Avril Sabine's Blog, page 16

Beauty And The Beast

Beauty And The Beast is a story I’ve read many times over the years. Not only when I was a child, but also when my children were younger. I enjoyed revisiting such a much loved story. Not only did it bring back memories of the story itself, but also the questions I’ve always thought about every time I’ve read it. And like most books I’ve reread, it brought back memories from the other times I’ve read it.

Memories of when I was a child, curled up on my bed, slowly turning the pages as the words became colourful images within my mind. Of reading it several times to my children, snuggled on the couch together or stretched out on their bed as I told it to them before they went to sleep. Just like I had questions about the story, they asked questions too. Why did she ask for a rose? There were so many other things she could have asked for. How could her father let her go to the beast? Didn’t he care what might happen to her? And why didn’t she realise what it meant when she was told not to trust in what her eyes could see. What had she thought they were trying to tell her?

Fairytales Retold: Beauty And The Beast is now available on Amazon.

Celebrating A Year

On the seventeenth of November it will have been a year since my first four stories went up on Amazon. It’s been a rather busy and, at times, an extremely hectic year. I’ve loved every minute of it. Well, except for the really hot days when it felt like my brain was melting into a puddle. I could have done without those days. All the rest though, I loved.

In the past year I’ve published eight novels, one novella and four short stories. Which comes to a total of 565,267 words. It wouldn’t have been possible without my editors, beta readers, readers and of course my family.

Everyone was invaluable. I’m looking forward to another busy year and putting more books up on Amazon, including making some of my books available in print. There are so many ideas just begging to be written. Ideas that wake me in the middle of the night, or should I say two or three in the morning since I regularly don’t get to bed until at least midnight. Characters that come to me fully formed, demanding I write their stories. Other characters who slowly reveal themselves as the story progresses. Snippets of scenes that have me wondering what will happen next and some characters who won’t go away no matter how many stories I write for them.

I can’t wait to find out what exciting adventures my second year of publishing will bring. I’m hoping they’ll be as good, or even better than, my first year.

The Jungle Inside

For a book that contains a lot of fantasy and magic, ‘The Jungle Inside’ included a fair amount of research. I had questions like, how big does a snake grow? But not just any snake. I wanted to know about the largest snake possible and how much space that size snake would take up in a pantry. Then I had to figure out how heavy a tiger is. That took a while. I hadn’t realised there were so many species of tigers in the world. Deciding which species of tiger involved looking at lots of pictures, which was fun. Tigers aren’t cute and adorable like domestic cats, but they are certainly majestic. Definitely not a creature I’d like to come face to face with. If you want to find out what Eden does when she comes face to face with a tiger, then read ‘The Jungle Inside’.

Buy ‘The Jungle Inside’ On Amazon.

Memories Of Books

Recently I was sorting through my bookcases, trying to make space for more books. Because obviously, even though they’re full to overflowing, I seriously believe that I can fit more in. Somehow. It was a much lengthier process than I’d expected. A little like going through a photo album. Each book I picked up, I was not only remembering the story between the covers, but when I’d read it. And somehow or other, instead of making more space, I ended up randomly picking out books to see what memories were attached to each one.

There was a book that brought back memories of having a sleepover at a friend’s house when I was a teenager. She’d long since fallen asleep, but I was still wide awake. Luckily I had my torch and a book with me. Well, actually, I’d packed two books, but only managed to get one read before I was tired enough to sleep.

Another book reminded me of lying in bed in North Queensland while a storm raged outside, the windows shuddering from the gusts of wind. It was late at night in the middle of summer and the glass of the window was cold to touch. Nothing could be seen outside. It was completely black. I read for hours, finally falling asleep to the sound of the storm as it continued to rage.

There were books I’ve read on buses, on trains, at the beach, sitting on the roof of a house late at night under the stars. On picnic blankets at the beach, in trees with wide spread branches, in hammocks and numerous ones in bed, late at night when everyone else was asleep. Books are obviously made for reading in any location, in any situation, and for me, they also have as many memories attached to them as pictures in a photo album.

Stone Warrior

The idea for Stone Warrior came to me partly formed. The history of the curse, Sydney learning about it and her determination to have the boyfriend she wants. The curse in particular intrigued me. I wanted to know more about the warrior who was trapped by it. Wanted to know more about his past and if he could have a future. I spent hours researching the Celtic people, being drawn into their world, learning about their myths and pouring over images of their jewellery. I learned far more than I could ever hope to fit into one novel.

In Stone Warrior Sydney isn’t about to let anything mess with her plans. Not parents, ancient warriors or evil spirits. From the 5th November 2014 to the 11th November 2014 (UTC +10) Stone Warrior will be discounted to .99 cents. For those who can’t wait that long to read Sydney’s story, Stone Warrior is now available on Amazon.

Buy Stone Warrior On Amazon.

I Spy

Earlier this year I went on the Behind the Scenes I Spy Tour at the Queensland Museum. It was a lot more interesting than I’d expected it to be. We started off walking through aisles of items stacked into shelves, wandering through the remains of the past. Bits and pieces of peoples lives, a small testament to their existence. I couldn’t help wondering about those who’d once owned the items. A doll’s carriage that some child would have pushed, creating their own make believe world. Tricycles, kids had once ridden. A large stuffed bear, with golden fur and amber eyes. It might have once been a treasured toy, taken to bed each night by the child who owned it. Now it spends the rest of its days on a shelf, a mute witness of untold stories.

Metal fans, barbed wire supports from World War II, pedal cars, cane toad dioramas, carved figures, motor oil cans, a ship behind glass and a collection of native musical instruments. In every direction there was something to discover, something of importance from someone’s life.

Leaving behind the human world, we explored the animal one. We entered an area filled with strange smells and taxidermied animals. Amongst the animals were ones long extinct as well as some currently endangered. Because of this collection, the Mahogany Glider, which was thought to be extinct, was rediscovered. The man taking us on the tour through this area was great about answering the many questions my family and I asked. Answering them in a way that was easy to understand without talking down to us. We learned so much about animals and how some have developed to help them survive. And we even got to handle some items, including a large tooth.

There were so many things, which the museum doesn’t have the space to display, that were worth seeing. The staff were all really great and able to answer the endless questions we asked. But there were questions that they would never be able to answer. Questions that only the owners of the items could have answered. I guess I’ll have to leave those to my imagination since many of the owners are now long gone, and in some cases, only their possessions proof they had once lived.

The Light Princess

Find The Light Princess On Amazon

Once again I’ve had a great time rediscovering some of the fairytales I read when I was younger, while I tried to decide which one I wanted to retell next. Then I stumbled on a Scottish fairytale published in the 1800′s. Considering the amount of fairytales I’d read as a child, I was surprised to find one I hadn’t read before. I was fascinated. I knew immediately that this was the one I wanted to retell. After reading the story several times, trying to decide whose point of view I wanted to tell the story from, I decided it should be from two characters. The evil witch and the prince. These characters stood out more than any of the others, making me feel that it was their story. I’d love to know if you think the story belongs to them too.

Guest Post:The Birth Of A Writer

My mum kept telling me she wanted to tell the whole world how proud she is of me.

“Sure Mum, you can do that. Tell everyone you meet if you want.”

“No, on the internet.”

“Oh.”

“So how do I go about that?”

“Uhmm… I guess you could do a guest blog post on my blog.” I pause. “You’re not planning on embarrassing me, are you?”

“Of course not.”

I grin. “Is that only because I don’t embarrass easily?”

It’s good to know my mum is proud of me. She’s been a strong role model. And by that I don’t mean we’ve had the perfect mother daughter relationship or we’ve never argued. We haven’t always seen eye to eye on things, but I’ve always known she’s been there in my corner.

As I was growing up, when anything needed doing, whether it was a meal cooked, house maintenance or the car fixed, Mum did it. I learned that women can do anything they choose to do. That nothing is impossible and perseverance pays off in the end. I learned about family loyalty, getting in and getting the job done and being creative. But most of all, I learned about love. That fierce, protective love that a parent can feel for their child. I knew that I could go out and explore the world, take a few risks and discover the unknown because my mum had my back.

And she’s still there for me.

Mum editing my manuscript while on holidays.

Leichhardt River, Queensland.

 

The Birth Of a Writer

My first born. How I cried tears of joy as I held her in my arms. The love and protection that I felt for this tiny 7lb bundle, filled me with awe.

Avril was always a quiet achiever. Crawling at an early age, walking earlier than most babies. I would sit and sing, read or tell stories to her but once she learned to read and write, I was no longer required to do this.

She would sit by herself and read, read, read. The joy she showed when she was given a book, was all the thanks needed. Avril took over the story telling to her siblings and never went anywhere without a book. There was many an early morning, 1am, 2am, 3am, that she was told to turn off the bedroom light. She shared the room with her younger sister and I was afraid I would have two tired children to deal with the next day. Avril solved this problem by saving her pocket money and buying a torch. I would still find her at all hours of the night, under the sheets with pen and paper, using her torch to write down her stories.

My daughter was headstrong and never gave up her love of reading and writing. Her collection of books and novels would make a second-hand bookstore envious. It is often discussed to this day, how I made her pass on books to her cousins, when she didn’t want to part with them. As a mother, I wondered how many books were needed, especially when they had been read about a million times.

Yes, we had a few problems. When Avril was asked to do a chore, and asked, and asked, she would finally do it with a book in one hand and the chore being dealt with by the other. Her siblings would ask her to play a game but reading came first. Most times she didn’t hear you, as once she started to read, she was absorbed in the story.

I am proud to say, Avril stayed true to her dream of becoming an author. It may have taken her forty years of her life to achieve this, with many hurdles along the way, but she never gave up her dream.

The day she asked me to edit her books, my ‘Yes’ was spontaneous, I felt like I had won the lottery. Being an editor also gave me the opportunity to read her books before they go public. I am only too happy to help with this. When Avril posted her first books on Amazon as ebooks, my heart felt too big for my body.

My first born had achieved her dream. She was now an author. Not only that but she is a caring daughter, wonderful mother and always there if the family needs her – but only after she has finished the chapter she is reading!

Earth Bound

 

An image came to me, of a girl standing on a natural stone pillar staring across a barren land. She heard the sound of wings, a sound that filled her with longing, and turned to face a walled city, a castle in the background, and a figure flying towards her. This image left me with so many questions. I wanted to know who this girl was and what she wanted. Who was the person flying towards her and what was the significance of the walled city? So very many questions.

It took time for the answers to come. They came in bits and pieces, slowly at first. Then I was bombarded with answers and driven to write Brianne’s story, desperate to find out what would happen. The ending was unknown to me and when at the end of a fight it came, I was surprised. It wasn’t the ending I was expecting.

Earth Bound is now available on Amazon. I hope you are as drawn into Brianne and Talon’s lives as I was.

Winter and Jackets

It’s winter, that time of year where the only redeeming quality about it is being able to wear my favourite jacket. A long time ago, it belonged to my dad. He got it when he was twelve, a little on the big side so it’d last him longer. It didn’t take him long to grow out of it and the jacket ended up hanging in his wardrobe for years. Then one June-July school holidays when I was sixteen, we had colder than usual weather and I wanted to go out that night. So I raided my dad’s wardrobe and found the most awesome jacket ever.

Taking it into the lounge room, I said, “Dad, I’m stealing your jacket.”

“Return it when you’re finished with it.”

I grinned. “Yeah, sure. When I’m finished with it.”

He stared at me for a moment then nodded. I bet he knew that I planned never to be finished with it.

It’s a khaki corduroy jacket with a silk lining. Now it is looking rather worn and the lining is growing tatty, but it’s still comfortable and warm. No other jacket I’ve owned has been as comfortable. And that’s what a jacket should be. Something comfortable and warm to make those cold winter days more bearable.

I guess one day I’ll have to retire my jacket when it becomes too old and worn to do its job. But it won’t be this year. My friends and family will have to suffer through at least another year of my favourite jacket. And to my kids, keep your hands off my jacket, I’m not finished with it and you certainly can’t have it no matter how much you think you want it.