Karen Collum">Australian Children's Author

I was very excited to have a big box of books delivered today. Fish Don’t Need Snorkels is my latest picture book, published by Autumn House, a small UK Christian publishing house. It is vibrant, beautiful and interactive making it perfect for the preschool age group. My almost-3-year-old twins love it and joined in reading the story from the very first time they heard it. Keep reading →

2010 has been a year of extremes. Professionally, the year has been wonderful. I experienced the absolute joy of fulfilling my dream of being a published author. I walked into a bookstore today at my local shopping centre to find SAMUEL’S KISSES on display right in the front and centre of the shop. That was a moment I used to dream about and it was every bit as satisfying as I imagined it would be. To add to the joy, the manager of the bookstore told me she got goosebumps when she read it. Feedback like that amazes me and delights me every time. Keep reading →

I like reading book reviews and they do often influence my buying decisions. Reading a good review makes me excited about a book. But now I’m more than just an observer, reviews are slightly terrifying! I can’t expect everyone to like SAMUEL’S KISSES, however it’s a little daunting to think about other people critically reading my book and writing their honest opinion for the world to see. Keep reading →

What an amazing day I’ve had! The launch was a wonderful success and plain fun to boot. I got to read SAMUEL’S KISSES in public for the very first time and my audience happened to be a group of the cutest 4 and 5 year olds you’ve ever seen. It was a real privilege to witness their reactions to the story first-hand, especially as the book targets this particular age group. The kids were so attentive and giggled in all the right places and were so quiet! That alone tells me they were engaged with the story. It was such a thrill for me and I feel very blessed to be a picture book author. I’ve waffled on enough, so I’ll let some photos tell the story of the launch… Keep reading →

Well, we’re almost a third of the way into this year’s NaNoWriMo challenge and I thought it was about time I blogged about where I’m at. The good news is I started strongly. In the first four days I wrote four short stories for the compilation I told you about in my last post and clocked just over 5,000 words. Then I came to a grinding halt. Literally. And I haven’t written a single thing since. Not a word, not a letter, not even a space to add to my word count. I have had good intentions every day but I’ve found myself overwhelmed with sadness about the loss of my dad, exceptionally tired to the point where I fall asleep on the couch (which I NEVER do) and full of worry about how I’m going to manage when this new baby comes. Plus there are other changes afoot that all add to the stress of this thing called life, and it seems my ability to write was the first casualty. But today, something changed. Today, I had my first session with a counsellor to work through my grief. Keep reading →

I’ve decided it’s time for me to dive back into writing again. I’ve said before that being a writer is not something I do, it’s who I am. In spite of the recent sadness in my life, that fact hasn’t changed. And what better opportunity for me to pick up the pieces than NaNoWriMo. I’ve participated in NaNo for the past two years and have absolutely loved it. The challenge of writing 50,000 words on a new piece of work in the month of November is just so powerful and enticing to me. I’m goal-driven and find myself excited and committed to writing in November in a unique way. Quite possibly it’s that NaNo gives me permission to make writing a priority in my life for 30 days. I’ll tell you all about my NaNo project another time. Keep reading →

I posted a while back about how nervous I was when I sent my manuscript off to my lovely group of beta-readers. It’s the first time I’ve gotten to this stage with a novel and I must say, it was quite scary knowing people were going to be reading and critiquing my work. I wanted them to read it, but I also was terrified that they wouldn’t like it. I’ve now got manuscripts back from two of my beta-readers and I know two more are in the mail. I get to hear feedback in person from four others next week when I meet with my critique group from Year of the Edit. And I have to say after reading responses from two beta-readers, I am blown away with the amount of work these readers have put into my manuscript and also the beautiful words of praise they have sent my way. Sure, there are things that they questioned (and rightly so) but there are also things they loved. Keep reading →

CYA logo by Bec Timmis

The CYA Later, Alligator – Children’s and Young Adult Writers And Illustrators Conference is an absolutely fabulous conference held in Brisbane each September, specifically targetting the needs of children’s authors and illustrators. This year it will be held on September 4, with the Hatchlings program for young writers (aged 8-18) held on September 5. Every year CYA run a competition in a number of categories for aspiring and published authors and illustrators. I entered SAMUEL’S KISSES in the competition in 2008 and although I didn’t make the shortlist, I was delighted to finish in the top ten. Even better than that, however, was the feedback I received from the judges. Their comments gave me the confidence to start submitting to publishers. Shortly after, I secured a contract with New Frontier Publishing for SAMUEL’S KISSES which was fantastic. Keep reading →

As some of you know, I have a passion for optimistic thinking skills. I’m not talking about pie-in-the-sky-whistle-a-happy-tune optimism, but a conscious, learned processing of thoughts that enable me to view the world in the most optimistic and realistic way possible. I have always been a cheerful sort of person, but underneath my smile I suffered from enormous anxiety. When I came across optimistic thinking skills through the work of Martin Seligman over ten years ago, it quite literally changed my life. Suddenly I had tools to use to counter my anxiety and tendency to worry. And believe it or not, those exact same skills are the ones that are keeping me afloat as a writer. Keep reading →

There are so many possibilities to explore as a writer. Do I want to write for children or adults? What genre am I attracted to? Where would my style, voice and natural technique be best suited? Do I have to choose just one or can I dabble in a few? Lately I’ve been thinking about this a lot and I thought I’d share my conclusions with you (mainly because I’m a chronic oversharer :P). Keep reading →