Abela, Deborah 1966- (Deborah Anne Abela)

PERSONAL:

Born October 13, 1966, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; daughter of Amante and Maureen Abela; married Todd Decker (a graphic and video designer and television director). Ethnicity: "Maltese/Australian." Education: Catholic College of Education, Sydney, diploma of teaching, 1988; University of Technology, Sydney, B.A., 1996.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Glebe, New South Wales, Australia. Agent—Rick Raftos, Rick Raftos Management, P.O. Box 445, Paddington, New South Wales 2021, Australia. E-mail—max@maxremy.com.au.

CAREER:

Writer and television producer. Network TEN, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, assistant producer of Cheez TV, 1996-2001; children's author, 1999—. Also worked as a writing workshop leader; May Gibbs fellow for children's literature, 2007.

MEMBER:

Australian Society of Authors, New South Wales Writers' Centre.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Gold Oppenheim Toy and Book award, 2005, for Max Remy.

WRITINGS:

"MAX REMY, SPY FORCE" SERIES

In Search of the Time and Space Machine, Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2002, published as Mission: In Search of the Time and Space Machine, illustrated by George O'Connor, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2005.

Spy Force Revealed, Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2002, Mission: Spy Force Revealed, illustrated by George O'Connor, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2005.

The Nightmare Vortex, Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2003, published as Mission: The Nightmare Vortex, illustrated by George O'Connor, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2005.

The Hollywood Mission, Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2003, published as Mission: Hollywood, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2006.

The Amazon Experiment, Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2004.

Blue's Revenge, Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2004.

The Venice Job, Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2005.

Mission in Malta, Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2006.

The French Code, Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2007.

"JASPER ZAMMIT" SERIES; WITH JOHNNY WARREN

The Game of Life, Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2005.

The Striker, Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2005.

The Finals, Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Deborah Abela told CA: "I started writing when I was seven. I've always read books and been in love with stories and thought being a writer would be the best job in the world … and it is! I became a writer because I loved the way reading books made me feel like I was on a great adventure. I knew there was something magic about reading them and thought it was probably exciting being the person who wrote the stories too … and it's true!

"I have been writing professionally for about fifteen years. First I wrote for a kids' TV show in Australia called Cheez TV, and now I write kids novels.

"‘Spy Force’ is an adventure spy comedy about two twelve year olds, Max and Linden, who take on the world's bad guys as part of an intelligence agency called Spy Force. In their first nine missions, they've been to the Amazon, Paris, Hollywood, Scotland, Malta, Italy, and have great gadgets like slimers, freeze rays, time and space machines, jet packs, and stink-bombs. They've been dangled above a giant vat of green jelly, flung over the edge of a giant waterfall in a foldaway inflatable car, and smothered with slimy worms and leeches.

"My inspiration for writing is my love of books, TV, and movies. Anything that told me a story. When I was a kid, I watched a show on TV called Get Smart about a clumsy spy called Maxwell Smart … who wasn't very smart. This introduced me to comedy and the world of spies! After I finished school and university, I travelled for three years. I slept beside alligators in the middle of Africa, was thrown in jail at gunpoint, was stuck in a three-hour sandstorm in the Sahara Desert, and was sick twice with diseases that almost killed me. I also did nice things like sailed in gondolas down canals in Venice and swam in colorful, tropical reefs. These years of travel inspired me to write about a young girl who goes on loads of adventures all over the world.

"Johnny Warren was one of the best soccer players in Australia, and he wanted me to write some books about kids who love soccer … but didn't want to write them. So he asked me. I love writing, and he knew loads about soccer, so we teamed up and Jasper Zammit (Soccer Legend) was born. ‘Jasper Zammit’ is about a young boy who plays in a mixed soccer team of girls and boys. He dreams one day of playing in the greatest soccer tournament in the world … the World Cup. Trouble is, he does some of his dreaming while he is in the middle of a game, which can get him into strife."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2005, review of Mission: In Search of the Time and Space Machine, p. 729; July 15, 2005, review of Mission: Spy Force Revealed, p. 785.

Library Media Connection, October, 2006, David Lininger, review of Mission: Hollywood, p. 66.

Midwest Book Review, September, 2005, review of Mission: In Search of the Time and Space Machine and Mission: Spy Force Revealed.

Publishers Weekly, July 25, 2005, review of Mission: In Search of the Time and Space Machine, p. 77.

School Librarian, winter, 2005, Josie Hervey, review of Mission: In Search of the Time and Space Machine.

School Library Journal, December, 2005, Terrie Dorio, review of Mission: In Search of the Time and Space Machine, p. 136; December, 2005, Mara Alpert, review of Mission: Spy Force Revealed, p. 136; April, 2006, Walter Minkel, review of Mission: The Nightmare Vortex, p. 133.

ONLINE

Max Remy Web site,http://www.maxremy.com.au (January 5, 2008), author profile.

Young Australian Readers Award Web site,http://www.yara-online.org/ (January 5, 2008), review of The Venice Job.