About Sarah

When Sarah Armstrong was a kid, her family didn’t have a television and she read a book a day. She went on to become an award-winning journalist at ABC Radio before moving to live in a rainforest valley in northern NSW.

She’s written three novels for grown-ups and Big Magic is her first novel for kids, and its sequel will be out in 2023. She lives with her partner and their twelve-year old daughter in the town of Mullumbimby, which features in all her novels (although sometimes slightly disguised!).

About Big Magic

Big Magic is about eleven-year old Tulsi who lives in a travelling circus. She comes from a long line of women magicians but her mother has always forbidden her to learn Big Magic. It’s dangerous, thrilling and powerful – and Tulsi wants it more than anything. But one hot summer’s night, a magic trick goes horribly wrong and her mother disappears. Only one person can bring her back, and that’s Tulsi.

The Hardest Thing About Writing Big Magic

The hardest thing was probably the rewriting process. Writing the first draft is sheer fun. But rewriting takes a lot of thought and energy and I rewrote this about eight times. Hopefully it flows and reads very easily now – but it took lots of work to get it that way!

The Most Fun Thing About Writing This Book

The most fun thing is letting my imagination loose in my first draft (and later when I am rewriting and adding bits). I love freewriting to see what characters and twists and are just waiting to emerge.  

A Writing Prompt Inspired by Big Magic

Think of a character who has a problem, then dream up a magic trick that will help them solve their problem. The only thing is they must keep their magic secret from others….