Over the years I’ve been asked to record quite a few videos for schools, organisations, festivals, conferences and individuals where I’ve talked about various things such as: my writing career, the writing process in general, particular books of mine or I’ve responded to specific questions.
I recently went through these videos and decided that rather than having them all just sit on my computer gathering virtual dust, I would share some of the ‘better ones’ (very subjective description) on these blogs.
It’s all in my mind!
The first video below was filmed during a long Covid lockdown in Melbourne and as a result I’m looking a little hairier than normal.
In it a give some WRITING TIPS.
Follow them at your peril!
WRITING TIPS
In the second video I answer FIVE QUESTIONS.
They are:
How long does it take me to write a story?
What was my favourite book as a kid?
If I could spend the day in a book/story which one would it be?
If I had $10 million what would I spend it on?
What advice would I give to someone who wanted to be a writer?
FIVE QUESTIONS ANSWERED
In following blogs I’ll post other videos where I read from and discuss particular books including some of these:
Back in 2024 I received the happy news that the sequels to Don’t Call Me Ishmael were going to be reprinted.
I was really glad to hear this because although the first book in the series has always been available (now up to its 27th reprint and still being used in schools here and in Germany) the two sequels have only had a few reprints each and haven’t been in stock for quite a long time.
Recently I received my copies of the new editions of both sequels. They look terrific and will be in stores and online from MAY.
I’m very proud of Don’t Call Me Ishmael. It has been published in seven overseas countries and is by far my biggest selling book.
But as I have said before, I personally think both the sequels are better because they delve deeper into the characters and themes like the power of words and the importance of friendship. They also contain many of my favourite moments – both funny and moving. And I’m really proud of the way the Ishmael’s story ends. I like to think that I sent him and the series off in the way they both deserved.
So what’s Ishmael and the Return of the Dugongs about?
The three Australian editions of Ishmael and the Return of the Dugongs.
THE RETURN OF THE DUGONGS follows Ishmael Leseur, Orazio (Razz) Zorzotto, James Scobie, Ignatius Prindabel and Bill Kingsley though YEAR TEN at St Daniel’s Boys College.
And what a crazy year it is. Here’s just a taste:
~ At a party Ishmael discovers that the love-of-his-life Kelly Faulkner already has a boyfriend, a Brad Pitt look-alike called … Brad. And he just happens to be perfect. To make matters worse Ishmael then suffers a devastating and humiliating experience in the pool.Almost as bad as being discovered taking a peek into Kelly’s personal diary.
~ Back at school (much to Ignatius Prindabel’s horror) Miss Tarango is teaching the boys Love Poetry – and love is definitely in the air. Ishmael, Razz and their homeroom teacher Mr Guthrie all fall victim to the ‘allure of l’amour’. And even James Scobie, the school’s best orator and future dux, meets someone who ‘turns his brain to mush’.
~ A second debating season starts for the boys but things don’t go well. Due to an ongoing feud over a poetry critique, Razz and Ignatius are more concerned about scoring points off each other than debating the opposition. A recipe for debating disaster.
~ Meanwhile Ishmael continues to be harassed by Barry Bagsley and friends until a stray comment leads to his face having a very close encounter with a ‘big pink comet’ in the form of Barry’s fist. But what has sparked Barry’s anger and what will Ishmael do when he finds out?
~ Back at home, Ishmael’s dad’s cult band The Dugongs is planning a one-night-only reunion 20 years after the tragic death of their original drummer caused them to break-up. But disaster strikes TWICE and the reunion is thrown into total jeopardy. What is needed is an unexpected hero (and secret Dugong’s fanatic) to step in and save the day. Maybe even two.
~ And of course despite the hopelessness of the quest, Razz has a ‘wicked plan’ for Ishmael to win Kelly’s heart – with love poetry! But is poetry that powerful? Could Razz’s own subtle poem Hot or What? really do the job? And could Prindabel’s mathematics-inspired love sonnet One Plus One help put an end to his bitter feud with Orazio? Is it just possible that Ishmael will find the words that match his feelings for Kelly Faulkner?
All these questions and more will be answered on one chaotic and tumultuous night – the night that the Dugongs finally return.
German, Italian, Italian, UK and French DUGONGS.
If you want to learn more about the writing and background to THE RETURN OF THE DUGONGS you can check out these previous BLOGS.
I’ve been AWOL for about a month, so to bring you up to date here’s a recap of a few things that I missed blogging about.
ROBBIT BOOK LAUNCH:
Katrin and I had a terrific time launching Robbit the Job Hopping Frog at Scrumptious Reads Bookshop at Red Hill Brisbane. A big thanks to bookshop owner Julie and to everyone who came and helped make the day a great success.
ROMANCING THE STARS:
A wonderful time was also had at Romancing the Stars. Thanks to Book Links Qld for organising the event and to Brisbane Boys College for providing the lovely venue.
MELBOURNE STAY:
We’ve just returned from around 4 weeks in Melbourne staying with our daughter, son-in-law and two grandkids and helping out with the school holidays. As well as Prep and Day Care pick-ups and drop-offs, a lot of time was spent drawing, doing puzzles, reading stories, playing games, building with lego, listening to increasingly surreal Kock-Knock jokes, watching far too many episodes of Spidey and Friends etc etc.
SAN REMO & PHILLIP ISLAND:
While we were in Melbourne we also got to celebrate our grandson’s and our daughter’s birthdays. Part of the celebration was a couple of days together at beautiful San Remo and a night watching the fairy penguins come ashore at Phillip Island. As a bonus we also spotted a few bandicoots, some wallabies, some Cape Barren Geese and a possum.
Unfortunately you’re not allowed to take photos of the penguins on the night, but here’s a shot showing where we were sitting and what it looks like as the penguins come ashore and trundle by in waves. A wonderful thing to see up close.
SCHOOL VISIT:
Also while I was in Melbourne I had to opportunity to speak to the enthusiastic Preps and Year Ones at a local primary school about Rodney and Robbit. It was a really enjoyable session made even more special by having daughter Meg there as assistant presenter.
And for extra pressure there was a granddaughter in the audience who I’m pleased to say didn’t want to disown me after the presentation was done – something I was worried was a real possibility if things didn’t go well! Thank goodness she was still happy to say, ‘That’s my Pop!’ at the end. PHEW!
NEW EDITIONS OF ISHMAEL 2 & 3:
When I returned to Brisbane I was thrilled to find these two parcels from Scholastic Australia. I’ll write more about this in the next blog – coming very soon!
The beautiful SCRUMPTIOUS READS Bookshop is located at 92A Arthur Terrace, Red Hill, Brisbane.
On the day Katrin and I will talk about how ROBBIT’S story and the illustrations came to be, we’ll answer questions, have a reading, some activities and giveaways, and maybe a cupcake or two.
If you’re in the area we that hope you can join us to help celebrate Robbit’s big hop into the readerverse.
The event is FREE and children are very welcome but if you are coming along it would be great if you could contact Scrumptious Reads on 0422 056 651 or me on this blog or Katrin so we can get some idea of numbers.
Cheers Michael
Scrumptious Reads Bookshop Sat March 22 11am-12 92A Arthur Tce Red Hill Brisbane
Michael Gerard Bauer Author 