story and creating the puzzles.
4. What was the process likeācreating not only the stories but also the puzzles, and fitting everything together? What were the challenges, and high points? And did you work closely with editors from the start or create it all and then submit it for editing?
Once I finished all that plotting, all I had to do was to weave it together into a narrative that was interesting, made sense, and tied in with the 100 puzzles that I also then had to create and illustrate. Easy, right? š I had previously created a first chapter and outline for the book proposal, which was a great foundation to start from when it got the green light. With a pretty tight turn-around, I worked every single day without a break for about 5 months. I tried to keep up with creating the puzzles alongside the story as I wrote it, which meant I didnāt feel as overwhelmed by the work to come.
Iād say the biggest challenge was creating a good variety of puzzles that also fit into the story. I also didnāt do myself any favours by writing it in second person! Or by making sure the protagonist (you) and the antagonist (X) were free of any gender indicators. I wanted to make sure that āyouā were always you the reader. No only did I have to think about the actions of āyouā the character, but also everyone elseās reactions to them. Oh what a tangled web I wove for myselfā¦
The upshot of all the previous planning is that I didnāt need a structural edit. After I handed in the manuscript, we went straight to a copy edit, which was such an incredibly joyful process. My brilliant editor picked up on so many things I hadnāt thought of, and whipped my timeline into shape. After that, Penguin brought in someone to check the puzzles, and then we did a couple of proofreads, and a little bit of revision on the layout, and we were done. There were way fewer tears than I expected with a project of this complexity!
Typing āThe Endā was certainly a highpoint! I had taken myself away on a mini retreat to Ballarat, while my partner was there working on an exhibition. While he was off working hard, I sat on the B&B couch, drank copious amounts of tea and wrote for two days straight. Finishing a project is always satisfying, but this one felt particularly so! I loved every minute of working on it, but there were certainly times I wondered if I could pull it off.
5. Browsing in bookshops after I picked up my copy of your book, I noticed that there are quite a few popular titles around that combine mystery and puzzle types (such as Murdle etc). How do you think your book fits into that genre, and how does it differ from them?
Yes, Murdle is a real phenomenon isnāt it! My hope is that this book will capture that puzzle audience, and then hook them in with a story too. I think a big difference is that A Puzzling Pursuit is very narrative focused. Yes, the text carries you from puzzle to puzzle, but itās not its only purpose. Thereās a rollicking adventure in there, with side quests, drama, and hopefully plenty of humour. I intentionally created the book to appeal to a range of readers: the ones who are only there for the puzzles, those who would rather get involved in the story, and those who are in it for the whole experience! I hope everyone finds it a happy distraction.
6.I know it might be a bit early to askābut Iāll ask it anywayš What has been the response of readers to your book?
Itās a tiny bit early! š Most of the responses have been ālook I found it in a bookshop!ā, with accompanying face-out photo which is always so exciting! Not many people have had the chance to start it yet, let alone finish it. Though I have already received my first ācorrectionā – and it probably wonāt be the last. The great thing about puzzle people is their attention to detail!
7. Are you planning to write more in this genre? And what else are you working on?
I would love to create more books like this! Iām playing with a couple of puzzle book ideas, including a possible sequel to A Puzzling Pursuit. But Iām also diving back into kidsā books with a middle grade novel Iāve been working on for a while. Iām on the home stretch, so having a great time writing the final scenes full of drama – and sea monsters! Thereās a good chance Iāll sneak a few puzzles in there too. š
Delighted to announce that I’ll be appearing as guest author speaker for a very special evening with the French-Speaking Association of the North Shore (FANS) in Killarney Heights, Sydney, on Thursday July 30. I’ll be talking about my books and writing, my life as a French Australian, and lots more! There’ll be drinks and canapes, and Gleebooks will be there to sell my books, too. Hope to meet lots of readers!
This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of thePremier’s Reading Challenge, a fantastic initiative to encourage the joy and love of reading amongst school students. With curated lists of fabulous books for young readers from Kindergarten right through into Year 9 and above, the Challenge isn’t a competition but an encouragement to read, read more and read widely, and is strongly supported by State Governments and schools across Australia. As well as readers, PRC supports authors and illustrators across Australia, by bringing attention to their books across thousands of schools. And I’m lucky enough to have more than 20 titles listed in the NSW PRC, across a variety of age ranges (you can see a selection of those in the last photo below).
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of PRC, a fabulous new companion initiative is being launched today, the 23rd February, on the same day that the 2026 NSW Premier’s Reading challenge kicks off. It’s a podcast called Book Bites and features authors reading an extract from one of their books listed in PRC. And I am absolutely honoured and delighted that my reading of the first chapter of Bold Ben Hall was chosen to be the launch episode of Book Bites in the Years 5-6 category. It was huge fun to record it and meet the team at the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge and I am thrilled that it will now be available for listeners to enjoy.
Happy 25th birthday, Premier’s Reading Challenge, and thank you all so much for such a wonderful resource and encouragement of the joys and pleasures of reading!
I am delighted to announce that the wonderful Robert Topp, who runs the fabulous website and podcast Read Me A Story Ink, has just recorded a reading of my retelling and adaptation of the beautiful Breton fairytale, ‘The Queen of the Korrigans’, and it’s now available both to listen to and read (and both together, if you like). Bob’s clear warm narration is absolutely pitch-perfect, as is the music he’s chosen to highlight the story. Hope you enjoy!
The Queen of the Korrigans was first published in French Fairy Fairy Tales, my collection, with illustrator Lorena Carrington, of newly-translated and retold fairy tales from France. Bob has also recorded another story from that collection, The Booted Cat (my new translation and retelling of Charles Perrault’s famous tale, most often known in English as Puss in Boots).
Illustration below copyright Lorena Carrington, from ‘the Queen of the Korrigans’ in French Fairy Tales.
