Welcome to The Quick Six Interview with Kerry Malone!
Kerry Malone is a Canberra-based children’s author. Her picture book You can do it Joey! was released in 2015 and her new chapter book, Sophie Makes New Friends is now available.
Sophie’s stories were inspired by some of Kerry’s experiences. She first started wearing glasses when she was five years old and her glasses weren’t as cool as Sophie’s. Without her glasses Kerry couldn’t see much and spent a lot of time lost at the beach.
Kerry loves writing books in libraries and cafes. Her favourite cafes are the ones which sell doughnuts.
Find out more at:
www.kerrymalone.com.au
www.facebook.com/kerrymaloneauthor
WHO
Who wrote, illustrated and published this book?
I wrote the book and was thrilled to have Meaghan Thomson, the illustrator for You can do it Joey! back on board. We learned so much from our experience indie publishing Joey that we did it all again!
WHAT
What is it called and what is it about?
Sophie Makes New Friends is the first book in a new series of three chapter books for readers aged 6 – 9 years of age
It’s Sophie’s first day at her new big city school. Without her old friends, who will sit with her at recess? Will she make new friends?
She eventually finds the courage to say hello to Phoebe. Will Phoebe convince Sophie to join the skipping team?
WHEN
When is its release / launch date?
Sophie Makes New Friends was launched at the end of October 2018.
WHERE
Where did the inspiration for this book come from?
The original idea for this book was written in 2006. I was experiencing some serious eyesight issues and was not coping. I sat outside one day with a marker pen, some paper and a glass of wine and wrote a story about a little girl going to school for the first time wearing her new glasses. Ten years later I started writing about this little girl and her stories morphed into Sophie’s series.
WHY
Why is this book meaningful to you and why would its message resonate with readers?
Sophie Makes New Friends is special for me as some of Sophie’s experiences are based on mine as a chid growing up wearing glasses and being a bit shy. The stories wrote themselves really and I was often surprised by the ideas that popped into my head. Working with Meaghan again was so much fun and we want readers to see themselves in Sophie’s stories and hopefully relate to some of her experiences.
HOW
How have you promoted this book and how can we find it?
I’m so grateful to Canberra booksellers who support local authors and love seeing Sophie on their shelves. She is now available at The National Library Bookshop, Harry Hartog Woden and Paperchain Bookstore.
I’m starting to organise book signings and events to promote Sophie and Independent Publishing so keep an eye on the website. There is also a shop on the website if anyone wants to purchase a copy!
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