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The Zombies of Menzies Primary
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Someone was really, really mean to me. I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I decided to write a zombie apocalypse and make the mean person my first victim in the story. (I liked my story so much I didn't actually end up putting the person in the book.)
I'm a teacher and the boys' toilets inspired me with the worst place to survive a zombie apocalypse. I figured a small group classroom, which has really high (zombie-proof) fences, running water, and I imagined, chocolate and (not smelly) toilets) would be the best place to hole up.
I made up a new Canberra suburb, situated between the lake and the zoo.
Melly
Fan art by Abby
Ali
Fan art by Abby
Werekids: Flight
My son Ollie wears an ankle foot orthosis on his right leg. It doesn't bend at the ankle and is made out of the same type of high tension thermo-plastic as prosthetic limbs. When he was little he identified with people with limb differences more than he did with people with cerebral palsy. I thought about a character like my son with a lower limb difference.
Seeing birds with a missing lower limbs made me imagine one was really a person with the same lower limb difference who had shape shifted into bird form.
Ollie's Ankle Foot Orthosis or AFO.
I was so surprised and excited when I looked up from typing the final words of the final draft of Werekids: Flight and saw a pelican right outside my window, flying over my house. My son Joey managed to snap this picture before the flock flew away.
I have always loved pelicans.
I have always loved pelicans.
There's a Demon in the Maintenance Cupboard and it Ate Alice McKenzie
I was printing photos of my students for them to use in their artwork. The photos of one particular student would not print (repeatedly - it was very freaky) and I told her I thought there was a gremlin in the photocopier.
Then, instead of a photocopy gremlin who eats photos, I thought of a demon that eats fear.
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The Summer I Summoned a Unicorn
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I just thought about what if something awesomely cool happened and the person it happened to didn't think it was awesome or cool? And then I started thinking, what could make a kid feel like that? And then I thought of Llewie. But don't worry, I've got a plan for him. Things won't be bleak for him forever.
Through my son and all the hospital and therapy appointments I've been to over the years, I meet lots of kids like Llewie's sister Mae who has additional needs. I wanted to see those kids represented in a story too.
The unwriting of Axel Smi-Schreiber
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My wonderful editor advised me to write Axel and his entire family out of There's a Demon in the Maintenance Cupboard and it Ate Alice McKenzie. (He was Morgan's boyfriend in the original version.) I made a file called "Axel's story" and saved them there.
I was out on our boat on the dam and I had a revelation: I would write a book about writing a book where Axel is unwritten from the story. Did you follow me?
Did I mention I'm Axel's nemesis in the story?
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