PO Box 3413
Wellington 6015
New Zealand
3 December 2003
Dear Friends,
On sunny days, they come out and lie on top of the stones, to sunbathe. If you walk very quietly into the water and stand with bare feet in the shallows, they will lie on your warm feet. They feel like tickling feathers.
Yesterday, some friends walked along the beach with us and helped us gather oysters for lunch. The cats followed us. They think we gather seafood just for them, and when we open oysters, they have their noses very close to our fingers.
On these sunny days, it is difficult to sit at the desk and write. The sun is shining and Christmas is coming - two big distractions. I have another week of writing to finish my work for the year. Then Terry and I can decorate the Christmas tree and fill the house with the good smells of Christmas baking.
Christmas here is a time of picnics, swimming, summer sports. One year I would like to be in a part of the world that has snow in December. The only snow we get here, is painted on Christmas cards, or sprayed on fake trees.
Friends ask if there have been any new books lately. Well, there are one or two, but not as many as usual. Most of my time these past two years has been put into a reading programme for Dominie Press, California. I really loved doing that because I was not working alone. There were teachers to guide me, reading specialists to help me and great editors, art directors and illustrators to work with. That meant a lot of chatting back and forth with e-mails. I'm a chatty kind of person. I greatly enjoy working with other people.
As far as picture books and novels are concerned, recent months have brought the third in the Agapanthus Hum series, " Agapanthus Hum and the Angel Hoot." published by Philomel Press, New York. Philomel have also published two more board books in the Wishy-Washy series, "Mrs Wishy-Washy Makes a Splash" and "Mr Wishy-Washy."
Boyds Mills Press, PA, have published a picture book about a special man and a special place. The book is called "Where Horses Run Free" and it is a true story about cowboy Dayton Hyde who bought thousands of acres in South Dakota for a home for unwanted horses. Here in New Zealand, Harper Collins have published the second novel in the Froghopper series. It's called "Froghopper and the Paua Poachers" and it's a suspense story about a gang of poachers who try to wreck the Green family's boat.
Some new books will be out early next year. Philomel have a fairy story called "The Wishing of Biddy Malone" about a clumsy, hot-tempered girl who longs to be a dancer.
Christopher Denise had done very beautiful illustrations for this book. When you look at them, you want to walk right into the picture and dance in the long soft grass.
Next year, Philomel will also publish a novel about a moa hunter. It is set in wilderness New Zealand and is called simply "Hunter." I have just seen the dust jacket which has a wonderful painting by William Low.
Scholastic New Zealand is giving our old Greedy Cat a full picture book of his own. Robyn Belton and I have been chuckling over the old rascal and the trouble he causes in "Greedy Cat and the School Pet Show." Scholastic are also publishing soon, a picture book for young children called "The Little Tractor." It has lovely illustrations by Gavin Bishop.
Well, that's it. I'm looking forward to the holidays. Terry and I will be taking grandchildren out on our boat "Mrs Wishy-Washy." During the days we will sail around the Sounds, fishing, swimming, exploring beaches. At nights we will gaze at the stars reflected in the water and listen to the distant calls of night birds. Wouldn't it be nice if you could join us?
Happy writing, happy reading, and love from your friend,
Joy Cowley
