Newsletter August 2024

Dear…..

I hope you’re well and enjoying life.

Jonah has been meowing at my study door reminding me it’s ages since we touched base with you. 2024 has turned out to be the year of three B’s – babies, birthdays and book launches.

The first and most important event was the arrival of a new granddaughter, baby Wendy, back in March. Wendy was in such a hurry Lydia gave birth to her in an ambulance in the carpark of Royal Women’s hospital in Melbourne. The paramedics were heroic, according to Lydia,
Mother and baby have since cruised through Wendy’s first few months. I don’t know if it has anything to do with the way she came into the world, but this dark-haired cherub is the most laid-back baby I’ve encountered – and I’ve known a few in my time.

While it’s always an adjustment to be upstaged by a younger sibling, big sister Alice is enjoying welcome distractions in the form of Tiddles, a neighbourhood cat who drops by to say hello every day or so. Unusually for a long-haired cat, Tiddles delights in being stroked. He doesn’t even ask for food. Tiddles simply adores the company of three-year-old Alice.

The day after Wendy’s birth, I marked a “significant” birthday on March 15th. Though I’d expected to let it slip by like every other one, my dear friend Diane insisted we mark the occasion in style. Thanks to Diane and darling Philip’s guidance, a small but glorious party was had on a Sydney rooftop at sunset.
Son Rob and daughter Kath gave heartfelt speeches that left me blubbering over the spectacular blue harbour and famous opera house. The experience changed my attitude to birthdays. If you have an important – or even a not so – one coming up, celebrate to the max.

Soon after the birthday, my latest book MICKEY pounced on to the North American market. I wasn’t sure how American readers would take to a story about the trials of a pre-adolescent misfit in 1960’s provincial New Zealand, but my first cat, a grey polydactyl called Mickey, won them over. The response to MICKEY has been wonderful. Huge thanks to those who took time to post generous comments on Goodreads and Amazon. You’re the best.

Recording the audio book of MICKEY earlier in the year reminded me how much effort and skill goes into the seemingly basic business of reading a book aloud. I was lucky to have a talented and patient producer, Keenan Wardrope, to nurse me through stuff ups and mispronunciations. Over four days we created nine hours and 34 minutes of MICKEY for your ears.

When HarperCollins released the book in Australasia in May, I was thrilled to meet some of my loyal, long-time readers in New Zealand. If you’ve read MICKEY, you’ll know my rambling childhood home in New Plymouth is an important character.

I was blown away when the currently owners, Dr Peter and Jocelyn, welcomed me and my sister Mary – along with photographers and make-up artists from the NZ Woman’s Weekly – into their beautifully restored home. Jocelyn even provided 1960’s cheese pineapple sticks exactly like the ones mentioned in the book. A devoted cat woman, Jocelyn shared her story of the day one of her felines fell down the well under the house, just the way Mickey had. Except in her case, the fire brigade saved the day.

Among the many highlights of MICKEY’s Australian launch was a dazzling celebration at Readings Bookstore, St Kilda, leading a memoir writing course at Sandringham library and an evening talk in the new library on our beloved Phillip Island. Readers are my favourite people. It was a joy to meet so many of them at other libraries and bookstores. Along the way, I started a little tradition, the Travelling Cat Award, presenting a stuffed toy cat to whoever had travelled furthest to be there.

My impromptu launch speech has morphed into a 40-minute talk about cats, connection (so important these days) and my accidental career. I love sharing haphazard stories, laughing and weeping with an audience. Now word is out, people are wanting more. I’ll be at Rotorua library, NZ, on October 3, Waimakariri Library NZ on October 11 and Preston Library back in Melbourne on December 12th. Keep an eye on the Events section of my Facebook page for more.

Visiting New York and reconnecting with my fantastic publisher there, Michaela Hamilton, was a highlight. We spent a glorious weekend together on the Jersey Shore and topped it off with a Broadway show. My wonderful agent, Anne Hawkins, treated me to lunch with a side plate of wisdom while we were there. Anne works for one of the oldest literary agencies in New York. I was deeply honoured when she said one of her colleagues, who’d discovered MASH back in the 1960s, is a fan of MICKEY.

It was wonderful meeting American readers while I was in the US, including Jeff Erlitz in New York and Sherry Lawrence in Portland Oregon. Both had travelled more than two hours to meet me, so were fully deserving of Travelling Cat awards.

During interviews I’m often asked why I keep writing. The answer is you. You and other readers have enveloped me so warmly through the years, I count you among my closest friends. Though chances are we haven’t met, you’re what has made the years alone in front of the computer screen worthwhile. I can’t thank you enough.
So please, live in the meow.

Warmest wishes,

Helen.