Bernard, Patricia 1942-

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BERNARD, Patricia 1942-

PERSONAL: Born July 6, 1942, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; daughter of Robert and Edith Lack; married Kenneth Bernard, 1964; children: Marcelle, Shona, S'Haila, Tyru. Education: Attended Australian state schools. Hobbies and other interests: Travel, reading, bicycling.

ADDRESSES: Home—54 Birrell St., Queens Park, New South Wales 2022, Australia. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer and lecturer.

MEMBER: Australian Authors Association, Children's Network, Servas, Landmark International.

AWARDS, HONORS: Multicultural Award for Monkey Hill Gold.

WRITINGS:

FOR CHILDREN

We Are Tam, Ashton Scholastic (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1983.

Aida's Ghost, Corgi Books (Neutral Bay, Australia), 1988.

Riddle of the Trumpalar, Scholastic (Gosford, New South Wales, Australia), 1990.

Challenge of the Trumpalar, Scholastic (Gosford, New South Wales, Australia), 1990.

Monkey Hill Gold, Omnibus Books (Norwood, Australia), 1992.

The Outer Space Spy, illustrated by Mike Spoor, Jacaranda Press (Milton, New South Wales, Australia), 1992.

Dream Door of Shinar, illustrated by Garry Fleming, Harcourt (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1992.

Kangaroo Kids, Bantam (Neutral Bay, Australia), 1992.

Jacaranda Shadow, Hodder & Stoughton (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1993.

J. B. and the Worry Dolls, Hodder Headline (Rydalmere, Australia), 1994.

Outerspace Spy, Transworld (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 1994.

Monster Builder, illustrated by Laurie McIntyre, Cool Dude Books (Paddington, New South Wales, Australia), 1996.

Duffy: Everyone's Dog Story (picture book), illustrated by Cathy Netherwood, Random House (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 1997.

Spook Bus, HarperCollins (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 1997.

No Sooks on the Starship, Macmillan (Chippendale, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Wolf-Man, Pizza-Man, Bro-Man, Addison Wesley Longman (Melbourne, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Temple of Apis, 1999.

Rent a Head, 1999.

The Stolen Giant Cheesecake, Cool Dude Books (Paddington, New South Wales, Australia), 2000.

Bladers Rule: Another Blader Gang Book, Scholastic Press (Linfield, New South Wales, Australia, 2001.

Dolphin Magic, Pearson Education Australia (South Melbourne, New South Wales, Australia), 2001.

Marcus the Mighty, illustrated by Penny Azar, Blake Educational (Glebe, New South Wales, Australia), 2001.

Slap, Dash, Smash, 2002.

Cool Dude and Honey Magnet, Pearson Education (South Melbourne, New South Wales, Australia), 2002.

Fords and Flying Machines: The Diary of Jack McLaren, Longreach, 1919–1921, Scholastic Press (Linfield, New South Wales, Australia), 2003.

Stegusaur Stone, Scholastic Press (Linfield, New South Wales, Australia), 2004.

The Mask, Scholastic Press (Linfield, New South Wales, Australia), 2005.

Claw of the Dragon, Scholastic Press (Linfield, New South Wales, Australia), 2006.

OTHER

Sex Is a Deadly Exercise (for adults), Transworld (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 1987.

The Outcast Trilogy (fiction), HarperCollins (Pymble, Australia), Volume 1: The Outcast, 1997, Volume 2: The Punisher, 1997, Volume 3: The Rule Changer, 1998.

Deadly Sister Love (for adults), HarperCollins (Pymble, Australia), 1998.

With the Kama Sutra under My Arm: An Indian Journey, Bluejay Books, 2005.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Gondar Gold, young adult novels; Space Maggots, a science-fiction novel; and Water Woman, an erotic art novel.

SIDELIGHTS: Patricia Bernard left her native Australia at the age of eighteen to see the world, and has been traveling ever since. She spent a year working in various places in the United States, including New York, Washington, DC, Boston, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. She has visited seventy countries in Asia, Europe, and South America, has lived in twenty of them, and speaks five languages. Bernard was a painter of portraits and landscapes for fifteen years before she began her writing career at age thirty-two. "I started writing … when a friend asked me to write down the stories I was telling at a kindergarten," she explained. "Since then, every children's or teenage book I have written has been published.

"I hope to achieve racial and national harmony between children and parents in the linguistically diverse Australian schools, and to teach 'even the smallest thing' to readers while they have a good time reading my books. I work from nine to nine, six days a week when writing, and longer when editing because I hate editing so much. My motto is 'if it is not fun, don't do it,' so when the sun shines I spend three-hour lunches at the beach, editing and swimming, and I can be taken away from my computer by any simple excuse given by any friend who drops in and suggests a coffee, a champagne, or a swim. I also lecture in schools and to writers, librarians, and women's literary groups, mostly about myself, my books, and the benefits of turning off the television and reading.

"The purpose behind writing the 'Outcast' trilogy was to invent an entire world with the same tensions as our own, and through a hero and a group of heroes, fix it up. I don't know who has influenced my work, but my favorite authors are Isabelle Allende, Margaret Atwood, and Charles Dickens. The advice I would give to aspiring writers in Australia is 'don't give up your day job. Our population is too small.'"

More recently Bernard added: "My prime motive for writing is my wish to hand on information, pass on news, chat about trivia and important knowledge, and help educate. I have four grown-up children and five grandchildren, and their curiosity influences my work—plus my own amazement when I discover something I didn't know before.

"My writing process is simple. I think up a plot first due to something I have seen; for example, bare-footed boys playing football makes me think of Peru, where football was invented and where it was played as a religious game. I then research football and Peru. I stick maps of Peru onto my wall. I then invent a major hero, girl or boy, through whose point of view the story will unfold; in this example, Justin, a football teenager from Australia. I then invent a second and third hero not quite so important as the first: a confidant or friend who my hero will speak to as he travels through the story—someone who will help the growth of character of my major hero. I then plot the sequence of chapters from the beginning to the end. The chapters must become more and more exciting as they near the end. I then make posters of the characters' histories: their homes, cars, clothes, families, likes and dislikes, loves and hates, good points and bad points, how they feel about their families, school, each other, et cetera. Then I plan the 'hook': the first chapter must be very exciting. Then I sit for eight hours a day at the computer and write the book, editing every ten pages as I go. I finish with a final edit by reading the manuscript out loud to myself.

"I am inspired to write on the subjects I have chosen because there is knowledge to be learned; the subjects are ones that children and teenagers like; and the heroes are Australians of all backgrounds, nationalities, and cultures.

"The changes in my writing have come about by my wishing to include some of the countries I have visited. The Mask is about Venice; Stegosaur Stone is about Broome, in Western Australia; Gondar Gold is about Ethiopia; and With the Kama Sutra under My Arm: An Indian Journey is about India."