Fairies
All boys will like you: Fiorenze’s fairy
Bacon: Ensures your bacon is always cooked just how you like it.
Bladder: You never need to go in the middle of a movie and when you do need to go there’s always a bathroom around.
Cat: All cats like you even if they bite or scratch everyone else
Charisma: A fairy that seems to mostly hang out with Ours; or maybe they become Ours because they have this fairy
Clean-clothes: No one will ever spill spaghetti on your white sweater again. Boring but useful.
Clothes shopping: Rochelle’s fairy. I am so jealous.
Dog: All dogs like you even if they bite or pee on everyone else
Ears like a fox: The existence of this fairy is only rumoured. Oddly enough only teachers and parents seem to have it.
Eyes in the back of the head: Another rumoured fairy, which is also supposedly possessed only by teachers and parents.
Footpath: Your guess is as good as mine
Good hair: This would also be nice
Good skin: As would this
Good story fairy: Even when bad things happen to you this fairy turns them into an excellent story. When a writer has this fairy they always get great ideas, which is not that fabulous given that writing the good ideas is the hard part, not getting them.
Grip: Danders Anders’ fairy: whatever he picks up stays in his hands until he decides to let it go.
Jukebox: Waverly Burnham-Stone’s fairy
Knowing-what-your-children-are-up-to: Charlie’s mum’s fairy
Loose change finding: One of the most common fairies
Monkey: All monkeys like you even if they bite or scratch or fling poo at everyone else
Never being late: This sounds a bit more like a curse than a blessing
Never getting cold: Another fairy I’d love to have
Never getting lost: I’ve met a couple of people with this one. Dead useful.
Parking: Charlie’s fairy. Something only crazy car-loving types would want.
Photogenic: The fairy that means you look great in every photo ever taken of you
Serving (tennis): Sandra’s fairy
Setting-students-on-fire: There’s no proof this fairy actually exists.
Sleep: I’m not sure about this fairy. I really enjoy sleeping, but on the other hand, being able to get by with little or no sleep without being cranky or hallucinating or having accidents—that’d be good. Think how many more books I could write a year!
Stealing: The Burnham-Stone family fairy. Definitely dodgy.
Surfer: With this fairy you can catch any wave.
- How to Ditch Your Fairy
- Magic or Madness Trilogy
- Daughters of Earth
- The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction
Blog
- January is writing advice month (sticky post) Updated
[UPDATE: I'll be answering questions about the process of writing only. No questions about publishing. Thanks!]
I am working on organising my writing process posts so that they’re more accessible. In so doing I discovered that there are several different writing posts I’ve promised, but haven’t gotten around to. Someone wanted me to write about …
- An amazing test
- JWAM Reader request no. 4: On getting published
- About those South African cricket quotas
- JWAM reader request no. 3: How to get unstuck
- Categories
- more...
Archives
Newsletter
Appearances
24 Feb 2009, 6:30PM
Australian launch of How To Ditch Your Fairy
Readings Carlton
309 Lygon St,
Carlton, Victoria
28 Feb-2 March 2009
Perth Writer’s Festival
Perth, Western Australia
Interviews
In which I am IMterviewed by my husband and silliness ensues (December 2008).
Cynthia Leitich Smith updates her 2006 interview with me (October 2008).
Bookpage interview (September 2008).
Mini Bio
I’m a Sydney girl what writes novels, is obsessed with cricket, and travels way too much.
My next novel, How To Ditch Your Fairy, will be out from Bloomsbury Books in September 2008.
For more info about me there’s a whole bunch of interviews here plus my FAQ.

