Hiya, JJ!
Of course! Anything is possible for you, dear! Just finished autographing it and it will be in the mail to you Tuesday morning. Thanks for ordering it!
I absolutely LOVE your accent. Can't wait for the four of us gals (and whoever else wants to join us!) to get together at Book 'Em. We're going to have a blast!
Trish

huh...what accent?

JJ

pssst Trish - JJ, doesn't think she has an accent, the rest of US talk funny - just play along, OK

Oops. Mum's the word.

Thank you, Dotsie! I really have been fortunate, being able to call upon so many people with varying expertise. When I wrote the scene of Kit being arrested and brought through the jail, I even had the good fortune to work with two police officers (one is now Assistant Chief of Police) who took me through the entire booking process. So the inside of the jail is exactly as it really is in real life...

Hi! I have a different question... about talking with publishers...I've been submitting picture book manuscripts and getting past the slush pile -yesterday I got a long, encouraging, personal letter from a publisher with lots of good comments about my writing and a couple of specific reasons why it didn't quite "make it". Should I take that as an invitation to revise the manuscript and send it again? (She didn't return my manuscript - I wondered why?) Also, the picture book market here is very small - is it healthier over there?

Hi, Speakermom and Julie!
Great questions.
Speakermom, the difference between science fiction and fantasy, in a nutshell: science fiction is based in part on science. Literally. If you study Isaac Asimov's books (he's considered the father of science fiction) much of it is based on technology and futuristic events.
Fantasy, on the other hand, can involve no technology whatsoever and be based in any time period. "Lord of the Rings", for example, reminds me of the middle ages and is not futuristic.
There are other themes as well... science fiction often involves robots, futuristic modes of transportation, etc. (i.e., Star Wars)

Julie: congratulations on receiving a personal letter from the publisher. That almost never happens. The fact that she took the time to do that means your writing is very good. I would weigh each of her suggestions, and if you agree with them, revise it and definitely send it to her again, with a cover letter thanking her for the suggestions and stating that you made those revisions. It couldn't hurt!
As to why she didn't return the manuscript... did you send her a self addressed, stamped envelope?
I agree that the picture book market is very small. I don't know how it compares between Australia and the U.S.

Are there any readers out there who have some suggestions for Julie regarding the picture book market?

Just a clarification on the above: when I said fantasy "can" involve no technology, the correct word should have been "might" involve no technology...

Julie, congrats. Keep on trucking girlfriend. You're almost there.

Trish, do you have an agent? If so, how did you acquire him/her?