Celebrating Three Ways

September 1 is an important day in my household. First, it's Indigenous Literacy Day, which aims to help raise funds to raise literacy levels and improve the lives and opportunities of Indigenous Australians living in remote and isolated regions. And if you are wondering what you can do to help, check out the suggestions on Anita Heiss Blog. We can at the bare minimum buy a book today (you can never have too many books and if you think you can, buy one as a gift) or make a donation on-line. Lots of $2 add up to very worthwhile amounts.

Today is also the release of the fifth book in my Samurai Kids series, Fire Lizard, otherwise known as 'the red one'. It tells the story of the Kids adventure in the Kingdom of Joseon (now known as Korea).

Terrorised by the corrupt Governor and his cunning henchman Hyo Moon, the poeple of the NIne Valleys grow desperate. Their only hope is Sensei's former teacher, Pak Cho. Now a frail, blind man. At great risk, Sensei and the Little Cockroaches escort Pak Cho to Daejeon City to deliver a warning to the Governor.

Can the Little Cockroaches defeat Hyo Moon? Will Pak Cho's message stop the Governor from destroying the valleys?

And the first paragraph:

Chapter One: Facing the Tiger

The tiger roars. It bares its teeth and staring directly at us, bellows even louder than before.

Kyoko drops her pack in fright.

“Don’t move,” Sensei whispers.

It’s hard to follow his advice when Kyoko’s pack landed on my foot.

But then the great tiger roars a third time, deep and throaty, mouth open wide. My body stiffens. The fear in my heart is much greater than the throb in my foot. I am the White Crane whose eyes can clearly see long cruel canines for puncturing and tearing. Strong vicious jaws for ripping and chewing.

Sensei taught us about tigers. One swipe to the head is enough to kill and one bite can sever a limb or carve a chunk out of your spine.

And finally, today is the first day of the Authors & Illustrators of the Illawarra exhibition at Beach Art Gallery, featuring among others, the work of Sue Whiting, Donna Rawlins, Ann Lamb, Lexie Watt, Rhian Nest-James and myself.

MAILBOX MONDAY on WEDNESDAY

It's been one of those weeks -the sort you wouldn't wish on anyone - not even once a year. So today I am doing Mailbox Monday on Wednesday. I received something truly special in my mailbox this time - an original piece of artwork from Rhian Nest-James the illustrator of the Samurai Kids series. Isn't it amazing? It's no surprise that every review makes mention of the wonderful oriental-style brushwork illustrations throughout the books.

I am not a visual person - never have been. When I was first shown the illustrations for White Crane, I was asked if they matched what was in my head. I was so thrilled to see them because there was nothing in my head! Well, no pictures anyway. I see everything with words only. But as soon as I saw Rhian's drawings of Sensei and Niya, and the rest of the kids, well... I recognised them straight away.