Link to an infographic on Deborah Abela
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About Deborah
Date of Birth: 13 October 1966
Place of birth: Sydney, Australia
Family: mother, father, 1 sister and 2 brother Pets: She is allergic to cats so she has no pets, but in the summer the backyard fills with noisy lorikeets and cockatoos.
Likes: reading, writing, music, films, bike riding, swimming in the ocean, travelling (she’s been to Africa, America, parts of Asia, Europe and the UK).
Dislikes: When she hears kids don’t read, war and silly politicians, racism, intolerance, greedy people and companies and global warming.
Favourite Food: Loads! She mostly eat vegetables but also eats some fish. Her partner Todd calls her a vegaquarian.
Place of birth: Sydney, Australia
Family: mother, father, 1 sister and 2 brother Pets: She is allergic to cats so she has no pets, but in the summer the backyard fills with noisy lorikeets and cockatoos.
Likes: reading, writing, music, films, bike riding, swimming in the ocean, travelling (she’s been to Africa, America, parts of Asia, Europe and the UK).
Dislikes: When she hears kids don’t read, war and silly politicians, racism, intolerance, greedy people and companies and global warming.
Favourite Food: Loads! She mostly eat vegetables but also eats some fish. Her partner Todd calls her a vegaquarian.
How she decided to write
Deborah decided she wanted to be a writer when she was seven years old, and wrote a story about a man made out cheese. She’d read her stories out loud to people to see what they thought and give them away as presents whenever she could. She loved the way books took her on a journey. It was like travelling without ever leaving home. Her best friend and her would also write stories for each other as presents. They are still best friends today.
How she became an author
Before taking the full-time occupation of being an author, Deborah travelled around, finding work where she could.She trained as a teacher, travelled, slept beside alligators, was harassed by monkeys, was almost traded for a camel and was thrown in jail at gunpoint, twice. Bizarrely, her first writing job was for “Cheez TV”, a kids’ show on channel 10. After 7 years of writing scripts about everything from llamas to bungy jumping and how to go to the toilet in outer space, Deb wrote her first novel - Max Remy Superspy Part 1: In Search of the Time and Space Machine.
Q & A
Q. What made you want to be a writer?
A. BOOKS! I wrote my first story when I was 7. I’d read my stories out loud to people to see what they thought and give them away as presents whenever I could. I loved the way books took me on a journey. It’s like travelling without ever leaving home. My best friend and I would also write stories for each other as presents. We are still best friends today.
Q. Where was your favourite place you've visited?
A. I loved Africa, especially the Sahara Desert, but I fell in love with the food and countryside of Italy and the people and islands of Malta. My new novel, A New World For Theresa, is set in Malta during WW2 before moving to Australia.
Q. How was it working with Johnny Warren?
A. Fantastic! Johnny was one of the greatest soccer legends ever, but he didn’t have a fat head about it and loved telling stories about the game, famous players he’d met, playing in the World Cup and why he called soccer the Beautiful Game. When he told me all his stories, I used them to write Jasper Zammit (Soccer Legend) about a group of kids who want to be legends like him.
Q. Were you sad when the Max Remy series ended?
A. Max Remy Part 10: The Final Curtain was always going to be the last Max Remy, but when I finished it, I was sad for about two weeks. It felt like saying goodbye to two young kids I’d known for 8 years and I was never going to see them again. When I miss them too much, I read the books again.
Q. What is your latest book?
A. Ghost Club was inspired by the real club in England, that was set up by Charles Dickens. Angeline and Edgar are ghost catchers who have to catch pesky ghost - the latest is A Transylvanian Tale...yes! The home of Dracula! The sequel to Grimsdon is called New City and will be out September 2014 and I am working on an historical fiction called A New World for Theresa, about a girl who grows up in Europe during WW2 and moves to Australia.
A. BOOKS! I wrote my first story when I was 7. I’d read my stories out loud to people to see what they thought and give them away as presents whenever I could. I loved the way books took me on a journey. It’s like travelling without ever leaving home. My best friend and I would also write stories for each other as presents. We are still best friends today.
Q. Where was your favourite place you've visited?
A. I loved Africa, especially the Sahara Desert, but I fell in love with the food and countryside of Italy and the people and islands of Malta. My new novel, A New World For Theresa, is set in Malta during WW2 before moving to Australia.
Q. How was it working with Johnny Warren?
A. Fantastic! Johnny was one of the greatest soccer legends ever, but he didn’t have a fat head about it and loved telling stories about the game, famous players he’d met, playing in the World Cup and why he called soccer the Beautiful Game. When he told me all his stories, I used them to write Jasper Zammit (Soccer Legend) about a group of kids who want to be legends like him.
Q. Were you sad when the Max Remy series ended?
A. Max Remy Part 10: The Final Curtain was always going to be the last Max Remy, but when I finished it, I was sad for about two weeks. It felt like saying goodbye to two young kids I’d known for 8 years and I was never going to see them again. When I miss them too much, I read the books again.
Q. What is your latest book?
A. Ghost Club was inspired by the real club in England, that was set up by Charles Dickens. Angeline and Edgar are ghost catchers who have to catch pesky ghost - the latest is A Transylvanian Tale...yes! The home of Dracula! The sequel to Grimsdon is called New City and will be out September 2014 and I am working on an historical fiction called A New World for Theresa, about a girl who grows up in Europe during WW2 and moves to Australia.
Writing Tips
The love factor
Always write about what you love or what gets you excited. If you love what you’ve written, hopefully other people will too.
Look it up
If you are writing about something you’re not very familiar with, do research. For Max Remy Part 5: The Amazon Experiment, I did lots of research about the Amazon Jungle so that even though Max’s adventure is made up, the jungle around her is full of plants, bugs and snakes that really do exist.
Daydream
There is no end to the possibilities of where your mind can go and the adventures you can have and you don’t even have to leave your room! I spent six months just thinking about Max, the other characters and her world of superspying before I started writing the first book. Try to get to know your characters like they are your best friends and the world they live in like you have been there.
Look around you
There are ideas for stories everywhere. In a conversation you hear at a bus stop, in a news story, or you may even be inspired by the book you’re reading now.
Show it off
From a really young age I would show my writing to other people to see what they thought. And don’t be afraid of criticism. If someone doesn’t like it, ask them why and how they think you could make it better. Published writers work with editors and this is their job. Have fun If at times the writing becomes a little hard, take a break, ride your bike, take the dog for a walk, visit a friend, then come back later. Try not to give up on an idea you love. Even if it’s not working how you’d like, if you keep at it, your ideas can be great!
Just start!
Once you have planned your story and know your characters, you’ll have lots of fun bringing it to life, but this means sitting down and just starting. Maybe even now. Go on. Off you go!
Always write about what you love or what gets you excited. If you love what you’ve written, hopefully other people will too.
Look it up
If you are writing about something you’re not very familiar with, do research. For Max Remy Part 5: The Amazon Experiment, I did lots of research about the Amazon Jungle so that even though Max’s adventure is made up, the jungle around her is full of plants, bugs and snakes that really do exist.
Daydream
There is no end to the possibilities of where your mind can go and the adventures you can have and you don’t even have to leave your room! I spent six months just thinking about Max, the other characters and her world of superspying before I started writing the first book. Try to get to know your characters like they are your best friends and the world they live in like you have been there.
Look around you
There are ideas for stories everywhere. In a conversation you hear at a bus stop, in a news story, or you may even be inspired by the book you’re reading now.
Show it off
From a really young age I would show my writing to other people to see what they thought. And don’t be afraid of criticism. If someone doesn’t like it, ask them why and how they think you could make it better. Published writers work with editors and this is their job. Have fun If at times the writing becomes a little hard, take a break, ride your bike, take the dog for a walk, visit a friend, then come back later. Try not to give up on an idea you love. Even if it’s not working how you’d like, if you keep at it, your ideas can be great!
Just start!
Once you have planned your story and know your characters, you’ll have lots of fun bringing it to life, but this means sitting down and just starting. Maybe even now. Go on. Off you go!
Awards
2013 Maurice Saxby Award for Services to Children’s Literature
Ghost Club (2012)
2013 Sisters in Crime Davitt Awards
Grimsdon (2010)
2012 Shortlisted REAL awards (children’s choice Vic, NT, NSW, ACT)
2011 Speech Pathology Book of the Year Awards
2011 Most Enthralling Junior Fiction Award, Kids Book Review
2011 Shortlisted Aurealis Awards
2011 Shortlisted REAL awards (children’s choice Vic, NT, NSW, ACT)
The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen (2009)
2012 Shortlisted USBBY Outstanding International Book Awards (US)
2010 Children’s Book Council Noteable Book
2010 Shortlisted Aurealis Awards for Best Children’s Book
Max Remy Superspy series (2002-2008)
2005, 2007, 2010 KOALA awards (NSW children’s choice) Shortlisted
Best series
2007, 2010 YABBA awards (Victorian children’s choice)
Shortlisted Best series
2008 Angus & Robertson’s Top 50 kids Books
2007 Shortlisted CBC Children’s Choice Awards US
2007 WAYRBA (Western Australia Children’s Choice Awards)
2007 CROC awards
2006 Annual Ellie Awards, Madison Alabama, USA - Honor Book
2005 Winner Gold Oppenheim Award, New York: Max Remy Part 1
2004 Australia Council Literary Grant New Work Developing Writer
2003 Shortlisted Aurealis Awards Max Remy The Hollywood Mission
2002, 2003 Winner of Read and Write Award by Vocaleyes
Ghost Club (2012)
2013 Sisters in Crime Davitt Awards
Grimsdon (2010)
2012 Shortlisted REAL awards (children’s choice Vic, NT, NSW, ACT)
2011 Speech Pathology Book of the Year Awards
2011 Most Enthralling Junior Fiction Award, Kids Book Review
2011 Shortlisted Aurealis Awards
2011 Shortlisted REAL awards (children’s choice Vic, NT, NSW, ACT)
The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen (2009)
2012 Shortlisted USBBY Outstanding International Book Awards (US)
2010 Children’s Book Council Noteable Book
2010 Shortlisted Aurealis Awards for Best Children’s Book
Max Remy Superspy series (2002-2008)
2005, 2007, 2010 KOALA awards (NSW children’s choice) Shortlisted
Best series
2007, 2010 YABBA awards (Victorian children’s choice)
Shortlisted Best series
2008 Angus & Robertson’s Top 50 kids Books
2007 Shortlisted CBC Children’s Choice Awards US
2007 WAYRBA (Western Australia Children’s Choice Awards)
2007 CROC awards
2006 Annual Ellie Awards, Madison Alabama, USA - Honor Book
2005 Winner Gold Oppenheim Award, New York: Max Remy Part 1
2004 Australia Council Literary Grant New Work Developing Writer
2003 Shortlisted Aurealis Awards Max Remy The Hollywood Mission
2002, 2003 Winner of Read and Write Award by Vocaleyes