quickmeme.com
With the AUS/NZ release of my new novel a mere four weeks away, here’s a little insight into the wondering that produced the tale.
Exchange of Heart / Munro vs. the Coyote grew from two story seeds.
Ceaseless Wonder
July 4, 2017
Navel Gazing, News Are You Seeing Me?, Assisted Living, Broken Heart, Ceaseless Wonder, CPR, Down Syndrome, Exchange of Heart, Fair Go, Inspiration, Munro vs. the Coyote, Wonder, YA, YA Fiction, YA Lit Leave a comment
Six Nods To #NoVoices
June 6, 2017
Navel Gazing #CripLit, #NoVoices, #OwnVoices, #WeNeedDiverseBooks, Disability, Diversity, Exchange of Heart, Intellectual Disability, Munro vs. the Coyote, Neurodiversity, New YA Lit, Special Needs, YA, YA Lit Leave a comment
#OwnVoices is an essential movement. If you don’t know about it, you should read this. Incontrovertibly, marginalized groups must be afforded every opportunity to tell/write/publish/sell their own stories. Privileged, able, cishet, white, middle-class, dude scribblers like me do not have to stay out of the imaginative lanes of these groups, but we must drive with extreme care. It bears repeating — #OwnVoices is an essential movement.
No less important are those groups with #NoVoices.
Words Gone, Words Returned
July 25, 2015
Navel Gazing Are You Seeing Me?, ASD, Autism, AYSM, Daughters, Disability, Diversity, Fathers, Journal, Kids, New Release, New YA Lit, Sons, Twins, YA, YA Lit, Young Adults Leave a comment
11.00am, July 21st 2001. In the too-familiar confines of Brisbane’s Wesley Hospital, my daughter is born. Three minutes later, my son follows.
How to properly mark the arrival of my children into the world? What can I do to let them know they are loved from the first second forward?
I will write them a journal. One each. Until their fifth birthdays. It makes sense; I have so few skills, but seeing lives, conjuring thoughts, assembling words – these are my staples.
I write. Moments of hilarity, of poignancy. I fill small pages with tiny details and big imagination. Flickers of a technicolour film in its formative months. I write fast for ten months.
Then I am slow.
No Lie: Perry’s Seven Pearls Of Priceless Wisdom
August 18, 2014
Navel Gazing Advice, Are You Seeing Me?, ASD, Autism, Autism Fiction, Autism Writing, AYSM, AYSM Quotes, Books, Difference, Disability, Good Life, New Books, New YA Lit, No Lie, Novels, Perry, Perry Quotes, Perry Richter, Random House Australia, Wisdom, YA Lit, Young Adults 2 Comments
Are You Seeing Me? is on the shelves and the initial response has been terrific. Readers have shared their experiences of laughing and crying and wishing earnestly and thinking differently and, when all was said and done, not wanting to let go.
A major reason for this response has been Perry Richter. The young man with the “brain condition” seems to be touching hearts and souls in a big way. I’m delighted by this – in the character’s simple eloquence and careful observance, there are lessons for all of us, his author included.
So, as both an early thank you to AYSM’s readers and a brief foray into the beautiful mind of a special person, here is Perry’s “No Lie” guide to living a good life in an unstable world:
Canada, Thank You For ‘Aide-ing’ Us
July 2, 2014
Navel Gazing Aides, ASD, Australia, Australian Education, Autism, Autism Support, BC Teachers Strike, Canada, Canada Day, Canadian Education, Disability, Disability Support, Education, Schooling, Special Needs, Teacher Aides, Teachers 1 Comment
Back in May of 2007, as Term One of our twins’ first and last year of Australian schooling was drawing to a close, we understood the situation:
On Fridays, there would be no teacher-aide support in mainstream class for our autism-diagnosed son. The other four days were fine, but the ’emergency funding’ for the fifth had run out. If we wanted support, we could pay for it ourselves, or we could come to school with him. Of course, we could always keep him at home if we wanted. This was how it would be for the remainder of the year. This was how it would be for the next twelve years.
You can imagine our emotions – anger, disbelief, disillusionment.
It may surprise you to know there was also relief.
15 In 15
March 27, 2014
Navel Gazing, Real Writer, Uncategorized 15 in 15, Authors, Influences, Writing 1 Comment
Tagged by fellow scribbler, Lisa Wardle, to do this exercise on Facebook, I thought I’d throw it on Myperbole instead: 15 in 15.
The instructions imply influences of all sorts, not necessarily literary.
The Rules:
Don’t take too long to think about it.
15 influences, authors and poets included, who’ve influenced you and that will always stick with you.
List the first 15 you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.
Okay, here goes:
Still Missing The Boat
August 27, 2013
Navel Gazing, News Asylum Seekers, Australia, Australian Election, Australian Government, Australian Politics, Border Policy, Border Protection, Difference, Federal Election, Immigration, Immigration Policy, Kevin Rudd, Labor Party, Liberal Party, Migrants, Refugees, Stop The Boats, Tolerance, Tony Abbott, Voltaire, Voltaire Quotes, Xenophobia 1 Comment
Last week, I penned a missive in response to a vile letter directed towards an autism-diagnosed Canadian boy and his family. It was intended to highlight the essential need for respect and understanding when it comes to the differences between us.
Five days later and I am writing again. The circumstances are not the same. Sadly, the theme is.
