Duck Season

Last week I posted about having submitted the draft of a follow-up to Duck for a Day.

Just after that, I experienced another of those curious alignments of which I am so fond.

It was about two years ago that I finished the revisions on the first Duck and the day after sending those off, I woke up to find a duck on my doorstep. At the time I wondered:

Is it a sign?
And if so, what does it mean?

But now I don't need to wonder. Because the day after I finished the draft of my follow-up, I woke to this lovely crew crossing the cul-de-sac at the foot of our yard.

Not just a duck, but a duck with ducklings -- not unlike a book which spawns a sequel (or three?).

So it seems that these visits must be a sign, one that's giving a clear and very duckish nod of approval to my work.

Either that or I've inadvertently timed my duck-related writing cycle with hatching season. I suppose that might also be possible, although as a theory it seems decidedly less charming.

The other reason it's duck season is that Victorian theatre company Tony Bones Entertainment is currently touring a musical theatre adaptation of Duck for a Day in venues across the east coast. As I live in WA, I'm unable to attend a performance myself, but I'm thrilled at the thought of my characters and story coming to life for kids in this way. Max as a marionette! Just thinking about it makes me smile.

A Not-so-tiny Thing

I've been sitting on this news for a while, waiting for an illustrator to be confirmed, but now that all is signed and sealed, I can announce that I have a new picture book forthcoming in 2012!

This one is with Fremantle Press, which is fitting as it's a 'very Freo' book in many ways. It's called Ten Tiny Things and it's inspired by something my daughter and I often do when we go out walking, an activity we have cleverly named “Things We Would Never Have Seen If We Had Been Driving”. As you can see, I have a way with words …

I've seen early sketches and am very excited about what's to come for this book. The illustrator is this guy. He's a little creepy but there's not much I can (or would) do about that. Click on the "Secrets" link on his site to see why he's perfect for the book. You've probably seen his work in the city, possibly without even realising. You would probably have seen more of it had you been on foot ...

Watch this space for more details. Watch the secret spaces all around you for random flashes of loveliness. Go out walking. See if you can spot ten tiny things.

Clean Slate

Today I moved from one state to another.

Today I moved from this ...

... to this:

From a whiteboard covered in scenes and scribble to one covered in nothing but possibility.

Today I sent the draft of a new manuscript off to my editor. It's a sequel to Duck for a Day and I've been working on it for far too long, as is the way of these things from time to time or perhaps more accurately, always. But the main thing is that the draft is done and it's off my desk for now and onto someone else's.

And circumstances have conspired to mean that I don't yet have the editorial report I'm expecting for another book, which means I can't start edits yet and have some clear space. Which means I can dive into thinking and pottering about with a new project, at least for a little while. And if I do enough thinking and pottering, it may grow legs quickly enough that I can start working on it, and that will be my project for the second half of the year.

Of course, there is another duck book percolating, thanks to a stray remark from the always-inspiring Deb Fitzpatrick, but I suspect that can wait a bit, at least until the duck's stern, flinty gaze becomes too difficult to bear.

There is other news on the horizon and in the wings and in the many and various crannies in which news is wont to lurk, but that is for another time.

For now, I shall stare at my clean slate and perhaps begin to scribble a little.

And yes, I am aware that the slate isn't entirely clean. Those things you see on the right are magnetic buttons. And also a couple of geckos. Obviously. Every writer needs a gecko or two.