Nean McKenzie, author of Cryptosight, shares some of her experiences of the publication of her first book, an adventure story for 8-14 year-olds.

Staring into thick bush, full of shadows and tangled plants, I’m always aware there COULD be something in there that I don’t know about. It’s probably something I’ve heard of before. But what if it’s something hidden, something unknown? And once I started thinking about this, Cryptosight began. Cryptozoology is a little zone between fantasy and reality. I have spoken to two quite normal people since Cryptosight has been published, who both claim to have seen a ‘black cat’ (the puma that is frequently sighted but never confirmed, all over Victoria). I find this quite fascinating.  How do so many people see these things? Do they exist? And if they don’t, why do people think they do?

When I was growing up and reading middle-grade fiction, I came to know the Cornish coast with the Famous Five, the Swiss Alps with Heidi and Prince Edward Island with Anne of Green Gables. I could picture them in my mind, even though I’d never been there. And when I did go there as an adult (although I still haven’t got to PEI), I felt like I’d been there before. Cryptosight is a book about real places in country Victoria and South Australia – great settings for an adventure story. And just as exciting and interesting as the other ones I mentioned, especially when it comes to Cryptozoology.

I started writing Cryptosight in 2013. After a few drafts at the end of 2015, I found out Cryptosight and I been awarded a Maurice Saxby mentorship for 2016. I had the lovely Judith Rossell as my mentor and with her helpful suggestions, I wrote another draft. However it wasn’t until Christmas Eve in 2017 that I received an email from Anna Solding at MidnightSun asking for the full manuscript. Then in February the next year, I got a call saying those magic words, ‘We’d like to publish your novel.’

Cryptosight is my first ever book to be published. I had been writing for fifteen to twenty years, but I didn’t know much about publishing at all. I’m quite glad I ended up with MidnightSun. Because Anna took me through the whole process, I could ask her questions when I needed to, and I did frequently. I liked the personal approach, being with a smaller publisher – I felt I was really listened to when I said what I had in mind for my story. I really liked the other books they published as well.

I had two launches – one in Melbourne and one in Adelaide.

It was incredible to share my story with friends and family. Cryptosight is now out in shops, schools and libraries. I have done a few writing workshops with kids, done some signings and a middle-grade book club. But most importantly, Cryptosight is now a book that can now be read by real people!

We are thrilled that Message in a Sock has been shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s History Awards. Congratulations to author Kaye Baillie and illustrator Narelda Joy.

Narelda attended the awards ceremony and had a splendid time.

Blog post from Kaye Baillie, the author of Message in a Sock:

Leading up to the centenary of WW1, I decided to write a war story, but I wanted to write about the people at home, who had to say goodbye to a loved one leaving for a war across the other side of the world.

I thought about ‘the fog of war’, how the people at home must have spent every day uncertain about the wellbeing of someone they loved.

The Red Cross was crucial and relentless in their organisation of homefront efforts, and through my research I delved deeper which led me to discover the heartfelt efforts of individuals and communities across the country, united in their quest to bring the boys home, ensuring the soldiers felt connected to home and reminded that they were not forgotten, even for a minute.

Sock knitting boosted the spirits of those at home who felt desperate to help however they could, and in turn it nourished the spirits of the receiving soldiers. I found various thank you notes to sock knitters, and one was written by a grateful soldier who wrote in between coughs while his mate held a candle for him to see as he wrote.

One hundred years ago, women and children near a Sydney War Chest Depot, busily knitted socks in what was just one of many campaigns. The one I focussed on was for 150,000 pairs of socks to reach our soldiers in time for the French winter.

Knitters were encouraged to place a message of support in the toes of the socks. One knitter, Florence Crossley, wrote a note, including her address. The recipient of her socks was Lance Corporal Andrew McDougall, a stretcher bearer who wrote his reply on the reverse side of Florence’s note, which eventually found its way back to her, and then the note found its way to Museums Victoria. Thanks to our preservers of history we have a rich supply of artefacts like Florence Crossley’s and Andrew McDougall’s correspondence and in turn, these stories can be found by people like me, illustrated by people like Narelda Joy and published by publishers like Anna Solding of MidnightSun then turned into books which then find their way to our youngest readers.