Christine Bell: Who Am I to Write This Book?
I’m thrilled to welcome author Christine Bell to the attic. Chris signed up to write this piece way back in April, when we didn’t know each other. However, for the past couple of weeks we’ve been writing together almost daily, albeit via a screen, at...
Karina Kilmore: From Fact to Fiction
My guest in the attic this week is Karina Kilmore, who writes about how hard she found the move from journalism to crime writing and how much of herself she unwittingly wrote into her character. Please read on: Karina is a finance journalist during business hours and...
Judy Powell: Writing Crime
I don’t believe I’ve had an archaeologist visit the attic before, so please welcome Judy Powell to tell us about her historical crime novel, The Brisbane Line. Judy is a historian and archaeologist who has a passion for bringing the past to life....
Katherine Scholes: Hunting the Muse
I’m thrilled to share this essay of Katherine Scholes in the attic today. It’s about writing her latest novel, The Beautiful Mother, the story of a woman who has devoted herself to the study of humans while denying the call of motherhood, who finds her...
Caroline Beecham: The Power of Secrets and Settings
I thoroughly enjoyed Caroline’s post for the attic about the research behind her third historical novel, Finding Eadie. If you love reading or writing historical fiction and stories about WWII, you’ll enjoy this post, too. Caroline is a novelist, writer...
K.M. Allan: Learning From Your Words
I came to know today’s guest in the attic, KM Allan (no relation!) through her fabulous blog which is full of writing tips and tricks. So, I’m thrilled to welcome her to the attic today: KM Allan is the author of the urban YA fantasy series, Blackbirch....
Susan Francis: Why I Write
I never tire of reading about why writers write—the reasons are many and varied, and the pathways as divergent as each individual writer. But what always strikes me, too, are the similarities: that feeling of never quite belonging, of never quite being good enough....
Alison Booth: A Tale of Two Very Different Sisters
Readers and writers of historical fiction will enjoy today’s post by Canberra-based writer and ANU academic, Alison Booth. Alison talks about the evolution of her novel, The Philosopher’s Daughters, about why she chose to tell it from dual viewpoints and...
Maya Linnell: Write What You Know
A huge welcome to my guest in the attic this week, Maya Linnell. Maya begins her post by saying, ‘Writing advice comes in all shapes and sizes’. What an understatement! And it can be so contradictory: write for yourself but keep your audience in mind;...
Kerri Turner: Getting Physical With Your Book
I think two of the biggest struggles for every writer are finding (a) their writing style and (b) their writing process. It involves a lot of trial and error, writing hundreds of thousands of words, and studying writers we admire. Kerri Turner joins me in the attic...