Author Interview: Deb Fitzpatrick

Deb Fitzpatrick is a West Australian author who I have had the pleasure of meeting a number of times. Her debut novel, 90 Packets of Instant Noodles, is a refreshing story about 16-year-old Joel, who is sent to live in a bush shack for 90 days after making some poor life choices. It is a story about peer pressure, but also about how sometimes, it's not too late to change your ways.

90 Packets was named a Notable Book for Older Readers by the Children’s Book Council of Australia in 2011, as was her second novel, Have Your Seen Ally Queen? in 2012. Deb's third book, The Amazing Spencer Gray, is her first middle grade story and will be out May 2013.

Please welcome Deb Fitzpatrick to The Tales Compendium for Aussie Author Month!

I was the kind of kid who… talked in class so much I was often told off. I was also the kind of kid whose hand went up hard and fast to be the first to answer the teacher's questions. Also the kind of kid who just missed out on the netball team – every time.
 

My mother always told me… "Money doesn't make you happy."
 

The biggest lesson I learnt at school was… that I could write.

My first big crush was… on the fish 'n' chips guy in Kalbarri when I was about 14. I think I wrote him a love letter when I got home to Perth. Poor guy.

I earnt my first pay cheque… at my local newsagency, where I worked on Thursday nights and Saturday mornings in high school. It was a family business and they really looked after me.

I really hate it when… There are so many ways I could finish this sentence it disturbs me! But I'll just choose one: when people tailgate. It's an accident waiting to happen, for nothing.

I’m very good at… talking too much.

The hardest thing I’ve ever done… was spend four years living in a shack with no phone and no internet connection in the cloud forest in Costa Rica while my husband did his PhD research there. The first two years nearly killed me; the last two made me.
 

I’m frightened of… someone doing something bad to one of my kids.
 

When I’m in the shower I sing… a lot. My kids beg me to stop.
 

My road to publication was… being shortlisted for the 2006 TAG Hungerford Award. I didn't win, but it opened up so many doors for me. I'm forever grateful.
 

The last book I read was… "The House of Fiction" by Susan Swingler, about Elizabeth Jolley's family.
 

I would love to meet… Tim Winton, and have a bottle of good wine with him over a very long chat.
 

When I get the munchies I eat… cheese and biscuits.
 

I’m currently working on… a YA novel.
 

I hope I never… become a snob, or get too big for my boots, or lose my mind, or stop writing.

Life is… incredible – and scary, if you think about it for too long. And way, way too short.

Thankyou so much for being part of Aussie Author Month, Deb!

Deb's Website

Deb on Goodreads

My review of 90 Packets of Instant Noodles

My review of Have You Seen Ally Queen?

Have You Seen Ally Queen? by Deb Fitzpatrick

Title: Have You Seen Ally Queen?
Author: Deb Fitzpatrick

Release Date: 1st September 2011

My Rating: 3/5

Blurb:

Ally Queen is fifteen, flat-chested and totally trapped in a tiny coastal town where the Killer Pythons are stale and there are only three types of people: bogans, surfies and spinach-munching hippies. How could her parents ever have thought moving to Melros was a good idea?

With her best friend miles away, and deep-and-meaningfuls only as long as a text message, it's a bad time for Ally to be having a personality crisis. She's torn between who she is and who she wants to be. No wonder she doesn't have a boyfriend - unless you count the irritating guy on the school bus who seems to be keen on her.

But first impressions can be deceptive...

In A Nutshell:
A realistic and relevant book for girls aged 13+ set in a fictional West Australian coastal town.

My Review:
Poor Ally Queen. At fifteen, she is struggling with the feelings of how unfair being a teenager can be when you don’t have control over your life. Her parents have uprooted her, and her little brother Jerry, to live in a small coastal town an hour south of Perth, Western Australia. Not only does she have to change schools, but she has to adjust to a whole new way of living.

For Ally, all she sees is that she has been pulled away from everything she is used to and separated from her friends. She doesn’t care about why they have moved or what the so-called benefits of living in Melros are, she just concentrates on the fact that she hates it.

Fifteen is a difficult, awkward and confusing time for a girl and Ally really struggles with feeling so out of place, especially since her family appears to be fitting in so well. She’s emotional and lashes out at those around her, even when she tries not to.

Ally is actually pretty unlikeable initially. She is selfish and whines all the time about how much she hates her life and how it’s all her parent’s fault. That said, I would be just as annoyed if my parents forced me to leave my home town and move somewhere where I didn’t know anyone. As a teenager, it’s often difficult to look beyond yourself and consider others, especially when the reasons for the change are not fully explained to you, as in Ally’s case.

The novel looks at how people deal with change and has Ally trying to cope with being bullied at her new school. It looks at how a family is affected and tries to manage with a loved one who is suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The setting was beautifully written and it was nice to read a book set in areas I know (I live in Perth, the city were Ally has moved from) and many of the locations that are talked about I am quite familiar with. One of the only things that annoyed me was that I thought some of the language Ally used was a little bit too stereotypically Australian which I don’t necessarily think a city girl would use.

Overall, a realistic and relevant book for girls aged 13+


Also by Deb Fitzpatrick: 90 Packets of Instant Noodles

90 Packets of Instant Noodles by Deb Fitzpatrick

Title: 90 Packets of Instant Noodles
Author: Deb Fitzpatrick

Release Date: 31st May 2010

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:

Joel and Craggs are in it together. They drink booze together, they flirt with petty theft together and, when Craggs turns violent, they face the consequences together too. That’s until Joel’s dad makes a deal with the police. Craggs is off to juvenile detention and Joel to solitary confinement. Ninety days of fending for himself in a remote bush shack with no radio, telephone or fridge.

Miles from anywhere, Joel starts to like his own company, till one day the past tracks him down. Craggs is on his doorstep and he hasn’t changed a bit.

My Review:
90 Packets of Instant Noodles is refreshing story about 16-year old Joel, who has made some bad decisions in life. It is a novel primarily about peer pressure but also about how sometimes, it's not too late to change your ways. Told from Joel's point of view, we see the negative impact having a certain type of friend can have and the difficulty of cutting the ties of friendship. How far do the bonds of mate-ship go? When is it finally time to say 'enough'?

Joel, stuck in an isolated bush shack south of Perth, Western Australia, and comforted only by weekly letters from his girlfriend Bella, rather revealing letters from his dad, and a pesky fox he has christened 'Foxy', is at first miserable and angry at his dad for such an arrangement. He soon realises though, what a blessing the forced isolation is and discovers his own self worth. He realises that his life doesn't have to disappear down the toilet and end up in jail like his friends Craggs and Sull.

Just when he thinks everything is going to be alright though, Craggs shows up and is ready to get back to their old ways, starting with the remote town that has semi-befriended Joel since the start of his three month exile. While the good in Joel had just been buried for a while and he wasn't 'too far gone' , Craggs's time in juvenile detention only made things worse and fuelled the fire burning inside him.

Craggs has no desire to change and wants to drag his friends along for the ride. He needs someone else to be running amok with him because if he's not doing it alone then it has to be ok. How can Joel escape from this kind of friend when he knows how Craggs will lash out? The fear holds him back and that is exactly how Joel ends up in the shack in the first place, when Craggs goes too far and Joel doesn't do anything to stop him. Joel had even developed a stutter over the years because of his unconscious fear and nervousness of Craggs.

I really liked Joel's dad. He is a good guy who really wants to help his son. I like how their relationship gets stronger throughout the book even through the circumstances are not ideal. Same with Bella, she brought out the other side of Joel, the good side, and it was somewhat due to her that Joel wanted to turn his life around.

90 Packets does contain quite a bit of swearing as well as some drug use but aside from this, and the obvious unsavoury behaviour, I think this would be a good text for upper high school students to study. You can find Teachers Notes, courtesy of Fremantle Press, here.

A Night With Our Stars and Give-Away!

Last night, I went along to the CBCA's A Night With Our Stars, a showcase of West Australian authors and illustrators published in 2010. Along with my friend Julie, and Danni from The Book Nerd Club, we listened to just over twenty authors who each had three minutes to talk about their books. The speakers who were highlights for me were YA authors Shirley Marr, AJ Betts and Deb Fitzpatrick, as well as Elaine Forrestal, Sally Murphy, Meg McKinlay and Cristy Burne who write for younger readers.


Shirley Marr and Deb Fitzpatrick


AJ Betts

After the talks we were able to mingle with the authors and have books signed and I also got to catch up with some friends from my bookshops days (that makes me sound old!). I finally got to meet Shirley Marr and AJ Betts whose books, Fury and Wave Length, I reviewed last year and I got their books signed. Deb Fitzpatrick, author of 90 Packets of Instant Noodles, also signed a copy of her book for me which I am very much looking forward to reading. Unfortunately Kate McCaffrey, the author of Destroying Avalon, In Ecstasy and Beautiful Monster, wasn't able to make it which was unfortunate as I really wanted to meet her and have my books signed.


It was a wonderful evening and I got to meet some very lovely people. I was also lucky enough to have photos with both Shirley Marr and AJ Betts who were both SO nice. I still find it daunting introducing myself and meeting authors and I was so glad I didn't get star-struck and tongue tied this time. Danni put it perfectly saying "meeting authors is right up there with meeting rockstars". I idolise them both.


I would like to make a special mention of the venue for the evening, Westbooks. If you haven't already visited this fantastic store, you should. It has an amazing selection of children's and YA books with a small amount of adult titles as well. It's like the opposite of a regular book store, kids and teens have the majority here! I hadn't been there before but I will definitely be making a return visit.


GIVE-AWAY!
As a special treat, I got extra copies of Fury, 90 Packets and Wave Length all SIGNED as give-aways.

The give-away is open INTERNATIONALLY until 11th April 2011. All three authors are from Perth, Australia so would be perfect for the Aussie YA Reading Challenge.

There are three simple steps:
1. You must be a follower
2. Tell others about this give-away, either in a blog post or by placing the give-away button on your blog
3. Leave a comment under this post with the link to where you have 'spread the word'