Discombobulated teen tale inspired by Greytown

PASSION AND PERSISTENCE: Author Julie Lamb at the launch of her first novel The Discombobulated Life of Summer Rain in Greytown.

Passion, patience and persistence have paid off for first-time author Julie Lamb.

Lamb, who raised her young family in Greytown, had her children's novel, The Discombobulated Life of Summer Rain, published this year and launched at Greytown Library.

The Discombobulated Life of Summer Rain, which chronicles the adventures of feisty Summer and her "bonkers granddad, funny friends and crazy greyhounds," was published by boutique Wellington publisher Makaro Press, and launched by award-winning author Fleur Beale.

Though Lamb now lives in Melbourne, she could think of no better place than Greytown to launch the book -- as the setting is inspired by the rugged South Wairarapa countryside. At the launch, publisher Mary McCallum praised Lamb for showing "the three Ps -- passion, patience and persistence," as getting published was an arduous process of unanswered emails and countless revisions.

"The rejections seemed endless," Lamb said. "You do lose heart, but you have to want to make it happen. You have to be passionate -- enough to give up TV and get up at 4am to write."

Lamb decided to try writing a book after her 40th birthday, and enrolled in a children's writing course with Masterton novelist Shirley Corlett.

"There were only three of us, and the others dropped out. But I took it really seriously -- every week, I wrote and wrote."

She completed her first manuscript and, after many rejections, applied for a mentorship through the New Zealand Society of Authors.

Though Lamb was ready to "put the whole thing to bed," she was delighted to be mentored by well-known teen fiction author Fleur Beale.

With Beale's guidance, and a shortlisting for the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award for unpublished children's writers under her belt, Lamb regained confidence, and approached Makaro Press.

In the book, Summer lives with her grandfather, whose miserly ways and outlandish schemes are a constant source of humiliation.

Summer is outraged when a mysterious woman wins her granddad's affections -- so seeks the help of "witchy poo" Flora from the local crystal shop, gothic friend Apple, and sophisticated greyhound rescuer Juanita.

Much of the book is inspired by Lamb's personal experience -- Summer's granddad is based on her "ultra stingey" stepfather and the setting on her rural upbringing.

"People here will recognise it -- the school bus, the bridges, the cold snap in lambing season, the flooding in the blink of an eye.

"A lot of my characters come from observing and people-watching. I'm introverted -- I think and watch more than I speak. "

Lamb said the book has many themes children can relate to, such as self-esteem, loyalty and false friends.

"When you're that age, there's such a social hierarchy at school. Like a lot of young people, Summer learns how to accept herself when others do not. Basically, it's about the embarrassment of adolescence."

The Discombobulated Life of Summer Rain is available for sale at Almo's Books in Carterton.