Brumby Book Signing

This morning I had the pleasure of attending a book signing for a title that's definitely one of my favourites for the year. Brumby: A Celebration of Australia's Wild Horses was over a year in the making, but the end result is truly stunning.

I first came up with the idea for this book when I visited the Hunter Valley Brumby Association sanctuary. Founder Kathryn Massey works tirelessly, together with a team of volunteers, to rescue Brumbies that would otherwise be culled, then care for them and handle them until they are ready to be re-homed to their 'forever' owners. I thought it would be wonderful if we could put together a book that gave a brief history of the Brumby and then featured stories of people who have either experienced encounters with these magnificent animals in the wild or who have been lucky enough to adopt one. 

Kath jumped at the idea and together with co-author Mae Lee Sun, editor of the online Wild Horse Journal,  set about collecting the stories and images. It was a long and often difficult process, but I think both authors realised that all the hard work had well and truly paid off when they saw the finished book a couple of weeks ago! And today, Kath got to see the wonderfully positive response of others to the book at her first book signing.

This book has been a labour of love from start to finish and proceeds from the sale of the book go towards saving the Brumbies. It's the kind of project I love to be involved in!

Brumby is published by Exisle Publishing and is available in bookstores and online from September 2013.

Books Glorious Books!

I love books. I can't remember a time when I didn't love books. So it's probably not a big surprise that my professional life has taken me down the path of … working on books.

Some of my earliest memories are of sitting snuggled up to my mother as she read to me. Now, I get to do that with my own daughter and it's often one of the highlights of my day. The joy that I feel as she engages with the words, delights in the pictures, and lives what we're reading is pure magic. I would love to write, to create a book of my own that would give that joy to others, but while that may yet happen, for now I content myself with shaping other people's words.

My role as a publishing consultant, editor and proofreader is a privileged one. I am entrusted with the result of hours, days, weeks and sometimes years of creative struggle on the part of the author. And it is my responsibility to make that manuscript the best it can be. At every stage, I need to be mindful of the author — after all, it's a very vulnerable position to be in when someone is editing your work; your creation is being tampered with by another and the last thing anyone wants is to end up with a Franken-book! 

A lovely part of the process is that sometimes authors end up as friends. Collaborating so closely with someone over a period of weeks or months can often provide an insight into their world, and it's not unusual for common interests — beyond writing and books — to emerge.

Working with books is also a phenomenal tool for developing general knowledge. I am in high demand for trivia nights and quizzes as, while I may not know a lot about many things, I know something about most!

Books, whether printed or ebook, have brought so much to my life. Whether working on a manuscript or reading for pleasure, there is nothing better than becoming immersed in the world of words …