Gabi, how are you and Poppy similar, and how are you different?
Poppy is much braver than I would ever be. She lived in a time where you had to be brave. In the 1860’s there were not the comforts of today and there were many dangers out on the road like bushrangers. Poppy likes to ride horses and so do I. And Poppy loves her dog Fisher, like I love my dog, Hero.
If Poppy were around today, what would she do on Saturday mornings?
Poppy would read a book while she’s having breakfast. She’s reading Tiger in the Bush. Then she would go outside and climb a tree. The tree looks over into her best friend, Noni’s back yard. She would call out to Noni, and together they would get on their bikes and go on an all-day adventure to the beach.
When you sat down to start your OAG books, what was the first sentence you wrote?
I don’t remember what my first sentence was. I plotted all the Poppy books out in one sitting so it would have been something like, ‘Poppy lives at an Aboriginal mission near Echuca’. It sounds boring doesn’t it? Of course you can’t begin a novel like that. Nobody would read past the first page. It is only after a lot of research is done and some rough drafts are complete that I begin to try and make the sentences sing.
What’s one thing you wish you could do really well but have always been too timid to try?
Gliding. I would love to have the feeling of being completely free, soaring in the sky with only the wind to carry me. I have tried hang gliding and was really scared when I had to jump off the cliff. But I didn’t go very far and I was with a friend. I think gliding would be different. I could be up in the clouds for hours.
Gabi, do you have one piece of advice for OAGs everywhere?
If you want to be really good at something you need to practise. Talent is only a small part of it. If you have a passion, then practise that passion every day.