Today we welcome Elaine Ouston to Promote Me Please to talk
about her new book, The Bunyip in the Billabong.
Q.1. The Bunyip in the Billabong is the first in a new
series called Bush Tails. What came first, the idea for the story or the idea
for the series? Will later books also feature Matthew and his family?
A.1. The bunyip story was written some years ago for The School
Magazine. I had just had a short story, A Close Call, published in their
magazine and wrote a couple more for submission to them. They said they loved
the story, the mystery, and the way it was written, but they asked me to change
the ending. In that first draft, I had Nathan taking the lambs and killing them
for food. Apparently, they considered this too gory for their readers so they
asked me to come up with another ending. At the time, I was busy with other
books and just starting with publishing, so I put it aside to rewrite it at a
later date. Recently, I was going through files looking for another story and came
across it. In the same file were several other stories loosely based on life on
the station where I lived as a child. I decided they would make an interesting
series. One of the other books features Matthew and Kate.
Q.2. A billabong with an underwater cave entrance is
guaranteed to excite young readers. Is this based on a real place? If not,
where did you get the idea?
A.2. We had a billabong in our front paddock on the station where
I lived. It was a spring-fed waterhole. It was very deep at one end and had a
rocky ledge we jumped off when we swam there. The rest came from my imagination
as I plotted the story.
Q.3. The Bunyip in the Billabong is set firmly in the
outback. How would you introduce the story to a child of the inner city?
A.3. Most children have heard of the bunyip and love mystery and
adventure stories, so I don't think they would care where it is set. Besides,
it teaches them how the country kids live and most kids are inquisitive.
Q.4. The way the story is presented makes it suitable for a
wide range of ages. It could be read to younger children, read by independent
readers, and would also suit less able or less confident older readers. Is this
a happy coincidence or a deliberate strategy?
A.4. Deliberate strategy. I have many grandchildren of all ages who
are reluctant readers and try to come up with ways to get them to read.
Q.5. What are three words you’d use to describe the Bush
Tails series?
A 5. Fun, adventure, mystery.
Thanks, Elaine!
The Bunyip in the Billabong will be available in book shops
through Dennis Jones and Associates, from all library suppliers, and on
many online bookshops through them and Ingrams. The eBook will be on Amazon and
all eBook distributors.
Check out the links below.
Click HERE for our review of The Bunyip in the Billabong.
Promote Me Please blog is associated with Affordable Manuscript Assessments
It is open to anyone with a family-friendly creative endeavour to promote. Comments are welcome. To read other interviews at Promote Me Please, choose from the menu on the right of this post. The direct url for this post is http://tinyurl.com/PMPelaine
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