I am a Jazz singer.
2. What is your nickname?
Jas
3. What is your greatest fear?
A micro bat flying at my head and getting stuck in my hair. Bizarre and random, I know!
4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Simple, emotional, space, appreciative, beautiful, nature, Aboriginal, culture, generous and loving.
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Thoughtful, educational, informative, perspective, beauty.
6. What book character would you be, and why?
Any of Alison Lester or Bob Graham’s children featured in their picture books. Those kids are how old I am when I write. Alison’s, because I always get a sense of being in the natural world through her kids. Bob’s, because of his very funny ‘being in a family’ humour.
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
500 years into the future to see if we have managed to go to Mars and beyond.
8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
Write a Babysitters Club book and become a hairdresser.
9. Who is your greatest influence?
My Dad. I love you Dad.
10. What/who made you start writing?
I started writing because there were no Darug language books for children. I am a Darug woman and I live in The Hawkesbury. I am a teacher and I wanted to hear our language on children’s tongues.
I also love reading and that made me want to write. I read everything: picture books, fiction, young adult, history, biographies, science fiction and fantasy, information texts. I love it all.
11. What is your favourite word and why?
At the moment it is a Darug word: manga manga, which means lightning.
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. A fantasy book about the magic that words hold. Aboriginal words are like this too. They hold the pathway to our dreaming.
Jasmine Seymour is a Darug woman and descendant of Maria Lock, who was the daughter of Yarramundi, the Boorooberongal elder who had met Governor Phillip on the banks of the Hawkesbury River in 1791. Maria was the first Aboriginal woman to be educated by the Blacktown Native Institute. She was married to carpenter and convict, Robert Lock, and their union resulted in thousands of descendants who can all trace their Darug heritage back past Yarramundi. It is Jasmine’s wish that through her books, everyone will know that the Darug mob are still here, still strong. Jasmine is a primary school teacher in the Hawkesbury area of NSW. Baby Business is her first book.
