Hello. I’m Sarah. Big Magic and its sequel Magic Awry are my first books for young readers and I had a lot of fun writing them (more fun, I have to admit, than I had writing my three novels for adults).
I write at a desk looking over my wild, subtropical garden (or in my bed) with my dog Louise close by, and I drink far too much tea while I work.
‘Magic Awry’ – the sequel to ‘Big Magic’
Eleven-year old Tulsi loves using the Big Magic she’s inherited from her mother. But one night, in the middle of her family’s spectacular circus show, something goes wrong with her magic powers - with frightening results.
Tulsi is desperate to stop magic from going awry again and must travel to a parallel universe where she discovers that magic is in danger everywhere.
Buy ‘Magic Awry’ at your local bookstore or online.
“Sometimes reading sweeps you away on an adventure and you just can’t stop. This book was my adventure, with all the ingredients of a perfect page-turner: friendship, magic, family and loyalty. I loved it.”
‘Big Magic’
Eleven-year-old Tulsi comes from a long line of women magicians, but her mother has always forbidden her to learn Big Magic. It’s dangerous, thrilling, and powerful – and Tulsi wants it more than anything. But one hot summer’s night, a magic trick goes horribly wrong, and her mother disappears. Only one person can bring her back, and that’s Tulsi.
But first, she’ll have to learn a lifetime’s worth of Big Magic – in just one month. It’s an impossible task, especially when her teacher – her strange grandmother, Sylvie – was long ago banned from doing any Big Magic at all.
Tulsi is determined to save her mum, but does she have what it takes? And where, exactly, has her mother gone?
2023 CBCA Book of the Year Notable
“An earthy, life-shaking tale of real magic and the responsibilities that come with power. Like Harry Potter, it feels like there’s a treat in every paragraph.”
The cover for Big Magic was designed and illustrated by Julia Murray
Fancy some bite-sized, kid-friendly podcasts on writing craft? My writing group and I put out a weekly pod called ‘Five Writers Five Minutes’. Each week we weigh in on a different topic. eg. Raising the Stakes, Writing Exciting Scenes, What To Do When Writing is Hard, and Brainstorming a Story. The five writers are Deborah Abela, Tristan Bancks, Zanni Louise, Lian Tanner and me. And the five minutes sometimes turns into eight, but we do our best to keep it short and sharp! Check us out on YouTube or your favourite podcast streaming service, like Buzzsprout.
There’s something exhilarating about writing a novel and having absolutely no idea where the story is going. Anything is possible and unexpected twists pop up, seemingly out of nowhere. I once read someone describe writing a first draft as groping your way blindfolded through a strange room.