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Fixed Book Pricing Scheme – good for books and booksellers!

“Without independent bookstores, there is effectively little market for Australian literature and no future for Australian writers.” – Richard Flanagan to Raymond Bonner in The Age/SMH 10 Feb 2024

Independent bookstores in this country are in crisis. According to a recent article by Raymond Bonner in The Age, 65% of indie bookstores closed between 2013 – 2023. The key reason? Big department chains and super high discounts. But a Fixed Book Price scheme may be the answer.

Easter School Holidays Reading + Craft: Mad Hatters Bookshop, Wednesday 10 April 2024

Help me celebrate the release of the second book in the Jawsome series, License to Rock, these school holidays! I’ll be doing a reading followed by a sea-sational ‘ocean bowl’ craft activity using shells, coloured sand, paddlepop sticks & stickers.

This event is $5/child, suitable for ages 5+. Littler ones will need help from their grown-ups for the craft activity.

Time and Place: 10.30am Wednesday 10 April 2024, at the Mad Hatters Bookshop in Manly.

Bookings required – please book a space through the link below. Signed copies of Jawsome #1 & #2 will be available to purchase on the day.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS AND TO BOOK

Easter School Holidays workshop: Creative Fox Squad, Thursday 11 April 2024

Join local author Adam France and I for a full day of bookish fun at the Quick Brown Fox Bookshop in Brisbane these school holidays. Adam will be teaching creative writing skills for all levels, from reluctant to expert writers. His workshop provides the tools and motivation necessary for all kids to be the best storytellers they can be!

During my session, we’ll discover ways to come up with laugh-out-loud storylines and learn how to add humour to stories using puns and wordplay. We’ll also draw some characters from my new book ‘Jawsome 2: Licence to Rock’ and learn how to take your own artwork from drab to fab.

Suitable for ages 8-12
Cost per person $80
Each participant will receives 2 featured books
2 author/illustrator workshops featuring:
WRITING WORKSHOP with ADAM FRANCE
ILLUSTRATION AND WRITING WORKSHOP with REBECCA TIMMIS
Maker Space and Craft activities
Morning Tea and Lunch provided

CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS AND TO BOOK

Come and meet fabulous authors and illustrators at Romancing the Stars Brisbane

On March 20 I’ll be rubbing shoulders, sipping wine and talking books at Good News Lutheran School in Brisbane with some serious kidlit legends like Zewlan Moor, Rory H. Mather, Alison Mclennan and Yvonne Mes … to name a few!

This is a great event for parents, teachers, librarians and book lovers to speed-date 21 Aussie author and illustrators. Hear about our latest books, ask questions and have a chat over the cheeseboard. There will be books and art for sale, and plenty of wine … did I mention wine?

Tickets are $35 for non-members, or you can join Book Links – The Centre for Children’s Literature and save $10. Bookings are open now.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK

Jawsome 2: Licence to Rock is out now!

It’s official! Jawsome 2: Licence to Rock is officially out now!

With non-stop adventure, gill-splitting laughs and several krillion fans… Jawsome is AWESOME.

Finley, Hunter, Gilleon and Gnash are juggling their double lives as ordinary school sharks and as members of the sensational rock band, JAWSOME! On top of that, they find themselves pulled deep into a sea of suspicious shark-nanigans. From stopping evil A.B.B.A agents to unmasking a strange new band, JAWSOME will need to use all their rockstar skills to save Chumville.

A fin-tastically entertaining adventure that’s perfect for emerging readers and shark enthusiasts of all ages!

Order online now

Book signing: BookFest Bethania, 4 November 2023

Come grab a signed book and have a chat at BookFest in Bethania on Saturday 4th November, 2023.

There will be books for sale, local authors to meet, food trucks, a jumping castle, PLUS entry is free!
Time: 9am – 2pm
Location: Bethania Community Centre, 88-118 Station Rd

This will be my second last public event before Christmas, so if you’re looking for a unique gift, a signed book might be just what you’re after! Plus you’ll be helping to support local authors rather than putting more dollars into big department stores.

Hope to see you there! Check out full details and book your ticket at online here.

Tell-all interview with Kristy Nita Brown and Rebecca Timmis

Get the goss on being a children’s author in Australia!

Join us for a tell-all interview with Kristy Nita Brown and Rebecca Timmis where we explore the differences between indie and trade publishing, discuss how our latest stories came about, and ask each other curly questions with HILARIOUS results. Stories about dacking, bush wees and adult fails guaranteed!

Kristy is the author of two junior fiction titles, ‘Looking for Lily’ and ‘Mavey and Beth’s Double Act: Where’s My Whistle?’. Jump onto her website at https://www.kristynitabrown.com.au

I MADE A MUSIC VIDEO!

SHARKTACULAR (The Jawsome Song) is now live on YouTube!

Special thanks to Gold Coast City Council and the Queensland Government for their assistance with this project.

The Regional Arts Development Fund is a partnership between the Queensland Government and the City of Gold Coast Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.

Join me this School Holidays for a Writing and Illustrating Workshop

Come join me for a creative morning filled with stories, illustrations and inspiration at Quick Brown Fox Bookshop, Brisbane!

When:
Friday September 22 @ 10.30am – 11.30am

What to expect:
Creative discussion on the art of writing story ideas and designing illustration.

I’ll talk about the idea behind Jawsome, lead you through some activities to help you come up with your own story, then finish off the session with a reading of chapter one and a ‘How to draw Finley’ exercise.

Suitable for creators 7yrs +.

This is a FREE workshop, but bookings are essential. Limited spots are available so make sure to book early!

Book online now

JAWSOME BOOK LAUNCH ANNOUNCED

Come and join me for the official launch of JAWSOME at ‘Where the Wild Things Are Bookshop’ on September 25. We’ll have a reading, dad joke competition (with prizes, of course) and you can make your own shark puppet!

Bookings are essential and include a copy of the book.

Book online now

New blog post: How I Landed a Literary Agent … TWICE!

Anyone who’s been in this industry for even a short time can tell you one undeniable truth – children’s publishing is a seriously competitive biz! This article covers how I went from being aspiring writer to published author, highlighting one of the most important parts of my journey – signing with a literary agent (twice!). I’ll also share some of the key advantages to having an agent in Australia.

So let’s go!

Read the full post here.

SHARKTACULAR (THE JAWSOME SONG) IS NOW LIVE!

Just before Christmas last year, I learned that a RADF grant I had applied for had been approved. The grant was to commission an original song for my new children’s book series, JAWSOME.

And now it’s HERE!

Thanks to the fabulous talents of Ali Jane from Four Horseman Productions, and starring vocals from famous singer Ricky Armellino of Ice Nine Kills, “SHARKTACULAR: THE JAWSOME SONG” is now available to play on your fave music streaming service.

Find it on Spotify

Find it on YouTube Music

Special thanks to Gold Coast City Council and the Queensland Government for their assistance with this project.

The Regional Arts Development Fund is a partnership between the Queensland Government and the City of Gold Coast Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.

Vote for MerTales: The Best Friend Promise and go into the draw to win a whale-load of books!

Better Reading is asking for your favourite kids or YA book, and by voting you could win a copy of EVERY single book on the final Top 50 list! You can vote for Best Friend Promise: MerTales 1 here.

Voting closes 23/07/2023 so vote now and make a SPLASH!

MERTALES box set now on sale at Big W

Wholloping Wales! MerTales is now available in a four book box set! Grab it as part of the Big Whopping Toy Sale at Big W now for only 10 dollaroos (sale ends 12/07/2023).

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In Cockleshell Cove there is mischief and adventure in the water! As Pearl and her best friends Shell, Coral and Sandy discover their secret powers and learn to use them, they leave no starfish unturned in order to solve four undersea mysteries.

***

Buy now

JAWSOME pre-orders now open!

Shivering sharks, am I excited to reveal the cover of my new junior fiction series JAWSOME. This chomptastic book has two stories in one and is clam-packed with illustrations. Suitable for readers 6-10 years and published by Albert Street Books.

This is the most ridiculous, silly, off-the-wall book I’ve even written & illustrated, but jumping jellyfish I had a lot of fun making it.

***
By day, Finley and his mates are ordinary shark kids.
But by night, they are secretly the super-famous rock band JAWSOME!
They have 600 krillion fans, 3 gold albums and 11 #1 hits on Chomp FM. But when their lead singer, Ann Chovi, quits the band, they need to find a new singer STAT.

***

Pre-order now

Help me raise money this month for mental health research

Did you know that 1 in 5 people experience symptoms of mental illness each year?

In fact, every day in Australia, 8 people will die by suicide.

Mental illness can be debilitating and can have a devastating impact on not only those living with it, but those around them.

This October, I’ll be taking part in One Foot Forward to show people living with mental illness that they are not alone.

I’m walking to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute to support crucial mental health research and support services to help Australians impacted by mental illness and suicide.

It would mean so much to me if you’d support my walk this October.

Together, we can create a mentally healthier world, for everyone.

Every dollar helps! Click here to make a donation.

Mini Taco Podcast Interview

I recently had a great chat with Ken and Liv from the podcast Reading With A Chance of Tacos for their offshoot podcast, Mini Tacos, aimed at young readers and writers (and illustrators!). We talked about the MerTales books and video game, as well as what I’m writing next. Check out the full episode here.

Special Offer: Author Websites

Need a website for your author platform? I’m offering professional author website builds for just $500 + GST for a short time. This offer is strictly limited until my books are full. All the details are on my business website.

MerTales Double Launch Party

Come and celebrate the release of MerTales Book 4: The Mysterious Rainbow Thief, PLUS the mobile game MerTales: Mermaid Rescue at a special trivia event at the awesome Where the Wild Things Are Bookstore in West End, Brisbane.

Think you know books? Think you know games? Get your thinking cap on and win awesome prizes with a book + game trivia contest.

There will also be cupcakes, book signing, and a free gift for all attendees. The cost of a ticket is $15 and covers entry for you and your family, PLUS a copy of MerTales Book 4.

When: Wednesday July 6 @ 2pm – 3pm
Where: Where the Wild Things Are Bookstore, 191 Boundary St, West End QLD

Bookings are essential.

BOOK NOW

Calling all authors and illustrators!

A wonderful colleague of mine, Haylee B, is collecting books for a raffle to help raise money for HeartKids as part of their Two Feet and a Heartbeat charity walk, which will be on 17 October 2022.

If you would like to donate a book, please contact me for Haylee’s details.

Read more about HeartKids, or visit their Two Feets and Heartbeat page to learn more about the charity walk. (Why not register to do the walk while you’re there!)

MerTales: Mermaid Rescue is now available!

Glittering guppies! Your favourite mermaids are now in a video game!

Pearl’s favourite seahorse, Silverdust, has gone missing from the merschool stables. Is he in the Weeded Wood? The Seagrass Meadow? Or Bluebottle Gully? Use Pearl’s magical ability of talking to animals to navigate through 3 mazes in search of Silverdust. Answer riddles, help your sea animal friends and collect mermazing treasures. You might even get some help from Pearl’s mermaid friends!

The Early Access version of the full game is available NOW on App Store and Google Play. There are no ads, no in-app purchases, and it’s totally free! Use the links below to download the game now. And if you like it, don’t forget to leaving a rating and a review so others can find it too 🙂

Download from Google Play

Download from the App Store

New Blog Post: Where Have I Been Lately?

It’s been a few years since I updated my little mini-blog so this is quite the brain dump! Follow me on my journey for the last 3 years. It’s a doozy!

Read the blog post

Booktopia International Children’s Book Day

It’s International Children’s Book Day and the awesome legends at Booktopia are celebrating with an amazing bunch of book readings! Listen to greats like Andy Griffiths, Renee Treml, Adam Goodes, Trent Roberts, Jacqueline Harvey and more read from their latest books (yes, I’m in there too, but as a total noob I am not including myself as a ‘great’ … more like a ‘barely scraped through’ haha).

Watch the readings on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlHjgsgBEP-4rqGjV_0RxzhGEvEmR2JYc

Expressions of Interest: Beta Testers for MerTales: Mermaid Rescue

I’m seeking enthusiastic beta testers for my new video game! Freebies and prizes are up for grabs for anyone who provides feedback. For full details, visit the link below.

https://www.mertales.com.au/expression-of-interest/

School holiday event: Where the Wild Things Are Bookshop (Brisbane)

Monday 04 April 2022
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
Book reading and signing of MerTales 3: The Great Treasure Hunt. Tickets are $15 and include a copy of the book. We’ll even be doing a treasure hunt!

Bookings essential, book online here:
https://wherethewildthingsare.com.au/events/mertales-3-rebeca-timmis