Defend the Dunny!

Defend the Dunny  (2001) Post 305

Defend the Dunny! The town of Dunnyup has a proactive council, with town improvement on their minds. Led by Councilor Cole, the town paints doors, which leads to painting walls, fixing gardens, wearing Christmas socks and shirts and even getting haircuts and washing dogs. There's just one thing left to improve, the old dunny. Someone has recently fixed the roof, but the councilors are adamant; this eyesore of a relic must be removed. Dave Docket and his bulldozer are hired.
What the council doesn't know is that many Dunnyuppers have secret uses for the old dunny. It's the home of Uncle Hewson's pet spider, Hunty, little Mia keeps her clandestine goldfish there, Con is growing a sweetheart rose in a pot for his girlfriend, a boy with a nosy sister keeps his book of poems under the step, a determined young botanist is monitoring the Sturt's Desert Pea growing near the wall, someone's grandad carved her grandma's initials in a board while they were courting... the list goes on. With the bulldozing set to begin, these Dunnyuppers unilaterally head for the dunny to rescue their treasures, soon followed by others who just want to know where the first ones are going. Dave can't bulldoze, so he goes to the council for guidance. Councilor Cole jumps to the conclusion that he has a full-scale protest on his hands! 

Defend the Dunny!

This is a story of harmless little secrets, and misinterpretations, and for once, a bureaucrat who listens to the people...even if he does mishear what they say.

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.

Emmie's Soup

Emmie's Soup  (2001) Post 304

Emmie's Soup is another Joseph Corella pen-named story. This one is set during the Great Depression, and is told in the first person by Patsy, who thinks back to when her dad set off tramping to find work, leaving Mum, Patsy, George and Vivvie to manage as well as they could. Mum takes in ironing and things are so desperate that she has to wait for her pay to buy bread or fuel. When a customer goes to live with her sister, Mum can no longer manage, so she takes the children to stay with Great-Granny, who would rather be called Emmie. 
Emmie has a cow, a vegetable plot and an ingenious method of survival. She gathers fuel for an hour a day, sells blackberries to the factory to buy sugar, bottles some for herself and uses them for barter. She makes butter and preserves. All this, as Patsy  discovers, takes a good deal of time and work, as garden stuff must be fed to the hens, and their manure dug in, and the calf must be shut up at intervals to ensure milk for the house.  
All is well until bad weather ruins the last of the blackberries, the cow is injured and the hens stop laying. Suddenly the magical plenty is gone, but Emmie has one last line of defence. She uses a large bone from the butcher and a bit of rice to eke out some few remaining vegetables and concocts her special soup. Soup keeps the family fed until the season turns and the hens start laying, the cow recovers, and mushrooms appear. Best of all, Dad sends news that he has found a job not far from where Emmie lives. 
Now elderly herself, Patsy thinks back... and gives the reader the recipe for Emmie's soup.
This story is based on things I learned while writing The Powerful Pickle Problem, (Post 7) during which I talked to people who were children during the depression. My grandmothers were the models for Emmie; both doughty ladies who were experts in making do. The children were named after real family members; Mum, Dad and Mum's cousin.


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.

Daisy Toes

Daisy Toes  (2000) Post 303

Daisy Toes is one of my reading scheme titles under the name of Joseph Corella. I can't find my copy, and neither can I find an image on the internet, but if I locate the book I'll put the cover up

retrospectively. (And here it is!) It is, as I recall, pale green with white and yellow, and shows a child with an upraised bare foot. Here's the blurb:
 Mimi has been stung on the foot by a bee. It hurts. even worse, Gran has told  her to go to school with an onion in her sock. The onion takes away the  sting, but soon everyone wants to know why the classroom smells of onions.  What is Mimi going to do? She can't tell them she was stung by a bee while  picking daisies with the toes. No one picks daisies with their toes, or do  they? by Joseph Corella ; illustrated by Anna Walker.

Anna Walker's website is at https://www.annawalker.com.au/ so you can see the style she illustrates in. As with so many of my books, this one was written from a combination of stuff I've picked up over years of reading and discovering, and personal experience. I used to run about barefoot a lot as a child, because I had so much trouble finding comfortable shoes. I have a long foot with a narrow heel and broad front and long toes, and I find many shoes rub up blisters. I used to be able to pick up pencils etc with my toes, so I was interested to read a folk tale (Welsh, maybe?) about a man who wanted to marry the lake king's daughter, and was faced with hundreds of identical girls. His girl pushed her foot out from under her gown to show she was holding daisies between her toes as a broad hint. Add to this my allergy to bee stings (every time I get stung the swelling is worse) and the folk-treatment of onion to soothe the sting... and you can see how Daisy Toes came about. 
Daisy Toes has links with Wolfmaster (Post 235)... in that Mimi's class is listening to Wolfmaster being read as a class serial... and the children have a few comments on it.

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.

Summer at Drought Palace

Summer at Drought Palace  (2008 Post 302)

Summer at Drought Palace is one of my reading scheme titles. The theme was water conservation. I always try to make "theme" books like this one entertaining, so meet Alinda, Emby and Rollo Cranberry, whose mum has gone to China on a cultural exchange and whose dad takes them to Grey Bluff Lake for a holiday. All does not go according to plan, as drought means the shacks at Grey Bluff Lake are on restricted water. No long showers, the toilet doesn't flush and hair has to be washed in a bucket. Emby and Rollo enjoy a contest to use the least water, Dad goes fishing and teenaged Alinda suffers withdrawal from her mobile (no service) and all her general comforts. The family meets Amanda Barton-Boote, who has a drought-proof garden. Her advice fascinates Emby, and comes in very useful when they return home (full of plans for long hot showers) and discover - guess what? - water restrictions!

I think I named the Cranberry family after a band my daughter liked, and I based the weird landscape around Grey Bluff Lake on the Great Lake in Tasmania. Amanda Barton-Boote, in her younger days, was a character in Timothy Whuffenpuffen-Whippersnapper, (Post 72).

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.

Elysian Games

Elysian Games  (2012 Post 301)

Elysian Games is one of my earlier Lark Westerly titles; a comedy romance that's intended for people over eighteen. It was born of my habit of using stuff I happen to know in my writing, just because I happen to know it and find it interesting.

Way, way back, my parents got me a subscription to magazines called Treasure and Look and Learn and Tell Me Why and World of Wonder; not all at the same time. One of them had a series called Tales From Many Lands, which included Greek and Roman myths. I picked up far more than I possibly should have about these doughty beings. One of the stories I recall is that of Atalanta. I decided for some reason to bring that basic story up to date. Thus was born Elysian Games. Instead of Melanion being the Greek suitor of Princess Atalanta, we have Mel, the computer nerd, the upstairs neighbour of a fitness fanatic. This Atalanta's only use for Mel is to have him water her orchid when she's away. Mel, on the other hand, has a far more personal interest. He also has a comedy sidekick named Herc, whose identity probably can't be aired in this blog. If you have a broad mind, a sense of humour and a taste for puns, here's the blurb!

Atalanta (fastest woman east or west of the Rockies) is the upstairs neighbor of the long-suffering Mel. Atalanta wants a casual relationship and someone to water her orchid when she’s training. Mel wants Atalanta, preferably naked and horizontal. Mel’s efforts in this direction involve some very virtual reality.

Through Mel’s machinations, Atalanta finds herself in a training camp in ancient Greece, where she is must marry the athlete who can beat her in a race. The lusty lads are all super-speedy, so Atalanta sets about her own Elysian Games. She’s sure she can prevail if only she can discover each man’s sexual Achilles heel.

While Atalanta engages with Greeks, Mel is beavering in the background to make his dreams of unlimited pussy-worship come true.

Elysian Games is available as an ebook from eXtasy Books and also from Amazon and a few other places.
What can I say? Blame it on the magazine subscriptions I had when I was nine.

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.

Candle Iron

Candle Iron  (2001 Post 300)

Candle Iron is one of my favourites among my books. I like the cover, but it is curiously difficult to photograph clearly, because to render the left-bottom diagonal visible, I always end up washing out the top right diagonal. 

Candle Iron started life as a short story. One was called Master of Time. I wrote it for a collection, but also sent others, one of which was chosen. At some point, I wrote one or two other stories that linked to it. I liked the situation and world so much, I ended up writing a novel which I eventually called Candle Iron. 
Allyso Tormblood is the young heir of Castle Torm. When her uncle and guardian Merritt rashly invites a soulbinder and her page to stay, disaster comes to Torm. Surrounded by dead and dying friends, Allyso has just one chance to put things right, but only if she is brave enough to do it. Along with Allyso, who ends up a year older than she seems, major characters include:
Scholar Ankooria, who helps to besiege the castle. He meets Allyso after her terrifying escape and instead of turning her in, he entrusts her with the only thing he loves, his spellhound, Tace.
Tollerman of Musson is the soulbinder's mute page. He reaches the end of his road high in the Shrouded Mountains.
Leonard Gates had run away from another world. She arrives at Connors' Hall twice over, but that's not the end of her story.
Tegwen Hasselsjo is murdered by invaders. She was only fifteen, but she might have another chance yet.
All five of these characters face the challenge of their lives- or deaths.
The names of these and others are derived from a group of online writing friends I had at the time. Some of them are dead now, but I remember them fondly. They all gave permission for me to use their names. I planned to call one of my characters Farren, derived from my own maiden name but quite by chance I discovered two other writers I knew were using Faren and Farron as character names, so I changed to Allyso which is a kind of anagram.
The plot of Candle Iron is complex and I had a difficult time juggling time-lines. I loved writing it, though. It won the Aurealis Award for children's fantasy, which was an honour, but a change of editorial policy meant the two sequels were never produced. They would have been called Candle Stone and Candle Way. I think Candle Iron is still in print, at least as an e-book. I have a lot of affection for it, not least because a friend made me a model of the gemdrake (the character you see on the cover). Loosely speaking, this is part of the series that began with Amy Amaryllis and continued with Shadowdancers and Wintersong. If you're interested in seeing the website I made for Candle Iron way back then, check it out at http://sallyodgers.50megs.com/candleiron.htm

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.

The Smith Family Diaries

The Smith Family Diaries  (2009 Post 299)

The Smith Family Diaries is a collection of four stories told in journal entries, with each incident being told three times over, from three points of view. The POV characters are Abigail, her daughter Rebecca and her son Connor. There's an incident with an heirloom tablecloth, a washing machine and the eldest brother (Bennet's) mobile phone, the affair of Biddle, the aunt's retriever which escapes and tangles with a German cyclist (unless he's Russian or French), a fire alarm at the school, and, finally, a lost phone and a cartwheel competition at the beach. It's no one's fault that things go wrong... truly! The tone is a bit like the Bandinangi Books series, possibly because the stories are told by three members of the same family.

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.

The Penthean Problem

The Penthean Problem  (2007 Post 298)

The Penthean Problem is one of my favourites among my post 2000 reading scheme titles. The brief was to write a story about multicultural food, so I invented Seekla, a young Penthean, who is sent by her superior to suss out planets for a new Penthean colony. The ray that is meant to make Seekla look like the locals goes a little wrong, letting her third arm show through, and even after it is adjusted, Seekla has problems. On Earth, she meets Beatrice and William, who are researching a multicultural food project. They, and Seekla, are introduced to a great many foods, but Seekla is confused. How can there be fifteen fruits when she knows of only one? When she makes her report to her superior, he accuses her of imagining things and exiles her to earth for ten years as a punishment. Seekla, who has decided it's not quite cricket for her species to take over the Earth, decides to spend her exile eating.

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.

Meg's Warm Clothes

Meg's Warm Clothes  (2003 Post 297)

Meg's Warm Clothes is an exceedingly simple twelve-page reader that helps very young readers identify colours and clothing. Each page has a line detailing one of Meg's warm garments along with its colour. Meg has a warm blue hat, for example. The last page has the surprise punchline. Meg has a cold red...nose! This kind of line is meant to not only add contrast and interest, but to ensure children pay attention to the words rather than repeating "Meg has a warm..." without looking at the lines. I suspect this is the second shortest of my books... longer than A Sun, a Flower, but shorter that The Cat and the King.

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.

Time Off

Time Off  (1982 Post 296)

Time Off is one of a series which began with Down River (Post 53) and continued with Winter-Spring Garden, Another Good Friend and All the Sea Between, and then had an offshoot with Peri. It was also related to The Magician's Box.No one can accuse me of not mining a good seam when I find one. Time Off took Rosemary Candy, the pen friend whose visit was the innocent cause of friction between sisters Amber and Kerry Dale in Down River, as the main character. As with many characters met outside their usual milieu, there wasn't much about Rosemary's home life in Down River, so I had a fairly blank canvas. Rosemary has lived with her widowed mother for most of her life, and Time Off deals with her discomfort when her mother marries a man with three children of his own, one of whom has managed to avoid meeting Rosemary right up until the wedding day. Unfortunately for Rosemary, her mother and new stepfather decide the best way of blending the children into one family is to send them to stay at the beach with the step-grandparents while they go off on honeymoon. Poor Rosemary finds herself pitchforked into an environment as uncongenial as it is stranger to her. These people play beach cricket, cards, and eat sandwiches with sand in them. Added to this, Rosemary doesn't like the beach in winter, finding it cold, uncomfortable and full of unwanted "go out and play" directives. She makes her escape, and goes to visit her friends from Down River. This, needless to say, doesn't go down well at all. There are bits and pieces in this book relating to personal experience. The youngest stepchild's voice is garnered from small children I met around that time, and Rosemary's discombobulation when faced with unfamiliar games and family rituals parallels mine. Fortunately, mine didn't come with a long-term commitment!

This book is very much of its time, as fiction was emerging from its comfortable holiday adventure mode into the socially-aware zone. Since I've always much preferred the former, this was an interesting exercise...

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.

Storytrack a Practical Guide to Writing for Children in Australia & New Zealand

Storytrack a Practical Guide to Writing for Children in Australia & New Zealand  (1989 Post 295)

Storytrack was the first of my how-to writing books, produced way back in 1989. It gets around; I quite often see second-hand copies out there. It is the result of a column I wrote in a writers' magazine in the 1980s. I can't for the life of me remember what the magazine was called, or how I came to be writing for it. I may have answered an advertisement in a newsletter. In any case, writing the column (and I think that was called Not Kids' Stuff) taught me a lot about grammar and also about working with editors. Editors vary between the sweet and kindly and those who are more like paint stripper. This one didn't suffer fools (or errors, or unprofessional behaviour, or bad habits, or casual sharing of magazines...) cheerfully. It was an excellent magazine, quite apart from my input, and, as I said, it taught me a lot so I'm grateful to it (and to the editor, whose name I can't recall either). I'm pretty sure it died after either the editor located or else the magazine went to recycled paper and environmentally-friendly printing and so ceased to attract the eye of casual shoppers. 

Anyway, the editor, having whipped my prose into shape and forced me to mind my hyphens, suggested compiling my columns into a book, which his company would print. I got three chapters in (writing a lot of new linking stuff) when the magazine ceased publication. Left with an orphaned manuscript, I was lucky enough to get another publisher interested, The editor there asked me to get input from other writers besides myself, and requested that I aim for big names. This was in the days of faxes and phone calls, and I sent out about a dozen letters to the well-known writers of the children's book community.

The result was somewhat disappointing. From memory, I think nine of them either didn't answer or else declined to answer my questions. (Fair enough.) One wrote back and intimidated me by saying I was to print the answer in full, with nary a comma missing. I was so scared I left that material out of the book. Two more, arguably the biggest names of all, responded with a generosity of spirit that still brings tears to my eyes. I had never met either of them and one of them I never did meet, but Max Fatchen and Colin Thiele, thank you with all my heart. You were true gentlemen.

Two swallows did not a summer make, so I wrote another round of letters. This time, I targeted up-and-coming and midlist writers. The response was generous. I came to think of this, later, as a lucky break. After all, the book was for writers in the early stages of their careers, so the responses of people who had recently broken into the business were probably more relevant anyway. 

After collating the responses, the columns and all the new material, I get the manuscript to the publisher and the result was one of the longer titles in my collection; possibly the longest if you count New Zealand as two words and the ampersand as a word. Thirteen words... or is it one word and a very long subtitle? Dunno.

Ouch. That long-ago editor just bit me.

 If it is, then the longest title is the eleven-word monster below.

 Everything You Want to Know About Writing and More, Much More - 2016 (Post 207)

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.

Writing With Style

Writing with Style(2008) Post 294

Writing with Style  is another one in my practical workshop series. If a manuscript has gone wrong in the plot department, the fix is something like an operation. If it goes wrong in the style department, it needs systemic medicine. It's far easier to fix the problem before it gets established. This book aims to help with that. The aim of the original five workshop books (Style, Idea, Plot, Character and Dialogue) was to cut problems off at the pass. Since all the books include exercises, it's possible to use them to produce one or more novels that potentially need only a light copy-edit. This one showcases a lot of stylistic problems and suggests ways to prevent them and also to fix them if they're already happening. In 2016 I decided to update this book among many others, and rather than re-produce a dozen or more separate books, I produced Everything You Want to Know About Writing and More, Much More - 2016 (Post 207)
Writing With Style IS still available on its own, though.

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.

Wattle We Do?

Wattle We Do?(2003) Post 293

Wattle We Do?  is another of my stories with a question mark in the title. I wrote this one under my Joseph Corella pen-name, and it was illustrated by the same person who did my trade picture book Dragon Mode. I love the design of this series, and only wish the books had been more widely distributed. The interior, as you see from Picture 2, is beautifully embellished.

My main memory of this story, aside from the pictures, is having to find out exactly what Wattle Day entailed before I could write a story about it! It's about a group of children who want to celebrate this festival and have to work out how...

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.

The Day the Cows Slept In

The Day the Cows Slept In (1979) Post 292

The Day the Cows Slept In  was (I think!) my third published book, though how "published" it was I've never been able to work out. My memory of exactly what happened is pretty vague after all this time (38 years have passed, after all!) but my impressions are as follows.
After "Her Kingdom for a Pony" (1978, and my first published book) was accepted, I set to work to write a sequel. "Kingdom" was made up of linked short stories, set in and around the town of Springford. There were several repeating characters, and the stories took place over the range of about two years. In "Cows", (which I considered called "Till the Cows Come Home"), these characters and others are extended for a further two years. Hereby lay the problem. My editor at the original publisher's felt that readers of the first book would not be interested in reading about older characters, even if they had already met them younger; i.e. Susan at 15 probably wouldn't be of interest to someone who'd read about her at 11-13. The characters had got into teen years and yet the stories weren't "teen". This left the book orphaned, because selling a sequel to a different publisher is always difficult. For one thing, any publisher one approaches will know it was rejected by Publisher 1. 
Around that time, a local printer decided to put out a subscription book service. I believe this was a very early form of POD. He put out a magazine which went to households around Tasmania with "tasters" of various things. He was willing to put in a story from my ms. The problem was, all the stories were too long, so I wrote a new one especially. The books (at least some) were printed, and the magazine went out and I waited with interest to see what might happen.
You know how many orders came in for my book? 
None.
That's it-- none. 
I had my author copies, but as far as I knew not a single book was sold through subscription. The idea was quietly dropped.
However, that darned book kept on turning up for YEARS in garage sales, remainder sales and even as far away as New Zealand. I don't know how that happened and I'm reasonably sure no one made any money out of it. (I sure didn't.) I assume the publisher "dumped" the print run, which can't have been big, somewhere and it leaked out from there.
I just checked the net and yes, there is at least one copy for sale out there ($14...).

Here is the author's note from the book, listing the 13 stories though not the several poems also included. 

Author's note: People often wonder, when they read a book by a local writer, how much of the story is true and how much is pure invention. The answer, in the case of ‘The Day the Cows Slept In,’ is that the setting - Springford, is an entirely imaginary town in a very real district - the North West coast of Tasmania. The people are also invented - though I feel that something of myself may have sneaked into Jenny’s character. So never fear - you won’t find yourself or your neighbours or any of your friends (or enemies!) enshrined in the book. All the events are imaginary, and some of them are unlikely, but I feel that no story - except, perhaps, ‘The Ghost’s Field Day,’ is really impossible. As for Honey and her companions, and old Jim - maybe animals don’t really think like this. But they certainly behave as if they do!  Contents: The Ghost’s Field Day; The Nanny; Thanks to Julie; Dog in the Manger; Thomas’s Place; Honey’s Flood; The Day the Cows Slept In; The V.H.C.; Show Story; The Guest; House Cow; Bloat!; Springford Centenary.

The Ghost’s Field Day was the extra story I wrote to go in the magazine, so it is shorter than the others.

By the way, I obviously didn't learn, because I wrote a novel about some of the characters and called it "These Guests of Summer". No one wanted that either. This is the sort of thing that can depress young authors so much that they stop. I - um - didn't. Nearly forty years on I'm still in the writing game.

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.