This weeks Pay it Forward Interview is from Christian Fantasy Author Virginia Ripple. On reading it I was surprised to learn that Tolkien's Lord of the Rings was considered Christian Fantasy. You learn something new every day! She has some great advice on time management for those writers struggling to organise their daily routine and I love the point Virginia makes about taking time out each day to be still, quiet and listen, Read on to find out more about this fascinating and prolific author.
Same Country yet Poles Apart.
While everyone gathered at the beginning of the week in the Northern Hemisphere to celebrate the summer solstice by watching the sun rise over Stone Henge, we down under looked towards celebrating the marking of the days beginning to grow longer. Aussies are in the depths of winter and counting the days towards summer warmth where they can once again embark on that much loved sport of swimming in the ocean.
Hang on! Why wait til summer? Not likely, Aussies are made of much tougher stuff and wait for no right weather conditions. Residence of Hobart, our most southern capital city, (if you head any further south you'll be in Antarctica), chose to mark the winter solstice with a naked dip in the Derwent River. Well almost naked, they all wore red swimming caps. The water temperature was a chilly 11 degrees C as all 700 brave Tasmanians held their breath and took the plunge into the shivering waters.
Meanwhile, here in the Top End of the country where the winter nights never fall below 17C and the days still reach a balmy 30C, Territorians braved the depths of the ocean for their annual winter swim. Fannie Bay Life Saving Club held a race across the bay that took my breath away when I first heard of it. I have been warned never to swim in the ocean up here for danger of crocodiles, sharks and box jelly fish, yet these amazing brave souls took to the water like a school of fish splashing about in a frenzy.
Two major swim events, both held on the winter solstice, in the same country, yet they couldn't have been further apart.
I on the other hand chose to spend the day amongst petrol rev heads at the V8 Super car races held annually at Hidden Valley race track. As I gulped down another bottle of water, wiped the perspiration from my face and applied yet another layer of sun block I wondered what on earth I was doing here? Then I guess the petrol fumes embraced me as the roar of the F18's soared overhead, the drivers revved their engines and the race began! Maybe raising three boys has rubbed off on me a little more than I thought as the enthusiasm pumped through my veins.
As for swimming, yes I did eventually collapse into our pool on my return home. So I guess I did eventually end the day the same way as so many other Aussies began it, with a dip in the cool refreshing waters of Australia. 
Only two days later I was reminded again just how poles apart we are in this country. While the heat continues to reign down over Darwin, the south of the country was in the grips of the largest blizzard in years. The Snowy Mountains had their best snow fall to begin the school holiday season in ten years or more and my boys called to say it snowed on our property all day.Did it make me homesick? It sure did. We may only get light snow that melts when it hits the ground with the occasional thin blanket enveloping the ground and surrounding mountains, but it is beautiful.
I sound like a tourist campaign, no matter what the weather you are looking for, we have it somewhere here in Oz. As the Queenslanders say, Australia truly is"Beautiful one day, perfect the next!"
I'm on Foot......Again!
Here we go again! Three weeks into living in the tropics and no physical means of transport except my own two feet! I can generally walk a fair distance and it certainly is much flatter here than the hills back home, but the humidity makes me feel like I've hit a brick wall generally halfway to wherever I am going. So I decided it was time to consider buying a car. There is no point transporting my car from home up here as I will need it there on my return visits.
Now we find out the true meaning of NT in Northern Territory. Every car I considered was not available to drive away, as they say, Not Today, Not Tomorrow, Not Tuesday, Not Thursday, Next truck or maybe Next Train. You see everything you want in the Northern Te
rritory has to be shipped up by road train or rail from down south and it appears that is always months away. The waiting begins!
It reminds me of rubber time in Thailand where nothing ever happened in a hurry, everything was either "mai pen lai" never mind, or "mai me" no have. A shrug of the shoulders and all would be good.....eventually.
I persisted with walking or using baht buses for a while in Thailand, it seemed easy enough, or so I initially thought. For the uninitiated a baht bus is kind of like an old blue ute with a roof over the back with two long seats either side that you climb into and hang onto for dear life. One is expected to barter with the local currency, Thai baht, for the fare to wherever you want to go. This was fine during the wet season or the really sticky humid season, but didn't work out so well during the tourist season.
Off peak season I knew exactly what my fair should have been to take me from our expat compound down to the main street of Pattaya to shop, then return, 20 baht each way, fair enough I could agree to that. However once peak tourist season hit the baht bus drivers get greedy and suddenly want 100 baht, I don't think so! There are three prices in Thailand, Thai, expat and tourist price. I'm not a tourist, I'm here for the long haul!
One day I refused to pay their asking price, I bartered in my best Thai, but baht bus after bus continually drove off, they could pick up the tourist dollar and make a lot more. I was getting anxious, the school bus was due home any moment, I needed to be home for my boys. A Thai on a baht bike had been observing the interactions and stepped forward to offer me a lift home. 5 baht on the back of his motor bike and I would be home in 5 minutes.
My husband had always warned me never to get on the back of a baht bike. Far too dangerous, he always said. They weave their way in and out of the traffic with no concern for the passenger. I stood their considering my options for a split second, hubby didn't need to know and I was desperate to get home. Like a rebel I reluctantly agreed, he smiled and helped me onto the back of his bike, reached around to pull my arms tight around his waist, it was obvious how nervous I was, and we were off. I took a deep breath and didn't know whether to close my eyes but the driver was to my surprise slow and careful.
It took a few weeks but eventually the guilt inside me rose and I confessed to my husband. Within the next week I had a car and a driver. A friend for the rest of our stay in Thailand, someone I not only trusted my life with on the roads but my children as well.
My husband knows me well enough after all these years that when I say I need transport, he had better do something about it. So the car is ordered, we now play the waiting game, come on August and we'll see if the car actually arrives here in Darwin NT.
Write to Empower - An Interview with Author Nikki Rosen
This weeks Pay it Forward interview is from Nikki Rosen, an inspirational author who has written not only from the heart but from truth. Nikki's book has been helping women all over the world since publication. Read on to find out how and why?
A Charmed Interview
Fellow author Kai Strand kindly offered to interview yours truly on her blog recently. It was an enormous opportunity I could not refuse. Kai provides some insightful questions that really help you learn a little more about who this author is and what I am all about, my passions and dreams to help improve literacy through reading for fun.
Click on the link above to read more.
They Call This Winter?
I find myself here in Darwin in the so called "dry season!" It is winter everywhere else in Australia. While my family pile on more jumpers, watch the fog roll in as they rise, light the fire each evening and prepare for the usual neighbourhood bonfire this coming long weekend, my husband and I have landed in the Top End, a place where winter doesn't really exist. Everyone here tells me that we are lucky to have arrived now while it is "cool" so that we have time to acclimatise before the "wet season" hits but my clothes are already sticking to me every time I leave the air conditioning.
I find it somewhat reminiscent of our two years in Thailand some twenty odd years ago. Tropical climate, humidity, palm tree lined streets, tiled floors, even to the extent that the stairs in our rented house are awkwardly unexpected heights. I keep finding things in the house that don't work or kitchen utensils not supplied. It is amazing how inventive with the cooking you can be when you don't have transport to just pop down to the shops to pick up a missing item. I feel like I an an expats wife all over again but someone forgot that Darwin is still in Australia! The only difference is that this time I don't have three babies desperately hanging off me for love and support. 
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. My husband is gone by 5:00am and doesn't return til 6:00pm 6 days a week so I have plenty of time to myself to contemplate my writing. That is when I can get into the swing of things. We have only been here a week and so far I have been busy setting up the house and admiring the amazing view over the ocean. I admit I can waste a bit of time staring out across the bay watching the yachts sail past. I thought the kangaroos on my property back home could be a distraction but I'm finding the sea quite a draw card. The sunsets have been stunning! Each evening they have provided something new and spectacular, the ash cloud wafting across from the Indonesian Island of Bali has certainly added to the intensity of the colours.
So, I need to make a plan. Walk first thing in the morning, early, really early! Before the heat and humidity get to me. I am older than what I was twenty years ago after all! Swim a few laps in the pool to cool down, you can't swim in the ocean, too many crocodiles, sharks and jellyfish! (I do want to live). Then I'll still have a few good hours at my computer to check emails, facebook and finally WRITE!
One of my projects I'm considering writing (as well as my children's books) is "Snippets from Thailand, an expat wife's memories." Would it make interesting reading? What do you think?
Something Stinks! Interview with Gail Hedrick
Author Gail Hedrick talks about how she comes up with ideas for writing, particularly the idea for her science based picture book, what gives her inspiration and so much more!
Intensify Your Writing By Eliminating Intensifiers - By Brita Addams
A brilliant article to not only make us think about the way we use words but help improve our daily writing whether that is for publication or not. Great suggestions for teachers also to help students learn the craft of writing. Wise words worth sharing.
A Tantalizing Tale of Tasmania
Back in March I had the wonderful opportunity to be invited to the book launch of "Links in the Chain. A Pioneer's Tale. "http://www.amazon.com/Links-In-The-Chain-Pioneers-ebook/dp/B00IUTG3PO 
The book launch was fabulous as usual, a very special ocassion as it was one of the final engagements of Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce Governor General of Australia before her retirement. It was a wonderful honour to have the opportunity to meet this amazing and inspirational woman for the second time.
"Links in the Chain" is the second book released by author Caroline Cooper. I very much enjoyed her first novel, "The Forgotten Holocaust: A Gypsy's Journey from Auschwitz to Freedom,"
( To read my review please go to http://sandrabennettauthor.com/2014/01/23/in-celebration-of-where-we-come-from/).
After discovering how talented a writer Caroline is, I couldn't wait to get my teeth into her second novel. I admit that I was intrigued that Caroline had chosen once again to set another story amongst the confines of prison walls. What could possibly have her so drawn to such horrific places? When visiting Port Arthur by day or night, one cannot help but feel it is haunted by the ghosts of so many poor souls that were left to rot in chains or made to serve out their lives in hard labour for the sake of stealing a simple loaf of bread. However, as horrific as Port Arthur is, it holds a special place in the soul of many Australians. It represents the struggling pioneering spirit that so many of us have all grown up experiencing as this nation grew to what it has become today. I admit to having a fondness for Port Arthur, Hobart and Tasmania itself as they bring back wonderful memories of the 6 months my husband and I spent there during our early years of marriage before we started our family so many years ago. Tasmania can be a harsh, cold wilderness that at the turn of the 19th Century would not have been a very easy or pleasant place to start a new life in a new world.
Caroline did not disappoint. The story had me engrossed from the start. She has done her research well. The Port Arthur she described was forbidding and hauntingly true. So much so that I found the story gripping and believable. I had empathy for both the convict and the Commandant's daughter. When their lives predictably collide (as they must) it is not how you may expect, the collision turns both their worlds upside down. The course of events that follow are wonderful page turners as we go from High tea English society to the clanking depressing darkness of chain cluttered cells and on to the back streets of Hobart Town and beyond.
To pique your curiosity without giving away any spoilers, the best I can do is leave you with the words of Caroline Cooper in her own dedication.
"to the early pioneers, full of energy and optimism, to the convicts, to the freed settlers, the free settlers, and to those who simply pretended they'd always been free.'' we will always remember your sacrifce and ambition to strive and make good in a new life so far away from the world which you left behind.
"Links In the Chain" represents the world of all who settled here in the early years of Australia. Whether they came here willingly or not so willingly. It is a marvelous tale to honour our past pioneers and a must read for anyone interested in Australian history. Thanks Caroline.
20 Easy Steps to Knit a Cute and Cuddley Gingerbread Alien
This cute idea follows the pattern based on knitting a Red Cross trauma teddy bear with a few simple little changes along the way. 
The Australian Red Cross is a wonderful organisation that organises the collection of teddies that are then distributed via the Ambulance service, the Fire Brigade and hospitals to children and others who may have suffered from trauma. These teddies provide a fantastic source of comfort when children are at their most sick and vulnerable. It is a very worthwhile cause.
My hope is that perhaps along with sharing the joy and laughter of my book, a little gingerbread alien teddy may also bring a little light into someone's life also. After all, laughter really is the best medicine. :)
Use 8ply wool (nothing scratchy or itchy like angora or mohair)
Needles: 3.75mm or 3.25mm for looser knitters.
Legs.
Leg 1.
1. Cast on 12 stitches
2. Knit 42 rows
Leave stitches on needle.
Leg 2.
4. Repeat same as leg 1.
Body.
5. Join both legs by knitting across both legs.
6. Knit 32 rows.
Arms.
7. Cast on 12 stitches at the beginning of next two rows.
8. Knit 18 rows.
9. Next cast off 12 stitches (this forms the arms - 24 stitches should remain).
Head.
10. Knit 2 rows.
11. Cast on one stitch every row next 20 rows.
12. Knit 12 more rows.
13. Cast off.
14. Repeat this procedure to make the other side of the gingerbread alien teddy.
To Finish.
15. Crochet a string of chains to sew onto the tummy for the aliens intestines.
16. Knit 2 eyes (I made diamond shapes, beginning with 1 stitch, cast on one each row for 10 rows, then cast off back to one)
17. Knit 7 sultanas. (cast on one at a time for 6 rows, then cast off)
18. I have tried to sew on both before and after sewing up teddy, the choice is up to you. I find he stretches quite a bit depending on how much stuffing you choose to use, so the effect changes depending on when you decide to sew the face on before or after stuffing teddy.I found it easiest to sew on the intestines before stuffing, but sewing on the face was better after stuffing. I leave that decision up to you.
19. Sew on mouth and nostrils.
20. Sew up teddy and stuff before sewing across the top of the head.