'A Book is like a garden carried in the pocket.'

~ Chinese proverb

Hi.

2008 is the Chinese Year of the Rat.

Russians are really into this. Pet shops there have run out of rats, so people are buying up mice, gerbils, hamsters or anything else that might look like a rat.

Lucky it's not 'Year of the Bull' – where would people store them?

I love strange news items and note them down to use in stories. They say truth is stranger than fiction. And it is. When I give talks about writing and ideas that generate writing, it is the real stories that provoke the question; 'Is that true?' (Imagine a disbelieving tone and one raised eyebrow.)

The following things are all true, and reported in the news in the last month:

• A motorist in Britain was banned for a week for driving less than 10 miles (16kph) on a motorway.
• A 5.5 metre long minke whale was found in the Amazon rainforest, 1600 km from the Atlantic Ocean, aground on a sandbar (it freed itself and swam away).
• Two elderly men in Mexico are the last people to speak a language called Zoque. But they don't get on and aren't talking to each other.
• In Darwin, a frozen dog exploded in a crematorium. Fire trucks were called when flames were spotted coming out of the chimney.
• A woman in New Zealand noticed a strange smell at her Christmas dinner. She discovered what was causing it when she pulled her Christmas cracker open. Inside was a dead and partially decomposed mouse.
• New Zealand has a CD A Very Silent Night on the hit charts. But humans can't hear anything when they play it. It's been recorded at a high frequency that only dogs can hear. It's a fundraiser for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
• In Florida, road rules dictate that if an elephant, goat or alligator is left tied to a parking meter, a parking fee has to be paid. (Or, if you had an alligator that was trouble, you could tie it up, walk away and wait for it to be towed!)

Any of these could become part of a story. It's just a matter of keeping our eyes and ears open.

In a writing workshop I asked a young boy what animal he thought I would be. He wrote; 'A vulture, because you go round scavenging ideas.' So true.

In X-Files one of Mulder's favourite lines was, 'The truth is out there.' 'Ideas are out there' too. Just waiting.

This year, I'm visiting schools and libraries in the north of South Australia, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Ipswich in Queensland.
Click here to see my schedule for dates.

Books to look out for:

Freaks. Three horror/humour books in one cover.
Click here to read an excerpt.

Audrey of the Outback series, set in the Australian Outback in 1930. Audrey is a great character. 'Imagination is a girl's best friend.'
Click here to read my new Audrey of the Outback blog.

And Mask of the Jackal, which is a mix of Ancient Egypt and modern thriller for 9-13 year-olds. This book has a deaf character, Jordy, who uses sign language. The idea for Jordy came from a sign language course I did in 2006.
Click here to read an excerpt.

I wish you all a 2008 that is full of ideas.