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Upcoming Publications!

| June

Dear Friends, Fans, Fellow Writers and poets,

Listed above are titles of works  accepted to two wonderful new anthologies for children aged 6-12 years.

Both are due for release in October 2019.

Amongst these selections are two poems, a meditation and two short stories.

My first comissioned short story for a magazine will be out in September too, but more details on that when it’s released!

Last year Share Your Story accepted my first ever published short story for children to It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas and I had a short story for middle grade short listed by Scribbles.  What a wonderful encouragement, and it turns out a sign of things to come, those two breakthroughs were.  Thank you to Michelle Worthington, of Share Your Story, and Jen Storer of Scribbles for all the work you do mentoring other writers.

I am delighted to have been developing my short story writing craft and finding homes for my work outside of my own independent publishing press.

And in other news the first draft of my first novel will be completed this week.  I have been working in a Share Your Story mentorship for the last 6 months to fulfil this long cherished goal!

I am currently working on a poetry chapbook, Illuminations, for release in November this year.  This ones for teenagers and grown ups and two wonderfully talented sisters, Ruha and Minaira Fifita, are creating art to be included with the poems and one story. I am working with the same designer as for Magic Fish Dreaming, Heidi Den Ronden. Many of my writing friends from Write Links as well as Baha’i poets have beta read Illuminations and I am so grateful for their invaluable feedback.

My dear friend Helene Magisson, illustrator of Magic Fish Dreaming, has a number of wonderful new children’s books out and I will update you on those soon in a post.

We still meet regularlly for catch ups, and will forever remain friends. She is truly like a sister, and an especially creative person whose friendship I treasure.

One day we would dearly love to do a follow up book to Magic Fish Dreaming if we get the opportunity.

I’ll share details of any launches here and on my social media sites.

Best wishes to all, better get back to writing!

June

If you want to find out more about Share Your Story and Scribbles here are the links!

I highly reccomend both.

Share your Story

Scribbles

Magic Fish Dreaming with your help and love on its way to PNG

| June

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO MAGIC FISH DREAMING BOOKS TO PNG (You will be asked to verify you are not a robot first!)

Inspired by a meeting with Gregg Dreise, where we learnt about the Indigenous Literacy Foundation in Australia and their various projects I decided I needed to do something for literacy for my mother’s homeland Papua New Guinea.

I decided to run a non profit book drive to send some copies of Magic Fish Dreaming, via local charities that deliver them, to Papua New Guinea. In this way I hoped to cover my cost price only, and effectively donate the profit on these books to charity.

I wanted to do this so that rather than sending second hand books, that might not be culturally appropriate I could send a brand new book, from my heart to the heart of Papua New Guinea.

I wanted to do something to assist literacy to assist the children in my Mekeo mother’s homeland.

I had a feeling that if I asked my friends, they would want to support me in these efforts, and enable me to send more than a few.

To my amazement, so far enough for 76 books has been raised, and I am so excited to be delivering them to the charities who will then ensure these make it into schools that need them.

I will soon be sharing the names of all those assisted me to make this contribution on my social media and with the charities (as long as you give me your name) that find schools in need of these books in Papua New Guinea.

I will be making my first delivery to my first charity of choice, Books4PNGKIDS soon, but have found some other worthy people who take books into PNG schools and communities to support as well and I may look to send it to other places in the Pacific.

$8.00 AUD  per book allows me to send one Magic Fish Dreaming book to PNG by covering the costs of my printing.

People can sponsor as many books as they would like, whether it be one or ten or more,  it is the love with which this donation is made that matters the most.

I am now inviting overseas friends and fans to join this project to sponsor some Magic Fish Dreaming Books to go to PNG.

Please leave a note with a name and message and join us in this quest to send this beautiful book to PNG. You are welcome to email me at gumbootspearlz@gmail.com

I hope to share updates of where the books end up!

Donations to this project are closed for now.

Another charity sponsorship project coming soon.

A Weekend of Meeting Inspiring Readers and Supporters

| June

This weekend I went to Big B books, Burleigh Heads and Mt Alford Artisan Markets. Both are about an hours drive from Brisbane. My quest was to share Magic Fish Dreaming!

One of the lovely outcomes of this weekend was connecting with other artists and writers.

At Big B Books, owned by the wonderful Candice Lemon-Scott,  I loved catching up with Angela Sunde and Lucia Masciullo and we shared a table.  Angela is an absolute dynamo and was promoting all three of us so beautifully.

At Mt Alford Artisan’s Market,  which is supported by the Mount Alford School of Arts, I absolutely loved meeting this vibrant mother and her little one, Jude, who gave me the biggest smile.

So lovely to know he will be growing up with Magic Fish Dreaming.  It was so exciting to hear of people sending this book overseas to relatives and friends, as well as taking it into areas I am not sure have read it yet. Germany, England, Toowoomba readers as well as Mt Alford, Boonah and Logan.

I had a chance at the Market, to catch up with Jessica from The Shed, a friend made at the Boonah environment day, as well as Yonda, who is one of the people who organises the market and who has a food van that makes the most delicious healthy burgers.

 

There were many artisans, some beautiful singing, and you could watch a spinner at work.

I met many local writers, some poets, romance writers and novelists, who came up and introduced themselves and their genres, and were very supportive of the book.

There were so many interesting stalls.

One dedicated to Mermaids, but with very sweet sea horses particularly caught my eye!

There were eco prints, canvas, clay and other creations from local artists,  specially made soaps, wellness essential oils and more, photographs, spun fibres, crotched baskets from Moshki, adorable felt creations, upcycled clothes, crafted wooden spoons.  Boonah Organisation for Sustainable BOSS were there as well.

It was wonderful meeting many locals and the atmosphere of the market was warm, busy! and friendly.

Many locals and stall holders had a chat, another stall holder actually bought my book and told people to head to my stall up another level in the hall!

You can find out more about that artists over at the Market’s facebook page.

Thank you so much to all the lovely Aunties, Grandparents, Parents, Teachers, Writers, and stall holders who bought the book!

Thanks everyone at both venues who stopped for a chat.

I highly recommend a trip to Mt Alford Artisan Markets as well as the Big B Books, a treasure house of books.

Happy Customer – State Library Shop

| June

Thanks to one of our fans, for sending us this picture of her purchasing the book at the State Library shop, at South Bank.

It is in the Australian Children’s Literature section for anyone else heading into find it there.

If you have any problems locating it be sure to ask the very helpful staff.

Love it when people send us photographs of the book and where they find it.

Thanks so much!

Freedom For Every Child

| June
From the Perkins Family Archive

I wish for every child in the world, freedom from war, freedom from hunger, free education, and someone who cares for them and loves to read them poetry.

Thanks so much to the following people for their much valued and precious feedback on Magic Fish Dreaming.

Thank you to the Children’s Book Academy for their recent interview.

Thank you to the Sandcliffe Writers Festival for giving me a voice. And everyone who stopped to look at my book and those of other presenters on the table at the Bracken Ridge Library.

All the people who helped make this book delight in knowing how young readers are responding to the art and the stories and I do pass your messages on to Helene Magisson our illustrator as well.

It gives me hope!

I have begun work in earnest on a sequel to Magic Fish Dreaming.   Will keep you posted.

**

Just read your book to my kids and they loved it, June. I am going to take a copy to their school library tomorrow. What beautiful book. My daughter is 5 and loves to dance, so ‘Storm Dancers’ is her favourite. My boy loves the tawny frogmouth. His favourite. I hope it lands in every library. It’s a gorgeous read.

Lauren Elise Daniels, Brisbane Writers Workshop and Professional Editor

Read your book to a child in detention on Nauru.  He just loved it and wanted it read to him again and again, especially the funny one, ‘Discovering Magic.’

Worker on Nauru

Absolutely gorgeous book…I purchased one for my grandson Fletcher…we sit together and read its our special book xxx

Tracey, Grandmother from Tasmania

We are  .. .  grateful that this beautiful book exists because of its beauty, its diversity, and the environmental caring it subtly weaves through inspiration.

Grandparent Loves the Book!

| June

secretspot2

Receiving messages like this about Magic Fish Dreaming, is just so special.

Hi June,

Just want to tell you that I love your book. Can’t decide what is my favorite poem. Looking forward to read more and more for my grandkids.

I love and admire your work. And the illustrations by Helene are just gorgeous.

“Secret spot reflecting inner essence of trees but hiding bubbles of crocodiles” Beautiful. This feels like the essence of life itself. And our journey here.

Thank you so much. Please do this again.

I will surely back you again for bringing something so special to fruition.

Thanks again.

Best wishes for you

Catherine

From Parent Fans

| June
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Photo courtesy of parent

Guess what we are reading  before sleep time tonight…

Thank you so much.

To all my fellow parents I highly recommend the book.

Johanna

(Thank you Johanna for permission to share this.   What an absolutely adorable picture of one of our young readers. 

So happy you are enjoying the book. Just love that background wall! – From June)

Please note for all people  in Australia outside of Queensland we can take direct orders and mail the book out to you.

Just email us at gumbootspearlz@gmail.com  (and if you are in Queensland and living nowhere near a stockist do contact us as well.)