MONKEY FIST BLOG TOUR Day 10 - Words and Pictures

It's blog tour day 10 - the very last. Today I'm visiting Words and Pictures – Writer and artist Jeffery E Doherty will be interviewing me about writing illustrated novels – the artwork, graphics and working with an illustrator.

The complete tour schedule is here for anyone who wants to hit the rewind button and go back a day or two.

Tomorrow I am back in the office writing again, working on my bext book Mexica Runner. It's set at the end of the Aztec empire when the Spanish attack and the story opens with Atl, imprisoned in a box, waiting to be sacrificed.

MONKEY FIST BLOG TOUR Day 9 - The Book Chook

It's blog tour day 9 and I'm visiting the The Book Chook where writer, reviewer and children’s literature advocate Sue Stephenson will be interviewing me about how my children’s reading experiences have influenced my writing. The Book Chook is also the editor of Literacy Lava, a wonderful magazine focusing on childhood literacy. It's free and I recommend subscribing. I already do!


Visit the Samurai Kids website to download a one-act classroom play based on the Samurai Kids series.

Tomorrow you can find me at my last tour stop Words and Pictures – Writer and artist Jeffery E Doherty will be interviewing me about writing illustrated novels – the artwork, graphics and working with an illustrator.

The complete tour schedule is here for anyone who wants to hit the rewind button and go back a day or two.

MONKEY FIST BLOG TOUR Day 8 - Alphabet Soup

It's blog tour day 8 and I'm visiting Alphabet Soup magazine where editor Rebecca Newman is interviewing me about my research techniques and asking questions to discover whether all that historical research is really any fun.

Visit the Samurai Kids website to find a Webquest for How to Build a Samurai Ryu

Tomorrow you can find me at The Book Chook where writer, reviewer and children’s literature advocate Sue Stephenson will be interviewing me about how my children’s reading experiences have influenced my writing. The complete tour schedule is here.

Off to Canberra and the Asia Bookroom

I'm really thrilled to be heading to Canberra's Asia Bookroom. Like a bee in a honeypot can't compare to Sandy in a bookstore specialising in Asia titles with lots of history and books about Samurai Japan on the shelves. I'm taking my piggy bank and hoping to get some Korean history books to supplement my research for Samurai Kids book 5. It's hasn't been proving easy to find out the information I need to know - but I am confident I'll find lots of useful and interesting 'got-to-have' books on Thursday.

Come along - 6pm on 6 August, to hear a few tales - some tall and some true - about writing Samurai Kids, children's literature, researching 17th century Japan and my latest release Monkey Fist. More information here.

MONKEY FIST BLOG TOUR Day 3 - Lets Have Words

It's blog tour day 3 and I'm visiting Lets’ Have Words where I'm talking to Claire Saxby, children’s author (latest release Sheep, Goat and the creaking gate August 2009) about the unique challenge in writing a historical novel about a group of children with disabilities.

Visit the Samurai kids website to find out more about the Kids and their spirit guides or print Samurai Kids cards.

Tomorrow you can find me at Spinning Pearls where I will be visiting author and manuscript assessor Sally Odgers (too many books to name but the Jack Russell Dog Detective series and the e-Manual (Giving our Kids) A Reason to Write are just two examples) to discuss ‘the hour of the rat’ and how I get to Japan and China inside my head. The complete tour schedule is here.