The Author, SUSEA SPRAY
Susea is a retired classroom teacher who majored in English and Children’s Literature and spent 23 wonderful years turning literacy lessons into joyful adventures. Her absolute favourite part of every school day? Snuggling into a story or two and inviting her students to step softly into the rich, magical world of books.
Writing has always been stitched through Susea’s life like a bright thread. She tried (and tried!) to write picture books for years; but the words simply refused to behave. They hid. They sulked. They would not play nicely together.
Then, more than a decade ago, she and her husband set sail on the adventure of a lifetime: an around-the-world voyage by sea. As the ocean stretched wide and blue around them, Susea began recording their travels on her sailing blog. Mile by mile, wave by wave, something shifted. The stories gathered. The ideas grew. And at last, the words decided to come out and play.
Today, Susea shares her love of language, sailing, and the sea through stories told in the voice of a big blue boat and a determined young girl, its Captain.
Although she loves the peaceful rhythm of writing, Susea’s favourite part of being an author is meeting children. Each year she packs her books (and plenty of enthusiasm!) for Autumn and Spring author tours, working with students from Preschool to Year 6. She has visited tiny schools with just two students and bustling schools with more than 400; and she treasures every single one.
When she’s not writing, you’ll likely find Susea researching curious details, cooking something delicious, taking photographs, heading out for a walk, or happily returning to the page of her sailing blog, where it all began.
The Big Blue Boat now lives in Europe. Northern hemisphere summers find Susea and her husband on board, continuing their journey through the rivers and canals of Europe.
Her first book, A Big Blue Boat, is a cumulative tale introducing the boat and her captain. It was a 2022 Literary Titan Silver Award winner, and a 2022 and 2021 finalist in the Page Turner Awards.
A Day on the Brine was Shortlisted in the 2022 Page Turner Awards and won the ‘Best Genre’ Award for the children’s picture book category.
The Illustrator: LESLEY CYBULKA
Lesley studied at SA School of Art and decided to go with Graphic Design. She worked in an advertising agency. Now Lesley paints for her own fun.
A Big Blue Boat Illustrations
The Books
https://suseaspray.com/big-blue-boat/
