CWD Member Interview – Simon Kennedy

 

Most Thursdays this year we will be interviewing one of the members of Christian Writers Downunder – to find out a little bit more about them and their writing/editing goals.

Today’s interview - Simon Kennedy

Question 1: Tells us three things about who you are and where you come from. 

Since graduating from physiotherapy at the University of Queensland in 1998, I’ve had three main careers: physiotherapist, music and film.

I continue to practice physiotherapy, filling in at the army or air force with the odd casual shift. My highlights were working with the Queensland Academy of Sport soccer team and visiting the State of Origin camp (my boss was the Qld team’s physio).

Music took me to some strange stages, including the top of skyscrapers, the back of a semi-trailer, and under the shark tank at Sea World. I was in a rock band while also serving as a worship pastor so would often play in pubs and clubs on Friday and Saturday nights and then in church on Sundays.

Like the Wiggles, I also changed from adult to kids’ performer, and my YouTube channel of kids’ songs, Songs with Simon, now has over half a billion views. That was part of my transition from music to film and has opened up several opportunities to write spec scripts for animated kids shows.

But my biggest success in film/TV so far was to be co-creator of Safe Harbour, an Emmy award winning show.

Safe Harbour

Question 2: Tell us about your writing (or editing/illustrating etc).  What do you write and why?

I often spend more time writing emails and pitch documents than I do on scripts! Meetings with graphic designers, producers and animation studios are also a big part of the process, and though I enjoy it all (usually!), writing the script is my favourite bit. After all the planning and talking, it’s great to see the story come to life on the page.

I’ve been blessed with opportunities to work with wonderful people and have written for factual feature films, kids comedy/adventure, adult thriller and drama TV shows and movies. For most projects, I look for an underlying kingdom heart, even though I tend to work on general market shows and movies. What kind of themes can I explore underneath the surface action?

Question 3: Who has read your work? Who would you like to read it? 

My wife is usually the first person to read my work. She’s not in the industry but I value her encouragement and gentle feedback before sending it out to co-writers, producers and distributors.

One producer I’m excited to be working with is Brian Bird. He made Touched by an Angel and When Calls the Heart and is a perfect fit for a historical adventure/romance show that we pitched to him. Ultimately, I’m looking forward to the audience viewing more of the stories I write but I’ve learned that budgets in the millions tend to lead to a slow development process.

Question 4: Tell us something about your process. What challenges do you face? What helps you the most?

The hardest thing for me is juggling the several projects I have on the go. This month I’ll do a couple of drafts for a kids’ animation show, start pre-production on another series of Songs with Simon, take feedback on my first draft for a medical show set in the outback, and prepare pitches for three or four factual TV shows.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

If I have time, I’ll write the first draft of a low budget feature and finish post-production on another YouTube series, but I think they might have to wait till March!

Every morning I pray through the day and ask God for guidance. I have regular chats with other friends in the industry, often to be reminded that they’re facing similar challenges and that I’m not alone. And at least once a week, I check in with my wife, a very wise woman, who helps to keep me on track (and sane!).

Question 5: What is your favourite Writing Craft Book and why? 

The first book on screenwriting I recommend is Save the Cat. It introduces the three-act structure and a fresh take on genre in a light and easy-to-read way. Theme and character aren’t strong points though, so if you want something deeper, feel free to drop me a line.

Question 6: If you were to give a shout-out to a CWD author, writer, editor or illustrator – who would they be?

There are so many! When I started to take writing seriously, Anne Hamilton’s advice was invaluable in helping me to see how superfluous most adjectives and adverbs are. Rochelle from Wombat opened my eyes to how tough a writer’s life can be without scaring me too much!

Anne, Jo Wanmer and Ruth Bonetti graciously welcomed and encouraged me when I joined the Omega Writers committee with big ideas, Amanda Deed helped us to keep everything in the black and Susan Barnes kept everything running smoothly. Raewyn Elsegood runs an amazing conference, and I’m probably most grateful to Meredith Resce for taking over as Omega President!

Question 7: What are your writing goals for this year? How will you achieve them?

I’m prayerfully pondering whether I cut back on writing to put more effort into getting the things I’ve already written onto screens. My first step has been to organise my projects into genres and formats so I can take several similar shows or movies to market at once. Then I need to go to a few markets and meet the money people.

Question 8: How does your faith impact and shape your writing?

God guided me to writing with a few amazing incidents acting as signposts to confirm my inner desires. I started out chasing every opportunity and entering any writing competition I could find until a friend shared a vision with me.

He pictured me in a room full of doors, but instead of considering what was on the other side of each one, I was simply running through them all. From that, I felt God prompting me to ask about the kingdom merit of each concept before chasing after it.

I followed that thought a bit too far and ended up only doing “worthy” projects for a couple of years until He reminded me that joy is meant to be an integral part of our journey. Recently I’ve adopted a Paul Colman album title to summarise my approach: Serious Fun. I’m more balanced and am enjoying my day to day practice a lot more while still feeling like I can contribute to deeper and thought-provoking discussions through much of my art.

The CALEB Awards | Christian Authors Lifting Each other's Books

 

2010 CALEB finalists

Today's post is from Meredith Resce, Author and Publisher, and member of the Omega Writers Management Committee.

Back in 2010, I entered the CALEB awards for the first time. I even flew to Queensland for the gala dinner that, at that time, was a completely separate event to the Omega Conference. I was a finalist in the fiction category along with my good writing friends, Paula Vince, Amanda Deed and Mary Hawkins.

It was great to be with other writers celebrating writing achievements. That year, Amanda Deed won the award with her debut novel ‘The Game’.

From that time to this, CALEB has grown through some learning times, and some times when we didn’t know if the award would continue. But there has always been a handful of people who believe in the concept: Christian Authors Lifting up Each other’s Books.

 

2011 CALEB Finalists

The Omega Writers’ Management Committee strongly believe in the concept of encouragement and celebration. It is true you might win money with other competitions. It is also true that other competitions have a greater reach. But the central concept of CALEB awards is that we recognise other Australasian Christian authors, and celebrate achievements.

We have traditionally featured many Christian fiction works, which is a category that doesn’t receive much recognition in other Australian Christian writing awards. There are many fine Christian fiction authors in our networks.

There has also been a plethora of Children’s picture books published and celebrated in CALEB. These books have been a credit to the small publishing groups that work hard to produce and market these works.

Young adult fiction has been an emerging group in Australasian Christian writing, and I personally have noted the quality of books that have come through in this category. I’m looking forward to reading more.

Non-fiction has also been a feature in our awards, some fine biographies, memoirs, devotionals and inspirational works.

If you have a work published in 2019 or 2020 I encourage you to enter it into our CALEB awards. Your entry not only encourages you, it encourages us. It is a testament to Australian and New Zealand authors at work. We see you. We appreciate you. We celebrate your work.

I look forward to seeing your work soon.

Oh, and by the way, we do have a prize to the value of $400 for each category.

Entries for this years’ CALEB awards have been extended, and now close on 30 April 30 2021.

Click here to find out more and enter.

What Makes a Good Book Dedication?

 

Photo by congerdesign on Pixabay

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been giving out gift copies and review copies of my debut novel. Some readers have told me they really enjoyed the book. However, a few people have also said they loved the dedication. I’m glad they liked it, because I put a lot of thought into it, but it got me thinking about other dedications I’ve read. What makes a good one? What things do you need to consider? Do you even need one?

First, let me make a distinction between a book’s dedication and the acknowledgements. The acknowledgements page is usually the place where you thank people who have helped with the book (e.g. beta readers, editors, publishers, experts you consulted, supportive family and friends, and the nice people who let who stay in their 5-star hotel while doing research on the beach—I wish!).  A dedication sometimes includes a vote of thanks, but it is something more. In a dedication you’re saying, ‘This person is important to me and this book is my gift to them.’

Do You Need a Dedication?

Not necessarily. If you’re a podiatrist and you’ve written a book on treatments for tinea, would your loved ones want you to dedicate the book to them? Maybe, but it could give mixed messages. If you’re a prolific author and you’re up to Book #40, it might be difficult to think of something new to put in a dedication. The choice is yours. Don’t sweat it if you really don’t have a burning desire to dedicate it to someone.

To Whom Do You Dedicate Your Book?

Of course there are no right or wrong answers. Many authors dedicate books to family or friends. Some write dedications to thank people who were particularly involved in the development of the book. Sometimes the content of the book itself may give you some ideas about possible recipients of your dedication. For example, if your heroine has had to overcome a lot of obstacles to succeed in the world, you might like to dedicate it to Aunty Dot who also overcame a lot of barriers in her life. Other times, a more generic dedication might be warranted (e.g. to readers in general or to those who have had to grapple with the issues discussed in the book). Some Christians also dedicate their books to God, but I’ll say more about that a bit later.

Do You Need to Ask Permission to Dedicate a Book to Someone?

It depends. You might want to keep it as a nice surprise. That was the case with me. I wanted to dedicate the book to my parents, so I kept it secret until they could hold the book in their hands and read the dedication for themselves. However, I was also confident that my parents would be pleased. It might be worth running your dedication past the recipient ahead of time if (a) you don’t know them very well, (b) you consulted them in a professional capacity, (c) the book contains sensitive material, or (d) you’re thinking of putting some personal information in the dedication that may not be public knowledge.

Should Dedications in Christian Books Be Different?

We could have a big discussion here about what makes a book ‘Christian’. Some have obvious Christian content, while others may have a more subtle Christian message or worldview. It’s not my intention here to open that whole can of worms, but one issue of difference might be that a Christian author has to think through whether they include God in their dedication or not.

Terri Blackstock typically dedicates her books to ‘the Nazarene’, which of course is a reference to Jesus. Carolyn Miller dedicated The Elusive Miss Ellison to Joshua and ‘the Giver of the Ultimate Gift’. Karen Kingsbury also combined family and God in her dedication to Someone Like You:

 

Dedicated to my husband, David, and our beautiful family. The journey of life is breathtaking surrounded by each of you. And every minute together is time borrowed from eternity. I love you more than words. And to God, Almighty, who has—for now—blessed me with these.

Some authors also include a scripture. For example, Jeanette O’Hagan dedicated Akrad’s Children to her husband, but concluded with a paraphrase from Song of Songs 8:6-7: ‘Drenching rivers love’s flame will not quench.’

I thought long and hard about this question when I was writing my dedication, but I decided to thank God in my acknowledgements instead.

And finally, I would like to thank my Heavenly Father, who planted the first seed of an idea and watered it as it continued to grow. ‘You are He who took me from my mother’s womb and you have been my benefactor from that day. My praise is continually of You’ (Psalm 71:6b, AMP).

Tips for Writing a Dedication

It can be short and sweet, but think about the wording. Apart from the cover and title, this is the next impression someone will have of your book. I always feel a little disappointed if I read a beautifully-written, well-plotted book, but the dedication just says something like ‘For Anne’. Really? After 80 000 words of beautiful prose, you couldn’t think of anything better to write?

Think about the mood you want to convey. Humorous? Heartfelt? It’s often a good idea to match the mood of the book with the tone of the dedication. If you’ve written a gut-wrenching book about childhood trauma, it’s probably not a good idea to write a flippant dedication. However, a touch of humour can also show the reader something of your personality. What do you want readers to think or feel when they read your dedication?

Can you somehow tie the dedication to the themes in the book? This isn’t always necessary, but it’s a nice touch if relevant. For example, in her book Unnoticed, a revisioning of the Cinderella story in an Australian historical context, Amanda Deed dedicates the story ‘to lovers of fairy tales and of happy ever afters’.

Don’t leave it until five minutes before your deadline. A good dedication takes some thought. Put the same effort into it as you would a beautiful passage in your book.

Finally ...

Do you write dedications for your books? What dedications have you read that left an impression on you? I’d love to hear your examples. Here’s what I wrote in my inspirational historical novel Scattered:

For my parents, Lex and Dawn Wildermuth, who’ve nurtured me from infancy; 

and my English birthmother, Monica Hope Sewell (Monny), who died ten years before I started searching for her. 

You have all helped make me the person I am today, and I am forever grateful.

Author Bio

Nola Lorraine (aka Nola Passmore) wrote her first mystery story in primary school. She used the word ‘suddenly’ five times and Mr Cuskelly circled every one of them. She’s come a long way since then, with more than 150 short publications, including fiction, poetry, devotions, true stories, magazine articles and academic papers. Her debut novel Scattered will be released on 20 October 2020. She is also the co-editor, with Jeanette O'Hagan, of the Christian charity anthology Glimpses of Light. When she’s not tinkering with her own writing, she’s assessing and editing other people’s manuscripts through The Write Flourish, a freelance business she and her husband Tim run from their home in southeast Queensland, Australia. She has a passion for faith and social justice issues, and loves weaving words that inspire others with courage and hope. 

To find out more, please visit her author site: https://www.nolalorraine.com.au

She’d also love to connect with you on social media:

Facebook:        https://www.facebook.com/nolalorraine

Twitter:           https://twitter.com/nolalorraine1

Pinterest:         https://www.pinterest.com.au/nolalorraine1

 

 

 

Exploring Genre: Fairy Tale Retellings

by Amanda Deed & Jeanette O'Hagan

The remake of the Lion King is currently screening in the cinemas, while the casting for the new Little Mermaid is causing a small furore on the interweb. Hollywood is addicted to remakes and retellings of old classic tales (how many times can you redo Robin Hood?) - and the literary world isn't that far behind with countless retellings of Pride and Prejudice or the other Austen books, or the many Shakespearean Plays.

What is a retelling and why do need another one?

In a retelling an old and usually popular story is 'retold' or adapted to a new audience - perhaps in a new media, or with changes in focus or settings. Fractured retellings give a new twist to the old tale (for instance, Jack and the Beanstalk from the giant's perspective). While they can be overdone or done badly, retellings breath fresh life into old stories for new generations of readers (and viewers).  Sometimes they steer close to the original. In other cases the correspondences are much looser. The best retellings show us something new while breathing the soul of the original tale.

Fairy tale retellings are a sub-set of retellings - they adapt classic fairy tales and present them in a multitude of different ways. Examples abound. Just about every classic Disney movie is a fairy tale retelling. In the general market we haave Kate Forsyth's books, for instance, Bitter Greens, which retells the Rapunzel story against the backdrop of seventeenth century France and sixteenth century Venice. Jane Yolen's Briar Rose uses extermination camps of Nazi germany as the gripping setting for her retelling of Sleeping Beauty. While Marissa Meyer in the Lunar Chronicles intertwines retellings of Cinderella (Cinder), Little Red Riding Hood (Scarlet), Rapunzel (Cress) and Snow White (Winter) in a gripping four book epic sci-fi with a cyberpunk setting.

Then there are the Charming books by Kristine Grayson (aka Kathryn Kristen Rusch) are based on fairytale characters living in our world e.g. Rapunzel, Bluebeard, and Prince Charming (after his divorce from Cinderella). The books are clean romance and are more fairy tale extensions than retellings.

Amanda Deed's Retellings

Australian Christian author, Amanda Deed has recently released some fairy tale retellings set in colonial (nineteenth century) Australia. She is working on a third. This is what Amanda says:

"I must make a confession. I love fairy tales. I love happy-ever-afters, and all the magic that goes with them. I love princes and princesses and true love. Nothing appeals to my romance-loving heart more. Something within me says “this is how it’s meant to be” even if the reality of our world looks a lot different. Eternal optimist? Maybe.

Anyway, my favourite fairy tales on the screen are Beauty and the Beast (Disney), Cinderella (the Ever After version), and now Rapunzel (the Tangled version).

Several years ago I began to grow some ideas to write some of these fairy tales, twisting them a little to fit with my usual genre – historical romance in an Australian setting. And so, Unnoticed (Cinderella) and Unhinged (Beauty and the Beast) came into being.

For me, usually, an idea for a novel comes along with a theme. For Unnoticed, it was essentially about self-esteem. A lovely girl who suffers rejection so much she believes she is worthless, and how that self-belief has to be turned around. So many teenage girls suffer these issues and need to know how precious they really are, so I wanted to put this culturally relevant theme into an age-old fairy tale. For Unhinged, mental health weighed heavily, again an issue that is prevalent in our society but is also as old as time. What if the beast wasn’t an animal transformation, or a physical defect, but what if mental illness made him ‘beastly’? And how does one learn to really love a beast?

Both of these novels were close to home. I have my own story of self-esteem struggles as a teen that I drew from, and there are several people in my life who live with mental illness that also helped give insight to these situations. All that was left was the challenge of making an interesting story that could shine light on these issues and bring hope to people. Hopefully I have done them justice!

Currently, I am working on a third fairy tale, a Rapunzel story, tentatively called Unravelled. This one will be about true freedom. Olivia is a teen convict in Van Diemen’s Land, both longing for and afraid of freedom at the same time. Can you be free even while locked in a prison? Sometimes circumstances can feel like prison walls, but there is a freedom that surpasses every situation."

Christian Retellings

Thanks, Amanda. I've read Unnoticed and loved the intertwining of Cinderella themes in a unique Australian setting and I appreciated the strong themes of God's love throughout the story. Unhinged is sitting at the top of my To-Be-Read pile.

A few Australian Christian authors have ventured into this fertile field.  Melissa Gijsbers has been part of a story in the fractured fairy tell retellings Teapot Tales: A Collection of Unusual Fairy Tales.  Charis Joy Jackson has written a wonderful fantasy and allegorical retelling of beauty and the beast in Rose of Admirias. I had fun with a flash fiction based on Blue Beard with a twist at the end.

Popular American Christian author, Melanie Dickerson, has written several historical fairy tale retellings set in mostly in Europe and with strong Christian themes, such as The Healer's Apprentice (Sleeping Beauty), The Merchant's Daughter (Beauty and the Beast), The Fairest Beauty (Snow White), etc.



Biblical stories can also be retold. A genre we covered earlier here.

Writing Retellings

Often an exact replica can be lifeless.

• In a good retelling, the writer captures the essence of the story with creative insertion of recognisable and pertinent details (the glass slipper or the poisoned apple). 
• The transformation/transmutation to a new setting and props feels a natural fit, rather than forced. (I once attended a performance of the Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor at Windsor, Brisbane and with costume, props and stages sets all from1960s Australia and it worked brilliantly.) 
• The reteller needs to make creative choices about what to include, what to transmute and what to leave out. (For example, including the slipper for Cinderella but leaving out the stepsisters chopping off their toes to fit in the earliest versions.)
• Retellings of more recent classics may run into copyright issues and permissions (with satire as a possible exception). Fairy tales, Jane Austen novels and Shakespeare plays are popular choices for retellings not only because they are classic stories that resonate down the years, but also because they are in the public domain.

Jeanette O'Hagan

Have you written /attempted a retelling? Have you read any? Which are your favourites and why?

Amanda Deed is an award-wining author residing in Melbourne with her husband (AKA Mr Funny Man), her three zany teens, three cockatiels, three budgies, three bunnies and an elderly hound called Princess. Outside of her family, her life revolves around words and numbers (writing and accounting) with a splash of music here and there.

Her first novel, The Game, won the 2010 CALEB Prize for Fiction, and she has since had several novels final in the same prize. Amanda loves to write about her favourite things: her faith, Australia, romance and Australian history. As such, her novels explore themes involving spiritual convictions, relationships and historical events.

For more information, go to www.amandadeed.com.