Publication day for the Fishmonger and The Pastry Chef!

Today is the publication date of The Fishmonger And The Pastry Chef, my new picture book with the wonderful illustrator Cheryl Orsini. Published by Little Hare (Hardie Grant Books), and partly inspired by my family history in the beautiful French Basque seaside town of Biarritz, it’s a very special book indeed. I can’t begin to say how much I adore the gorgeous visual world that Cheryl created around my text, weaving in her own beautiful, engaging threads of imagination and warmth. It’s been pure joy to work with her as co-creator!

Many thanks to our agent, Margaret Connolly, our publisher, Chren Byng, editor Johanna Gogos, and all the excellent team at Little Hare and Hardie Grant children’s publishing for your belief in this book and for helping to make it the most beautiful production ever.

Thanks also to the reviewers and booksellers who even in advance of publication have taken our book to their hearts–it is hugely appreciated! And here’s hoping The Fishmonger And The Pastry Chef will find its way into many, many hands and hearts, all over the country.

And if you’re in Sydney, do come and celebrate the launch of The Fishmonger And The Pastry Chef with us on Saturday November 29 at 2pm, at Gleebooks (Glebe). There will be sweet treats, stories and crafty things! RSVP to rachel@gleebooks.com.au

Catch up with Cheryl Orsini and her glorious artwork

When I was in Sydney last week, I caught up with the wonderful Cheryl Orsini, my co-creator on The Fishmonger and the Pastry Chef–she created the glorious visual world of the book. Cheryl brought along her original artwork for the book, and explained how she creates scenes in layers–it was absolutely fascinating and so stunning! I took heaps of photos–have a look at these.