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1. Which genre of children’s books do you like most and why?

I like fantasy and science fiction best – and a lot of my favourites are cross-genre. I generally like books for readers of 10 and up, and especially the ones where authors have thought out their settings rather than just grabbing something someone else has invented. Below are some specific titles and what I like about them.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. I love this one for the writing style (DWJ has such a way with words) and for the characters of Howl and Sophie who are so far from the generic hero/heroine but still so much fun to be around. Love the humour, too, and the way Sophie discovers the ‘givens’ she believed were not really so.

The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope has another staunch but odd heroine and another flawed but ultimately likable hero. It has one of the best descriptions of love I’ve ever seen – one that goes way beyond ‘romance’. I love the way the setting (Tudor era) plays with ideas and the way the truth shifts as you look at it.

Polymer by Sally Rogers Davidson. Polly Meridian goes from a cheerful high school graduate to someone who has to think on her feet and learn a lot about relationships. She’s utterly determined to get back something taken from her but manages to stay human through it all. This is a wonderful (Australian) take on the sf invasion theme.

Memory’s Wake by Selina Fenech is another cracking story by an Australian author. Memory has lost her memory and when she finds herself in a fantasy world with a princess, fairies, a thief and a wild boy she has to find a way to survive with the tatters of her self intact. Mem, like Sophie, Kate and Polly in the stories above, is a powerful character in more ways than one.

Replay by Sally Odgers. Okay, so I wrote this one myself, but if a writer can’t write a book she loves herself why is she writing? Replay‘s heroine is Aelfthryth, a Saxon girl who is blessed or cursed to never live beyond the age of fourteen. Her husband Harry can never get beyond sixteen, but in every generation for over a thousand years they have met and loved in different places and different guises. This time round, Ellie is an Australian cancer survivor and Harry is a schnauzer…

Halloween Romance by Donaya Haymond. This is the first of the Laconia series and is the funny, odd story of werewolf Selene Davidson who just wants to get through college without biting anyone by mistake. She’s drawn to melancholy Ferdinand Anghel who has a strange aversion to some kinds of cuisine.

For younger readers . . .

The Australia Council for the Arts got it right by supporting this  innovative collection of stories and illustrations that are scary, fun, moving, questioning

- and donated by some of Australia’s most loved creators to help kids. All proceeds from the sales go to Australian kids to help them when they need mentoring and support.

SHORT & SCARY                                  

edited by Karen Tayleur

published by Black Dog Books

isbn 9781 7420 31330

Here are some beginnings:-

JARED LOVES Karyn.   The wind howled through the trees, as Jared carved a heart around the words……. George Ivanoff

Since time began the Shivers, lurking. Hide behind the human back  …. Sally Odgers

ON A DAY of wild storm, a strange bird …. Gabrielle Wang

YOU’D BETTER take a look/ ‘Cos you don’t know who they took  …… Meredith Costain illustrated by Marc McBride

THE THREE friends had been arguing the whole way home.  …. Aleesah Darlison

Here’s my story -LUNAR ROSE – ( I love that title).

‘I don’t want a birthday party this year ….. ThIRTEEN is the big one’.

Yesterday’s verse-off photo stimulus drew some beautiful responses.Sally Odgers contributed:Imagination coupledwith a careless finger-doodlebrings a chance of forces meetingas dragons in the sandKathryn Apel (my partner in crime, who also took the photo) wrote:sand sculptureslitter the beachlike jellyfishcast ashorein hightideJaneen Brian’s response was:nothing indefiniteabout tunnel holeonly the

Today I'm a guest at Sally Odgers' Spinning Pearls blog. See you there.

I recently had the pleasure of reading Cranky Paws, by Darrel and Sally Odgers, and reviewing it for Aussiereviews. You can read that review here. Today we are lucky enough to have Sally Odgers, co author of the book, drop by for a chat. Welcome, Sally. Cranky Paws is the first in your new Pet Vet series. How many books are planned, and where did the idea for the series come from? We have a

I have been tagged by Joh at johblogs. I’ve never been tagged before, but figure I’ll give it a go. Here’s how it works: Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their