Writer in Residence

Thanks for your posts and I’m thrilled some of you liked my book. I’m just as thrilled that those of you who didn’t have been far too polite to comment. You are obviously Well Brought Up. As for Topez, can you march in and tell your local book shop that they are a backward outpost and need to catch up. It’s almost on its second print run (and I am still eyeing those brown shoes).

Babaghanoosh (I may be spelling it incorrectly) is a yummy eggplant dip that’s sort of light and vinegary with a wonderful name even if it is a horrible colour (donkey grey). They sell the homemade version in vats along Sydney Road, Coburg but you can also get it in most supermarkets — it’s just not as good and it’s probably called something unexciting — something like Eggplant Dip.

I crashed the CBC (Children’s Book Council of Australia) conference yesterday as I wanted to hear Neil Gaiman speak. The conference is held every two years and this year we were extremely fortunate to have it in Melbourne. The conference was superb. A huge number of publishers and other associated services (like Books Illustrated who sell beautiful original drawings and prints from children’s books) were all there and I just wished I’d known about it when I was starting out. It gave one a fantastic overview of what different publishers are doing.

A former RMIT student who is now an assistant editor at Allen & Unwin wound up in a Tashi costume at the Allen & Unwin booth and did a valiant job waving to the crowds under a very large papier mache head. Rumour has it that there are brand protection rules concerning Tashi such as “Tashi must Never appear without his head” and “Tashi must Never Ever appear without pants”. Now, for me, that would be an open invitation to streak around the conference centre in my undies, possibly decapitated, but luckily I wasn’t invited to model the costume.

Neil Gaiman’s address was really superb — amusing and thoughtful. He believes that young people should be encouraged to read regardless of the quality of their reading material as ideas are sown in good and bad literature. It’s certainly true that most of the novels I adored as a child haven’t stood up to a re-read, but I’ll need to mull over this for a while. My view had been that if people aren’t reading good quality stuff they would be better off watching good films, good theatre or even playing smart games. I’ll probably get thrown off this site for typing that. At the end of the talk, I lined up to have a book signed along with about 400 fantasy readers.

True fantasy readers are a funny type — fanatical really. They were there in t-shirts which said “Say No to Cryptonite” or dressed in black with heaving white bosoms and red velvet handbags. Most sort of knelt when they got to the author — kneeling at the shrine of Neil Gaimon — and a number took awkward photographs while Neil signed. It must be an extraordinary feeling to create something which has such resonance with so many people. Have any of you read Neil Gaiman? One of you bloggers wanted to know whether I am amusing in real life or just in my writing. I like to think I am particularly amusing in real life but everyone who knows me would probably disagree and say I’m actually really annoying. I do seem to spend alot of time laughing at my own jokes. Whenever I am giggling over part of a manuscript, my mother always says it’s really very fortunate that at least I think I’m funny.

Finally, no, I have never tried sitting on my computer at midnight downing a cap full of tomato sauce while listening to Duran Duran. I would like you all to think that this is because I am leading a fabulous life at wild and glamorous parties full of frothy skirts, Neighbours’ stars and drinks served in pineapples, but really it’s because I seem to be in bed by 8pm these days. Speaking of which, goodnight.