[00:00:00] Speaker A: There was a myth the ancient scrolls of Herodotus once swore to exist deep within the jungle mists shrouded from the likes of many the gods did descend, women of a warrior class unlike any other that was cast to earth, the first to be immersed as demigods, but simply called by common to ton the Amazons.
[00:00:29] Speaker B: Hello authors.
[00:00:30] Speaker C: I'm Joanne Morrell, children's and young adult fiction writer and author of short nonfiction for Authors. Thanks for joining me for the Hybrid Author Podcast, sharing interviews from industry professionals to help you forge a career as a hybrid author both independently and traditionally publishing your books. You can get the show notes for each episode and sign up for your free author pass over at the Hybrid Author website to discover your writing process, get tips on how publish productively and get comfortable promoting your
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let's crack on with the episode.
[00:01:12] Speaker A: Hello authors.
I hope you're all keeping well in whatever part of the world you reside and listen to the podcast in Today's interview is with Jeanette Stampone on writing spooky stories for junior fiction readers and WeChat, the inspiration for her new junior fiction book, Terrified and the Bakery Ghost. Balancing creating a sense of mystery and fun without making the story too scary or dark for young readers. Paranormal themes and watching it hopes readers will take away from Terrified and the Bakery Ghost, especially about fear, courage and imagination. From character development to pacing. What storytelling techniques Jeanette found most effective when crafting ghostly adventures that keep kids hooked up from start to finish. Her advice to aspiring junior fiction authors and much more so in my author adventure this week. School holidays are next week. This is the last week that the kids are at school, so I am definitely utilizing that by finalizing a lot of work pieces that I've got going on. And by that in terms of podcast stuff, I'm also in the middle of my tax return. Yes, today is the 1st of July, a new financial tax year, and I'm quite excited to do my taxes. I've never ever said that before and it's really because it's good to review and reflect and then also make some financial goals going forward. So you can easily make these goals at the start of the year, but then it's probably best to make them after reviewing your financial year as well. I'll be able to give you an update on what these are in the next couple episodes, so hopefully getting that done. I don't plan on doing too much with the children in the holidays. It's going to just be relaxing to be Honest, I forgot all about them coming up. These are the two weeks that they get for winter holidays. So don't have any aspirations to go away. I have got some work stuff on which is not actually book related for a change and I think it's nice to mix it up. I could say hybrid again. I'm, you know, mixing up my writing work with other various work, extra income streams. But I've also taken on a casual position working in a sellers. So that might sound quite different to some people. I do have a background in hospitality and I seen this job, applied for it and I got it. It's in these wine cellars that honestly they've got some really fine premium wines from Western Australia International as well. One of the bottles of wines that I saw in this cellar because it's like a shop and then you go downstairs that you know, that's got all the wines, but you go downstairs into the cellars and there's a tasting room so. So you've got table set out with chairs set up like if you've ever been to a winery for tasting and to be basically events are going to get held there and I will eventually be running them as well for wine tasting. This is a big interest of mine and also a really big aspiration and dream long into the future of one day owning a vineyard. This is the first time I've probably mentioned this here. I do have other aspirations outside of writing, although I feel like these all tie in together. Everybody knows I'm writing romance and I have a lot of ideas around romance set in vineyards. And so I picture, you know, I dream about one day owning this vineyard and you know, in the shop also selling my books as well and pairing my books with the wines and as well as food and different things like that. All of that really excites me. I find, you know, I feel really passionate about it. So I feel really lucky to have secured this job which is going to basically start my education in wine. I drink wine, I know brands, we visit wineries all often for lunch dates, me and my new partner. And it's just. I love it. I just think it's really great and I'm really interested in how it's made, how things are grown. But for me, the first step is learning about the actual wines and getting an education that way. So I'm really excited and I'm able to utilize my skills of storytelling and public speaking as well for the public speaking events that I do in being able to run these wine tasting events and add creativity to the job. I'm really excited to start this, which I'm starting next week, so I'll let you know how I go. And yeah, I am also going to be tying in this knowledge with a romance book that seems to be forming in my mind. And again, everybody listening to the podcast regularly will laugh because they're like, oh, here she goes again, off on another sort of tangent. If you have been listening regularly, you can tell that have been for a little bit now, sort of. I've got a couple of different projects that are all fighting at the bit for my attention and I just don't feel like settling on one. That's how I feel at the moment. And so I have been doing little bits of both. There's the TV script adaptation of the Writer, the Hairdresser and the Nurse by my pseudonym Zara Ellen, my first women's fiction series. I have started that, you know, formatting that into script style. And basically that involves going through my manuscript and entering it into. I have software grivinar, they have script writing formats. I took script writing at university, so I'm very aware of how a script is laid out and the different. How the formatting. You know, the key element of screenwriting is that you only put on what you can see on the page rather than. So I have to be stripping back what the characters are feeling and thinking and you, you have to showcase it in a different way. So it is another skill for my book. There's a lot of emotion in there, so it's good to be able to see how you can portray that differently too. And the other work was a young adult fiction book from last year. I kind of did like a couple of page, just sort of telling myself the story on that. But yeah, haven't gone any further. And then I have started reading. So everybody has probably heard of Harlequin, which is imprint of HarperCollins Romance Books. They've got lots of different categories that you can write in. So I have been at the library and I've been reading these books just to get more of a feel of the different styles of romance. I'm working my way through these books. I've finished the one that's classified as sexy. It was interesting just to notice that obviously the. Their stories the main attraction, but there was lots of little understories and how it all was compacted tightly and even the language that was used is noticeable. Getting an education there. I'm thinking that I want to write this vineyard romance, but I'm not sure of what direction or what category to take it in. A lot's going on but these things sight me and I like that everything is connecting. This casual position with the wine, the romance book with the vineyard and then hopefully eventually in my life these things will all add up to my end goal of owning a vineyard.
I've never planted a plant before and kept it alive, so I would like to see if I can actually make something like that and see how it goes. Talking of wine and alcohol, it is the 1st of July I am doing Dry July. That will have to be tweaked if I have to taste the wines at this new job to be able to sell them. Obviously it is in a high end area where people actually have sellers in their homes so this shop is of good interest to them. But yes, dry July. So I will not be drinking alcohol for the month of July. I've done it last year, I've done it before to raise money, but really this is just a personal, healthy little kick for July and I think it's quite a good month to do it in. They also do sober October, which I think maybe would be another month to do that as well. So we'll see I have been listening to the alliance of Independent Author Podcast. They have put an episode out this week titled what the First Copyright Ruling Means for Authors for Artificial Intelligence. It's run by Ally director Orna Ross. She unpacks the first court ruling on AI's use of copyrighted books and why it matters to indie authors. She explains how the judge balanced fair use with pirate copying, then walks through Ally's 4C's consent, compensation, clarity and curiosity to show authors where the real battles lie. Along the way, Ross offers clear steps for safeguarding your work, engaging readers, and keeping your creativity alive while tech giants and courts hammer out the details. So it's good to stay informed with what is happening in AI news, especially from an authorship perspective, because no matter where you stand, you should be sort of keeping an ear to the ground on what is happening because there's lots of rapid change. I myself am not someone who is reading these things and wanting to update you every single week on it or anything like that. I feel there's enough out there. You know, there's this podcast, there's other podcasts, there's news, there's things like that. But if there is major developments and I'm aware of them, then of course I'm going to share here for anyone listening who is keen. But that episode is definitely worth a listen to get a leg up on what is happening doesn't mean you have to be an independent author. It's still interesting if you are a traditionally published author, because I've heard the stories about traditional publishers signing deals with these companies for authors works to go into AI. What can an author do if it's in their contracts and they can't do much about it? To me, that's a really interesting topic and one I might explore further. So I have been trying prime for the first 30 days free. I've watched the movie It Ends With Us, which is a book to film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's book books. I've got them on my bedside table to read. I had heard it was about domestic violence and I'd been wanting to see it for a while, so I enjoyed the movie. I thought it was really well done. It was definitely a little bit sad and I would like to, because there's two books and obviously one movie. I would like to read the two books and see how the adaptation has been made into the film across the two books. And they've not sort of just dragged it out over two films.
How hybrid are you?
We celebrate being hybrid here on the Hybrid Author Podcast. I feel like it's a great way to be excited about lots of different options that you can do and not just think you're confined to one space to write, publish and work in with everything. There's still some animosity or struggles, internal and external struggles you can face as a hybrid author. And like anything, there's always ups and downs in life, as is the hybrid author life of the struggles you can face. Being a hybrid author is balancing two publishing models. I used to be conflicted between writing projects, ones that I was going to self publish and then ones that I was going to traditionally publish, you know, but anybody who does publish traditionally, it can take one to two years, so there's different timelines between the two. While self publishing can be immediate, so juggling both can lead to conflicting schedules, contractual commitments. Traditional contracts may limit what or when you can publish independently. Creative energy Switching between the demands of both models can drain time, focus and creative stamina. I can definitely tell you that I have felt that and maybe thought that's not been a good way for me to be. It's one or the other or. But then sometimes it feels like one area is not serving me properly and so the other one makes me feel more alive. I definitely jump between the two. As I said, I'm back to writing a romance book for Harlequin and actually adhering to how they write in their style. Before that I've been self publishing. Upfront cost Financial uncertainty Self publishing requires investment in editing, cover design and marketing. Uneven income streams. Indie books might provide quick returns. Traditional sales may offer advances and royalties, but on a slower payout schedule. Brand cohesion and audience expectation Multiple pen names often used to separate genres or publishing models. But managing multiple author identities can be exhausting. Hence why the hybrid author was born. I was out writing children's fiction, ended up doing nonfiction, which wasn't in the plan. And I could not even manage one set of social media, could not imagine having to manage two.
So I had to think of something that would tie everything into my work together. And for me, that was being hybrid. Audience confusion Readers may not understand the difference in tone, format or frequency between your traditional or indie books, but that doesn't mean you know you've probably got different audiences for different genres. Unless you find someone who loves everything you do from each of your brand names. Genre crossovers Traditional publishers might want to own a genre, making it harder to indie publish within the same space.
So for me, I'm writing women's contemporary fiction. I've got first in series, but then I'm going to jump ship but still stay in like. Well, like the romance fear. How would if I get a traditional publishing deal with Harlequin, how will they feel about me still independently publishing my own stuff? And I would like to keep it under the same pen name so time will tell. Time management Promotion demands Traditional publishers still expect authors to market their own books. While indie publishing is 100% on the authority. Overlapping deadlines managing edits for one book while launching another can lead to burnout. Basically, trying to do it all is hard. Learning curve each publishing path has its own tech tools and marketing practices to stay on top of navigating industry expectations. Traditional gatekeepers Hybrid authors still face rejection or creative limitations from agents and publishers. Indie reputation stigma despite increasing respect, indie authors sometimes face outdated biases with the traditional industry Professional standards indies and there's still a lot of that happening in libraries and things like that today, which is a shame, I understand. But then I don't think that they should. You know that saying tar everyone with the same brush if they come across like a work that's not been good because there is some very professional people.
Indie publishing Professional standards Indies must match or exceed traditional publishing quality to remain competitive. Marketing and discoverability double the strategy. Indie marketing focuses on algorithms, ads and rapid release.
Traditional marketing often leads into publicity, reviews and events. Managing both can be Overwhelming platform pressure. Hybrid authors are expected to maintain a strong online presence to support both sides of their career. And yeah, everybody listening avidly would know that. I felt those pressures in the last six months especially.
And so I've actually hired virtual assistants to help me with this. And it's been pretty much the best thing I've ever done for this business personally, because I can't keep doing it alone because there's so much to it. Creative control versus collaboration Clashing visions Indie publishing offers full control. While traditional paths may require comprises, titles, covers, even plot points. Switching gears it can be hard to adjust between the indie mindset, DIY and Agile and traditional mindset team based and formal. I have never had a novel traditionally published, so I'm not sure how I'm going to go when that time comes. I'm so used to doing everything myself and even with virtual assistants actually having to pass the baton across, it was like, oh, you just, are they going to do a better job than me? All this sort of stuff. But it's been amazing. And as soon as I've done that and you let go, I just wanted to shove everything at them, just be like, no, you do it now. So I think as much as I think, oh, how will I feel about traditional publishing? I reckon that I will trust them 100% in their professional opinion and I'll be jazzed about what they do for me as well. So there you go. Just some, some little struggles they are. Well, they're not little obviously, but some struggles that hybrid authors can face. And it is worth talking about. I'm not selling that the hybrid author life is for everyone, just that there are options out there. If you don't just want to traditionally publish, if you don't want to just self publish like you can be hybrid and do both at your own pace. What works for you? Also realize there might be things that arise that you don't feel good with and you don't have to do. You are your own boss at the end of the day.
[00:16:46] Speaker B: Foreign.
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[00:18:18] Speaker B: Jeanette Stamponi was born in a spooky 300 year old house in the English countryside. She grew up with stories of local legends, pixies, ghosts and fairies.
These childhood experiences inspire Jeanette to write fun, imaginative and quirky stories. A country girl at heart, Jeanette now lives in regional Western Australia with her husband and two boys. In 2022, Jeanette's debut picture book, Shadow and the Girl, was released by Red Paper Kite. Her second book, the Dragon Guest Handbook, was published by Wombach books in 2024. But this year, Jeannette was thrilled to release her new junior fiction book, Terry Fed Terrified and the Bakery Ghost, published by About Kids Books. Jeanette is an active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers illustrator Squibi, and is passionate about sharing and creating books for kids of all ages. Welcome back to the hybrid author podcast, Jeanette.
[00:19:15] Speaker D: Thank you so much for having me.
[00:19:17] Speaker B: Oh, we're so thrilled that you're back again. You were actually one of the very first guests that we had on the podcast four years ago, episode 11.
[00:19:26] Speaker D: Oh, really?
I thought maybe it's like three. I thought it can't be that.
Yeah.
[00:19:32] Speaker B: Episode 11. Submitting to traditional publishing houses.
[00:19:35] Speaker D: Wow. Yeah.
[00:19:37] Speaker B: Which is crazy. But, you know, for, for those who might have missed that very early episode, you can still go back and listen to it. But can you share with us a little bit more how your author adventure has been?
[00:19:47] Speaker D: Yeah, so that would have been when my first picture book came out, Shadow and the Girl. So a lot's kind of happened since then. Well, it's kind of has, but has it? The publishing industry is very slow and nothing really moves very fast. So yeah, I'm continuing to write picture books. I've got lots of manuscripts on the go. I had my second picture book published with Wombat Books. That's the Dragon Guest Handbook. That was really fun. I was surprised how quickly that one got picked up. All my other books I've sent out to all these publishers ages and that was picked up very quickly. So expect that.
I'm Also teaching myself to illustrate. I completed an illustrating picture book course with Nina Rycroft that was amazing because it really helped me in terms of getting character proportions correct and movement. I think my drawings really improved since then, but it's something I continue to work on. Following on from that, I did get an illustration included in an anthology and that was published in collaboration with Daisy Lane and Just Write for Kids. Yep. And that was a huge boost for my confidence to know that I was in the right path with that. And now I've got my latest book, Terrified and the Bakery Ghost, which is a junior fiction book. And I'm really pleased to see this come out because I work really hard on it and I just always believed in it. To find a publisher that liked it too, and believed in it was amazing. So I'm really excited about this one.
[00:21:01] Speaker B: Are you submitting your illustrations?
[00:21:02] Speaker D: I have done a little bit, not loads, but I've still been building up my confidence with that, I think. But, yeah, I'm starting to put work out there a bit. And every so often, because I'm always writing different stories and everything. So every so often I'll find a story that I think I wouldn't mind just trying to illustrate. So I'll do some illustrations and a storyboard and I'm starting to send those off as well.
[00:21:20] Speaker B: That's amazing. And are you in a bit of a groove with your process now in terms of writing stories and submitting them? Are you still submitting from when you last came on talking, talking about submissions to traditional publishing houses? Are you aware of when things are open and you get stuff in, or is it just when you've got stuff going?
[00:21:36] Speaker D: I'm really aware. I think especially when I first started out, you don't know where to submit to or when they're open or anything like that. And I think it's harder now because back then publishers were open. A lot of publishers just open all the time. And now it's much more. You might get one day a year or something, so you really have to keep an eye out on what's going on. Follow their Facebook pages or Instagram.
But I think the Kid Blitz community is really great because if one person spots something, they tear everyone else. And it's really supportive like that. Yeah. I think a lot of publishers now as well only really like you to send one story in at a time. But back when I was first submitting, they're a bit more open to maybe having two or three, but now it's. Most of them are quite strict One at a time kind of thing. So you have to be really careful what you send and really thoughtful. Yeah, yeah.
[00:22:21] Speaker B: It's been a while for me actually. So that's really. Yeah, yeah. Well, we are here today to talk about your new, you know, your new book, Terrified and the Bakery Ghost. How was that picked up quite quickly or how long was the submission to that one?
[00:22:36] Speaker D: It's had quite a journey. That's that book actually. So it was a few years ago, maybe two, two or three years ago that I wrote it and also started submitting it everywhere. I got a few little nibbles with some Australian publishers. Got one Australian publisher that got really close to and they said, we've, I'm sorry, we're full of junior fiction. That was quite a well known publisher. So I was very gutted about that. And then it got picked up by UK publisher and I was like, yay. Finally. And then they had financial issues. So 18 months later they actually dropped it. They dropped a lot of other books and they closed shop. And then I found about kids books were looking for junior fiction. Small imprint just opened up and I thought, give these guys a try.
And they said yes.
That's amazing.
[00:23:24] Speaker B: Yeah. So the publishers have changed for the book, but the story hasn't. It stayed. Stayed the same.
[00:23:30] Speaker D: Yeah, it stayed the same and there was quite a bit of editing and everything. But you know, the whole premise of the story is definitely there. Still the same as I originally wrote. Yeah. Amazing.
[00:23:39] Speaker B: Well, tell us about the story. I love how it's, you know, it seems like it's a spooky story. And then you've got your author bio. You grew up the old spooky house.
[00:23:46] Speaker D: The story is about a boy. He's. He's nine years old. He's called Terrified because he's terrified.
There's lots of really bad puns in this book. He's terrified of anything. He has got a ghost pet dog, so that's the only ghost he's not afraid of. But pretty much everything else. He's scared of ghosts, the dark rats. But unfortunately he comes from a ghost detective family. They have a ghost detective business where they work out what's going on with ghosts, what their problem is. And they try and work with the ghost to sort out what's going on. And the dad's in charge and he tries to train up Terry to be a ghost detective. Terry's not really keen because he's scared, but he does really want to become a ghost detective. And then one day his dad has to leave For Sydney because they've got hauntings all over Australia that he has to deal with.
Terry's left in charge of the town's latest haunting, which is in a bakery. That's just the premise of it. It's really fun and spooky, but not. Not too scary. So it's fun.
[00:24:42] Speaker B: And where did the idea come from and inspired you to write that? Because it sounds fantastic.
[00:24:46] Speaker D: Thank you. So, yeah, I always wanted to have a go writing junior fiction. The inspiration came from my family home. I grew up in England. It was quite a big house, actually. I'm youngest of eight. Wow. Yeah.
[00:24:59] Speaker B: Probably said that last time, but I don't remember. But, oh, my God, eight children.
[00:25:03] Speaker D: So it was a big house to fit us all in. The house is about 300 years old. And it was really spooky, to be honest. It was a really spooky house. It had, like a underground cellar, you know, the creaking, floorboards to work. Some used to hear lots of noises. I spent a lot of my time just hiding under the covers.
And, yeah, my brothers and sisters would. I was actually fascinated with ghost stories. Growing up in that environment. Ghost stories always really appealed to me. I can remember my parents having a book of true sightings or people's accounts of what happened in the local area. And I remember, like, reading that and being completely fascinated by that and then not being able to sleep, of course, all night. Just growing up in that environment and in the old town definitely had an influence. And then the bakery side, my parents actually owned bakery. So I grew up in that environment as well. Basically, you know, delicious baked goods, all those yummy cakes and things like that. So to bring those two elements together was. Yeah, it's kind of meant to be. Really.
[00:25:59] Speaker B: Yeah, I think so. It sounds like it for sure. And I think it's really special when you can draw upon your own experiences and share them in a really cool, fun way. I think the character sounds fantastic. It's an environment where they're supposed to flourish, but then to be like. And that's great for young kids, too. How did you find. Obviously, started out in the picture book genre and have notched up to junior fiction. Did you find that balancing act between the two kind of genres and things.
[00:26:26] Speaker D: Just very challenging, actually, because I feel most comfortable writing short pieces, you know, picture books, usually for under 500 words. And that's where I feel most comfortable. So jumping to something longer. I mean, junior fiction isn't long. You know, you're talking about six. My book's about six to 7,000 words. But for me that was quite intimidating. And I did a course with Jen Storer which was junior fiction. And best tip that she gave me or gave all of us was just to do. Can't remember how many words she said, but she said a certain amount of words, which wasn't much at all. So I set myself a daily target of 150 words a day, which is literally like 10 minutes work.
[00:27:03] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:27:04] Speaker D: Just by doing that little chunk every single day, I got it done. Even though you love writing, you think, I can't be bothered today? I think, well, it's literally 10 minutes. I can do this. And once I started writing then it would end up being more so. Yeah, that really helped. Before I did Jen Storer's course, I was struggling. I tried to write longer things and I just couldn't. By doing that course really helped me out to give me some techniques and skills of how to tackle that. That and how to tackle the characters and the book in general.
[00:27:30] Speaker B: What about language as well, like to think about, I mean, picture books? It depends, I suppose, because sometimes picture books can almost be for adults. So sometimes language can be quite flowery and whatnot. But junior fiction, I don't know many adults that are going to just sit.
[00:27:43] Speaker D: Down and read the junior fiction.
[00:27:45] Speaker B: Did you feel quite restrained with, with the language that you chose or.
[00:27:49] Speaker D: Not so much, but probably a bit more free, actually, because you do have to be so picky with picture books. You know, you have every. I mean every, every word counts in any book that you write, but particularly picture books, because it is so limited in your word count. So I felt a bit more freer to describe things and I think because at the time I had a child that was in that age group, the target age group for the book as well. So I was used to speaking to him and seeing how he used his language and everything. So it felt quite natural in that regard. That's good.
[00:28:18] Speaker B: He helped you write it.
He was your guinea pig.
[00:28:23] Speaker D: Give him any money.
But when I had it edited, I realized the publisher sort of said a lot of your sentences are way too long for that age group because they need to chop it down, make the sentence a lot shorter. So that wasn't something I really realised until she had a look at that.
[00:28:39] Speaker B: So, yeah, I suppose that's really where the traditional publishing houses come in, or an editor, just in general, isn't it, to give you that guidance in this course. Did she teach you, you know, like you said, about characters and things like plot, especially for an adventure story or anything like that or.
[00:28:53] Speaker D: No so much. A lot of the things she concentrated on was how to brainstorm. That was a big thing with her, how to really just develop your characters. And I think once you start to develop the characters and find out about what makes the character tick, you know, what they look like, who their friends are and all those types of things, you start developing and you find out what the fears are, what the likes, what the dislikes, and it kind of starts to grow. It wasn't particularly. This is how you write a junior fan fiction, you know, step one, step two. It was more about developing your creative mind almost. Yeah. It was a different way of looking at things and I really enjoyed it. Got a lot out. Yeah.
[00:29:27] Speaker B: Did you find it quite easy to balance those types of things or is that something the editor has helped with as well?
[00:29:32] Speaker D: That's something that I had to work out myself. It was almost like putting pieces of jigsaw together, really, and just making sure you've got some diverse characters in there that have all got different personalities. I've got Tara, who's terrified of everything, and then I've got his best friend Max, who's confident, smart, he likes. He likes doing puzz. So he's. He was a clue collector. And I've got. Then I've got Avery, who's, you know, like annoys the boys a bit and she's. She does actually believe in ghosts. She thinks it's all rubbish, so she tries to prove them all wrong. But after a while she kind of starts to come, maybe there's something in this. But she's an inventor and tries to invent some really cool gadgets to help the boys as well. So I think having those different characters strengths as well, it's really good in a story. And that helps me, having those different characters help me to deal with the mystery and the adventure side. So they all had their strengths. So I think again, it almost comes all from the characters.
[00:30:26] Speaker B: Did you follow like a mystery structure or. Not really. You know how some thrillers. It's not really something that I am a writer in, but like, sometimes there can be structures in place of this point. You're supposed to have this, or maybe that's an adult.
[00:30:40] Speaker D: I'm not sure.
[00:30:42] Speaker A: You're like, no.
[00:30:45] Speaker D: Yeah. Just kind of just worked out, you know, what was going to happen in each chapter and try to. Worked out how, you know, myself now there's no kind of formal way of doing it. It was probably all a bit of a mess, to be honest.
And then it all kind of came together.
[00:30:59] Speaker B: Did you read a lot of, of this sort of style or as you were doing it just to get a feel for what.
[00:31:04] Speaker D: Yeah, my son was that age at the time, so I was reading quite a bit to him. And I think as your kids grow they sort of get more interested in what they're reading. And so I think that really helped as well to read in the genre fiction.
[00:31:15] Speaker B: And is it quite a light hearted tone like being junior fiction or. Obviously it's not too dark.
[00:31:21] Speaker D: That's something that I really wanted to get strongly across that it's, you know, we're not talking middle grade where it's going to be really terrifying that the kids are going to be scared at night time. I want the ghosts to be fun and I wanted the whole premise to be fun but obviously it's got that spooky element. So the idea of the ghosts is that they, they're actually trying to help. So they might seem like they're causing a lot of trouble, but they're trying to help. They've got some sort of problem sets up to Terry and his friends to try and work out what that problem is. So the ghosts are likable as well. Even though they might come across initially as a bit scary. The reader finds out later that actually the ghosts aren't scary at all. They're just trying to help the situation or help. Whatever the situation they're in, they're trying to fix it and they just need some help from Terry and his friends.
So it's very light hearted and silly and fun and lots, yeah, like I said, lots of tongues.
[00:32:09] Speaker B: Is there like a message in that that you want children to take away from that? Because that could almost be applied to, you know, kids at school coming across quite a certain way and then, you know, you realizing, yeah, well actually give them the time of day and maybe listen or help and they're not like that in the end. Is it anything like that or. No, you're just a fun story.
[00:32:27] Speaker D: That's what it is about. You know, those first impressions that you get of someone. For sure you can't always judge people when you first meet them, how they're going to be and you just need to give them time and, and try and understand them. And I think also from Terry's perspective because he is so scared but he has some good friends behind him. So showing that, you know, having that support behind you when you're not feeling very confident, not very sure of yourself, having some good friends around you is always nice, you know, and how is.
[00:32:54] Speaker B: Like the pacing of the work.
[00:32:56] Speaker D: Each chapter was about 500 words, so it is quite fast paced. There's a lot of action in it. Cliffhanger at the end of each chapter as well, to try and keep the kids. I'm sure if the parents are reading it, they'll probably hate it because the child would be.
Yeah, it's very fast, actually, right from the start. It's this action throughout, but it's not very often. There's quiet parts in it all really just go, go, go. And that's something as well that Jen Storer sort of said that age group, like just to have the child have the protagonist really involved in what's going on and the story moving forward really fast. So that's fantastic. I'm interested.
[00:33:32] Speaker B: Have you reached out to Jen to say look?
[00:33:35] Speaker D: Yeah, I did. Well, I did actually. When it first got picked up by the UK publisher, I was like, yay, Janet.
She was so happy and really supportive. And then I was like, actually, you'll have to do.
So I'll have to reach out to her again and say, actually, it's back on again.
[00:33:49] Speaker B: Yeah, well, it's not back on, it's out now. Isn't it fantastic? And with obviously, you know, different publisher for this one about kids books. And you've been with Wombat before and read Paper Kite. How has the. Your publishing been. Been, you know, has the publishing experience been different from obviously going back and forth with a picture book to going back and forth with a junior fiction book, as there are many differences.
[00:34:12] Speaker D: Yeah. Longer process. A huge longer. Yeah, for picture books, definitely, because you've got to.
[00:34:17] Speaker B: Oh, right.
[00:34:18] Speaker D: I mean, the picture book. I think one book, Swan took maybe three, two and a half years, two and a half, three years to come out in comparison to this one, which was a few months.
I was just like my publisher, it's going to be a few months. Take that to write. I'm like, oh, my gosh, that's just crazy. That's so fast. But there was obviously a lot of editing, getting all the grammar and everything correct with the junior fiction. So it was a lot more work in terms of that side of thing. But I couldn't believe how fast everything happened. And I think Jasmine Barry, she's illustrator. Oh, she. Yeah, so she works really fast and she's done an amazing job. So I think that helped to have someone that was so efficient and did amazing illustrations. But picture books, they just take a lot longer to illustrate. And I think because there are so many picture books, whether that makes a difference. It takes a long time for that to sort of go through. Why each one waits their turn.
[00:35:11] Speaker B: Yeah, shout out Jasmine. She's got quite a few books out there.
[00:35:14] Speaker D: She's a very busy girl.
[00:35:16] Speaker B: Do you have any overall advice you want to share to aspiring authors who want to write in junior fiction or picture book authors or authors in general?
[00:35:25] Speaker D: Errors have probably said this lots of times, but just try and find your crew, a group that will support you and will encourage you and celebrate your highs and commiserate with your lows. That's really important to have that support behind you in terms of junior fiction, you know, the major things that I've taken away were take your time to brainstorm. Don't just jump into the story. It's very tempting when you've got an idea, I've got a great idea, I've got a character and just start writing. I mean, that might work for some people, but for me, just have a few weeks to brainstorm and let it mull around in your head. And it just made so much difference to do that process that Jen taught us about, you know, creative and just letting yourself play, really. I think I was writers. We can take things too seriously. We can think we need to get this work done and sometimes we just need to sit down and just play. Even just draw our characters. Even if you're not an illustrator, draw them and have fun with them and work out who they are. I think that was really important and it's a really nice part of that process. And make sure that you have Virginia fiction, light idea for a plot, something that's fun, something that's not too dark, and make your characters relatable to the age group. So, yeah, those would be my tips, for sure.
[00:36:34] Speaker B: Oh, they're amazing. No, absolutely. Are you a walker? Do you do any walking to.
[00:36:39] Speaker D: Yeah, I do do a bit walking. Yeah. Ideas will come when I'm walking as well, when I'm picking, usually at the most inappropriate times.
[00:36:48] Speaker B: No, that's fantastic. Because I think. Yeah, and I'm guilty of that as well.
[00:36:51] Speaker D: You just.
[00:36:52] Speaker B: When you. When you switch over to looking at this in a different way, you know, either career wise or trying to make money or just. Or. Or just. Yeah, you know, you can lose that sense of play as well and fun and why you did it in the first place. So important, especially I think, in children's fiction.
[00:37:09] Speaker D: Yeah.
You've got to almost put your child hat on and be a kid for a little while.
[00:37:15] Speaker B: What age would this be for junior fiction?
[00:37:18] Speaker D: 6 to 9 year olds but you could go a bit older than that. End of primary school probably would suit.
[00:37:22] Speaker B: Fantastic. Well everyone is dying to know where can they buy Terrified and Bakery Ghost and anything, you know all your other picture books and things like that on and offline.
[00:37:32] Speaker D: Probably the best place is just to go to my website actually because I've got all my Instagram and Facebook links there and then information about my books and all those links link. So that's Janet Stamponi.com and offline. You know any ask in your bookstore asking your libraries just but yeah online's probably the easiest.
[00:37:51] Speaker B: Amazing. Well thank you so much for joining us again Janet. It was wonderful and congratulations on all the success in the junior fiction book. We can't wait to see it.
[00:38:00] Speaker D: Thanks for having me.
[00:38:03] Speaker B: Thanks again.
[00:38:06] Speaker A: Foreign so there you have it folks, the truly spooktacular Jeanette Stampone.
Next time on the Hybrid Author Podcast we have Sarah Suzak chatting memoir, meditation and overcoming Adversity. Sarah Souzak is a full time working mum. A commercial lawyer with over two decades of experience, Sarah has led the legal function of some of the world's most iconic brands including Coca Cola and Colgate Palm Oil of across the South Pacific and Europe. She is also a lifetime supporter of the Wayside Chapel for the Homeless in Sydney. In 2017, shortly after becoming a mother, Sarah was diagnosed with a rare and deadly head and neck cancer. Her journey through major facial reconstructive surgeries, intensive radiation treatment and ongoing medical challenges led her to discover the ancient practices of Vedic meditation, which became a cornerstone of her recovery and inspired her to train as a Vedic meditation teacher. In 2023, she launched Medisteadygo, a business dedicated to sharing the wisdom and techniques that she credits with saving her life after being in remission from cancer for almost seven years. While completing Yuru in 2024, Sarah was diagnosed with metastasis to the lung. Though the lesion on her lung was safely removed, she developed a rare autoimmune condition which saw her on life support and hope. Hospitalized for almost three months. With the help of holistic health practices and her daily meditation routine, Sarah made a remarkable recovery. Defying medical expectations, she's now living a joyful and purposeful life in Sydney with her husband and daughter. Yuru is her first book. Truly inspiring chat Coming up with Sarah. I wish you well in your author adventure this week. That's it from me. Bye for now.
[00:39:49] Speaker C: That's the end for now authors. I hope you're further forward in your author adventure after after listening and I hope you'll listen next time. Remember to head on over to the Hybrid Author website at www.hybridauthor.com au to get your free offer pass.
[00:40:04] Speaker A: It's bye for now.
