Launch of Trust Me Too!

I was very happy to have my story The Snake Singer included in this anthology! I'll be reading from it at the launch at Paramatta High School on Friday morning. Here's the invitation copied from the Ford Street Newsletter:

Newsletter #7 LAUNCH INVITATIONS Ford Street invites you to the launch of its latest book, Trust Me Too. Edited by Paul Collins with an introduction by Judith Ridge, Trust Me Too has never-before-published stories and illustrations from 57 contributors including Shaun Tan, Leigh Hobbs, Oliver Phommavanh, James Roy, Michael Gerard Bauer, Gary Crew, David Miller, Michael Pryor and yes, many others. Launch #1 is at Parramatta High School (Great Western Highway), NSW on July 20 at 10 am. Room is limited so please RSVP by July 16 tofordstr@internode.on.net. Attending authors include Oliver Phommavanh, Susanne Gervay, Meredith Costain, Paul Collins, Wendy Orr and others. Congratulations to Princes Hill Secondary College, Carlton North, Vic, for winning the Trust Me Too launch! Launch #2 will be held there at 6 pm on July 27. Isobelle Carmody will give a reading from her prequel to Obernewtyn. There's a stellar list of authors and illustrators attending, and you'll see among them: Marc McBride, Leigh Hobbs, Kirsty Murray, David Miller and ... the list goes on! We'll also have interstaters Janeen Brian and Jenny Mounfield attending. It'll be a great night, and of course, it's free! We just need an RSVP before July 20 to the same address as per above.

Animal Careers and Carers: Monica Kervin, Seeing Eye Dog puppy trainer

Much as I love puppies, they're hard work, and often destructive. (Yum, shoe! etc) So I've always admired people who are willing to take a dog through this adorable but demanding stage before handing them over, even to something I believe in as strongly as the Seeing Eye Dog Association. It seems a huge commitment, and so I was very interested to interview Monica Kervin, puppy carer. 

How would you describe the work you do with Seeing Eye Dogs Australia (SEDA)? 

I am a volunteer “puppy carer”. I raise the puppy until she is ready to begin her formal training as a Seeing Eye dog. As well as loving and caring for her, basic obedience training, and teaching a few other more specific skills, my main job is socialising the puppy and exposing her to as many different types of situations as possible. She lives at my house and comes everywhere with me: work; shopping; into the city; shopping centres; on public transport; parks; to the movies; cafes and restaurants; meetings; nursing home; wherever. 

What was the path - or the passion (!) - that led you to it? 

I can’t remember when I first heard of the concept of puppy caring. I must have been in my early teens, and I desperately wanted our family to do it then. I guess a big part of it at the time was the whole thing about having a puppy, but I also liked the idea of the puppy going on to do such an important job. We were always taught to have a social conscience, to contribute to the Community and generally put yourself out for others, and I could see that this would be a great way to do that. But that wasn’t going to happen as we lived on a farm miles from anywhere. It wasn’t practical on any level or from anyone’s point of view so the idea was shelved. But it never left me. Over the years it has resurfaced at different times but I was at Uni; or I was traveling; or I didn’t have a secure garden; or there was always something. At one time I compromised by sponsoring a puppy, but it wasn’t quite the same. More recently my stumbling block has been that I am a kindergarten teacher and I assumed for some reason that would be an issue. Eventually it got to the point where I felt I had to at least ask - If the answer was no then I could let it go. The answer was yes! In fact my workplace was extremely enthusiastic about the idea. That was last year; I now have my second puppy, Libby. 

What is the best, and the worst thing of your work with animals? 

Worst? - I can’t ride my bike to work anymore.  

A lot of people ask how we can give them up and I can understand that, but there are a lot of other things in play. A big part of it is knowing from the start that it is a temporary arrangement. It’s not like getting a puppy and then 12 months later it is hit by a car or stolen for example. You know they are going to be loved - that makes a big difference - and you know that they will be providing someone with independence. Something so many of us take for granted. I don’t see giving them back as a negative. It’s not the BEST bit – bittersweet perhaps. 

Best? – That’s much harder. There are so many positives. Of course there are all the usual things about having a puppy. The fun – getting to know their personalities and having them about the place and all the many other truisms that people say about having a pet. 

I think one of the great things about being a SEDA puppy carer is the enormous amount of support you get. Someone visits regularly to help with training and any other issues you may be having, and they are all really lovely people. How regular the visits are depends on the age of the pup and the confidence/competence of 

the carer, but they are only a phone call away if anything arises between visits. There is training as a group once a month and social occasions organised for carers and puppies too. All this and with food, bed, toys, vet costs, and other essentials thrown into the bargain. And public transport is free. 

Did you have pets as a child? 

Growing up on a farm there was ALWAYS animals! We had cats, dogs, chooks, peacocks, galahs, budgies; quail; lambs, rabbits, horses, and being a dairy farm we had cattle. One of my jobs on the farm was, along with my younger brother, raising the calves. We didn’t see them as pets as such but we named them all, and by the time they were ready to wean we’d become somewhat attached to them. As far as my “own” pets, I had a cat called Goliath – and subsequently any kittens she had became mine. 

Do you have an animal companion now, apart from your SEDA puppy? 

Not really. I did have a rabbit for several years until she died. I have also had ducks and chooks, but only fish now. At work in our kindergarten, as well as Libby we have guinea pigs, fish, worms, snails and stick insects (which are all equally loved by the children). So I still have responsibility for a variety of different “pets”. 

If you were an animal, what would you be? 

I’d like to think I’d be something exotic, but I’d probably be a cat. I’m independent and do things my own way, in my own time and on my own terms. I’m happy to let other’s do things their own way too - as long as they don’t put anything in “my space”. In an ideal world I’d be a creature of leisure and not have to work for a living, but given that I do have to work, at least I have the kind of job where I can play quite a bit of the time. I never grew out of getting really excited about silly little things. Everything is an opportunity for fun – which is another reason my job is so perfect for me. And I’m very good at relaxing  

Any advice for people wanting a pet? 

It’s a commitment. I guess when choosing a pet you need to think about the practical issues like maintenance, cleaning, toileting – all the least fun things. Think about where it is coming from, for example many pups sold in pet shops were bred in “puppy farms” in horrible conditions, while shelters and refuges have to put animals down if they are unable to find homes for them. Another important consideration is the amount of space and time you have compared with the needs of your chosen pet. But the positives way outweigh the negatives. The list of positives in endless  

Favourite animal books? 

Anything by Wendy Orr, of course. 

“Winnie the Pooh”; “The House at Pooh Corner”; “When We Were Very Young”; and “Now We Are Six” by A.A. Milne, illustrated by Ernest Shepard. Are they animal books? 

After your first pick, Monica, you're allowed to choose anything you like! I've known many dogs who were Tiggers, or Eeyores... or even Pooh. 

Copy Editing vs Creativity

I've been copy-editing all day - that is, answering the copy editor's queries. Emailing back with the solutions – with what I hope are the solutions –  I was a bit discouraged to see how short the document was, considering it was a day's work. Or, six hours, to be precise – because I do feel the need to be precise, and correct, and maybe even a bit pedantic, because that's what copy editing is. That's probably why these three sentences have already been rewritten several times. (Three because I'm just counting the first three, not the explanatory fourth, or this explanatory fifth.)

But I think the real reason copy editing takes so long and feels so draining, is that we need to jump back and forth between the pedantry of noticing unintended rhymes (yes, even after reading aloud, a few creep in), or of the two words that have been repeated in one sentence, or the phrase that has been lovingly, sickeningly, reused six times in the book. My editor once told me that every author seems to have one word or phrase that they get stuck on for different books, but it's little comfort. They're often words I don't even particularly like, and I have no idea why they've snuck in so persistently.

That unfinished comparison was of course a trick to see if you were paying attention with good copy-editing eyes. To start again: We need to jump back and forth between pedantry and creativity. It's very easy to get stuck on replacing the word that seems to be the problem: replace 'too' with 'also' because you used 'too' in the previous sentence. Except that for some reason, 'also' just sounds awkward there. And you can't replace the previous one because it's the other meaning of too.

At that point you need to get up, walk away from the computer, let the dog out, call the dog back in from digging in the mud, wash the dog, wash the floor (okay, maybe the copy editing wasn't six hours straight). But often the instant you walk away from the screen, you see a completely different, even simpler, and much better way of saying that very simple sentence.

(If you're curious, this copy edit was on the fifth Rainbow Street Shelter series: STOLEN! A Pony Called Pebbles. ABANDONED! A Lion Called Kiki has just been released, so I think Pebbles will be published in November this year. With a bit of luck, we'll even have finished the copy edits by then.)

Artists and Animals, Katy Abbott, composer, and Hermione

I'm fascinated by how composers work - other people's art tends to sound much more romantic than your own–  and so I'm delighted to hear that for practical purposes, it doesn't matter so much whether you're creating stories with musical notes, or with words: at some point you have to sit down, do it, and keep on doing it till you get it right. And of course that's easier with an animal around. 

Katy Abbott is an Australian classical composer:  www.katyabbott.com  She writes music for orchestras, chamber ensembles and choirs from all over Australia.   https://www.facebook.com/KatyAbbottComposer

Have you ever been inspired by an animal, or animals in general, in your life or art?

Not specifically with music but having the dog in the studio with my while I compose generally keeps me in there longer and is a lovely (quiet) companion.

I have recently had to say goodbye to my lovely old cat.  She used to sit on my knee with her legs over my arms while I typed in notes.  Not so helpful!
Animals inspire me.  Domestic animals played a huge role in my childhood and I had many strong bonds with my animals over the years, particularly my first 20 years.

 

Hermione looking 'a bit too comfortable' in Katy's studio

I had many pets as a child: dogs (Penny and Flossie), cats (Twopence and Homer), fish (Threepence, Fourpence), budgie (Blinky - so original!), horses (Dandy and Kalifa).  I also had rabbits and mice but they didn't last so long I am afraid.  However, a friend in my (suburban) street had a deer that slept on her bed and I always thought that sounded fabulous.

Do you have an animal companion now? How did it get its name? 

I have an 11 month old chocolate Labradoodle named Hermione.  She got her name from a popular children's book about a boy wizard.  My children had just finished reading the first book when she came into our family.  I would have liked to call her Gretel. But I was talked down.  Her nickname is Eeny Meenie Miny Moe.(sp?)

What would your pet tell us about you?  

My husband says that Hermione and I are soul mates.  We are starting to look like each other.  I am not sure what to make of this but she has the same brown hair as I do and as it grows we both get lighter on the ends. 

 

If you were an animal, what would you be?  

Ooh, that's tricky.  I'd probably say a hermit crab as I like to sit in my studio and hide away writing music.  It sounds romantic doesn't it?  If only it were!  In fact, it's often quite difficult.  My favourite studio days are when I have the heater going on a dark Melbourne brooding day.  I tend to work very well in the winter.  So perhaps I should say I would be a Hermione, curled up by the fire.

 

Favourite animal books?

The Famous Five.  I used to love Timmy the dog.  

Lion Cubs and Animal Shelters

To celebrate the release of ABANDONED! A Lion Called Kiki, the 4th book in the Rainbow Street Shelter series, I thought I'd share the background to the story. Essentially the same story, titled Mona and the Lion Cub, is in the Australian book Rainbow Street Pets.

Can you imagine getting a phone call from an airport to say, “You’ve got a parcel here!” – and when you get there, finding out that a friend has sent you a lion cub?That’s what happened to friends of my parents when I was a kid, living in Colorado. The cub’s father was a cross-eyed lion named Clarence, who starred in Daktari, a TV series set in Africa, but I’m not sure why someone decided to send this cub to our friends – who already had six dogs and a three-legged goat! (And can you imagine how excited my brother and sister and I were when they came to visit us? She even met our horse!)

Our friends took wonderful care of the cub, but of course she grew into a lion, not a big pussy cat. In the end they realized that the best thing for her would be to take her somewhere where she could live more like a lion. It was as heartbreaking as it would be to give up any pet. They toured the US looking for the best zoo they could find, and finally chose one. (I think it was Seattle.)

That was the happiest ending that little lion could have had in 1967, but when I wrote the story I set it in the 1980s and so was able to make it even happier. I used a wildlife refuge in Zambia because when I phoned the Melbourne Werribee Plains Zoo to ask some questions, I spoke to a vet who was about to return to Zambia to set up a wildlife refuge there to look after lions and other native animals.  

It also struck me that if the memory of the visiting lion cub had made such an impression on me, it would have had a much bigger effect on a child who'd been given it. So as authors do, I used some bare bones of truth, and fleshed out a story that explains why the Rainbow Street Shelter manager Mona has dedicated her life to animals.

Unfortunately our families lost touch many years ago, but if by some chance the original Mona and Juan read this book, I hope they'll see it as the tribute it's intended.