TLs, the conference, and the QS

It was such a pleasure to be invited to join several other children’s authors and meet so many inspirational teacher/librarians at the Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay’s TLs conference in Manly on Thursday. A group of us met Education Officer Julie Regalado from the Quarantine Station for a tour of some of the iconic buildings up there, and I was able to read an extract from the Royal Commission into the QS in 1881 which so informed my novel Ghost Boy, as well as a couple of pages from my novel to illustrate how I used the information to capture the atmosphere and add credibility to my recreation of a really dark period in the history of the QS.  So many people don’t seem to know about the QS in Manly, the largest and most intact quarantine station in the world! It’s a fascinating, and genuinely creepy place to visit. Time for more fun after the tour, joining the TLs and several other authors at the Novotel for delicious tapas and cocktails and the chance to talk about our books. My thanks to the wonderful Paul and Beth Macdonald from The Children’s Bookshop who were there to sell our books (their stall proved a VERY popular attraction throughout the conference!) and the hugest congratulations to Kirsty O’Rourke and her team for organising such a very successful event.