Author Interview: KATRINA GERMEIN

I'm thrilled to be welcoming back to the blog today a lovely author who's celebrating the release of yet another gorgeous picture book. Find out more about their writing process right here! 

Check it out... 
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​Katrina Germein is a best-selling picture book author. Published worldwide, Katrina’s book Big Rain Coming has remained continuously in print since it was first published in 1999. Her popular title My Dad Thinks He’s Funny was Highly Commended in the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. Thunderstorm Dancing is among many of Katrina’s books to have received a Notable Book Commendation from The Children’s Book Council of Australia and feature on children’s television programs such as Play School. In 2019 Katrina received the Speech Pathology Book of the Year Award for Let’s Go Strolling. Katrina is an ambassador for Raising Literacy Australia, a Books in Homes Role Model and a Premier’s Reading Challenge Ambassador. New titles in 2020 include Tell `Em, My Dad Thinks He’s Super Funny and Shoo You Crocodile.

Follow Katrina here! 

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Look out! A crocodile!
Chomp Chomp Chomp
What will make it go away?
Let's try making LOTS of noise.
Clang! Bang! Stomp! Clomp!

SHOO YOU CROCODILE! is illustrated by Tom Jellett and published by Little Book Press, the publishing arm of Raising Literacy Australia. It's a fun, raucous romp for imaginative young readers and small brave adventurers.

​Grab your copy here! 

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The Interview...
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Another new book! Wow. Tell me about it!

This one is super lively. Like all good picture books, SHOO YOU CROCODILE! is for young children and adults to enjoy together. There’s lots of noise and plenty of action! It’s about a pair of escaped crocodiles who chase some children and their teacher all around a museum.


Why picture books?

Because they’re the best. Because they’ve made my heart sing since as long as I can remember. I love that picture books can tell and story and move readers in a single, short sitting and that they’re often a shared experience between children and people they adore. They can be enjoyed over and over and over again and they reveal meaningful truths about the world. I love their poetic read-aloud language and their gorgeous layered artwork. Picture books are meaning and imagination.

Do you think you'll ever write anything other than PBs?

Maybe. Possibly not.
 

If not a writer, what would be your dream job?
 
I’m an early childhood teacher and I love that too. Any other dream jobs require skills and talent that I don’t have, like singing and dancing. I’d love to be in a band but I’m not naturally tuneful.
 
 
What kind of books do you like to read in your spare time? 
 
I wish there was another term because it sounds pompous but I read literary fiction and popular fiction. I faithfully work through my book club’s monthly titles. Some of the books we’ve read this year include Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo, Never Let me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell and Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.

I also read lots of middle grade and young adult fiction by wonderful author friends.
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And of course picture books. I’m always reading new picture books.
 

What's one thing you have done to date that has made the biggest impact on your publishing journey? 
 
Boring answer but I have to say – not giving up. I just keep plodding away. I keep writing and submitting. I keep listening to my agent and my critique group. I keep starting new stories and finishing old ones. On and on I slowly go and every now and then I look up and realise it’s working.
 
 
Where do you find your book ideas? 

All around everywhere. I don’t feel like I look very hard but I guess as writers we’re always alert to ideas. My ideas come from news stories, people I know, childhood memories, places I visit and the crazy imaginings my brain dreams up.

 
How do you develop your ideas once you've settled on a concept? 

Hmm. I guess I just start writing. I sometimes try to leave a story to brew in my mind for a while so the writing is easier later and other times I can’t wait to get started. Mainly I just write and see where it takes me. (Then I redraft fifty four million times!)
 

How do you know when a story is ready?

I’m still learning. I’ve definitely sent out work before it’s ready in the past. I try to sit on anything that feels finished for at least a week but I’m getting better it at holding it for a month. If I make changes when I look at it again then it goes back into the holding bay.
 
 
What’s next and where can we get the new book?

I’m looking forward to two new books next year. A LOVE SONG, illustrated by Helene Magisson and published by HarperCollins and MY DAD THINKS HE’S SUPER FUNNY, illustrated by Tom Jellett and published by Walker Books.
 
For now, SHOO YOU CROCODILE! was officially released on August first and is available directly from the publisher’s website: https://www.littlebookpress.com.au/product/shoo-you-crocodile/
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Yay! I hope people love it.
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