News
May 2013
Today, May 1, is the official publication date of Scarlet in the Snow! I've already been and signed copies at my local Dymocks--it looks wonderful on the shelves, and will look even better flying off them! Lovely e-card from RHA today wishing me a happy publication day--it sure is!
April 2013
Interview about my fairytale novels on popular US blog, A Backwards Story.
Practical piece by me on the experience of publishing my e-book on authorship, By the Book: Tips of the Trade for Writers, with the ASA's Authors Unlimited. This piece, just published on the popular blog, The Universal Heart Book Club, hosted by writers Stephanie Dowrick and Walter Mason, has been expanded from an earlier version published in the ASA's March members' newsletter.
An interview with me here, for Fairy Tale Fortnight
And an advance review of Scarlet in the Snow.
March 2013
Good news for my international readers wanting the paperback edition of Moonlight and Ashes: it is now available for pre-order(release date September 1) on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
February 2013
Exciting news: Achuka Books(UK), a digital-only publisher, have just accepted my adult historical novel, Black Wings, a novel of the French Revolution, for release soon. It will join My Brother Will, another of my adult historical novels, on their list.
My e-collection of speculative fiction short stories now available at Authors Unlimited:
It joins my non-fiction e-book, By the Book: Tips of the Trade for Writers, also at Authors Unlimited.
It joins my non-fiction e-book, By the Book: Tips of the Trade for Writers, also at Authors Unlimited.
January 2013:
The Romance Diaries: Ruby, which I've written under the pseudonym of Jenna Austen, is out now! Read more about it here.
August-October 2012:
Away on research trips in Russia, Poland, France and Uk. Very inspirational!
June 2012
Moonlight and Ashes(RHA) is out, and so is Ned Kelly's Secret (Scholastic)! Two very different books, but which I loved writing just as much!
March 2012
Just came back(March 26) from the Bellingen Readers' and Writers' Festival, three days of great talks about books and writers. I was on several panels, one on fantasy, with Kate Forsyth and Ian Irvine; one on books for children and young adults, with Morris Gleitzman, Richard Glover and Ian Irrvine, and one on regional writers, with Michael Sharkey, Lisa Miller and Carrolline Rhodes. Also there was the(early!) launch of Boggle Hunters, which was great fun!
I also spoke to a fair few schools and ran workshops in that region. All in all exhausting but very worthwhile!
So thrilled that my Arthurian short story, 'Lancelot' first published in print form in the anthology 'Road to Camelot', which I edited and compiled for Random House Australia, is one of the launch titles for RHA's Australian Storycuts collection of e-books, each featuring a short story by an Australian authors. Other authors in the series include Michael Pryor, Elliott Perlman, Richard Flanagan, and more. Here's the link to my Lancelot, which you can buy on Book.ish
Have just uploaded to You Tube a trailer for Boggle Hunters, which will be published in April
February 2012
You might be interested to have a look at a post I wrote on fellow author Chris Cheng's blog, for a series he's been posting on authors' and illustrators' creative spaces, complete with photos:
January 2012
2012 starts well, with a story of mine, Snow Maiden, inspired by a lovely Middle Eastern version of Cinderella, published in the January edition of one of my two favourite children's magazines in the world--Cricket magazine from the USA(www.cricketmag.com). (My other favourite is Australia's own wonderful School Magazine.) I've had a few stories published in Cricket over the years, but it's always a delight to see them there! I'll never forget the thrill I got when Victor Ambrus, whose illustrations I used to pore over as a kid, illustrated my story 'The Clever Thief' in Cricket's pages. And being published in Cricket helped to put me in touch with one of my favourite authors, too, the great, late Lloyd Alexander.
Beautiful new cover for Madman of Venice US paperback edition, coming in April, have a look here:
And the cover of my forthcoming Boggle Hunters, out with Scholastic in March, here
December 2011:
My new book of essays for adults, Life, Literature, Legends, has just been published by Quadrant Books. It's a mixture of memoir, observations about the literary life, reviews of books, and essays about fairytale, myth, legend and history. The essays were written over 15 years, most have previously been published in magazines and newspapers, but a couple are seeing their first publication in this book. It looks beautiful in its smart jacket and elegant hardback binding.
Looking forward to three new novels of mine coming out next year: The Boggle Hunters in March, with Scholastic, which is a fun, fast-paced fantasy adventure for younger readers(mid-upper primary); Moonlight and Ashes, with Random House Australia in May, an older readers/YA fairytale novel set in a magical alternative world reminiscent of the 19th century Austro-Hungarian Empire and inspired by the fairytale Ashputtel, and Ned Kelly's Secret, with Scholastic in June, an adventure novel for upper primary/lower secondary, based on the adolescence of Ned Kelly, but told in the voice of 15 year old Hugo Mars, a young French traveller to 19th cent Victoria.
An essay of mine up on Cabinet des Fees, a wonderful online journal on fairy tales and everything to do with them. This essay of mine is about the strange history of the Reverend Robert Kirk, who wrote the seminal work, The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies(1691).
http://www.cabinetdesfees.com/2011/captive-in-fairyland-the-strange-case-of-robert-kirk-of-aberfoyle/
November 2011:
A blog piece on creating the digital multimedia comic I'm working on with two illustrators and a musician:http://writerunboxed.com/2011/11/16/writing-a-digital-multimedia-comic/#more-11194
A blog piece I wrote about one of my favourite childhood books. Michel Strogoff by Jules Verne:
http://www.michaelpryor.com.au/articles/writers-write-my-favourite-book-2/
October 2011:
Great news from Harper Collins! A new two-book contract for my romantic comedy for young readers, The Romance Diaries: Ruby, (which is based on Jane Austyen's 'Emma;')and its as yet unwritten sequel/companion. These will be published under a pseudonym yet to be decided--and being billed as 'Jane Austen's little sister'! Wow! They'll come out in 2013. Lots of fun!
July 2011:
Wow! More good news! My unpublished spy thriller set in 1910 in Paris, Wild Card, has just been shortlisted for the 2011 Text Prize(July 18). Winner will be announced on Monday July 25.
http://textpublishing.com.au/news/post/text-prize-shortlist-announced1/
June 2011:
New novel accepted by Random House Australia! On the basis of an outline and first chapter, my historical fairytale novel, working title Moonlight and Ashes, has been acepted by RHA. I'm really thrilled. Set in a world based on the 19th century Austro-Hungarian Empire, with a main setting based on Prague and inspired by the Grimm fairytale, Ashputtel, it'll be released in June 2012, so I've got to get cracking!
May 2011:
YIPPEE! The Hunt for Ned Kelly won the Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards! The Awards were announced on Monday 16th at a gala dinner at the Opera House marquee. In a new departure, they had not told anyone who had won in any of the categories, so the atmosphere was quite electric and excited! I wasn't nervous at all because I was sure I hadn't won, and when my name and my book's name were read out, I nearly fell off my chair! Such a wonderful moment! I am so thrilled, and so honoured. The fact the Prize was named after one of my greatest literary heroines makes it all the sweeter!
Here's what the judges said:
Sophie Masson - My Australian Story: The Hunt for Ned Kelly - Scholastic Australia - WINNER Through the eyes of young orphan Jamie Ross and his sister Ellen, an early professional photographer with designs on getting that ‘one big shot’ using her father’s camera - a surprising narrative device which leads to a neat confluence of history and fiction - this story manages to strongly and clearly depict northern Victoria in the late 1800s, in particular the gossip and speculation that followed celebrities then much as it does now. Rather than being ‘just (yet) another Ned Kelly book’, this novel provides a window into a part of our history that is commonly defined by legend, myth and caricature, but is in fact so much more.
To develop tension in an ending that we already know is no mean feat. In addition to its success as an exciting story this book would work well in the classroom, with the technical aspects of the writing and the historical context each offering much to discuss and explore.
My Australian Story: The Hunt for Ned Kellyworks both as a piece of historical fiction, and also as an enjoyable page-turner, with dangerous characters, mystery, pathos, villians (but not always those whom you’d expect), heroes, and a gripping climax in which Masson has, once again, resisted the urge to bow to cliché and predictability. Like all good children’s books, My Australian Story: The Hunt for Ned Kelly possesses several layers, and will have much to recommend it in the eyes of the adult reader as well as the child.
In other news:
The Phar Lap Mystery(Scholastic 2010) has been shortlisted for the 2011 Davitt Awards in the YA section.
April 2011:
There is a new interview with me at the wonderful Kids' Book Review blog at:
http://www.kids-bookreview.com/2011/04/interview-author-sophie-masson.html
The Hunt for Ned Kelly has been named as a Notable Book in this year's Children's Book Council of Australia Awards, in the Younger Readers section.
I appeared at the inaugural Bellingen Readers and Writers' Festival(April 8-10) in beautiful Bellingen on the mid-north coast of NSW. A wonderful experience--lots of good books and writers, a warm, friendly atmosphere, plenty of stimulating panels, and great audiences. Plus I got the wonderful chance on appearing on a panel(on digital publishing panel) with my gorgeous literary agent daughter, Pippa Masson of Curtis Brown.
Bravo to organisers Brian Purcell and Rod Howard!
Just started a new blog I've been thinking about for a while: A la mode frangourou, a French-Australian take on all things foodie! Find it in my links page.
March 2011:
Fantastic news today(March 16): The Hunt For Ned Kelly has just been shortlisted for the Patricia Wrightson Award in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards! I'm so thrilled! Winners announced at aceremony at the Opera House on May 16.
Link to awards:
http://www.pla.nsw.gov.au/awards-shortlists/patricia-wrightson-prize-for-childrens-literature
I'm going to be a guest next month at the inaugural Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival, on the beautiful mid-north coast of NSW. I'll be on several panels, also visiting schools, and my new book, My Father's War, which comes out in April, will be launched there. It sounds like it's going to be a great weekend! More info and tickets at
http://www.brwf.com.au/Bellingen_Readers_%26_Writers_Festival/BRWF.html
An interview with me on Booktopia, re My Father's War and other things:
http://blog.booktopia.com.au/2011/03/04/sophie-masson-author-of-my-fathers-war-answers-ten-terrifying-questions/
February 2011
There's a brand-new interview with me at the Australian Literature Review site:
http://auslit.net/2011/02/25/sophie-masson-author-interview/
I really enjoyed doing this one, some unusual and interesting questions there!
Just out in the bookshops is The Understudy's Revenge(Scholastic): London, March 1860: When mysterious Oliver Parry walks into the King's Room rehearsal rooms to audition for a new production of Hamlet, Millie Osborne is intrigued. Why is he so secretive? What is his interest in the company? When Millie and her friend Seth start investigating, they uncover a tale of secret identities, betrayal, lies, revenge—and perhaps even murder.
Inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet and set against the lively background of the London theatre world in the time of Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins(who make cameo appearances) this is an exciting, engaging mystery that will keep the reader guessing to the very end.
You can watch a trailer for The Understudy's Revenge at my You Tube channel,
www.youtube.com/sophievmasson
News on forthcoming books:
My Father's War, Scholastic, April 2011: Annie's dad has been away for two years, fighting on the Somme battlefields in northern France. For months there has been no word from him, no letters or postcards. Annie and her mother are sick with worry, so they decide to stop waiting—and instead travel to France, to try to find out what has happened to him. There Annie experiences first-hand what war is like, as she tries to piece together the clues behind her dad's disappearance. Will Annie ever see her father again?
You can also watch a trailer for My Father's War at my You Tube channel.
Life, Literature, Legends, Quadrant Books, mid-late 2011. This will be a collection of my essays (for adult readers) published over many years in many different publications, on three main topics: memoir pieces, pieces on books and writers, pieces on myths, legends and fairytales. There'll be a launch in Sydney (more on that soon.)
The Boggle Hunters(Scholastic Press, March 2012) A fun fantasy novel for readers aged 10 and up, about a family of boggle hunters:
There are boggles everywhere in the world, and there's all kinds of them, but there's one thing they have in common: they wreak mischief and havoc. Some are just nuisances. Others are far more dangerous. They don't come from our world, but are a product of the endless war between two rival groups of fairy folk: the Fays and the Grays. Most people can't see boggles, but they're very much affected by them. And there is a secretive guild, the boggle hunters, who since time immemorial have been tasked with the difficult job of keeping boggles under control in the human world.
Boggle hunters are employed by the Fays, who are always trying to stop humanity from being pestered and driven mad by these Gray-bred intruders. But they are constantly hampered in their efforts by the Grays, who delight in unleashing more and more boggles on our unsuspecting world. Fay and Gray spies and agents keep a close eye on each other, with neither side quite winning or losing. They have offices in the human world, and constantly plot and plan against each other. Most humans are not aware of this underground war, except for people like the boggle hunters—and they're not allowed to talk about it, but must keep it a secret. ..
Ned Kelly's Secret(Scholastic Press, mid-late 2012):
This exciting adventure novel, told in the first person by Hugo Mars, a French teenager who is touring Australia with his wealthy writer father, is set in 1870 in and around Benalla and Greta in north-eastern Victoria. It's the story of how Hugo and his father, robbed by bushranger Harry Power, decide to stay in the area to find out more about the bushranger and his circle of friends. When Hugo meets a boy of his own age, Ned Kelly, in town one day, and becomes good friends with him, he little dreams what secret Ned is hiding..
Other news:
A fantastic new project I'm working on is a web comic, called the Secret Army:Order of the Vampire. It'll be a sequel to my earlier novel, the Secret Army: Operation Loki(see Books pages). But this time it'll be all online, and multi-media, with music as well as pictures and words. My co-creators in this exciting project are artists David Allan (http://davidallanart.com) Fiona McDonald(www.fionamcdonald.com.au) and musician/composer Bevis Masson-Leach, a founding member of lively young band Funkle Sam(www.bebo.com/funklesam)
Watch this space for more news on that soon!
The Romance Diaries: Ruby, which I've written under the pseudonym of Jenna Austen, is out now! Read more about it here.
August-October 2012:
Away on research trips in Russia, Poland, France and Uk. Very inspirational!
June 2012
Moonlight and Ashes(RHA) is out, and so is Ned Kelly's Secret (Scholastic)! Two very different books, but which I loved writing just as much!
March 2012
Just came back(March 26) from the Bellingen Readers' and Writers' Festival, three days of great talks about books and writers. I was on several panels, one on fantasy, with Kate Forsyth and Ian Irvine; one on books for children and young adults, with Morris Gleitzman, Richard Glover and Ian Irrvine, and one on regional writers, with Michael Sharkey, Lisa Miller and Carrolline Rhodes. Also there was the(early!) launch of Boggle Hunters, which was great fun!
I also spoke to a fair few schools and ran workshops in that region. All in all exhausting but very worthwhile!
So thrilled that my Arthurian short story, 'Lancelot' first published in print form in the anthology 'Road to Camelot', which I edited and compiled for Random House Australia, is one of the launch titles for RHA's Australian Storycuts collection of e-books, each featuring a short story by an Australian authors. Other authors in the series include Michael Pryor, Elliott Perlman, Richard Flanagan, and more. Here's the link to my Lancelot, which you can buy on Book.ish
Have just uploaded to You Tube a trailer for Boggle Hunters, which will be published in April
February 2012
You might be interested to have a look at a post I wrote on fellow author Chris Cheng's blog, for a series he's been posting on authors' and illustrators' creative spaces, complete with photos:
January 2012
2012 starts well, with a story of mine, Snow Maiden, inspired by a lovely Middle Eastern version of Cinderella, published in the January edition of one of my two favourite children's magazines in the world--Cricket magazine from the USA(www.cricketmag.com). (My other favourite is Australia's own wonderful School Magazine.) I've had a few stories published in Cricket over the years, but it's always a delight to see them there! I'll never forget the thrill I got when Victor Ambrus, whose illustrations I used to pore over as a kid, illustrated my story 'The Clever Thief' in Cricket's pages. And being published in Cricket helped to put me in touch with one of my favourite authors, too, the great, late Lloyd Alexander.
Beautiful new cover for Madman of Venice US paperback edition, coming in April, have a look here:
And the cover of my forthcoming Boggle Hunters, out with Scholastic in March, here
December 2011:
My new book of essays for adults, Life, Literature, Legends, has just been published by Quadrant Books. It's a mixture of memoir, observations about the literary life, reviews of books, and essays about fairytale, myth, legend and history. The essays were written over 15 years, most have previously been published in magazines and newspapers, but a couple are seeing their first publication in this book. It looks beautiful in its smart jacket and elegant hardback binding.
Looking forward to three new novels of mine coming out next year: The Boggle Hunters in March, with Scholastic, which is a fun, fast-paced fantasy adventure for younger readers(mid-upper primary); Moonlight and Ashes, with Random House Australia in May, an older readers/YA fairytale novel set in a magical alternative world reminiscent of the 19th century Austro-Hungarian Empire and inspired by the fairytale Ashputtel, and Ned Kelly's Secret, with Scholastic in June, an adventure novel for upper primary/lower secondary, based on the adolescence of Ned Kelly, but told in the voice of 15 year old Hugo Mars, a young French traveller to 19th cent Victoria.
An essay of mine up on Cabinet des Fees, a wonderful online journal on fairy tales and everything to do with them. This essay of mine is about the strange history of the Reverend Robert Kirk, who wrote the seminal work, The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies(1691).
http://www.cabinetdesfees.com/2011/captive-in-fairyland-the-strange-case-of-robert-kirk-of-aberfoyle/
November 2011:
A blog piece on creating the digital multimedia comic I'm working on with two illustrators and a musician:http://writerunboxed.com/2011/11/16/writing-a-digital-multimedia-comic/#more-11194
A blog piece I wrote about one of my favourite childhood books. Michel Strogoff by Jules Verne:
http://www.michaelpryor.com.au/articles/writers-write-my-favourite-book-2/
October 2011:
Great news from Harper Collins! A new two-book contract for my romantic comedy for young readers, The Romance Diaries: Ruby, (which is based on Jane Austyen's 'Emma;')and its as yet unwritten sequel/companion. These will be published under a pseudonym yet to be decided--and being billed as 'Jane Austen's little sister'! Wow! They'll come out in 2013. Lots of fun!
July 2011:
Wow! More good news! My unpublished spy thriller set in 1910 in Paris, Wild Card, has just been shortlisted for the 2011 Text Prize(July 18). Winner will be announced on Monday July 25.
http://textpublishing.com.au/news/post/text-prize-shortlist-announced1/
June 2011:
New novel accepted by Random House Australia! On the basis of an outline and first chapter, my historical fairytale novel, working title Moonlight and Ashes, has been acepted by RHA. I'm really thrilled. Set in a world based on the 19th century Austro-Hungarian Empire, with a main setting based on Prague and inspired by the Grimm fairytale, Ashputtel, it'll be released in June 2012, so I've got to get cracking!
May 2011:
YIPPEE! The Hunt for Ned Kelly won the Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards! The Awards were announced on Monday 16th at a gala dinner at the Opera House marquee. In a new departure, they had not told anyone who had won in any of the categories, so the atmosphere was quite electric and excited! I wasn't nervous at all because I was sure I hadn't won, and when my name and my book's name were read out, I nearly fell off my chair! Such a wonderful moment! I am so thrilled, and so honoured. The fact the Prize was named after one of my greatest literary heroines makes it all the sweeter!
Here's what the judges said:
Sophie Masson - My Australian Story: The Hunt for Ned Kelly - Scholastic Australia - WINNER Through the eyes of young orphan Jamie Ross and his sister Ellen, an early professional photographer with designs on getting that ‘one big shot’ using her father’s camera - a surprising narrative device which leads to a neat confluence of history and fiction - this story manages to strongly and clearly depict northern Victoria in the late 1800s, in particular the gossip and speculation that followed celebrities then much as it does now. Rather than being ‘just (yet) another Ned Kelly book’, this novel provides a window into a part of our history that is commonly defined by legend, myth and caricature, but is in fact so much more.
To develop tension in an ending that we already know is no mean feat. In addition to its success as an exciting story this book would work well in the classroom, with the technical aspects of the writing and the historical context each offering much to discuss and explore.
My Australian Story: The Hunt for Ned Kellyworks both as a piece of historical fiction, and also as an enjoyable page-turner, with dangerous characters, mystery, pathos, villians (but not always those whom you’d expect), heroes, and a gripping climax in which Masson has, once again, resisted the urge to bow to cliché and predictability. Like all good children’s books, My Australian Story: The Hunt for Ned Kelly possesses several layers, and will have much to recommend it in the eyes of the adult reader as well as the child.
In other news:
The Phar Lap Mystery(Scholastic 2010) has been shortlisted for the 2011 Davitt Awards in the YA section.
April 2011:
There is a new interview with me at the wonderful Kids' Book Review blog at:
http://www.kids-bookreview.com/2011/04/interview-author-sophie-masson.html
The Hunt for Ned Kelly has been named as a Notable Book in this year's Children's Book Council of Australia Awards, in the Younger Readers section.
I appeared at the inaugural Bellingen Readers and Writers' Festival(April 8-10) in beautiful Bellingen on the mid-north coast of NSW. A wonderful experience--lots of good books and writers, a warm, friendly atmosphere, plenty of stimulating panels, and great audiences. Plus I got the wonderful chance on appearing on a panel(on digital publishing panel) with my gorgeous literary agent daughter, Pippa Masson of Curtis Brown.
Bravo to organisers Brian Purcell and Rod Howard!
Just started a new blog I've been thinking about for a while: A la mode frangourou, a French-Australian take on all things foodie! Find it in my links page.
March 2011:
Fantastic news today(March 16): The Hunt For Ned Kelly has just been shortlisted for the Patricia Wrightson Award in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards! I'm so thrilled! Winners announced at aceremony at the Opera House on May 16.
Link to awards:
http://www.pla.nsw.gov.au/awards-shortlists/patricia-wrightson-prize-for-childrens-literature
I'm going to be a guest next month at the inaugural Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival, on the beautiful mid-north coast of NSW. I'll be on several panels, also visiting schools, and my new book, My Father's War, which comes out in April, will be launched there. It sounds like it's going to be a great weekend! More info and tickets at
http://www.brwf.com.au/Bellingen_Readers_%26_Writers_Festival/BRWF.html
An interview with me on Booktopia, re My Father's War and other things:
http://blog.booktopia.com.au/2011/03/04/sophie-masson-author-of-my-fathers-war-answers-ten-terrifying-questions/
February 2011
There's a brand-new interview with me at the Australian Literature Review site:
http://auslit.net/2011/02/25/sophie-masson-author-interview/
I really enjoyed doing this one, some unusual and interesting questions there!
Just out in the bookshops is The Understudy's Revenge(Scholastic): London, March 1860: When mysterious Oliver Parry walks into the King's Room rehearsal rooms to audition for a new production of Hamlet, Millie Osborne is intrigued. Why is he so secretive? What is his interest in the company? When Millie and her friend Seth start investigating, they uncover a tale of secret identities, betrayal, lies, revenge—and perhaps even murder.
Inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet and set against the lively background of the London theatre world in the time of Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins(who make cameo appearances) this is an exciting, engaging mystery that will keep the reader guessing to the very end.
You can watch a trailer for The Understudy's Revenge at my You Tube channel,
www.youtube.com/sophievmasson
News on forthcoming books:
My Father's War, Scholastic, April 2011: Annie's dad has been away for two years, fighting on the Somme battlefields in northern France. For months there has been no word from him, no letters or postcards. Annie and her mother are sick with worry, so they decide to stop waiting—and instead travel to France, to try to find out what has happened to him. There Annie experiences first-hand what war is like, as she tries to piece together the clues behind her dad's disappearance. Will Annie ever see her father again?
You can also watch a trailer for My Father's War at my You Tube channel.
Life, Literature, Legends, Quadrant Books, mid-late 2011. This will be a collection of my essays (for adult readers) published over many years in many different publications, on three main topics: memoir pieces, pieces on books and writers, pieces on myths, legends and fairytales. There'll be a launch in Sydney (more on that soon.)
The Boggle Hunters(Scholastic Press, March 2012) A fun fantasy novel for readers aged 10 and up, about a family of boggle hunters:
There are boggles everywhere in the world, and there's all kinds of them, but there's one thing they have in common: they wreak mischief and havoc. Some are just nuisances. Others are far more dangerous. They don't come from our world, but are a product of the endless war between two rival groups of fairy folk: the Fays and the Grays. Most people can't see boggles, but they're very much affected by them. And there is a secretive guild, the boggle hunters, who since time immemorial have been tasked with the difficult job of keeping boggles under control in the human world.
Boggle hunters are employed by the Fays, who are always trying to stop humanity from being pestered and driven mad by these Gray-bred intruders. But they are constantly hampered in their efforts by the Grays, who delight in unleashing more and more boggles on our unsuspecting world. Fay and Gray spies and agents keep a close eye on each other, with neither side quite winning or losing. They have offices in the human world, and constantly plot and plan against each other. Most humans are not aware of this underground war, except for people like the boggle hunters—and they're not allowed to talk about it, but must keep it a secret. ..
Ned Kelly's Secret(Scholastic Press, mid-late 2012):
This exciting adventure novel, told in the first person by Hugo Mars, a French teenager who is touring Australia with his wealthy writer father, is set in 1870 in and around Benalla and Greta in north-eastern Victoria. It's the story of how Hugo and his father, robbed by bushranger Harry Power, decide to stay in the area to find out more about the bushranger and his circle of friends. When Hugo meets a boy of his own age, Ned Kelly, in town one day, and becomes good friends with him, he little dreams what secret Ned is hiding..
Other news:
A fantastic new project I'm working on is a web comic, called the Secret Army:Order of the Vampire. It'll be a sequel to my earlier novel, the Secret Army: Operation Loki(see Books pages). But this time it'll be all online, and multi-media, with music as well as pictures and words. My co-creators in this exciting project are artists David Allan (http://davidallanart.com) Fiona McDonald(www.fionamcdonald.com.au) and musician/composer Bevis Masson-Leach, a founding member of lively young band Funkle Sam(www.bebo.com/funklesam)
Watch this space for more news on that soon!