Spring 2009

Here’s an extract from a book I wrote in spring. It’s set in India. Five characters are involved: Sam Fox (the narrator), Kasime ( a 9 year old Indian boy), Raju and Rani (two tiger cubs), and a maharaja (an Indian prince who is chasing the two boys).

‘Follow me,' I said to Kasime. 'And keep your eyes peeled.'
     The forest floor became increasingly damp and muddy as we made our way in. Soon it was quite easy to see Raju's tracks. His little paw prints went in a straight line, only deviating to go around trees or dense thickets. He was on a mission, following an airborne scent that was too faint for human nostrils to detect. But not too faint for Rani. The further we went into the forest, the more excited she became. She wriggled and squirmed in my arms like the wild animal she was. She was even trying to bite me. In the end I had to grip her by the scruff of her neck. It stopped her from biting, but teeth aren't a tiger's only weapons. Suddenly twisting her fat little body like a corkscrew, Rani raked both back paws down the front of my shirt, ripping off buttons, shredding fabric, shredding me.
     'Yeow!' I cried, releasing my grip on the out-of-control cub.
     Rani hit the ground the running. She shot off through the undergrowth like a big yellow and black kitten. I took off after her. On open ground I might have had a chance of catching her, but Rani was a tiger and the forest was her natural domain. Within twenty seconds I'd lost sight of her completely.
     I'd lost sight of Kasime, too. I stopped and looked around. There was no sign of him anywhere. All I could see in any direction was forest. Tiger country! said the little voice in my head. My spine tingled.
     'Kasime?' I said softly.
     There was no answer.
     I turned a full circle. There was a burning sensation all down my front where Rani had scratched me, but I wasn't worried about that right now. Where was Kasime? I couldn't call out because the maharaja might hear. And Kasime couldn't call for the same reason. So the best thing to do was keep following Raju's trail. I hoped Kasime would figure that out, too. When we found Raju, we'd find each other. And if we were lucky, we would find Rani there, too.
     So I walked slowly in the direction I thought we'd been heading, searching the ground for tiger paw prints.
     It didn't take long to find some. But they weren't the ones I expected. These paw prints were huge – five or six times the size of Raju's and Rani's. And they looked fresh.
     I got that tingling feeling in my spine again. The feeling that something was behind me. I jerked upright and spun around.
     Shishkebab!

What do you think was behind Sam? The first person to email me with the correct answer (only 1 guess per person) will get a free Extreme Adventure of their choice.

I’ll announce the winner in my next Journal entry: Summer 09/10

Winter 2009

I’ve been busy this winter. As well as finishing the next Extreme Adventure, Monkey Mountain, I have been visiting heaps of schools in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and West Australia.

And settling into our new home near the seaside in Victoria, of course. It’s great living so close to the sea. Twice a day, I take Fly – now one year old – for a walk along the beach to the light house. If no one is around, I let him off his lead and he chases seagulls. Before he learned about the sea, he would chase them out into the waves and get very wet and panicky (whippets aren’t water dogs). Now he knows better and only chases them along the shore.

If ever you’re down at Point Lonsdale and you see a skinny grey-and-white whippet and a skinny grey-and-mostly-bald man wandering along the beach, that’s probably Fly and me.

In the meantime, Devil Danger, the latest and most nail-biting in the Extreme Adventure series, has just been released. Check it out at your local book shop, or email me if you’d like to buy a personally autographed copy through the post.

Autumn 2009

Here are some people and businesses I’d like to thank (in no particular order): the Australian Red Cross, the Australian Society of Authors Benevolent Fund, the Victorian Bushfire Appeal (and all the generous people who contributed to it), Curriculum Corporation, Learning Ladder, Victorian Bushfire Case Management Service, Centrelink, Grocon, RACV Insurance, Rural Finance, Public Transport Victoria, Evolve Accounting, my daughter Fiona and those who dropped something in the hat at her 30th birthday party, Pam Harvey, Elise Perry, Mark and Caroline Carthew, the Marpole family, Nicole and Lana from Naracoorte SA, Beverley Laing, Isabella Vittino (who ran a cake stall), Glenn England, Jac and Shaun, Mary Wakelin, the WA branch of the CBCA, the mother who bought one of my books for her son or daughter and added a $100 gift, the “friend (I’ll) never meet in Newcastle NSW”, all the lovely people at Penguin Books, my brother Rene for replacing my Bruce Springsteen CD collection (illegally, but I’m sure Bruce won’t mind in the circumstances), and everyone who sent me emails, letters, gifts, cards and offers of support.

To the above generous people and businesses, and to all those I’ve forgotten to mention (sorry!), THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

It’s been a real life extreme adventure, but at last I’m back at work (at a brand new desk, on a brand new computer, in a rented house by the seaside), writing the next Extreme Adventure.

Summer 2008/09

I’ll remember this summer for a lot of reasons, but mostly because on 7 February 2009 my house burned down in the terrible ‘Black Saturday’ bushfires.

Click here and you’ll see all that remains of my study, where I spent many happy hours writing Extreme Adventures. If you look carefully, you might see the shell of the computer on which I wrote Anaconda Ambush, Grizzly Trap, Devil Danger and EA number 11, Monkey Mountain.

And Ryn, the dogs and I had a real life adventure of our own. Shortly before the fires arrived (but not before the smoke), we piled into the car and the ute and took off in the other direction. We only got as far as Yea. All the roads were blocked so we and thousands of other evacuees – and hundreds of dogs – spent the night at the Yea Sports Reserve. The wonderful Red Cross volunteers were there giving us food and drinks, and some lucky people even got mattresses and pillows. But most of us slept in our cars or in the grandstands or on the oval. Ryn and I shared the car with Fly (our five month old whippet) and Holly slept under the ute. We had another dog, too – Amos the golden retriever who belongs to Ryn’s mum – and he slept inside the ute. Next morning the road to Seymour was open, and we managed to circle round the fires to Melbourne. That’s where we’re living now – staying with family – but in a few weeks we’ll be moving into a house down at the beach. We’re all looking forward to that!

Meanwhile, Grizzly Trap has just been released. Deacon, my 9 year-old-grandson, read it last week and phoned to say it’s his favourite of all the Extreme Adventures. I wonder what you’ll think of it?

Spring 2008

Spring has arrived in Flowerdale, and there’s a new arrival in our household - a puppy! His name’s Fly and he was born on September 1st. We got him six and a half weeks later. He weighed only 2 kilos but he’s twice as heavy now. He’s another whippet – company for Holly, who we’ve had for 18 months. And company for me, too, when I’m writing. On cold mornings he likes to curl up near the heater in my study while I tap away at the computer. Sometimes I read him bits I’ve just written, but he doesn’t seem very interested in Sam Fox’s adventures.

For those of you who are interested in Extreme Adventures, I have just finished the first draft of the tenth book in the series. It’s set in Tasmania but doesn’t have a title yet.

A book that does have a title is Grizzly Trap. I’ve recently finished editing it and you’ll get a sneak preview of the cover on my Coming Soon page. It’ll be in the shops in March 2009. Or you can buy it directly from me.

Lots of people don’t know that not only do I write books, but I sell them too!

Here’s an email I received recently:

‘Dear Mr D’Ath,
I have been trying to find a copy of Killer Whale for my son, Harrison (9), who is a keen reader of the Extreme Adventure series. His birthday is in two weeks but I can’t find Killer Whale in our local bookshop. Is it possible to buy a copy directly from you?
Hope you can help.
Laura.’

Of course I could help! A copy of Killer Whale arrived in Laura’s letterbox a week later. Not only was it autographed, but there was a birthday message from the author.

For more about Justin’s On-Line Bookshop, click here.

Winter 2008

‘I absolutely loved Pool. It’s a brilliant book.’

     These are the words of Kirsty Murray, one of the judges of the 2008 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. Pool was one of three shortlisted books in the Young Adults category.
     It was a big surprise for me.
     And here are three more surprises. The Extreme Adventures series has been shortlisted in both the Koala Awards and the YABBA Awards this year.
     And Crocodile Attack has been shortlisted in this year’s WAYRBA Awards.
     All these are children’s choice awards. So if you’re a fan of the series, and you live in Victoria, New South Wales, ACT, SA or NT, get voting!
     If you live in WA, you can vote for Crocodile Attack in the WAYRBA Awards.
     Or you can vote for any of the other shortlisted books, if you like. (Just don’t tell me.)

     Guess what! (Well, you won’t have to guess if you read on.) I’ve finished Grizzly Trap. It’s set in the Rocky Mountains in North America. There’s a REALLY exciting part near the end where it’s pitch dark and Sam goes into a barn and hears a tiny noise, like something breathing, only he can’t find the light switch, and then…
     I’d better not tell you any more because it’ll spoil the surprise when you read the book in April next year.
     Meanwhile, you can read Anaconda Ambush right now. Lukas (10) has read it already. Twice! Here’s what he said about it:

‘I’ve never read a book where you can’t stop, its so full on you have to keep reading to see what’s going to happen.’

And a lot DOES happen. Sam Fox leads a very eventful life!

Autumn 2008

I’ve been busy! As well as working hard on the edit of Anaconda Ambush, and writing 10 more chapters of Grizzly Trap, I spent two weeks in the jungles of Borneo researching a book about orang-utans that I hope to write next year. And back in Australia, I visited heaps of schools.

Here are some of them: Barnawartha Primary (Vic), Beaconhills College (Vic), Sunbury Heights Primary (Vic), Whitfords Catholic Primary (WA), Corrigin District High School (WA), Mater Dei Primary (Toowoomba, Qld), Christian Outreach College (Toowoomba), Martin Luther Primary (Toowoomba), Sacred Heart Primary (Toowoomba), Our Lady of Lourdes Primary (Toowoomba), Kinglake West Primary (Vic), St. Rita’s Primary (Victoria Point, Qld), Our Lady of the Southern Cross College (Dalby, Qld) and Kaimkillenbun State School (somewhere way out along a bumpy road in Western Queensland).

It was good to meet Robbie (9) at St. Rita’s, and Guy (12) at Our Lady of the Southern Cross. Both are keen readers of Extreme Adventures who emailed me and asked me to come to their schools. And I did! (Guy got a free copy of Man Eater and Robbie got a free copy of Killer Whale for getting their schools interested.)

I also spoke to school groups at libraries in Woodend, Castlemaine, Kyneton, Kangaroo Flat (all in Victoria) and Oakey (Qld). Plus, I met thousands more at the Somerset Writers Festival, Voices on the Range Festival, and Voices on the Coast Festival.

Did I meet you at any of those places?

Children always ask lots of questions when I speak at their schools, but one question I get asked a lot lately is: ‘When can I get a copy of Anaconda Ambush?’

It’ll be in shops in October. I’m excited, too! You should see the cover. Sam Hadley, the artist, has excelled himself this time. He’s drawn the biggest, meanest-looking anaconda ever! I’m not allowed to show you the complete cover yet, but if you go to my Coming Soon page, you’ll get a sneak preview.

Summer 2007/08

Killer Whale is out. You’ll find it in book shops now. In fact, already I’m receiving emails from people who’ve read it. Rosie in West Australia says it’s the most exciting Extreme Adventure yet. And Deacon (8) from Victoria liked the bit where the killer whale ate a penguin! (Personally, I felt a bit sorry for the penguin, and so did Sam Fox, although he was very busy at the time trying to save himself and his little brother Harry from the same fate.)

Also in book shops you’ll find the ultra-cheap edition of Shark Bait. It’s only $4.95 and includes a bonus chapter from Killer Whale at the back. What a bargain! For the past few weeks it’s been on the best seller lists all over Australia, and it’s introduced the Extreme Adventures to a whole new wave of readers. I’ve even got fans in England and USA.

Speaking of the USA, the ninth book in the series will be set in the Rocky Mountains. It’s called Grizzly Trap. I started it last week and have written two chapters so far. Sam is an assistant scout leader with a group of Australia Cub Scouts who travel to America to attend a camporee. But their bus crashes before they get there and Sam has to go for help. I don’t know what’s going to happen yet but here are some of the dangers he’ll have to face: grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, rattlesnakes, snapper turtles, mountain lions, maybe even a skunk – and who knows what else? I don’t. But I’ll find out as I write about his adventures. I hope he survives…

Grizzly Trap will be released early in 2009, so you’ll find out then.

A lot of readers have been asking about Anaconda Ambush, the eighth Extreme Adventure. It’s due for release in September or October 2008. I finished it just after Christmas but it hasn’t been edited yet. At the moment, Sam Hadley, the artist, is doing the cover illustration. I can’t wait to see it. But in the meantime, I’m working hard on Grizzly Trap. Summer is always a good writing period for me, because everyone’s on holiday (except me!) and there aren’t schools and libraries and writers festivals to visit. So I’d better make the most of this quiet time and get back to work…

To view an archive of Justin's previous journal entries, click here!