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Supporting Australian authors. The works listed have not been reviewed, edited or published by AJC publishing, unless stated.

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Rain Shaker

Author Name

Book Cover - Rain Shaker

Details

Author name: Elizabeth Mary Cummings

Book title: Rain Shaker

Genre: Picture Book

Launch date: Wednesday 7th October 2020

Website: https://elizabethmarycummings.com/

Buy links

Summary

When Erin finds a snow-shaker she embarks in a magical journey of possibility. In a world of droughts and floods where water won’t behave, Erin’s imagination shakes things up and shows her that she can help make a better world.

Theme

When Erin finds a snow-shaker she embarks in a magical journey of possibility. In a world of droughts and floods where water won’t behave, Erin’s imagination shakes things up and shows her that she can help make a better world.

Let's talk about it

Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.

I love theatre and have been in several drama groups over the years including a local French theatre where I was the only English-speaking member. It was great for me to keep up my French language skills (I used to teach French) but improvising in a foreign language is really hard! Luckily the group were awesome and so good at giving me confidence to challenge myself with this!

Why did you choose these themes in your book and were you aware of them from the outset?

I chose the theme of climate change as I am passionate about this and want to get conversations started and encourage children so that they feel they can get in on the conversation too. They have the power to make things happen and I believe that if we demonstrate our confidence in them, they can lead the way with making a commitment to a positive future. We can learn so much form our young people and Rain Shaker is a narrative that gives hope as well as making a stand for the inclusion of children in this important conversation.

How difficult was it for you to write this book? Did you face any obstacles?

This concept for this book came easily but the formation of the story took time – it was tricky to decide whether I was going to set the story squarely in Australia or have it as a story between countries as the theme is climate change.

Do you always write in this genre or do you like to break out of the box?

I write in several genres, picture books, poetry, and early readers as well as the YA novel I am working on. It really depends on what I am wanting to write about that drives where the story will sit in terms of genre rather than the need to write to a certain audience.

What are your writing habits or idiosyncrasies?

I love compiling playlists to go with the mood of the narrative I am working on and I like to go and sit outdoors with my laptop to write when I am working on a first draft of a scene.

What’s next for your writing?

I am editing my first YA novel about two girls and their quest to perform live on stage. It is a coming of age story about friendship, families ties and touches on the topic of mental health. I am also working on a picture book environmental series. I have a couple of people in UK and Europe with whom I am preparing some collaborative works and another little picture book in my Verityville series is due out early next year.

Author Bio

Headshot of author Elizabeth Mary Cummings

Elizabeth Mary Cummings was born in Manchester, educated in Scotland and has lived in ‘down under’ Australia and New Zealand for many years. Starting her professional life as a primary school teacher, Elizabeth enjoyed a varied teaching career, including teaching in both the public and independent sectors, working with refuges and specialising in special needs and language teaching. When she moved to Australia in 2008 Elizabeth developed and ran a language business before becoming a writer. Her stories often take a child’s perspective to explain the world and reflect on important life experiences including themes of resilience, grief, equality, the natural environment, kindness, empowerment, anti-bullying and mental health. Elizabeth has also set up an independent publishing company called EC Press.

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