Meet The Author - Cynthia Collins
Meet The Author - Cynthia Collins
Hi there – my name is Cynthia Collins and I am an author of children’s books.
I began my journey way back in the 90’s, a little way into my teaching career. Most of the stuff I wrote back then was to support curriculum in the classroom. I used to write poems, raps and songs. The kids really loved helping me write songs that included their names. At the time, despite trying, I didn’t experience success as far as traditional publishing was concerned-success was to come quite a way down the track. I don’t think I was very resilient back then and, although I kept writing to support my classroom teaching and school events, I temporarily gave up my dream of having my work published.
Into the Future
I retired from teaching last October after a fulfilling career spanning around 37 years. They say that you will be busier than ever after you retire. Well, I have found this to be true. It is a different kind of busy, but an exciting time of life!
Osty Is Born
Sitting in front of my fireplace, one cold winters day in Stanthorpe, my hometown, an idea formed in my head. I’m not sure where it came from… But it is the same for many story ideas that I have. I began thinking about how people sometimes bury their head in the sand, pretending a situation doesn’t exist, which led me to thinking about ostriches and how folklore would suggest that this is what they do. All of a sudden, alliteration and rhyme came together to form “Ostentatious Ostrich” a rhyming picture book, with an underlying theme of kindness, collaboration and helping others. Each page was carefully constructed to include language features and themes to support classroom curriculum in a fun and entertaining way.
Next Steps
I didn’t have the first clue about how to magically turn my story into a book that I could actually hold. Someone mentioned that I should look into the Self- publishing Course through Little Ivory Haus. This step-by-step course and the very supportive private Facebook group really helped me to understand the self publishing process and gave me the confidence to give it a go myself.
Stick figures or not?
Now, I’m not much of an artist – my books would be filled with stick figures if I did the illustrations! After some research, I found the wonderful Janet Turner from Brisbane. Her portrayal of the characters Ostentatious and Gally Ant were amazing and really complimented my rhyming story.
In addition to Janet, I have been incredibly fortunate to work with my editor, Elizabeth Gilmore. Our collaboration has been invaluable, allowing us to thoughtfully refine ideas and bring my stories to life.
It's Finally Here!
Ostentatious Ostrich was released in January and is available through wonderwhirlbooks.com.au. The sequel has been written and is currently undergoing the final editing. My manuscript is booked in for Janet Turner to do the illustrations later on this year. Once again, the story, this time with an environmental theme, is designed to be an invaluable resource in the classroom.
Here, There and Everywhere
These days, I am away from home more often than I am there. While I do love the little town of Stanthorpe, I feel incredibly privileged to be able to travel, caring for people’s homes and their pets. I have completed house sits from far North Queensland all the way down to Tasmania.
House and pet sitting has given me a wealth of experiences—meeting wonderful people, discovering new places, and finding lots of inspiration for writing even more stories for children.
Follow my journey:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wonderwhirlbooks/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wonderwhirlbooks
Web: https://wonderwhirlbooks.com.au/
