New Project

I've just started a new project – ghostwriting a book for a lovely lady, who has an inspirational story to share. I can't say much more about it here, but we're both very excited about it and I have no doubt that it will be as much of an emotional and enlightening journey for me as working on the bushfire book, Beneath Dark Skies, was.


So the puppets will have to bide their time on the shelf above my desk. I try not to look up at them too often as it means several sets of eyes looking at me and asking 'why'. Except for the one that's cross-eyed – he just looks confused.

Wrap-up of 2011

I spent most of 2011 moving/writing through a fog of illness, which has finally been correctly diagnosed. As long as I completely avoid wheat and gluten I can rebuild my immune system and, hopefully, always feel fit.


A large amount of my writing time was spent editing Beneath Dark Skies: a collection of Black Saturday bushfire stories from Callignee, Koornalla, Le Roy and Traralgon South. It was a huge job and a very emotional journey. I learnt as much about people as I did about fire and made some wonderful new friends.


Now that my health is back on track I started the year by entering Writer's Weekly 2012 Winter 24-Hour Short Story Content and am pleased to say I received an honourable mention.


I have also started a new blog about my own journey through two years of illnesses, misdiagnoses, living gluten-free and the changes I've made to my and my family's lives. It's still under construction, but I hope to start posting by the end of March.
You can find it at http://finding-my-star.blogspot.com.au/


I haven't given up on my puppets and writing for children with them, but have decided to focus on using modern technology to build a following. I hope to make some progress with this during the year as well.

It has been almost a year since I posted on this blog and I apologise for this. Much has happened since my last post. 

Further research into building a business entertaining kindergarten children with my puppets and creating books as keepsakes for the children has shown that it isn't viable unless I'm willing to be free entertainment all of the time. Instead, I will use my photography and writing to create adventure books with my puppets. The worst case scenario is that my children are the only ones entertained by them and I can certainly live with that.

I've also been doing some freelance editing work, which has kept me much busier than first anticipated. This has resulted in my own website being developed. As soon as it's up and running I'll post the link here. 

None of this sounds like anything to get excited about, especially when my dream is to become an author, but all of it is valuable learning experience that keeps me writing and working within the industry. 

One stepping stone at a time!

I've been pretty quiet on both blogs throughout October. 

That's because I've been busy gaining some valuable editing experience and finishing off this year's assignments. As everyone winds down for the year I'm pushing on with trying to build a reputation in the writing and editing industry. I even edited my first memoir!

I've had my publishing logo created and my Poetic Puppets logo is only a few weeks away. It won't be long before I start investigating the best options for a website.

My ventriloquist book has arrived and I've been busy scrawling notes on ideas to entertain the kindergarten kids. The closer we get to launching Poetic Puppets the more exciting it gets and the more nervous I get!

But for now, I must get back to refining my Short & Twisted submission and mastering InDesign.

Submissions for the 2011 Short & Twisted closes 30 November, so if you want to see your name in print and can write a great poem or story with a twist at the end, visit Celapene Press before you run out of time.

Short & Twisted Submissions

This year I've submitted a couple of twisted black and white photos and a story with a twist at the end.

I received an honourable mention in the Writer's Weekly 2010 Spring 24-hour Short Story Competition. 

The comp is run four times a year and costs USD5. Entries are limited to 500 people.

The link for anyone interested is http://www.writersweekly.com/misc/contest.php

Once entered, you receive no further information on what you're writing about until the day of the comp (obviously you're given the date of the comp). They email the topic and word count at midday Saturday and you must write it and submit it before midday Sunday. This is US time, so you receive the email at 3am (Melbourne, Australia non-daylight saving time) Sunday morning and must submit before 3am Monday morning. 

It is a brilliant way to get the creative juices flowing and produce some interesting short stories. 

Good luck!

Poetic Puppets

Well my couple of large monkey puppets has turned into two monkey puppets, three bear puppets, a chicken, a monster and a dog puppet. Most of them have names and personalities and I'm slowly getting together clothes and accessories that match their personalities. 

A little presumptuous when I haven't started working with the kindergartens yet, but my children's kindergarten director liked my proposal and is more than happy to do a free trial run early next year to help me iron out the wrinkles and even if it does flop, my kids love the puppets. 

As I practise ventriloquism and perfect each puppet's personality, they become part of the family and the kids are always laughing at them.  I'm considering creating stories based on the puppet's adventures in the future (outside of what they do with the kindergarten kids).

I received a rejection email from a publisher for Rosie's Hollow. No one likes receiving rejections, but it's important to take on board any feedback (something that is very hard to get from a busy publisher) and polish your story up ready to send it to the next unsuspecting publisher. This was the feedback I received. 

'I really liked the concept for your book, and I could see the potential of your story. Unfortunately we publish very few picture books per year, and yours is not suitable for our list at this time. But I do wish you well with finding a home for your story.'

It's not a lot of feedback, but I like to think that it means I do have something of value in my story, but it needs a little work. Call my an optimist, but the fact they liked the concept and could see its potential means a lot, so I'll revamp Rosie's Hollow and see how I get on elsewhere. 

I've been busy ordering a couple of large monkey puppets and putting together a proposal for my local kindergarten. The aim is to introduce one of the puppets to the children via a short ventriloquist act (yes, by me!) and then leave him with the class so they can each take him home and teach him something new based on the teacher's chosen theme. This might be healthy eating and exercise, helping others, or multi-cultural experiences, etc. At the end of it I will take the book that they've been filling with words and pictures from their experiences and will create a story book in the puppet's voice. Each child will receive a copy of the book. 

I'll be doing the first one for free so I can iron out any wrinkles in the process and receive some valuable feedback from the teacher. This will never be a big money spinner as kindergartens can't afford to pay a suitable fee to cover freelance writing rates, design fees for the book and the printing costs. It is to allow me to continue working with the children, learning what they get excited about and what makes them laugh, so I can produce outstanding picture book stories.

Children are the hardest critics, but their delight when you get it right is the most rewarding. 

Here is a picture of Benson, the first to arrive, ready for ventriloquist practice. Please excuse his nakedness, he's still deciding what his preferred wardbrobe will be.

The 2010 Short & Twisted is available from June 1. 

To order a copy go to http://www.celapenepress.com.au/short_and_twisted.html after June 1. 

There is a limited number of books printed, so don't tarry or you'll miss out.

Work In Progress

I've been working on a few picture book stories, all of which contain a native Australian bird as the protagonist. I recently submitted my favourite of the three completed ones to a publisher and wait to see if I will be pinning another rejection slip to my noticeboard or chilling a bottle of champagne. 

I'm also in the planning stages of a series of children's chapter books. As there is a lot to nut out in this series all I can tell you at the moment is that it involves a chest full of dress-up clothes, magical stones, an evil magician, and a temperamental fairy. 

Volunteer Writers

As I near the end of my diploma studies (Sorry, I forgot to mention I completed the Certificate IV at the end of 2008) I'm finding myself feeling less satisfied with my studies. It's not that I'm not still learning; it's because I'm feeling myself needing to take flight into the world of writing and learn the things I can't learn in a classroom. 

To help build my writing resume I joined CSL (Centre for Sustainability Leadership) as a volunteer writer. I transcribe interviews from the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Summit and create short (5-7 mins) inspirational scripts for their online teaching course.  I'm enjoying the challenge and the producer is not only happy with my work, she's agreed to be a referee on my writing CV. 

CSL - Centre for Sustainability Leadership

I've since suggested to the course co-ordinator at GippsTAFE that a non-fiction script writing course might be beneficial and was pleased that her response was that it was definitely a consideration.  I only hope it's available before I finish the diploma.

Sorry It's Been So Long

I apologise for the large gap in postings. I've had a few small successes in the last two years, which all add to my writing resume. One of my poems was published in 'Short & Twisted' in 2009 and I will have 2 mini-shorts published in 'Short & Twisted' this year.


Another of my poems was a finalist in the Moartz 2009 Take a Bow Writing Competition.


All small accomplishments, but we all have to start somewhere.

Online Study

I have found studying online convenient but challenging. Applying myself and completing what is required of me isn’t a problem; it’s leaving the study to do the housework that requires self-discipline.

Online study gives new meaning to effective communication for both teacher and student. The teacher has to ensure that their words are clear and not open to misinterpretation and the student must take the time to read things thoroughly, often more than once to ensure they fully understand what is required. If the student doesn’t understand they can always ask questions and are encouraged to do so. The problem is when the student believes they have understood the instructions only to learn they have misinterpreted on a grand scale.

Online study is a learning curve for both teacher and student. As long as both accept and embrace this, online study can only be improved.

A True Short Story

There is a new birthday law in our household and that is,

"No birthday shall pass without having cake."

The 20th of April was my dear hubby’s birthday. We have different ideas about what a good birthday entails. My ideal birthday includes being surrounded by my family, receiving many presents and eating cake after dinner! Hubby’s ideal birthday is having a nice meal with his family and really doesn’t mind if he has presents or cake.

Well, I was not my usual prepared self and ordered his presents online, too late for delivery to take place before his birthday. He didn’t mind because he still had presents from Jessica and Samantha and a small one I had bought for him earlier. I told him first thing in the morning that it was not going to be a good birthday because I hadn’t been organised enough to ensure everything went to plan.

He assured me it was fine and not to worry.

We went out in the morning to get a few groceries and as we were leaving the shops, I remembered that we hadn’t bought a cake yet. He assured me he didn’t want one and no matter how much I tried, he was adamant about not getting one. All the way home I was very down about his birthday. Not only was he missing some of his presents but now he didn’t have a cake either! He offered to get a cake for his birthday so the day was a good birthday for me. I then felt guilty so was quiet the rest of the trip home.

After the kids had their afternoon nap, Robert woke up with a high temperature. Five minutes after I gave him Panadol, he threw up on the lounge room carpet. I said to hubby, “I told you it was a bad birthday day!” It couldn’t get any worse could it?

I cooked roast beef for dinner; only it wasn’t really roast beef. It was corned beef, marinated for roasting. Hmmm, a bit dubious but we roasted it anyway. Yep, you’re right; it tasted like something that should have been boiled! And there was no cake for dessert!

Not to worry, bad birthday day was nearly over ... or was it?

Time to get the kids bathed and to bed. Hubby is enjoying crawling around on the floor with the little ones while I get everything ready for their bath. That is until he spins around too quickly in the wrong direction and hits his head so hard on the stair railing that he's nearly knocked himself out! After 10 minutes of holding his head trying to regain his senses, he finally gets to his feet nursing a very very bad headache.

Then I remember that I didn’t check the weather for the night, so I don’t know what to dress the little ones in for bed, so hubby runs down stairs to find out and slips on his ass half way down the stairs.

After ensuring he was okay, the only thing left to say was,

“We should have bought a cake!”

Pondering the choices we make at our crossroads is like revision in the school of life.
Regretting the mistakes or taking for granted the successes, means we have learnt nought.
An attentive student will gain wisdom from the mistakes and joy from the successes.

Since commencing the Certificate IV in Professional Writing and Editing, I have felt like a sponge soaking up more and more knowledge everyday. I feel like a child in a candy shop not knowing which shelf to start looking at first. The big test will be my results, when I discover if I did fully understand all I've been taught and used this knowledge correctly.