Gabrielle Wang's Magic

Do you get Author crushes? Not for the smouldering photo on the back of the cover, but for authors that write with a style and creativity that you wish you could mirror? I get them all the time (and you usually find out because I rave about my loved authors here). I have a new crush.

Gabrielle Wang was the last speaker at the CYA Conference for writers I attended on the weekend, and, if any of the audience was starting to feel weary by the time she arrived, they quickly livened up. Gabrielle has an enticing manner, she draws you into her world with promises of familiarity, mystery and fantasy.

The conference participants warmed to Gabrielle's stories of childhood as a girl with a Chinese family blending into an Australian community and the stories she would imagine and the pictures she would draw. One of the suggestions Gabrielle makes is to write what you know.  I have earlier posts that scoff at that idea, but have evolved enough to now understand the essence of it is true. You write the emotions you know, the fantasies you've dreamed and the adventures you've experienced (even if they've been second-hand or imagined).

I fell i n love with all of Gabrielle's books and artwork immediately and have already ordered five of her books, including a picture book:

A novel for young chapter readers:

And three novels including one I know I will be stealing from my daughters so I can read too!

Gabrielle had invaluable advice to offer us during that workshop, and we tried a few creative exercises including free writing and a kind of meditation writing with Gabrielle gently guiding us to our own ideas. I got so much out of this experience that I will always be grateful for her time and enthusiasm.

Now I've discovered Gabrielle also has an author website to be envious of! I want one too!

http://www.gabriellewang.com/

If you'd like to hunt down Gabrielle Wang's books, I found Amazon a bit lacking but Fishpond will ship anywhere: