Need more time to write?

Washing, cooking, cleaning, sweeping, mopping, cleaning bathrooms, dusting... need I say more?

Do you need more time to write?

The options are:

• Use your lifestyle as ‘how to’ subject matter research, but with humour.
• Accumulate short satirical pieces which eventually become a book.
• Convince others to ‘share’ domestic jobs.
• Write strategically & sleep less.
• Be a millionaire who can afford to pay others! (not an option for most of us)

Well, Australian Author Hazel Edwards, is here to share her book,

Houseworking the UnsuperPerson's Guide to Sharing the Load.

For your chance to win a signed copy of Hazel's Book. Tell us, What your best tips are for juggling work, housework, family commitments, and the all important for writer's, make more time to write. Competition closes 1st October, 2011.

Apart from a subject to write about, time and energy management are the big challenges for creators. Usually they have multiple lives to juggle. And they do need to sleep occasionally.

When my children were very small, finding enough time to write was always a challenge because as a mature-aged student, I also had teaching jobs. And a husband. So I started collecting others’ hints on how to save time and yet keep the home functioning too.

Satire was easier for me to write because it was usually short. Partly as a personal survival skill, I started writing short funny magazine pieces about domestic time management and how to convince others in your household to do their share. Then I was asked to run an adult education workshop which became a regular whenever I needed it.  I also collected anecdotes about how others managed and passed on the best tips. I didn’t go as far as the woman who had twins to save time on childbirth!

I was NOT a good nor enthusiastic housekeeper so I was keen on learning the fastest way. ‘Maximum effect with minimum effort’ appealed. Teaching kids to cook was a long term strategy. Praise helped.

Miscellaneous hints included:

·         Isolating the problem e.g. getting teens to tidy bedrooms /change sheets…Solutions? Buy navy sheets/turn off power at master switch/agree on fortnightly deadline.

·          Uncluttering workspace

·         10 minute jobs with a timer

·         Trading jobs

·         Distinguishing between urgent and important

·         Having a family ‘blitz’ hour

Recently I revisited the ‘Houseworking;The UnsuperPerson’s Guide to Sharing the Load’ manual which had become a book in between. It hasn’t ‘dated’ much, except now I’d add ,’If someone of any age uses an Ipad or IPhone , they can operate a washing machine or an oven.’

Philosophically ‘domestic sharing’ has become more acceptable, but it was a ‘novel’ concept then  that those who ‘messed up’ the household should do their share of cleaning it up.

The recent census had no space for multiple tasking.

An academic talked on radio as if multi-tasking were a recent research discovery.

Writers and parents have done it for years.

Many writers and illustrators juggle domestic, business and creative roles, especially if they have a home office. Then for business reasons they need to have one ‘respectable’ public area, especially if they use a web-cam.

'Houseworking the UnsuperPerson's Guide to Sharing the Load' is a great gift for those domestically juggling or likely to become flatmates soon.

Uses humour to get others to do their domestic share.

Includes checklists like: Setting limits, Simplifying, Maximum Effect with Minimum Effort, and the difference between helping and sharing. What's reasonable to expect at certain ages,

AND…strategies for saying NO!

Extract from:

Super Woman's Ten Commandments

1.Thou shalt have a presentable partner, 2.3 children, an independent public career and shalt exercise in a colour co-ordinated leisure suit.

2. Thou shalt claim to despise housework and 'never do it' while secretly thou shalt race around dusting books with titles like 'Instant Housework'.Thou shalt know and accept that 50/50 sharing means 90/10 in their favour.

3. Thou shalt shop at 6 am markets, preserve thine own fruit and make wholemeal bread because thou art into self-sufficiency.

4.Thou shalt produce a cordon bleu meal for 20 people at 10 minutes notice on the day of a power strike…

5. Thou shalt write a novel in a morning.

...

10 Thou shalt cope.

Illustrations by Elizabeth Honey.

Plus if you haven’t yet bought a book online, this is easy. Follow the link below to have your own copy for $10 plus postage.

http://www.hazeledwards.com/shop/item/houseworkingthe-unsuperpersons-guide-to-sharing-the-load

'Project Spy Kids' with Author Hazel Edwards and Illustrator Jane Connory

I'm delighted to have Australian Children's Author Hazel Edwards and Illustrator Jane Connory on Books for Little Hands. You may be familiar with Hazel's popular picture book,‘There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake.’ I'd like to Congratulate Hazel on the film version that has just premiered at St Kilda Film festival and was screened at the Edinburgh Festival last month. Today we are looking at Hazel and Jane's fabulous eBooks, 'Project Spy Kids.'

When You Also Have a Young Family, How do You Co-Design e-books for Kids?

Illustrator-Designer Jane’s View:

I have two young kids who are as much at home on the iPad as they are at home. They are always grabbing for my mobile devices and I am happier when they sit and read the eBooks I have created rather than watch the movies I have downloaded.

Combining reading with new technology makes it interesting and fun for all the young digital natives out there!

Illustrating picture books is my real love and the chance to illustrate the covers and simple chapter books for Hazel’s stories was a wonderful opportunity. Plus we live in nearby suburbs but Hazel and I also Skype.

I could also ‘test’ on my daughter

I love drawing characters .

I have a home-based business but I also lecture on ‘graphic design’ in sessions at Holmesglen TAFE.

Author Hazel’s Viewpoint:

School holidays. My 10 year old grandson and his mate were to cook ‘hippo footprint pancakes’ on camera at Channel 31 ‘s ‘Kids in the Kitchen’ while I read my picture book to screen.

Serendipitously, I met graphic designer Jane Connory and her children, playing in the park. Innovative Jane lectures in e-skills amongst other graphic subjects, wanted to illustrate children’s books and followed up with her portfolio.

I’m a formatting tragic, but have a backlist of books. My author website (www.hazeledwards.com) was undergoing a major overhaul as I learnt how to upload my own material.My daughter Kim was, and still is, teaching me. I was aware I needed help in re-formatting selected past print titles so they would be accessible on all e-readers, plus they would need new covers and updating.

What inspired you to write the 'Project Spy Kids' series?

Author Hazel's Viewpoint:

Literacy is an area I am passionate about. Hero Art, the sleuth in ‘Project Spy Kids’ is an ace problem-solver but is challenged by reading. ‘The Frequent Flyer Twins’ are international Asian-Australian ten year old sleuths.

As an educator I had always supplied activities with my books, and wanted to consolidate these on my own web-site. Also, readers of my picture books like ‘There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake’ (the film just premiered at St Kilda Film festival and was screened at the Edinburgh Festival last month) had no idea that I wrote adult non-fiction or junior mysteries.

What steps did you take to create your eBook series?

1. Creating a series name and using the same cover but with a different colour, linked the titles. Thus ‘Project Spy Kids’ was created. Aware that the cover, title and one line descriptor were the only clues, the covers had to be enticing for the age group.

2. Jane would create the e-formatted books and new covers and would merchandise the illustrations on Red Balloon or elsewhere in t-shirts, mugs and logos. http://www.janeconnory.com/p/gift-shop.html

3. Jane also formatted my rough ‘How to Design Your Own Mystery’ resources. This has become the MOST valuable download for parents, giving a follow-up activity involving writing and problem-solving skills..

4. As a former teacher, reading outcomes matter, so we’ve listed them.

5. Jane experimented with a FaceBook page for the titles .

While aware some schools do not permit use of Facebook, we’re still experimenting with new ways of encouraging reading.You can ‘like’ us if you wish.

Own Face Book Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Project-Spy-Kids-Series/181162638598927?sk=wall

6. Picture books are more complex as e-books, and on hold. Currently my website has links to the e-books for sale by my publishers and also to their print books,

7. I’m featuring a monthly print book for sale from my site.This month’s is ‘The Business of Writing for Young People’ because many parents with young children like to write and request mentoring.

That park meeting with Jane has been a year-long apprenticeship to put up our trial e-books. Now, some literacy skills will be shared via the website.

And we hope, new readers (of the human variety) will be created.

Jane’s Viewpoint:

Being able to learn new technology as it appears has become part of my job as a graphic designer, and collaborating with Hazel on this project was no different.

Hazel is an ideas woman and envisaged these two series of books as eBooks without either of us really fully comprehending what this would entail. It was a great opportunity for me to illustrated the covers in Adobe illustrator and format the documents into books in InDesign. I then had to teach myself how to produce these files as ePub documents and navigate the process of marketing the books.

A steep learning curve but the idea that we are forging our own path is exciting.

I now also have the opportunity to teach this new concept of publishing to my graphic design students at Holmesglen Institute. Maybe they’ll be teaching their employers a thing or two in the years to come.

What are the titles of your eBooks?

Project Spy Kids is one series title, with 10 year old Art, as the hero.

* 978-0-9871078-6-2 – Winning a Giraffe Called Geoffrey

* 978-0-9871078-7-9 – Mindspaces

* 978-0-9871078-8-6 – Birds on the Brain

* 978-0-9871078-9-3 – Zoo Poo Clues

Browse http://www.hazeledwards.com/shop for e-books.

Illustrated & merchandise designed by Jane Connory

Hazel Edwards is an Ambassador for the 2012 National Year of Reading & also for the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge.

Look, There's a Hippopotamus in the Playground Eating Cake

With so many children starting school this week sharing a picture book

could be the perfect way to help your child adjust emotionally. It's such a big step and children will often feel tired and confused about what's expected of them. Just sitting still, or listening to instructions, or venturing out into a huge playground can be a bit daunting.

Australian

Author, Hazel Edwards has written the

perfect picture

book to suit this transition.

Look, There’s a Hippopotamus in the Playground Eating Cake

Illustrated by Deborah Niland

ISBN: 0-14 350140-2

http://www.hazeledwards.com/page/look_theres_a_hippopotamus_in_the_playground_eating_cake.html

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Here are some Q & A to sharing this experience.

Q. My child is starting school soon. How can reading a book, help a child prepare for first day at school?

A. Reading-sharing is a great way to prepare a child for school. First-timers are always a bit worried about going to a new place like school or kindergarten. So are parents. That’s why I wrote this when my children were small and ‘playground’ was used in the title to cover school and kindergarten.

Not having a friend is the BIG worry. Not knowing what to do is another.

The cake-eating hippo is a big friend who has all the answers.

That’s reassuring. Many children have imaginary friends as ways of coping with new situations.

School routines like uniforms, when are the breaks, what do you eat and MAKING FRIENDS are important. It helps to know what might happen.

At a time when parents are worried about their children learning to read and write, children's authors receive wonderful fan letters from very young readers as evidence that specific books have really mattered in a child's life.

Q How should I read it?

A. Snuggle up and make the experience pleasurable. Re-read and use the pictures as prompts to talk about what happens in a school day. Getting dressed. Packing school lunch. Having a peg for your belongings. Going out to play. Using the play equipment. Listening to the teacher tell a story.

Which is a favourite page? Why? Do funny voices.

Deborah Niland’s illustrations have a mischievous hippo flouting a few rules, but always knowing what to do.

My favourite is the playing hide-and-seek where he is a bit too big to fit behind the tree.

Bibliotherapy is the fancy name for reading books that help you deal with problems. Starting school can be fun, not a problem. You just need a sense of humour and a character like the rooftop-cake eating hippo.

In the Year of the Potato,the hippo took potato cake as his special cake to school.

Nanjing Cultural Ambassador & International School Principal Aileen Hall ,’ I recommend this book for students transitioning from kindergarten to school and always buy copies for friends.It even crosses cultures.”’

Hazel Edwards - www.hazeledwards.com

Check http://www.hazeledwards.com/page/look_theres_a_hippopotamus_in_the_playground_eating_cake.htmlfor hippo activities for kids and links to the six cake eating hippo books.