At the risk of being terribly self-centred, today’s object is not one I discovered in a museum, street or gallery. Instead, it arrived by post from the United Kingdom. A box of books. My books. Not just books I own, but books I wrote. I wonder if there any moments more precious than these, for a writer. The first sight of your very own baby. Printed, bound, posted.
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Isn’t she beautiful? I can’t take any credit for how beautiful she is. The credit for that goes entirely to the folk at Tartarus Press, in particular the luminous talents of Ray Russell and Rosalie Parker, and Timothy Parker Russell (who supplied the elegantly beautiful cover illustration).
I’m not sure that the glorious orange of the hardcover is done justice in this photograph. In reality it’s as rich and golden as a dream. I didn’t know it would be orange – and I’m so delighted. It seems like a beautiful twinkling of good fortune that this is the colour the publishers would have chosen for a book being published while I am in the Netherlands. Land of the Oranges.
You can read an extract from Rupetta on Tartarus Press website here.
Or find details about the publication, including how to buy a copy, here.
Oh, and would you like to receive a gift in the post? If so, you can go into the draw to win a signed copy of the book simply by responding to this post and telling me about your favourite object, idea or person associated with the colour orange.
Hi Nike,
I am so excited for you. How thrilling that must be. I am in extreme excitement about getting my copy sent over.
As for the orange thing … I really ad to think for a while there but it definitely has to be my nephew. He doesn’t like his hands getting dirty or slimy but when it came to oranges he couldn’t get enough. As he got older it remained his favorite snack, so much so that we found him in the pantry biting through them skin and all. He must have only been four or five then, and his little accent in how he says orange, I still find myself saying it that way now.
Enjoy your box of books, you’ve worked so long and hard on Rupetta, Im so glad that it is such a beautiful book outside to reflect the inside 🙂
Neen
Hi Neen,
Thanks for sharing your ‘orange’ story 🙂 What an adorable memory of your nephew, that has grown and changed as he has. And how the way he said orange has stayed with you. I love the sense of affection in your description, and do hope you get to share oranges with him again soon!
Congratulations on getting another book published Nike! I can’t wait to read it.
When I think of orange I think of the measuring cups that were used for the clockless afternoons of cooking with my mum when I was a pre-schooler. They wouldn’t even get picked up for 10c at a garage sale now – they’re made of cheap plastic and the edges are rough with three decades use, but when I see them in the third draw down on my annual interstate trip home I’m instantly transported to sitting in sunlight on the yellow benchtop of my childhood kitchen crunching a full sized measuring cup through a box of cornflakes and spilling white sugar into a half sized measuring cup to make Honey Joys.
This memory is in the top 3 dominant images I have of what I want being a mother to be like, and now that my partner and I are house-hunting for the house that we will hopefully have our first child in, I always look at the kitchens through that lens – could we have a yellowy-orangey Honey Joy making afternoon in this kitchen?
Hi Beth
Thanks for dropping by and sharing your ‘orange’ person story! I love these images of cooking with your mum as a little girl, and of you now ‘shopping’ for a home that will provide an echo of that special happiness. I hope you find the perfect kitchen for Honey Joys and happy smiles!