Blinky Bill's Extraordinary Balloon Adventure

Blinky Bill's Extraordinary Balloon Adventure (1998) Post 244

Blinky Bill's Extraordinary Balloon Adventure is a spin-off from the Blinky Bill television series, for which I wrote several story lines. I'm pretty sure this one is a story I novelised from the episode that was made from one of my storyline/scripts. My perception is a bit blurred because I dealt with this material more than once, in various treatments. It's quite a long story for the format, and involves Blinky and co getting carries off in a balloon after getting lost during an excursion with Miss Magpie. Reading it for the first time in a couple of decades was surreal. I didn't actually remember it, but I could see my thought processes at work and found one bit of phrasing that is obviously mine. Surreal.

ABOUT THE BLOG

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Dave and Joe

Dave and Joe (1989) Post 243

Dave and Joe is, like Country Girl, (May 8th)  a story of time, change and friendship. In this one, Dave is a truckie raising his daughter Katharine alone since his wife died. Katharine wants a pet, but Dave is allergic to cats and dogs. After some thought, he gets her a pony. Katharine is to take full responsibility of Mallowfield Josephina's Supreme, or Joe as he's called, and so she does, with support from Dave. As Katharine grows older, she has less time for Joe, so it's Dave who keeps the pony company. Katharine marries, and Dave decides to sell Joe... but things don't quite work out. By the end of the story, Joe is in his thirties and Dave is retired, and we leave them reflecting on their long and happy association.

Dave and Joe is one of those curious limbo books. It was contracted and published, but never distributed, and although I have a copy I doubt if anyone else has. It shoes up just once on the internet aside from its listing in my own website. The affair of the publication without distribution is a long and messy one but although it seemed bad at the time, years later I've known several other cases that were similar... In Dave and Joe another book of mine is advertised. That one is called Borderline. It was contracted but never published. I was supposed to get the disc back from the published but it never happened and so I doubt if any copy of the ms exists. A third one was called Kingdom Quest.

ABOUT THE BLOG

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Aron Artist's Exhibition

Aron Artist's Exhibition (2004) Post 242

Aron Artist's Exhibition is one of those little books I don't remember as well as some of the others. I do know I didn't come up with the character name (or, obviously, the title) because if I had, I would have spelled it Aaron. I'm pretty sure the story had a dog called Picasso in it, and the problem involved his wildly waving tail and some wet paint.

Hmm. I must sort through my books and see if I can find my copy!

ABOUT THE BLOG

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Adrift in Space

Welcome to Sally's book-a-day-for-2017 blog. If unfamiliar with the blog, scroll down.

Adrift in Space (2007) Post 241.

Adrift in Space is another in the Space Sports series. This one takes place some years after Airways and stars Prof's grandson, Luke, and the current incarnation of Gold Team Junior. Klikwitz, the vandal in Airways is now Mayor, and up to his old tricks. This time, he arranges for Gold Team Junior to travel to the 3D championships in his old ship the Nova K, claiming it's been refitted. It hasn't, and it breaks down part way to the venue with almost lethal results.  Luckily, Prof and Luke safe the day, and the villainous mayor ends up out of pocket and lacking ownership of the team.

ABOUT THE BLOG

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Airways

Welcome to Sally's book-a-day-for-2017 blog. If unfamiliar with the blog, scroll down.

Airways (2007) (Post 240)

Airways is one of the mango-style comic books from the Out of This World  Space Sports series. This was an odd series for me to write, because it concerns team sport and politics, which are both things I'm not at home with. Because I didn't want to try to understand an existing sport, I invented my own, called 3D. The series takes place on Spacestation Nova, inhabited by Shipborn, Stationborn and Earthborn. There is rivalry between the factions, but the sport of 3D, played in zero gravity, brings them together. In Airways, Gold Team Junior is having trouble with their training. They are always tired and Nonny keeps getting headaches. Prof, the team captain, goes to his dad, Doc, but Doc is too busy trying to improve the failing ventilation system. There is sabotage from the mayor's nephew, selfishness and penny-pinching from the mayor, and friction between Prof and his dad.
Luckily, things are sorted out with help from Ali, the station medic, who suggests plants as a stop-gap while the ventilation system is upgraded.

ABOUT THE BLOG

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Amy Claire and the Legs

Welcome to Sally's book-a-day-for-2017 blog. If unfamiliar with the blog, scroll down.

Amy Claire and the Legs (1987) (Post 239)

Amy Claire and the Legs is the story of Amy Claire, who gets lost at the agricultural show. She runs about looking for her mum, but all she can see is legs. Eventually, she finds the right pair.
This story came from two sources. One was when I took my children to the show and we had problems seeing any exhibits. I could see over shoulders, but all my (small) kids could see was people's legs. The other source was when I was in a supermarket minding my own business when suddenly a small child tore up, grabbed my legs and laughed up at me. The look on that poor child's face when it realised I wasn't its mum! Clearly, one pair of blue-jeaned legs looks much like another when you're less than a metre tall. Amy Claire and the Legs was another case where there seemed not to be a single cover picture on the internet. There is now.

ABOUT THE BLOG

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie Go to the Races

Welcome to Sally's book-a-day-for-2017 blog. If unfamiliar with the blog, scroll down.

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie Go to the Races (1997) (Post 238)

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie Go to the Races is another of the thirteen May Gibbs retellings I did back in the 1990s. Again, I have little memory of the plot, but I do remember reading the originals, and making changes to bring the storyline and characters up to date with modern tastes. This one of only four of the thirteen stories I've been able to find evidence of publication. I may be able to find others, but it's not easy, as most searches lead me to pages that have May Gibbs titles alongside unrelated books of mine.

ABOUT THE BLOG

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Ears, Eyes, Nose & Tails - Barnyard Pops

Welcome to Sally's book-a-day-for-2017 blog. If unfamiliar with the blog, scroll down.

Ears, Eyes, Nose & Tails - Barnyard Pop-Up (2008) (Post 237)

Ears, Eyes, Nose & Tails - Barnyard Pops is one of several books I did for a mass market company in the first decade of the 21st C. As with the May Gibbs titles, I'm unsure how many were actually published, as I never saw copies of most of them. They were all short board or novelty books, with bright colourful illustrations. Most of them were told in rhyming couplets. I had a lot of fun with these. 

ABOUT THE BLOG

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie Mind the Eggs

Welcome to Sally's book-a-day-for-2017 blog. If unfamiliar with the blog, scroll down.

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie Mind the Eggs (1997) (Post 236)

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie Mind the Eggs is one of a series of books I was commissioned to do for Little Golden Books. I think it was a case of one company taking over another, which then turned round and took over the one that had taken it over. Something like that. Twenty years on I don't recall much about the circumstances. I'm pretty sure I did thirteen titles for this job, but I've seen only a few of them so I don't know whether the others were ever printed. This one obviously was. I think the brief was to retell classic May Gibbs stories in a more modern fashion, cutting out all reference to Big Bad Banksia Men and making things less dated and more PC. In this story, the gumnut babies offer to mind some eggs, which proves a little trickier than they thought. 

ABOUT THE BLOG

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Wolfmaster

Welcome to Sally's book-a-day-for-2017 blog. If unfamiliar with the blog, scroll down.

Wolfmaster (2001) (Post 235)

Wolfmaster is the story of Dane Chancery, who is scared of just about everything. He's signed up to go on an Adventurers Camp but as the time draws nearer this seems less and less of a good idea. He wants to back out, but Mum and Dad have already paid the deposit. They leave it up to him and Dane forces himself to say he'll go. Climbing through flooded caves isn't his idea of fun, and when he falls he scrambles out into a dry bank. He's not alone.

Dane finds himself dealing with an adventure far beyond anything he's ever faced before, and only Ulf, the outcast wolf with the broken tail, keeps him from utter despair. When Dane finally makes it home he can't stop thinking of Ulf, now left alone in the distant past. His parents take him to a shelter to choose a dog. There are no wolves there, but there's a little dog with a broken tail and its yellow eyes are familiar.

 A wise wolf knows his master, and a wise boy knows that miracles can happen.

 I wrote Wolfmaster after seeing "Meet the Ancestors" which featured a cave that had once been the den of a wolf pack. Some of the character names pay tribute to the host of that program and to a favourite author.

ABOUT THE BLOG

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Light

Welcome to Sally's book-a-day-for-2017 blog. If unfamiliar with the blog, scroll down.

Light (1998) (Post 234)

Light is a short non-fiction title that describes, in clear and simple terms, how light reaches the Earth, the history of creating light, and the influence light has on our lives and our world. It was interesting, on a quick read-through, to not just how the book has dated, because the action of light in taking photographs on a film camera is included. These still exist, but they're probably not very relevant to many children now.

ABOUT THE BLOG

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Storm Rescue

Welcome to Sally's book-a-day-for-2017 blog. If unfamiliar with the blog, scroll down.

Storm Rescue (2015) (Post 233)

Storm Rescue is the third story in the Pup Patrol series. This time, Stamp, James and Ace are heading to the Atherton Tablelands for the Great Atherton K9 Festival, which will be full of events for handlers and their dogs. They're looking forward to it very much, but Dad Barnaby's not the only person to warn James about the coming storm. Risk it or not? James decides to go ahead. At the festival, they meet up with a friend from Book 2, who has acquired a puppy. All's going well until the storm, which had formerly headed out to sea, doubles back. One of the stewards' children, young Imogen, is missing, and although everyone who can't safely leave is crowded into the wool shed, it's Ace and Stamp who save the day.
Imogen was named after our granddaughter, and since our Imogen's mum comes from the tablelands, we were using a setting we know quite well.

ABOUT THE BLOG

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Catseye

Welcome to Sally's book-a-day-for-2017 blog. If unfamiliar with the blog, scroll down.

Catseye (1985) (Post 232)

Catseye is one of those borderline cases. It so easily could have been a picture book in another time or another place. It is as long as many picture books and it tells a story. It was published back in the 1980s, but in a collection rather than as an independent story. I decided to include it here because I remember it far better than some of the mass market books I wrote, and because it has an interesting tag to it, and because I like it. 

It was written for a collection (I think it was Petrified Poems) that came out during the poetry resurgence of the 1980s. I had a problem with the last stanza, but fixed it up sixteen years later. Then, an illustrator who happened to read it loved it and sent me a picture for it. It's put away somewhere very safe... and predates the easy availability of scans, so I don't have a copy. The illustrator goes under the name of The Big Bamboo and for years I had no idea of his real identity. So here is the poem but not, alas, the picture. If I locate it I'll post it later.

CATSEYE

"Watch," said the witch unto her cat

"Watch and wait till I be back.

I be going down the hill

Folk have need of witch's skill."

Catseye, catseye, green as glass

Tens of scores of years do pass.

The cat sat down with folded paws

The cat sat down and watched the door

Sunrise came - the witch did not

The fire went out beneath the pot.

Catseye, catseye, green as glass

Tens of scores of years do pass.

Daylight faded, daylight died

Sunset flared across the sky

Stars and moon uncaring came

Cat with watchful eyes remained

Catseye, catseye, green as glass

Tens of scores of years do pass.

A plague had come and struck and killed

Since the witch went down the hill

The village crumbled, turned to grass

Tens of scores of years did pass

Catseye, catseye, green as glass

Tens of scores of years do pass.

Trees grow tall across the way

That once led to the witch's cave

But - "Watch," said the witch unto her cat.

"Watch and wait till I be back."

Catseye, catseye, green as glass

Tens of scores of years do pass.

So sleepless, ageless, waits the cat

For his mistress to come back

Summer sun dissolves in rain

He watches till she comes again

Catseye, catseye, green as glass

Tens of scores of years do pass.

When will Catseye's vigil end?

To reunite him with his friend?

When the earth grows tired and still -

Perhaps-

The witch will climb the hill.

Catseye, catseye, green as glass

Tens of scores of years have passed.

ABOUT THE BLOG

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Floribunda and the Best Men

Welcome to Sally's book-a-day-for-2017 blog. If unfamiliar with the blog, scroll down.

Floribunda and the Best Men (2017) (Post 231)

Floribunda and the Best Men is another story in the Fairy in the Bed series. It follows a few weeks after Pen and Ink  (Post 204), but although it does deal with Matters Arising (as Flori puts it), it can be read as a stand-alone. 

Plus-sized florist Floribunda "Flori" Alexandris has no idea why Pen Swan should invite her to be a bridesmaid at her wedding, but she agrees anyway. At the church, she encounters the two best men; the biggest Scottish ginger she's ever seen and a cool blond Sir Galahad type. She has no idea which one she should shake hands with first, or whose hand to accept for the bridal waltz. Flori likes the look of them both, but that's nothing to their magnetic reaction to her. How to choose? The men have their own creative solution, but there's something exceedingly odd about Hamish McTavish and Gervais St Clair. They don't offer to drive her van, and when she runs off the road in the middle of the night, no mention of women drivers crosses their lips. So that settles it. They can't possibly be human.

Floribunda and the Best Men is story number seven in this series and although every story stands alone, each also adds something to the building blocks of the series' world. The main characters of #3, one of whom played a large role in Pen and Ink (#6) appear again, as do two characters from #4 who will be main characters in a later story. 

This story marks a couple of firsts for me in writing, which, after 300+ books, just proves we're always learning and trying something new. When I wrote Pen and Ink I made the conscious decision to have an older couple as main characters, so Pen is forty-two. I was holding an email conversation with my editor for the series and asked if she liked stories with older heroines or heroes, and she remarked she really liked BBW stories. I didn't know this term, so I looked it up and thus Flori, (or to give her her full name, Floribunda Rose Alexandris) was born. Flori is a florist who specialises in BBB or big beautiful blossoms, taking the radical approach that flowers should be colourful, perfumed and real. An encounter with Pen Swan, on the hunt for flowers for her wedding, brings Flori into a life-changing experience, and helps her solve the mystery of a childhood friend nobody else remembers. It's been bothering her for twenty-six years.  I had a few surprises along the way with this one. It was the longest to date, which meant I could explore the world of Over There a bit more. When cover time came around, I spent a while looking for pictures to show the art department. They source their own pictures, but it's a little easier if they have an idea of what the character(s) should look like. I found some pics for my Pinterest board, but the model they found is far more what I had in mind. I was pleased with the pictured Flori because my only other venture into a plus-sized heroine (several years ago now) skirted the issue with a cartoon cover. 

Floribunda and the Best Men is a very new book... published today. To see it in ebook go to  BUY HERE

To see my author page with a lot of information about the characters in this series and their world, go to http://larksinger.weebly.com. The next one in the series, which is called The Courting of Eileen, comes out later this year.

ABOUT THE BLOG

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.