Rachel Nightingale: When Achieving Your Dream Makes You Sad
I have another moving essay for the attic today. This piece by Rachel Nightingale, about her dad and his influence on her writing, really touched me. There's something special about the relationship between daughters and their dads. ...
Cait Gordon: When to Listen to and When to Ignore Writing Advice
I'm always excited when someone I don't know contacts me wanting to be part of Writers in the Attic. That's how this post came about, and until I read Cait's essay, I knew as much about this Irish-Canadian author and editor as you! Read on to learn more...
Denise Mills: Writing is a Big Deal
When my Inbox goes ping and I see it's another piece for Writers in the Attic, I feel a little thrill. I have to drop what I'm doing and read it straightaway. I can't resist. Each of the essays I've posted has resonated with me in some way and many have had...
Eliza Henry-Jones: Discovering How I Write
I have the extremely talented Eliza Henry-Jones in the attic with me today. Eliza is on the eve of launching her second novel, Ache. I first heard of Eliza in an interview with Natasha Lester in 2015, just after her first novel 'In the Quiet' was...
Leanda Michelle: What Writing Means to Me
Leanda Michelle joins me in the attic today to tell the story of how she started writing and her 14-year journey to publication. As I read this piece, once again I was reminded of how persistent and courageous we have to be in following our dreams....
Marie McLean: What Writing Means to Me
I'm yet to meet today's writer in the attic, Marie McLean, despite the fact we both live in the same city, we're both writers and we encounter each other almost daily online. We're hoping to remedy that soon, but in the meantime I'll bring you Marie's...
Robin Riedstra: Writing With Dyslexia
Without further ado, today for Writers in the Attic I want to introduce you to Robin Riedstra: Robin is an Australian writer, ranter, reviewer, dyslexic, twitter addict, and definitely a mad mumma. Robin's memoir, 'Confessions of a Mad Mooer: Postnatal...
New Release Date for ‘The Sisters’ Song’
I have a new date for my book's release: January 2018. Whilst this means I must wait another four months' to see my book on the shelves, it also means that I have more time to complete these final edits and get my novel into tip-top shape. Once this...
Deborah Burrows: Writing Tales of Courage
I'm honoured to have author and lawyer, Deb Burrows, join me in the attic today. Deb's published four historical novels, and all tell the stories of courageous women during WWII. Deb was born and grew up in Perth, Western Australia, and is the...
Natasha Lester: My Attics and My Children
I'm bouncing around the attic today because I'm thrilled to be hosting this essay by my special guest, Natasha Lester. Natasha is not only an award-winning writer, but she's a constant source of writerly knowledge, support, and encouragement for fledgling...
The Story Behind the Story: My Great-Grandmother
In the lead-up to publication of my novel, I want to write a few posts about the inspiration for my story. Last year, I wrote about my grandfather in 'The Story Behind the Story'. In that post, I talked about how as soon I started writing my novel, my...
Robyne Young: A Life of Writing Prompts
Joining me in the attic today is Albury writer, Robyne Young. As you'll discover when you read on, Robyne's always been a writer as a journalist across a number of media, but the itch to write creatively has always been there, too. I won't write much of...
Writing is Rewriting
Back in 2013, when I finished a first draft of 'The Sisters' Song' (which was called 'Ida's Children' then—I'm still getting used to calling my child by a different name), I had no idea how much editing and rewriting lay ahead. I thought four, maybe...
Rae Hilhorst: Why I Write
I have another of my writing friends in the attic today: Rae Hilhorst. Here's the serious, factual bio for Rae: Rae lives in Perth Western Australia and is a married mother of two adult daughters. Her blog is her hobby, a means to explore creative writing....
Conor Duggan: Writing Far From Home
This is the week for firsts: not only is Conor Duggan my first male guest for writers in the attic, he's also my first Irish guest, first backpacker, first geologist, first slam-poet, first writer not to use a desk, and a whole heap of other firsts you'll...