The Ten Penners, a children’s author collective, launched their blog tour to coincide with the release of their exciting new anthology Mystery, Mayhem & Magic. Follow the tour, read about Julie Baythorpe, book giveaway and more—
Mystery, Mayhem & Magic is an anthology of amazing adventures for young readers!
Take a path through the forest of imagination into mysterious journeys filled with mayhem and a kaleidoscope of magical creatures.
From the authors of Shock! Horror! Gasp! and Fan-Tas-Tic-Al Tales emerges Mystery, Mayhem & Magic, a new anthology written by The Ten Penners, a paperback novel-size book which is jam-packed with thirty-six stories, poems and novellas suitable for children aged 8 to 12 and early readers. Stories can be read to younger children too …
… So come and explore!
The Ten Penners children’s author group
Follow the fascinating Mystery, Mayhem & Magic
Blog Tour any time—
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT – BOOK GIVEAWAY COMPETITION CLOSED!
There will be a giveaway of a copy of Mystery, Mayhem & Magic! At the end of the blog tour, those who have left a comment on this page, or on any of the other hosts’ pages during the blog tour, will be in the running to receive a free copy! The announcement of the winner will be at our book launch at Broadbeach Library on Saturday 4 November 2017. So, please make a comment below to be in the running.
Q & A
Today I am delighted to welcome one of the authors, Julie Baythorpe, who has kindly put her literary thoughts into words:
Julie BaythorpeJulie at her book launch
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julie Baythorpe was born in Sydney and moved to Brisbane where she attended Brisbane Central State School. She loved every minute of school life so much so she never left the education system. In 1985 she moved to the Gold Coast. Julie has written all her life. For many years, she taught creative writing, both as a Teacher and Principal in classrooms across Queensland. When she retired from teaching she started writing full-time. She has written and published numerous short stories, poems, journal articles and has developed many Curriculum documents for Education Queensland. She is currently organising and presenting writing workshops for the Gold Coast Writers’ Association. Her books include the Reid Devron murder mystery series and several short story anthologies. Julie also enjoys creating watercolour paintings … when she’s not writing!
Q1.When did you start writing?
A. I started when I was very young … five or six years old. I loved it. I had a vivid imagination (still have) which transported me to mystical and magical places. As I grew older I began writing poems and stories for the children I taught in primary school. I also wrote strategic documents … curriculum documents, behaviour management programs and planning outlines for Education Queensland. I started writing fiction full-time when I retired from teaching.
Q2.Which genres do you enjoy writing?
A. I enjoy writing in most genres, however, I feel most comfortable writing novels in the murder mystery category. As a member of The Ten Penners writing group, I’ve dabbled in short story writing for children again. It’s been a while since I did this, however, I enjoyed creating the character ‘Plinko’ and I loved the adventures of Jock, Davo and Birch in ‘Birch the Dinosaur and the Bogan Penguins’. A lot of fun!
Q3.Have you published any books? A. Yes, I’ve published three books in the Reid Devron murder mystery series. ‘The Lavender Principal’, ‘Silo Deadfall’, and ‘Under the Fig Tree’, all set in schools where I’ve worked. In collaboration with the Southern Short Story Group (another sub-group of Gold Coast Writers’ Association) I wrote a number of fictional short stories. The title of that book is ‘Love, Lies, Laughter and a Few Little Tears’.
Q4.Have you won any writing competitions?
A. Only one … when I was about nine years old. They asked me to read it to the whole school. I’ve been traumatised ever since! But it didn’t stop my love of writing!
Q5.Do you have a plan/schedule for your writing?
A. Early in the morning is a great time for my writing sessions. I fade by the afternoon. I usually collect ideas in my head and jot down notes … Firstly, in a scribbled, illegible mess. To tidy my ramblings, I develop a timeline for two or three pages then add chapters and scenes. For example, Chapter One … a body is found, police arrive, description of setting and some characters. In a rough outline, I write down scenes in each chapter. I use a scrapbook for pictures and details of my characters. Lastly, I organise a folder for research, the book cover ideas, similes/metaphors, poems, and editing notes and pages. Then it gets cracking!
Many thanks, Julie, for your time and inspiration.
Smiles all round for The Ten Penners
The Ten Penners sub group of Gold Coast Writers’ Association
Don’t forget! Post a comment below (or on any one of the blog tour sites) to be in the running for a giveaway copy of The Ten Penners new anthology Mystery, Mayhem & Magic! IMPORTANT: THE BOOK GIVEAWAY COMPETITION HAS CLOSED.
Postcards are alive and well and received by countless friends, family and complete strangers around the world. Complete strangers? This is where Postcrossing comes into the picture.
I first learned about Postcrossing, a postcard exchange group, from a quarterly Stamp Bulletin and joined free-of-charge. The five-step guidelines are easy to follow, the website makes it simple to set up a profile and tweak your settings. Navigate around and check out the stunning and prolific cards received and uploaded by Postcrossing members. Everyone abides by the rules so things flow smoothly between more than 69,000 members in over 200 countries.
SEND: There’s pleasure in finding and choosing suitable postcards and stamps uniquely representative of your own location. Clever members can match a postcard to followers hobbies. It took a couple of weeks for the first postcard to hit my letterbox but I could start mailing out straight away.
RECEIVE: The beauty, variety and quantity I received, often from places I’d never heard of, was impressive. English is universal although you can specify countries and language. Handwritten, never laser printed, it takes a certain skill to describe something about yourself and your town on the back of a small piece of cardboard!
The Postcrossing project was created in 2005 by Postcrossing Founder Paulo Magalhães as a side project when he was a student in Portugal. From 2008 to 2017, 40 million postcards have been sent. Naturally Paulo loves to receive postcards and finding one in his mailbox always makes his day!
Right down to the different shapes of the stamps, and in some cases, distinctly long addresses, I was hooked on the fun.
The Postcrossing website has stats and charts to follow the progress of your postcards and I only had one go missing in action. I think the British postcards were the quickest to arrive and I’ll be diplomatic and not say which was the slowest. Larger countries sometimes lagged, perhaps because of sheer volume – or misguided postal cuts. In Australia, there’s an infinite variety of unique postage stamps and supply doesn’t look like declining any time soon.
This world-wide concept stands strong, despite the challenges of internet and social media. Stamps are still stuck on postcards, timeless messages are still written on the back, and they are still physically mailed to a real address.
Postcrossing friendships are possible via their blog, forum and meet-ups. Due to work commitments, I closed my Postcrossing account and gave many of my postcards to a collector. I kept a few colourful ones to wistfully gaze at on a quiet day.
Ever do something just for fun? Sure you have. From an impromptu picnic to cooking a lavish dinner. Sporty things, family things, shopping expeditions or entering a competition in the name of fun.
Recently I designed a book-themed teatowel for fun. There was a prize involved but I won’t dwell on that because I did not win. However, it did spawn this blog piece…
For those born into a dishwasher world, I will elaborate. A teatowel is used to dry crockery and cutlery. It is made of an oblong piece of linen or cotton material, naturally absorbent, hemmed on all sides and printed with a design. The design is printed on one side, in portrait position. Teatowels can be any colour, any theme, but traditionally the same fabric and size. They can also be displayed poster-like on a kitchen wall. The following teatowels are not ignominious!
Tourist destinations sell souvenir teatowels, the most glorious ones are those in public art galleries. Gift shops offer cute ones with flowers, teacups, recipes or cow designs. Craft groups use them as fund-raisers, while cookware stores display matching sets of oven mitt, apron and teatowel with a trendy designer logo.
I have a large proportion of Australian flora and fauna too well-laundered to show here. The examples displayed are the best I could find in the kitchen drawer. A lovely giraffe print from Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo NSW, was singed from a cooking incident. My recently purchased Cecily teatowel (below) is part of a book-themed series from New Zealand. It will not suffer the fate of another limited edition teatowel which, shock horror, was used to wipe the stove griller.
Teatowels sound old-fashioned and domesticated but they can become the focus of teenage washing-up disputes and used as a weapon to flick people. Snap!
Apparently teatowels originated in Victorian England and were used at teatime to keep the china in good condition. Baked goods were often laid on a teatowel to cool or alternatively kept moist under a teatowel. The name is different in different countries, in Australia a dishtowel/dishcloth is used for more heavy duty cleaning.
Tidy teatowel (Unknown)
No doubt there is an online history of teatowels and teatowel aficionados around the world, but I am content in the knowledge that I have owned many useful hard-working ones over the years. Lightly imbued with nostalgia and sentiment, some were gifts, most I have bought, and one I designed myself which is not destined to be printed. That’s a good thing.
September and spring is emerging in the southern hemisphere. And my garden!
My ode to springtime using DooDooLite
I have just found out what Crocosmia means! Small, brightly coloured funnel-shaped blooms, sword-shaped foliage, grown from bulbs similar to the Iris family. Grouped together they make ideal, butterfly-friendly floral displays. Such a variety of colours and shapes to gladden the heart of any artistic gardener.
On Gardenia Creating Gardens website, companion planting with Crocosmia is reminiscent of English cottage gardens (see below) although they are natives of South Africa. I haven’t planted Crocosmia, I should, they tolerate Brisbane’s subtropical climate, humidity, heat and current drought-like conditions.
Since Queensland won’t be getting tropical rainfall for a couple of months yet, I will satisfy myself with what I can photograph in my own meagre garden; and add excerpts from some famous poems about springtime.
“Spring” by Gerard Manley Hopkins Nothing is so beautiful as Spring – When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush; Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens, and thrush Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing; The glassy pear tree leaves and blooms, they brush The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.“A Light Exists in Spring” by Emily Dickinson A Colour stands abroad On Solitary Fields That Science cannot overtake But Human Nature feels. It waits upon the Lawn, It shows the furthest Tree Upon the furthest Slope you know It almost speaks to you.“September in Australia” by Henry Kendall Grey Winter hath gone, like a wearisome guest, And, behold, for repayment, September comes in with the wind of the West And the Spring in her raiment! The ways of the frost have been filled of the flowers, While the forest discovers Wild wings, with the halo of hyaline hours, And the music of lovers.“Lines Written in Early Spring” by William Wordsworth Through primrose tufts, in that green bower, The periwinkle trailed its wreaths; And ’tis my faith that every flower Enjoys the air it breathes.“Australian Spring” by Hugh McCrae And jolly Spring, with love and laughter gay Full fountaining, lets loose her tide of bees Upon the waking ember-flame of bloom New kindled in the honey-scented trees.“Spring” by Christina Georgina Rossetti There is no time like Spring, When life’s alive in everything, Before new nestlings sing, Before cleft swallows speed their journey back Along the trackless track – God guides their wing, He spreads their table that they nothing lack – Before the daisy grows a common flower Before the sun has power To scorch the world up in his noontide hour.
INTERVIEWER: How many unfinished manuscripts do you have on file? ME:
I have nine in varying stages of incompleteness. I love them all, they start off well, the concepts are intriguing, then I stall. INTERVIEWER: How do you get over writer’s block? ME:
At this point my stories can veer one of two ways. Boringly predictable or Man-I-didn’t-expect-that! And believe me, you will know the difference when the creative spark ignites. The momentum is strong, the words flow and come alive. I run with it and don’t look back. INTERVIEWER: What has made you stop writing a particular story? ME:
When that inspired catalyst fizzles out, mundaneness moves in. My tale slips into the writing doldrums and my incentive fades away. I no longer feel the need to flesh out the plot. Of course, a looming deadline can always prod me into action. INTERVIEWER: Do you prefer plot structure or character development?
ME: Oh, I much prefer characters, I love creating their voices, habits and lifestyles. INTERVIEWER: Do you delete your unfinished work? ME: Perhaps it sounds better if I say I have nine good story ideas pending completion. INTERVIEWER: Does that mean you keep everything you write? ME:
Yes, and I return to scrappy stories on a regular basis to see if they are worth saving. Maybe one of them is a work of genius. To find out, I must keep writing. INTERVIEWER: Do you want a coffee? ME:
Sounds like a good idea!
Mahatma Gandhi, Indian political and spiritual leader (1869-1948) said “The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems” and “Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it” because who knows what is around the next bend…
To quote Families Magazine “This poster will help your kids to differentiate and identify the difference between being RUDE, being MEAN and BULLYING.”
The self-explanatory poster is one of several free downloads on the website of Families Magazine, an A4 glossy magazine printed every two months and distributed in public libraries and places where families are in Brisbane, Ipswich, Toowoomba, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, Australia.
Families Magazine says “Interactions with others can be confusing. Sometimes what is considered bullying, may in fact be something else? Bullying is a repetitive behaviour that is designed to intentionally hurt or belittle another person.”
All three behaviours are upsetting to a child, but bullying is the most destructive.
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A. 
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SEND: There’s pleasure in finding and choosing suitable postcards and stamps uniquely representative of your own location. Clever members can match a postcard to followers hobbies. It took a couple of weeks for the first postcard to hit my letterbox but I could start mailing out straight away.
Right down to the different shapes of the stamps, and in some cases, distinctly long addresses, I was hooked on the fun.
Postcrossing friendships are possible via their blog, forum and meet-ups. Due to work commitments, I closed my Postcrossing account and gave many of my postcards to a collector. I kept a few colourful ones to wistfully gaze at on a quiet day.
Thoughts Become Words 