An Aussie Year is finally here

Around five years ago, whilst still living in China's capital city, and having experienced (for four years) a culture very, very different to my own, I wrote a picture book text. It was about our Australian childhood, about who our kids are today and all the myriad tradition, quirks, history and cultural aspects that make for a such diverse and rich tapestry of one of the most fortunate countries in the world.

I am now holding this book in my hands. It's called An Aussie Year: twelve months in the life of Australian kids, and probably more than any book I've written yet, this book feels like a dream come true. It is a book that's very dear to my heart.

Like all {well, most} authors, communicating your vision for a book idea can be tough. Publishers are bombarded with ideas and unless they can step into the vision inside your head {difficult!}, they simply can't know exactly what it is you want to achieve.

This book was 'almost' published a few times, and it wasn't until the manuscript connected with a publisher named Anouska Jones {Exisle Publishing} that the book's true vision came to life.

And here it is. My beautiful Aussie Year.

I'm breathless.

The other glorious part of this tale is that a dear friend and very talented graphic designer and illustrator, Tina Snerling, was able to work on this book with me. It was a true labour of love. Tina and I created the concept for this book and worked hard on its layout and design. The result of Tina's superlative illustrating and design skills is a truly stunning book that I am so very, very proud of.

In this way, the book has been a true collaboration, and, along with Anouska and her sensational editing and publishing support skills, I feel so proud of all the love and belief that went into An Aussie Year.

An Aussie Year will launch Exisle Publishing's brand new children's imprint - EK Publishing (you can read more about that in Books+Publishing magazine). The book is out this October and I'll be celebrating with a blog tour and a book launch in both Brisbane and Canberra, so stay tuned for details.

Here's to vision, to collaboration, and to talented people who not only make authors' dreams come true, but are so utterly impassioned by the creation of great books for kids. And Tina and Anouska are definitely those kind of people.

I'm a lucky, lucky gal.