Life is Full of Moments to Treasure

We have a big green shipping container out the back packed full of all sorts of stuff. When we moved out here to our property nearly fourteen years ago we planned to only have our things in storage for six months. Little did we know all these years later it would still be there, untouched like a time capsule.

Yesterday two of our sons and I finally opened that container to start cleaning it out. It brought me to consider the cliché, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. Among the piles of boxes I discovered a treasure trove of so many wonderful memories from our boys childhood, (and other boxes full of junk that we easily chose to throw away). Mind you, so far after an afternoon of sorting, we have barely scratched the surface.

As we sorted boxes one by one, we laughed at the treasures and memories that each box uncovered. My middle son was never an enthusiastic reader as a child, but much to his delight we came across his treasured Deltora Quest book series. by Emily Rodda . These were one set of the few books I managed to get him to read back then. He was quick to say they were definitely keepers for when his son is old enough to read them too. They are now safely on my bookshelf to be treasured by the next generation.

Matt’s copies of Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda, now kept safely on my bookshelf.

To my surprise I also came across a couple of packets of old photos from the 90’s when my boys were little. They brought back wonderful treasured memories of son no 3’s christening, the 4th and seventh birthdays of my other two sons and life in general from those years. We talked about people in the photos, including my dad and uncle who are no longer with us, and the boys were amazed at how young their dad and I looked. Not only do I treasure these memories from the past, but I will treasure these moments of discovery together too. An afternoon that was meant to be a chore that we have put off for years was a fun and enjoyable experience.

This lead me to thinking about the other treasured moments from recent weeks. Celebrating my mum’s 80th birthday, the book reading of Fossil Frenzy at the Book Cow in Kingston and my invitation to the Gold Coast Film Festival that arose from the Queensland Writers Centre Adaptable Competition. Meeting the incredibly talented international award winning children’s author Adam Wallace and the co-ordinators of Adaptable, Lori-Jay Ellis and Craig Couchi, will be special moments that I will always treasure.

Hubby and I had the opportunity to see a wonderful aunt one last time before she passed. As sad as that moment was, we will treasure the memory always. We will be forever grateful we had the chance to say goodbye.

While in Brisbane, we drove up to Mount Tamborine in the ranges behind the Gold Coast where we enjoyed several rainforest walks and I found an irresistible fairy tree house that I just had to bring home. The sheer delight on my grandson’s face when I turned on the fairy lights was a moment captured that I will treasure forever. My fairy bookshelf now also includes a wizard and dragon statue that we found among the treasures from the container.

I visited the Queensland Museum and also bought a dinosaur egg that when submerged in water for 24 -48 hours, hatches and continues to grow. Watching my little cherub grab my hand and pull me over to show me the longneckasaurus (as he calls it) that hatched was a moment of excitement that made all the tears and tantrums the day before all worth it. One thing I did learn, you can’t expect a 3 year old child to wait for delayed gratification! I do think he will treasure that dinosaur for some time to come.

While some of these things are material mementos that bring back memories, others are experiences that will we always treasure. This lead me to think about Secrets Hidden Below the Adamson Adventures 1. While the story evolves around a pirate treasure hunt through Bali, the true treasure that the three siblings come to value is each other and their family. As this book is now out of stock, I am proud to be able to announce it is now available as a print on demand book or ebook via Amazon. You can find the book Here

Yesterday was also my middle son’s 30th birthday and Mothers Day. It was full of wonderful moments to treasure, not all to do with that big old shipping container. Moments that are special to a family full of love, laughter and lots of cuddles. It is my sincerest wishes that you too, had a Mother's Day to remember.

What are some treasured moments that you might like to share in the comments below?

Tips on Preparing a Perfect Pitch

As many of you know I recently won the opportunity to pitch one of my manuscripts to Australian film producers, directors and screenwriters. It was an absolutely amazing experience right from the beginning to the glorious end. In this post, I thought I would share with you my tips on preparing a perfect pitch, whether that is for film producers, editors or book publishers.

Fossil Frenzy The Adamson Adventures 3

Queensland Writers Centre Adaptable Competition Shortlist

1. Do your research. There is no point sending your manuscript to everyone. Find the right fit. You wouldn’t send a science fiction novel to a publisher that only publishes humorous picture books. You need to know the market and who is interested in the genre you are writing. I admit I was lucky, I happened to stumble across the Adaptable Competition. I was doing research into publishers for my manuscript ‘Fossil Frenzy,’ when I came across the competition with Queensland Writers Centre.

2. Be Brave and Submit. Once you find a good fit, go for it. Read the guidelines very carefully, and answer the questions to your best ability. Take your time with it, but don’t over think it. When I found the Adaptable competition, the closing date was only two days away. I didn’t have long to submit. My initial reaction was to procrastinate but I didn’t have time for that. The guidelines stated the story had to be set in Queensland. I had such a story, but it was book three in a series and not yet published. I pondered, would I be better sending the first book in the series even though it was set in Bali? No, stick to the guidelines, I submitted ‘Fossil Frenzy,’ set in outback Queensland.

3. Celebrate the small wins. Now the hard work really begins. After waiting an eternity, you get a response. But the shortlist you were expecting has been changed to a longlist due to the enormous amount of entries. Now you are asked to submit the full manuscript and the wait begins again. Within weeks the news comes that the shortlist has been announced and your name is on it! You will be pitching to producers. Eek! You did it! Take time out to celebrate this massive achievement, it doesn’t come along every day.

4. You Got This! Time to whip that synopsis into shape and prepare your speech. Memories of that dreadful first attempt at pitching live to editors come flooding back. You begin to question yourself,. Why did you even think you could do this? Take a deep breath, chin up, small steps, have courage, your work is good.

5. Secret to a strong Synopsis. Start with a great tag/log line. A ten to fifteen word elevator pitch that will hook your reader. It must be succinct yet convey your main character’s driving goal. Mine for ‘Fossil Frenzy’ is ‘ In the drought-stricken present, the only hope is buried in the past.’ Did I intrigue you? Next, think about your main characters. Can you concisely in one paragraph for each, describe both their internal and external goal, motivation and conflict? Add the major turning points throughout the overall arc, the resolution and the conclusion. Don’t leave out any surprises or twists. The editor or producer need to know it all. The hard part is sticking to your word count or time limit, you know your work better than anyone else, remember to use your unique voice and select the most appropriate scenes from the story to demonstrate.

6. Be Inspirational. Just like the beginning of your story needs to hook your readers, so too, the beginning of your pitch needs to hook who you are pitching to. Give them a reason to want to learn more. Have them sitting on the edge of their seat eager for you to continue. I opened with the fact that my story is an action adventure with drama and suspense but also plenty of humour. Then gave them an example that made each of them laugh every time. Then I moved on to my inspiration behind my story which is also my reason for writing it, which led onto my logline and the journey to finding my setting. All the while I weaved a story that also gave them reasons why an audience would want to see my story on screen. I found my point of difference and made sure they would remember both my story and me.

7. Try to relax. The best way to do that is practice, practice, practice. For my very first pitch to editors a couple of years ago, I know I didn’t do this. I didn’t expect my name would be drawn out of a hat, but all of a sudden, there I was standing in front of a panel of editors and a room full of authors and illustrators. I felt like an impostor, I was so embarrassed, I was never going to put myself through that again. Then Adaptable came around, the difference was the Gold Coast film Festival was cancelled thanks to Covid-19. We were no longer able to pitch in person, we were now pitching via Zoom. So I embraced social media, and practised daily via Zoom with a group of author friends. This technology was not going to defeat me. Find a group of friends you trust, I will be forever grateful for my friends who saw me through my stumbling practise sessions. At first it was a complete disaster, but each day I improved a little bit more. So much so, the first producer I pitched to said I had presented her the best pitch she had heard.

8. The secret ingredient. If you need a break, take it. When the pitches were put back by a week or so, I took a week off my practising to clear my head. It was time to rest. I knew my pitch by now, no point overthinking it. Finally, when the time comes, remember deep breaths and warm-up exercises. Before going live on Zoom, I spent ten minutes in my lounge-room doing a few warm-up exercises to get the blood pumping followed by some slow deep breathing. By the time we were ready to begin I was as relaxed as I was going to be. I knew I was prepared, I had done everything I could.

9. One Final tip. I knew my pitch, I had practised it often enough. I tried to make it conversational, so it wasn’t exactly word for word every time. You want it to be conversational, it sounds more natural, but just in case you get stuck you need an occasional prompt. If you are pitching live, then palm cards are the obvious choice. As I pitched via Zoom I was able to use a slightly more subtle strategy. Post-it notes are rather handy.

10. Enjoy the experience, no matter what happens next it doesn’t matter. You have succeeded just by pitching.

Pitching Fossil Frenzy via Zoom

You Can Do This!

Now comes the waiting. I’ve heard the positive responses from the producers. Will one of them read my full manuscript, take it to their marketing team and decide to offer to option it? My fingers and toes are crossed. it’s been a rollercoaster ride of emotions to reach this end point. Is the journey over? I certainly hope not. Fossil Frenzy the Adamson Adventures 3 is yet to be published. Stay tuned, I hope to have it coming soon.

Have you ever pitched to an editor, publisher or film producer. What tips would you add to this list? Please leave your suggestions in the comments section below.