On Thursday, the magnificent Meg Riley and I caught up with the lovely folks at Dymocks for a book signing at their Adelaide store!

We signed copies of ‘Casey Keys and Her Powerful Sneeze!’ and (of course) snapped a few pictures before an author/illustrator catch up at Script & Bean (is there any better idea than a cafe inside a book store!?).

When my boys were little, a favourite treat for us was a train ride into the city, have some lunch, a walk and pick up a picturebook or two from Dymocks in the Mall.

While I’m the only one in the family still buying picturebooks (and we are more likely to take the car than the train these days) the ritual still remains one of our favourites.

It’s a treat to see Casey in the wild, and especially meaningful to see it in stores we love so much like the glamorous Dymocks Adelaide! 😎

Wednesday 13th May saw the launch event (I’m calling it a party because it absolutely was) for ‘Casey Keys and her Powerful Sneeze!’ at the beautiful Prospect Library.

Meg and I were totally blown away (see what I did there?) by the work of Summar Hipworth and the amazing team at Little Book Press in putting together such a fun event.

There were cupcakes, bubblewands, picnic blankets and big Casey displays to welcome families into the space, which was a real treat to see! I’m still hoping to inherit one of the displays, maybe after it visits a bookstore or two – who knows?

We were lucky enough to piggyback on to the weekly storytime at the Library, so it was awesome to have such a gathering of story appreciators and special guests at the event. Meg’s read-aloud was a lot of fun, and it was lovely to see the children react to Casey’s super sneezes!

Andy Joyner was my mentor on Casey Keys, and I am so glad that he was there too. Andy is a legend. He is just as bright, fun and generous as his illustrations and I consider myself extremely lucky to have had his expertise close at hand while working on this book!

The James and Diana Ramsay Foundation (who funded the mentorship program with Little Book Press) made the occassion extra special by gifting each family a copy of the book! It was an unexpected treat that topped things off beautifully.

When all was said and done, the kids made off like bandits! Cupcakes, bubble wands, pinwheels and copies of ‘Casey Keys and her Powerful Sneeze!’.

It absolutely WAS a party.

You can buy ‘Casey Keys and her Powerful Sneeze!’ from the Little Book Press website here.

Casey Keys and her Powerful Sneeze! is officially available today through Little Book Press!

It’s a double debut, for Meg Riley as author and myself as Illustrator, as recipients of the Little Book Press mentorship program for 2025 – with support from the James and Diana Ramsay foundation.

I’m incredibly thankful to have worked with editor extraordinaire Alyson O’Brien and to have had the amazing Andy Joyner as my mentor on this book! Design was by the wonderful Hannah Janzen.

You can grab a copy of Casey Keys and her Powerful Sneeze! from the Little Book Press website or in person from your local book store.

Yay! After a long hiatus, I’ve relaunched my website. If you are here, I trust it’s not by accident and I hope you find value in my scribbles and occasional ramblings!

I’m also excited to share that in the last fortnight, I’ve sent off final artwork for my first picture book with Little Book Press! It’s been a fantastic experience and I can’t wait to share more about what I’ve been working on.