Spikey Dee gets a big brother and she is up and running

Another story idea I had way back which has only recently found wings is Spikey Dee now called My Extraordinary Little Sister, and this one even predates Kit and Ker-Boot. In fact Spikey Dee started off as a set of children's stories (unpublished) I wrote after my eldest daughter was born and they were based on her - she is now Eleven. Now that she is Eleven I saw how to make the story work for bigger kids. A friend of my eldest daughter is Sam and he is the inspiration for Spikey Dee's older brother affectionately called Matty Pat by his family. Sam is a great cartoon artist and it is his great drawings that inspire me. I think one day Sam will be a film director.

In My Extraordinary Little Sister, a day dreaming eleven year old boy, Matty Pat has to look after his baby sister Spikey Dee whose unusual hair gives her enormous energy boosts when it picks up radiation from machines nearby.

I was lucky enought to score one of the small grants going in the Nick Short scheme (FTI/Screenwest/Nickelodeon Australia) so a three minute pilot is currently in production to be shown on Nickelodeon Australia. I am also lucky to be working with the very talented, very experienced (and a little bit too busy) Stephen Grant. Plus Susie Campbell has worked her magic to help me get the script into shape.

Look out for updates.

Kit and her boot tickle at Kidscreen Summit

In February of this year I went to the Kidscreen Summit in New York. It was awesome! The Kidscreen magazine and online newsletters and website have been vital for me learning about the greater business of kids TV (outside of dreaming up concepts and finding ways to produce pilots or proofs of concept.) And the summit was just fantastic for me to meet people LIKE ME from all over the world, ie those that just love to make kids TV, and the people who might be able to make it possible!
Thank you to all those people that helped make it reality.. ScreenWest and Lotteries West for the funding, Susie Campbell for her fabulous mentoring, Chris Hunt for doing my marketing materials and my husband Rob for looking after the kids and the kids for looking after him and all my friends that pitched in.
Obviously New York is a buzzy place to visit whatever, but the conference really did re-energise and inspire me to keep going. I am realistic enough to know nothing is going to happen over-night (as if six years of work to get to this point would be overnight!?) but it at least feels like a really positive step.
The thing that really makes me giggle to myself whenever I think about it is, Kit and Ker-Boot. This little idea was what first drew me back to the business of TV, it led me to get into animation, but most people around here thought it was a bit odd. Because of the ways in which I have managed to develop it - it has never had proper designs or sparkly treatment and I have never quite been sure how to pitch it. But I still believed in it as a show and as a voice for my storytelling. Anyhow I decided to go for it anyhow. I pitched it at Kidscreen and quite a few people liked it and asked to see more!
You can find the Kit and Kerboot mini-pilot which was part of a Jelly Jym episode deeper in these blogs or by going to www.jellyjym.blip.tv or clicking on the "watch jelly jym" link over to the right.