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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Down Under

7/11/2019

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Fans of the Sherlock Holmes stories have speculated over the years that Holmes and Watson travelled in Australia at some point in their adventures. Of the original sixty stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, there are eight connections to Australia. The most intriguing is Watson’s comment in The Sign of Four when describing the grounds of Pondicherry Lodge: “It looks as though all the moles in England had been let loose in it. I have seen something of the sort on the side of a hill near Ballarat, where the prospectors had been at work." The 1851 gold rush had drawn many prospectors to the city of Ballarat in Victoria.

While Sir Arthur Conan Doyle traveled to Australia later in his life, his visit had nothing to do with Sherlock Holmes. In 1920 and 1921, Doyle was touring Australia to give a series of lectures on spiritualism.

Now the question has been answered. Sherlock Holmes: The Australian Casebook chronicles Holmes’ and Watson’s adventures in Australia over several months in 1890. The book, edited by Christopher Sequeira, contains sixteen short stories by Australian writers. Those writers include Kerry Greenwood, author of the Phryne Fisher mystery series, and Kaaron Warren, a horror and science fiction writer who authored Walking the Tree and award-winning The Grief Hole.

Holmes and Watson have adventures in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Hobart, as well as in some more remote locations. The stories take place across all eight states and territories of modern Australia.

Although Canberra didn’t yet exist in 1890, Holmes and Watson do solve a mystery in the proximity of what will become Australia’s capital city. In the “Adventure of the Lazarus Child” by Dr. L.J.M. Owen, they travel to Queanbeyan Station, identified as a “remote mill-and-mine town in New South Wales as far distant from Sydney as York is from London.”
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Illustration for “The Adventure of the Lazarus Child”
The stories challenge Holmes and Watson with a punishing landscape and unfamiliar culture as the two grapple with everything from antipodean bushrangers to bunyips. The book will delight Sherlock Holmes fans in every hemisphere.
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Jackie French

7/23/2018

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PictureAuthor Jackie French
Jackie French is a must-read author for newcomers to Australia like me. Or indeed for anyone who wants to learn more about the country's history and wildlife. Her range is amazing. She writes both fiction and nonfiction across many genres for all age groups.

I first discovered her when I read her nonfiction book The Secret World of Wombats. Funny and informative, this book and How High Can a Kangaroo Hop? have become my favorite primers on these iconic Australian marsupials. Her famous picture book Diary of a Wombat and its sequels are now my go-to gifts for baby showers. 

Jackie French writes a lot of historical fiction set in Australia as well. The Miss Lily series is set in the years before and after WWI and tells the story of the forgotten women who helped fight the war. It combines Downton Abbey-type social situations with espionage, depictions of life at the front, and meditations on what it means to be a woman. The series includes two novels and a Christmas short story so far. She also writes historical fiction for children and young adults, including the Animal Stars series, the Matilda saga,  A Rose for the Anzac Boys, Nanberry: Black Brother White, and many others.

I discovered that Jackie French has a fascinating origin story too. Her first manuscript, the book of short stories Rain Stones, was read for an unusual reason. As she explained in a 2009  interview: "My manuscript was pulled out of the pile because it was the messiest they'd ever seen—badly spelled (I'm dyslexic) and with all the 'e's written in biro. My wombat had been leaving his droppings on the keyboard and the letter 'e' no longer worked."

For anyone needing more reasons to explore Jackie French's work, check out her website or find her on Twitter.

The book that started my collection
The next one I want to read
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Australian Spelling: Five More Rules

6/30/2018

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It’s disconcerting for an editor to realize she doesn’t know how to spell. When I arrived in Australia, I discovered this country mostly follows British spelling rules, which meant I had to learn how to spell all over again. In my last post, I described using “-our” rather than “-or” in words like “colour” and “honour.” Here are five more new rules for me to master.

The first rule is to use an “s” instead of a “z.” We spell words like “generalize” and “analyze” with “-ize” or “-yze” endings. Australians use “-ise” and “-yse” instead. So “organize,” “authorize,” and “paralyze” become “organise,” “authorise,” and “paralyse.”

In the second rule, use “-re” instead of “-er.” Australian spelling retains an “-re” ending on some words to preserve their original French spellings. In contrast, Noah Webster standardized American spelling of those words to end in “-er,” to match how they were pronounced and to conform with the spelling of other words that ended in “-er.” In Australia, words like “theater,” “center,” and “kilometer” are spelled “theatre,” “centre,” and “kilometre.”

Noah Webster also tried to simplify American spelling by removing silent letters. Australian spelling instead retains the silent “a” and “o” for some words. The American spelling of “pediatrician” becomes “paediatrician” in Australia, and “estrogen” becomes “oestrogen.”

In the fourth rule, Australian spelling often uses double consonants. So, words like “focused,” “counseling,” and “traveled” become “focussed,” “counselling,” and “travelled.”

The last rule confuses me to no end. Sometimes, Australian spelling uses a “c” instead of an “s,” so our spellings of “defense” and “pretense” become “defence” and “pretence.” However, sometimes the opposite occurs, and words that we would spell with an “c” are replaced with an “s” in Australia. For example, our American spelling of “practice” is spelled “practise” by Australians—but only if it is used as a verb, as in “to practise piano.” If the word is used as a noun, then it is spelled “practice,” as in “We have band practice today.” I’ve decided that MY rule will be to consult a dictionary whenever I see an “-se” or “-ce” ending.

And then there are words that have completely different spellings, such as “cheque” instead of “check” and “tyre” rather than “tire.” Yep, a subscription to an online Australian spelling dictionary is definitely in my future.

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Australian Spelling: "-Our" Not "-Or"

6/17/2018

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Moving to Australia presented some challenges for me as an editor. I realized I would have to master new spelling rules. The most obvious of these is adding a “u” to our American “-or” endings. For example, “honor” is spelled “honour” in Australia.

Australian spelling closely resembles British spelling. Australia’s ongoing cordial relationship with Great Britain may have led to the preference for British spellings. The United States, after its revolution, likely wanted to differentiate itself from the mother country.

Noah Webster led the effort in changing how Americans spelled words. He began to codify rules for spelling in the late 1700s and early 1800s. He tried where possible to simplify; the ending “-or” is simpler than “-our” because it removes the silent “u.” His “-or” ending also helps to differentiate words with “our” that were pronounced differently, such as “hour.” The “-or” ending for a word like “candor” rather than “candour” indicated that readers shouldn’t pronounce it as “can-dower.”

Beyond creating the first American dictionary, Noah Webster wrote textbooks that teachers used to teach spelling for the next century.

Here are some other “-or” words that are spelled differently in Australia:
  • Armour
  • Behaviour
  • Colour
  • Demeanour
  • Flavour
  • Harbour
  • Humour
  • Labour (except for the Australian Labor Party)
  • Neighbour
  • Odour
  • Saviour
  • Vapour
Next time, I’ll describe other Australian spelling rules that follow British English. No surprise—many American English spelling rules veered away from British English, thanks again to Noah Webster. 

Note: Special thanks to https://pluslexia.com/ for the image used at the top of the post.
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"Municipal Gum" and Oodgeroo Noonuccal

5/26/2018

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In honor of Reconciliation Day, I wanted to write about the poem “Municipal Gum” and its author, indigenous Australian poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal.

Municipal Gum
Gumtree in the city street,
Hard bitumen around your feet,
Rather you should be
In the cool world of leafy forest halls
And wild bird calls.
Here you seem to me
Like that poor cart-horse
Castrated, broken, a thing wronged,
Strapped and buckled, its hell prolonged,
Whose hung head and listless mien express
Its hopelessness.
Municipal gum, it is dolorous
To see you thus
Set in your black grass of bitumen--
O fellow citizen,
What have they done to us?


—Oodgeroo Noonuccal

The gum tree, owned by the city and trapped in asphalt, belongs instead in nature. The poet compares the tree to a cart-horse that is castrated, confined, and hopeless. The gum tree is a metaphor for indigenous Australians forced off their land. Neither the gum tree nor its “fellow citizen”—the displaced, dispossessed indigenous Australian—is likely to thrive.
 
The author of “Municipal Gum” was born in 1920 on an island in southeast Queensland. Her father belonged to the Noonuccal people. Her family named her Kathleen Jean Mary Ruska, and she was known as “Kath.” From age 13, Kath worked as a domestic servant in Brisbane. When she was 21, she enlisted in the Australian Women’s Army Service and soon after married Bruce Walker, a member of the Gugingin people. After a severe ear infection forced her to leave the Army Service, Kath worked at a variety of jobs and became interested in politics, particularly in fighting for the rights of indigenous Australians. She had separated from her husband before their son was born and raised the child alone. Kath began writing poetry in the 1950s.
 
Her first collection of poetry, We Are Going, was published in 1964. It sold well, and other books followed. The poem “Municipal Gum” appeared in My People: A Kath Walker Collection, published in 1970.She continued writing and was known internationally as a protest poet, political activist, and educator. In 1988, she took the name of her people Noonuccal and the tribal name Oodgeroo (which means “paperbark”). Her final collection of poems was published in 1988, and she died on 16 September 1993.
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Her plaque on Sydney's Writers Walk
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The Writers Walk

5/8/2018

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When my daughter and I visited Sydney recently, I had one thing at the top of my “to-see” list. No, not the Sydney Opera House. (That was number two.) What I really wanted to see was the Writers Walk, a set of brass plaques about different writers embedded in a brick walkway somewhere near the harbor at Circular Quay.

The Writers Walk is easy to miss on the way to the famous opera house. We walked from the train station past the ferry jetties. In the bright sun, with the bustle and noise and color of Circular Quay all around, it was hard to remember to look down. My daughter finally spotted the first plaque, and then we retraced our steps to find the rest. The 60 plaques run from the Overseas Passenger Terminal on West Circular Quay (where the cruise ships dock), past the train station all the way to the side of the Sydney Opera House forecourt on East Circular Quay.

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The first 49 plaques were dedicated on 19 February 1991 by the Minister for the Arts, the Honorable Peter Collins, MP. In 2011, 11 more plaques joined them. The plaque that introduces the Writers Walk reads in part: “What we are and how we see ourselves evolves fundamentally from the written and spoken word.”

The Walk commemorates both Australian writers (many I had never heard of) and those who visited Australian. It makes writing part of the Sydney’s daily life and reveals a culture that really values literature--not just its own but literature from around the world as well.

Below are some highlights from among the 60 plaques.

These Australian poets were new ones for me. A.B. “Banjo” Patterson is best known for writing “Waltzing Matilda,” which is an unofficial national anthem. He also wrote a narrative poem, "The Man From Snowy River," which was made into a film. 

A woman named Kath Walker took the name of her indigenous tribe Oodgeroo Noonuccal in 1988. Oodgeroo means “paperbark tree.” Noonuccal was the first indigenous Australian to publish a book of poetry, called "We Are Going," in 1964.
Novelists such as Miles Franklin and Nevil Shute are old favorites of mine. I remember being terrified when I read Shute’s On the Beach as a teenager.
The Writers Walk honors visiting writers as well.
Charles Darwin, best known for his book On the Origin of Species, spent two months in Australia. The capital city Darwin in the Northern Territory is named after him.

Arthur Conan Doyle, who created Sherlock Holmes, visited Australia in 1920 as part of a five-month speaking tour in Australia and New Zealand. While Sherlock Holmes is the ultimate rational character, ironically his creator was here giving lectures on spiritualism.

Sydney also offers guided tours of the Writers Walk, something I plan to do the next time we visit.
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Take Two

4/24/2018

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PictureCanberra, the capital city of Australia
During a LONG break from Rose’s Red Pen, I found myself living in Canberra, Australia. After a few months of acclimation, I wondered whether I should pick up my pen again and blog about editing, books, and writing in a new country.


I realized that editors’ eyes spot the same problems the world over—even Down Under.

Spelling is always a challenge.
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All those “n’s”! All those “a’s”! It’s exhausting to figure out where they go. Far too exhausting to finish that final “a.”

Homophones—words that sound the same but are spelled differently—are another headache, especially when apostrophes are involved.
How did I end up owning an "ours"?
Don't feed the kangaroo's what?
As it is name implies?
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Closely related words can cause
confusion too.

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And a clever pun is worth noting the world over.


There’s still plenty to write about. While I’m in Australia, this blog will cover topics like differences between Aussie English and American, books by Australian writers, and literary landmarks and events. I hope you’ll join me on this journey.

For more on life in Australia in general, I’ve also launched a companion blog called A Rose in Oz.

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Meditation for Writers

7/21/2016

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While meditation is a healthy practice in general, it’s particularly helpful for writers.

Meditation increases activity in the parts of the brain related to creativity, allowing writers to process information, make new connections, and generate ideas. (Interestingly enough, boredom has a similar effect on creativity.) Because meditation shifts brain activity to the left frontal cortex and away from the areas responsible for fear and stress, it creates greater calm, less fatigue, and less “noise” from one’s inner critic—all enhancing creativity.

Try this exercise to see the effect of meditation on your writing.

Sit or lie comfortably and close your eyes. For two to three minutes, breathe naturally and try to empty your mind. Pay attention to how your body moves as the air comes in and out. Notice how your chest, shoulders, rib cage, and belly feel with each breath. If your mind wanders, bring it back to your breathing.

After the meditation, imagine a room. When you look at the walls, what do you see? When you look down at the floor, what do you see? What’s the air like in the room? Now look around the room. Is any physical object in the room? If so, what is it? Now, is there a person in the room? If so, what does the person look like? Where is the person in the room? What is the person doing?

A few minutes of daily meditation can help unlock your creativity—and it’s good for you too.

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Getting Past the Clutter: Intervening Phrases and Subject-Verb Agreement

7/7/2016

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Although a previous post explained the Proximity Rule to determine if a verb is singular or plural, sometimes intervening phrases can confuse people when it comes to subject-verb agreement.

Look at this sentence: The bag of lemon drops costs/cost more than she expected. Should the verb be “costs” or “cost”? Since the subject “bag” is singular, the singular verb “costs” is correct. The number of subjects remains the same in spite of the intervening phrase “of lemon drops.”

A sample of intervening phrases includes:

  • Of
  • As well as
  • Along with
  • Such as
  • In addition to
  • For the
  • Instead of
  • Not the
To avoid confusion, look past the clutter of phrases. Focus on the subject of the sentence to determine whether the verb should be singular or plural. In the sentences below, the intervening phrases do not affect the number of subjects.
  • The cause of recent floods has been poor drainage.
  • The caffeine in coffee as well as sodas triggers migraines.
  • Regular exercises along with yoga prevent injuries.
  • Drinking water instead of juices leads to better dental health.
Remember, ignore the surrounding clutter in a sentence and focus on the subject to determine whether the verb should be singular or plural.
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Strangers in the Night Exercise

6/23/2016

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Stuck on something to write? Or just bored while waiting in line? Either way, try this writing exercise.

First, observe a stranger out in public (not necessarily at night). Jot down the details of the person’s appearance and dress. How does that person gesture or move? If you hear the person talking, how does he or she speak?

Next, use your imagination and ask yourself the following questions. Where was this person an hour before you saw them? What was he or she doing then? What will this person do an hour from now? What is he or she thinking about as you watch them? What desires currently drive this person’s life? Write down these details and then write a general paragraph about the person.

Now observe another stranger and do the same thing described above for the first person.

Here’s the best part. Write a brief scene (250 to 500 words) in which these two characters interact with each other. You can decide if they already know each other or not.

Whether you write more than one scene is up to you, but if nothing else, this exercise will spark your creative impulses and give you practice in creating characters.

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