PRECIOUS THINGS: DEB FITZPATRICK

Oh, I've had so many things I wanted to blog about this last week : I want to say a few things about the passing of legendary actor John Hurt; to talk about starting my new work-- a piece of military SF short fiction, and how losing one story fragment has led me to another opportunity; and to talk about the new fitness routine that has led to me losing 3 and a half kilos since the start of the year. BUT I've been a-bed since lunchtime last Wedneday with a chest infection that just won't quit, so it's all going to have to wait.

In the meantime, though, I can at least get a new Precious Things post up. This time, it's the lovely Deb Fitzpatrick. Deb's an author of YA and Children's books who I first met a couple of years ago at the opening of the Perth Writers Festival, and it just brings a smile to my face each time we bump into each other: she's a joyous personality, and that's reflected in the positive, enriching books she writes.Her latest is At My Door, a title for younger readers. The Break (2014) is for adult readers. Her two novels for young adults – 90 Packets of Instant Noodles (2010) and Have You Seen Ally Queen? (2011) – were named Notable Books by the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA). The Amazing Spencer Gray (2013), a novel for younger readers, will be published in the US in early 2017. In mid-2017 a follow-up book, The Spectacular Spencer Gray, will be published.

You can learn more about her at her website, but for now, here is Deb:

Precious Things: Deb Fitzpatrick

While I don't think of it as a precious literary treasure, I would say that That Book for me is The Bodysurfers by Robert Drewe.

It was the book in which I first saw my own places drawn on the page, lyrically, beautifully – places made valid as literary settings. Rob Drewe grew up in Perth and had already achieved great things in The Savage Crows when I read this book of short stories.

To see the beaches I grew up on written about in this way really opened up some possibilities for me...