Adam, welcome to the blog!

Thanks Robert! Great to be here, and great to chat with you!


You’re a best-selling children’s author and seasoned school presenter, and recently become a mentor to fellow authors with your newly released short courses. What can you tell us about the courses you offer?

I can tell you SO much … but I will try and be brief. Basically, I have set up Kid’s Book Creator Capital (www.thekbcc.com) as a centre where people can come and get truckloads of info on being, well, a kids book creator! To begin with, I want to help people out with the practical side of things. There are heaps of amazing courses and resources out there on actually creating a book, but what then?

So the first courses I have up look at doing school visits, generating an income from your kid’s books, and then, because I love zombies, a course on how zombies can act as an inspiration to us as people and creators (this one is designed to be for adults and kids).

The courses go into heaps of detail. Basically, I have learned so much over the last 20 years doing over 500 school visits, and actually creating a career out of my books (something a lot of people told me would be impossible). I wanted to take all that knowledge, condense it, and pass it on in a few short hours. I want creators to see it is possible, whatever it is for them, and I wanted to shorten the time it will take for them to get that knowledge.
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But the knowledge is just the start. Then it’s up to them to put it into action.

What has been the most rewarding part of creating these courses?

To start with, it was finishing the first one! But also giving back to this awesome community that has given me so much. When I started out, the most amazing people helped me. They passed on advice, supported me, chatted to me about books, everything. And that’s massive. It’s great to learn from people who have been where you are, and who have then got to where you want to be, who have done what you want to do.

You don’t ask someone who’s broke how to make money.

It’s the most incredible community, and to be able to give back to that, to maybe do for others what was done for me, that is a massive thrill.
 

What has been the most challenging?

Trying to cram everything in. My step-dad always told me to under-promise and over deliver, but I want to over-promise and over-deliver (if that’s actually technically possible!)! So the courses cover everything I have done and know. From every way that I have generated income, pros and cons of the different types of publishing, every way I have gotten a school visit, planning actual visits, and more.

Also the subtitling. It was super fun, but I think I went cross-eyed for a few days there!
 

What is your personal favourite thing about visiting kids in schools?

Oh man, there is so much! Seeing kids who thought they couldn’t draw do a drawing and getting SO excited and proud. Having teachers almost bring me to tears when they tell me that a kid who never speaks in class had contributed. Signing autographs. Doing readings. Feeling the energy rise in the room, laughing with the kids, creating with the kids, there’s more, but I’ll stop there. It’s all so amazing.

 
What is your biggest tip for authors wanting to be successful school presenters?

This is a bit of a tricky one, but I will go for this. Be YOU! One of the things that helped me most was seeing other authors present, but that is also very intimidating. I don’t want to do Powerpoint presentations at schools, but I have seen some amazing ones get an incredible response, so thought maybe I should.

Some people speak quietly, some speak loudly, some are funny, some are serious. In the end, watching other authors present is an amazing inspiration, but we shouldn’t compare. The thing kids respond to most is authenticity. You being you. That goes for our creating as well.
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Besides, it’s tiring trying to be someone you’re not. SO if you love jumping around and being crazy, do that. If not, well, don’t. 

Can you share one of your exciting projects that you’re currently working on?

I sure can! It’s a new course haha. I want to do a course on self-publishing, something I have done for 15 years now, and still do every year. In terms of books, I am working on a series of picture books that is, wait for it, 25 books in haha! With what I have started, it will be at 50 books very soon, and I love it, it’s so much fun to write!
 

Please tell us where we can find you online.

Sure! I’m at www.adam-wallace-books.com and all the courses are at www.thekbcc.com

I’m also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/adamwallacebooks, and Twitter @wallysbooks and YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/awallace100
 
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Thank you for visiting today, Adam. I really appreciate you sharing your insight, expertise and experience. All the best with your latest venture.

Thanks SO much for having me, Robert, always a pleasure talking to you!

​Hi Toni, Welcome to my Time Out Blog.

Patrick White is your latest book for middle grade readers. Why did you decide to research and write about this iconic Australian writer and Nobel Prize winner?
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The idea for the book came from a conversation I had with a friend who taught English at tertiary level. She was bemoaning the fact that most of her students, fresh out of high school, had never heard of Australia’s only Nobel Laureate for Literature and that those few who had heard of him had a dismissive attitude towards his work because of Australia’s current postmodern, postcolonial criticism ­– even though they hadn’t read him. I was saddened that Patrick White is slipping into the past of authors regarded as “another dead white male of settler origins” when he is one of my favourite authors because of his gorgeous literary eloquence, stunning descriptions of the Australian landscape and mastery of characterisation, not to mention that he’s a great story-teller. And, even though middle readers are too young to read his work, I wanted to introduce the name of this icon to them by writing a biography about Patrick White’s interesting life and work. Hopefully the book will act as a reference source for children wanting to know about a great author and perhaps inspire them to read his work later in life because it is doubtful they will study Patrick White at high school.

What was the most rewarding part of this project?
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The research and re-reading of some of Patrick White’s great novels and working with the fabulous illustrator, Anastasia Popp. I started by reading David Marr’s “Patrick White. A Life” and then Patrick White’s Autobiography “Flaws in the Glass” before I started to re-read Patrick White’s books ­– Voss, The Tree of Man, Riders in the Chariot, The Eye of the Storm and others. Always in my mind was the question “What would primary school students be interested in reading about Patrick White?”

Favourite part of your new book?
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Page 28 where I discuss Patrick White’s observations of people and how they reacted to different situations, particularly journalists. He took notes on many individuals and used those notes in forming his characters in his later books. He was fascinated by the observation that what some considered the “truth” in a situation, others perceived differently. When Patrick White was an Intelligence Officer in the RAF during World War II, one of his jobs was to brief the press on what was happening on the war front. He complained to the press that they didn’t print the information he gave them, to which they explained that they had to exert their own personalities on their writing. To Patrick White, this idea of “what is the truth” is played out in themes in many of his books.

What was your path to publication?

I sent the Manuscript to every traditional publisher in Australia over the period 2013 to 2016 that accepted this type of work and all the rejection letters basically said what the National Library of Australia’s rejection letter dated 14 March 2013 said: “I did discuss your proposal with the Education section but ultimately we have decided not to proceed with publication because the predicted sales of the book were not sufficient to cover our costs.” So, I thought about it years and because I felt so strongly about this book and because many of the rejection letters had praised the content and quality of the manuscript, I decided to approach the partner-publisher Little Steps Publishing who had previously published two of my Picture Books.
 
How did you learn about the craft of writing?

Apart from the formal study of literature at university where I learned by analysing the craft of great writers, I have undertaken numerous writing courses and mentorships mainly through Writing NSW at Rozelle, Sydney, and participated in writing workshops and festivals. But, the greatest learning experience has been through participation in a writing group that commenced with a 10-week writing assessment course led by editor Nicola O’Shea at Writing NSW. Three of us from that class – Kerry Rogerson, Judith Flanaghan and I ­– formed a writing group where we assessed each other’s work via email monthly.  And, every few months we’d meet for a “working lunch”, mainly at Bodhi in the city, and sometimes Nicola would come to Sydney to join us. COVID-19 has put a stop to that of course and my own writing now has become more focused on my poetry. But, being a part of a writing group reinforced the discipline required to be a writer and developed my craft and I will be forever grateful to Kerry, Judith and Nicola.
 
What were some of your favourite children’s books as a child?  

Wind in the Willows, Winnie-the-Pooh, The Hobbit, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Little Prince, The Story of Ferdinand. As a middle reader, I liked Fantasy and Science Fiction and couldn’t get enough of Ursula K. Le Guin, Isaac Asimov and H.G. Wells’ short stories, and in adolescence D.H. Lawrence and Steinbeck, but I was always reading poetry, and after graduating from nursery rhymes and A.A. Milne, Mary Howitt and Lewis Carroll, I particularly liked, and still do like, Robert Frost.
 
What’s next for you?

My book on Patrick White is my sixth and probably last book for children. My books for Young Adults have never been published. But, my poetry for adults has been published in anthologies since 2013 and has been commended in many poetry competitions. So, I’ve decided to spend my writing time more productively by focussing on my poetry. Also, I’m going to pull 60 or so of my current best poems together into an anthology called “Emotional Attachments”. It will be in two parts: People and Places. After it’s edited I’m going to send it off to a poetry publisher.
 
Do you have an online presence?

Yes. My website is www.tonibrisland.com My Twitter account is @toni_brisland and Facebook
www.facebook.com/toni.brisland
 
Thanks for joining me on my blog today, Toni.  I wish you all the very best.
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Thank you, Robert, for inviting me as a guest on your blog. 
 
Interview organised as a part of the ‘Patrick White’ book campaign with Books On Tour PR & Marketing.

Excited to hear that Into the Wild is also heading to the USA - Woohoo!

​I'm loving the look of this dust jacket. ​

Can't wait to see it. :-)
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This was a pleasant surprise to wake up to.

Thrilled to bits to see the Italian translation of Under the Same Sky – woohoo!!

Thank you to Italian publisher Valentina Edizioni. Looks and sounds beautiful.

Happy dancing the tarantella! Gelato, anyone? 😊 

​The Inspiration behind The Battle
 
This story was inspired by my son who was going through a difficult time at school. Every morning I’d watch him put on his uniform and his eyes would be filled with fear. I knew that in his mind, he really believed that he was going into battle.
 
Most of the issues he was having revolved around a group of children that he believed were bullying him. I knew the children involved and I wasn’t convinced that they were the sole source of the problem. I wondered if the situation was really as bad as he thought, or whether his perceptions of the world were slightly skewed.
 
The reason I questioned this was because my son is a sensitive soul and his heart is easily wounded. He treats everyone with kindness and offers his friends and family unconditional love. But what he didn’t understand is that not everyone is like him. People don’t always play nicely or talk to you in a polite manner, but that doesn’t mean they are bad or that they don’t like you.
 
I spoke to his school principal and did all of the things a concerned mum would. But I knew that unless I changed my son’s expectations of how the world should be and helped him build his resilience, he would always struggle in life.
 
We had a lot of discussions about the power of the mind how things aren’t always what they seem. I also emphasised the fact that we can’t control the outside world, we can only control how we perceive and deal with the outside world. Eventually my son was able to reframe his thoughts and view the world in a slightly different way.
 
The idea for The Battle came as a direct result of this situation. It’s the story of a little boy named Edward who is anxious about starting knight school.
He’s sure that it will be full of ogres and dragons so he puts on his armour and prepares for battle. As the day progresses, Edward soon realises that the dragons and ogres he imagined don’t actually exist – they’re children, just like him.
 
 
The Battle
Starting School Can be Scary Sometimes!
 
By: Ashling Kwok (Author), Cara King (Illustrator)
Publication date: June 1, 2020
Publisher: Exisle Publishing 
Imprint: Ek Books
Price: $24.95
ISBN: 9781925820409
Format Hardback: 32 pages
Dimensions: 245 x 255mm