Writing The Secret Beach on location in a gale
J A C K I E F R E N C H
|
Forthcoming Books
(Harper Collins, July 2001) It's 1913, the year after the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank, and everyone tells the Finnegan family not to worry, there are no icebergs on the way to Australia. But off the coast of Southern Africa the ship does hit an iceberg..and this is the story about how Mary and the Finnegans saved the ship. (How the Finnegans Saved the Ship is based on a true story. I've changed many of the details, but the iceberg, the shipwreck...and the longing for something better for your children, even if leaving your country breaks your heart.....are true.)
The Fascinating History of Your Lunch
Dark Wind Blowing
Stories to Eat with a Mandarin...Phredde and the Temple of Gloom
... And a visit to Phaeryland which isn't as safe as Pru and Phredde and Bruce expect!
The Secret Life of Santa Claus (the Ultimate Christmas Survival Guide!)
*Warning: also contains a recipe for Rum and Roses Fruit Cake
The House That Jackie Built
(Earthgarden, September 2001) How to build your own stone house without a mortgage...plus stone walls, stone paving, a pond, stone stairs...and other ways to live the good life with 100 tonnes of granite and lots of concrete.
In the Blood
(Feb 2001 Harper Collins) Adult/ Young Adult
This is a sci fi vampire thriller romance for adults
and young adults- the first in a trilogy. It was meant to be total escapism (I
wrote it when Bryan was in hospital and I couldn't fidn agood esc apist book to
read!) but it gained depths I didn't expect.
But it IS absorbing. I missed a hospital board meeting
because I was checking the page proofs before it was sent to the printer..the
first time I have EVER done that, and the first editor who read it missed her
train stop..the first time she had ever done that either!
Spear Carriers
(April 2001 Harper Collins) For 10- 16 year olds
A deadly biological agent has been released at a
country school...impossible? But then the deaths begin....
A gripping thriller that poses the question...where
does guilt end, and bystanders begin.
Cafe on Callisto
(Feb 2001 Koala Books) For 6-12 year olds
What's wierd about a cafe on the planet Callisto?
Everything....a hilarious sci fi story about hamburgers, interp-lanetary travel,
lamingtons, tomatoes, genetic engineering and deep dish chocolate
pizza.
Earthly Delights
(Harper Collins Feb 2001) (Definitely not for children)
A very tongue in cheek look at chilli bosom expanders,
chocolate truffles, rhino horn, passionfruit cordial, celery soup, potatoes,
parsnips and other aphrodisiacs.* (Okay, okay, even if they don't exactly
provoke lust the recipes are damn good).
* warning: contains recipe for chocolate body
paint
Stamp Stomp Whomp and other interesting ways to get rid of pests
The Book of Challenges... Are you ever BORED?
Captain Purrfect (for 5-10 year olds, Koala Books) Stories to Eat with a Blood Plum (Harper Collins November...the third in the Phredde series) There's a grey fleshed zombie librarian tending her blood starved books in the school library. There's a 5,000 year old Egyptian Mummy roaming the corridors ... not to mention giant slugs, the Snot Phaerie, pirahnas, a few werewolves, a boa constrictor and Dad's pet giant sloth.Can Phredde and Prudence escape? Well, of course they can, you ding dong. They appear in the next book too. But HOW do they escape? That's the question! Another hilarious collection of TERRIFYING stories about a Phaerie named Phredde.
Cast of characters for those who came in late ... Phredde. A 30 cm high phaerie, likes pink and silver joggers and rock music. Hates phaerie dances on the green and definitely does NOT want to marry a handsome prince when she grows up. Her real name is The Phaery Ethereal but it is NOT a good idea to mention this to Phredde.
Bruce. A handsome Prince. Or he might be if he hadn't decided to be a frog instead of a kid. (A Crinea signifera frog if you want to be precise. Ask Bruce if you want to know more about Crinea signifera - or better still, look it up, because Bruce will tell you EVERYTHING.) Mrs Olsen. Pru, Phredde and Bruce's teacher. Also a 400 year old vampire but don't worry, she and her family have a friendly arrangement with the abbatoir. Keeps her coffin with the art supplies. Mrs Allen. The school Principal. Can competently deal with ogres, dragons, squashed science blocks and computers with the flu, but has recently shown occasional signs of stress. Mark. Pru's older brother. Also a werewolf, inherited from his father's side of the family. Answers to 'Dog's Breath' but don't try it if you can't run fast. Pru's Dad. Loves everything South American, except possibly jaguars, pirhanas, boa constrictors and giant sloths. Pru's Mum. Loves crosswords, coffee and is just beginning to understand computers. Stresses about the least little thing, like vampires, ogres and going out in the sun without your hat and sunblock. Pru's Uncle Ron. Retired butcher. Also a werewolf. The Phaerie Valiant. Phredde's Dad. Prefers to be known as 'Jim'. The Phaerie Splendifera. Phredde's Mum. Also loves crosswords, honey dew nectar and racing magic carpets. Has 'The Directory of Handsome Princes' on her bedside table. Amelia. In Pru's, Phredde's and Bruce's class at school. You don't really want to know anything more about her. Lady Dance (September 2000) Thrill Kill (April 2001)
|