Welcome to Author Services Australia, Shelly Higgs, and welcome to our author interviews! If you could start by introducing yourself to everyone, let them know where you’re from and some of your interests and hobbies.
My name is Shelly Higgs. I have just released my first picture book, Poppy’s Monster. I live in Canberra with my husband, four children, and a menagerie of pets. My background is as a theatre director and dramaturg. I spend a lot of time wrangling other people’s words, and I love dealing with characters, relationships, and story. I have just directed my first feature film and finished a postgrad in psychology, and lately you’ll find me touring schools and chatting about Poppy’s Monster and running workshops on anxiety.
What inspired you to start writing?
I’ve always been a storyteller, and I’ve always loved writing. In high school, I tried to write a novel and a screenplay, but I eventually ran out of steam. Since then, writing for me has stuck to poetry that helps me process the things I’m feeling, and very random journal entries. For a long time, I thought writing was only something I could do with other people, so all my first works were co-written plays. It wasn’t until much later that I realised perhaps it was the medium that needed to change. I wrote Poppy’s Monster in response to a moment in my own life and realised how much I loved the form, and it helped me find my voice and what I wanted to say.
What is your preferred genre to write in?
Children’s anything. Picture books, junior, and middle grade. I have plays and TV shows in my head too – I don’t know why I’m so interested, except perhaps I find it most comfortable getting in touch with my 10-year-old self.
What is your writing process?
I used to wait for inspiration, and certainly, a bolt of an idea is where all my stories start. You will find a bunch of half-finished notes in my phone with very random thoughts, but sometimes they’re persistent, and it’s great for me to flesh them out. Recently, as I have started to commit to writing, I try to be a lot more disciplined. I will write each day, or read what I’ve written already, or I’ll give myself exercises to do to give me some new ideas if I feel stuck. This discipline helps me get on a roll, and with picture books, particularly, they get on the page pretty quickly. With longer form works, there usually seems to be a part of the process where I need to put everything I’ve written on the wall – this helps me visualise and structure the story (which is something I always do when I work as a dramaturg), but then it may take a few weeks or months to formulate it all in my head before I finish the draft.
What is one thing you wish you knew now that you didn’t know when you started writing?
That there isn’t one right way to write. That everyone has something to say. Write what matters to you, and it will matter to other people.
Who are some of your favorite authors?
I read so eclectically, it’s hard to name favourites. I guess I have always been very influenced by the classics. I love words. I love literature. I love reading books that reflect different times. Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Silvia Plath, Harper Lee, Emily Dickinson, Margaret Atwood…
What are you working on right now?
A middle grade creative non-fiction – Anxiety is a Cupcake and He Lives in My Brain. I’m so excited to get this book out in the world – it uses a whole bunch of things I learnt in my psychology degree and puts it in a digestible form for kids, empowering them to understand and help manage their anxiety.
I’m also about to start a creative non-fiction project with The Sydney Children’s Hospital, which I’m really looking forward to.
How do you handle a bad review?
I haven’t had much experience in getting reviews for my writing yet. But for theatre, I just ignore them and take the bits I like from the good ones. Occasionally, they might actually say something useful – in which case I take that on and forget the rest.
What’s next for you as an author?
To establish myself, hopefully. To write more. To get more books published. To continue the journey.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
That’s a great question! Hopefully, with many more books under my belt, and more in the works. Having visited numerous schools running workshops on anxiety. And creatively, perhaps I’ll have moved on to creating a TV show by then!
If you could choose one superpower, what would it be and why?
To time travel (as an observer), so I could see and experience more.
What are some of the items on your bucket list?
Most of my bucket list items have to do with travel; To visit Antarctica, see the Pyramids, to hike in Japan and NZ, to travel by train from Paris to Italy through the Alps with my daughter, to illustrate my book, to create an uplifting whimsical film, to make a site-specific play, to turn my books into plays. ~ Thanks so much for taking the time to do an author interview, Shelly!
Check out where you can buy Shelly Higgs books below and how to follow Shelly Higgs on social media. If you would like to do an author interview or have questions about our author features, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
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Author Name: Shelly Higgs
Genre/s: Children’s Books
Author Website: https://www.shellyhiggs.com
Social Media Links: Instagram
Best Link to Where People Can Buy Your Book: The Book Cow – Poppy’s Monster
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At Author Services Australia, we support Australian, New Zealand, and International self-published authors and writers with a full range of affordable self-publishing services, including ghostwriting, copyediting, developmental editing, proofreading, ebook and paperback formatting, book cover design, book cover reveal videos, children’s book illustrations, graphic design services, manuscript uploading assistance, Amazon KDP keyword and category research, and social media and marketing.
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